Day 18- Spokane, WA - Goodbyes
July 2, 2007

Quote of the Day: “Christmas…..see you at Christmas!”

I can’t find the entry for this day….but I can remember. This is the day that both Mom and I began to discuss Christmas. Mom has taken some criticism in her life for loving Christmas so much. I’m here to let the secret out….it’s not that mom is terribly commercially minded. It’s the people. I went away to boarding school in 9th grade. Will was in 7th grade and I believe Nate was in 3rd grade. Christmas was Mom’s way of looking ahead in the midst of goodbyes….I get that now. ::snort::

I’ve written before about Goodbyes. This day was filled with beneficial leave takings….and I know in my spirit and mind that they ARE beneficial; but my heart still longs to have all my babies at home. Hiding somewhere in the back of mind, very near the surface of consciousness is the awe of watching ministry flow through their lives and I am content to have them gone. Though rejoicing that Cy is spending another year near us. ::snort::

God so lovingly set several in our paths at conference who had words to say about the depth of love our children have for God. I had been feeling like a bit of a failure in a few parenting areas - though I kept telling myself our goal has always been the heart and that was fine so we were o.k. Having several comment on the hearts of our children was God's way of reminding me that He knows where the academic gaps are and He'll help our young adults fill them if/when it is needed. I'd talked with a friend from my childhood who is homeschooling and she has her children doing the most awesome things in their local support group.....shew...and I had begun to feel like I'd wasted years of academic preparation.....SHE was one who said that God shines so brightly through the children. I always say that it's all the grace of God covering our failures....but my mentor from youth days took me aside and said, "YES - it IS God's grace. BUT you and Mike have done things that set the framework for your children to be "different" (my word)" and basically I should use those opportunities when folks are telling me what "a great parent" I am to share some of the framework....still stressing the grace of God that operates in our lives, our children's lives, and our parenting.

I woke up in tears the morning after convention ended. I’d said many goodbyes to old friends the day before. I was grieving the loss of the twins, like I haven’t in weeks. I’m sure compounded by the fact that I would have to say goodbye to the girls and my parents before the day was over.

I spent the a.m. doing laundry and cleaning the trailer. Mike took the little ones to the playground. Jamin and Jared have kept up their workout routines and spent time enjoying a last run in Washington. I had let it be known far and wide that I was not content to leave WA without seeing the girls again. They had not been at the last night of conference. They'd been at the church setting up for the Master's convention to begin the next day. Nicholas and Dewey (fellow MCers) assured me that there would be a way to see the girls for a last hug before we left....but we weren't sure how or when. Mike thought we'd simply go interupt if we hadn't seen them before Monday afternoon.

The girls called at about noon and had a two hour break in their Master’s Commission conference. They asked us to meet them at the church with a picnic lunch. The church has a field and a bit of trees etc and so we met their and had a picnic. What an awesome way for God to work this small detail out for my mama heart. The time was sweet - and bitter. ::snort:: PHOTO

We called Mom and Dad and spent the rest of the day with them. We went to Manito park again. We were thrilled to see the mama duck with her ducklings IN THE WATER. We went to some gorgeous Japanese gardens. PHOTO We went out for dinner at Pizza Hut. We had leftovers so we put it all in a box, we all signed the box, and we planned to leave our gift at the girls’ car. We knew they were in meetings and we wouldn’t see them, but we imagined their surprise to find a box of pizza with sweet notes on the box for them. Along the way I said it was too bad we didn’t have some soap so w could leave a message on the car’s windows. Mike stopped at Target and I found soap and T.P. The rest is history. We feared that a group of MC students would drive out to the van in the night - but they were too tired. Krista did call and said that when they came out someone said, “Your car - who did your car?” and she KNEW. She thought it hilarious as other students that day had been quizzing her about WHERE she got her mischievous bent as Bre isn’t one for pranks…..Krista told them that Bre is the exception - but they didn’t believe her. After all, Mike is terribly intimidating and serious. Mike and I are seasoned MINISTERS. Her grandparents are retired missionaries. They are now convinced. G’ma and G’pa even signed the window. ::snort:: PHOTOS

Of course, now Arielle and Nolan are wanting to do EVERYONE’S cars as it was so much fun! Mom explained to them that you only do the cars of folks you really love and know that it wouldn’t hurt their feelings. As Mom and Dad walked into the hotel, after our last goodbye of the day, Nolan said, “Let’s do THEIR car!” We didn’t. But maybe we should have. ::snort::

Photos are NOT loading here at the apartment. I'll have to load a bunch of photos the next time we are at the BX.....which we have to go back to because we wanted to eat at Charley's in Bre's memory (her first job) and they were closing last night and wouldn't feed us. ::snort::

Day 20 - Juneau to Anchorage AK - 4 July

Quote of the Day: Josiah asked where the trailer was. Zander commented, “It was making it so all the other cars passed us, so we got rid of it!” ::snort:: It is REALLY parked on the storage lot at the local AFB until we are back from our Alaskan adventure.

We got out of Seattle fine. I forgot that we would be boarding first as we have young kids - that’s a nice perk. The flight to Juneau takes two hours. The city lights of Seattle were gorgeous from the night sky.

We landed in Juneau and began our 8 hour layover. Everyone had passed out at the gates, when we were told we’d have to come down to the lower level to spend the night. They DID bring us some airplane pillows and blankets.

We finally arrived in Anchorage at 10:00 a.m. The children traveled wonderfully. It was Jared and Stacia’s first flights.

We’re too tired after the flight and lay over to do much today. We did go out and see our old home. We drove by and took a picture of your home, Lynn. Will email to you. We ran up to the top of skyline for the view, and then out to Dayton and Tammy’s home (Club Beyond/Youth leaders). Then we bought a few groceries and went in search of our apartment. It’s um…hmmm….the verdict is still out. ::snort:: As an idea of our adventure….we are neighbors with the Hell’s Angel’s Motorcycle Club. ::snort:: We had dinner and then drove to Ship Creek and Kincaid Park. Then we came home and crashed.

(Thanks Summer for the tip about the free wi fi at the BX LOL).

Day 19- Spokane, WA - Juneau/Anchorage AK - 3July

Quote of the Day: “Why is that lady wearing a BAG on her?” - Burkha. Seattle is much more cosmopolitan than our little W TX town. ::snort::

A travel day…..a bit over 5 hours to make it to Seattle. We hit rush hour and so were glad we had extra time. We were told that Cy’s flight was late and he wouldn’t be in for a few hours. We headed for the Golden Arches so that the kids could run off energy - I don’t think it has really happened. They seem pretty energetic to me as I type. ::snort::

We had just sat down with our food when Josiah called. He was at the baggage claim. Mike ran and got him and we had dinner. Then up to the airport to run through the security gamut so that we can sit for an hour before boarding the plane. The older ones are TIRED and the younger ones are hyper….should be interesting.

OH YES - visited a friend’s son at Teen Challenge before we left Spokane. Awesome, encouraging visit. God is on the move. I think He’s always on the move - but this time we were blessed to clearly witness Him at work.

Day 18's entry is lost. I'll have to try to find it again. LOL

Day 14- 17 CONVENTION Spokane, WA
28 June - 1 July (Photos will follow - sometime)

Quote of the Week: Lots of remember when type comments….. The funniest to me personally has to do with folks not remembering me. One night, I needed out of our aisle and it was apparent that folks were tired of letting others out…so I told Mike I was going over the top of the chairs. He watched in amusement as I began to climb over seats. I was half over the first set when a lady said, “De’Etta T…. is that YOU?” and by the time I got to the back of the room THREE folks had recognized me. How funny that they didn’t recognize me with a name tag….but when I began climbing over chairs something clicked!

I’ll try to summarize convention in one entry rather than take it day by day. We had a blast. It was exhausting and exhilarating. We’ve not been able to make it to a conference for over 10 years. We’ve learned the “system” now. Another chaplain explained how she approaches it. It appears that most travel on orders like Mike did this time….and we will certainly be attempting to do this again.

Highlights:
New Direction: Our denomination is in a process of redefining structure. I won’t go into that as it won’t interest most of y’all….but it was exciting to us. We believe the new direction is Biblical. We were thrilled to see the team spirit and Christ-like spirit exhibited in the long and grueling business meetings necessary to change denominational by-laws.

New Leaders: What a blessing to see so many young emerging leaders. This gives me great hope for our denomination. The young uns are stepping up and the seasoned pastors are graciously mentoring. Too cool!

Children’s Activities: Superb job! I was worried about Zander. The girls had paved the way well and these folks were wonderful with him. He went to the children’s activities, he wore a wrist band that identified he had food allergies and they only let him eat from the little goodie cooler that I sent with him daily. He, Nolan, and Arielle were in this program. They were busy all day!!!! They had devotions, Bible Studies and cool field trips every day. They went to parks, roller skating, u-pick farms, petting zoos, and a lion/tiger zoo.

Nursery: Jared and Jamin took turns in the nursery with Stacia. All tried to win her over. Near the end of the week she was coming around but then the convention was over. Krista supervised the nursery so the boys got to visit with her during the services…..

Master’s Commission: We were blessed to see several worship tools that the girls participated in. MC students also wore the backbone of the work force to pull off the convention. It was wonderful to see them serving.

Friends: I got to visit several times with my sister/friend Julie. I reconnected with college friends I’d lost contact with. Betty, was a dear college friend and I got to meet her husband and little daughter. I lived with Gary and Joneille when I returned from the Philippines for college ahead of my family. Mike and Mona were part of our “game nights” when we were in college. Fun to see everyone again.

New Dreams: God lovingly deposited new dreams and visions into our hearts. Encouragement galore. We felt very loved and cared for.

Speakers: Rick C from Canada spoke on the 12 foundation stones of Open Bible. It was a good reminder. Ron Luce, founder of Teen Mania/Acquire the Fire was a speaker. Awesome stuff. Lloyd Ziegler (?), founder of Master’s Commission International in Phoenix was here. He was great as well. He and other are conducting a 3 day MC convention that began the day after the National convention ended. Busy week for those local MC students.

Family: Of course, having Mom and Dad and all the children in the same city was BIG. Saying goodbye was tough - but I’m not up to that point in entries yet, am I? ::snort::

Day 14- Spokane, WA - June 28, 2007

Quote of the Day: "It's dangerous to wear a shirt in Spokane with G (our last name) on the back of it." Jamin's observation after being stopped over and over by folks who know the girls. LOL

Jamin and Jared felt well enough to go to Silverwood Theme Park today with the other youth from the convention. We didn’t know that it was a water park too. Mike and the boys arrived early because they knew they had to buy tickets - they had time to go buy swim wear.

While they were gone, I began laundry…..which continued all morning. $12.50 to do 5 loads of laundry. I need to do laundry about every 3rd day. Ugh.

We had lunch and then set out to explore the KOA that we “almost” stayed in. It IS to far from the convention….but it did look nice. As Mike drove along a country road connections popped up and down and we were able to access geocaching.com long enough to find waypoints to about 6 caches.

We found a great cache with darling stuffed animals inside. We chose this one to be our trailer mascot. Cool. We would really like to hide some of our own caches…but I think we are too new to all this to do it “right”. Most the caches in our area seem to be hidden by 2 or 3 folks. Tied for the coolest cache of the day is one that was made to look like a sewer clean out. It was flush with the ground and covered by a rock.

Stacia napped in the van….we headed to Wal-Mart to buy a few more essentials. I need to buy milk and produce daily. ::snort::

We are meeting a lot of full time RVers…..it’s fun to visit with them about their lifestyle. Several have mentioned that they’ve met lots of home school families who are full time Rvers. Hmmm….not sure Mike could live with hitting his head on the bathroom doors or the hatch over the bed full time. ::snort:: Not sure *I* could deal with a micro kitchen full time. BUT we are seeing the appeal of a lifestyle like this…..though I can’t help wondering…..I dream of settling down in one spot, planting a garden and plants and living in the location long enough to see results……and full time RVing would sort of negate that dream…..but I’ve lived my entire life moving every 2 - 4 years - not sure I’d like all those roots anyway. ::snort:: There is something to be said for not having a big mortgage and being able to see new areas of the country. I have a dear high school friend whose family took off in a boat - to live. They decided about a year into it to move back to land….it was a GREAT experience but they found that it was hard to fulfill the Great Commission type ministry/relationships with a totally nomad lifestyle….Anyway - lots to think about.

Day 13 - Spokane, WA - June 27, 2007

Quote of the Day:

The girls dropped over last night. They brought a friend, Molly. It was wonderful to see them again. I’m going to try to find a wi fi connection to check the mail and update the blog.

We dropped by the Red Lion to see if we could register for convention. They were still setting up tables. We ran into the director of Chaplain Ministries for Open Bible (our denomination). Mike and John made good use of the time catching up on the past year.

My folks called as they were entering town, they‘re attending convention too. We met at the church where the girls are serving, and took them out to lunch. What a joy to see them. It wasn’t such a joy to hear that they plan to stay here this summer and find jobs…though it was expected. We did raise them to be logical, responsible, and debt free. ::snort:: At 22 and 20 they are certainly old enough to make their own decisions. They will both be serving internships with Master’s Commission next year, and continuing their leadership/admin/Bible School type education. They plan to work this summer and hopefully their bosses will be willing to work with their wild schedules in the fall. It will be fun to watch them serve at convention. They’ll be in a lot of human videos. Krista is in charge of care for children 0 -2.

After lunch, we headed back to the hotel and registered for convention.

Jared and Jamin are both sick today. We left them out at the trailer. I’m currently sitting in a parking lot at Fairchild AFB, while Mike talks to them about renting a spot for the trailer to stay while we head to AK. We’ll then hit the commissary/BX and head back to the trailer to check on the boys. Wow - discovered that regardless of “orders from General Mosley”, each base commander does his own thing. We were told to remove our vehicle’s base stickers in TX…but HERE you still need stickers….so that took some more time at the visitor center. Stacia and Arielle are napping. I like the idea of not advertising we are military on our car. The girls had some minor trouble with vandalism to their car related to the military stickers.

It’s been fun to be incognito. I GREW UP in this organization…but since our ministries have kept us out of the mainstream of the group….i.e. there are usually no Open Bible churches where we are stationed, we’ve not been able to get away for conference, most don’t recognize me. BUT they recognize MIKE - what’s up with THAT? The fun of this is that I recognize folks from my childhood and yet, THEY don’t know who I am. Of course, when Mom and Dad arrive and they see us together my cover will be blown. I did run into two old friends earlier….our youth leader’s wife and a childhood friend - THEY recognized me…..Had a great time “introducing” myself to my childhood pastor and his wife. I forget that some have maintained those relationships in the sense that they are still working in the same areas, same churches, same authorities…..we change most those things every 2 - 4 years. ::snort::

Mike is back - more later and some day I’ll find a wi fi and upload some of this. ::snort::
We ended our day with a big picnic of convention goers at a local park. Fun. The park is great. They had a duck pond which we enjoyed as we left the area.

Day 12 - June 26th

Gas in Troutdale, OR Mt Hood, OR

Multnomah Falls, OR Barge towing its own lighthouse

Adavantage to traveling with a trailer - roadside pit stop - VERY close to the semis

Umatilla, OR
Day 12 - Springfield, OR to Spokane, WA
June 26, 2007

Motorcycle Lotto:

Jared is the winner today. I think we have a new accounting system in the works for the results…stay tuned.

Quote of the Day: We are now officially OFF leave and ON TDY (temporary duty).
What a night. Zander got sick. He began to throw up late last night. He’s the first child we’ve had who threw up IN HIS SLEEP.

We got out of Springfield 15 minutes early! That was amazing as Kirk, a friend from youth group all those years ago, dropped by to visit when he saw the trailer at the church’s parking lot with Alaska plates. He’s an assistant pastor.

Arielle was a bit under the weather today. Zander slept most of the day in the van. No more throwing up - but the tropical trots began. Jared is feeling “iffy” but seems “ok”.

We are now waiting for the girls to show up for a quick visit. Their schedules this week are going to be crazy as they are support help for putting on the convention. Our “home” for the next week is a stone’s throw from the freeway. It’s a beautiful park…but I’m shocked that folks stay here LONG TERM….the noise would get to me…something about sitting in the shade, roses at your shoulders and exhaust at your back. ::snort:: They have clean facilities and a nice playground. They are 10 minutes from the hotel where convention is and 15 - 20 minutes from the church. They do nickel and dime you to death here….for instance wi fi has been free at all parks that advertised it…here it is $7 a day. Mike is thinking about moving - but we shall see.
We drove through some beautiful country and some not so beautiful country too. ::snort:: Here are some scenes.