Safety First - More Prayer Needed

I keep remembering Rose's advice to remember Safety First...."Bend your knees before you bang your head against the wall." ::snort::

The Sgt who is handling my case is NOT returning my phone calls. He gave me an incomplete address to have our birth certificates shipped to...and now they are all being sent back. I have talked to UPS and they can't do a thing....other than send them back. I would think they could have tried a bit harder to find the "suite" number that was missing...like ask at the Customer Service desk...but I DID give them an incomplete address as that is what was provided to me. After having tried 2 days to reach the Sgt, I finally sent an email to the First Sgt who met our kids outside an office in McChord and told them to have me call him anytime I needed help. He has called to say that the Sgt will be contacting me shortly.

Seattle office has said they'll work with me to get tourist passports, but I NEED the birth certificates.

The First Sgt just called and is trying to help. He's going to call me by late morning tomorrow. The prayer is simply that the birth certificates are delivered to McChord. THEN they'll apply for military and I'll go back to Seattle and stay until I can get tourist passports and leave.

Another prayer request - Mike leaves tomorrow.

The girls are looking for jobs.

Choosing Joy!
©2009 D.R.G.

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

Saturday at Sahalie Falls

Rebecca, Mike's sister, suggested a drive up to Salem to see some falls. Somehow we adjusted and ended up going up the McKenzie River Hwy to Sahalie Falls. My folks came along, as did BreAnne and Krista. Here are some photos and comments in no particular order.

Losing a pet, a van, passports...obviously not enough excitement. Mike and Mom tempted "fate" by climbing beyond the barriers to the top of the falls...here Mike walks on a log across the falls.





I feel like this little green tree on a rock in a storm of water.


Gorgeous water








A Whole LOT of water - power.





I dropped my water bottle....and it survived all else...I wanted it...Jared retrieved it...earning him favored son status for an hour. ::snort::


Sahalie FAlls...see the log at the top?










I've not asked Rebecca if I can post photos of her and Sherlock on the blog...but imagine a darling dog happily trotting along side. LOL

We went to church this a.m. We stopped by Mom and Dad's so I could get a connection to download form DS 3035. We had lunch and now we're off to buy some things for Mike. He'll need a few civilian things to go with the uniforms that are unscathed. Mike flies Tuesday. Prayers for safe travels for him are appreciated. The kids and I will say goodbye down here.

Choosing Joy!
©2009 D.R.G.

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

Our Boys

The boys left OR on Thursday and have arrived safely in TX. Life is getting back to normal for all (except possibly the six of us in transit). ::snort::

Choosing Joy!
©2009 D.R.G.

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

Opinions?

Has anyone done the study Sweeter Than Chocolate from Precept? It's written by Pam Gillaspie and has 3 levels of study built into it.

I had purchased it and it was in my suitcase. I'm wondering if anyone has done it and if it is worth replacing before I arrive in Japan. I had planned to use it as a personal summer study.

Has anyone used the How to Study Your Bible for KIDS DVD? Opinions?

I wish I knew how long I was going to be here. I'd hate to miss things in transit. ::snort:: These were TLF (temporary lodging) treats that I'd squirrelled away for use in Misawa.

Choosing Joy!
©2009 D.R.G.

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

Clothing is Optional?

Clothing is apparently optional in Eugene, OR.

I hesitated to mention this abnormality, but I've witnessed it myself and it has been witnessed several times by other family members. I'm quite used to seeing topless women and men in g-strings in AFRICA...but it's a bit alarming to see on your way to buy groceries in the good ole' US of A.

I realize I've been living in the South and in Alaska...and both are more Conservative in morals and such...but honestly....when did topless become acceptable in mainstream OR?

As Jared said, after witnessing one "lady" on a bike, "Where I come from it's socially unacceptable to walk around in such attire." ::snort::

Maybe the loss of 13 out of 14 suitcases won't pose too much of a hardship if we stay in OR. No photos to accompany this post - yet. ::snort::

Yes, I've accepted our fate and have gone grocery shopping. We really are NOT going to make it in time to fly with Mike....and we need to get back into some sort of routine. BTW, milk is MUCH cheaper here - $1.99 a gal.

Choosing Joy!
©2009 D.R.G.

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

Want an Update?

I've decided the media may be right - this may be a nightmare. Compared to a child dying, a violent crime....it's nothing...but each day we find new things that have been compromised or taken, each day I hear conflicting reports of what I need to do leave America....and so yes...it's certainly not fun and I think is approaching the title of "admin nightmare". I know many of you are praying and want updates. Here's a breakdown of the last day or so. No fancy photos as I need to buy a new camera.

We are in a home on a college campus in Eugene. I'm not sure if we'll be here days or months....conflicting info again. ::snort:: My brother left his lap top with broadband so I can do Internet stuff.

A file with the most recent statement from all our creditors was taken. This didn't initially concern me as I would be happy to have someone make payments on the accounts. The problem is that *I* no longer have phone numbers, account numbers etc to make payments. I'm busy with google and a phone.

Our credit card statement was one statement that has been taken. We had to cancel the card and are expecting a new one (but certainly not before Mike flies).

I remembered that we had a box of checks for each of our checking accounts in the briefcase. Those banks had to be called, new accounts set up, old ones closed. We have a pesky credit card we've been trying to cancel for over a year and IT is now the one bank/credit card that we think may not have been compromised....it's our only source of funds until the new cards begin to arrive next week. Is that irony? ::snort::

The boys left yesterday. ::sigh::

I saw Mom's Bible and cried...because I do enjoy the new ESV study Bible....but it's not MY Bible with MY self-created charts, word studies and teaching notes. It's silly and I reminded myself that I worship the God of the Bible and not the Bible...but I miss my Bible. ::silly sigh:: I continue to pray that someone enjoys the Bible..but I'm fairly certain it's in a ditch somewhere....

The girls are applying for jobs. It's a joy to spend extra time with them.

Everyone down here has been incredibly helpful: cleaning the house, loaning items we need....

The kids are enjoying extra grandparent time.

Mike flies out Tuesday....we need to make some decisions, I need to at least replace his civilian clothes before he leaves....and Arielle and I will need some clothes eventually. I really wonder how long I can live with 3 changes of clothes....it does seem to fit with my new SIMPLIFY mantra. ::snort:: I just am not sure that folks at a new base/chapel will understand when I wear the same thing over and over again. I had been warned to bring clothes that fit and had bought new....it's sickening, isn't it? Arielle and I finally do the dreaded shopping trips and then lose it all. I wonder if it's God's way of saying "Jeans and baggy t-shirts are my will!" ::snort:: Maybe this is irony again.

I'm still trying to get numbers of our home owner policy to see if they'll cover anything. The credit card won't and we only had liability on the van.

NARS is working well with me in trying to recapture the boys' last year of school work. We're waiting on Taylor University to get Jamin's transcript to them and they'll process a final high school transcript for him and the college in TX.

Honestly, we are not sure how long the kids and I will be stateside. OFF THE RECORD....there is a wonderful Christian Sgt that I happened to run into at McChord. He had some OFF THE RECORD suggestions for us to try....he also showed us the SOFA agreement for Japan. We are in the process of checking with Misawa to see if the kids and I can fly on tourist passports pending the arrival of our military passports. Japan will stamp either so this is a US military/state dept issue. Tourist passports can be "walked through" (ye gads picture me and 5 kids in a maze in Seattle ::snort::) in a day or two. We will have to pay for the passports and it will cost, but so do multiple trips to Seattle and hotels. I'm off to check on that next...I can't apply for tourist passports until all the birth certificates arrive (we're waiting for Stacia's from San Angelo), it really doesn't look like we'll be flying with Mike. By the end of next week I may be up in Seattle again to walk the applications through the state department....and to wait for tickets.....I feel like I should stay at Doubletree again to prove that I have no hard feelings towards them....but maybe not. ::snort::

Well, back to looking for phone numbers so I can spend more hours on the phones explaining my plight to one an all. ::snort::

I plan to finish wiping up the nightmarish identity compromises today....shop for Mike's new clothes, have fun on Saturday and say goodbye to him Monday or Tuesday. I'm glad he was granted an extra 7 days.

Boy do I have PCS/packing stories to share now. I laugh when I rememer telling Tammy not to worry....that most packing pcs stories are like labor stories...um....I TAKE IT BACK.

I assume this will post as a note on Facebook and I have no more time to update.

Choosing Joy!
©2009 D.R.G.

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

Doors of Hope in a Valley of Trouble (ala Hosea 2:15 NCV)

• Phone messages of support at Doubletrees
• 14 free Doubletree cookies
• 3 offers of homes in the Seattle area (I've decided to go to OR and wait this out).
• Home to stay in in OR
• Offer for the title of a truck for the boys to drive to TX.....they have a car in OR so we wouldn't have felt right taking the truck...but what a generous offer.
• Offers of assistance in a variety of ways.
• Favorite games given to children before we even realized the games were missing.
• Cash to help us begin to cover expenses of hotels, replacing clothes, documents etc. This was a costly mistake in many ways.
• Police report in hand to fax to various spots.
• Contact numbers and people for me as I work through the issues...and the TIME for Mike to compile all the contacts from slips of hotel stationary into one list before he leaves.

Fun Moments in the Adventure:

• Everyone at Doubletree recognized us....fellow guests seemed to think our misfortune may rub off and kept a protective bubble around us, employees gave us free cookies.
• Driving downtown Seattle EMT workers stopped us and asked if we were that family, wished us well and encouraged us....
• In the same are of Seattle a man who owns a gourmet popcorn store ran up and gave us two big bags. (Yes, the cookies and popcorn were lunch).
• We got to see the E family again...and Kathy blessed me with a Bible whose text I can see. ::snort::
• Yep, it's a bit unnerving with folks recognizing us....but also heartening for so many to express their sorrow over this happening in their city. I guess big cities aren't ALL crime and such. ::snort:: Seattle may become my favorite dreamed of big city again...in time.

Here are links to the latest news clips if you aren't tired of seeing our van, our feet and our mugging. ::snort:: King 5 has a great shot of Zander with his Bible (I thought it was Stacia's that was left). KOMONews had a feet fascination. ::grin:: We've not been able to watch clips, so remember that things CAN be taken out of context if something whacky is said. ::snort:: BTW Elisa and Eric (news reporters) were both fantastic to work with and we appreciate their help in trying to recover our stolen items.

Choosing Joy!
©2009 D.R.G.

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

Tuesday's Update

Again - we KNOW this was a dumb, stupid, ridiculous, inane mistake. We understand the need of some to remind us of this, but NO ONE is more aware of the stupidity than Mike and I. Together, we have traveled to over 10 overseas countries. We understand the proper procedure for overseas travels. We were distracted. Our attention slipped as we contemplated hard farewells to 4 adult children and family....and in that moment....neither of us know HOW...we did the unthinkable....we turned our attention from important documents and papers and WHAMO...they're gone. We'll be ever more diligent in the future. I am so very grateful that I receive mercy and find grace for times of need at the throne of grace (Heb 4:16).

That being said, we must continue to move forward to recovery. It's fine for those who feel the need to remind us of how stupid we are, we understand....but we need to focus on what can be done to speed the process so that I can get the family settled again. This has been an unnerving move for all of us. I'm not responding to comments on public forums and would prefer no one send them here to read this either....if you are following public forums and would like to use some of my thoughts or even copy them fine....but THIS is my safe haven where I don't have to be bombarded by those who think we deserve to suffer because of our mistake. ::snort:: Hmmm....I don't mind if you send your friends here....please carefully consider sending those who are raising a ruckus here...how's that? ::snort:: BTW - I agree with their thoughts that this is our fault... and as I said no one is kicking themselves over this more than Mike and I......however, we are overwhelmed by the kindness and grace of some in the midst of the mess up. Thank you for your continued prayers.

Recent changes:

• Mike will fly out the 14th.
• Our Alma Mater has offered a home in Eugene for the kids and I to stay in until we can fly out. It's unfurnished, but we are flexible and it will be a grand adventure.
• Krista had a long sit down with the bank. The robbers continue to try to charge things with her debit card. They are either shopping online or merchants aren't checking closely. This took FOREVER yesterday in the heart of Seattle...but I think she's finally gotten the bank to understand that "frozen" means NO NEW CHARGES PLEASE! They are working the process to recover her college funding.
• We returned the borrowed van to the E family of Lakewood...thanks so much again.
• A wonderful Wing Chaplain leaned on housing at McChord and we are in some dorm type rooms for the night. I'm not sure this will be an option as I travel back and forth to work on applications. We shall see....but we are grateful that he was able to convince lodging to look beyond their "regulations".
• Today we work on more passport details and hope to travel to Eugene. The boys need to leave tomorrow for TX.

BTW I'm quite sure a vacant house will not have wifi; don't be alarmed if updates aren't as regular for a bit of time. I'm quite sure I'll find nearby wifi quickly. ::snort::

Choosing Joy!
©2009 D.R.G.

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

Specific Prayer Requests

1. The Air Force called and has extended Mike's "report no later than date" by 10 days. He is rescheduled to fly out 16 July. This will give us time to turn in paperwork while Mike is HERE in case I made some errors at 1 a.m. filling out applications. LOL This lifts a HUGE weight off my shoulders. I hadn't considered that PACAF would hear about our situation and offer an extension.

2. We are checking out of Seattle and heading to McChord for the night. We'll do as much business as we can today and hopefully leave for OR tomorrow. UNLESS something new happens in the next few hours - and it could. ::snort::

3. Some are asking how we want them to specifically pray:

• If it's God's will, that the passports would be recovered or turned in before the birth certificates arrive. Once the BC's arrive, we will send in the new applications and the old passports will not be usable, even if they are found. If the passports are recovered BEFORE the birth certificates arrive, we can fly with Mike on the 16th.
• Krista's identity is very compromised. The bank has assured her they'll refund the charges. Please pray they do, as this was her college fund. She also needs a new driver's license and military id (she'll need id that she has at home to do that).
• Josiah and Jamin hit the road for TX on Thursday. Pray for safe travels.
• I will have to replace a few things, certainly not all....ok it's silly...but pray I find some good sales on the things we really want to replace before we leave the country. ::snort::
• God's abundant blessings on those who have reached out and blessed us in the past few days.

4. We are still working on logistics for the weeks that the kids and I will be stateside. We've had two offers of vacant homes in the Seattle area, but I'd really like to head down to OR. ::snort::

5. We'll be on KOMO again at 4 p.m. and 6 p.m.

Choosing Joy!
©2009 D.R.G.

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

WHINE

Here's the whine I've been holding in...WHY would someone take a van and steal things that mean nothing to them.

C'mon...Teddy Bears...MY BIBLE...my Inductive Study Bible where I've drawn arrows, marked words, done word studies for all these years...the one with the pressed yellow rose from Gram's grave and the daisies my 20 year old son gave me when he was 6.... WHY would they keep my BIBLE for goodness sakes? They just aren't very nice. I'm praying it ministers to them, but I'm ticked that they may have just tossed it.

We ARE rejoicing at what was left in the van...a Princess Pillow that means a lot to the girls. It was given to Bre by Krista and then passed down the line....STACIA'S BIBLE....Josiah's water bottle. It's o.k. but I really need my Bible now....though I'm amazed at how many verses I have memorized. ::snort:: I'll do more in the future.

I called a dear friend and wise military spouse/mentor in TX minutes ago.... she told me it's o.k. to stomp, it's o.k. to go home and it's o.k. not to bleed blue. Armed with this information I'm off to attack the day. Things are changing once again and I'll update as soon as they are set.

News stations are calling again. Hmmmm.....enough whining.

Choosing Joy!
©2009 D.R.G.

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

Freakishly Large Family Stranded in Seattle

Humph....I hadn't realized how freaky it sounds to have NINE children in this part of the country. ::snort::

Interview with King 5 (pathetic popcorn scene but it was LUNCH and the kids were getting cranky and there was one more interview to wade through).

Interview with Komo News - better shots of kids.

Not sure where the radio interview was.

The outpouring of prayers, concern and offers for "help" have been heart warming. I only wanted the passports back, but I must say that it has been a tangible sighting of God's love to have people stop at the hotel with games, $, notes of encouragement... The manager of the hotel says that both their hotels are receiving calls. I have a ton of messages on the phone, evidently, but can't figure out how to retrieve them. ::snort:: The manager last night sent up pizzas for us. He suggested drinks too, but I told him we'd all be better sticking with water. They've also cleared the rooms on either side of ours and above and below us. ::snort::

No one is stirring yet this a.m. I have a bit of time to answer some questions.

1. I'm quite sure that if we had team Goodfellow here pushing for us things would happen faster and the kids and I would be on our way quickly.....or at least sooner....but....

2. I now have a name and face of a Tech Sgt who is handling our passport applications. I have his address and name on the applications for passports and birth certificates. He is trying to help us move things along. I'm not sure he knows all the ins and outs that COULD be found if he were willing to push back at the State Dept...but I'm at rest.

3. We've been told that we cannot receive the quick turnaround passports because ours are "no fee military passports". That they MUST go through certain steps - regardless. Maybe that is why so many of you have heard cases of passports within 24 - 48 hours while we are being told the quickest "guaranteed" turn around will be 4 weeks AFTER the passports are applied for...which will happen the HOUR the birth certificates arrive.

4. I don't know about hand carrying things to San Francisco. There IS a passport office and State Department office here in Seattle.... We've been told that they must go through the McChord office?

5. As for quick passports.....what we're catching is that they CAN be done quickly if you have the documentation....we don't. The van robbers do. ::snort::

6. I'm really not sure why I need to stay in Seattle.

Stay tuned....Thanks for all the prayers and encouragement.

Choosing Joy!
©2009 D.R.G.

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

So much to write...

...but I'm too tired.

It's 1 a.m. and we will have Mike at the airport at 10:30 a.m. I JUST finished printing out all the new passport applications so that Mike can sign them before he leaves the country...in the a.m.

After the news shows, a radio station interviewed some of the kids. I think the interviews were o.k. I'll find links later. Someone saw the van after the news story. We now have a van! It has a hole where a lock should be. It has no luggage or passports or gps etc.....but we have it. I was praying for the passports and really was prepared not to have the van...but this is the way it is. ::snort:: This IS great....I'm simply too tired to fully appreciate the miracle at this point. ::grin:: OH....the boys bought me M/M's while we were at Mcchord trying to speed things along today...that should help me fit into those maternity clothes that are waiting in Japan. LOL

I've applied for birth certificates. I'm not sure what I'm going to do beyond that. I will stay here in the area until the certificates arrive. I'm having them mailed to the TSgt who is helping me, as we have no address. I had planned to go visit family in OR after I was sure the passports were processing. The Sgt would prefer we stay here until we leave the country. We'll talk some more. I'm not sure I see the reason to stay here. It will be a minimum of 6 weeks, by the sounds of it, before the kids and I can join Mike. I bought a TRAC phone as I also had no phone. ::snort::

I'm not sure much of my faith came through on the news...but I felt good to be able to talk to the newscasters. ::snort:: One of them asked me point blank if I felt that God was telling me not to go to Japan....I tried to explain that I felt that He was telling me to look for the door in the midst of the trouble.

Well...pulling an all nighter is not going to help me deal with the goodbyes and paperwork tomorrow. The older kids decided to stay one more day with us. They want to help and I need to convince them that we are going to be o.k. I think it is killing the boys to leave while we are still "unsettled."

Off to bed...

Choosing Joy!
©2009 D.R.G.

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

Recent Developments

Before I say a thing further - we NEVER leave valuables in the car. We NEVER leave our personal documents in the van....never...EXCEPT for this one time...and there you have it. We are fully aware that this is our responsibility....but we need to figure it out from here.

We're about to be interviewed for the local news. Now THAT will be fun....maybe the police dept will now take tips seriously...maybe the hotel will get a bit more interested in helping me out. LOL Now to ditch the boys' cowboy hats before the interview. ::snort::

Air Force PA says to go ahead and go for it.....looks like Mike is flying and we aren't.

Recent developments:

Tim and Kathy (of last week's water fight) have loaned us their mini-van.

The less than genius robbers "charged" with Krista's debit for gas, Verizon accounts, groceries....they even tried to get Krista's employee discount at Albert sons. Last night at 11 p.m. they got gas at Sullivans and groceries at Burien Albertsons. Police says that won't help them find them. ::sigh::

We're to get the whole city's eyes out looking for the van.

McChord insists that getting replacement passports is the same process as new and that I'll have to start with birth certificates and then apply for passports.....but they have a couple of rooms the kid and I can stay in. We've spent an hour on hold with the State Dept and can't reach a person to verify that there is no other way to do this.

NARHS (our umbrella school) said to send them a summary sheet, course description, homeschool transcript and the police report and they will accept that for Jamin's final grades....if Jared's portfolio doesn't show up in a few weeks we'll do the same for his Freshman year. They are doing this because of our long standing relationship, our "stellar records" in the past and their belief that we are people of integrity. They are also praying for us and our advisor reminded me that there is a blessing in this for us, if I will look for it. I'm looking.

I'm trying to figure out HOW to finalize a plan for the younger ones and I. Mike and the older ones will leave tomorrow.

A son just quipped that I should go ask certain political figures how THEY got quick birth certificates. ::snort::

Choosing Joy!
©2009 D.R.G.

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