For now I am in limbo. I won't have any solid ideas until I am looking at a copy of Mark's orders. He has a few other options he is going to try and work out in between now and "then". We don't have a lot of time, but at the same time we'll be here at least until mid-September. So for now there isn't any immediate rush, I guess. It's not like we are looking at sorting this all out by tomorrow or anything. Not for the moment, anyways. I'm really working on curbing my stress over the situation, and am trying to remind myself on a very regular basis that these things have a way of working themselves out.

On the other hand, I am allowing myself to get a little excited about Okinawa. It wasn't our "first choice"... Or even our second, third, or fourth. But it is certainly going to be an experience. How many families get an opportunity to live abroad, expenses paid, for 3 years? Especially in a place as famously beautiful as Okinawa! I hear the beaches are fantastic, and that there are plenty of things to do on the island. Plus we will just be a short trip from Japan, should we decide to do any major traveling during our tour there. I'm trying to find the silver lining. By this time next year, we'll be sipping Miso soup in a foreign country! Well, okay, maybe saying it like that is just a tad overwhelming. But you get the idea.

Tonight is our first date night in a really long time. Jen is coming over around 5 to watch Amaris and we're going to eat Teppan-Yaki and see a movie. No major plans or anything but I am excited to have some time to spend with Mark. It's been too long.

Last night, after naptime and dinner, we took Amaris to the theater to see Kung Fu Panda. It was her first time in a movie theater. She did really well. She got through the first hour without issue, and got a bit antsy, so I took her to the bathroom for a diaper change. Her diaper was by no means full, so I put her on the toilet and to my surprise I heard the tinkling sounds of her peeing! She peed in a big, adult-sized toilet! I was so impressed. Then we went back and she was still a little bit over-excited, so Mark took her for more fruit snacks at the concession stand, and then she was mostly fine until the movie ended. I think it was a cute movie, but I can't be 100% sure, because I was more interested in what she was doing. I had to contain my laughter every time she made a comment about the movie. "Oh gosh! Oh gosh oh gosh oh gosh!" Or, "Oh no, a mess. Oh no, a mess! Oh no, a mess! A mess! A mess!" And of course, "Wowwwww... Wowwwwww..." She is crazy. I think she had fun though. After the movie we toyed with the idea of going bowling, but decided against it because we weren't sure how Amaris would last through a game of bowling. I think she'd have been fine - she likes bowling. But Mark wasn't so sure. I think he was just being a party pooper.

Anyways, this was kind of all over the place. But I feel like I'm kind of all over the place these days myself. Things are bound to simmer down soon.