Our Last Days in Japan

Hello blogging world! I bet y'all thought I abandoned our blog site... well, we're back!  So much has been going on since the end of November and things are finally settling into normalcy so I actually have a chance to post a few blogs.

Let me fill you in on what's been happening:
* Our household goods got packed out and shipped back to the US at the beginning of November and I lived in an empty home for a month.
* Chris returned from his final deployment at the beginning of December.
* We left Japan in the middle of December and traveled to Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand and Singapore (more on that in another blog).
* At the beginning of January we totally surprised my family with a visit.  They thought we were going straight from Asia to California; they never expected us to show up at my cousin's house in Louisiana one night for dinner! It was great and we were able to spend 10 days with them.
* In the middle of January we moved to Monterey, CA.
* At the end of January we moved into our new house.

Needless to say, it has been a tad bit crazy! When I sat down to start on our blog about our trip in December, Chris suggested that we do a blog about our last days in Japan.  I thought it was a wonderful idea since I do enjoy closure!

When we moved to Japan in December of 2010 we had no idea what we were in for.  I think it's safe to say that we were both nervous.  Chris was anxious about being forward-deployed on his first ship and I was a nervous wreck about being left alone for months at a time in a foreign country.  Two years not only flew by, but they were an incredible two years.  When we first moved there I was counting down the days until we could move back to the US.  When it came time to leave we actually asked if we could stay longer.  We had some amazing experiences; both individually and together.  Chris had a great time serving as weather and legal officer of his ship and had the opportunity to see some amazing places.  I was blessed with having the chance to meet some wonderful Navy wives and Japanese women and God provided me with a kindergarten position on base.  Together, we were able to truly experience the kindness of the Japanese people, take part in their culture and festivals, eat some delicious food and travel to some exciting places.  Every day since we have left we talk about Japan and think of something new that we miss. It was truly an experience of a lifetime to live in a foreign country and we will be thrilled to go back one day if that's where God wants us to be!

When I was going through our pictures of these past few months, I realized I have never really posted any of Chris on his ship.  While I was having a great time in Sasebo, he was working hard on the ship and had some fun adventures (diving, hiking, swimming at the Equator).  He started off on the USS ESSEX (LHD 2) and finished up his tour on the USS BONHOMME RICHARD (LHD 6).  He had the opportunity to work with and under some great people and make good friends.

A view of his huge ship, the BONHOMME RICHARD

Chris on the deck of his ship.

Chris with the Captain of the ship.  Yes, Chris has a mustache in this picture. It was "Mo-vember."

When Chris left on his first deployment, he had two goals: to drive the ship (I thought he was a crazy person, no way would he be able to do this) and get his Surface Warfare Officer (SWO) pin. Well, my amazing husband did both!

Here he is driving the ship. You can't see it too well, but that's the Marina Bay Sands Hotel (in Singapore) in the background.

Chris receiving his SWO pin from the Captain of the ship.

During his two years on the ship he had the opportunity to travel to some amazing places like the Philippines,  Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Guam and Cambodia. When he could, Chris would get off the ship, try some local food and either go diving, hiking or golfing.  Chris doesn't know what it means to "relax."

Chris and some friends at Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia.

One of his good friends, Lars.  While the ship was out, one of my greatest friends in Sasebo was Maud, Lars' wife.  We loved this couple!!

The BHR heading out for Chris' final deployment. That's his ship in the middle. I drove up to a look-out point to take these pictures while the ship was pulling out.

And four months later, the homecoming of the BHR and celebrating Chris' final deployment!  I always loved homecoming day! It made me feel so American!

Greeting my honey when he was getting off the ship! Love him in his fancy uniform!

A week after Chris got back to Sasebo it was time for us to leave our wonderful home.  Our first stop was to Tokyo.  In the two years we lived in Japan I had never been there.  It was one of those places that we kept meaning to go but never went.  To be honest, we were so tired from moving and Chris' last tour that we spent a lot of time being lazy. :) We did go see some sights, though, during our three days in Tokyo and our last days in Japan. Boy, did we load up on sushi and noodles!!

A view of the Tokyo Tower

I was finally able to see Mt. Fuji.  There it is in the distance with the beautiful sunset.

We also went to see the famous Shibuya crosswalk.  This place is organized chaos! It is the busiest simultaneous pedestrian crosswalk in the world--approximately one million people cross it each day! But like everywhere else in Japan, everyone was neat and orderly!

After our relaxing three days in Tokyo we were off for our adventure to Vietnam.  We were sad to say "sayonara" to Japan but we are so grateful for our time there and we can't wait to go back!