Thursday, May 07, 2009

Look What I Learned How To Do Today

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Teamwork!
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Our Beloved Taskmaster
mike,yard
Yes, even Stacia Joy can help.
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Not quite as good as Zoo Tycoon, but pretty fun.
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mike,zander,yard

Now, how do you push your glasses up when your hands are full of mud?
arielle,yard

Giving Girls Day Out a new meaning. ::snort::
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Jared arrived home in time to encourage us.
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Mike and the boys planned to finish the second 1/2 of the backyard today....but the sod didn't arrive at the nursery until after the boys left for House of Faith. This turned out to be great. The younger ones and I pitched in to help Mike. It was good for us to work as a team....instead of them staying inside out of the way while Mike and the boys did the work. ::snort:: I should mention it was over 100*. Thanks, guys! You were great.

In their defense, these two boys did spend several afternoons taking the yard "down to the deck". Thanks, guys!

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jared jamin,yard

Other Projects of the Day

Arielle put page protectors on another album.

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New Sink
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Shortly after we moved in one of the kids chipped our porcelain sink with our giant cast iron pan. Mike suggested a new sink years ago, but I worried that we'd chip it again. Today, Mike, Jamin and Jared all worked on installing a new sink....Josiah stopped over in the evening and ended up staying until midnight as they worked to finish this sink.

I also ran and dropped off an item with friends at the park. Double duty. ::snort:: The younger ones enjoyed a romp at the park - though I hadn't taken water and will remember it's SUMMER TIME here now.

I received several phone calls that were special.

Mandy dropped by at the perfect time for a sod break.

Tomorrow's a new day....with more projects.

Choosing Joy!
©2009 D.R.G.

~ Coram Deo ~
Living all of life before the face of God...

Thursday's Last - House of Faith

Today was Jared's last day at House of Faith. This is the ministry that where he has volunteered for 3 years. In fact, Jamin has an article on the ministry of House of Faith here. I know this was very hard for Jared. Many of his local friendships began at House of Faith and he has truly enjoyed interacting with the children at the public school where he was assigned.

Yes, I'm going to list lasts. PCSing (moving) is another one of those bittersweet experiences in life. We are eagerly anticipating the adventures to come, but painfully aware of all that we will lose in the next few weeks. Being a TCK I moved a lot. I learned to focus on the adventure of the change and rush through the goodbyes.... At our last assignment, a dear lady told me I was robbing others of closure by my refusal to say goodbye. The ladies at Elmendorf taught me how to say goodbye in REAL TIME. I tended to look straight ahead, get past it, and then process it months down the road. This is a "family history" as Mike has termed it, and so I will record those things that aren't too incredibly personal.

BTW Jared has a new blog, Schichowr. I can't pronounce the name, but it means laughter in Hebrew. It fits him. Check it out. I've enjoyed reading he and Jamin's different perspectives of the same events. I had thought of having the kids start a blog, when we moved... I thought it might be a fun way for them to share their thoughts with friends. Jared asked to start one a couple of weeks ago.

Choosing Joy!
©2009 D.R.G.

~ Coram Deo ~
Living all of life before the face of God...

Local Freebie - really big construction like jacks

Mike just told me that he has two ceiling joist jacks…..we aren’t sure what they are really called…they are big. We used them in one home to jack up the basement joists as we repaired them. We haven’t had a need for them here and hope to never need them again. I’m not sure what their real name is but they are really tall, big, heavy duty jacks….anyone have a need for something like that? Let us know….

Choosing Joy!
©2009 D.R.G.

~ Coram Deo ~
Living all of life before the face of God...

Local Freebie - Dehydrator Trays

Does anyone have an American Harvest Dehydrator? Round type? I have trays for free if you need them. Movers cracked the base of the dehydrator and I threw it out last week. ::snort:: Best way to be sure I see your response is to email (shown above) or leave a comment on my blog (blogger emails those to me).

Choosing Joy!
©2009 D.R.G.

~ Coram Deo ~
Living all of life before the face of God...

Random Japanese Facts - counting


Thanks, Darcy for heading me to youtube. LOL

Choosing Joy!
©2009 D.R.G.

~ Coram Deo ~
Living all of life before the face of God...

Random Acts of Kindness

I'm not going to reveal names as I think that is what these ladies would prefer....however...check this out....

One friend has volunteered to keep our grain and ship it priority as needed to Japan. The other option I had found was to order from Bob's Red Mill and have THEM ship it priority. She thought about it and told me that I've already purchased my grain and would be paying the same shipping costs this way. She even volunteered to let me put in my annual grain order, store it at her house, and mail it over....that may be too much.....but knowing that I have options is helpful. I need to figure out if there are any custom problems with this, as the grain would be put in Ziploc and then mailed, so not sealed at a manufacturer. Hmmm.

Another member of our support group stopped by with a tenderloin in marinade....ready to pop in the oven.

I have great friends. You know who you are!

Choosing Joy!
©2009 D.R.G.

~ Coram Deo ~
Living all of life before the face of God...

Last Things

Wednesday - I turned in a notice for the gym. I've really enjoyed the people at Community. We've made friends. Either Jamin or Jared go with me each day and I've enjoyed our conversations. I fought back rising emotions as I turned it in.

Arielle and Nolan had their last piano lesson.

It's getting harder to deny that big changes will happen "shortly".


Choosing Joy!
©2009 D.R.G.

~ Coram Deo ~
Living all of life before the face of God...