Here to stay...

...for at least a little while longer (about 3 years).

These past couple of weeks have been a blur but with many memorable moments: we found out we are going to be staying in Columbus for Michael's first assignment as an Instructor Pilot, which I admit, at first was a little disappointment to me.  I was hoping to be stationed elsewhere to be closer to family but, since we know and trust in God's plan for us we're excited for what He has in store for us here (Jeremiah 29:11)!  Plus, there are a lot of pros to staying: no moving; great house; established friendships; great church family; Michael will be home every night, for the most part; great assignment for Michael where he will get a lot of responsibility from the beginning; a great growing in leadership opp for him too; great place to start a family, Lord willing, because of the stability; and many more reasons that outweigh the cons.

Another moment was Michael receiving his long-awaited and hard-worked-for pilot wings, which his parents were able to witness as well.  I'm so proud of him and he said this makes one of his top 10 most memorable moments in his life!

And, we very much enjoyed our precious time spent with his mom and dad.  Love them and are so thankful for amazing in-laws!  We showed them around our quaint southern town of Columbus, including a tour of the Waverly Mansion, which I highly recommend, then toured the Vicksburg Civil War battlefield together and they taught me a new way to play dominoes (however begrudgingly I learned :)

Now he's off to survival school for the next 3 weeks which leaves me on my own, first time since I got here last August.  We've had it worse though, and a lot of others have it worse than I've ever had it so I'm thankful it's only 3 weeks this time!  When he returns I look forward to our trips to the beach in Florida (while he's doing water survival) and Texas (4 months for his Instructor Pilot training).  Exciting days ahead (except for the whole having to find a job part)!

Should have a lot more to blog about in the coming months.  Until next time...chao!