Sunday, June 16, 2019

Father's Day Recital and Such

Father's Day is  a bit bitter sweet for Michael and I. Seven years ago, on Father's Day, Dad G went to be with his Heavenly Father. We've been remembering him, his bigger than life personality, and his stories, as the day drew near. The legacy of a father is an amazing thing. I see it in Michael and in the way he fathers our children.

Today, at Matanusaka AG, we concluded an 8 week series - Heroes. We celebrated and prayed for our  hero fathers.  Our ministry required us to be away from family for decades. It was especially sweet to celebrate this Father's Day with children, my father and our son in laws.
Izaak, Michael, Carl and Dad 

Carl, Dad, Barney, Rick?, Pastor Shannon, Bob and Bob

Danny, Michael, Izaak.....
A word about church Father's Day gifts. Michael knocked it out of the park one year with fishing lures. This year? Pastor hit a home run. Best Father's Day gift ever - BRATS as in


Michael picked out ribs to grill today. They took a bit longer to prepare than we expected. We made good use of the time.  Some of the men headed out to play Bocce. I had meant to buy some new lawn games before today. Oops - it's been busy.  Note - we've pushed back the jungle - but it's still apparent we aren't quite cultured out here. Ah well, we have a defined yard. LOL
Josiah, Michael, Jared, Alex
  We are lurking on every buy/sell list we know hoping to score a nice, sturdy, wood play/swing structure for our yard. We don't have a lot for the kids to do in the back yard. We have the trampoline - thanks to Jared.  We're also looking for a hot tub. If you are local and see something - send us the link. We've missed a couple - but keep hoping.
Benny loves to jump

 Jamin and Arielle took the kids to play with BUBBLES. 

Larissa left the bubble machine for the kids when she moved to Juneau. It is perfect!
Bella, Benny, Jamin, Gideon, Arielle 
 Strange things these bubbles!

Gideon loved the bubbles, but loved the tools Jamin shared with him even more. 
Note the tape measure in his hand even in the midst of bubbles. 

I caught a shot of both boys on the move! Benny is trying to duck under the bubbles. 

Bella wins the creative catch award. Arielle to ld her we were out of bubbles, she attempted to catch bubbles in the bottle. 

Bre's such a good mommy

Stacia is always working on a craft or two. 

Dad and Josiah enjoy the gorgeous day. 

Izaak is the grill master extraordinaire - and he likes doing it. 

Bre and Jared used the wait to catch up. 

 Annie has been a mama only gal for the last couple of weeks. This afternoon she did let Stacia and Josiah hold her - as long as she could see Bre. 

Izaak shared with me the wonders of the chaga mushroom a few weeks ago. People  swear by it up here. It's supposed to boost immune systems, be good for livers and more... I found a chaga nectar for Izaak to use in his coffee...and some powder for Dad  I can put in his morning coffee. Keeping our heroes healthy.

Michael got Moose Poo and Cory got Bear Scat. Uncanny how real they looked. 

The advantage of our later than expected lunch is Nolan made it home while folks were still here. He came home with a sad commentary on culture. McDonalds was swamped with single dads who had their kids for the day.  He was expecting a slow day - it was the busiest yet.

Michael has been giving Stacia piano lessons. She usually practices with head phones on and doesn't want anyone to hear her play. She gave her first recital for Father's Day. She played Matt Redman's 10,000 Reasons and did a great job.  This song was sung at Mom's funeral and I couldn't help but think of Mom and how she would have loved to be here today. Stacia will soon be forced to find a new teacher...and we know just the one...but she's still nervous about playing in front of anyone.

She had quite an audience....


So sweet when Benny RAN to Stacia after she finished and all were clapping. Turns out he wanted to explore the wonder of the louder volume on the keyboard.

Bella and Gideon explored this wonder as well. 


The guys left to get Jared to the airport for his flight back to Juneau. Please continue to pray for him in his job. Obviously, anyone going into this sort of field knows they will have a target on their back. This mama just wants to make sure he's standing at the end of the onslaught. LOL

It was a red letter day. I had an extra smile in my heart as my baby brother and his wife are flying across the globe to the states today. They have reached Amsterdam. They'll be visiting us up here in a few weeks.  Krista called. This will be her final week at her Chaplain Candidate assignment. Michael will be flying to meet her and drive with her back to Alaska next Sunday. Family is a blessing and we are amply blessed. On days like today my heart sings. This life is not the one we had planned for this season - but the blessing of being with family is not to be rejected. I still pray fervently for Japan, I am happy to be here with the kids.