Any Day That Begins....

with a call from the front desk telling you you need to move out, is bound to be a hard day. ::snort::

At a Parish picnic yesterday we heard two comments that lead us to believe our waiver will be denied. Both from commanders. OK - here's the scoop....the BASE says that 4 bdr is INADEQUATE for us. THEN they turn down our exception saying that off base 4 bdr (same square footage) IS adequate. We've not heard for sure that it will be turned down...it has one more desk to go through to reach us...but I think both men were warning their chaplain what to expect. ::sigh::

Mike talked to housing again today. He was told that the minimum rooms we can occupy are FIVE...therefore, we need A WAIVER before they can offer us a 4 bdr. Hmmmm...we were TOLD before we came we'd be offered a 4 bdr. Last week we were told that the problem was there is no FGO housing. THIS week - 3 weeks after putting in the exception package they told us to submit....we are told that to even be offered the minimum 4 bdr we need ANOTHER exception. If they had told us this the FIRST WEEK we were here we would have put in THAT waiver....but our time in TLF has run out. They've extended us for 10 days. We will not hear back from the base on a new exception in 10 days...that means we have only one option...find something off base......and therein lies the problem.

I have found 3 houses being built...2000 SF that will be ready in Oct/November....and we can't stay in TLF that long. There are two others that we saw today....all the same size as base housing that may work....however, the one is in BAD shape. The current tennant won't be out until 26 Aug and they'll need to repair it. That's most likely too late for us. That leaves ONE house...at least the choice is easy. We are supposed to see inside Wed at 1030. We hope to see a 4bdr base house tomorrow to decide if we should pursue another exception waiver...though the one commander over housing did say that they are no longer approving exceptions. We're confused.

Mike and I were discouraged last night. We prayed. This a.m. I read Jn 14. Totally OUT OF CONTEXT but it spoke to me..."Do not let your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in Me. .... I've gone to prepare a place for you."

We ALWAYS pray that God would prepare a place for us to live, ministry for us to walk in, friends for us to enjoy, people to impact our lives and lives for us to impact, BEFORE we move.

God reminded me that it will take an act of WILL not to let my heart be troubled and fearful. I need to CHOOSE to be a believing one. I need to CHOOSE joy. He also reminded me that He will answer our prayers and has a place for us to live.

Of course, after seeing the available houses, after calling all the agents, visiting housing again...I dissolved in tears. Poor Mike. I don't do this often. In fact this is the first time that I've not hid it from the kids or Mike during the PCS. I try to be the strong Air Force spouse...but I'm getting discouraged and worn out. We need a house. At this point, our criteria for WHAT we accept is basically that it be available before our TLA and TLF run out. ::snort::

Please pray for our hearts. When Mom gets discouraged, all start to feel it....and so again...I refocus. I choose not to be ruled by fear. I choose to find the humor in the situation.

Seriously, the one house left is at the side of a rice paddy. ::snort:: It has no front door...it really does look like a box....didn't I say about a month ago that God was my home....whether I lived in base housing, off base housing or in a box at the side of a rice paddy? ::snort:: Now it's time for me to walk it out...a bit further. ::snort::

Choosing Joy!
©2009 D.R.G.

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

Blast from my Childhood....

Look what I found in the commissary...

I should have guessed that Magnolia would be marketed in Japan....and so I'll continue to look for "Show Pau" - the Octopus balls weren't it. LOL

Choosing Joy!
©2009 D.R.G.

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

More Cars

If I were staying here and investing in a new car...this is the one I'd choose....


It's a Latte!

Choosing Joy!
©2009 D.R.G.

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

Speaking of Wild Monkeys....

Yep - there is a Macaque (Snow Monkey) loose in the woods of the North Side of base. AFN warns us not to stare at it, not to appear aggressive. They usually live in packs so something is up that this one perfers to live alone in our woods/forest. I think I heard that he had been here before, was caught and released....he's back. I'd love to visit an Onsen where they plan on the edges of the springs. LOL

From wikipedia:The Japanese Macaque is diurnal and spends most of its time in
forests. It lives in a variety of forest-types, including subtropical to
subalpine, deciduous, broadleaf, and evergreen forests, below 1500 m. It feeds
on seeds, roots, buds, fruit, invertebrates, berries, leaves, eggs, fungi, bark,
and cereals. It has a body length ranging from 79 to 95 cm, with a tail length
of approximately 10 cm. Males weigh from 10 to 14 kg, females, around 5.5 kg.

The Japanese Macaque lives in mountainous areas of Honshū, Japan. It
survives winter temperatures below -15 °C (5°F), and is perhaps most notable for
the amount of time it spends relaxing in naturally heated volcanic hot springs
in Snow Monkey park located in Yamanouchi town, close to historical Hot spring
area named Shibu Onsen.

Choosing Joy!
©2009 D.R.G.

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

2nd Saturday in Misawa

Hmmm.....I know we did SOMETHING because I'm tired.

Mike and Jared went to a PMOC bowling event.

I worked out. I discovered wifi in the fitness room - a fact that the employees were shocked to discover. ::snort::

We went to the commissary so I could buy things for two chapel events and a birthday cake....and Mike bought candles, gift bags. muffin pan....headed back to our TLF to store food.

We headed off base to some rental offices. We've been told over and over that houses aren't available...but we keep trying. Today we were told that big houses are passed to the next person moving in to fill the one leaving...they come in to give their notice, and give the name of the person replacing them so the houses rarely get on the market. I sure wish that the chaplain who left had done that for us. ::snort::

We looked for cars at a car lot off base. We're still looking for a second car.

We drove to the North side and noted all the vacant, renovated units. We stopped at the "Officer Tower". I stopped a woman in the parking lot and asked if I could ask questions. She was helpful....then invited me in to see her apartment. All the apartments in the Officer Tower are 3 bedroom so I'm guessing if they offer us apartments that's what they'll be. Unless ::snort:: they decide we CAN live in enlisted Towers just not enlisted HOUSES. ::snort:: We had heard that you can't get Internet on the North Side. I was told the new high speed Internet is great on the North Side. I have now talked to two residents. They both said it was terrible before...but since the change to Verizon is fine. In fact, I talked to a lady who routinely uses Skype from the North Side. This alleviated my fears. I can live in a box, if I have reliable Internet. ::snort:: The apartment is quite nice and two would be great..... Here are the floor plans for the 3 bdr Towers (page 6,7)....if they give us two we'd have more space than we can fill....well - maybe we could as we don't have an attic or a garage now...though most that stuff was left stateside in storage. Windy, I thought you might enjoy the floor plans...if you scroll through these you can find the plans for most base housing.

The lady talked to me for about an hour about all the things they love on the North Side. They are DOD teachers....and really into evolution....I steered clear of mentioning that Mike is a chaplain and we homeschool. ::snort:: The principal of the high school is in a modified Tower Unit on main base....hmmm.... If they don't offer a modified unit, Mike is going to push hard for them to turn one of the vacant 4 plexes into FGO - the problem is not going to go away.

We DID find out that these towers are slated to be renovated in 2 years. That means that we'll have to move out in 2 years....um...not sure why housing would forget to tell us that...sooooo...we're encouraged but still have many questions. ::snort::

We came home, celebrated Stacia's 4th birthday...Mike is at the office....the kids are watching a movie and going to bed....full day.

Choosing Joy!
©2009 D.R.G.

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

Stacia's Tanjouiwai

"Birthday Celebration"....

Our goal was to arrive in Japan by Stacia's birthday and we did. Stacia has the honor of being our first birthday in Japan (though not the first birthday celebrated in TLFs).

We knew tomorrow would be busy so we went ahead and celebrated this evening. Here are some photos.... Mom, we've not received your package but it is sure to arrive soon. Just FYI for all....you MUST use the USPS to use an APO address. If you want to mail to us from outside America we have a Japanese address we can give you. You CANNOT use Fed Ex, UPS etc to mail to an APO (we know this as GAFB mailed our medical records by Fed X and they are stuck in Aomori). I'm hearing over and over to mail things priority or air mail but not surface mail or media. That's all I know at this point in time (and Mom I know you mailed priority - it will be here soon....we didn't check mail today so it may be there now. We'll check in the a.m.)

Stacia settled for this cake with the promise that I'll make the Pink Princess Cake when we have a home. Note the Parrot hat standing in for the Pig Hat - which is in our hold baggage...who would have guessed we'd be in TLF's this late. LOL


She didn't seem real thrilled with the Princess Kitty chopsticks from Y100 Store


She loved the slippers and red glasses.


She loves the pink sandals and can walk quite well in them

We're both excited to find reasonably priced dresses for Stacia!

Her Princess Mirror

Choosing Joy!
©2009 D.R.G.

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

Random Japanese Trivia: Obon Festival

I think this festival is celebrated at different times in various parts of Japan. Here, Obon is being celebrated. We didn't go looking to join in the festivities...but we ran into a small parade. They didn't seem to mind me taking photos.

Note the sign in the background - they buy "junk" cars

Wikipedia has this to say about the festival:

Obon (お盆?)
or just Bon (盆?),
also referred to as "Day of the Dead,"[1] is a Japanese Buddhist custom to honor the
departed (deceased) spirits of one's ancestors. This
Buddhist custom has evolved into a family reunion holiday
during which people return to ancestral family places and visit and clean their
ancestors' graves, and when the spirits of ancestors are supposed to revisit the
household altars. Also called the Feast of Lanterns, it has been celebrated in
Japan for more than 500 years and traditionally includes a dance, known as Bon-Odori.

We were celebrating Stacia's birthday today!

Choosing Joy!
©2009 D.R.G.

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