Good Day

• Interesting thoughts on leadership in Jeremiah 1.
• Biblical Hospitality - Abraham welcomed, served, refreshed his guests...how can I do the same? 
• LOVE that Michael is editing parts of 2007 of Choosing Joy for printing....8 clicks to add each title...
• Always fun to Skype with ministry partners.
• Made onion soup mix - no msg - a whole new world. LOL *
• Whew - slogging through mud today - table school done before lunch. Could be worse. We'll see what we can get done after lunch. 
• Strange things can be found in your kitchen when you home school.*
• New milestones in Michael's recovery - driving and playing.*
• Got most of couch school done before I fell asleep while reading.
• Jared was offered another job at FSS - $1 an hour more. He's decided to stay with Pizza Hut. 
• Why is Nolan climbing into the neighbor's garbage can while Zander tries to close the lid? There is a  reason. 
• Has Arielle broken her elbow....stay tuned.
• When Stacia (6) walks in yelling, "Nothing's ruined, Mom!" I wonder....
• Akikosan surprised us with a visit.*
• Jared picked up an extra hour of work but all are now home.

Choosing Joy!
©2012 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...

Japanese Pinata

Thursday nights are usually Japanese tutoring with Akikosan. We've not done this for a month. Tonight Akikosan surprised us! I was glad she came. We've all been missing her and I meant to call and ask her to come. She didn't bring any lessons, just this.....

Yum....a round cake from Shiroi Mori.  The best part of all was simply sitting and chatting for a couple of hours. We showed her copies of Choosing Joy 2006 and had some fun conversations stemming from the photos and memories.

One of the best was about "picnic" games in the states...bobbing for apples, egg race, sunflower seed spitting contest, watermelon eating contest.  We asked if they play games like these at picnics or hanamai (flower viewing in parks)....but no. She thought about it and said in the summer they'll buy a watermelon, take it to the beach, blindfold each other, and try to hit the melon with a stick. When it breaks open they eat it. I told her this was a Japanese pinata. ::snort::  No photos - but I foresee trying this in the next few months.

Akikosan has been having some health problems and as she prepared to leave, Michael asked if we could pray for her...so we did.  I'm glad she stopped by. We'll start lessons next week again.

Choosing Joy!
©2012 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...

Strange Smells from the Kitchen

One never knows quite what will be found in the kitchen of a home school home......I wondered at the smells.....investigated...Pretty...someone had a hankering for cabbage? 

Nah - it's SCIENCE time! 

Choosing Joy!
©2012 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...

Michael's Milestones

I've been noticing Michael has one good day, followed by a day in bed.  He was in bed yesterday...but today when it was time to take Jared to work, I asked him if he'd like to try driving. I'd be there to drive if he needed me too. He thought that sounded good and drove - for the first time in a month. Doc said to "Avoid sudden moves or accidents" - something he tends to avoid anyway. 

I noted on a Tuesday night a month ago that I was listening to my husband worship while in pain. He was desperately trying to keep busy to avoid pain.....and today... playing again.....love it. 

I actually got emotional. Realizing how quickly life can change, makes one grateful for the simple things which make a marriage. 

Choosing Joy!
©2012 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...

Onion Soup Mix (Heavenly Homemakers)

It's the small things that make life great - and dry onion soup mix without MSG opens new worlds. 

This photo PROVES we own a label maker - stateside storage?

2/3 C dried minced onion
3 tsp parsley flakes
2 tsp onion powder
2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp celery salt
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp rapadura (or sugar if you like)
1/2 tsp ground pepper

Mix in jar and give a good shake before using.  4 T = packet of dry onion soup mix (2 T may be plenty). Store in a cool dry place.

Darling food model

Choosing Joy!
©2012 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...

What Could this Mean?

This road was recently repaved.....and then they painted this in the middle of the intersection. What do you think it means? In the states, I'd think it was a round-about...but there really isn't room for that and folks are still stopping at the traffic light. 

Please don't make me feel like a fool when you answer. 

Choosing Joy!
©2012 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...

Of Disney Princesses and Love: Belle vs Snow White - By Breanne

As you may or may not know, I have quite the fetish with princesses. If you have ever been stuck in a long van ride with me, you have listened to my collection of princess music. If you have been so lucky as to work with me, you have heard me sing princess songs while washing dishes or dancing in the lobby (rest assured we were absolutely dead and there was nothing else for me to be doing; ). You may have heard my theories of how their tales relate to real life and spiritual life. You may think I’m off my rocker. But bear with me and this may or may not make sense to you. Either way, I have been thinking and I wanted to get my thoughts down as it helps me process.

As you probably know, my favorite princess has always been Belle from “Beauty and the Beast.” I felt drawn to her story even before Disney came out with the movie. I remember my mom taking me to see the movie in theaters. It was glorious! When it came out on vhs, my parents actually bought it as a treat for me and my siblings. I’m pretty sure I had watched it at least four times through within the first day of us owning it. A few years later, my parents bought me the soundtrack on cassette. I listened to that thing over and over (this was junior high by now; ). In high school, I had a reading assignment that was a rendition of the story that I absolutely ate up. All that to say, I have always loved Belle. I felt like I could relate to her. For one thing, she is a brunette princess in a blonde princess world. She was a girl who wanted more than the ordinary life. She had big dreams and visions. I’ve always feared mediocrity and longed for adventure. “I want so much more than this provincial life” just rang with something within my spirit. Belle also loved her family more than anything else. She loved her father self-sacrificially. Another admirable trait was that she could see people for who they really were. She could see straight through Gaston’s seemingly perfect exterior. Belle could also see past the Beast’s rough edges and into who he really was. I wanted to be like Belle. Love my family, love self-sacrificially, dream big, and see people for who they really are. I still do.

However, I have been thinking that perhaps the Belle approach is not the best approach for one’s love life. Seriously, waiting around for the Beast to turn into Prince Charming doesn’t usually work in real life. It does sometimes. However, more often than not, it is not the best course of action. As much as I love the Disney Princess movies, I must admit that some of their stories really shouldn’t be applied to real life and especially not to your love life. Aladdin built his relationship with Jasmine on a lie and yet we expect him to now be trustworthy. Prince Erik (Little Mermaid) was pretty great, but Ariel had to disobey her father and consult with a witch to get to him. Modeling your love life after either of these would not be the wisest in real life. These are just a couple of examples. I’m sure many of you could fire more at me and would be happy to do so in the hopes that you could detour my princess fetish. However, I’m still a diehard princess fan.

After some reflection (while washing dishes at work; ), I have decided that I still want to be like Belle. However, in my love life, I think I want to be more like Snow White. She knew her Prince Charming when she met him and she waited for him. “There’s nobody like him, anywhere at all.” While she waited, she served the seven dwarfs. Even though she was a princess waiting for her prince, she served these 7 miners. She faithfully waited ever hopeful that “someday my prince will come, someday we’ll meet again and away to his castle we’ll go to be happy forever I know.” Of course, she did get duped by a poisonous apple with deceptive promises of all her dreams coming true (man! Could I make some theological applications, but I shall refrain; ). So I should keep my eyes open for poisonous apples. Other than that, this should work. After all, it works in the fairy tales and they always live happily ever after….
 Choosing Joy!
©2012 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...