On Being Adopted

Joshua and I are so blessed to have a church community that loves and cares for us. We have family who live 30-40 miles from us and are always willing to help. We have good friends at Joshua's school who care for us. We also have many friends and family who support us through e-mails, phone calls and praying since they can't be with us. We are very well taken care of. And now we have even more new friends who want to "adopt Joshua and me while Jon is gone."

The leaders of the San Juan Senior Club called the reporter who wrote the article about Jon in the Orange County Register to get in touch with me. The reporter sent me their phone number and we connected last weekend. They told me that every year they use their outreach funds to support spouses of Marines who live at Camp Pendleton, but they have never known these women or families. When they read the article in the paper they were so excited because they could adopt Joshua and me and actually get to know us.

Joshua and I visited the San Juan Senior Center -- less then a mile from our house -- on Monday and had a wonderful chat with Ellen, Natalie, Mary Ellen and Kathleen -- some of the board members. They are a very caring group and Joshua and I were so blessed by their generosity. We plan to head to Legoland, thanks to the San Juan Senior Center.

It is a new experience to be on the receiving end of so much love and care, but I am trying to accept it with the same graciousness with which it is offered. Thank you all.

Sheryl

Key Volunteer Training

So glad last week is over. With Joshua getting out of school at 12:45 every day, my routine was thrown off. Then I made the mistake of planning activities for each afternoon, which meant we were way too busy. To end the crazy week, I attended the Marine Corps Key Volunteer training at Camp Pendleton. Fortunately my brother and sister-in-law were able to watch Joshua for me on Saturday since the training took most of the day. Joshua had a great time with his cousins doing crafts at Michael's.

The Key Volunteer Training was very good. Of course my conclusion at the end is that I know much less than I thought I did to start with. Fortunately the training provided me with the resources I will need to serve the other Marine Corps spouses in Jon's unit. Our unit has one Key Volunteer so now she and I will divide the spouses that we need to keep in touch with. We are the links between the Commanding Officer of the unit and the spouses of all the Marines in the unit. The job will involve monthly meetings, sending lots of e-mails and making phone calls, but I like the idea of being the first one to get information instead of being the one who has information passed on to me. Call me a control freak -- it's true.

Have some friends who are planning to come on Tuesday to help with the painting project but now they are predicting rain. :( Oh, well, one of these days we'll get it done. So far no complaints from the office. Maybe they saw the article in the OC Register and are afraid of some bad publicity. :)

Sheryl

Reading to Joshua's friends

Yep, the old lady with reading glasses is me. The other night I was reading "The Return of the King" to Joshua. He wanted me to read to his friends, so he lined up all of his stuffed animals on the chair around me. I think they enjoyed the story too. We were right at the gory part where the orcs have all killed each other in the tower of Cirith Ungol and Sam and Frodo are escaping. I do a little self-censoring as I read it to Joshua. Reading this book to a 6 year-old is a little different than reading it to oneself.

Sheryl

My new desktop background

Jon was finally able to e-mail to me a picture of himself at his new location. The picture has become my new desktop background and it is great to look at his cute face each time I sit down at my computer -- many times each day. Here he is in the chapel right after one of the band rehearsals. You can see the music on the stage right behind him.

For me last week was very busy with three mission committee meetings, a day of meetings for FSEA (my employer), and a morning getting the car serviced. This week I am busy typing up minutes for all the meetings I was in last week. Plus Joshua gets out at 12:45 every day this week for parent-teacher conferences at the schools. So it's kind of a crazy week.

All for now.

Sheryl

Sunday morning call

We are very fortunate that Jon has access to a phone so he can call us each week. This week he surprised us with a call Saturday morning along with our regularly scheduled Sunday morning call. It's great to hear his voice, although there is a slight delay which can be a bit annoying. Joshua doesn't quite get it so he sometimes "talks over" Jon. But it is worth it. Jon waits in line, sometimes for about 15 minutes, to get a phone. Then he can talk on the phone for 20 minutes. It goes so fast. But I am so thankful to have these brief conversations in addition to the regular e-mails. The computer line is longer -- more like 30+ minutes -- so a big screen TV always has a movie going for those waiting in that line.

If you are interested in learning more about the I MEF Forward Force, you should be able to access their web site at http://www.cemnf-wiraq.usmc.mil/. There are some videos on the site, including one of the general's speech before the Marines left Camp Pendleton -- we were there, but you can't see us in the video. There is another video of activity in Iraq. I'm not sure how often they update this site, but you might want to check it out every once in a while.

All for now.

Sheryl

Nothing's Broken After All

This afternoon we visited the pediatrician for our follow up visit after the trip to the ER. Turns out the ER doctor might have just been overly cautious. Neither the radiologist nor the pediatrician could see a fracture in Joshua's X-rays. After a thorough examination of Joshua's left hand, the pediatrician pronounced him fine. There was a broken blood vessel and it will bruise, but otherwise, all is well.

Ah, that's a relief, although it took a few days, a number of hours in medical facilities and some worry to find out. But the doctor made me feel better by saying that it is better to be safe then sorry.

Sheryl

Joshua's First Trip to the ER

Yep, this afternoon we spent an hour and a half in the San Clemente Memorial Hospital Emergency Room. It was a rather rough afternoon for Joshua. It started with a fall on the asphalt at school that left him with a scraped right elbow. But he managed to have fun playing with the rest of his class in our all-class playdate.

Then we headed to a park to meet one of Joshua's good friend. Unfortunately less than five minutes into their scooter ride Joshua fell and landed on his knee and the top of his left hand. There was a huge purple lump right on top of one of his knuckles. After some discussion with my friend I decided that we should visit the ER just to make sure he didn't break any of those tiny bones in his hand.

The ER was empty and we were taken in pretty quickly. Joshua had his first X-rays and did a great job of holding still. The doctor said it looked like there might be a small chip on one of the bones in his hand so he gave him a splint. We'll need to see Joshua's pediatrician this week for a follow up visit. Joshua has not been in much pain for the past hour so that's good. As you can see in the picture, he is quite pleased with his splint. On the way home from the hospital he asked if I knew the word for splint in Spanish. He's going to ask Sra. Unzueta (his Kindergarten teacher) tomorrow.

Sheryl

Back to the blog

As you can see, I am not the prolific writer that my husband is. But I do want to keep y'all informed on life at the Moran house while Jon is away.

Joshua and I enjoyed some special treats this weekend. On Saturday I got my hair cut and had lunch with my mom and a friend while Joshua hung out with his Grandpa Joe. On Sunday those of you who attend SCPC's 11:00 service were treated to a special performance of the children's choir with comic relief provided by Joshua Moran. I was able to tape it with my digital camera, burn it on a CD and send it to Jon. (I just love technology.) Afterwards Joshua and I were treated to lunch with some church friends.

Some of you have heard me talk about the World Vision child sponsorship drive that I helped coordinate at our church. Well, the congregation was moved and we have sponsored over 350 children to date. These are children from the Nkhoma Area Development Project which our church, along with others, is sponsoring as we take steps to be God's hands in the world while seeking to change the lives of members of our own congregation. You can read more about this exciting partnership at this link: http://www.worldvision.org/about_us.nsf/child/eNews_california_030706?Open&campaign=12330348&cmp=EMC-12330348
Since I was able to travel to Malawi last year, I am thrilled to see members of our congregation reaching out to these children who are currently dealing with difficulties beyond most of our imaginations.

Thanks to so many of you who have been writing to Jon. He just loves those motomails and regular mail sent via the US Postal Service is great too.

Sheryl

Boxes, boxes and more boxes

The US Postal Service has a great deal -- they will send you, free of charge Flat Rate Boxes. The only down side is you must order a minimum of 25 boxes. These boxes can then be shipped to any APO address for $8.10 no matter what the weight. If you live near me and would like to send Jon a package, please let me know and I'll get you one of these boxes. They are 11" x 8 1/2" x 5 1/2".

Joshua is back in school today. Yippee! He woke up during the night coughing and climbed in bed with me. I let him sleep a little longer this morning and when I woke him up I said, "Okay, sweetie I let you sleep in, so now you have to get up." His response was, "Oh, no, I wanted to go to school today." I assured him he could go to school, but he said he didn't want to be late. So that was a good sign. He is still coughing, but that seems to hang on for a while, so hopefully he'll get over this bug soon.

Thanks for the encouragement from many and the time Pam gave me yesterday so I could get out for my walk.

Sheryl

Still home

Really need prayers for patience today. I was pretty depressed last night and so stayed up too late and didn't get enough sleep. Today Joshua's cold has moved into his chest and he has a bad cough so we are home together for another day. We both could use your prayers. Thanks.

Sheryl

Home sick

Well, the runny nose that started Sunday evening has developed into a cold for Joshua. He is home from school today. I've got him propped up on Jon's side of our bed with the humidifier going, his Kleenex, juice and cocoa. After this post I am off to read "The Return of the King." We've been working on the Tolkien series for many months, so maybe we'll finish the final book today.

I did get a good night's sleep last night so I feel ready to face the challenges of being home with a sick son. But you can keep praying for me -- both of us. Thanks.

Sheryl

The Mighty Ducks

As I mentioned in my posting yesterday, Joshua experienced his first Mighty Ducks game. He was more impressed with the opening "ceremony" -- I guess the mascot comes in with lights and music -- then with the actual game, which the Ducks lost in overtime. But he had a good time with Mr. Ken, Alex and Alyssa and they've invited him to an Angel's games in the future.

While Joshua was at the game, I enjoyed lunch with a good friend and had some time to do various chores at home that never seem to get done when Joshua is with me.

Joshua did go to bed with a runny nose and woke up with it a little clogged, so please pray that he just has allergies and will not get sick with a cold. If he does, I'll need extra prayers since dealing with a sick child is very exhausting for me. I'll keep you posted.

Sheryl

We're famous

Yep, the Moran family made the OC Register and are now famous. Well, at least a few dozen people at church told me I was famous this morning. Jon and Joshua are the true celebrities as their picture appeared three times on the first and third pages of the Sunday, Orange County Register. If you don't get the Register, you can read the article on their web site. You will need to register your e-mail address and a password at the OC Register's web site but after doing that, you can enter this URL and find the article with one of the pictures. http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/news/abox/article_1029993.php

The article highlights the "old" Marines being activated and deployed. Jon being 44 years old is in this category. :) In case you are interested, we were "discovered" by the father of one of Joshua's Kindergarten buddies who happens to be an editor at the paper. He also is the great friend who took Joshua to the Mighty Ducks (hockey) game today and gave me a few hours to enjoy lunch with a friend and some time by myself.

A few people have asked me what Jon needs "over there." Right now the best answer is mail. He'd love a letter sent via the US Postal Service or via Motomail. Motomail is a way for you to type an "e-mail" which is sent to his location, printed and given to him at mail call. Go to this URL https://www.motomail.us and follow the directions. For either USPS or motomail, please use this mailing address:
CWO4 Moran, J.G.
I MEF (G2)
UIC 42540
FPO AP 96426-2540

Thanks,

Sheryl

A beautiful Southern California day

I thought I would post a picture of our beautiful Southern California day. We are between storms (rain -- not snow) and today was gorgeous. Joshua and I were at Dana Point (2 miles from our house) when I took this picture. I am posting the picture for Jon so he won't forget what the ocean looks like and so those of you still dealing with winter can realize why some of us are willing to pay to live in this gorgeous location.

This evening Joshua had his first Tae Kwon Do test. He has been a white belt for about 6 weeks and tonight he tested for yellow belt. He did an excellent job and was in the group of white belts who did not get help from the teacher. I am so proud of him because he has done this all on his own. He has even learned how to count to 10 in Korean. In the picture below he is shaking hands with Master Park. He is holding a board that he broke with his fist. On each child's board the parents had been directed to list 3 things the child needs to improve. Then before they broke the board the assistant came to each student and read allowed the three things with the student repeating a promise (facing Mom) not to do these things any more. It was great. I intend to use this to help motivate Joshua to remember how to behave at home.


All in all a great day.

Sheryl

A good day

When people ask me how I'm doing, I now can honestly say that I'm doing alright. I feel like I turned a corner this week and am doing a much better job of managing my emotions as well as the life I have to live now. I still seem to have a short fuse with Joshua so please pray for patience for me.

Tonight as I put Joshua to bed I asked him if he missed his Daddy. He said he does miss him. When I asked what he misses he started to cry a bit and said, "I miss rough stuff and playing with him." I told him that we could send Jon an e-mail in the morning, but that distracted him and he started talking about mail. The blessing of being 6 years old seems to be that if you are sad, it doesn't last for too long.

Pray for Joshua and me this weekend that we will enjoy our time together. Thank you.

Sheryl

A good night's sleep

To those of you who have been praying that I would sleep well, praise the Lord, last night I slept through the night (I sound like a baby). I actually set my alarm for 9:00 p.m. to prompt me to turn off the TV or get off the computer and go to be. By 9:10 I was in bed reading The Book of Order (Presbyterian rule book that I'm reading for elder training since I'm joining the Session at San Clemente Presbyterian). Fortunately, The Book of Order was an excellent choice to get me started on my restful sleep. I think I was out by 10:00 and didn't wake up till 5:00 ish. I dozed off till 6:00 and still got up before Joshua. What a relief to have a solid night's rest.

Today my dad is here doing projects around the house -- fixing a fluorescent light connection, cutting the weeds, trimming some bushes, transplanting so bushing, all sorts of stuff. What a blessing.

It feels like I've turned a corner. Thank you so much for your prayers and words of encouragement. I appreciate the e-mails and kind words spoken in person.

Blessings,

Sheryl