Don't forget about Haiti

My heart is so sad. I'm thinking about all of the families in Haiti frantically searching for their loved ones. We can't do much, but we can do something. So, please do. You can go here to donate: https://www.compassion.com/.

There's no place like home

All good blog posts start with an apology, right? So, allow me to say sorry for the following pictures being in a strange random order. I really just don't have the patience to reorganize all of them so this post might seem a little out-of-sorts.

Anyway, we are now settled back into Japanese life after a long and relaxing vacation to the U.S. Our home leave trip was everything we could have hoped it would be. Although we didn't have enough time to visit with everyone and weren't able to see everyone we would have liked to, it was great! We were able to catch up with lots of family and friends, and boy, did we eat! It's really not very nice of one to binge on junk food for four weeks and to boycott exercise, but that's what I did. And, I am paying for it dearly. After a trip to the gym yesterday evening, I am hurting! Body, please forgive me.

So, let's get started with some pictures to highlight our trip home.

We finally got to meet Sawyer Lee, and what a cutie he is! Tim was bouncing and twirling him in this picture. He just giggled and giggled.

This picture is from Christmas Eve. Christy, Charity, Julie and I have been friends since we were infants, and we still remain very close. We stay in touch throughout the year and usually always manage to get in some quality time around Christmas. This year we spent the entire day after Christmas shopping, eating, getting coffee and TALKING. I swear, there wasn't 30 seconds worth of silence the entire day. We had the best time, and we've decided we're more like sisters than friends.

This picture is of Travis and our newest niece, Jensen. She is such a cool baby, and I just love her to pieces.

I was able to visit my Grandpa in the Veterans' home twice, and Travis was able to join me the second time around. I am continually amazed that I still have all four of my grandparents. I think that's unique these days, and I never take it for granted.

And, of course, I was able to love on my Little (or not so little) Skittle! She's sweeter than ever, and I enjoyed getting to scratch her big round belly lots.

On our last weekend in Missouri, I was able to visit with some of my favorite girls in St. Louis. I met Sarah, Andrea and Maya at my previous job, and we have been friends ever since. We had a great time catching up and sharing lots of laughs. We started off at a favorite Mexican restaurant and then enjoyed more conversation over some Kaldi's. I am so thankful for their friendship and encouragement. And for the fact that they put up with me and my quirkiness.

While in St. Louis, we were also able to visit with several other friends, but I forgot to take pictures. Oops! We also got to attend our home church, Summit Community, and that was wonderful. Oh, how I have missed it!

One of the best parts of our trip home was a getaway to Las Vegas! Travis and I had never been before so we joined my brother, Jonathan, and his hottie wife, Holli, for a few days in Vegas. We had such a fun time shopping, exploring, getting dolled up and of course, eating! My brother even surprised us one night with a cruise in a limo down the Las Vegas strip and dinner at Tao, a posh Asian fusion restaurant. It was so much fun!

We also watched the Blue Man Group. It was an interesting show to say the least. I enjoyed it, but I think I prefer the Cirque-style shows more. I'm still happy I watched it. It was just a bit strange to me.

We also saw La Reve at the Wynn. It was awesome! It's a Cirque show without the Cirque name. I heard that Mr. Wynn didn't want the Cirque name on the show because he wanted his own name on it, so that's the only real difference. The entire show was done in the water. It was gorgeous. We sat on the very front row, which was actually cheaper because of the risk of being splashed, so we could see the dancers and performers up-close. I was mesmerized the entire time and absolutely loved it!I stayed one night at my brother's house and got to spend some time with my nieces and nephew. This is a picture of Johanna and Jordan right before they went to have family pictures made. These girls are so precious! I love them so much!

I was also finally able to see my oldest niece, Jordan, show off her gymnastics skills at a meet in Fayetteville, Ark. She is so talented. I was awe-struck by her abilities. She just flips around those uneven bars like it's nothing, and her floor routine rocks the house. I am so proud of her! The above picture is of me and Jensen watching Jordan at her meet.

Well, I guess that's it for now. As you can see, we had a great time at home. I wasn't able to capture nearly all of our experiences, but I do want to say a big THANK YOU to all of you who let us stay at your house, eat your food, use your laundry detergent and drive your cars. We are so grateful for your support and thoughtfulness. We look forward to seeing you all this summer!

Home Sweet Home

Hi, there! Sorry for the delay in posting. The last couple of weeks in Japan became very hectic, but now I'm in the great state of Missouri. We enjoyed a second Thanksgiving meal with some sweet friends before I left and had to say goodbye to some of them, which made the last couple of weeks in Japan bittersweet. It was great to know I'd be heading home shortly, but it was also sad to know things will be much different when we return to Japan. Such is life, I suppose.

My journey home was uneventful, which is certainly a good thing. The flights were easy, and everything was on-time. The flight from Nagoya to Detroit was 11.5 hours. Boy, that's a long time on an airplane. It went by pretty quickly, though. My Mom and Dad were waiting for me when I arrived. I hadn't seen my Dad in nearly a year so it was certainly a joyous moment to be reunited with him. He immediately drove us to Texas Roadhouse because he knew the first thing his daughter would need was a big 'ole serving of red meat. :) It did not disappoint.

After arriving to my parents' house, I was able to meet my sweet and adorable new niece, Jensen. She is such a doll, and I was so grateful that Holli, Jonathan and all four of the kids made the trek down to see me as soon as I got home. It was such a fun and warm welcome back. My grandparents came over shortly after. I am beyond blessed, and I will never forget it.

I spent yesterday attending my childhood church, and I felt like I received a giant bear hug for two hours straight. It felt so nice to be in an American church, and the message was great. We've found a church home in Nagoya, but I still miss church at home so much. It was fun to see so many familiar faces and to see so many faces I have never seen before, too. It seems like everything changes and nothing changes all at the same time.

Yesterday afternoon, I also had lunch with two of my best high school friends, Amanda and Ashley. We stayed at the restaurant for over three hours, and it was so much fun to catch up with each other and to know that no matter where we live or how long it's been since we've gotten together, everything falls right back into place. I am so thankful for their friendship over the years, and we have shared some sweet memories together.

I'm sure you remember me talking about Christy and Tim's new baby, Sawyer. I got to meet him and spend last night cuddling and playing with him. Oh, he's such a doll and such a good baby. I love seeing Christy as a new mom and Tim as a new daddy. I am continually amazed by all things baby, and I can't believe all of the work and care that goes into caring for a new life, but seeing the look in Christy's eyes when she sees her son assures me it's all worth it. She is such an awesome mom and has transitioned into the role perfectly.

Skittle is great. She's fat, but she's happy. We've had a sweet reunion, and it will be so hard to say goodbye to her again. It's comforting to know that my parents love her, too. They have been so gracious to adjust their lives for us. I often give them a hard time because Skittle weighed 9 lbs. when we left and now weighs 12 lbs., but I am so thankful for all that they've done to help us with her. And, Travis' parents have always eagerly watched her for us when my parents travel. So, we're quite fortunate to have such a supportive family.

Travis will be coming home to join the fun next Saturday afternoon. He spent last weekend in Okinawa and ran his third marathon. I've talked to him a little bit via e-mail, and he told me that he finished the marathon in 3 hours, 55 min., and 53 sec. His goal was to finish in under four hours so I am very happy for him! We'll have to celebrate with some Taco Bell. :)

I'm sorry there are no pictures on this post. I left my laptop in Japan with Travis so I haven't had the chance to upload any pictures yet, but I will be sure to do that soon. Well, I should get going. My plan for the day includes a trip to Target with Christy and Sawyer, and I'm hoping to arrange a trip to Panera in there somewhere. May seem mundane to you, but you can't even imagine how much I've missed Target and Panera. I cannot wait!

Thanksgiving

In case you're worried about how Travis and Jessica will fare during the Thanksgiving season, worry not! I promise we're doing okay.

See? We're taking part in the gluttony just as all of you are. :) Allow me to identify some of the foods in the photo:cheesy corn (made my yours truly and always a huge hit), two kinds of stuffing, chicken (turkey is nearly impossible to find in this country and the ovens are tiny so we improvised), salad with BACON, cranberry sauce in the shape of a can just as it should be presented, green bean casserole (pretty sure this cost a fortune to make, please be grateful for things like cream of mushroom soup, green beans and crunchy onion things-they are NOT cheap in Japan), GRAVY, potatoes, bread complete with honey butter. Not pictured: homemade apple pie, pumpkin pie and chocolate chip cookies.

I have a feeling that the construction paper Indian headresses might not be politically correct, but they sure are cute, aren't they? This picture makes me sad. Jessica and her husband, Chris, will be moving back to Tennessee in December. They weren't supposed to move back until next summer, but things change. I am going to miss them so much. Jessica is such a fun and warm person to be around, and I am so happy to have made so many memories with her. And, Travis and Chris get along splendidly. They are such a fun couple. We spent an amazing week with them in Singapore and Malaysia, and I hope we'll be able to travel with them again. I have to stop. I'm seriously becoming bummed. I hate goodbyes!

On a happier note, Happy Thanksgiving from the Hartmans! We hope to see many of you in just a few short weeks! And, boy are we thankful for that. What are you thankful for? Or shall I say, for what are you thankful? Please do tell!

Oh, and I forgot to mention, we'll be hosting another Thanksgiving dinner with some more friends on Saturday. Life's rough.

SpendYourself

Two blogs in one day. Sheesh.

I wanted to write a post about a company called, SpendYourself. A friend of mine from college, along with her boyfriend and some others started the company, and I'm a big fan. The company's focus is to fight for social justice through selling t-shirts specific to various causes. And, the causes the shirts represent are ones that weigh heavy on my heart. For instance, SpendYourself has two t-shirts for sale devoted to stopping human trafficking and to helping men and women trapped in the sex industry. I already bought two of their t-shirts, and I'm planning to buy more. I encourage you to check out their site here to learn more about the company. The site also features a very interesting blog. Additionally, they're offering a contest for two individuals to win free t-shirts for an entire year. The contest ends Nov. 30th so hurry, and check it out. Oh, and if you're reading this, you just might be getting a t-shirt for Christmas.

Asuke and Tea Ceremony

One thing I'm thankful for right now: elastic-waist pajama pants. Whew. We just got back from our first Thanksgiving celebration, and it was fantastic. We'll have another one next weekend. It was a potluck, and we had so much delicious food. I completely overate, and now I'm feeling the pain, but it was worth it. I am so grateful to have good friends in Japan to celebrate with and feel very blessed to be able to have the opportunity to indulge in all things Thanksgiving even while living abroad. I know it's been a tough year for many so I don't want to lose sight of the fact that I am blessed beyond measure in so many tangible and intangible ways.

We've been staying extremely busy lately. We're heading home in just a few short weeks, and it seems like we have so many things to do between now and then! We've been running around like crazy, and we're going to have to say goodbye to many good friends in the next couple of weeks so it's going to be hard! :( We aren't leaving Japan until next summer, but some of our dearest friends will be heading back to the States in December. :,(

For now, I'll share a few recent pictures with you. Last weekend we traveled to the nearby town of Asuke. It is absolutely gorgeous in the fall. They even illuminate the trees at night. I was overwhelmed by the beauty. Japan doesn't get nearly enough credit for being an amazingly beautiful country. Before moving here, I never knew how truly gorgeous this country is.

We had a really hard time capturing good shots because the lighting was strange, but I think this one turned out pretty well. We relaxed next to this river for a while, chatted with our friends and snacked it out.

You can see the trees lit in the background. Such a cool idea. People in Japan seem to appreciate natural beauty a bit more than Americans. I could be wrong, but after experiencing hanami (cherry blossom viewing), and the fall season, Japanese people really know how to make an event out of enjoying the outdoors. Droves of people drive just to view these gorgeous trees, and an entire festival is organized around it. While there we ate some of the most delicious food, too.

The next day, my friend, Miyoko, invited me to a tea ceremony along with some of her friends. I had been to a tea ceremony before, but I had never gone in kimono. There were around 200 people there, but we broke off into small groups and rotated through the different stages of the ceremony. It was certainly a fun and unique experience. I am so happy I've had the opportunity to live in Japan and to experience Japanese culture.

Here I am outside of the entrance. The garden surrounding the tea house is beautiful. Japanese gardens are always so incredible and relaxing. In case you're counting, this was my fourth time to wear a kimono. I think I might be a professional now.

Ibigawa Marathon

My super-human husband ran another marathon last weekend. His self-motivation and determination continue to amaze me on a daily basis. I'm quite grateful for a husband who strives to be healthy. That boy loves a challenge! Perhaps that's why he married me. Wait, I think I just insulted myself.

Travis ran with a few of his co-workers. This picture was taken before the race. Understandably, they weren't quite as enthusiastic after the race.

Travis approaching the finish line. I am so proud of him!

Afterwards, he was desperate for some protein. And, wouldn't you know a massive earthworm was just waiting to be snacked upon.

This was the final shot taken after the race. Travis is planning to run another marathon on December 6th in Okinawa. You may remember that he ran that one last year, too. I won't be able to cheer him on this time because I'll be in the good 'ole U.S.A.! I'm just a little bit excited to be going home! Only 23 days from today!!!!

Oh, and just in case you're still trying to decide whether or not Travis really ate that worm, he didn't. It just made for a funny picture, and it shocked some of the kids nearby.