This weekend we were blessed to enjoy Thanksgiving and time off from work. :)
We had an awesome long weekend. It started off with some of us girls (Terry, Sandy, Brit and I) going to Pure Spa to get pedicures. Soooo good. My pedicure turned into a massage as well, which was even better. After an evening of that I came home well rested and ready to begin my next two days off! On Thursday we slept in, went for a run, made food for our Thanksgiving Party at Pastor and Sandy's house. We headed there around 2pm. There were about 20 people, with tons of food, even more laughter from conversations and games. It was both of our 1st Thanksgiving's away from home, but it sure felt like we were with family! Thank God for the new people we have in our lives here who are becoming more and more like family.
We spent the evening playing games and then a small crew of us stayed even later to watch Christmas movies. It was a great Thanksgiving day!
On Friday we spent the day with our good friends David and Nina, working out for free at Gold's Gym, then swimming at Micro Beach, eating out at Tasty's Chinese - which was very tasty!
The evening was spent here at the apartment relaxing and then around 8:30, four of us ladies went dancing. It was so fun. We went to Rose's Karaoke Bar - where you paid $2 to ballroom dance with one of the 5 instructors there. Terry, Tami and Debbie and I went and we all had such a ball! (wow - full of puns tonight)
On Saturday we went Christmas shopping with Terry, Sandy and Joel. We started off at the 4th Annual Artists Christmas Sale. Then we headed down to Garapan for some other stores. It was a great morning spent with some really great people - plus most of the Christmas shopping got done...besides Ken - what do you want brother?
Once we got back, Jake and I packed and drove down to the Palms Resort. We spent the afternoon lounging and swimming in the pools, then had some great drinks at Pau Pau Bar's Happy Hour. After that we took the DFS Tour Bus from our hotel into Garapan to the DFS Galleria where we ate our meal at the Hard Rock Cafe. It was a great meal and a great evening. We relaxed back in our room for the night, slept in this morning, ate an amazing free breakfast and then spent the rest of the morning and afternoon at the pool relaxing again.
All in all it was a very relaxing, resting and enjoyable weekend. We were both blessed to spend time with such quality friends that we have here. We were also blessed to spend some good quality time with just each other - at a very nice hotel! God continues to bless us every day. Even though we don't get paid the most at this school, and have other expenses, He continues to provide us with opportunities to enjoy His creation, our new friendships and relationships and life. He is a great God and we are full of thankfulness to Him.
Hope you all had great Thanksgiving meals and days spent with your family and friends. We thought about you all and miss you all tons!
Love always,
J & J
11.30.2008
11.25.2008
Sand Castles
This past Saturday we spend the day relaxing but also watching out Junior High kid's compete in a sand castle contest. Here are some pictures from it! :)
P.S. Anyone know any good tips for catching and killing a rat????
James, Justin, Anna and Isa's Sand Castle...
the sea monster and a mermaid, plus other sea creatures (clams, starfish, etc)
The professional Sand Castle maker's castle (front and back) - from Australia...he was incredible to watch...11.23.2008
as the day turns...
We finished another week, with progress grades and everything. Jake just agreed to be the Jn. High Boy's Basketball Coach - so we'll keep nice and busy again soon with tutoring and coaching - but it's good for us to be involved. We love the school. It keeps us both busy but it's good!
This weekend was good too - Saturday we spend most of the day down the road at PIC's waterpark. We were in the lazy river, down the slide and Jake hung out at the Wave thingy for awhile. It was so relaxing and refreshing. We also went down the other way, to the Hyatt to check out the Sand Castle competition that our Jn. High was in. It was amazing - plus they had a professional builder from Australia there creating one as well - which was even more amazing than the kids. Our kids did so well though - they even won 1st place! :)
Later that evening we went out to Korean BBQ with David and Nina. It was so awesome. The food was amazing and delicious and the company was even better. David and Nina have become some amazing friends and God has truly blessed us with them. Afterwards we came back to our place and played games and hung out more. It has been a great weekend.
Later that evening we went out to Korean BBQ with David and Nina. It was so awesome. The food was amazing and delicious and the company was even better. David and Nina have become some amazing friends and God has truly blessed us with them. Afterwards we came back to our place and played games and hung out more. It has been a great weekend.
With Thanksgiving coming up, I know Jake and I are both thinking and missing family and friends. You know you are how and how much we love and miss you all. We cannot thank God enough this coming week for all your love, support and prayers. Thank you all. We love you!
Love,
Love,
J & J
Hae Ga the Korean BBQ restaurant!
Nina, David and I with our amazing Korean food!
11.17.2008
An ME Weekend...
Jake and I can truly say we have just had one of the best weekends of our lives together. :)
We had the blessing of attending a Marriage Encounter Weekend. It was right next door at the Saipan Grand Hotel and we got to stay in Room 956. I thought our view from our apartment was nice, but from the 9th floor of a hotel - even more amazing!!
The weekend was full of laughter, tears, shared feelings, new loves and joys about each other, smiles that filled the room from each couple there, tons of food and some amazing surprises I will never forget. I know marriage can be hard work but this weekend we realized that every aspect of marriage needs to always be considered as hard work to make it better and more of what God has called ut to be. I love Jake and I know he loves me and we rediscovered that love in each other this weekend. We were truly blessed by all the sharings this weekend, the new couples we met and the new and exciting things we learned about each other and us as a couple.
If you are reading this and are married - YOU MUST FIND OUT WHERE THE CLOSEST MARRIED ENCOUNTERS WEEKEND IS - AND DO IT!!! no excuses. It only cost us $50 and that included: workbooks, hotel, amazing food, snacks and drinks, the time to sit and communicate just with Jake and rekindle and revive our relationship. It was so worth it. Even if you have been married for 20 or more years - there was a couple there this weekend that have been married for 44 and it was amazing to see how God worked in them this weekend. Or even if you've been married for a year or two and don't think you have had enough struggles or trials to go through - still please go because you can learn so much..
Jake and I pray that you can be blessed and touched in your marriage in the Marriage Encounter way. Ha - now I sound like one of the "love nazis" as we called them as we called them all weekend ! :) But it's so true and it was sooo incredibly worth our $50 and whole weekend.
We also wanted to say thank you to all our friends and family who do read this and who do pray for us and love us. We love you all so much and are so blessed by all of you. We miss you.
Love always
J & J
We had the blessing of attending a Marriage Encounter Weekend. It was right next door at the Saipan Grand Hotel and we got to stay in Room 956. I thought our view from our apartment was nice, but from the 9th floor of a hotel - even more amazing!!
The weekend was full of laughter, tears, shared feelings, new loves and joys about each other, smiles that filled the room from each couple there, tons of food and some amazing surprises I will never forget. I know marriage can be hard work but this weekend we realized that every aspect of marriage needs to always be considered as hard work to make it better and more of what God has called ut to be. I love Jake and I know he loves me and we rediscovered that love in each other this weekend. We were truly blessed by all the sharings this weekend, the new couples we met and the new and exciting things we learned about each other and us as a couple.
If you are reading this and are married - YOU MUST FIND OUT WHERE THE CLOSEST MARRIED ENCOUNTERS WEEKEND IS - AND DO IT!!! no excuses. It only cost us $50 and that included: workbooks, hotel, amazing food, snacks and drinks, the time to sit and communicate just with Jake and rekindle and revive our relationship. It was so worth it. Even if you have been married for 20 or more years - there was a couple there this weekend that have been married for 44 and it was amazing to see how God worked in them this weekend. Or even if you've been married for a year or two and don't think you have had enough struggles or trials to go through - still please go because you can learn so much..
Jake and I pray that you can be blessed and touched in your marriage in the Marriage Encounter way. Ha - now I sound like one of the "love nazis" as we called them as we called them all weekend ! :) But it's so true and it was sooo incredibly worth our $50 and whole weekend.
We also wanted to say thank you to all our friends and family who do read this and who do pray for us and love us. We love you all so much and are so blessed by all of you. We miss you.
Love always
J & J
11.12.2008
Coffee Time
So I'm sitting in Jave Joe's with Brittany. We are both supposed to be grading but instead we are working on updating and improving our blogs! :)
This week is going fast. We had school on Monday and then yesterday off. It was a good day off. In the morning about 6 of us went to Forbidden Island for a hike. We hiked down, spend a good hour or so swimming and snorkeling, then hiked some more into the cold water cave. Then we took the good hike straight up. Once we got back home, we showered and went over to another teacher on the island's house for a BBQ. There was probably 30 people there. We were all, mostly, white people and teachers! :) There was food and sports. Most people were watching Monday Night Football when we got there...on a Tuesday afternoon...gotta love the time change!
We spend the evening watching Apocolypto with Mark and Brittany and then off to bed for a school day, after what felt like a Saturday.
At least there are only two more days left this week. Then we have one week left until Thanksgiving Break!!! I still can't believe how time goes so fast here.
This weekend is what Jake and I are looking forward to. For $50 we signed up for the Marriage Encounters weekend. We get to stay at the Saipan Grand Hotel for the whole weekend and eat and swim there all for $50. I CAN'T WAIT!!!
Things aren't much different here. Just working on keeping kids working hard and engaged before another break - which I know all of us teachers here can't wait for! :)
Hope all of you back home are enjoying the lovely cold and snowy weather we've seen and heard you've all been having. Just remember us over here, without any of you, in our nice warm 85 degree weather. ( A picture just to show you again where we live :)
We love you all!!!
Prayers and Blessings,
Prayers and Blessings,
Love
J & J
J & J
11.06.2008
the Cruise...and other pictures!
Me on the boat. The best birthday present ever! My husband is an amazing man!
Jake and I at the top of the boat!
My little Korean girl who danced with me on the cruise. Jake and I will be bringing home a Korean girl that we will be adopting...especially if she looks like this adorable little girl.
Some crazy Korean tourist man and I dancing!!
the local Chamarro dancers
my little girl and I dancing to "I'm Your's" - Jason Mraz
Jake and I with one of the dancers
After opening all the presents from all the family, friends and students. Thank you all so much. I felt truly blessed yesterday and still do today. I love you all! THANK YOU!
Our Saturday away at Managaha, the view of Saipan from our retreat! :)
Jake's retreat!
another adorable little Korean girl - dressed up for Halloween!
Jake and Ms. Amanda, leading the Halloween chapel on Friday mornings, with the 6th graders!
On a recent hike to the blowholes.
Jake and I at Cowtown Beach!
So two weeks ago we went to the 2nd Annual Saipan Tatu and Arts Festival, and well, you can't leave without a souviner, so here it is! :)
after the tattoo!Where does the time go? SERIOUSLY????
I'm not sure exactly what it is, but something must accelerate the rate at which time passes here on Saipan. Its like we go to church on Sunday, focus on relaxing in preparation for the week, and then all of the sudden its Thursday night. One thing that might cause this phenomenon is the constant weather. I think that the temperature has varied about ten degrees since we've been here. No leaves are changing color. No crops have been harvested. Unless you look at the calendar, you could swear its the middle of summer.
Anyway, a couple of big things have happened since the last post. First of all, Mark and Brittany and Jackie and I went to Managaha (a 7 to 10 acre island about a mile off the north west coast of Saipan) for a little island relaxation last Saturday. The ferry ride to Managaha is about fifteen minutes long, and its free for locals; two very good reasons to take advantage. We hung out on the beach and in the water for a couple of hours. We were all fairly tired, but it was just a great day to relax and take a nap (which Jackie and I both did in our hammock). The excitement of the day, for me, was snorkeling with a couple of black tipped reef sharks. They were maybe two to three feet long, and I came within fifteen or so feet of them. Not really a close encounter, but boy was my heart racing, especially when one of them turned around and headed toward me.
Jackie's birthday was the other exciting happening of late. Jackie and I took off for Garapan on Wednesday after work and tutoring. We stopped to do a little shopping before heading to the public docks to board a boat for Jackie's birthday present, a little dinner cruise. The boat held maybe 30 to 40 people (mostly Asian tourists).We headed west from Saipan toward the setting sun. We took some sweet pictures (which will soon be posted) and then headed in for a buffet style dinner. The food was really good, but the best part of the night had to be the entertainment. A Filipino man with a synthesizer was at the front of the boat and kept the cheesy love songs blasting for about half the night. Listening to "my heart will go on," and similarly corny songs from a man with a heavy accent was pretty entertaining to say the least. Then the show picked up a notch when three traditional island dancers came forward and performed for a couple of songs. Finally, to cap the night, the crew invited the crowd to come forward and join the dancing. Now first of all, dancing is difficult enough for me when I'm on solid ground and with people that I know. I was totally thrown off by the tourists and the rocking of the boat. None the less, Jackie got me to come out for a couple of dances. And, don't tell her, but I had a pretty great time. Jackie was definitely into it. So into it that she ended up dancing with some crazy tourist man and an adorable 3 year old Korean girl. Jackie was really going at it, even getting applause from the tourists and the crew of the boat. In fact, one of the servers said that Jackie was the "star of the show." Very true, and very very entertaining. The cruise only lasted about an hour and a half, but it felt like longer, in a good way, and was definitely worth it. Now just in case it takes us a bit to get the next blog out there, let me give you a rundown of what the next week or two holds for us. First, this weekend we have a couple of math competitions to supervise. Then, later on Saturday night, we and the Sawyers have been invited to the house of a couple from church. Sunday will no doubt include some sort of venture in to the jungle; one last chance to tire our selves out before the week. Then next weekend we have a weekend get-a-way with an organization that emphasizes bringing couples closer together. Should be fun.
Well, unless I'm forgetting something, I think that's all for now.
I'm gonna sign off and leave the photo-adding to Jackie, she's better at that stuff than I am.
We both hope that you all are doing well.
Thanks for checking up on us (and please keep us in your prayers)
Love,
J and J
Anyway, a couple of big things have happened since the last post. First of all, Mark and Brittany and Jackie and I went to Managaha (a 7 to 10 acre island about a mile off the north west coast of Saipan) for a little island relaxation last Saturday. The ferry ride to Managaha is about fifteen minutes long, and its free for locals; two very good reasons to take advantage. We hung out on the beach and in the water for a couple of hours. We were all fairly tired, but it was just a great day to relax and take a nap (which Jackie and I both did in our hammock). The excitement of the day, for me, was snorkeling with a couple of black tipped reef sharks. They were maybe two to three feet long, and I came within fifteen or so feet of them. Not really a close encounter, but boy was my heart racing, especially when one of them turned around and headed toward me.
Jackie's birthday was the other exciting happening of late. Jackie and I took off for Garapan on Wednesday after work and tutoring. We stopped to do a little shopping before heading to the public docks to board a boat for Jackie's birthday present, a little dinner cruise. The boat held maybe 30 to 40 people (mostly Asian tourists).We headed west from Saipan toward the setting sun. We took some sweet pictures (which will soon be posted) and then headed in for a buffet style dinner. The food was really good, but the best part of the night had to be the entertainment. A Filipino man with a synthesizer was at the front of the boat and kept the cheesy love songs blasting for about half the night. Listening to "my heart will go on," and similarly corny songs from a man with a heavy accent was pretty entertaining to say the least. Then the show picked up a notch when three traditional island dancers came forward and performed for a couple of songs. Finally, to cap the night, the crew invited the crowd to come forward and join the dancing. Now first of all, dancing is difficult enough for me when I'm on solid ground and with people that I know. I was totally thrown off by the tourists and the rocking of the boat. None the less, Jackie got me to come out for a couple of dances. And, don't tell her, but I had a pretty great time. Jackie was definitely into it. So into it that she ended up dancing with some crazy tourist man and an adorable 3 year old Korean girl. Jackie was really going at it, even getting applause from the tourists and the crew of the boat. In fact, one of the servers said that Jackie was the "star of the show." Very true, and very very entertaining. The cruise only lasted about an hour and a half, but it felt like longer, in a good way, and was definitely worth it. Now just in case it takes us a bit to get the next blog out there, let me give you a rundown of what the next week or two holds for us. First, this weekend we have a couple of math competitions to supervise. Then, later on Saturday night, we and the Sawyers have been invited to the house of a couple from church. Sunday will no doubt include some sort of venture in to the jungle; one last chance to tire our selves out before the week. Then next weekend we have a weekend get-a-way with an organization that emphasizes bringing couples closer together. Should be fun.
Well, unless I'm forgetting something, I think that's all for now.
I'm gonna sign off and leave the photo-adding to Jackie, she's better at that stuff than I am.
We both hope that you all are doing well.
Thanks for checking up on us (and please keep us in your prayers)
Love,
J and J
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