Holland Award - Go Jamin

Jamin (21 yo son) has been tearing up the track as he runs for Angelo State University.  This week he won the Holland's Award for the men's cross country team. The award is voted on by teammates based on sportsmanship, teamwork, ability and being a conscientious player! What a great award.  

Yes, I do stalk photos of the older Gherkins and have some to share. ::snort:: 

Men's Cross Country Team - Jamin in black vest

ASU 2013 Cross Country Team 

Here are a few shots from the year....We couldn't be prouder of Jamin. He's worked HARD the past two years to train and has participated in both Track and Cross Country. He was a walk on to the team....convinced the coach to give him a shot if he could run a mile in a certain amount of time....he's now running about 5 min miles and has a scholarship. 

I love the fact that his photo hangs in the Applebee's in San Angelo....really LOVE it...as I posted on Facebook when I saw it...."Shame on those of you who thought his photo would be on the Post Office wall." ::snort:: 

We had the joy of WATCHING in REAL TIME as he ran the 10K today in the Lonestar Conference Championships....blog post to follow. 

Choosing Joy!
©2013 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...

Weeks are Passing Swiftly

As I look back on this week I note  it was FULL.... a good kind of full. 

I had three outings with three different young women. These were times of relaxing, refreshing, mutual investing in each other and the kingdom. Good stuff....and two of the outings happened at onsens...always good as well. One was the black water onsen. I think Akikosan is right - I think it makes me younger each time I go. ::snort:: 

Wednesday night was the AWANA Pinewood Derby..... There were a variety of cars....

Via Shannon Carollo photography

 Stacia's was number 76! Shiny pink with purple flames on the sides and front...

Shannon Carollo Photography

Look at Madeline - the sweet Cubby who won the derby! Chaplain Power. Hooah! 

Via Shannon Carollo Photography

 Stacia did not win...BUT in our book she won the sportsmanship award....and we celebrated at home with ice cream for the kids! 

I kept the van Thursday and fit a trip to the commissary in after I dropped Michael at work. THEN we raced to a nearby park to enjoy the Cherry Blossoms. They were just starting to open.  We KNOW if a storm hits they'll disappear.... I'd forgotten it was Golden Week and the parks would be full. Everyone was rather solemn at the park. I imagine they were thinking of the beauty and brevity of life. There were several vans from Senior Citizens homes.  It really was a solemn place...until the G's arrived. I took the two younger ones aside and explained...and then we walked and reflected quietly as well....The older two and I had a talk about how we felt with this being our "last" cherry blossom season in Japan. 

No, it wasn't staged....

 This park has a playground below a hill.....and a tower and campground with walking paths at the top of the hill. We hiked to the top and were the only ones up there...so I let the kids ride their scooters. 

Arielle is getting quite elaborate with the hairstyles she creates for Stacia each day. This was a fun one! 

We dropped the younger 3 at home...Nolan watched the two and Arielle came to watch a friend's babies so the two of us could go to Hirahata Onsen. We enjoyed the rare experience of being the only ones at the onsen for a bit of time.

We continued to declutter and clean the house. We still don't have orders but have been promised they are now at AFPC.

We believe the orders are going to come through for Jared to be able to visit for a 1 1/2 weeks in the near future. He'd love to come home one last time before we move.

Thursday night was our last Protestant Fellowship Dinner. These are always chaotic fun! Nate has been sharing thoughts he has on how to hear from God. I found much to process and will do that slowly over the next week or so. It was fun to have time to sit and visit with friends I don't see often enough.

I met another young friend for tea on Friday...and then attended a farewell for our Command Chief and his sweet wife, Terri. They are moving to Yokota AB where I know they will be as big a blessing as they've been here in Misawa.

I simply cannot find the ice packs so when Stacia slammed her fingers in the door I pulled a pound of butter out of the freezer. LOL

We had thought we'd go to Hirasaki Castle today -even though it IS Golden Week - and see the blossoms....but we received a text via pinger with a link to watch Jamin run in the Lonestar Conference Championships via LIVESTREAM....and that was too good an opportunity to miss. 

The older two went to movies and games with Club Beyond tonight. The rest of us popped popcorn and watched The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. 

This is a quick recap...it doesn't share the conversations we've been having, the lessons God's been teaching,  or our feelings and thoughts as the time rushes past....but it shares a glimpse. 

Choosing Joy!
©2013 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...

Crafting Away the Rainy Day

We are crazily crafting as much as we can before it's time to pack out. ::snort:: I refuse to haul a bunch of craft supplies back across the ocean.... we use it or they lose it. 

We spent the morning at PWOC  and the afternoon working on various projects. 

Arielle is stamping purple flames on Stacia's AWANA Pinewood Derby car.

I put together this spring/summer wreath. It doesn't look exactly like the photo which inspired it...but it does make me smile. I know it would have been easier with smaller flip flops but these are the ones I could find at our Y100 store.

Below are the painted clay pot and plate that Stacia and Zander created.

And of course...Michael continues to work on the derby car...under Stacia's watchful eye. 

Tomorrow is race day.....


Choosing Joy!
©2013 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...

Luvin Japan ~ Slurping Noodles

I know we already mentioned chopsticks...but this deserves its own mention. We love slurping noodles....of all kinds...ramen, yakisoba, soba....and now we have gone international slurping pastas of all kind. 

Morgon Mae via photopin cc

If you're wondering how to eat Ramen with chopsticks...it's totally acceptable to slurp as you see in the photo...then pick up the bowl and drink down the broth. 
Choosing Joy!
©2013 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...

Luvin Japan ~ Yabusame

You can read more about Yabusame here. In a nutshell this began as archery competitions between Samurai. I think I've only seen women in our local competition...but I may have just missed the men.  In any event I love the imagery of warrior princesses.  The kids and I attended Yabusame in 2010,  but Michael was deployed.  In 2011 and 2012 I was traveling. We were determined to share this festival in 2013. Unfortunately, the photos from our 2010 visit have disappeared from BLOGGER and so I'm really glad we took some more. LOL 

It was WINDY yesterday and many of the competitors and vendors closed up shop early....but still it was fun to see and a very pretty drive. We headed out after Sunday School.

Festival food is always a hit with the kids. The family enjoyed chicken on a stick and bananas on a stick...I enjoyed sweet potatoes in a cup...which would have been quite tasty if they were warm. ::snort:: Not to fear...I supplemented with a satsuma tangerine, baby carrots and a larabar. ::wink:: 

We wandered across the street and found some dancing exhiitions and stuffed animated characters.

Ever been hugged by a burnt marshmallow? 

We took a beautiful detour on our way home...but I'll turn that into another Lovin Japan post before the week is out. ::snort::

Choosing Joy!
©2013 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...

Arielle Update

We've tried to come up with a spectacular story...she was climbing on the roof to save a neighbor's toddler and slipped...she was chasing killer worms...but the bottom line is...she was running, tripped and landed on her elbow.  She didn't say a thing. This happened Thursday afternoon.

@Yabusame 2013

At dinner, I noted she was eating with her left hand and wouldn't pass pans etc. The story came out. This was about the time Akikosan and Michael both got to the house. She took Ibuprofen and we went on with the night.

Michael is becoming a WHIZ on webmd and came down with the word that he thought I should take Arielle in to be seen even though she was insisting she was fine as she was having trouble and pain moving it.

In we went. She admitted to the doc her hand was numb and tingling...um... a bit..... They gave Arielle a sling (and she's not happy that it is Army green) and we went back Friday a.m. for x-rays.  She was given more pain med dosing info. We've not heard a word so we're going on the assumption it is not broken.

This all brings back memories of our first encounter with Arielle and pain.

She was 2 years old, fell off a chair and braced her fall with her wrist/arm. I took her in. She wasn't swelling, she wasn't crying...she made a strange look. They moved her around and said she would scream if it were broke. Days later I called to tell them she  wasn't fine. They insisted she was. A week after the fall, I took her to the office and insisted she be seen. I had nothing to go on except she made a "face" at odd times when moving her arm.  Same arm.....

The doctor INSISTED it was not broken and was very put out that I refused to go home until they did an x-ray...she was my 6th child and I knew something was wrong. Yep - broken in two places.

We've learned not to take Arielle's "perceived pain level" as an accurate indicator. ::snort::

Choosing Joy!
©2013 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...

School Wrap Up

We have really enjoyed studying Japan. We used books recommended in All Through the Ages as well as library books and books I discovered in my online searches.  I must give  kudos for customer service to Christine Miller. I wrote explaining we lived in Japan and wanted to spend a year studying Japan in depth for the grammar (Elementary) and dialectic levels (Jr High). I had her book on my shelves and wondered how many more books she listed for Japan in the newest edition (I have the 2nd edition). SHE SENT ME THE PAGES IN A PDF FILE of the books on Japan for all grade levels. What a blessing.  Every book we used from All Through the Ages was a hit. Highly recommended resource! 

The younger kids LOVED the "Judge Ooka and Seikei" mysteries by Dorothy and Thomas Hoobler. We read The Ghost in the Tokaido Inn and The Demon in the Teahouse....before I insisted we read other things and we'll finish these in the future. I really wanted to read MORE about this Solomon in a Kimono but the books I found were too expensive for our purposes. 

We also enjoyed The Sign of the Chrysanthemum and The Master Muppeteer by Katherine Paterson. 

We read Pearl Harbor Child by Dorina Makanaonalani Nicholson.  I felt it important to give the kids this view point as we'd been rather Japanese focused in our view of WW2.  This book did a great job of telling the story of Pearl Harbor from the perspective of a child who LIVED it....she includes stories of others as well. We enjoyed all the photos. 

We then read My Hiroshima by Juuko Morimoto which provided a survivor's perspective of Hiroshima.  Junko's illustrations and memories were powerful. I'm glad we read both perspectives from survivors. 

Fiction of Eleanor Coeer rounded out our year with Mieko and the Fifth Treasure and Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes  based on a true story (which I cried 2/3's of the way through). 

An Illustrated History of Japan was a great book to use as a "spine" for the younger set and Nolan (8th grade) used Japan an Illustrated History and A Traveler's History of Japan. In addition we  thought Hiroshima by John Hersey was good for Nolan. Nolan spend some time researching topics of his choice: Christianity in Japan (interesting for us), Samurai Code of Ethics, Hiroshima and the Pacific in WW2.  Nolan also delved into the treatment of Koreans and the Philippinos by the Japanese and a bit of the horrors of being a POW of Japan. We opted to leave much of this and delving into the Japanese internment camps in America until we study WW2 for the younger set. 

Make it Work! Japan was full of hands on crafts and was one of our favorites, as was Japanese Traditions which lists festivals and traditions for children by month. 

This is a sample of the books we used.  We also visited the cultural center here in Misawa a couple of times, and bounced lots of ideas and questions off Akikosan. Being able to visit many of the spots we discussed was a great incentive to stay on track with our history reading. We've been to Jomon ruins, WW2 ruins, Hiroshima, Edo Period Museums, Samurai Museums, Japanese farms, Rice fields and more....We've made soba noodles, New Year's wreaths, yakisoba....and have more in the works. 

We are still reading Jacob Deshazer: Forgive Your Enemies,  as a family....and have a couple of others on the stack.  Our "Days" are counted and done for school, papers are graded, the year is complete....but... In the weeks before we move, we'll continue to explore new areas, visit our favorites, explore Japanese culture, work on hands on crafts we've not finished and read through the stacks of books the kids begged me to read which  I promised we would AFTER we were done with the rest of the year. LOL 



I'm so GLAD we extended a year in Japan  and only had 3 years of curriculum with us...I'm glad we didn't try to order all the books we already own in storage...it was a good call for all of us to take a break and focus on this land we love.  Arielle continued on with her charted high school courses - but joined us for discussions and outings; she also continues to study the Japanese language and so was a part of the year - though apart. LOL

Choosing Joy!
©2013 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...