Deep in the Heart of Texas

Okay so Dallas isn't so much deep into Texas, but it is the only song I could think of at 6 am with Texas in the lyrics without straining my brain. The last time I posted on this blog, it was my last night in Japan. Since then Emily has arrived in the states, we have gone on our yearly vacation to North Carolina, spent two weeks in Ohio, made three college visits, put over 6,000 miles on my new car and the kids have started school. 

Sami (5th), Emily (12th), and Chris (9th) on the first day of school in Prosper, Texas

I am hoping the start of school will also be the stepping stone to the beginning of turning Texas into our home. I think we are going to really enjoy living here. The people are friendly, the weather is right up my alley, overall Texas is pretty conservative and there is so much to see and do here. It is very different than any place we have lived in the United States and very, very different than Japan. 

I know I have said this many times before, but I will be back to blogging on a regular basis. Our life is hopefully settling into a normal routine of chaos rather than the abnormal chaotic roller coaster that we have been on the past year. Some days I will have much to say on this process of repatriation that we are going through. Hopefully my words will help others who are about to embark on a similar process. Other days I may be bragging writing about my kids because 1) they are AWESOME and 2) family reads my blog and 3) Emily leaves for college in a year and since this is our last year together, I want to remember every moment. Our plan is to continue to travel, both in the United States and outside. I am excited to be able to explore new places that we have yet to experience. I hope to write about the fun (and not so fun) places we visit. And of course I will be posting LOTS about this great state of Texas. 

So stay tuned... there is much more to come!

 

Getting Our Feet Wet

Mornin' y'all!  So that is as far as my Texas lingo will take me, but give me a few months and I am sure I will have expanded my vocabulary.

Our family (minus Emily) has been in Texas a month now. I thought it would have been much easier to jump into daily life, but alot changes when you are out of the country for 4 1/2 years.  New technology. New food. New products. New styles. New trends. New cars. New, well, just about everything. In some ways, it is like being someone who has amnesia and slowly has to remember and learn everything over again.

We closed on our house at the end of March, but have not been able to live there since most of our belongings are on the slow boat from Japan. However, tomorrow that will all end, as 427 boxes containing our junk stuff will be delivered. It will be like Christmas opening each box and trying to decide what to do with everything. (Okay, so 7 1/2 weeks really hasn't been that long, but it sure feels like it.) Chris told me recently "Our life has been like living the Suite Life of Zach and Cody. Finally it is almost over."

While I cannot tell you much about the area thus far, I can tell you where every Target, Lowes and Home Depot is within a 25 mile radius of our house. Chris and Sami have settled into school with only a few minor bumps. The kids here seem very welcoming and friendly, which has made the adjustment much easier. We miss Emily more and more each day, but we also know each day that goes by is one day closer to us to all being together again. If this is how it will feel when Emily goes off to college in a year, then I owe my mom a huge apology for not understanding why she was so upset when I went off to Ohio State. I feel a bit lonely and overwhelmed most days, but I know that is all part of the repatriation process. Hopefully getting in the house and turning it into our home will help.

Life in quiet, small-town, Prosper, Texas will be much different than being in the city for the past 4 1/2 years. I am sure the weeks and months ahead will provide laughter and many tears, but I think we will really enjoy this new adventure. So don't stay away from this blog too long. I have a feeling things are about to get interesting.

Life in Japan... Part 2 (From Matt's own words)

Now that I have been in Japan for a few weeks, I thought I would give everyone an update. As I have said before, everyday is an adventure. I will pick a few of my adventures to share.

Taking a hike
A few of my co-workers had an extra ticket for a famous hike done once a year in Kobe. The hike is 56 kilometers (for those who only understand English measures that is 31 miles). Being the competitive person I am, they were able to talk me into it. I figured my feet would hurt, but I would be able to make it. They forgot to mention the hike was up and down 4 mountains!!! We started a 4:30 in the morning before even the sun was up.


They let me borrow a head torch as my English friend would called it (a flashlight that attaches to your head) and we set off.

Along with 3000 Japanese people. Trust me it got worse.

This is by far the hardest thing I have ever done in my life.

If they told me I was going to be mountain climbing – I would have surely declined.

I did get some great views from the top of the mountain.

I started at 4:30 in the morning and I finished at 7:00 at night.
Finish line! I was so sore, I could barely move for four days. I thought I was going to need a life insurance quote. I vow to never do this hike again.


Every Day Life
I am getting more used to day-to-day life.

Food
A lot of the Japanese business men eat at these noodle bars or stand up restaurants that have different types of meat on a stick. These places are everywhere and fairly cheap.


Not all Japanese eat Sushi all the time like people think, although there are many sushi restaurants in Kobe. Here is one I went to. It had the biggest sushi I have ever seen. It is not like they give you a knife. You just have to pick up the whole thing and put it in your mouth.


Yummy!!!! There is a little rice under there, you just can’t see it.

Trains
I have got to enjoy a few packed trains. I am sandwiched over by the door. They actually had a train person push the last people in to shut the doors. This is normally not how busy the trains are, but it does happen.


Restroom Life
At work I go in the toilet that says western style. The alternative is a squatty Potty.

On the western style they have little directions to show men how to use the toilet seat. I am surprised most women have not put these in American houses. I am not sure what it says, but I think we get the point.

The controls for our toilets at the house take a college degree to figure out. I know what the button on the top right hand side does. It squirts water on your bum!

Goodbye for now!

Well I could go on for pages, but it is getting late. I will send another note shortly. Time is going by pretty fast. I am not sure that Alexis would agree with that. I am trying to keep myself really busy and I am working crazy hours. Hope everyone is doing ok.

Take Care!

Quoteful Tuesday

I don't feel like doing a real entry today, so I thought I would leave you with some quotes to ponder. Maybe some of them will help bring insight or perspective to something in your life.

“God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.”

~ Reinhold Niebuhr

"A real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out."

~ Unknown

"And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years."

~Abraham Lincoln

"Some people only dream of angels, we held one in our arms."

~ Unknown

"There is only one happiness in life, to love and be loved."

~ George Sand

"Faith makes things possible, not easy."

~ Unknown

"Gratefulness is the key to a happy life that we hold in our hands, because if we are not grateful, then no matter how much we have we will not be happy -- because we will always want to have something else or something more."

~ Brother David Steindl-Rast

"Life is like an onion: You peel it off one layer at a time, and sometimes you weep."

~ Carl Sandburg

"Good friends, good books and a sleepy conscience: this is the ideal life."

~ Mark Twain

"Only when we are no longer afraid do we begin to live."

~ Dorothy Thompson

"God could not be everywhere, so he created mothers."

~Jewish Proverb

"People grow through experience if they meet life honestly and courageously. This is how character is built."

~ Eleanor Roosevelt

"Friends are God's way of taking care of us."

~ Unknown

"Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested."

~Francis Bacon

"The most important thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother."

~ Theodore Hesburgh

"Love is patient, love is kind.
It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
It is not rude, it is not self-seeking.
It is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.
Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth.
It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never fails."

~ I Corinthians 13:4-8