Ops Group Christmas Party

We plan two parties a year with all the other squadrons in the Ops Group at Scott. 

Since the Ops Group Commander's spouse does not live here, the planning falls on the shoulders of the Commanders' spouses. Unfortunately, no one was stepping up to organize the event, so I reluctantly volunteered because I was the only one asking questions. However, it turned out to be the best thing that could have happened because now I don't have to plan another Ops Group event for the rest of Doug's command. 

One of the Commander's spouses came up with a game where the kids decorate all the Squadron Commanders as Christmas trees. Our kids we're very excited to wrap Doug up and it definitely provided great humor for everyone watching.

 

 The most exciting part for the kids was seeing Santa fly in on a C-21.

All of the parents brought wrapped books for their kids that Santa handed out.

It turned out really well and I'm not sure if any kids figured out that their parents had 

bought the books!

Pritzker Military Library Liberty Gala

Doug and I had an amazing opportunity to go up to Chicago for a gala we knew nothing about. I know that must sound strange. Why would it be an amazing opportunity if we knew nothing about it? Well, we knew enough to know it was a big deal at $500 a plate, and we were going for free. The Air National Guard is offered tickets each year and the Wing Commander couldn't go so he decided to give them to us. We definitely saw this as a perk for working with the ANG because this definitely wouldn't have happened on the active duty side. We stayed at the Westin along the Magnificent Mile and these were pictures taken from the hotel.

The Jones' watched our kids so we could go. It was so nice to have friends who were willing to do that for us. I actually think this was the first time since having Jacob that we did anything overnight without the kids that was for enjoyment. The only other times we've been gone overnight was to have a baby or search for a house in a marathon weekend.

The funniest thing about our night was when we were at cocktail hour we saw a lady with a kid on her hip. We both said to each other, "She must be related to someone important." Well, we soon found out she was because we were seated at her table which, by the way, was the head table. When Doug and I realized this we were in shock. As the dinner started we quickly found out that Doug was sitting next to the founder of the library and I was sitting next to a Medal of Honor recipient from the Korean War, Hershel "Woody" Williams. This completely happened by accident because there was no assigned seating at the head table, so what were the chances of that?

 This is a picture of us with the founder Ret. Col. John Pritzker of the IL ARNG

 This picture is with Hershel "Woody" Williams. He insisted that I stand in the middle which I thought was sweet. During dinner I found out he was 88 years old. There were quite a few people walking up to him during dinner and I thought to myself "I'm sitting next to this guy and there's people just hoping to have a few minutes to talk to him." That was pretty surreal. 

In addition to sitting next to two amazing people, we received books from the authors who were being awarded that night for books they have written. One was Bitter Victory by Carlo D'Este and the other was Matterhorn by Karl Marlantes. Doug got them personally signed by the authors which we were very excited about. We also met Carl Colby, and his wife, who made the movie of his father called "The Man Nobody Knew, In Search of My Father, CIA Spymaster William Colby".

All in all, it was an amazing night that we will not forget. Everything was so unexpected and those are some of the greatest surprises of all.

MRI Results

I got my MRI results back on Wednesday. It showed that my foot has healed a little. Since I only had a phase 1 OCD the doctor feels comfortable starting me with physical therapy. So, next week I will be meeting with my PT and I hope he will have some good ideas about getting my foot to feel better because even though the MRI showed healing I unfortunately don't feel any. However, the other good news is that I get to ween myself off the crutches and I'm very happy about that because I was on crutches for nine weeks.

My Life

To say that things have been easy while Doug's been gone would be a lie. However, it also hasn't been excruciatingly difficult...at least not most of the time. I've been on crutches for eight weeks. I've been in a boot for 12 weeks and Doug has been gone for 14 weeks. My sanity is starting to wear thin, but Doug has his check ride today and will hopefully be home tomorrow night. I feel its been one week overdue for having someone here to help me. I would love to say that all this time in the boot and on crutches has paid off, but my foot doesn't feel any better today than it did almost four months ago when the injury happen. I have my second MRI scheduled for Friday and so the MRI should tell us more about what is going on inside my foot. The difficult part about this is that its been impossible to stay off the foot completely. I've found the worst situation for me is being in the kitchen. If I didn't have to make 3 meals a day for the kids and clean up after them then I might be in a little better position than I am right now, but, who knows, maybe not. Also, being diligent with keeping Jacob on a gluten free diet doesn't afford us with the ability to go out and eat. In the last three weeks its been even more challenging because he is now on a gluten free and dairy free diet. I'll write more about that in another post. As for me, I've done everything I could to try and get this foot healed, but it has been a stuggle to stay motivated and do what needs to be done when I haven't seen any changes. I'm praying that having Doug home will turn the tide so this injury can heal. I don't want surgery and I know this is any injury that can take six months to a year to heal, but boy is it hard to be patient and diligent.

My Heart

There are two things that are have become pillars for me in my life. Amazingly, I found them so perfectly stated in a website I was looking at and I wanted to share them with you. I haven't looked at the website enough to say I vouch for everything that is on there, but I felt that these two things were something I wanted to post on my blog. The first is in regard to the the book of Daniel. I was in a bible study this fall that went through Daniel and it really impacted my life.


Daniel Chapter 7 & The Book of Revelation

The four world-wide kingdoms that Daniel saw in his night visions began with the Babylonians from 605-538 B.C. Nearly 700 years later, John would be given a virtually identical vision of these same events in the Book of Revelation.


The four beasts that Daniel saw; A Lion, A Bear, A Leopard, and a Dreadful Beast beyond earthly description, were a Prophetic view of the four kingdoms that would dominate the world over the course of human history.

The Lion represented King Nebuchadnezzar, King of the Babylonians.

The Bear representing King Cyrus of the Medo-Persian Empire.

The Leopard representing Alexander the Great who conquored the know world when he was just 32 years old.

The Dreadful and Terrible Beast coming in “The Last Days” from a revival of the old Roman Empire led by the one called the “Beast” or “The Antichrist”.

It is important to remember that these first three kingdoms described in the Book of Daniel, were predicted hundreds of years before they actually occurred in history. The accuracy of these prophecies in the Book of Daniel are so precise that skeptics have often stated that they must have been written after the events actually took place. They contend that any prediction with the detail that Daniel describes, would be impossible to predict before hand.

Therein is the point that we who study the Bible have been making all along. The Bible is the handwriting of God. His words and thoughts, recorded by “holy men of God who spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit”. The most convincing proof that the Bible is the Word of God is that of the 2,500 plus prophecies in the scriptures, over 2,000 of these have already been literally fulfilled exactly as they were predicted, without a single error.

The other most important thing is knowing that God loves you. The biggest thing I've learned about God is that his silence doesn't mean he's not listening or that he doesn't exist. If you don't turn away from him he will show you why he was silent during a time when you thought he should be speaking. Also, many times he may have been speaking but we couldn't hear him because we had too many blinders on to see him.

Daily Walk: Finding Your Purpose in Life
Jeremiah 31:3 “The LORD has appeared of old to me, saying: “Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you.”


We spend our entire life searching for the one thing that we desire most. To be genuinely and deeply loved. Something compels us to fill that empty space inside. We might try relationships, work, pleasure, alcohol or drugs but none of these fit the empty void that we feel.

Those who pursue riches will tell you that once the riches are obtained the emptiness does not go away. It was the pursuit of the wealth that gained the high, the achievement still left them felling like there was something missing.

God created us for Himself. He made us to worship and love Him and until we discover this truth and pursue a relationship with God through Jesus Christ, we will remain empty. Many people stumble over the whole issue of “Religion” stating that they are not interested in religion or church. The fact is that the Lord did not encourage us to become religious, He desires a relationship with us.

If you're interested in reading more. I got these from http://www.bibleprophecyupdate.com/.

My Ankle

Well, it's been a few weeks since I mentioned that there might be a problem with my ankle. I thought I had a stress fracture, but it looks like it's something a little worse than that. It's called Osteochondritis Dissecans (abbreviated OCD). It commonly occurs in children and teenagers, but I'm one of the lucky few that has it as an adult. Basically, OCD is a localized injury affecting the surface of the joint that involves a separation of a segment of cartilage and the underlying bone. There are four phases to this injury with phase 4 being the worst and luckly I'm still in phase 1. They are hopeful that I will not need surgery; however, there is a 50% chance that I will. Right now they have me in a boot for 8 weeks, possibly crutches for 2 weeks if the pain doesn't go away by Friday. If my condition doesn't worsen the recovery will probably take anywhere from three to six months. Although, if things do not improve the recovery could last as long as nine or twelve months. That means no running for me. Also the doctor said no biking, swimming or anything that puts additional pressure on the leg. For my cardio the only thing he suggested I could do are the bikes at the gym that use your arms instead of your legs. Now, that sounds like fun. Oh, and just incase you forgot, Doug's gone until the end of April. Perfect timing wouldn't you say? As military wives I think all of our responses are "Isn't it always that way."

Apologia Live in Chicago

My dear friend, Jennifer, flew out from Washington to meet me in Chicago for the Apologia Live Conference in Chicago. It was a women's retreat for homeschooling moms. Our entire trip was amazing from start to finish. Even if there hadn't been a conference to go to spending time with Jennifer would have been worth it all on it's own. We had a fabulous time touring Chicago before and after the conference. The highlight of our time in the city was a walking tour of their Modern Skyscrapers. But, on Sunday we knew we couldn't go home without going to the top of Willis Tower (formally known as Sears Tower). It is the tallest building in the United States and your ears actually pop as you're going to the top because of the speed of the elevator. When we weren't sightseeing or at the conference we were talking nonstop until late into the night all three nights we were there. The conference was also incredible. I really didn't know what to expect, but I was inspired and rejuevenated throughout the conference. I realized towards the end that as homeschooling moms we aren't only impacting the hearts of our children, we're are also changing our hearts by being faithful to Christ's call on our lives. I had always looked at my role as an investment in the next generation, but now I realize that God is also changing my generation too.

Indoor Soccer

I admit it...we're nuts! Doug signed us up for and indoor soccer league that plays on Friday nights. I didn't think much of it, but I've been surprised at how much fun it's been since I haven't played for 20 years. During our second game I had one assist and one goal. Doug had to miss that game, but he was proud of me and it was great to hear his excitement when I told him.  

We had to take a picture of this since we are both 39 years old right now!

Do you struggle with fear?

This summer I've been doing Beth Moore's bible study "Esther - It's Tough Being A Women." I was catching up on a DVD session I missed and found it to be a powerful message about fear. If you are struggling with fear I recommend listening to it. Here's a link to download the session for $4.99 http://www.lifewaystores.com/lwstore/product.asp?ISBN=1415867542&crossSell=true. Also, if you haven't had a chance to do her bible study on Esther I highly recommend it. It's been one of the most intriguing bible studies I've done. Esther is more like reading a novel and I've found that I can't wait to find out what happens next.

Today's S.O.A.P (a little longer than normal)

Jeremiah Chapter 10

Scripture: Verse 23 – I know, O Lord, that a man’s life is not his own; it is not for man to direct his steps.

Observation: This chapter is talking about how the people in the land of Jacob have created idols for themselves. At the end of the chapter Jeremiah prays to the Lord and I felt verse 23 was very profound.

Application: Verse 23 sums up what could be an idol in our culture today which is anything that causes a man to direct his own steps. I think often times we are our own idol. We feel we have the power to accomplish things on our own merit without the help of God. We glorify ourselves when things go well for us. We honor ourselves when we do something “noble” for someone else. We exalt ourselves because of our intelligence, work ethic, money we've made, houses we live in, athletic abilities, our children (at times) and any number of other things. If we are seeking things for our own benefit and glory then aren’t we really saying that our ways are better than God’s ways? In doing that we are elevating ourselves to God status and in essence worshipping ourselves.

Prayer: Lord, how many times have I tried to do things on my own? How many times have I glorified myself? How many times have I wallowed in my own self-pity because things didn’t go the way “I” wanted them to go? Why is it so hard to realize that I am not in control? I cannot direct my steps and have all things turn out for good. Lord, you are the creator of all things. Nothing happens on earth or above that is out of your control. I fall before you and praise your name. All that I need and desire is in you. Let my heart not wander and put more value on myself than what is due. You created me to glorify you on earth and in heaven when I die. Help me not fall into this carnal world of self-empowerment. The people of ancient times felt the idols they made could help them and the people of modern times think they have everything within themselves they need to help themselves. How foolish we are to think that we alone can supply all our needs? Even though I live in a culture that seeks to glorify oneself, let those ideas be blaspheme to my soul. Shield my heart and ears from the slightest notion that it is even possible. I glorify you alone, I praise you alone, I worship you alone because you alone are worthy of that praise and glory. Amen.

S.O.A.P has changed my life!

What is S.O.A.P.? It stands for:
Scripture
Observation
Application
Prayer 

Reading the bible at times been difficult for me. I sometimes felt I should be getting something more out of it. Often times I would read some verses or a chapter and I was happy that I did, but it didn't seem to have the impact on me I was hoping it would. The S.O.A.P. method has changed everything. I now journal after I've read a passage and simply go through the list. First, I write down a Scripture that really seemed to speak to me. Then, I write my Observation about what I just read. Next, I write about how it Applies (Application) to my life. Then at the end, I write a Prayer. I only write between one to three sentences for each area so it doesn't take a lot of time, but what's been interesting is that I've gained so much more from my reading by journaling using the S.O.A.P. method. I now look forward to reading the bible which means I don't do it because I know I'm suppose to, I do it because I want to. Another tool that has helped me decide what to read is downloading a bible reading plan at http://www.zondervan.com/. It gives me direction and focus and takes away any uncertainty about what I should read next.

I really want to encourge any of you who are struggling with getting into the bible to try this for yourselves. Buy a notebook to journal in and download a reading plan! I promise it will change the way you read the bible.

My First 5K

This wasn't exactly the best 5K to do for my first race. It had a 4% grade uphill and downhill which made it quite challenging, but I'm looking forward to doing another 5K soon.

Doug made these signs for the kids to hold during the race. "Joy's Hot" is not exactly what I would have choosen, but Doug said it got a lot of attention and Ethan liked holding it.

I finished the race in 34 minutes 47 seconds!

The Last Few Weeks Of My Life

These last few weeks have been very unusual, so I thought I would take a few minutes to share what has been going on.

• I signed up for an online Time Management class through Universal Class and it has made a huge impact on dealing with my time management problems.
• Friends of our's from our days at Fairchild AFB in Spokane, WA were visiting family over Memorial Day Weekend in Baton Rouge, LA and their 7 year old son was struck by lightening. He died two days later. It was their only child.
• I joined a bible study with 6 ladies. We are doing Esther by Beth Moore and I'm really enjoying it.
• I filled in for my friend who is leading the bible study one week. It was my first time leading a study. Halfway through our time together one of the ladies got news that her sister was missing and her parents had to file a missing persons report. God lead me to tell her that HE was in control and HE knew where she was. We prayed for his protection over her sister and for someone to step into her life to impress upon her the need to contact her family. Two days later she contacted them and they were reassured that she was OK.
• My kids went to VBS at our church and had a blast. We invited a friend of their's who we also knew in Washington to come and his mom was happy to sign him up. They are not Christian's but the VBS kids are singing in church this Sunday, so they are coming to church with us.
• I made a wonderful friend here and our friendship grew strong very quickly. Our faith and love for homeschooling were constant topics of discussion. She has three daughters close in age to my kids and they left for their new assignment in Washington DC today.
• I signed up to get my certificate in Interior Design at Sheffield School. This is one area that will enable me to help other homeschooling moms with organization and creating homes they enjoy living in.
• I finished my Time Management course at Universal Class.
• Doug worked very closely with someone while we were at McChord AFB and he found out that his wife died two days ago. Reasons are unknown, but she was younger than Doug and I. I had met her and her husband once and it's very sad.
• We went to see Toby Mac and Chris Tomlin in concert last night. We had a great time with Dawn and Cory Simmons. It was so amazing to go to a Christian concert.
• Doug is picking his parents up from the airport right now to stay with us for 10 days.
• I'm considering running my first 5K race next Saturday.

My First Organizational Meeting

I've been working really hard for the last few weeks on preparing for a meeting I was having at my house for homeschooling moms. I titled it Organizing and Managing Your Homes. The meeting went really well and I got a great response from the people who attended. I'm praying about where God would like me to take this. There are definitely some things I need to tweek and change, but overall I'm really happy with what I've created and what God has taught me about organizing my home. I feel that he might be leading me to present my ideas at Homeschool Conventions, but I need to pray about it some more. In August I am having another meeting on Managing Your Schedule. I'm not sure what direction I want to take with that yet, but I've got some time to think about. Below are the topics I discussed at the meeting last night:

Organizing Your Kitchen
Organizing Other Rooms in Your House (focusing on their school area)
Ways to Save Money
Staying Organized
Your Cleaning Schedule

Mother's Day

Today was the last day of my mom's visit. It was really nice that she was with us on Mother's Day. I realized when she was here that it's been at least 12 years since I've been with her on Mother's Day. Oh, how those little things are lost when you live so far from home. We had a nice relaxing day together. Doug made us an early dinner, then I had to take her to the airport. We were very sad to see her go, but look forward to when we get to see her again in July. 

Working on the Wall-E Birthday Party

THE DECORATIONS

Drawing and painting the robots was the most time consuming thing I did for the party. I ended up making 2 Wall-E's, 2 Eve's, MO, Auto, Gopher, 2 Security Bot's, the Axiom, Umbrella bot, Beautician bot and Flash bot. The only reason I was able to draw and paint any of these was because I bought a book about how to draw them. I thought the robots turned out well, but I wasn't able to present them on the wall the way I wanted to. If I had more time I would have drawn some lines to add dimension to the scene.  

I turned the school side of the basement into outer space. It was definitely the coolest room in the house. However, I learned a lot about what sticks to plastic table covers and what doesn't. I found out too late that you have to have special paint for painting plastic after all my stamped paint stars started falling off. I ended up knocking all of them off, flipped the tablecloths around and stamped silver ink stars all over. They stayed on, but if they were touched they smeared. Thankfully no one got too close to the stars and they were small enough so they weren't a problem.

THE PARTY FAVORS

Since this was my second Wall-E birthday party for Ethan I had a few things left over and a couple new ideas. One of my new ideas was making everyone a pot with their intial on it that immulated Wall-E's E symbol.

 

I also decided that I would make family party favor bags. Each family got a Wall-E book, Wall-E Goody Bag, personalized pots protected with Wall-E cupcake liners, a bag of seeds, individual bags of dirt, twinkies and a bag tag made from a picture I copied off the computer, laminated, then wrote the family name on the back.

THE CAKE

The most involved part of the cake was making Wall-E's body parts. Doug was able to get involved in this project and was a huge help. The first thing he did was make the stand that Wall-E's body sat on. I painted it black then wrapped it with silver cake board paper. I used three boxes of cake mix and the scrap pieces were used to put the cube together. I used frosting to glue the pieces together for the cube and I was very surprised it held together.

Wall-E's neck was made out of a plastic dowel and PVC pipe. Doug glued it together with super glue and it worked perfectly. The only thing I questioned was whether I made the dowel to long. The cake was starting to slowly fall forward during the party and I have a feeling it was from the dowel. It's something I'll have to research if I ever feel like I need to use a long one again.

The hands were my biggest fear with making this cake. I had no idea what I was going to do until I started working on them. However, the arms were the easiest part of the project for me. I used two wooden dowels and a foam marshmellow which I found in the foam paper craft section at Micheal's. I made an L shape with the dowels. One dowel went into the cake and the other was for the arm. If I were to do this cake again I would have used glue to secure the foam and dowel together because we had one instance where the dowel came out of the arm and we were trying to put it back into the marshmellow. The next thing I did was glue a thin flat stick to the end of the dowel which extended into the yellow fondant of the arm and then we glued the hand to the tip of the flat stick. Doug made the hand by gluing flat craft sicks together. Once the hand was attached I wrapped the fondant around the hand and wrist and cut a slit between the fingers. 

These are some of the pieces I made. Wall-E's eyes were made out of two foam circles I shaped to look like his eyes. Then, I attached them together with thick toothpicks and wrapped them with fondant. The eyes were the first thing I did and I quickly learned that I needed something between the foam and fondant to hold it together. The only thing I had was a tube of icing and it thankfully worked.

After attaching the head and fondant pieces (his name and solar charge), I decided I needed more detail. So, I took the extra frosting I had from doing the cube to pipe the detail work. After that I attached the arms using extra wooden dowels to support them and the wheels. I was very happy with how it turned out and it was definitely the best cake I've made so far.

Looking Forward

I often examine my life to look for the pitfalls I'm in, the walls I keep banging into and the undesirable habits I keep repeating. I've never been one to shy away from trying to improve myself. However, no self-improvement is truly possible without looking to God first. There is only so much I can do on my own and it is so insignificant compared to the changes Jesus can make within me. This last month I have been going through a time of planning; trying to carve out the hours and minutes in my days to get everything done. As I have been going through this process God has pressed upon me the importance of making more time for Him each day. I have had seasons with Him, similar to good friends coming and going into and out of my life, but He wants to have a place of permanence, as my children and husband do. I couldn't imagine a day where I didn't see my kids or husband and didn't looked forward to seeing them again, and God also needs to have that place in my life too! So, as I strive to schedule as many aspects of my life as possible I know that if God is not a part of it I will missing out on something really amazing.

A Great Day!!

Doug planned a great day for me to celebrate my birthday. I spent the day at the spa getting a massage, facial and haircut. It was so much fun being pampered and I really needed a day to relax. While I was gone at the salon Doug made my birthday cake with the kids. He said is was one of the toughest things he's done. I thought they did a great job for not know what they were doing. It also tasted pretty good.

Torn Between Two Worlds

I'm sitting in the TLF at McChord anxious to get to our home in Illinois. Thoughts running through my head of how I'm going to decorate the house, where pictures will go, how I will organize the basement for homeschool and play. Then, I find myself drifting back to the friends I made here and how I looked forward to hanging out with them this year, the programs I was excited to have the kids in, the church that felt like home and the house I worked so hard on to get exactly the way I wanted. The only way to describe the way I feel is that I'm torn between two worlds.

The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

THE GOOD - Doug finished his check ride today and will be arriving at SeaTac Airport around 5:30 pm tomorrow!

THE BAD - This last week has been so hard. I'm pretty sure Audrey entered her terrible 3's. It's either that or she is having a tough time being separated from Doug again. Either way she's been worse than normal. Everything is met with opposition. I just hope things settle down once Doug gets back because I'm not sure how much more I can take.

THE UGLY - Yesterday after Jacob's Homeschool PE class I took the kids grocery shopping. We had been out of juice for two days and Audrey was hounding me about it. When we walked into the grocery store I thought I smelled something (like a poopy pull-up), I decided to ignore it since I left her pull-ups and wipes in the car. As soon as Jacob got into the car part of the grocery cart with Audrey he made a comment about how she smelled. I decided at that point it would need to be a short shopping trip, but about 1/4 of the way into getting the stuff I needed she decided she wanted to get out. Well, I quickly saw that the shopping trip needed to end abruptly. When she stepped out of the car she had poop going up her back. The only problem was that I didn't have the juice yet. Hmmm, what should I do? Stay the course or bail out. As any good mom searches for the right answer by waying the pros and cons, I decided to stay the course, get the juice (and few other things on the way) and pray that no one sees what I just saw. I did my best to reminder Audrey not to lift her arms, but that didn't worked so well. She was bending over, raising her arms and she even fell a couple times. It was impossible to get her to understand why all of these things were bad. We finally made it out of the store and life went on until the next day when I picked Ethan up from Cubbies at AWANA. I smelled an odor in the air as he ran over to me. It didn't take me long to realize the smell was coming from him. Only it was worse this time because he was wearing underware, but it wasn't just any underware it was his WALL-E underware. I had to order them through E-Bay because they don't sell them in the store, so there was no way I was going to throw them away as I normally would. Ugh! Will this ever end?