ABC's

Mark learning to write his ABC's

100% Sweet!

A boy & his dog!

Finger painting FUN!

Mark and Andrew did a little finger painting…very fun and messy…thankfully they were outside!

Campfire

This past weekend we had fun making a campfire in our backyard. As part of our eventual landscaping plans, including a fire pit is one of the must-haves. We are still unpacking and hope this “fun” will soon come to an end. In addition to having too much “stuff” we have found that each of our projects take up a bunch of space. So, we are going to have a shop built sometime this fall. That way Joseph will have space to work on his plane and I hope to someday get back on the potter’s wheel. Plus it brings the added benefit of getting all our cars out of the weather instead of in our driveway!

Justin Titus Fletcher

Justin Titus Fletcher

July 7, 2009

7 pounds 3 ounces

20 1/2 inches

Septic...YUK!

Life is never dull, I’ll have to say. We have not had a working septic system for going on four days now and it was acting up for three days prior to that. We are hoping the fun ends soon with a working septic system. I must say the people in Enid are very kind and helpful and because of their quick help we now know what the problem is but can’t seem to get a plumber on the weekend. So, Joseph is doing a little part time plumbing work. He has decided that he will continue in his current profession as a pilot and leave the plumbing to the professionals after this weekend. The low point for me today was when I told Joseph that I needed to use the bathroom and he asked why I did not go while we were out. I said I did not need to go then but I do now! My husband always remarks how we should be like pioneers, so I said I could just go out back like a pioneer and he said what about the neighbors plus pioneers would not go in their own backyard. So, after that fun exchange I headed to the closest gas station but there was a train and I was not going to make it. So, I pulled off on a dirt road, which was very muddy from all the rain, and stopped, got out, and started walking quickly. All the cars passing by I’m sure were wondering who the crazy lady was walking down a muddy road in her church clothes caring a purse in a BIG hurry! At this point I did not care what anyone thought…I just needed a tree. So, I found my tree and took care of business as the train rolled by and the horses grazed in the pasture in front of me. And so the adventure goes on…

We did try a different church this Sunday but think we will either keep looking or go back to the first church we tried. (This church did have very nice WORKING toilets!!! This was a huge blessing for us!!! And no one ran away even though we have not been able to shower in a while!!!) We are finding it hard to find a church home. We don’t want to hurt any ones feelings.

Joseph should be home from Lowe’s soon with what he needs to fix the septic system. I’m praying it works and we can flush again, do laundry, wash dishes and shower. It could be a BIG evening for us!

Andrew is enjoying having kids near his age in the neighborhood to play with. He knows our neighbors better than we do already. He is our little social butterfly. He also has added a box turtle and a horny toad to our growing family. Mark is as funny as ever – he just makes me laugh. He enjoys learning and is into the movie “Cars” currently. Justin is smiling and making more and more great noises. I just love holding him all the time. Joseph still loves his job! And I’m busy with the kids, homeschooling and getting involved with the ladies in the squadron & OSC.

Praise GOD!!!!
WE HAVE A WORKING SEPTIC SYSTEM!!!!
My man is fabulous, spectacular, amazing and brilliant! I have the dishwasher going, laundry started, and I have been flushing the toilets just because I can! It is the simple things in life…the JOY of working toilets! Next, SHOWERS and BATHS for everyone!

Oklahoma

Well, we have made the move from San Antonio to Oklahoma! It is marvelous to be out of the heat of San Antonio and be able to take pleasure in the outdoors again! We are still very busy unpacking but achieved a milestone this past weekend by getting two cars in the garage. We now have two dogs, Maggie and Franklin, and it is wonderful to have them both here with us. We had really missed them! The house is starting to feel more and more like home and that is such a blessing. Justin will be two months old in about a week. He is growing and changing daily and is a very snuggly baby. This makes it extremely hard for me to put him down because I just love holding him. So much for unpacking! Mark is just hilarious and far better than TV. This past weekend he told his dad that he could not eat his hotdog because it was covered in hair and would make him sick. When we asked Andrew how Mark got hair on his hotdog he informed us Mark had hit Franklin (our dog) with the hotdog! Franklin’s revenge! Mark and I are doing pre-school in the mornings and he loves it. Andrew is off to a fine start to the 4th grade. He is doing Classical Conversations one day a week and seems to be not only enjoying it but also getting a lot out of it. Joseph is enjoying his new job and I’m busy with home schooling. We tried the Enid Mennonite Brethren Church this past Sunday and it seemed to be a good fit for our family. Since there are around 100 churches here to pick from it is hard to know where to start looking and it could take years to try them all out. So, I think we will try this one for a while and see how it goes. I think we are going to love living life here and can’t wait to see what God has for us here!

Mark turns 3, a cave, and the beach...

Our past two weekends have been busy as normal for this family. Two weekends ago, on Saturday, we made the trip to the Dallas/Ft Worth area for Andrew to start the first of his two summer visits to Arkansas. It is so hard for us all to say goodbye to him. He so very much missed! It brings tears to my eyes every time. We have been told it would get easier but that does not seem to be the case for us. We keep finding it harder and harder and we miss him even more each time he goes away. He is such a blessing to our family! Mark has been looking for his big brother ever since he left. He goes into Andrew’s room and climbs into his bed and just lays there. Well, enough about that before I start crying, again.

Mark turned three the Friday before Andrew left and some dear friends had us over for dinner to share in some wonderful fellowship, to sing Mark “Happy Birthday,” and to eat some birthday cake. As has happened before with such singing, he was on the verge of tears! It did help that we sang very softly though! Mark loves music and singing, but ever since the “traumatic event” at Chili’s when they sang “Happy Birthday” to Joseph when Mark was almost two, he since would rather have nothing to do with that song! The kids had a great time together as did the adults! Thanks, Runkles, for a marvelous evening out!

Sunday was such a gorgeous day here that after church we just had to get out and do something enjoyable outside but with out getting a sunburn. So, we headed off to Natural Bridge Caverns which is just outside San Antonio on the northeast side. It was a pleasurable outing. Even though Mark has been in caves before, the first time being when he was two and we went to a cave in South Korea, while he was very interested in the cave this time he was not 100% sure about it. He just wanted Daddy to hold him so he could take in the whole thing from a safe location. Daddy’s arms got a good two-hour workout!

This past Memorial Day weekend we went on an out to Corpus Christi and the Padre Island National Seashore. Saturday we had perfect weather for the beach. It was partly cloudy, warm and there was a lovely breeze. We all had super time playing in the water, building sand castles and walking on the beach. For dinner we found a great little pizzeria and had one of the best pizza’s I’ve had in a long while. After dinner, we made our way back to the beach to camp out over night…RIGHT ON THE BEACH!!!! Does life get much better? Going to sleep with the ocean breeze and the sound of the waves…just wonderful…and waking up to the sunrise, WOW! We had a nice walk on the beach before it was time to find an IHOP. After breakfast, we went back to the beach for a short time (by noon I was done with the heat) then drove around Corpus Christi just to see what was there. We got home around dinner time and all had a great night’s sleep.

Memorial Day we recovered by staying close to home by going for a swim in the pool at the apartment complex and playing at the little playground. Very low key!!! We did try a new recipe that was yummy, Chinese Barbeque chicken. The Commissary always has new things for us to try that you just can’t find in the average grocery store. I have not spent anytime looking for the Asian markets around here, and since we are here such a short time, I’m not sure I have the energy to look too hard. So, the Commissary will just have to do!