Courageous Joy

Willy Wonka

noreply@blogger.com (DeEtta @ Courageous Joy) — Fri, 03 Apr 2026 22:50:00 +0000

Shew...these weeks FEEL so busy...though I'm not sure they ARE as busy as they feel.

I was happy to take the girls to the Valley Performing Arts Center final play of the season at the end of this busy week. We were able to buy one extra ticket right beside the tickets I originally purchased at the start of the season.

I'm glad Stacia and I went ahead and bought season tickets. There were a couple of times Stacia couldn't go, and one of the other girls was happy to go with me, there were many times we were able to purchase extra tickets for those who wanted to join us...all in all it's been positive. Melia enjoys the plays too, so we'll do this again next season.

Me, Melia and Stacia

The season finished with Willy Wonka @ the Glenn Massey Theater. They did a great job!

Three Months Today

noreply@blogger.com (DeEtta @ Courageous Joy) — Thu, 02 Apr 2026 00:42:00 +0000

The girls went out for what is most likely their last cross-country adventure of this winter. We may still get an Easter snowstorm...but the temps are in the 20's/30's and things are starting to melt during the day and freeze again at night. It makes for some amazing icicles, but icier than ideal trails. I can't tell you how much Stacia has enjoyed having a ready skiing partner in the house.

Several have asked how Stacia is doing with a younger sister in the house. Stacia is actually the first one who thought we should open our home to Melia (other than the ones who called to make the need known). Stacia has taken to her role of big sister like a duck to water. ::snort:: Melia seems to love having a big sister in the house.

After spending time with them recently, Bre, our eldest Gherkin, reminded Stacia of the daily prayers she prayed for a little sister. I remember explaining to Stacia we can ask God for anything, but He gets to decide how He will answer and it's not always yes. Sometimes it's no or wait. While Stacia prayed, I got pregnant one more time, and we thought God was answering her prayer...but I miscarried twins.

And so, the years continued on.... as we've done the math, we realize little girl Stacia was praying for her little sister every day during the time when newborn Melia was born and growing into a toddler.

Who knows how this all works? We don't. Its above our pay grade. I'm glad God sorts out all our prayers. As Stacia said, "How strange to think God may have been answering a prayer I forgot I prayed." God remembers.

In any event these two had a near immediate bond and they both are enjoying their new role as they grow into them.

Melia has been in our home three months today.

(Disclaimer: both girls have complete winter gear, snow pants, jackets, gloves, hats etc. They say they get too hot to wear it all when they are skiing. Their gloves are in their pockets at this point.)

Random Tidbits - March 2026

noreply@blogger.com (DeEtta @ Courageous Joy) — Wed, 01 Apr 2026 00:42:00 +0000

I didn't pull together extra shots from February but am going to try to attempt it again this month. These are either photos I took and didn't have time to blog or photos the kids have shared - mostly of grands. LOL

Luke and Krista are starting the month off strong with a visit to the Poop Museum. I wonder how this compares to the Suwan Toilet Museum some of the kids and I visited.

📷by KrUke

March 6th and more snow in the Valley

📷by Bre

March 8th - Noah arrives back in Alaska. Larissa reports he walked outside the door and said, "No, snow!" Texas has the sun but Alaska has Dad.

Love these smiles

Josi - another winning toddler smile

Cool Dude - 📷by Jared

Florida - 📷by Jamin

Josi's smile lights up the room - just like her Daddy's
📷by Carrie

Noah and Josi enjoying some cousin time!

📷by Carrie

Cute 5 oz mini-"Stanleys" for the little girls to use.

God is so very good! We join BreZaak in celebrating 19 years of sobriety for Izaak. Look at the blessings the years have brought him. We love you, Izaak.

Tudy, Annie, Izaak, Bella, Gideon, Josiah - photo by Bre

These kids love a good reading challenge and Iditaread provided that in March.

Annie, Josiah, Bre, Gideon

Jamin's Outdoor Florida Studio

Arielle and Bre have worked out a deal whereby Arielle takes the older kids to the Nerf Games and Bre gives the young ones a fun time at her house.

Annie went on the offensive

Annie, Benny, Gideon and Bella

Noah reading about the Presidency

Snow outside the window - no garden in sight

Luke explores flying

This is a special place for all of us. We snuck up the trail and watched the night Josiah proposed to Carrie and Liv right on this spot. We celebrated with Root Bear Floats back at the start of the trail. Such good memories.

Josi and Carrie

Josi loves her yogurt!

That Week in March

noreply@blogger.com (DeEtta @ Courageous Joy) — Sun, 29 Mar 2026 22:56:00 +0000

We try to live life open handed - loving those God brings into our lives and knowing He sometimes moves people out as well as into our lives. We try to live fully present and available to God. Some would express it as, "God has our yes."

Living this way means some weeks are messy and a bit more dramatic than expected or appreciated. There were some lows in the past week, some anxiety, and some highs. The best thing for me to do was to "go silent" online and go loud in the "prayer closet" and take care of the things which needed attention.

Monday found Melia and us picking up her sister's things and moving them to a new location. There have been a variety of discussions. Everyone is well and life is settling into new routines.

In the process our names, as well as Melia's, were shared with several authorities. We are totally honest and above board with all. Through all the discussions we WERE able to get Melia empaneled with the Native Health Clinic in the valley. This means we were able to start trauma therapy, and it is our understanding we can get much of her health care through them rather than dealing with the fact that she was removed from Medicaid, and we can't add her to our private insurance. This was an unexpected answer to prayer in the midst of "a week."

We are still "halfway" expecting more calls...but who knows? Maybe not. We returned calls as asked - the ball is not in our court at this point. If you're a praying person, we welcome continued prayers for wisdom as we seek to be good guardians/parents to Melia.

In addition to unexpected drama, we also had haircuts, life group, Hail Mary release in the theater, a meeting with other coaches for an upcoming women's event, game nights and a PROM.

It was a full week.

Saturdays Mean Soccer

noreply@blogger.com (DeEtta @ Courageous Joy) — Sat, 28 Mar 2026 22:19:00 +0000

Melia and I are coming to love Soccer on Saturday mornings. It's fun to see how Benny has progressed through the years and it's a BLAST to watch first time players. Oh, they get so excited.

TWO goals!

Unfortunately, due to illness the boys haven't been able to play since this week in March. Soon....

Prom Number One

noreply@blogger.com (DeEtta @ Courageous Joy) — Fri, 27 Mar 2026 23:52:00 +0000

Melia is attending two proms this year, and tonight was the first one: The Matsu Valley Homeschool Prom. Before the moment pictured below, there was a flurry of activity.

We began planning two months ago. We began shopping 1 1/2 months ago. LOL Melia invited her high school sister to join her. We were told the prom was for high school students - and then later that it was for 14 - 20-year-olds. We worked on a variety of scenarios to have both sisters spend the night and have dinner... and in the end coming off the crazy week and new schedules we decided it would be best to focus on the dance and skip the sleepover. The girls planned to come out after school for the dance.

Arielle stopped over to transform Melia's long hair into a 20's themed bob. I was amazed at the process. It took about 100 bobby pins and half a can of hair spray. ::wink:: She began by making a bunch of braids and securing them in coils on the back of Melia's head. Then she curled and twisted and covered it all up with S Curls and such....

They are already planning a medieval style

Tada! A Bob!

Bre and the kids dropped by. Bella and Annie stayed to keep us company as Rebekah dropped by to do Melia's make up. The girls were a bit starry eyed. Gideon, Jojo and Bre ran to the store and came back with carnations that matched Melia's dress.

Melia, Bella, Gideon, Trudy, Arielle and Bre in back

Meanwhile our Anchorage contingent was rushing out to the valley and there was another flurry of preparations for 15 yo sister. I was glad we had the foresight to warn those we had planned to meet at 4 that the timing was going to be too tight for pictures at the bridge.

We all left for dinner around 7:30 p.m. The girls headed over to the dance around 9 p.m. They had a couple of hours to enjoy the fun. A surprise of the evening is that they allowed 13 yo sister to stay as well.

We had hoped to stop for ice cream after the dance, but everything shuts down before 11:00 p.m. around here.

It was a fun evening. Melia was surprised how inappropriately some dressed and acted...I told her our rules stand. LOL She's curious to see if it's a different group and how the groups compare at the IDEA prom in May.

(Disclaimer: We are aware this is not the IDEA prom. We saw the notice of it at IDEA and thought it was. Melia will also go to the IDEA Prom in May and then we can compare the two.)

This Girl is on Fire!

noreply@blogger.com (DeEtta @ Courageous Joy) — Sun, 22 Mar 2026 22:28:00 +0000

Here it is - a terribly braggy parental post. Melia worked hard and has finished all the credits she had begun her 10th grade year. She did this in TWO and a HALF MONTHS - and she did it online, full year courses, in a state approved, online program for teens who need such a service. She earned 2 A's and 2 B's....which is much better than her previous GPA. Michal has been talked into $40 for each A. One of those B's was 88% but he hasn't budged as to a sliding scale. ::wink::*

Our contact teacher called Monday. I had left a message Thursday that Melia was about to finish, and I needed new courses added. She called Monday. She said she pulled up Melia's account and thought something had happened because the screen was blank. Then she noted all the courses were under the completed tab. I guess she didn't think I knew what I was talking about. She kept saying, "She finished all her course work in March."

You may remember we had been told they would grant full credit for these courses if Melia could finish them by June 30th. I said she could. Melia proved me right. She said the whole office is following our progress. She is the first student to finish this year's coursework; she completed all assignments and is moving on to the Freshman work she missed.

They agreed with me that we need to find a more challenging courseload for Melia's Junior year, one that may take her the entire 9 months to finish. I am not sure she's ready for Sonlight which has a lot more reading than she's been exposed to. Online is working well for Melia so we are looking at a couple of "beefier" online programs. Meanwhile, we'll make up her 9th grade classes and spend the summer working on the "holes" the MAPS testing revealed.

(* Not to worry about Melia's finances. In addition to her A money, she earns $20 weekly taking care of children during our small group and we are taking care of her needs....and quite a few wants as well. )

March Family Gathering

noreply@blogger.com (DeEtta @ Courageous Joy) — Sat, 21 Mar 2026 22:04:00 +0000

This Saturday we hosted our monthly Family Gathering. Our celebrants for March are Cory, GG, Kaelyn (from afar), and Ellie. We missed celebrating Josi and Livie in Feb (they were traveling) so we had them join the singing crew. We had a Taco bar, Ice Cream Cake and Earthquake cake.

Ellie and Josi are both 2 now! AND LIV is a teenager.

It is joyful chaos during these winter gatherings. I begin to wonder if maybe we'll be able to be outside the next time we are together....There is still a lot of snow out there. Michael is predicting the traditional Easter Snowstorm.

GG turned 85 on the 15th.

Melia, Jojo, Gideon, Benny, Annie, Bella & Livie

Michael and Melia carried out my vision to cover the tables in newsprint. I misplaced the tablecloths in the great organizational remake of Dec. The newsprint was a hit! I'll probably continue to do it. What it lacked in prettiness it made up for in creativity. Maybe I'll make some word hunts next month. LOL

Yeah, we probably won't be playing outside next month....Pregnant moose keeps visiting.

Trudy and Melia

Cousins - Charles & Noah

Josi

Ellie

Noah

What a blessing it is to watch these "little ones" grow. I mean it's fun to watch Cory and Dad grow...but such changes we get to observe in the little ones. Each personality unique, all loved madly by Papa and Bachan.

The day took a dramatic turn with a couple of unexpected phone calls and texts, but not everything is fit to be shared online.

Note: Nolan, Stacia, Arielle, Michael and I were also present. Just missed the cameras. ::snort::

Friday Fun

noreply@blogger.com (DeEtta @ Courageous Joy) — Fri, 20 Mar 2026 21:50:00 +0000

School is over for the week, and Melia is moving on to her afternoon activities. CoRielle brought the kids by for a couple of hours. Benny had fun watching the making of Rice Krispy Treats. Melia joined Stacia for a student government sponsored game night at the college. These got a bit too hot and ended up crunchy like the brownie brittle you can buy. They were totally consumed so it didn't hurt anything.

We received another fun package from Luke and Krista this week. We will save it for the kids to pick out what they want but she told us to pull out the makeup stuff for Melia and this little game is perfect for when the kids are over.

There is a little chick safe in the shell...until you begin putting swords into the shell. At some poit the egg explodes and the chick pops out.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

noreply@blogger.com (DeEtta @ Courageous Joy) — Wed, 18 Mar 2026 05:14:00 +0000

Bre is the master of throwing a theme party! She invited a houseful of friends to celebrate St. Patrick's Day with her and the children.

Bre asked the kids questions about the day and about Saint Patrick and she also had a game for them to do in teams. The food, of course, was all green. There were green light bulbs, banners and leprechaun prints throughout the house. It was darling.

Melia enjoyed playing with the children and I enjoyed visiting with the moms. It was a fun outing.

Larissa brought some corn beef, cabbage and carrots. I was glad she and Noah came out for the day.

Larissa & Trudy

Cousins

Me and Bre

Girl group

Loved catching up with Stacy

Larissa & Noah

Melia & Trudy

Arielle & children

Arielle & Ellie

Pile on auntie

Noah asked me to come into the playhouse with him....

I had plans to go out and shop for two gatherings I am hosting and a few things dad needed. In the end, I fell asleep for "just a bit." Melia finished most her school and succumbed to the temptation of a nap as well.

We keep having far too many leftovers in the fridge. We had yet another yoyo dinner tonight. Stacia is at classes until after 9 p.m.

Sunday Entertainment

noreply@blogger.com (DeEtta @ Courageous Joy) — Mon, 16 Mar 2026 00:10:00 +0000

Jared had a couple of tickets to share, and the girls took him up on the offer to attend an Anchorage Wolverines game at Sullivan arena. They met him at his home in Eagle River and drove in to Anchorage.

Jared, Noah, Stacia, Melia 📷by Jared

This was the girls' and Noah's first hockey game. They report a few small skirmishes, but the refs didn't let them really fight. LOL The Anchorage Wolverines played the Janesville Jets and won 5 - 1.

📷by Jared

The girls got home about 7 p.m. and asked if we could watch "The Emperor's New Groove." Melia made popcorn. She learned a valuable lesson - one should always ensure the top is on before commencing to pop the corn.

It was a nearly perfect Sunday! We all went to bed early as we have early appointments tomorrow.

Sunday Fun

noreply@blogger.com (DeEtta @ Courageous Joy) — Sun, 15 Mar 2026 22:55:00 +0000

It's always fun to visit WCC when Michael preaches. These are two of my favorite pastor's kids.

After service we took Benny and Danny out to lunch with us. It was nap time for the other kids.

Me, Danny, Stacia, Michael, Melia, Benny

We ran into old friends, Verdie and Cathy and their grandkids. Wow - have they grown! The girls headed into Anchorage from the restaurant. We took the boys home and spent a leisurely afternoon resting.

Check out this pregnant mama. They seem to just KNOW where our yard is...we'll have to be careful in the wooded area again this year.

Of Moose and Magpie

noreply@blogger.com (DeEtta @ Courageous Joy) — Sat, 14 Mar 2026 22:41:00 +0000

No soccer this morning. Michael had sermon prep, Stacia had homework and such. It seemed a good time to take Melia to shop for swimsuits. Which we did. We also enjoyed lunch out together.

These two are back...and they make getting in and out of the car interesting.

Ah well, they are fun to watch...even when they eat buds off our trees. Melia is CONVINCED she wants to FEED THEM. I have been taking ever chance to inform her they are WILD and can be aggressive and dangerous. You do NOT hand feed moose, regardless of a certain children's book you do not feed a moose a cookie.

Speaking of wildlife, Michael noted some odd bird tracks in the chicken yard and wondered if we had a hawk. We were able to check out the ten security cameras and caught a magpie trying to break the chickens out of the coop.

WE'RE BACK - A Tale of a Table and Hospitality and Adventures with Grandblessings.

noreply@blogger.com (DeEtta @ Courageous Joy) — Fri, 13 Mar 2026 21:44:00 +0000

Thursday, I cleaned house and made a manicotti dinner for our small group. A couple of kids came this week, and Melia was happy to watch them. We pay her for the weeks she is down with kids - though she truly enjoys spending time with them. Millie, our labradoodle, doesn't enjoy kids quite as much as Melia does.

Chandler and Rebekah, a couple from our small group, weren't feeling well so we asked if a meal would be helpful. We had enough left over from small group to take a manicotti dinner and cookies to them this morning. I got diverted and talked much longer than was needful. Melia was beginning to wonder where I was by the time I got home. ::snort::

CoRielle's kids were due for our Friday date...I made it home before they did. We did the normal games and such...but I also enlisted a bit of help to finish dinner preparations.

He did a great job with this job - and I stayed right there.

A fun toy from the library

Snow play

Charles refused to bring his snow clothes. He was told he'd need to stay on the deck but would still be going outside. I couldn't just let him stand on the deck, so he went to work out there for me with my special shovel for the Trex deck.

The boys climbed the berms outside of our windows and walked the ridge. We can't see out the windows down there any longer. Look, the lilacs are blooming. I'm trusting they KNOW the right time to bloom. Seems a bit early for me with all the cold temps we are having.

Benny convinced Danny it was easier to crawl through the yard than to walk. I'm not convinced.

Meanwhile Ellie and Papa found things to do INSIDE!

The kids went home to celebrate Cory's birthday! Melia helped set the table while I put the final touches on dinner. I had enough salad and melon from small group to serve tonight, along with rice and Chicken Divan. We had strawberry shortcake for dessert.

As we worked, I began to remember. Our table began its life at Hospitality House in Misawa, Japan. When the ministry was closed out, they gave the table to a family from the chapel who was also involved with Hospitality House. It was free with the stipulation it be used for ministry/hospitality around the table. When this family moved, they didn't have room in their household goods for the table and began to look for a new home for it. They gave it to us...It's big...and we have tried to keep it full and crowded. We nearly moved the table downstairs as we didn't need a big one up here and we really haven't had much community other than family the last few years.

After Josiah was killed Laura, a dear online friend, sent us a huge box of puzzles and a couple of "ornaments" too. One said, "Be love" on one side and "Beloved Community" on the other. She knew our vision to love courageously and for community. She also sent one that says, "I want a house with a crowded table." She said they reminded her of us, and she suspected Josiah was the type to attract and create community as well. He was. Over the past few years as I've dusted, I've smiled at the ornaments and told God I trusted him to bring community back into our lives. They were a sweet reminder of what life was like before and a promise that it would be again.

It seemed pointless to have a big table upstairs when most nights there are only three of us to sit around it. I'm glad we didn't move the table downstairs. Our season is changing, our doors are open and we have a crowded table once again. We sense a restoration of community and ministry. To be sure we are a bit slower, grief still exhausts us, some days the load is heavy...but community is forming.

We can fit 12 around the table - it's tight but it works. At this point our small group of two weeks, including kids, can sit around the table and it's been a great way to get to know each other.

Last week we had Eric and Ingrid over and ate and played games around the table. Tonight we had Paul, Jinnifer and their homeschooling family over. We love this family. Their daughter, Jane, is Melia's age and we are creating space for a friendship to form....actually for all of us. We were previously attending a life group that met in their home. That season transitioned for them, but we can still enjoy time with each other.

Mike, Daniel, Melia, Jane, Lucy, Jinnifer and Paul

In the midst of the fun, I noted, with joy, the table is full!!! We had 8 around it tonight...12 will fit if we put 4 on each side and 2 on each end. Eight is comfortable...it was a joy to realize our rhythm of hospitality is BACK and we love it.

Looking ahead to next week we'll be hosting the kids and March's family celebration, so I've chosen not to add another hosting event to the weekend. Next weekend we are hosting Melia's sisters over-night.

Who should we invite next? And better yet, what are some meals you fix for a crowd? I'm running out of ideas!

Dad's Appointment and a Meet up with a Trooper

noreply@blogger.com (DeEtta @ Courageous Joy) — Wed, 11 Mar 2026 21:15:00 +0000

The week was active and fulfilling.

Wednesday I took Dad to visit his new doctor again. We had some paperwork the home wants on file...after our visit we stopped for lunch at Sophia's Cafe. It was an added bonus to run into Lynette and Erin out enjoying spring break.

We are pushing through spring break without a pause. Melia is in a good routine, and we are hoping to finish up the rest of this year's courses by the end of this month, so we can add some make up work before next fall.

Michael and I dropped Melia off at Stacia's college and we drove into Eagle River for church at ACF. Michael preached again on Sunday at WCC - we are happy to have the Wed option. Melia and Stacia went over to the boy's home for a sibling game night.

I didn't share about our adventure last Wednesday night coming home from church. It was COLD and we discovered my right headlight was out. We tried to replace it with a bulb we had and realized it was the wrong type. We drove on to Freddies, bought another bulb, and Michael again tried to replace it. All this repair work happening in negative temps. This one was also the wrong bulb. We decided to drive home.

We drove down the highway, through Palmer, out the Old Glenn and were pulling onto our street when we saw bright flashing lights.

"Do you know why I pulled you over?"

Michael held up the bulb and told him the story.

He wanted our proof of insurance and vehicle registration. This is the first time I've been stopped since we moved up here. I was sure I HAD the stuff but not sure exactly which folder or box it was in.

It turns out our proof was dated 2022.

Trooper Smith* asked me to find proof online. I began to do that - and, of course, when you are nervous nothing works quite right.

At this point Trooper notices Michael hands are really shaking. He began to check the back of our car...."Where are you coming from?"

"Church."

"On WEDNESDAY night at this time?"

"Well, we had tried to replace the bulb, but yes church meets on Wed and Sunday."

"Where do you attend?"

"ACF, have you heard of it?"

"What's in the container?" (Ignoring my attempt to invite him to check out ACF.)

"What container?"

"On the back floorboard."

"Mini chimis."

"Mini chimis from WHERE?"

"Garcias."

"Should I go try to get mini chimi's at Garcia's?"

"Sure, if you like them. They are good."

"Why are you shaking?"

"I have Parkinsons." I helpfully add, "Please don't ask him to walk a straight line."

"Where do you live?"

"The NEXT driveway up."

Shew! Appears Troopers get nervous when they see signs you may be overly nervous. We explained Parkinson's and he relaxed, greatly.

We came home, fixed the light and this evening went to church again. Hoping Trooper Smith saw us and noted the repaired headlight.

Man under the hood

We took Livie and Ellie home after church...when Michael noticed the left headlight was out. He'd replaced BOTH bulbs the day before. The old bulb was still in the car, so we put it back in and drove home. It backfired to try to replace both bulbs.

*Names have been changed.

Noah's Work Phone

noreply@blogger.com (DeEtta @ Courageous Joy) — Tue, 10 Mar 2026 21:04:00 +0000

He has a routine.

He goes to work with "Dada" and he immediately sits at the desk, pulls the phone to himself and hits the number for Bachan.

"Hello, Bachan."

"Hi, Noah. What are you up to?"

"I'm busy with dada, Bachan."

"I'm glad you're home!"

And on the conversation goes. Jared captured part of our most recent conversation.

I had told him, "I LOVE YOU NOAH," when he responded with "Thank you, Bachan!"

I've added this number to my contacts as, "Noah's Work phone." This way I never ignore the unlisted number thinking it's spam.

These calls are the highlight of my day - and I think Noah's too.

Fun with Noah

noreply@blogger.com (DeEtta @ Courageous Joy) — Mon, 09 Mar 2026 21:25:00 +0000

Noah's back in town!!!! and Jared called to see if we'd like to meet at the Fly Park. Michael woke up with a sore throat. Melia and I were ready to leave the house in time to meet him for an hour of fun.

Noah was excited to show off his sunglasses...though he wasn't 100% sold on the cool temps. The sun was bright.

Jared and Noah

Noah and Melia

He loved knocking Melia off the balancing beam.

We went to Fruitland after jumping for Dole Whips.

Jared, Me, Melia, Noah

I believe Jared and Noah went to spend time with cousins after this. Melia and I made a quick stop at Target and got home in time for her to do a bit of homework.

Stacia has an intensive this week. She has time off work but is spending every day in class. The girls and I collapsed on the couch and watched a couple of episodes of a show we like and then called it a day.

None of us slept well with the time change.

A Full Weekend

noreply@blogger.com (DeEtta @ Courageous Joy) — Sun, 08 Mar 2026 20:28:00 +0000

Saturdays are usually the one day of the week with a chance of sleeping in late...but this week Melia and I left to pick up Benny and Danny. Their mom and dad had a busy day at the church, and it appeared they'd need to miss soccer. I suggested we take the boys to soccer and keep them until Arielle could break loose.

Melia, Benny, me and Danny

This is Danny's first year to play soccer. I stayed with Danny and Melia stayed at the court where Benny was playing. I was impressed with Danny's coach. She had the boys running drills and practicing skills before the game. She was quick to check on each player's "ouchies." One little goalie laid down on the floor and cried when he let a goal roll past him. She handled him so graciously, moved Danny into goal and let him run off his emotions on the court. Danny is the little ginger - or as he says the one with "golden" hair.

He was so excited! Notice the finger in the air? One goal! A good way to start the game!

During his time at goalie not one ball got past him.

Alas, there were no snacks for Danny's team. When Danny's game was done, we made our way over to court 1 to watch the last 15 minutes of Benny's game. This was a much faster game. Both boys' teams won their games. I guess we aren't supposed to notice that fact, but all the boys knew just what the scores were.

We made our way home for lunch, games, gamers and outside play. It was a busy afternoon.

The deck was clear last night...lots of snow Saturday and Sunday.

I fell Monday night getting OUT of the hot tub. No foot ware involved - just hit the icy stairs and slid. Today, I fell face first onto the deck. I WAS wearing boots. Trex is plastic and it's slick when wet!

Arielle picked up the boys, and I continued on with meal prep. We were excited to have Eric and Ingrid over for dinner. They were the family Melia, and her sisters went too when they left their neighborhood in October. We enjoyed a dinner of chowder, bread, salad and fruit and introduced them to "The Bible is Funny." Stacia had made enough progress with her weekend "to do" list that she joined us for the evening too.

Stacia, Melia, Ingrid, Eric, Michael

Who likes springing forward? Ugh.

Michael preached this morning for CoRielle's church community. We were happy to grab lunch with Stacia after church. She was productive all day. The rest of us grabbed naps. Melia did do 40 minutes of homework she hadn't finished on Friday.

It was a full weekend.

TGIF

noreply@blogger.com (DeEtta @ Courageous Joy) — Sat, 07 Mar 2026 03:48:00 +0000

It's Friday and school seemed to take FOREVER.

I caught snoring a couple times. Melia has a dead pan, grumpy, stoic resting face to beat all. She's scary when you wake her up...and I had to keep waking her up, so she was DOING school and not just resting while the teacher lectured on and on.

She spent HOURS on pre-algebra today. She took a test twice.

I got my first big smile of the day when I told her we'd go get a, "TGIF - end of the school week treat" when she was done.

Honestly, she worked hard...and finally I just said, "ENOUGH," at 3:40 p.m. She can save her 45 minutes or so for Saturday.

Trudy, Melia, Annie, Jojo, Gideon, Bre, Bella

We went to Bre's favorite coffee drive through and treated ourselves to drinks and took brownies from last night's life group over to Bre's. Trudy's welcome made the day!

Melia and I left Bre's and ran to Freddies to get a few things we need for tomorrow night. We're having Eric and Ingrid over for dinner. Stacia made chocolate covered fruit "things' on Valentine's Day and Melia is making them sugar free for a treat after dinner.

It feels like it's been a very long week. I'm not sure why - but we are looking forward to a change of pace for the next couple of days.

Michael is preaching this weekend and has spent the day in the study. Stacia is out at a college thing. Melia and I will probably watch something from Netflix....hard to play a rousing table game with two and I'm staying away from the hot tub for a while. LOL

Melia's First Pedi

noreply@blogger.com (DeEtta @ Courageous Joy) — Thu, 05 Mar 2026 21:20:00 +0000

I was up early cleaning the house...and starting a spaghetti sauce to simmer all day. I also made brownies, a salad, and cut up a big bowl of melon. All before lunch.

After lunch and school, we had an appointment for Melia's first pedicure. She opted for a nice bright red to match her prom dress. I opted for a dark green for St. Pat's month.

It turns out Melia is a bit ticklish...but she enjoyed the warm water and massage. We'll do this again.

We had just enough time to set things out and welcome life group members... and after life group, Melia asked a great question, "What's all this Easter stuff about anyway?"

Dad's Left Eye

noreply@blogger.com (DeEtta @ Courageous Joy) — Tue, 03 Mar 2026 21:11:00 +0000

At Dad's annual eye appointment, they discovered he had increased pressure in his left eye. They offered eye drops or laser surgery to fix the problem. I was shocked when dad chose surgery. The clinic we were at didn't do that procedure and referred us to Wolf Eye Center. On our first appointment at Wolf's we saw a nice doctor who discovered she couldn't REACH the spot she needed to zap due to an odd cataract surgery dad had in the past.

Dad can't remember WHEN he had the cataract surgery or WHERE...but I guessed in Eugene after he came home from the Philippines. In any event, they can't reach the spot where they could zap to relieve pressure in his eye. They gave him an eye drop to use to see if the pressure could come down enough for them to be able to zap the spot. His follow-up appointment was today. He even saw Dr. Wolf.

Dr. Wolf said nothing had changed. They gave him two more drops to use daily. If this doesn't work, he'll see a glaucoma specialist and if he can't help him a retina specialist. There isn't a lot of hope the drops will help, Dr. Wolf said this is rare. At 85, an oft asked question is, "What happens if I don't fix it?"

He opted to get it fixed. After the appointment we went to The Windbreak Cafe and enjoyed lunch.

We also stopped to watch all the ducks on our way back to his home.

Monday Eclipse

noreply@blogger.com (DeEtta @ Courageous Joy) — Mon, 02 Mar 2026 20:49:00 +0000

Monday is the one night of the week when Stacia may be home to eat with us - and sometimes the weekend. We try to have a dinner she will enjoy, and we do a variety of things focusing on connecting with each other. I made a favorite Country Chicken Pot Pie. We ate and talked and cleaned up while the hot tub warmed up. It was well into the negative temps, but the girls and I thought a nice soak would be a great idea.

I finally fell out of the hot tub. I had swung my legs over and thought I stepped onto the top step leading from the hot tub. Evidently, I did...but the steps were icy and I bounced down three steps, hit the icy deck and slid. I was happy to have stopped before I went over the unfinished edge of the deck. Stacia was sure I'd broken something. Not to worry. I have bruises and road rash wherever my skin touched the ice...my face, my lip, my legs, my thighs... I came in and immediately took 800 mg of ibuprofen. Michael is considering finishing the deck. I have decided during the winter I will no longer sit in the tub when home alone. I will make sure someone is out of the tub to help me in case I slip again. I don't know how you'd add a railing to the stairs but that may be nice in the winter.

All that to say I didn't much feel like driving up into the mountains at midnight to watch a lunar eclipse. Stacia and Melia, however, were not to be denied the adventure. Off they went to Independence Mine in Hatcher's Pass to meet up with college friends of Stacia's.

They took snacks, a thermos of hot chocolate, winter wear, toe warmers and settled in to watch for the eclipse. They were rewarded with an eclipse, surrounded by dancing Northern Lights. Melia shares it was her first time to drive way up into the mountains.

📷by April

Yeah, I do kind of wish I'd dragged by aching body out. LOL Oh, yes, they also had a close encounter of the moose kind. Stacia was driving well below the speed limit or they would have hit the moose. As was she slammed her brakes on and they stopped with Melia having an up-close look at the moose's bum.

Archangel Adventure

noreply@blogger.com (DeEtta @ Courageous Joy) — Mon, 02 Mar 2026 08:00:00 +0000

It was COLD today, but Stacia and Melia have been planning a cross-country ski outing all week. Melia now has all the snow gear, and they agreed to be wise. They drove to Archangel and started their adventure.

Drama queen! LOL

Melia said she was warm to hot....score for the winter gear! Melia fell much less today, tackled some hills and is getting more confident!

February Family Gathering

noreply@blogger.com (DeEtta @ Courageous Joy) — Sun, 01 Mar 2026 00:52:00 +0000

We did not have family gatherings November - January choosing to let the Holidays be the "gathering." This had pros and cons. It made for an easier schedule for some of us and created conflicts for others. We were looking forward to getting back to normal in February. Michael and I messed that up. We agreed to facilitate a parenting workshop on the Saturday. This pushed gathering back a week...and wreaked havoc with others' schedules. We have learned. We will NOT schedule anything on the 3rd Saturday from here on out. Between traveling, moves, illnesses, rid- alongs with the police department...we ended up with our smallest family gathering yet - only 12 of us. It was STILL good to gather.

February was a hard month for many of us. We miss Josiah and it was his birthday as well as the anniversary of the trial. It was good to meet and celebrate Josi, Nolan, Liv, Alex, and Jamin's birthdays - as well as BreZaak and our anniversaries.

Benny, Papa, Arielle, GG, Cory, Ellie, Danny, Nolan, Charles
Stacia, Melia

CoRielle brought a fun game to introduce to us...Let's Hit Each Other with Fake Swords. I didn't play but what I observed was a round of cards to determine who would duel and then duels.

Arielle & Stacia

Benny & Uncle Nolan

Nolan, Melia, Benny, Arielle & Cory

Arielle & Danny

Nolan was the only celebrant who was present.

Gluten Free cupcakes

Melia's family immigrated from Japan to Hawaii. Her grandmother used to make a Hawaiian Guava cake that was most asked for at Potlucks. Melia wanted to make a guava cake for us. We hunted up the guava nectar and she baked away. I know the photo isn't great, but the cake was DELICIOUS. I could only have a sliver as its quite full of sugar...but I plan to make an 8x8 sugar free cake the next time they serve this. We sent a plate home to Bre and her sick family and they loved it too.

Guava cake - kid approved

Ye' old Arm-Wrestling competition

Ellie liked the cake so much she LICKED the tray

It was a fun day. We dearly missed those who weren't able to be with us this month, but we are also very thankful for those who are here. GG asked Michael to do some repairs on his walker brakes.

Fun Outing

noreply@blogger.com (DeEtta @ Courageous Joy) — Sat, 28 Feb 2026 00:39:00 +0000

This is a day Melia has been counting down to for quite some time. There was a movie she was sure she wanted to watch; she'd watched the earlier ones. We had told her we weren't interested as we don't like scary. Life has been scary enough. LOL She couldn't attend without an 18-year-old so we sort of thought it would die out...but never underestimate the power of the sisterhood. ::snort::

Melia and her sisters talked the mom from their new home to take them. It was a fun night for the girls.

The three of us drove into town and made a quick Costco run.

Next on our agenda was treating Melia to dinner at her favorite spot - Caines.

She and I spent some quality time at Burlington's.

The spontaneous squeals when the girls saw Melia brought smiles to our faces.

Melia went into her theater.

We opted to find another that was playing....I Can Only Imagine 2. I hadn't heard of the movie. It was good. It was a tear inducing in places.

Melia enjoyed herself but told us she wouldn't be going to future movies in this franchise. It was worse than she expected.

She needed to unwind when we got home as she and Stacia donned a different kind of masks.

Michael laughingly checked out her closet and under her bed for her before she went to sleep. We circled and prayed she'd sleep well....and she did.