Family Update

I'm simply going to post this email....
Another Mass Email:


Thanks for your prayers. Mike is in Philadelphia and can't get a flight out until 8 p.m. Monday night (his time). Details are working out for him to get from SEATTLE to Medford, where Mom Mary is, and then on down to CA to be with his father.

Mary (Mom) came through the surgery with flying colors. It turns out her hip and shoulder are damaged (not broken) and it is her leg that is broken. Mike's sister is now with his 93 year old father in CA. Prayers for upcoming talks and arrangements are coveted...as well as Mary's continued healing. As it doesn't appear that the kids and I can be of help, our plan as of this a.m. is to stay in Japan.

Seoul - my plans are to arrive in Seoul on Tuesday, as planned. "Do the next thing" is our family motto. I think a new one should be "Beware of making plans!" ::snort::

Thanks for your prayers,
De'Etta
Choosing Joy!
©2010 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...

Home - URGENT Prayer Request

I am just home.

Mike was due tomorrow. 

There's been an accident at  his folks' and he's diverting flights to go home. I'm fuzzy on details, please pray....for Mike, his Mother, and us.....in the grand scheme it is small beans that he's not going to be home tomorrow....but he may not be home before he deploys....and I may need to make a lot of travel changes very quick. Please pray that we have a clear picture, make sane decisions, for Mary's health and for Mike and his sister, Rebecca, as they deal with all the ramifications.
Choosing Joy!
©2010 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...

Snow....

The picture says it all. The snow continues...it's wet and heavy.

I had a HILARIOUS conversation with JAL - I tried to explain that I needed to know if they would refund the ticket if I can't fly tomorrow. She and I were not communicating. It was hilarious when I tried to spell my name......she could not hear me saying "t" until Jared finally said, "T like Tokyo". ::snort::  I called Kim and Kim called the JAL office in Tokyo. YES! What a wonderful solution. I'll call JAL at 6:30 a.m. to find out if my 9:30 flight is going.  It's an adventure.

Choosing Joy!
©2010 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...

Misawa March Madness

I woke up at 2 am to HOWLING wind .... I sleepily thanked Jesus that we had run errands and bought groceries yesterday. This was my window this am

From 2010-03-10 blizzard

This photo shows the strange snow patterns caused by our ENE wind.

From 2010-03-10 blizzard

This is my car UNDER the carport!

From 2010-03-10 blizzard

This is the road in front of our home.

From 2010-03-10 blizzard

This is the road in front of the driveway (big van) and the neighbors garage.

From 2010-03-10 blizzard

Front Door which we FORCED open

From 2010-03-10 blizzard

Snow INSIDE our play room, that's CARPET under the snow. :: Snort::

From 2010-03-10 blizzard

After the neighbor got stuck, Nate and Jared helped push and dig him out .... and then they shoveled a bit of the road.

From 2010-03-10

From 2010-03-10

From 2010-03-10

From 2010-03-10

From 2010-03-10

I have been thinking this isn't a "big" deal. Mike seemed to think I was exaggerating when I said I thought we were having a blizzard. I am scheduled to fly out tomorrow a.m. for OKINAWA - a TROPICAL ISALAND.

MOPS has been cancelled for tomorrow. I went outside and the snow is blowing so much you can't see. I was glad to take photos and bring them in and see what it's like out there.:: snort::

The neighbor told me that we are NOW to have a white out - and it is. That we are under a blizzard warning this afternoon and evening - expected to get 26 inches. This is the start of the storm. Rodney called Windy and said the commissary is closed, schools are out, the base is closing and all are being sent home. Um .... this is expected to be a big one.  This forecast doesn't really do the outside view justice.....

I've been told that Japanese Pilots will fly in "anything". I wonder. Do you think I'll make it out tomorrow? I wonder who to call to get advice. What do I do if I lose a $700 ticket that was paid for by regional funds? I can't afford to just chalk it up.....better make some calls....and pack, I guess. ::snort::

Choosing Joy!
© 2010 D.R.G.
~ Coram Deo ~
Living all of life before the face of God ...

Shew.....

I slept well last night and woke up at 5 a.m. I had a couple of hours to work on the workshop I'm presenting at Faithlift.

 Arielle, Jared and I headed for the clinic at 8:50am.  We checked in for Arielle's ortho appointment right on time. Then discovered she didn't have an ORTHODONTIST apt. My calendar said "opt"....I didn't have my reading glasses....and thought it said "ort".....

We headed for the basement for her apt. She made it in time. We had our day planned so we could finish Arielle's apt and head to Jared's apt.  WELL.....the optometrist wanted to talk to me, and  wanted to dilate Arielle's eyes because her eyes have gotten worse again in a short period of time.  I left her in the office dilating to check Jared in.  The Optometrist said we could do it that way as the apt was going to be 40 minutes longer than we were told.  I plan to research some eye exercises to slow down the progression of her visions demise. Anyone ever done anything like that?

They wouldn't let Jared see the doc alone (he did 3 months ago).  I had to stay with him while the 12 year old was alone at the previous apt.

We checked at dental. I wanted to SHOW them the note we had saying Jared has an appointment to have his wisdom teeth pulled. Nate had tried to change his Good Friday apt. for me and they insisted I'd not made the appointment and that he needed to see the oral surgeon for a consult before we could schedule the extraction. Um....we HAD the consult on 19 Feb. Turns out they scheduled ZANDER to have wisdom teeth pulled on 2 April instead of Jared. Zander.....they said, "Well, how old is he? Does he need them extracted?" He's EIGHT! SO....they straightened that out. ::snort::

We picked up Jared's meds. The pharmacist instructions don't match the written instructions the doc gave us. Not sure what to do about that. I decided to follow the docs instructions. When in doubt take the smallest dose. ::snort::  I'll take care of that and figuring out where to get Arielle's glasses tomorrow. Twyla, email me the name of that place you were happy with if you see this before I reach you.

It was a funny day at the base.

OH - went to get mail and couldn't get the box open. They watched me try six times. A really nice gentleman came and fixed it...oiled it, cleaned it and changed the combo as it won't work. LOL

We came home, switched out kids and headed for the base again.

I had a PWOC meeting. FUN to see some of  "the gals" quickly.

Arielle had drama.

Stacia, Nate, and I replenished the pantry in preparation for my next trip.

We all went to Vikings tonight for yakiniku. We sat Japanese style and enjoyed the meal. It was a treat to run into Kristin as I'll miss MOPS this month.

Well - that's the day. Tomorrow, we'll try to find something fun to do, I'll finish the laundry and repack.

Choosing Joy!
©2010 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...

Shinkansen!

This is all the video I could grab before it was time for me to concentrate on hopping on to the train. Taking the commuter train from Narita to Urawa was an amazing experience. I was in awe of all the people jumping on and off the trains with such confidence....They would literally walk out the left doors of one train and directly on to the doors of another train and whisk away. Amazing speed and numbers....and I was the only foreign face I saw until we walked into Ryu and Kim's apartment.

Today was my first Shinkansen experience.....described in the I'm Home post....but here's a bit more of the "nuts and bolts" from wikipedia.

The Shinkansen (新幹線, "New Main Line"?) also known as "the bullet train" is a network of high-speed railway lines in Japan operated by four Japan Railways Group companies. Starting with the 210 km/h (130 mph) Tōkaidō Shinkansen in 1964, the now 2,459 km (1,528 mi) long network has expanded to link most major cities on the islands of Honshū and Kyūshū at speeds up to 300 km/h (186 mph). Test runs have reached 443 km/h (275 mph) for conventional rail in 1996, and up to a world record 581 km/h (361 mph) for maglev trainsets in 2003.

Shinkansen literally means "New Trunk Line", referring to the tracks, but the name is widely used inside and outside Japan to refer to the trains as well as the system as a whole. The name "Superexpress" (超特急, chō-tokkyū?), initially used for Hikari trains, was retired in 1972 but is still used in English-language announcements and signage.

The Tōkaidō Shinkansen is the world's busiest high-speed rail line. Carrying 151 million passengers a year (March 2008),[1] it has transported more passengers (over 6 billion)[2] than any other high speed line in the world.[3] Between Tokyo and Osaka, the two largest metropolises in Japan, up to ten trains per hour with 16 cars each (1,300 seats capacity) run in each direction with a minimum of 3 minutes between trains. Though largely a long-distance transport system, the Shinkansen also serves commuters who travel to work in metropolitan areas from outlying cities.

Choosing Joy!
©2010 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...

I'M HOOOOMMMME!!!!

Two airplanes,one night with friends in Tokyo, four commuter planes, a Shinkansen, and a dear friend waiting in Misawa....I'm HOME!!! Until Thursday. ::snort::

There was only one slightly puzzling moment. I was in Urawa and was looking for the West Exit...but I couldn't find an English sign....I think I was simply too tired. A nice gentleman saw my confusion and headed me to the west exit where Ryu met me. It's a 5 - 6 minute walk from the station to their apartment where this awaited me....

JUNNIE!!!! Such a sweetie. Thanks again, Ryu and Kim for your hospitality. I enjoyed the visiting, sharing your bird's eye view of Tokyo, and the "shoe" cream this a.m. at the station. Isn't this a pretty sign?

Kim was sure if I tried the train once, I'd be set to enjoy it for the next 3 years. She's right. Mary told me that her family really enjoys the train more than the commuter flight from here....I'm with them. LOTS more leg room, comfortable seats....and nicer views.

I will be sure to look for plane connections from now on that will allow a train ride to Narita, rather than picking up bags in Haneda, driving across Tokyo and rechecking bags at Narita. This was great fun.

For those wondering...not ONE airsick bag was utilized on this trip. ::snort::

Time to go hug on some kids a bit more, take Jared in for Youth and hang out at the Weasel's Den....and then my own sweet bed. BTW - it would appear that not only my heart but my bio-rhythms belong to Japan....I slept fine last night....no jet lag yet on this return flight. LOL

Choosing Joy!

©2010 D.R.G.

~Coram Deo~

Living all of life before the face of God...