Good-bye Mississippi!

You can keep all of your coughs, colds, tummy bugs, mosquitos, ants, and humidity with you.

Your Southern Hospitality though, we are taking with us.

We have meet some truly gracious and generous people here and our lives are forever changed.

We would appreciate prayers for travel mercies, warm weather, and sanity. We just hit our first 30 miles. The baby has already cried herself to sleep, and I've heard 3 I'm boards, 2 are we there yet's, one I'm hungry, and 52 meows. We get to do that 30 miles stretch 100 more times before we reach our new home. Yeah, pray for sanity. Please.


Since I can blog from my phone, I'll do my best to keep you updated on our trip.

We are sure going to miss y'all.

The spaghetti of my mind.

I am typing this with my thumbs. I've been waiting for days for the Internet to be fixed but I am giving up hope. So, I am typing with my thumbs on a phone that thinks it's smart. So smart it types mr when I mean me. And zooming when I mean spinning. Why yes, smart phone, I meant to say Minch instead of meant. Whatever that means. So sorry you might have to guess what I'm talking about... ;-)

It's cold out. So cold that anything touching an outside wall of the trailer is wet. Like my new feather pillow. And a brand new package of now soggy 24 rolls of septic safe (not cheap) toilet paper and whatever is under the couch and in the cupboards that I am pretending don't exist since we are moving soon. Even though we may not be moving for a month and stuff will be Milton- no, oh smart phone, I didn't mean Milton. I meant molding. But I can't see it so I'm pretending it's not happening...

Some dear friends are out of town for Christmas and have so graciously loaned us their house for the rest of the month. I am so excited, never mind we need to feed their goats and chickens that sometimes sneak in the house. There is an oven, a shower, a bed, and Internet. Oh, and a refrigerator that is above 32 degrees and it will make me feel like I am with friends even though they aren't there. We said goodbye to them last night not knowing if we will still be here when they get back or not. That makes for a very anticlimactic farewell to some very close friends. I am sad.

Mr. Pilot has 4 more flights before he gets "soft winged." that is where he is unofficially a pilot and gets to wear wings on his name tag but isn't quite yet a pilot. We are supposed to spray him with the fire hose when he lands that last flight. It's 38 degrees. That would be awfully cold. But, it's tradition, right?
We find out a week from today where we are going. The same day my mother-in-law flies in and my mom and step-dad drive in.
A week from tomorrow my family will get all dressed up to go on stage and pin daddy's wings on him. I will cry. It will be amazing.

Then there will be the after party. Apparently it's being planned by some single guys because it starts at 8:30 pm on Thursday and consists of a band, 3 kegs, $1,800 of booze, and $100 of food. And we have to pay for it. Even though we won't be going. Because it starts at 8:30. And 1800 dollars worth of alcohol. And no food. I see nothing good coming out of that situation. I find it an incredibly tacky way to celebrate something my husband has been waiting for many years to achieve. It's high-schoolish and in my opinion completely infantile and lame. Just sayin.

A week from Sunday is Daddy's birthday. What a busy week!

I have tons of pictures to share with you, if the Internet man ever comes around. I've called the front office three days in a row now, and she assures me they are working on it. She sounds just as annoyed as I am. I hope she's annoyed at the Internet man and not me.

The weather is bad today. So bad we got a serious weather warning. It might snow. And leave a light dusting on metallic objects. That is what the report actually says. 4 years ago the serious warning we got was 5 feet of snow in less than 5 hours and the city shut down. We couldn't open our front door for the snow and had to admit defeat in our challenge of going the whole winter without turning on the furnace. Of course that was Colorado, not Mississippi. Either way, it's bad enough I just got a text from my husband that he was canx. That means canceled. Don't the clouds and dusting of snow know that he must complete those 4 flights or nothing can happen next week?!

Enough rambling like noodles in a bowl of spaghetti for now. If you've kept reading this far, pray for sunshine and warmer days, you know, so my husband can get his wings and my pillows won't get moldy.

Following Through, The Quiet Heart

My BFTKC friend recently pointed out that it isn't nice to start a series on your blog and not follow through... So I thought I'd let you know that I have every intention of following through on my series about contentment.  I am just doing some more field research, you know, so I can give more accurate and practical advice on how to have a quiet heart.

When I told dad my great idea to live in a travel trailer he laughed.  I couldn't possibly have been serious, right?  Well, my idea was to live in a trailer for a year.  (In the beginning I wouldn't even call it a trailer. I preferred to call it something more much more refined.  Like RV, so it sounded more like a vacation home than trailer trash, but I am so over that.  I totally live in a trailer and I have junk in my yard to prove it.)
We have had an amazing time in this trailer.  We have grown so close as a family.  Our lives have changed completely.  I know we will refer back to this time over and again for the rest of our lives.  I can already hear my children telling their children "We had the best time the year we lived in the travel trailer, we learned..."

But.
A year came.
A year went.
We aren't too far off from a year and a half.
And there is no end in sight.

I read an article some time ago about how most Americans wash the outside of their body at least once a day, sometimes even twice, but almost never wash the inside.  That was true of my family, the only time we spent in the Word was on Sunday mornings.  Not any more.  Nope.  We wash in the Word every morning and every evening and usually once or twice more during our school day.   And we no longer shower every day.  Not even every other day.  (Yes, that is what you were smelling, lol) I never knew I could be so blessed by being stinky.  HA!  I digress.

Back to the point. We hit a year in July.  It didn't make any sense to move out of the trailer at a year we were supposed to be outta here in October.  It's closing in on December.  It's cold. (Not today, today feels like I'm in the Amazon) It is wet.  My Pickles are frozen again. I have no running hot water.  The roof leaks onto my "closet/dirty laundry room/storage room" I want to take a shower and I'm not even talking every day.  Every other day would be quite nice.  I want a bed I can walk around instead of crawling over.  I would like to bake bread in an oven instead of contorting a bread pan to fit inside a crock pot and guessing how many hours it will take to bake.

Dad is set to get his selection about a day or so before he gets his Wings of Gold (as long as nothing unforeseen happens).  That is sometime during the week before Christmas (they have already changed the date a time or two) and in that we only find out where we are going.  We won't find out when we have to be there until a week before we have to be there.  We could have to be there before Christmas.  Or we could have to be there in February.  But we won't know until it's time to pack and leave.

So today we decided we are going to decorate for Christmas.  So I have to go to the storage unit and dig for the decorations box that I smartly buried in the back because we were going to be outta here in October.  I have no idea where our cold weather clothes are located.  I am thankful for our friends who have graciously blessed us with some warm dresses for my girls for the days it dropped below freezing.

I have learned more than I could ever post here. I will cherish this time forever. I am not complaining.

But I wasn't prepared to spend another cold, wet, yucky winter in this tiny little tin can humble home.

So, I am practicing Contentment.  I am trying to focus on the blessings of this home.  I am keeping very busy with school, healthy eating without an oven or stove and with a refrigerator that is actually a freezer, planning a celebration for Dad's winging, and preparing for Christmas.  Christmas that might be in Mississippi in a trailer or somewhere else in this Great Country in a trailer or house.  Do not feel sorry for me. I am not complaining.  I am growing, stretching, learning. I am being made flexible, pliable, teachable. And I am rejoicing in the growth of my children, my husband and myself.  Thankful for all we have been blessed with.  God is good.

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity. Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

Yet it was kind of you to share my trouble. And you Philippians yourselves know that in the beginning of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church entered into partnership with me in giving and receiving, except you only. Even in Thessalonica you sent me help for my needs once and again. Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that increases to your credit. I have received full payment, and more. I am well supplied, having received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent, a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God. And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. ~Amen.   Philippians 4:4-20

Stuff in Storage

I would have to say that was the easiest household goods move we have ever had. It was smooth and painless, everything went right into the storage unit and fit perfectly. I resisted the urge to grab anything I suddenly "missed" or "needed" and only snagged a few items that I had been thinking about since living in the trailer. While I am glad we now have access to our bikes and winter clothes, we also have our work cut out for us because there is definitely tons of stuff that we can get rid of still. I don't like paying for a larger size storage unit than we actually need only because it is filled with junk. I would like to sort out the junk and move the important stuff into a smaller unit. I wish I could pretend like it isn't there and just leave it for a year and go through it when transfer out of here (if we move back into a house) but it is like a splinter in the hand, I will not be able to forget about it. I will have to find the time over the next couple of months and get it all sorted out. It is just work, right?

Two items I grabbed out were a little rid-on-toy and the bouncing zebra for Pops. It was perfect timing for his age, he loves them both! He thinks he's pretty hot stuff though, in just a couple of minutes of figuring out how to climb on the toys, he discovered how much fun it is to stand up on them. I debated on grabbing the camera but decided against it when he let go to clap his hands in excitement at his accomplishment. What a stinker!

Time limts and priorities

This is our 11th move in not quite 10 years. Yes, I said eleventh. Not all of the moves were required by the Navy, for example when Boy was born we chose to move out of our 750 square foot caulking sealed wood floor military apartment to a 3 bedroom duplex with laminate floor thick black cabinets, but we have moved 11 times none-the-less. One of my biggest pet peeves about all the moving is that there are so many details at the very end that we are stuck scrubbing switch plates and light fixtures so we don't get adequate time to say good-bye. I am not very good at good-bye but I feel like so many things are left undone.

This is the place that I have disliked the most, yet had the best time. I really, really, I mean really disliked this area. We all really disliked it here. I could go on for hours with complaints but I know how much a mother has influence on her family so so we would sit around the dinner table and take turns stating something we liked about Florida just so we wouldn't feel so bad. It was hard work to go around the table twice. That was until we found the co-op, (that is the place where homeschool families meet and take classes together, you know, so we're socialized.) We have belonged to co-ops before, but there is nothing like the paths that we crossed here. I have met some truely wonderful people here and I finally understand what "Titus 2" means. I have found my Spiritual Family. These are not just people like me, we aren't all brainwashed into thinking the same things. In fact we are all very different. We come from very different walks of life, very different backgrounds, we differ in beliefs, ideas on raising children, being a wife, homeschooling, and keeping house. We go to different churches, read different versions of the Bible, cook different types of food, you get the idea. One thing we don't differ on though, is the God we serve. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. I feel very blessed that we were here, even the short time it was. I will walk away from Florida on Friday morning a completely changed person. Even Boy pointed out that this was the place we have made the most friends, "even you, mama" he said with tears in his eyes. So thank you to all the wonderful people here. I can't say enough how much you have meant to us. You will forever be etched in our hearts.

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.