New Tradition

This year we have started a new Christmas tradition at our house. We bought a small pre-lit tree and put some very special ornaments on it. All of these ornaments belonged to either my maternal grandmother, my paternal grandmother, or Joe's maternal grandmother. As we hang the ornaments on the tree we tell the girls about our grandparents and other Christmas memories we have from our childhood. It was a lot of fun and it was cool to see that our grandmothers had some very similar ornaments. The girls enjoyed it this year and we hope this is a tradition that they can continue when they have children of their own!

I know, I know

I know it has been a REALLY long since since I update the blog - I do apologize!
When Joe was not working I spent many mornings homeschooling the girls and then heading off to work a part-time job in the afternoons. Plus with soccer, choir, church etc... my computer time was put on the back burner!
It is with great thanksgiving that I announce - Joe got a new job! He is thoroughly enjoying it and although the hours are a bit crazy he gets a lot of days off. I am still working a little bit here and there to make up for the loss of income that we have with the new job. Fortunately, we have great benefits and the income is much better than unemployment!
So, thank you for your prayers during the past year and thanks to God for His amazing provision!
I will update again soon - I promise!!!

New Chapter

Well, we have entered a new phase in our lives. Our oldest daughter now has a cell phone.
We wanted her to have one for emergencies and found that it was cheaper to add a phone to our account than it would be to get a pre-paid phone, which we had originally considered. Now that she is a middle-schooler and is doing more things on her own we felt it was finally time.
We are approaching it as a test for her. As long as she is responsible and follows our rules, (actually we are going to write up a contract) she will continue to earn more responsibilities. She is only allowed to call the people WE have programmed into the phone and is not allowed to send or receive any text messages. We are thinking of it as a rite of passage for her good behavior, good grades, and general helpfulness lately.
We think she is ready and feel comfortable with the boundaries we have set. Still a little nervous about it though!
I will keep you posted!

More Blessings

My husband is now "officially" unemployed due to a lay-off and we are experiencing the Peace that passes understanding. I think one of the reasons that we feel such a peace at this normally stressful time is that we have really been focusing on our blessings and how thankful we are for what we have.
The list that follows declare a small portion of the blessings we have received since Joe found out about the lay-offs last November. It is kind of long but we have found that the more we focus on our blessings, the less we fell sorry for ourselves!

• This is an opportunity for Joe to find a job he really loves!
• This happened AFTER we got out of debt - thanks Dave Ramsey!
• His date of lay-off went from Jan 4 to March 31 in a span of 15 minutes.
• This can be Joe’s mid-life crisis! (He got the news the week of his 40th birthday)
• We decided to continue our giving to the church instead of lowering it when we completely renovated our budget. The next day my dad suggested looking at our 401k contribution. The amount of contribution that now goes into his paycheck instead of his 401k equals the amount we had considered lowering our tithe amount – plus some.
• That same day we received a monetary gift – enough to live by our Emergency Budget for almost 3 months.
• Someone who provides a service for us dropped the rate by $10 per month, without us asking.
• We had our 2nd straight year of All Cash Christmas!
• We have had tons of encouragement and prayers from family and friends - thank you!
• We are living on an Emergency Budget and putting money in savings every month, we have realized that we can live on SO much less than we have been!
• Found out about using an antenna instead of cable and we disconnected our land line saving us over $600 per year and we still get great channels!
• Started using Cartridge World for our printer ink cartridges saving us over $10 per cartridge.
• After we prayed for provision, Joe continued to be extended in his job for an additional 4 months.
• I got a little part time that that will, hopefully, pay for our groceries each month.
• We put in a raised-bed garden and it has provided over $200 worth of free food this summer.
• We are healthy.
  
• We were given a really cool entertainment center that looks great in the living room - AND hides the TV when it is not in use!
• We thought we had a major car issue but it turned out to be only a fluid problem.
• We have found so many ways to go and have fun for FREE!
• We were blessed to be able to spend time with all four of our parents this year.

We know that God has a plan for us and we believe part of that plan was for us to learn to live on less. It is such a great feeling to have a little money in the bank rather than a ton of debt hanging over our heads. We continue to search for more ways to save - it has become almost a game for us! Thanks for taking the time to read this, hope you have a great week and I encourage you to count your blessings!

Jungle Flight

"A harrowing near-crash at a remote airstrip, a deep-jungle rescue mission, a jaguar attack, spiritual warfare, terrorist attack, a mass evacuation in the face of a militant uprising. Who says being a missionary is boring?!? "

Jungle Flight was written by the Pastor of our church in Virginia and is based on a personal trip to the jungles of Southeast Asia and private interviews with the pilots and technicians of JAARS (originally, Jungle Aviation and Radio Service).
I am so excited to let you all know about it and I hope you will enjoy it!

"Jungle Flight will ignite your imagination and inspire your heart to read about survival and rescue missions made possible by the miracle work of Jesus Christ, the Pilot of our souls.
This collection of short stories will allow you to peer into the cockpits of airplanes set apart for missionary service in the Name of the Lord and learn how aviation has contributed to carrying out the Great Commission. As a pilot myself, I have been amazed at how God has used planes and helicopters as effective tools to elevate Bible translation for the purpose of evangelism in the most remote parts of the world." Franklin Graham President and CEO,
Samaritan's Purse and The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association

Jungle Flight is the gritty reality and harrowing adventures of JAARS mission aviators and technicians living and working on the edge of the civilized world come to life in this new book by Dane Skelton. , this book tells it like it is, taking the reader inside the cockpit and into harms way with men and women of deep faith and profound commitment to service through professional excellence.

BEGINNING AUGUST 1st YOU MAY ORDER BY CALLING - The JAARS Gift Shop at 704-843-6104.
JAARS will get a portion of the proceeds if you order directly from them.

Also available now at amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com
For bulk orders leave me a comment and I will get you the information.

What others are saying:
"JUNGLE FLIGHT is a compilation of real stories about ordinary people doing extraordinary things in service to God. I couldn't put it down. Read it for heart-soaring adventure as well as soul-stirring inspiration.", Professor and Pastor, Dr. Max Anders, author of 30 Days to Understanding the Bible
"After 40 years of serving the US space program, I find myself awed by what the men and women of JAARS have done to impact the global ministry of Bible translation. What they do each day requires more than just being made of the right stuff: it takes extraordinary faith in the One who created the mountains they fly over, the people they serve, the One who's guiding their flight from start to finish." Tom Overton, Multiflow Integration Manager, PH-O Kennedy Space Center, FL

Dane Skelton is a pastor, an aviation nut, a motorcyclist, and is interested in anything that rolls, floats or flies. Dane has been married to Krista for 25 years and they have three daughters.

Happy Anniversary!

Engagement Photo for newspaper

On July 11th, Joe and I will be married for 17 years!
We have seen good times and bad, sickness and health, been richer, been poorer, seen both joy and sorrow, but have loved and cherished through it all.
I am so thankful to have Joe as my best friend, husband, and father of our children. Thanks Joe for an amazing 17 years, I love you!

Happy 4th of July

Photo by Casey Gage