Luvin Japan ~ Statue of Liberty Park

We did not expect to find Lady Liberty in Japan...but our area hosts Japan's LARGEST Statue of Liberty.  You can search (box in left corner) this blog for Statue of Liberty Park and you'll find plenty of  photos and info about the fun we've had at this park...but here's a new view of Lady Liberty.  We will miss this park. 

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

God KNEW!

I toyed with the idea of  stepping in to be the retreat coordinator this year....early in the year. As the year unfolded I KNEW it was not what I was to do. I had thought it was because God has been drawing me to silence/margin...and  I would be able to enjoy my final retreat in Misawa as an attendee and not coordinator or President (which I've done the past 3 years - often twice a year).  I confirmed with this year's president  I knew I wasn't to take on retreat coordinator. This was a hard decision as the position remained unfilled well into the year....God brought the right woman in the right time.  I was excited to simply attend. 

Jared ended up being able to work his schedule to visit us before we move - for 11 days....and he is here now. If I'd been the retreat coordinator I would have been totally focused on retreat yesterday - Sunday afternoon...four of the eleven days. As I wasn't committed to coordinate I was able to make another hard decision (This IS my final year - don't judge me! My gals are important to me too.) and choose not to attend in order to have the full benefit of time with Jared home.

God knew Jared would be here and prompted me to say, "no," a word I don't often use....and because He is teaching me silence I heard His prompting though I didn't understand at the time. I didn't need to. 

And so...today...I did this instead of the mad pre-retreat rush I've done the past three years.....

Picnic at Statue of Liberty Park

 

I actually laid beside Arielle for quite a bit of time... 

Followed by a walk...where we lost the older ones.....

But found a great NEW park we will go back to explore when Yuuki is not with us! 

 We had no trouble finding our way back to the others...we just kept heading toward Lady Liberty...

We also went walking on the grounds at Komaki Resort

Zander has told me I need to take more "normal looking" photos of him...I think this one worked well. ::grin:: 

Chapel of Love

Rock Star Pony

We dropped Jared off to spend a couple of hours with a friend and the younger ones enjoyed the time with the neighborhood kids.

I did a few "Luvin Japan" posts..... Dinner is in the oven and then we'll watch a movie of some sort until it's time to pick Michael up.

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

Luvin Japan ~ Automobile Decorations

It is an adventure to cruise through a mall's parking lot in Japan. The car NAMES are often fun...but even more are the decorations sitting on the dashboard....

These are all solar powered and MOVE....can't imagine driving with that much activity in my line of vision....

 Shoot out at the OK Corral! 

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

Mentor Thursday....

AlishaV via photopin cc

Anytime a doctor asks you, "Have you ever had anyone in your family die unexpectedly before the age of 50," while examining your 14 yo,  it's a bit jolting.  Our doc is sweet, young and needs a bit more tact. ::snort:: Nolan had a doctor appointment on Tuesday and (once again) his blood pressure was high....and so we'll be watching him...Thinking happy thoughts was impossible after her comment. ::snort:: Last time they had him come in for the 3 day tests and all were fine. I suspect it's white coat syndrome. 

 I headed home for an appointment I did not clear from my calendar even though Jared is in town. It was MENTOR GROUP. This group is precious to me...and that's enough said about it for now. Our topic this month was Purpose and Priorities. We all were pleasantly surprised to LOVE "The Principle of the Path." I'll have to find time to blog about it later. Highly recommended book. This month we are focusing on Discipleship and will be reading, "Follow Me" by David Platt. I've not read anything by David before, but loved the start of this book.

We all picked Michael up at the office and went to Karinbas - a restaurant on Jared's bucket list. We'll be eating at his favorites and visiting his favorites until the 26th.

It's been a full day. I had hoped to also move an elliptical and our table...to pick up a bigger table a friend is giving us...but life isn't cooperating.

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

Eagle Has Landed

He boarded a plane in San Angelo and flew to Dallas, TX. USUALLY we book direct from Tokyo to Dallas....nice flight...but SATO booked him to fly from Dallas to Atlanta....then from Atlanta to Tokyo....and because he arrived too late to catch the last flight to Misawa.

The plan in Tokyo was for him to get on the "airport limousine" and shuttle across Tokyo to the domestic airport. He eventually did just that - first he got on the wrong bus and visited some new scenery.  Yes, traveling adventures appear to be genetic.

We were all at the airport to meet his 0855 flight....it was foggy...we still hoped...the plane approached, circled and left three times. Then headed back to Tokyo.  They tried it again this afternoon. Jared says the fog was WORSE but this time they landed...and we are happy. Something similar happened when Josiah and Jamin came home for Christmas one year...snow storm....they had to take a train home. I've OFTEN had flights to or from Misawa canceled due to fog, storm, or snow storm. This adds another "Counting our Joys on the way to Beale" - it should be much easier for the kids to fly in and out of Sacramento  LOL

Seen through the glass....

Home

The kids have been so excited for Jared to arrive

I am too! 

We took Michael back to work. Tonight Stacia will got o AWANA, Arielle will go to youth group, and the rest of us will go out to dinner and catch up. We've enjoyed a couple of hours of catching up here at the house.

Yuuki seems to remember Jared. She doesn't compulsively lick any of us any longer...but she set to giving Jared a bath...and he could use one come to think of it. ::grin::

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

Monday's Excitement

We're slowly making it through every closet, drawer and nook in our home....today we tackled all the scrap booking stuff. I saved what I knew I'd use...mostly albums, punches and stickers for school....and put the rest in a box to give away.

Late afternoon we enjoyed listing to rolling thunder and watching lightening.....quite the show during dinner.

After dinner, a bit more weather watching and family circle....everyone jumped in to help me create a tomb...though Zander insists on calling it the "Box of Shame" and suggesting I use it to corral some of my rowdier pre-schoolers. I've figured out how to roll the stone to the tomb and seal it...and the child inside will be able to break out, angels will sing, we'll all dance and celebrate....at least that's my vision.  We also made muffins and brownies. ::grin::

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

RACING BY!

As we get closer to leaving Japan, life feels a bit chaotic, raw and out of control...Emotions are frayed and feel a bit chaotic, raw and out of control as well.  Our well-oiled routine feels more like....a stampede of wild horses!

In a few weeks most chapel programs will be breaking for the summer...most goodbyes will be said as many PCS the end of May/beginning of June...and then we'll have a month to laze around before we say OUR goodbyes.  (Except Michael will be running screaming busy as we're very low manned.)

I've made a conscious choice to spend some of my fought for margin on friends.  I've had at least two engagements a week for no other purpose than RELATIONSHIP - and I've loved it. This week that translated to two Skype calls with friends who have "gone before", a squeezed in lunch with one of my first Misawa friends, and an onsen visit with a young mom - because I so wish I'd had that opportunity when I had two pre-schoolers. ::snort::  I also made time to get the kids to a few outings with their friends.

This past week saw the last Misawa MOPS for me. I've enjoyed being a mentor mom - though I've not been able to make the morning dates (other than the monthly meeting) due to homeschooling. Tea and Testimony was wonderful. The table time was some of the best I've ever experienced at MOPS. I will miss this group of ladies and am happy to know that there is a MOPS at Beale AFB.

This past week also had labs, an optometry appointment for Arielle, and a thyroid appointment for me.  We took my dose down...now we're upping it a bit...I no longer have insomnia...but I'd like to be a bit more energetic than a slug....though all keep telling me that what I refer to as sluggish is normal for someone "of my age." ::snort::  My PA also ran a slew of "vegan tests." Just checking to make sure B12, iron etc are where we want them...I'm quite sure he won't tell me to start eating meat again if it's not....and I'm quite sure I won't be getting shots.... ::wink::

Shew - and there you have it - a new week has begun! Jared flies in this week and will be here until the 26th of May. I will most likely not schedule lots of friend outings until he leaves. Prayers for him as he makes his first solo International trip are appreciated.

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