Monday, March 23, 2009

Random Thoughts on Japan

*Every year there are about 1,500 small earthquakes, or tremors, all over the country. This will feel familiar after living in Alaska.

*Japanese Children learn two alphabets...and they need to learn about 2,000 characters!!!!! (That laminated card seems like a better idea all the time).

*There are a LOT of Japanese celebrations.

Choosing Joy!
©2009 D.R.G.

Rocks! Big and Bigger?

I'm taking time to quickly post what I did today - to remind myself that I DID ACCOMPLISH my Bigger Rocks - though a couple Big Rocks didn't get handled as well as I'd like to see (school, photos, decluttering).

5:00 a.m. ~ Tryst

6:00 - 7:00 ~ Gym

7:30 - 8:00 ~ Shower, dress, leave for base

8:00 - 9:00 ~ Yearly visit at the Women's Health Center on base (joy)

9:00 - 9:30 ~ Tricare, Referral to off base service

9:30 - 10:20 ~ Visit with Col. about forms that I need signed....he called the district and got me the name of a person to see.

10:30 - 11:00 ~ Dentist 1; cleared up bill, picked up x-rays, clearance for 4 of us

11:00 - 11:30 ~ Dropped off educational release for Nolan with the Speech Therapist.

11:30 - noon ~ Dentist 2; dropped off forms for clearance for Zander and Stacia

12:00 - 1:45 ~ Lunch, checked email, updated prayer request, returned phone calls, did a bit of couch school. (Kids worked on table school while I ran errands).

1:50 - 2:30 ~ Speech Therapy - Therapist informs Nolan we have 70 days before we leave town. ACK....

2:30 - 3:45 ~ SAISD - I went to the top and had a great discussion too. I got 4 children released...and I have personal cards to attach to all 5 so if anyone has questions about Nolan they can contact her. We went to the library but they were closed and we couldn't leave all our materials in the drop box. We went to Dentist 2 and picked up the clearance for the younger two.

4:00 - 6:00 ~ Read books on Japan, did a bit more couch school, EXHAUSTED....

I decided to stay home from Mom's Night Out Tonight. Mike came home at 6 p.m., rather than working late. He also has been working the list. He's begun talking to the base about where they will let us fly from. The choices seem to be Dallas or LA - neither are great choices with our plan to take leave and go visit family in the Pacific NW before we fly to Japan. We want to fly out of Anchorage.

Mike began planning. The computer on the left has KOA maps, the middle one has Google maps for distances, the far right computer has the itenerary with numbers, miles, addresses as he plans.... I think he's stuck in Springfield, as they don't have campgrounds for the trailer...at least none we've found.

Photobucket

We had our Lent devotions. Mike read to the boys....Arielle and Stacia and I are working through "Raising Maidens of Virtue."

Did you catch what got done today? Mike began talking with TMO about weight and tickets. He got his dental and medical clearance. I got 4 of 5/ educational releases. I got 5 dental releases....we're making some progress.

I can see some areas where we'll be asked to provide more documenation. My soon-to-be-retired dentist has been telling me NOT to fix my tooth that NEEDS fixing.....we are "watching" it...but today said that I have ongoing dental needs that must be dealt with. ::snort:: I had made an appointment last week with a well-loved dentist in town to begin the process on 1 April.

Nolan's speech will take some processing...but the therapist has pulled his evals and IEP...so we're getting our ducks in a row...and we're believing that if God wants us in Japan the Air Force red tape won't stop us. Right?

Choosing Joy!
©2009 D.R.G.

Update on our "young friend"

He is recovering remarkably fast. He is now in a neutral country. Here are some specific ares for prayer.

  • Swelling in the next 24 – 48 hours is common
  • Phil will be flying tomorrow – long flight – this can be dangerous due to the fact that he does not have a breathing tube and the nature of his injuries. No FEAR - JUST PRAY!
  • Phil would like to see his wife and “all the family” when he lands…pray as family tries to make this happen. The Army will pay for his wife and parents to fly in.
  • Long term recovery

Here's a few examples of how God has positioned warriors to intercede for our friend..... We received the call and I sent out the request immediately. One of our local PWOC ladies is on the ground and praying...cool to know that God had her THERE. Because the incident was on Sat. churches across the nation began praying and prayer chains were activated. It turns out that another military man from the same small hometown was there....and able to talk to the chaplain and get word for family. The first responders are Christians and all prayed as he was immediately treated. The Doctor is a Christian and prayed as he treated our friend. There is no doubt that God has our back - but it is always amazing when we can so clearly see His hand at work on our behalf.

Thanks all! Keep praying. Friends and family appreciate it. (Yes, he has a name... but until I know he's safely home, I'd feel better not posting it on a public forum like this).

Choosing Joy!
©2009 D.R.G.