Choosing Joy!
©2012 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...
Wednesday, April 04, 2012
Who says Homeschoolers aren't socialized?
Choosing Joy!
©2012 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...
School DAZE!
There have been a lot of things which haven't been very fun in the past 3 weeks....but one blessing is that we're ZOOMING in school. I had planned ahead to travel for 10 days ...and ended up not traveling. That put us ahead a week. In fact, most of our schedule has been cancelled for the past couple of weeks and so we've been HOME....not exploring, not serving, the weather's been fickle...and we've made lots of progress in school! In fact we may actually finish by the end of May this year...maybe the middle of May. THAT is a God-thing as He KNEW I was bugged how school went on and on in never-ending cycles around here due to my travel-ministry schedule.
New school supplies matter! I bought a PENCIL sharpener.....and PEARL erasers....and STICKERS...and these two were happy to get right to work....
Currently, they're in a basket...but I'm thinking of the best way to store them. Any ideas? I've thought about hole punching them and putting them on a bit notebook ring....the kids can take them off and then put them back...now is the time to tell me all the wonderful ways to store flash cards that you've found on pinterest. ::snort::
Choosing Joy!
©2012 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...
New school supplies matter! I bought a PENCIL sharpener.....and PEARL erasers....and STICKERS...and these two were happy to get right to work....
Love that concentration
I've been looking for some computer drill programs for phonics, math etc. BUT yesterday, I gave up and just bought a bunch of flashcards at the BX. I hate having them strewn around....and pieces get lost....but I have great hope this time will be different. I thought about laminating them all - but why? Other than I have a fetish about laminate.
Currently, they're in a basket...but I'm thinking of the best way to store them. Any ideas? I've thought about hole punching them and putting them on a bit notebook ring....the kids can take them off and then put them back...now is the time to tell me all the wonderful ways to store flash cards that you've found on pinterest. ::snort::
Choosing Joy!
©2012 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...
How WINDY was it today?
Misawa's weather is hormonal - plain and simple. It blew a lot today, it rained, it snowed, it rained and snowed at the same time. As the snow melted, I've been meaning to get out and clean the patio....wind took care of that....all the dirt, snow and furniture is gone.
Choosing Joy!
©2012 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...
This wind chime serves as a quake detector too.....but today it was busy chiming with the wind....
Neighbor lost some carport roof
But this poor neighbor lost his fence
Choosing Joy!
©2012 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...
Day in the Life
- Love meeting God in the Word - lots of good stuff in Mark 4....Secrets, Sowers, Seeds and Storms. A key thought for me today is God reveals (shows openly makes visible) His secrets (mysteries) to those who are in relationship/intimate with King Jesus.
- Snow on April 4th???? Yes!
- Asked Stacia and Zander what type of English muffins I should make today. 8 "normal" and 8 "chocolate chip". Not too bad....especially with peanut butter...guess they DO put chocolate in bread over here.
- Just how windy is it? See post to follow.*
- Two more weeks of Tapestry done.
- School supplies matter. *
- Parenting would be easier if there WERE formulas and manuals guaranteed to work...simply doesn't work with man's free will playing involved in the mix....and who would want to do away with free will?
- Paperwork - the plague of ministry!
- Jared is now officially signed up as an AAFES employee....putting the cafe behind him.
- Ordered Vol. 7 of What's In the Bible. I'm always surprised at how much the kids enjoy these and how much they learn. Arielle and Nolan have been using them in the homeschool room at PWOC.
- Michael is very tired today - trying to get him ready for work on Friday and it seems he was up too much yesterday....
- Working on documents and such for WILD Japan!
- In the Philippines Typhoon warnings didn't come with snow. Just sayin!
Choosing Joy!
©2012 D.R.G. ~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...
Tuesday, April 03, 2012
"To Do" Idol
A dear friend gave me this very cool, PWOC Turquoise devotional the final morning of Asia Region Conference 2011 (though we now know it is ok to say Asia Region Conference without a year as there will only be one! How's that for ground BREAKING? ::snort::)
Anyway - Aside from being pretty and something I love to hold - the words in this devo often provoke "deep thoughts from this shallow Christian." ::grin::
Here's a freebie from Mar 22nd - "Human weakness, CONSECRATED TO ME, is like a magnet, drawing my power into your neediness." This was the day I EXPECTED to hear "all clear" from Michael's surgeon....good words on which to meditate. He is close!
April 1 - "Remember that your ultimate goal is not to control or fix everything around you; it is to keep communing with Me. A successful day is one in which you have stayed in touch with Me, even if many things remain undone at the end of the day. Do not let your to-do list (written or mental) become an idol directing your life."
I love this. My heart's desire is to let HIM speak to me, direct my steps, declare my success throughout a day and not my ever-present and demanding "LIST". How odd I'd not realized how "that list" can become an idol....something which I give great energy and thought to, something which directs my actions and controls my sense of worth. No longer.
©2012 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...
Terrific Tuesday Status Updates
- Whew - got us to the chapel at 07:56 - good PWOC day
- Love our e-100 group - we RACED through 10 readings this week; glad we don't have to do that often. We covered both Samuels and both Kings in 1.5 hours. Amazing. God give me a WHOLEhearted passion for You!
- 10 word summaries are a lifesaver when doing a summary with lots of discussion.
- Confirmed lodging for WILD Japan!
- Woot! Stacia got table school done at PWOC; Zander got table school done with Michael.
- We've done 4 weeks of TOG already this week! We are rocking this!*
- Stacia moved to a new math book and Zander to a new phonics book this week. We seem to get a lot done when life slows down to the basics....take care of Michael, stay home, do school.
- Back to base for another test for Michael and drama for Nolan.
- Walking her home - tear jerker - blaring from the KP crew.
- Yakisoba for dinner - yummo! Michael ate fruit.
- I refuse to think of things that I did NOT get done - I got done all that HE ordained to be done in this day! HE directs my steps, it's HIS voice loud in my head - not the to do list. *
©2012 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...
Monday, April 02, 2012
The Surgery Saga
The last few weeks have been quite busy, but the story does not begin when I was feeling lousy beginning the first week or so of March. It began in August 2011. I had gone to the ER with some really bad heart burn. As it turns out, they said I had acid reflux (the technical term is GERD - gastro-esophageal reflux disease). The PA I saw later ran a bunch of labs. He was not necessarily happy with where things were at, but he did prescribe Nexium and set me up for a C-scope. I can think of a lot better ways to spend a morning, but it was one of those nifty things that you get to do once you turn fifty. Shortly before the C-scope, I had another bad round of GERD. The C-scope expanded to include a look down the top end as well as the, ah, other view. This confirmed the GERD diagnosis.
Over the next few months, there were a few more incidents of GERD - Nexium to the rescue - but I also noted that there was a pain in my right side at the base of my rib cage. Now, for those who know a little bit about such pain, you would have said this could be very bad, but there are a few things playing against it. 1) I don't get sick. I have gotten through 51 years of life and never had an IV and, with the exception of when I was born, I have never spent a night in a hospital. 2) This GERD thing, I was told, can easily "generalize pain all across the base of the rib cage." January brought a nasty bout of the flu - it hit the morning I was to take my PT test. Went to the ER. They put me on bed rest for a few days. PT test got pushed into the future. Did not feel well throughout February. Just a bad feeling that things were not right, but nothing you could hang your hat on.
1 March took the PT test. Managed an 88.9. Not bad for me at the best of times. The weekend brought another round of GERD plus the flu - we thought. Went in to Dr B (not my regular Dr.) the next week. He heard GERD and flu, and it totally made sense except the pain in the right side. More generalized GERD pain. The GERD settled down over the weekend, but the pain in the side did not go away. By 14 March, the pain was intense enough I could not sleep. Made an appointment for 16 March with my regular Doc. The labs came back virtually clear. A little blip in one, but that was it. During the exam, Dr. T was poking on my tummy when he pushed down on the right side. I knocked his hands away it hurt so bad. This generated more labs and a call to radiology to do an ultra sound. They initially scheduled me for 27 March. After a call from Dr T, they were able to get me in on Thursday, 18 March. Tuesday and Wednesday nights were virtually sleepless.
When Thursday rolled around, I was one really hurting puppy. The ultra sound tech took a few photos and said you probably are not going anywhere today. The gall bladder was not so much as not doing its job, but actually had given up the fight and gone over to the enemies' side. It was huge and appeared full of sludge and gangrene. The surgeon was called in very quickly followed by a CT scan. There was talk of sending me to Hachinohe for the surgery, but the CT scan showed enough definition that it was within the scope of care for our little hospital to handle due to a suspected clogged duct from the pancreas. I was checked in to the hospital. Massive antibiotics, IV's of all sorts, and morphine followed, but the morphine was not really cutting the pain. The surgeon, a Christian lady from the chapel, wanted to give the gall bladder a little time to settle down before pressing on with surgery. Then came the discussion of gall bladder cancer.
This really was the most disconcerting part of the whole thing. Fortunately, it was discounted fairly quickly. Gall bladder cancer is a seed cancer. Anything that cells from the gall bladder touch turn cancerous. Apparently, the normal course of action is to just close you up and send you on to very specialized medical care. Mostly what it means is you need to have your will in order and have a current medical power of attorney.
Friday morning finally rolled around. It was a bit of a blur. I think I signed some papers. I remember being wheeled out of the room to the OR. I remember it was really cold in there. I remember seeing the surgeon getting some things in order and gaggle of other folks doing things. I remember being helped onto the surgical table - it was very narrow with barely enough space for me, my headrest was about the size of a small doily. I remember asking about the coldness (the surgeon is really wrapped up in a lot of layers of cloth or something and gets very hot in all of that stuff) and then having them put blankets on me. I remember the room. I remember them putting something in my IV, and then I woke up and saw De'Etta, and it was over. Six hours of surgery, an eight inch incision and a JP drain. It was quite the day. Then begins the healing process.
By Grace!
Penned by MEG
©2012 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...
Over the next few months, there were a few more incidents of GERD - Nexium to the rescue - but I also noted that there was a pain in my right side at the base of my rib cage. Now, for those who know a little bit about such pain, you would have said this could be very bad, but there are a few things playing against it. 1) I don't get sick. I have gotten through 51 years of life and never had an IV and, with the exception of when I was born, I have never spent a night in a hospital. 2) This GERD thing, I was told, can easily "generalize pain all across the base of the rib cage." January brought a nasty bout of the flu - it hit the morning I was to take my PT test. Went to the ER. They put me on bed rest for a few days. PT test got pushed into the future. Did not feel well throughout February. Just a bad feeling that things were not right, but nothing you could hang your hat on.
1 March took the PT test. Managed an 88.9. Not bad for me at the best of times. The weekend brought another round of GERD plus the flu - we thought. Went in to Dr B (not my regular Dr.) the next week. He heard GERD and flu, and it totally made sense except the pain in the right side. More generalized GERD pain. The GERD settled down over the weekend, but the pain in the side did not go away. By 14 March, the pain was intense enough I could not sleep. Made an appointment for 16 March with my regular Doc. The labs came back virtually clear. A little blip in one, but that was it. During the exam, Dr. T was poking on my tummy when he pushed down on the right side. I knocked his hands away it hurt so bad. This generated more labs and a call to radiology to do an ultra sound. They initially scheduled me for 27 March. After a call from Dr T, they were able to get me in on Thursday, 18 March. Tuesday and Wednesday nights were virtually sleepless.
When Thursday rolled around, I was one really hurting puppy. The ultra sound tech took a few photos and said you probably are not going anywhere today. The gall bladder was not so much as not doing its job, but actually had given up the fight and gone over to the enemies' side. It was huge and appeared full of sludge and gangrene. The surgeon was called in very quickly followed by a CT scan. There was talk of sending me to Hachinohe for the surgery, but the CT scan showed enough definition that it was within the scope of care for our little hospital to handle due to a suspected clogged duct from the pancreas. I was checked in to the hospital. Massive antibiotics, IV's of all sorts, and morphine followed, but the morphine was not really cutting the pain. The surgeon, a Christian lady from the chapel, wanted to give the gall bladder a little time to settle down before pressing on with surgery. Then came the discussion of gall bladder cancer.
This really was the most disconcerting part of the whole thing. Fortunately, it was discounted fairly quickly. Gall bladder cancer is a seed cancer. Anything that cells from the gall bladder touch turn cancerous. Apparently, the normal course of action is to just close you up and send you on to very specialized medical care. Mostly what it means is you need to have your will in order and have a current medical power of attorney.
Friday morning finally rolled around. It was a bit of a blur. I think I signed some papers. I remember being wheeled out of the room to the OR. I remember it was really cold in there. I remember seeing the surgeon getting some things in order and gaggle of other folks doing things. I remember being helped onto the surgical table - it was very narrow with barely enough space for me, my headrest was about the size of a small doily. I remember asking about the coldness (the surgeon is really wrapped up in a lot of layers of cloth or something and gets very hot in all of that stuff) and then having them put blankets on me. I remember the room. I remember them putting something in my IV, and then I woke up and saw De'Etta, and it was over. Six hours of surgery, an eight inch incision and a JP drain. It was quite the day. Then begins the healing process.
By Grace!
Penned by MEG
©2012 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...
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