Almost October!

I'm so excited that October is so close! Less than 24 hours away :-D

It seems my Octobers have been pretty memorable the past few years. I remember in 2004, I moved into a studio apartment around October-ish. I remember living on my own for that little time was pretty great. I hadn't had much luck with my two roommates prior to my studio, so being on my own was pretty great. I liked work a bunch and enjoyed hanging out with friends. I was looking forward to Blake getting home from San Diego so we could get married and all that fun stuff. It was a pretty great month, overall.

The next year, Blake got home from his six month deployment at the end of October. The whole month was pretty exciting, you know, looking forward to him coming home. I got to get my hair cut, went shopping for an outfit to wear to meet him at the airport, etc.

In 2006, Blake was gone almost the whole month which wasn't fun, but Bekah's husband Justin was gone, too so she practically lived at my house and we spent day after day doing crafts and watching Survivor. We even fought off a frog that managed to get into the house via the sliding glass door. That was just a fun month- The smell of Mod Podge still sends me back in time! How many candy bowls and picture frames and Harry Potter goblets did we make in that time? I'm scared to know, really.

The following year, I was having a really hard time adjusting to living in Japan and went back to WA for a brief visit. I got my emotions in check, got home to Blake and everything pretty much turned around. That was a major turning point in living here. I really needed that break to appreciate living in Japan. Blake and I did a lot of sightseeing after I got home and we have some fun pictures and memories of that time!

Then there was October 08 when I started losing it again. I was slowly losing my mind again and desperate for a taste of home when Grandma wrote and invited me on a Panama Canal cruise. I spent the fist half of the month in Mexico, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Nicaragua, and Panama. It was a GREAT time. I had so much fun with Mom and Grandma. I'm so happy that I went. Again, it set me straight and I got home to Blake and again, he got back this happy wife again, not one that moped around all the time. That's pretty good :)

And then there's this October. What about this month wouldn't be perfect? We're finally expecting a little baby to join our family which excites us to pieces. I'll be having a baby shower here in Japan probably the last week of the month. We've officially survived our last Japan summer and we're looking ahead to moving back to the States. It's time for cold, crisp nights and walks with the puppies again. Life is great when you're not slowly going insane. :)