Sooooo.... The message you've all been waiting for...

yup, I am married to a jet pilot!
My husband is going to fly JETS!!!
We leave for Meridian, Mississippi, in just 15 days. And my husband is going to fly jets.

I can't post more right now because I am still letting it all soak in and because my husband has requested Chicken Lips as his celebratory feast. Off to fry chicken!
Did I mention, jets?

Yahoooowwww!

A Note from Dad:

Well, we are finally here. The children may not see it as all that interesting, so perhaps the “we” means my wife and me, but it happens to be no small event in my life. Tomorrow we will find out what I’ve felt would become inevitable since I was a young boy. I know that Mom is pretty nervous about the whole thing, understandably, but I’m mostly very happy just to have had an opportunity to be here and get a chance to chase my dreams. I feel surprisingly comfortable with what I’ve been able to accomplish thus far, and I’m going to be excited and happy for whatever happens tomorrow. Obviously I would like it if the Navy also wants me to have what I want, but I’ll be happy either way. It’s amazing the change that I’ve undergone being on the journey toward reaching my dreams. I’ve grown up as a man, a husband, a father, and a Christian. The path has by no means ever been easy, and has required both gentle and drastic changes in perception, understanding, and disciplines. I’m just thankful for the God given opportunity to find my place and be able to pursue my purposes…

Daddy Just Left Colorado!

and we can watch his flight, how extremely cool is that?

Except that now my mouse is glued to the refresh button and my children are echoing "click it again, where is he now, how far has he gone, is he going faster, can we stay up till he gets home, how much fuel is he using, where is he now, how long will he be, where will he land next, click it again" ~you get the idea

never mind that dinner is burning...

Remember when...

getting older was all you wanted to do?

Butter woke up the other morning and the first thing she said was not "good morning, mommy" but said instead with her little finger pointing very convincedly "when my drow up, and my three, my toof dunna tum out!"

when I asked her about it later in the day, she said exactly the same thing- and I'll translate

"When I grow up and I am three, my tooth is going to come out!"

Ahhh. Slow down my little sweet, before you know it all your teeth will come out.

How you can help.

Thanks so much to all of our family and friends that have sent emails and comments! I am sorry I haven't had time to respond to you individually, my inbox is full of craigslist offers for our stuff we are trying to off load and I am running out of time. We do appreciate your letters and will have nothing but time in a few weeks and will respond then.

I did want to make a blanket post though, to say thanks to the many of you who asked and to answer the number one question.

"How can I help?" ~We are so blessed that you asked!

Well, prayer would be first on our list. Next would be to keep in touch-write us letters and send us pictures. We LOVE hearing from you! If you still want to help further (we'd be honored) we need books for school. Books that don't take up any space. Gift certificates at amazon.com are perfect because we can get all of our curriculum from there, plus great books for our entire family to enjoy. We will be using Charlotte Mason Education next year, which means TONS of great books. I have checked out the library system in the areas we could be living and it leaves much to be wanting... Just another way I got spoiled in Colorado.

Anyhow, thanks again for asking. I never expected it, but should have known. I do have such great family and friends.
Much love!

I have a Kindle?

Yes! Thanks so much to a helpful friend that informed me I actually have a Kindle already, it is on my phone, and it's FREE. How could I not know? I have no excuse. But thanks, Marci!

Now we need Kindle books on amazon.com
This is awesome! They won't take up ANY space on the RV.

I Heart Colorado

Dad called today from beautiful Boulder, Colorado, just to rub in the perfect weather and lovely scenery. I am so jealous! It was only 103 here today, but I can't even describe the humidity in a way you'll understand unless you've been here in the summer. Everyone always says "yeah, it's humid in my hometown too" but unless they are referring to a bayou, they have no clue. Seriously, you have sweat dripping from places I can't mention after being outside for only 3 minutes. At 5 am. And it's only June. But I am not complaining! I will put up with flying bird-sized bugs, fire ants, and sweaty armpits for the friends I've made here any day.

Here is a picture from October 2007. We hiked up this mountain a few times a month for a picnic, what a lovely place.

How I miss the mountains! I really loved living in Colorado. I pray to have a home way up in the mountains some day. It is so breathtaking there! I miss the smell of the mountain air and the amazing afternoon thunderstorms. I never thought I'd say it, but the winters are great too.

This picture is from a year ago. My how time flies! What an awesome place to go to school every day!

alright, last picture. I am getting all teary-eyed looking through files for pictures from our 3 years in Colorado...

I feel like a Navy Wife.

oh, wait... I am one! It has just been awhile since I had to rely on the locks on my doors to feel safe at night instead of the arms of my hubby! We have been blessed to have him home for so long.

Dad left yesterday morning for his Cross Country flight. This is the final milestone in Primary Flight Training. The end is near, and I am feeling it. Yesterday was mildly tense as I waited for the texts to let me know where he landed safetly, and how much his behind hurt. It took three legs to get there and you know, the seat is quite hard I am told.

Just 5 more days until the Navy tells us where to go. And what we are going to do for the next 20 years. You can't argue, you can't plea, you can't change any minds.

I can't stop imagining all of the possibilities. Will my husband's dreams be realized, or will they be crushed forever by a little piece of paper? I really, really, want his dreams to come true. You can't imagine how hard he has worked for this, how long he has been working hard for this, how incredibly determined he is, how much he has sacrificed, how intelligent he is, and how much he has been on his knees for this. Did I mention I think he is amazing and he deserves this?!

Don't misunderstand, we will be okay no matter what the Navy says. Actually, we will be wonderful. We know that God has big plans for us, for a future, and a hope. We know that all things work out for the good to those who love God and are called according to His purpose. We are excited about flying in the sky, no matter what aircraft.

But it would be really nice to fly jets.

"Hey, look at me! Wait... Now what?"

Wow, going from crawling to standing didn't take long, only 2 days!

Lil Bird is proud of his new accomplishment!

until he realized he didn't know how to get down...

"a little help, please?"

"thanks, big brother!"

Our Girls

We are so blessed to have a few little girls in our home.

They sure do make life sweet!

Books, books, and more books!

One of our exciting plans for our year in the RV is to spend lots of time with good books.

At the top of the list we’d really love a Kindle- you can see HERE
that it would be wonderful to have in our limited space!

Here is our 2009 Book Wish List- in no particular order:

This early American History set HERE

Trial and Triumph by Richard Hannula
Paddle to the Sea by Holling C. Holling
An Island Story by H.E. Marshall
Fifty Famous Stories Retold by James Baldwin
Viking Tales by Jennie Hall
Benjamin Franklin by Ingri D'Aulaire
George Washington by Ingri D'Aulaire
Buffalo Bill by Ingri D'Aulaire
James Herriot's Treasury for Children by James Herriot
Handbook of Nature Study by Anna Botsford Comstock
The Burgess Bird Book for Children by Thornton Burgess
Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare by Edith Nesbit
Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling
Parables from Nature by Margaret Gatty
King of the Golden River by John Ruskin
St. George and the Dragon by Margaret Hodges
This Country of Ours by Henrietta Elizabeth Marshall
A First Book in American History by Edward Eggleston
One Small Square: Woods ISBN: 0070579334
Stories of Great Americans ISBN 780965273527
Journeys in Time ISBN 0618311149
Hymns for a Kid's Heart plus CD Joni Eareckson Tada and Bobbie Wolgemuth
The Story of the Wright Brothers and Their Sister ISBN: 1-930092-33-4
John Audubon ISBN: 978-1-882859-52-8
Science in Colonial America ISBN: 053115940X

My America Series HERE

Childhood of Famous American’s Series – HERE

Caddie Woodlawn, by Carol Ryrie Brink
Pilgrims, by Clyde Robert Bulla
Twenty-One Balloons, by William Pene du Bois
Little Lord Fauntleroy, by Frances Hodgson Burnett
The Chronicles of Narnia, by C.S. Lewis
The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien

That is all I could think of right now, and this is just the list of books we don’t have!

Here are the books we are currently reading:
Pilgrims’ Progress
Little House in the Big Woods
Elsie Dinsmore book 1
Indian in the Cupboard
The Boxcar Children
Misty of Chincoteague
Squanto
Stuart Little
Call of the Wild

"Never be without a good book in your hand" ~ Charlotte Mason

Just a couple cuties to share.

Dad's Solo

It's a bit late, but I still wanted to share. This was an exciting day for us, we all were able to watch dad's first solo in the T-34

This was the take-off. Let me tell you, if his heart was racing half as fast as mine, I could see the appeal. What a rush!

Korbin did the video taping for us. You might feel like you are in a tornado watching it, but his narration is priceless. Once I figure out how to upload video, (and find time) I'll share.

If I were witty, I'd have something to say about this one...

Dad rocks the plane. We are so proud of him!

We met the Commodore!

From: Commander, Training Air Wing FIVE

To: ENS Dad

Subj: COMMENDATION FOR OUTSTANDING ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT

It is with great pleasure that I commend you on your high degree of professionalism and scholastic achievement, which earned you the Training Air Wing FIVE Academic Achievement Award.

You achieved an overall grade of 98 percent in your assignment as a Student Naval Aviator in the academic phase of Primary Flight Training.

Signed by the Commodore.

I thought it was really awesome and I am pretty proud of my hubby. We got to go sit in the Commodore's office while he talked about leadership and get pictures taken. It is really sweet especially since we were told over and over from the begining that guys with children fail, and since we have five we are certainly not going to make it. Way to blow them away Dad, Glory be to God!

Proud Boy!

Pops is crawling all over the place now, and it makes him SO happy!

but of course, that means he is getting into everything...

and putting whatever he finds in his mouth

As soon as he figures his legs out, he'll be running with the big children!

Well, here it is, the short version.

We are selling all our possessions and moving into an RV. Really. Seriously.
We are taking a giant step towards a new life, and we are so excited!

This is our new van. And new home. We are getting rid of all of our stuff that doesn't matter and spending a year growing together wherever the Navy sends us. I could go on for a long time with all the reasons why and how we are going to do this, but that could take hours. Sometime in the next two or three weeks when the Navy tells us what Dad is going to fly, we will be moving into our new home and driving away on an amazing adventure. Do hard things!

Silence Three Witnesses!

Wow, I just love when God answers prayers LOUD AND CLEAR! We have been making some big plans for some big changes in our life and just when I ask "is this for real?" I get this awesome email from my dear husband confirming that not only is this is for real, and it is right and good!

Silence Three Witnesses!
When we are brought before the Judge of all the earth and He requires us to give an accounting of our stewardship, we want there to be as little evidence against us as possible. (See II Corinthians 5:10.) In the command for this week, Jesus warns us about moths, rust, and thieves, which will witness against us if we mismanage His resources.

“Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Matthew 6:19–21).
This command is based on the presupposition that all of our resources belong to God. We are stewards of His wealth, which has been entrusted to us for specific purposes. Therefore, we must give an account of how we invest each penny—yes, pennies! God counts pennies because He knows that if we are not faithful in that which is least, neither will we be faithful in much. (See Luke 16:10.)
The Lord expects us to make the wisest possible investments with the money He entrusts to us. One day a man walked up to his friend and said, “Did you know that you are a millionaire?” His friend looked surprised and said, “That is not possible, because I have been working at the same company for 35 years and my salary is $30,000 a year.”
The man smiled and said, “That means that you have been given more than $1,000,000.” His friend was stunned to realize how much money had actually passed through his hands. The man then asked, “What is the value of your assets?” His friend reluctantly admitted that he had no assets, but thousands of dollars of debt.
Moths, rust, and thieves will be evidence of our excessiveness, depreciating investments, and extravagance.
Moths lay their eggs in things we store, rust appears on things we neglect, and our extravagance stirs up the envy of thieves. Because finances are so vital to a man’s honor before his family, I have spent much time giving counsel to men in this area. One indicator usually tells me whether or not I can help an individual: his purchase of a car. If a man insists on buying a luxurious new car, I know he does not understand the factors of depreciation and extravagance.
Let’s make it our goal to invest as little as necessary in earthly possessions, so that as much as possible is available to invest in God’s kingdom. Heaven is where God wants our heart’s treasure to be.
Through Christ our Lord,
Bill Gothard

More to come later on how we are getting out of the "laying up treasure on earth" lifestyle...

Blueberry Picking

We went picking blueberries at a sweet little farm nearby. I think I'd like to own some land with some gardens and orchards some day. It was a very nice feeling being out in the country. Mmmmm. Maybe some day.

We all really enjoyed picking the berries, even though we had to wear long sleeves for the bees so we were dripping with sweat even though it was only 8 am.

Daddy was lifting Peanut up to the "Heaven of Blueberries" where the other's couldn't reach.

Butter was eating them, but not as fast as we were picking them.

They both have the same look of wonder (or is it the look of-"I am holding this pose so mom can take the picture"?)

Even Pops was picking- we had to take leaves out of his two teeth a few times!

The girls carried our bounty to the farmer to pay. This large 6 pound bucket plus 3 delicious zuchinni was only $7! Organic too!

We hope we will be able to hit that farm up one more time before we leave here, and will be scouting for some U-pick places wherever we end up too. It was a nice time!

"are you rasing stuff, or raising children?"

that is what Nancy Campbell from Above Rubies said that struck me most during our Family Camp back in March.

I remember the day that I told my dear Colorado friends that I believed our family was on a journey to simplify our lives during our next duty station, that was about a year ago. I was so tired of not having time to do the things that are really important to me. I found myself telling my children to stop wasting time when they were playing because there was always more work to be done. Science experiments were getting cut out of our school day because they would just add to the mess, and isn't dirty laundry science? So many toys were strung about that the children didn't even care to dig through the chaos. We realized we were sinking in stuff. More and more it was pressed upon my heart that it wasn't right, this isn't the way I wanted to live. Over the last year we have been purging and it has felt really good. But we're not done yet. We are getting down to the nitty-gritty. We are getting out of debt and getting out of this pit of stuff. We don't have to live like America does with bigger, better, more. We don't have to spend any more time reorganizing (again) so the newest, greatest toy can fit. We don't have to say to our children "I'll read to you when I have time" anymore.
No, we are not going to raise our stuff any longer. We are going to spend time on the things that are important. Our relationships- that is what matters. Our treasures are not in earthly things. They are in our marriage, and in our children.
So, what are we going to do about it? You will just have to stop back later ;~)

where did the names come from?

Butter gives out most of our nicknames. She's a silly girl.

Guys got her name because that is what Butter calls her. It tooks us awhile to figure out that when I yell "Guys, come here" she is always the first (sometimes the only) one that comes. What a good listener Guys is! So Butter thought her name was Guys. This makes me laugh. Guys doesn't mind it, too much.

Boy is Boy because he's really a boy and he was the only boy for a few years...

Sis or Peanut is quite smallish.

Butter was breech, butt down to be exact, so her birth caused a bit of a problem. And she goes nicely with Peanut.

We aren't sure where Butter got the name Pops, but that is what she calls her little brother. I call him Bird, and when he is fussing he is also know as Drumpy Doo (Grumpy Gills, spoken by a 2 year old)

and if you forget who is who, check out our profile for a brief explination...

When and where are you moving?

That is one of the most popular questions I receive. I don't know the answer to either of those questions, and it isn't very often that I do know. So, here is the full explination of what I do know about this next move.

Sometime around June 19th Dad gets to tell the Navy what he wants to fly. Then on the 25th-ish the Navy will tell him what the Navy wants him to fly. The Navy wins. If he has good enough grades and there is a slot open for what he chooses, he might actually get it. He wants Jets, but the Navy could give him any of the following:

Jets- Kingsville, TX- 1 year

Jets-Meridian, MS- 1 year

E6/P3 (big planes)-Corpus Christi, TX- 6 months

Helicopters- Milton, FL- 6 months



This is just another school though, and where we will actually end up could be just about anywhere. Of course we'll only be in that place for a short time too...

Oh, yeah, and once the Navy tells him what he is going to fly, we will have less than 2 weeks to get there and get settled.

It is a good thing I get bored easy and I can pack and unpack very quickly. I see it as a challenge and it keeps life interesting.

On our trip to Meridian

We did really like the area which surprised us, but we didn't find a place to live, if that is where we are going to be transfered. Despite the constant rain and my really bad cold, we had some good laughs. We decided the people there must speak another language. Like the chicken farmer from Napolean Dynamite. Seriously. The roads were called silly names like "Minnow Bucket" and "Toomsumba." I ran over a snake by accident, and we had to stop for a turtle crossing the road. The base was small but nice, and it had a lake and horse stables too.

Daddy thought it would be funny to tell Peanut that the sign said she couldn't come so we had to turn around. She did not find this funny at all, and I found that to be the perfect opportunity to take her picture. Of course all was well when we explained what the sign really meant.

This was at a local gas station

and we found that to be quite amuzing as well. The farm houses were beautiful, but way out of our price range. We are still hoping to end up there anyhow...

Lil Bird - 7 months

Can you believe Pops is 7 months old already?! A month must fly by every time I blink. This handsome little boy is such a joy! He just loves his brother and sisters and can't wait to run off with them. He tries to dive out of my arms to crawl after them and seems to be in a rush to grow up. Slow down little guy!

Are we nuts?

I think we might be. I think we are going to live in an RV. Well, a travel trailer really. We don't have one, and we don't have a vehicle that will pull one, but we are going to live in one. I have a million reasons why I want to live in one, none of which will make sense to "normal people" but I am alright with that. I haven't slept for two days just thinking about making it a reality. I will have to post more on this later...