Dedicated!

Today was a beautiful day for our little family.  We stood in front of our church family and dedicated Ruby to the Lord.  We vowed to raise her in a Christian home and accept the responsibilities that the Lord has placed on us in make us parents of His gift (Ruby).  We also prayed that some day she might accept Christ as her Lord and Savior.  It was a very emotional moment, but with all that emotion, Ruby was still able to hold is together and didn't cry at all!  She was even content when Pastor Brent held her.  We were so very proud.  

It was a pretty simple process.  We met with the Pastor last week to review the specifics regarding a baby dedication.  Today, he asked us a few questions in front of the church and then asked the members of the church if they will help us in raising Ruby in the faith.  Finally, he took Ruby, anointed her with oil and prayed.  Simple, but lovely.

Her thumb was in her mouth the entire time.  She also kept her little bow in her hair which made this mama happy (no looking like a little boy!).  Her dress had little dogs all over it, which seemed appropriate for her.

Isn't the photo in the background super cute?  Jess took it during our recent trip to Colorado.

Ruby received some really nice gifts: a certificate, child's Bible, and a Golden book from her babysitter.  I wish our family and her Godparents could have been there, but we are very, very thankful that our church family was present, especially our Care Group friends and her babysitter, who plays a large role in her life.

A happy day for the Hammers!  We love you, Ruby (even when you don't smile for the camera).  You truly are a gift from God.

More Changes: Keystone

Our lives aren't the only things changing around here.  Our church recently underwent a large renovation to fix some building issues, such as roof problems, needing new windows, etc.  But, the biggest change for the church was having the exterior painted.  

Here is the before.  We lovingly referred to it as the pink church.  Bepto Bismol pink church.

The pictures don't quite do it justice, but yes, it was very pink.  However, it was an easy landmark for newcomers!  Anyway, when buildings are under renovations here, they are usually shrouded with scaffolding and mesh tarps.  Our church was no different and was soon looking like a blue ghost.

Finally, our "new," bright beautiful building was revealed!  And, I must say, it looks pretty sharp.  I like the name painted on top in Japanese. 

There are still some physical repairs and updates that need to be finished, such as painting the outer wall (yes, it's still pink) and some interior work, but it's been a refreshing change as we kick-off the summer season.  Oh, and we'll be getting an updated website soon too!  For now, you can find the church at: http://keystonenazarene.org/.  The new website should be up in early July.

Family Camp Weekend/Hiji Falls

This past weekend we enjoyed visiting with our church family up at Okuma for their annual Family Camp Weekend. In spite of the rainy, cold weather we had all last week, the weekend ended up being beautiful. It was so nice, in fact, that we were able to go on a hike of Hiji Falls. We've been wanting to do this hike for awhile, but the area was closed for renovations last time we tried to go.

There's no denying that this island has beauty all around. Mini waterfalls stand at the entrance of the trail...

...in addition to a sign warning about imminent death should one attempt to jump in the falls.

Since it had rained all week, it was extremely lush.

The hike itself is pretty short and most of it had wooden stairs or walkways, but they didn't distract from the beautiful scenery.

Here's the view looking down from the suspension bridge. There were little brooks and rivers all over the place.

I love this picture - the blue of the water is so crisp - and it's not photoshopped. It looked like this in real life! How very blue!

Overall, the hike was pretty easy, although there were a few obstacles along the way. One such obstacle was this tree that was not happy about the trail getting in the way.

Oh, and did I mention that I went on the hike with a bunch of GUYS! Apparently, the rest of the wives stayed back to stay with napping children or hang out. I guess I missed that memo. Here are my hiking buddies on the suspension bridge.

Although Hiji Falls is not huge, it is still lovely to look at and admire. The trek was worth it.

After the hike, we headed back to Okuma for some R&R and a cookout with our church family. We had a great time visiting with friends - some we've known for years, others we're just getting to know - and were surprised with a beautiful sunset on the ocean.

Yeah, it doesn't get much better than this. Thank you, Lord, for a great weekend!

Newest Project

For the past few days, I've been working with some ladies at church to build a "set" on the stage for the season of Lent. We're pretty pleased with how it turned out. And, we got it done just in time for the Ash Wednesday services. Phew!

Lovely Valentine's Weekend

Friday was "Valentine's Day" at school and the kiddos participated in valentine-themed centers, "mailed" their valentine cards, and enjoyed my special snack for them: heart-shaped biscuits and jelly. Unfortunately, the snack ended up looking like regular ol'biscuits after baking them.

Oh, well, I guess it's the thought that counts. I loved receiving all their little cards and notes of affection. They make me feel so loved!

Cute, right? On Saturday, our church hosted a murder mystery dinner at Macaroni Grill on base. It was a blast! The setting was a cruise ship dinner and I played an 18-year-old passenger who recently graduated from high school. The cruise was a graduation gift from my single dad (played by Noa - yeah, that was a little weird). During the dinner, there's a murder, in addition to a love triangle, the revelation of who my mother's identity, and other crazy side stories. We didn't guess the true identity of the "murdered" but had a blast playing the parts.

Here we are, Noa as Jeffery James and me, Liza James, his daughter!

Our friends, Tesha and Tom with their new baby, TJ, and Pastor Brian and his lovely wife, Julie. Brian just became Keystone's pastor this year and we have really enjoyed getting to know him and his family.

This is Shane and Alysa. Shane won the prize for best character. He played the part of the cop on board and was hilarious. Aly played one of the pageant contestants. Aren't they adorable?!

Here's a close-up of my hair. I had my hair done up since I didn't have a gown to wear to the event. I loved the curls!!

Noa got me to finally get with the times and see Avatar on Valentine's Day. I loved the movie, but even better than simply seeing the flick, was seeing it in a Japanese theater. They had an interesting variety of goodies at the snack counter, like popcorn with M&Ms mixed in:

Or I could have chosen a banana split on a hot dog bun.

Instead, I decided to chow on taco rice during the movie since I hadn't had dinner. I loved it and the Japanese theater was great. Oh, and yes, it was in English with Japanese subtitles.

On President's Day, we went to a barbecue and hung out with some friends in addition to doing some jobs around the house. It's been a great weekend together. And - mom, you'd be proud - I DIDN'T go into work. For those of you that know me well, you know that I have a tendency towards workaholism, especially on the weekend. I actually had a real 3-day weekend. It's been fun and over way too soon.

Halloween Weekend

It's been a busy holiday weekend in Okinawa. The festivities started on Friday with our annual Storybook Parade at school. The Sure Start (preschool) and Kindergarten students and teachers dressed up as a favorite storybook character. This year my costume was the peddler from Caps for Sale (which was written in 1940!!). Some of my students were wondering how I grew a mustache. Guess I should have gone to that wax appointment after all....

As you can see, I have way too much fun at these school events.

Friday night we went to a Halloween-style karaoke event for the Japanese medical interns at Noa's hospital. They didn't disappoint with their enthusiasm. The interns were great - sang just as loud with us on the American songs and sang some Japanese tunes for the crowd. Oh, and their costumes were fun - they definitely embraced the idea of dressing up. Check out their fun costume ideas:

Saturday morning, Noa joined his Ultimate Frisbee buddies for a tournament on one of the local bases. Every Sunday he plays with these guys and every once and awhile a tournament comes along for them to participate in. This time, they nailed the first place spot! Nice work, guys.

Halloween night brought us to a local venue on base where some friends were hosting a Halloween party. It was a blast and I'll have more pictures to post later, but for now, here's a glimpse of some of the costume creativity. Now, I owe all the creative thanks to my sister who inspired both of our costumes: Noa was a "chick magnet" and I am dressed as Bjork. We're with our friends Tom and Tesha who are sunburned tourists. Tom was even sporting the socks with sandals look - it was classic!

Lastly on Sunday we said tearful good-byes to our beloved Pastor Dunn and his wife Connie. After serving our church here for 12 years, they have been called to ministry in a church in Sydney, Australia. It was an extremely moving and memorable service and although we'll miss them greatly, we are excited for the new things to come for our church.