How do you make your apple pie?

Dear family and friends,

I certainly have a heart of gratitude to Jesus tonight. He has been so gracious to me. How He loves a sinner such as I, I do not know, I"m just eternally grateful that He does.

Tonight I was making my apple pie laughing at myself. I don't know that I"ve ever made the exact same pie all these years. I wasn't really given a recipe, just "you add about this and throw in about that". So that's what I do. Some years it's better than others, we'll have to wait and see tomorrow how it turns out.

Tomorrow we have two precious families coming over to dine with us. The Beasley's are friends (Ed's boss, wife, and precious daughter) of ours from Montana. They are on a little Hawaiian vacation and gracious enough to come and spend the day with us. They are bringing parents also, which is a treat as we are always grateful for a set of grandparents to grace the day. Our neighbors are also coming...our Hawaiian family. The Waters are here without Daddy this year and we are just so grateful they are an important part of our lives here in Hawaii. Emily is a great neighbor and just continues to love us good, bad, and ugly. You see all three when you live this close.

We're having Mexican food which is our favorite Thanksgiving meal. Hats off to all you people who can eat turkey fifteen times a season, but I can't. The first year we were married we had it so many times that we decided we were a Mexican Thanksgiving kind of family. We've done all different kinds over the years. The children have just made us taco's the past few years which has been a delight. This year we are sporting Fajitas with homemade tortilla's, hot sauce, and guacamole. Emily is bringing yummy turkey enchilada's. We'll end our day with traditional dessert.

I've never eaten a holiday meal on paper plates, but there is just a first time for everything. We are eating outside in our little island paradise and I just didn't want my good dishes over concrete with so many children.

It's been a warm week, but it has still felt like Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is an attitude of the heart, not cold weather and turkey's.

Happy Thanksgiving to all...please know that tomorrow we will be thanking God for the amazing families and dear friends that God has so generously placed in our lives...

Love in Christ,
Dinah for The Troops

This is the picture that I was talking about...I just love it!

Have you watched the Flintstones lately?

Dear family and friends,

MY MAN IS HOME...I am so grateful! He had a good week in Japan, Wyatt was able to take his Math test yesterday (another stressful part of my week), and we had a wonderful evening last night.

We love the little church that we are going. We haven't joined as of yet, but we've been going there since the beginning of September. It's in the community, which is a plus as it's our main opportunity to get to know people who live on the island. The teaching is dynamic, the people have been very welcoming, and the music takes me straight to the throne week after week. The only downside is that it's about 25 minutes away. For all you city folk, I know that's nothing, but for those of us who live on an island, it's a long ways away.

Last night we were able to go with our church down to a homeless shelter. They go down and serve every other month. Wyatt had seen it in the bulletin and continued to remind me that it was coming up, so we just secured the night on the calendar.

It was such a great experience, such a great opportunity to serve. On the way down there we reminded them about being part of a team, which includes that you do what the team needs, not just what you would like to do. Caroline was a greater, Ed carried the big trays to serve, Wyatt was a drink runner, and I folded forks and napkins for Jesus along with the younger children. They go through 800 forks a day and have to fold them in a specific way in order that people don't touch anyones forks.

At the end of the evening we gathered as a group and when we were asked if anyone wanted to share their blessing of the evening Wyatt proclaimed his gratefulness to his parents for providing food, clothing, and shelter. Caroline offered to close us in prayer when they asked for a volunteer. I was deeply blessed by our children last night. I saw a glimpse of the young adults that God is raising them up to be. At the end of the evening Wyatt told me, "Mom, maybe this is what I can do when I grow up, I would love to do this." I would be a very pleased mother to see my son serve others. No matter what God calls these children to do, may they love and serve Him deeply.

Melanee Kate and Jefferson watched the Flinstones last night. We'll take them next time. Kate's heart is so tender and we didn't know the younger children would be in the back folding napkins and forks for Jesus. She asked not to go and we certainly understood. Once we were home she hugged me and said, "Mommy, I always loved the Flinstones when we lived in Italy, but I was little, and I didn't know that Fred is really a big jerk."

Love to all...In Him,
Dinah for The Troops

How long is a week?

Dear family and friends,

How long is a week? Well, this time it's been really long. A great opportunity to trust God!

The moment Ed flew out of town, everything seemed to explode: The children, the puppy, the renters, you name it.

But, it has been a good week to cry out to God. It's been a good week to seek Him. Do I really need Him more on some weeks than others, or am I just more aware that I need Him? We know the answer now don't we.

My sheets are clean and towels are clean and I'm so ready for my man to come home! I hope you've had opportunities to trust Him too...

Love in Christ,
Dinah for The Troops

Eddie come home!!!!

Scroll back down to my last post as I added a few pictures. I can't add my favorites until my love comes back.

Can Fridays get better than this?

Dear family and friends,

Friday was a big day for The Thomas Troops. Ed pinned on Colonel. As I was putting a silver eagle on his shoulder all I could think about was pinning on a butter bar in May of 1990. I had no idea what Ed had really asked when he asked me to pin him on that day. Ed was already planning on me doing all the pinning on in his life, I just didn't know it yet. I'm certainly grateful God did, and he'd even let Ed in on it. The Lord just knew I wasn't quite ready for that information yet, although it came quickly after.

God is so good to just let us know what we can handle. I'm grateful He gives us little bits of information on a need to know basis.

To God be the glory, great things He has done.

Love in Christ,
Dinah

P.S.-My pictures aren't uploading and Ed's in Japan...sorry about the delay. For anyone who was praying for our children singing The National Anthem at their Daddy's ceremony...Thank you! It was a beautiful opportunity for them to honor God, their earthly father, and their country. My children singing three parts together, almost as beautiful as the heartbeats I first heard when they were safely tucked inside me.



Isn't he handsome! God was so good to provide this wonderful cake. I didn't want just a normal sheet cake but felt very limited by the whole island thing. God had this cake in store, for which I was grateful.



This is a special picture for at least two reasons. First of all, after 18 years of being in the military I had my very own spot. It may never happen again and I just enjoyed every minute of it. Parking isn't always convient here and since I had this very heavy cake (my man couldn't get over how heavy it was), a parking spot was arranged. So, it wasn't that I was special, or that my sweet husband was getting promoted, it was simply because I was the cake girl, and I can live with that.

The second reason it is special is because if you look at the building behind my name, for those of you who can get past my name, you can see where bullets hit the building the day Pearl Harbor was attacked. The PACAF (Pacific Air Force) headquarters was a dorm at that time and over 60 men were killed in it. They choose to not restore the pock marks, a vivid reminder. There is a beautiful memorial garden in the courtyard and the flag that flew over Hickam that grave day is respectfully displayed.

So, what's God using in your life to make you look more like Him?

Dear family and friends,

I know I told everyone we got a puppy and then besides one picture with Caroline, I haven't even mentioned her. That's because I've been to busy trying to survive her!

The first almost two weeks were just great. The children loved petting her, walking her, watching her play. It was almost dream like in many ways. They got up early before school to get her a little exercise and just thought this was the best thing that had ever happened. Then the changes started.

Just about the time we had our first puppy lesson with an animal behaviorist our puppy was invaded by evil spirits (not really for anyone who is concerned). Her little puppy nips became harder and she decided she did not like to walk. Now this is a puppy that could make the energizer bunny look lazy you must understand, and the one thing that would relieve that, she decided she didn't like to do anymore.

The next few weeks are somewhat a blur...I remember running around the neighborhood with hot dog weenies, praying I wouldn't "accidentally" let the puppy wander out into the street perhaps in front of a car, and watching my children take to the furniture as the floor in our home was no longer a safe haven. There were actually days that I really struggled with the concept that this just wasn't working out. Yet, I knew God had clearly shown me to get this little white fur ball. Could it have just been in His will to have her for a short season I wondered and questioned?

Anytime I prayed about it, God would just confirm in my heart that this was the puppy for us...a gift. I certainly wasn't feeling gifted.

In the meantime our puppy therapist was going to the mainland for almost two weeks. You see, we quickly transferred from puppy lessons to puppy therapy. Kristin was so patient and kind. This woman is amazing by the way, we just all love her. I mean as a person, not just because she has saved our puppies life (from me killing it). She spent extra time with us before she left trying to set us up for success.

One of our issues at this point was Indee was doing some serious feet/shoe/pants/ankle nipping. The main issue was, it HURT! I was concerned that she was becoming aggressive and at what point should I really be concerned for our children. When Kristin came over she sweetly snickered and said, "This puppy is just having a great time watching y'all do the happy dance." We stopped, she stopped, well, she mostly stopped. Kristin says ignore the behaviours you don't want and reward the ones you do. Of course every time she says this I'm thinking about how this should apply to my children.

Indee is a very smart dog, which according to Kristin is not a good thing. She says that people tell her all the time that they want a smart dog in which she replies, "No you don't". In some ways this is our problem, in other ways it is our saving grace. The night before she left on her trip she came over one more time to teach us "leave it, take it". You put the chicken in your hand and tell her leave it. Of course the puppy immediately comes over to sniff it. Once she pulls back and leaves it alone, you let her take it. Indee got it right off the bat and on the second time she sat back and left it alone. I sound like a mother bragging on my baby, which she is not by the way, she is a dog. The next day you could put it in front of her nose on the ground and she would just sit there and look at it. This little game has been the best tool so far. It really calms her down and she's ALWAYS willing to play.

So we spent the next two weeks running around Hawaii with hot dog weenies and playing hours of leave it and take it to survive. When Kristin came back and we were all still in tact, I knew the crisis had past, and that Indee was here to stay.

We've come a tremendous distance yet have so far to go. In the past seven weeks weeks I've done things that I never thought I would, how can I love these children so? Running around with hot dogs is just the tip of the iceberg. Please imagine me fully clothed in the shower with Melanee Kate and the dog. Melanee Kate had called me as the puppy's feet had gotten very muddy. I told her to take the puppy out back and let her run around to get her paws clean in the grass. Kate sweetly abdicated this task to her little brother who just heard clean. Jefferson took the puppy out back and much to Indee's horror just hosed her right down. This was right in middle of the dark days so I only felt a little sorry for the puppy.

I am pleased to announce that on Monday Jefferson and I successfully showered Indee and this time she got wetter than we did. She does look like a rat when she's wet, I'm almost embarrassed for her at that point. Jefferson was the peanut butter spoon holder as you know peanut butter just makes everything in life better. He also played a mean game of take it leave it with the hamburgers that Wyatt burned last week. Our neighbors Westie apparently gets exhausted when they bathe her, not our dog. Could a shower be counted as an upper?

I have spent weeks taking this dog around feeding her chicken. This was our first homework assignment. Kristin wanted us to have Indee go fifty places, meet fifty people, and fifty dogs. Good things happen (chicken) around new people, new dogs, and new places. Other dogs bark and bark at her as they are being drug on by and she just kicks back like she's at the movies with her popcorn. This puppy definitely supports "Eat More Chicken". We have two more weeks. She hasn't been to fifty places yet, but she's already arrived in the people and dog categories. Please understand that I do all of this in my spare time. Actually this week we've actually been back to normal meals rather than just all the fast cheap things I could come up with. It's been so much fun to see her do so well and it has been a fantastic family project. We've all had to pitch in, sacrifice, and work hard, which are obviously great things for our children.

Wonder pup loves the Mastress (I don't really prefer the title of Mistress due to negative connotations and Mom is out of the question as I did not give birth to or adopt this dog, I just purchased her). The children love to talk about how much the puppy loves me just to get a rise out of me.

Melanee Kate is my number one poop picker upper. I can't tell you how much she has done this for me with a sweet servants heart. The original rule still stand: Unless completely necessary, Mommy does not do gross puppy things.

This puppy now has me running around all day with Cheerios in my pockets with a lovely clicker bracelet that is in a fashionable orange and blue. Today I clicked and rewarded Caroline twice. I only said click though as if wonder pup would have quickly found me as a promise is a promise. If we click, even an accident, the puppy gets a treat.

She can now sit when I say "Manners" and learned to "Settle" last night (a down). We taught her a recall last week but we aren't allowed to do it again until this weekend as Kristin wants her to forget the correction she received when I tripped over the 30 ft line. I was doing the holding the puppy back job because I thought I would mess the other part up. Our children thought they were funny when Wyatt quickly slipped out to make popcorn so they could watch the show. When Mommy went flying through the air, they had one.

She now wants us to rub on her tummy although this took five weeks for her to ask for from us. On week two of training the children were banned from touching her. Poor puppy, she was so relieved. On week five I was not allowed to talk to her for a week so she wouldn't be too attached. I didn't mind this as I have lots of other things to do than talk to a dog. I think I was as relieved that week as puppy was on week two. I know she rolled to get her tummy rubbed regularly with her previous owners, but she just wasn't quite sure she really wanted to be a troop.

Her original name was Precious, it's actually the first thing I said to Kim Abbott when I saw her walking the puppy down the street. We laugh that we should have stuck with the name as the moment she was named Madame Independence she decided squarely that she would live up to it. We were thinking of our country, not her personality. Caroline was so funny the other day as she chided, "Mrs. Abbott thought I was precious, but we all know I was lyin'!"

Oh, did I tell you she runs for tuna? So what if we all smell like tuna for the next 14 years. Wyatt has decided he's going to stuff it into capsules that dissolove so he doesn't have to touch it. Wyatt helps me run the dog while I parent and "mastress" from my bike. There are some days I don't know if the puppy or the boy need the exercise more.

Madame Independence is a very sweet puppy and we all agree that she makes a great addition to our already vivacious troop. I see God using her in our lives, for which I am grateful. Please come by and meet her. We are working on teaching her to not jump up on people when they come in...

Love in Christ,

Dinah for The Troops

Is it a beautiful opportunity to trust God?

Dear family and friends,

When we lived in Colorado I was feeling quite overwhelmed the second Thanksgiving that we were there. This was the first year I was homeschooling three children, Jefferson had arrived and was now part of our daily mix, and I had the privilege of leadership in BSF. My plate was quite full, yet with great things that God had called me to.

Ed was teaching our Sunday School class and we were being very blessed by this endeavor. We’d signed up to provide a meal for a family as a class. The day before Thanksgiving Ed and I, along with a gentleman from our class, were going to deliver the meal along with some other goodies. Everyone had their part and people were bringing things over. Ed actually came home early which was a small miracle in and of itself. I was ready to put my man to work, but withheld as he was so enjoying our children. After quite a bit of Daddy time I asked if he could stop and help me. Of course he was ready to pitch in but needed to go get out of his uniform. Right after he changed the phone rang. This is where I felt that my day started rolling downhill quickly.

The call was from work. Uniform back on, and out the door he went.

Right after he left I received two different phone calls, both from families from our Sunday School. One had an emergency and couldn’t help in the way they had intended. The other just called and announced that they had forgotten and didn’t have time. So the pressure was on. I was quickly trying to figure out what I needed to fill in and what did I have in my pantry so I wouldn’t have to trudge to the store with the millions of people who were just starting to plan and purchase their Thanksgiving dinners. Ed called back and said the world needed him and he wouldn’t be home until late. We were having company over the next day and I had been planning on our teamwork that evening as I’d been homeschooling all week. It also brought up the issue of now I was going to have to go alone with the other gentleman to deliver the meal. It wasn’t appropriate to take the children and I don’t normally hang out with other men without my husband. So now I also needed childcare for four darling children on the eve of Thanksgiving. I’m sure the baby was teething, Wyatt hit someone, the toilet overflowed, and a gallon of milk was spilled upon my kitchen floor all at the same time.

So, what’s a girl to do? Call her mother of course. I was clearly looking for a “Oh baby” but God had something much better. Mom was home with a listening ear for which I was grateful. I poured out my afternoon with a few tears mixed in as I explained the stress I was feeling and all the decisions and challenges that laid ahead. After I had put it all on the table my mother responded, “Oh Dinah I was studying this morning (God’s Word) and reading a commentary and this just all reminds me of what I was absorbing today. What a wonderful opportunity to trust God!” I don’t think I heard another word. You’ve got to be kidding? I’m feeling like I’m dying here and you’re telling me you are thrilled that God has given me this opportunity.

Next I called my sweet friend Ginny. She wasn’t any more help. Instead of “Oh baby” she said, “Oh Dinah, to have a mother who would point you to truth, that’s wonderful!”

Now I’m telling you I wasn’t feeling wonderful at all. After inviting and being rejected by both people who I wanted to come to my pity party I was deeply convicted to turn where I should have gone in the first place. Jesus was so faithful to me that night. When I went to bed, although exhausted, everything had been taken care off. God had provided, and I had had a wonderful opportunity to trust God.

The ironic thing about the whole situation was it was just preparation. God knew what was coming and He wanted me to have the opportunity to be prepared. In January we quickly found ourselves preparing for a move, needing to sell our house in San Antonio, refinancing our house in Colorado, finding a new house to live in for our next assignment, and needing renters for our house in Colorado. Of course this was all accomplished while the baby was teething, Wyatt was hitting someone, the toilet was overflowing, while a gallon of milk was spilled upon my kitchen floor.

“What a wonderful opportunity to trust God” became my battle cry. That spring it just seemed life continued to pour out moment after moment and we even laughed as we saw another opportunity to trust Him fly around the corner. It has been such a blessing to my life and six years later--often, not always--I even respond with this first in my heart, rather than feeling stressed or frustrated. We all know that is Jesus in my life...

Love in Christ,
Dinah