Saturday, April 20, 2013

Twenty Seven Years of Parenting....


and this is a first!

Yes, the very first pinewood derby car Michael has made with any of the kids.

Stacia was handed a block of wood and told to make a car out of it. She takes AWANA  very seriously and has been aching to get started.

We have no power tools with us. We don't wish to buy any this close to a move. Michael doesn't have the time to take the safety class to use the tools on base....and so he bought a coping saw and they were off on this father/daughter adventure. They drew sample cars...Stacia selected the design she liked best.

I suggested painting the block of wood and bedazzling it!

Nolan joins the fun. Shortly after this he remembers the  vise grips in the garage.....

It's fun to watch the block of wood begin to morph into a car. The Arts and Crafts shop has pre-shaped cars to buy and paint...but no one is very interested in my helpful contributions to this project.

Draw, cut, sand, sponge, sand some more.... I went to bed well before anyone else so I'm not sure what happened to the little block of wood.  I'm pretty sure it's not been painted yet.....













Choosing Joy!
©2013 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...

Yuuki Waits Patiently



Such a sweet, sad puppy....waiting patiently for someone to wake up and give her breakfast! Arielle is determined we not overfeed her, Yuuki is determined to eat all day long. ::snort:: 

Choosing Joy!
©2013 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...

Dandelions


I have been blessed for decades with a steady supply of dandelions. Dandelions are  the first spring flower in locations where we've lived.  I bought this sake pitcher at Daiso for wildflower gifts from the children.

Sadly, Stacia is the only one who still brings me wildflowers...but she brings me LOTS and with GREAT excitement.

It was perfect to see this little blurb floating around Facebook in honor of April - the Month of the Military Child.

The Military Child (Author Unknown)
The official flower of the military child is the dandelion. Why? The plant puts down roots almost anywhere, and it's almost impossible to destroy. It's an unpretentious plant, yet good looking. It's a survivor in a broad range of climates. 
Military children bloom everywhere the wind carries them. They are hardy and upright. Their roots are strong, cultivated deeply in the culture of the military, planted swiftly and surely. They're ready to fly in the breezes that take them to new adventures, new lands, and new friends.
 Dandelions will continue to hold a special place in my heart.

Choosing Joy!
©2013 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...

Lovin Japan ~ Skiing on the Beach


Teaching the younger three to cross country ski ON THE BEACH...

... one of my favorite memories of our family time in Misawa. 

Choosing Joy!
©2013 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...

Friday, April 19, 2013

It's Come to My Attention....


I haven't blogged in over a week. It's been a crazy busy week. 

Sunday -  Michael preached in the 1100 and the 1735 services....Jonah; A Man Like Me. It was a timely word.  A message which God has been working into our lives for about a year.  One question he asked was, "Who are your Ninevites?" and he pointed out  we think God is too easy on others. It was challenging....and I, like several others who have shared, had instant faces in my mind.....and I, like others, have already begun reaching out to those faces.  Thank God for sweet conviction which leads to spiritual growth and transformation. 

Monday - I had tea/coffee with one of the sweet gals from our mentor group. Arielle babysat in the evening. We prepared for PCOC.  We discovered the JCI on my "Joy" had expired and so it's grounded once again. 
Game time at PCOC - several asked where we got the
G size twister board - Krista sewed it! 

Tuesday  - Kick off of the last PWOC/PCOC session of the year.  I am ecstatic that four ladies have joined the PCOC team and we'll be able to have consistent ministry in each room for the rest of the year. YES! 
Someone spends as much time drawing as she does
on the actual math work
Wednesday - we pushed on school. Our goal was to finish this week - and we did. The caveat is I do not want the kids to have  mid-April to Sept off....so we will all read every day, work on a variety of crafts and science projects, and the younger ones will do math review every day. 


Clay projects 












In a SURE sign that spring is HERE my lovely Japanese neighbor brought over a giant bouquet of daffodils picked from the side of the barn.


Wednesday was also the last MOCA meeting I will attend. 

Michael had his last Financial Planning Meeting at Misawa Wednesday night. 

Thursday - MOPS - Arielle helps with moppets and I'm a mentor Mom. We have one more meeting left at MOPS. 

 We rushed home from MOPS to get all ready for April's Mentor Group meeting.  Our topic this month was marriage and we read Sacred Marriage. The conversation was meaningful, a fitting way to cap March's  focus - though we have marriage homework each month. ::wink::   This month we're focusing on Purpose and Priorities - everyone KNOWS I've a lot of mistakes I can share on THIS topic which will help these gals succeed easier than I have. ::snort::  We're reading The Principle of the Path, and I'm enjoying it already.


We were scheduled to have time with Akikosan, when  Arielle began to throw up  we postponed our plans. 

Friday - Michael surprised us and took a day off! He's worked long hours for twelve straight days and has a long meeting today.  We are amazed  we've lived for years with him consistently spending every Saturday preparing for Sunday and no other day off....a saner pace is welcomed...and I was happy to see Michael  also yearning for the saner pace of Feb/March.  Good call.

It snowed - much colder than it has been.

Michael and I took the "Joy" to Big D's to get the JCI done....it will be on the market soon if anyone needs a wonderful second car.  We went to the beach and had a DATE.  Great conversation....contrary to popular opinion talking is NOT my love language. ::snort:: Time and touch are and my tank is filled as Michael took time off to spend time with us.  Evidently we were  observing the BIG waves when the 7.0 quake hit. ::snort::

Nolan had a doctor's appointment and Michael had a quick meeting Friday afternoon.

Summary of the week - DONE! ::snort::

Misc Thoughts:   I'm AMAZED we are done early with school...finished a full year of school...even taking Tuesday's off...it really helped not to be teaching and traveling as I have always done in the past.  God continues to illustrate for me the simple concept that saying No to some things leads to YES in other areas.

My new thyroid dose (lower) seems to be effecting my days.  I'm now waking up at 05:00 instead of 03:00 and I'm tired and sleeping before midnight. Michael assures me that my manic energizer bunny pace is not normal and this is not overly sluggish. We'll see what the labs say May 6th.

I HAVE lots of "Lovin Japan" to catch up - and I will. I've not had any extra time online...and that will be another post... I'm cutting back my time online to be more intentional about how I conduct relationships - both in my family and with others.

Thanking God for THIS...yummy vegetable Yakisoba....Yes I DID say I was thanking God. Lisa's encouragment to find foods I am really thankful  for continues to motivate me....and here...I was thankful for roasted yellow squash, mushrooms, eggplant, onions, zucchini and carrots combined with  yakisoba noodles from Universe. 


Today - Michael is at a big PAC planning meeting. 

Arielle and Nolan are going to the movies with friends.
 I've been tasked to catch up the blog. ::wink::  

Four of us will find something to do when Michael gets home. 

Choosing Joy!
©2013 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...

Lovin Japan ~ Japanese Neighbors


We will miss our Japanese neighbors. We first "made contact" our first winter when the kids dug out the farmer's wife...then we were told to ignore the "keep out" signs and fish in the pond whenever we'd like...we've exchanged food and small gifts...and been invited to enjoy summer fireworks with the neighbors on other side....

I will miss the first daffodils, grown by the barn and brought over every year.....

I really, really, really will miss our Japanese neighbors. ::sigh:: 

Choosing Joy!
©2013 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Lovin Japan ~ Car Models


Finding fun new car models has been a favorite travel game for the past four years.  Feel free to click "amusing sites/Japan" to the right and check out other makes and models. Here are a few:


The Guppy 

Ah, The Rush 

Toyota? Move

Honda That's 

GUTS















Choosing Joy!
©2013 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...