New Year, New Stress

Happy New Year family and friends! We survived 2010 and now are being thrown right into 2011. The big move this month has got my stomach in knots and my brain about to explode. There is SO much to do to leave this island and even more to do once we get to Oklahoma. I'm saying lots of prayers and hoping God hears me (which I know He does). I just keep telling myself that God does not put things in front of me that I can not handle.

Because of the busyness and stress of the move, the blog posts will likely be few and far between. I haven't taken any pictures in almost a week, and when I do get on the computer, it's only to check the bank and research homes and schools in Oklahoma. I will post as much as I can, but please be patient as we become "The Goldhahns in Oklahoma."

Here are some pictures of the boys playing with some of their Christmas loot.

Ethan and Jackson blasting off in their Buzz Lightyear tent.

Spine is in the tent ALL the time. He loves play tents more than the boys do.

Jackson playing with some of his new Legos.

I wonder where he got such an obsession with Legos?

Oh that's right, from his brother - Mr. Lego! I mean, Ethan!

We are wishing you all a blessed New Year!

Merry Christmas!!

Wishing all of you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Love, The Goldhahns

They were good this year! Ready to see what Santa put in their stockings.

We had a Lego Christmas....

Ethan got a Lego gas truck, a Lego helicopter, and a Lego Toy Story trash compacter!

Jackson got Buzz Legos, Woody Legos, and Thomas the Tank Engine Legos.

Looking spiffy for the candlelight Christmas Eve service.

(Please note that Jackson is NOT wearing a Buzz shirt!! He is, however, wearing Buzz undies).

Merry Christmas 2010

Love, Andy, Justina, Ethan, Jackson, and Spine

Our Last Okinawa Adventure

As our time on Okinawa comes to an end, we decided to spend a few days on the northern part of the island. We stayed at Okuma (Air Force beach resort) and hit up the aquarium and the pineapple park. It was a great time and reminded us how much we'll miss Okinawa.

On another note, we hit a big "moving milestone" today: we sold our Okinawa car! I'll miss my mom-mobile. :(

We played at the beach....

Enjoyed the scenery and the goodies at Nago Pineapple Park....

Got up close and personal with some marine life.....

Saw lots of whale sharks (real and fake)....

Family fave - the buggy bikes!

Goodbye Okuma. We'll miss you!

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Cookie

The boys and I had fun making Christmas cookies for Ethan's class. Ethan chose to make reindeer cookies. Unfortunately, I could not find any regular chocolate-covered pretzels so we had to use round pretzels; therefore, making our reindeer look more like mice. Oh well. What matters is that the boys had fun making them, and the cookies tasted delicious!

The Goldhahns in Oklahoma?

It seems that in about a month the title of this blog will change. We will no longer be "The Goldhahns in Okinawa." Rather, we will be "The Goldhahns in Oklahoma." Broken Arrow, Oklahoma to be exact. We received our orders this past week, and we must report by February 20, 2011. That means we'll be leaving Okinawa sometime in the middle of January. Yes, NEXT MONTH!

This might come as a surprise to some of you. This summer Andy met with several South Dakota National Guard members, and he decided to switch branches in April 2011. Unfortunately, we got word last week that it may be 1-2 years until he could get an active duty position. Realistically, we can not afford to live in-transit for 1-2 years while awaiting an active duty position. We then asked the Marine Corps monitor if there was anyway we could get an I&I duty station in the Midwest. The next day we got word that there was an opening in Broken Arrow, OK. We immediately said yes.

We are excited to live in a new state and be within driving distance of our families. Broken Arrow is a suburb of Tulsa so we are also in a prime location next to a big airport in case we don't want to drive. After being in Okinawa for four years, we've learned that any place in the continental U.S. is within driving distance. Ethan will finish up kindergarten in Broken Arrow, and all of the research I've done has shown that Broken Arrow has an excellent school system.

We are a bit sad to be leaving Okinawa, but it is definitely our time to go. The hardest part will be saying goodbye to friends and saying goodbye to Ethan's amazing teacher, Ms. Straatveit. Wish us luck on our next adventure!

Oklahoma!

Main street, Broken Arrow, OK.

Ethan is OBSESSED (to put it lightly) with tornadoes. When we told him where we were moving to, he almost passed out from excitement. His exact words were, "We're moving to Oklahoma?!?! There are more tornadoes in Oklahoma than anywhere else in the world! I hope our new house has a basement!"

Me too, little storm chaser, me too.

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas

We are excited to celebrate our last Christmas in Okinawa. We put up all of our decorations over the long Thanksgiving weekend, and the boys recently visited Santa at Ethan's school. We are trying to remind the boys that we are celebrating Jesus' birthday. Ethan seems to understand the concept, but all Jackson can think about are the presents under the tree (he's hoping for Buzz Lightyear Legos). Here are some cute pics of my cuties as we get ready for Christmas...

Ethan decorating the tree with Dad and Jackson.

Jackson loved decorating too!

Much to everyone's dismay, Jackson sat on Santa's lap and told him he wanted Buzz Legos for Christmas. Ethan could have been there all night rattling off his list.

God is good!

Toothless

Ethan lost his 4th tooth this weekend. It was a big one, right on top. He also has three very loose teeth, which will be falling out soon. The tooth fairy better be saving up, and hopefully Ethan is up for drinking lots of milkshakes because he's running out of teeth to chew with. He's so big!

Reckless

On Saturday, Andy and I took advantage of free child care at "Parent's Day Out," and we went on our best date yet! We went zip lining at Forest Adventure Park. One word: Awesome! I take that back, another word comes to mind to describe our date: Reckless! Don't get me wrong, the park was VERY safe. We wore the tightest harnesses imaginable, and we had to go through a safety course with an instructor before we could go into the park on our own. However, every time I jumped off of a platform and went zipping through the forest, I couldn't help but think, "Oh God, don't let me die and leave my kids without a mother!" Needless to say, we survived, and we want to go back again...next weekend...but we won't because we have a sick baby on our hands. Send some get well prayers Jackson's way. Enjoy the pictures.

Me and my squeeze. :)

Welcome Home!

My apologies...Andy has been home for almost a week now, and I'm just getting around to posting pictures from his homecoming. Our FRO took a lot of pictures at the homecoming, and I've been waiting for her to email them to me, but she hasn't had time so I will just post the pictures that I do have.

It's been GREAT having Andy back. We're obviously still in a period of adjustment. Andy is catching up on sleep and learning how to have down time again. I'm trying to let go of control and accept help. But for the most part, things just kind of fell back into our same ol' routine. Hopefully this was our last deployment ever!

The morning of Nov. 21. The boys crossed off the final day on their countdown. Too bad they crossed it off at 7am, and Andy's plane didn't land until 9pm. I lost track of how many times they asked, "Can we go get Daddy now?!?!"

The boys with our banner at the base gate.

Our sidewalk.

Our house with another banner.

HE'S HERE!

Goodbye Friend :(

Today I received some devastating news. My wonderful cat of 14 1/2 years had to be put to sleep. I got Ocey in 1996 at Bible camp, and there has never been a more loving or more loved cat. I am really struggling with the loss of him, and I know my parents are too. He was such a good cat. Love you, Ocey.

Ocey and Ethan, February 2008

Please scroll down for more recent (and more uplifting) blog posts.

Happy Birthday Momo!

Happy Birthday Momo (Ethan and Jackson's Great Momo)!

We love you so much!

Nancy & Kal Kalweit. Two of the greatest people I know.

Gobble, Gobble

First of all, for those of you haven't heard, Andy is home! He arrived on Sunday night, and it has been wonderful to have him home. Tomorrow he goes back to work, but at least it's only for a day...not nine months! Other people took pictures at our reunion at the airport so once I receive the pictures, I'll be sure to post them on the blog.

Luckily, Andy made it home just in time for Ethan's Thanksgiving program at school. The kids dressed up as pilgrims and Indians. They sang songs, and all the families enjoyed a massive and delicious Thanksgiving meal.

Tube sock turkey.

My favorite pilgrim.

Ms. Straatveit's kindergarten class.

Aw, Ethan. Always so photogenic.

Side note: Ethan was one of only 26 kids to be named a Math All-Star for this quarter! We're so proud of you, Bud!

Return & Reunion

My apologies for not posting in a week. We have been busy preparing for...Andy's return! Our turn has finally come for our daddy/husband to come home from a very LOOOOONNNNG deployment. Last night we had our Return & Reunion Brief, and Andy is officially on his way home. In respect for OPSEC, I'll just say he'll be here in a few days (don't worry, I'll be sure to post when he's home). This weekend will be spent doing some tidying up around the house, mowing the lawn, and stocking the fridge with Andy's favorite foods and beverages.

On another note, Jackson is potty trained! We are on day 8 of no accidents, wearing undies all day, and even staying dry through naps! I'll dedicate a post to this exciting milestone soon. I'm just on a high right now that my husband is finally coming home!

Love and miss you, Andy. We can't wait to have you home!

Free Fallin'

Happy Veteran's Day!

There was no school so we hit up the park with our great neighbors (whose hubby is also deployed). We went to our favorite off-base park with the most awesome slides! I'm loving the beautiful Oki-Fall weather. Enjoy the pictures.

Ready, set, go!

Free fallin'!

This may seem like child abuse, but I swear he loves it. He begged to keep going again and again.

My favorite six year old!

Mommy and her baby.

Daddy countdown: 10 days!

Love and miss you Andy!