No Plan B

We flew through school and laundry and left for town at 3:30. We decided to explore the harbor area and catch dinner at Good Harvest before we met Mom G, who had her own errands to run today. We had tickets for Carman's "No Plan B" concert....as in Jesus is Plan A and there's NO PLAN B.

They climbed to the top of the rocks

Perfect rock climbing shoes

 

Eventually, we all ended up at Cornerstone Assembly for the  concert.

 

If it looks like we were sitting up close and personal - it's because we were. The VIP seats weren't filled and we fit the bill to fill the seats.

Tear Down that Wall

Keeping it real. I'm having a BLAST and we are loving our time together - but there's a lot about life I'm having a hard time surrendering right now.

We ran our Air Force race hard. We crossed the finish  line. We're in the part where you collapse at the end, enjoy the joy of knowing you left it all on the course, collect a few high fives and regain energy to run again - on a NEW course.....to hear at this point there's another Air force lap to run ....no matter how fun the course has been, it's not a happy place.

We've TASTED retirement and we love it. We love having Michael more present. We love being able to rest and relax without either of us worrying about our ministry to do lists, Michael's short notice supsenses or Air Force "stuff." We love asking God where and what He'd have us do and KNOWING we CAN do just that immediately....without Air Force approval, career consequences, leave approval et al.

In June we were told Michael did not have Parkinson's Disease. Japan was back on course - with a bit of a detour as we went through the typical end of tour VA claim. We'd hit Japan - rested and ready. We'd spend the time waiting for the VA to process the claim learning Japanese.

31 Aug, the day we turned our key over to our landlord, we heard a diagnosis of Parkinsonism with the understanding it seems to be Parkinson's Disease,  but we won't know until he weans from current meds and tries Levodopa. Staggering news....and in the process of figuring out what it means for our plans to minister in Japan......

11 Sept, base doc explains he thinks it best in the long run if he submits Michael's retirement for a medical hold and a medical evaluation board. I love this man's heart to be sure the Air Force does the very best for us....but ....

We ran that course. We're in the high-five stage. We don't want to have to run another lap. We like the now.

But now...we're in limbo. We may be called back to Beale, or we may not be called back to Beale. We may have to fight the VA to have Parkinsonism/Parkinson's listed as service connected, or we may be another year active duty while the DoD takes care of the classification and sets up the course of treatment.

What happened to the great faith I had in May and June? It's still there. I know God is in control....but I've been angry. I don't understand WHY we were told "all's well" in June....it seems, TO ME,  God could have orchestrated this lap better. An MEB would have been better to start in May/June - before we moved out of our home, before Michael's ministry was replaced, before we assumed we were going back to Japan again.... God HAS been speaking to me.

I know He is good.

I know I can trust Him.

I know my anger has built a wall - which He delighted in smashing through.

Finally - it comes down to surrender - again.

I surrender and together we tear down the wall.

It comes down to the prayer that never fails, "Yet, not my will, but Yours be done."

I have no idea which plan to pray for - a call back or a call saying to continue on....but God knows. There HAS been good in this interlude - we have tasted life after the Air Force - and we like it. We've enjoyed 6 weeks of enhanced family life - and it's good. We're resting - and it's very good.

If we get called back - it won't be pretty - but we'll find the reserves and gut it out - we'll run another lap as faithfully as we can - trusting in what we know of God.

He is gracious.

He is faithful.

His mercy is new every morning.

He loves us.

He is working to give us the delights of our hearts - not necessarily the NOW pleas which don't always accurately reflect the desires of our hearts. He loves us too much to be side-tracked by my emotions.

The wall is down.

Even here - His hand upholds me - "Not my will, but Yours be done."

*Note on 11 Sept we were told we should hear within 2 months if they are putting Michael on hold.  The MEB process would mean he goes back to work for 12 - 18 months while they get him on meds, work through the DoD/VA paperwork and let us retire - with regular retirement and VA disability/care  ready to start.

What a Day - Sunday

We  got up early, cleaned up and attempted to go to church twice. We succeeded on our third try. Tour the city via church ads? LOL It was great to worship with a community of believers.

We headed into Crescent City after church and had lunch at the Good Harvest Cafe. This is our third meal here over the months and I've STILL not tried all their vegetarian/vegan offerings. This is HUGE - usually I end up eating iceberg lettuce at restaurants the others like. This one has GOOD-TASTING  ORGANIC meat and veggies - AND the prices are about what we pay anywhere else in town. I loved my vegan Reuben and vegan chili. The boys liked their 1/2 lb burgers.

We spent a few hours with Mom G back in Douglas Park. We visited, the kids swam, I even worked on lesson plans.....it hardly feels like work with a view like this.

 

Alex swam across the river today and Stacia rowed across. Nina and Arrow chased them across. If you look closely you can see kids and dogs across the river.

 

 

Found another boat on clearance

We visited with a couple from New York back at the trailer. We noted many of these folks have travel buddies. Maybe some of our friends will want to meet up with us in the summer.  We made another campfire and enjoyed another chapter of Patrick McManus (Shooting the Chick a Nout Narrows).

I am becoming quite addicted to lazing by the fire, in my zero-gravity chair, watching the stars and moon. Alas, we are going to be moving on at the end of the week.  We've realized we want to jet up to see Josiah rather than meander up the coast.....then if the Air Force doesn't call we'll meander back DOWN the coast and if they do call we'll hopefully have a bit of time with him.

Three weeks in full-timing (six weeks of retirement) and we're not tired of each other or the close quarters! In fact, we love having Michael around and we love the change in family dynamic that living in a "tiny living space" brings.

A Day at the Beach - Brookings Harbor/Chetco Point

What to do with a beautiful SATURDAY? I needed to buy groceries - still can't fit a week of produce and meat in the trailer for our family. Michael suggested we drive to Brookings, investigate the beach and buy our groceries and gas in Oregon.

After confirming we could not get the Ducks game at the Caboose, we headed up the road. We tried out a few campgrounds along the way. A state park which SAID there were "limited RV spots" and an "RV turnaround". Whooee - we were thankful we did not have the Caboose with us - we didn't even see a spot where a very small trailer or Class C could have parked. It was good to know now. The other park was the Beachfront RV Park in Brookings-Harbor.  There are actually about five clustered around the public access beach. The Beachfront RV Park  is a giant parking lot, with laundry, showers and a store, right on the beach. We need to start doing some research for parks or campgrounds up 101.

What's not to love about an 82* day at the beach?????

 

We contemplated, corporately and individually, that we were 3000 miles due west of Misawa and Japan.

 

 

We watched fishing boats trawl the harbor and bigger ships return from a day at sea.

Go Coast Guard!

As we walked along the beach - in front of a  parked row of RVs - we visited  with the folks out watching the beach and enjoying cool drinks.  We struck up a conversation with Harvey and Judy, which ended up with three of us being invited to tour their Newmar Class A Diesel Pusher. Nice wheels. It was obviously built better than the Palazzo and Damons we've looked at - much heftier price to go with the Amish workmanship too.  Nolan and Alex had gone ahead to check prices at the park office for us. When we didn't show up they turned back looking for us....walked all the way to the end to the pier and wondered what could have happened. Imagine their surprise when they called and we told them we were inside the beautiful Newmar across from the stairs to the beach. LOL

 

We avoided the taffy, fudge and hot dogs, although when at the beach one MUST find a fish and chip joint - which we did.

Following the highway signs brought us next to Chetco Point. I'll admit, it didn't look promising  - a path beside and behind a sewer treatment plant. Looks were deceiving in this instance.  My ankle wasn't up to much more hiking or climbing rocks - so I found a nice bench with an ocean view and watched people, birds, dogs, and the ocean. Here are some photos from the rest of the family's adventure.

Note - once outside of the Redwood basin, I had cell reception which explains the replies to texts during the afternoon and the cessation of texts once again. Email or FB is going to the best way to reach us while we're here - or call Nolan's Trac Phone - it seems to get good reception wherever we are.

#WYFF - Where's Your Feet Friday

#WYFF is a hash tag from "Full-Time Families" - a Facebook group for families which are living full time in an RV. The idea is to share a glimpse through one snap shot in time.  Without further ado our #WYFF for the week or the BLUF (Bottom Line Up Front).

We finished a full week of school! It was surprisingly easy to do so in the Caboose. I feared the close quarters would cause distraction, but this first week it seemed to serve to keep us on our course. I found myself much more engaged with the schedule - a less distracted teacher resulted in less distracted students, greater productivity in a shorter amount of time.  It is motivating to know exploring awaits the conclusion of school.

One thing we LOVE about schooling in the Caboose is MICHAEL is home!  It has been a lot of fun to have his input - our science experiments have a much better chance of succeeding this year - and we all KNOW what the cool activity is teaching us when Michael is done teaching.  Nolan and I were discussing the fact I didn't have the foresight to bring a 9v battery and copper wire along. Michael was on it - they created a 9V battery (complete with testing to be sure they had the voltage right)....and it was easy enough to find copper wire in his tool box.  Anything Dad is involved in will draw the whole tribe - wala science.  We split hydrogen and oxygen (molecules not atoms ::wink::) and watched the hydrogen burn off (the photo is puny).  This science input from Michael is especially helpful as it appears I inadvertently packed  the younger two's science books in Mom and Dad's garage. Until we make it back up there, they'll piggy back on Nolan's chemistry.

 

 

Michael was ready to settle in for an afternoon of trailer repair.  He wasn't aware we push hard through the week, so we can PLAY  Friday afternoons. He was quite willing to switch gears and we headed over to Mom G's. The sun was out, the water a bit nippy after the two days of rain, but the river was ours alone to enjoy on a Friday afternoon. Michael surprised us with this inflatable boat he found on clearance - perfect for our new lifestyle. I'm wondering if we can fit another one or two in somewhere.

Nina and Arrow are always ready to play at the river

Yuuki enjoys checking out neighbor's kayaks more than swimming

No - peer pressure won't work on me

 

Nolan found a branch and had a brilliant idea.....the dogs pulled him through the river....

Yeah - I'm not sure I see a lot of this from various kids

Michael wondered what they'd do if he threw it.....

 

Michael asked, "Now is this an every Friday expectation?"  Evidently, we've hid our affection for playing on Fridays from him all these years. After some thinking we all agreed - yep. In the "sticks and bricks" home, we tended to head for various electronics - but the possibilities are varied and endless in our new lifestyle.  We'll have to figure out when TRAVEL days fit best. LOL

Back at the trailer Michael tried out our new zero-gravity recliners. I'd coveted them since seeing similar at John and Nadine's motor home.  Yep - all the comforts of "home." This was our "test" for Amazon prime. They can find you anywhere.

 

I popped in the meatloaf I'd prepared earlier in the day.  I am still learning the quirks of this oven. Some things cook as expected - some take longer. My PLAN was to pop a veggie patty into the  microwave for myself. I'm not used to microwaves. It's been a source of humor to the family that we HAVE a microwave in the Caboose. What could go wrong? I came back in from delivering the meatloaf and veggies to the outside table and discovered smoke billowing from the microwave. It hadn't even been two minutes. The smoke alarm went off and everything. We're the talk of the park- though the 13 yo running around in night vision goggles may have something to do with that.  I haven't a clue why the veggie patty incinerated - but it did.  More cleaning is on the agenda - if the microwave keeps smelling like smoke, I may gain another cupboard... I found it hilarious, when I sat down to blog, to find a post in progress on Cooking in the RV - "smells are magnified" - yep - you betcha!

Mom G joined us for dinner and an evening around the campfire. We read Patrick McManus, enjoyed S'mores, looked at photos of Pluto, and I may have drifted off in my comfy recliner by the fire for a few moments.

It was a "practically perfect" Friday.