Sunday Fun

The morning began early when GG woke up and declared he didn't feel well and went back to bed. I stayed home with him. Allie drove herself to Eagle River for church as she planned to stay late. Stacia had homework and planned on coming back to the Valley after lunch. Michael picked her up from her housesitting gig and they made it in time for a rip-roaring sermon which concluded the marriage series we have been enjoying. 

Everyone grabbed take out lunches and convened at Carrie's to catch up and connect. Look how LONG Josi is getting. 99th percentile.

Liv, Josi, Allie 📷by Allie

Michael and Stacia came home. Allie joined the rest of the crew for a leisurely walk through a few Eagle River neighborhoods with Jared. It was a lovely day to knock on a few doors. 

Jared, Krista, Noah & Jamin, Luke, Alle 📷by Jared

 

Visiting Beit Tikvah

One thing we LOVED about our military ministry was being able to worship with believers of ALL PERSUASIONS...from Catholic to Charismatic.  We were excited to be invited to attend Beit Tikvah (House of Hope), a local Messianic Synagogue in Palmer. They had contacted us and asked if we'd be open to participating in the mourners Kaddish for Josiah. One of their members, Joseph, is a friend of the girls. 

I found the service deeply meaningful. I grew up in multi-lingual churches and it was fun to be in a service with a few languages spoken (Hebrew, Aramaic, English). I was happy for English translations. The worship was thought-provoking and moving.  Praise dancers...yes, this wasn't invented by "us".  However, the worship leaders and the dancers were at the back of the congregation. I'm not sure if this is always true or just due to space with this group...but I loved it. I began misting as we sang Amazing Grace (Chris Tomlin style) and lost it when we moved into "Faith to Believe" by Shane and Shane. Y'all those words are IT. 

I loved the devotion to Torah. 

The Rabbi did a great job of explaining parts of the service that would be new to visitors. His homily was solid from Exodus and John.

They did not call us out or put us in the middle of a circle or anything like that...in the part of the service where we prayed the Kaddish we simply mentioned Josiah's name at the right time...as others mentioned the names of their loved ones. The prayer, and service, focused on who we know God and Jesus to be...in good times and hard times. They are comfortable with mourning, and it was good to be seen and reminded...even in the mourning, the pain, and grief... God is good, holy, merciful and gracious and always near...and to pray for grace to believe in the hard times. 

They ended the service with blessing the children - I loved it! We stayed for a dinner afterwards. I bet two couples who live out by us. It was a lovely evening. I'm grateful Joseph reached out with the invitation. 

Go, Benny!!!

Benny is playing soccer! He has an enthusiastic fan club!  Michael stayed home with GG as we knew the walk/bleachers would be hard for GG to maneuver.  From around the Valley and Eagle River the rest of us converged on PJMS to cheer him on! 

Benny is in blue on the right

When Benny saw I was there he said he'd try to make a point for Bachan! I was proud of his hustle, sportsmanship, and awesome game face (above).  Watching him score was icing on the cupcake for Bachan! 

 He certainly had the biggest and most charming cheering section. Thanks to Bre for catching the spectator shots! I do believe Annie was created to be a cheerleader!

Annie & Bella

Aunt Allie, Trudy, Gideon, Annie

Annie & Uncle Jamin 

Jojo, Aunt Stacia and Bachan in the far distance

Bre, Gideon and Trudy fixing Gideon's hair

Stacia, Jamin, Me, Arielle

Our Danny Date

I was hanging out with Danny when reminded me he has never been on a Bachan date. At March's family gathering he brought it up again. 

"Bachan?" 

"Yes?"

"I have NEVER been on a Bachan date." 

Perceiving this may be a big deal we talked about it. He wanted to go on a Bachan date and DID not want to wait for Christmas. He said it would be ok if Papa came too. He wanted us to eat Red Ice Cream.  We talked with Arielle and scheduled it immediately - 3 days after family gathering.  

Michael and I went and picked up Danny. He was wearing a little jacket we had purchased for Benny, it matches Michael's.  He thought lunch sounded like a good idea, so we went to Dairy Queen. We thought maybe the red ice cream he wanted was a cherry dipped cone. I was impressed he chose milk and applesauce over soda and fries. We didn't even have to prompt him. 

An added bonus of DQ is its the only place in town with an inside play area. Danny met some new friends and enjoyed playing. He DID say maybe Charles and Benny should come next time....Papa and Bachan just aren't climbing through those tunnels. LOL 

DQ was a hit - but red ice cream is NOT a cherry dipped cone. Our last hope was a trip to Big Dipper - a local ice cream hangout. Danny ordered a RED ice cream cone - strawberry ice cream. I asked him if he'd ever had any and he said he'd tasted some with his Dad.  Mystery solved. 

We had a great time with Danny.  We need to have more grand dates. 

Watching Josi

I am always excited to spend the day with Josi when Carrie is at work. I get a few hours with Livie after school on most days.  This morning Josi illustrated how strong that Goecker Scowl is - the genetics are strong in this one. 

In no time at all Josi cheered up. It's fun to note the changes between each of my Josi days. She is INTERACTIVE these days. She's much more vocal, pulls herself to standing, feeds herself and loves to play TOGETHER. It's great fun. Here are a few more glimpses of our day together. 

March Family Gathering

Technically, this month we celebrate GG, Cory, Kaelyn and Ellie. We didn't meet in January or February. Michael and I caught up with most everyone, but they needed to be sung too and to move to the front of the dessert line...so we added in Annie, Nolan, Jamin, Liv, Josi and Alex. Kaelyn doesn't enjoy being the center of the attention and isn't in the photo. I have a ton of Ellie photos and will post them separately. LOL 

Back - Nolan, GG, Cory, Alex
Front - Annie, Jamin, Liv, Josi

We had thought we may be outside today - but not quite yet. Luke and the kids made use the snow for a snowball fight. 

The new kids gate is installed and working. 

Sure enough - I was out of ice. These three volunteered and we discovered Bushes Bunches has ice. 

Allie, Nolan and Stacia in back. 

Uncle Luke and Ellie

We added the element of a group game to our gatherings in November. This month I tried to stay with a green Saint Patrick's Day theme....I was shocked how little I could find locally. It was still fun.  The idea is for this to be something everyone can enjoy and for it to be totally random. This month I simply put the cups on a table, and everyone picked one. We started with the youngest and worked to the oldest. There were hot wheel cars, t-shirts, breath mints, a pot of gold, gift cards and cash in the cups. 

Krista - not sure what she got

Liv picked a DQ gift card. 

Luke found some green...

...as did Jamin.  LOL 

Woot! Jojo chose the $50 cup. 

Carrie and girls

Always a jokester 

Benny got green chocolate coins

Annie got some fancy gloves I think. 

Even Ellie got to pick a cup. 

We were glad to have Mark and Mona (on the couch) with us this month. 

Gideon got some cash. 

GG won the $100 this month. 

Michael had captured a great photo which led to a meme competition. I need to have him write about the captions and the winners. I'm fuzzy on the details. 

This was the first family gathering where we began to FEEL how close some upcoming moves are getting. Let's not think about it yet! We missed JaRissa. Jared is in the throes of another campaign. 

Fun @ JBER

We are SO going to miss Krista and Luke when they move this summer. Krista is currently a True North Chaplain imbedded with the 715th Air Mobility Operations Groups. This has involved traveling OFTEN to Guam and Hawaii to care for troops in those locations as well as the troops here in Alaska. Krista is known for her gift-giving ability, and she has surprised us with all sorts of unique gifts from her travels. She and Luke are also known as a FUN Aunt and Uncle. They know where the best parks are in town and on base, they bring great games to gatherings, give snow machine and ATV rides, provide easy attendance at Air Shows, bring water ballons to family gathering, are always up for a snowball fight and Krista keeps us abreast of opportunities on JBER.  Our home couldn't participate due to schedules, but Bre and Larissa sent photos. I should have blogged it in March and I'd have many more details to share...but here is what I remember from what I was told. 

The 715th hosted this day to showcase their capabilities and the equipment they use to move things around the Pacific Command. Arielle couldn't make it in, and Krista came out to the Valley and picked up Benny and Danny. Some are sure to wonder, if not ask, why there are no photos of Charles. Charles is in a special program catered to his needs and learning abilities. The others are homeschooled which caters to their needs and learning abilities. Today - they went on this field trip. Charles was at school - which he loves. Frankly, every day he can ride on the big yellow bus is a field trip day for Charles. 

Nolan drove in with Bre and her kids. 

Larissa and Noah met everyone at JBER. 

They enjoyed the flightline, explored a park or two, had lunch and hung out in Krista's office while she had a pop-up counseling appointment. Then they all came back to the valley.

These first three photos are from Larissa. The rest are from BreAnne. 

Noah & Jojo happy to together

Trudy and Noah and a big plane

Jojo and Uncle Nolan

The kids raided Krista's office and scored a LOT of pirate loot. They also thoroughly enjoyed visiting the pirate park. Note Annie in the background with her loot! 

Danny, Annie and Benny

Benny

Bella

Danny

Gideon

Annie

Noah, Danny, Bella, Trudy (in front) Annie, Gideon
Benny, Jojo (also in front)

Bre and her children 

Note Trudy trying to pull her pacifier from 
Bre's pocket. ::snort:: 

Larissa, (Trudy) & Noah

Jojo & Nolan

Aunt Koko with Bre, Annie, Benny & Gideon 

Trudy and Noah 

Bella is growing up - fast! 

Gideon 

Danny

Jojo

We need a room like this where everyone can be lined up and secured. ::snort:: 

I happened to be at CoRielle's watching Charles (and Lyra?)  when the boys came home. They had a blast. Bre commented about her kids, "I think they think the military is all about the snacks, cool parks and airplanes." Her kids grabbed recruitment brochures. 

Memories were made by all. 

Editor's note: Not to worry, Papa, Bachan and Aunt Koko will make sure they have an accurate view of military service before they act on the brochures. ::snort::