Benjamin Anthony Davis

Hello Friends & Family,

We’ve had a very eventful week!

Little Benjamin Anthony Davis decided to grace us with his presence early and was born on October 25th @ 7:11 pm. At just 27 weeks, he weighed 2 pounds, 9 ounces, and measured 15 inches long.



He’s doing remarkably well! He’s breathing well on his own and making more progress each day. He’ll be staying here at the hospital for several weeks as he grows strong, so please keep him in your thoughts and prayers.

Love,
Mark & Laura

A Pea in the Pod

Hello,

Well, it sure has been a while. Mark was deployed to the desert in May and now here we are, almost four months later. He's scheduled to return around the middle of September. The time apart has been rough. Four months away from your spouse and best friend is a very long time. I certainly feel for my fellow military wives and all others who have to endure such lengths of time and longer without their loved ones.

Shortly after Mark left, a lot of changes came our way. I moved our home to a new one... orders from Uncle Sam. I started a new job. And, most importantly, I discovered I was PREGNANT! Talk about a lot of changes - and one big fat surprise - at one time!



Of course, it's great news :). We both trust the Lord and know that He is good. But I'll be honest... the first few months haven't been easy for me emotionally. I fell into a bit of a depression. I was, rather unexpectantly, extremely lonely and in my new home, a bit isolated. So come mid-July, I packed my things, got myself a cat-sitter, and hopped on a plane bound for Colorado.

Now here I sit. Surrounded by my family and fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, who have all been of great encouragement and company for me. It does wonders for the soul and I think there is a valuable lesson there. It's important to keep ourselves surrounded with people who love us and will lift us up. We aren't meant to do life alone. When we do, no good comes out of it. I hope I always remember.

So, who's around to lift you up? Other than your spouse or your family?

Laura

Friends, Family & Tokyo!

Hello Friends,

It's been a while since I've blogged about the happenings of Okinawa and now I'm way behind! First off, my good friend Simone came to visit us in March. She was only here for four days, so we packed as much fun in as we possible could and made some great memories!



We were even able to go snorkeling that early in the year... it was her first time :).



Shortly after Simone left, Mark's parents and brother, Bob, came to visit us for a few weeks. We had so much fun showing them around the island. We played at the beach, toured the Okinawan landmarks and ate lots of Japanese food...





Then we all traveled to mainland, Japan to visit some of Bob's friends. We basically "back-packed" across Japan, visiting six different cities in just seven days!

First stop: Fukuoka. Bob knew this family from his stay in Japan several years ago. They welcomed us into their home and their three very lively girls (only two of which are in the picture) brought lots of laughter!



Then, we were off to Shimonoseki to see the Nishihara's! They took us to dinner and showed us the entire city via the Shimonoseki Tower. It was beautiful.



Next stop was Hiroshima. There's a huge memorial park attributed to those who died from the Hiroshima bombing during WWII. This old building survived. Ironically, it was surrounded with beautiful blooming flowers. I thought it was a good picture of new life despite terrible tragedy. It was really something to see...



Kobe (where we ate the famous Kobe beef!) is where we met up with this couple that Bob used to work with in Utah.



They accompanied us to Kyoto the following day and showed us some of the oldest castles around.





Our final stop was the one and only TOKYO! We visited some major electronic stores, rode lots of trains (SO crowded), visited some more people Bob knew at a local church, and even went to Tokyo DisneySea. So much fun!



As usual, we came across some funny translations...



For as much as we did, it seems like the time went by so fast! And now all of our company is gone, Mark is deployed to the desert and I'm chillin' with the kitty here by my lonesome :). If you think about it, say a little prayer for us.

Until next time!

Laura Jean