Questions with Stacia

Stacia's science text is MIA. It may be at the Airman's Attic. It may be in storage. We simply don't know. The boys both have science and she sits in on theirs......but Questions with Stacia have become a nearly nightly ritual in The Caboose.

It begins with a question, moves on to an answer from Michael and then discussion from all of us. We are calling it science. This curriculum only works if you happen to live with a science geek - which I do.

• Why do mountains become volcanoes?
• What makes volcanoes erupt?
• How does an airplane work?
• How does a helicopter work?
• How does a car work?
• How does a rocket work?
• What causes rain?
• How does a television work?
• How does a gas oven work?
• How does the internet work?
• How does the refrigerator work?
• Why are these rocks this shape?
• How do computers work? - Um o.k. after a discussion I heard, "Better ask Mr. Don more about that." 

Just Look at BreAnne

  BreAnne at 27 weeks - one week away from her third trimester. Thank you, Jesus! We are so excited at the fairly stress-free pregnancy she has had this time.

Baby Girl is the size of a cucumber - she's 15 inches from head to toe. It would be an understatement to say the family is over-the-moon excited to kiss all those little inches in a few months. 

The race is on - will Baby Girl arrive or will the VA appointments happen first??????

BIBLE STUDY

My Trailer Sanctuary

This week I began facilitating my first online Bible study group.  I've already learned much and I'm sure I'll learn much more in the next 8 weeks. This proves you CAN teach an OLD DOG new tricks. ::snort::  I'm truly enjoying this group of women, their willingness to be transparent and their hearts which beat with passion for Jesus.  On a personal level it has been a blast to have women from many different assignments participate - to study again with them and to watch pieces of our scattered years of military ministry form a mosaic. Exciting. There are a couple of family members in the study, we range from those exploring their relationships with Jesus to those who have been Christians for decades, we range from 22 to 60's, there are women from our first assignment and from our last assignment, military and civilian, full-time RVers and ranchers;  and yes, we cross denominational lines...the fellowship, however, is SWEET because we have the grace of Jesus in common.

I got up this morning and after my quiet time, I posted a bit to the group....and responded to some thoughts shared by others.....then took Yuuki for the walk she was promoting. Everyone was sleeping and I left my stuff on the table.

I got Holy Spirit goose bumps when I walked back into the Caboose to see this!

Love God Greatly has created kids' journals - I got one for Stacia. She doesn't like coloring so I can do the coloring sheets. I use the free PDF files and the coloring sheets aren't included. Stacia was doing Bible study on her own initiative. My 10 yo was excited to do the same study her 28 yo sister, 22 yo friend and mom are doing too. She was writing out the Scripture.

These pencils make a mess! 

I gave her a few pointers on what SOAP (or SOAK) stands for. I shared some abbreviations I use. I explained asking herself the 5 w's and an h; always looking to see what you can learn about Jesus/God in a verse; and if there is anything you need to start doing or stop doing as good ways to start observation.

I explained she could write out her observations and application or draw a photo. She told me, "I'm more of a word person than an artist." I loved that - I could have said it.  I left her alone....and as I snuck glances at her I noticed she was imitating me....and that's an o.k. thing if I'm following Jesus.

She finished up and asked to share it with me - and I got a glimpse that maybe, like her mom, her heart will beat with a passion to learn and share. We sat and talked and I commented if I COULD draw I would love to draw a throne of grace...and she drew....

I loved her prayer. Once again showing children do not have a Junior Holy Spirit. The same Holy Spirit who gives great insight to a 30 yo and 50 yo gives understanding and insight to a 10 yo.

No, I will not share her Bible studies every day and yes, I did have her permission this time. At its heart the blog is a family journal and this is a milestone in our estimation. LOL 

Japanese Added to the Caboose

This is a sure sign we've truly figured out how to make trailer-life work for us and that we've adjusted to Michael's diagnosis.

Today, Nolan was able to resume weekly Japanese lessons. Arielle joined from Oregon, Ryu and Kim taught from Idaho and Nolan participated from the bunk house of the Caboose in CA.

The kids and I will keep "working" with our program to pick up conversational Japanese (knock off Rosetta Stone), Michael and I are trying to learn hiragana - the sign we're ready to start official lessons too.  

 

OF COURSE this event evoked deeper thoughts and emotions than realizing I should take Nolan for a hair cut......it was EXCITING to hear Japanese in the home again. We all sort of lost heart thinking we'd not make it back to Japan.....this is another act of surrender and faith in 2016.  I surrender my expectations God will act in any set way in regards to us and Japan......but in faith, we'll continue to prepare to serve in Japan until we hear, "No - go pastor in Moccasin, MT."

We'd love any helps for learning hiragana you happen to know.....

Coming Home

How will they feel about being back in a trailer after living in beautiful homes for three weeks?  Will moving back to the trailer depress them? Can a trailer ever really be home? Has the novelty worn off? Are they ready to find a real home?

 I know folks wondered if we'd have doubts about living in a trailer after all the fun we had this month. The answer - NOPE! We LOVED seeing family in OR. We LOVED living in beautiful homes. The thing is, living in the trailer allowed us the flexibility to house-sit. It allowed us the flexibility to stay an extra week for our grandblessing's ultrasound.

  

We drove up to the Trailer and all felt, "Home! We're home."  We spent yesterday unpacking, restocking food, filling propane...and smiling. Today, we drove by our old home to pick up some mail which had inadvertently slipped through the post office.....I wondered how it would feel.

 We loved this neighborhood and house - but I didn't feel like breaking down and begging Michael to get us back into a "real home." ::snort:: We were content to come "home" to the Caboose.  O.K. I did consider begging him to buy a portable hot tub. LOL

I found it interesting this afternoon to see a discussion on a sister-friend's Facebook timeline comparing tiny homes and trailers. Someone commented,  "A tiny home could become a home, but a trailer will always be a retreat." Um......nope. Ours IS our teeny tiny home and we love it.  Only our favorite things surround us.  Cleaning takes a fraction of the time. We're learning empathy for those who live a mobile lifestyle...and those without "stationary" homes. Living a simple life is much easier.  We were able to not only live on our budget last month (which is 2/3's less than our active duty pay), but save over $1,000. Family closeness happens naturally from sunup to sundown. In short, we live here. We do everything we did in a stick & brick (S&B) house. This is home as much as any of our other addresses have been. For now - this is the season of rest God ordained for us - and we're loving it.

In the past three weeks we packed our bags and moved them to new homes or different rooms 5x.....and several commented one of the big benefits of our trailer is traveling without packing and unpacking. Does this mean we live in a giant suitcase? I figured this out immediately - but it would appear the rest of the family has come to dislike packing as much as I do. ::snort::

A new purchase is sure to make the trailer even more "home like." We've had camp Wi-Fi. This means it's not secure AND it's not very dependable. I could blog, load photos, stream at 3 - 5 a.m. otherwise - we headed to the lounge, shower-house or laundry for wifi.  I worried about state parks with no wifi when we began traveling again.

 

It wasn't cheap - but considering all the options: Sprint Karma Go (sprint map shows sketchy in many parts of the country) buy a 60 gig data Verizon plan , or lease an unlimited Verizon line on eBay - this is the one that made us the most comfortable.  Even with our up-front cost, this will pay for itself in 2 - 9 months when considering the other Verizon options. Our monthly cost will be $70, as opposed to $120 - $410..... we assumed a grandfathered contract. The owner and us did this in a conference call with Verizon. It's all on the up and up. We realize Verizon could cancel these contracts - but at this point they simply raised the price and we're happy to pay their fees. Our contract is directly with Verizon....and we have reliable, fast wifi once again.

We enjoyed a couple of skypes this weekend and will begin Japanese lessons tomorrow.

Yes, a trailer can be home. 

Note Michael's transformation from military member to civilian. The beard is grown. The hair may lay down in a week or two.....I'll have to do a side by side soon. 

Mixed Messages

It seems the city planners were unsure of their message! ::snort:: 

#WYFF - On the Road Again

 We said goodbye to BreAnne last night.

We said goodbye to Krista and Arielle this morning.

We drove to Mom and Dad's and traded van seats (which we'd put in for our time in OR so we could all ride together) for tubs of school books (which we need when we're at home in the Caboose ::wink::).  We said goodbye to Lorri and Mom and Dad and then it was time to hit the road. This is one of my favorite drives, through valley, over the passes and by Mount Shasta. Shasta Lake looks like a river these days..... 

I always forget how pretty the view will be if I'll just wait for it - that'll preach. 

We were happy to be on the road again. A bit of a taste of what awaits us if we can just wait this "season" out.  

We arrived home in the dark, unpacked the essentials and settled in to our cozy home. We plan to rest deeply this weekend and hit the school books hard next week. We have another six weeks before Michael's next neurology appointment. We fully expect to be released for full-time travel again after that trip to UC Davis.  We hope to get 9 - 12 weeks of book school under our belts before we leave our little campground at Beale AFB.