Thanksgiving 2009

It was great to have Jon home for Thanksgiving this year. He shared a bit at our church's Thanksgiving Eve service last night. Half of my family joined us in our home today. We ate a fabulous meal provided by everyone and then headed out to do some geocaching. We were 5 for 6 along a bike trail in Laguna Niguel on a beautiful November day in California. It was about 80 degrees today, blue sky, light breeze -- fabulous.

I forgot to post a message last weekend congratulating Joshua and his soccer team on winning the Boys U10 championship for our region. They ended the season 6-1-3 and will play in the regional play-off next weekend. Congratulations, Assassins!!

Happy Thanksgiving to you all.

Sheryl

Marine Corps Ball

Last weekend Jon and I were able to enjoy the Marine Corps Birthday Ball on a cruise boat in the San Diego Harbor. I had to rush south after Joshua's soccer game on Saturday to drop him off at my brother's house (Thanks, Steve & Sandi) for an overnight. Joshua had a great time with his cousin Evan. I made a quick change into my "fancy" clothes and then headed to the San Diego harbor to meet Jon, who was already down there for his reserve drill time.

Jon's unit had the entire lower deck of the boat for dinner, dancing and the program. I don't know anyone in his reserve unit, but it was fun to dress up and have a date with Jon. The program was appropriately formal and not too long, the food was delicious and the view through the windows and up on the top deck was beautiful. What was interesting to me is that the "ugly" side of the harbor where the Navy shipyards are was the most beautiful at night because of the lights everywhere, while the more beautiful Coronado Island was mostly dark, so not as interesting to view.

We spent the night at the BOQ (Bachelor's Officer's Quarters) on a Navy base in San Diego. In the morning we enjoyed some Starbucks, thanks to gift certificates from friends, and then took a leisurely stroll around the San Diego zoo, thanks to our memberships. Then it was off to pick up Joshua and head for home. It was a wonderful weekend celebration.

This week we had a little excitement when the Census Bureau called Jon and offered him a 20 hour/week job making $12.50 per hour. Now, in Southern California, that will not pay the bills for our family, so it was kind of good news/bad news. We are hoping this part-time work will allow Jon to pick up something a little higher paying or allow for future government jobs. In the near future, it messed up our plans for next week. Joshua's school district gives the kids the entire week of Thanksgiving off for the holiday, so I quickly e-mailed our friends and was blessed by e-mails from four friends willing to help. Joshua will end up spending Monday overnight through Tuesday at his good friend Maxi's house (Thanks, Karine and Klaus) and then Wednesday he'll get to go the Discovery Science Museum with his good friend Charlie (Thanks, Wyndi and Sergio). What a blessing to be a part of a community that cares for each other in such tangible ways.

Jon does have a few other full-time job possibilities that he is pursuing but it will take another couple months before those jobs are available. Thanks for your continued prayers.

Sheryl

Veteran's Day

This weekend our mobile home park celebrated Veteran's Day with a chili cook-off. Jon, Joshua and I attended. It was the first community dinner we ever attended and we were the youngest in attendance by almost 20 years. :) Joshua was the only child, but did a great job. After dinner there was a game of war trivia and Joshua ran around the hall delivering the prizes (leftover Halloween candy), which many of the folks gave to him. It was a fun time and we met some nice folks in our park.

Sunday Jon wore his dress blues to church since he will be in San Diego next weekend for the Marine Corps Birthday Ball and will have to miss church. After the services we went to Costco for our traditional $1.50 hot dog and soda lunch followed by free samples throughout the store. He was a bit overdressed, to say the least, but received many, many words of thanks from strangers who wanted to thank him (and me) for his service. It was quite sweet.

That's all the news for now.

Sheryl

Student Council

Joshua is running for Publicity Officer for his school's student council this year. This morning we helped all of the kids (4th & 5th graders) who are running for an office hang their posters around campus. It was fun to see their creativity and hear their excitement. Joshua, along with the other candidates, will be giving a speech to the 4th & 5th grade students (the ones allowed to vote) at an assembly on Friday. Wish I could be in there to hear him and the other kids.

Could this be the beginning of a political career? Let's hope not. :)

Sheryl

In Waiting Mode

Last week we had some rough news. Jon called his Census Bureau contact after returning from his trip to Europe only to be told that they had finished hiring and did not have any jobs to offer him. We were counting on Jon getting some work with the Census Bureau from November to April, but I guess that will not be the case.

Jon continues to look for civilian work as well as schools and short-term Marine Corps projects that he can get paid to do. So far he has only found a couple one-week USMC schools that he can be paid to attend. Please pray that he will find the right job in the next couple months. If he doesn't have anything by the new year, then we will probably need to make some major changes either in our life-style or in the location of our home. Please pray for wisdom to know when to make those changes and what they should be.

Thank you so much for your continued support.

Sheryl