A Very Full Day

Wow - what a day. Jet lag is whipping us around.  When I travel alone I just give in to it. With four children along (well only three at the hotel) that is not such a good idea. I'm thinking about blue pills in the pudding tomorrow night. ::snort::  Just kidding - sort of. ::wink:: 


Wonderful Thanksgiving meal at moms with six of our nine children, myself, Mom and Dad, Amy and Harmony and Andrew.  It was fun to visit with Will and Sherri's kids. We missed those not with us. 


Zander was thrilled when the Cowboys won at football.

We Skyped with Michael and realized the price of he and Jared's tickets to TX are quite a bit more than we expected. So much more that the four other children and I myself will have to take our luck with Space A when we leave the states. I was hoping we could fly from DFW to Tokyo....but oh well.  It cost $150 for us to fly from Misawa to SEA.... sure beats $10K. I am trying to get info on what flights may be heading back to any Japan location the week of 17 Dec.  I REALLY WOULD LOVE TO BE HOME A FEW WEEKS BEFORE I HAVE TWO TRIPS TO TAKE IN JANUARY. I'm really a homebody. LOL

Nolan and Arielle are out to experience "midnight madness" with the older gherkins.  I sent them with Christmas money and a clothing allowance. They'll spend the night at the girls apartment. I'm not sure what all they're planning for us tomorrow. I plan to sleep in until I HAVE to get up...this a.m. folks began dragging suitcases above our head, slamming car doors outside the window and yelling in the hallways....around 7 a.m. About 9:30 it quieted down and we slept until someone called to see if we wanted our room clean. I bit my tongue - so wanted to say "Um....do not disturb would mean no." ::snort:: Hoping for more sleep tonight.

I've been trying to Skype with Michael tonight but am not making connections.

I took Zander and Stacia to the pool for their end of the day swim. We've been spoiled by being the only family in the pool the last two nights. There were 28 people in it tonight. YIKES. Watching the family dynamics in the pool (not ours) was actually sobering and heartbreaking.


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

SURPRISE - sort of!

We waited for Arielle and BreAnne to get out of the shower and for the girls to show up at our hotel. During this time, having slept through the FREE hot breakfast at the hotel, we discovered Denny's will feed us ALL - all you can eat breakfast for under $20. Now THAT'S a deal. LOL 


BreAnne and Krista drove over to my parents. Their mission was to get my parents out to the kitchen. The kids and I followed. We simply walked into the house and on into the kitchen.  I have a picture where my mother looks TOTALLY surprised - but she's sticking her tongue out so I won't post it. ::snort::

Mom said she knew we were coming. I'm glad we did (as we didn't even know we were coming until yesterday) or she would have been very disappointed.  She had seen a comment on Facebook early in the a.m. and said she figured we were coming. We still say she SUSPECTED we were coming but wasn't sure so it counts as a surprise.

Happy even if not totally surprised as we'd hoped and planned

Dad was in the back. She called for him to come help her in the kitchen. He came...and we SURPRISED him.....no doubt. 

Surprised! 

We spent the rest of the day visiting with Mom and Dad. Arielle decided to go to youth group with Krista. BreAnne was watching Harmony (our grandniece). I took them all out to dinner and then we split ways.

Oldest Gherkin and Harmony

BreAnne and Harmony agreed to meet the 3 younger ones and I at Target. I nearly had culture shock right there in the store. Wow. I DID get pants long enough for my thin, long-legged children. I scoped out a new camera (Cannon Powershot ELPH - on SALE Michael) but didn't buy it. I heard someone call my name and was thrilled to turn around and see our niece. How fun to steal a quick hug before the morning. We dearly love our Harmony lovin.

I'm having QUITE the time remembering NOT to get on the left side of the road. I'm not sure why this is so hard for me. Good grief.

The younger ones wanted to swim....so I took them swimming from 8:00 - 10:00 p.m. BreAnne went home, got her suit and joined us. Then we visited a bit. I dearly miss the heart to hearts with the older gherkins. What a blessing to be here!

It's now 1:27 a.m. on thanksgiving HERE - so I think I'm going to try to fall asleep so I can stay awake when I'm supposed to be awake tomorrow to EAT. ::snort::

Happy Thanksgiving All.

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

Yes, It IS a Miracle!

Zander spent most of this day telling one and all "Jesus did a miracle for us!" I suspect he's 100% accurate. What led to this? 


Josiah, our oldest son, is graduating from college 10 Dec. We didn't think Michael could make it because of a base event which requires him to be in Misawa. He was given permission to cut out and fly home. He'll fly commercial as he can't leave until the evening of the 9th. Jared has a new job and will go with him. Michael has been hoping the rest of us (myself and four children) would catch Space A home on the 29th of Nov or the 5th of Dec. The flights are cancelled the week of Dec 5th due to the aforementioned base event. 


That left the 22nd or the 29th of November for Space A  flights to the states.  I will admit I really did NOT want to travel in November. I wanted to rest. We KNEW the 29th would be full as the 5th was cancelled.....We began to hear the 22nd was going to be full as well. In fact, there were 20 seats on the plane for space A - all categories. The past two weeks Cat 2 folks didn't even make it on the plane. The kids and I would be Cat 4 as Michael wouldn't be flying with us. We went ahead and got on the list - ON FRIDAY.  Sunday we heard Annette was 70 on the list and we signed up well after her. Other friends, Anna and Kurt, hoped to travel Cat 2. They were told on Monday they were number 21 and 22 (remember there were 20 seats after those who are moving and on orders were on the plane).  


The kids were packed by Monday morning. I kept telling them it was very unlikely we'd fly out this week. We didn't tell family we were trying.  The terminal was still saying 20 seats and we were somewhere between 70 - 90 on the list. Michael and I debated, and decided we'd go ahead and go to roll call.  What could it hurt? My plan was to try to get out of Yokota AB  on Wed, and if I didn't get out by then, I'd book commercial flights. We wouldn't leave until December and we'd go straight to TX. 

Twenty-eight hours ago we showed up to be marked present at the Misawa Passenger Terminal . The men told us that if no one else showed up we may make it....there were now 23 seats on the plane. They had had a couple of families of 4 remove themselves from the list. We waited. I began to hope as I didn't see many new folks coming in after us. They posted the list and we could see there was one person after us.......Anna and Kurt made it on.....Annette made it on...I suggested Stacia could ride in the toilet. ::snort:: They called our name. We were the very last seats on. An active duty man on Cat 2 showed up after our name had been called and I heard them saying, "I'm sorry you were supposed to be here to be marked present, after we do roll call we don't change seats." So we got on. I was surprised...and hadn't really planned to fly. 

We even got FIVE SEATS IN FIRST CLASS. Wow. They apologized that we were C - G - I didn't care at all. ::snort:: 

Michael put the turkey back in the freezer and called Akikosan to change the dates of our thanksgiving dinner. I realized I had something scheduled for EVERY day of the week (sometimes two - three things) for the next 13 days....and I began to see Michael's wisdom. As much as I wanted to stay HOME - and rest.....I think I will get far more rest away from Misawa. LOL 

REST - that's the ticket!

We landed....rented a car...took off for OR. I had to pull over at a rest area in WA somewhere as the kids had all fallen asleep and I was seeing triple tail lights - moving in strange patterns.  The rain was so BAD in WA I couldn't even see the traffic in front of me. I locked the doors and we all slept for an hour. Then I drove on. We saw Krista and Bre (our oldest two) tonight. I found a hotel for us...a family suite that will sleep 6 of us (and as 6 of us aren't with us - it WORKS).  It's within walking distance of Outback, Denny's,Target, Applebees and McDonalds. It has a pool and a FITNESS center. LOL 


Tomorrow a.m. (Wed stateside - Thursday Misawa time) we will surprise my parents. We can't wait. We are staying about 5 minutes from them - 8 minutes from the girls. 


We're tried, jet lagged and a bit stunned...but we're stateside. We'll stay here about a week and then drive back to SEA and fly to DFW or San Angelo. If we go to DFW I'll drive down to San Angelo.....we shall see.  I need to figure out those details - tomorrow - or soon. LOL 


For those who saw Facebook - I HAD to keep up posting or my parents would KNOW I wasn't in Misawa and we didn't want them to suspect.....note what I said...totally true and Annette and Anna helped me craft it. "Full plane...checking with Yokota. They have weekly flights. If I get to the states, I can figure out how to get to TX." And later, "Choosing joy."

As I mentioned - I didn't THINK we'd be flying out - have no DOLLARS with me, no PHONE NUMBERS for friends along our path today.....taught me to try to guess the Space A system.

Sharing a Dessert.....

And a yummy dessert it was! 

Zander enjoys the pool after the torture of 9 hours on a plane  and 6 hours in a car

Kids haven't stopped thanking me all day.... LOL 

Arielle, Bre and I enjoyed a "foot onsen". LOL Krista was at work.

Poor thing....

I tried to tire the kids out in the pool. They are still awake...it's 16:00 in Japan.....they are watching some nature show about wildebeests. Arielle went home to spend the night with Krista and Bre.


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

Hello, Monday!

Fall View on Saturday

View this morning.......

Has winter arrived in Northern Japan? 

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

Thoughts at the Start

A new service began in Misawa tonight. We are allowed certain "titles" in the Air Force. We already have Protestant traditional and contemporary services. This new service is a "praise service." The vision is for  it to be contemporary, a bit edgier maybe than the current contemporary service, targeting young adults.

It was a great start. I'd guess nearly 60 folks, a few oldies like us, but mostly those in their 20's - 30's.  This is a testament to Chaplain and Jennifer R, who have a true heart for people of all ages. The band was ready to go. The fellowship time BEFORE service was sweet. There was a clear call to be relational (which I'm thirsty for and loved).

Being a bit of a muser.....I found myself thinking of the substance of this service compared to our other services. It really doesn't appear much different (in substance not style or personalities).

Folks responded in worship nearly the same. There were announcements,  a band, a worship set, a sermon, some fellowship time.....so it comes down to target? Which has me wondering....I agree 100%  with the need to target younger generations which  often do not attend chapel services. The military chaplaincy is in a unique position to reach this generation. I applaud what we are doing. It's exciting, it's needed, it's fruitful. However, as a church we lose something as we segregate according to age, gender, race, theology, methods.....and so those thoughts mingle in my mind with the excitement of reaching a target. The mandate to "meet the need," and the mandate to "be the body - one body - a unified body."  Surely we need to reach a young generation.....yet a younger generation desperately needs mentors from an older generation.  I have grown immensely from this sort of interaction (both as a 20something and as a 40something). An amazing thing about our "church," is  while each service may target a small segment of the body, our chapel wide programs DO reach the totality of the body expressed in Misawa. In other words women from traditional, contemporary, off base and praise services all come together for PWOC - women's ministry....and the same happens with our youth, our men, our Sunday School....so maybe we are doing it right and we don't have as much separation as say the church on the corner which never interacts with believers from other churches.  I LOVE the multi-faceted view of the body of Christ which is gained through worshiping weekly with those from many denominations and backgrounds.

Those are my "thoughts," my "musings," as I reflect on what I watched God do tonight.....birth a new segment of His body (though that analogy is really faulty since a body is usually birthed at one time ::snort::).

I think the uniqueness of this service (of all our services) will come down to the heart of those attending. I am eager to watch the heart of this service develop.  I am filled with thankfulness at the new lives being reached through ministry.

It was EXCITING to see many NEW faces at this kick off.....because ultimately it's about reaching people with the invitation to join a vital, vibrant relationship with Jesus...regardless of age, method, theology, race, gender......it's about the relationship with  God made possible through Jesus.

Note these are MY thoughts - the thoughts of a 47 yo attending the birth of a "young adult" service...and they in no way reflect the thoughts of the Misawa Chapel staff nor the acting wing chaplain. ::snort:: In fact, we've not even had time to talk about any of my thoughts and  I may remove this. 


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

Saturday.....

I spent the day catching up the blog, deleting old regional emails I hope I won't need, finishing up some paperwork from conference....


Stacia had a long-waited for birthday party. She loved it. 


Michael had work to do at the chapel...and is holed up in our room working some more. 


Arielle did something strange in the kitchen  - something to do with science. 

Jared worked six hours or so.  I went to Universe to buy fixins to make Yakisoba - we ended up eating leftover turkey....the youngers took baths....


The kids are playing wii but we're about to switch to a Hogan episode and call it a night.  And I'm caught UP on the blog...a personal goal and part of me resting..... self-care. 


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

Friday Happened.....

and I did not have an appetizer to take to the Wing Staff party......Facebook friends tried valiantly to help me - but their pantries are obviously much better stocked than ours. HOWEVER, I scrounged and dug up.....

Appetizers! 

Michael and I also got the paperwork turned in for the kids and I to fly Space A. We plan to leave before Michael and Jared to celebrate Josiah's graduation. We aren't quite sure which week we'll get out - but we'll give it a shot.  AND if we end up buying last minute tickets to the states - we will have tried. 


We played games and watched Looney Tunes the rest of the night. I watched a Monk episode...self-care. 


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