Continuing Impressions of Mississippi

Tim at Centrifuge

In April Tim did centrifuge training in California. He got to go in a machine that simulated going very high g’s. He got g loc during the fourth event and had to make it to 7.5 g's for 30 seconds in order to pass the event.

When the guys g loc, often they will fall into a dream state. Tim, sure enough, dreamed that he was sitting on the couch at home having a nice relaxing conversation on the phone. It only lasted a few seconds, but in Tim’s dream it seemed to be much longer. Of course, some guys have not so nice dreams. One guy, whose experience has now been immortalized, woke with his hands in the air. When asked what he had been dreaming, he answered, “I dreamed that my wife was pulling a gun on me.”

Due to the pressure inside the machine, capillaries in Tim’s arm burst and he had funny red dots and bruises all over his arm. Thankfully, he made it to the required amount of g’s and passed on his next attempt. He even got a nice little DVD with a video of him in the machine, so I got to watch him g loc on camera. Random fact: shorter, stouter guys are able to handle the g forces more easily than taller, thinner guys.

Tim at work

I enjoy being married to a guy that loves his job. Fast machines will bring out the little boy in most guys, but most guys don’t actually get the chance to fly a military jet. When I ask Tim how his flight was, most days I'll get a big grin and hear about some new procedure, pattern, or maneuver. 

In July Tim got to enjoy race cars and jets in a flyover at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway. On Saturday he got to hang out at the race track with two buddies and their instructors. They had fun being VIPs for the day and got to hang out by the pit crews and sit in the grandstand for the preliminary events. On Sunday he got to ride with his instructor in the flyover during the national anthem (with a police escort back to the track!). I texted him right after the flyover and asked him if he had fun. He said, “Yeah!”

Hearing a jet fly over your head does give one a lot of awe for the power of the machine. As they say, “That’s the sound of freedom.”

This world is not my home

We get asked a lot how long we’ll be here in Mississippi and where we’ll go next. My best answer is that Tim is hoping to get winged next March, and he is hoping to train for F-18 Hornets next. That could put us in California next year (or South Carolina).

Of course, “The mind of man plans his way but the Lord directs His steps.” Training can be slowed or halted, so I try not to set my heart on any one option. “This world is not my home,” and I’m reminded of that every time friends ask, “So how’s life there in Louisiana? Alabama? Oh… Mississippi?”

On the home front

On the other side of the coin, we have our normal everyday lives to live. When Tim is home, he shares my more mundane concerns, such as THE RODENT POPULATION of central Mississippi. When we first moved here, we quickly learned not to attach our bird feeder to our roof if we wanted to avoid having little squirrel footsies scampering across the roof all day.

There are always three more

Three bird feeders later (squirrels destroyed the first two) we are much smarter. Our feeder is on a metal pole that has been lubricated with WD-40 and PAM. Tim has now trapped (and yes, killed) thirteen squirrels and three chipmunks. However, my Pop’s wisdom on squirrel matters has proved correct. No matter how many you kill, there are always three more.

Note since the first draft: We are now on bird feeder number four. Apparently, PAM wears off the pole more quickly than WD-40. 

At Rosalie House in Natchez - July 4th Week

Our neighborhood is really quite pleasant. When we go walking or running around the lake, the neighbors’ dogs will often join us. Tim loves this and often stops to talk to the dogs (which they love, too). When our neighbors arrive at their summer home after their week in New Orleans, their dogs will run up our driveway first thing, looking for my husband. When he’s not here, they figure I’ll do. I got a wet nose in my face during my walk on Friday.

Our church

Tim and I appreciate the family that we found at Northpoint Presbyterian Church (PCA). Although we are not from a Reformed Presbyterian background we have found the preaching here to be more accurate and understandable than the preaching at many other churches we've visited.

It’s an odd experience to come from your own little world and find that “we’re not the only deer in the forest.” In our part of the forest, the deer talk about BJU, the WILDS, and Billy Sunday. When we ventured across the valley, we found that some deer had never heard of these things. These deer talk about the General Assembly, RTS, and the Westminster Catechism. Thankfully, none of these differences concern Bible doctrine (well, the Westminster catechism pertains to Bible doctrine, but it is the same core doctrine that one would find taught at a Baptist or Bible church). 

We've appreciated the welcome our church gives to military couples and families. We really enjoy being involved with our Sunday School class and our choir. In May Tim even got to attend a church work day that finished up with a craw fish boil (a first!).

 How to get the local girls

During the check-in process Tim and his class were given pubs, gear, and general info about base and the surrounding area. In a general spirit of helpfulness, one instructor gave some advice about how to get a girl. (At this point in training many of the guys are still unmarried, and keep in mind that for a Marine, “getting a girl” does not mean finding a girlfriend with the intention of pursuing a committed, pure relationship with her).

His advice: you don’t want to get a girl at the local bar. These girls have all been around too much. Instead, find one at a local church. They’re good southern girls but they know more than you’d think.

A different instructor took it a step further. He said to find a girl at church, but not just any church. You have to visit a bigger one where you’ll blend in a bit.

 A random thought

This week I started putting together some photo albums. My second photo album started with pictures from the mission trip that I took to Africa the summer before my junior year of college. I remember how I spent that summer wondering what on earth God wanted me to do with my life. I didn't have a boyfriend and hadn't picked a major with the intention of getting a job.

Enjoying the adventure

The album ends with pictures of our wedding rehearsal and reception. In one short album, I could see pictures of God's provision and direction in my life over the course of two years. 

The Gospel has changed the way that Tim and I view life. It's not about us and what we accomplish. As exciting as we find military life, that is not what we live for. We're just trying to be faithful where God has put us, and for now, we're enjoying the adventure!

May 2012 - Graduations!

Josh's Graduation

Tim and I had the opportunity to travel to Greenville, SC for his brother's and my brother's graduation! Congratulations to Mark Horner, who received his degree in
Criminal Justice, and Josh Mayfield, who received his degree in Graphic Design. We were happy to run into many other friends on our trip (those who continue to work in Greenville and those who have stayed on to get Masters degrees).

Mark's Graduation

Alumni

We hope brains run in the family

Dear Friends from Gethsemane

 

Anna and me

After graduation, Tim and I headed to Gatlinburg with Tim's family for a few days. We enjoyed doing some Hillbilly Golf and the Dixie Stampede. We also got to try some jalapeno taffy.

Hillbilly Golfing

Bryan Bears outside the Running Bear cabin

 After visiting Gatlinburg, we returned home to Mississippi where my family met us and stayed for a few days. We enjoyed cooking out, playing volleyball at the beach, bowling, and a dinner at Weidman's where we got to eat fried green tomatoes!  Then I made the three-day drive up to New York with my family. We got to drive through some beautiful country in Kentucky, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania.

The overlook off I-68 (taken with my manual panoramic mode!)

 We arrived in New York and got right to work yesterday with spring planting and preparations.

Columbine

Bleeding Hearts

Preparing for the asparagus

The hand pump

Dad making a screen for a bedroom

Seed potatoes - ready to plant

Asparagus crowns

Here is a project Dad finished this winter. He salvaged the knobs to match the other doors in the house. He got a router to make the trim for the door.

About three years ago Dad and the boys made these Adirondack chairs for the front porch. They still look really nice, so I thought I'd throw in a picture of them, too.

Dad and the boys made Adirondack Chairs for the front porch

First Impressions of Mississippi

I suppose that now that we’ve lived here in Mississippi for over a month, I owe everyone an update. Our first impressions of NAS Meridian have been very pleasant. We find the people here friendly and relaxed. After living in the hotel at NAS Meridian for a month, we are thankful to be in a house now. It is about a twenty minute drive from base, and located on a beautiful lake called Dalewood.

Messy kitchen

Clean kitchen

Our house hunting was aided by AHRN, a website specifically for military buyers, renters, and owners. It was really helpful, and we looked at several houses listed there. This house was listed but didn’t have very much info and no pictures (“No pictures? How can you read it without any pictures?” – Loose quote from Gaston). When the landlord showed us the house we were really surprised – it’s so beautiful and it’s in our price range! With some help from our new church folks we moved in two weeks ago.

The view from our front doorstep (attempted panoramic)

Our “landlord” is southern to the core. Her name is Virginia, and she is the first person that I ever heard use the phrase “I suwannee” in real conversation. I’ve read it in books before, but this is real life and I was very impressed. Last week Virginia brought us a bag of food – “stuff you can grow here”- since I told her I was going to start a garden. She gave us frozen corn, squash, tomato and okra, and black eyed peas. I put all of it in a soup this week, and I am really looking forward to having home grown vegetables this summer!

The weather here has been beautiful, and Tim took me to Lowe’s last week to get some plants and seeds. My lettuce and my spinach have already sprouted outside, and I just saw some beans poking up today! Inside I have started cosmos, zinnias and snapdragons, and some herbs, too. Virginia brought me a bunch of flowers that I’ve potted on our steps.

Iris blooming by our driveway

In New York my family had to contend with deer, raccoons, and groundhogs in the garden. Here I have already begun a love/hate relationship with Fatso the Squirrel. I love to watch furry critters (that’s what southern people call animals). Last weekend Tim and I were admiring the view from our living room window and noticed a very chubby squirrel waddling across our yard. Whereas most of the squirrels in our yard seem to be kamikaze acrobats, this one looked like he was about to go find a nice place to die. A day or two later I realized why he was waddling across our yard. He had just finished off about a pound of sunflower seeds that he’d snitched out of our carport. He left the shells all over the floor.

As if that wasn’t bad enough, the next day he started digging in my flower pots. I re-potted my flowers, and decided to spray them with pepper spray. Unfortunately, I also breathed some of it in and spent the next hour blowing my nose. But Fatso has not disturbed my potted flowers for 48 hours now. I just wonder how long the stuff will work.

By the way, this is the fifth state that we’ve lived in since we’ve been married (we’ve lived in Pennsylvania, Virginia, California, Florida, and now Mississippi). Our military stations include Quantico MCB, Camp Pendleton, NAS Pensacola and NAS Whiting Field, and currently NAS Meridian. MCB stands for Marine Corps Base and NAS stands for Naval Air Station. Although Tim has been stationed at Navy bases, he is still a Marine.

Well, the post man just came by with a bunch of packages with my name on them, and one says DRESS FORM on it. I turned a quarter of a century yesterday and have been celebrating throughout the week with our new Mississippi friends. Tim is scheduled to arrive home sometime this evening, so I look forward to celebrating with him later.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone! We are looking forward to our Christmas break starting soon. Tim is keeping busy with training (very, very busy). He has had classes and simulator events for the past month, which he continues to excel in. If this pace continues, it looks like he may be finishing sooner than we had expected. We still have no idea what he will be flying or where we will be going. His instructors tell him that he has jet grades, but if there is no jet slot available when the selection board meets, he won’t get jets.

For the Tie-Cutting Ceremony

Tim is secretly hoping that we will be moving before it is our turn to sing a duet again in church. In all seriousness, that will be the hardest part about leaving (our church). We have an amazing family here, and they have been a huge support to us. Tim teaches a boys Sunday School class and helps with the junior boys in Master Clubs. I am also helping with the junior girls in Master Clubs. We see our church family living the Gospel by the way they are raising their children and reaching their neighbors, and that is a huge encouragement to us to do the same.

Tim and I celebrated our second anniversary on November 28^th. He came home from work with a two lb. box of chocolates which struck me as funny and almost made me cry. We celebrated by eating at a sweet little Italian place in downtown Pensacola. Earlier in November we attended a couples’ conference, put on by our church, in Destin. It was wonderful! We enjoyed the atmosphere (beautiful hotel right by the ocean), the food, and the fellowship.

My anniversary flowers

This year has been a sewing year for me. Tim got me a serger for my birthday in April, and I use it all the time. My biggest project was bridesmaids dresses for one of our church friends. I have been doing minor alterations these past few months, and have started a second set of bridesmaids dresses.

We look forward to what God has for us this New Year, and we are thankful for the good year He has given us. We are so blessed.

Merry Christmas!

Veterans Day

One of the things that I love about having a husband in the military is that we often run into older service members. They recognize Tim’s high-and-tight and begin to share their stories and advice with us. We love listening, and are somewhat awed by their lives. Most of them were only eighteen years old at the beginning of WWII.

One character who sticks out in my mind is “Dja-Dja’s Husband.” Dja Dja is a Jewish Holocaust survivor who grew up in Poland. She is a character herself, but one day I started talking with her American husband, a WWII veteran. 

“People say that we shouldn’t have a draft and that eighteen is too young to be fighting. Well, I’ll tell you what’s bad, is when we have twenty-some-year-olds who are married. Then when they get in the foxhole they start thinking about their wife. You can’t have a wife and fight. You can’t have a wife.”

Mr. G, a church friend of ours, must have been of a different opinion. 

“When I married my wife, she had to bring her report cards home to me to be signed. Our parents thought we were too young to be married! When the draft came, I didn’t have a choice. I became an MP and was stationed in Albuquerque. That was the home of the Atomic Commission, and we had over 500 MPs stationed there. My pay was $78 a month, and that didn’t even pay for our apartment. I worked at the commissary bagging groceries for people, and my wife had to get a job for us to be able to live together.”

Tim and I often wonder what it must have been like growing up in the WWII era. 

“Do you know what today is?” Mrs. W. asked the ladies in our sewing group. I had no idea. “Is it Victory in Japan Day?” a lady asked. She was right. I went home and looked later – it wasn’t even on the calendar.

Some Americans complain about the military. What’s strange is that military members today have a choice. They are not forced to join the military – they choose it. They choose to defend complaining Americans. Many veterans did not choose their service. They did what they had to. And they still love their country. 

Mrs. W. had a unique memory of V-J Day. 

“Sixty-six years ago today my sister and I were on the boardwalk in Atlantic City. All of a sudden bells started ringing and they started bringing the wounded soldiers out of the hospital and putting them out front. The service members were standing in a line, and then one of them grabbed a girl, kissed her, and passed her down to the next guy. One of them started to chase my sister, but she ran - in high heels, too! He never did catch her.”

Patriotism isn’t just loyalty to your country. It’s also thankfulness for what you have. Do you know a veteran? Why don’t you ask him to tell you about his time in the service? Why don’t you ask his wife what it was like for her? That is the best cure for ungratefulness that I can think of.

Second Impressions...of Pensacola

 

Rules of the Road
(in Pensacola, Florida) 

Don't use your turn signal
It is okay to use the turning lane belonging to the opposite lane of traffic
Text and drive (a lot)
The median counts as a lane
You can turn LEFT on a red arrow, as long as no other cars are coming

If you are over sixty, drive however you want and make sure you honk your horn while doing it

Your car does not need a hood or a bumper to be road-worthy
Up to five cars may go through a red light - as long as they stick together

These are not isolated cases of bad driving that I’ve observed – they are pretty common occurrences. The senior drivers are just rude, but the college students are rude and dangerous.

Florida does not have a vehicle inspection requirement. Every time I’m tempted to think that they need one, I look at our faithful 1992 Toyota Camry, and am thankful that there is no vehicle inspection. After all, it still drives! We call it our beach car, because it’s okay if it gets sand in it…unlike our 2010 Honda Civic, which I’m not even allowed to eat popcorn in. 

In case you are wondering where your tax dollars go, I found out this week. 

Tim is in VT-2, a T-34 training squadron at Whiting Field. The T-34 is a Korean War era trainer turbo prop. Tim has pages and pages of emergency procedures to memorize for this aircraft, because there is no eject option. 

The T-6 is a newer training aircraft, designed by the Air Force, incidentally. This trainer aircraft has one main emergency procedure – eject. Before the student pilots fly this 6 million dollar trainer aircraft, they learn to fly in the T-6 simulators – the 16 million dollar simulators. If a student in this 16 million dollar T6 simulator accidentally touches the screen in the 16 million dollar simulator, his instructor has a heart attack. This is because the entire screen must be replaced at the low cost of 700,000 dollars. They say that in the long run, these 16 million dollar simulators save money.

Although Tim has a ton of stuff to learn, he loves it. He is so excited to finally be studying what he joined for in the first place. He had his first test yesterday on the aircraft systems, and got an A. I am very happy for him! I could go on and on about how smart and wonderful he is (and he is!), but then I remember OCS, TBS, and our stint in California, and I know that it is only by God’s grace that we’ve gotten this far. During each of these training experiences there were times that the training was long, miserable, or unfair, and we asked God to do a special work to get us through. And He did get us through. So here we are!

First Impressions of California

Tidepools at Cabrillo National Monument, CA

First, I owe Mom Horner a big thank you for being willing to travel 2000 miles across the southern US with me. We had a fun time! For everyone out there who likes to drive fast, did you know that the speed limit in western Texas on I 10 is 80 mph? No kidding. Of course, in our new Honda, it didn’t even seem like we were doing much more than 65.

Our first night in Texas, we stayed with Mr. and Mrs. Grauke. We had never met them before, but Tim and I had met their son and daughter in law at our church in Pensacola. Mom Horner asked me if it bothered me to stay with people I had never met before. I explained the military bond. People connected to the military understand other people connected to the military. If you’re a Christian in the military, that bond becomes especially important.

Our second night was spent in Las Cruces, NM. We could see Mexico from the road, and I wasn’t too thrilled about having to drive by so close.

Our third day we got to drive through Arizona before hitting California. We drove by Saguaro National Park and saw a LOT of saguaro cactuses. We also saw a homeless man riding a bike down the highway with a cart attached and a dog peeking out of the cart. I wonder how he could afford to have the dog.

We passed through three border checks in all. The first two were to make sure that we were both US citizens. The third one was a special California check. They wanted to know if we had any fruits or produce with us and where they came from. I turned over a bag of oranges that didn’t have labels, and they explained to us that California had natural barriers that kept out foreign matter. According to Tim, it works both ways. It also protects the rest of the US from California.

Our first night in California I got to stay with Tim in the BOQ (Bachelor Officer Quarters). He had compared it to the Hilton – the Hanoi Hilton. It wasn’t that bad, though. Tim found a hotel for Mom Horner in town. I think she prayed a lot that night – when we drove up, the front of the hotel had scaffolding and plastic flapping around, and it was right next to a seedy looking haunt.

I got to see the Pacific Ocean for the first time on Sunday morning. It was cold. After church we got to eat lunch at Ruby’s, a restaurant that’s perched on the end of a pier. It was a really fun diner with an amazing view – we were surrounded by the ocean and could see the green hills and brown mountains in the distance. Looking over the dock, we could also see surfers. It was my first time to see real surfers, too, standing up on their board and riding the waves just like on TV.

Life on Base

Christmas at 3rd Tracks, Camp Del Mar

I got to learn my way around base by myself. My record for getting lost and turned around is six times in one day. By the end of that day I was feeling very sore and sorry for myself. When I tearfully told Tim, his first inclination (which he did not act on) was to have me to drive it again and then look at a map and see what I did wrong. But instead he bought us milkshakes.

You see, at Camp Pendleton the Marine Corps is very creative when naming streets, for instance, it uses letters of the alphabet, like A Street and B Street. After naming these two streets, they had to come up with some other names, like 11th Street. They really liked 11th Street, so they used it three times, for three different roads on base.

One thing that families do around Pendleton is hang banners for their husbands or fathers that are coming home from deployment. I passed one today with a picture of a baby girl that said,

                         Welcome home daddy.
                         If you thought Afghanistan was bad
                         wait til you see me!!!

Of course, some Marines enjoy being stationed out of the continental US, like the one I saw with a sticker on his truck that read, “Defend Hawaii.”

So, right now, Tim is defending the office at 3rd Tracks, Alpha Company. He doesn’t even get to make copies or fill the coffee machine. Pray for him if you think of it – he’s about to go nuts trying to find things to do.


On the beach at Del Mar - Our Backyard