New hair cut for Joshua

After not having his hair cut for 1 year, 2 months and 2 weeks, Joshua finally went under the scissors. It was his decision after a few soccer practices where his hair was bugging him too much. His new cut is quite handsome, but it is taking a while for all of us to get used to it. Joshua has enjoyed having it short on our visits to the swimming pool. So here is the old and the new look side by side.

Sheryl

Jon's Brithday

I'm a little late in reporting, but Jon is still celebrating his birthday tonight, so that's my excuse.

Jon didn't work on his actual birthday and instead stayed home with Joshua, whom he hadn't seen for the previous week and a half due to Jon's drill weekend followed by Joshua's week at camp. They had fun doing errands and hanging out at home. That evening the three us enjoyed dinner at Sarducci's a beautiful restaurant at the train depot in downtown San Juan (Uncle Pat and Aunt Sharon Moran will know where we were).

Tonight I managed to surprise Jon with a game night birthday party for him and five other guys who he used to play board games with. The guys started arriving at 5:00 pm, right after Joshua and I had gotten Jon up from his afternoon nap (he had a late night last night at a Marine Corps function). He was completely surprised and after chatting for a while, the guys started in on a game that has been going for nearly 4 hours. These guys are all friends from our old church, Trinity Presbyterian in Santa Ana. I was able to see these guys at a pool party two weeks ago, but Jon missed it due to his drill. This was a great way for him to reconnect with good friends while enjoying a great game.

Joshua and I picked up the pizza for the guys and then headed out to see "G-Force," which we both enjoyed. It has been a great night.

One happy birthday wish to my dear husband, the Jarhed!!!

Sheryl

Joshua having fun at camp

I just got this photo off the Indian Village web site. Looks like Joshua is having fun playing basketball. Its always good to see pictures of your child having fun at camp. He's the long-haired boy in the light green shirt. :)

Sheryl

Joshua off to camp

Joshua left for Indian Village at Forest Home Christian Camp yesterday. He'll be gone for a week and will get to sleep in a tepee while he's there. Should be a lot of fun.

Jon was gone for a long weekend with his USMC Reserve Unit, so we are looking forward to having some date nights this week. I am also going to get a girls' night out Tuesday to see "Julie & Julia" when Jon has an association board meeting. Should be a fun week for all of us.

Jon is putting in a couple weeks of work with the USMC this week and then he'll have a couple weeks off. There might be some USMC projects and short trips that he may be able to do in September and October, but we'll see. Still no job offer, but he has had such a busy summer with family visiting and then working that he hasn't been able to focus on the job hunt, which is a full-time job in and of itself. We are trusting the Lord to provide.

Thanks to those of you who are praying for us.

Sheryl

Final camping trip

Jon, Joshua, Flynn, Mary and Mercy camped at the beach for two days with 20 or so of our friends from school and church. I spent the evenings with the gang after I got off work, but enjoyed wonderful sleep in my own bed. Here are a few pictures of the fun.

Flynn, Mary and Mercy will be flying out of Orange County in a few hours (1:15 pm California time) headed for Dallas and then a couple hour drive home. I think they had a good time, although they were so busy, it might take a while to process the trip. We enjoyed having them here and look forward to seeing them again, along with the rest of the Moran/Baker clan in Nashville this December to celebrate Grandpa Baker's 100th birthday.

Sheryl

An Awesome Time in Yosemite

The Joe and Helen France family, joined by Flynn, Mary and Mercy had a fabulous time in Yosemite. We were there to celebrate my dad's 70th birthday, which was a few weeks ago. He grew up in the Central Valley of California but had never experienced the Yosemite Valley. You'll have to check with each member of our crew to find out what made the camping adventure special to them. The place itself makes just about any event amazing. Here are a few random pictures for those of you who know our family and love this beautiful place.

Sheryl

Burklin kids explore Southern California

Sorry, I don't have any new pictures to add to the page as I have been at work all week while Jon, Joshua, Flynn, Mary and Mercy have been out playing. :) They had a hot, but enjoyable visit to the San Diego Zoo, arriving home after 9:00 pm on Monday. Tuesday was a long, but exciting day at Disneyland and California Adventure and they didn't get home until nearly 11:00 pm that night. Wednesday they visited with an old friend from Texas who now lives in Long Beach. Today they have been helping Jon pack up the camping supplies so we can head to Yosemite for our family camping trip. It is hot up there, but so beautiful. I'll try to post pictures of the trip after we get home.

After we get back, the Buklin kids will get to visit with a friend who lives north of Los Angeles, camp on the beach and maybe visit Disneyland one more time before heading back home to Texas. They may need some time to recover from their vacation when they get back home.

All for now.

Sheryl (for the Moran/Burklin gang)

A visit from the Burklin kids

I know it has been a long time since I posted on this blog, but I discovered today that some family members aren't on facebook but would like to see pictures of our time with Jon's nieces (Mary and Mercy) and nephew (Flynn) who are visiting us from Texas for two weeks. They arrived yesterday afternoon. Today they joined us for church in San Clemente and then we walked down to the pier where the Ocean Festival was going on so we got to see the surfing contest, sand sculptures, classic cars, etc. Lots of fun. Tomorrow Jon will take the kids to the San Diego Zoo, followed by Disneyland on Tuesday. Then on Wednesday the Burklin kids will get to visit with a friend of theirs who lives in Long Beach. Thursday we leave for a camping trip in Yosemite.

I'll be working this week, although I did get Friday and next Monday off to go to Yosemite with the family. If you didn't know, two weeks ago I started as receptionist at our church. I work 9:00 am - 4:00 pm and it is a great job for me.

Here are some pictures of our time with the Burklin kids so far. I'll try to post more later.

Sheryl

Job Search

Jon has been working hard since he got home looking for a new job. He is participating in a networking group at church that meets weekly and helps those looking for jobs to be prepared to find them and connect with those who might have openings. This week Jon is attending the Transition Assistance Program provided by the Marine Corps. It seems to be a very practical and helpful set of seminars.

There do seem to be some potential options within the Marine Corps as well as in the civilian sector. Please pray for Jon to find the right one that works for him and our family. We are so blessed that he can do this search while still receiving a pay check.

Hope you all had a fun St. Patrick's Day. Joshua discovered that a leprechaun visited our house yesterday and left a trail of clues that led to some goodies.

All for now.

Sheryl

Planting our Native Garden

Saturday was a beautiful day here in Southern California -- perfect to be out doors planting our native garden. A BIG Thanks to my dad, cousin Kimberly, friend Kris and Joshua's friend Max who joined us with Reggie, from Back to Natives, to plant the 71 baby plants we have. We learned all about native plants and how to best plant and care for the ones we have. We are sore this morning, but it is a good feeling after working so hard yesterday.

Sheryl

7 March, 0900 to 1600 (Open House schedule—drop by whenever)

Jon has been home for over 2 weeks now and we are going through the process of adjusting to living together as a family again. We have a big project coming up on Saturday, March 7, and if you'd like to come and help us, you can spend some quality time with Jon digging in the dirt. :) If not, I'm sure we'll schedule a more party-like Open House in the not too distant future. Read on to find out about our Landspacing Open House. I know we aren't updating the blog much these days, but you can find us on facebook, if you want to see pictures and learn other interesting facts about each of us. Sheryl

Sheryl, Joshua and I are finally getting around to adding some ground cover and foliage to our plot following the installation of our new prefabricated home back in January, 2008 (OK, we have some excuse for not doing this earlier, since I deployed two weeks after our house went in, and will have only been back about four weeks when we do this).

Our landscaping consultant is from Back to Natives Restoration, a non-profit that is focused on biodiversity and native plant landscaping benefits (to reduce water use, chemical herbicide and pesticide use--if not eliminate chemical use altogether). Our consultant will be conducting a “Do it Yourself” workshop to kick our day off, where we’ll learn about some of the benefits of restoring to California its native plants--while we immediately reinforce this learning with practical application.

Though these plants are hardy and drought tolerant, special treatment needs to be given during the planting portion to ensure a healthy acclimation process for the plants as they transition from a well watered container to our drought tolerant landscape! This process is noticeably different from the techniques taught at commercial nursery workshops or at the 'Do It Yourself Workshop' at your local big box home improvement store.

We’ll have the mulch and plants on hand, and would like our consultant to oversee our planting, but there is an hourly fee, so we’re looking for a few folks who might be interested in learning about native plant restoration as well as learning how to plant and care for them to help speed up the planting process. For more information regarding Back to Natives Restoration, you can visit their website at http://www.backtonatives.org

If you are willing to come help us, would you please drop us a note or give us a call? We'd like to plan to have adequate stuff on hand for breakfast, lunch, and/or artificial motivation and stimulants.

Jon

Home

Jon is home!

Joshua and I arrived down on base at 4:40 and the buses pulled in about 2 hours later. The families were able to comfortably wait in a large hanger where hamburgers, hot dogs, cookies, chips and other goodies were provided. Joshua and I read for about half an hour. The luggage truck arrived about an hour before the Marines did so Joshua and I were able to search through the hundreds of bags and we actually found Jon's two bags. They were too heavy to take to the car but a Marine helped us move them away from the hundreds of other bags. That saved us a lot of time when Jon did arrive since it was a mad house with all the Marines looking for their bags at once.

We headed to Claim Jumper for dinner -- a family tradition (we've gone there after Jon's return from both deployments). Joshua got his wish of being able to wrestle with Jon as soon as we got home. Now he is getting to have his dad read his bed-time story and put him to bed. He is one happy boy.

Jon and I are pretty happy ourselves. Thanks for your prayers.

Sheryl

In US Airspace

Jon called at 9:00 this morning to let me know that they had landed in Minnesota, their entry point to the US this time. There were only 4 phones and a long line, so we spoke for about 2 minutes, but it was great to hear his voice. As I type he should be in the air again headed toward an Air Force Base here in Southern California. He is on schedule to disembark from the bus, that will carry him to Camp Pendleton, this evening.

Thank you so much for your prayers.

Sheryl

On the Road Home

After 48 hours without hearing from Jon, I finally had an e-mail from him yesterday. He had sent a few messages prior to that, but somehow they were lost in cyberspace. He has been in his "layover country" for a couple days reading, talking to colleagues, watching movies and just resting. As I type this he is preparing for the final leg of his journey home. There will be a lot of "hurry up and wait" going on for him over the next hours. Jon should be able to call once they land in CONUS (Continental United States) so I'll hear from him maybe 6 hours before he gets home. Of course many of the locations where they enter the US are on the east coast or in the northern states, so pray that the bad weather in those parts won't delay his return or if it does that we will all be patient.

Joshua and I are anxiously waiting for his arrival. Joshua commented this morning that he hates the waiting part. I completely understand.

Thanks for your continued prayers.

Sheryl

The Excitement Grows

I just received a call from the Family Readiness Officer (FRO) letting me know the time and place to meet Jon when he arrives. It is a new location, but I know where it is, so am ready to go. Now for the waiting. I haven't an e-mail from Jon in over 24 hours so he could already be traveling. Not sure but we are definitely in the final stretch. Trying to stay busy this week. :)

Thanks for your prayers.

Sheryl

A Beach Day in January

Sorry, but I just feel a need to rub in our good weather for all of you who live where the winter is bitterly cold. Here is Joshua on Saturday, January 31, 2009. Now I must admit that the ocean water felt like ice and it only took a few minutes before my feet were numb just standing in the ankle-deep surf. But the air was in the 80s so the children and the brave played in the surf. I don't mean to make light of those who are truly suffering this winter. We hope and pray for safety and a return of electricity in areas that have lost it. Hey, my realtor friends would love it if you would like to move to our lovely state. Houses are cheaper than they've been in years, of course taxes might be going up to pay for schools and other public services.

Almost down to counting the hours,

Sheryl

Election Day in Iraq

Jon sent this great report today:

"Today is the day the Sunni's have been waiting for. All their hopes are pinned on high voter turnouts so they can regain the political pre-eminence in areas with Sunni majority populations (about five provinces that since the last election in 2005 have been controlled by minority parties, in three of the provinces that has been Kurds, one of them Shia). This has the potential to be a pretty historic day, on which a truly representative election (it is expected that over 90% of Iraqis will vote) occurs that will solidify Iraq as a representative democracy. The only irony in the whole thing is that it could not be scheduled to take place on Bush's watch (so technically the "credit" goes to the current administration). As of the closing of the polls there have not been any reported attacks on polling sights thoughout Iraq. Jarhedjon"

The Replacement Has Arrived

We are getting so close to the end of this deployment. Jon's replacement has arrived and the transition has begun. I just got this from him.

"My replacement is here, so that's good news, I'll have at least a week to turn over my responsibilities, which is hugely magnanimous compared to what I had last time--and the reality is I need the time much less this time due to job function than I did last time. Murphy's law, I guess--the time you have is inversely proportionate to the time you need. Oh well. Another sign that my departure is looming ever nearer. Most problematic will be that after I finish my "driver's seat" part of the turn over and transition to the "passenger seat" phase of the turnover (where I simply advise if asked), I won't have preferred access to a NIPR computer (for contact with you) or a SIPR computer (to finish up tasks related to finalizing my mission here). The good thing is that time available to complete these minor tasks will be fairly extensive, and I can accomplish them when (I'm guessing) my counterpart is not using the computer. Though this may be late at night or early in the morning, it should not be a big deal, as I'll have few demands on my time, so will be capable of flexibility. Semper Fi, JarHedJon"

Hot H2O

"One of these days pretty soon I'm going to be "evicted" from my wet CHU for the incoming high ranking folks, and moved to the transient tents with the "common" masses. The real blessing in the wet CHU these last three months has been that the arrival of the MEF dramatically exceeded the hot water capacity of the shower facilities (and I was not affected). KBR (the contractor) says by contract they only have to provide one toilet and one shower for every thirty people, which is just not enough, particularly when the hot water heaters (each shower facility has eight showers) for each unit are half the size of the average residential hot water heater. Basically, about 80% of the MEF have been taking cold showers for the last 90 days. With my own shower in a wet CHU, I at least have had hot showers (though my water heater is very limited, I have to turn off the water while soaping down, or I run out of hot water in my wet CHU, too). Moving to the transient tent, I'll have to stand in line for a shower, and when I get there, it'll be cold. To be honest, I am not looking forward to this, but I don't mind bearing the same hardships that all the other troops have been enduring for the last 90 days. I AM very thankful for the hot water showers, and do not take them for granted. Semper Fi, JarHedJon"

A New US President

We have a new president of the United States of America and Jon had a perspective that I asked if I could share with you all.

"It is dramatic to see the differences between the US election process and population involvement and response vice the Iraq election process and population response. I don't recall there being one politically motivated death in the US, and now that it's all over, we're gearing up for the party of this new century. Here there is much distrust, anger, doubt, and fear. There have been and continue to be acts of violence. The lack of respect for each other, the lack of tolerance, and the absence of the understanding of the impact on the international community's perspective of them (corrupt, prejudiced, indiscriminately violent, undiscerning and feudal). Much has been surmounted through education, the effects of globalization on quality of life, and the reality that the most trusted powerful and authoritative entity in their world is the Infidel military that continually assumes risk and inserts itself between danger and the populace. Though the political rhetoric at the national level is all about sovereignty, the people here (I can only speak about my immediate area) do not want us to leave, and they express their thanks to us every day we stay. Is it too much to hope that in ten years, twenty years, within our lifetime, a peaceful election such as ours could happen here? Probably, look at all of the political violence, assassinations, and attempted assassinations, that occur even in the US (even in the last fifty years), and I'd have to say it is too much to hope that humans will stop being human--in the US or here. But we have created the basis for something similar to what happens in our country during elections to take place here, eventually. Jarhedjon"