Redbirds Win!!

This Friday night we went to our first Memphis Redbirds game. They are a Triple A team, which I think is right below the major league. We enjoy going to games, and were excited to go see the Redbirds, as the tickets are much cheaper than major league. We also discovered that the seats are MUCH better, which makes sense, as the stadium itself is much smaller. We do miss just taking the ferry as we were able to do to Seattle, rather than driving like we have to do now. We had a fun time, and in the end it ended up being a close game. The Redbirds have now gained two more fans.

This picture shows just how close we were to the field. The players are warming up behind Carl.

Another cool thing is this hill you see people sitting on...it is inside the field, and next to it is a kids playground. I believe people still pay to sit on it, and their kids can play on the playground while they watch the game (it's all inside the fenced in stadium). We thought it was cool.

Here are some new friends of ours. Carl works with Nick, and we met him with his wife Danielle at the game, and their little girl Violet.

Our "Magic" Phone

Ok, this is going to sound a bit like a promo for this product, but we are so excited and happy with it that I have to share. We got a "Magicjack" a couple of weeks ago. Carl researched what kind of phone to get and came upon the Magicjack. After researching the pros, cons, and reviews, we decided to get it. We LOVE it! The Magicjack is a jack that plugs into your computer, using your highspeed internet as a phoneline. You plug your phone into the jack, or just use a headset and your computer, without a phone at all. It's kind of like Vonage, I guess. Anyhow, it's only $20 a YEAR! Unbelievable, we thought, but it is true. We love it and have had no problems with it whatsoever. There are no delays when we talk to people, and it's never down, unless the internet is (and that isn't often). You do of course have to have highspeed internet to use it, but it works even with Wifi. Also, you can make your phone number any area code, so that if people call you often from a certain place and they don't have long distance, you can make it local for them. There is no long distance with Magicjack. It's pretty awesome. So, I just had to share our latest fun "toy".

Church Update

I hope everyone had a fun and happy 4th of July. This year was the first in I think 3 years that Carl and I were together. It's amazing having my husband home all of the time! I thought I would give a quick church search update, since I know that I have been mentioning this as a prayer request. We have found a church that we are going to try for a month, and then decide. We realize that we will never find a Westside again, but we still want to find the best. This church seems to be the best among our choices, with many of the qualities we are looking for (mainly sound preaching and doctrine). Who knew it could be so hard to find a church? We were spoiled at the last two places we lived, finding phenomenal churches (especially our last one). This church just happened to be the last on our list of churches to try (about 8 in all). So, we will keep you updated, but please continue to keep our search in your prayers. We are excited to see where and what God is going to use us for here.

A Farewell To Arms

Well, really to the army, as I have received my separation orders from the Army Reserve. I will officially be out of the army on 26 August. This is a big praise for us, as we have been praying that the Lord would grant me separation from the army for a while now. I have served in the Army Reserves for 8 years this July, and though I am proud of the time I served both home and overseas, Carl and I both desired that I get out, for multiple reasons. I thank God for this great nation in which we live, and for the armed forces that defend it. Though I will no longer be apart of the armed forces, I will still be a patriot of this great country, and support my husband as he continues to serve. I know that I had mentioned this prayer request to some of my friends and family, and just wanted to let you all know the news, as a few of you may know it was quite a process to get this request through. I always knew that God would do it, as we felt it was His will, but as some of you may know, though we KNOW, we may still find ourselves doubting. This is just one more way in which I can testify God's faithfulness to us.

A Shoot 'Em Up Good Time

We had a family outing today. We found a range locally that holds IDPA matches 2 Saturdays out of the month, so today we participated in one. Today we participated in our first as a couple (Carl had done it one time before). IDPA is the International Defensive Pistol Association, and the matches at this particular range consist of 6 different "stages". Each stage is a run of a certain real-life scenario type situations, with different positions to shoot from at each. It's easier to understand once you see the pictures. We each shot at each stage, and there are other people in your group, so we got to watch the others go first, since we were the new kids on the block today. In the end, your score is time, and each miss or shot outside of a certain zone counts against you in seconds, adding on to your time. Whoever has the best time wins, but there is no real prize, outside of self-satisfaction, unless you are REALLY good. Everyone there is nice and everyone just wants to be better, so they are helpful and understanding. Also, there were two other women who shoot as well, so I was not alone, which was nice. : ) Anyhow, it was a good time, and the point of the whole thing is to have real people practice in somewhat real-life scenarios to prepare for it if someday you really are in it. And, it's just plain fun and great shooting practice! :) Below are a few pictures we took, but since we forgot our camera, they are from our phone, so not super quality, but pretty good for a phone.

Here Carl is showing his gun and magazines under his vest. We both wore vests, because part of being in a real-life situation is having your gun concealed on your person, and having it concealed in the match is part of the rules, to simulate this.

This was the 2nd or 3rd stage. This is from 25 yards, standing.

25 yards, kneeling.

This is one of the last stages, and it is a run where you start behind a closed door, open the door, pull out your gun and start. You then move through the door, hit a target on the run, and move to another place of cover to hit more targets. Many of the runs dealt with you on the move, and/or moving targets, while you were on the move (those were a new challenge!).

This is the last part of the above run.

Here I am taking cover behind a doorway, and attempting to shoot some "bad guys".

It looks like I'm walking here, but really I am moving fairly quickly (part of reality is not wanting to be without cover for long).

We had a good time, and are excited about again participating, becoming better shooters as we go. It's a fun challenge, and great target practice. This all reminds me, praise God for the Supreme Courts Ruling in favor of gun owners! Okay, my gun kick is done now. : )

Back Where I Come From

Being a military family, "home" is a very transient word for us. Typically when I think of home, I think of wherever my husband is, wherever the Lord and the military have landed us. Because of the fact that we know we are never anywhere for a long period of time, and we prepare months in advance for a move, it doesn't take us long to settle in wherever we go. It takes only a matter of days for me to change my mental picture of "home" when we move. Of course new friends are never replaceable and never forgotten.

Having said all this, there is always one place that is permanently and was first "home" to me, the place where I grew up, and where my family remains, on the farm in central Illinois. It is where I have my fondest memories of childhood, where my grandparents still remain, where my family is and still farms. I just returned from spending a couple of weeks up there while Carl was in school, and I again found comfort in the land I am so familiar with and love so much (along with those who reside there). : )

To those of you who are not from Illinois or other lands like it in central USA, these pictures may be somewhat of a shock...especially to my dear, dear friends who live and grew up in Washington. Yes, Illinois is one of those places that allows you to understand why we once thought the world was flat. : ) I love it. I did not put any pictures of the houses, as I feel better not doing that for safety reasons. I apologize for the poor quality of some of the images and size.

The buildings I circled here are a grain elevator and it's distance from my parents house, as we are looking at it here is approximately 3 miles. As you can imagine, it is much clearer looking at it through your own eyes. Just to give you an idea of how flat the land is, and how far you can see with the naked eye.

As it is planting season, the farmers are out in full force. Here's one of the tractors my grandpa and dad use.

We did have to retreat to the basement once when I was home, as summer storms are not uncommon there, and this year seems to be especially stormy. Here was the sky one night as the rain was moving in. Isn't God beautiful? I love to see how He displays His glory through nature, especially the sky, and there is no sky like in Illinois, my home. : )

So how did the mustache end up?

It's gone!!! Carl and I both agreed that he looked kind of scary and decided that the stache must go! ; ) He's currently in Florida, so I don't have a picture, but thought you all may like to know the end result. : )