I Would be a Mommy Blogger...

I was just going through my e-mail inbox and deleting hundreds of e-mails...and my heart was filled with thankfulness and amazement of how God has been good to us these past few years. Since BG #1 was born, it's been a lot harder to keep up with my blog (I would be a Mommy Blogger, but I elected to feed my children instead!).

My e-mail inbox reminded me of people from past stations that I haven't talked to in way too long. Like a friend from Pensacola who wrote to let me know that she was praying for Tim as he landed on the aircraft carrier for the first time! Then there were e-mails from family after I sent them pictures of my first gender ultrasound in 2013. That brought back memories of how incredibly nervous I was thinking about life with children. Now we've got two! (I'm still a little nervous).

Last year this time Tim still hadn't flown the Harrier yet - after waiting months for training to pick up. I was tense about the future, although my tension was mostly about having to adjust to a more mobile Baby Girl.

On April Fool's Day I got a positive pregnancy test, and soon after, Tim got to solo in the Harrier for the first time. He loved it! I tried not to think about his job too much, since the further he got in training meant the closer we would be to a deployment. I'd also occasionally have dreams about planes crashing into the forest next to us...

The rest of the year was really hard, but really good, in a Romans 8:28 sort of way. After three years of training, Tim had a sudden military career change. We spent the summer and fall wondering what that new career was going to be. I prayed for two things: that it would allow us to remain at our church for the next three years, and that it would be a non-deploying job. So far, both prayers have been answered - Tim will be an adjutant at the MAG level and we get to stay here.

 BG #2 arrived November 24th. 8 lbs, 5 oz, 22 inches long. We celebrated Thanksgiving three days later and our fifth anniversary the day after that. I had thought before that I would like to be able to fit into my wedding dress on our fifth anniversary. That did not happen. That's ok - my stretch marks look like flame tattoos. Some people pay to get flame tattoos. Mine were free, and a lot less painful. They don't give epidurals at tattoo parlors!


Here is what I did get for our anniversary: a real wedding album! Isn't it gorgeous? The cover is pearly and stamped and the pages are silver-colored on the outside. I'm so happy with how it turned out.

The next big holiday was Christmas...our first one getting a real tree! It was the biggest, most wonderful smelling tree I've ever seen.

Four days before Baby Girl #2 was born I got a 3D ultrasound picture of her. A few days ago, I took a picture of her sleeping and sent it to Tim, who pointed out to me that she looks the same now as she did when she was inside...

November 20th, 2014

January 13th, 2015

Baby Girl #2 has been awake for about five hours between when the two pictures were taken (I may be exaggerating). Tim and I remark to each other often that for someone whose name means "resurrection," she sure does sleep a lot. "Awake, O sleeper, and αναστα (anasta) from the dead!" But seriously, isn't it amazing how the Gospel works? You're dead, and then you're alive, and Christ's light shines on you! I love Ephesians.

Spring Review

Strawberry Picking

The Dandelion Fiend

Easter Dress

Pick your own caption

At the beach

Getting a checkup

Visiting the Biltmore

Daddy's girl

Cool web

Camping on a mountain

May was busy. We enjoyed a week at the beach with Tim's family as well as a long weekend by ourselves (Baby Girl went with her grandparents). We enjoyed being a "single" couple again, but were glad to get our baby back. She brings much humor to our lives - I don't know what we'd do without her! Last week she decided to try walking some more, and she continues to LOVE books (our books and her books).

May Memories

May 2008

We had started dating at the beginning of the school year

 May 2009

Graduation and commissioning

 May 2010

At my friend's May wedding with my brothers

 May 2011

May in Pensacola - this is why I don't swim in the ocean

May 2012

Back at our alma mater for TWO brothers' graduations

 May 2013

Our BABY!!! (We also missed a brother's graduation)

 May 2014

One year old! (Missing another uncle's graduation, but partying nonetheless)

Does this last picture give just a glimpse of the mischievousness we've experienced around here for the past few months?

Merry Christmas 2013

Dear Friends and Family,

We are doing well. This year has been one for changes and growth in our little family. In May, our sweet daughter arrived. She has been growing fast. She scoots around and loves to chew on whatever fits in her mouth. Books and paper are her favorite things to grab. Her huge, gummy smile is such a joy to see.

At the end of June we moved from Mississippi to North Carolina. We are so thankful to have made friends quickly. There is a strong group of believers on base, and we are involved in several military Bible studies.

In July, we had the opportunity to visit the AiG conference and both our families. During our visit, we found out that Elisabeth is expecting her first cousin!

In August we found a wonderful church family. We have been so blessed by the teaching and fellowship there. Their prayer and love for families is a huge encouragement for us and many of the military couples there.

In November, Tim started Harrier training. He studies a lot, but still has time for me and Baby Girl. He is a wonderful Daddy!

Four Years

Also in November, my family came for a visit. We had a great Thanksgiving time with them. Thanksgiving Day also marked our four year anniversary. This month, we got to visit Tim's family for his brother's wedding. We are thankful for another sweet addition to the H family.

I enjoy motherhood. Baby has changed the family dynamic from "the two of us" to "the three of us." It takes longer to go places and its harder to do things when we are working around diaper blowouts and naps and feeding. Thankfully, God has been changing my heart from "me" to "Him." God's work is so necessary for "the three of us" to live in love.

The Baby in the Manger is a historical fact that has changed my life. Because of Him, I find so much to rejoice in this year.

Love from all of us!

Merry Christmas!

First Impressions of North Carolina

Maybe this will be my last "first" impression for a while! North Carolina makes state number six for us and military base number five. I feel like I'm finally getting the hang of uprooting every year, although this last time was a little harder for me. That's because we were moving with our beautiful little seven week old girl. She didn't take up much room, but she had a way of making us follow her itinerary.

Speaking of our little girl, I can hear her waking up in the next room over. I love seeing her first smiles of the day - that is one of the most exciting things for me to see! I know it is for my husband, too - coming home to someone who shows such absolute ecstasy at seeing his face! That makes two of us, of course.

After several years of training at Naval air stations, we are once again at a Marine Corps base. I continue to find humor in everyday life around a military base, but probably not like I did when we lived in Quantico (where it was all new and exciting).

Although we live off base, we are still surrounded by retired and active duty military. How can I tell? Well, if you were to visit this area and attempt to connect to a wireless network, you'd find wireless network names such as "Huey BadBoy," "SemperFightHer," and "FBI Surveillance."

Do you know what a 7 ton is? I saw one do a U-turn a few weeks ago. This is a 7 ton. The truck that I saw was pulling a trailer twice as long.






This is the intersection where I saw the U-turn. The truck took up the entire intersection, went over the sidewalk and into the grass in front of the Burger King. This is only one of the many risks that people take when they use a sidewalk near a military base.

Another risk one takes in living in a military town is particularly related to air bases. We call it "The Sound of Freedom." The first prize for noise goes to the Prowlers. I think that the Harriers get second place. In addition to these aircraft, we also have Hueys and C-130s on base.

We found some more helpful tools for our church search after this last move. One is the Nine Marks website, and the other is the Founders website. Both websites have churches listed by area that meet basic Scriptural requirements for a church. Have I ever mentioned what an absolute necessity a local church family is to my survival as a military wife? These websites are also listed under Helpful Links.

Tim should start training in November. In the meantime, we are happy to have these weeks together while we enjoy our little girl.

Spring: In Pictures

Late March: At a Confederate Cemetery

Our Redneck Vacation Home

Boiled Peanuts

Tim fixed the washing machine - twice

I started selling books on Amazon

Tim has been washing LOTS of dishes

We had a hail storm

I sewed a diaper bag (and washcloths, burp cloths, nursing pads, a wet bag, a changing pad, wipes and diaper cover)

Changing pad and wipes case (for a friend - mine is in different colors)

I found some vintage sewing patterns

I made a baby dress (actually four - different sizes and colors)

Tim got a gun (preparing for Baby Girl's future suitors)

Me plus a basketball

A thirty-six pound basketball

At 38 weeks

I've been incredibly blessed during this pregnancy. Tim has had many days off due to his delays in work, and he has spent those days doing my housework plus several repair jobs, yard upkeep, and personal study. Together we've been reading through Teach Them Diligently by Lou Priolo. I've also really appreciated our Northpointe ladies' study through Proverbs (Dee Brestin's A Woman of Wisdom).

Tim found these for us online - one of my favorite series when I was a kid.

Tim's graduation was postponed from April to May 10th, and postponed again to May 17th. His remaining flights were also postponed - now he has one left (he's hoping to complete it tomorrow). We probably won't find out his next assignment until the middle of May. So... we're here in Mississippi for a while longer!

Although I'm getting more tired and sore, I'm constantly blessed by Tim's patience and help. He says that he wants this pregnancy to be a good experience for me...so that I don't mind doing it again.

It is Not Death to Die

An Easter Testimony

I'm up early this morning. Tim had a 6 AM brief, which meant getting up before 5:00. Actually, we weren't UP up because we wanted to snuggle and feel Baby-Girl kicking. So, a half hour later I made a lunch for him and said goodbye.

Sometimes I really hate to say goodbye, especially when it's my husband. It's a fight to trust that God will do what is good in both of our lives today, even if that good involves something really painful, like death.

On this morning eight years ago, I went on a walk with my mom. Spring definitely hadn't come to New York yet, and the sky was overcast. I had been working with Dad on a paint job that week and had something on my mind.

On our way home from work two days before we had stopped at a gas station for something. I always refused to be seen in public in my "paint clothes," so I sat in Dad's work truck and watched the people outside the gas station. I saw a girl pushing a stroller. She reminded me of Stephanie, a girl I had known from our old church. She looked really young to be pushing a stroller. Later Dad told me, "I saw Stephanie at the gas station. That was her second child." It was her.

According to Dad, Stephanie's father had been livid when he had found out that she was pregnant. What a foolish thing - to sleep with a guy in high school, get pregnant, not finish school, live on welfare...

I remembered something that Stephanie had told me a few years ago, when we were only ten or eleven. We were filling out name cards for our new Girl's Club. The conversation went something like this:

Me: Why don't you want your sister to write her last name on her name card?
Stephanie: It's not her last name.
Me: What is her last name?
Stephanie: I don't know, but she's only my half sister. Our mom...kind've "did that" with a lot of guys.

I told Mom about it that morning in March. I told her that I could understand how her dad would be upset. But I also pointed out that Stephanie didn't exactly have a good example for a mom. Mom didn't really say anything - she just made one of those "Mom" noises that meant that she was probably praying for herself (as a mom), me (as a daughter), and Stephanie.

A few weeks later I brought my sweet younger sister to the doctor's office. She had a rash on her arms - maybe from a plant that she had dug up in our flower bed. I had to fill out her paperwork and got to the question that asked about deceased family members. Mom had died several hours after our conversation on the morning of March 18th, but how could I fill out the question that asked "Cause of death?"

She didn't die from sickness, but it hurt to write "accident."

Accident implies, "out of control." It was out of my control. If the six of us could have stopped it, we would have. But even with the five of us kids spotting for my mom as dad cut down a tree on our property, we couldn't stop it. She dropped the rope that she had been using to guide the tree, and ran as the tree fell in the wrong direction. A small branch hit her neck. The doctor told Dad later that she had died instantly and suffered no trauma.

I am out of control. I couldn't stop my mother's death. I can't be a mother to my siblings. I can't keep my husband safe when he flies or even drives to work. I sometimes feel that I can protect our baby as long as she is inside of me, but even now, I ultimately have no control over her life.

Can I believe that Jesus is in control?

"He left nothing outside his control." I read this in Hebrews 2:8 this morning. Can I believe that Jesus is in control?

"At present, we do not yet see." (2:8) This is true. I don't understand death. It hurts.

"But we see him...Jesus." (2:9)

Easter was just two Sundays after Mom's death. Mr. Davis preached, and I remember that he talked about seeds and planting.

Jesus talked about seeds.  He said that they have to go in the ground and "die" before they can grow and bear fruit. Jesus was trying to prepare His friends for His death, but they didn't understand (John 12:24).

My mom came from a family who loves to plant things, and Mom passed this on to me and my sister. When it is spring time, we just HAVE to dig in the dirt. Even with our upcoming move, I had to buy some spring flowers to plant on my porch here!

Jesus experienced the same pain that I do when He lived here, "that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil." (Hebrews 2:14)

I often feel the power of death when I feel out of control. Even before I saw my mom die, I felt the fear of death whenever I wondered "what if." But if Jesus destroyed the one who has the power of death, who really has the power? Now Jesus can "deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery."(Hebrews 2:15)

"He himself has suffered...he is able to help." (2:18)

Right now, my hope is not based on anything that I can see. But I see Jesus. He rose.

"I will put my trust in Him." (Hebrews 2:13)

The good part of life comes after I die. Jesus was The Seed, and His resurrection proves that to "die" and be "planted" is going to be wonderfully amazing. He didn't stay dead, and neither will I! His resurrection proves that it is not death to die.

It Is Not Death to Die

It is not death to die, to leave this weary road and join the saints who dwell on high, who’ve found their home with God.

It is not death to close the eyes long dimmed by tears, and wake in joy before Your throne, delivered from our fears.

It is not death to fling aside this earthly dust and rise with strong and noble wing to live among the just.

It is not death to hear the key unlock the door that sets us free from mortal years to praise You evermore.

O Jesus, conquering the grave, Your precious blood has pow’r to save. Those who trust in You will in Your mercy find that it is not death to die.

(© 2008 Integrity’s Praise! Music/Sovereign Grace Praise (BMI) )