the husbands favorite thing about Japan. . .

was probably the signage with bad direct translations.

in case you couldn't figure out the squatters

 (which don't worry, we both conquered.)

what does the husband want to do on his trip to japan?

take pictures of bad translations.

i am safety driver...hard to read i know.

apparnetly, Japan has amazing "recycle" shops.  they have everything in these thrift stores.  so of course, the husband wanted to purchase shirts with funny sayings on them.  it's almost like there is no style in Japan...anything goes.

Himilk= lots more milk chocolate.

it was very delicious.

every business in Japan has a mascot.

apparently, this is a cat, a giant creepy one.

i wanted to buy this sake just for the bottle. 

so happy!

if you convert over the yen to the dollar... you find that these melons are around $80 for both. 

we had some of the melon...it wasn't that good.

for the finale.  . .
because makeup arrives, please do not bring a face close.

Found this in my bed.

There is a reason we called Hali "the Devil Child."

She was always playing pranks and doing weird things. 

 

 I mean...it is kind of creepy you know.

we will miss her while she is in Russia.

I don't think they know what they are getting into!

Slight Explanation

i have always wanted twins.  twins are extremely common on my dad's side.  he actually has two sets of twin siblings (same parents).  i also have multiple sets of cousins who are twins on that side.  so, you see, i've always expected them sometime or another in the family. but having them this way, didn't ever cross my mind.

We are VERY excited.

because it's kind of a big deal.

you see, very, very, early on, i felt that we were having twins.  even after 3 ultrasounds, i still didn't believe the dr when he said there was only 1.  finally, it started settling in that the dr wasn't an idiot and there really was 1.

then i got a phone call from a friend, i hadn't talked to her in a couple years. 

she was pregnant and wanted to know if we would adopt her baby. 

complete shock. 

imagine my mind going a million miles a minute, thinking "this is the phone call we've been waiting for for 5 years and it happens while we are pregnant. . . " 

obviously, i couldn't give her an answer then and there...i still needed to talk to my other half.

then began the search for the right answer. 

i kind of knew from the beginning that this was meant to be. i had promptings constantly about "TWINS."  i talked to the birth mother a couple times and when I found out the original due date was 6 days after mine (which, let's face it, it sealed the deal for me then.) this really was the twin i'd been wondering about.

this little girl was meant to be with our family.  i realize much can happen between then and now, so please keep the birthmom and us in your thoughts and prayers!