I drug my tired, cranky self out for a walk this afternoon.  The kids came along as well, and for the most part were easier to convince than my body was   We ended up walking for 32 min. and covering 2km/1.26mi.   Today had a few more stops, but I still figure we managed almost 30 min. of walking! 

There was this hawk perched over the river. <this was the only pic I took during our 10min-ish power walking time, & I only paused long enough to snap the shutter>

Bekah pushed Josh from time to time so that I could walk and take pics at the same time. <we have the WIKE set as a jogger rather than a bike trailer right now>

As always, I'm a sucker for beautiful flowers

I am feeling less grumpy after our walk, but the tired didn't go away... in fact, it may have multiplied.

Well, I have caught my breath and it's about time to get started on dinner.  I am trying out a new recipe, Cheesy Mexican Rice, to go with pork chops.  IF, I feel energetic I might also try making Red Velvet Cheesecake Brownies. 

Well, I'd best get busy before the troops start pestering me... I wasn't fast enough... the hungry teen was just in begging for food! 

Peace Out!

Seems like life is full of snares and traps and pits to fall into.  Seems like I am constantly tangled up in something or another...sigh!

Last night I caught myself being grumpy.  After a great weekend off, it was back to the grind.  Getting back into the swing of things takes some effort and by the end of the day I was getting crabby  

Thinking about it I also realize that Monday has an added twist for me... see Tuesday is hospital day.  Monday night, I have to have bags packed and loaded for Tuesday's day trip.  I need to remember to also toss the over night things "just incase" it ends up being longer than a day trip.  There is also the reminder of Joshy's critical illness.  Plus the reminder that our days are not the normal they used to be.  Then there is the question of what will his levels look like?  Will they show a hint of improvement or not.  Will we need to stay for yet another transfusion?

Realizing the cause is a good step in the right direction.  BUT it takes more.  It takes turning it all over to the LORD <again>.  I means putting it in the LORD's hands and leaving it there.

ONLY with the LORD can life's problems be handled. 

"My eyes are ever on the Lord,
for only he will release my feet from the snare."  Psalm 25:15

”私の目はいつも主に向かう。主が私の足を網から引き出してくださるから。”　詩編２５：１５

It's a constant battle for me to keep my eyes focused!  When I loose that focus then I get tangled up...again!

Today was a long day.  As usual, Joshy & I were on the road @ 7am.  Joshy chose to nap most of the way.  He was a bit on the cranky side for the doctor, but awake.  Levels were better and not better

WBC's went UP

RBC's went down to the should we or should we not transfuse   We decided not to.

Platelets were about their normal 1 week post transfusion level

Everything else was pretty much "normal Joshy".

Doctor goes with the caution that because RBC's are low, if Joshy starts acting odd or temps drop, then call.  Doctor goes back to wherever doctors go and Joshy decides he's had enough of this and goes to sleep.  <Remember Joshy does not nap!>  He then sleeps through being put in his wheelchair and taken to his ortho check up on the 1st floor.  He sleeps through being put back into his bed to have the taping around his CVline changed.  He sleeps through PT.  He sleeps through another doctor pestering him.  By this time the nurses have called the doctor, who comes back to check on things.  Is something up?  Does he need a transfusion?  Is he getting sick?  Does something hurt?

<SNORE>

The doctor did allow us to come home   With orders to call if this continues!

He sleeps ALL the way home!!

At home...

He's now awake and as happy as can be!!

LORD help me to stay focused on You and to trust You to understand the things that I don't!!

Also help me remember that it's the rain that makes it possible for plants to bloom and grow.

This afternoon we took advantage of the beautiful sunshine and stocked up on a bit of vitamin D   Izzy is here visiting and Aki-san came over after church.  We loaded up everyone and headed to the park.

Izzy, Aki, and the girls hiked some, while Jerry & I kept Joshy out of the woods and away from people.

We didn't stay long, but it was so nice getting out on this lovely spring day.  It was even more fun because it was something "normal"

A while back I said something about some decisions that needed to be made/worked out.  Well... things have been progressing and I am now able to share more details.

Mission Nanny contacted us about a possible nanny.  We have been in contact with a lady from the UK, Chan.  Chan is a nurse and has a good job, but she wants to go where the LORD directs.  She saw the information on Mission Nanny, felt convicted to applied, and the rest is quickly becoming, as they say, history.  This week Chan turned in her resignation at work so that she can come to Japan to help our family!  There are still details to work out, but with continued prayer, we all feel confident that everything will fall into place.

We are all very excited about Chan coming.  IF Joshy continues to improve, then Chan will end up working more with Joshy, freeing me to do other things.  On days Joshy has to go for checkups, Chan will be home to lend a hand and keep the girls on track.  Having Chan here will also give us a bit of freedom to do family things with the girls.  Joshy could well be house bound for months yet.  Having someone who can care for Joshy means that we might actually be able to go out to eat or to a museum or park from time to time   IF Joshy ends up back in the hospital, then Chan will be at home.  She will be able to take a load of household management & homeschool off Jerry's shoulders.  Also the girls will not need to be home alone for hours on end which was a big concern during the 6 months Joshy was in the hospital.

Please continue to pray that all the loose ends get worked out.

...& SUCH...

This morning I set about coming up with a new menu format plan.   I liked my last plan, but I kept finding new recipes and it was tedious to get them worked into the system.  I thought about going with something detailed, but wasn't finding anything I liked.  I opted to go simple... Word document   Menu + "Week of"  at the top.  Two column set up with days and meals, usually just dinner, listed.  Then I can easily add the menu idea and a link to the recipe.  More and more I an finding recipes on line.  Having the link makes life easier!  I can then cut and paste menu idea to another page when they aren't on the current menu. 

This weeks menu looks something like this:

~Sunday~

Lunch - Gratin

Dinner - Pizza

~Monday~

Dinner - Tofu Stir Fry, Rice, Miso soup

~Tuesday~

Dinner - Crockpot Lasagna, Salad

~Wednesday~

Dinner - Baked Chicken, Boiled Potatoes, Green beans

~Thursday~

Dinner - Pork Chops, Cheesy Mexican Rice, Salad

~Friday~

Dinner - Salmon, Rice, Miso Soup

After Lunch, Bekah and I went shopping for groceries.  I added pantry, staples shopping so it was quite the adventure.  Spend way more than I usually do, but the pantry is looking much better!

While shopping I actually found celery for an affordable price.  I had seen on pinterest that you can grow your own celery... This is our new project.  Will it work - hope so!!

I also experimented with a new kind of bread ~ Bread Machine Brownie Bread.  The 1.5# loaf MORE than filled my bread machine!!   It doesn't look the prettiest, because it raised too much and we haven't tasted it yet, but I still think it looks yummy!!

And with that, my day has flown by.  Time to get dinner made and then it's movie time!    

The morning... got off to a rip roaring start, sometime before 6.  Someone, not mama, was ready to seek and destroy.  <actually he tried to get daddy to let him up @ 3:45 >  We then progressed to having a hissy fit because we had to sit still for meds... I'll show whose boss, I'll just have a short grand-mal and throw in a code brown before everyone's breathing is back to normal.

Lunch time... Girls ~ veggies yuck.  Boy ~ Mama, I'm mad and I want down... you're not moving fast enough, I'll kick my chair OVER   <I had my hand on him, because I was trying to get him down, so I was able to slow the fall so that he didn't hit hard, but eek!!>

Snack time... "Mom, can I have spinach for snack?"

Add Math time...

• If it's easier then you can always try subtracting from left to right or bottom to top, I mean... why borrow?
• In a division problem, those extra numbers could be remainders... just because its the last digit in the dividend ~ i.e. 6301 divided by 6 - why drop that 1 down, just use it as a remainder
• WHY aren't the answers right?????

Snap... mama AND my big sisters are busy... OH... I'm sure there are things I can get into!

Mama ~

 ~ "Kei Try borrowing?"  

dragging Joshy back to his toys...

 ~ "Bekah, do your Algebra and let Kei do her own math"

fetch Joshy from the living room ...

 ~ "Josh get OUT of the cabinets!"

 ~ "Kei check your answer...  Because that way you will know if your answer is right!"

T~W~I~T~C~H