Monday, November 18, 2013

Witt's 10 month and Daddy's SOLO

Witten is actually 10-and-a-half months, but at least I'm getting this posted before he's 11 months. :)

Yes, Witten's pants won't button. He's wearing a cloth diaper and after I got them pulled up and attempted to button them [without success], I didn't want to mess with finding a different pair that fit and switching them out. #lazymom  #nobodycares...right?

 
In Keith's flight room listening to him over the radio. Roger that. #sexyradiovoice



At the flight line waiting for Daddy to arrive and greet him with congratulatory hugs! In the background are T38's. They are the trainers for pilots who are going to fly fighters or bombers. Keith will, instead, train on the T1 since he'll be flying a "heavy" - KC135.
 
Future pilot? Love his sweet facial expressions. :)

 
 
Some of Keith's fellow student pilots waiting for him to arrive so they can throw him into the murky, cold Solo Tank. These guys (and a couple gals) are SO great and nice! I'm very thankful that Keith is in such a great class.


 Hey there, hot pilot! Nice G-suit!
 
 
In case you're wondering about the G-suit... The hose on his left leg hooks into the plane to inflate air sacs when pulling G's - pretty sweet. His shoulder harness hooks into the ejection seat. #ineedahaircut


Unfortunately it was a bit windy (I'm not leaning away from my husband, just trying to get hair out of my face) and Witten was not interested in the camera, but we put in a solid effort before they stole him from me.


Apparently, it's tradition to intercept the pilot when he returns from his initial flight and throw him into The Tank. At least they let him empty his pockets, take off his patches and take off his boots first. (Don't worry, I was a good wife and brought him a towel and extra onesie - aka flightsuit)
 
Thar she blows.
 
1... 2... 3..

 
SPLASH!!!


Coming up from the water I wondered if he would squeal like a little girl. He refrained, but only because a lot of his peers were watching and would have judged him. I know the noise that was going on in his head.


 
I like his fake arm-around-me in this next picture! ha
He knew he'd be in trouble if he touched me after coming out of that cold, murky water!


 
I am SO SO SO PROUD of Keith! He has been and is continuing to work very hard. I am grateful that Witten and I were able to share in his solo experience! (By the way, Witten was awesome while we were listening to Daddy on the radio in the flight room for 45ish minutes. And I'm thankful for Kaitlyn for helping with him and capturing these moments for us!) We are enjoying our time here and the relationships we've made with the wonderful people here. We continue to meet amazing friends every week. God is good!
 
Prayer request - Keith has 2 flights and a test tomorrow. (Big day today and big day tomorrow... actually every day is full and important!)
 
Have a great week, everyone!
 
P.S. We may have a walker soon. All Witt wants to do lately is stroll around the house with his learning walker. 

Wednesday, November 6, 2013

Witten's First Halloween

As my previous post said, our Halloween festivities were delayed because of rain on Thursday. Saturday was a beautiful day and perfect for trick-or-treating! Before it got too dark out, we took some pictures of our little frog and our carved pumpkins.




 




 
Can you guess which one is mine and which one is Keith's? We're both reppin' KC here in the south. ;)


We had friends over, ate some yummy food (salad, chili and cornbread) and handed out LOTS of candy to some adorably- and scarily-dressed kiddos. Instead of taking Witten trick-or-treating, he hung out with us on the front porch as we intimidated kids with our large crowd of loud-laughing adults on the front porch.


Another reason Saturday was special is because it was my mom's birthday!! We were able to Skype with Mimi (and the rest of the family that was there - Dad, Kyle, Tara and Jase) which I'm thankful for. Here's a great picture of Mom and Jase. I'm glad she got to spend time with her other precious grandson on her birthday!



The countdown is on! Mom and Dad are coming for Thanksgiving (and bringing Witten and me home with them) in 20 days. :) I will definitely miss my husband, but I'm looking forward to catching up and spending time with family and friends!


Friday, November 1, 2013

Trick-or-Treat Rain Delay

Is it seriously November?!?!?!

I have loved looking at pictures of everyone else in their costumes. Unlike the rest of the nation, we did not trick-or-treat on Halloween. It rained here on and off all day yesterday, so the Air Force Base moved the festivities to Saturday night instead... which I'm okay with because Daddy will be able to join us! :)

However, I just couldn't help but put Witten in his little (rather, BIG) frog costume! Plus, the family was begging me for pictures. ;) Here's a little teaser of our happy frog practicing for tomorrow...


 
Ribbit Ribbit!
 
Daddy didn't have to go in until 10-ish this morning so Froggy was helping him study!

 
More pictures to come after tomorrow night!

Saturday, October 26, 2013

Family and Phase Two

Last week we had the blessing to see both our parents (or in Witten's case, all of his grandparents)! My mom and dad came Wednesday and stayed until mid-day Saturday. Then, Harvey and Lois were nearby (in Atlanta to meet baby Ryker - Congratulations Libby, Ryan, Maia and Weston) and came to see us early-evening Saturday till Monday morning.

Wednesday, 3:15am - I get a call from Dad and go meet them at the gate (on base) to get them in. Even though it was super early and we were all tired, we were SO EXCITED that they were finally here!

It hasn't rained here much... at all...as in maybe twice since we moved in late August, however it was rainy and overcast most of the time Mom and Dad were here. Thankfully, that didn't phase them much because all they wanted to do was play with Witten! We all went to church on Wednesday night for dinner and a family forum on social media (which tied into the previous Sunday's sermon). We mostly just hung out around the house, but we went on a couple of walks, and went out to eat a couple of times... to a great hole-in-the-wall Steak House and to Zaxby's for chicken. Keith and I hadn't been to either place yet and liked them both.

The following are all pictures from Mimi and G...






We were all very sad when they left but it was a little easier knowing they'd be back in a little over a month. :)

We were excited to have Mamoo and Poppy as well! They got here about 4 hours after Mimi and G left. What a blessing to have them all here within a week!! We got to take them to our church on Sunday morning - we loved getting to show both our parents where we worship. They all loved our church. Sunday afternoon (while Keith was studying for his big test on Monday), Harvey, Lois, Witten and I went to explore the town. We walked around downtown Columbus, then found the riverwalk and spend some time on the bridge and scenic [4 mile] trail. While walking along the path we came across a catfish and steak house... bingo... there's dinner. We called Keith and he met us for dinner. The rest of the night we hung out while Keith studied more, then Mamoo and Poppy left for KC early Monday morning.

I snapped this quick shot of Mamoo feeding little man...

We had SO much fun with our families!! It was wonderful getting to show them our new church, introducing them to some of our new friends, spending time catching up with them and just hanging out. It was just what we needed to hold us over until the holidays.

On Monday, Keith had his biggest test of Phase 1... Weather. This is typically the hardest test for student pilots. Keith studied and did well. I am SO PROUD of him and how well he has done/is doing. He is putting forth a lot of time and effort, and is giving 100% - which is exactly what the Lord asks of all of us.

Another big thing on Monday was Keith's "Dollar Ride," which is how new aviators are launched into the skies. Basically, the student pilots modify a regular ol' dollar and pay their instructor pilot for taking them up on their first ride. Some guys write/draw on or put stickers on the dollar - i.e. one IP had the nickname "Moose" so his student pilot changed George W into a moose head; other guys just wrap a dollar around alcohol (which IP's appreciate).

Monday was the start of Phase 2, aka a crazy busy 5 months for Keith. Apparently, these first 2 months are going to be the worst. Keith has 12 hour days (typically 8a-8p) then comes home to study more before getting to bed. He'll have these 12+ hour days 6 days a week... fun. PLEASE pray for him and for Witten and I. Prayers for Keith - good time management and good retention of what he's learning/studying. Prayers for Witt and me - managing my time better during the day (i.e. with my BSF lessons, cooking, cleaning, laundry--it's easy and tempting to be lazy), staying involved with church and new friends, giving Keith the encouragement and support he needs while he's so busy, and to make the most of our time with Daddy when we get it!

I was convicted this week. Both our pastor and my BSF study talked about how we as Christians are to be Salt and Light to the world (Matthew 5:13-16). I don't think I'm being very effective because most of the time I surround myself with others who are "salt and light." While it's great and important to fellowship with other believers, I also need to spend time with non-believers so that God can use me. Please also pray for me - that I will get out of my comfort zone of being with other Christians (my "salt-shaker") and build friendships with women here on base whom I can make an impact. Pray for opportunities and for boldness.

Thank you all, in advance, for your prayers! :)

Monday, October 7, 2013

Miscellaneous Happenings

Yay for October!!

 Sorry for the blurry picture, but this is the best I could do... on my own... with my SLOW camera on my phone - he is a busy boy these days!

Mom and Dad are coming in 8 days!!!!!!!!! Can you tell how excited I am by my exclamation point usage?

Mimi made this hat for Witt... so cute!

 
Witten is now 9 months old (as of yesterday). Here are the token pictures with the bear...
 

And one with Mommy!

On Saturday we went to a nearby Pumpkin Patch. It was super cute, BUT it was 91 degrees and we were all SUPER hot. We walked around a bit and got some pumpkins and a hay bale for the front porch. Needless to say, we didn't stay long but here were a few pictures...


Here are a few pictures from our home - Columbus Air Force Base (CAFB)...

This is the base exchange and the commissary, which was closed this past week because of the shutdown; BUT we just found out today that it will reopen on Tuesday!! 

This is where Keith takes all of his academic tests, which he EXCELS at and I'm SO proud of him!

This is where Keith goes to class and has simulator training.


This is the main entrance off the highway leading to CAFB. 


That's all of the CAFB pictures I have for now. I'll get more of the different airplanes eventually. :)

We have made a decision on which church we want to be part of and serve.... Mt. Vernon Church (aka the MTV church, ha) - http://www.mtvchurch.com/. We look forward to getting involved (becoming members, joining a life group and possibly me being part of the worship team) and meeting people there!

Have a great week!!

Sunday, September 22, 2013

Go Cowboys!

On behalf of the Cowboys win today (and the fact that we got to watch it - YAY!)...


Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Our Temporary Home

I finally got around to taking pictures of our duplex. My phone doesn't take great pictures, but at least you'll get an idea of what our place looks like. We didn't bring a lot of décor because we didn't know what the space would be like and we'll only be here for a year. Along with a lack of décor, we are lacking furniture for the space we have - we thought what we brought would be plenty to fill our home, but we are having to make do with temporary furniture pieces until my parents come in October and can bring a few more things. :)

This is the entry to the front door (on the left) and the hallway takes you to a 1/2 bath and the laundry room. The coat closet is the one you can see, then there's a linen closet, the door to the garage, and a storage closet that's under the stairwell. 
 
Here is our living room and front door off to the right. To the left (not pictured) is our covered patio that is completely bare. The next couple of times my parents come to visit, they will bring some of our stuff to furnish that area. It will be a great area to hang out once the weather cools a bit! 
 
 
These are our Kitchen and Dining areas. We love the layout of this kitchen compared to our last one. :)
And I particularly love the gas stove. 
 
 
Now, for the upstairs...
 
As you come up the stairs, to the right is the guest bathroom, Witten's room and our guest room/office. This is [obviously] Witten's room. Pretty simple without a ton of wall décor.


For our visitors, a queen bed... in Keith's office. It's nice to be able to have an office for Keith to work and study AND a bed for when our family/friends come to visit! (I still have a couple of things I want to put up on the walls in here.)
 
If you go left after coming up the stairs you will see my little nook (which is chair-less...Mom and Dad will be bringing that as well!) and our room.
 
This is the master bedroom. Please note our lovely TV antenna mounted randomly on the wall - how decoratively convenient that we receive service best with it placed in plain sight and the cord dangling ever so temptingly for Witten. He hasn't noticed it yet (because rarely do we hang out up there), but eventually we may have to do something about that. 

So, what do you think of my nightstand?! Classy, right?
 

Here is little man trying to read his book from Mimi and G. He LOVES this book! 
 

We are very thankful for our living arrangements! God, as always, provided the perfect place for us. We live in a great neighborhood on base and look forward to cooler weather so we can spend more time outside and meet more of our neighbors.

I'll take more pictures of our neighborhood and the base soon! I know how curious some of you are to what the base life is like. I was too before coming here. In the meantime, here's a picture Keith texted me yesterday while they were touring the different airplanes they will be training in. This is a T6, which is the first of 2 airplanes Keith will learn to fly while we're here in Columbus.

Aside from our house - I just got back from my 2nd week of Bible Study at BSF (Bible Study Fellowship). I am SO thankful for this organization and for the local group that meets not even 10 minutes from the Air Force Base here in Columbus. Once again - God is SO great and I'm grateful for this opportunity. I am grateful that the Children's Program leaders love on and pray for Witten while I meet with other women to dig deep into the Word. This year we are studying Matthew and I have already learned a lot. It's amazing how God can teach you different things even though you're already read the passage/book before. He's revealing things to me now that are applicable and relevant to my current life situation of being a stay-at-home wife and mother. I love having the structure of what to read/study each day, detailed notes, thought provoking questions, well delivered lecture, encouragement from my small group ladies and leader, accountability, and support from other women in similar and different stages of life! It's an intensive study and one that will challenge me a lot, but I am excited for the challenge and ready for all God has to teach me this year!
BSF meets all over the world - men and women - day and night classes. If you're interested and want more information, let me know or check out the website... www.bsfinternational.org

Have a great day!!