September 29, 2012

grandkids minus Kaleb, Kelsey, and Kirsten

The Fab Five

Our Texas Family

Griffin's 2 Month Pictures

   




       Griffin was 2 months old on November 4th.

Winter Wear

Notice that it's still pitch black outside...at 8:00.

I received a note from the school saying that the children need to wear snow pants, coats, hats, gloves, and snow boots. The school here is so different from schools back in the States. The kids have swimming once a week and must bring goggles, swim cap, suit, and towel. They also have P.E. once a week and are required to wear shorts and a short sleeved shirt... So  that means I need to pack extra clothes for each kid twice a week AND get them into their snow gear everyday! Its a lot, but we're getting used to it.

                           Happy Halloween!

At Home with Griffin

Having a 'straggler' has its benefits. Little Griffin and I are home alone all day. I have forgotten how hard having a new baby is, but this time, I don't have to juggle other kids, too. It's like he's an only child... from 8:00am-3:40pm. We take naps together and snuggle all day long! He's such a sweetie and I'm truly enjoying him.

First Day of School

hats and coats are required for recess

The kids are enjoying their new school. The students are all divided into houses: foxes, eagles, and bears. Our kids are eagles. The students earn points for their houses all year long and the winning house earns a cup. Its just like Hogwarts, which tickles me to death! Jacob played in a netball tournament (kind of like basketball) in which he scored all but 1 of the eagles' points and the eagles went on to win the whole thing earning their house 30 points. The students also swim once a week. They are practicing for the swimming gala, which I assume is a swim meet. This school is wonderful. Larkin (who was in kindergarten at home) came home the first day and read me a book. She needed help, but she did it. They are also learning Russian. Jacob knows more Russian than I do, which isn't saying much, but I'm still proud of him. Rainey knows how to say 'cat' and 'dog', of course. All their teachers are from the UK. I really hope they pick up on their accents!

City Mall (Сити Малл)

No town is complete without a mall. The mall here has all the normal stores that we had at home, the exemption is that there is a grocery store and a housewares store. Kind of weird to find those things in a mall. On the top floor of the mall is a play area for kids. You have to pay, but there are video games and another play area for smaller kids with bouncy houses and trampolines and a small merry-go-round. Its kind of like a Chuck-E-Cheese. The food court had many options....all of them pretty different for us. I ordered a cheese pizza, but it was weird. As you can see from the picture, they do have a Cinnabon!

Waiting for the charter plane

I was so in love with the Sapporo airport people. I'm not sure if this is true for all Japanese people, but they absolutely loved kids! My kids, their kids, other people's kids. They were so warm and friendly. Griffin was crying while I was preparing his bottle and a sweet, older Japanese lady came over and tried to comfort him by rocking the stroller and talking to him (in Japanese...it was kind of funny). We drew attention everywhere we walked because of all the kids, but it was positive attention.  

Monchhichi! Remember these guys?

Breakfast in Sapporo

Sea Weed!!

Not sure what any of this stuff was, but it wasn't waffles! No pancakes. No cereal. There was ham and sweet rolls. They did have eggs and bacon, but the bacon was very under cooked and the eggs were pretty wet. The orange juice was different, but still good. They also had little sausage links that my kids liked a lot.  

There's the ham we ate in the upper right have corner.

looks pretty weird!

   

Larkin loved the kids' plate and cup.

They were very excited to be in Japan.

More Griffin

We've got 4 kids!

Hold on, Back it up!

Before we embarked on our Russian adventure, we had a baby! Our little Griffin James was born on September 4th at 7:23 am. The scheduled C-section went exactly as planned. I was actually having contractions that morning, so I guess it was truly the day! As my doctor made his way down to little Griff, I heard 'Oh, a breech baby!" and all the sudden all the weird movements during the last week of my pregnancy made sense. The scale in the OR wasn't working correctly and when the nurses weighed him, the scale read 6 lbs 11 oz. Both doctors yelled 'Re-weigh!'. I never heard anything else on the matter until the day we went home... They re-weighed him in the nursery and he was actually 7 lb 11 oz. We were worried that we had a cryer on our hands when he wouldn't stop crying in the OR. But, in his defense, the poor kid didn't want to come out. The doctor was pulling on his legs with all his might and said to us, 'don't be surprised if there are bruises on his legs.'

Happiest Boy Alive!

         He is truly in love with his brother!

Still would have preferred a dog, but likes Griffin anyway.

                       Sweet Larkin was VERY excited!

My mom got to feed him while I was in recovery. (the nurse asked Jim if he wanted to... he didn't).












                                               My dad with Griffin 

Proud Daddy!

                 So happy he's here! We love you, Griff

Let the Adventure Begin!

On Monday October 22, 2012 we boarded a plane to Tokyo, Japan with 12 suitcases, 4 carry ons, 1 ginormous stroller (online purchase hazard) & infant seat, and 4 kids. The company sent a huge 12 passenger van to pick us up. I cried all the way to the airport. Not just silent tears streaming down my face... I'm talking Boo-Hooing! As Jim was getting us all checked in, I was texting my family and friends. Everyone was saying goodbye and sending well wishes. I had finally gathered my emotions when my old sister sent me a text saying, "Remember the Alamo!" I lost it, feeling like I was betraying the great state of Texas and my country. Rainey looked up at me and said, "Again with the crying?!?" Larkin said, "Mom, I'm sorry you're going to miss your family", I guess that's the difference between my girls. The 13 hour flight from Houston to Tokyo was wonderful! I wish I could always travel business class. It was truly a piece of cake. When we landed in Tokyo, we had to claim all our bags and go through customs. Luckily, they let us cut to the front of the line because of the stroller. Even so, it was very difficult. We then boarded a plane to Sapporo, Japan. It was only a 2 1/2 hour flight. Not a big deal. We spent the night in the airport hotel to wait for the charter flight into Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. As we walked through the airport the next morning, Rainey asked quite loudly, "Why does everyone have black hair?" To which I answered, "Because they're all Japanese." While waiting for the charter flight, we met 2 families that live on the compound with us. So, 2 days and 3 planes later, we made it into Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, Russia!

Hanging In There

My last doctor's appointment was the big 20 week ultra sound. Our baby looks great. He's growing normally and was pretty active. We've had a C-section scheduled for September 4th, but at my appointment my doctor said the 3rd. I didn't say anything...whatever works for me. I pretty much have all the big stuff.....crib, stroller, cars seats, etc. I'm going to wait until later to get stuff like bottles, pacifiers, burp clothes, and all those other little things.

Jim's departure date for Russia changed to May 13th, aka Mother's Day. We found out that he'll need a visa to LEAVE Russia, too! Kind of crazy to me, but okay. So he'll apply for it as soon as he gets there, but again, it will take close to 5 weeks. This means he'll be gone longer than we expected (for this first trip). I'm not sure how I'm going to make it 5 weeks as a single mother. But, at least we get the longest trip done first and out of the way.

Change of Plans

To make a long story short, Jim will be leaving for Russia on May 10th alone. He will split his time between Russia and Houston.....Russia for a month, then Houston for a month. He will be home for the entire month of September, when the baby is due. When the baby has his passport and visa, we will leave as a family for Russia, early to mid November.

There are many benefits to this plan. Because Jim will be traveling to Russia 3 times and staying in our duplex, he'll be able to start taking over supplies. He will also be able to 'scope out the town' and tell me what we'll need to bring. It's also nice that I'll be able to prepare at a much slower pace. The kids will ALL start school in the fall (and I'll have complete freedom for 2 weeks), but we'll pull them out in November. I will also be able to stay under the close eye of my doctor.

It will be super hard during the months that Jim is gone, but this plan is way better than the other options. Here are his travel dates for your viewing pleasure:

May 10-June 6 in Russia
June 7-July 9 in Houston
July 10-Aug 14 in Russia
Aug 15-Oct 3 in Houston
Oct 4-31 in Russia
Nov 1 back to Houston until we all move to Russia

Another Step Closer

Our passports came in. So this morning, Larkin and I took them to the company so that they can begin the visa process. Let the clock begin. In 8-10 weeks, we'll be on our way to Russia! But, not for long.....

Like I said before, the plan is for the kids and I to return to the states at the beginning of August to have the baby. After the baby is born, we have to get his passport asap. After Russia gets a copy of his passport, they begin the visa for him. I was told today that it will take 6 weeks. Why the big hurry? Because while Jim will be able to come to the states for the birth, he will need to return to Russia shortly afterwards. We're looking at 2-3 months of not being together (and more importantly, of me being a single mom--yuck!). The sooner we get baby's visa, the sooner we can be together as a family again.

Sidebar to all this: Jim has been in Malaysia for the past 8 days and will be there for another week. And, yes....it looks like he will continue to travel while we're in Russia. I do hope I can make some great friends over there! Shouldn't be a problem...I'm a hoot.

The Money Shot

I know it's difficult to believe because I was only 11 weeks along when this was taken, but we can all see it right? And no, that's not the umbilical cord....I asked. In fact, I asked several times. The tech said, 'what can I say? It's there.' So, there you go.

Baby Pics

New Assignment- Big Changes

Jim is being transferred to Sakhalin, Russia for a 3 year assignment! We're very excited for the adventure. Sakhalin is an island off the east coast of Russia and just north of Japan. Very remote. The climate is cold and humid. It is currently 16 degrees and snowing over there and the summers are mild, reaching the low 80's. We will be living on a compound in a duplex that is about 2,600 square feet. 4 bedrooms and fully furnished. The compound has playgrounds for the kids and a fitness center. It also has a convenience store and a medical clinic.

We've already done the whole passport thing, which was not a complete nightmare, but not my favorite experience. Those will be done sometime next week and we can apply for visas which will take 8-10 weeks. Jim has had his medical evaluation where he received 4 booster shots. The kids will also need shots. I get a free pass until the baby is born. And speaking of the baby: So, a week ago an ultra sound tech, with all certainty, told me that we're having a boy. While I believe her, I was only 11 weeks along. Needless to say, I'm keeping receipts. But, preparations have begun because I have to get this all done before we go. I can't buy cribs, high chair, car seats, etc in Sakhalin. (we thought we were done having kids and I got rid of EVERYTHING). I went to the Children's Place last week just to see what they had and as luck would have it they were having their winter blow out sale. I got lots of long sleeved shirts, jackets, sweaters, mitten, etc for all the kids. I also made a huge Amazon.com purchase: infant car seat/stroller, jumperoo, port-a-crib, toddler car seat, and a high chair. My front entry way is full of boxes and my office is filling up with baby clothes and winter gear. Over the next several weeks there will be doctor and dentist check-ups, organizing, and lots of shopping! And by the way, Jim is leaving for Malaysia today and will be gone for 16 days--BOO! (but at least when I bring home bags and bags of clothes from shopping I don't have to see his wide eyes).

Here's the plan: We're supposed to leave somewhere around May 1st. There will be 2 shipments for us. The smaller shipment will get to Russia in 2 weeks and will be things we need right away like toys, clothes, Larkin's Pedia-Sure, etc. The larger shipment will take several months and will have stuff like the kids' bikes, baby furniture, and winter gear. The kids and I will be coming back to Houston at the end of July or beginning of August so that I can have the baby over here. Jim will come back just before the baby is born (beginning of September). We will have to stay until the baby gets a visa/passport which could take 4 weeks, but Jim will have to get back to work. So, that means I get to fly from Houston to Russia (no direct flights people) with all 4 kids alone. Should be pretty fun.



My doctor knows that we're moving and is planning on running several extensive ultra sounds and bloodwork. He has some concerns because of my 3 previous C-sections. If the tests show any abnormalities, the kids and I will be staying in Houston until the baby is born. Not our favorite option, but we'll do what is best for the baby and me.



One thing that I've learned so far in this process is that things change...usually because of new information. So everything that I've just typed could all be wrong in a few weeks. We'll see.



Stayed tuned! This is going to be an adventure!

News

watch for a HUGE announcement tomorrow!

Thanksgiving in Utah