Our Stocking's Full This Year

I subscribed to an online magazine called "Wives in Bloom." It is a place for christian military wives to get advice and encouragement. The article I read today really opened my eyes and I thought I'd share it with you. I realized that I've been doing alot of complaining about this Christmas season not really feeling like Christmas. It feels empty with family, cold weather, warm sweaters, snow, the smell of baking goods, lights, and music. We can have some of those things now that our stuff has arrived such as decorations and music. I can also cook some of our Christmas favorites. Still, some things we cannot change and I start feeling sorry for myself that my Christmas is not as full as it should be. It's all about perspective though. We are truly blessed to be where we are and have all the opportunities we have been given. Christmas isn't about the warm fuzzy feelings we get, the decorations, the music, or even the food. It's about celebrating God's love for us in sending His son to Earth for us. I copied and pasted it below, but to read the actual article you can go to: http://wivesinbloom.com/2010/12/the-big-stocking/.


The Big Stocking
Submitted by Jocelyn on December 5, 2010 – 8:04 pm No Comment.
by Melissa Fisher

A few years ago, while my husband was deployed, I traveled back from overseas to the states so that I could spend the holidays with my family. My boys, ages two and four, and had seen Daddy come and go so often that this second deployment didn’t seem to faze them. Nevertheless, we were all looking forward to our trip home.

While decorating my parents’ house for Christmas, my four-year-old, Braydon, started to realize what the stockings were for. As he pulled them out of the box, he declared, “I’m going to need a bigger sock!”

In light of this, my mom found a large, three-foot-tall stocking to use for Braydon. We filled each of her grandkid’s stockings on Christmas Eve, and while the other stockings were full to the brim, the large stocking was so big that it was only full in the toe. We were looking forward to the moment he would see his big stocking and chatted about the idea of taking pictures of the kids standing in it.

The next morning, all of the grandkids ran downstairs to dig into the stockings. We tried to hide our smiles as we watched them read each name to figure out which one was their own. To our surprise, Braydon saw his name, looked at the stocking, and burst into tears.

“It’s empty!” he cried.

It broke my heart to see him so sad and we immediately tried to explain that there were, in fact, toys at the bottom. He never really did get over the traumatic “empty stocking” feeling even as the morning continued as he couldn’t shake the thought that someone may have forgotten him.

It still makes me laugh and cry at the same time to think of that morning. I remember sympathizing with him, though, as I felt like something was seriously missing in my holiday. With my husband gone, I felt like I had these hopes for a decent Christmas, but inside I felt mostly empty and wanting more. By the end of the day, my son was throwing his first-ever tantrum, I was mentally exhausted, and I wondered why I had bothered to celebrate at all. I was so busy filling my stocking with what I thought was important—parties, shopping, and even family gatherings— yet my stocking was never full. And all the while I was screaming at God, “It’s empty!”

God still speaks to me like he did that day. “It’s not your holiday,” he said, “It’s Mine.”

With all of the hustle and bustle surrounding the day, I never took the time to marvel in God’s goodness of sending his son to this earth. So many people, pre Christ, would have loved to be alive in a time where they could not just hope for a Savior, but celebrate his birth. Why can I not grasp this amazing blessing? I don’t have to hope for a savior. I don’t have to wonder when, where and how he arrives. I get to celebrate!

Even though my husband is expected to be around this year, I hope I don’t let it deter me from the fact that I am purposely celebrating Jesus’ birth. I hope that I’m able to set the “Me” aside long enough to see the “Him.” God has given me the biggest stocking, called Life. And the best news of all is that if I can sacrificially empty it of my petty desires, I will reap the benefit of seeing my stocking being filled—overflowing—with Him.

About the Author:
Melissa Fisher enjoys running, traveling, and writing Bible studies for YoungLives. She currently lives in Arizona with her two young children and her husband who is an active duty member of the U.S. Air Force. Her blogs can be found at www.teenmombiblestudies.wordpress.com and www.memyselfandqwerty.blogspot.com.

The Joys of Moving: Organizing Our New Home

All of our household items have arrived and were delivered Wednesday (the 1st). Our house is now in complete chaos but I already feel I'm making progress. The living room is in order and the kitchen is basically done. One thing I should have expected is that everything (even though it's been packed tightly in boxes) is covered in dirt and filth. It's been a pain to wash ALL of our dishes. And then as soon as the piles went down and I had more room, I'd find another box with more kitchen stuff. Adding that to the dishes we were using for meals and cooking. It seems right now like it will never end. I have now started to work though the spare bedroom (where we had them put ALL the boxes). I have started to find our boxes of clothes and I'm starting to feel that this process will feel much like the dishes. I just feel very blessed to a dishwasher and my own washer and dryer. If I was still doing things like I had to in Dodge this would be a very annoying process. I'm trying to stay positive. Progress is being made pretty quickly and it will all be worth it in the end. I'm excited to have it in order and start decorating.

Our New Church

It took some time but we have found our new church home and we can't wait to join in on all the different ministries they have. We have tried several churches off base but it was difficult to find one that spoke English and had sound doctrine. The ones on base were non denominational and gave blanket messages that didn't give us the spiritual nourishment we needed. We finally found Calvary Chapel Okinawa and have been going there for almost a month now. The people are very friendly (a mix of Americans and Japanese), the messages go deep and verse by verse, and they have many ministries reaching out to the Japanese community and military youth. Another thing I really enjoy is that we sing the worship songs in both English and Japanese. I was able to find a few videos our worship leader posted on youtube back in February. It's a Wednesday night service but we still sing the same songs. You can also listen to sermons at calvaryokinawa.com. Just click on the "podcasts" link and "Sunday morning messages." We actually had a guest speaker this week that used to be a member of the church but now travels around Asia with Franklin Graham. Pastor Rick will be back this week though. Right now we are going through the book of Matthew.



In other news, TODAY IS MY BIRTHDAY!! yay 21!!! The downside to this is that I couldn't renew my license until my actual birthday and because the mail takes so long I won't have a new one for probably a month. I now have to convince Dayne to take me everywhere and I feel bad making him go places right after he gets off work. Hopefully it will come in soon. Speaking of coming in though, OUR STUFF HAS ARRIVED ON ISLAND!!! They told me it would be another month on Tuesday. I don't know how they were that off but I'm happy. We will have our dishes, our microwave, our fall clothes, and our holiday decorations. If I don't post this next week it's because the house is in chaos, but I will post pictures after I get everything in order.

Our Thanksgiving

With being so far from home I was worried that this Thanksgiving wouldn't be anything special. I bought all ingredients for the typical Thanksgiving foods. We then got invited to spend Thanksgiving with Dayne's boss. There was another couple there with a 2 yr old, a woman with 4 kids whose husband is deployed, and a single airman with no friends or family around. It was interesting and fun. We had turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, spinach salad, a shrimp pasta, rolls, corn, pumpkin pie, and fudge. Then we played Taboo men vs. women. The men cheated. lol. It was pretty close though. It was really nice to be with other people on Thanksgiving.

Tonight we did our own Thanksgiving since I had already bought everything. We had turkey, stuffing, green bean casserole, rolls, cranberry sauce, potatoes, and cherry cheesecake. Everything turned out really well for my first Thanksgiving cooking, especially the turkey. Even without family around, Thanksgiving was still alot of fun this year.

Our Thanksgiving at home:

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

With Thanksgiving this week, it's hard not to get caught up in thinking of all the food; especially with this being our first Thanksgiving on our own. I've never cooked a turkey before and I'm slightly afraid it will be disastrous. Then there's the media imposing on your Thanksgiving happiness telling you of Black Friday deals and things you must have for the Christmas season. WE ARE SUPPOSED TO BE THANKFUL FOR WHAT WE HAVE, NOT GREEDILY SHOVING OTHERS OUT OF THE WAY IN NEED OF MORE STUFF. I'm not saying I have a problem with Black Friday, I love all the deals you can get but hate the craziness of it all. So many things seem to get in the way and it can be hard not to let them overshadow the main purpose behind Thanksgiving. Despite what may have happened to any of us this year, we can always be thankful for something.

I am thankful:

1. I have such a wonderful husband. He is so good to me and I'm pretty sure I don't deserve it most of the time. Let's face it, I'm a handful. He is very patient, always kind, makes me laugh and smile every day, and continually makes me want to be a better person. Love you, Honey!

2. To have a large family of both blood relative and in-laws that love me. I don't know what I would do without any of you.

3. For the technology that has allowed us to stay connected with family and friends. It really makes it seem like we are not as far from home.

4. That even though we are not in the U.S, we are still in a place where we can attend a great church and worship God freely.

5. For a gracious and loving God who sent his son to take the payment for my sins, desires to have a growing relationship with me, loves me unconditionally, and has blessed me with so much more than I could ever ask for.

6. For the opportunity to travel and learn about other cultures.

7. It is not unbearably cold like it usually is this time of year. I've had trouble being joyful about the lack of holiday feel. How can I not be happy? WE LIVE ON A TROPICAL ISLAND. This Thanksgiving I am thankful for that.

8. For my washer, dryer, and dishwasher. It seems like such a simple thing but it makes my life much less stressful.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!!!


Cute candy turkeys I found online. Maybe someday I'll have a reason to make them.

Traffic: Red, Green, and In-Between

In my last post I mentioned the traffic. Although some things feel very much the same as they do in the States, there are some very distinct differences in the way the signs look and the behaviors towards other drivers. First of all, everything here in Japan is completely compacted: the lanes; the parking spaces; and therefore, the cars have to be as well. The most common cars are the small cubes (ignore the two work vans): The other personal vehicles are motorcycles and tiny two person cars. Our first week here we actually saw a one person car that looked really funny but we didn't take a picture. We haven't seen any since.
Our car is still small but more of a western design. Our '97 Nissan Primera:

As you can see, the steering wheel is on the right side and we drive on the left. We originally thought this would take alot of time to adjust to but once you get behind the wheel on the right side you just automatically convert everything. It seems completely normal now. Dayne's even caught himself driving on the wrong side in his games.

Many of the signs are also different:

Although people do follow the signs here unlike some other countries we've been to, there is some delay in stop lights. Once the light turns red you can usually expect about 3 cars to go through before it is safe to go on green. Another fun fact: because of the limited parking, it is not uncommon to see vehicles parked up on the sidewalk.

My favorite part about driving in japan is the attitude that everyone has. In America we have a "me-first" mentality that translates into people cutting each other off and honking their horns or yelling profanities. The Japanese culture is all about respect and you can see this in their driving. However, this also goes the other way and they just assume that you will let them go first too. It is really common to come to a place where traffic merges and you see them start waving at you. This means "I'm coming in. Thank you in advance." They usually won't wait to make sure you stop because they assume you will out of respect as they would for you.

A few more pictures from driving in Japan:

Gomen nasai

It has been quite a while since I've fully updated you on our life in Japan. Since my last post we have moved into our home, settled into a routine, and learned much more about the island of Okinawa. I'll eventually catch you up on everything but for now I'm just going to focus on our new home.

Although Dayne's work as well as almost everything else we do is located on Kadena we actually live on a Marine base. It's only 4-5 miles away but because of traffic in the morning it takes about 40 minutes to get there. This has been a little frustrating at times but we think it's worth having nicer housing. We live in a two-bedroom apartment with wood floors and alot more storage space than our last apartment. It also has two balconies: one off the living room and the other off the master bedroom. Here's a picture tour:

The Outside of Our Building:


Entrance Hallway:

Kitchen:


Dining/Living Area:


Dining/Living Area with Balcony View:


Back Hallway:

Laundry Room:

Bathroom:

Spare Bedroom:

Our Bedroom:


Since we had to leave the States so quickly, we were not able to file to have our household goods sent at the same time we left. We temporarily moved everything into my parents' shed until they could be shipped over. Once on island we were able to schedule a pick-up time for the middle of October but our stuff will not arrive here until Christmas day at the latest. We are hoping it comes much sooner than that. Until then we have rented furniture and very limited everyday supplies. I've also had to learn to be more creative in cooking. I think once our stuff arrives this will start to feel more like home. However, even without the comfort of familiar items, we still love our new place.

Falling into Place

We are FINALLY moving in and settling into a routine here. I say finally although we've only been on Okinawa a little over a week. It seems it's been longer because of adjusting to the new time and being so busy. We're starting to feel more comfortable here knowing how to get around, not being lost as often, and knowing who to go to for questions. We had one last housing appointment this morning and set up our move in day. WE PICK UP THE KEYS ON FRIDAY!!! If you can't tell I am very excited about this. No more living out of a suitcase!!! No more turning in our housing receipts and re-checking every few days!!! The only downside to this is that since we don't yet have cell phones and won't be able to set up a home phone until we move in, it will be very hard to contact anyone. We will also not have Internet access so you will all have to wait for updates.

We've also made progress on the car and will be picking it up tomorrow afternoon. For those who have been asking, it's a '97 Nissan Primera. It's not fancy, but it will do. We will no longer have to rely on people from Dayne's office to take us places. It made me feel bad knowing they could be getting stuff done but were being our chauffeur instead. With a car we will also be able to explore the city and get the pictures everyone has been asking for. We will try to get phones and Internet up as soon as possible.

Okinawa Culture: Shishi

Pictured above is an Okinawa Shishi pair. Shishi dogs are a big part of the culture here on Okinawa both on and off base. It actually comes more from Chinese tradition than Japanese. The word Shishi derives from the Chinese word Shisa meaning lion-dog. Anywhere on the island of Okinawa when you walk into a building you will see on each side of the door or awning a shishi dog. One will always have it's mouth shut and the other's mouth is open. Their purpose is to protect all those coming and going from that building. They are said to hold your warrior spirit at the door when you go home and you can pick it up when you leave so you can have a peaceful time with your family. It eventually changed to being used on all building, not just the home.

Although we obviously don't believe in these little statues holding our spirits, I still thought it was interesting and wanted to share it with you all. As I learn new things about the culture here, I hope that you can learn a little with me.

Our first few days in Okinawa

Our first week here has been busy and we have learned alot in a short amount of time. Monday we had a housing appointment where they explained how that process was going to work. We also met everyone in the office and got a tour of where Dayne will be working. In the evening we were able to walk down to the BX for food and things we would need for the week, getting to soak in a little more of our surroundings. Here are pictures from our walk:




Tuesday, Dayne had briefings all day and we both had to go to the one on Wednesday where they told us a little more about the island, some of the customs here on Okinawa, what we still had to do for in-processing, and we took our drivers' tests. Luckily, Dayne and I both passed our tests and have licenses to drive in Japan.

Yesterday(Friday) we finally heard from housing and they had two options for us. One was on Kadena where Dayne works and it was more of a house. It had the larger area of the two and had a small yard. The downside was that with it being older and on the ground floor, we would have a major bug and lizard problem. There was also a pretty bad mold problem on the bathroom ceiling. When we saw the second options we instantly knew it was ours. Although it is a longer drive to work because it's on Foster(about 10 minutes from Kadena), it has hardwood floors, a large kitchen with alot of cabinet space, it new and clean, it has two balconies(one off the living room and one off the master bedroom), has central AC, and a ton of storage space(so the lack of organization won't drive me nuts like our last place). We are very excited to move in hopefully by the end of this coming week. Our furniture won't be here for a while but they have stuff for us to use until ours arrives.

Everything is starting to come together :D

Go!!!!

Sorry it's taken me so long to update everyone. This last week has been crazy busy trying to settle in to our new life in Okinawa, Japan. I haven't been able to take many pictures as we don't have transportation yet, but we should get our car by the end of this week and we can explore the island and get pictures for everyone.

Last Friday we both flew out of Kansas/Mississippi on time and were able to meet up at the Dallas airport for our long flight to Tokyo. The 13 hour flight wasn't actually as bad as we thought it was going to be. We arrived in Tokyo at 10p.m Kansas time but 1p.m Saturday afternoon Japan time. We went through customs and instantly had some culture shock. We were both exhausted at this point, couldn't understand anyone, and already in trouble because we couldn't read the Japanese signs that apparently said "no pictures" (too late):
Dayne in the Tokyo Airport

We waited at the airport for 6 hours and then flew to the beautiful island of Okinawa. It was a little disappointing because we came in at 10p.m and couldn't see anything from the air and very little from the airport to the base. Finally after being up for 26 hours we checked in to temporary housing and went to bed. A few hours later we were up again, still used to Kansas time. The next several days were full of sleeping at odd hours and middle-of-the-night snacks.

It took about 3 days but we finally got used to the new time and started the process of making this our new home. I'll fill you in on more later.

Ready...Set.....

So much has happened over the last month. Dayne graduated from Tech School mid-August, but had to wait for our passports to come in before out processing and going back to Kansas. Thankfully I was able to be with him through most of his time in Mississippi. We had many appointments to go to and a ton of paperwork for our first PCS while waiting for the passports to arrive. We thought when they finally came that Dayne would take the next week to out process, I would go home to get everything ready to move, and we would have a couple weeks before moving to Japan. Much to our surprise, this process all took place much faster than we realized.

Our passports finally came in and Dayne was told to be out processed within 24 hours. I ran over to join him for appointments and we spent the rest of the day frantically trying to get a weeks worth of paperwork and appointments done in a couple hours. The next morning we flew back to Kansas and had a week to be ready to leave for Japan.

We arrived in Kansas Wednesday night and spent the next couple days making phone calls and driving between Meade and Protection visiting family. Starting Monday we packed up the apartment, moved stuff to storage, and were checked out of the apartment by this afternoon. Dayne flies back to Mississippi tomorrow, and we both leave for Japan Friday. Hopefully everything goes well and we meet in Dallas for our long flight as planned. Let the adventure begin!

Phase 3....Japan???

About a week after arriving at Tech school Dayne was told we would be moving to Florida. We were really excited about the assignment because Dayne has family already there and we had done some research on the area. Then here recently, Dayne was diverted and we will now be going to Japan! Although it will be an exciting adventure, I'm a little nervous as I have no plans or knowledge about what is to come. We have to get our paperwork done as quickly as possible and hopefully the transition will go smoothly. Oh the joys of the Air Force life. Jeremiah 29:11a- "For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord". I take comfort in the fact that someone knows what's going on even when I feel clueless and overwhelmed.

On to Phase 2

Dayne graduated from BMT last Friday. YAY! It was really good to see him on Thursday in the Airman's run and Coin ceremony. I was SOOO proud of him and feel blessed to be able to say he's my husband. The actual graduation on Friday was good too but it was alot harder to find him amongst everyone else since they were so far away and they technically became airmen the day before. Thursday Dayne has to stay on base and we got to talk to him and hear about the adventures he had at basic. Friday we went to the riverwalk; Saturday we spent the day at SeaWorld; and Sunday we got to go to church with Dayne on base and spend a few hours in the afternoon with him. The weekend seemed to go really fast and it was over far too quickly. They flew him to Mississippi that next morning to tech school. We should hopefully recieve our orders in a couple weeks and now where we are going. For now, we wait and pray.

It's Almost Over!

Dayne called again today. He passed all his tests! yay! I had no doubt that God would help him through it. Thanks to all who prayed for him during this time. Basic is coming to an end and I am so excited to get to see Dayne soon.

In other news, it looks like we'll be moving sooner than I thought. We still don't know where but it will be within the next couple weeks. Please keep us in your prayers.

News From Basic

I have finally heard from Dayne after what has seemed like months. His moral is still high and he is definately looking forward to the quickly approaching finish line. One prayer request he had was that everyone pray for him to pass his physical tests. All the running, push-ups, sit-ups, etc have to be done in a certain amount of time and he is nervous about meeting those goals. I have no doubt that he can do it because he rises up to meet and often surpass any goal placed before him. He is also still unsure about what job he will receive and will not find out until next week. There is one in particualr that he says he might enjoy, and we are really hoping and praying that he will be assigned that job. Please pray for Dayne in these last few weeks that he will have the perserverence he needs to finish strong and be proud of all he has accomplished. Also, keep sending those letters as they help him get through each day.

As for me, I've been trying to stay busy. Last week I visited my parents for a few days and brought Megan and Tyler back home with me for a night. I've started working on some crafts and doing some sewing. Hopefully it will help the time pass by quickly.

Are we there yet?

Life at home has taken me through a rollercoaster of emotions. Some days are pretty good. I get to visit family or clean the house. The days that are hard are those that consist of sitting around or watching TV. It's really hard not to have friends in the area, and I often get very lonely with Dayne gone. I am trying to stay strong and positive, knowing that he will be home soon. I haven't heard how he's been doing since he told me he hurt his knee. Hopefully his moral is still high and he is staying persistant. His graduation is quickly approaching as is our move and the start of our Air Force life. I'm looking forward to the journey God has in store for us.

One thing that has really helped me get through this, besides writting tons of letters, is a book I got as a wedding present. I can't tell you how many times I have reread it, but I pull something new from it every time I read it. It has helped not only to encourage me, but helped me feel closer to my husband, especially while he is away. The book is called "The Power of a Praying Wife" by Stormie Omartain.
I would say it is a "must have" for every christian wife.

Finally! Something to report.

Well, I finally heard from Dayne. He says he's doing well. They have been keeping him busy of course. I was glad to hear that he is getting to know some of the other married guys in his flight. It makes me feel better to know he's not alone and has someone to talk to. He's been getting letters and has enjoyed those. He said he wants them to keep coming. They really help him get through the day. We didn't have time to discuss much so that's really all the update I have for you. Hopefully I'll hear more soon.

As for me, I'm taking it one day at a time. The first two weeks were extremely hard but things are getting better and easier. I only have a week left of work and then I can get things done at home and visit family a little more. Summer is almost here. YAY!

No News Yet

I thought I was going to hear from Dayne either yesterday or the day before but I didn't. I found out from a kid at church who just went through basic that Dayne won’t get to call until at least his second week there. He also said if anything other than letters are sent, Dayne is probably not getting it and may not even be getting letters at this point. That depends on how strict his instructor is. Hopefully I will hear something soon and be able to update everyone on what Dayne has been doing.

This weekend I got the chance to go with Dayne’s family to Hedrick’s Animal Farm for my niece's birthday. It was a lot of fun and I really enjoyed seeing everyone. Here are a few pictures from the day.

Prayer Please!

Dayne has arrived at basic training. He got there safe and has hopefully been hanging in there. He called this evening only to give his address. Everything was read off a script so I didn't get much information about how he's doing. If immediate FAMILY wants the address so you can send him a note of encouragement, let me know. The address is long and complicated but I think mom and I got it figured out. They have some pretty strict rules about the mail though. NO care packages can be sent, only LETTERS. If flashy cards are received, he may have to stand up and read it to everyone so please refrain from sending anything that might draw attention as it will be hard enough for him there. Please keep Dayne in your prayers as these first two weeks will be especially tough.

And So It Begins....

Militay life has now begun for Dayne and I. We went up to Wichita on Sunday so he could be at the recruiter's office early Monday morning. It came very fast and after a few minutes of briefing on the days to come, Dayne got in the van with three other guys and off they went to MEPS. I heard from him this evening and he said that they are waiting at the airport as their flight was delayed. He didn't get much sleep last night and that won't change over the next couple days. Hopefully when he arrives at Basic he can get me his address as soon as they allow him to call. Be in prayer for Dayne as the next couple days will be rough. Pray for me as well as I try to stay as busy as I can without him here.

A Fresh Start

I deleted all my previous posts and am starting over. Enjoy reading about our lives.