Overdue Update

I can't believe how much we have done already in just the past month and a half we've been here!  I do not want this blog to be all about listing things we have been doing but life is so exciting right now, with doing stuff, it's hard to sum it all up : )

To start off, most of the things we do are on the weekends and with our friends the Poyser's (Amber and Jon), who are also here from Columbus and a few weeks ahead in training of Michael.  We are growing pretty close, doing most big things together on the weekends, and once a week we meet to go through the amazing book "Sacred Marriage" by Gary Thomas.  It's such a blessing to be able to talk to another God-centered couple about similar struggles they face in marriage and to encourage each other to "press on" and pray for one another.  I also have been meeting with Amber to go through the book complementing this study, "Sacred Influence", about how to be a positive godly influence to our husbands.

Jon & Amber Poyser

So those are our summer buddies and thankfully, established friends to return to Columbus with!  Now on to our weekend activities..

I've been pretty good at keeping pics updated on facebook just not details on this blog.  Since the last entry we had visitors, our college friends, Jacque and Cameron, drove down from Shreveport, LA to hang out with us for Memorial Day weekend.  We are thankful they decided to come hang out, though they are not much for driving, they made the trek to join us for some fun at the beach in Corpus Christi.  We also went with the Poyser's and the Bexton's (another FAIP couple - First Assignment Instructor Pilot).  It was great to see the Gulf again but it's definitely not the same as the Emerald Coast (FL).

The following weekend we went to the Natural Bridge Caverns.  A pretty cool underground cavern system with impressive stalactites and stalagmites, columns and connected rooms.  It's amazing to think what is underground that you might never know if it's not a tourist destination like this place!

Last weekend, Michael and I went with Amber and Jon and used our free, once-a-year for military, passes to Sea World.  Very thankful for those!  Spent all day riding roller coasters, watching shows, having a picnic for lunch (highly recommend to save money) out front of the park, then spent the afternoon at the water park.  Tons of fun, especially free fun, except for the parking spot we had to pay for..but not complaining!

And this past weekend, we all went to Fredericksburg.  A cute little German town tucked in the hill country about an hours drive North of San Antonio.  I never knew, before coming to TX, that there were actual German towns, anywhere in America, but sure enough there are here.  After getting an intel brief : ) from the Visitor's Center, we ate at a very German restaurant (relative, due to the Mexican pizzas we ate for lunch), then headed to the Enchanted Rock State Natural Area.

"The Rock is a huge, pink granite exfoliation dome, that rises 425 feet above ground, 1825 feet above sea level, and covers 640 acres. It is one of the largest batholiths (underground rock formation uncovered by erosion) in the United States."

We were pretty unprepared for the hike, wearing sandals, my big dangling earrings, and minimal water, but it was well worth it when we reached the top.  It was a little over a half mile - not bad - but it was pretty much a steep climb.  I was hoping to get a good view and picture of the hill countryside and it proved the perfect spot.  After a quick rinse in the parks bathroom (haha) we then headed back into town so I could get a Christmas ornament to commemorate our time spent in TX, then some delicious homestyle ice cream.  We then headed to Wildseed Farms to see some pretty wildflowers, defying the summer heat, took some pictures among the flowers with some I will not post for Michael's sake, LOL, and bought some wildflower seeds to hopefully plant back in MS for next Spring!  Our last stop was at the Grape Creek Vineyards where I enjoyed some delicious rose wine.  By that time we were pretty much ready to head back home, hot and sticky from our outdoor activities, we headed back to our apt and enjoyed our refreshing pool and delivered pizza.  It was a great way to end an exciting day!

Our hiking attire on the Enchanted Rock

That's pretty much our activities so far.  But did I mention the heat here!!!  We just happened to come to TX in the middle of a drought.  It has been triple digits for the past three weeks with a break getting down to 99 or 98 possibly next Tue!  Um, HOT is a huge understatement..but again, who am I to complain?  This is a paid vacation regardless of the temperature.

Now, on to the big news...the first job I have had since I got out of the Air Force...I am a housekeeper for the summer! It has nothing to do with what I went to school for but that's alright.  I am crazy and actually enjoy cleaning (I'm kind of a perfectionist..just ask Michael) and so this job fits me nicely.  It's for a couple that have 2 cats and 2 birds who all have famous people names (Siegfried and Roy for the cats - fitting - and Quentin Tarantino and Lucky for the birds).  Not a huge fan of birds, mostly because I'm afraid their beaks are going to rip my fingers off, but I haven't had to touch them, so our relationship is working out nicely so far.  I also couldn't have asked for a more flexible job that enables me to still do what I want on the weekends and mostly flexible during the week.  Michael's happy, that's for sure. This will hopefully increase the rate at which our loans get paid off (if just by a month or two : ).

Well, wow, that's it for now!  Again, I hope to be a little more philosophical, or something, but maybe when we get back to the quaint town of Columbus I will have more time to think introspectively.  Until next time..adieu!

Our first adventures of Summertime in Texas!

Got out of dodge just in time!  Left Wed, the day of numerous tornadoes that wreaked havoc on the South, including Tuscaloosa which is just 60 miles east of Columbus and Smithville, about 25 miles north.  Very saddened to hear of all the devastation but thankful to know God had His hand upon us that day as we traveled from Columbus to TX.  

We got moved into our apartment, which we love.  It's not too far from the base, very close to PLENTY of shopping, has a great swimming pool area where I spend a lot of my afternoons while Michael's in training, and another FAIP and his wife we know from Columbus are here so I can hang out with her during the days.  It took Miley some time to adjust but now she owns the place.  

The base here has some of the best amenities I've seen, including the gym, and just the produce section alone of the commissary is about the size of our commissary back in Columbus..amazing!

There is SO much to do here it's almost overwhelming, but a great place to spend our summer.  Our favorite thing to do so far is float on the Comal river.  We figured buying our own tubes would be cheaper and would pay off in about two trips.  Since we plan on going about once a week (we've already been twice), it was well worth it.  It's like floating on a 3 mile long lazy river, with 3 fun chutes, packed with people, floating and having a great time.  Some other places we have liked have been the Riverwalk, that has restaurants galore along it, and the Japanese Tea Gardens (nice place to go on a date and take pictures).  It's pretty exciting to think of all the things we still have yet to do and we have 3 more months to do them!

For our two year anniversary (where has the time gone?!), we attended Michael's cousin's beautiful wedding in Houston, which was a short drive away.  It was nice to see a lot of his family, especially his parents and brothers and sister-in-law.  The time is always great but way too short with them.  While at the rehearsal dinner, we learned to do some country dancing, including the two-step, the waltz and the polka.  I think we may be America's next top dancing partners...hahaha.

Caught a pic of the Bride and Groom while they were still getting ready.

I am still on the job hunt but not too stressed if I don't get one while out here.  Having one when we get back to Columbus is a different story, but the per diem we're going to make while here will be more than enough than to stress about a summer job.

Well, that's a good update for now but more news and pictures are sure to come!       

San Antonio...here we come!

Averaging about a post a month...not too bad - for me.

In two days, Michael and I will be headed off to San Antonio.  All we have heard from everyone here is how much fun we are going to have when we get there, and saying I'm excited is a little bit of an understatement.  Some things I will miss here, though, will be the anticipation experienced with others of where they will be headed off to next come assignment night but, thankfully, facebook is a great reference for status updates which I will be following closely in the months to come!  And though I am hoping for some fellow FAIPers, I know God has amazing plans for what everyone will get.

After a crazy past couple weeks trying to figure out where we're going to live while in Texas, we were finally able to get it all sorted to get into our apartment when we get into town instead of going through the headache of finding a temporary place for a couple of weeks then moving into our apartment.  But, why do we ever doubt God?!  Such a small problem in hindsight but a mountain of a problem (in my eyes) on the upside.

I still need to find a job, preferably, a daytime, M-F, 8-5 job would be ideal.  But, who am I to be picky?  Our current goal is to pay off loans in the next 1-2 years which will require discipline and an extra income, not to mention, God's grace.  So, my heart struggle is, do I take any job, no matter if it limits my play time with Michael in San Antonio, or do I wait for the perfect job that will have the perfect hours, environment and pay..or, is this another seeming mountain that God will reveal in His time?  (Phil 4:6)  Again, why do I worry?

My goal this summer, one of them, is to be a better blogger.  With much more pictures, funny stories, and frequent updates so I'm not so scatterbrained on what in my crazy life to blog about.  A noble notion.  We'll see how it turns out.

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!

The Struggle Within

And this is why it has taken me so long to start a blog...I see my friend's blogs and I think, "Wow, that's a great idea, I should do that (write my thoughts about 'life as Michael and I know it' and keep my loved ones informed on our happenings) OR just start one to have a place to write", but then I get hung up on the idea of the effort I would have to put into it, including keeping it updated, making sure that my grammar is correct (which I'm sure 8 times out of 10 there will be something awry), that I write about something that others would be interested in reading, and on and on the anxious thoughts go.  On the flip side, not caring what others think, and just write!  It may be good for my soul as though I were talking to a girlfriend and the thoughts finally making sense as they're coming out and decluttering my brain, finally!  For clarity (to myself), the struggle is write for others or write for myself, or find a balance between the two.

As I read back over what I just wrote it is even confusing to myself but it reminds me of a verse that can often be a tongue twister when read out loud (Romans 7) which is also about the "Struggle Within", although not meant to be a confusing one.  It's pretty clear actually, about two desires warring within each person belonging to God.  One being our "sin-nature" that we're born with that wants to do everything for SELF and the other our "Spirit-self" we are given when being born again that desires to know and please God at the cost of dying to our "self".  It's a constant battle, but thanks be to God that through Christ Jesus, it is not one we have to lose!!!  He already fought and won the battle and because I belong to Him, I too, through His Holy Spirit's strength Who lives in me, can be victorious!  Hallelujah!

So, all that to say, I am overcoming the struggle within and getting on with it...My first official blog :)