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. :)