Ningen Dock

In 2007 I was back in the States for a few weeks which turned into what I refer to as my "Club Med" vacation with 11 doctor appointments, including my first colonoscopy.  

In Japan there are 1-, 2-, or 3-day Ningen Dock programs. Ningen means human, and dock refers to a ship going into dry dock for maintenance or repair.  Imagine how many tests you could have done in 3 days in the hospital!

I'm in the process of a 1-, 2-, or 3-month Ningen Dock.  Go to doctor for another purpose.  Doctor becomes alarmed and prescribes medicine or orders labs or makes a referral.  Multiple appointments have led to multiple (you don't want to know how many; I lost track after 15) vials of blood taken, multiple visits to the imaging center (I have had x-rays, CT scan, ultrasounds, and more), multiple referrals.  

My prayer is for answers ... and if not, a trusting heart.  I'd really like symptoms to resolve also, but that may not happen, right? 

My own heart was encouraged to read this post I wrote in 2017.  ::And if not::

 

Lazy Summer Day

I'm missing LM's 6.30 bedtime... We've had lots of family events & church get-togethers lately, and she's been on a 9 pm bedtime schedule.  Mama can't stay up that late! 

This morning she woke up at 9.30 AM.  After breakfast, she brought me a stack of books and asked to read.  LG spent a good part of the morning listening (bluetooth in his hearing aids) to this week's free stories on Your Story Hour. 

After lunch, LM & I went to the post office and library.  We had about 20 books to return, a 20 cent fine to pay, and several Inter Library Loan books to pick up. In addition, I needed to set the PIN for LM's newly minted library card and link her account to mine, so I don't keep getting a "User has too many holds" message when trying to put books on hold. :) 

Then we visited Grandpa's for awhile, so she could get her love tank filled by "new" Grandma.

We weren't home long, and supper was about to go in the oven, when we went to the farm to pick up LG who had been helping his cousin move pigs all afternoon.  

After supper, he got a treat of finishing a Thomas episode, while LM and I read more books.  Then she painted with the Kwik Stix on the easel and he listened to another (or maybe the same) story from Your Story Hour.  

What do lazy summer days look like for your family?

Lines = Memories

The first guest book we received as a wedding gift (we received four -!) is almost full, representing many wonderful times with dear friends old and new. 

The most recent names listed are from this past weekend.  As we prepared for guests last week, we realized that there had understandably been a drought during the pandemic.

I looked back to see just how much of a drought of overnight guests there had been.

2021 - 2 lines

2020 - 2 lines

2019 - 4 lines

2018 - 12 lines

I'm glad the vaccine has rolled out and people are traveling (despite $3.27/gallon gas).

The welcome mat is out! The sheets should be clean later today! Come see us! :)

1000 Gifts, Vol. 6 #40 ~ Family Reunion Edition

391.  first cousins' (& spouses) gathering Friday evening (for Jim & his generation - aged 40-something to 71)

392.  the hostess who set the stage by recreating a scene from their long-deceased Grandma's kitchen in the host & hostess's front yard - Grandma's kitchen chairs, a mixing bowl, a bucket with corn shucks

393.  the trivia game and hearing so many of the shared memories that Jim & his cousins have

394.  first cousins' gathering (for LG & LM & their generation) Friday evening at the farm ... eating, playing, and making memories for such a time as they gather in 50 years to reminisce ;)

395.  Celebration of Life service Saturday morning for Jim's aunt who passed away before vaccines allowed more than 20 to gather for her funeral and the 100+ people who remembered her gentle, quiet spirit and more importantly her Lord & Savior

396.  Her youngest brother-in-law who gave the devotional remarks and shared this eye-witness account: He was a teen living at home when his newlywed older brother and wife (the one who is now in heaven) could not sleep all night and called his parents on the farm, asking if they could come out, and Grandpa & Grandma led the young couple to the Lord. He woke up to the sounds of the two couples talking.  What a precious memory!

397.  Jim's dad and his five siblings - all together at the Celebration of Life.  Their 94 year old sister was there in her wheelchair, having been delivered by the nursing home van, and happy, so happy to be in the house of the Lord and with her five brothers. <3

398.  Annual reunion in the park Saturday evening and watching LM playing on the playground with Jim's cousin's granddaughter, who is just a few months younger.  (It brought back memories of the two of them at the reunion four years ago, infants lying on a quilt with Jim's mom. <3 )

399.  Listening to a CD (transferred from a wire recording from 1949) of Jim's grandparents, great-grandparents, aunt, and a few others singing, "He Leadeth Me!"

400.  Learning that the Oregon cousins had arranged for the family Bible from the 1500s (belonging to Jim's grandmother's father's family) to be placed in a Mennonite historical center in Lancaster.  Road trip goals! :)

1000 Gifts, Vol. 6, #39

381.  time alone on summer mornings while the household sleeps in 

382.  a husband with a vision  ~ and perseverance ~ to accomplish goals

383.  tutoring, speech therapy, & day camps! 

384.  afternoons that LG spends at the farm, helping wean pigs and move pigs with his cousins

385.  an organized tea drawer :) 

386.  discovering a new babysitter ~ who is available for the next 6 months

387.  carpooling

388.  room darkening curtains

389.  Norwex window cloths

390.  encouraging quote & truth:

"If we were given all we wanted here, our hearts would settle for this world rather than the next. God is forever luring us up and away from this one, wooing us to Himself and His still invisible Kingdom, where we will certainly find what we so keenly long for." 

 

                                               - Elisabeth Elliot, "A Heart for God" perpetual calendar, June 7

Quarantine Daze

Last year when everything shut down, I added a new label to my blog posts: "Quarantine Daze." It's a unique time in our family (& world's) history, and I'm glad I recorded some of it.  Recently I read back through many of my posts which have that label.  God has been so merciful to us and sustained us well!

So, in order that I can remember in the future, where are we now? Our state mostly is back to normal (whatever that means) as of Friday.  As of a few weeks ago, nationwide masks are not necessary indoors if you're fully vaccinated (which no one under 12 is).  

LG & LM had a year of mostly in-person school (with masks & lots of restrictions).  LG's school was remote for 2.5 weeks around Thanksgiving. Our library no longer is quarantining books, and I think we can even touch books on the shelves as we're browsing, without having to put them in quarantine, but masks are most definitely still required.  

I've gone grocery shopping 2-3 times recently and shoe shopping and clothes shopping once.  My hesitation is not just the risk of exposure; it has more to do with two children who have lost a year's practice going in public places.  

Through May, I had to reserve a spot for the children in Sunday School each week, fill out a health form, and they wore masks.  At the computer kiosk for SS check-in (to receive their name tag sticker & our pick-up code), there were volunteers who pushed the buttons on the screen. And at the entries to the church building, there were volunteers who opened doors.  But as of June 6, it's as if COVID never existed, in terms of protocols in our church.  At my immunologist's advice, I am not changing my protocols, so I was the only one in our church masked on June 6th. 

We have eaten indoors in a restaurant once, and have plans for next Sunday.  I almost had a panic attack walking into church my first time back to corporate worship on May 30th (when masks were still prevalent; it was the crowd that did it).  The restaurant was hard, too.  

Let that sink in. From March 1, 2020 until May 30, 2021 I did not attend corporate worship (except once at my parents' church, which had herd immunity by March, and once in the lobby in early May 2021 on Communion Sunday).  We waited until we were 2 weeks post-final vaccination.  Attending worship in Japanese before I even understood any Japanese was infinitely better than watching livestream in English!

I hadn't explained to the children that protocols were changing. So, as we pulled into our parking spot at church, LG called out like a surgeon, "Mask."  After church, LM told me delightedly, "Church is open. No coronavirus." We drive through Chick-fil-A and she says wistfully, "I miss the playground."

What does the future look like? Who knows but the Lord? I am in a study connected with the NIH to see if & how patients with Primary Immune Deficiency respond to the vaccine. (It's possible my body does not respond to it at all.)  I will have results in 15-18 months about my particular body.  And so I continue to be very careful and depend on the herd immunity & loving care of others around me.

Fun aside: after a year of masking, some of our masks accidentally went through the dryer, there was some shrinkage, and we all were ready for a change.  Plus they're on deep clearance now! So, we have a fresh supply of fun masks.  It's like having a whole new wardrobe!  And I'm having fun trying to coordinate my mask with my outfit. :) And LM likes wearing a mask that matches Mom's or LG's. :)

Farewell to a friend

I am decidedly not sentimental about getting rid of baby gear that our children have outgrown... EXCEPT for the Ergo (memorialized here) and the Learning Tower. 

I think I purchased the Learning Tower before LG turned 2.  Not willing to pay $200 for a new one, I stalked Craigslist until I found one for $75.  This was before we had a van, so the seller kindly removed the "feet" for me, so it would fit in our Accord.

We have so many precious memories involving the tower! Countless loaves of banana bread made together.  French yogurt cake with his cousin who spent her spring break from college here one year.  And how many eggs were cracked and then ran down the sides of the tower? 

During play group, sometimes 3 or 4 little ones would try to get up in the tower together and zoom cars & trucks around on the island. :) 

LM is getting tall! Very tall! And we recognized that our family has outgrown the tower, after 5+ years. 

I listed it on Marketplace (for the same amount for which I purchased it), and prayed it would sell soon.  Usually I list items on a few local towns' sale sites, but this time, I listed it on about 7 sites, including bigger cities.  Amazingly, it sold in two days to a lady from the next farm town over. :) 

All four of us knew the tower was going away, but we all were sad.  As LG said, "It made our house feel regular."

 

Seven friends

::Reposting something I shared in an "older moms" group I'm in::

 

"Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens." Ps. 68.19

This verse came up in my FB memories last week, and I want to publicly acknowledge how God did that in our family this past week. Our 7 yr old attended morning VBS and we also had 11 appointments (one 65 miles away) and a health scare (which was negative but took a lot of energy).

My husband works long hours, grandparents are in their 80s and 90s, we live 25 miles from our church, our favorite babysitter started grad school, and as a result I often feel all alone and like I have few resources to help me.  And my number one resource was out of town part of the week.

But God! In this crazy week where I was so needy, He brought seven people to help! A friend from church let me drop my children off spur of the moment Monday afternoon when I got an opening for an x-ray. My SIL picked up our son from VBS one morning. My husband came home 5 hours early when I had the health scare. Our niece picked our son up from VBS another morning. Grandma kept our son one afternoon and our daughter one morning just to give me a break. (Bless her heart!) A new babysitter was able to come one afternoon (she finished community college & is headed to nursing school, but due to all the craziness can't start until January, so she's available the next several months - hooray!). And a friend whose sons were also at VBS kept our daughter during Friday VBS so I could go to another appointment.

He knows our needs. 

 

He sees us. 

 

He cares for us. 

 

As older parents, our village looks different, but we're part of His family, and He can do things that seem difficult if not impossible. 

 

He daily bears our burdens.

Labwork

In the first 11 days of June, I had 13 vials of blood drawn.  I hope to never "beat" that personal record.  

Since beginning IVIG, my anxiety about needles has shot through the roof (no pun intended!), so I'm extra thankful that those 3 needles (and an IV poke for contrast for a CT scan - also in those 11 days) were all done by super amazing professionals and that I experienced no pain or discomfort, and barely felt each poke.  Thank you, Lord!

I signed up for most of them, by applying to be in a research study connected with the NIH regarding efficacy of the vaccine in immune deficient patients.  The other pokes & draws were an attempt to get to the bottom of some weird symptoms.  

I'm so thankful to live now (in this stage of medical advancement) and here (with medical care readily available). I'm thankful for insurance. I'm thankful for our "village." I have called on so many people the past few weeks to (sometimes at the last minute) watch our children so I could go for a blood draw or an x-ray or a CT scan, etc.  I am thankful for my family's flexibility with schedule changes.  I am thankful for an immunologist who is a genius.  I am thankful for all the diseases she has ruled out!! I am thankful that even if a "bad" disease is found or even if NO answers are found, God is still good, and He is still trustworthy, and I can know Him and His presence in the scary &/or unknown.

Summer

Yesterday LG finished his first week ever of Vacation Bible School!  The temperature hit "feels like 100" for the first time and we pulled out the kiddie pool.  Amazing how the children were a lot more motivated to clean it out on a hot day with the promise of swimming than they were to clean it out on a cool day last fall. ;) 

After much scrubbing (and playing in the dirty water), suits were donned and excitement was high. ... And then I remembered my morning text from the farmer behind our house, as we heard his sprayer coming down the rows of the bean field.  Oops! 

Off to Dollar General for a consolation prize of orange push-up ice cream. :) 

The children still had a couple hours of water play. And I foresee more today.  

I'm thankful for bright-colored, fun, modest swimwear I purchased on clearance last year.  (And a little girl whose cast came off three days ago!!) And the joy of sharing the now-too-small swimwear with our friends who are in our hand-me-down line.

The sun seems to rise earlier this summer than I remember. :) I'll be pulling out the tension rods and extra sun-blocking curtains today hopefully. 

The laundry couch is full ... and staring me in the face.  That will be today's main chore. 

And we'll keep working on our summer daily list ... Seesaw app (weekly home program from school; we aim to do one assignment a day to prevent summer slump), Heggerty video (daily phonemic awareness activity included in that), 20 minutes of reading (at least- ha!), and summer Sunday School Bible reading challenge.  [We also have weekly speech therapy and tutoring by a 7th grader, but not on Saturdays.]

If we're feeling extra adventurous, there's a stupendous summer festival in a small town 20 minutes away.  So there may be carnival rides & lemon shake-ups in our day, too.

It's summer!

Good Hope Vanilla

 

I remember when rooibos tea came to Costco in Japan. Always one to try a new tea, I purchased some, and acquired a taste for it.  I remember chuckling with friends when reading the label, which stated it had "anti-spasmodic properties."

Many years later, I would anecdotally agree with that claim. :) 

There's nothing quite like a hot cup of rooibos tea (Republic of Tea's Good Hope Vanilla is my favorite brand) with honey to calm down my asthma. 

Hooray for antispasmodic properties!!

When I grow up

.... I'm going to be a doctor, a princess, and a referee.  

~ Little Miss, age 4

<3

1000 Gifts, Vol. 6, #38

371.  LM getting her cast off!! 

372.  our first trip to WI for the summer :) 

373.  LG's first experience with Vacation Bible School!

374.  Summer Reading Program :) :) :) 

375.  LM's conclusive hearing test that ruled out hearing loss!

376.  and the trip to the city with the pediatric hearing clinic ... including a stop at my favorite children's consignment store :) 

377.  a full calendar of fun summer activities ... Lord willing

378.  including some celebrations ... a delayed wedding reception for friends' quarantine wedding, family reunion, and a delayed celebration of life for an aunt who passed away (not of covid, but before vaccines enabled us to gather safely)

379.  my immunologist's thorough work ruling out many scary diseases

380.  the promise that the Lord, God our Savior, daily bears our burdens (Ps. 68.19)