Almost Home

Wow it has been 4 months since I was last home with my family. In a lot of ways that time went by so fast but then it went by very slow. I leave tomorrow night and start my 21 hour trip home. At the end of this year, I would have made 17 trips from Hawaii to Arkansas and visa versa. I don't even want to calculate all the hours that is up in the air. Most people want to just make 1 trip here....ughhh.... I hate it. My biggest regret in life...honest and dead serious....is not having frequent flyer miles.

My week home is going to go by so fast tho! I have something schedualed each day but at least it will be with my family.

In other news.
We are talking about a car again. We just paid off Jake's motorcycle in July and have not had any payments on anything. It has been pretty nice. However, we need a car we can rely on. If Jake reinlists, we know we will be traveling a lot on the mainland and will need a good fuel efficient car; however, there are some nice trucks here! We have been putting back enough money by the time next year rolls around, we would be able to put down more than half on a new car....but if we wait then we may have to spend more ridiculous amounts of money to fix up our car.

We are also considering reinlisting. Like I mentioned earlier, Jake passed with flying colors on his GT score and is wanting to change his MOS to the top rated suicidal job in the country....just makes me happy all over again. BUT, Jake is a very calm man. He never yells or gets overly nervous, angry, excited, or emotional. Being an ATC may just be what God designed him for.
Maybe we would get stationed in South Carolina and we could do history reinactments! That would be so cool...I'm not joking either. Ever since my Historical Sight Interpretation class, it has just fascinated me what all goes into those performances and museum life.
Sigh* If only we could move to the Carolina's.



Doing a reinactment for Tales of the Crypt!



Sarah's shower and bridal portraits are coming up in the next few days and I am so happy that I am able to be apart of it all.

This week I had planned to spend each day out on the beach but instead it has decided to rain and be miserably cloudy. So instead I made a hand made Christmas ornament!

Yesterday I continued on with my book for my book club and was again just slapped in the face. Being in the military, for such a long time gave me the impression of a 'right' to be bitter and miserable because our life is filled with daily sacrifices. But I was challenged to read the book of Phillipians as a letter to wives toward their husbands.
I was filled with convictions over and over again because I don't truly thank God for all of my circumstances. There are so many aspects of our marraige that I am thankful of but when Jake is away for deployments or trainings, I don't really focus on those wonderful and joyful blessings and kinda just focus in on the 'pour me' attitudes.

"All the days of the afflicted are evil: but he that is of a merry heart hath a continual feast" (Proverbs 15:15)

"....for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content" (Philippians 4:11)

"...and be content with such things as ye have" (Hebrews 13:5)

There was a passage that struck home to me:

"Some women get it in their minds that if the family would just move to the country, they would be happy and their children would not be getting into sinful habits. Or, if they lived closer to the church, or away from bad neighbors, or spent more time in family devotions, or any number of its, ands, or buts, then life would be better. This is a sure recipe for disaster. Discontentment is not a product of circumstances, it is the state of the soul.....Thankfullness is how you think; joy is the abundance it produces."


I can easily see myself thinking this. If only we lived closer to home, closer to family and friends. If only we had a nicer car....nicer 'things' then life wouldn't be so hard.
Ummm. No. Paul writes in Phil. that he has learned to be content in whatever circumstances. Whatever life throws at him.
As a wife, I don't need to focus on the little bad things that turns into bitterness. Deployments are going to happen. Seperation is a fact of life. Moving and unstability is 'normal'. Loneliness will happen again and again and again. Goodbyes are always present. But with Christ all things are possible and He will give me strength!
AMEN!

Whew.
"You can practice joy and thanksgiving. Every day, ever right response makes the fingers of your sould find the notes of joy and thanksgiving easier and easier."

Now, I just have to learn to find joy in sitting in an airplane for 15 hours....

:)