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. 

Only ONE Week????

We have a family goal to blog. Most often this means, *I* need to carve out time to blog.  I caught up - and then I didn't touch the blog again for a  week.

As I set down to capture my thoughts  I commented, "I haven't blogged all week again. I have no excuse."

Nolan heard me and responded, "You've been REALLY busy. "

I stopped and thought. I have been. It seems like 2 or 3 weeks since I blogged, but in fact, we've only lived one week.  Michael continued with repairs to our rig. He's now installed most of the parts we need to make the Jeep tow-able. I believe he's taking it in to get the "air brake connection" installed.

Never Attempt full time RVing unless you are a DIY mechanic/repairman

 He's also sought out estimates to fix the double-paned storm windows in the motorhome. Seven of them are fogging up. Not sure we'll fix all of them at this point - is clear vision worth $3,000? We WILL fix the driver window. 😲 

We had a great lunch with BreZaak and a wonderful evening of catching up with John and Nadine (for whom we house sat). We enjoyed a quick visit with Will and Sherri. We spent Saturday afternoon with Arielle while Cory was at work....BreZaak and Bella dropped by too. 

We discovered we cannot simply make keys for the Jeep. Michael visited a locksmith and we'll soon be able to change the codes on the chip in the keys and have three keys. This will give us greater peace of mind. 

I accompanied Mom to five appointments. We are learning cancer has the potential to take over one's life - simply by virtue of the TIME it requires. Mom has opted not to have chemo. She is showing signs of lymphedema and is now seeing an Oncology Physical Therapist at least 3 times a week. She's starting radiation - which will be 5 days a week for 6 weeks. All of her other docs continue to want to see her - more now that she is dealing with cancer.  She's a trooper - but it wears her and I out to be running all week long.   I believe there are 8 appointments on the calendar for this upcoming week. 

Michael has been gone since Thursday. There are loose ends we've been trying to tie up with Mom G's estate. In this age of technology these things should have been easy to handle long distance - but sometimes Realtors, DMVs and lawyers need to see you face to face. He also went down to visit with his oldest sister in Eureka. 

Friday night the kids and I discovered a pizza joint near the RV Park....a nice discovery at the end of a busy week. 

Falafel pizza - no cheese

The Gherkins (and Nadia) helped Dad do some yard work - we'll get better as we go. Who would guess one has to tend to the city's property?😏

Nadia - working on her birthday 

Nolan

Alex

The kids have continued to hit the books - hard! As of this week we are one week ahead! They've decided to continue double timing until we (or maybe they and I'll stay here to help Mom?) go to Denver/TX....this will allow them to be "on track" at the end of the three week trip. 

We loved watching Casper and Nadia play with Dino - a Great Dane/ Grey Hound mix. We also enjoyed celebrating Nadia's 22nd birthday with her. We loved the rare Mikhail sighting. 

Casper, Dino and Nadia

I do love this picture

Lent marches on - I miss the blending of church traditions in a military chapel. We will need to do better in future years to maintain a focus on the season. It's not part of our church tradition - but it's become meaningful to us. Without a church structure discussing the "weeks" and handing out devotionals leading up to the Resurrection, I will need to plan ahead. We did bring our Lenten wreath with us - and I finally bought a candle yesterday.

Today is Monday. We started the week with two medical appointments, two days worth of school, and Michael calling with the hope to be back this evening. 

I've skipped a lot of the week - but here are the facts. LOL 

Topics to be explored further: 

• Future plans
• Perspective
• Nameless motorhome is named
• Showcase the modifications in the motorhome

Perspective - That'll Preach - #WYFF

This Friday finds Michael's feet in CA doing a bit of work around Mom G's house and attempting to untangle some loose threads with her estate.  Our feet are at the park....relaxing after a busy week.  The boys' feet are sporting new hiking boots/shoes.

I'm not sure I've said much about their upcoming adventure. The older three Gherkin men are planning an "Epic Alaskan Hike."  The kind of hike into the mountains  requiring one to bring all essentials and hike 10 - 14 miles a day. They asked if we'd send the younger two Gherkin men up for the hike. Alex is 15 and Nolan just turned 18. They are game. We know our favorite RV footwear - Croc's - won't handle this terrain. We are in the process of breaking in their new footwear.....tonight we took a jaunt around the RV Park. It's been a bit bittersweet knowing Michael won't be on this hike with the guys, but we're now planning our own Alaskan adventure for the same time! 

I stood in one spot and took the following two photos. We live on the side of Interstate 5 - behind a fence - across the street from Camping World. 

Look the other way - and we live out in the country, beside a gorgeous pond, surrounded by grazing land and mountains. It was a graphic reminder of some things I've been meditating on concerning perspective.

Perspective - a particular attitude towards or way of regarding something; a point of view. 

Just a quick turn of the eyes and the whole picture changes! It reminded me of  Charles Swindoll's quote, "Life is 10% what happens to us and 90% how we respond to it."  I can choose how I respond to my circumstances by adjusting my vision and picking the perspective.  

As James instructed in chapter 1 verse 2 of his letter, I can choose joy! I can make an effort to, "Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials...."

That'll preach!

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

BreZaak Update

This is a post about a little girl, who loved Jesus with all her heart, who grew up to be an amazing woman of God, who happens to be the children's pastor at Calvary Open Bible. She met Jesus, loved Him and desired to introduce Him to others. She didn't live a charmed life, but she learned to follow Jesus in the twists and turns and "waiting" seasons.

Following led to Izaak. The grace of God manifested in and through Izaak deserves a book - maybe he'll write that book at some point.  And they became BreZaak, along with Bella and soon to be Baby 2. Bre has served as a children's pastor for over 5 years at her church. Izaak has served as Dean of Student Life (and a host of other jobs which I don't fully have titles for) at New Hope Christian College .

BreZaak are in a season of transition and we covet your prayers for them as they wait to see where God is leading them in this next season.  We are standing in faith and watching to see how God will move in their hearts, on their behalf, for His glory. Both will be completing their current ministry assignments by the end of May.

"An adventure is only an inconvenience rightly considered. An inconvenience is only an adventure wrongly considered."  G.K. Chesterton.

We're eager to see the adventures God has in store for His children, BreZaak.

This started to be a glimpse of an event at Kids on the Rock. Bre and her team organized a "Daddy Daughter Date Night." Big brothers, uncles and grandpas also brought dates so that every girl who wanted to attend - could.  A picture is worth a thousand words - just look.

 A photo booth, conversation starters, crafts, ice cream sundae bar, root beer floats, candy corsages and boutonnieres - all set to a 50's theme. This is a fun place to be a kid - and I KNOW they HEAR THE WORD as well. Good stuff.

Izaak and Bella's first daddy daughter date

Bella - 11 months

In the photo booth 

Bre, Baby Boy, Bella and Izaak 

You can see more pictures of the evening here.  Please join us in praying for God to reveal each step in the upcoming months clearly to Izaak and BreAnne.

We're cheering for you!

A DOWN DAY

A Saturday with no giant project on the horizon, no traveling, no outings, or appointments.  Yippee! We've been pushing HARD for three weeks in school and we NEEDED a DOWN DAY!!!! 

Our only project today was cutting this four inch memory foam mattress topper down to Stacia's new bunk size.  This will be her mattress; it's thicker than the ones that came with the RV. 

The sun shone a bit today, and we are learning to take advantage of  such rare happenings. We walked around the park. It's just about a mile around the park....another 7/10ths of a mile if one goes all the way to the road and watches the lambs. Yuuki and I did just that on our solo evening walk. 

A spot like this in AK would be perfect - I'd live in the barn

 No, this isn't just an obscure photo.....it illustrates GREAT possibilities. It turns out one can FISH in this pond! To the left of Nolan is a dog park. Note the bench. I plan to sit on the bench and read, while Yuuki and Stacia play. They don't think there's any fish in the pond - but it's catch and release and Stacia will enjoy having it so close by. Now...if we can get some light rain or sun.....

I unearthed a DVD and game loaning closet, a book exchange, a pool table AND a fitness room in our explorations.  I am excited. I have really missed having a home gym....and my body certainly has not been happy with the lack of movement. I plan to make lots of use of both the easy walking area AND the fitness room. It doesn't have a lot - but it doesn't need a lot. We are scheduled to be here until the 22nd of July. I have goals for the next four months. There is also a mat and some weights.

I plan to get the boys out walking the park daily  and on the machines too - working towards their epic Alaskan hiking/camping trip with the big Gherkin boys this summer. Stacia is thrilled at the idea of working out with me.

It began to rain. The boys are doing a "Movie as Lit" class. They tried all week to get to The Maltese Falcon. I'm sure they REALLY tried - even though Stacia encouraged them by telling them it bored her to tears when she watched it with Arielle. As they didn't watch it, we planned to take it to Gma and Gpa's last night and watch it together. Alas, their DVD player wouldn't work. A rainy Saturday afternoon was the PERFECT time to watch The Maltese Falcon. 

But WAIT - Nolan went to put the DVD in and discovered an unexpected treat in the DVD jacket....Tim Hawkins NEW DVD, "Just About Enough." They didn't know we had ordered it, switched the DVDs, and have been WAITING to surprise them, when they'd finally watch the movie. BTW, "THAT'LL PREACH." You never know when God has a blessing waiting for you as you do something you'd rather not do.

FINALLY, today, we all watched it. Here the other two Gherkins see the switcheroo.  Stacia commented, "Hmmm....The Maltese Falcon has gotten much better than I remember." 😛

After dinner, next up was a  Duck's Basketball game. Yay Ducks - up by 14! This is the first time OR has been to the final four since 1939. 🏀 Ducks - you know - University of Oregon!

Yuuki and I went for a 1 1/2 mile walk. 👍🐾

Stacia read.

The boys are playing Dominion now and I plan to go read as soon as I post this.

Self-care is not selfish!

Medical Update

Michael had three medical appointments and labs recently.

via google

We have repeatedly heard emotional and medical stress cause the symptoms of PD to take leaps and bounds in the direction we are attempting to avoid. The neurologist told us last week "maybe" some of the symptoms will lessen when the stress lessens....

I knew Michael was having more difficulty swallowing the past month and seems to be coughing, sputtering and choking more often. I did not put the dots together. The therapist said it is normal to lose ground during emotional and medical stress. I guess she thinks he's lost some ground. She suggested we put therapy on hold until we have the estate stuff under control, and it is no longer on his mind. She said the swallowing, the voice and more could all be temporary setbacks which will improve as stress lessens.  She felt  trying to push through with therapy while Michael is dealing with medical and emotional stress is counter-productive; it produces it's own stress.

Now, I should probably note we don't feel unduly stressed. We are practicing self-care. There ARE a whole lot of things going on - as there would be sure to be with a messy estate situation to figure out, losing a mom, and a mother-in-law fighting cancer.

Medical stress?  The neurologist told Michael the dystonia and increase in tremors, swallowing difficulty - those are Parkinsons. He said the other stuff is causing medical stress and to get the Primary Doc to figure it out. He stressed (see what I did there?) the importance of eliminating medical stress. Um.....

In December, Michael developed a rash. Around the same time he went from 4-6 hours of sleep, to 10 - 12 hours a day and feels EXHAUSTED ALL THE TIME. He's using the CPAP at least 8 hours a night.  Then came joint pain - in pretty much every joint. It's not the Gulf War/Fibromyalgia stuff - that is muscle pain, and he has plenty of that as well. 😒 At rest, his JOINT pain level hovers around 5; getting up and moving ratchets it up to 7-8. He's a good sport. Six months ago, he was told they don't like to give vets pain pills. They told him to take Tylenol. At that point, resting pain was around 3. Today she said, "Tylenol isn't helping at all, is it?" Um....She told him to switch to  Naproxen. If it helps, she knows it's inflammation. They also did labs and are talking about a referral to a rheumatologist. She can think of  two kinds of arthritis which may explain the craziness since December.  I helpfully shared if the VA isn't going to give relief for chronic pain, a vet is sure to self-medicate. This IS OR after all.

We don't want to add any type of rheumatoid arthritis to this picture, but we do want answers. We are not sure where this road is going and your continued prayers are appreciated.

Note: Michael felt some relief with Naproxen - showing it probably is something to do with inflammation. 

Spring Cleaning - Inside and Out

We found our people!

I think we are going to like this spot. There are still no families "just our size and ages," but we've met two of the neighbors already and they seem friendly.

This "RV Resort" has an RV wash. Stacia and I had scoped it out before the guys arrived with our home. Evidently, others had scoped us out, scoping out the new digs. Michael pulled up and I was telling him about the wash - it seemed a great idea to WASH this thing before it was set up.....as we talked about it a neighbor came over and told us we could borrow his hose, and the brush from the RV wash and wash it in our site. He is a golf-cart driving host,  and assured us it would not be breaking a rule.

The shindig started with  me trying to wash the top and Michael deciding he'd do it himself. I was given the power of the hose!

Eventually, I was assigned the low spots, Nolan did the high spots, Michael had the hose, Alex had the camera and Stacia corralled Yuuki. Yuuki wanted to fight every big dog in the park. HOWEVER, she scored dog treats for Yuuki as she walked through the park.  

The Couple that works together....

 

It's nice to have a clean and shiny home again. Spring cleaning inside and out. We now know where all the scrapes, dings and touch up paint is on the body. 😁