Pesky Plans

We've learned much in the past few years. We identify with Paul in many ways. I have always loved his passion and zeal for intimacy with Jesus. We identify with his fervent prayers for healing; to be answered, "My grace is sufficient for you."  (2 Cor 12:9).

Our hearts broke (and continue to break in small ways) when we realized we would not be living in Japan for the next decade or so. Again, Paul proved an example of one who lived with a diverted plan. Knowing what we know of Paul, he did not make plans willy-nilly. He would have prayed about the plan before voicing and committing to it. As did we - for years.  (Acts 16).  I don't know why God would lead one way, then seem to change plans mid-route. He did it to Paul.  Great fruit came from Paul being willing to follow where God led - daily. This BIG change of plans began a work in my "passionate planning heart."

It was followed by a zillion littler plans which refused to stay planned! Pesky Plans. 😁Faithful blog readers have watched my struggle with this aspect of our full-time experience. We found a host job; we were needed in CA. We planned to visit ID; we were told to stay in OR. Perhaps, this is one of the biggest lessons God has taught me during our season of full-time RVing. Oh, I KNEW it, I taught it, but I have had to live it in the grittiness of  life's transitions, unexpected health plans and ever- changing circumstances.  Hold the plans with open palms....don't grasp.....allow God to change them....surrender to Him and flex....FLEX.  Ps 33:11, "The counsel of the LORD stands forever, The plans of His heart from generation to generation." God has a plan. He's working out His heart for us and for our children and for those He has designed for our lives to impact in Alaska. We don't see it all clearly, but we know He's moving.

We shared our summer-winter plan a couple of months ago. Yes, they've changed!😏

• June - Alex and Nolan join the three older male Gherkins for the Epic AK hike
• July/Aug - AlCan; introduce the younger to Alaska; possibly buy some property - see JaRissa and Cy after their moves to AK. 
• Sept - Nov - Travel across the North and spend the fall in the NE and then down around the south (See friends along the way).
• Nov-Dec - spend the Holidays in OR with family and BreZaak and CoRielle
• Move  to Alaska spring or summer 2018????

This plan allowed us to travel - which we desperately want to do. It allowed us to be here for Baby D2's birth.  It allowed us to begin transplanting our roots in Alaska.  It allowed us to slowly and carefully transition from full-time RVing to a more planted life. We weren't 100% sure we'd settle in 2018...but the property would be there if we did. We were a bit unsettled about Nolan's senior year - but all in all it was a good plan.  It was orderly, slow and very doable. 

Bella has deep thoughts about plans! Lovely hat m'dear.

When BreZaak talked to us about all the upcoming challenges they face - both being unemployed the end of May - I told Bre, "We know what you and Izaak can do. Let's see what God can do in this situation." We all prayed. Those words stuck with MY SPIRIT. 

"OK God. I don't know what you're doing in OUR lives. Nothing has gone as expected since retirement. I don't know what you're doing in BreZaak's life.....but I KNOW you ARE working. I'm going to stand back and watch what You are up to."

One day a couple of weeks ago, Izaak called and asked if we could go to lunch and talk. We knew they had several feelers out and guessed they'd like to talk through some options. They managed to surprise us.

"We wonder what you would think of us moving to Alaska."  Izaak has always wanted to live in Alaska. We knew they'd discussed it, "when the time was right." We knew Bre was reluctant to live in the cold (maybe it's genetic?).  Why these men can't pine for Hawaii,  I don't know. 😉 Alaska simply wouldn't leave them alone. This seems a good season for them to take the leap of faith. We understand being drawn to Alaska. They wondered if they could live with us until they find jobs. Well - that would be great. Of course, we need to find a home! Our time-table and plans changed again.   

See Grandpa Mike's blurred hand - playing a game of wits and speed w/ Bella

We are in the process of searching for a spot to call home, with some special elements....we aren't sure what this will mean for full-time RVing/traveling. In 2015, we didn't expect to retire in Alaska.  Michael dreamed of doing so, however,  I like HEAT (tropics, W TX). Alaska didn't seem like a compromise. Beyond the temps, we decided it would be hard to be elderly up there without children and we wanted to live near children. This became even more important when we started the Parkinson's journey.  Of course, our children weren't settling in any ONE spot at that point.  We agreed to find some central location between them all to settle - eventually.  We joked we'd stay in the RV until the kids lighted somewhere. 

Last May JaRissa moved to Alaska.

This May Josiah is moving to Alaska.

BreZaak are moving to Alaska by the end of the summer. 

Six of  the nine Gherkins will be in Alaska by fall (including the three who travel with us). I guess we should join them. Seriously, after Josiah mentioned his plans, the kids would like us up there, we would like to be near the kids as we age (you know in 30 years) - last summer I mentioned maybe we should explore moving to Alaska. Michael jumped on the idea.  Our two wanderers will live the wandering lifestyle and we plan to visit them often (Krista and Jamin). Arielle and Cory are in college and we don't look to see them settle in OR. We suspected, even a year ago, BreZaak would not be at the college "forever." The biggest concentration of Gherkins is in Alaska. 

I still have my concerns about icy roads and COLD....but I've been convicted. I was willing to go to Japan, which is cold and icy in the winter, at God's calling. Can I see God may have ministry for us in Alaska? Can I not be as willing to go to Alaska? I can. I just have to keep surrendering and looking forward. It's a good plan, full of blessings. It does require surrendering the dream to be full timers....

In the process - God is putting together another lovely dream - living in the same area as many of our kids. I grew up watching The Waltons. Growing up as a missionary kid and then a military spouse - I KNEW I'd never have all my kids in one spot - but look what God is doing! 💗

It's like an Alaskan chip was planted in the Gherkins during those years long ago...and they're migrating back 12 years later. 

Our new sketchy plan:

• May - Denver CO for Mom G's burial, see as many friends as we can
• May 12th (or maybe 11th) Jamin graduates from A&M 
• Make our way back to OR
• First week of June  - guys have their Epic Alaskan Hike; Michael, Stacia and I will fly up and attempt to find a home. 
• Back in OR for the remainder of June/July as we celebrate Baby D2's arrival 
• End of July/August move to Alaska
• Possibly visit OR around Thanksgiving

Eventually, we'll be able to travel some....and BreZaak can watch the homestead. LOL  We are debating taking Uchi up for some of us to live in, or parking her in the lower 48 for quick traveling when the itch arises. The allure of hopping a plane, grabbing Uchi and heading for TEXAS is big. LOL

Do your plans stay planned? Are you a planner or do you like life to be unplanned? Will you pray for us as we look at buying property and/or a house? This is big stuff for a family used to pcsing/moving every 3 years.

Psst....If you're Air Force or Army - put ALASKA on your dream sheet and come visit us! We'll scout out the fun things to do before you arrive. We even hope to have a guest cabin.

Editor's Note 15 May 2017 - CoRielle are expecting a baby in November and are joining the great migration this summer.

Note - if this post is impossible to comprehend, you may want to check the Acronym file linked below the blog header. Uchi is the name of our 38 ft Class A home on wheels; Gherkins is a loving term for our children - our ancestors were pickle makers in the old country. 

Monday AGAIN?

The weekends go far too quick.....and so begins another week. Mom is seeing an Oncology Physical Therapist as there is concern she is developing lymphedema. It's been amazing to see the progress she is making in range of motion and more by working with the physical therapist. Today, she got to work on a couple of machines.

Mom at PT

 After  the appointment, Michael and the boys left to drive to Portland. Josiah drove down from Seattle. Alas, the Spurs lost - but the photo shows they're enjoying each other anyway. 

Spurs fans! 

Stacia and I took advantage of being "stranded" at the RV to bake (Stacia) and work on some admin things (me). I'm also tackling a laundry pile that got out of hand.....in our S/B house it would have been 3 or 4 loads. With the RV washer - We're already on the 5th load and I *MAY* be 1/2 way through the job. My goal is to have it done before the guys return. Lesson learned - it doesn't pay at all to let laundry pile up in the RV - even if the family jokes about taking clothes off and finding them folded and in the top of their drawer two hours later. LOL 

We Have a Name....

We name our vehicles. We used to have Big Red (15 pass van lovingly aka The Beast) and The Caboose (31 ft Keystone Trailer).  When we purchased this motor home we DID ask if she had a name - she didn't.

Poor, nameless motor home

We began brainstorming and discussing, and discussing, and discussing. Dad G called the Class C they had while Michael was young the "Dream Boat." I suggested Dream Boat 2. Michael didn't buy it. He wanted something shorter. I suggested DB2 - didn't fly.

Some of the kids liked The Mother Ship - that seemed a bit presumptuous as it was Michael's dream to own the thing, he did the research, shopping, repairs and most the driving. ::snort::

Michael liked Mo  - as in MOtor home. The rest of us were skeptical.

We kept talking - waiting for a name to fit!  Nolan and I wanted something "Japanese."  He was given the task of finding a suitable Japanese name to suggest.  He thought, うち (Uchi) would work.  It means home.

We decided to live with it a bit before making the final choice. We wanted to be sure the word meant what we thought it meant and did a bit of research.

Uchi can mean "house" or "I/me/us/our company/our organization". The second option is mostly used by Japanese that come from the Kansai area. If it is a sentence that has he or ni after uchi, it means house. If is followed by wa or ga, it is the second option.

Well - it seems that Uchi could mean organization or "I". I explained we'd need to adjust a bit if we wanted to be  authentic. You know, in case someone from Kansai knew we named the thing UCHI and thought we were saying "Me, me, me."  All understood, to avoid this confusion, Uchi would need to be followed by ni.....Uchini seemed incomplete...and then someone remembered MO - Michael's favorite. Uchi ni Mo!

We kept thinking and talking.  We bought a jeep. Now we needed a name for it. Ideally the names would "fit together."  One day I was out driving and contemplating this great problem. I offer a glimpse of my thought process.  Uchinimo (Ewwchey knee moe).

Uchinimo....Nemo was a cute movie. "Just keep swimming....just keep swimming." I loved Dori.

Nemo was pretty cute too. He had a bit of spunk, but for the most part kept swimming...following Dori.

Uchinimo. WHAT are we going to name these rigs?

The Jeep will follow the motor home. If we settle and just call the RV Uchi...what goes with uchi for the jeep.

Uchi for the RV.  Ni Mo for the Jeep.

I wonder if the family will go for it.  They did.

We  haven't come up with any names we like better.....

And so we present Uchi and  Ni Mo...Uchinimo - our house the motor home.

Nimo looks pretty tiny behind Uchi

BTW we  slapped those Alaska plates on and the very FIRST afternoon someone stopped us to talk about AK and how far we were from home. Cracked us up as the previous plates were NH plates-further from Northern CA than AK - and nobody stopped us to talk about NH.

Storms and Rainbows - #WYFF

We had a HUGE storm last night.  I believe it was the biggest storm we've weathered in an RV to date. It was impossible to sleep through. Things banged, crashed and jostled. We lost power, got up and pulled our slides in, grills and SAT dishes blew around the park, highway signs and trees were down as I drove into town. Our only casualty was poor little Featherstone.

He'll rise again. 

After big storms - magnificent rainbows manifest. That'll preach - BTW.  We found the end of the rainbow at the driveway to our RV park. 

#WYFF - our feet were doing school, at Mom's oncology physical therapist and radiation appointments, visiting with Rebecca, enjoying pizza at Coburg Pizza and playing games with Mom, Dad and Lorri.

For more #WYFF (Where's Your Feet Friday) posts click the tab below the blog header.

Moving!

I still haven't taken the photos to show the recent changes we've made to the motorhome, but I thought some may enjoy this glimpse. Today, we moved. NOT to a new living location - we needed to refill the propane tanks and get a bit of work done on the rig. I had totally and completely forgotten Michael made an appointment to take the RV to Hitch Pro and Tow today. BOTH of Mom's appointments were cancelled  - it all worked out well. Our own little scheduling miracle.

This is what the back looks like when we're ready to move. The bathroom door still opens. We could get stuff off the bed, but at this point we haven't wanted to sleep and drive anyway. 

This is the front when we're closed up and ready to drive. 

The blue tubs are our library and school resource books. The top left is sports stuff and the right is ALL the holiday decor we brought....for every holiday. I do enjoy a simplified life. The ice cream maker and fire pit fill out this bay. 

The flowered bag contains our seasonal clothes. We THOUGHT it would hold winter coats. In reality, it holds our shorts and tank tops. ::snort::  One of the tubs is my pantry. The other tub holds the books for a year of Tapestry of Grace. 

Yuuki NEVER is allowed on the dash. However, I had the kids in the Jeep and took them to Mom and Dad's to do school. Yuuki is terrified of  riding in the RV. She MUST ride on Nolan's lap. Nolan's lap was unavailable. As Michael began to drive, a streak landed on the dash. She rode well there. I MAY give in and buy her a pillow for riding on the dash - but I don't want her nails to puncture the vinyl.

Michael has been working to install a tow package on the RV and the Jeep. He took it to the shop for two reasons, 1. He was more comfortable having them connect the brake line from the RV to the Jeep and 2. He wanted them to check his work.

All checked out! He hooked up and towed the jeep. He reports you don't even know it's back there. He had to keep checking to make sure it hadn't broken away.

This goes a long way in preparing for our upcoming road trip to CO and TX.  We drove back home and hooked everything back up again. This is pretty common in the park as folks don't want to pay for the adapter which would allow propane to be delivered to an external tank.

We refuse....

...to give up hiking! We'll just adjust our pace and expectations! 

The Creaky Knees Guide, Oregon - the 85 best easy hikes! Of course, we think the rain needs to let up a bit before we do too much outdoor exploring.

Practically Perfect Day

Bre found herself scheduled for a four our Glucose Tolerance Test this morning. She needed a ride there and back and someone to play with Bella. I so love being nearby. I was, of course, thrilled to give her a ride AND play with Bella.  The test came back just fine, I spent four hours with Bella - win/win!  It seems I forgot to comb her hair - BUT - I was on a mission to get a photo of her four teeth. I may have succeeded there. We did get dressed, eat and play!

Bella learned early, when Gemma is around there are flashes and clicks! 

Gemma - why is that red thing attached to your face

Such a sweet smile

Her "Come, I want" signal. BTW I DID put the camera down and go to her!

Look VERY close - four teeth

  I'm grooming her to be a future guest blogger on Courageous Joy. This is HER laptop - a dead, repurposed one of Bre's. 

Bella conquers the laptop! 

Break-away 

 To top off the day we all met Bre at the theater! She remembered me taking them when the animated one came out.  Yes, I caught the "scene." I get it. However, the movie was magical. I was glad to see it with our oldest and youngest daughters. 

The tradition continues

The theme of transforming love resonated with ME. I saw the beast as a type of mankind - monster like, until coming into contact with Christ's transforming love. 

Michael and I especially loved them playing "our song." For YEARS any time Michael and I hugged or kissed, Alex and Stacia would sing "Beauty and the Beast." ::snort:: They were a bit embarrassed when we got romantic as they played our song.  Embarrassment happens.