Update

Beautiful Monday here... Had a nice weekend of relaxation and fun with Jonathan. Care Group last night was wonderful, such a time of building up. I'm joining a Ladies Bible Study our chuch is putting on every week. It's by Beth Moore and it's called The Patriarchs. I'm excited. I get to be in Carrie's small group, too (our CG leader's wife). It's Wednesday. We had visitors (a couple & their little baby) to our group, I hope they stay, we really liked them.
Last night Jonathan won a wild boar and javelina hunt for 4 on eBay. It's a weekend thing, dinners and shelter are included, but it's waaaaaaaaay out in the wilderness. Jonathan's brothers will be buying tickets and coming down for it!!! It's a once in a lifetime experience! Jonathan got such an awesome deal. Anyway, I'm so excited for them. It's for the end of October.
That's all for now. Oh! We went dove hunting for a short time Friday night and got caught in a rain storm! It was so fun tromping around outside getting poured on and splashing around in puddles! I love rainstorms! It could have only been better with lightening and thunder. :)

Daddy's Birthday

Yesterday was my dear Daddy's 56th birthday. I wasn't present, because we live far away, but also because he happens to be in Oxford, England. He will be there until the end of November. He is studying at the Oxford Centre for Christian Apologetics. He's in "an intensive 8 week programme is designed for those seeking to sharpen evangelistic and apologetic skills within the world of business, and includes input from renowned Christian business leaders." More information at http://www.theocea.org/ This is a program founded by the brilliant Ravi Zacharias.
Can you believe that? My own father studying at the college of C.S. Lewis, J.R.R Tolkien, Sheldon Vanauken, T.S. Elliot, so many more!!! The college of great thinkers, intellectual giants! I am awed, amazed, and unutterably proud. We all knew he would be accepted (as he gained acceptance into MIT, University of Chicago, and Harvard, years before), yet he never expressed confidence in it. He humbly admitted he might be accepted, but that it was in the Lord's hands. And he seems so mild and humbled to even be there, while all I want to do is shout with glee. His attitude is right, of course. It's why he is there, I'm sure. Because the Lord resists pride.
I am proud of where my dad is, but I'm so much more proud of Who he is. He hungers after the Lord and seeks Him diligently. This is an understatement. I can't tell you how many times I would rise at 5 or 6 and see the little light on in the den, with Daddy on his knees in prayer, or with his Bible and notebook open before him, or with his eyes closed and lips moving as he memorized whole books of the Bible... Knowing he may have been up since the 4's. He did this while most of us slept. And then he would exercise, then have breakfast with everyone at the table, and then lead us in a study of the Bible and prayer. He shepherded our hearts carefully. He gave us goals and spiritual challenges to work toward. But he set the example himself. How could you argue with his challenge to memorize the Sermon on the Mount (3 chapters) when he had the whole book of Romans down?
Daddy is gentle and kind. From as early as I can remember, he would try to bring gifts home from his trips, no matter how short. But with 8 children and a wife, this could be expensive. So sometimes he only brought 1 or 2 of us presents. He carefully explained that our time would come, and he walked us through recognizing jealousy in ourselves and repenting of it. I'm so grateful for those lessons! He sought opportunities to take each one of us on "special times" and trips with just him. I remember looking for houses in Chicago when I was 8, and him letting me eat ice cream in the new van, because he knew I'd be careful. I remember our first missions trip together. All our business trips as we worked alongside one another. How revered he was in the business world. How smart.
I love how he has sweet traditions. Camping after Thanksgiving, New Year's eve at Wellspring, Jo Patti Seafood in Pensacola, Chocolate on Valentines to all the girls (the best & biggest to Mom, of course)... I love the notes he left me throughout my growing up.
Daddy and Mom have more people than I could name who have come to them for counsel or help. This is because they see the fruit of godliness and peace in their lives. Dad and Mom make themselves available at all times for helping others. And they speak truth in love. Biblical truth. They are compassionate. I have seen Daddy do things in secret to bless or help others, wanting them to praise God and not man.
This is long, and I haven't even scratched the surface. Daddy is the funniest man I know (except now Jonathan is tied, I laugh at him all the time!)... Daddy is innovative, clever, prudent with money (and taught us all this), generous, wise, consistently loving. He's shared the Gospel openly, but also lived it in front of everyone. Many clients have seen him pray or read his Bible, in spare moments. Some have asked. I'll always treasure how he gave ma away on our wedding day, no reserves, no regrets, joyfully (and tearfully) in the Lord.
I'm preparing a letter for my father, and this is only a sample of my thoughts. I don't talk deeply about people dear to me on here much, mainly because I feel I should tell them and not everyone else. But I know Daddy doesn't read this and I just would like to honor who he is, as he's in a small 3-bedroom, 1 bathroom flat in Oxford right now. With 7 people and 1.86 dollars/pound.
I love my father so much. And so here's thinking of him on his birthday.

Suzanne's Visit, Hunting, etc

Wow! What a wonderful weekend we had! Friday we went dove hunting and Jonathan got 4. I also saw a huge banana spider! :/ It looked Huge!!!! I'd say 4 inches worth of legspan at least! Saturday we spend the morning lazily and then went out in the early afternoon to a place for Jonathan to get a drill press and some cool tools, and then to the mall for me to spend some money. I got some kimono-style shirts at Wet Seal. I love that look! Especially with chopsticks in my hair, a necklace with a boldly-colored large-gem necklace, and some trim jeans or black pants, and of course red lipstick. Love that look! It just ties together. Got some things at Bath & Body Works, and used some of the Starbucks card my sweet sister Mary gave me!!!!! The Pumpkin Spice Latte is back, and I'm so glad. I've had 3 since I found that out 2 weeks ago.

Then that evening we went out to the country to help a friend in Care Group for a Christian Outdoor Alliance dove hunt. We weren't paying $75 to hunt, but we wanted to help out. There were some newbies out there that shot pigeons or sparrows, and missed some really obvious doves, but it was a lot of fun. Especially to get clean and pick up a Papa John's pizza and snuggle through Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. :)

Sunday we had church and then again went out hunting that evening. This time I got 2 doves!!! My first ever! I got them two in a row! My average was much better than on the skeet range (thank goodness, I think skeet is boring!). Jonathan got 6. Well, 7, but we couldn't find one. It was so much fun to hunt together. I can now tell a swallow's flight from a doves's quite easily. :) When we headed home we cleaned up and then fixed a super-duper meal. Dove, sauteed in thyme, marjoram and butter, broccoli, rosemary bread, and rice. Getting clean after all that time out was so refreshing.

On Monday we headed to Government Canyon for our hike. We ended up hiking 6 miles, and drinking 3 liters of water between us. Exactly what we brought. We crossed the trailhead with a few swigs left. We had a great time hiking and exerting ourselves and sharing wonderful conversation, jokes, and everything in between! We kept a very good pace. Jonathan told me he never realized I'd be a outdoors girl... He thought (feared) I'd just want to spend vacation days like this at the mall!!!! I love that I'm not that way, and we can share the same loves! Ourdoors are such a great adventure together.

Here are some fun pics from this weekend. And some from my dear sister Suzanne's visit.

Loving Married Life!

So we've been having fun lately, so many good times with my bestest friend. :) I'm getting very excited about our Labor Day weekend get-away down to Corpus Christi on our newly-fixed boat. Don't know where we'll venture out to, but we're sure to get quality-time together and some delicious seafood. Perhaps we'll even catch something worthy of adorning our dinner plates. No matter what, it'll be an adventure. That's what we love best. Our Grand Adventure is what I sometimes refer to our marriage as, which seems fitting.

Jonathan had a test yesterday on top secret weapons and defenses the US military has... He did wonderfully! He was so diligent in his studying, going in early most mornings (6:30 when show-time was 9), and also going in on the weekend. He is such an example of a hard worker and serious student. I love watching him in that role... I guess that's something I've watched since before our marriage.

My sister Suzanne flys in later today! She used her hard-earned money to buy a ticket out here to visit me! I've planned many fun outings and two craft-like projects for us together. We of course plan on going to Starbucks every single day! Just like I did when Mary was here.... except she refused it one day. :( So we broke our record. BTW, if you reload a Starbucks card online from a Visa with $50 or set it up for (any amount) of automatic reload, you get $10 extra put on your card. 3 cards per household. That's $30. Our monthly Starbucks budget. You betcha I'll cash in!

Nothing more here, except I got a beautiful present from Seth & Karen in the mail, it's a dresser with these gorgrous coffee-pictures painted on it. I'll post a pic soon. I moved all my coffee stuff in there where it sits in my kitchen looking beautiful. More later! Here's a pic of us on our trip to Dallas.

Ponderings...

"We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.
...For it is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God."
II Cor 4:8-11,15
Can you attest to being given over to death for Jesus' sake? For His life being manifest in your mortal flesh? We're called to this, in more ways than I can name. I attest to this, and yet to His unfailing faithfulness. To quote something not-so-spiritual, but seemingly true, as Marilla Cuthbert says, "To despair is to turn your back on God." We may be in the utter throes of hardship, but there's no cause to despair with Christ's Words as our Promises, and the Holy Spirit as our Comforter, and God the Father as the One who Hears our prayers as has pity on us (Ps. 103).
So you who may be in a time of great trial, persecution, harship, or trouble.... Cling to Christ our Mediator, Christ our Friend, Christ our Great High Priest who is able to sympahtize with our weaknesses because He was tempted as we are, yet without sin....
Hallelujah. What a Savior. What a Lord.

SCUBA Certified!

This one's for Mrs. C..... That was after my last dive, after I was officially certified! We didn't really think to take pics while we had our gear on. In this pic Jonathan had surfaced about 5 minutes before I had, as he ran out of air faster. :)

When we got down to 60 feet it got COOOOLD! The lake was 82 degrees, but down there it felt like mid-60's! Jonathan said it may have been upper 60's. I was shivering (bad for a diver) and was a bit worried/scared about going further into that murky coldness! Other than that, SCUBA is a lot of fun and I'm excited about all my future dives!

Busy Friday.... Jonathan has a night flight, but he's home now! Gotta love that! 3 SCUBA dives tomorrow, 2 Sunday. I'm going to be exhausted! Exhausted, but certified. :)

SCUBA and Life

So, ever since getting back from NC for the Independence Day celebration, life has seemed extremely busy. Even now I feel tired... or is it sleepy? After getting into a routine of getting up at 6ish every morning, I learned I loved that and had plenty of energy and time to get things done in the day, if I ordered my day. However, I also learned that I really do not like getting up in the 5's! It leaves me lethargic/tired in the morning and I don't know that I catch up. Does anyone feel like that? It's very consistent.
This past Saturday we went with 7 Air Force friends (2 couples, a 3 year old, and a single guy) to Canyon Lake on our boat. Everything turned out different than planned, but suffice it to say we ended up caught in a huge downpour with our just-finished-cooking charcoal brats being gathered together into cups (in the rain) and eaten out of paper towels in our respective cars as we soakingly drove back! We all laughed a lot about it and had a jolly ride home.
Right now I'm taking 2.5 hours of SCUBA diving classes M-Th each night for 2 weeks. We alternate between classroom time and pool time. Since I've dove once, I've been very familiar with what's been taught so far. I'll be excited to get NAUI certified and be able to go out diving with Jonathan whenever we desire. With this completed, I can look to my next goal: my pilot's license. It won't be here, but perhaps our next station. :) Imaigne, being able to trod on earth, swim under the sea, and fly in the air! God's creation is amazing to behold!
I'll be glad for Friday and the weekend, since I don't have much evening time with Jonathan at the present, because of my classes. Fortunately he has early mornings every day this week, meaning he gets home early afternoon!
BTW, to everyone who made time to see us while we were back, thank you, thank you, thank you!!! It was an amazing blessing and so much fun! Your friendships and love toward us are a treasure!

Headed to NC for the Weekend!

We are blessed to have tickets to go back to beautiful North Carolina for the 4th of July weekend! Our plane leaves at 3:06 (yes, that's in 2 hours) and we get in 9:16! We stay until Tuesday 6:30pm! Both Jonathan and I are extremely excited about it! He hasn't seen family (except mine) or friends since early January, so he's especially excited. He gets to meet his precious little new niece, Shiona. She's already a 6 weeks old!
My parents have planned a "Fiesta" themed party for us while we're there, with a few close friends. I get giddy thinking of how fun that'll be!
I've got us all packed and I'm just waiting for Jonathan to call and tell me he's done with his sim and he's headed home. Should be any minute now....

Fun with the Blairs

Well things are going well at the Wilson household. We spent the weekend at the boat and the beach, and are both appropriately tan and a bit burned. It was very relaxing for us both. Everyone in our life group was out of town on Sunday except Colin (the lg leader) so we invited him over for Surf & Turf (steak and fresh shrimp from the coast). We then went on to have our study on the last week's message (Hebrews) and it was truly a great time. It's neat to see how sincere people in our church are in their lives. It's also great to see how fast friendships grow when God starts them. So... I spent Friday preparing for the beach and helping Carrie by watching her kids while she got her hair trimmed. We then went to a cool place called Willie's for lunch. We ate outside and they had a big sand box for the kids to play in. Little Emerson is so content, she just sat in the highchair, babbled and ate the whole time. Cute! Carrie had to be on the phone so I played Fight the Pirates in the sandbox with Adisyn and Parker. They were fun! Then we went to pick up their car from the shop. I was sorry to say good-bye. :( We'll have to do more things like that. I recently read on the GirlTalk blog that if I wanted to learn how to be a Godly mother like Titus 2 says I should "...look for women whose children are characterized by the fruit of self-control and obedience." Colin & Carrie's kids are. Plus Carrie & I have fun together. She reminds me of my dear friend Kristin. *sniff* I'm suppose to get my $1000 gift card in the mail this week or next. I can't wait! I'm going to buy a new comforter for the bunk beds at Target (already have one), and a $200 Starbucks card, and special big presents for friends that I've been holding off doing. :) It'll be fun. I can't wait to come visit my family for the July 4th weekend!!!!

Back from NC!

Got back Friday from 5 days of staying with Seth & Karen & having a great time, meeting my new niece, spending loads of time with little Katrina, and seeing my two families! I miss everyone so much. Here are some really cute pictures of our time.

Much as I hate to go, I could not WAIT to get back home to my husband! We weren't meant to be apart for long, it's so terribly hard! The reunions are so sweet! He couldn't pick me up at the airport, so after a friend dropped me off at the house, I walked inside to find a vase full of a dozen white-tipped red roses and a note to me saying how glad he was that I was home! It's great to be loved.

Katrina was very happy to see Aunt Denise!!!


Little baby Shiona, such a content little baby!

Katrina eating her Happpy birthday cake. She turned two!

I took Katrina to the store shopping & to McDonalds to play. She got really hurt after this, but she was having a great time!

Shiona Marie Robinson

On Saturday evening, May 20, 2006, at 9:17pm, God brought forth a new life into our lives! My precious sister Karen gave birth to a little 8 lb, 8 oz girl, 20.4 inches long. Seth was with her the whole time and little Katrina was with grandma. The little girl will be called Shiona, which means "God is gracious", as that is something they saw evidenced throughout the birth and afterward. She resembles her big sister a lot now, and Katrina is especially excited to have a new baby in the house.

Rejoice with us and congratulate Seth & Karen on this wonderful event!!!

Air Force Jets!

"Wide sky big breaks; Michigan, Great Lakes;
Cattle rattle, snowflakes, Georgia beaches.
Louisiana harpoon, New York attitude, Florida beaches.
Tennessee whiskey; Diddy, are you with me?
Texas chili, Virginia pine.
It's hard to beat that California sunshine.
Baby, you're my favorite,
Favorite state of mind."
-from "Favorite State of Mind"

May already and I really didn't update in April, how bad I have been! At least I can say, I've been very busy "living" to not have a lot of time to "document" it. But enought is enough and it's finally time to give this my attention. So, here's the current scoop:
My sisterMary spent her hard-earned money and visited for a week in April. It was the highlight of my month, and I did not expect to grieve like I did when she left. It was seriously some sort of depression to b left all alone again (during the day) and not have my friend to be doing stuff with! However, I learned to be joyful and content again and God already worked out my family to come visit in May during my birthday too! So I only had a month to wait! That was a tremendous blessing!
Jonathan and I had a large group of friends at our home for Easter, all unsaved friends we were opening up our home to share God's love with. It was a great time, and we continue to be excited about all the opportunities God has given us to daily interact with those who need Jesus. We pray & attempt to meet their physical needs like Jesus did so tha topportunity will open up to meet their spiritual needs when they become apparent, by demonstrating true love. We love being in a church that emphasises so strongly personal ministering to those in your sphere of influence. :)
Life Group at church is still wonderful! Our church had baptisms yesterday and 17 people were baptised! It was special to watch those in their 30's all the way down to 9 year olds. We had a nice picnic and had lots of fun fellowshipping and playing with all the kids!
Jonathan and I had all Friday to hear briefs from crews of all the aircraft he can go to, as well as to actually walk on the aircraft and see exactly what it looks like (all but the B-52, since the runway's not big enough at Randolph). It was extremely enlightening, ang I got to sit in the cockpit of one of these (F-15E Eagle):


Makes me understand why Jonathan would want that more than an y other! However, it's not an option, they must have just had it there for fun. :) With all the wisdom we have, he's leaning toward B-52's (Bombers) or KC-135's (air refulers).
Heres's a B-52 Bomber

Here's a KC-135 refueling:

So maybe you don't think all these pics are cool, but they are to me!!!
Now, May should be a busy month, too. Jonathan's siblings (sans Emily) will be coming to visit for 6 days and then 4 days later my family comes for a week! So we'll have wonderful times and a full house in May! That is extremely exiciting!
Have I mentioned that I love the United States? I do. Just living different places makes me aware of how different God made even just one continent. He gave us beautiful mountains and the rolling hills of Virginia/NC with the kudzu and dogwoods and wonderful pines! He gave us the flat-straight land of Illinois with its acres of corn. He gave us the rugged, brown, full of live oaks and cactuses, mostly flat, dry area of Texas. I could name differences in every state, and that only covers one country! It's amaznig he's given Jonathan and me the opportunity to travel around and live all these different places! Just thinking about our next assignment stirs excitement in me for what it will be like.
And this will have to end my thought for today. Sorry there aren't any personal pictures. I have blackmail pictures of Mary, Jonathan, and me line-dancing in ridiculous clothes, but I'll resist posting those. :) Ok here's on of Jonathan & little Emerson (our CG leader's youngest girl).

Have a blessed May everyone, and keep seeking Christ! I close with this:
"And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross." Colossians 2:13,14

Mary's Gone :(

*sighs* We had such a lovely time, and now my beloved sisster is gone, gone, gone........

March Update

Happy Monday, Happy March, and Happy Birthday to all the people I know with March Birthdays!

Much to tell! Jonathan has started classes! Academics officially start tomorrow. Wow. All the waiting and here it is. Kind-of scary, definitely exciting. I admit that I have been (graciously, and wonderfully) spoiled all my marriage (which is 2 months shy of a 2 years!). This is the first time I've experienced a husband consistently having to be gone 8 hours a day! Certainly Jonathan had his days in college where he'd have to be gone that much or more, but they were the exception. Most days we've had lunch together, and had the opportunity to take mid-day jaunts wherever we liked. Our life is about to become much more scheduled: shall I say we'll experience a more "normal" life? But that sounds boring, as this hardly will be! I'll get to hear him come home and tell me about flight simulations (people getting sick, yay!), jamming radars and missiles, and of course all his flights up! I might share some of the really cool stuff on here.

There are so many opportunities here for things to do, and new stuff to learn. Case in point: we are looking seriously at buying a boat for cruising around, fishing and exploring on weekends or holidays. So we both need to take a boating safety course, and I need to learn about reefs and charting and navigation. Then we've looked into my getting Padi certified for SCUBA diving. We also want me to get my Pilot's License!!!! That makes me get chills of amazement and fear! So, many things are vying for my time and money. But what opportunities! I love having a husband that is so talented, adventurous, and knowledgable! *sighs happily* I don't know anyone else like him (did I mention he's a sharpshooter(he has the excellent marksman ribbon to prove it)?!!!

As many of you know, we found a church! By God's grace, we settled in at CrossBridge Community Church, and were invited that night to a Life Group (i.e. small group). Don't disbelieve that God doesn't even direct things like who you sit by! People welcomed us warmly and we have appreciated the emphasis on being an active part of the Body of Christ, and being in fellowship/discipleship at a small group. They have a weekly 4-page booklet they publish before the following message on Sunday, so you can be prepared about what the pastor is going to preach. It also contains questions for the Life Group that night. No church is perfect, but we're grateful to be in a place to walk the lively life in Christ with others!

Other than that we got sunburned from a day at Corpus Christi, have sold some things we didn't care about on eBay, I finally made my vaunted homemade enchiladas and Jonathan raved, are enjoying our first visitor (Jonathan's dad), my Kitty Marie is wild and happy, and I love how inexpensive the Commissary is for groceries (and its coupon policy)!

We think often of our family and friends back home, and around the country. You are loved and your friendship is treasured. Keep the emails and calls coming, as I have tried to do!

The RiverWalk


Kitty Marie


Beautiful Flowers Jonathan brought me!


Jonathan & Denise on Valentine's

Finally an Update from TX

Well, believe it or not, I'm finally updating. Moving 1200+ miles away into an unfamiliar city has been quite The Adventure.
My first experience on a military base was one of awe: so this is how those who serve our country live and work. We lived in temporary housing for families for 3 weeks while we house hunted. Fro 3 weeks I did not have to clean (except dishes) and we frequently ate out, as there was minimal stuff which with to prepare meals. I got to see gruff old seargents and young airmen alike render salutes to Jonathan, with his 2nd Lientenant "butter bar" clearly showing. I got a thrill each time I witnessed this: here was a small example of the rank he had worked hard to attain. I am learning how to identify each rank, for it is an important sign of respect to use a person's title when addressing them. They have worked hard for it and it should be recognized. So when I enter the gate to go shopping at the Commissary (base grocery), I can say "Thank you, Airman" after showing my military ID. Although I have not had much personal interaction yet, I feel they are a close-knit group.
One reason we haven't met many people yet, or formed any sort of circle of friends, happens to be that Jonathan has not started his Navigator training. He orignially wasa slotted for a May 8th class, but, Praise the Lord, has been bumped up to March 5th. Each day the training jets fly over the house, and it's exhilirating to know that in short order, it will be Jonathan passing overhead!
We originally planned on buying a house, but ended up renting. The house was a newly-finished rental home. It's in a nice new neighborhood, 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom, and a little larger than our old house 'most everywhere. Texans have a strange custom of combining the laundry room with the kitchen pantry, which makes for a small space (they put the water heater in my pantry too!). But Jonathan being so handy has bought and hung more shelving, so I'm happy. Jonathan can't stand to live amidst boxes, so before 10 days had elapsed, he had our home completely devoid of boxes and every single picture, towel rack, or shelving hung! I am blessed with an industrious husband who can work around any problem, who does not procrastinate, and who loves to bless me! :) Our home didn't come with a fridge, so after painstakingly researching it online and locally, we purchased a 25 cu ft LG (Life's Good, Jenn I know you love that brand!) French Door, Bottom Mount Freezer. I love it and hope/plan to never outgrow it!
We haven't found a church home yet, which is the fore-front of our prayer life right now. We've tried 3 in 4 weeks (visiting one twice), but have not decided that is home. We dearly want to find a body of Christ with which to worship and grow, especially in a small group setting. We continue the search, eager for what God must have in store!
Our evenings and weekends are filled with reading, setting-up house, exploring San Antonio and thereabouts, movie watching, and long talks with the family back home. We miss them and our friends a great, great deal! Every email and phone call have been utterly precious to me! Please don't stop!
San Antonio's second largest tourist attraction (behind the Alamo) is The Riverwalk. The San Antonio River runs through the city, and because of flooding dangers in the 20's the river was going to be paved over. But some forward-thinking women formed a conservation society and proposed the canals and toursm industry that thrives today. It's uniquely beautiful and lots of fun!
I'll post some pictures here so there's an idea of what things are like.

Riverwalk Hotels


J&D - Night Riverwalk


Riverwalk Restaurants

Riverwalk Waterfall

Botanical Garden

Botnaical Garden - Cactus

Times Together

Lovely week thus far. Last week Jonathan had 3 whole days off. I loved it! He's still working on his M-44 project, but almost all done. It looks wonderful, I'll have to post pics when it's 100% done. He's also writing an article on it in Maximum Outdoors (a local hunting magazine). Cool, isn't it? I'm so proud of his accomplishments, and the diligence he puts into what he does.
We had a quick visit to Dallas last week. Saw the old Texas Book Depository, which has been turned into a museum to the assasination of Kennedy. When you take the time to go through it and actually see how it happened (it all looks just like it did in the pictures), it's rather amazing the lack of security back then.
Jonathan's in his high-security phase of training. He's learning about the offensive and defensive weapons our military has. All his studying and training goes on in a place called "The Vault." He has a special badge, must classify information he writes down, and is not allowed to bring anything in there save himself. When he comes home from school, he can tell me in general how the day went, but nothing in particular. Very interesting.
This weekend I'm making a birthday cake for some friends of ours 4 year old. They'll be in the shape and decorated like cowboy boots. If it looks good, I may post a pic.... :)
The weather's still a blessed 100 degrees here, and I still enjoy every minute!

My Sisters' Visit

This last week has been insanely busy but oh so enjoyable!!!

Thursday to Sunday I had my precious sisters Suzanne, Crystal and Mary down to visit. The days flew by way too fast! Dad was driving through Charlotte to head to Montgomery with Carter, to visit his father & brother and to pick up a boat he'd just bought. So he dropped the girls by on the way down, but spent Thursday night with us.

That evening after dinner we all (except Jonathan, who was working) headed to Jitterz for ice cream, wine or coffee! We talked until closing time (they blinked the lights out on us). Dad is seriously pursuing the RZIM 3 month Apologetics training in Oxford next year!!!!! It seems like such an incredible opportunity to be invited to, and exactly the kind of equipping God would have for him at this season of his life, given his talents, interests and opportunities to share Christ!

Breakfast the next morning consisted of scrambled eggs, brown sugar bacon, cream cheese braid, and selection of juices and coffee. They left at 8, as did Jonathan for school. I was suppose to finish Indexes for work, and then shop with the girls at Concord Mills, with enough time to head home and fix dinner for the McMahons!

Index Day had been Thursday. Usually I start about 5:30am, but that morning we slept in a bit and had an Air Force moving brief at 8:00 that lasted til 10:00. I had started the Indexes the night before, but by lunchtime I had a call from Dad saying a report had bad numbers on it... Sure enough, there was a bug we found. Someone was suppose to be researching a fix, but they misunderstood. I left for HomeMakers Group (the last one for me *sighs sadly*) with a good conscience that I couldn't do any more work until I got a fix. I brought my comp as well as forwarded all work calls. I got about 4 during the meeting! That's when we discovered the bug wasn't being tracked down (yikes). Fortunately, soon after we found a fix had already been uploaded. So what it left me with was Regression Testing plus finishing indexes.

That's the sad part. I didn't finish until noon on Friday! So by the time the girls and I headed out, it was like 1:30! They were all so sweet about it! We got Starbucks (Mary's treat for everyone, bless her generous heart!!!!!) Everyone got something at The Body Shop, so that made me happy. The time flew!!! When we got home at 6 we had 1 hour til the McMahons were here. Every girl had 2-3 things to do immediately, we worked together perfectly! We had such a lovely time, the boys stayed til 2! Taige makes great margaritas, btw! Go Taige!

Saturday we trekked over to SouthPark (the call of Sephora), then went to a Charlotte Symphony Orchestra "The Magic of Christmas" concert. Fun! Then to Cheddar's for dinner (who puts chili powder in Chicken Tortilla Soup??), and watched a movie with popcorn & hot cocoa. I love spending time with my sisters, all the conversations, jokes, giggles, and sharing. They are my best friends after my husband. And I admire each their Christian walks and separate personalities.

All in all, I'm sooooo happy they came! I hate that we didn't do this more.

Tonight, Jonathan's dad comes for dinner, the night and breakfast. That'll be fun! I'm fixing Leg of Lamb with Garlic and Herbs. I wish I could have lamb every week!!!

Working now, tomorrow is Jonathan's last day of school before exams, hooray! I can't believe we're so close! I've loved the school life, we've had so much time together. I can't imagine any other way, Jonathan gone for less than 8 hours a day, home for most every lunch, etc. What a precious 1 year 8 months we've been given!

Moving To Randolph AFB

January 17, 2006 - Jonathan's Report Date to Randolph Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas
Yes, our orders came in last week. What a relief to know, and yet a sadness to know we must move so very far away. Exciting, too. Just about every emotion, actually. :) I am anticipating the next stage in our lives' Grand Adventure (as we call it). How much God must have in store... A new church family, new ways to serve, and of course new friends.
One blessing immediately is that we won't be complete strangers. Adam Boyd, who was a groomsman in our wedding (and Jonathan in his), and his wife Anna live out there as he's currently in Navigator school. So that's good news!
Now we must go through briefings to prepare us for our first Air Force Move. What you can take, what's reimbursable, etc. I've begun to take a critical eye to my house and ask "Do I want to move this, give it away, or trash it?" I've heard military moving is good on keeping clutter down, Hallelujah! :)
So now, all of you, we'll be home from about December 11th on, living in my parents garage apartment, going back and forth to Charlotte for stuff. This is the time I'd love to see you all and share some great memories before the move.... Email/Call me and we'll be sure to set something up!!!! Love & Hugs! -J & D-

NYC Trip!!!

Jonthan and I just returned late Sunday night from a weekend in New York City!! We had the best time!! Here are some pics & a recap.

I left Wednesday for an Index conference for the S&P/Investortools Municipal Bond Indices. I met up with Dad at Laguardia and we headed into the city. We scouted the city for some lunch and ended up at a Pan-Asian place with amazing sushi. We checked out the conference center and headed over to Bayard's for dinner. Back in July '01 Dad, Mike from S&P and I had all eaten there and it was one of my fodest memories. Dad and I went for old times sake and had an incredible meal - the food was still spectatular! We dawdled over dinner, enjoying the ship-motif, dim lighting, and fine wine. It was great. I had roast duck that was succulent.

I was rooming with Keri and she was a lot of fun. She has a 1 year old so I got to see some really cute pics & hear stories. She's known me since I was a tadpole, so that's cool. (i.e. Mom was pregnant w/Noah) The conference went really great, it was a great opportunity to be there w/the title "Manager of Index Operations." That says it all.

Funny story: Keri was noticing there wasn't a minibar in the room, so I opened the armoire and saw a little white box w/numbers on the front sitting on the bottom. I said, "Yeah but it has a microwave!" and she was like, "Really? How would you keep the food cold?" and I was sheepishly like, "Nevermind, nothing. They don't have one." She came over to look and to my shame she saw... The Safe!! Well, it looked like a microwave!

So another wonderful dinner at Keen's Chophouse to celebrate the conference. It was 3 S&P guys, and we 6 Investortools people. My filet mignon with Bernaise was superb! I tried to take it home, but it didn't keep. :(

Friday we visited a client and then headed to the airport so Dad & Scott could go home & I could meet my husband!!!! He took an early flight and got in a 3:30. Now, neither of us have been in the city that much and used mass transit, except Boston once and London once. I have more, but Dad was always handling everything. So it was an adventure, but I must say I don't think we ever did anything too wrong - never got on a wrong train anyway. It was really cool using the MTA, and we learned to navigate it very comfortably. Just read lots of signs and carary a map!

We checked into our steal of a deal hotel and it was really nice - one of the top 5 nicest hotels I've been in. What a blessing! We headed out to spy our eating places and settled on Mesa Espana (A Taste of Spain). The atmosphere was just charming - Mediterranean countryside/seaside paintings, large ornate mirrors, stucco walls/ceilings. We loved our little romantic tucked-away corner seating... Then we walked a few blocks and to the Empire State Building. The view at the top was amazing - give you height fears if you had them! New York sparking with thousands of lights, things vaguely discernable and others obviously identifiable. My only complaint is it was very crowded! We got a pic of Jonathan not getting a signal on his cell w/the Verizon building viewable over his shoulder... "Can you hear me now?" was his desired caption!

Our Saturday began bright and early with a lovely breakfast and much walking! We were going from Gramercy Park district up to Central Park to the Natural History Museum and the Metropolitan Meseum of Art (never made it there). On the way we passed right through Times Square and Broadway, scouting out our theatre for the evening play. There were a plethora of cool stores just calling my name!!! I resisted all but the Hershey's store, where they were giving out free mini Take 5's. When we got up to the Park it was breezy, warm and there were lots of bikers, joggers, dog-walkers, and kids. It was really lovely. Later there was even some musical performance, and canoes to rent and ride out! 843 acres of beautiful land right in the middle of bustling Manhattan! Who'd have thought?! The park's history is cool, too.

The Natural History Museum was just chocked full of room after room of interesting things to see/read. If we weren't so tried of walking and standing, we could've stayed for hours more. We headed to Carnegie Deli for late lunch - a true NY experience. They serve bowls of pickles and mounds of corned beef, swiss, cabbage and rye and they call it a "Ruben"! It was more like a mountain! It's fast paced and you eat elbow to elbow, the walls covered with pictures of famous people who've eaten there. Fonzie from Happy Days was up there!

We walked through Times Square some more, this time stopping and buying a few things!!! :) Then back to the hotel to change for the play!!! We arrived just in time and it was a hilarious and wonderful show! We had reservations at a very upscale French restaurant for dinner - our 2nd choice at recommendation, since the 1st was booked up. Undoubtably the food was marvelous (especially the DESSERT sampler, not in sample sizes!!), and the atmosphere romantic, but the service and art were lacking. However, Jonathan and I being the resiliant and optimistic people we are, we didn't care and had ourselves such a lovely, incredibly memorable evening!!!!!

Sunday we met up with our friend Sean for breakfast and church. We ended up at a not so hot place, but at least enjoyed talking. He agreed to go to church with us, and we headed to one of our SG sister churches in Brooklyn, Sovereign Grace City Church. It was only about 50 people, the church just a year old, but the worship and message were great, and the people friendly. It was a profitable way to spend the morning.

The rest of the afternoon was spent trying to go to the Statue of Liberty (they'd stopped the ferries!), visiting Wall Street & showing Jonathan where I worked (my "corridors of power"), and more Times Square shopping. Exhausted, but with more time on our hand, we ducked into a little Irish pub called The Pig 'n Whistle, where Jonathan got a stout and I a martini. Then ready to finish, we walked back to the hotel, got our bags, and headed to the airport. What a terrific trip!!!!!!!! We were blessed beyond measure!

Central Park Entrance Fountain


Central Park


NYC Sykine from Empire State Building. Can you see the Statue of Liberty??


Mesa Espana


Hilton Theatre (caught off guard)


A snake bird, called so b/c of its shape. Only its head stays above water as it swims.See the baby eating on the right?


T--Rex at Natural History Muesum


"The Bull" on Wall Street... Where was "The Bear"?


Jonathan at Times Square


Jonathan, Denise, Sean