Skinny Shake

We've been enjoying mid-afternoon icy snacks around the fire ring. ::snort:: This one was one that's been going around FB. Arielle tried it...we drank it before I took a photo. 

3/4 C Almond Milk

15 Ice Cubes

1/2 tsp. Vanilla

1/2 Banana

2 T Cocoa Powder

1 T Peanut Butter (Arielle addition)

Blend.

No cholesterol, no added fat (none if you don't do the PB)....yummy.

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

Starting Again

For eighteen years, I have prayed with each move God would send us where there was an established, strong, thriving PWOC.  God has consistently said, "No."  I have started or been part of revitalizing PWOC's at each assignment.  God has answered with a big, resounding, "YES"  at our last assignment. These ladies are wonderful. I connected with several of them before arriving in CA via Facebook. 

When I arrived the President loaned me a duster and a vacuum as well as dropping off some yummy World Market chocolate and PWOC treats in a cute bucket (which sits on my desk and holds pens and scissors).  

Monday night was LIFT (Ladies in Fellowship Together). This is held monthly and I am going to LIKE it. I was greeted like a rock star and chatted with many ladies. It was fun to put real faces with FB profile pics. 

PWOC Bible Study started Wednesday. The kids do not want to go. I told the younger two they needed to try the homeschool room. They ended up loving it. They are doing STEM enrichment....very structured and wonderful program which one lady has taken on as her ministry to homeschooling moms...and she isn't a homeschooler! I'm blessed.

These women know how to welcome a newbie into their midst. Nothing I am about to say reflects on THEM. It's me.

The staff spouses at Beale are wonderful. I can tell I'm going to love Barbara and Valerie and am excited our young chaplain is marrying in October. We've already shared dinners and I feel we are getting to know each others' heart. Nothing I am about to say reflects on THEM. It's me.

At our first assignment a woman told me with tears, "I came here, knowing it was for two years, determined not to make another friend before we retired. It's just too hard to say goodbye to friends all the time. Then I met you...." I sympathized but didn't understand. I've heard the same sentiment expressed differently over the past 18 years. I've always been excited to move and excited at the "friendship dating" phase (which I now see many dread).  Monday I was stunned to realize I was dreading LIFT. I didn't feel like I had the emotional reserves to start all over...to make new friends...deep friends and leave in 2 years. I wanted to just sit it all out until we retired and then begin to emotionally invest again in a place I may have the joy of staying longer than 2 - 3 years.

God has been talking to me since Monday. He wants all of me...even the parts that don't want to emotionally engage....because it's about following Him even in relationships.   It is o.k. to be sad. It is o.k to cherish my "old friends" but I also need to be willing to move forward. It is not o.k. to cling to the past and neglect the present.

I've been sad at the loss of the mentor group I led last year. I so loved those young ladies...and I doubt folks will know me enough to want to be in a mentor group by January. ::snort::

I've been wondering if it is selfish of me not to move out again into various leadership opportunities....

This afternoon, God gave me the gift of being able to connect via skype with MY mentor. This wise woman who walked where I'm walking, successfully transitioned with her husband from the chaplaincy to civilian ministry, has walked seasons of life I'm just entering, has walked in leadership roles I have held....today we talked....and  her words were a balm.

I've only been here a couple of weeks. We've been traveling a lot for a couple of months. I'm tired.  It's not time to end a season of rest until God makes it clear it's time. It's not selfish to rest when He has placed you in a season of preparation for the next mission.  It's O.K. to grieve the loss of dear friends while reaching forward to meet new ladies. God will open up future mentoring doors when it is time.

And....so....I'm praying, with tears, to find the emotional reserves to make dear buddies knowing in two years my heart will break all over again at saying goodbye to them....but that's the glorious sorrow...to have loved well.

I can relate in a deeper way to those who share these feelings with me in the future. I understand.

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

Begin Anywhere....

We continue to tackle boxes and bare walls. ::snort:: Today we made  "skinny shakes" and took a mid-morning break in the backyard.

Poor Mr. Moose always sits on this speaker....but this speaker has never been mounted above a screen before. ::snort:: 

We found the calendar. Arielle opened it to August and LOOK....hilarious. A much needed message.

Nolan was a big help hanging things

Stacia's big job today continued to be to stomp paper and flatten boxes

We decided to go ahead and move these three cases into place. We are trying to get the history cycle of  Tapestry of Grace books onto these shelves....and we'll unpack the rest of the books when our storage shipment arrives. We're working hard to do EVERYTHING we can during our delayed school start.

Now here's a unique way to flatten boxes...where did I put my moving whip....get crackin! 

I don't know that I've mentioned on the blog how I dislike hanging things. I never get them even or in the spot they should be in.....and well....take a look at my "tea bar."  This is one side of the butler's pantry.

Michael got home from work and put up the first of our "wall decals." Unfortunately, it's going to be a bit tricky on our walls.....

But I.LOVE.IT. This has been an unwanted life verse which I finally learned to embrace in all it's facets last year...and I need this reminder....it's on my kitchen wall.  I know I've blogged the verse over the past 8 years...and while I believe the verse speaks to vulnerability and intimacy, an attitude of rest while going about life....last year God clearly told me it also means, "Stop, desist, cease activity." Stop means stop!  I did. I loved margin. I had time to fight strongholds...I'm not sure what the next two years hold...but I sense I'm to remember to carve out time to BE STILL and experience deep intimacy with Him in the silent solitude. Though chaotic people are still my natural realm.

Ah - Nolan hung the shelf - he even used a level. I nailed up the other stuff.... ::snort:: I can live with it. THIS is why I like to use tacks to hang things...but I'm using little picture hangy things this time. They make bigger messes if you have to move them - so I won't.

I planned to write about Tuesday and Wednesday but this is long enough. I'll write about today - tomorrow....

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

Mondays Happen in CA Too!

We woke to dark day. It perplexed us. It LOOKED overcast, grey, sort of cloudy.....but it was HOT. Triple digits. It had been grey the day before come to think of it..... Yep - Swede Wildfire - 20 miles north of Beale. I guess we'll quit tracking earthquakes and begin tracking wildfires.

Photo courtesy Jason HalleyChico Enterprise-Record

Another day of sorting through boxes, flattening boxes, crunching paper and hanging things on walls.....

 The smoke alarm kept going off...nothing was ON....the dog was howling...and Zander commented, "It's because Me and Nolan are working so hard we're smoking."

I MUST lay things out to see how I want them on a wall...Yuuki thought all the wall quilts were for her benefit.

I love finding the kids in the nook in our room looking over the "lost years." 

Tonight was LIFT (Ladies In Fellowship Together) at the chapel. This was the kick-off to the PWOC ministry year. It looks to be a great group of women.  I have many thoughts which I may or may not share - later. ::snort::  I'm struggling...but I know where the answer lies.

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

First Sunday - Again

It felt like a first Sunday all over again. We attended chapel one week, traveled to TX over the next two Sundays, and were back at Beale THIS Sunday. Michael preached. Stacia was looking forward to Children's Church...but she'd been throwing up the night before...so I told her she needed to stay home. Arielle drew the short straw and stayed home too.

This was fellowship Sunday (not sure what it's really called) and lunch was served after chapel. We enjoyed the chance to visit a bit more with some of the lovely folks who attend chapel. OK - so lunch was chili cheese dogs - which I love but can't eat....so I had fruit at the lunch and came home and made myself a fantastic eggplant/roasted pepper/onion/mushroom panini.

Michael went to a dorm dinner in the evening. I went along and visited the Launderette. I REALLY wanted to find an off base option that would be clean, have air conditioning and more than four functioning washers....BUT we have one car and need to maximize our gas usage. Off I went...

When I arrived a gentlemen I'd met on our last trip to the launderette (and at the gym) greeted me. He helped load the mounds of laundry inside. He surprised me by remembering our trials with yip and yap. We had a good laugh and I explained why I don't think calling the police is our best option.

This happy fellow kept me company - I decided not to disturb him. Michael had a different plan when he arrived to catch a ride home.

Eight loads of laundry, $17.25 later...we headed for home...and got stopped for a random vehicle check. WOW those skeeters are BAD at night at the Wheatland gate. I felt bad for the guards...they felt bad for us...we had no skeetter spray and were NOT covered. ::ouch::

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

Grindstones and Albums

photo credit: Hjem via photopin cc

As a matter of fact it WAS another day with our noses firmly planted on the grindstone....our goal was to be as done as we can be when Michael goes back to work next week. Oh well. 

We are almost to the spot where we can't do more until the rest of our things arrive.  Another full day would do it. BUT tomorrow is Sunday and Michael is preaching. This week chapel fall programs are kicking off...so I think it may take a week of partial days...and then our storage shipment will arrive and we'll be buried in boxes again. 

We CAN hang things on the walls in two bathrooms and three bedrooms. We may do that. 

The kitchen and family room are our beach head. They look great. Our room is coming together nicely. 

The books we need to start this school year are STILL in storage. I found out they will NOT arrive on the 20th - they will leave TX on the 20th. I need to resign myself to feeling "behind." This is simply life this year.  I would love the time to get the house "done," but the shelves, piano, hutch, garage shelves, appliances are coming at the same time the school books arrive. ::snort:: 

photo credit: Hjem via photopin cc

Some of you remember my Goodfellow Photo project. I spent lots of time taking all my childhood photos out of magnetic albums and putting them in safe albums. Those albums were lost. We went through every box that arrived in Japan and simply couldn't find them. It made me sick to lose all my childhood photos, dating photos, early family life.....we had talked about taking them with us rather than shipping them so they'd be safe. We assumed they'd been stolen with the van as they weren't in Japan. 

I tore the study apart today looking for a couple of missing boxes from our room. One would have some photos albums from 2000-2002.   A bit more back story is we took three years of  school with us when we went to Japan. We stored two years in a closet and kept one year out.....we used the boxes they were packed in from GAFB to store the school books. This has been handy as we can tell which boxes are from GAFB and which are from Japan...different size book boxes.  I found a box from Japan which said "master/ photo albums" and grabbed it. Sitting on top of it was a smaller box that said nothing but "photo albums" on it. It was taped and had never been unpacked. We opened the first box and it was the albums I was looking for from 2000.  I realized this box of photo albums was from GAFB and I began to hope...sure enough....the lost albums!!!! Photos from 1964-1988....the younger kids had great laughs seeing the elder gherkins as young uns......I think I'll be motivated now to finish 1988-1999 and 2002 - 2013.  I'm seriously thinking I will only do albums up until 2004. At that point we began blogging and the stories and photos are printed. All the photos are on hard drives.....

Still can't find the box from our room which would have wall art and my jewelry.....maybe tomorrow. 

Pssst...yes, I WAS too focused to take photos today! ::snort:: 
Choosing Joy!
©2013 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...

Officially Eight

Before anything else is written - this is Stacia's OFFICIAL Eighth Birthday. This is the day we spend six months of the year counting towards with great accuracy. . . She chose pizza to be delivered and a movie in for the evening. She was ill by the time it arrived....I'm glad we celebrated her birthday with family in TX. I suppose I should get those photos blogged.  Stacia (aka Princess Chatterbox) is a delight and has blessed our family with much joy. From the rough pregnancy to this day she has taught us about choosing joy....thus the name Anastacia Joy (Resurrection Joy). 

I began the day early spending sweet time with Jesus...followed by an hour of unpacking. I then woke up Michael and he, Nolan and I headed for Yuba City. Nolan discovered off base labs really DO draw blood painlessly. He approves. We really liked the dermatologist we saw.

The three of us had lunch at Chipotles and then headed to the base to drop off the first load of Michael's pro gear.

We've been looking for a bed for the girls' room. Arielle has had several ideas but finally settled on a metal loft bed which will give Stacia a bed AND will allow them to utilize the floor space under the bed. We picked it up today.....we knew it would make the "official day" special for Stacia.

 Stacia will be able to store her toys under the bed....currently it seems to be serving as overflow closet space...I was surprised how many kimonos and yukatas these girls collected.... For four years Stacia has slept on a Japanese futon. She is happy to have a mattress and Yuuki claimed the futon.

The rest of us continued to unpack while Michael and Nolan put the bunk together. I lost count at 43 book boxes....and that is not counting the pro gear....and the invoice shows more books in our storage....

Sometime in the day my hand started throbbing...I had burst a blood vessel. Arielle grabbed me ice and then quipped, "Let's take her to ER at least we'll get a break." ::snort::  

Michael is tired of the dangling suicide lighting in the living/dining room.  We aren't going to put a table on the new carpet.... He raised it....

Enjoying our first pizza/movie  night in CA

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