Sunday at Tahoe

These Gherkins ROCK! We were very busy with Stacia's birthday on Saturday - the Gherkins made lists of food and camping supplies, went shopping and loaded the trailer. Camping really CAN be like a vacation - if you have Gherkins come do all the prep and packing. ::snort::

We left for Tahoe after service. We arrived by 5 p.m. and found our campground.  We're happy with Tahoe Valley Campground.

We set up camp and HAD to go find Lake Tahoe. We found a city campground (which was full and didn't have sites big enough for us)  and a Dog Park on Lake Tahoe.

While walking down to the lake, I stopped to take photos. Michael and the Gherkins walked ahead. As I took photos I heard an older couple commenting, "THIS is what's wrong with this generation! Where's the mother in that picture? WHERE'S THE MOTHER!?"

I couldn't help myself. I smiled prettily and said, "Here I am, I was taking pictures."  ::snort::

Yuuki did not fully appreciate the dog beach.....but we encouraged her to go in anyway.

Choosing Joy!
©2014 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...

Stacia is NINE!

It's finally HERE.

We've never had a child who enjoys her birthdays quite as much as Stacia! For a variety of reasons we stepped out of the "birthday racket"  quite a few years ago. We prefer small family parties over lots of chaos and whines and over-stimulation. We have had a few friend parties - usually in the birthday month and not on the day. Stacia LOVES her birthdays. She begins counting down months in advance - much like BreAnne with Christmas.

"Mom, my birthday is in 5 months, 29 days and a wake up!"

I am not quite so enthusiastic about this event.....

A few weeks ago I awoke to, "Mom, it's AUGUST!"

The girls have been trying to convince her all week that this is a leap year and we'd be skipping Aug 16th this year. She was in tears. I stepped in.

Today is 16 August 2014 and Stacia is NINE!

We're a Dave Ramsey family. We aligned our budget to match our doctrine. Christmas is when we celebrate Jesus. We have a $50 limit per child at Christmas. Their BIRTHDAYS are when we celebrate the gift THEY are to our family. We have a $100 limit. Stacia had quite a list of things she'd like for her birthday.....a sewing machine, a real phone, dolls, a kindle, a flute.....I explained we are a Dave Ramsey family (a man these kids know nearly as well as their uncles) and she admitted she knew she wouldn't get it all - but maybe one would be in budget.

We were helped this year by several factors. All the kids purchased their own gifts for Stacia. Stephanie, a local friend in the neighborhood, texted to say she had a sewing machine she wanted to sell before she moved. For $20 I had the number one item on Stacia's list. The kids got many of the other things...well - here - look.






Maya snuck this card to me last week at chapel

 Alex bought her a GIRL'S nerf pistol 

 

Nolan's love language is games and he found a great one that has add ons - with various Disney princesses.

 

We don't love Barbies - but Stacia has a few. She's asked for a Ken doll for years. We've not gotten her one. This year she pointed out to me that she likes to play games where they are a family and go on trips and it's VERY hard to have a family without a man. We support this reasoning. Arielle got her a Ken doll.  I tried to find a GI Joe doll - you know a man in a uniform instead of girly pants - but I couldn't find one like I remember as a child anywhere. 

 

Krista got her material.....love the set of Stacia's jaw as she contemplates this gift and what to do with it.....just like my grams. 

 

She found it incredibly funny Krista got her more fabric!

 

And more - at this point there were comments about the needle she'd broken on my machine.

 

Alex gave her another with a card that said, "Is it real?" It wasn't. An empty package wrapped to look like a gift. That'll preach!

 

 
 
Jamin purchased a Trac phone for the girls to use in Mexico. It wouldn't work it Mexico but has been activated.  Jamin told Krista to give it to Stacia from all the boys and Shelby in TX. This is the moment when she wonders is this a toy or REAL?  "I always knew I could count on my brothers," runs through her mind.  We heard a comment about "immigrants and natives" to the land of technology. It's odd that we have given birth to both. ::snort:: We had no plan of buying her a phone - but she plans to keep up the minutes....and  she informed us she'll use it to put all her older brothers and sisters in there and her grandparents - this way she can call when it works for her. ::snort::  She also told us she will be able to text. Again - I guess with so many older siblings out of the home this does make some sort of odd sense. 

Another jewelry set as she loves crafts

 She's been asking for a panda for years! We haven't been able to find one. Arielle found this one at Toys R Us and we couldn't resist. 

 

I bought Ken something other than his girly pants.

 

Stacia loves dolls. She's been saving to buy another American Girl doll - and has the money. BUT honestly - I have a hard time with spending so much money on ONE DOLL. I've noted she's not crazy to play with it either as she knows the price....so when I saw Toy's R Us had 18 in dolls that she could afford to buy with her allowance....I bought one....one with brown hair, glasses, and a sweet outfit that reminds us for BreAnne. LOL  She's thrilled and we stayed in budget.

Look at that face. It's priceless. Thank you so much, Stephanie! 

 

The planning of how to use Krista's material began in earnest.

 

Our game master explains the new set up to Stacia.

 

Earlier we made a cookie dough ice cream cake per Stacia's request

 

Happy Birthday sweetie - it's fun to share your excitement.

"Mom, 364 days and a wake up until my birthday!"

Choosing Joy!
©2014 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...

Finally Friday

We made an ice cream cake for Stacia's big day.

We enjoyed a wonderful visit with Papa Phil, Ms. Beverly and Maya.  This was the type of visit which leaves you refreshed, knowing you must plan more in the near future - before you retire.

We finished some crafts for the Rally.

And I won't show the front just yet.

A friend dropped off a surprise for Stacia's birthday. She had an item on Stacia's dream list and wanted to get it out of her home before she moves. I was happy to buy Stacia a sewing machine and still have money for other gifts.

We started discussing how we really needed to pack if we were going to be ready to leave after service on Sunday. We didn't actually pack.

We picked up my computer!

We stopped at Toys R Us - and did not find a GI Joe doll...but Arielle went hog wild and we found lots of other things.

We came home and watched The Muppets Most Wanted.

Choosing Joy!
©2014 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...

Pedicures, Crafts and Cookies

I woke up this a.m. and decided we simply had to have a bit of fun while Krista was here.

I was a bit worried we wouldn't be home in time to meet the S family - but we made it. We spent the afternoon with Rachel, Krista and I working on little surprises for the Fall Rally. I learned both Rachel and Krista are OCD.

At some point in the afternoon Arielle asked if the kids could make cookies. This was a great idea for the kids and us....not such a good idea for Arielle. Cookies are really not the bland fare that Arielle needs to be eating.

Joys a big helper!

 Rachel must not make cookies for the kids very often.....which is a good thing. Joy looked at the dough and said, "DEEE- Scusting!"

 

The boys didn't share her feelings

Zach and Nathan are pros!

Kissable Seth

It was a fun afternoon for the kids. We had been trying to get together for several weeks.  We got a lot done for the Rally too. ::wink::

Choosing Joy!
©2014 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...

The Gherkins Save the Day

Our Children bless my socks off.

We left the house early Wednesday to go clean and vacuum the library at the Far West Campus. We also had to find a couple of tables, chairs and toys. They did all this without one complaint and THEN watched 16 kids for us while the moms met with me for a PWOC Board Meeting. Due to recent chapel policy changes (which I do love) we find we really need to conserve hours. We did not have enough hours for Children's ministry during board meetings and programs...BUT if we meet in the library our youth can watch the kids while we meet in the glassed in room....line of sight. This allowed us to save children's hours for single moms and mom's whose husbands are gone for our monthly LIFTS (Ladies in Fellowship Together).

It was HOT. I couldn't figure out how to turn the AC on.

We had a good business meeting.

We discussed four chapters of, Leading Women Who Wound, and we toured the new facility so we could visualize where Bible studies and children's ministry would be.

We didn't finish cleaning up until 2:00 p.m. and we didn't want to drive home to drive back to base for Family Bible Study. We set out to find things to do on base. It was a VERY warm day....so we got something cold for all at Burger King. We went grocery shopping. We stopped by the POW cell block....

Finally, we had dinner at the Dining Facility. They have lots of vegan options and we girls enjoyed it much better than Burger King.

Bible study was good as we discussed Goodness and Faithfulness. There were over 20 of us this week and the interaction was fun.

It was a full day.

Choosing Joy!
©2014 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...

MEETINGS!!!

Breakfast at Awful Annie's is a GREAT way to begin a day. I had a wonderful vegan breakfast  - a big beautiful mess. They serve lots of "real food" as well.  One of my young friends asked if we could meet to talk about the upcoming changes in her life. I knew she wanted me to drum up advice on being a chaplain's wife.  I thought and thought and this is about as good as it gets....

Seriously, she had wonderful questions and it was fun to share how I've navigated the ministry in the Air Force....mostly I can share how I detonated mines and how to avoid them yourself. ::snort::

My next meeting of the day was a Chapel Financial Working Group with our new Wing Chaplain.

Immediately following this meeting we drove to Roseville for a farewell lunch with  Chaplain K and his lovely wife, Christine. Wow - I'm going to miss them. I thought they'd be moving next year about the time we retired.  The photo I took with my phone is on Michael's computer. Hmph.

This day reminded me how much I treasure the time with friends - and how important it is to take advantage of the time we have together - because you just never know when the Air Force is going to call and tell a friend, "You have a month to get to Germany!"  Godspeed my friend.

 Choosing Joy!
©2014 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...

Must Be Monday

Monday's plans shifted drastically when MY COMPUTER DIED!

I spent Monday trying to deal with the death of my laptop. I finally got it back on Friday (15 Aug). I have all my data back. I do not have all my Outlook files. If I owe you an email the best bet is resending your email to me. I don't have a copy of the email and most likely don't have your email address either. ::sigh::

This was to be the week I finished all my computer projects for the Fall Rally....videos, handbooks...all had to wait.  Semper Gumby.

Monday was also the day we took Arielle to the doctor. I have NO IDEA how she managed to talk the doctor into waiting a week to see if she improved.  She did. She was told to eat a very bland diet, drink ensure and try to gain weight.

I'd promised the girls to make Veggie Pot Pie for dinner...but it didn't seem right. They insisted. I complied. Zander is on kitchen duty this week so he offered to help with crusts.

As I couldn't work on computer Rally stuff - we began working on decorations....

Krista is known for coming up with the most fun and CHAOTIC games. This one is Doctor Doctor. The idea seems to be to twist yourselves in such a way that the Doctor cannot untangle you.

Choosing Joy!
©2014 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...