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!
6/15/09
Proud Boy!
but of course, that means he is getting into everything...and putting whatever he finds in his mouth
6/14/09
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!
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...
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...
6/11/09
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!
6/9/09
"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 ;~)
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...
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...
6/7/09
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.
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.
6/5/09
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!
6/3/09
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...
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