The beginning of a wonderful Mother's Day Weekend

I have had a fabulous Mother's Day Weekend. Saturday was a beautiful day in Southern California and Disney's California Adventure was a fun place to be. Since our tickets were a gift ($122 value), it helped take away some of the feeling of urgency to "get the most for my money." We had only been to the park one time before and it was many years ago so we weren't sure where to start or what to do. We wondered around, found a few rides that both Joshua and I wanted to ride on, toured the tortilla factory and bakery, had lunch and then discovered the Animation Studios. We attended four sessions where different artists taught us how to draw Disney Characters. Here is Joshua's sketch of Pooh. We also sketched Donald Duck, Goofy and Tigger. Joshua couldn't get enough of it so we just kept going back. The Animation Studios also had other interactive activities like doing a voice-over for a cartoon clip. We sang with Baloo and Mogli, the Seven Dwarf, the Lion King characters -- it was a blast. We ended the day at the Alladin live performance which is quite a show -- in true Disney style. We were at the park for about 10 hours and we both had an outstanding time together.

There's more to come...

Sheryl

Military Spouse Day -- May 9, 2008

I just got this message (below) through my Marine Corps Key Volunteer. I didn't know there was such a thing, but this week it is a bit encouraging to think the President George Bush took a few moments to recognize and honor the spouses' part in the military service. Joshua has been sick again. Tuesday I kept him home from school because he complained of a headache, nausea and had a stuffed up nose. I figured he'd be back in school on Wednesday, but that afternoon he started rubbing his eye and by bed time I realized he had pink eye. Both eyes were red and stuck with discharge in the morning. Fortunately we got an appointment with his doctor and started eye drops and antibiotics by midday. Oh, and while at the check up the doctor discovered that Joshua had an ear infection. Oops! He had complained about his ear Monday night, but said it hurt on the outside. I couldn't see anything on the outside of the ear so chalked it up to sleeping on it funny. So Joshua will be home one more day from school so he doesn't pass this infection on to his friends. This week was pretty slow for me (only had to miss 4 appointments) to stay home with him for three days. Hopefully we'll celebrate Joshua's health by going to California Adventure (the "other" Disney amusement park in Anaheim) on Saturday. A woman in our mobile home park gave us 2 free passes that have to be used this weekend. It should be a fun change of pace after being home most of the week.

Sheryl

- - - - - - -

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

A PROCLAMATION

Military spouses embody the courage, nobility of duty, and love of country that inspire every American. On Military Spouse Day, we pay tribute to the husbands and wives who support their spouses in America's Armed Forces during times of war and peace.

The legacy of military spouses began when colonial Americans were fighting for independence. Martha Washington boosted the morale of her husband's troops by visiting battlefields and tending to the wounded. Since then, members of our Armed Forces have served our Nation accompanied by the steadfast love and support of their spouses and families.

While our men and women in uniform are protecting our country's founding ideals of liberty, democracy, and justice, their spouses live with uncommon challenges, endure sleepless nights, and spend long periods raising children
alone. Many military spouses are also committed volunteers, serving other military families and local communities. Our Nation benefits from the sacrifices of our military families, and we are inspired by their courage, strength, and leadership.

On Military Spouse Day and throughout the year, we honor the commitment spouses have made to freedom's cause. To learn about ways to support our troops and their spouses and families, I encourage all Americans to visit www.americasupportsyou.mil.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim May 9, 2008, as Military Spouse Day. I call upon the people of the United States to observe this day with appropriate ceremonies and activities and by expressing their gratitude to the husbands and wives of those serving in the United States Armed Forces.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this fifth day of May, in the year of our Lord two thousand eight, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-second.

GEORGE W. BUSH

A clear day

Check out the contrast from my last entry, "Here is a picture taken in a similar location as the picture of two days ago, just to show the difference... I'm actually about twenty paces further down the road than I was on the dusty day, you can tell by the speed limit sign behind me (which you can see easily on the clear day, but you need to zoom in quite a bit to see on the dusty day). Anyway, I think the difference between the two days, only 48 hours apart, are pretty startling."

Sheryl

Dust Storm

At noon (Jon's time) he wrote, "Here is the reason I'm glad I didn't go out running this morning. Yesterday at this time the day was clear, bright, and climbing through 90 degrees F on the way to over 100 degrees F. Today, same time of day, it was maybe 75 degrees F on its way to a high of 85, it was very windy, and obviously not clear due to the dust. Since taking the picture its gotten a little worse, but not that much worse. Inside the building its better, but there is still a dusty haze EVERYWHERE, which makes for interesting conditions. Running in this stuff clogs up your nose and coats the inside of your mouth (and lungs?) with dust, it's not a pleasant experience." Then three hours later he sent another quick note, "Well, the percentage of dust in the air is getting worse as the day progresses, it's a little after 1500 here and pretty miserable outside. Of course, I'm not outside, so not too big a deal, but for those that are..."

Sheryl

A budding photographer

I want to show off a few of the 100+ pictures Joshua took while we were at the San Diego Zoo last Friday. You've gotta love digital cameras. We even got some videos on that one chip. Some of his shots were great, so I thought I'd post them for you animal lovers out there. Can you find the Meerkat, Polar Bears, Cloud Leopard and Lama?

Sheryl

The Geese Grow Up

Here's an update on The Geese. You can check them out in May 2006 by going to the archives of Jon's blog and scrolling down to May 6. http://jarhedjon.blogspot.com/2006_05_01_archive.html.

"When I arrived here in February, 2006, there was one duck, three adult geese, and 13 yellow fluffy baby geese. Two of the 13 didn't make it, but the rest seemed to double in size every week. When I left in February 2007, there was still one duck, three adult geese, and 11 pretty big (2/3 of the way to full size) "kid" geese. When I returned in January, 2008, there was still the one duck, and there were a total of 13 adult geese. RUMINT has it that a desert wolf managed to get one of them during the 11 months that I was gone, but I've been unable to confirm the veracity of this report. Semper Fi, Jarhedjon"

Sheryl

Bougainvillea in the desert

A note of some interest from Jon,

"The bougainvillea that I was caring for (not a lot, but sometimes watering it) during 2006 is doing well. Before I left I had "found" a steel structure to provide a support for the bougainvillea, and it seemed to be doing pretty well. Since coming back, where I work is real close to my hooch, so when I clean out my Freedom Press every morning, I walk over and do my cleaning with a water bottle over the plant. That way the bougainvillea gets the grounds and the water. It's doing pretty well now, though when I arrived it was obviously barely alive, those guys were too cheezy to take care of it."

Notes and pictures of the geese coming next.

Sheryl

Spring Break

Joshua and I had a wonderful time at The Ranch, what the France family calls the farm that is owned by my Uncle John, but was where my dad and his 8 siblings were raised in Porterville. It was a dairy farm way back when and now the farm is an organic fruit farm -- oranges, grapes, nectarines, walnuts (are they considered a fruit?) and more on other property. There aren't a lot of animals any more, but we enjoy the ones who do live there -- Fred the cat, Max the dog, Joe the donkey and three horses that recently came to live (Blue, Sancho and Rocky). Oh, yeah, and the Canadian geese who have been coming back to the pond year after year for a long time now. Here are few pictures of the animals we enjoyed visiting. Of course, that doesn't mean that we don't also enjoy John and Cindy. We had a great time celebrating John's birthday -- he's only about 7 years older than me, so I have often think of him as a big brother (not that my mother is old enough to be his mom). And Cindy is just a lot of fun to talk to. I've been enjoying conversations with her ever since she married into the crazy France clan right before I started college.


We were also able to get to the snow up at about 7,000 feet, 40 miles outside of Porterville on Tuesday. It was cold (for us) but I found a sled, took a few rides and then we had a snow ball fight until Joshua's hands were too wet and cold. All in all, a great part of our Spring Break.

Today was a first for both Joshua and me -- we marched and picketed over the issue of budget cuts to education. Joshua was so excited that even when we found out that the governor wasn't going to show up, so there might not be a march, he insisted we take our signs (that he helped make) and go anyways. Turned out the governor skipped his scheduled afternoon visit to a private school in San Juan but showed up for the fundraiser at local restaurant around 5:30. We were making signs, marching, waving our signs and adding to the traffic jam in San Juan with the other 300 or so people for about 3 hours. Quite an experience. Joshua was proud because he made a sign in Spanish "Salva las Escuelas" and said that next time we need more signs in Spanish. We'll be marching next Friday with the teachers from our school, so hopefully then I'll get some pictures. Although it is possible that Joshua's picture may be in the paper and on the local TV news. We'll see.

Tomorrow we're probably heading to the San Diego Zoo, one of our favorite places to spend a day. We'll be back to school and our busy schedules next week, so this week we are enjoying our Spring Break.

Sheryl

Helping to lead in worship

Jon was able to send me this little bit of news that can be shared.

"Well, I made it to church this morning, which is a good thing--I was tempted to sleep in a little, which has been reality on Sundays since they moved the service to 0815 (it used to be 0915). Actually, the last two weeks I've been a part of worship. The chaplains put a sign-up sheet on the table where the bulletins and hymn books are so they can be picked up prior to the service and returned following the service. This was the same way it was in 2006. Now, as back then, I signed up to help. However, last year, the sign up sheet was set up for specific Sundays, where you would sign up to read, help with the music, or help with communion. I helped with communion once last year, and read scripture on at least three separate occasions. This year the sign up sheet is just a generic volunteer list. Last Saturday I received an email from the chaplain with the Scripture (Old Testament, Psalm, New Testament) that would be a part of the service as part of a graphic slide (like a program slide in power point for San Clemente Presbyterian Church), but no instructions, and I thought, "Oh, a nice side benefit from signing up is that the Chaplain has my contact information and can send me advance information in preparation for worship." However, when I arrived last Sunday, the chaplain asked me if I had received his message, and I said, "Roger that, I appreciated the heads up," he started telling me when the scripture would need to be read. I realized that he was relying on me to read, so I went with it, though the only Bible I had to read from was a small print NIV from the bookshelf at the back of the chapel. This week, the other chaplain was running the service, and he actually sent me an email with the scripture printed in it, along with a request that I participate in leading worship. I was able to recommend replacing the version that was being printed in the bulletin with the NLT, which was much more readable, and though I couldn't change the bulletins, as they'd already been printed, the Chaplain approved the reading in the NLT (which I announced preparatory to the reading). Anyway, there are only three people signed up on the volunteer helper sheet, so I've a feeling that we may get called on a lot. The Marine who's been on the list from the beginning of the deployment has participated in worship almost every Sunday since we got here. Semper Fi, Jon"

Sheryl

Getting caught up

Sorry it's been so long since I posted to the blog. Jon is doing fine, just very busy. I'll try to get something from him in the next couple days that I can post.

Joshua and I have been enjoying the beautiful Southern California spring weather. Over Easter weekend we thought summer had arrived and enjoyed lunch on our patio with my parents. Since then it cooled down again and we kept our jackets handy. Of course it is nothing compared to the weather most of the rest of the country has endured this winter and spring.

On March 29 we enjoyed the Swallows Day Parade in our own San Juan Capistrano and then spent that evening and Sunday with Steve, Sandi, Elena, Emma and Evan in Escondido. Joshua and his cousin Evan are 6 months apart and good friends.

This week is spring break for Joshua and so we drove up to Porterville, to the France Ranch, where my dad grew up and where my family used to come "home" to when on furlough (my parents were missionaries for those who don't know my family history). I lived here two summers during college and love visiting my Uncle John and Aunt Cindy, who now own the farm. Joshua loves to come up and see them as well as the dog Max and the donkey Joe. It is nice to be out of the city and enjoying the country, especially now while it's cool and not 100 degrees, like it can be in the summer.

Thanks for keeping us in your prayers. We've almost hit the 3 month mark, which means only 4 months till we hopefully can be together for a couple weeks when Jon gets his R&R.

Sheryl

Three Cheers for WET CHU's

Jon continues to work long, hard hours, although he was able to write a little report about a base he recently visited.

"The temperatures from Sunday to Tuesday were above 100, though Wednesday and today (Thursday) were back down in the mid 80's. On my trip, I learned a new acronym: CHU. I learned there are WET CHU's and DRY CHU's, and WET CHU's are to be preferred over DRY CHU's. I've lived at the base where I am now for a total of over fifteen months, where the living options are known as blockhouses or cans. Blockhouses are concrete barracks buildings constructed by Iraq pre-invasion, and are notable in that toilet plumbing does not permit #2. Cans, so known because they appear to be made of thin aluminum and offer no more protection from indirect fire than a soda can, are ten foot wide by forty foot long single wide "mobile home" type structures, basically, subdivided into rooms of varying size based on the rank of the occupant. Blockhouses and cans are both dependant on Comfort Trailers, which are basically ten foot wide by forty foot long "mobile homes" subdivided into toilets and sinks on one end and shower stalls on the other.

At this other base I went to, they had different terminology, and slightly different options. The concrete structures there are simply called "hardstands." They don't use the word "can," they use the acronym "CHU." CHU stands for Containerized Housing Unit, and some (for higher ranks and VIPs) come with plumbing, making them "WET." The plumbing at this base in hardstands is fully functional, limiting the number of comfort trailers required, except to support DRY CHUs. I was able to stay in a WET CHU (not because I'm high ranking or a VIP, but because I think they were refurbishing some of the other units), and let me say that it was a very posh experience--considering we are in what is defined as a combat zone out here. I had a huge room, a matching press-board wood-laminate covered wall locker/desk/chair suite, a bed frame actually long enough for me with one of those comfy double mattresses on it, and inside my room (kind of like a motel room) was my own toilet, sink, mirror, shower stall, and hot water heater. It was pretty sweet just enjoying not having to take a 500 yard stroll to use the head or take a shower.

So, given the context, if a Marine asks you if you want a WET CHU, the answer would be "YES." However, in a different context, you'd end up getting an already been chewed chunk of chewing tobacco, so just make sure you understand the context :)

Speaking of that other base -- I will probably be moving to that base, probably before my scheduled R&R. This is a good thing, mostly. It is an even safer base, if possible, than the one I'm at. It has a huge chow hall called the MOACH (Mother of all Chow Halls) that has really good food, but it is spread out. The base I'm at has been compared to New York in that no body had a vehicle and you can walk every where. The other base is compared to Los Angeles--you have to have a car to get anywhere, as things are so spread out. All of this is relative, of course--there is a bus system at both bases that goes anywhere you want to go every half hour, so it boils down to convenience. On this base, I never have to wait for a bus and I can get wherever I want to go in minimal time. There, I'll have to wait for the bus, and it will take double the time even if I time my trip with the bus schedule. Of course, if I end up getting a WET CHU, it might be worth it..."

Thanks for your prayers for all of us.

Sheryl

Hair Cut

Well, I did it. I cut off 8 1/2 inches of hair. I was ready to go shorter but am enjoying this in-between length. Those of you who have only known me for the past 6 years have never seen me with short hair, but it has been shorter than this for most of my adult life. I've e-mailed the pictures to Jon and am waiting for his reaction, but he has always been supportive of whatever I wanted to do with my hair, so I'm sure he'll be fine with it.

Hope you all have a wonderful Easter.

Sheryl

Plenty to eat

Those of you who have eaten with Jon will appreciate this report sent yesterday,

"I went to the chow hall tonight and had a full plate of stuff -- chicken fajitas, chicken slices, big helping of mixed veggies, bowl of beef noodle soup, and some cantaloupe, when I saw some chicken cordon blue... I couldn't very well put any of the stuff I had on my plate back, but I just had to have some chicken cordon blue, so I did. Managed to eat all the food on my plate, too, though I skipped dessert (in this case, it would have been banana bread pudding, which is really good...). I'm doing pretty good on my weight, even though I don't have the time I'd like to run, tonight will probably set me back some, but oh well. I also took a 2 hour power nap today from 1300 to 1500, which I really needed. It's about 2245 now, and I should be able to get to bed before 2330--and my meetings don't start until 0930 tomorrow, so a full night of sleep in the offing as well."

Sheryl

Celebrating Passover

Joshua and I did a fun and educational activity yesterday. I really wanted to go to the Maundy Thursday service at our church, remembering the Last Supper when Jesus had Passover with his disciples the night before his crucifixion. Our pastor washes a member's feet, communion is served and every person in attendance is prayed for individually by a pastor or staff member. It is an amazing service, but didn't start till 7:00 and of course goes pretty late, so Joshua and I stayed home.

I decided to try to do something in the afternoon that would give Joshua a better understanding of one part of Passover. At 2:30 in the afternoon we started making bread from yeast. He has heard the Passover story many times but since I NEVER have made "real" bread since he was born I realized that the concept of "unleavened bread" would be completely foreign to him. We had a great time. He thought the yeast was "gross" and looked like "vomit." He kneaded the dough for over 5 minutes and we waited. He loved punching down the dough after the first rising. We made one loaf and 12 rolls and waited again. We didn't get to have our first taste until after 7:00 pm. In the mean time for dinner we whipped up a batch of Bisquick biscuits (not true leaven bread, but the perfect example). Our biscuits were ready in 15 minutes from start to warm buns on our plates. We talked a lot about Passover and I read the Exodus account as well as the Last Supper account in two different children's Bibles. It was such a fun activity and I think it really made an impression, so I just wanted to share.

News from the Front

Here's the latest from Jon, "Well, like it or not, the planning process is actually working, though a little slower than anticipated. I will have to be taking another trip shortly, back to the same place I went last month, again the trip is planned to be of short duration. Of interest/concern is that I picked up a bug at this place on my last trip there, please pray that this doesn't happen again--the water is reportedly more contaminated there than here, despite our best efforts: there are signs everywhere, particularly in the "comfort" trailers (which are the toilet/shower facilities) that warn of fecal cologen, and suggest that the mouth remain closed during showers, use only bottled water for brushing teeth, etc. I was very careful, but might have inadvertently slipped up. Also, it would be helpful if my boss, who's currently still on his "TAD", is back by then, a situation of which there is some possibility..."

Thank you for your prayers. I hope you all have an amazing Holy Week.

Sheryl

Looking for a renter

Thank you for your prayers for Joshua and me. I thought he was well enough to go to school on Tuesday, but then Wednesday morning he was feeling sick -- head, nose, stomach -- so I sent him to bed and he slept for 3 1/2 hours. You know your child is sick when he sleeps during the day. This morning he seemed okay, ate breakfast and didn't complain too much about his nose so off to school he went. So far I am staying healthy.

Another prayer request is for me to be able to find a renter for our house in Orange. This was our home before moving to the southern part of Orange County after Jon was activated by the Marine Corps. We had a young woman in the house for a little over 2 months. I knew it would be a short time due to her circumstances but didn't expect her to move out quite so quickly. If you know of anyone looking for a place to live in the Orange/Santa Ana/Tustin area, please let me know. The person would have two rooms and a bath upstairs above the garage sharing the kitchen and living area with one couple and single man who live in the four rooms downstairs. Thanks for any leads you might have.

Jon and I were able to talk on the phone yesterday, which was a huge encouragement in the midst of all the business that is my life. He continues to work long hours but I think most of the time he is fairly encouraged about the work. He does miss being a part of our lives.

Thank you to the many of you who read this blog regularly and pray for us. May God bless you.

Sheryl

Sickness strikes again

My weekend started out marvelously. I took Joshua to my Dad's (Mom is visiting their youngest granddaughter Maddy in Seattle) Friday afternoon and then I went out with girl friends for dinner and I got to hang out till 9:00 without worries of the babysitter bill. For about four years these friends (Shirley, Cathy, Karen, Jill and I) have been gathering four times a year to celebrate our five birthdays. We do miss our good friend Richelle who lives in Spokane.

Saturday I was able to attend a Silent Retreat at my church -- my first. Wow! What an amazing experience. If you ever have a chance to do something like this I highly recommend it. It is not an easy thing to do and I was exhausted afterwards, but in a blessed and holy way. I was only silent from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm, but that was a long time for me. :) I had about an hour at home alone to do chores and check e-mails before my dad brought home my sick little boy. He had a fever (which hasn't broken as of Sunday afternoon), he seems to have a stomach bug as well as a runny nose and of course he feels miserable. He got about 11 hours of sleep last night and after a short phone conversation with Jon this morning, he has spent most of the day in bed. TV doesn't even help because his eyes hurt. I got about 10 hours of sleep last night, so I'm trying to take care of myself.

Please pray for me. We were healthy most of the fall and beginning of winter and now this is the third time Joshua has been sick since Jon left. I got his bug last time, so please pray that I don't get it this time. Also pray for peace as I will have to give up things on Monday that I really want to do, unless he has a miraculous healing this afternoon. Thank you for joining with me in this journey through illness. It is such an encouragement to know that people will pray with me.

News from Jon is that spring ended last week over there. He said it felt like spring for a couple weeks. Last week it got up to 80 and they are expecting it to hit the 90s this week. He continues to work long hours, but seemed fairly encouraged this morning when we spoke. They don't go to day light saving time until April 4, so now he is only 10 hours ahead of us.

Thanks for your prayers.

Sheryl

Long overdue picture

Jon and I attended a Marine Corps Ball back in early November but we only just received our pictures this week. Hmmmm I'd say there is a little problem at the photographer's office. I tried to send the picture to Jon, but it is too big and so I am just going to post it on the blog so he can see it, and of course so can anyone else who wants to. :) Hope you enjoy us in our finest.

Sheryl

BUSY

As I mentioned, things are crazy busy for Jon. Here's what he wrote today,

"I'm incredibly busy now, as our planning sessions are sucking up all my time, and I've still got all these weekly, bi-weekly, whatever odd jobs due to various authorities. Dealing with daily internal stress, retaining mental alacrity in the planning sessions, reading an avalanche of reports every day to retain situational awareness, and kicking out product as required to support the planning process, the cumulative result is actually tougher to deal with than the stress resultant from my job in 2006. As soon as the lead for my sections returns from a short TAD, it should let up a little, as we'll have two folks to cover all the work. Well, I'm not trying to whine, just communicate the business of my life. One of the Chaplain's sermon illustrations from Sunday was a Chinese pictogram for 'busy.' Apparently it incorporates two characters, one meaning 'heart' and one meaning 'kill.' I thought that was pretty good. Semper fi"

Thanks for keeping him in your prayers.

Busy lives

Sorry it's been a while since I posted to the blog. There isn't anything new from Jon. He is very busy working long hours. Thank you for your prayers and a BIG thanks to those of you who have sent letters, Motomails and packages. Anything from home is a big encouragement to him. Jon mentioned that he really appreciates newsy letters because it helps him to feel connected to what's happening back here.

I have been very busy with PTA activities this past week. Many of you know about California's budget crisis and at this point it looks like it will mean a huge cut in funding to the public schools. Our district alone has been required to cut $28 million. And so I am helping to lead a letter-writing campaign at our school, encouraging parents to write to the legislature in Sacramento as well as our Superintendent and Board of Trustees. Some days it is a bit consuming. It is encouraging not to feel alone and to have a sense that we might be able to make a difference. At least we have the amazing privilege to communicate with those "in power" to try to influence their decisions, something that millions of people around the world are not able to do, without fear of retribution.

Joshua had a very fun weekend. Saturday afternoon our good friend Mr. Ken and his son Alex picked up Joshua for a sleep-over. Alex has Wii and I believe the boys spent many hours playing together. I ended up doing some of my FSEA (the job I get paid for) work that evening and then watched a DVD before heading to bed early. Today I was able to attend church at Trinity Pres., where I heard an old friend Tim speak. He teaches at a seminary in Istanbul, Turkey. It was wonderful to learn more about the people of Turkey. And after 15 years as an active member at Trinity Pres., it is always great to worship with so many friends even though we have been gone from Trinity for 5 years. This afternoon we met some friends at a new park in town and I got to catch up with my friend Tiffany while Joshua and her son Jay ran and played for a couple hours. It was a very restful weekend.

This week will probably be very busy. We have a special PTA meeting Monday morning to encourage parents to sign letters. Then we'll set up tables on the sidewalks around the campus after school to get the parents we missed in the morning. Tuesday night is the regular monthly PTA meeting. And then the week goes on with other meetings and activities. Fortunately I truly love what I am doing and know that this is God's calling for me right now.

Thanks to all of you who read and pray.

Sheryl