Flagstaff Memories and a Rough Day

Monday, September 28

Roger just had one flight today, so we decided to take a trip to Flagstaff. The flight was supposed to be at eleven, but the tour bus was late. We didn't get on the road until 12:30 pm., and Roger had to be back for a flight tomorrow at two pm on Tuesday.  We knew it would be a rushed trip, but there are a few things we really need. 

We arrived in Flagstaff about 3:00 pm., it took a little longer than the gps anticipated due to some road construction. The challenging thing about visiting Flagstaff was the fact that it's a new city to us. We didn't know where anything was located, so we knew it would take a bit of time to figure out where we were at and where we needed to go. However, Flagstaff does have a Chickfila restaurant, so we stopped there to use the wifi, let the kids play, and plan out the trip. While we were at Chickfila, we decided that we should probably get a hotel room for the night. Since it was already four pm, there was no way that we could get everything done before the stores closed and the kids became crabby! I had thought that we might need to stay in a  hotel, so I had packed clothes and necessities just in case. We found a hotel that was in our budget, and Roger was able to get a discount because of his pilot's license. Yay!

We went to Staples to look for a computer since our other one is running very slowly, and we are trying to perhaps use a different curriculum for Garett. However, there was nothing in our price range.  But I did find a few school items and a few water bottles. I also had a gift card! After that stop, it was approaching six pm, and the kids were ready for some activity. So, Roger decided to stay at the hotel and take the kids swimming, while I went to do some grocery shopping. I visited three different grocery stores, just because I had options. I found organic chicken for $1.77 lb, cantaloupe 2/$1.00, and a few other good bargains! We prayed very specifically that God would help us spend our money wisely, and He directed me to find the right stores to shop at. I also found the Target Department store, and I wandered around for a bit simply because I had that option. I had a good time shopping, and I'm thankful that Roger could take the kids swimming. I kinda doubt that they would've enjoyed going to several grocery stores! 

It was a late night for everyone by the time we ate supper, got ready for bed, and figured out what we needed to get done in the morning. We needed to leave Flagstaff at eleven to be sure that Roger would be back in time for the flight. So we were up early the next morning to tackle the rest of the errands. We took a trip to Sam's Club in the morning to pick up our dairy products. Sam's Club offers a five pound bag of cheese for $12.92, but cheese in Page runs about $9.98 for a TWO pound bag! So we stocked up on cheese, butter, and diapers at Sam's Club! 

Flagstaff is a beautiful city. The surroundings are completely different from Page, Arizona, and it was a welcome change for our family to see trees and mountains. Flagstaff is located along historic Route 66, and it has a very cute downtown with lots of classy shops...a nice place of for a date walk, but not for five kids! It was fun to drive around the city though, and check out all the different stores and shopping options. 

We left Flagstaff around 10:30am on Tuesday, as Roger was on a flight at 2:30 pm. We did stop at a pawn shop on the way out of town to look at a few bikes. We didn't find one, and if we had, I don't know how we would've made it fit in the truck! However, there was a used computer there that we thought might work for Garett's school. The pawn shop owner was very nice, and said that if it didn't work out we would need to return it within a week to get our money back. We decided to buy it since it was in our price range, and it seemed like a good purchase for the price. 

We arrived back in Page around 1:00pm, and Roger left for his afternoon flight. Myself and the kids unloaded the truck and put away all the groceries. Then the kids played outside while I made supper, and planned out the menu for the rest of the week. Since it was Tuesday night, the kids had AWANA, and they were very excited about going again. I'm very thankful that this opportunity is available to them. 

Wednesday, September 30

It was a horrible, terrible, no-good very bad day as the book about that bear declares! Roger had an early morning flight, and he was back by about nine am. I had already started school with the kids, but when Roger walked in, I walked out. I was frustrated, upset, and I even told Roger that I didn't care if the children grew up stupid. Of course, I care! I felt like I needed to get away and take a breather, but there was no where to go, and no one to go see to spend time with.

 Roger is awesome and amazing with the kids, but he also worked every single day in September with at least one flight. Sometimes, I just want someone to talk to that offers adult conversation! I decided to go for a run to clear my head and my thinking. It was just me and God and that's the way I needed it to be. 

I realized on my run that I've been angry and frustrated with the Lord. I want to have friends for dinner! I want to have play dates! I want to have coffee with a mommy friend! I miss my routine and stability of life back home! I want homeschooling to be easy, and why is it this hard?! I want my family to live down the road so that I have someone I trust to watch the kids! I want to have a date with my husband! I want to have a home again! I basically unleashed my burdens on the Lord as I vented, and cried, and re-grouped  my thoughts. For the record, it is very difficult to get into a running pattern when you're having a emotional conversation with Jesus! However, in the midst of my turmoil, I was reminded of so many Scriptures that offer promises to me. "I will never leave thee nor forsake thee." "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Thee." "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart." And dozens of other promises from God's Word. God didn't promise me an easy path (which I want) but He did promise that He will go with me every step of the way. I wish I knew what God has for our family once this job is over, but God hasn't directed us that far yet. But I do know that He will be faithful and to that promise I cling. 

When I arrived home, Roger was working with the boys on schoolwork. We managed to finish most of what we needed to do, and everyone took a nap. Roger had another flight, but he was back in time for church. He also told me that his plane is due for an annual, so he wouldn't be flying for the next two days. Yay! 

Roger worked on getting the new computer up and running, but we discovered that the disks that Garett has for his school are for windows 7 and lower. The computer we bought has windows 8. We talked about it, and decided we needed to return the computer. However, we had purchased a new mouse and keyboard to go with the computer becaue the wireless ones that came with it were not working. But....a certain child discovered that we had purchased a new keyboard, so he decided to take apart the one that had come with the computer! A very unhappy mama came out to discover that we couldn't return the computer with the keyboard it came with as it was in pieces! So, it was a forty dollar charge basically to try out the computer since we had to return the computer with the new mouse and keyboard. Originally, we had planned on returning the mouse and keyboard we bought to Walmart, but we needed to give them back with the computer when we returned it! Ahhh.....frustrated parents!! So, guess what? Two trips to Flagstaff in one week is unusual since we haven't been anywhere in about four weeks. However, we needed to get the money back, so we decided to go back to  Flagstaff. 

Thursday, October 1

Since Roger would have off the next two days because of the annual on his plane, we decided to take a trip to the Grand Canyon on the way to Flagstaff. It was a field trip and a teacher's retreat except the teacher had to bring along the students! The boys were excited about going to see the Grand Canyon...until we arrived. I think they were a bit disappointed, honestly. We have canyons practically in our back yard; and although they aren't as big or majestic as the Grand Canyon, the concepts are the same. To be honest and fair, the Grand Canyon is huge, beautiful, and majestic, but if I had to pick a national park to visit, I'd pick a different one. In my personal opinion, Zion National Park in Utah is prettier, offers a wider variety of scenery, and a more scenic drive through the park. However, yes, the Grand Canyon is grand! 

While we were at the Grand Canyon, a Asian man came up to Roger. He asked if all these kids were ours, and Roger said yes. The man said that he appreciated the fact that we didn't follow the typical one child per family rule that they have in his country. He was fascinated with our family and offered to take our picture. It was an interesting experience, because we just get used to having them around, but this man couldn't fathom what having five kids would be like. (Sometimes, I have a hard time fathoming it also, but then I'm reminded that I'm the mom!) 

After the Grand Canyon experience, we traveled on to Flagstaff. We returned the computer and got our money back. We looked at a few bikes in the city, but we didn't decide on one yet. And we took our old computer to a computer repair place to see if they could fix the problems on it. It was a very enjoyable day, and it was very relaxing to have Roger around for two days! 

Friday, October 2,

Roger's plane was finished today, so he actually had a flight this afternoon. We thought he would have two whole days off, but that's okay. At least we had one whole day to do something fun and different as a family. 

Saturday, October 3

I made home made cinnamon rolls for treats for the pilots today. It started out as two whole pans, but the boys quickly brought the count down to one and one-half pans! My word, these kids can eat!! It was a day full of laundry, flights for Roger, trips to the park, cleaning the house, and catching up on the few things that needed to be caught up on. Roger was gone all day today except for a 1/2 hour break between flights. He walked in the door a little after dark, and he was tired! He loves flags and it's a gift that the Lord gave him. I know Roger is searching for the next place the Lord would have us to be, but we are at a loss for peace and answers. However, November is right around the corner, and time is running out. Please pray for wisdom and direction as we seek God's will for the next step in our lives. 

A few funny moments:

The city park in Page always has people sleeping in it no matter what time of day it is. We've never passed by the park without seeing several people sleeping there (most of them sleeping off a drunken stupor, unfortunately). However, the weather is getting a little cooler in the mornings, so one morning when we passed by the park, only one person was in the park. It was rather humorous to hear Travis announce that "hey, Mom, there is only one person sleeping in the park today. I wonder where everyone else is." 

I realized that I've been having a blond moment. Roger often talks about his flights and how they went. He often refers to flying at five thousand feet. I've often thought to myself, "what is there to take pictures of at five thousand feet?" However, just this week I realized that if Page is at 4,300 feet above sea level,  then Roger isn't that high off the ground! Don't ask me why it took me so long to figure that out because I don't know, but Roger had a good chuckle over it! 

A Date? One-stop Shopping? Wow!

Tuesday, September 22

So, Roger, Emma, and I had a date night! I know you are wondering what we did with the other children! Our children were invited to the AWANA program at a church here in town. It's a huge outreach in the community, and another Baptist church in town runs the program. We had seen the signs  on the church, at the post office, at the library, and at the grocery store. Many of the children from the church we are attending also go the AWANA program, and they invited our children. The four boys are old enough to attend, so we decided to take them to look into the program. We were impressed by how well it's organized, planned, and put together. There were over fifty kids there! It's every Tuesday night at 6:30 pm. The boys had a great time, and they are looking forward to going back next week. Roger and I were able to squeeze in a quick date to the grocery store, and it provided us with a much needed date...except of course, Emma came along! 

When we arrived at the church to look into the AWANA program, we discovered that it would be $30.00 a child for the program. We weren't sure if we could afford $120.00 for the kids to attend AWANAs, but we also feel that it's important for them to have something that they can look forward to every week. The secretary suggested that we could pay in increments if that was easier. We put $45.00 towards it, but Roger and I still need to come up with the rest of it. It seems like quite a bit of money since we aren't sure if we will be here past November, but it's also important for the kids. However, God always has a plan and a purpose. When Roger and I arrived back early to pick up the kids, the secretary mentioned that she needed to talk to us. Apparently, the director had discussed our situation with her, and the church will be paying for two of the kids to attended!! Wow! My heart was blessed and my faith encouraged by hearing that. Of course, I also had to wipe away a few tears at how good God is to us. The kids had a great time,  and they are working on their verses for next week. 

Wednesday, September 23

We are half way through another week of school! We spent some time reading books, and we are planning on a library trip on Friday. I was hoping that we would be able to go to the big city either Thursday or Friday, but Rogers schedule is pretty busy. I'm up for a lot of things, but driving 2 1/2 hours to the big city, and then shopping with five children, does not necessarily sound like FUN! However, it may become necessary as this Wisconsin family is almost out of all our cheese, sour cream, cream cheese, and everything else dairy! I've discovered a lot of great savings on some groceries by shopping on Amazon, but that company doesn't ship dairy...go figure! I mean, why not, it's only 86 degrees?! 

Every Wednesday, the church has dinner before the service. My mother has taught me well on many things including bringing plenty of food to church dinners! But, on the other hand, we have yet to come home with leftovers. I haven't decided if that's because I'm a good cook, or because people are very hungry! We made cookies, pasta and meatballs, jello, and bread. Well, Walmart made the bread to be honest. My family is still suffering the effects of my efforts of bread making in Alaska. Let's just say that is not my forte! I was able to play the piano for church tonight. I don't know if anyone else was blessed by it, but I certainly was blessed by playing! Playing the piano soothes my soul, and I feel like the music and the words come alive...I love it! I'd also love to start the boys on piano lessons, but I think I'm going to wait on that for a while. After all what would they practice on? Chandler suggested that we could build a piano out of cardboard and paint the keys on it. I'm certainly not trying to shoot down his ideas and that would be easier on the ears, but I think probably not! 

Friday, September 25

Today I'm just praising Jesus that we made it through another week of school. One of my good friends from back home suggested trying a different method of education with Garett, so we are working to get that set up this weekend. It's more of a computer based education, which might be able  to help me give more time to the other three students in school as well. I do have one question? Why is it when it doesn't matter if something works or not, it works fine; but if you need it to work, it breaks? Case in point is our computer as it has been slowing down over the last few months. However, when I went to try to use it for Garett's education, the thing wouldn't cooperate! Ahh...technology and I are not good friends either! (You're probably wondering what on earth I am good at, right? I'm not good a bread making, or homeschooling, or technology. However, I am very, very good at...ha, when I figure it out, I'll let you know!) But back on track, I will get Garett set up for a new change this weekend, Lord willing! I am willing to continue on with the curriculum that we have, but I am also learning to try other suggestions. 

        Sometimes the living room looks like this when we finish school. But it's  a small space so it doesn't take long to clean up! 

Saturday, September 26

Roger was gone for the majority of the day with multiple flying tours. Emma was up by 6:15 am., so I guess she didn't realize that it's Saturday! Chandler helped me make monkey bread and apple pie enchiladas for the pilot's treat this morning. It gives us a chance to be a blessing to the pilots, and it gives me an opportunity to bake with the kids. (It's a way to practice education without them realizing what is happening.) 

One of the maintenance mechanics came up to Roger yesterday and asked if if he bought a lottery ticket. Roger was suprised and of course replied that he's never boughten a lottery ticket. The mechanic replied that he should have bought one because Roger had amazing luck. Roger was completely confused and asked him what he was talking about. The mechanic showed Roger the rim of one of the tires off of his airplane. Part of the metal rim had snapped off, and the mechanic said that Roger must have had one very smooth landing to be able to land the airplane without puncturing the tire. Apparently, another pilot had mentioned that he had spotted debri on the runway when taking off. So, the mechanics had gone out the the runway to find the debri. They found the metal piece of rim, and as a precaution they had inspected all of the airplanes that the company owned. They discovered that Rogers plane was the one with the metal rim missing, and it must have happened on the last flight of the day. So I am thankful for the Lords every lasting protection over us. It could've been a very bumpy landing had that tire punctured, but God protected everyone. We are very thankful! 

Also today, we did laundry, I've finally discovered where you can do one-stop shopping in Page. It's at the laundromat! On any given day you can buy tamales, burritos, corn on the cob, peaches, baked treats, and jewelry! I've been working on getting some Christmas shopping done whenever I can get a good deal on some Navajo jewelry. It seems like it's mostly the teenage girls and elderly women that make the jewelry. I do better at bartering with the teens than the elderly ladies. While I'll buy some jewelry on occasion if it's a good deal, I don't generally buy food that someone else prepared at their house, although it often smells good. Sometimes the laundromat is more like a flea market than a laundromat, but at least the washing machines and dryers work. Although it does give me a bit of a chuckle when you read signs like, "please insert coins before staring". I believe they meant to say, "please insert coins before starting." Or "this machine accepts quitters only". I'm guessing it's supposed to say, "this machine accepts quarters only." Oh well, it gives my children good practical reading lessons! 

Since Roger was gone most of the day, it was a bit challenging to get the laundry done. However, we accomplished it, and we should have clean clothes to wear for the rest of the week. Yay! 

Emma has completely win over the hearts of everyone at the airport. She hands out hugs and kisses to those she likes, waves hello, and loves to go visit daddy at the airport. Since we live so close to the airport, we can hear the planes fly over. She will often run to the window to wave at daddy in the sky. Of course, Garett is quick to correct her if that isn't daddy's plane. He might not know his multiplication facts very well, but he knows the difference between a 206, 207, 172, the Otters and the Caravans! Ahh...maybe I just need to attach the multiplication facts to different airplanes!

Today was also a little bit of an emotionally hard day as our church back home is hosting their annual ladies meeting. The past four years I've helped in coordinating and working with the 5th thru 8th grade girls, and I've enjoyed it immensely.  While I loved seeing all the pictures from the day, it was a reminder of something I was missing out on, and a reminder that time marches on and change happens whether or not we want it to. But, in all of that, God is still faithful. And for today my ministry is to my husband, five children, and the people we come in contact with today. So, we will bake treats, love people, and hopefully, point them to the Lord today. Maybe someday, I'll get to return to the ministry of teaching and reaching the girls at the ladies retreat, but that's not for today. 

Sunday, September 27

Roger's flights were delayed this morning due to a tour bus breaking down on the road, so it was just myself and the children for church this morning. The pastor asked if I would play the piano since the guy that normally plays the guitar is out of town. I was happy to do it, and it was going well until Emma noticed that I had left the church pew and came running down the church aisle! She probably would have done fine sitting beside me at the piano, but the Pastors wife offered to take her to the nursery. Emma is becoming more comfortable at church, so she was willing to go to the nursery. The other four boys must have done okay sitting in the pew...or at least I think so. I'm mean, no one was crying or hitting on their brother, so I guess it went well! Roger missed the whole service, but he did get home as I was dishing up lunch. 

After lunch Roger, Emma and I walked down to the airport with lunch for the office ladies. They were thrilled to have white chicken chili, so I hope it was good! Since we still had a bunch left in the pot, we took some to the other pilots. It was a good walk for Roger, Emma and I, and we had a good visit. I'm thankful for every moment Roger and I can squeeze in together these days as his schedule has been so busy. 

However, Roger might have off tomorrow, so we might be going to the big city! Yay for grocery options, and dairy choices in the city! It's been four weeks since we've been so the pantry would like to see some groceries.  Roger will probably have a morning flight, but that will give me time to get some schooling in before we go. I think we are going to go to Flagstaff this time instead of Saint George. It will be a change of scenery, and even the kids are looking forward to going! 

Blessings on your day, and our love to you, 

Sarah

                           One of my baking assistants...Chandler 

Flying...Flying...and Life!

As far as I know, Roger and I are still married. But I'd have to be able to see him sometime to confirm that! I'm kidding, of course! Roger has been gone...a lot...with flying tours. I am thrilled that he is building the hours, but I wish that it would balance out a little bit. Roger has been leaving at 4:30am., and not getting home until after 6 pm. He's not flying all those hours continuously that he's gone, but there's not always enough time between flights to come home. 

Meanwhile, we press forward with school, trips to the library, Legos, building forts, and making dirt roads in the front yard. We are making progress, and I am trying to be a little more relaxed and fun. We've been reading a lot of books. We just finished "Snow Treasure" which is a true story about how the boys and girls of Norway got the gold out of their country to America. We all enjoyed it, and the boys learned quite a bit about WWII. Our friends, the Scherzers, sent us some books in the mail, and we are looking forward to starting those next. 

Some of you may know my sister, Hannah. She and her husband are moving to Maine for her husband's job. On their way there, however, their truck was broken into. Several of their personal and valuable possessions were stolen, and this is a discouraging way to start this new adventure. Please pray that the insurance will cover it, and that the police will be able to apprehend the burglars. 

Wednesday, September 16

It was another crazy day for Roger. He was at the airport again by 5:00am., and I ended up taking the kids to church by myself as he wasn't done by 6:00 pm. 

I've been taking Emma for walks in the morning since she has been getting up at about 5:30 am. It's tiring, but it does give me time to think and pray before starting our day. This morning I asked the Lord to help me be a blessing to someone today. I actually have no idea if I was a blessing to anyone today, but I know that God gave me several blessings today. 

One, we completed another day of school. Yay! We are down to 145 lessons left (which isn't very encouraging!) However, we press on towards to goal of finishing. It was encouraging to have one child that was very motivated today and didn't even take a break as he wanted to finish his school work.  I think he might have wanted to play outside by himself and knew that was one way he could make it happen. :)

While at the park this afternoon with the kids, they received a blessing. We have a set of junior golf clubs that they all share, and they often take the clubs to the park. We don't have very many golf balls though, so it's sometimes hard to keep track of whose ball is where. However, today there was an elderly gentleman at the park walking his dog. He mentioned that when he was about nine, he started playing golf. He mentioned that he lives near the golf course and often collects lots of golf balls. He asked if the boys would like a few extra golf balls. He said he had a dozen in his truck that the boys could have if they wanted. The boys were thrilled, and it was a special blessing to my heart to see their heart of thankfulness. At bedtime one of the boys thanked God for allowing them to get some more golf balls. I'm thankful that they are learning to thank God for the blessings that they receive. 

Thursday, September 17

Roger only had one flight today and it was at eight am. I was very thankful for this as we needed to get laundry done TODAY! I started school early so that when Roger got home, I could do laundry. I took Wyatt with me today, and he brought along his reading books. We took a half day field trip,and headed out to Lee's Ferry in the afternoon. Lee's Ferry is about forty five miles away in Marble Canyon. It was a ferry service that operated from 1871 to 1928. It was the safest place to cross the Colorado River for five hundred miles and even then boats capsized and people drowned frequently. It was a good practical lesson in history and geography, and the boys will write about what they learned tomorrow. We had a good time as a family, and it was a good change of pace. 

Friday, September 18

Woo hoo! It's Friday! Roger was busy again today at the airport, but he was able to come home for a few hours. We were able to squeeze in a short coffee date, and I went on a short run. The boys were tired today, probably after all the hiking from yesterday. We finished school- praise the Lord, but we are all very thankful that tomorrow is Saturday. Roger has another busy day of flights tomorrow, so I will need to practice some creativity in keeping the boys from getting aggressive with each other due to boredom. Boys need activity and lots of it! While the weather is about ten degrees cooler this month than last month, it's still a little hot to spend hours outside at a time. Yesterday, at Lee's Ferry, it was a hot hike, so it was a good reminder that we still need to drink lots of water! 

Saturday, September 19

It was a very busy day for Roger! I spent the day making treats for the pilots in the morning, taking the kids to the park, running to the grocery store, reading books, the park again, cleaning, and the other day to day activities that fill up our days. We certainly miss Roger when he is gone all day, but it is what it is. Roger and I are praying diligently about where God would have us to go next. Personally, I'd love a job that would pay enough to put the kids in a Christian School somewhere, but that might not be what God has for me. I know one thing, I'm leaning a lot about my own shortcomings while homeschooling! I think that God has bigger lessons to teach me than I have to teach my children!

Sunday, September 20

I love Sundays!  What a special day to worship together with other believers! I wish we knew people a little better and had a few more friends, but at least we can work on that while growing in God's Word. Sundays also bring their share of challenges along, as Roger has been not able to make it to the Sunday morning services. He was able to come this morning though since his flight was early this morning. The church is a small group of believers, but I'm thankful that they put forth the effort to have a Children's service, and in the last few weeks, they have worked on organizing the nursery better (I like that!). 

After church, we went home for lunch and naps. Our church in Wisconsin is thirty minutes from home, so it's very weird to be only five minutes from church! We were home with lunch eaten and everyone ready for naps by 1:30pm.! I took a short nap, and then went to do laundry. Yes, I did just do it on Thursday. However, Chandler has been struggling with really bad headaches lately, and because of those sometimes, he throws up. And then the other bed mate wet the bed! So, off to do laundry I went. It will be a long time before I take having a washer and dryer for granted again. We spend around $20.00  a week to have clean clothes. So, that's about $80.00 a month...painful, but entirely necessary!! 

On a happy note, I was able to have a lengthy conversation with my dear friend, Jenna, while doing the laundry. I love talking to those back home, but sometimes it does make me feel lonely. Jenna and I have a deep and dear friendship, and it's one of those friendships that we know what the other person is really like...and we still like each other! If I was completely honest, loneliness is probably one of my greatest struggles right now. Roger is gone a lot, and while I love my children, I do also like adult conversation. Hopefully, as we meet more people in the church, we can build some friendships. However, God knows exactly where I am, and He is reminding me that He is all I need. 

Monday, September 21

At the risk of sounding like I'm complaining, I struggle with Monday's. I am reminded that I have a whole week of school ahead of me and working with five little minds to grasp the concept that education is important. I'm working on being more flexible with how they learn, but I wish I could get inside their brains to figure out how they would best learn. We do lots of reading together, but I wish I knew how to make education fun and exciting for them. I realize that it can't be that way all the time, but I am working on trying to figure out new ideas. I am definitely a work in progress! 

I went to a ladies meeting tonight at the church we are attending. The pastors wife has been trying to have a ladies meeting once a month. Tonight five ladies attended the meeting. It was a good opportunity to try to get to know some of the ladies better. I am also not Native American, so it's interesting  to be in the minority. I tend to be a time conscious person, um.,.they are not! So, if they intend to have a meeting at seven, most people will show up around 7:15 or later. It's not a problem, unless you are like me and show up for things ten minutes early. Then you wonder if you have the right day, right place, or right time! Oh well, some things don't change whether I am in the far north  of Alaska and Canada or in the deep southwest of Arizona. 

I also had a special blessing in the mailbox today. I check for mail every day, but most of the time, we don't have anything. I think the ladies in the office have come to expect me to show up at the airport around one o'clock, just in case we might have mail. Today I received a special card from some friends back home telling me that they were praying for me, and they sent a gift of money to put towards a bike. I now have enough money for a bike, we just have to find one! If you think about it, we want to spend our money wisely, so please pray that we will find just the right bike. 

Roger is also seeing some changes take place at his job. These are not necessarily good changes for Roger as they have hired on more pilots. It means that we will be seeing more of him around home, but because they have more pilots, his hours will be shortened. There are a few days a week that they need seven pilots, but on the days that they only need four pilots, it's not a good thing. The company wants to keep everything fair, so they try to give equal amounts of tours to each pilot. It's great for the pilots just hired on, but not so hot for the ones that are trying to finish out the season and get enough hours. Our time is becoming very limited, so please pray that Roger will be able to get the hours he needs. 

Thank you for you love and prayers,

Sarah

                 

Moving Forward...Pressing On

                                                                    Love These Kids!

What have YOU been doing? I know what I've been doing! We are in the middle of homeschooling four boys, and trying to keep an active toddler from destroying the house while doing so! This week she squeezed out a tube of toothpaste into the toilet, put Travis's tractors in there, and then put in the towels (only the clean ones, of course!). Why not just shut the bathroom door, you ask? Well, the handle is broken...it's been broken since after the third week we moved in, so it doesn't latch. Roger fixed it once, only to have the latch part of the door fall out three days later! I will say that she does a fabulous job of entertaining herself while we are busy! 

Last Saturday, Roger had six flights, and since then he has flown at least once every day. While I am loving the fact that he is doing what he enjoys and getting more hours, it does produce a bit of a struggle to get everything done in the homeschooling realm! I need to seriously throttle back a little and become a little more flexible in this area. While it is extremely important that they get an education, I really, really want it to be something we both enjoy...and currently that is not the case! For one child, everything is easy, for another everything is a challenge, for the next it's boring, for the next it's too long...ahhhh! How on earth do moms of mutilple children homeschool their children and enjoy it?! I know, just breathe and one day at a time. God's grace is truly sufficient, but I'm sure my children wish often that God would send more! 

Last Sunday, Roger had several flights in the morning, so he wasn't able to attend church with us. Since I want our children to know that church is important to our family, and we need to fellowship with other  believers, I took them by myself. Although I did it for almost a year by myself in Wisconsin, it's a lot different when it's a new church! Quite a few of the families were gone on a camping trip, so that meant that the pastors wife was needed to do the children's church class. She usually does he nursery on Sunday morning, but obviously she couldn't be in two places at once. Due to a few odd circumstances, I wasn't able to use the nursery for Emma either. So that meant that Emma sat in the service with me, which worked until she ate all the mints, got tired of the pen, and drank all her juice. Then she was not quiet anymore! I ended up sitting in the fellowship hall with Emma so that she didn't disturb the service. I'm not opposed to churches not having a nursery,  nor do I want my child to distract someone else from hearing the Gospel. I realize that children are noisy, and need their parents to help them learn to sit...I agree completely! I just would rather do my training at home and come to church to be fed on Gods Word. Although I was able to spend a lot of time in prayer, I did feel like I came to church to use the drinking fountain and the toilet paper! My spiritual well felt a little dry, but I know I made the right choice, and it has led to a great Bible study for me on the woman at the well. (John 4) Did it ever occur to you what a woman of influence she was? Perhaps not a good one, but when she invited the men of the city to hear Jesus, they came. Because of her interaction with Jesus, and her desire to learn about the Living Water, Jesus stayed in Samaria for two days! Talk about life touching life....this woman had probably wrecked havoc on many people's lives, yet God redeemed her from her sin, and many people believed because of her. Wow! God can use us all! 

Roger was home by the time we arrived home from church, so I was able to go for a short run, do some grocery shopping, and work on getting the lessons together for the school week. Roger also had an evening flight which ran late. I again ended up taking the kids to church by myself. I was a little bit concerned about how the service would work since there wouldn't be a children's service, and trying to keep Emma quiet would be a challenge. However, the pastors wife was able to do the nursery, and Roger was able to come a little bit later. It was good to go to church together as a family again. After the church service, the pastor and his wife invited us to go to Burger King with them for a treat. Burger King also has a play land, so the kids were happy as well. It was a good visit, and we enjoyed getting to know them better. 

Monday was a day filled with errands, flights, and family time. We switched over our cell phones to a company that actually gets service around here, so if you need our new number, please ask. Dealing with phones and technology can be a bit of a headache, but I think we have everything figured out now

 We should also be able to save some money by switching our phone service so that makes us happy!

We also went to the state park and went on a hike with the kids. It was an unsual holiday for us in that we didn't spend it with other family or friends, but it was enjoyable. 

The rest of the week was spent with flights, schooling, Wednesday night church service, and every day life occurrences. I took the two little boys with me to do laundry on Friday, and I was amazed at how much they get along together and act like twins. Wyatt gives the orders, and Travis usually agrees. Earlier this week when I put them to bed, Travis let out a big yawn. Wyatt immediately told him "Travis you aren't tired yet, I want to talk to you." And Travis replied, "okay". I just shook my head and chuckled.  Kids can be a lot of fun...and a lot of work! 

This Saturday, Roger again had a full day of flights. I took the kids to the library and to Walmart to pick up a few things. We were out of eggs, so I needed to get some of those. I need to raise chickens! Wow...eggs are expensive! I went down to the airport to see what flights Roger had today, and we brought down chocolate banana bread and peanut butter cookies for the pilots. The tray was half gone before I even left the airport. It's another way to make friendships with the lives of the people around us. 

The boys have been making friends with a few kids in the neighborhood, so they are currently working on a teepee in the back yard. We have plenty of large weeds for them to cut down! They also borrowed the pasta strainer to strain the sand in the front yard...why? Well, all the goat heads were cutting down on the fun, so they used the strainer to strain the sand and dump out the stuff that didn't sift through into a separate pile. I was pretty impressed with their creativity.  Of course the flip side to cutting down trees is having Roger walk out of the bathroom at supper time and announce, "okay, who cut themselves?" The guilty child immediately burst into tears, and hold up a hand that is wrapped in bloody toilet paper. My heart did skip a few beats, but it's a clean cut. I think...maybe...he learned his lesson about only using the hedge trimmers and not the kitchen knives for cutting down the tree weeds! God continues to protect each one of us, and I'm thankful for His constant care! 

Here's one of the quirky things about this town: absolutely no one is on time for anything! The laundromat doesn't open when the sign states it will be, the coffee shops are open and closed with no rhyme or reason to time, and when LIttle Ceasars offers hot-n-ready pizza, they actually mean in fifteen to twenty minutes! It's been a challenge for my time conscious mind to adjust, and I often have to laugh (because otherwise, I'd scream in frustration.) After church, we stopped at Little Ceasars to pick up a pizza. We ended up coming back to the house, and then Roger going back out to get the pizza. What else is there to do but laugh and move forward?! 

Roger has been looking into a few other job options, but we currently are just waiting for God's clear direction. Thank you for your continued prayers! 

The Teepee! 

             The Workers! 

Back in the Southwest and Roger's Blessing

We arrived back in the southwest late Saturday night. Since Garett's birthday was on Sunday and Travis had had his birthday on Tuesday, we decided to take a little bit of time on the way back to Page. I also needed to buy groceries. :) We stayed in a hotel in Saint George, Utah on Sunday. It was a low-key birthday, but we did enjoy a lot of time with our family. I did Garett's birthday interview while at the hotel and it was interesting to hear his answers. (I'll include part of that in a bit.) 

I really want to write a bit about Roger's experience while we were in Wisconsin. The company was short on flights the entire month of August. Because of this, we decided to leave only one vehicle in the airport parking lot in Las Vegas. Although Roger was coming back a week before us, he could just drive back to pick us up versus leaving the vehicle for another week in the parking lot. However, on Sunday, Roger heard that he might be taking a flight to Reno, Nevada. This would prove to be a problem since I was coming back on Saturday and Roger would be in Reno on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. I was unsure how we were going to find a solution, but God had a plan. Roger did the flight training for his trip to Reno, and then on Wednesday he called me to say that he would be able to pick us up from the airport on Saturday. I asked what had changed, and he said that he told the company he wouldn't go to Reno. Apparently, Roger has had trouble with his airplane radio and transponder off and on over the summer. They thought that the problem was fixed, but he still wasn't always getting picked up on the radar. It's not a problem here in Page as those aren't requirements. But Reno is a much bigger airport and radioes and transponders are necessities. Roger said that he just didn't have any peace about taking the trip, and he told the company that he would like to back out of going. They weren't very happy with him, but Roger held his ground and said that he wasn't comfortable using the plane that didn't have a guaranteed working radio. I know that he was disappointed in missing out on those flying hours as he needs the time, but it was his decision. I was happy that he was going to be able to pick us up at the airport as this solved my problem of what to do for two days in Las Vegas with five kids. We arrived back in Page on Monday, and Roger headed to the Airport right away. He had a flight that afternoon so he needed to pre-flight the plane. He came back later that afternoon with a smile on his face. When I asked what was up, he replied, "God works in amazing ways. The planes that went to Reno are grounded because the radio didn't work." Apparently, the radios didn't work when they were supposed to so they planes were grounded until the problem was fixed. I couldn't help but chuckle as Roger proved that he had made a good pilot decision in not going to Reno. I'm thankful for God's sovereignty and His perfect plan. 

I had a hard time coming back to Page. Knowing that we would be entering into a five day school day, lack of fellowship and friends, and the lack of anything to look forward to was a little overwhelming. Thankfully, God had allowed friends to send us lots of mail while we were gone, and we had a whole pile of mail and packages waiting for us. It definitely helped to brighten everyone's spirit. 

                         A great daddy!

It was a challenging week with homeschooling and our tenth anniversary on Wednesday. As much as I love my kids, it would've been very beneficial to get away on a date for a bit. But such things aren't to be right now, so forward we press on. We had the pilots over for dinner, since one of them is leaving for a different job on Thursday. Three of the pilots came over for homemade pizza, a soccer game at the park, and time with our family. I can tell Roger is struggling a bit with discouragement since his friend, Jon, left for another pilot job. Roger is still a few hours short to be ready to apply for another job, but I know that he is feeling pressure to find another job before the contract ends in November. However, God is faithful and He will provide the right job. We just need to be patient...again. 

But in great news, September looks like it will be a very full month of flying for Roger. He has six flights on Saturday, and he is so excited to be logging the hours in his log book. This is an answer to prayer for us, as Roger enjoys flying and this is what he needs to be doing. God is faithful...as always. 

Thank you for your love and prayers, 

Sarah 

      Our nine- year old! Wow!