drum roll please.....

Here are the future test pilots of the Air Force.....


and their lovely wives.

Yee Haw part Deux

I wrote earlier about Abbie's horse lessons. Here are some more pictures. She is learning SO much about horses. She has to learn all the grooming procedures. She has also ridden once bareback and today she rode on a western saddle. I am also including some pictures of the kids in the feed truck (it looks like they are standing with a bunch of horse poop, it is actually hay cubes, which, when it comes right down to it, is undigested horse poop.)

Yee Haw

Abbie has a new hobbie. She has taken up horseback riding lessons. It has been a lot of fun. She goes Wednesdays at 10 am. While she does her lesson the kids and I explore the rest of the ranch. Cherie, the owner, has goats, dogs and cats that the kids like to chase around. The kids also like to climb all over the hay cubes in the feed truck (lovely). Anyway, it is a neat experience and we are greatful to God for the opportunity. You can betch your horse hairs that we don't miss bath nights on Wednesdays!! :)

New Friends

Moving..... well it is not easy, especially on the kids, especially on the big kids!! It is hard to readjust, to make new friends, to find "favorite" spots and activities. It is a trial. BUT, it is not a trial I would want to keep our kids from going through. It is, in fact, one of the most valuable things I think they have experienced. Let me explain.

Everytime we move we get the "what abouts...." I have them, Iain has them and the kids have them too. The "what abouts" are the questions that arise in each of our hearts and minds as we prepare to relocate. "What about" our house? "What about" school? "What about" our friends? "What about" a good babysitter? "What about" our church? The questions go on and on. What an opportunity for us to give our "what abouts" to God and watch Him work them out. Each move God has provided for all of our needs and more. I look at each move as a chance for the kids to give their "what abouts" to God and then wait and watch Him work. He always does, and He has here as well.

Here are a few pictures of the kids with God's answers to their "what about" friends. We always reserve Fridays in our schedule for "Friday Fun Days". Lately Friday Fun Days have meant having our new friends come over and hang out at our house after PE. As the weather warms up a bit, we will move outside. God's answer to our "what about" a house was a good, yet very small one. While it is a nice, new house, it is small (1,300 sq feet or so). I will explain that in another posting. Enjoy the photos of us and our new friends.

Up, Up and Away

So, here is a taste of what life is like for Iain right now. By tomorrow he will have flown 3 different airplanes in 4 days. So far he has flown the C-12 and the T-38. Tomorrow he will fly the F-16. The T-38 is a fairly new plane to him. The C-12 and the F-16 he has never flown before. He is having fun, but I am not sure he realizes that yet. He is so busy jumping from one thing right to the other, he doesn't have time to stop and think. On top of all this flying he also has to keep up with the academic work as well. He has at least one test a week, which usually follows a flight. He is living out his childhood dreams and that is so cool to watch.

Thanks for the prayers. God is teaching us so much out here. Iain is managing his stress level very well. No matter what is going on in "pilot world" he works very hard to stay connected and involved here at home.

We apprecaite your faithfulness to pray. I thought if you had an idea of what his day looks like, it may help as you seek to pray specifically for him. So, enjoy the pictures. They are off the internet, so Iain is not piloting these particular planes. I just thought you might enjoy seeing them. :)

Life in the Desert

I am very quickly coming to love and apprecaite life here at Edwards Air Force Base. My good friend Vicki,who lives here too, describes it as our own little desert oasis retreat..... I am not loving it THAT much yet, but I do love it.

Edwards is smack bang in the middle of the Antelope Valley high desert. We are surrounded by huge dry lake beds and all the desert wild life that goes with it. The kids and I regularly go to the park which we often share with the coyotes. It is not typically a problem since the coyotes don't care much for the swings and are happy to share with Emma. :) A bobcat was spotted in the neighborhood a little while back. I never saw it, but my friend's husband went to take the trash out one night and mistook the bobcat for an over grown cat and (tried to) kick it off his front porch. Imagine his surprise!!

Yes, there are snakes too. I try not to think about it. Thankfully I have not seen any yet.... I went for my first run out in the desert a couple of weekends ago. The air was so fresh and clean. I normally run with my precious i-pod, but the silence was so wonderful I was compelled to run enjoying the lack of city noise. The only problem, I seem to run slower. Hmmmm, what gives? I guess it had to do with the coyote bat, snake bite kit, mace, 20 gallons of water and tube of sunblock (SPF 400) that I had to carry with me. I also carry my cell phone. It is not that I get any kind of coverage out there, but I figure I can throw it at whatever else threatens me out in that rough terrain. Okay, only joking (sort of). I have decided it would be much better to find a running partner, which I have. Now I have no need for all the extra safety supplies. All I have to do is make sure I can outrun Annet and I am good to go. :) Okay, only joking (sort of).

So, you can see why I am coming to love it out here......Uh, maybe it is not so clear yet. Well, I don't get it either. All I know is God is good to fill my heart with contentment. I am here with my sweet family, my husband goes to bed next to me every night rather than being thousands of miles away in the "other" desert. I love being removed from the hussle and bussle of the city. I love the fresh smells of the desert and the bright stars at night. I cried for 45 minutes when we first drove up to this place. I couldn't believe the isolation. I have a feeling I will cry alot longer than 45 minutes when it comes time for us to leave this place. Friendships form fast here. I am thankful for that.

There is so much more to say about our life here. Our church, our freinds, homeschooling, Test pilot School.....I will save those for another blog!

Vacation California Style

It was time to leave the desert. We packed up and headed for an overnight to the coast. We took in a little whale watching action. Actually, we hardly saw any whale action....but we had a great time!!

Too CUTE, actually FOUR CUTE :)

Here are a few pictures I had to add just becaue I am the proud mama.

Birthdays (3 down, 2 to go)

Whew!! As many of you know, it is birthday season in the Ferguson home. Will turned a long awaited 6 years old on Jan 11. I think he thought he would never make it. He has been waiting to turn 6 since he turned 5. We had a fun celebration with some new friends here in CA.




A mere 4 days later, Mollie turned 4!! I can't believe it. She was the epitamy of everything 3! I am sure she will be all a 4 year old can be and more. :) We took her to Build-A-Bear for her birthday and she built-a-dog.




After breaking for a month, Abbie had her 8th birthday on Feb 11. We celebrated with friends by having a pancake party. The kids enjoyed putting all kinds of toppings on stacks and stacks of pancakes.




Abbie enjoys history very much and has come to love (as most 8-10 year old girls do) American Girl dolls. Although we live in the middle of nowhere, it is the first time we have ever lived a couple hours away from an American Girl STORE!! So, in Abbie's mind, "nowhere" is not so bad any more. We made a special trip there for Abbie to spend some of her birthday money. All the girls had a fabulous time shopping. Will, sweet like his Daddy, enjoyed watching his girls have fun shopping. He was a very good sport. He later rewarded himself by buying a new transformer with his birthday money.




Iain is next on the 27th of Feb. He will be 33!! EmmaLee follows him on the 28th for her 2nd birthday. I trail so for behind, it is not even worth mentioning. :)




Enjoy the pictures. They will appear in order of birthday, not birth. :)

Baby Steps

Okay, I am slowly figuring out the world of blogging! YIKES! I really don't know what I am doing. Hopefully I will join all my web savvy friends and family and be up and blogging with the best of them very soon.



This year is going to be full fo so many exciting events and changes for our family. A blog seems like a great way to keep you all informed and keep a record of it for myself!



Well, my goal for tonight was to get a blog set-up. Next time maybe I can add a picture or two and tell you a little about life here at Edwards Air Force Base. Baby Steps!

Test

I am trying to figure this blog thing out!!