The Beauty of Whidbey!

When the sun is shining, it is breathtaking!

Mr. Pilot's J-O-B

He's Bouncing Again.

That amber light on the front of the jet means Mr. Pilot is on speed (the proper pitch to have a hook catch a wire). 

 

Sis is holding the paddles controller, "When you push this button Dad will give the jet more power!"

 

Ready, set, go!

 

When your tire goes from 0 to 180mph in .2 sec, it releases the "magic smoke"...

 

It is ridiculously loud where these kids are standing...you really can't imagine it unless you're there.

"If you push this button, Dad will wave-off." (apply MAX power and fly away)... 

What do you think happened?

Those red "wave-off" lights on the left and the burners lit on the back of the jet, that is what happened.

That was so loud, the new baby jolted.

Normally the lens (the lights in the left background) has the green "datum" to show your reference for how high or low you are from glideslope.  The ball is vertically oriented between the datum's and when it's in the middle you are "on-glideslope."   

I posted back in December that it was mustache time. That should have been over at the end of January, but my dear sweet hubby is sporting his stache still. He had a few hiccups and bumps which caused a bit of stress, but he will be going to the next boat in March. That gives us a few more weeks to hang out and for him to get extra bouncing practice (that is comforting to me, since he has to land on the ship in the ocean in the dark) before he finishes this part of his training.

There are 2 squadrons needing Pilots and 2 Pilots needing squadrons when they finish in March. One squadron deploys (as in leaves for 6 months and doesn't get to visit) in May. I am praying my due date is wrong or something...

Granola Recipe

Since you asked for it, here!

This is our version of Granola that we have modified and adapted from Food to Live By: The Earthbound Farm Organic Cookbook (Earthbound Farm Organic Cookbk)
Golden Maple Almond Granola and Cranberry Pecan Granola recipes.

4-1/2 cups old-fashioned oats (I buy my organic oats in a 25 lb. bag from AzureStandard.com)
1-1/2 cups chopped nuts (pecans, almonds, walnuts, or a combination)
1/2 cup seeds of your choice, optional.  (I use whatever I have, sunflower, chia, flax, or a combination)
1 cup brown sugar (I use Wholesome Sweeteners Fair Trade Organic Light Brown Sugar -- 24 oz
 because it's extraordinarily fragrant and delicious, but it's pricy.)
2 tablespoons dried orange peal or zest of 2 oranges (I use this only if using cranberries)
1/2 cup coconut oil (the recipe actually calls for canola oil, but I don't buy that)
1/2 cup water
1 cup Pure Maple Syrup (I use Grade B dark amber from our local farm co-op)
1 cup dried cranberries or raisins (or any dried fruit, or omit and add fresh fruit while serving)


Directions:
preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Place dry ingredients except fruit into large bowl and stir.  Place all liquids in separate bowl and wisk to combine, pour over oat mixture and stir to combine.  Spread granola over large rimmed cookie sheet and bake until it begins to brown, about 25 minutes.  Stir with flat spatula and continue to bake until brown, dry, and fragrant, about 15-20 minutes longer, stirring once more.  Watch carefully the last few minutes, or it will not be so wonderful.  After cooled, add dried fruit.

Since this recipe stays good for up to a month on the counter or 3 months frozen, I usually quadruple the recipe.  We love this with yogurt or milk, and it's especially good with almond milk.

I am not kidding when I say I can't follow a recipe, we (Belle and Boy usually) make this different every time.  I even used to make it in the crock-pot when we lived in the trailer.  You could make it as healthy (or cheap) as you like, depending on what ingredients you buy. You can even soak your oats beforehand.  I haven't got that far just yet.

Despite my inability to use a recipe correctly, I absolutely love this particular cookbook and it is the only cookbook I actually use on a regular basis.

Sweet & Silly

Why We Do What We Do: We Eat...

“You are what you eat” is so very true. Most Americans eat what is on the shelves at the grocery store based on what they are familiar with, what is on sale, or what is the latest fad (think South Beach) without giving much thought to what is actually in the food. Why would you need to wonder what is in the food anyway, the USDA and the FDA makes sure the food is good for you, right?

It didn't take much digging around for me to decide the USDA is about the last entity I want to trust in deciding what I am willing to put into my body. With my research and learning over the years, the way I see food, and therefore the way I feed my family has changed dramatically. I no longer walk into a grocery store looking for the best deals. With effort and planning, I have figured out how to feed my large family well, with foods that nourish instead of break down. I believe that many of our health problems today are caused by a combination of misinformation, ignorance, and laziness.

I believe our bodies are a gift from the Lord, and a temple to the Holy Spirit. While I believe that all things are available to us, as in food is no longer unclean (1 Corinthians 10:2), I still believe we are held accountable for what we choose to do with that body. Let me be clear here: I do not believe you have to eat a certain way to be a “good Christian” but I do believe there are consequences for every action we take.

In the beginning were given a garden full of beautiful fruits and vegetables to eat of, and enjoy. Or bodies haven't changed, they haven't “adapted” to eat non living things created by man in chemistry labs out of convenience. If you read the labels on almost any item in the aisles of your favorite grocery store, you will find a plethora of man created non-living ingredients. We eat them with little thought of what they are doing to our guts, or what they are storing up inside for us. We eat them because they are convenient now, but will they be convenient later? I am not trying to live forever, I can't even extend my life by one day, but I can make an effort to affect the quality of it.

“But I can't afford to eat healthy” is the number one rejection I hear. It was also my biggest hindrance on my journey to grasping a more healthy lifestyle. It does take effort, but I assure you, it can be done. Proverbs 31 says: “she gets her food from afar.” I am thinking Lemuel's mother wasn't talking about Jack-in-the-Box. There are many resources from which to purchase good food. I am currently stationed in a beautiful farm country, so I have farmer's markets and local co-ops at my disposal, but I realize that isn't always the case. In Mississippi, I was convinced they had never heard the word organic. I had to get the things that were most important to me from afar, (think Amazon.com.)

When I first started to make changes, I was overwhelmed.  Before this posts turns into a book, I'll just share a few pointers that might get you going in the right direction.  Baby steps!

1. Read up, do some research. Ignorance is not bliss!  Take some time to read a couple of articles from some alternative (as in not USDA approved) sites. Borrow a book from the library about living foods. Ask the butcher at your grocer where the meat comes from. Check out the movie Food Inc. from the Redbox/Library/Blockbuster near you. It came out a few years ago, but I only  watched it for the first time a couple of weeks ago. It is very beneficial to understanding where the food at the grocery store comes from and will inspire you to make some changes.
   
   
2. Make small changes. Don't shock your family and your system by going from Stouffer's to salad and quinoa in one day.  Figure out the products you consume the most of and start purchasing differently there. Fruits and veggies are an easy choice, almost every grocery store carries organic options for comparable prices. If your family drinks a lot of milk, start there. Organic milk is more expensive, but you don't need to drink as much to get the benefits.
   
   
3. Slow down. Microwave worlds don't mix well with healthy bodies or minds. Take the time to plan out meals, and make them at home. We all have the same 24 hours in a day, how do you want to spend yours? Always rushed, stressed, and eating dead things does not make for a thriving and vibrant life. If you eat cereal in the morning, buy organic granola instead. Too expensive? Homemade granola is super easy to make (my children take turns making it for us), and cheaper than commercial “cardboard-sugar-puffs.”  If you typically eat out 3 times a week, try planning and eating out only once, work your way down.
   
   
4. Search out one item that you can buy local. Anything grown or produced locally is going to be far more fresh, and more beneficial for your economy. It is worth it to pay an extra dollar per dozen of eggs that comes from your neighbor's back yard. It is worth it to drive 45 minutes to get milk from the local cow.  A vine ripened tomato tastes amazing to that thing in the store that was picked green and trucked across the country and then sprayed with gas to make it turn red and be labeled tomato.

We noticed after awhile we no longer wanted that candy-bar, and that much needed soda suddenly make us feel sick. Just a handful of blueberries will become your new sweet treat.  You never even knew what you were missing!

Start small. Make it fun. Taste the difference.

February 12, 2012 a day of Jubilee

$0.00

0

($x.xx) to $x.xx

These are some of my new favorite representations of being DEBT FREE!!! That's right you heard me, we are no longer slaves to our own foolishness. As Pa from 'Little House on the Prairie' says: “Only cash on the barrel.”

It has been quite a long and arduous journey for us to finally escape from the spending cycle that we got ourselves into. Many will remember the various extremes that we went through to escape, and there are so many friends and family who helped us along the way. Some helped with payments that had to be made on cars initially, others helped with showing us useful recipes to feed a large number of people. So many people were more that happy to help, when they realized that we were committed to a life of thrift. We really started making inroads to our debt when WE changed, and subsequently our spending desires changed as a result. Of course we still wanted to be able to go out and eat nice meals out in town, or buy some new clothes or games, but it took a diligent change of lifestyle to get the ball rolling.

We had already started on this journey when I read a friends copy of “Total Money Makeover” by D. Ramsey, and he mentioned something very pertinent to this subject. He discussed that money isn't just raw math where we pay off the highest interest rates first and move on down the line till we're done. This might be mathematically true, but its certainly not emotionally true, which, lets face it, is the crux of the matter when we are talking about making changes in the way we spend our money. We of course, didn't like our debt, and we had a budget that we followed...loosely...but we weren't committed in such a way that we were willing to make much more drastic changes to end the cycle of bad spending.

I am happy to report that we did start taking our budget much more seriously, and as we began making steps toward decreasing our debt we realized that this was in fact possible as we started claiming small victories. There were a few times where we felt the need to get fully committed, by taking such actions as: selling off all our “investments”, using our tax return towards our debt, and living in such simple conditions that we could be considered 'wacky' as we kept trudging along. Since 2008 we have paid $75,000 of principle! This includes the travel trailer that we purchased so that we could live at the RV park in Meridian. I don't know if I could figure out how much we paid in interest, but it still makes me sick to think about it.

There were various changes that we had to undergo as a family, and I believe that my wife's commitment to living under a budget was one of the most important aspects of our success. I will allow her the opportunity to share with you “How to live within your budget” so you can get her perspective As for me, I'm grateful that I could cast a vision for the goals of my family being debt free while remaining sensitive to their wants and needs. It's been a tremendous journey, and as we shared with the children, I pray they never go back to being slaves to lenders again!

Here is a link to the working spreadsheet, 'Debt Free Budget', that we used as an invaluable tool to help us set goals and allocate our living expenses while still aggressively paying off debt.

If there are questions about how to use it feel free to ask.

And when in time to come your son asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ you shall say to him, ‘By a strong hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt, from the house of slavery. (Exodus 13:14 ESV)

Go Snow!

We had some fun in the Snow.

There was a nice snow/ice storm here in January, it supposedly broke some records on this little island. We enjoyed the snow for the first couple of days, but I was a bit surprised when my children were ready for it to be gone by the 3^rd day.

 I don't mind the snow, and I had no problem running my errands (the rest of the island stayed inside) but I could live without it.

Baby is growing!

And so is momma.

I'm 28(ish?) weeks along now, and I have gained more weight than I ever have during an entire pregnancy. My baby is measuring 2 weeks big and my ultrasound said I was two weeks farther along, but alas, my doctor wants to stick with my original due date of May 18^th. Whatever.

Since my little Butter girl was breach, and since I didn't know enough to press for a breach delivery, I am a “VBAC” which translates as Vaginal Birth after Cesarian. This makes me special. I don't get to deliver at the Navy Base hospital, or anywhere on the island for that matter. Even though I have had 2 successful VBAC's and I have proven I am capable of delivering a baby (ya think?) I am not allowed to deliver out here in the boonies.  I have to drive over to hospital on the main land (that is so awesome to say) for my prenatal care.

This is a bummer for me because I'd much rather have my baby at home, or at least in a hospital with a midwife that doesn't think pregnancy is a medical condition with side effects that need to be treated, but rather a natural process to be enjoyed. Instead, I have to see Dr. Medical that thinks I will die if I drink kombucha, red raspberry, or don't get my flu shot. Also, my baby will be born with 6 arms if I don't get every test for every possible "side effect" under the sun.

I am not complaining or anything, but I am typing this as I am waiting for my 3^rd blood draw from my 3 hour glucose test since I “failed” my one hour test. Whose idea is it to make a pregnant lady fast (as in starve) for 14 hours and then make breakfast for her 6 children and take them to a babysitter at 7am then drink some awful sugar syrup that contains more glucose that she'd consume in a month all and then get stabbed in the arm 4 times over the next three hours while smelling biscuits and gravy from the cafeteria?

Dr. Medical's idea, that's who.  I said I'm not complaining. 

Actually, with my weight gain and my high level of "failure" of my 1 hour test, I do want to make sure all is well. I am not opposed to medical care, I am just opposed to excessive-medical care. I don't need a prescription for my heartburn thank-you-very-much.  Especially not when in 3 years someone will decide that "suddenly!", that very prescription was not so great for pregnant woman to ingest and their babies are now part alien, probably.  I'd rather drink a glass of milk and lay off the jalapenos.

Thankfully my husband should be landing soon, in fact I just heard his jet fly over (that is pretty awesome to say, also) and he is going to take me out to lunch after my last stab in the arm.
He doesn't want me to faint. Or explode. Or punch the newbie-lab-tech.

Boy or girl?  Your guess is as good as mine!

That sounds like heaven!

Yes, number 1 does apply to my family. I'm currently (possibly/perhaps/maybe) posting, doing this exact thing right now... watch to find out!

Mr. Pilot

A sad day.

If you happen to read the news at all, you probably heard about the Navy Pilot shooting in Coronado (San Diego) on New Year's Day.

You may also know that the pilot community is very small.  I received a phone call early this week from a dear friend, telling me to check the news. There were two pilots and two civilians shot in a condo. There were no names released at that time, but as I said, the community is very small.

One of the pilot's was Bob Reeves, he was in Mr. Pilot's class back in Mississippi.  The class there was small, only 4 guys, so my entire family knew him fairly well.  He was Mr. Pilot's partner for the dog fighting and carrier qualifying.

There followed a whirlwind of phone calls and information being passed among pilots from that class and their wives.  A combination of shock, grief, and sadness overwhelmed us all.  No one wanted to say it, but we all expected Bob to be named as the shooter when the ballistic information was released. That sounds incredibly awful, but after spending much time with him for that 18 months in Meridian, that was the conclusion we all had. No one was shocked when the facts were released.  That added to the grief, I think.

As we sat down to dinner to share what we felt appropriate for the children to know, Boy recalled having dinner at Mom's Diner with Mr. Reeves and Dad.  There were lots of questions about why- why would he do that to them, and why would he do that to himself?  We took the opportunity to remind ourselves that we are all wicked in heart. (The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?  I the LORD search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds." ~Jeremiah 17:9&10) That the bible says that if we are even angry at someone, we have committed murder in our hearts ("You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment,' But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, 'You fool!' will be liable to the hell of fire. ~Matthew 5:21&22) That the only thing keeping anyone from behaving in that same way is God's hand of Mercy. (Romans 1:24, below)  That once he realized what he had done, he wanted to hide in the only place he could. (Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him? declares the LORD. Do I not fill heaven and earth? declares the LORD ~Jeremiah 23:24, And nothing is hidden from His sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account. ~Hebrews 4:13)

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error. And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Though they know God’s decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.  ~Romans 1:18-32

I thank the Lord for His hand of Mercy.  For His steadfast love and faithfulness.  I praise God that he protected my husband, my family, and my friends from this horrible tragedy.  It could have been any one of the guys in his class, any one of us, really.  But I grieve for the lost. I pray for the families of those involved, my heart especially goes out to the parents of the other pilot.  They lost two children in a moment of rage. Also, for Bob's parents and the men that knew him and worked with him.  Let their hearts not be troubled with "what if's."

For each and every one of us, the wages of our wicked hearts- the payment we must make, is death, and then eternity in hell.  But, with a saving faith in Jesus Christ, we can instead have eternal life in heaven.

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. ~Romans 6:23

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus! ~Romans 3:23&24