Paratroopers in the Sky

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Earlier last month, Emily and I got a chance to spend an evening watching several planes of 82nd Airborne paratroopers (hubby included) do a night jump.  If you ever have the chance to go see a jump – you should go!  It is the most amazing sight!  I got some decent pictures, but it sure did make me wish for a serious zoom lens for my camera so I could get some better shots.  I *thought* I got one picture that had Rob in it, because I knew he was acting as a jumpmaster for this jump, but it turned out he was on a different plane than originally scheduled, so I was watching the wrong one.  That’s ok! It was still fun to watch as these paratroopers floated down from the sky.  These soldiers jump from only 800 feet above the ground, so they aren’t in the air long – gotta snap those photos fast!

Emily enjoying her time in the front seat while waiting for the show

Hanging out in the back of the truck waiting for the planes

Here it comes!

There they go!

82nd Airborne Song

Put on your boots, boots, boots

and parachutes-chutes-chutes

We’re going up, up, up

And coming down, down, down

We’re all American and proud to be

for we’re the soldiers of liberty.

Some ride their gliders to the enemy.

Others are sky paratroopers.

We’re All American and fight we will,

‘Til all the guns of the foe are still.

Airborne from skies of blue,

We’re coming through, Let’s Go!

Put on your boots, your parachutes,

Get all those gliders ready to attack today.

For we’ll be gone into the dawn,

To fight them all the 82d way, hey!

Are your words a gift?

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Right now I am sitting in Starbucks with my laptop doing some writing while Emily is enjoying a great time at Vacation Bible School on post (her first VBS with all Army kids!).  This particular Starbucks is on post and does not have Wi-Fi so I debated spending this time at McDonalds instead to use their free Wi-Fi but in the end I chose the calm music, comfy chair, living room style environment over the chaos that is McDonalds.  I can just upload this post later when I return home to the internet.

While I am enjoying my mommy moments, I am also finding myself frustrated with people’s actions and I am finding myself thinking about one of my favorite verses.

“Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.” ~ Eph. 4:29

I also really love the way the Message says it:

“Watch the way you talk. Let nothing foul or dirty come out of your mouth. Say only what helps, each word a gift.”  ~ Eph. 4:29

Today, this particular Starbucks location is having trouble with their computer system – it is down and they can only accept CASH right now.  They have placed a sign on the door (which I saw as I walked in), and they are also kindly announcing it to each group of people that come in the door.

Most people have been extremely understanding, but I have to say I am SHOCKED at the reactions of some people! I really am.  I have seen several people huff, puff and storm off letting anyone within earshot know just how upset they were.   One lady was about my age with a daughter about Emily’s age.  When she was told she could only pay in cash, she let out a loud “Ugh! Let’s GO!” as she turned on her heals and marched out of the store which had obviously just completely inconvenienced her.  I couldn’t help but be saddened at the example she was setting for her daughter, and at the same time convicted to work more on the words that come out of my own mouth.

I mean really, people!  There is another Starbucks on post, but even if there wasn’t – coffee is not a necessity.

I know – you are all wondering if someone has hacked my website and is talking crazy.  I know that I act like coffee is a necessity and I admit I’m a true addict with coffee running through my veins – but it is still very much a privilege!  It is even more of a luxury to run into a coffee shop and have someone else make it for you – the “pretty coffee” as a good friend of mine likes to call it.

Recently I heard someone say, “The most amazing thing about grace is our ability to give it out to other people.” – I think that definitely applies here.

I am often guilty of speaking out of haste – usually with those closest to me when I’m stressed – and it is something I am constantly working on.  God is good to slow down my tongue when I ask Him to and it is incredible how just taking a couple moments to breathe can change our outlook on a situation.  I want to RESPOND in love, not REACT, and certainly not OVER-react.

I want to always remember that the person in that customer service position is a working woman or mom, maybe even a single mom working two jobs, or a man trying to make ends meet after losing his retirement.  I want to remember that they are PEOPLE first, and their job title second.  They are doing a job and part of their job may be to serve me, but as a Christian it is my duty to SERVE THEM.  One way I can do that is through my encouraging words – making each word a GIFT.

Are you complaining to the right person?

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We all complain at times – it’s our sinful, selfish nature – but it’s important to think about who you are complaining to, and what you are complaining about.

Do you sit around in a group of friends trying to one-up each other on the things that are difficult in your life? 

Do you tell your neighbor or your co-worker negative things about your spouse or your children? 

Do you complain about taking care of the very home the Lord has blessed you with?

In my quiet time this week, I am reading the book of Numbers.  In chapter 11, the Israelites have been rescued from Egypt – freed from the chains of slavery – and are headed toward the Promised Land.  Along the way, they get tired of the manna that God has provided for them to eat and they start whining and complaining to Moses and to each other that they want meat!

Suddenly they remember the grass being much greener on the other side of the fence than it really was.  They cried out, “We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost – also the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic.”  “Why did we ever leave Egypt?” they wailed.

How quickly they forgot that the food they enjoyed in Egypt came with a very high price – the brutal whippings by the Egyptian soldiers! the long days of work with no rest or relief!  How quickly do we forget all that God has done – and is doing – for us?  Do we look back and wish we still lived somewhere else, or are we looking for the good in our current location?  Do we look ahead thinking we’d be happy “if only….” – or do we seek to find true contentment in our present circumstances?

The grass is not always greener.  We all know someone that seems to have it all – fancy cars, a huge house, expensive things – but they may be drowning in debt or struggling in their marriage.  Whatever it is you wish you had comes with a price – a price you may not be willing to pay.  Instead of longing for something that you don’t have, choose to focus on all the gifts God has already given you.

Because the Israelites grumbled and complained to each other, God chose to bring a plague on them to teach them a hard lesson in being content.

On the other hand, Moses took his complaint straight to the Lord and said “I can’t do this on my own!” – so the Lord gave him help and gave him others to help carry his burden.  When we take our requests and even our complaints to the Lord – the one who can actually do something about it – He is faithful to help us.

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.” (Philippians 4:6-9)

Mom vs Wally the Weed Whacker

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Want a secret to appreciating your husband more?  Here it is – Pick one of the chores that he usually does – one that you have never done, or just really don’t like to do – and then do it.  If you have any heart at all, you will become incredibly thankful for his willingness and ability to complete this particular task and it will make you love him even more.

The chore I tackled was the weed whacking, and I most definitely have more appreciation for my husband after today.

I don’t mind mowing the yard – in fact, I’ve learned to almost enjoy it as long as it isn’t over 100 degrees outside.  Emily is old enough to safely entertain herself, so I put on my headphones, crank up some music and get a good workout in.

Excuse me while I go off on a rabbit trail…

Does anyone else still say “headphones” even when you are talking about ear buds? I don’t actually put ON my headphones, but saying “I stuck my ear buds in my ears” just doesn’t have the same ring to it.  I also often say I’m going to “tape” my favorite TV show, even though we don’t even own a VCR anymore.  By the way, if you are reading this and you don’t know what a VCR is, please don’t tell me. I like believing my youth wasn’t all that long ago.

Ok, back on topic.

As I was saying, I have learned to embrace the mowing.  It really makes more sense for me to do it.  Rob works long hours, and I’m home most days.  If I want him to spend time with me in the evenings and on the weekends doing fun things, then I need to free up some of his time.  I’d much rather mow the yard during the week, so we can go to the beach on the weekend without getting evicted because our dandelions have taken over the neighborhood.

I don’t know if I can make peace with Wally the Weed Whacker though.  Not after today.

Wally and I fought hard today, and he won. 

I would rather go around pulling out those weeds by hand and edging our yard with scissors than to use that thing again.

I’m sure it’s 100% user error.  It’s like when I used to work tech support and people would call and tell me they couldn’t print something.  I kid you not, I had to ask “Is your printer turned on?” and “Is the printer connected to the computer?”.  More often than not, the answers were “Oops, no”.  So, I’m sure I’m going about it all wrong and I’m going to need a lesson from my husband.  Pretty sad, really.  I’m 38 years old and have never learned how to use a weed-eater.

Since thankfully you weren’t all here to witness the excitement, let me recap round one of “Mom vs. Wally the Weed Whacker” for you.

For starters, I lasted all of about 3 seconds in my shorts and a tank top mowing outfit before Wally started beating up my legs and throwing little pieces of hard plastic at me at top speeds.  OUCH!  I decided some pants were in order before I needed bandages.

So I got to work and quickly ran into another problem – we have an electric weed-eater and a huge yard but what we don’t have is a huge extension cord.  At least not huge enough.  Even connecting 2 cords together, I can’t quite reach the back corner of the yard.  I did my best, but had to stop several times to either plug the end back into the house, plug the 2 cords back together, or plug Wally’s tail back on.

It should have been smooth sailing at this point, but let’s just say that it’s a good thing I tackled the backyard first where my artwork can be more easily hidden.  My edging technique – and evidently my ability to make a straight line – need a lot of work.  At one point I went right through a fire ant hill like a tornado taking down a city and I was just hoping that they didn’t all go flying and land on me (they didn’t!).

Just as I was making a little progress and I told myself I would just finish one more area by the deck stairs – the part Rob would likely see first – the plastic line (the part that does the whacking) ran out.  I opened the end to make sure it wasn’t just stuck and sure enough – it was empty.

I took that as a sign I should be done too, and headed to the shower.  

I’ll tackle the front yard after I’ve finished Weed Whacking 101.  Or maybe I’ll just get some good gardening gloves and a pair of scissors.

Dance in the Rain

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This past Monday we attended a local Memorial Day ceremony and as the ceremony came to an end, the rain clouds relinquished the water that God so graciously held on to until the beautiful outdoor time of remembrance was complete.  It was sweet, really – walking around the memorial garden with my family (& my handsome hubby in his dress uniform) looking at the various memorials as the rain sprinkled lightly on us.  It actually felt nice after sitting out in the hot sun for a couple hours, so we took our time walking through the garden barely paying attention to the rain that was dampening our hair and clothes, but not our spirits.  It was such a blessing to attend a ceremony paying honor to the many men & women who have given their lives for our freedom – including the freedom to congregate in public and thank our Heavenly Father for all he has done and to ask Him to watch over our dear friends who are currently overseas.

Later that afternoon, once we were home and in lounging clothes, the rain came pouring down!  I jokingly told Emily she should go out and play in the rain while she had a chance.  She’s always wanting to go play in the rain but unfortunately it often happens when we are in good clothes or about to go somewhere.  This time, we had all the time in the world and she was already in “get dirty clothes”.

I also joked that she should take Daddy with her. (Rob has a love/dislike relationship with the rain.  Loves it to water the yard, but very much dislikes it raining on his ears.)

She responded that she would go out and play in the rain *IF* Mommy AND Daddy came with her.

That was an offer we couldn’t refuse – so off we went into the backyard to run around like silly people!  Well, almost.  As Emily and I were halfway across the yard we looked back to see Rob watching us through the back door window.  Nice try, Daddy! It didn’t work.  Soon we were all jumping on the wet trampoline together – singing and laughing while our clothes got absolutely drenched.

I wish I had known where my camera was at the time we came in, but you’ll just have to use your imagination when I say we were soaked from our heads to our toes and back again, but we had huge smiles on our faces!

Sometimes it’s not about what’s comfortable or convenient – it’s just about making your child feel loved and important through good old fashioned playtime.

“Today I shall behave, as if this is the day I will be remembered.” ― Dr. Seuss

“It is paradoxical that many educators and parents still differentiate between a time for learning and a time for play without seeing the vital connection between them.” ― Leo F. Buscaglia

“We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.” ― George Bernard Shaw

A picture is worth 1000 words

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To some of you that might look like an ordinary weed – something that takes over your yard where the grass should be, something you try to get rid of.

But you would be wrong.

What I see when I look at that little flower is BEAUTY.  I think of the delicate petals, the bright color of sunshine, and happiness – pure joy, even.  I actually look forward to spring when these little flowers pop up all over the yard.

Why?

Because of this…the bigger picture.

For as long as I can remember, Emily has loved picking these flowers for me.  When she runs out to check the mail, she comes back with one for my hair.  After playing outside, she’ll come in with a handful of them and present them to me like a bouquet.  She loves to sneak up and put one in a place that will surprise me when I turn around.

Recently, she even put together an entire arrangement with sand, marbles, seashells and rose petals for me.  Isn’t it beautiful?

Seeing her joy in these little flowers brings me joy, and every time I see a dandelion I have to smile!  God uses the ordinary, and makes them extraordinary – just like He uses you and me.

Do you need a vision adjustment?

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My daughter Emily received a pair of binoculars as a gift recently, and as we were driving around town one day she was using them to examine the world around us when I heard her say, “Cool! These come with a Vision Adjuster!”

I smiled at her creative term for the little knob that allows you to focus the picture, and then I thought about how often I need my own “vision adjuster” as I look at my own life and the world around us.

Some questions that came to mind:

Am I content with what God has given me, or am I always longing for more?

Do I make assumptions about other people without first getting to know them from the inside-out?

Do I see the world through my daughter’s eyes, or do I try to conform her to mine?

Do I see the needs of my husband and strive to fulfill them, or do I only focus on my desires?

Do my eyes truly see the needs of those around me – on my street, in my city, in the world – and do I move toward them with outstretched hands or do I look the other way?

Do I look for the good in every situation, or do I focus on the negative?

Thankfully, I have my very own “Vision Adjuster” in the Bible – the very word of God! I also have one that goes everywhere with me! The Holy Spirit is there to be my guide and to direct my thoughts and actions if I will allow God to work in my life. If I will seek HIM first, and seek to do His will, then I will be able to feel the Holy Spirit nudging me to do the right thing.

When I focus my eyes on Him, then He is good to give me the clear view that I desire and He shows me words like these:

“Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.” (Galations 1:10)

“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’” (Matthew 25:40)

“And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”(Colossians 3:17)

“Rejoice always,pray continually,give thanks in all circumstances;for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)

How is the Lord adjusting your vision as you seek His face each day?

My best HOOAH moment

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HOOAH: The phonetic pronunciation of the acronym HUA (Heard, Understood, Acknowledged)

According to Wikipedia, HOOAH can also:

  • be used as a call and response cheer, with one soldier exclaiming, “hooah!,” and other soldiers responding in like.
  • be uttered at random and in a group in order to boost morale. One or a few soldiers will begin chanting “hooah!,” and then others join in.
  • be used as a sarcastic remark for something specific to the Army. Sometimes used sarcastically. As in, “This detail is about as hoo-ah as it gets.”
  • to describe a highly motivated individual. As in, “Greenfield has been extremely Hoo-ah lately.”

I can think of a few things that make me want to say, “HOOAH!” – like seeing my man in uniform! I am so proud of him and it is an honor to stand by his side.   Also, when I finally had him back in my arms after his deployment – what a day to celebrate!

When I read this topic though, I immediately thought of a time where I felt really proud of myself as an Army wife.  A time that I felt like I pushed myself, pulled myself up from my bootstraps so to speak, and worked through it.

When Rob was deployed to Iraq last year, Murphy (of Murphy’s Law) decided to attack our truck.  Our truck that was fully paid for and our only option for transportation.  A few issues came and went, but the one I was the most proud of was when I fixed a window on the truck, saving us 200-300 dollars and earning a lot of self confidence.

One day my daughter and I headed out to run a few errands.  We had a big list ahead of us and a lot of driving to do, so our first stop was to fill up the truck with gas – something that should have been routine.  As I hopped back in the driver’s seat and closed the door, the back left window fell down.

Ok, that was weird. I didn’t shut the door THAT hard.  I’ve had windows fall before so I thought I’d just hop out, push it back up with my hands and be on my way.  Only, it wouldn’t budge!

Tried the power switch – it would go down, but not up.  Great, I just made it worse. Tried the other windows and they worked just fine.  Isolating the problem already!

I decided I couldn’t go run my errands and leave the truck with an open window (and our purchases inside) everywhere we went, so we changed our plans and went home.

Normally, I would have just waited until Rob got home and he would have taken care of it.  He’s handy with fixing things like that but since we had several months of the deployment left to go, I knew it couldn’t wait.  My second best option? Google. I quickly came to the conclusion that the window had either simply fallen off the track, or the window motor would need to be replaced.  Neither of those sounded like something I knew how to do, so I called a repair shop for a quote.

“$300-400 including parts & labor.  Oh, and we don’t have any in stock so it’s a special order.”

WHAT????

I needed a plan B.  Sure, we had the extra deployment money and even money in savings, but I sure didn’t want to spend it on that.   So, I prayed for direction, and then I looked up the price of the worst case scenario – a window motor.

The price of the part? $100.00 delivered to my house.

That’s it?  God is so good!

I knew that if my husband were home, he would replace the part himself to save us that $200-300 dollars, so I was determined to do it myself.  Now, how to accomplish that?

“I can do all this through him who gives me strength.” (Phil 4:13)

It is an amazing world we live in, folks.  Seriously.  I’m aging myself here, but the internet still amazes me on almost a daily basis.  You can find anything out there.  Lots of things I don’t even want to know about, but that’s another post.

I found a video on YouTube of a guy demoing how to take off the door panel and replace the window motor.  I can do this!

I put on my work clothes, got the tools out, and took my laptop out on the driveway to keep the video handy.   I’d watch a little, push pause, work a little, hit play…over and over until I was done.   I ended up taking the entire panel off the door, removing the speaker, unhooking the motor, and then putting Humpty Dumpty back together again.  It took me about 30 minutes.  Mechanics get a really good hourly rate!

HOOAH!

Sure, I was proud of myself, but even more I was thankful that God helped me get through this.  I trusted Him and He never lets us down.  It’s moments like this where we can choose to let the hard times knock us down, or we can push through them.  It was important to me to do this for several reasons — 1) I wanted to make my husband proud – for him to know I can handle things at home,  2) I wanted to save us from spending money if we didn’t need to, and 3) I wanted to be an example to my daughter – she even got to help me!

When the hard times come – and they will – I hope you’ll make the choice to push through them and find your own HOOAH moment! You’ll be glad you did.

You know you are a military wife when…

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“You know you are a military wife when…”

…you no longer have to do math to figure out what time to start dinner when your husband tells you he’ll be home at 1830.

…someone asks for the last 4 of your social security number and you ramble off your husband’s instead.

…you are surprised when the sound of thunder is REALLY thunder and not just artillery.

…you are close friends with someone for an entire year, but your husband’s have never met because they are never home at the same time.

…a good day includes your husband not landing in a tree.

…you say, “stand by” to someone when you are figuring out your answer.

…you refuse to answer the front door when your husband is deployed.

…you have a plan on what to do with your child if you should ever see men in dress uniforms at your door.

…you store your kid’s outside toys in a Tuff box.

…your husband’s work & dress clothes cost more than yours do.

…you tear up at songs like “Proud to be an American” and “American Soldier” no matter how many times you hear them.

…you run out of leftovers for your husband’s lunch the next day and he says, “I’ll just grab an MRE at work”.

…some of your closest friends are people you’ve known less than a year.

…the emergency contact for your child is someone you’ve known less than a month.

…you know your husband’s co-workers by last name only.

…you need your ID to buy groceries.

…your husband says he’s going to another state for a week to for training and you think nothing of it because it’s “only” a week.

…you know that any reference to “sand box” describes a deployment, not your kid’s backyard toys.

…you avoid going grocery shopping within 2 days of payday unless it’s an absolute emergency!

…your husband says he gets to “sleep in” and sets his alarm for 6:30.

Surrendering my Priorities

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Lately it’s become increasingly obvious to me that I’m not just suddenly going to have the time to sit down and write all the things I want to write – I need to make the time.  I need to let God prioritize my day and be mindful of my time so that I am using it effectively to do the things He has called me to do.

I have countless blog topic ideas, notes, recipes and pictures that I have saved with the intention to put them all together into something that makes sense and is worthy of being read, but time keeps getting away from me and the list just keeps growing.

I love writing, and I truly feel that it is an area where God wants to use me to reach others.  He is making very clear to me a few areas that I am to focus my time this next year, and this is one of them.  I’m thankful for that because I like knowing that I’m making a difference when I write, rather than just wasting time that I should be spending doing something else.  God is so good and has shown me over and over that this is where He wants me.  I am so humbled when someone emails me to thank me for talking about how a gluten-free/dye-free diet helps my daughter because they themselves have just been handed a diagnosis for their child and are searching for answers.  I get excited when I hear from someone that they are going through a similar situation and joining the military “later” in life and we can email back and forth sharing our feelings.  I sit in awe as I read a comment from another SPD mom that understands my daughter’s super stressful day and offers her understanding and support.

Hubby and I have talked a lot about this lately and have decided that I will take a night each week (at least that’s the goal) to get out of the house and just write.  Sure, I could just go back in the bedroom and sometimes I will, but it also helps if I leave the house so I don’t feel compelled to involve myself in whatever my husband/daughter/dog/cat is doing (my control issues are a topic for another post altogether).

So tonight, I am sitting at a local coffee shop near our new house (yes, we moved – that post is coming) working on my writing.  It’s a coffee shop I stumbled on after buying a Groupon and I am so glad I did!  It is owned by a veteran, Christian family and they have great coffee! I’m still a fan of the huge coffee chains, but whenever possible I much prefer finding the local, family owned businesses. I have a feeling that we’ll be spending some days here doing our homeschooling work, and I’m looking forward to enjoying the atmosphere quite often as I work on my writing.

This year is a year of surrender for me in many ways – letting God lead my path instead of running ahead of Him.  Surrendering my priorities to Him and focusing on the areas that He is leading me is just one more way that I can serve Him, and serve others for Him.

“Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise making the most of your time, because the days are evil.”  Ephesians 5:15-16 (NASB)