Photography Class

This week I was able to take a photography class to help me understand our Canon Rebel XSi a bit better. I learned a great deal through this one on one class with Chris at Foster Photography. The three basics of photography - Shutter Speed, F/ (or Aperture), and ISO. If you can figure those three out than you can take a great picture. As Chris said, a better camera does not make a better photographer. I'm excited to take my camera with me more often and to start practicing what I learned! Here are a few examples that we took in the class to help me understand some of these basics.

 Focus on Chris' hand.

 Focus on the camera (old Kodak).

 Focus on the coffee mug.

 High ISO.

 Low ISO.

 Playing with flash.

No flash + long exposure + flashlight = lots of fun :)

No flash + long exposure + flashlight = lots of fun :)

We have a FRO again!

Some of you may be wondering what in the world I mean by a "FRO". :) You may be curious if I have decided to go with the wonderful fashion statement of an Afro. Fear not. I could NEVER pull that off and I have no desire to even attempt it. Ben doesn't have enough hair to do it, so what in the world am I talking about?

A FRO is a Family Readiness Officer. Each unit has one and this particular person is typically a civilian that works directly with the...well, I'm going to just provide you with the technical definition to make things easier. :)

"The Family Readiness Officer (FRO) is the face of the Commander's vision for the Unit Personnel and Family Readiness Program. The FRO is the direct link to the Marines and their family members. Headquarters and Service Battalion, HQMC, Henderson Hall Unit Personnel and Family Readiness Program (UPFRP) provides training and referral resources to Marines and communicates through a variety of channels to the spouses, parents, and extended family members. The goal is to equip and assist families in becoming well-informed, self-sufficient, and improve their quality of life thus allowing Marines to feel at ease on the home front which promotes Mission Readiness." (http://www.marines.mil/unit/hqmc/hqbat/Pages/FamilyReadiness.aspx)

I hope that didn't confuse you more, but I think you can grasp the idea of what this person does. They reach out to the family members and spouses and get information and then advise the Command Team (CO, XO, Chaplain, etc.). That leads to events that help inform the family members. Some of those events may include sessions on how to deal with deployments, financial struggles, etc. to service those who are going through those situations.

Why in the world am I telling you all of this? Well, we just got a new FRO after not having one for a few months. Our last one moved back to the States in May or June. We had a Meet & Greet with the new FRO on Tuesday night and that was great! Tashema is awesome and very motivated to help the family members with whatever they need.

Another reason I'm sharing all of this with you is that I've decided to take up the position of FRO Assistant. I still have to be interviewed by the CO, but it should all pan out. According to Tashema, this means that I'll be doing pretty much what she does (just as a volunteer). I'll send emails, call people, brainstorm for ideas for events, etc. This is a volunteer position, so there is no set schedule for when I go in and help, but when there are events I will be more involved for sure. I will also be going to as many of the Command Team meetings as I can to know what is going on in the unit and to be able to help more accurately.

To give you an example of some of the events coming up for CAB (Combat Assault Battalion), we have a "Taste of Home" in November right before Thanksgiving. That will include turkeys and all of the fixings for our single Marines so that they can enjoy a Thanksgiving meal even when they cannot be home with their families. Another event that we will have in the Spring is "Jane Wayne Day". That will be where the spouses can go and experience some of what their husbands get to do every day. I'm sure there will be shooting involved...which makes me very excited! :)

Let me know if you have questions about this, but I wanted you to know about something that I'm getting involved in here on the island. Have a great day, everyone!!

Back to 'Normal'

What does 'normal' mean to you? I had somewhat of an understanding of what that meant, but now my definition has changed dramatically. I really don't know what 'normal' is anymore. We are getting things settled though since Ben got home and trying to get our lives back into somewhat of a routine once again. It has been about 2.5 months since I could say that we had a pretty good routine figured out so it has been a slight adjustment. :)

Last Friday Ben arrived home after traveling 24 hours on the HSV (ship) from Iwakuni to Okinawa. I picked him up and it felt like a ton of bricks came off of my shoulders. It is an incredible feeling knowing that my husband is home and that I don't have to be the main decision maker, housekeeper, etc. now that he is home. If you have never had your spouse gone for two months, just think about the many different details in life that you would be responsible for on your own. Bills, mechanics, taking the trash out, preparing your house for storms, etc. It is a lot more than you might think and before Ben left I was pretty stressed about having to take over his responsibilities. Thankfully I had more contact with him than I thought I would and that helped a great deal. I could ask him questions and be able to get advice on things without having the full weight of the decision on me. That was a huge blessing!

It always seems like something always goes wrong when our spouse is away. I've heard it called the "Deployment Curse" and that description seems pretty accurate. :) I decided that I would make a list of things that happened while Ben was gone each deployment so that I would be able to look back and see the way God provided and helped me through that time. Here is what I put together:

"While You Were Gone"

*Dates and Time gone: Ben left on Saturday, July 21 2012 and returned home on Friday, September 7 2012. A total of 48 days away from home in Okinawa, Japan.

*Items broken or repaired: Microwave (broken and replaced), Refrigerator door (fell off and repaired), AC unit (leaking and repaired).

*Weather: Mostly sunny throughout the time you were away with two typhoons. The first one passed without much excitement, although church was cancelled on that Sunday. The second one, Typhoon Bolaven, arrived on August 24 2012 and left on August 27 2012. It was a Category 4 storm which was followed up with a Tornado Watch and Tsunami Warning. This was the biggest storm to hit Okinawa in 13 years.

*Significant Events:

1. I taught 2nd grade at Maranatha Baptist Church for two weeks as a substitute. This was my first time ever teaching. I had 11 students with a mixture of Japanese and American students.

2. I visited Ben in Iwakuni, Japan on September 1 2012 through September 5 2012 after being separated for 42 days. This was my first time to use Space A and traveled on a commercial flight to Iwakuni and then on a C-35 on my flight back to Okinawa.

And I'm BACK!!!!!

Wednesday night I checked the available flights going from Iwakuni to Okinawa and there were FOUR! That was a huge blessing as there were none on Wednesday. I woke early Wednesday morning and took the base shuttle to the terminal. There I marked myself present and sat for about an hour and a half before the first plane landed. They had an empty plane going back to Oki and they took four passengers (including me!) on board. The plane was a C-35 and a pretty sweet ride! This was the smallest plane I've ever ridden on before and it was nice to not have to deal with checking my baggage, but rather just walk it out to the plane. :)

It was a huge blessing to get a flight back so quickly and then to have such a nice plane was just an added bonus! It was complete with plush seats that swiveled, a view of everything around me, and a very smooth ride. It was surreal to feel the takeoff and landing in such a small plane! I wouldn't complain if someone decided to buy me one in the future. :)

C-35 - my ride home!

A view from my seat.

The pilots prepping the plane for takeoff.

Love that the wing said "Marines" on it. :)

Our first sight of Okinawa from the plane.

Welcome home, Elissa! :)

Outside the plane after we landed. The pilots were kind enough to allow us 'tourists' to get some pictures outside the plane. It was a treat to fly on such a great plane and I don't know if this will ever happen again! So, might as well enjoy the full experience complete with pictures! :)

42 Days and Nights

On Saturday morning I left for the airport on Kadena Air Force Base at 4:45am (approx.). I got there and marked myself present for a Space A flight. Basically this is like flying on standby. I'm still learning all of the lingo, but I felt much more confident after my name was called and I knew what was going on. I then went to the USO area and slept for about a half hour (I stayed up most of the night since I was so excited!). Around 6am they started calling the names of people that could come forward and get a ticket for the flight. If you don't respond to your name being called after two times than you get bumped to the bottom of the list. I was called after about 10-15 minutes. It was quite exciting to hear my name over that loudspeaker!! :)

It was a blessing to see a family from church also waiting for Space A on the same flight. Thankfully for them they got on the flight too! They were going to visit their wife/mother since she will be gone until November or so in Singapore for the Air Force. I was on my way to see my husband!! Such wonderful reasons to take a trip. :) We ended up on the same flight and I was right across the aisle from them. It was nice to be among friends.

At 8am I boarded the plane that I was going to take to Iwakuni, Japan. We left at 8:45am approximately and arrived on land about an hour and twenty minutes later. It wasn't that long of a flight literally, but it felt like it in other ways. I was anxious to see my husband again after being separated for 42 days. It has felt like a lifetime since I saw him last!

When I arrived in Iwakuni, I got off the plane on the tarmac and walked into the terminal. While we waited for our luggage I texted Ben to tell him that I had arrived. He said that he was just outside the terminal working, but that he would try and come in to see me. He was helping coordinate the flights for some Marines from his company to get back to Oki. He came in just as my luggage came around on the carousel. It was such a huge blessing to see his smiling face coming towards me!! We got to talk just for a few minutes, but he had to go back outside. I finished up getting my luggage and went to the seating area that I was told I could wait in. I walked in and was surprised to see it FULL of Marines (not many seats empty). I weaved myself through the aisle that was full of sleeping Marines, M-16s, and luggage until I came to the lobby area where Ben was. He said I could wait outside if I wanted to and I did! :) I didn't mind sitting in there, but being the only civilian in the room made for a lot of people staring at me. I did get to greet Ben's CO and a couple of other officers that I had met before as I headed outside. It was a beautiful day and not as humid as Okinawa, so it was a pleasure to sit outside.

I had to wait a couple of hours, but then Ben took me to a room that I could relax and take a nap in while he finished up his work for the day. Around 5pm he picked me up and we found our room for the next few days. It is very nice with a big ol' kitchen, living room, bedroom, and bath. It is older, but very clean and perfect for what we needed. I'm so thankful that I could come here to see Ben and to visit before we both head home later this week. God answered a lot of prayers this week and I'm so thankful for what He has done!

                                     My luggage with Ben's pack after arriving at Iwakuni.

Seeing my husband after 42 days of separation = priceless memories!!