Computers and such....

I swear it ATE the Jeremy Camp CD. I put it in, it's GONE. The itunes/CD player worked fine with other CD's after that. We can't see a CD in there, but where else could it have gone and how will I explain THIS to the library? The laptop ate my CD? ::snort::

I spent the a.m. arguing with Norton/Symantec.....and finally uninstalled all their products and downloaded Microsoft Security Essentials - FREE. Solved all my problems. Thanks again, Don.

The only other funny item of note today: The Enesco Propane man knocked on my patio window. This is out of character. It seems my laundry had blown over again. He showed me what he thinks will solve the problem. We'll see. No matter....everything was dry by evening.

We are plowing on school. If we could do this from the start of the school year we could graduate them by the time they were 11. Which reminds me, I was shocked to find out yesterday that Nolan is 11. ::snort::

I spent nearly all afternoon on Skype. Mike, Josiah, Jamin and I at once. G - Globalization. ::snort:: 3 continents at once.  I had another Skype conversation with Krista and Bre. I  had a couple of PWOC regional Skype calls. What would my life be without a laptop and a fiber optic connection? ::snort::

We ran to the base in time to mail our first package to Mike, only to find that they are closed on Mondays. Ugh.  Jared and Arielle had human video team practice today.

Choosing Joy!
©2010 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...

Rear Guard

We seem to have rear issues. Last week I asked Stacia to make buns - and she formed them into rear ends. Today we were reading...."sixty Shoshone Indians brought up the rear."

Zander replied, "They aren't going to get MY rear!"
Choosing Joy!
©2010 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...

Dissatisfied

It was simply to good to last. I came home from a great gathering of the body (chapel) and dinner with friends....to see THIS..... look at it!!!! I was told this would NOT BLOW OVER.

This is rather pretty, I think....next time I'll stop and frame it carefully. Could be a wonderful memento of our time in Misawa. ::snort:: So....guess it was windier here than on base.

The good news is that my laundry is DRY.... Mike Skyped. I now know where he is and a bit of what he's doing. Thanks for the flowers, Mike. What a surprise. Stacia loved her Children's Church class today. I think I averted a nasty computer worm/virus/trojan somethingorother.

Now it's time to gather my troops and see what we can do about Gladys Aylward.....

Choosing Joy!
©2010 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...

Look Closely!

What could be funny about a Pizza Hut delivery car? This is the funniest yet.

Did you notice? Check out the plates...."U.S. Airforce...for official use only". ::snort:: We take our pizza very seriously.
Choosing Joy!
©2010 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...

Satisfaction

Akiko met us at Homac and we solved the laundry problem. ::grin:: She told me  her Mother thought my laundry adventures were funny.  I am taking great joy and peace from sitting in my rocker, watching the laundry gently flap, and the garden veggies growing. ::snort::

I love Japanese laundry supplies. THIS is an outdoor laundry rack (as opposed to the indoor one that was blowing all over). Note the cement blocks. The hangars clip onto the pole... It's all so very compact.

A variety of "extras" are on sale to compliment the racks. This blue gadget is full of built in clothes pins and the hangar like top hangs on to the pole. . . again, very compact.
 

Strawberries, lettuce and broccoli....still trying to find onion sets...do you think carrot seeds would have enough time to grow?  These are the small planters....I may get a few BIG ones for potatoes, cucumbers. Still looking for carrot seeds. The kids want to try melons, but I don't think they'll have enough heat....and I don't think corn will do well in a container.

Thursday was a great Dad's Panel at MOPS.

 Friday a.m. was a PWOC prayer meeting for upcoming retreat and a Bible study. We're on week 3 of Anointed, Transformed, Redeemed.  Friday was a great day and all the neighborhood kids were out. After Bible study I spent the afternoon outside getting to know some of our neighbors. I discovered another family on our street with six children.

Saturday we went shopping this a.m. and then hunkered down to finish school and do a bit of cleaning and "business". We Skyped with Mike a few minutes. It was a bit unnerving to hear him mention places and names that we read about in the Stars and Stripes and Fox news. Ps 91.

I found the last of Mike's laundry to wash....found myself burying my face in his t-shirts...ah Mike cologne. I could tell I was missing Mike when I considered not washing the last few pieces as I knew that would be it....until October/November. I think I'll douse the teddy bear in cologne from here on out.

This upcoming week may be a challenge. Our kids have opted not to have spring break - March was enough of a break. ::snort:: We're all ready to push and bring this year's activities to an end.

Choosing Joy!
©2010 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...

Start Here: Doing Hard Things Right Where You Are by Alex & Brett Harris

In this "sequel" to Do Hard Things,Alex and Brett show youth how to, well, START doing hard things. They answer questions they've received from teens at their conferences and online forums.


Alex and Brett wrote Start Here, after their Sophomore year in college.

Do Hard Things lays the groundwork for a "rebellion against low expectations" of teenagers. 

This book is full of stories of how God has used young adults in His service. Discussion questions make  this an easy book to work through in a group setting.

If you're looking for an encouraging, faith-building book for your youth to read, this may be the one.


This book was provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group.
Choosing Joy!
©2010 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...

Language Lessons

The kids have been practicing and hearing Nihongo (Japanese) all month. I've been traveling. I'm rusty. I expected to be rusty for tonight's Japanese lesson. I did NOT expect to be the comedy relief.

We had fun talking about all the places I traveled in March. Akiko had to point out that I was pointing to NORTH Korea. ::snort::

Funnies:

Akikosan - De'Ettasan, ashta wa tabimasu ka?  (Or something similar)  (De'Etta what will you feed these kids tomorrow?)

De'Etta - Ashta wa pitsu o tabimasu. (Tomorrow, they'll eat pencils!)

Pitsu (peet su) and Piza (PeetZA)....ah well.

She wrote the symbols for "no agricultural medicine" - ORGANIC for me.

I was on a roll so asked about the house repair that our landlord hasn't taken care of. She told me I need to keep calling them....I still think I'll take the piece of gutter in to make it clear.

I told her that my laundry is blowing, literally, all over the neighborhood... I asked her to write the phrases out for me to ask about getting the bars for my roof like many Japanese homes have or to ask if I could put concrete on my laundry rack. She wanted to see. It HAPPENED to be STANDING with laundry - nice and sedate on my patio. She looked. She smiled. She said, "De'Ettasan....." and I could tell she was trying not to laugh. I beat her to it....."You're going to tell me this isn't a laundry rack?" She told me it's for inside. We had a great laugh imaging what our friendly farmer was thinking as the thing kept blowing over and I chased it - and the laundry - around the yard.

There are much bigger and heavier ones for outside laundry. She told me that it WON'T blow away, and I won't need to tie sand or concrete to it....She says it's heavy.  She told me I'd better take Jared with me to buy it.  THEN she offered to go shopping with me on Saturday...so we will. Another chance to build a bridge.

I told her my Coach bag was, "yasui desu" and she gave me that, "try again look".  I told her I bought it in Korea (it's a knock off) and she understood and laughed. LOL
Akikosan loved the little mirror I got her in Seoul and the snow globe from Detroito.
Choosing Joy!
©2010 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...