I'll try to give a brief update on us, something other than Aeris. :-)
As most of you know, we're planning on returning to the US this spring, sometime between the end of April and the beginning of May. We'll know more of an exact date once the new teacher is hired and her visa process has begun. Ideally, we'd love to be back for Tom's wedding! :-)
I'm nervous, and excited. We both are. It's a big change, but we've done it before and we'll do it again. I can't believe there are only a few months left! There is SO much to do!! I'm a bit overwhelmed though I know God will provide for us as He always has. I spend all day, every day researching airlines, car seats, cars, insurance, government assistance, jobs, etc, translating between Japanese and American websites, and trying to make every purchase we'll have to make fit into our budget in between taking care of Eri, of course. We still need to get her her visa. Now that she's an American, she needs a visa to be in Japan, however short she'll still be here. We're hoping to do that this weekend. Then there's packing. We're hoping to start sending some boxes home soon. Ideally, we won't have more than two or three, since we're planning on leaving a lot of things here. Once we are home, we'll have to buy more clothing, furniture, baby gear, dinner and cooking ware, linens, entertainment... well, everything. Garage sales here we come!! :-) If anyone happens to be searching
Craigslist or
Freecycle and sees something we might like, free feel to let me know! Jeremy is interested in applying for a position at the post office. Hopefully, he'll be able to sign up for the test before we arrive home, and hopefully, he'll pass and get a job soon! He's also interested in an entry-level office job - no more warehouses for him! ;-) Again, if anyone else hears of something or knows of another job he might be interested in, please let us know. We're open to anything. We'll be looking around Columbus, Ohio first, and other places second. We would love to stay in Ohio close to family, but realize the Lord may have other plans still. Please keep us in your prayers as we prepare for this change. Also pray for us spiritually. Though we do attend church in Hagi, and we have good Christian friends, our relationships with the Lord certainly haven't been stimulated very much. We know we need to change this now, not later. We would take great joy in raising Aeris to know God, but as things are now, we very rarely pray, read the Scriptures, or even talk about Him. So sad! I struggle more than Jeremy with this. I'm also struggling with being a good homemaker. Some of you know this. :-) It has been wearing on me lately. I'm a mother now, and I'm home all day, I have no excuse, I should be better with this. It should bring me joy to take care of my family and our home. I would love to be a good homemaker; I would love to learn to cook and clean and organize and even sew! But I have a loooong way to go! I feel like returning home will give me the perfect opportunity for a new start. We are ready. Jeremy can't wait to be with his guy friends again, and I'm excited for him! He's looking forward to joining
CABS as well, haha. I hope to join Curves again! I'll write again soon with the full list of things we're looking forward to most and the things we'll miss the most. There are a lot on both lists!
And a fun picture to end with: Jeremy taking Aeris for a bath.
