Traveling -

Monday we spent with my folks and the girls.....knowing we were heading down the road on Tuesday. I was NOT feeling well on Monday night or Tuesday.

Tuesday was a travel day. We turned in the rental car and found a bus to our hotel. As I was feeling yucky, the plan was to swim and rest in the afternoon and rest well.

Video Machines in America are kept under lock & chains

Fairly good travelers

We were surprised in Portland with an afternoon evening with BreAnne. She was to pick friends up at 10:30 (she thought a.m. but it was p.m.). When we arrived we got a message on FB to call her. SO....we went to LEARNING PALACE, Red Robin, Ross and Ikea.  IKEA - a store so big you need a MAP to find your way out. Wow. Our first experience...glad Bre was with us or we would have never found our way out.

Girls liked the leaves over the beds

I wonder....in IKEA

How many parents have had a Tim Hawkins experience with display toilets? Bre and I also had a good laugh thinking about his IKEA blurb, "We get it - you're Sweedish!" ::grin::

We came back and swam, visited and watched a movie.

It was a HARD night of sleep last night...trains, planes, traffic....all but Stacia have made it through breakfast. Zander is ticked I won't let him have breakfast dessert, of all things. He complains each and every plane trip of nausea and often throws up when we take off and land...he has a better chance of landing on the moon than me letting him stuff himself with donuts before a flight. ::snort::  I'm really looking forward to getting home and having a "real food only" diet for a few weeks. LOL

We leave in an hour or so and will arrive in TX - our destination - in 13 hours.

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

Sunday Update

We slept. Woot!  We enjoyed Sunday. 


I booked tickets to TX and tickets to Seattle and talked to the contractors who now handle Space A rather than  AMC. LOL  


We saw Bre at Church. Arielle and Stacia were in "Ms. Bre's" Children's Church.

The church Michael and I were married in

 After church we met up with Krista (who works in a church across town) and Nolan. Gma, Gpa, all of us at their favorite lunch spot....

Pie shakes? Wow. Pie/Shake in a blender who would have thunk?

 Bre went home for a nap after lunch. Krista joined us for a bit at the hotel pool. Gma and Gpa came over too. We swam until Stacia's toes were bleeding - and we discovered something gross in the pool.

This is not us - but we made splashes like this! 

 Krista headed home to host College Age group at their apartment. Bre works tonight until 4 a.m. We all changed clothes, booked tickets, talked on the phone and then headed to my folks. Our mission - find ICE CREAM - it IS Sunday Night...and it's our family tradition. Gma and Gpa agreed to come with us.

The new mini size is PERFECT

 We loved seeing all the Christmas lights on the way home. I do miss Christmas lights living in Northern Japan. I hear rumors that they have Christmas lights in Tokyo...but not really up where we live.

Tonight I have all the kids at the hotel with me. The girls are back to work.....we'll leave on Tuesday or Wednesday to make our way to TX. We fly out of Portland on the 30th. I'm still deciding how much margin we need...do we want to turn the car in on the 29th and spend the night up there...or drive up early that a.m., turn the car in and hop on a plane? We shall see. 


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

Mystery Solved!

Stacia sat straight up in bed at 11:19 a.m. and said, "Did we miss it?"  

Free breakfast from 7:00 - 9:30 a.m. 

Yep - you missed it.... I, however, went to sleep with you at 3 a.m. and woke up when the neighbors went for free breakfast. LOL  I spent the 4 hours of solitude "resting with Jesus"...but I'm tired now. LOL 

We were so late getting out this a.m.  everyone was trying to track us down. I took the two to lunch and then we headed to Gma and Gpa's to watch "the game".  We also got to watch Gma work her holiday magic....

A whole lotta nativities - Stacia is impressed

Yes, the Ducks won! Go ducks.  We visited with my folks for a bit, Bre went to work, Krista and the kids and I ran to Fred Meyers for "supplies" and then home to the hotel.  The kids swam. I did more onsen/hot tub research. I'm starting to gross myself out about hot tubs, really.  Krista, Arielle and Nolan headed to her apartment...

Look what we found in our room -  note from the housekeeper.

I have been perplexed about how CRAZY this hotel has been since Thanksgiving. I am amazed so many families would come to Eugene, spend the night in a hotel and SHOP......but TODAY...we solved the mystery! It's "THE GAME" - the Civil War - UofO and OSU...today...here in Eugene....Our parking lot is full of both Duck and Beaver cars.

Sampling....also yellow pom poms & all manner of Duck accessories

Beavers are serious fans too

One of my favorite Duck fans

I'm VERY HOPEFUL the hotel craziness and noise will calm down a bit tomorrow...I would assume even Ducks and Beavers have to be back to their routines by Monday. 

Supplies.....

Yes, I know it's horrible....Day 5 of jet lag and I'm ready for these younger ones to sleep......I'm hopeful....if Stacia would quit talking, I think she'd fall asleep. It's 10:30 p.m.  I tried for Calm Forte...but they didn't have it.....I medicated in the hopes we can get up in time for breakfast and make it to church tomorrow. Druggies for Jesus.  I'm off to take mine now.  FWIW the Tylenol pm has 2 ingredients. The kids stuff just one - the 2nd ingredient in Tylenol PM - I'm hopeful. 

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

Hidden Treasures/Rest

Deeply enjoying rest.... I don't go to sleep until 3 a.m. (jet lag) but I'm up at 7:30 or 8:00....the older Gherkins are at the girl's and the younger two Gherkins sleep until I wake them.  Lots of uninterrupted time to spend with Jesus, which is the REST I need more than sleep.   I've been thinking about the secret life (ala Sermon on the Mount - Matt 6 - love my Misawa peeps)....it's become a huge tapestry with many threads to connect.  God is granting me TIME, alone for REST, RECOVERY, REFUGE and RENEWAL. 


Quick thought (one of many) this a.m. Col 2:1-3 -  a verse I found as I followed the thread from Matthew on "secrets" and "hidden things".... in Christ Himself are "hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." I wanted to dig a bit as this merged several themes I've been pondering....kingdom treasures, intimacy, secrecy, proper/opportune times....


The following is from Dr. Zodhiates' Complete Dictionary of Word study in Pocket Bible.

"secret/hidden" - Strongs 2927 - Kruptos - hidden, concealed, secret, in secret where one cannot be seen by others (oh this appeals to me as I've been in such a public season of service), to be covered.  


BTW Krupte (2926) secret cell or vault. 

 "God keeps certain things secret from us for a certain time, but this is for our good....One can never know certain truths which are treasures unless one knows Jesus Christ Himself. Our knowledge of what Christ knows comes only as we become intimately related to Him and in the growth of that relationship. The treasures of wisdom are hidden from people as long as they do not know Christ Himself. "

I want to KNOW Him, alone - intimately. HE is my treasure. So often we scramble around looking for treasures which are simply hidden until we KNOW Christ. We know Christ as we spend time with Him in the "inner room/vault" - in secret - He is THERE - waiting (matt 6:4, 6, 18).


In the midst of a public season, taking time to be hidden with Christ in the secret place is my lifeline, the solace and rest I crave. This is the  "cave" Abba Father lovingly grants  in this public season where I'm not allowed to "go anonymous".  I can be hidden/anonymous every time I enter the "secret place" with Him. 


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

NESCO Simplicity (Michael)

Dinner has become the daily challenge.  Usually by the end of the day, Jared and I are just ready to eat "something."  Today, though, we had more than just "something."  The turkey that had been thawing in the refrigerator was too thawed to go back into the freezer.  So, another plan was hatched.  A quick check of the NESCO site, and we had a recipe for cooking the turkey.  Yeah, it is after Thanksgiving, but we had turkey at the Dining Facility on base for Thanksgiving.  Yesterday was too busy with airplane tickets and stuff, but today, well, that was very different.  Using the NESCO roaster was actually an easy way to cook a turkey, and it even got done a bit early (yup, 190 degrees inside).  Sufficiently satisfied!

Living large, loving life and choosing joy!!! 
Michael


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

Snippets

Rather than share all my witty thoughts throughout the day on Facebook, where they are not easily accessible for family posterity, I'll blog them - snippets:

• "May the Lord continue to richly bless them." (Stated when we were given fresh towels.)
• "Keep Santa Clause away from your sister!" 
• Researching the difference between onsens and hot tubs. 
• Zander says, "Stacia, raining is what it DOES in OR. Probably because it's so high in the mountains."
• The older Gherkins watched Wallace on VHS; Stacia and Nolan watch him on my ipad!"
• Zander at 11:30 pm as we entered our hotel room, "It's good to be home. Home is where ever you sleep." ::snort:: 
• I explain to Stacia that old men in America should NOT be rubbing her head or arms.

We woke up in time for our free breakfast at the hotel. Denny's is better for $2, $4 or $6. ::snort:: BUT we could go to breakfast in our pj's....then on to the POOL. 

See the little hot tube in the upper left corner - I AM diligent about my research. ::snort:: 

Today was a GORGEOUS day for a picnic in Eugene. Can you believe it? We drove to Skinner's Butte (because I was lost and trying to meet with the Girls and my folks at the park), had lunch in the park and then walked along the river. 

Six Gherkins and a Grandpa! 

Zander HARD at work! 

His work pulled this little car with several children on it

I played on this same whale as a child

After the park, Gma and Gpa went home.  We went to Bre and Krista's apartment. We admired the girls' Christmas decorations (put up sometime before or after midnight madness)....the kids played games....I napped....

Krista

 Shawn, Marsa, Kent and Taleena (7) came over and most played a rousing game of Monopoly. Goecker's rule as Krista won a hard fought game.  Taleena, Stacia and I baked cookies.

During the drive we saw this...and I figure I must not totally understand America's culture.

I've been pondering this all day. If you have valid complaints, how will sleeping in a tent on public property and being hateful to all who walk by help  achieve your objectives....and WHY would you occupy Eugene or Wall street rather than simply working to bring about changes? And do you REALLY think you are the 99%? WHAT does WALL STREET have to do with YOU being homeless? Maybe. I wanted to think of some creative and Christ-like response....but I was perplexed when faced with the question, "How many homeless does it take to make a billionaire?" The premise is faulty. It doesn't compute. I keep wondering what they are asking. First, I'm not a billionaire. And I would guess that THEY are probably part of the 1%, most of us are part of the 98% and the billionaires are part of 1%. If you take 100 penniless people you would have 100 penniless people....they would never spontaneously combust to form a billionaire. Like I said....the whole thing perplexes me. I can tell you THIS....food and supplies to TROOPS in the Pacific (as in Japan and Korea) have been delayed due to the Occupy Oakland. How is that helping them? Do they not care who they hurt to "be heard"?

  I keep thinking of other scenes with folks living in temporary shelters which I've witnessed....

Cardboard walls, all their belongings in a box

 

these folks lost EVERYTHING....yet they stood up and are fighting their way back to some sort of "normalcy".  Yes, I maybe should have kept quiet as I'm sure there are subtleties I'm not understanding...but it's been on my mind...and I'm still wondering if there is something the kids and I could do while here? Maybe they just want to be heard. I've been warned many of the drifters and rowdy elements of town are in the fence and it may not be the best idea to take the kids down.  But then the kids went into the devastation of Northern Japan....shining the light where it's dark.

On the way home to the hotel the gas light came on. I happened to be a mile from the cheapest spot in the area to buy gas. Done....gotta remember they like to pump for you in OR. ::grin::

I stopped by the front desk and they'll extend me a couple of days if I'd like. I will check for the best prices for flights to TX tomorrow - now that I know where the kids and I need to end up to find our way back to the pacific. We ARE going to try for Space A so need to eventually end up back in Seattle.  Which means I now know I need to fly from SEA to TX and back to SEA - rather than Portland to TX to Tokyo. LOL

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

The Morning After

Thankful for:

•  5 hours of sleep with Stacia and Zander. 
• Sweet EARLY a.m. whispers
• Getting all up for FREE breakfast (though I'm thinking $2 at Denny's may be worth sleeping in)
• Comfy beds to sleep in 

Thoughts: 

• No, sir and maam, your CHILD is not bad nor crazy....you are questionable for taking a toddler shopping at midnight and then screaming in hotel hallways about how bad they are at 03:30. 
• Strange santa men handing out treats and candy ONLY to little girls are to be held  suspect
• Swimming after such few hours of sleep may not be the most relaxing way to spend the day - but it will work....
• Can't believe we didn't take even ONE photo of Thanksgiving! 
• Observing families in the pool - one very sweet LARGE family with well behaved children is much nicer to share with than 4 extended families of two ill-behaved each....not to worry they shopped all night and should sleep soon. LOL 
• Wonder when the midnight lions and lionesses will check in. LOL 

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