In a place where planes zoom overhead...

In a place where planes zoom overhead... that is where I live! All day long the T-38's have been flying over my house and while this might seem strange, it is a normal occurrence here, but still crazy to hear and think that they are flying right over my home all the time. Brian is over halfway through the T-6! Wahoo! Which means he is over one-fourth of the way done with UPT. Lately, he has been doing instruments where he sits in the back of the plane and can't see outside. Instead, he has to completely rely on his instruments to fly {pretty crazy}. Next week he should have his checkride {big assessment} and then he'll move on to low levels. And after low levels... formation! I can't even imagine being the pilot but flying right next to another plane! Although, I have to admit it looks pretty sweet.

Homecoming.

Aren't homecomings sweet? Even though it has only been two nights since Brian left, I still am so excited to see him and be with him. I've enjoyed my weekend immensely, but I'm ready for him to be home.

This weekend has been a good weekend for thought and reflection. I'm going through the Beth Moore study on James {It's incredible!} and there are so many things hitting me right now. Mainly, God has stuck James 1:19 in my mind, "My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry." What a powerful verse. So many big things to think about and to work on. It is so neat how God lays verses on our hearts that stir us to bring us in line with Him.

Goals this week:
1. Be quick to listen.
2. Be slow to speak.
3. Be slow to become angry.

{Carnival}

After attending the C-Scope Conference, my brain has been stuck in school mode. Uh-oh. I'm thinking about my first graders next year and how I want to welcome them into the new school year. One of the other teachers asked me what my 'theme' was going to be for next year.... uhhhh, I don't know! Well, then it hit me. Thanks to pinterest, I've been pinning flag banners, popcorn, tickets... and I just got an idea for a carnival tent made out of a sheet for my students to read in or whatever. And all these ideas together give me a carnival room! Ah! Can't wait. I just have to make sure I have it planned well so you can actually tell it is a carnival theme. My first year of teaching I tried to go with a cute green theme with polka dots... well, unfortunately it ended up being a leprechaun looking room {insert sigh here}. But I'm hopeful I can pull off a carnival themed room. Here's the inspiration:

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And wouldn't you love one of these little guys to sit on your desk if you were working quietly?! Definitely a must for my first graders.

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all over.

My thoughts are all over the place. Brian and I are all over the place {or at least the US}. It's exciting. I love adventure and experiencing new things, seeing new things, and just simply taking it all in. This last week, I was at a C-Scope Conference in San Antonio... we stayed right on the Riverwalk! I got to see the Alamo for the first time. We strolled down the Riverwalk each night and the very last night enjoyed a great little Irish pub, basically it was a piano bar and we sat for our singing along to all the songs. 

Currently, Brian is in the air on his way to Colorado. Yep, flying a T-6 on a little cross country trip for the weekend. We had one night together and now he's off flying the skies. Man, I love him! And he has a pretty awesome job {aside from all the crazy studying he has to do each day}. So what to do while he's gone? Well, go to a wine tasting of course! That's where I'm off to tonight. There is a local cafe run by some of the Dutch pilots' wives and they are putting on a wine tasting. Then tomorrow, the bible study ladies are going to an afternoon tea at a friend's house. I'm talking etiquette and dressing up, the whole thing! Love it. 

One thing I've learned as a military spouse, it's best to keep as busy as possible while my husband is away. If I don't, it gets really boring. So here's to an exciting evening! And weekend!

Flying

My husband's got a new ride: a T-6. He's been flying for the last two months now. I can hardly believe it! My husband is incredible. It's crazy to think that almost every day, he's up in the sky flying around. And that's his job. Pretty cool job, huh?!

On my end, I've finished out the school year and I'm gearing up for next year. I'll be teaching First Grade! My love. But before next school year rolls around, I plan to enjoy my summer. Tomorrow, I'm heading to Arkansas on a canoeing trip! In July, I'm headed to Arizona to see family and go on family vacations with then {my family is either going to Mexico or San Diego, but where ever they go, I'll be joining them}. Then in August, I'll be headed to visit my wonderful friends in California. Lots of adventures. The way I love it.

Posting.

The trouble with posting is I wish I did it more often. I've been thinking about blogging. Thinking about things I need to update on. Things I missed. Oh well, life happens. So in no particular order, here is life:

1. Brian started UPT! Six weeks of academics and then he flies! Already 1 1/2 weeks complete.

2. While Brian started UPT, I headed to Arizona to spend time with my family. I laid in the sun, enjoyed the family, played games, watched movies, went shopping, slept in.... heavenly. And I love any time I can get with my family!

3. Brian's still been cooking his amazing meals: Cedar Plank Salmon with an incredible cilantro sauce last night and Brian's homemade burgers the night before... Keep it up, Love! I married a great man.

4. Testing, testing, testing. Yep, its around the corner for my kiddos with the Texas state testing and so we're test preping and mock testing like crazy. I'm also getting ready for my Texas teacher's test... I was granted one year with my California credential so now I have to take all the rest of Texas' tests to teach for the next five years in Texas.

That's it in a nutshell.

Well into February...

It's well into February and I just saw that I haven't posted since Brian got back from IFS. He's home. And I love it. We're back into our routines. But I feel like I cannot get enough time at home. I come home exhausted and cannot imagine which one of  us is going to want to cook once he is into his UPT (his pilot training here at Sheppard). Oh well, we'll reach that bridge once we get there. Maybe I'll get some boosts of energy and become more "wifely" ha. Don't get me wrong, I love to cook and bake. But I enjoy sharing the load and eating the food Brian cooks too. I was chatting with Brian the other day and let him know how thankful I am for him! Glad I'm not the wife who has to do all the cooking, cleaning, laundry and all the other stuff around the house. It is a sharing thing. 

Valentine's Day was amazing. Came home from work and Brian purchased a mirror for our dining room and had it all hanging up. Best thing ever! Flowers everywhere, all the candles lit. Yep, my husband is a romantic at heart. For dinner, he made my favorite salmon dish complete with chocolate covered fruit that we got to make ourselves and Blue Bell ice cream. Needless to say, I was spoiled.

We got to sleep in this morning, which is the best things about Saturdays. I made cinnamon muffins and just got ready for the day. We have few errands to run and then we have a party tonight. Should be fun! 

{The Waiting}

So I've been waiting. Waiting for Brian to hear when he'll finish up. Waiting for flights to not get canceled due to weather. Waiting for his flight home to be scheduled. And now I'm waiting for him to finally be home. Sometimes it's hard to wait, especially when now it is so close! Brian is coming home tomorrow! But it is still hard to wait, almost harder because I know there is only one more night I will sleep without him. 5:30pm cannot come soon enough tomorrow.

Brian's glad to have the initial part of his flight training complete. Now he can come home and mid-March, he starts UPT (Undergrad Pilot Training). And thankfully, he'll be home at Sheppard for the next 55 weeks with the exception of a few weekend flights he will be making during that time.

Life has kept a steady pace lately. Lots of work for school and then I get home and don't really want to think about it. But I need to tackle a few things today so I can enjoy tomorrow evening with Brian. I'm kinda sad that  I have to be back at work early Monday morning so I can't just enjoy the morning with Brian, but my job has been a huge blessing.

So on the plan for today, I need to order some pictures, clean the house, pick up a book at the bookstore, and go out tonight with the ladies from my bible study! We are going to this really neat little cupcake lounge. I cannot wait. I'm delighted to have a fun ladies night our right before Brian gets home.

::One More Week::

One more week... at least that's the hope! If weather holds up and everything goes smoothly, my wonderful husband should be home in one week!!! Happy day. Which means this is the last weekend I have to spend alone for a little while. Yes, things did slow down this weekend and I ended up being a little bored yesterday wishing Brian was around or that I had gone to visit my family. Although I'm thankful for face time cause it made my family feel like they are close even though they are a couple states away. I'm praying this week passes quickly so the weekend comes sooner. I'm so proud of my husband and all the studying and flying he has crammed into these last 2 1/2 weeks. He is amazing! I'm praying he finishes strong and soon he will be home.

{First TDY}

I mentioned this earlier, but Brian is on his first TDY for pilot training. He has been studying, taking tests, and flying, oh yes, and sleeping when he can. I was really worried about not having him at home and being by myself {which really there is no reason to worry since we live on an AF base where there is security}. Since Jan. 1, I have been an independent little being and I have been doing surprisingly well! Yes, I would much rather have him home, but I'm thankful this time is flying by.  Two weeks have passed already and Brian thinks he should be finished with the training in Pueblo, CO in just two more weeks, if weather holds out.  I've been blessed by my neighbors and the people in this community who have offered to help with anything if I need it while Brian is gone. The Lord is so good!

Since Jan. 1. I've been hanging out with friends, teaching, cleaning, baking, face timing with my family, watching movies, and working on several projects. Last weekend, I focused on taking Christmas down and this weekend, I plan to finish my scrapbooking. I have scrapbooked all the way up to middle of college. I am going to make scrapbook up until our wedding time. Then, I want to switch to all electronic made photobooks. They are so amazing! I just started our first year of marriage photobook and I can't wait to have it done.

I will be happy to have Brian's first TDY done so I can have him home again!

How I brought in the New Year

After spending a wonderful Christmas up in snowy Colorado with Brian's family, I had to travel back to Texas. After many long airport lines, running through the terminals, missing my flight, getting a standby ticketing, thankfully making the last flight out to Oklahoma City, driving my car from Oklahoma City to Wichita Falls, I finally made it home but without my husband. I had to leave him in Colorado because he has to complete IFS {Introductory Flight Screening}. He will be there for 5 weeks and I'll be here praying everything goes smoothly for him and missing him terribly.

Thankfully, I have had a non-stop schedule since I got back {which I was trying to plan that way so I wouldn't miss Brian so much}. I've started working full time in my teaching position and have been trying to tackle a few projects.

Now, I'm off to the O-Club to meet with the people in Brian's class and hang out. It will be sad not having Brian there, but I'm looking forward to seeing everyone!