It takes a village

I have always heard the saying "it takes a village to raise a child," and now I truly know what it meant by that statement. I am humbled by how wonderful my family and friends (new and not-so-new) have been while Dan is thousands of miles away. A neighbor brought me dinner the other night, and a friend from college that is happily moving in just a few miles away went shopping with me yesterday and then helped me get the babies ready for bed. Oma and Opa are coming over tomorrow to cook dinner and spend some time with Luke and Olivia, and PawPaw will be here this afternoon to help with their afternoon feeding. Even just an hour of help allows me to recharge some to get through the next couple of weeks, and I'm so grateful for everyone in my life! Thanks!!!

Dan is adjusting to Japan, and he said the guys he is working with are great. Hopefully he can get out and explore the city and surrounding areas during the weekends. Skype and the webcam have been wonderful-how did people communicate before all this wonderful technology? =) I think Luke recognizes Dan on the computer and cries when I put it away (partly because he misses daddy and partly because I took something away from him!) Olivia is too busy being Olivia to sit still and actually look at daddy, but she can still hear his voice, which is good. I miss our "family time" immensely, but will treasure it all the more once Dan is finally home.

I also discovered a playground in a nearby neighborhood with infant swings, and I hope to take Luke and Olivia swinging again tomorrow morning before it gets so hot. By the way, is it really over 90 degrees in the middle of September? I hope they enjoy the swings as much as they did last time. They are still growing too fast, but learning so much along the way. I have recently started teaching them to crawl up and down stairs, and they are getting brave and trying to stand on their own for a few seconds. I can only imagine how crazy it will be once they finally do start walking!