Gift #401- Pallets on My Living Room Floor

As a kid, when I would sleep over at my grandmothers house, she would always make me a thick pallet bed out of quilts on her living room floor.  Mom did the same thing for her grandchildren   I could not even begin to tell you how many pallets Nana happily made for her "grand babies" in her lifetime.  This morning, I woke up to pallets on my living room floor!  It made me so happy!   The kids sleep downstairs in the living room often, but never before in this house in Japan have they had cousins to curl up with! 

Beth and Elise arrived last night!!!  Elise, Jack, and Josh have been the best of friends for over 13 years.  They haven't seen each other in a while and I was a bit worried that they might have drifted apart.  They are lanky, moody teenagers now.  Their voices have changed and one of them is in braces! But, from the instant they saw each other in the airport, they were the same old crazy kids who made mud cities in Nana's driveway and rode around in the trailer of Papa's riding lawn mower.  They instantly laughed and joked and reminisced over silly stories (they got a little noisy when they reminisced about Uncle Scotty's tuxedo pants.  The ones that he wore over to Grandmas house.  Remember that Kim?).

We have one week to catch up on 2 years of missing each other.  I think that we can do it over train rides, and sushi dinners, and skate park lessons, and, best of all, pallets on my living room floor. 

Gift #400- A Powerful God

M 6.3 Earthquake

13km N of Kunisaki-shi, Japan

53 mins ago – U.S. Geological Survey

An earthquake with magnitude 6.3 occurred near Oita, Kyushu, Japan at 17:06:51.10 UTC on Mar 13, 2014 ...

It is 3:20am on Friday morning.  I have been awake for almost an hour now.  We just had quite a little earthquake here.  No one was hurt.  It lasted for less than a minute.  It broke a few of my Willow Tree figurines and set off all of the baby's toys that are activated by movement, but no real damage done.  Maybe only to my nerves.  I tried to go back to sleep, but I just keep thinking of that verse in Matthew that says "What kind of man is this?  Even the winds and the waves obey him!"  It brings such comfort to know that we serve such a powerful God.  Even the winds and the waves obey him!

I will chalk this night up to another adventure in Japan and will give thanks for the reminder of God's awesome power and for his provision. 

Gift #399- Capt. Reid "Eeyore" Nannen

Captain Reid "Eeyore" Nannen

United States Marine Corps  

15 October 1981-  1 March 2014

Impressions of a Pilot

Flight is Freedom in its purest form,

To dance with the clouds which follow a storm;

To roll and glide, to wheel and spin,

To feel the joy that swells within.

To leave the earth with its troubles and fly,

And know the warmth of a clear spring sky;

Then back to earth at the end of the day,

Released from the tensions which melted away.

Should my end come while I am in flight,

Whether brightest day or darkest of night;

Spare me no pity and shrug off the pain,

Secure in the knowledge that I'd do it again.

For each of us is created to die,

And within me I know,

I was born to fly.

Gary Claude Stoker

Reid, Sarah, Curtis, Betsy, Peter, & Baby Isla on the way

October 31, 2013

Gift #398- Joshy Poshy Puddin' Pie

That is the nickname that his baseball coach gave him a few years ago.  It has kind of stuck.  This base is so small, that a lot of people know him as Joshy Poshy.  Josh is home-schooling this year.  I use the term "home-schooling" very loosely for those of you who know me well.  But I sure do like having him around.  

Gift #397- A Five-Month Old Firecracker

Avery Grace - 5 months

I know that the more accurate word to describe how I feel when I see this little  face is "blessed".  And I know that I am- way more than I deserve.  But sometimes, when I see her little smile, the word that comes to mind is "lucky."  As in: "I am so very lucky that she is mine."

Gift #396- Superbowl Monday

I am grateful for this fun group of girls.  We watched the Superbowl together at 9am on Monday morning!  Instead of wings and salsa, we had fancy coffee and blueberry muffins!  We also had some of Jamie's famous breakfast burritos.  I chose to cheer for the Seattle Seahawks as I really liked the color of their uniforms.  I had also watched a very touching Duracell commercial about one of their players.  So my choice of whom to root for really was obvious.  :)  The Seahawks won!  The burritos and coffee were delicious!  And the company was even better!

Gift #395- Bathtime

I truly believe that if you want a little taste of what heaven will be like, then you should hold a tiny baby after her warm bath.  As far as gifts from God, this is most definitely one of my favorites!

Gift #394- Having an Artist in the Family!

I noticed that the sign to Macy's office said "The Artist is In" (as opposed to "Do Not Disturb").  And I thought that I heard some giggling through the door.  I also heard Macy telling someone to "Be Still" several times.  After a few minutes, a smiling Macy emerged from her little room under the stairs with a portrait of her brother Sam!  Sam was very proud too!  He came and showed it to me and said "Macy really is an artist".

This is most definitely fridge quality artwork!  It certainly made this mama smile!

Gift #393- Ukelele Kate

Happy 8th Birthday Kate!  Keep practicing that ukelele.
I want you to play for me when I get home! 

 I love you!

Gift #392- Thumbs

I know that "Thumbs" might sound a little odd to count as one of my gifts.  But, I bet, that if Avery Grace could talk and tell us what she is thankful for, she would definitely say "thumbs".  I have never had a thumb-sucker before!  It is adorable.  I know that I will be singing a different tune in 15 years when I get the bill for the braces, but for now, it just warms me up!

Gift #391- Having a Sister

(Macy- 8, Avery Grace, 4 months)

I think that I might have already counted "Having a Sister" as a gift.  But I think that it is definitely one that can be counted over and over again.  I love these sisters!