New Team Shirts

We continue to work towards a strong start to the next school year...but we're well into our rolling start....we are working on language arts, math, science, phonics....

I was happy our neighbor who moved stopped by and asked if I would continue to give her daughter a ride to youth group. Sure thing....and so I took Arielle in for a "play date" with friends - ::snort:: - and then brought everyone else in at PYOC (youth) time....

I headed off base and joined the MOPS steering team for  the Misawa MOPS planning meeting. Good fun - great year planned.

Back at home and Michael showed us a package that had arrived from Krista! New G Team shirts.....I tried to get the front and back in one shot!

This is what Krista and I were designing the night before we left Oregon. They have a tree, say estab 1984 one one side and a verse on the other....and we used the PWOC theme "Generation 2 Generation" as it FITS for a family shirt.....Now - not sure you can see it here, but we'll come up with a prize for the person who points out the fun "mistake" first.

We hadn't figured out what to do with Mom G's, Michael's and mine.....but Krista made us 0, 1 and 2.....Stacia LOVES her shirt and wore it today... She's thrilled there is no doubt it is HER shirt as she is "number 11 G."

Choosing Joy!
©2012 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...

Ox in the Ditch

A dear friend shared a piece of advice I sorely needed several months ago....Cathy, you were truly my Titus 2 in so many ways....she told me, "De'Etta, I don't do any work on any of these projects on Sunday...unless the ox is in the ditch."  It was a word I needed.....and so today....I kept checking and the ox was NOT in the ditch....so I did NOT tend to any of the many regional PWOC  or school prep things on the list.....I worshiped at home, I spent time in the word, I continued my study on prayer, I attended chapel and was blessed by the service of the word, I was refreshed by hugs and conversations with fellow believers.....

We are enjoying getting to know Dave and Beth, our new Club Beyond directors. We took them out to lunch. Evidently, Michael's ox is in the ditch...so we parted ways and the kids and I had a very relaxing day at home. 

Relaxing to me means taking care of my CLOSET!!!! and putting a few more things into the  stack of boxes for the thrift store...or someone....and - yes I NAPPED..... 

For two weeks I've searched for the missing sourdough starter. I feared it had escaped my kitchen and would somehow take over Northern Japan, as kudzu has taken over Southern America.  Jared couldn't remember what happened. None of the kids could remember. Michael was sure it was in the freezer. He maintained his sure confidence through the whole search. That's what a man of faith does. ::wink::

 I looked through the fridge/freezer...nice to have it cleaned, I sorted through the deep freeze - repeatedly (need to defrost this week). No starter. The kids kept hinting they'd like some fresh bread. On my shopping list "bread - if you don't have time to bake" showed up.  I was telling them again Saturday night  I couldn't find the starter and would get more this week when Michael insisted it was in the freezer. I replied I'd searched repeatedly and couldn't find it...Jared didn't know where it was....Arielle, sitting at the table remained silent. Michael said, "Arielle - aren't you the one who put it in the freezer."

"Yes," she replied, "It's in the freezer."

"Show me," I've found is often a great come back and worked well here.....

I was a little sheepish when she immediately pulled out a container....but it turned out it was "ice cream" I'd tried to make from almond milk.....(if it had worked it would not be buried in the deep freeze). Arielle dug further and longer and found it.

When asked how she'd missed the frantic-and-thorough-weeks-long search,  she said she was "reading and in her own world."  Ah, I've often gone to that world, how can you fault a person for missing details when they're in their world? Though two weeks is a bit troublesome. ::snort::

I fed and pampered the starter without a lot of hope through yesterday. This afternoon I discovered.....my sourdough starter had AWOKE...it's ALIVE....so tonight I made some English muffins and that and fruit will be dinner. 

Michael called and it would appear a whole fleet of oxen are in the ditch....so we will continue to welax here at home....

Choosing Joy!
©2012 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...

Mexican Yellow Rice and Black Beans (Vegan)

I saw this on Lisa's Facebook page. She's never led me wrong yet.  You can read notes and reviews of the recipe at food.com where it originated. 

Ingredients:

3/4 cup uncooked brown rice, rinsed and drained

1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric

2 cups vegetable stock or 2 cups chicken stock

1 medium onion, chopped

1 large jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced

1/2 medium bell pepper, diced

1/2 medium red bell pepper, diced

1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained (1 1/2 Cups cooked dried beans)

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon salt (to taste)

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (Opt)

1/4 cup fresh cilantro, snipped

2 medium limes, quartered

Directions:

1. Bring the vegetable or chicken stock to a boil; stir in the turmeric and brown rice.

2. Bring rice to boiling, stir once, lower heat and cook 40 to 45 minutes or until done and liquid has been absorbed, adding more liquid if needed.

3. Heat a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, add 1 teaspoon of olive oil, warming slightly.

4. To the warmed pan, add the onion, jalapeno, bell peppers, and red pepper flakes; cook for 4 minutes or until beginning to brown on the edges, remove from heat.

5. Stir the drained beans and cumin into the mixture adding salt to taste.

6. Let stand covered for 5 minutes; stir in the remaining 2 teaspoons of olive oil.

7. To serve, divide the rice into 4 equal portions and place on individual plates.

8. Top the rice with bean mixture, sprinkle with cheese and snipped cilantro.

9. Serve lime wedges on the side to squeeze over all.

*Notes

~I put the veggie broth, turmeric and rice in our rice steamer and it worked great. 

~The kids had cheese and sour cream - I didn't and it was just fine and vegan.

~I left out the hot peppers to make it kid friendly and I still haven't found the cilantro but it was yummy. 

~All the kids ate it - some with copious amounts of ketchup. 

Choosing Joy!
©2012 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...

Down Day

I started the day doing a few word studies, praying, reading a few blogs, updating the region's facebook and THEN....outlook popped up with a 15 min reminder.....PWOC Prayer Walk.  I think I'm going to have to set the alarms for an earlier warning as I've been caught several times this week.  ::grin::

Prayer walk was a sweet time of praying with PWOC sisters as we enjoyed the beautiful Misawa morning. Don't you think there is a special closeness which comes from praying together?

I passed Michael on the way to the base as I came home. ::snort:: He's still not home. I trust he's getting a jump start on next week...or finishing up this week with a bang.

We had a lazy Saturday. Stacia stayed in her room as she deemed herself "sick" and in need of quarantine....they LOVE the dvd player in their room.  Arielle and Zander went on a run.....then the three older ones (who used to be the 3 youngers - hmmmm) rode their bikes up for a treat at the local produce market.

I did a bit more research for our upcoming school year. I've ordered a few history books that will provide a nice spine. I plan to find out how to get into the DOD school library this week to see what they have....and explore a few options around here for hands on learning.  Our year is shaping up nicely - how can you BEAT studying Japanese history/culture for a year?

I made a new recipe for dinner.....1/2 way through the meal Arielle looked up and said, "There's no meat on the table at all!"  Look at that....eating vegetarian and they didn't get it until then....though Zander needed a lot of ketchup to make the black beans go down....and a lot of beans slipped out the bottom of his wrap. ::snort:: I give him an A+ for encouraging comments and a valiant effort.

I'm looking at the calendar to decide if we can fit in a trip to see the rice art fields next week. I'll have to take the kids alone as it just doesn't work to wait for Michael to have a day off.....I think I can find it without getting lost....we may just opt for the Towada Horse Park.  Actually, I'm about a hair's breadth away from packing the kids on the train and taking the trip to Hokkaido we had planned to do with Jared before we left suddenly for the states. We all wondered how long it would take after those unexpected 7 1/2 weeks before I was ready for more adventures...evidently two weeks. ::snort::

Choosing Joy!
©2012 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...

Unexpected Blessings

Some days refuse to go as planned. We worked hard all week - at home and chapel - and expected to go see the rice art up north today. 

Instead we had the unexpected joy of  showing hospitality to new chapel staff. Things do not usually move fast in the Air Force - but WOW  - we were all surprised when our new Club Beyond directors (first really) were granted SOFA status quickly and flew in this morning.  I was so surprised I showed up with wet hair and no makeup. ::snort::  Arielle looked at us shocked as we were running out of the house at 08:50....."WHERE are you going?"

"We're picking up the Club Beyond directors and I didn't get it on the calendar." My supportive daughter's laughter rang in my ears...but I figured...oh well!  After 24 hours of traveling they aren't going to care if I have make up on or wet hair. ::snort::

It was fun to visit with Dave and Beth as we did the base tour, picked a few things up at the commissary and had lunch together.  What a blessing they will be to our community and what a blessing to show them around this a.m.  They are fresh from Incirlik, Turkey. I'm looking forward to getting to know them better...

When we got home, we thought we'd head for the rice fields.....Stacia was crying and said she had a sore throat and ear ache.  The clinic was closed today for an exercise. I was told to take her to the UCC (ER). Michael took the older three to the ocean....the boys had been wanting to swim since we got back to Japan....it's a bit chilly for my tastes!

Stacia and I went to the UCC....where we were told to get a decongestant and ibuprofen for her. Of COURSE she told them she didn't have a sore throat.....that gal.

Friday night is PIZZA night! Cheese for the kids....roasted veggies w/o cheese for Michael and me. I like the frozen stuff...Michael prefers traditional sauce and more veggies...so I'll make some next week.

WHICH brings us to the big news of the day.....I was explaining to Michael I couldn't make pizza tonight as I still hadn't found the sourdough starter and yes I HAD emptied the freezer....Arielle got up, and found it!!!! SO....it's thawing and the kids are happy to think about fresh English Muffins and homemade pizza in the upcoming week.... Now off to watch a family movie.

Choosing Joy!
©2012 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...

Caught Up!

Michael told me he'd be home around midnight. He's determined to take his day off this week - which means staying late on a couple of other nights..... That gave me time to write a 4 page newsletter for my presidents. I do NOT often write so much, but it's the first letter of a new year...lots of info to get out. 

Met a friend at cake house and had an enjoyable time getting to know each other better. I had banana milk tea - YUMMO - but I got a strainer stuck in my tea pot. LOL

Two younger ones had lots of chances to experience natural consequences today.

More paperwork....

Arielle continues to work on training Yuuki.....this lesson was "sit, stay"...and she so badly wants to follow Arielle.....

 BUT SHE STAYED!

Stacia asked for Shepherd's Pie for dinner. I made the veggie mix up - saved some for Michael and I and then added the turkey.....and ended up with a totally vegan Shepherd's Pie....and no beans and rice. Too bad Michael missed it....doesn't look appetizing...but really...I'm slowing my life down...searching for simplicity...and so there you have it...pictures of dinner. 

The blog is caught up! 

My regional paperwork and newsletter are caught up! 

I'm still searching for a good spine book to use to study Japan in the upcoming school year.....that's the next project. LOL 

Choosing Joy!
©2012 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...

Jared's Pack Out

I was not expecting the emotions of Wednesday. Jared left on 5 July to move to TX with "the boys". Wednesday was the day TMO came and packed his things to go to TX. 

Tuesday night Nolan and Michael took things apart, weighed and re-weighed...and we decided if we left his books we'd be under his weight allowance of 320 lbs. They charge $6 a lb if you don't make weight. 

Wednesday I woke up and saw all Jared's things in the living room and it hit me - he doesn't live here any longer. 

They loved the Fuji Stick....they were perplexed by the Cowboy hat. Something about it bothered them. They kept chattering away and I kept hearing "hato". Finally, they asked me, "Is this a hato?" I explained it was a cowboy hato from TX.

They were also amazed by our family photo and asked me about 5x if all the 9 children were mine. I think they were sure I was misunderstanding the question. ::snort:: 

I wonder how they'll ever get those "exercise parts" back together - but Michael said, "That's their problem!" ::snort:: The bike? I gave them Michael's bike first....Nolan saved the day by telling me I gave them the wrong bike. ::snort:: 

Nolan and Zander spent the afternoon cleaning the room and reorganizing....moved dressers, put futons in the corner so Nolan has a spot his own.....

Zander is thrilled he claimed a spot in the closet....

Another highlight of this day was getting a call out of the blue to go out for coffee....and later another invite for the 9 market and lunch - had to take a rain check out that offer.

I received an email today saying that Jared's weight was 380lbs. Michael is sure they didn't subtract the packing material. 

Choosing Joy!
©2012 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...