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Koa's Latest

I know I am really far behind on the posts, so I am going to try to catch up in baby steps.

A while back we took Koa in to see Dr. Jen for his three-year-old well child check up.  This was his very first appointment with Dr. Jen.  We tried to prepare him ahead of time for what would go on since he hasn't been to a doctor for himself in about a year, I think.  We explained that she would listen to his heart and check his eyes and ears and she might ask him to jump or draw something. 

While we were talking with Dr. Jen she asked us if Koa could jump on one foot or draw circles.  Did he know his ABC's?  Apparently someone should have prepared us for the appointment because for a couple of those things we had no idea.  We sat there with blank stares and said, "Um, I don't know.  Koa, can you jump on one foot?"  Finally Jen told us, "These are four-year-old skills.  I already filled out the chart for his three year old skills."  Then she started commenting on his language skills and how they had changed over the past several months--what things had improved etc.

That's when it dawned on me (again) just how fortunate we are to have Jen as our family doctor.  Although she had never seen Koa in her office for anything concerning him, she knew him well enough to be able to fill out all of his skills chart.  How cool is that!  She even said things like, "He's using his pronouns more accurately now."  Maybe she should be writing these blog posts!  I wonder what she would charge for that...

For the most part during the appointment Koa was pretty cooperative (by stubborn three year old standards).  He did not want to even try the "jump on one foot" maneuver, but for several days afterward he spent a lot of time showing us he could do it. 

Anyway, Koa is very healthy and seems to be progressing well in all ways for his age.  We also got to talk to Jen about his vaccinations in order to decide how we should progress with that.  We talked about whether or not our ministry to homeless people should effect any of our decisions.  We have decided to proceed with our original plan to only vaccinate for tetanus right now and chicken pox if he doesn't get the antibodies by the time he is 12-13 years old.  We will follow the same protocol with Caspian except maybe get the tetanus shot a little sooner.  Of course, should we travel or be stationed outside the US all these things shall be reconsidered at that time.

I'm sure I have missed a lot of great stories about Koa, but I was reminded of this one this morning and had to share. 

When Koa was little bitty we started a little routine of laying him down in his crib to sleep and then saying, "Mama loves you.  Daddy loves you.  But you know who loves you the most?  God does."  We figured that was a basic truth from which we could build many other lessons.  So, we have continued that little phrase with Caspian.  However, one night as I was laying Caspian down to sleep, I had a momentary lapse in good grammar and I said, "You know who loves you the mostest?"  And from Koa's bed (where he was supposed to be sleeping!) I hear, "MOSES?  Who's Moses?"  So we had to have a discussion about who Moses is, but that I really meant that God loves him the MOST! 

Right.  Like that was going to work.  Now anytime I say, "You know who loves you the most?"  Koa says, "Moses!"  Three years of teaching down the tubes with one slip of the tongue!  Let that be a lesson to me.

Even more confusing to him is that there is a guy name Moses who picks up our yard debris.  Yeah, Koa, Mommy and Daddy love you, but you know who loves you the most?  The yard guy! 

A Culmination

On Monday of this week (April 20th) I took the Oath of Commissioning and became a US Naval Officer!  I did it while I was sick as a dog and in a medicinal haze, so I have no idea what I said while taking the oath!  Fortunately it's written somewhere in my COMDOCS (Commissioning Documents) for me to pull out and read in the future!  I'm an Ensign (O-1) for as long as I'm going through grad school, and then when I supersede to active duty (I'm in the Navy Reserves right now) after graduation the Navy will automatically advance me to either Lieutenant (O-3) or to within about 6 months of becoming one.  One of the perks of being a Chaplain (actually any of the "professional" military jobs - Jags, Doctors, Dentists, Chaplains, etc.), I guess!  I'm told that's because we're the only ones in the military required to have Master's degrees, so we're treated more like professional contractors rather than Sailors/Soldiers.  That's just what I'm told.  My official title is either Ensign Zumwalt or Chaplain Candidate Zumwalt.  I'm not an actual Chaplain until I finish my M-Div.

Usually if a person is in the regular Navy Reserves he has to drill 1 weekend a month and 2 weeks a year.  In my case (all the "professional's" case), we drill for about 5 weeks each summer while school is out.  This is so our Master's programs aren't interrupted.  I won't be drilling this summer but the next 2 summers I probably will be, and that will be in Rhode Island and South Carolina.  The only time I get paid by the Navy is during those 5 or so weeks of drilling during each summer, so I'm not getting anything from the Navy right now.  I don't even have a military ID or a uniform, and I don't have to shave!!!  One last thing, my time as a Chaplain Candidate these next couple years does not count towards my Navy retirement (20 years), but it does count towards my pay scale.  Thus, I was active duty for 9 years before I got out, but when I go back in after graduation, I'll start getting paid as an O-2 or O-3 with around 12 years of Naval service.  It makes a little bit of difference in pay.

Anyhow, Kathy and I were talking on our way home from my commissioning about how much time had passed since we began the process that culminated in Monday's little ceremony.  It's been over a year and a month!  Hard to imagine.  So many things had to happen just right, so many people had to help by writing recommendations, giving interviews, sending financial help, pulling strings, and certainly by praying.  I'm very comfortable in saying that my commissioning was a God thing - there are just WAY too many variables for it not to be.

So, thanks to all of you!  No kidding, my commissioning on Monday was a culmination of a ton of work by a whole lot of people.  It's funny that only one person gets a certificate when there are many, many of you out there who did just as much work to make this happen as I did.  And above all, thanks God!

Agape Newsletters

Quite a few of you already receive Agape's monthly newsletters from us via email.  However, there may be quite a few of you who aren't receiving them but are still interested in hearing how things are going.  So, we've posted all the newsletters that have been published since we began attending and will continue to post the new one each month when it comes out.  I just posted the newest one that came out this morning!  You can find a list of all our newsletters ("Agape Newsletters") to the right under the "Support Zumwalt Ohana" banner.  If you'd like to be added to our mailing list so you can receive the newsletter via email automatically, just send Kathy an email.  Enjoy!