Yuuki Does Halloween

Yuuki LOVES Halloween. I wasn't home last year for Halloween. I was in Nashville, TN at the last PWOC International conference. I arrived early for board meetings and the start of selecting the last International board. Ah, the memories. I do miss the chance to connect in person with military spouses from around the world.

ANYWAY - I missed last Halloween and hadn't considered how Yuuki would respond to a parade of visitors. The ONLY time she barks or howls is when someone comes to the door. She seems to take it as her duty to warn us all......and she had a blast last night. We thought about putting her in a room...but you are knocking on our door....and it IS Halloween...the maniac barking, howling dog added to the fun for the night.

Someone would ring the bell...she would howl, race from the family room (where we were watching The Music Man) to the door, and then shower the trick or treaters with slobbery licks and wagging tail.  I tried to catch her on video but didn't really get the full fun.

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

Park Day

I know many of my friends in a bubble. I didn't know most of them as children. I don't know their extended families. I will live at the same location with them no longer than 3 years. Our friendships occur in a snapshot of time; though many continue long-distance. This is part of the military lifestyle. I suspect it is true of many segments of our population these days. Nonetheless, it is  a privilege to get to know a piece of a new friend's history - to meet a sibling, parent or grown child, to see photos of past assignments or childhood, to be trusted with past memories.....

Today the girls and I met Stephanie and her mom at the Purple Park.  I hope to be the Grannie who travels the world to visit grand kids someday. LOL  I enjoyed meeting Abby's grandma (Stephanie's mom).

I neglected to take any adult photos - but this time I did get photos of more than Arielle sitting at the top of the slide. ::snort::

Sarah and Arielle

Sarah, Arielle, Stacia and Abby

Adam was tuckered out by the excitement

Arielle pushed hard this week as she was set to babysit tomorrow morning. She got her school work done. I pushed hard with Alex and Stacia so I could play in the a.m. One of the little boys Arielle was to watch has the bug....and so we will have a day free of book work to fill tomorrow...though Nolan will have book work....ah, the possibilities.

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

The COLD has Arrived

I cannot BELIEVE this feels cold...but it does. ::snort:: We didn't get rain - but it was chilly this a.m.

The kids insisted the house was FREEZING...though it never got below 72* inside.  It was pretty humorous to watch everyone do school bundled in blankets and huddled under their covers. 

I visited the audiologist today. Our hope was she would answer the question, "Does he mumble or am I deaf?" It appears I am not deaf. It doesn't necessarily follow that he mumbles, however. She said as we age our brain slows down and we are unable to process as many sounds at a time unless we concentrate. Um....deaf...slow brain....not sure how I feel about these results. I only KNOW  it feels like I'm underwater all the time and my ears are constantly popping. There is no fluid in them...so this is me. 

I stopped by Sunflower Natural Foods on my way home. It's much smaller than New Earth or Whole Foods....but it's closer. It has a neighborhood feel to it. I found organic produce and wheat berries. 

Arielle requested soup. It makes me happy to know it will  get cold enough around here for soup to be welcome. She suggested I make enough for us to put lots in the freezer for future lunches. 

EVERYONE ate this - no fat - lots of veggies....it was vegan...and they ALL ate it. I'm happy.

This is how we study the Middle Ages. We make chocolate castles - because OF COURSE everyone ate chocolate castles in Medieval times.

The inspection has begun on base....this may be the last one of Michael's career....that's something to celebrate. ::snort:: 

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

Another Week Begins

This is what our Sunday morning looked like. Right before service Stacia said those dreaded words, "Mom, I can taste throw up in my throat." Um - YUCK. 

 We really live too far from base to take her home - would have been home a bit and had to come back. Michael preached and Stacia and I rested in the van.  Michael wanted to be dropped off at home with Stacia after service. He has a full week coming up.

The kids and Michael had tried Dancing Tomato last week while I was in TX. They liked it so we went back today. The waitress remembered them. Oh the humor. Nolan and Zander EACH ordered a big pizza. I said, "There is no way you can EAT that."  The waitress looked at Nolan and said, "He ate it all last week." ::snort:: Arielle and I had Veggie Calzone minus the cheese. Yum.

THIS chocolate lasagna seemed like a candidate for a splurge....chocolate cookie crust, nuts and coconut, ice cream, whip cream, chocolate, more nuts.....we ordered one to share.  Arielle and I took delicate bites.

The plate seemed to move towards Nolan. He said gravity had shifted. ::snort:: 

Properly fortified, we headed to Sam's club and bought lots of produce. Our weekly box from the farmer is over for the season.  They didn't have squash but we got a lot of fruit, artichokes, onions and asparagus. I also bought a pack of Clorox wipes and Lysol to kick the germs Stacia is producing. 

I found my phone....between our mattress and the side rail....it's fully charged again. 

We spent the late afternoon watching The Hobbit and now we're ready for a new week. 
Choosing Joy!
©2013 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...

Finding Beauty

We often heard others say, "There's nothing to do," when we lived in Misawa. We never had that problem. There were gorgeous parks within minutes, plenty of beach options within 7 min, mountains and a gorge full of nature within an hour..... It's ironic I find myself feeling that way HERE. In San Angelo there was geocaching,  walking along several rivers, lots of friends....here it seems the big past time is shopping.  I really dislike shopping. It doesn't fit well with our commitment to live on 50% of Michael's salary. ::snort::

The morning was filled by Japanese with  Ryu and Kim and waiting for Jamin's Conference race results. As we waited we plotted a course for the rest of our day. EVERY suggestion involved 2 - 4 hours of travel or shopping. I begged we look for a few places near BEALE where we could enjoy nature, hike, play, unwind...no shopping! We're open for suggestions, y'all! I do not plan to live in the past, or develop a discontented attitude....I just need to find some things we ENJOY doing which are nearby.

Jamin was disappointed with his race results. We were disappointed with him. It was not his best time - and we were all surprised....YET...he made all conference. He'll have two weeks to train hard and rest well and show everyone what he has at NCAA Div 2 regionals. I'm so very proud of the young man Jamin has become. He's a winner.

I remembered a park "under the bridge." We all remembered oodles of soccer fields, but it seemed there may be water down there....Michael suggested we stop by  and then head to Sam's club....I begged to skip the shopping. We did. ::grin::

We found beauty - under a bridge with lots of traffic - but beauty.

Though I thought, "No Swimming" was posted, this rope told a different story. I began to look for a platform...Michael found it....

Arielle perfected the tree crawl....

Success - sort of - she's not at the end

 I would love to know what was in Zander's mind at this moment. 

  

She wouldn't be coaxed to stand on the platform...but did well to get out there....She yelled down to me  she thought this would be a good spot for an engagement proposal. I found her observation quite odd. I must quiz her further on this matter. ::snort::  I sure love these two. 

Sparkly water - took a bit to convince the youngers it WASN'T gold! 

We left the bridge park (not sure what it's really called) and decided to explore historic Marysville. I WAS excited to find the Yuba County Library!  We found The Candy Box and broke our  "no shopping" edict. We discovered a restaurant, The Brick, which has several vegetarian items on it's menu. Vegetarian is good as we can say, "no cheese please" and be vegan! We also found the Bok Kai temple....which provided strange solace on a day when several of us were missing Misawa.

 

I came home from Texas to a  shocking turn of events. Stacia has decided to be healthy too. I asked her what that meant and she said, "No Meat or dairy or chips and work out!" On a daily basis only 2 of the 6 of us at home are real "meat and potato" eaters. I'm toying with making more meatless meals.....cooking two meals a day can be wearing. I'd say the three are more "nutritarians" and I'm more vegan - but we're all healthier than we were last August.

I love being home with these five. I do find my mind running to the four I left in TX on Wednesday....and the two in OR.....

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

Catching Up with Life

Getting back into our "home routine" has taken a bit of work. We pressed hard and we managed to finish the week strong in school. It helped that PWOC was cancelled and we hadn't invited anyone over during the week...we barricaded the doors and put our noses to the grindstone.  We haven't done all the science or hands on history I had planned.....

Of course, we DID make time for a bit of fun. 

Stacia and I were partners in this game - and we roundly lost

I lost my phone and we've been scouring the house. We've followed every suggestion I've received on Facebook....over and over. 

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

Eucharist? Unique Family Circle

It's good to be home. Yes, HOME. Coming back to CA underscored for me the truth that home is not a location - it's people. Home IS where Michael and the home-bound Gherkins are. 

The funniest moment today came during Family Circle. I'm working hard to condense truth to bite-size portions  meaningful to our older children and also our younger children. This week are we studying Jesus, as the Bread of Life. 

Via Google Images

Somewhere in the discussion the Eucharist was mentioned. The discussion continued. Stacia entered it by explaining that Yuuki is named Yuuki....and sometimes we call her Yukasaurus or Yuukichan....she continued on....and finally Michael asked her how this tied in to our discussion. (Are you ready?)

Well - Mom said we could study the Euchasaurus.... ::snort:: 

We jumped back into school today. Arielle and Nolan had helped Stacia and Zander continue through the past few days...and I'm thankful. It will make it much easier to catch up after these few slower days.  Stacia even FINISHED her 2nd grade math book and is now officially a 3rd grader. 

We promptly put the book in our recycling bin....we teased Stacia that it would be recycled and come back as her 4th grade math book. ::wink:: 

This is a day lived in transition. I'm embracing family life here in CA. I'm more aware of family life in other parts of the country....and my mind and heart keeps zipping back to TX and over to OR. 

While I was gone Michael purchased and set up an elliptical. That was great fun. They also bought  a new game....I'm excited to play it with them....but today I had to work out as I didn't get it done before school. 

Dinner was turkey meatloaf for the carnivores...and a black bean loaf for the  vegans or nutritarians.   I also roasted some asparagus and turned one of our abundant squashes into garlic/onion oven baked fries, made a salad and served fruit.  Stacia informed me when I got home  she is vegan now. I asked her what that meant and she said she doesn't eat meat or milk or cheese. 

I'll close with a sample of our patio art. This is Rainbow Larry drawn by Stacia. 

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