VAN IS STOLEN....

Pray. Our luggage was ready to go and in it. Pray that it is found quickly and our passports are in it....because somehow in the bustle they got seperated from the rest of the paperwork.

Choosing Joy!
©2009 D.R.G.

~ Coram Deo ~
Living all of life before the face of God...

This is it!

We're off....Prayers are appreciated for the goodbyes with our adult children and parents... and for safe travel for THEM as they go back to OR and TX and for US as we make our way to Misawa.

You can bet I'll blog as soon as I find a connection from Japan. I cannot afford to get behind with such adventures going on. It's my duty to capture the moment for this, our family journal. ::snort::

Choosing Joy!
©2009 D.R.G.

~ Coram Deo ~
Living all of life before the face of God...

The Bedtime Story that Went Awry

Stacia is full of quips tonight.

She is NOT going to Japan. She's going to a ball instead.

I told her a bedtime story and it ended up making everyone cry. I don't think I have the storytelling knack.

Mike came in to pray...and I don't think that calmed anyone down much.

She has just told us, "my pillow has Arielle on it," as she pulled it out from under Arielle's sleeping head.

We had a great meal with my cousins. My uncle, who I've not seen for about 16 years, surprised us. I must admit, I thought of Aunt Gin a lot today and was sad that she wasn't here. This is the first time I've been with her children since she passed away.

We spent lots of time in the pool, playing chess, practicing for the bullet train on the "evalators" (that is not a misspelling....it's a phonetic spelling of Stacia's pronunciation), eating, packing, checking lists....

This photo is for Deja and Emma. We found a great little shirt at Target in Seattle to go over Arielle's suit and she is satisfied.....at last. Bre knows JUST what to buy for us if we need another.....because Bre has one. ::snort:: It matches the swim shorts that she and Krista bought weeks ago.


Jared and Josiah try their hand at raquet ball.


Grandma T teaches Zander how to really splash...


Jamin teaches Stacia how to swim.


She's got the jumping down.


There was opportunity for Zander to try out his new splashing skills.


Grandma T teaches Stacia how to swim...


We're all bracing up for tomorrow's goodbyes and adventures. Thanks for your prayers.

Choosing Joy!
©2009 D.R.G.

~ Coram Deo ~
Living all of life before the face of God...

The Clock is Ticking....

God Bless America...Land that I love...

This is our final full day in America for some time. We'll have fun. We'll check bags and lists a final time. We'll have a BBQ with my cousins. We'll stave off emotions...but they'll be right under the surface.

Prayers are greatly appreciated as you go through your celebrations today. I will be saying special prayers for all those I know whose spouses are currently deployed. Y'all rock!

Stacia is sure that EVERYONE is going to Japan as we are all here. She has also become quite the whiner as she wants things that are not here and she wants to "go home". Soon.....we'll be settling in to a new home.

I CAN do all things through CHRIST who gives me STRENGTH.....and that means I can hug the necks of four young adults who I love more than I ever dreamed possible, and trust that God loves them even more and will keep them safely in His loving care....even if *I* am not on the same continent. ::snort:: After all, He IS God...I believe He has our good in mind and that His timing is perfect (though *I* think Japan before AK would have been a great idea). ::snort:: I'll rest.

Choosing Joy!
©2009 D.R.G.

~ Coram Deo ~
Living all of life before the face of God...

We began the day by sightseeing in downtown Seattle.

Nine "children" climbing to Pikes Market.


Throwing Fish....





Josiah stands next to a cut out of the world's tallest man...and learns what it is like to feel short. ::snort::




Imagine photos of Space Needle. Frankly, I don't have time for the 4 extra steps it takes on PB to get vertical photos ready for viewing...oh and imagine a lot of ferry and boat photos too. ::snort::

Ah HA - here's a photo of the 5 older children and Nolan in front of WATER and just over Josiah's head in the far distance is the Space Needle....we WERE in Seattle 3 July...but had nothing to do with the data center of geocaching going down.


The GPS said we had 15 extra minutes to make it out to Tim and Kathy's. We headed out. WOW...the traffic leaving Seattle for fun on the 4th. ::snort:: We did note LEE driving the same direction. ::snort::

Tim and Kathy are long time Internet friends. It was a joy to finally meet their family. Beth and Lee are also long time Internet friends. Thanks so much for opening your home to all of us E family. It was fun to have a spot for families to relax and meet each other. Kathy prepared a great sandwich buffet, Tim ran the smoothie station, Joshua {?} had prepared a cooler of water balloons, Rachel and Sarah graciously loaned their toys to Stacia for the afternoon, Dan has the sweetest smile I've enjoyed in a long time.

My photos aren't great...I'd left the Nikon at the hotel and suffered from Nikon envy all afternoon. I'll post more photos that I lift from Beth and Kathy as they post.... ::snort:: My poor little Cannon Powershot simply wasn't flashing well...and the delay is getting really long the more times it's dropped. ::snort:: You KNOW bloggers take lots of photos....

Group Photo - Mike/I left, compilation of kids, Tim/Kathy to Josiah's shoulder, Aaron/Beth far right - Lee took this photo.


Alas, this photo shows me sporting a wet t-shirt look...but it's the best I have....Beth, myself, Lee and Kathy (NEVER say I don't post unflattering photos of moi).


Wet t-shirt? Yeah. The kids were having a giant waterfight. Stacia needed help getting a balloon. I went to help. One enterprising young man got me. I decided to stay and enjoy the fun.....At a later point I believe two of my sons dumped a cooler of water on the young man....all in great fun. I have no photos as I was busy enjoying the day. ::snort::

Mike shares his vast interest in geocaching with Tim.


Mike, Tim and Aaron - Homeschooling Heroes (Seriously, men, what a great thing you do by sacrificing to allow your wives to be at home schooling their children....and all the daily support.....true manly men if y'all want my opinion).


Beth and Lee had to leave early. We stayed longer. The kids all played Mafia. I told them it looked like a giant prayer meeting.


Kathy, Tim, Mike and I had couple sharing time. It was at least as beneficial for us as I hope it was for them....and I pray I set Tim straight on the glories of unrefined flour. ::snort::

We met my parents at the hotel and had dinner. We spent more time in the pool. Krista keeps trying to transfer CD's to mp3 files...and I tried to download some stuff....I did....but we can't get it on to the mp3 player...hmmm.

Choosing Joy!
©2009 D.R.G.

~ Coram Deo ~
Living all of life before the face of God...

More Than Enough

Choosing Joy!
©2009 D.R.G.

~ Coram Deo ~
Living all of life before the face of God...

Blessings and Such

Early this a.m. we said goodbye to Mikhail and my brother, Nate. We also said goodbye to my parents but we'll see them again tomorrow.

We went to pick up the girls and the kids that had slept at their apartment.....and we blessed the girls and their apartment. We'd been waiting for a minute when we'd ALL be together at the apartment...thank God we REMEMBERED when the moment arrived.





Then we headed up I 5. Julie, we missed you due to the camping trip. The kids really liked the welcoming cookie at Doubletree - OK - we ALL liked them. LOL We are glad that McChord was unable to put us up, we stopped for the certificate of non-availability....two of our three nights should be covered by the Air Force.



We decided to swim....



















Hey, we met a young family in the pool who had flown in from Japan this a.m. Fun to talk with them. They have been in Okinawa and know some old friends of ours who retired and are now there as contractors.

Eat...Stacia's too tired for even Olive Garden. We used up several gift cards.



Relax...we talked about how we're all dealing with the upcoming changes. The girls gave Arielle and Stacia a Sister necklace to match theirs....and a mother one for me....just in case anyone mistakes me for one of the sisters. ::snort:: Very sweet.



Now....


...because Mike has declared we meet at 0700 for breakfast in the lobby and then off to explore Seattle before we meet up with friends on the other side of town at noon....

Oh, our counter offer on the sale of our house was rejected. I had the numbers wrong...they really asked $14,000.00 less than our asking price...and the house is FAIRLY PRICED TO SELL. . . and they'd get the Realtor fee back. We were all sad not to have sold, but we'd rather sell to someone who will love the house if we are going to lose money on the deal....and not someone who it appears would turn around and resell it. ::snort::

Choosing Joy!
©2009 D.R.G.

~ Coram Deo ~
Living all of life before the face of God...