Wet Summer

We had to leave at 0430  for base - Michael and I are feeling a bit old and tired. ::snort::  The kids don't have this problem but are graciously trying to keep the house quiet at night.  One more day of Exercise. 

I participated in a Skype this a.m. which brought encouragement, challenge and direction for the upcoming weeks. 

Stacia and I joined a play group/Bible study on base this morning. 

It was strange to enjoy a week and a half of SUMMER in Korea and come home to wind and rain. Today's weather was  schizophrenic. Windy and rainy this a.m. - I started a yummy veggie soup in the crock pot. I cooked up some ground turkey and squash as "condiments" to be added at the table. ::snort:: Yes, we ARE eating down the pantry and we aren't ALL totally thrilled with the dinners coming forth. I was THRILLED to see most liked the soup without adding meat....winning them over one at a time. ::snort:: 

By this afternoon the boys were having the first rip-roaring water fight of the season.... I noticed they didn't entice the rest of the neighborhood kids to join the fun and I was happy they didn't force the participation of others. LOL

It didn't really feel like soup weather by dinner time....what's a cook to do????

A few random closing thoughts:

Mr. Chef man - "vegetarian black bean wrap" does not mean "hamburger patty with black beans added." Just a thought..... ::snort::

Plane Days....sigh...yesterday Marvie, Ashley, Jim and Alex flew out of Misawa. Today we said goodbye to RayeJun and Jessica and their families....Matta ne. As Stacia said, "We're the LASSSST ones here." ::snort::

Four weeks until our plane day.

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

Father's Day 2013

It's been year since Dad G's home-going to heaven on Father's Day 2012. There are still times we miss him so much. On this day I watched his son preach two sermons encouraging men to bless their children. That's a legacy. And I'm thankful to partner with Dad G's son in parenting the nine Gherkins. Happy Father's Day Michael, Dad....all the beloved Father's out there in cyber land....you're investment in children is essential. 

Between services we fit in lunch and gifts.....the box the boys worked on at the craft shop in Korea 

Arielle painted an Angry Bird on a flattened blue glass bottle - and made it into a clock. 

If you've not watched this clip - you'll get a kick out of it!

Of course you can tell it's REAL because I bought it in Korea. ::snort:: 

We're ending the night with games....this one and some slappy card game that I avoid as I like my fingers intact! 

One month from today, 16 July, we will board a plane for America. Stay tuned to see how much we can fit into the next month. ::sigh:: 
Choosing Joy!
©2013 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...

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...