Part Two of the Train Trip

After two great days in the Bay Area we headed to Sacramento Friday (9/25) evening. That was a fun train ride from Emeryville (near Berkley) along the eastern coast of the Bay and then east to Sacramento. We arrived at 9:00 p.m. and were met by Jon's Aunt Lori.

Our time in Sacramento was much warmer than the Bay Area, but since Lori had a pool, we were able to stay cool. We enjoyed touring the great train museum in Old Sacramento. After viewing many trains we walked a few steps to the bank of the Sacramento River where we watched a bridge turn 90 degrees to let a boat go down the river.

Monday (9/28) morning Lori took us to the Amtrak station where we caught our first bus (Amtrak connection) to Stockton. Joshua rested on our luggage while we waited about 30 minutes at the Stockton train station for our train. We were only on the train for 30 minutes before getting off in Modesto and hopping on our second bus which took us to Yosemite in about 2 hours. It was our first time to enter the valley through that route and it was a nice change of pace.

The next entry will be the Yosemite pictures.

Sheryl

First Day of School

Just took Joshua to his first day of 1st grade. It was a very different experience from last year. He already knows at least 1/3 of the kids in his class as well as his teacher. Sra. Hamidi was his English teacher last year. She is now teaching 1st grade Two-Way Immersion. I had a great time seeing the parents of Joshua's friends who are my friends as well. It was a fun morning. Joshua barely waved good bye to me as he walked to his class. Ah, he is growing up.

Now to all my projects that have been on hold during my busy summer.

More pictures from our trip to come next time.

Sheryl

First Part of Our Trip

Joshua and I had a great time on our train ride up the coast on Wednesday, August 23rd. We left San Juan Capistrano on a chilly morning at 7:30 a.m. and didn't get into San Jose until 9:00 p.m., but it was a lot of fun. We read, Joshua listened to a Harry Potter CD, we took walks around the train, ate in the dining car and found ways to entertain ourselves. My favorite part of the trip were the hours we drove along the coast. Joshua and I sat with our noses pressed against the window staring out at the beaches. It was awesome.

Our time in the Bay Area with my Aunt Judy was fun as well. We enjoyed a day at a children's museum at the foot of the Golden Gate Bridge. On our second day we made the drive out to the Jelly Belly Factory. That was a great tour and of course we loved the free samples.

Friday evening my aunt dropped us off at the train station in Emeryville (near Oakland) and we enjoyed a 2 hours train ride to Sacramento. The conductors enjoyed asking Joshua for Jelly Bellys since he was still wearing his hat from the tour.

Pictures from our time in Sacramento and the Yosemite trip will follow in the next post.

Sheryl

Home after a long day of travel

Just a short note to let y'all know that Joshua and I arrived home earlier than expected -- 9:30 p.m. into San Juan Capistrano train station. We left Yosemite at 10:00 a.m. this morning, so it was a long day. We started with the Yosemite Shuttle for 30 minutes then a small bus for 2 hours and 15 minutes to Merced. Then we boarded Amtrak for a 3 hour train trip to Bakersfield. From there we got on a big bus with little leg room for a 2 hour ride to LA Union Station. Had an hour+ wait there and ended with an hour and half train trip home. Thanks to Pam and Cory for leaving our car in the train parking lot so I could drive the final leg of the journey. Ah, I'm looking forward to sleeping in my own bed. Now if only the sensation of being on a train would stop.

Pictures and stories from our trip will follow.

Sheryl

Many Awesome Adventures

Joshua and I are having a great time. We left the San Juan train station at 7:30 a.m. on Wednesday (Thanks, Debbie, for the ride to the train station) and arrived in San Jose around 9:00 p.m. It was a long day, but such a fun trip. The commuter train to LA seemed to fly. It was fun to go through many stations that we have visited before -- Santa Ana, Anaheim, Orange, Fullerton.

We had an easy connection at LA Union. Our Starlight Train was waiting for us. We were given seat assignments and had a great time getting settled in to our seats, which were huge. Joshua listened to a Harry Potter CD while I wrote Jon a long letter and read some magazines. We spent hours staring out at the ocean between Oxnard and San Luis Obispo -- gorgeous. We took many tours of the rest of the train. He even had an over-priced dinner in the dining car, but that was fun too.

Our two days in the Bay Area were just as exciting. We visited a children's museum just across the Golden Gate in a fort at the foot of the bridge on the Marine County side. We had visited this place before and once again Joshua spent hours building, creating and playing. Today we took a long drive out to the Jelly Belly Factory -- very fun and worth the drive. The weather was a nice a cool in the Bay Area.

Tonight (Friday) we caught the train out of Emeryville (near Oakland) a little after 7:00 p.m. and arrived in Sacramento a little after 9:00. We will be visiting Jon's Aunt Lori for two days. Here we will warm up with 90 degree weather, but Lori has a pool and we have fun activities planned for our time here as well.

We head to Yosemite on Monday for 3 days, so I won't be posting again till we get home. Thanks for your prayers during our little adventure. It is good to be away from home and the many reminders of Jon.

All for now.

Sheryl

Finally a call

After waiting all day, I finally got a call from Jon around 10:30 Tuesday night. He was still in our hemisphere but headed east. In about 17 hours he will arrive in the time zone that is 11 hours ahead of ours. From there it will still probably be a few days before he reaches his final destination.

Jon was upgraded to first class on the flight from Orange County to Dallas, which was a huge blessing because he was able to stretch out. He slept the whole way. The flight attendant told him at the end of the flight that she was all ready to pamper him, but he just fell asleep. Well, that is what he needed after getting up at 3:30 this morning.

Please pray for Jon as he returns to a difficult place with tons of work waiting for him. We both agree that this separation feels much worse than the first time. Thanks to all of you who are praying and sending encouraging e-mails. You can start sending those Motomails, letters and packages to Jon again. Thanks.

His address is:
CWO4 (until September 1) then he will be CWO5 Moran, J.G.
I MEF (G2)
UIC 42540
FPO AP 96426-2540

Sheryl

And He's Off

Joshua and I got Jon to the airport at 5:30 this morning. We went in and hung out with him while he checked in. Then it was time for good bye. This time seemed much more difficult and emotional for me. I guess it's because I know what I'm getting into. :( A couple people greeted Jon in the airport and thanked him for his service. We saw Jon escorted to the front of the security line and then we left. Jon is flying to Dallas this morning, but he won't know the rest of his flight schedule until he gets there. Hopefully I'll get a call later today.

Joshua and I have a busy day ourselves and then we are off on our own adventure tomorrow morning. Thanks for your prayers.

Sheryl

Final Weekend

We had a wonderful weekend. After church on Sunday the three of us drove down to the San Diego Zoo. We enjoyed visiting our favorite animals on a beautiful afternoon and evening. We gave Jon a birthday present of matching shirts of his choice. He loves for all of us to wear matching clothes so we spent the day being triplets.

After an evening at a San Diego hotel we spent Monday morning touring the USS Midway. Joshua toured the ship months ago with some Dads and kids from our church, but Jon and I had never toured the ship. It was fun to see it together and to have Joshua lead us through various parts of the ship he remembered from his previous visit.

Now we need to pack and say our final farewells. All for a while.

Sheryl

Sensational San Juan Seniors

Friday Joshua, Jon and I were invited to join the San Juan Seniors for a their Luau. We have been so honored to be adopted by this generous group and it was wonderful for Jon to meet them. We enjoyed our time eating a delicious lunch, listening to Hawaiian music performed by a San Clemente Seniors group and chatting with our new friends. Here we are with some of the 100 in attendance. What a blessing these folks are to all of us.

This weekend Jon, Joshua and I will be headed to San Diego to enjoy the Zoo, spend the night in a hotel and then maybe tour a ship or visit the Wild Animal Park. We'll get home in time Monday to pack and then Jon will be off on Tuesday morning at the crack of dawn.

Sheryl

Happy Birthday, Jon

Today is Jon's 45th birthday. He beat me to this age by 2 months. We have enjoyed celebrating his birthday ever since he got home. Last Saturday my family came over for a little party. Last night we enjoyed dinner with good friends (see picture) to celebrate Jon again. Tonight Jon and I will have dinner out with a special date night.

We're getting prepared for Jon's departure which will be early Tuesday morning the 22nd. Thanks for praying for us.

Sheryl

Having Fun

As you can imagine, we are having a lot of fun together as a family. Monday we found a great trail in Laguna Niguel that goes down about 800 feet from a bluff with million dollar homes on it to South Laguna, which is on the beach. It was a steep hike, but fun to be together. Here we are at the top of the bluff, before the hike. We were much hotter and a bit scraped up afterwards, but still smiling. Tuesday Jon had some business to do at Camp Pendelton so Joshua and I enjoyed the beach just off the Oceanside Harbor. Today we head up to Porterville and my uncle's farm for a few days in the country.

All for now.

Sheryl for J & J

He's Home!

Almost home

I posted on Jon's blog that he called Friday night and I have his flight information. He'll have to hang out in Dallas for a number of hours, but he has a number of things he has to do to re-enter the country, so the time may get used up. Can hardly wait to see him Sunday afternoon.

Sheryl

R&R getting closer

Jon and I have sent our last e-mails until we see each other. I am anticipating a phone call Friday evening to let me know when he will arrive home. Not sure if he will be traveling military transport or commercial airlines but tomorrow night I should know more.

Joshua and I have been having fun this week to keep us from sitting around counting down the minutes. We had a pool playdate with school friends -- it was great to be with Noah and Alex, their sisters Lucy, Ruby and Audrey as well as their great moms -- Melissa and Rhonda. It reminded me of what a fun time Joshua and I both have during the school year.

Tuesday Joshua and I spent most of the day doing a 550 piece puzzle. Then in the middle of the afternoon when we needed a break we decided to go to the San Diego Zoo. It was the perfect time to go down there without getting stuck in traffic. The zoo is open till 9:00 p.m. in the summer and it is always fun to see the big cats awake and prowling.

Today Joshua and I both had our first experience at the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus. We went to see it at The Pond in Anaheim. We parked at the train station, to save $12, but discovered that there wasn't an easy way to The Pond even though we could see it from the train station. Then we found "the hole in the fence." Yep, we climbed through and hiked the 1/4 mile to the stadium where I broke down and spent $9 on a bag of cotton candy and a clown hat. Crazy! But Joshua and I enjoyed the show immensely.

Tomorrow we'll probably get together with some friends. Saturday Joshua will be taking a train trip to LA with another friend from school -- Alex and his dad Mr. Ken. They went to the Mighty Duck's game back in March and this should be a fun excursion. I have plans to meet friends for breakfast and get my nails done. I'll need to do laundry and clean the house at some point as well.

Hopefully Sunday will be our reunion day. We'll see and we'll keep you posted. Can you tell that I am grinning from ear to ear? :)

Sheryl

The Waiting Begins

Had a call from Jon this morning, since Sunday I was busy with the Y Malawi Steering Team. It was great to hear his voice, especially since I anticipate having his voice connected to his whole body next week. So the waiting begins. Still a few days till he leaves his current location and then it will be a few days before he can call and let me know when he will be arriving in my location. Got it? :) Don't want anyone trying to hinder this trip. But, Lord willing, by next week at this time our family of three will all be together.

The weekend was very productive for our Y Malawi team. We are getting more organized and I always appreciate time with this great team of folks who come from numerous churches. Our meetings were from Saturday lunch through Sunday evening this time and so the team joined me at the 8:00 a.m. service at San Clemente Presbyterian. It was wonderful to worship with our Y Malawi partners at my church. The meetings also went well because I had four women who volunteered to help serve and clean up our meals. Thank you Debbie, Lisa, Rosalis and Peggy. You were a blessing to all of us, but especially to me.

This week Joshua and I will be having play dates with friends, hanging out at home, going to the Circus (first time for Joshua) and waiting for Jon.

Sheryl

More fun this summer

We returned from our two weeks of vacation and Joshua participated in a week-long Spanish Tae Kwon Do Camp. He loved it and I was glad to have him immersed in Spanish for a week. I don't want him to forget what he learned during the school year. The kids were supposed to speak Spanish to each other as well as to the teacher, although Joshua told me the trick was to whisper. If you didn't get caught speaking English, then you didn't get a time out. The time outs involved standing outside until the next student got caught speaking English. The day Joshua got a time out he told me that he hadn't even gotten to the door yet when someone else spoke in English, so he didn't have to take a time out. :)

Last Saturday I had the opportunity to attend a Faith Academy 50th Celebration. Faith is one of the mission kid schools I attended while growing up in the Philippines. They celebrated their 50th anniversary by having small gatherings around the US and the world. We were honored to have 5 staff members who have worked at Faith over 25 years each. I connected with my 2nd grade teacher Miss Fox, who I haven't seen since 1969. I also saw my Home Ec teacher from 7th and 8th grades. No one from my class ('79) was there, but there were older friends and friends from my sisters class ('81) that I was able to reconnect with. It was awesome to hear and see what God has continued to do through that school. For more information on the school, check out their web site at http://www.faith.edu.ph/.

This week Joshua is with my brother Steve and family. Joshua is attending a sports camp with his cousin Evan and I am sure they are having a great time. When I took him down Sunday evening, I could barely get a "good bye, Mom," out of him before I left. It is such a nice gift from my sister-in-law Sandi who has three kids of her own and has to keep their house clean as they are trying to sell it. :(

I am getting various things done at home. I'm also having fun. Went to see "The Devil Wears Prada" yesterday and had a great, cool time. For those of you not in Southern California, it has been almost as hot at Iraq this past week. Our little mobile home does not have AC, so I have been finding other places to go to stay cool. Today I am meeting a friend at the Cheesecake Factory in Irvine for lunch and then a group of friends are going to Las Brisas in Laguna for dinner before viewing the Art-A-Fair.

Thursday evening I'll drive down to Escondido and meet Sandi and the kids. We'll take them to the Wild Animal Park and have a picnic dinner. It should be great to see the animals in the cool of the evening. Friday I'll get to hang out with my sister Sandy for a while as well.

The coming weekend is another Y Malawi Steering Team meeting which I am hosting at San Clemente Presbyterian. Fortunately I have a great team of volunteers helping me and plenty of time this week to prepare. I am looking forward to productive meetings.

Well, now you are caught up on Joshua and me. Of course the news that Jon will (probably) be coming home for his R&R soon, if very exciting. Although I must admit that part of me is wary -- you never know with the USMC.

Sheryl

Pictures from Franklin, Michigan

Our time in Franklin, Michigan, was very active, as you can see from these pictures. Joshua loved bouncing on the trampoline. Here he and Riley showed off for the camera. All the kids enjoyed the two days at the pool. The day at the lake was perfect. The water and the air were just the right temperature for swimming and building sand castles. Joshua got to go bowling for the first time to celebrate Baker's 10th birthday. He posed after getting his first strike! What an experience. Yes, we had an awesome time with our Moran relatives. Thanks, Greg, Sharon, Baker, Regan and Riley for your hospitality for 9 days.

Sheryl

Pictures from Lanesboro, Minnesota

Here are some shots from our excellent time in Lanesboro, Minnesota. We enjoyed our time with Ann, Bob, Nathan, Kimberly, Ethan, Karen and Mike. It was an awesome vacation. If you are ever in the south-eastern corner of Minnesota, I highly recommend the Cozy Quilt Cottage owned and operated by the Weavers. I'll have shots from our time in Michigan in a day or two.

Sheryl

Home Sweet Home

We're home. We arrived at our own doorstep around 8:15 p.m. My folks had dinner for us and a few necessary groceries for the morning. Joshua fell asleep on the drive to our house, which was to be expected since his body thought it was 11:00 p.m. (we just came back from the Detroit area).

We had an awesome vacation. Our 5 days in Lanesboro, Minnesota, with the Weaver clan were relaxing and fun. Our 9 days in Franklin, Michigan, with the Greg and Sharon Moran clan were full of lots of time for Joshua to play with his cousins and for me to enjoy time reading, relaxing and conversation with Sharon and Greg. We even got to see Jon's brother Matt, when he came up from Indiana for a day and a half. We were so blessed by all those who hosted us these past two weeks.

I'll post a few pictures in the next few days, but wanted to let y'all know that we made it home.

Sheryl

Vacation

Joshua and I head to the Midwest on Saturday for two weeks of vacation. I hope to be able to check e-mail while on the trip, but don't know if I'll post to my blog or not. We'll be visiting my relatives in south-eastern Minnesota for about a week. We look forward to seeing my cousins who recently returned from Bolivia. I am hoping they can help keep Joshua's Spanish fresh. We anticipate innertubing down a river, some fishing,and just relaxing. The second week of our vacation will be spent in the Detroit area with Jon's younger brother's family. Joshua is excited to see his three Moran cousins and we hope some of the other family members will be able to visit us while we're there. After this exhausting week of VBS I look forward to a couple weeks of just relaxing.

Sheryl

Vacation Bible School

What happens when you take 200 children ages 5 to 9, toss in a hundred teenage and adult leaders for three hours at church? You get an exciting, exhausting, fun Vacation Bible School -- VBS. I have a "small" group of 13 children who will be starting 1st grade in the fall. Joshua is one of my group members and so far we are having a great time together -- all of us. I started off a little stressed by the initial chaos, which is the Monday of VBS. But today was a little better, although we had to improvise when it rained during our outdoor snack time. The kids are learning about the treasures hidden in God's Word. Yesterday they learned that God Loves Us and today that God Knows Us. It is awesome. I am ready for a nap most days when I get home, but that's okay, it's a good kind of tired. :)

Sheryl

Harry Potter

After returning from camping, my cold did get worse and so Joshua and I have not done much. We have spent a lot of time hanging out at home listening to the recording of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire -- book 4 in the series. We are completely addicted and loving it. :)

Yesterday I had the amazing honor of being installed as an elder at my church. I was first ordained as an elder at Trinity Presbyterian Church about 16 years ago, when I was an even younger elder. This experience was meaningful in a different way. I am so loved and cared for at this church and I am humbled to be called to serve in this way.

If you read Jon's blog, you know that we had an hour-long video conference call yesterday. It was rather strange sitting in a huge conference room with two large TVs at the end of the table. One showed Joshua and me sitting at a microphone and the other was filled with Jon sitting in a small room in front of a desk. I think Joshua enjoyed watching himself on TV. It was good to be able to see Jon even if it was a bit unusual setting.

This week is Vacation Bible School and I'm a small group leader for the 1st graders. Joshua still loves to have me involved with him so how could I turn down this great opportunity.

Sheryl

Camping

As most of you probably know, Jon is a BIG camper. One summer he camped at the beach every other weekend for the entire summer. I, on the other hand, would rather leave the camping to Jon and Joshua. But being a "good mother" I thought I should take Joshua camping at least once while Jon is gone. Maybe I just wanted to prove to myself that I could do it.

Fortunately, my college friend Lauri was able to join Joshua and me this week and so we were able to set up our new tent. Joshua gave encouraging comments as we went along like, "Mommy, I think you need Daddy." But Lauri and I were able to successfully raise the tent and I have photographic proof. I was even able to start our evening fire with just newspaper, wood and a lighter -- even Jon usually uses fuel to give his fire a boost.

Now I'm home trying to fight off a chest cold. I am so grateful to friends Sergio and Wyndi who took Joshua for the afternoon so I could run a couple errands and just rest. Joshua and I are looking forward to our first video call with Jon on Sunday afternoon. We'll let you know how it goes.

Sheryl

Happy Father's Day

Kindergarten Graduate

Thursday, June 15, 2006, Joshua officially graduated from Kindergarten. All the parents joined the students and Sra. Unzueta for a fiesta and diploma presentation. The kids all look so grown up compared to August 2005 when we took them to school for the first time. Joshua along with the other English speaking kids are doing quite well with their Spanish.

We are both looking forward to a fun summer but we have started off with colds. Joshua has had a runny nose for a few days and started coughing this morning. My throat is bothering me and I feel kind of wiped out. Maybe it's just from all the craziness of the past few weeks.

Jon has been gone for 4 months and we are counting down -- hopefully a little less then 7 weeks -- till he comes home for his 2 weeks of leave. Yipee!

Sheryl

14th Anniversary

Fourteen years ago today I woke early with excitement and anticipation for a great wedding celebration. Little did I know what the next 14 years would include. Ahhh! Isn't that the way of life?! This week I read through my scrapbook that chronicles the years between our meeting and our wedding. The book is very thick with many pictures and stories but since then, the books are thicker and the stories are many and varied. I have come to believe that one of the reasons God created marriage was to help a man and a woman learn how to become whole people, healthy people, the kind of people God created us to be. And that road is full of beauty as well as hardship. It is full of immense and deep love as well as anger and hurt. It is a road I am so honored to be traveling with my best friend, my son's father, my lover, my husband Jon.

Happy Anniversary, Jon.

Sheryl

Family Time

Sunday afternoon my family celebrated my nephew Evan's 6th birthday on a beautiful day in San Marcos. Here is a picture of the family who was able to attend (minus the kids). From left to right are my brother Steve, mom Helen, sister Sandy, dad Joe, sister-in-law Sandi and brother-in-law Sonny. The kids must have been off playing.

Sheryl

Anniversary Date

This Tuesday, June 13th, Jon and I will celebrate 14 years of marriage. Unfortunately we won't do that together. To help ease some of the loss, my dear small group took me on an anniversary date Saturday evening. They arranged for a babysitter -- that was maybe the best gift. Then Steve and Claire picked me up and brought me a corsage. The rest of the group -- Terry, Cindy, Nanci, Brad and Cory (missed you Pam) -- met us at Sarducci's in San Juan. Then we enjoyed a fabulous meal with appetizers, a delicious dinner and desserts that we all shared. Here I am posing with my "dates" for the evening. We also took a picture of the "girls" but that is on someone else's camera. Thank you all, dear friends, for the best "date" I've had in about 4 months.

Sheryl

Another Tooth Bites the Dust

Joshua has had a second loose tooth for over a week. The big tooth was coming in right behind it, but he didn't want to pull or have me even touch the baby tooth. Then in the middle of the night I get a call, "Mom, Mom, come here, I've got my tooth." Not sure how it happened but it came out and he had it on his finger. We agreed that the tooth fairy had probably already been by so we'll see if she remembers to visit tonight. :)

Sheryl

June Gloom

If you live in Southern California, this posting may not be very interesting to you, especially if you, like me, live within 2 miles of the ocean. It is an awesome place to live, but the weather during May and June have become known as May Gray and June Gloom, for obvious reasons. A note to any tourist, if you want to see Disneyland in the sun, don't come till after July 4th. This week the clouds and fog have been so thick that we have had drizzle. It is amazing. For proof, I offer these pictures taken at 10:00 a.m. from my porch and by the side of my house. We have hills on either side of us -- within half a mile -- but you wouldn't have known it this morning. I must say this is nice jogging weather. And kids don't even notice it.

We have lots of fun things planned for the weekend. Joshua will get to see Cars (the new Pixar movie) this afternoon as part of the birthday party for his friend Alex. Saturday, my dear friends in our church small group are taking me out for a special anniversary dinner -- Jon and I celebrate 14 years of marriage on June 13th. Sunday after church Joshua and I will head south to celebrate cousin Evan's 6th birthday with family and friend. Then next week will be the final week of school and summer will begin. Have lots of things planned -- hopefully the weather will clear up soon, but even still, we are blessed to live in this beautiful place.

Sheryl

Donkey Tales

Wednesday night Joshua performed in his first musical. Donkey Tales was put on by the San Clemente Presbyterian Church Children's Praise Choir and Youth Club. They did a great job and the parents and friends in attendance almost filled the sanctuary. Joshua got to sing and/or dance in three of the songs. I say "and/or" because I noticed that if there was some choreography, he was concentrating on that and not singing. If they were just singing, then he managed and sing most of the words to the song. It was great fun and a wonderful way to share the message of the love of Jesus through stories about donkeys in the Bible. Here we are at the performance.

Sheryl

Joshua visits the Midway

On Sunday Joshua was able to join about 30 dads and kids from our church on a train ride from San Juan to San Diego to visit the Navy Aircraft Carrier Midway. Good friend Jim was "dad" to three boys -- thanks, Jim. Here Joshua is with his good friend JT in a helicopter on the Midway. He had an awesome day. Thanks to all the dad who helped to make it a great day for Joshua.

Sheryl

Being Cared For

This morning I was able to experience one of the best sensations known to humans -- a body massage. I have a good friend who does this professionally and she offered to give me a great discount on a massage at her home. I still feel like I just might float away two hours later. Ahhh... Enough said.

Yesterday the San Juan Seniors once again sent Joshua and me a card along with a generous gift. That gift helped to cover the cost of my massage and Joshua and I have not yet decided how to enjoy the rest of the gift.

What a blessing to be surrounded by so many friends and neighbors who go out of their way to care for Joshua and me while Jon is gone.

Today is June 1st and in case you didn't know, two months from today we anticipate Jon starting on his journey home for 2 weeks of leave. We are so excited and every night Joshua prays that "Daddy will come home in August."

Blessings to those of you who shower all three of us with your love and prayers. God is using you whether you know it or not.

Sheryl

Memorial Day Weekend with Family

This weekend Joshua and I drove up to the Central San Joaquin Valley to be with my extended family. We enjoyed a wonderful time at my uncle's farm. We learned that blueberries grow on bushes and if you have never picked them right off the bush and popped them into your mouth, you've never truly tasted blueberries. They were fabulous.

I also enjoyed a family-filled wedding for one of my younger cousins. We gathered in Fresno on an uncommonly comfortable afternoon. I hadn't been at a France clan gathering for a couple years so it was fun to catch up with family from across the country. Here's a picture of the cousins and their spouses who were able to attend. The trick is to figure out which 4 married into the family. A hint -- there are tall genes in my family. Pretty good looking group, don't you think?

Today Joshua and I took a final long walk around the farm with the dogs, visited Joe the donkey, played with the new puppy and then headed for home. We got caught in some of the weekend traffic, but it wasn't too bad and since we were listening to "The Dragon Slayer" and "Harry Potter" (the first book) on tape, the trip was very manageable.

Three more weeks of school and then it's summer vacation!

Sheryl

Book Fair

Today I got to volunteer at the Book Fair at Joshua's school. I was there when his class came in and so I got to help Joshua select some Spanish books to purchase. Of course Joshua wanted to use his own money for a special purchase. Here we are and he is proudly holding "Bionicle Adventures: Web of the Visorak." I get to read this to him each night.

Sheryl

The Wrong Way to Lose 5 lbs.

After making it through Monday without getting Joshua's stomach flue, I figured I was free and clear of those germs -- Wrong! Tuesday I woke up feeling a little queasy and didn't eat much for breakfast. By 11:00 a.m. I was crashed out on the couch trying to get comfortable and stay awake till 12:30 when I needed to pick up Joshua from school.

After getting Joshua I tried to stay on the couch to keep him company while he did his homework, but I eventually ended up in bed. I had 100.3 fever and ached all over. I encouraged Joshua to go out and play with his friend but he said, "No, Mom, I need to stay and take care of you the way you took care of me." What a sweetie.

The really disappointing part of being sick was that I had to miss Open House at Joshua's school. Fortunately my dad was able to come down and take Joshua and see all the projects he has done this year. I also missed an important meeting at church, but such is life.

I'm feeling better this morning, but a little weak.

Sheryl

"God answered my prayer"

This afternoon after a couple hour nap, Joshua came out and announced, "Mom, God answered my prayer. He made me better from my vomiting." Amen! This morning was rough with Joshua feeling too miserable to talk on the phone when Jon called or listen to me read or watch TV or anything except to have me sit next to him on the bed. I was so glad when he finally fell asleep. Thanks to those of you who were praying with us. Joshua has been back to himself all afternoon.

Sheryl

Catching up on the news

Thursday I took Joshua "hiking." It was getting late in the afternoon so we took a local hike up the San Juan Creek. We started off in the creek but didn'’t stay there long because it got too wet and I didn't want to get my new hiking shoes wet. We tried to find a way out to the horse trail on the north side of the creek. This was tricky cause of the undergrowth and we had to make our own path through low scrubs and small trees. It was quite an adventure. We finally climbed up the bank and got out on the path. We were walking east on the trail when Joshua saw a coyote about 100 feet in front of us. The coyote probably got scared by all our noise in the brush. He headed off east on the trail loping along but moving pretty quickly. We didn't see him again but were excited to see a wild animal so close to home. Joshua really wanted to cross the creek so eventually we had to get our feet wet. We ended up crossing the creek -- walking through the water 4 or 5 times. We hiked east for about 45 minutes and then headed back. We came back in the creek bed. It was a rough walk cause the creek bed is sandy and gravely. But it was fun to be out and to really break in my shoes.

Friday Joshua and I had our regular movie and pizza night. Our DVD player just broke, but we can still watch VHS tapes. Of course you can'’t rent VHS tapes anywhere so we went to a local thrift store that had them on special for $2. We found some great kids videos and got 4 for the price of 2 rentals at Blockbuster.

This morning we were planning to head to the FSEA Rocket Competition. I have worked for Future Scientists and Engineers for 9 years and this is an annual event for us. To learn more, check out our web site at www.fsea.org. Joshua loves the rocket competition and we had invited some friends from school to meet us there. So it was very disappointing when Joshua woke up at 4:00 a.m. sick. He spent the entire morning vomiting, so we stayed home.

This afternoon my mom was heading north after a quick trip to San Diego and offered to stop by to watch Joshua so I could get out of the house for a break. It was wonderful timing. I was able to help send off the team of 16 from our church who are headed to Malawi on a work trip. To learn more about this you can go to this web site: http://www.scpres.org/misc13366.asp. I was able to go on our church'’s first trip last year so it is wonderful to see the vision being passed on to another group of people.

Home now and Joshua is eating a cracker --– his first food of the day. Hopefully this was just a 12-hour bug and he'll be back to his old self by tomorrow.

Sheryl

San Juan Elementary Kinder Show

Last year at this time, Jon, Joshua and I entered San Juan Elementary School for the 2-Way Immersion Kindergarten presentation. Joshua wouldn't let us out of his sight. Jon and I were a little overwhelmed, felt alone and a little nervous. Now a year later, Joshua runs off to play with his friends as soon as we get to the school. I walk through the crowd looking for new faces and talk to three families who will be enrolling their children in the 2-Way Immersion program in the fall. It is great to belong to this wonderful community.

The children sang one song in Spanish and Sra. Unzueta, Joshua's teacher, explained various tools used for teaching in the Immersion Kindergarten. It was a short, sweet program. Here's Joshua afterwards. Yes, he likes learning Spanish.

Sheryl

Mother's Day Picture

Thanks to my friends Sharon and Bob, I now have a digital camera that works. Thanks, guys! Here is a picture of Joshua and me with all my Mother's Day gifts. What fun! More pictures to come.

Sheryl

A good Tuesday

Last night I started thinking that I had overdone it by letting Joshua go to school and participate in Tae Kwon Do in the afternoon. After dinner he was complaining of a headache and seemed flushed. He watched the video we have of Jon reading "The Shining Sword" -- Joshua's favorite bedtime story. Then I got him to bed early.

He slept about 11 hours. I got him into a warm, steamy shower for 10 minutes this morning and after breakfast he seemed like his old self. I haven't gotten any calls from school, so I assume he's doing fine. Thanks for your prayers. You can continue to pray that he stays healthy cause we've got lots more going on this week.

Sheryl

The sorta sick boy

Joshua has had a runny nose for a few days and last night he started to have a cough. I got the humidifier going in his room, gave him that extra drink of water and put him to bed early. Around midnight he had a nightmare and woke up crying, coughing -- he was a wreck. I brought him into bed with me so that the rest of my night could be interrupted by his talking in his sleep. :) This morning his breathing didn't sound good so I just let him sleep and called the school to report him sick. He slept an extra hour and a half and then took it easy on the couch for an hour or so. But by 10:00 he was starting to drive me crazy and so I told him he either needed to go to bed or get dressed and go to school. He disappeared in his room for a few minutes and came out in his school uniform. So off we went. He missed a couple hours of school, but doesn't seem to be that sick. I was able to help a little in the class, since I usually volunteer on Mondays and then I was able to come home and get some of my projects done as well.

A lot of fun things are scheduled for this week including a class playdate tomorrow and the Kindergarten Presentation (where all the kids sing in Spanish for the parents) on Wednesday night. Please pray that Joshua gets over this bug quickly or that it doesn't slow him down too much. Thanks.

Sheryl

Mother's Day as done by a Community

Today was one of the best Mother's Days of my life. I was celebrated by so many people for the entire week. On Tuesday good friends from church -- Claire and Pam -- took Joshua on a "secret" shopping trip. Then on Thursday moms from Joshua's school -- Melissa and Rhonda -- presented me with a beautiful and useful Mother's Day gift basket. Saturday, Ken, a father from Joshua's school invited Joshua over to play with his friend Alex for the day. I was able to enjoy a luncheon at my mom and dad's house with friends. I then got to do a little shopping before picking Joshua up. Ken had generously taken Joshua and Alex out to buy flowers for their moms. That evening Joshua was so excited for me to open my Mother's Day gifts that he begged to let me open one. I opened a paper picture frame that he made in school with a picture I had sent to his teacher. It was perfect.

Joshua didn't wake me up until 7:00 Sunday morning and he remembered it was Mother's Day right away. He brought me a Mother's Day poem in Spanish that he could sort of translate. Then he brought out the gift he had gotten with Claire and Pam's help. I found out later that he had picked it out himself. It was a Willow Tree figurine of a little boy holding a gold heart. It was beautiful and I love it.

Jon was able to call us but the connection wasn't too good, so during our 20 minutes we were cut off about 5 times. It was great to hear his voice. The night before he had sent me an e-mail along with a picture of him holding a sign that wished me a Happy Mother's Day. The picture is now my computer desktop.

Sunday at church I had numerous invitations from good friends for lunch or just hanging out. But the winning invitation was from friend Cory who took Joshua fishing on Trabuco Creek. Cory is an experience fisherman and Joshua had the time of his life. He caught his first fish -- an 8 inch rainbow trout. I spent the afternoon on a long walk and then soaked in a luxurious bath. The evening was topped off with dinner at our favorite local restaurant -- Ruby's -- with Claire, whose husband and children were out of town.

What a day! I am so blessed by so many.

Sheryl

San Juan Elementary Spring Festival

Friday Joshua and I participated in the annual San Juan Elementary School Spring Festival. It ran from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. at the school. There were lots of games (shooting basketballs, the cupcake walk, obstacle course, sponge throw at teachers, bowling, baseball toss, etc.) and prizes for everything. The In-N-Out Burger truck came and served awesome hamburgers for dinner. Plus there was corn on the cob, cotton candy, and much much more. Most parents volunteered at various booths, so we took turns watching -- chasing after each other's kids. It was a lot of fun. There was some entertainment by students and other musical groups. A great evening.

More on my great Mother's Day Weekend in my next posting.

Sheryl

A new Tae Kwon Do belt

Last Saturday after the birthday party, Joshua got to go geocaching with my sister, brother-in-law and a friend. Then we rushed over to Tae Kwon Do where Joshua successfully tested for an Orange Belt. On Monday during class, Joshua was presented with a certificate and his new belt. Fortunately another mom had her camera and got the moment on film. Here's my proud boy.

Sheryl

New aspects to my site

Thanks to my brother-in-law Sonny, I have some new elements on my blog. Directly to the left of this posting you will see links to other blogs. You probably already have Jon's blog, but it is listed there along with our pastor Tod Bolsinger's blog "It Takes a Church." I highly recommend it. Finally there is a link to my sister and brother-in-law's Podcast about Geocaching web site. If you don't know what geocaching is, you are missing out. Think high tech treasure hunt. Check out their site, you might like it.

Today I am grateful for my good friend Steve who is painting the awning posts of our home, which the mobile home management has been concerned about. I would post a picture of him hard at work, but my camera has developed some serious problem and I have not been able to get it to work since after Joshua's party on Saturday. Thanks to Steve, we have beautiful white awning posts with a plan to clean up the rest of the trim on the house and railing around the porch. What a blessing!

Thanks to all of you who continue to pray for our family and support us in so many ways. You are a blessing to us.

Sheryl

Half Birthday Party

On Saturday we had Joshua's 6 1/2 birthday party. Since his birthday is two days before Christmas, this is the best time of year to have a party with his friends. We met at the park that is across the bike trail from our house. We had 46 people in attendance -- 25 were kids ranging in age from 2 to 8 years old. It was crazy, but a lot of fun. My mom, sister, brother-in-law and college friend all came early to help and many parents helped out during the festivities. It was kind of an "old fashion" party where the kids played games and ran around in the park. We had a pinata too. Joshua decorated his own cakes. The one in the picture has "Feliz Cumpleanos" along with a soccer player, soccer balls and stars. We sang the "Happy Birthday" song is Spanish and English. His "birthday hat" in the picture is one of the points from the stars of his pinata. He really was having fun, just didn't want to pose for a picture. :)

It was a lot of fun and it was great to have some of our church friends get to know some of our school friends. Joshua's friends were very generous and he is having a great time playing with his new toys and games.

On Sunday morning I am still exhausted, but it was worth it. One little boy from Joshua's class ran up and said, "Joshua's mom, this is the best birthday party anyone has ever invited me too." Very cool. Something to make a mom smile. :)

Sheryl

A pillow hug from Daddy

Before Jon left both Jon and Joshua made hand-print pictures and gave them to each other so Jon could take Joshua's hand with him and Joshua could have Jon's hand here at home. Well, before Jon left, Joshua told us that the hand picture "didn't work." He said that he had been missing Daddy that afternoon but when he put his hand on the picture of Jon's hand nothing happened. It didn't make him miss Jon any less.

Well, today Joshua got something that "really worked." I heard about a couple military wives who make pillows with pictures on them. I sent in a picture of Jon and today Joshua was surprised to open a package with a pillow that had Jon's picture and "I love you" on it. He immediately hugged it and danced around saying, "It works, it works, it really works, I'm hugging Daddy." Oh, it was so worth whatever the pillow cost. :)

So here's my little boy with his pillow. I think he's taking it to school tomorrow to show his friends.

Sheryl

A long overdue posting

The past couple weeks have been more difficult than I had expected. Prior to Spring Break I felt like I was doing "okay." But then nine days with Joshua home from school found me feeling depressed and angry. A friend described me as "carrying my picket sign around." Yes, I have a right to be sad, angry, depressed, etc., but is that how I want to live the rest of this year? That is the question I had to seriously consider last week. My first thought was that it would be pretty sad to miss a year of Joshua's life because I was so absorbed in my own head. Then I realized, just like I tell Joshua almost every day, I can choose how I will respond to the life I have.

So I have chosen LIFE -- not just to live this year waiting for Jon to come home; not just wishing he were here; not being angry and resentful about the life I have; but to actually love the life I have. You know the song "If you can't be with the one you love, love the one you're with"? Well, I don't approve of that philosophy, but here's my take on it -- "If you want the life you need (what's good for you), then live/love the life you've got." I think I have spent enough time missing the life I have right now, so I am planning to embrace this life from here on.

I will appreciate your prayers and encouragement in the days, weeks and months ahead. But I am confident that the God who is allowing me to have this life has given me the power to live it to the fullest. So here goes...

Sheryl

He is Risen -- He is Risen Indeed

It has been a rough week being a single mom with Joshua home from school for nine days, but we made it to the end of the week and now we can celebrate on Resurrection Sunday. God is faithful and is "growing" us through this experience. I am so grateful for my church family and all the support I have received from them. Today Joshua and I will enjoy being with some of the France family.

Blessings,

Sheryl

Easter Egg Hunts

Today Joshua finally got to go on two Easter Egg Hunts. We've been hiding last year's plastic eggs around the house for the past week and finding them -- a fun game -- but getting eggs full of candy is even more fun. This morning Joshua started with an egg hunt at our mobile home park. Due to the rain the hunt was done inside the club house. Thanks to the ladies who put on this special event for the kids in our neighborhood.

Then we headed to our local San Juan park where they were having an Eggstravaganza! That egg hunt was more like an egg gather. A section of the park was roped off and the eggs were strewn around on the grass. On the count of three the kids ran through and had every egg picked up in less than 90 seconds. Joshua enjoyed both and is now sorting his candy and other goodies.

Jon continues to be swamped with work. He was able to call us this morning, since Joshua and I will be attending the 8:00 a.m. service and didn't want to miss his call tomorrow. It is always great to hear his voice. Also, thanks to the gift of a digital camera that Jon received, he has been able to e-mail me a short video clip of himself. Very cool, although it made me cry to see and hear him (in miniature) on my computer screen but not to be able to touch or be with him. But I am very blessed.

Have a glorious Easter,

Sheryl

A rainy day at Legoland

Fortunately the storm didn't arrive in Carlsbad till around noon. Joshua and I had two wonderful hours in a very un-crowded Legoland today. He went on a new ride and some that he'd never done alone before because now he's six and over 48 inches tall. Here are some pictures -- they tell the story. A big thanks to the San Juan Seniors for their generous gift that allowed us to have this wonderful day.

Blessings on this Holy Good Friday.

Sheryl

Spring Break

Joshua and I are having a wonderful spring break this week. We started off with a trip to my uncle's farm in Porterville (Central California). We met up with some cousins on my mom's side of the family and enjoyed the France cousins that visited as well. But Joshua's favorite friend at The Ranch was Joe, the donkey or mule (I don't remember the difference). He spent a lot of time hanging out with Joe. Joshua was so sad that Joe was all by himself in his pen. Joshua also enjoyed the four dogs -- Max, Lady, Lucky and Ruby and the one remaining cat -- Fred.

On Tuesday Joshua and I drove up into the mountains and just above 5,000 feet elevation, we got to snow. We drove up to 6,000 feet and found enough to make snow balls and get totally drenched and cold. But it was great fun to be playing in the snow in California on April 11. We are truly sorry for those of you in Northern California being deluged by the ongoing rain and snow. But we enjoyed the benefits of a late snow fall at Alpine Village.

We will finish off the week with a trip to Legoland, Easter egg hunts, holy week worship services at our church and lunch with family in San Marcos on Sunday. Hope you all can spend time in worship as we celebrate this most holy of weeks.

Sheryl

News from the field

News from Camp Fallujah. If you haven't checked out this web site before, you might find it interesting. http://www.imef-fwd.usmc.mil/imef/imef-public.nsf/sites/imeffwd?OpenDocument This site provides video clips of activities at Camp Fallujah. Recently Senator McCain lead a delegation of senators to Iraq and they visited Marines in the "famous Camp Fallujah chow hall." Check it out. A few weeks ago my sister-in-law saw a report on the Fox News Channel with video tape of the chow hall, so maybe you've already seen it. Since it is such an important location for Jon, thought you'd want to "see it."

Joshua is off school for spring break next week. We have plans to do some fun things, so will keep you all posted.

Sheryl

A Daddy hair cut

Do you know what a "Daddy hair cut" is? Well, if you are Joshua, it is a very short hair cut. Last night he insisted on having his hair cut like "Daddy's." This would not be my first choice, but I won't complain because it makes hair washing a much more pleasant experience because it takes less time. Here he is in all his glory. He got teased a little bit at school, but I was so proud of him because he didn't get mad and just said that it was a hair cut like his dad's. Very cool.

We are enjoying another rainy afternoon in California. I say enjoying because Joshua loves to play in the rain. I let him dance in the rain and splash in the puddles after school today. I even took a short digital video to send to Jon on a CD. I enjoy looking at the rain and listening to the rain from inside a warm house.

Singin' in the Rain in San Juan,

Sheryl

A great weekend

Joshua and I started our weekend Friday night with our traditional pizza and movie night. We watched "Prince of Egypt" and enjoyed our home-baked pizza from Vons.

Saturday turned out to not have as much rain as expected, which was a nice change from our rainy March. I was up early and finally got my desk organized so I can use it for something other than piling papers. My Dad and Mom arrived mid morning and helped me with yard work and in the final steps of removing the wallpaper glue from Joshua's room -- been working on this project for month. Then about 11:00 Ken -- the friend who took Joshua to the Mighty Ducks game -- picked Joshua up for an all-day play-date with his friend Alex. Yippee! I was able to have lunch with some girlfriends and then do some more work at home. I even watch a bit of the George Mason/Florida college basketball play-off game. Jon attended George Mason for a few years and so I was hoping the underdog would squeak out another win.

Today we are expecting a call from Jon before we go to church. Then Joshua's good friend Jake and family will have Joshua over for the afternoon while I attend my first Key Volunteer meeting down on the south end of Camp Pendleton. This evening we'll join our small group for dinner at a local restaurant. All in all -- a great weekend.

I am so blessed to have friends and family who are supporting Joshua and me so well during Jon's deployment.

Sheryl