Izabelle 2-months (March 25, 2013)

Izabelle is 10 weeks old already.  She is growing fast now and is 11 pounds!  She spends her day with Gramm Fackler.  She is starting to sleep a little better and some nights only gets up one time.  Jake spent the past month in South Korea on a training exercise.  He returned to Okinawa this past weekend.  He is starting the process of packing and preparing to return to the US in June.  I went back to work February 28 when Izzy was 7 weeks old.  The toughest part of my return was the lack of sleep with a newborn and of course being away from her all day.  There are many nights that I go to bed shortly after her 8pm bedtime!  We have exciting news to share - we are purchasing a home in Mechanicsburg.  We plan to move in June when Jake returns (I need his muscles to help move everything!).  Our home in Harrisburg went on the market today and we are saying prayers that it sells quickly.

Until next time,
Natasha and Jake

Izabelle Month One (February 14, 2013)

It's hard to believe that Izabelle is 5 weeks old today.  Her original due date was February 3rd.  Jake safely returned to Japan last week after spending 25 days at home with us.  He will be in Japan until June. Jake is an awesome daddy and was a huge help to us while he was home.  Izabelle and I are starting to adjust to our new routine without him here (Mommy is more tired and the house is less clean!)  I return to work in two weeks and Izzy will be spending the day with her grandma Fackler .  Below are some pictures we would like to share with you.  The first few were done professionally when she was about 3 weeks old and the other ones we wanted to wish you a very Happy Valentine's Day.

Love,
Natasha, Jake and Izabelle

Introducing Izabelle Jane Fackler (Jan 10, 2013)

Most of you have heard the news by now but we wanted to post an official message up for everyone to announce that baby Izabelle Jane Fackler was born on 10 Jan 2013 at 2:35 pm, weighing 6 lbs 6 oz and 18 ½” at Holy Spirit Hospital.  Mom and baby are both healthy and daddy is home from Japan.  Izabelle arrived three and a half weeks early from her due date which was originally 03 Feb.  She has been making her rounds and getting lots of attention and love from family and friends. 

In the early morning of 10 Jan Natasha woke up and realized that her water had broken.  After contacting her doctor and throwing together her bag she called Jake in Japan who is 14 hours ahead.  Jake began to make arrangements to take leave and fly home.  After this Natasha drove to the hospital and was admitted.   During this time she was not experiencing contractions but she knew that the baby was on its way.  Her good friends Eileen and Jen met her there to provide support during labor and delivery.

Throughout the morning Natasha continued to progress and contractions began.  Jake kept calling every hour to stay up to date on how things were going.  Natasha, her friends, and the hospital staff tried to get a laptop with SKYPE to work so that Jake could SKYPE in for the birth but none of them would work.  Thankfully though Jake was able to call in and be on speaker phone.  Natasha’s labor went quickly.  Over the phone along with Jen and Eileen, Jake encouraged Natasha as she delivered Izabelle only ten hours after Natasha’s water had broken.  We had waited to find out the gender of the baby until birth so it was a true surprise to find out we had a little girl. 

The next day Jake hopped on a plane and flew 20 plus hours home, while Natasha and Izabelle were visited by many friends and family in the hospital.  Once the news spread that we had a girl, Izabelle received lots of cute, girly outfits.  Jake arrived late Friday night a little after midnight and was able to hold his baby girl for the first time.

Early on Izabelle had difficulty feeding and had jaundice which made her very tired and uninterested in eating.  We found out at a follow up doctor’s appointment that she had lost too much weight (1 1/2 lbs) and was down to 5.1 pounds.  After a few days of testing and Natasha and Jake working to nurse Izabelle back to a healthy weight her jaundice went down and she gained weight.  We are thankful that she is gaining weight and that her jaundice has gone away. 

                

Izabelle is a very content baby.  She likes to snuggle in her big soft blankets (and with Daddy) and to be clean.  She sleeps a lot in between meals.  Currently her days and nights are a little mixed up (she must be on Daddy’s world clock in Japan) as she is more awake at night.  Natasha has been trying to catch up sleep as the constant feedings are tiring.  We have started to develop a rough routine and process for everyone.  Izabelle hasn’t worn the same outfit twice since she has been home from the hospital as she now has a very large wardrobe thanks to all her relatives and friends, especially her Grandparents. For those of you wondering, she looks just like her daddy and the Shannon/Fackler family.  The last photo attached to this message is Jake's hospital photo.  Can you see the resemblance? 

               

Jake will be home until 06 Feb and then will have to return back to Okinawa.  He will be home again for good in June.  Natasha will return to work at the beginning of March.  We have enjoyed all of our visitors over the past two weeks.   We are thankful for all the support, prayers, gifts, and food everyone has offered us.  We are most thankful for a beautiful and healthy baby girl.   Please feel free to visit us anytime.  

Until next time,

Jake, Natasha and Izzy

Weekend Adventures in Okinawa (October 12, 2012)

We had four days off work for the Columbus Day holiday and took full advantage of it!  Saturday we spent the day at Peace Prayer Memorial Park, walking the grounds and museum.  In 1945 the Battle of Okinawa, took the lives of over 240,000 (100,000 of which were civilian deaths).  The names of the dead are carved into the stone cenotaphs and the museum walks through the history of the war and showcases video footage and stories from those who survived.  It was a humbling experience to learn about those who died in the battle. 

On Sunday Jake had the awesome opportunity to participate in the 42^nd Annual Naha Tug of War.  The event is passed down from ancient Ryukyu Kingdom era and is one of the biggest cultural events on the island.  Several hundred thousand people attend the event and approximately 20,000 participate.  The event starts off with a parade of 25 foot tall Hatagashira Flagstaffs presented by teams representing the East and West, wearing traditional Okinawa clothing.  A Royal Court is carried across the top of the rope from each side to middle to challenge each other to the “war”.  Each section of rope is 300 feet long and is pinned together by a 10 foot wooden peg.  The rope weighs 44 tons!  With a 30 minute time limit, the teams must move the rope 5 meters to win and if no side wins, it is a tie.  After the event, people cut off pieces of the rope for good luck in the coming year.  Jake had so much fun joining in the excitement of the crowd yelling “Wa Shoi” and “Hai-ya” and pulling his best for Team East.

Monday we headed to the north end of the island and spent hours combing the beaches of Cape Hedo for shells, rocks and other treasures.  We camped for the weekend right along the beach.  It was our first time camping together.  The weather was perfect, the sounds of the waves crashing at night, and the roaring campfire made for a perfect day!  Tuesday we walked through a Mangrove Park, stopped to buy local pineapple we saw growing along the road, went to Cape Zanpa, and visited Sea Seed a coral farm. 

The best part of the weekend, besides having 4 full days together, was that almost everything we did was free!  There are so many adventures awaiting us in Okinawa. 

Until next time,

Natasha and Jake

Mt. Fuji (October 4, 2012)

At the end of July, my friend Angela met Jake and I on mainland Japan to hike Mount Fuji.  We arrived at the 5^th station of the mountain around sunset with our packs full of supplies and water, we purchased our hiking sticks and started to hike around 7pm.  It was a neat experience to hike by moonlight and headlamps!  Along the trail are huts that sell food, water and supplies, stamps for hiking sticks and a place to rest.  The higher you go on the mountain, the more expensive the items become. You also had to pay 200 Yen every time you needed to use the bathroom.  Around 11pm we decided to rest for a while in one of the many huts that line the mountain.  For about $65 per person, we were given a mat, pillow and blanket, knowing that at 4am everyone would be woken up to see the sunrise.  What a beautiful and amazing sight!  Seeing the sunrise was my favorite part of the hike.  After a quick breakfast, we gathered up our gear and started day two of hiking at 5am.  Shortly after starting day two, I felt like it was a struggle to hike for more than 10-15 minutes without stopping for a break.  Please note:  Mt Fuji is the highest mountain in Japan, almost 13,000 feet and many people experience altitude sickness while hiking it and I was three months pregnant!

So to the determent of group, we progressed at a slow pace.  Many times, we would glance to the summit and think how close it looked, knowing how far away it really was.  Six long hours later, the altitude sickness that we experienced and the struggle to get to the top vanished as we arrived at the summit.  We were surprised at all of the activity and little “shops” at the summit.  We stopped for photos, the last stamp on our hiking sticks and lunch.  After eating most of the snacks we had packed a hot lunch seemed in order.  I had seen staff eating fresh corn on the cob so when I saw corn soup on the menu, I thought what a treat it would be!  I could not have been more wrong! When my mini can of “corn soup” arrived, I learned not only was it not fresh, but it was basically corn in some kind of broth that you had to drink from a can! 

The descent of the mountain consists of switchback after switchback of loose volcanic ash gravel.  With every step, your foot would slide and dust would be kicked up into the air.  After about an hour into our trek down, we realize that there is no way we are going to make our pre-arranged bus off the mountain.  Jake was scheduled to fly out at 6am the next morning and we feared that if he didn’t make the bus that he would subsequently miss his flight back as well.  On the back of a receipt, with a borrowed pen we quickly scribbled notes to tell him which train lines to take to which stops for the several trains he would need to take to the hotel after getting off the bus.  With a quick kiss, he was off, hoping to catch the 3pm bus.  It would take Angela and me four long hours to make the descent.  I honestly wanted to sit down on the trail and not move.  We were getting sunburned, without food and water and were beyond exhausted. 

We arrived at 3:40 to find that we had missed the last chattered bus.  We were able to find a local bus to take us to a small town train station.  From there, we boarded four different trains hoping each time that we were one step closer to finding our way back to our hotel in Tokyo.  Sometime after 9pm, tired, dirty and very hungry we arrived at our hotel.  Jake was super excited to see us and while we were excited to see he had made it back okay too, our only thoughts were on food and showers!  We devoured a pizza together, telling our tales of our return adventures and then fell fast asleep.

Jake left the hotel before 4am the next morning, while Angela and I didn’t wake up until after 10am!  Instead of touring Tokyo, we spent the day in our hotel - sleeping, eating, relaxing in the pool and watching the Olympics!  The two of us would then travel by bullet train to Kyoto for five days before returning to the United States. 

Until next time,

Natasha and Jake

Our First Visitor (July 23, 2012)

Last Friday, my brother Rosco arrived to the island for the weekend.  After picking him up at the airport, we headed to the dinner theater to watch traditional Japanese dances performed, while enjoying a 12 course dinner.  I couldn’t stomach many of the courses, so Rosco and Jake lucked out by getting even more to eat.  Afterwards we headed to Kokusai Street, a busy area that is full of shops and restaurants to walk around for a while.  The next morning, we headed to Okinawa World to see the Eisa Dance Show, Snake Show and explore Japan’s largest underground cave, Gyokusendo.  After an ice cream break, we headed to Shurijo Castle to tour and walk around the grounds.  Later that evening we headed to dinner at Yakiniku Viking – a Korean bbq where each table has a built in grill to cook your own food.  We then proceeded to American Village to walk around and show Rosco the seawall and beach area.  There was a festival going on, so traffic delayed us, but we did get to see a fireworks show on our way there.  Sunday morning, we headed to breakfast near the beach and then back to the airport.  The weekend went by so quickly, but Jake and I were thrilled to finally have a visitor and a piece of “home”.  Rosco said he enjoyed his visit, but could never live here because it is too HOT! 

This week was Jake’s birthday and I wanted to surprise him with a little party. I spent several mornings running errands with friends to get the last few things I needed for the party and had everything hidden in the one closet so Jake wouldn’t find out.  The day of the party, I had everything ready when Jake arrived home, but I didn’t want him to know quite yet, even though the kitchen (which is visible in our open floor plan) was full of food.  I kept walking with him, asking him to get a shower to get ready for dinner and following him everywhere he went.  He never noticed all of the birthday stuff!!  About 15 minutes before guests started to arrive he finally saw everything and was excited for the party.  It was fun visiting with friends and relaxing for the evening.  One of the highlights of the evening was when the trick candles took about a minute to relight and surprised everyone when they sparked back to life.  A big thank you to all those who helped me pull off the surprise and for all of you back home who sent cards and care packages to make his birthday extra special.

Until next time,

Natasha and Jake