The mind of man

**I started writing this last Saturday morning and was interupted by sweet little people. It is just now finished.**

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Second cup of coffee.

It's such a beautiful morning.

This is the last day in a week of perfect weather.

It's incredible.

It makes me ask questions like:

"Why didn't God design every day to be the perfect temperature and clear and bright, cool in the morning and warm in the afternoon?" He placed the sun the perfect distance away from the earth, tilts the planet to the perfect angle and makes the seasons change. Why didn't he just make it beautiful all the time?

And another question:

If all creation glorifies God and his qualities have, in fact, "been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made," then WHAT does the changing weather teach us about God?

It seems everything brings up questions in my mind. Hopefully one day I will find answers to some of them.

Another question I've been considering for a couple days now is:

"How does God go about direct our path?"

Mike and I have been blessed to have started off our relationship with an understanding that "God's way is right." And that we would be wise to follow Him instead of go our own way. It goes without saying that we are both sinners and often fumble the easy things, that we battle constantly with our selfish desires verses God's way, so I'm not going to go into all that right now.

But. I do want to say that It's been a blessing to be able to say that Mike and I have, our whole married life, been intentional about seeking God's plan for our lives when having to make decisions regarding our future.

Does that mean we have made the right choice every time a major decision comes our way?

Going to A&M for school?
Joining the air force?
Various career moves?

Who knows.

Here's what I do know. Mike is an excellent planner. He looks up information, he talks to people, he checks out the maps, he finds stats, he is always as informed as he can be before making a decision. I'm thankful for his vigilance as it is important to me also to know what we're getting into :-)

Mike has, by hard (and ethical) work, put himself in positions to do well. He has pursued different avenues in his career, with the driving force being to follow God's lead, provide for his family, and be able to spend more time raising his sons.

The last two years he has applied for pilot training. God has said no.

About 3 months ago he got a phone call from some guy who is in charge of selecting the pilots for RPAs (remotely piloted aircraft). He offered Mike the job.

When you have literally hours to choose between two perfectly good options, which one do you pick?

And does it really matter which one you pick?

If you are seeking God's direction and He hasn't made it evident, is it like He is saying: "Choose whichever, I'm the one who will direct your path."?

I'm wondering all this because, we decided to say "Yes," to that man who offered Mike the RPA job. For the last three months we have been expecting to be moving in February to San Antonio for training and then on to Las Vegas. We planned on leaving our friends and moving out of the Bible belt. We planned on tough training with the hopes that there would be much more time at home for Mike. No more deployments, few TDYs.

Last week Mike had some medical tests done. He has a very slight eye problem, he has a hard time telling differences between similar shades of green. Before last week, we had no idea. It's just bad enough to disqualify him from pilot training.

So just like that, all our plans change.

That was attempt #4 to get out of C-130s.

Every time it looks like Mike has set himself up perfectly for the move. Every time it falls through. I can just picture us as cartoon characters, scratching our heads and saying "What are the odds of that?"

The only explanation is that God wants us here.

I think I am beginning to understand the verse:

"The mind of man plans his ways, but the Lord directs his steps." -Prov. 16:9

So what I think I am learning is this:

If we love God,
If we seek God --daily, all the time, with every decision,
If we are willing to follow Him,
--Then it doesn't matter what choice we make when the right way isn't clear.

He will direct our steps.

I think I just don't give God credit enough. I feel like it's all up to me to make this decision correctly.

Should we have more children?
Should we move two houses down so that we can have an additional bedroom?
Where should I go to college?
Should I take this job?

He will direct our steps.

I just need to chill and let Him.

Glamorous?

No.

Not really.

I have a love/hate relationship with our culture.

I love it because it is what is normal and natural to me.

I hate it because it tells me things like:

"Life is all about you."
"Go do something nice for yourself --you deserve it."
"Women should contribute financially."
"Shower daily."

There's a story behind that last one... for later.

Glamorous. "Pursue a life that is glamorous. One that makes you happy."

Yesterday I sat in a pile of little shirts, shorts, blue jeans and under ware. Little socks, shoes, hats and jackets.

And little people.

It was time to switch out the clothes for the new season. I hate doing this job. I'd rather clean up throw up than deal with the explosion that is "change out clothes day." I hate it so much that I never do it for myself. My closet holds the whole years worth of clothes, it holds the ones that fit me when Mike's deployed and I've dropped 2 sizes. It holds the clothes I wear when I eat regularly. It holds the post-pregnancy, before I get back down to normal clothes. It currently has all my maternity clothes in it. I've considered taking them out. But what if I get pregnant again and have to get them all back out! Oh the agony. I'd rather get pregnant and wear them than deal with taking them out of the closet.

So now that you know where I'm coming from...

Clothes day is not glamorous.

In the middle of dealing with the clothes monster, I had inter relational problems with one child. Discontentment issues with another and regurgitation in the third.

I wore the hats of a judge, security officer, motivational speaker, psychologist, and janitor.

From my children I got the same recognition as the door mat.

Glamorous?

No.

I sent a text to a friend of mine, joking (complaining) about the circumstances.

She encouraged me, "...robes of white, robes of white." She reminded me of the reward that will be mine one day.

I worked till 9:00 last night. It was a 15 hour day. I had to recover the house that had been neglected all day while I did laundry.

Last night I was blessed by more uninterrupted sleep than I had been getting lately. This morning I am up early with my coffee on the front porch. I chose to start out my time with God by listening to worship music. Crowder started singing his song, "Everything Glorious."

"You make everything glorious," the song spoke.

Glamorous?

No, GLORIOUS.

I'd had it wrong all day. Stupid culture.

All day I felt like I was not accomplishing what the world says we should work for.

Instead I was accomplishing what God says I must work for.

You [God] make everything glorious.

You make washing smelly under ware glorious.
You make disciplining children glorious.
You make reorganizing drawers glorious.
You make _________ glorious.

Everything I do should be done for the glory of God.

I need to change my heart to be joyful and excited about every little job I have been given. I need to look at is as an opportunity to bring glory to my God.

My little, unmemorable duties can be made glorious.

Glorious =confering or advancing glory (or renoun)

Psalm 34:3

West Texas State Fair and Rodeo

I have a good excuse... really.


Our computer monitor has some sort of electrical short (like I really know) and the power button is messed up and won't stay on. Thus rendering that computer useless.

Mike has been gone the last two weeks on TDY (AF business trip). He took the laptop with him. He's taking online college classes and the computer was a must have.


So I've been without computer access for the last two weeks.



That's why I haven't posted.

Ya'll probably thought my children had been running me ragged and I'd had zero time to post. Well, that was true too, but I'm saving that excuse for later.

The last post I put up was about Hannah coming to visit. If you know Hannah, you know that while she was here she blessed us by taking pictures that make us all look better than we actually do.

And you're right. She did. And here they are:

First thing: Find food.

Ashten told me I had to try the corn. She was right. It was good.

The boys were so hungry and very patient as we scoured the fair grounds for a hand dipped corn dog.

"I'm ... just... so... hungry...."

Mike was a hero. He finally found the hand-dipped corn dogs.

All Jack really wanted to do at the fair was to eat ice cream. I always tell him and Ty, "Good things come to boys who obey." I think I stole that line from Emily. Well, on the way to the fair Jack was saying, "Mom, I'm still obeying!" then he'd wait about 30 seconds and say, "Look Mom, I'm still obeying." He repeated it about 10 times before we told him to be quiet. -It worked, he had to obey the "be quiet" command if he was going to continue being good. Don't know why it took us so long to think of that one...

He was good. He got his ice cream.

The boys loved waving at their good friend, Wyatt, who was riding the merry-go-round.

This group shot was actually THE last thing we did before getting ice cream (I know, the pictures are out of order.) But see the smiles? You can bet we were back there saying, "Smile good and we'll go get ice cream!" Bribery is part of our every day routine of parenting.

I saw this next picture and couldn't figure out what we were doing and why Hannah took a picture of it. I thought, "What did those kids get into?"

Turns out we were just dusting off the dinner before a family pic.

I'm not sure why I thought it was a good idea to get a front row seat, about 20 feet over the ground, with only 14 inches of concrete and a metal bar keeping my children from falling on the cowboys below. Wish I had more horse sense. (har har)

And yes, Hannah made it into a picture. The reason I didn't take the camera from her more often was

1) she doesn't want her camera broken and I don't really trust myself.

2) she was using it on a manual setting which I had no idea how to operate.

3) I had my hands pretty full already

Jack watching the bucking bronco. Jack says his favorite part of the rodeo was the skit done by the rodeo clowns.

Welcome Home Hannah!

Hannah is coming home today. She's been gone four months (reminds me of a deployment). We can't wait to get to visit with her. It's like she's family....

We've decorated the front porch.



Jack's asked about 5 times when Aunt Nanna is coming. I think that was the first thing he asked this morning when he woke up.

Not Ty, when he came down his first words were the same as they are every single morning. "Momma, I hoooonnngery." (short "o" sound not "oo")




This picture of Hannah really accentuates her Adam's apple.

Jack trying to say "I love you" in sign language. NOT "hook'em horns"

He never quite got it...

Oh well, Hannah he loves you so much! Can't wait to see you!

First fall

Austin fell off my bed yesterday during his nap. :-(

I was sad. He was fine. No more naps in Mom's bed. Mike lowered the mattress in his bed so he couldn't flip over the short sides.

Last night Mike took Austin back to the precipice to find out how exactly the fall happened.

Jack's questions

Yesterday afternoon.

Jack woke up from his nap about 5 minutes after I got Ty down. For some reason Ty couldn't sleep and Jack woke up due to some congestion in his nose. Poor kid. Poor mama.

Anyways... I invited him downstairs to hangout and play race car. I was about to start cutting and filing coupons (cause I'm cool like that).

A few minutes into our tasks Jack asks me: "Mama, when is God's next birthday?"

I put down my scissors and got ready to teach him another attribute of God. He stopped playing cars as I explained my answer.

"Jack, God has never had a birthday. Do you know why? Because God has always been. A long time before you were born, God was alive. A long time before I was born, God was alive and even before the world was here. God was alive! And Jack, God is never going to die. He is going to live forever. And Jack, God said that people who follow Jesus will get to come live in heaven with Him forever."

I love all the questions that God put on Jack's heart. I know the questions were from God because without Him drawing us to Himself, man wouldn't come to God. Unless God reveals himself to us, it just sounds like foolishness. I can't help but smile as I think of our great God whispering questions into Jack's mind. Or think about the teachers at MDO and our church who assist Mike and I in building a firm foundation of truth on which we pray that God would build. Jack knows a lot about God (for a child) but still so little...

"I'm going to live in heaven!" Jack was quick to reply. "Mama, are you going to live in heaven?

"Yes Jack, I am. I get to live in Heaven because I follow Jesus."

"I follow Jesus too Mommy!"

"Good, but there is more than that. I have sinned and sin keeps me from getting to go to God. Have you ever sinned Jack?"

"Yes." Then his eyes light up, "Jesus died on the cross for my sins!" Something he had been taught but didn't really grasp yet.

I continue, "Jesus paid for my sins. My sins are what keeps me from getting to go to heaven. Because God is holy...."

"What is holy?" Jack asked.

"Holy means 'without sin'. Because God is holy, he can't have any sin around him. My sin keeps me from getting to be with God. That's why Jesus had to die. To get rid of my sin. When we sin there has to be punishment. Jesus died as the punishment. And now when I die I get to go to heaven."

"That's where Jesus is! He's in heaven building a house." Jack's getting excited. "When I gunna go to heaven?

"Well, you will when you die or when Jesus comes back to get us. We don't know when He's coming back. It may be while we are alive and it may be after we die."

"Yeah, cause it's a looooooong house. [Jack stretches his arms out as far as they'll go]

"But Jack, you will only get there if you ask God to forgive your sins and you trust him. Then you have to follow him."

"I will follow Jesus! Where's Jesus going?"

I explained that following Jesus meant that we follow what he teaches us in the Bible. The conversation went on a little longer and he repeated a prayer after me. We asked for understanding and that God would show Jack what it meant to follow Jesus with his whole life.

I'm a little apprehensive about taking him through the "sinner's prayer" right now. I believe that there are lots and lots of people who think they are saved (Christians) but in reality they are not. You can't just pray a prayer and go on with your life. The Bible teaches that salvation is FREE but if you have really given your life to Jesus then there will be proof in the way you live. I, by no means, want my children to have a false assurance of their salvation.

Jesus teaches that on the day of judgment "Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter. On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’ But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’ (Matt. 7:21-23)

He also says: "... small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it. (Matt. 7:14)

Mike is out of town for a few more days. I'm hoping he and I can spend some time praying together and visiting about how to direct Jack's heart. I don't want to lead him into something he doesn't fully understand, and I don't want to be a stumbling block if God is calling him to come to Himself right now.

Thank you for praying for Jack's salvation and wisdom for Mike and I as we council him.

God vs. World part 1

I am going to be posting a short series of lessons that I am teaching in AWANA right now. These are just notes. They are here for me to reference more than anything else. It is possible that I might teach this lesson again one day or that someone might want to take and use something in it. Mostly I just want it documented somewhere and I tend to lose things on my computers...

Watch this video and pray partcular attention to the lyrics.

Pray for You - Jaron and The Long Road to Love from Jaron and The Long Road to Love on Vimeo.

Ok, lets examine this song for a minute. It makes you laugh cause you think this guy is going to forgive and pray for this girl who hurt his heart, but then turns out he’s praying that bad things will happen. It’s meant to be a funny song and its easy to just laugh and move on when you hear it, but lets stop and REALLY think about this song.

What is the message of this song?

Tell me what is wrong or unbiblical about this song.

“He wants her to be hurt”
“He isn’t forgiving”
“He is misusing Biblical principles”
“He is angry”
“He is prideful”

This song is so typical of our sinful hearts.

The heart is:

-deceitful and desperately wicked (Jeremiah 17:9)

-every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was evil all the time (Gen
6:5)

-every inclination of his heart is evil from childhood (Gen 8:21)

We must understand that left to ourselves (without Jesus) our hearts are wicked and without hope. From birth it is our nature to rebel against God.

It’s really easy to hear this song and laugh and say, yeah that’s how a lot of people feel. We need to realize that messages like this get fed into our heads every single day.

What is our hearts nature without Christ? (desperately wicked, every inclination of our hearts is evil all the time, evil from childhood)

And so if this is true of every human heart then what do you think the “world” is going to teach you?

(And when I say “world” I am speaking about the concerns of people in the world. Anything that is opposite of God’s way.)

At schools?
On TV?
Our friends?
Magazines?
Commercials?
Music?
Movies?
Other Christians (we all still sin)?


God’s way is so different from man’s way.

The World says: it’s ok to hate those who have done wrong things to you

God says: love your enemies

The World says: get even

God says: forgive

The World says: Do what you need to do to get ahead

God says: give of yourself

The World says: Spend every moment of your life on what makes you happy –worship yourself

God says: give every moment of your life to me as worship

I heard this quote a long time ago and thought it was pretty accurate:

“Whatever the great majority is doing, on any given circumstance,
if you do the opposite, you will probably never make another mistake in your life.”

So we have a decision (and it is not as easy as it sounds):

Do we do what everyone else is doing or do we follow Jesus?

Why do you think so many people chose to do their own thing (not follow Jesus) ?

A: It’s easier. Or they don’t know about God’s laws

I want us to spend the rest of this time focusing on answering this one question. In the following weeks we are going to answer some different ones relating to following God in a sinful world.

“If our hearts are so wicked, how do we make them stop wanting the best for ourselves and start wanting to obey God?”

A: We cannot make our hearts want to follow God:

If fact, the Bible says that the message of the cross is nonsense to those who don’t know him.

1 Cor. 1:18-30 “For the message about the cross is nonsense to those who are being destroyed, but it is God's power to us who are being saved.”

Remember that every inclination of our heart is evil --even from childhood. There is nothing in us that will turn around and want to worship God. We cannot see the truth unless God opens our eyes and reveals himself to us in our heart.

God chooses us.
You did not choose me, but I chose you .... (John 15:16)

This word choose in the Greek means:
1) to pick out, choose, to pick or choose out for one's self
a) choosing one out of many, i.e. Jesus choosing his disciples

Romans 8:28-30 “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And having chosen them, he called them to come to him. And having called them, he gave them right standing with himself. And having given them right standing, he gave them his glory.”

...God who called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful. ” (1 Cor. 1:8)

After he calls you he gives you a gift.

But what does God give to those who He calls?

“I will give them hearts that recognize me as the LORD. They will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me wholeheartedly.” Jeremiah 24:7

God gives them the ability to recognize that He is God.

Now, even though we know he is God, sometimes that still isn’t enough to make me want to obey God. It is foolishness for me to not want to obey God.

And what is the opposite of foolishness?

A: Wisdom.

“If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. James 1:5

God will give us wisdom and with wisdom we will see the value in obedience to God and are more likely to obey him.

I'm going to miss these days

So I try to smile and enjoy the days of Abilene-red dirt footprint stains all over my front porch.
As much as I love babies and little boys I know one day my heart will yearn for a dirty entryway, or finding an occasional pair of wet undies in the bathroom, or seeing matchbox cars on the floor all in a row.



I see the joy and delight on my mom's face and my mother-in-law's face when they are around my little boys. I can hear the longing in thier voices when they speak of wanting a visit. After witnessing this, I would be wise to put aside the desire for a tidy house and instead focus intently on these precious little people that I have in my home for only a season.

I pray that I would always be mindful of the: 1) opportunity I have to model the gospel to these little boys and 2) the responsibility that I have to do so.

I learn something new every day

Cabbage helps take the swelling out of, well, anything that is swollen. Cool huh? Cabbage also will help you get over mastitis --which is an infection in your "boo-boo" (term originated with my niece and has now become my favorite way of refering to... that part of the body). Cabbage can be used to help a nursing mama's milk supply dry up.

Tonight my little friend Gabby taught me about another way (other than digesting) veggies can help your body.

Gabby: "My ear was hurting today so mommy put broccoli on it."

Me [thinking I'd heard wrong]: "Broccoli? Green broccoli?"

Gabby: "No, black broccoli."

Me: "...oh."

Veggies are amazing.

And for those of you who don't think so, check out the sign we have displayed in our garage:

"There are no bad vegetables. Only misunderstood ones."

The Poor

As I pulled into McDonald's (breakfast of champions) this morning I noticed a couple beside the road. I assume they were homeless. They were asking for donations. The lady was in a wheelchair, she was holding a sign. A man stood behind her.

I love when God teaches me something and then immediately gives me the opportunity to put it into practice.

This morning during my quiet time I went again to the book "A Gospel Primer" by Milton Vincent. I've copied the short passage down for you... anyone know if this is highly illegal? If I give credit is it ok???

Check out what I read.

Like nothing else could ever do, the gospel instills in me a heart for the downcast, the poverty-stricken, and those in need of physical mercies, especially when such persons are of the household of faith.

When I see persons who are materially poor, I instantly feel a kinship with them, for they are physically what I was spiritually when my heart was closed to Christ. Perhaps some of them are in their condition because of sin, but so was I. Perhaps they are unkind when I try to help them; but I, too, have been spiteful to God when He has sought to help me. Perhaps they are thankless and even abuse the kindness I show them, but how many times have I been thankless and used what God has given me to serve selfish ends?

Perhaps a poverty-stricken person will be blessed and changed as a result of some kindness I show him. If so, God be praised for His grace through me. But if the person walks away unchanged by my kindness then I still rejoice over the opportunity to love as God loves. Perhaps the persons will repent in time; but for now, my heart is chastened and made wiser by the tangible depiction of what I myself have done to God on numerous occasions.

The gospel reminds me daily of the spiritual poverty into which I was born and also of the staggering generosity of Christ towards me. Such reminders instill in me both a felt connection to the poor and a desire to show them the same generosity that has been lavished on me. When ministering to the poor with these motivations, I not only preach the gospel to them through word and deed, but I reenact the gospel to my own benefit as well.

What a humbling passage. What a good reminder of my own condition before God. What a gift to get to see it this morning.

But of course, as always, I don't learn things the first go round:

When purchasing my breakfast, I also bought two sandwiches for this poor couple. As I started walking toward them, the man saw me and walked my direction. I put the two sandwiches in his worn grimy hands. He looked me in the eyes and told me: "Thank you. God bless."

I walked back to the car while he returned to his post. I watched to see if he would eat the sandwich or if he would throw it out, there only for the money. He spoke to the woman then put the sandwiches in a bag behind her wheelchair. Instantly my mind jumped to conclusions:

"He prolly gets lots of McDonald's, that's why he's chosen this corner."
"I've wasted my money buying them food they aren't going to eat. I'm sure he's already eaten this morning."

Instead of rejoicing at the opportunity to serve, I think about it logically. I decide whether or not that was an effective move. According to my wisdom it wasn't fair --he had done nothing to earn this free meal. It wasn't a worthwhile gift --he wasn't starving. It wasn't life-changing --I didn't share the Gospel. I just wasted Mike's hard earned money buy giving food to a guy who doesn't really want it.

THEN.

I was remined of what I read that morning:

"But if the person walks away unchanged by my kindness then I still rejoice over the opportunity to love as God loves."

Who knows how this guy got in this situation. If he was the most undeserving and vial person on the planet, it doesn't matter.

What matters is that I got to love as God loves... ME.

Bathketball

No, I don't have a lisp.

Bathketball is a sport Jack and Ty invented tonight.

It is my understanding that in order to "win" you must not only score a ton but also displace at least 30% of the water from the tub.

Jump shots are a must.

Teamwork --take it or leave it.

Very similar to thieves, there's no honor amongst bathketball players. When "discovered" Ty tried to slip unseen into the water. Jack faced the music.




Installing the goal that high must have been pretty dangerous....

On the bright side, Jack's got a pretty decent vertical.

Reading with Jack

Me: "Jack, sound out these letters. "

(I point to TIP)

Jack: ttt iii ppp (imagine him sounding out each letter)

Me: What does it say?

Jack: Snug!

Me (laughing at how in the world he came up with "snug"): No Jack, it says "tip"

Jack (eyes lit up): Oh! Like, "Tip of my hat"

Me: laughs

Ahh sleep!

It's the perfect day for a nap.


Mike has some studying he needs to do today. So I took the kids out to a park this morning. Where they ran, slid and fed the ducks. Arriving home they ate a delicious lunch of peanut butter and jelly with a side of cucumbers. Both big boys could hardly stay awake at lunch. My eyes widened at the thought of this INCREDIBLE nap that awaited me. Austin hadn't had his usual long morning nap, and even if he had, no big deal he also happens to take a long afternoon nap! Perfect.


My significant other sweetly cleaned up the lunch mess while I took a quick shower (my phone fell in the lake when we were feeding the ducks and I had to wade in the nasty water to fish it out). Next I got the big boys all read to and sound asleep in their beds.

Saaawwwwweet!! Nap time!


But no...


No, no, no.


After trying for over an hour to get Austie to sleep, trying every sleep position he uses, nothing. I gave up and thought he could maybe just chill next to me while I slept. After drifting off to sleep two or three times (only to be woken up immediately) I gave up and came down stairs to let him play.


What's a mom to do when you've got this looking up at you?



15 minutes later, before I'm even done typing this:

Little punk...

Then I'll be a man

A conversation was going on in the back seat while driving to MDO this morning. I wasn't paying much attention till I heard Ty say: "I not a man yet."

I thought... this could be good, so I kept listening:

Ty: "I not a man yet."

Jack: "I'm not either."

Ty: "But I got hair on my knees! Look Jack, look!"

Jack: "Yeah, but you have to have a little belly like Daddy's, then you're a man."

Trouble with the Law

I'm in trouble with the law.


It's actually a quite bogus story.

Let me tell you how it all began....


Rachel, my friend, invited us to the park one morning two weeks ago. We were up and at'em so I told her sure, we'll be there in 30. We load up --which is no easy task with three, about the time one is dressed and ready, another needs to nurse or go potty or get disciplined, so I was pretty impressed with myself that we had made it out of the house.

Driving along...

Ahead of us was a corner notorious for security forces (base police) with their radar guns. Today was different only in the fact that their vehicle was packed in the most obvious spot imaginable. As I drove by I thought, "haha, they aren't going to catch ANYONE speeding today." I get to the corner, stop and proceed.

Then, out pulls the SF car which promptly turns on it's lights.

What in the world?

I pull over, officer approaches, informs me that I did not stop at the stop sign. I disagree politely. I mean, as politely as you can when you are telling someone they are incorrect. It didn't matter. I hand them my driver's license, military ID card, proof of insurance, proof of registration, marriage license, living will, all three children's birth certificates, title to our vehicle... wait. Well, most of that.

They leave. 20 minutes later. Yes, 20 minutes. Not exaggerating. Hot car, screaming baby, Ty, and friends waiting on me at the park.

Twenty minutes.

Then they come back, inform me that my state driver's license has expired a couple months ago on my birthday.

Great.

They leave again.

Then come back 5 minutes later with two tickets. I'm informed that I need to give the tickets to my husband when he gets home and he will go tell the first Sergeant. The ticket for running a stop sign (pleading not guilty) will result in 3 points against my license, if I get too many points my driving privileges will be revoked. I'm told there is no penalty for the expired license, but I must renew it immediately.

Ok. Well, as is natural, I was upset about the tickets, mostly because I thought I DID stop at the stop sign. Mike talks to the shirt and is told that if I get stopped with an expired license again that I could get my license suspended for 6 months to a year (on base). Yikes. The next day I'm in line at the DMV 15 minutes before it opens. Twenty-two people were ahead of me in line. But I did it, renewed the license, cute picture and all.

A week later...

Mike comes home at lunch and says, "Becca, we have a problem." I look up, "Do you mean me and you have a problem?" "No," he replies, "We're on the same side." Oh good. That'll be easier.

"The problem is," he continues, "There is paperwork in place to have your license suspended."

"What!?"

Apparently, the way the ticket was written up caused someone in Security Forces to find it necessary to recommend to the Missions Support Group Commander that my license be suspended.

BTW the "Missions Support Group Commander" is a rather high ranking official, rather, meaning one of the highest on the base. You never want them to hear your name until you're say... a light Col. Otherwise it's best that they don't know of you.

Soon I will be served with paperwork and will no longer be allowed to drive on base.

The only other option is for Mike to put a package together with the hopes that we can get a waiver for me to continue driving. He will need copies of the tickets, signatures from his boss and his bosses boss (another guy that shouldn't hear about you this way), then he will write up a statement explaining why it is so important that I keep driving. He'll probably mention that I've been driving 12 years and have never had a moving violation. Ever. He'll probably mention that He deploys a lot and I need to drive the kids around. He'll probably ALSO mention that we LIVE on base.

So within a couple weeks we will know whether the Group commander is going with the recommendation of the Security Forces or if he will accept the waiver and I get to continue driving.

And if we don't get the waiver?

We will have to move.

Or...

This will be me.



BTW this is not a joke. No one at my house is laughing about it.

Things my parents have taught me -Sea World

Conversation between Mike and I as we left Sea World an hour ago:

Me: "So, how do we know if we've had a successful trip? I mean, you and I would rather by lying on a beach somewhere so obviously this trip wasn't for us. Austin was hot the whole time and didn't get a good nap in all day. Jack threw up all over you and has been kind of glassy-eyed. So is it up to Ty? However Ty felt about the day, is that the measuring tool? Or is it just if we make it through the day?"

Mike: "Well, I guess if we make it through the day and no one was seriously hurt and the cops weren't called on us, then it's been a successful trip."

Me: "We did it then."

Mom and Dad, you took us to Sea World when we were little --and you actually paid the admission fee (military and 3 dependants get in free once a year).

Why?

Why go through all that trouble to go on a vacation when life is demanding enough under normal circumstances?

Right now I am typing this in our hotel room and behind me are two beds with two boys on each of them --sound asleep. I'm enjoying the quiet, the only sound being the A/C humming behind me. Ahh! This is my kind of vacation. Wasn't that ya'lls as well? Why did you take us on so many trips?

I'm guessing it's cause you wanted us to have fun memories together. You wanted us to see and experience things. You wanted us to know what to do when the van overheated and Dad wasn't around. Maybe because you liked to travel --but... you could have dropped us off at either of your parents houses as they both live in town. Then ya'll would have REALLY been able to relax and enjoy your time.

Mom and Dad, how did you gauge a successful trip?

If it was fun memories and family bonding, experiencing new places and learning roadside survival skills... then you did it.

Success.

"I mean... Goodnight!"

Jack and Ty at bedtime:

Me: "Jack, give Ty a hug and tell him he's a good brother."

Jack: [gives Ty a long meaningful hug] "...Ty.... you're a
good brother."

Me: "Ty, what do you say?"

Ty: "I can do a flip on the trampoline!"

Two-year-olds...

2 year olds...

Talk about argumentative...

wow.

When a two year old wakes up grumpy what do you do?

Jack engages Ty in a conversation:

Jack: "Knock, knock"

Ty: "Noooooooo! I NOT a door."

sheesh... can't ya take a joke??

Austie

I was looking up Austin's name on a baby naming website. It had the words: "Sibling Names" hyperlinked so I clicked on it. Here are some of the names that go with Austin's name:

See the names Tyler and Jackson! Wow! We had no idea we were that good at coordinating names. Oh and Michael is on there too.

At almost 3 months Austin is just now bringing things to is mouth to chew on, holding his head up very well, has tons of rolls and smiles often. He shrieked for me the other day... melted my heart!

More to report later. I need to go to bed!

My View

Who wouldn't want a view like this?

I'm so in love with these little boys. I understand now how you can love someone so much and yet they drive you bonkers sometimes. I get it.

February 25, 2011. That day my view will change a little. We will be leaving Abilene. Mike's career will take a turn and he will be in pilot training. He will be flying UAV's (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) or as they are now being called RPA (Remotely Piloted Aircraft) --don't you love the AF with all their acronyms???

Training will begin (again) at Randolph AFB in San Antonio, TX. Mike did his initial nav. training at Randolph. We have sweet memories of Jack coming home to that house, of my beautiful green lawn and our wonderful neighbors. It will be fun to be back. One of our most favorite parts about living in San Antonio is that people will come visit you. We love company. So plan your vacation around Sea World, the Alamo and Riverwalk. We'll take care of your lodging. :-)

I'm going to miss my home on Montana street, but I'm thankful that we get to take those sweet little boys with us to be part of the view at our next home.

--nobody say anything about my dirty windows unless you are on your way over to clean them...