I made it!

When you live on Windy Island a.k.a. Whidbey Island where the wind is regularly 25-30 mph and often 50 mph, van doors get ripped off the hinges, balls, toys and perhaps chickens disappear from your yard, sheds and trees get blown over, people walk at an angle and the breath gets sucked right out of little baby's lungs.

So, I made a wind cover.

Dad picked out the fabric.

Bucket made sure the seat still worked.

and I made it!

I bought some cute green flower buttons to add to the straps to make it more girly if the baby is a girl.

There is green minky fabric underneath to give it some weight. 

It was super easy, and also way cheaper than any you can buy, especially since when I went to buy the fabric it just so happened to be 1/2 price.  Yeah!

HERE is the link I used, if you want to give it a whirl.  Makes a great baby shower gift!

My family makes me proud!

Wednesday night we puked a cumulative total of about 78 times and never missed the bucket.  What an accomplishment!

I will share with you how there were children sleeping on my bedroom and bathroom floor.  Each had a bucket and a towel that I had to try not to trip over on my way to the bathroom. I am sure it will eventually be funny to me, that Butter cheerfully asked a billion questions after every time she threw up, and if Pops even flinched she was shoving his bucket in his face screaming "don't miss the bucket Poppy!"   I am pretty sure I lost 8 pounds.  And ripped some of my nonexistent stomach muscles.  I will spare you the rest of the details.

I hope we never, ever experience that again.

I'm a Jet Pilot Wife ~ It's Finally Official!

After applying three years in a row, Daddy was accepted in the Seaman to Admiral (STA-21) Program in November of 2004 and had the honor of being pre-selected as a pilot.

What a long road it has been! 4 military transfers (including entirely across the country and then back again), 3 years of college with an Engineering degree and commissioning as a US Naval Officer, 4 different phases of flight school and a winging, the births of 3 new additions to our family, and a myriad of other life changing events led up to a pinnacle graduation last night.

Mr. Pilot is officially an EA-18 Growler Electronic Attack Pilot in the US Navy.

Every step since being accepted has been a ladder rung to this great achievement.  I could not be more proud of my husband, and every effort he has put forth to arrive here.  I also could not be more blessed by the Hand of the Lord that laid the path.

But the celebration was bittersweet.  With the "welcome to your new squadron, welcome back to the fleet" we were informed that Mr. Pilot is headed to a not so nice place (it has lots of sand) on a date that will arrive before our newest blessing is expected to arrive. Talk about diving in head first.

Since deployment as a jet pilot is inevitable, I suppose it is best to get the first one out of the way, right away.  Not having very long to prepare also has the advantage of not having time to dwell on the impending separation.

Future Blog Post Disclaimer: You can expect lots of talking in code for the next several months.  I am not permitted to say where he is going, when he is going, what he will be doing there, or when he will be back.  I am however, allowed to deliver our baby by myself on Deception Pass Bridge, use lots of sarcasm about war and politics, and write gushy blog posts about how much I miss my husband.

Fear, or Faith?

I thought I might let you know that I passed my glucose test.  After getting the results, I am even more irritated about it than when I was starving, hyped up on sugar, and being poked in the arm repeatedly.
Can anyone explain to me why during the 3 hour test you get the full 3 hours to have your glucose levels drop below 140, but 140 is "failing" for the 1 hour test?  Why didn't they just give me 3 hours to begin with?  I wonder if this is just another scam to get my insurance $ for a test I didn't really need...

It prompted me to poke around a bit...

 Instead of being vigilant about picking up on problems, many health-care providers (doctors far more than midwives) over-test because they fear liability and simply expect trouble. Many of these newer tests were created to diagnose problems in high-risk pregnancies. But with the increased medicalization of pregnancy, they have become routine for healthy women with no known risks. This does not mean that every test is right for everyone, however, or that they are risk-free themselves. There may be a problem that prenatal testing doesn’t show, or aproblem may not exist even if the test suggests it does. Results that are unclear or even misleading can plague your peace of mind and decrease your confidence. The barrage of tests can also make you feel like your health-care provider knows everything there is to know about your pregnancy, which is not the case. 

You can read the entire article here.

I am definitely discovering a lot more fear mongering and playing on our own ignorance.  Suddenly we think the doctors are gods and we ourselves know nothing, that pregnancy is a medical condition that must be treated and not a miracle and blessing.

Do I really need all those tests?  Do I really need to be poked and prodded every 2-3 weeks?  If I don't go to every appointment, get every ultrasound and blood test, is something bad really going to happen?  Is it really my doctor that decides the condition of my baby?

I think not.

For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.                                                 ~Psalm 139:13-16

Minus the Mustache...

This is the face of a Carrier Qualified Jet Pilot!

It's Show Time: Update

I'm still holding my breath for a phone call from Mr. Pilot.  I'll keep you posted!

You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.  Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD GOD is an everlasting rock.                                                       ~Isaiah 26:3&4

Gray is the New Brown?

Or is it the new brown?
Seriously?  I have been on the look out for a coming home outfit and tete (blankie) for our new baby and I am super irritated with the choices at the local shops.

There is usually a plethora of adorable clothes and all sorts of unnecessary baby paraphernalia, but I am so disappointed with everything I can find.

Maybe it's because I am looking for something gender neutral and no one else in America waits to find out if they are having a boy or girl so there is no longer a market for adorable gender neutral clothes?

The only "neutral" items I can find are gray.  The sky is gray here, and that is depressing.
I would like something much more cheery in which to  bring baby home.  It's not like I live in Mississippi any more and can just put on a onesie and a diaper.  It won't be summer until August here.

Where oh where have the "that is sooooo-cute I must have that to put my new baby in" clothes?  Where oh where have they gone?

It's Show Time!

Mr. Pilot walked about 30 minutes ago.  That means he is in his jet and headed for the boat! 

Prayer for sound mind, quick but steady hands, and awesome pilot skills are desired. 

 Pray for qualification, and that I won't go nuts between now and Sunday or Monday when I get to hear from him.

If you think of us over the next couple of days, especially at night, please remember to pray!

This is not exactly Mr. Pilot's jet, but this is exactly what it's about to look like...

Single Digits, People!

I am down to the single digits for how many weeks of pregnancy I have left.  I think I actually have only 8 weeks left. Where has the time gone?!

Sure, there are days that feel like years and I wonder if I have been pregnant forever, but this pregnancy has truly flown by.  Maybe it is because I seem to have misplaced my brain somewhere along the way...

Yesterday I asked Belle if she could please wash Bucket's hands and face without getting her hands wet.
The day before that I responded with "Yes, Wal-Mart" when Bucket pointed to the Ocean.
Today, I gave my empty bowl to Sis and asked her to please put it in the Chicken.

My children are sure getting a kick out of this pregnant amnesia, they even said they are going to start writing the stuff I say down somewhere so we can remember it forever...

I'll start taking guesses as to when this baby is coming (I am due May 18th, my first was 2 days late, 2nd, 3rd and 5th were 3 weeks early, 4th was 4 weeks early, and 6th was 2 weeks early), and if he is a he or if she is a she.
Leave your guesses in the comments.  :~)

It's Boat Time. Take 4. Action.

Dad left on Thursday for the 2nd time to head to the boat.  He needs to CQ (carrier qualify, or prove he can land safety on the back of a little ship in the big ocean in the dark...) before he can finish flight training.  We said our good-byes and our prayers.  We cried our tears.
And then he came home.

The jet that was supposed to take the guys to Virginia broke.  So very comforting.  But we got another night with daddy (quickly scratch the idea of having cereal for supper) and everyone was happy.

Then Friday morning we said our good-byes and our prayers.  We cried our tears.
And then he came home.
Am I repeating myself here?  Nope, you guessed it. The new jet on the new day broke.  Very, very comforting.  So, we got another night with daddy, yay, and had another nice dinner.

Today, daddy left again.  This time he had to be at the jet at 6am so we said our good-byes, but we were too tired to cry.  The jet actually made it out this time.  I pray the jet doesn't break in the sky.

Have you ever driven a little convertible into the trailer of a moving semi?  At 400 miles per hour?  In the dark?  That is about as close as I can get to imagining what Mr. Pilot is about to do.



Praying for peace.