Next Airplane.....

Today Iain flew the KC-135. I haven't heard any details from him becasue he is still at work, other than "it went well". Guess you can't ask for much more than that, especially when it is your first time flying the thing. This week he is scheduled to fly a lot. A T-38 bombing mission, an HH-60 helicopter and a T-33!! I am so excited about the helicopter! I will keep you posted on how it all turns out!

Emma at the beach

Just another day in the office......

It is not too often that I get a picture of Iain flying. Not only is he flying in this picture (he is in the F-16) but he is refuleing from a KC-10!! WOO-HOO!! How cool!! I am so exicted! Iain had a great time! What a totally cool experience. This is his first time to actually refuel in air! I am so exicted to have these pictures. They were taken from the "chase" airplane that was up there flying around to make sure everything went okay.


















Airplanes pretty much get me all jazzed up. I love them. When I get to see my husband flying one.........whew, I am like a blushing school girl. Gotta love it. :)

Next Airplane

Today Iain flew the T-43. He said it was fun.

What Goes around......

I have many memories from my childhood. The last few days, I have been reminded of a couple of those memories in particular.

As a pre-teen I remember standing in the upstairs hallway talking to my mom. I forget what we were talking about. I just remember in the middle of the converstaion my mother pointing her finger at me and saying "Don't sass me young lady." My reply (hand on hip and making some sort of hissing, gutteral "sheesh" kind of sound), "WHAT does "sass" mean, anyway?" Rest assured, I found out quickly.

Next memory. I think I was about 16, it was a Saturday and Dad was doing chores in the garage. He asked me to do something. It was probably not the first time he had asked me. My response, "yes, sir" followed by a very "sassy" salute. Keep in mind Dad was a Lt. Commander at the time. Did not go over well. Rest assured, I did not do that ever again.

Flash forward to this week. Will, sweet Will, who never gives me any trouble (except when he tries to fling pencils at me during school) was standing in his Spiderman Underoos, not yet ready for the day. I had already given him the instruction to get his "helping hands" done. That is Ferguson code for "get ready". Anyway, I look at him and say, "Will, have you done your helping hands yet?" He looks at me and in a very sarcastic tone says, "Do I look like I have done my helping hands yet?" WHAT?! I have to admit, I laughed a little on the inside because that is not really a typical Will response. Rest assured, he won't say that again though.

Then there is EmmaLee. Yes, she is 2 and expected to push every button she can think of, but some of them are pretty unexpected. Emma's daddy gives her an instruction to obey him quickly. Guess what Emma's response was.......you guessed it. A very sassy salute followed by "yes sir" Oh my. It is in her genes!! That is the only explanation! How does a 2 year old even know to do that? It is all my fault and I am beginning to fear what else is floating around in her genes!! :)

A Family Affair

So, I have been pondering something for awhile now. Since we have lived here at Edwards, I find that we eat out a whole lot more than we have in the past. Now, most of you who know me know that I am not naturally a "bargain shopper" nor am I particularly good at looking for ways to "save a buck." I try, but I am bad at it. I know this makes all you "bargainers" cringe, but I promise, I really am bad at it. But, I digress.

Anyway, despite my lack of a "smart shopper" gene, I began to notice that when we would go out to eat as a family, we were dropping a pretty penny on all the drinks we were ordering. (Since we don't really keep sodas in the house, we would let them have them out for a treat.) I started to pay attention and it is at least 12$ for everyone in our family to get a drink. I have to admit that I don't like to drink my "points" (that is for all you Weight Watcher lovers) and I don't like to drink our money either. So, we began to cut back on drinks. Water and "sharing" drinks has become the norm for us.

You can imagine this has left our kids dumbfounded. WHY?! Well, that is a good quesiton. In my mind I have 1)imagined flashing forward into the future about 15 years and 2)become a fly on the wall. I can just hear our kids saying to our grandkids "my parents never let us get drinks at restaurants because....." WHY? Because why? I wonder what the kids would think about why we did this as a family.

In reality, there are many good reasons not to have sodas. Yes, they are unhealthy. But the truth is, I don't really mind them having a little when we are out. Yes, they are expensive. But the truth is, if we want to budget for drinks out, we can. So, why? Are we just doing it out of some sort of parenting "because I said so" kind of deal? (I know I ramble, my point is coming)

Here is the thing. I just want the kids to see that there is a better way to spend the money that God has given us. Yes, we can buy drinks out, but what else can we do with that money? So, the Lord gave me an idea. We decided to sponsor a child through Compassion International. Now the kids can begin to see that there is a purpose to all of our "madness". Now, when we tell them we are having water, or they are sharing a drink we can remind them it is to benefit little Dylan in Mexico. The money we save from drinks will benefit someone needing far greater things than a Rootbeer. Don't get me wrong. Our kids are not complainers. They don't whine and they are grateful for their blessings. But, I want to turn this "no drinks" thing into an opportunity to teach them about so much more than just a "rule".

So, if you can't tell. I am excited. I am excited to open their little worlds up a bit more. I am excited for them to have a chance to see how something small can have great purpose. I am excited to help little Dylan in Mexico. I am hoping that he will become a regular name in our house and around our table (especially when we are eating out). I am excited to see how the Lord may use this to encourage their little minds to look outward at others needs rather than be inwardly focused on their own needs (and many times wants). I am excited because I need this as much as the kids. It is a family affair. :)

Parenting Joys

This year in grammer we have been learning to write 2 point expository paragraphs!! The other day after we were done with school Abbie brings me something she had written. It is so sweet and I just loved that it came straight from her heart, no prompting (except from the Holy Spirit). I asked her if I could share it with you all on my blog, so here it is (I will leave it exactly how she wrote it, no spelling or grammer corrections) Enjoy!

Topic-My two favorite treshers.

2 points- 1. My Bible 2. My family

I have two favorite treshers. These treshers are my bible and my family. My first favorite tresher is my bible. I love my bible becasue it is God's word. My second favorite tresher is my family. I love my family because they love me. I love my two favorite treshers because they teach me.