31st Anniversary

Happy First Anniversary to BreZaak. Happy 49th birthday to my brother, Will. Happy 31st Anniversary to Michael and I.

 

I awoke in a crabby mood as I contemplated our upcoming changes and living in such cramped quarters in a few months. Michael lovingly shared the following verses with me,

“If you have run with footmen and they have tired you out,
Then how can you compete with horses?
If you fall down in a land of peace,
How will you do in the thicket of the Jordan?" Jeremiah 12:5

 

Being exceedingly crabby makes one theologically dense and I asked how in the world that applied to the situation. Oh. If you can't survive in The Caboose in America which you know well...how are you going to survive in a Japanese apartment? Not one to give up easily, I retorted the apartment was sure to bigger than the trailer....however, point taken. Don't you hate it when there's a verse that point out your sin so clearly? I really was not choosing joy. Living in The Caboose will be training...it will make an apartment in Japan seem spacious - I HOPE. 

 

Our Valentine's Celebration got underway early in The Caboose with this treat bought in Misawa, Japan  and saved for the "right" occasion. Isn't that odd of me? This was my last tangible piece of Misawa and I simply didn't want to let it go.....and yet it seemed right to enjoy it together today....so 1 1/2 years later we all shared our Meiji chocolate almonds for Valentine's Day.

Krista packed  a lunch while the rest of us got ready and we headed across the river to visit Mom G. She is an amazingly tough woman. She's doing well after surgery.

We enjoyed making videos of some stories until we abruptly ran out of battery. Maybe more tomorrow.  It was a beautiful day and so we moved our party outside to the front deck. BEAUTIFUL day in CRESCENT CITY in FEBRUARY! We think it was up in the low 70's.

We did a couple of small jobs for Mom G and will do more tomorrow.

 It was SUCH a nice day that Stacia was determined to go swimming. Krista and Nolan were game.  My camera was dead;  I snapped a few shots with my phone. Stacia waded in...the rest were content to wade....just after this she dove in....and eventually these two followed suit.

 

Arielle was content to sit on this rock and think

 

At some point in the day caretakers at a home in the park threatened to unleash their two big dogs (Pit Bull and Rottweiler) and let them attack the children. Why? They felt the beach was their  "private beach." There IS no private beach along the Smith River.  Stacia was terrified.  Um....family has lived here for 80 years - we know  the boundaries. I could not BELIEVE someone would actually threaten  to sic attack dogs on children in the park. Neighbors are neighborly here. She said she was calling the cops. Michael nearly called the sheriff to file a complaint about the incident. We also discovered Mom G had had an incident with them also. He decided to call the owner of the property instead.  They are in Italy, but we have emailed them to let them know this behavior is not acceptable.  I hope he isn't aware of this and doesn't condone it.

 

Climbing right below Mom G's house - no ones private beach ::snort::

We burned some burgers and veggie burgers and had a yummy dinner at the campsite...We are enjoying Krista's quick visit.

 

Featherstone guarded the camp well while we were out

 

We brought this little stove from Mom's and we'll return it tomorrow.

 

No camping adventure would be complete without a chapter or two of Patrick McManus

Road Trip

Yuuki watched the activity this morning and went and placed herself in the van. She knows the routine and was NOT going to be left behind on the first Road Trip of 2015!

 Hwy 20 and Hwy 101 are BEAUTIFUL....torturously winding....but beautiful. Five of us slept thanks to Dramamine......but the glimpses we DID catch were beautiful. The road was too windy for DVDs - sleeping was good.

Napping with Yuuki

We set up camp - Featherstone came out his bag.....Michael weathered the trip fairly well.

Featherstone's Debut

We set up camp. Michael  is stretched out - it was a long drive to make - but we really wanted to touch base with Mom G.  I think I need to buy him another running set.

 

Dinner in The Caboose

The kids' back bunkhouse has 4 beds.....the girls curtain off their bunks. Stacia will sleep on the table this trip as Krista is joining us and will get her bed.  Krista called and was stuck behind a big accident. Poor thing is going to be tired when she arrives.

 

Until she arrives we'll play games. I am looking around and thinking what needs to be tweaked to LIVE in this thing. LOL

Power Slap!

Then There Was Thursday

Michael went back to work today. I suspect he ran like a crazy man. He got home about 7 p.m.

The kids and I finished two days of couch school - it's easy when you're reading Moccasin Trail. Stacia finished the Explode the Code I'd slated for the year - I ordered the final two books of the series.

We cleaned the house. We did boat loads of laundry. The normal Thursday stuff after an incredibly hectic Mon - Wed. 


There was also a bit of this....just me....I realized I've begun to lose the art of Japanese bathing....just for relaxing.....so in the middle of the afternoon.....after school was done and when I'd usually crash....I headed upstairs to a very hot shower, alternated with cold bursts...I lathered, I exfoliated and repeated. I washed my hair and then put a conditioner on and pinned it on top of my head. I dug out the onsen basin....filled it with cold water, found an onsen towel....and headed for the backyard onsen. Ah - as near as I can come stateside....Stacia helpfully suggested, when we retire, we build walls around the onsen so I can do it the right way - nekkid - and invite the neighbors.  I love the mix of cultures she exhibits.... LOL

Zander is 13!

Once upon a time we had four teens young adults in our family at the same time. As of today we have three in our family at the same time....Zander turned 13!

We actually went out to lunch yesterday to celebrate as we KNOW Wednesdays are impossible for celebrations. ::snort::

 

Today we left home at 0730 to get ready for a rousing PWOC day. Stacia had been bugging him to wear the "flying pig" on his birthday - and he did. Evidently the preschool kids really wore him out.

Just a minute to brag on this young man.  He is doing so WELL with these kids and is faithfully helping Angela (and Arielle) week in and week out. He's learned how to decipher some of the more intricate cues of the kids.  He's thriving.  THIS is the one we were told wouldn't be able to function without lots of meds - if at all - and he functions well. This is the one who I was told would never be able to read phonetically - and yes - we are "delayed" - but we took our time, and he reads - well. We're working on the mechanics of writing now.  I fully expect him to be "caught up" by the end of this year or middle of next year. He has worked hard and is doing so well....Yes, we ARE believers in trying diet changes before drugs after seeing the difference it made in Zander. He INTERACTS WITH ALL OF US now; Stacia most of all.  Nine years ago he was really in his own world or interacted with us on HIS TERMS.  He has worked hard as we have worked to teach him social cues others seem to grasp naturally. He works hard to control the level of stimuli which used to cause "meltdowns," rocking or hurting himself. We lovingly called him our "alphabet kid," all those years ago -  due to all the alphabetic labels he was given.  My heart is full when I see the young man he is becoming - uniquely created to serve his Master.

After PWOC and PWOC board meeting we came home and opened gifts.....he also has one paper rain check but most of his gifts arrived in time.

 

We dug into the SECOND ice cream cake of the week.

 

Zander in a smoky haze!

Tuesday

Tuesday was a very busy day and I'm not going to even TRY to give a play by play of the day....here were a couple of things that made me smile big on Tuesday!

We baked for Desiree and family.....so much fun. I wanted to bake a batch of bread but ran out of time.  We did get a coffee cake, two kinds of muffins and some baked oatmeal done.  

 

Nolan was able to trade one of his paper rain checks for the real thing! 

 

 A gift from all the kids

No photo - but we began the prophetic part of our study of Daniel tonight. I loved focusing on the Ancient of Days and seeing the coronation of King Jesus.

That's a wrap.

She Has a Plan

Blech - me blowing a big raspberry.

Stacia has pulled me aside several times in the last few weeks and whispered, "I don't want Arielle to leave home. I don't want my own room."  She reached a conclusion sooner than me - Arielle is leaving home.

Perhaps I can be excused for this oversight when one considers how many options have been on the table. Arielle LOVES Japan. The plan we heard most discussed is  she'd move back to Japan with us and take online courses or courses at a military base for a year or two.  I escaped the angst of having a Senior. We would retire, we'd all move on.

Arielle, however, figured something out much quicker than me. We aren't going directly from Beale AFB to Japan. There is sure to be a gap.  A gap where we live in a trailer and may well be traveling from spot to spot.  If she stays with us she won't be able to have a job. She COULD take online courses but she really doesn't LOVE living in the trailer.

Arielle also has spent much time in prayer over this and senses a different course than she had previously planned.

Because of transition issues of moving back to the states from Japan (It took a ridiculous long time to jump through the hoops to get a CA driver's license and she needs to drive to find safe employment as our area isn't 'the best') Arielle wasn't ready to get a job until recently - and now she's graduating in months....She's been talking about several options.

I became aware she was much further along in her planning than Michael and I knew when we received a text/phone call from Krista asking when she would move in. Sometime in the future????? After we retire? Maybe she'll want to spend a bit of time in the trailer?

Turns out she won't be living with us until we retire.  It makes sense for her to move earlier and look for work while University kids are home for the summer.

She has a plan. She will move to OR and share a duplex with Krista and possibly another gal. She'll move up after she returns from her missions trip to Mexico this summer - either the end of June or the 1st of July. 

In a recent talk I asked her what happened to her long time plan of being a beautician and is she sure she's happy giving that up? It disappeared after her mission trip to Mexico last summer.  She plans to get a degree in cross cultural ministry (missions to those of our generation). As she's not been able to work during high school, we are not sure she'll be able to afford New Hope - which is her first choice. They used to offer a 50% discount to ministry families; then 25% and we were told today it's currently on a sliding scale.  (The good news is after we retire our income will drastically reduce and our future kids will be eligible for pell grants and needs-based scholarships.) ::snort::

Arielle plans to work this upcoming year and if she doesn't attend/get accepted to New Hope, to take general courses online or at a local college.....MUCH cheaper per credit hour. That appeals to her Dave Ramsey worldview - though we may be more comfortable leaving her in America if she's at a Christian college. (OK  we'd rather she attend secular than an overtly liberal Christian college).

And so Michael and I are adjusting OUR paradigm. Arielle is moving out BEFORE we retire. She is NOT moving with us to Japan - somewhere in the nebulous future.  Stacia caught on quickly. She IS moving out....in 4 - 5 months.  While this makes us sad - it is also exciting. She has a goal - to be a missionary in Japan.  She is very deliberately considering the best preparation to be effective in that future ministry.

Now - if I could just get her to talk about what she wants to do about graduation - that arrives in 3 months!

Note: for all those who love Arielle's baby-sitting skills she leaves mid-June for Mexico......

Nolan's Day

Sixteen years old!!!!

 

The boys took a treat to the youth class today....and Nolan chose Applebee's for lunch.  We came home and the kids began a rousing round of RISK. (Not seeming to understand the privilege of birthday, Arielle won again! ) Nolan received calls for Krista and BreZaak.

 We are realizing how quickly time passes. Time hits warp speed as the kids enter high school.

We asked Nolan some goals he has for the next couple of years.

He's still thinking of goals - but two goals are to write awesome essays and to be able to carry on a normal conversation in Japanese.

Both within his reach.

 

If we knew he'd be so happy with printed photos, we'd have given him a little red sport's car.  His gifts are on the way.....Scene It from the kids.

 

The Hobbit board game add on....

 

Pre-order of The Hobbit 3

 

Just to be sure he had something to open - Stacia and I picked this up.

We've loved watching the man of God Nolan is becoming. We look forward to the upcoming years.