Plane, Planes and Bowling Balls

It is a plane day. The day when dear friends fly out of Misawa - but not out of our lives or hearts. You may remember the post from a couple of weeks back about the birthday bash at the bath in the mountains (Aoni Onsen).....all those who participated, except Arielle and I, have PCSd.  Plane days cause us to be a bit introspective...and sad...but it's a good sad....a glorious sorrow. 

Mary, had suggested on Thursday I need to keep everyone busy these next few weeks doing things we love when the lonely, sad times hit. Great advice.  We don't ALL love the Air and Science Museum as much as Stacia and Zander, but it was a drizzly day and our plans to go to the beach were scrubbed. We headed to the museum. 

I love the  various expressions as the kids compete to see who could cross the red line running the fastest....

Stacia wanted to show Michael how easy it is to lift yourself with a rope - and was surprised it was harder with him on the bench. ::snort::

The kids certainly learn more at the science museum when Dad is along.....and he saw first hand what we've been telling him - Stacia simply does not get dizzy...we can spin her around and around on the platform and she'll get off and walk a straight line. ::snort::

Arielle and I are not crazy about the spinning room...the others love it. 

 Since she was a BABY - this girl falls asleep in the strangest places...BUT THIS was a first - an airplane display at a museum. I may make her go in for some lab work if this keeps up - I know she didn't sleep well last night knowing that Emily is already gone and Alicia was leaving this a.m.

We grabbed lunch and caught several games of bowling. 

I am fighting a summer cold. I went to bed when we got home - I've discovered I love Benydryl. Best night sleep I've had in a long time. Michael and the kids went back to the chapel  - they watched a movie (we don't have a TV, projector, DVD player any longer at home) and Michael did a bit of work.

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

Friday Thoughts

We are committed to living our last weeks in Misawa intentionally. I worked on a few more house things in the a.m.

Arielle and I went to Mandy's at 1230. Arielle plays with Reba and watches Samson sleep....Mandy and I enjoy the onsen. These life-enhancing visits have been a joy. We may be able to fit one more in before Mandy's plane day.

Eventually I ended up with a few quiet hours at the chapel while Michael worked on sermon prep for Sunday. The sanctuary of an empty church is a great place for silence.  "Be still and know that I am God, I will be exalted in the nations, I will be exalted in the earth." Ps 46:10.   God spoke, God comforted, God reminded...and I cried, I sang, I prayed, I listened, I remembered. Mostly I simply sat in silence.  As I sat in the sanctuary (in Ruthie and Scott's old pew) faces of beloved people paraded through

via Google images

my heart...and I prayed and thanked God. This has been an incredible four years of growth in ministry, leadership and our personal lives. We've walked through some tough things here...but we've had very few truly negative experiences.   We've danced with God...He's led, we've followed...not always perfectly...but focused...and He's led, He's sustained, He's comforted, He's grown us.

I've been spending a lot of time with Elijah in the past month. There's a LOT there about the value of silence and solitude, about burned out leaders, about God's restoration....and last night I saw in 2 Kings 1 Elijah, once again, years later, calling down fire from heaven....but those thoughts are for another blog post.

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

Day Full of Friends - Truly a Blessed Day

This funny sight greeted us as we headed for the door this a.m. 

This was an 0530 start out the door; I do love the early morning workouts at the gym. The gym doesn't work well during the school year - but it's great now. 

I spent an hour going through the freezer and pantry making lists of the food we have on hand. Tomorrow I hope to make a meal plan for the next four weeks...and donate food we don't think we'll realistically use. 

Tis the season of "See you laters" in military circles. Today a dear family stopped by so we could spend one last time visiting before they fly out Saturday.  I love the gift they brought! It's perfect. Years ago some Misawa Air Base Chapel hymnals were discarded and eventually found their way to their home. Mary made this lovely angel from the hymnal - PERFECT...says Misawa, says chapel, says Mary....we love it! Thank you, my friend.  Mary also brought their crock pot over - she purchased it at the thrift store and I'll return it there when we move...full circle. 

All the kids...and Christina's too

It was a sunny day and today was the last day our "mentor group" would meet....it was just Christina and I as Hannah has pcsd and Lacey is stateside. We enjoyed our discussion about being a disciple of Christ and how to practically make disciples of Christ. We read Follow Me: A Call to Die. A Call to Live. by David Platt....highly recommended. His chapters on the Will of God and the Beauty of a Local Church were out of the park. It's a book which convicts and challenges... then you realize you want MORE than conviction and challenge - you want to walk it out. We talked about how to practically apply the message.  We  agreed we need to have at least one Skype Mentor Group in August or September to check in with each other. 

Another friend, Marvie/and family, stopped by. They fly out on Monday.  I don't like goodbyes. 

We ran to the base and delivered all this to the thrift store donation shed and picked Michael up from work. 

We arrived home at the same time Akikosan did and had a fun time sharing our Korean Adventure with her. 

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

Home?

I find it unsettling to be home. Strange, isn't it? I don't regret a thing we've done in the past two weeks....but I hadn't realized that all our fun had pushed thoughts of the move to the back burner. This isn't a bad thing....but it's unsettling to have them rush to the forefront of our thinking once again. 

We finished loading our household goods on a Thursday nearly 2 weeks ago. We spent that weekend with dear friends. One mother and daughter PCSd while we were in Korea, the other will on Saturday.  We followed our great weekend with a trip to Korea. 

I walked into our home and was hit with the fact the house is empty and we'll be moving in a few weeks - 5 to be exact. I suppose I can't put off accepting this fact much longer. ::snort:: Actually, the way it is working out all of our dear PCSING friends will leave before us....we'll bring up the end of the PCS season...I'll let you know if we like it better this way. 

We left to take Michael to work at 0530....which meant I could work out and be home by 0715. That is NICE...sort of....that's usually my QUIET time...as in QUIET with the Lord in a QUIET house....so I'll have to work on a schedule that will work for the week.

This morning I unpacked and caught up with a few emails. 

I broke for a steering team lunch with MOPS. This was an end of the year/beginning of the new year type lunch and was fun. It also gave me a lunch with Mary before she and her family hop on the plane. I LOVE MOPS UPCOMING THEME! "A Beautiful Mess - Embrace Your Story." I'm far from a pre-school mom, but this has been the theme I'm living out this past year. ::snort:: 

This afternoon I  worked on the floors - trying to minimize the glaring scratches in our "softwood floors." 

Michael is working different hours due to the exercise this week. I knew he'd need to sleep early....so I took kids to Club Beyond, picked up Michael and drove him home, took the younger two to get dinner and then shopping,  picked up the Club kids and we are all finally home. 

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

Travel Day

We did it. Out of the hotel and at the terminal by 0630. Poor Nolan got ill on the drive. Zander is sure the "clouds are moving in" and "this isn't good flying weather."  Another normal travel day for the Gherkins.

The gentleman at the counter didn't even LOOK at our paperwork or passports. He simply checked his computer and said, "You signed in 3 June." I KNOW that and I told them that yesterday so I'm not sure why they told me to be here early so they could check my paperwork. ::snort::  We have 2.5 hours before roll call to enjoy our breakfast, watch kid's shows in the family waiting room and catch up on FB and email.  Feeling pretty confident we'll make it on the flight home today. You can SEE the Osan AMC terminal is amazing compared to the mom and pop operation we have....but the customer service at Misawa is unsurpassed. There's something nice about the custom's guy saying, "Chaplain told us he hoped you'd be home today. Welcome back."

Turns out we were the last on the list - but there were empty seats on the plane - all's well. We met up with Andrea and kids at the Osan Terminal.  Andrea is on her way to AK (a 26 hour trip) with four kids after leaving her friends in Misawa and her husband for a year in Korea. That is strength. That is the military spouse....I was happy to have one last hug from Jonah and Anna - two of our PCOC kids this year.

We had just enough time to get through customs, say goodbye to Barney and Susan, drive the kids home and take Nolan back for a 3:00 p.m. doctor's appointment.  Now THAT was tight planning.   And it was tight packing to get us all into our van. We left with 3 suitcases and 5 carry-ons. We came home with six checked bags and carry-ons.  I will be mailing some stuff to our new home shortly.

We arrived home on the eve of an exercise. I thought I was gone the week of the exercise. Ah well.  We had dinner, spent some time sharing stories from our time apart with each other and called it an early night.

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

Tying Up Loose Ends in Osan

This is our last full day in Korea before catching Space A back to Misawa in the morning (Tuesday).  Our sight-seeing is done. I don't think we can fit one more cultural or historical fact into our brains. Most of our shopping is done. Today we tied up loose ends. 

The banners here made me smile....Happy New Year - with the Christ Spring Celebration... We hit the shopping early....we had a few won left to spend and I wanted to pick up a gift for Michael and ceramics. 

 As we walked along talking about which stores to hit...two men jumped out of a store. They asked if we'd like to buy a purse. Since Michael HAD said I could buy one....we agreed. They locked the door.  I've been looking for a BIG purse/tote bag for two years. One I could use when traveling. They showed us cute bags and I said they weren't what I was looking for. They unlocked the door and took us next door...locked the door again. I was glad the boys were here for this experience too. I still didn't see anything worthy of parting me from  my money. They took us down to the basement.....and locked the door between the floors.  We looked. I didn't see anything. THEN.... he removed some drywall from a wall and there was a small "hole" he climbed into. He said to follow him. I gave Nolan my purse and told the kids to stay there. I crawled through the hole, feeling like Alice in Wonderland, and there was a room full of bags and purses. I found my bag. The kids continue to laugh about the hole in the wall. ::snort::

We picked up the gift for Michael (scouted it out yesterday). Years ago Michael began bringing small gifts home for each of us when he traveled or was deployed. We wanted to get him something - not quite so small but I think he'll like it. We picked out ceramics and the couple SWEAR nothing will break in our suitcases. She had told me she took credit but when it came time to pay she made it clear she'd prefer cash. ::snort:: SO.....we broke for lunch. 

We wanted to catch up with Kim and Hannah. Kim was Arielle's first out-of-the-home mentor. Kim's mentor group of young girls actually planted seeds which I see sprouted into the mentor group I've enjoyed these past months. Hannah was one of the gals in our mentor group. Both have PCS'd to Osan. 

Kim suggested we go to Star Kebab AND pizza. Great idea. Check out my lunch....I was a very happy nutritarian. The bread is like pita bread but blown up - full of air. LOL  Our time was "short," but sweet (other than the younger two who I think are about done with traveling). 

Hannah, me and Kim

Arielle and Ms. Kim 

After lunch we walked to base and got dollars and headed back to the ceramic shop. We also went to Skin Food where Arielle was happy to spend won for me. Buying fun socks finished off our won. I've never worried about spending won before as I always thought there would  be another PWOC "WILD" or conference. We have five W1000 left and I have a plan for them.  We popped in here for an afternoon pick up and then headed back to the hotel.

This wasn't exactly what I was envisioning - I think they'll be fine....maybe I should have bought more. 

We spent two hours enjoying the glorious sun in the hotel pool. It is up on the roof so I grabbed some shots of the neighborhood. I'm dreaming that summer has hit Misawa while we've been gone. 

Love how they utilize their roofs

The kids opted for the food court on base for dinner. Up we went....While there I SAW the Krispy Kreme "counter" and decided these certainly would not be fresh off the conveyor belt and would not be worth going off our eating plan. We DID stop and pick up some bagels and muffins from Starbucks, coupled with our fruit and cliff bars and we're set for breakfast in the morning. 

We were back at the hotel at 7 p.m. watched Nancy Drew and all are in bed early. Our plan is to leave the hotel at 0630. I'm not sure WHY they say I need to do  be so early as we've been  signed in since 3 June...but we'll not take chances. 

And now...I figured out what the pounding sound is....the weight room is above our room.....it's 10:20 p.m. they really should be done soon. ::snort:: 
Choosing Joy!
©2013 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...

Staying in the Ville

Before I write anything else...Happy Birthday to Bre, the trend-setting, ground-breaking Gherkin! I thought of you all day and how fun this day would have been to share with you! Love you. 

I think she may need some of the anti-aging things shopkeepers have so helpfully been offering me.  I'll take care of you dear....in 36 days.

Our goal was to catch the 1200 bus to Osan . We made it just in time to hop on to the 1100 bus. This means we couldn't sit together....which  ::blush:: was a bit of a blessing as I needed a bit of a silent breather from Princess Chatterbox.  Stacia set across the aisle from me...next to a sweet lady who recently retired as the sexual assault nurse at Yokota AB. She was in Japan to testify in a trial which was postponed so she came to Korea. Well.....Stacia talked the E*N*T*I*R*E trip. I told the lady she would and she said that was fine with her.  They began talking about earthquakes - which Stacia is ALWAYS happy to share every earthquake story with anyone who will listen...."One time Mom was in the bathroom and Dad was yelling - get to the hall and she decided not to...." They progressed to a detailed  descriptions and summary of each and every sibling's life..and the fact that Josiah (the troll) is marrying a beautiful princess (Shelby) and she gets to be in the wedding...on and on..... As we got off the bus the sweet lady said Stacia was a charming travel companion. Good - we were both blessed. ::snort:: 

Our biggest surprise of the day was while we were waiting for the hotel shuttle to pick us up. "Hey, Gherkins!" Huh? George! George arrived at Osan on Thursday. It was fun to chat for a bit. I am so going to miss Misawa.

We took a taxi to Songtan....glad I didn't try to WALK with our luggage. We are at the World hotel and it's better than any of the others I've walked by that were on "the list." I love tips from FB friends. They are very helpful and friendly. Check out our room (though I DO wish I had brought some travel-sized Lysol and I wish my Lysol loving friends were still in Misawa so we could share this fact and we laugh together). The family suite is costs less than the two rooms at the Dragon...AND we get a free breakfast (American or Korean), free DVD's, free shuttles and lots of friendly laughs and smiles. 

The master room which we gave to the boys

Girl's room 

Same in both rooms

Since we arrived early I wondered if we could get our shopping done today and have tomorrow to connect with people and enjoy the pool.  I realized today  I've ALWAYS been "working" when in Korea and was focused. I'd taken about  an hour per trip to shop and mostly seen Itaewon and a quick run through Insadong and Songtan. Today - and tomorrow - we have nothing to do but enjoy. I realized that everyone always runs me to the purse shops...but I've been under a purse ban....and I've noticed there are many other things to buy....streets and streets of stores... We spent the first 6 days learning the country's culture and history. Today we shopped....and 35 - 40 minutes after leaving the hotel we walked back up with these. 

They laughed....tried to carry them and then got a cart instead. They said, "Have fun," as we left again. We are allowed 2 bags each of 70 lbs each. We brought 3 bags over. I'm hoping I can check these two boxes...I was assured they are under 70 lbs each. 

We bought some Father's Day gifts. We bought some more stuff at Skin Food and Innis Free. Arielle and I are getting a kick out of the free samples I'm given after I buy things. Today I got a "youthful mask" and some "eye revitalizer."  Korea is aging me evidently. ::snort:: 

Arielle assures me this is exactly what I need for a vintage wedding. I'm not so sure but it caught my fancy.....maybe one of the girls will wear it....I suspect it's a bit over the top....I mean I should maybe TRY to be proper. 

As we left one shop, a lady stuck her head out the door and said, "You come look." I knew I am not to buy a purse for myself,  but I wanted the girls to have this experience. The shopkeeper locked the door after us and the girls' eyes got big. ::snort::  Arielle has consistently turned down any offer to buy her stuff this trip....she said it would have to jump out at her for her to buy it. I KNEW STACIA would find something she'd want and so we entered the shop. Arielle gave me a look when she saw the purses on the main floor that said, "These are NOT jumping at me."  The lady asked which she liked and she said she didn't really like any of them. *I* was prepared for what happened next. She said, "Follow me" and up, up, up we went....narrow rickety stairs....to a HUGE second floor of purses. They both found ones they wanted. I resisted...and it was killing me....but I consoled myself by thinking of the pottery I hope to find.

Arielle's (l) and Stacia (r)

I bought the boys hats and water...and I gave them lots of pep talks. I'm debating leaving them home tomorrow and taking the girls with me shopping. They were amazing today, but I KNOW they hate shopping.....and this was agony....though they liked the blanket shop well enough.

We bought a few Father's Day items which can't be photographed quite yet......and pursued my new passion of Celadon and this style of dishes...... haven't bought any. They ASSURE me we can get them wrapped well enough that they'll not break on the flight.....

By my estimation we have 3 suitcases full, 2 boxes and this one (which came over with my clothes suitcase inside of it) 1/2 full....that means I can still buy 4.5 suitcases or boxes worth of things....but I don't want to buy pretty things and have them BREAK....and these will weigh a lot....so I'd need to be careful not to go over 70lbs....and the idea of the guys loading them into the cargo....I may get one or two things and put them in carry ons.  In any event, I was told to find a specific ceramic shop and wasn't sure I'd found it. My favorite pottery shop was IT. I plan to visit it and one more shop for Michael tomorrow.....and then well...I can't go home with won....so I'll spend until it's gone. LOL 

I gave the boys a reprieve after 2.5 hours of shopping to sit in the air conditioned chapel. We visited the contemporary service at Osan. It was fun to see James and Kimberly again. We'll meet for lunch with Kimberly tomorrow. Also hoping to work out a time to meet with Hannah.

After chapel we walked to Chilis. I know we'll be able to enjoy this in the states soon. We avoided all the American fun restaurants in Seoul. However, I was STARVING for something GREEN and thought maybe I could get a giant salad at Chilis. It was harder than I thought. I have been picturing America as the Vegan's paradise. ::snort::  Not one vegan salad.  I ordered the Chicken Quesadilla Salad  and asked them to hold the cheese, chicken and quesadilla. I requested a bit of beans and plain tortillas. They forgot the beans but I was more than happy with my warm tortillas and a HUGE SALAD....Cliff bars only go so far.....we didn't see as many veggie and fruit street vendors out as we expected.

I LOVE THIS....there is a pretty good selection of free movies to watch at our hotel. I suspected...yep...reminds me of the Philippines in the 1980's.  ::snort:: I guess you buy one, break the code, and make copies to loan out?  Nolan had to run down and ask the man how to work the remote. He came up and showed them.

I skyped with my boyfriend tonight. How I miss Michael.  He said I can buy bags...I have a specific thing (or two - either/or) I want and if I find it....I will buy it with a clear conscience. I could have bought it anyway and he wouldn't have been terribly upset...he likes to tease me about it.  BUT I think it would have been disrespectful....though I was counseled by a fellow tour member to buy what I wanted, leave it at a friends and bring it out in a few months. ::snort:: This was at an amethyst factory where I was resisting $300 necklaces for the second day in a row. I simply commented I would like to talk to my husband before spending that much on jewelry. She bought a couple of things so I figure she made up for my lack of enthusiasm. 

We're watching movies...I've always been a Mary K gal, but after hearing how Asian women use all this food for their skin...and their skin is gorgeous....and they all say blueberry and volcano ash will do wonders for me...and keep giving me samples when I buy things.....

BTW this "high speed" Internet is much slower than the DSL we have in Japan. How I love Japan.

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