Grandpa's Shadow

Luke has really enjoyed his time with Grandpa Robey. He was fascinated with his old truck and he eventually got a ride in it. Honking the horn as they did circles in the yard was a treat to him. He also got a ride on his lawn mower (the blades were not running). Plus, Grandpa made a pretty cool sandbox for him to play in. Will Luke ever just look at another tractor of any kind and not want a ride?

Another Cousin?!

Like I said in an earlier post, Luke and Hannah have a new favorite - cousins. Well, they just met their other first cousin on Chris's side of the family. Lily joined the family in April. She is loved by all. Needless to say, it was such a joy to meet her and see how proud & loving Chris's sister and husband are of her. Luke & Hannah also love having someone else their size to play with. On this trip, these wagon rides were a particular favorite. OK, Hannah didn't ride, but it made for a good picture.

When I grow up . . .

Chris's parents recently found a school paper Chris filled out when he was around 9 years old. Here are some of his thoughts about his future. Chris is just following his life long passion and dream!

The greatest experience I've ever had: "going up in a byplane and doing tricks like loop, snap roll and hammerhead"

The one thing I most want to accomplish in the future: "an air force strike attack airplane and that would be my job - to fly it."

Car Ride

In the last 10 days, our 5 and 20 month old babies have been in their car seats approximately 26 hours and they still have another 9 hour day next week. I just have to brag about them for a minute. They have done sooooo well! When we knew of this impending trip, I was looking forward to it, but I was concerned about the time in the car with the kids. On yesterday's leg of the trip (7 hours including lunch), they barely cried or fussed and only got out of their seats once for our hour lunch break. Now, it would be nice to think that they've just succumbed to the long car rides. However, it could be simply from the fact that they are wiped out from the activities from the last several days. Whatever the reason, I'm simply thankful that things have gone so well for them and I'm sure they will still be happy when we reach our final destination.

My Fisher Man

Some friends of my parents had us over to play on their property. A favorite activity was fishing. Here is one of the catches.

Broadened Horizons

The trip that we are presently on has definitely broadened Luke's horizons. He's gotten to do several things that he's never gotten to do in his young life.

• A ride in a real tractor. He LOVES pictures and toy ones, but the real one was just a bit overwhelming
  
• Sprinklers at the splash pad
  
• Feeding ducks


• Loves eating hot dogs
  
• Eating marshmellows for the first time (he wasn't too impressed with this messy concoction)


• Nathan and Luke helping water the grass


• Helping Daddy wash the car
  
• Playing in a sandbox
  
• "Driving" Little Tikes cars and Grandpa's mower


• Riding bikes with Grandma
  
• Wading in a pond
  
• Fishing (fishing pole = good, fish = bad)
  
• Taking a ride with Daddy on an ATV

Dedicated Unto the Lord

Father's Day was quite special this year. Hannah was dedicated to our Lord and Savior. The main reason we did this because God gave us this example in scripture more the once. The two that come to mind are in 1 Samuel 1 when Hannah and Elkanah dedicated Samuel. The other one occurs in Luke 2 when Mary and Joseph took Jesus to the temple to be circumcised. I also thought there was some significance in that we had named her Hannah and the Biblical Hannah had dedicated her son. I also thought it was special that it was Father's Day. Not only does Hannah have a very special earthly father, but also her Father in heaven.

It is our most passionate prayer that both Luke and Hannah accept Christ as their Savior and that they grow to have meaningful and loving relationships with their Heavenly Father.

On a sweet note, Luke was also with us when we were dedicating Hannah. He held her hand and said, "Hannah" a few times. I thought it was super cute!

Below is the inscription inside the Bible they presented to Hannah. I really liked what it said.

Hannah Elizabeth Robey

June 17, 2007

Dedicated Unto the Lord

It is a joy and privilege to participate in this special day with you and your family. It was on this day that your parents, Chris and Kim, brought you before the Upland Community Church to publicly say, "Thank You, Lord, for Hannah is a special gift from You" and to express their desire to raise you in such a way that Jesus would be pleased. Therefore, they dedicated you to the Lod that He may bless you, encourage you, and give you a heart that will fully follow Him.

Together we trust your future to the Lord, that you will place your trust in Him seeking first His kingdom and His righteousness. We pray God will bless you in special ways so that you may impact your generation and the generations to come with the Gospel. We praise the Lord for you and ask His blessing on your life.

The Upland Community Church Family

Oh, the Places We've Been

Oh, the places we have been! I'm sure Luke & Hannah think they are on a huge adventure and I guess they are. We have been deeply blessed with the opportunity to see so many loved friends and family.

Earlier this week, we visited my sister's family. I mentioned that our kids loved playing with his cousins. Luke also enjoyed all the tricks he learned. His favorite lesson was playing on the slide nearly non-stop.

Our next several stops included friends that we had here before entering the Air Force. Luke made many new friends that included Caelynn, Elise, Kyle, Allison, Wil, Owen, Timothy and Oliver plus, the kids he met in the nursery. In one day, we were in five different locations. I continue to be amazed at how easily Luke just makes himself at home at each - not in the least bit reserved about his new environment. This is such a huge blessing as we are in the process of moving and nothing is the same for him at the moment.

Our present stop is with Grandpa & Grandma Snow. Luke loves the larger home where he can run from one end to the other. Plus, they have swings. He particularly likes the birds at their bird feeder. I think he's learning that he can't get quite so excited or they fly away.

Cousins

Luke and Hannah now have a new favorite -- cousins! We are now in the process of moving thanks to the military. So, we are taking the long way to visit family and friends. Our first stop is at my sister's place. Luke and Hannah have been having the time of their life short toddler and infant lives with their four cousins: Sara, Ashley, John and Nathan.

Luke's favorite activity with them has been playing outside on their swing set and going down the slides time after time after time. His Daddy will be so proud that he's overcome his slide fear. He's also learned to play "swords" with play construction toys, but still enjoys the simple pleasure of balls.

Hannah is in her element. Since many of you haven't yet met our youngest, she loves attention. Needless to say, as the youngest cousin, she gets all the attention she needs and much, much more. They love to hold her, touch her feet, hold her hand, talk to her, watch her eat and make her smile.

All of this to say, our kids will deeply miss their new found cousins.

One Word Conversation

Yesterday, my kids spent 11 1/2 hours in their car seats. Yes, it was a challenge, but I have to say they did quite well despite some periods of tears and straining against their harnesses. Surprisingly enough, most of those tears were shed the first half of the trip.

Anyway, periodically throughout the trip, I would talk to my dear husband. On one such occassion, I let Luke talk to his Daddy. Part of the conversation went something like this.

Chris: Daddy
Luke: Daddy, DAD-dee, Dad-DEE
Chris: Daddy
Luke: DAD-DEE, Daddy, Dad-deee

Ok, I think you get the idea. It made me laugh. Luke did tell his Daddy some other things, but none of which Chris or I could understand.

Good-bye and Hello

Our bags aren't quite packed and Chris isn't quite finished (1 more flight), but it is nearly time to say good-bye to our present location and hello to the next. This 4 1/2 months has been a challenging time for us. Chris's training has been fine, but the other aspects outside of training are the parts that have been difficult. God has used this time to teach us some lessons and to mold us just a bit more. In light of that, we are very much looking forward to visiting family and friends on our way to our next "home". I feel like that will be a rich time of meeting with those that we love.

We are also looking forward to our next assignment. After nearly 3 years in the Air Force, we will have our first "real" assignment - in other words, not a training assignment. It will also come with its own pros and cons, but I think it will be a good place to begin making connections again. We'll keep you posted as to where we are and what's the latest in our "Robey Ramblings"

The Blessing of Friends

Over the years, God has blessed me with some very dear friends. Not only do they serve as a companion to cry, laugh and enjoy life with, some of them have really given beyond themselves. I can think of a few instances where God has provided for me in amazing ways and at times I didn't really expect it. One of those times just happened yesterday. I look at the situation with astonishment that they would want to give to me in that way and with awe as to how God really works in and through situations.

I'm so thankful to be blessed with friends that take such good care of me. I just hope and pray that in the future I will have eyes to see when there is a need and be able to give to others just as so many have given to me.

Home . . .

Home is where the Air Force sends you.

This is a quote that we've heard before in our military cirles. Ater nearly five months at this location with our stuff in storage, I told Chris last night that I was ready to go "home". Now technically, we don't have a home. So, it made me think about what home is all about. I like to think that my earthly "home" consists of the following:

• Chris, Luke & Hannah
• Friends that know the good & the bad of our lives
  
• Church family that welcomes us, fits us well and ministers to our needs
• Refuge from the world (safe place)
• God is present

So, in the coming months if I continue to feel a bit displaced in the world, please just remind me of what's really important & that one day we WILL be home with our Heavenly Father in heaven.

Part III

Chris's birthday was yesterday so our dear friends Sara & Owen came over and watched the kids for the afternoon while we went out to celebrate Chris's big 3-0! We had an enjoyable meal at Applebee's (yes, we're still partial to Bravo, but the closest one is about 150-200 miles away) and then went to catch a matinee.

Now, I haven't really kept up with what movies are coming out this summer. I was thankful there were at least a few we wouldn't mind seeing because there have been times we've thought about going, but NOTHING sounded remotely good. We ended up watching Shrek 3 & we found it entertaining, but not nearly as good and creative as the first one and about the same in comparison to the second one. I found it interesting, though, when our other two options were also the third sequel -- Pirates of the Caribean and Spiderman. Would I have felt the same about those as well? I am no writer and never will claim to be one, but is it that challenging to come up with a new, creative, clean storyline? Or, were the movie companies just relying on past successes?

Proud Pilot Wife

I am so proud of my husband and what he does. A few weeks ago, he told me which plane he would be so I loaded up the kids and we went to watch Daddy fly. In the first picture, Chris is in the first plane taxing for his take-off. He said he waved to us & I waved to him, but he was just way too tiny to see. The later picture is of him taking off. It almost brought tears to my eyes as he took off. All of those hours of hard work do pay off! Plus, it sure did make me feel very patriotic!

Daddy's Boy

Luke is very much a Daddy's boy. I don't think there is a thing wrong with that & actually love it that he looks up to his Daddy so much. Luke is rather funny about it, though.

Luke is just beginning to talk. He has a vocabulary of 10-20 words, but "uh-oh" and "Dad-dee" tend to be the clearest. When prompted to say "Mommy", though, he always responds with "Dad-dee" without fail and even though, he can say "Mommy".