Moving and Snow Daze...

I'm happy to report that we have successfully made the move from San Antonio, TX to Little Rock, AR.  It was a hectic week of moving and we are thankful to have this portion of our move complete.  Since Ryan had to go ahead to Little Rock, we were so thankful that my Mom was able to come and help me deal with the move and to help with Matthew.  She was a blessing and I wouldn't have been able to do it without her.  Plus, Matthew got to spend some quality time with his Nana!

Here are a few pictures of the moving week.  It was very difficult for Ryan to leave us and not be there to help with the move, but it worked out well for him to go ahead of us and have everything ready for our arrival to Little Rock.  Once again, God always provides exactly what we need just when we need it!

We stopped at a hotel in Dallas, TX to break the trip up a bit for Matthew.  We were all exhausted and it was so nice to sleep in a bed after sleeping on an air mattress for a week!  Matthew enjoyed his first hotel stay -- he really liked the big fluffy bed!

We finally arrived in Little Rock on Saturday evening.  Matthew was so excited to spend time with his Daddy -- and of course, he loved bath time!  We're living in a furnished house on base since most of our belongings are in storage and will be shipped to Japan.  It's not luxury, but it's comfortable and we feel fortunate to have a place we can call "home" during this time of transition.

Little Rock presented us with a nice little snow storm a week into our time here.  It was Matthew's first snow experience so we caught some of it on camera (although he wasn't sure what to think of it).  Ryan made a great snowman for us and we enjoyed a few cozy family days together!  So far, Little Rock has been great and we look forward to embracing our time here over the next 6 months before we make our final move to Japan.

2009 Was So Fine

Matthew is growing by leaps and bounds these days. It seems like yesterday I was snuggling with my little baby and now I turn around and see a handsome and precious little boy! I love every minute of every day with him and feel so blessed to be able to stay home with him. We sure do have fun!

December was quite an eventful month for us.  Ryan graduated from Navigator training on December 19 and Matthew and I were so proud to celebrate with him (even if Matthew did fall asleep)!  Here is the video of Ryan getting his new Navigator wings!  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBFrxIKUZeU

Spending the Christmas holidays in South Carolina was such a blessing.  We had a wonderful 2 weeks with family and I am so glad that we were able to make the trip. We were also able to visit Lisa (Ryan's sister) in Warner Robins, GA for a few nights. Matthew loved his time with Aunt Lisa and her puppy, Max. Here are some photos that capture the highlights of our time in the deep south.

Matthew celebrated his 1 year birthday on Christmas Eve. He didn't care much for the cake and didn't have much interest in opening the wrapped presents (in fact, he wanted the boxes more), but it was special to be able to celebrate with Nana, Poppy, Aunt Sissy, Uncle Steve, Aunt Jennifer and Uncle David.

One of the other highlights of our trip was that Matthew was baptised at First Presbyterian Church on December 27, 2009. We had lots of family there with us, which made it an extra special day.  Here is the link to the video if you want to watch the baptism -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOlFVvdDns8

We are so thankful!

November was a rather relaxing month for us, but the absolute highlight was having Grandma and Grandpa Middleton here for a week over Thanksgiving. Matthew loved spending time with his grandparents and I have to say he was spoiled rotten! Ryan and I were able to have a much needed break and Matthew made some wonderful new memories with his grandparents. We had a yummy Thanksgiving turkey with all the fixins and Matthew was surprised with an early birthday present -- a new red wagon! He absolutely loves riding in it as we walk around the neighborhood with Waddles. Thank you, Grandma and Grandpa, for the sweet and thoughtful gift!

Halloween and a Surprise from God

The last week of October proved to be a very eventful week for our family. Ryan and I celebrated 5 wonderful years of marriage on October 23, Ryan received his first Air Force assignment as a Navigator, Matthew turned 10 months old on October 24, and we celebrated Matthew's first Halloween!

Ryan was so thoughtful (as always) and sent me flowers on our anniversary. They were one of the most beautiful arrangements I've ever received. God has truly blessed us these past 5 years!

On Wednesday, Matthew attended his first Halloween party with our playgroup. We had a great time playing with friends and seeing all the kids in costume. They had an area sectioned off for the younger children to play and Matthew had a blast. He even crawled under one of the toys and got stuck! Now that he's crawling he's very adventurous and loves to explore new areas. It makes things very interesting for us at home!

Halloween night was equally fun as we dressed Matthew up in his pumpkin outfit again and took him Trick-or-Treating (well, we actually only went to our neighbor's house). Our little pumpkin looked so adorable and his outfit made him that much more cuddly!

Obviously, the most shocking event of all was on our 5 year anniversary when Ryan received his assignment to Japan...wow, what an anniversary gift. We will be moving to Japan sometime in 2010 and will spend about 3 years living on Yokota Air Base just outside of Tokyo. At first, it was hard to digest that we would be moving halfway around the world from our families, but once the initial shock wore off we realized this was going to be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and we trust that God has an amazing journey planned for us. Will it be hard? Yes, absolutely. But, we have so much to be thankful for...a healthy baby boy, a family who supports us and loves us, and the chance to experience another part of this great world. God always provides what we need and we know He will provide ways for us to see our families and for us to teach Matthew about the Japanese culture firsthand. Our little redheaded angel will be a Japanese superstar!

Here is the video of Ryan receiving his Japan assignment (it was an Oktoberfest theme and the assignment was taped to the bottom of the mug so it was a surprise to everyone)...We were definitely not expecting it, but thankfully God is good...all the time!

Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh my!!

Matthew had his first experience at the zoo on Tuesday (10/20/09). Ryan and I thought that he would be mesmerized by all the animals, but it turns out he was much more interested in the other kids than he was the animals. The only time he showed interest in the actual zoo was when we were looking at the fish!

He did take the time to look at the huge tortoise, but it still didn't capture his attention like we had expected. (If you notice, we had to strip Matthew out of his overalls because it warmed up so much. Oh, I just love those chunky legs!)

They have an area for smaller children with a waterfall and stream that the kids can play in. Matthew and Ryan had a great time splashing in the water. He giggled every time Ryan splashed his feet in the water. It was really cute! I could sit and listen to Matthew giggle all day long...it's music to my ears!