~ Choosing Joy ~

Saturday, November 21, 2009

Master Bedroom

Choosing Joy!
©2009 D.R.G.

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

Friday, November 20, 2009

If you have anything specific that you'd like to see more of, let me know. Micah has some specific questions about how our toilets work, so I'll try to video that a bit later. Hey - all in the name of education.

If there are other things in Japan you'd like a video of, if I can do it in a way that is culturally sensitive, I'm open to try. Studying Asia? Let me know what you need and we'll give it a shot.

Videos are taken at low resolution for ease of sharing on the web....and loaded directly from my hard drive to blogger....not sure what the problem could be Yvonne. I tried to do some through Photobucket but they didn't work at all.

Just so you know....someone or THING is posting strange comments in the comment section - usually in Chinese or Japanese...but it's not me....AND I would not recommend any male enhancement formulas in obscure post comments either...just so you know. ::snort::

Choosing Joy!
©2009 D.R.G.

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

The Flyhunter

Mike snacthes them right out of the air....ugh. Will they go away in the winter?

Choosing Joy!
©2009 D.R.G.

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

Bathroom

I know, I know...who takes videos of their BATHROOM???? But many of the fun features of this house are in the bathroom. We have a bathroom like this in our masterbedroom as well.

There are a couple of unique feature we didn't catch in the video clip. The lights are all on the outside of the doors. Is this the case in most Japanese house, Kim, or just this builder's? Also at the top of the door is a little round hole....All we can figure is that it lets you know if someone is inside because the light is on?

Thursday, November 19, 2009

I'm Home

Nine thirty p.m. and I'm finally home to stay for the day!!!!

The day began bright and early when Arielle and I headed to the chapel for MOPS. This was our first week. Arielle is a volunteer for Moppettes. I've never been to a MOPS group and looked forward to finding out more about the program. I was stumped with the first question...are you a Mentor Mom or a Member. Um.....I'm old enough to be a Mentor Mom but I still have a pre-schooler. What DOES that make me? ::snort:: I'll be speaking next month and may pick y'alls brains before this is over. I really enjoyed myself. A lot.

After MOPS we headed home for Bible Study. It cheered me greatly to have Windy and the ladies meet me at the door when I got home. Yep, they beat me. Erika surprised us with homemade soup. YUM. We decided to start at 12:30 from here on out to give a bit more of a buffer for the a.m. school or MOPS etc. It was a sweet time of study, fellowship and prayer.

After study, I did a bit of clean up, ran outside to chat with Windy a bit while the kids played, then back to base for Misawa Officer's Spouse Club. This is the FIRST time in 15 years in the military that I joined the spouse's club...tonight we put up Christmas decorations and that was fun. It was a PJ night and I did worry driving home WHAT I would say if pulled over in a foreign country in my PJ's. It was then that I remembered Mike told me to change at the club. Ah well.

If you haven't guessed by now, the blog is self-publishing this week. That allows the tour to continue when I'm not around. ::snort::

Choosing Joy!
©2009 D.R.G.

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

Japanese Homes

I've mentioned that our house is American style. There are homes our size and larger here. I think because it's a farming community, we do see more homes than say in like Tokyo. Most houses are smaller and close together...no yard between them at all.

Many families live in apartments like these.

Note the hooks/bars hanging from the ceilings of the balconies. These are for drying laundry. I have noticed most (if not all) homes have laundry poles outside or a room even for drying laundry. In fact a few houses I've seen have what look like SHEDS...with windows all around and lots of laundry drying inside.

Choosing Joy!
©2009 D.R.G.

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

Boys' Room

Welcome to the Boys' Room. Jared came to us and asked about rooming with the younger boys during this assignment. He felt he'd benefitted, as an 11 yo, from rooming with his high school brothers and wanted to help us mentor the younger boys. What a blessing! This allowed us to have a room set aside for school, computers and books.....and gives us peace knowing that our older ones are focused on partnering with us in the training of the younger ones.

Choosing Joy!
©2009 D.R.G.

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

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Just Because

Choosing Joy!
©2009 D.R.G.

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

Happy Birthday Man of Our Lives - yesterday

Yesterday (the 17th) was Mike's birthday! He chose the parrot hat instead of the pig hat.

We discovered that we need to plan ahead for birthdays of people over about 8. Oh well....We did find a few things for Mike.

Headphones so Mike can play the piano as loud as he likes, as late as he likes....and kids can practice whenever they want to - even if we're doing school in the same room.

We also got him a sweatshirt. It looked really big in the shop, but not so big next to Mike. I bet when we wash it it will fit Jared or I. LOL

It was a busy day....but we found time for games and birthday. A highlight of the day were emails from the kids, messages from friends, a Skype call with his parents, and a video greeting on Krista's blog. We also had PWOC in the morning and Middle School Drama in the afternoon. I fixed Manicotti instead of a roast...but we're still eating real food. LOL

Mike and Mom and Dad share the day....it's their 47th anniversary - and since the sun is now up on the 17th in America...Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad.

Choosing Joy!
©2009 D.R.G.

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

Weather

"Mom, look how slow the rain is falling."

It is.

"Wait, it's slushing."

That's a good term to describe the weather.

"It's SNOWING, MOM!"

Yep, a bit earlier than expected.

Back to school and Japanese review in anticipation of a fun bit of time with Akikosensei.

Choosing Joy!
©2009 D.R.G.

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

School Room

Welcome to day four of our rather extended "grand home tour". ::Snort:: Today you'll venture in to our school room.

Choosing Joy!
©2009 D.R.G.

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

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Is this Balance?

I went to bed last night with head smoking......but got a lot done.

We did a bit of school. I RACED for the base for a Key Spouse "social". Arielle did a bit more school with the boys while I was gone.

We had piano lessons.

We headed back to the base again to do a bit of birthday shopping and realized we'll need to plan WAY far ahead for birthdays for anyone over 4. ::snort::

We dropped Jared off for Cross Training. Mike and he got home about 9 p.m. last night.

The rest of us came home and I worked on emails, wrapped presents, held a Regional Board meeting on Skype, adjusted a form for our needs, composed a "letter" for our region's page on the International website...found an old bio (updated) and photo (left it - 25 lbs lighter ::snort::) and sent those to our Admin Coordinator.

Headed to bed.....

Choosing Joy!
©2009 D.R.G.

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

Girls' Room

Arielle and Stacia continue to share a room. We love to see Arielle take on a mentoring role in Stacia's life. I know it's hard work for her...and there are days when we all would like to focus on SELF rather than SERVICE....but this arrangment is turning out to ultimately bless our older children as well as our younger children.

Choosing Joy!
©2009 D.R.G.

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

Monday, November 16, 2009

Menu Plan

Monday - Popcorn chicken (Yes, we had this last week. Mike & Jared won't be here. The littles love it...I use shake and bake chicken and do drumsticks or strips or popcorn chicken and they never tire of it).

Tuesday - Manicotti, salad, Fannie Mae Cake (can I find the recipe? It's Mike's birthday).

Wednesday - Dirty Rice et al. (Kristine's Blog)

Thursday - Crockpot Roast or Stew - VERY busy day with MOPS, Bible Study and MOSC.

Friday - Pizza and/or Nikuman

Saturday - 3 Cheese Garlic Chicken Pasta (Heavenly Homemaker)

This upcoming week looks VERY busy...but I think we can do this. For more recipes click the Recipe link under the header.

The Play Room

Welcome to Day Two of our home tour. Today we show you the land of "Spare Oom" or the playroom/garage.

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Sunday

I LOVE our new chapel....it's such a blessing to have a spot that is HOME weeklong and doesn't have to be packed up at the end of each Sunday.

I wrote and am working on revising something for PWOCI. Funny thing is that I was UNDER the wordcount...went to trim more and added 30 words. Mike's red pen is now attacking.

Mike and I are teaching a class on grace and truth for the next month. I think it's going to be a good spot to focus for a bit of time.

The sermon resonated with me today - not that it doesn't often - but today it confirmed a direction I've been contemplating. Enough said.

It's storming today. We stopped by the beach. The look is changing and we love it. BIG waves today, and the water is reaching far up the shore...and the beach is littered not with shells today but with jelly fish.

Princess Blonde Hair

This little girl stopped me this a.m. as we got ready for church and told me, "I have Princess Blonde Hair". ::snort:: We've encountered this syndrome before haven't we Bre? About 8 years ago? ::grin:: Note that she is wearing one of my gram's pins to church. She was in 7th heaven...and it made me smile all day. Her great Grams would have loved her.

Last night at dinner she altered her standard prayer and said, "God, I just love you so much. Thank for for ALL THESE brothers and thank you for ALL THESE sisters!" Made us all smile.

Lastly, some will remember that the idea of being a Princess has been germinating in my mind for a couple of years. I looked for a program or Bible study to do with the girls and didn't find it. We have read a few books, we've done a lap book on Princeses, we've discussed the role and the rights and the responsibilities.....and this a.m. the phrase "Warrior Princess" dropped into my spirit. I think that God is giving me a heads' up on some speaking/Bible study I'll be doing eventually.

Welcome to Our Home

I mentioned last week that our house never has that "homey feeling" until our out of town family and friends have visited. We hit on the idea of sharing a room a day. When it was all done we've taken 10 video clips....so I'll post one now.

{Unfortunately, I took them on the "high" setting and they wouldn't load. We've had redo them and I think we lost some of the funniest clips. For instance, I'd run up and down our stairs about 20 times before we finished the clip the first time...you miss my wheezing...and the kids' witty remarks. ::snort::}

Keep in mind this is an American Style home. It does have some unique features and we'll try to point those out as we go through the tour.

Be aware the house is "family clean" but not "holiday clean" or "company clean". I'd also like you to be aware that you may hear comments about Arielle not wanting to be in the video and then see her in a few spots. She didn't mind opening a few doors but didn't want to be the main star. I didn't exploit her. ::snort:: Jared, Arielle and I actually had a bit of fun taking these clips.

Feel free to make the comments and suggestions you would if you were taking a real life tour.