A New Home on the Coast

Our first day of our truly FAMILY vacation. We started the day with our free breakfast....then some wanted one last swim. 

I included this photo as I found it fun to sit poolside and watch the trucks at Rexius move sawdust. My Dad put himself through college and then worked off and on at Rexius for years. 

Jamin, Nolan, Zander, and Arielle play Marco Polo

Mini-me was very sad this a.m. to leave the Hampton. I think she camps like I do. ::snort::  Believe it or not, the hotel employees seemed sad to say goodbye to us too. They enjoyed watching our family grow day by day. I checked in the first night alone, then added the girls, then Mike and the younger ones, then finally Josiah and Jamin.....

Jared and Josiah decide to catch up and watch the others

The estimate for the trailer repairs was done this morning instead of at 4:00 p.m. YES. Dad and Michael went over there  and then to Les Schawb. If we can find the tire receipt they will pay the $2,000.00 damage caused by the tire blowing out.  Here the men repack the van.

Krista, Arielle and I drove up in Krista's car. We did some PWOC shopping and some GROCERY shopping. The others headed for Depoe Bay .

A think of beauty - PINK LADY apples - and .88 a LB and not $1.09 EACH. 

Last time I bought bananas in the commissary they were $1.19 a lb

We spent the evening settling in to the home we will stay in until we leave for Seattle to catch a flight home to Japan.

8 Bedrooms....means that Nolan can have his own room... Zander agreed to sleep on a couch...though now he tells me he didn't know it would be so dark and lonely alone. This may not work well. 

I love the dining room - reminds me of our dining room in AK when we had all the kids at home. LOL 

Bedrooms to the left, alcove at the end, game room on the right. If you lean out over the railing and stand on one foot you can see our ocean view. ::snort:: We've discovered that "beach front" in Depoe Bay anywhere is going to be up a cliff and not on a sandy beach.....and our home was a "view" and not a "front" anyway....but it's big, has lots of things we can do if it rains, has laundry and 7 bathrooms and we can all be together. It will work. 

Mom and Dad will join us on Wednesday. We've got your suite waiting for you! 

Choosing Joy!
©2011 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...

Family in One Location - Priceless

The "boys" got in tonight - and are a balm for a weary and emotional heart.....It is an unbelievable joy to have the whole family together in one location.  We have some errands to run tomorrow and then will head out to the coast where we've rented a house for the remainder of our time in the states. 

 Stacia passes out her prized love hugs

Jared's love hugs don't seem to be quite as prized

We had a great day. We went to the first service at Calvary Temple, our home church. It is always fun to reconnect with those who invested in my early years and our early marriage.

Nolan, Zander and Stacia stayed with Bre for Children's Church during 2nd service.  The rest of us went over to Lively Stone - the Church of God fellowship which Krista has made home.

We also heard from a few more folks and I think Krista has met her fundraising goal. This is good.


We brought food in to eat at Mom and Dads. Amy (niece) and her family, Will and Sherri (Brother and Sister in Law), along with Mike's sister, Rebecca and her dogs.....all spent the afternoon visiting.  It was another great day. 


Choosing Joy!
©2011 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...

A Fully Packed Day

It has to happen - all ends lead to new beginnings....and so it was time for the girls to begin packing up their campus apartment...which for some reason made ME very emotional. I may be allergic to packing boxes....

Arielle helped make a display board for tonight's fundraiser for Krista. 

Michael went to visit his sister. We kept packing and preparing for the fundraiser.....then went on over to Lively Stone Church. This was our Niece Amy's idea. She pulled her parents and husband in on the plan. She did a great job. There was a display on Turkey. Krista talked about what she will be doing and fielded questions.   Below is the only photo I got of Amy (left) and Sherri (right) - appropriate they are praying.

Bre, Jared and Arielle preformed a skit on the need for the church to equip fishermen. It was cute and had a point. 

Grandpa then prayed for and blessed Krista....and others prayed with her as well. Cathy, shown here, was one of my earliest children's church teachers. 

I'm standing between my mother and a newly found 2nd cousin, Sarah. How funny! Krista and Sarah have been attending the same church and discovered at last weekend's ladies retreat Sarah's maiden name was the same as Krista's Great Grandmothers. It turns out that my mom is Sarah's Dads cousin...and she remembers our last visit up there when Bre and Krista were BABIES. Too funny! My brother, Will and nephew, Andrew are in the back. Amy, fund raiser extraordinaire is on the right.

 Ms. Trudy Kutz was  one of Michael and my professors. Her writing and speech tips have been invaluable. This would be a good time to mention my blog is written on the fly and for fun...not with an eye to grammar and such. ::snort::  Trudy was Krista's academic counselor and a great mentor. She is the one who connected Krista with TEAM. She was also a great encouragement to Krista in her academic pursuits. Bre also loved Ms Kutz. I told them this was a "3 Generation photo". LOL 

We packed this day full. I suspect tomorrow will be packed as well. 

Choosing Joy!
©2011 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...

Vacation Racing By

We spent Friday here (Sat in Japan) running errands. Michael began to track down solutions for the blown tires and damaged undercarriage of the trailer. 


I did all our laundry at the girls'. The girls had lunch with a friend who was here for graduation and then ran errands. 


Michael and Jared had a run in the afternoon. I watched the younger two at the pool. The middle two opted for mindless television viewing - which is not an option at home where we don't have television. These trips always strengthen our resolve to keep it that way. LOL 


We met at Marie Calendars in the evening with family and friends of the girls to celebrate their graduation. All in all a full and busy day. 


Today (Sat or Sunday) everyone seems to be sleeping in. Michael and I are having lunch with John and Nadine - our endorsers. Tonight is a fund raiser our Sister-in-Law and Niece are hosting for Krista's trip to Turkey. 


Tomorrow we will visit our home church and then the church that Krista attends. The boys will arrive Sunday night.  We leave for our rented home on the coast Monday. 

Choosing Joy!
©2011 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...

Graduation Thoughts

{I will include photos but due to the "no flash" rule and my cameras limitations many are fuzzy. We're hoping for copies of the professional photos they were taking throughout the evening.}


It was a historic night for many reasons. Many are aware that Pastor Wayne Corderio from Hawaii has moved to Eugene, OR and is the President/Chancellor of New Hope Christian College...which was Eugene Bible College until this fall. This was the first graduating class since  the change....that is historic. 


Attending were two friends of my parents: Walt and Jim. Both of these men had gone to Eugene Bible College with my folks - when I was the campus baby.  ::snort:: They drove down from Portland, OR and it truly was a special time, lending generational legacy to the event.....beyond Michael and I watching our first two children graduate from our alma mater. Both of these men had been in Portland when Michael was in seminary and Bre and Krista were toddlers. 


It was surreal to sit in the auditorium next to Michael and watch the baby I held in my lap 25 years ago as he graduated - walk across the stage.  Mike and I took some time before the ceremony remembering....and thanking God for all He has done in our lives in the past 25 years. Good times and bad times but always HIS time! Our little family of 3 has grown to 11. We're nearing the end of a career in the military, amazed at the ministry He has entrusted to us, looking forward to a few more decades of ministry as He leads.

We are proud of the work God has done in our family and in these two girls.  Many of you have followed Krista's (left) battle with dyslexia. God has built great character and strength in her through that struggle. I watched and cheered  with tears as her latest "unrealistic goal" was realized. She graduated Summa Cum Laude.....one of three. Who would have guessed but God - and of course her Mom and Dad knew she could do it....but you know....

Bre (right) is that baby from 25 years ago. She's always been methodical and organized and has left her Mom wondering at God's grace and wishing to live up to the admiration of such a gal.   Bre not only graduated Suma Cum Laude, but class valedictorian. She did not have a cum GPA of  4.0 and learned over her college career her worth is in GOD and not in her performance. She learned to strive for excellence rather than perfection. We all think 3.98 is close enough to perfection....and she took 26 credit hours one term in order to finish this spring. Wow.

Grades and diplomas are nice validation, but more than anything I'm in awe at the work of Grace in the lives of these two. They love God wholeheartedly. They seek intimacy with Him above all else. We are excited to see where God will lead them in the next 25 years. As some have asked:

Krista graduated with a degree in Intercultural Ministries. She's been fixed on missions for quite some years, it has to be all the great Sonlight Missionary Biographies. She will leave on May 16th to spend 3 months in Turkey. This will allow her to live alone in a foreign country and test her passions. You can note info about her summer at the top of the blog.   She is contemplating taking further studies in midwifery to open doors of service in closed countries.

Bre (here receiving her double braids for GPA by Dr. Larry Burke one of OUR professors 25 years ago) graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Counseling. She tells us this will not get her anywhere and she needs at least a masters to get a job in the field of counseling and social work. She plans to take a year and get her finances in order, serve at her local church and pray about starting that next step.....


We aren't quite sure how God is going to orchestrate the details of either of our daughters...but we've taught them as they follow Him wholeheartedly day by day they can be sure they'll be just where He plans them to be. We look forward to watching their adventures, as we live our own faith adventure. 

In the above photo President Jeff Farmer (of Open Bible Churches) and Pastor Gary Emery (MY youth pastor and currently the Pacific Regional Executive Director of Open Bible churches) award and introduce the newest three licensed ministers from the 2011 graduating class of New Hope Christian College. (There were more in the class). 


Pastor Wayne awards diplomas, poses for photos, and accepts rubber gloves from each student - because "Ministry is messy".

  I had to share it - though it's blurry - like I said we'll get clear, professional shots from the school - I hope. 

How did we not notice Stacia and Zander were missing?

Our family (minus the youngest 2), my parents and our niece Nadia and nephew Mikhail

Walt (Uncle Olie) graduate from the first EBC class (after it changed from BSC), knew me when I was the campus baby and knew us when Bre and Krista were babies in Portland. 

Zander liked playing on the court opposite the receiving line....and made it into one photo. We should have taken a sister photo - ah well. 

As I was in a "remember when" mood, I had to snatch this photo of this years campus baby and the campus baby 25 years ago....and the 3 Summa Cum Laude graduates. 

Choosing Joy!
©2011 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...

I Made it to OR

Yes, I made it. I arrived in Eugene, OR the day before the girls' graduation and have been running since touching down.  The extra time in Tokyo was simply a bit of extra solitude...it worked. Above is me about to leave to try the International connections again - and they worked. 


I'm currently doing laundry, while they lunch with an out of town friend and Michael checks on replacing blown tires and fixing the undercarriage of our trailer. 


And here's a quick shot of Cherry Blossoms in Misawa....sad to be missing them but happy to be here! LOL 

Choosing Joy!
©2011 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...