12/15

Hello!

Latest Update on Chad:

He's been having a really tough time lately... and to add to that, He has been sick.  He has been passing his tests... but his "stand-ups" are giving him a hard time.  He's studying really hard to improve on that.

Today will be his first time to fly this week.  I haven't heard back from him yet.  It is a very important flight and we've all been praying for him and claiming a good day for him!  

He get's out for Christmas break today!  He'll be off for 12 days!  He plans on studying the entire time!  The flight program is getting harder and harder everyday that goes by.  Chad is giving it his best... and we are all praying for God to bring him through it with grace.  

I have been doing what I always do, cleaning, cooking, washing clothes, knitting, attending "spouse" events... and staying surprisingly busy. 

 I hope you all have a MERRY CHRISTMAS!

12/14

Hi!  It's Christmas time!  I always get so busy around Christmas time.  Anyways, I haven't been doing anything too amazing.  I did an interview for a job and haven't heard back from them yet.  I have a 50/50 chance of getting it.  Chad has been studying a lot!  He's definitely under a lot of stress right now.  Being air-sick has caused him to get behind... and the program moves so fast there's no time to catch up!  We are counting on getting to Christmas break so he can have some time to catch up!  He's got a big test coming up tomorrow, so that's what he's studying for right now.  He is supposed to fly tomorrow but it totally depends on the weather.  It is definitely getting more challenging for him every week that goes by.  Please keep him in your prayers.

12/5

These entries are getting fewer and father in between!  

It's the Holidays and we are both staying busy.  I will catch you up on Chad's progress... and it's been tough for him.  He had a tough flight last week.  The end of a "block" was coming up.  I'll try to explain.  You get so many flights, let's say 6, for example.  By the end of those 6 flights you should have made a certain amount of progress.  Chad was told on his 5th that he was behind... and had a lot of catching up to do.  So, he has been pushing very very hard to learn as much as he can.  He had his 6th flight and he barely passed.  However... He 

DID PASS.  Which was good news.  But he's still not where he should be.  So this weekend, he's having to spend every last minute studying and practicing.  So his "weekend" to relax a little has turned into a last opportunity to catch up with the others in his class.  No time for talking on the phone, no time for anything but studying.  He is doing well, and he knows what areas he needs to work on.  He's giving it all he's got, and I know he'll catch up.  So that's where he is right now... and it won't slow down for him until it's over!  

The reality of me never seeing him has truly set in!    

As for me, I have been working on Christmas gifts.  I also applied for a part-time job at Armstrong Mccall.  I have an interview next Tuesday.  Well, that's all for now Folks :)

11/30

Well, we made it through the Thanksgiving Holidays!  Last Tuesday, Chad had a flight, test, and stand-up.  On his flight, he got sick (another visit to the Dr. will follow), he Passed his TEST!, and he did get "stood-up"... and then quickly "Sat-Down" for saying "And".  Oops.  It was a good day over all :)

Thanksgiving was filled with a lot of traveling (3 celebrations for Chad, and two for me), and lots of food!  We enjoyed our time with our families and are looking forward to Christmas time!

Chad spent the weekend studying, and I was being crafty.  Knitting, sewing, baking etc...

Monday (today) was a fun day for me.  I hosted a "coffee date" for some of the spouses.  There were 5 in total.  I baked cookies and we visited for over 2 hours.  I spent the rest of the day making a coffee coozie and a burp cloth.  I found this cool website called sewmamasew.com.  It has lots of home craft ideas.  Chad didn't fly today.  He had to go to the flight Dr.  They are now prescribing him meds to keep him from getting motion sickness.  If this doesn't work, I think they start spinning him.  We'll see!  He is doing good in school... please pray that Chad can overcome this motion sickness... so that he can move on with his learning

11-24

The Holidays are coming!!!  


Sunday: We attended Papa Harold's funeral.  That took up most of the day.  There are so many that will miss him and I hope that they all remember to focus on their good memories of him instead of their loss.


Monday: Chad was back on the flight line doing his thing.  I spent the day cleaning, cooking, knitting... ran some errands in town.  Chad came home VERY excited because he had a great day!  He enjoyed his flight... learned some things... and didn't get sick!  He spent the whole evening at Skip's house studying.


Tuesday: Chad was on the flight line, but he didn't fly.  He had some classes to take.  Tomorrow is a big day for him though.  He's got "stand ups", a Test, and a Flight.  It's not fun when all of that falls on the same day... but it won't be the last time that happens.  I washed clothes, grocery shopped, baked bread and cookies... knitted a few things.  I'm trying to develop my knitting skills... just because I can :)  

11-21

Ok Ok.... So I'm a little behind. I've got Wed. through Saturday to catch you up on.   Let's start with:


Wednesday: Chad experienced his "dollar ride" (his first ride in the T-6).  He LOVED it.  His exact words when I asked him how it was... "It's like driving a race car!!!!!".  That day, I went with some of the spouses to Hobby Lobby in Tuscaloosa.  We ate at Olive Garden... and had a good day.


Thursday:  Chad went for his second ride in the T-6.  He also enjoyed that ride, however his stomach did get a little uneasy.  They make you go to the Flight doctor if you feel sick in the plane... and that's where the Dr. tells you how to fight motion sickness.  I spent the day at home catching up on house cleaning and washing clothes.  I also baked 1 million cookies for Chad's flight and IP's to enjoy on Friday.  


Friday:  Chad went to the Flight Dr. and had to do some classwork, so no flying.  He was done pretty early that day.  Jennifer came to see the Twilight movie with me (while Chad stayed home and studied).  Jennifer spent the night with us.


Saturday:  Jennifer and I chilled at the house for most of the morning... then she went home.  Chad and I went to town just to get out of the house.  He studied here and there.  He played with his remote controlled airplane he received in the mail earlier this week.  Nothing too exciting.  Tomorrow we are going to Papa Harold's funeral.  It's a good drive for us so Chad is going to study while we are in the car.

11-17

Big day tomorrow!  Chad will experience his first day on the flight line tomorrow.  I've got his food packed and his breakfast all set up for him.  He's got an early morning in store for him.  

He will take his first ride in the T-6.  

We went to the new class welcome tonight.  They said a lot of things that got me emotional.  Things like, there are only 13,000 pilots in the entire Air Force.... which makes Chad part of a very special group.  The reality of what's taking place really set in.  The significance of this moment in Chad's life... It's going to be a long, hard road.  There will be good days and bad days... But we are ready for it!  Please keep us in your prayers... as I try to be as supportive as possible, picking up the slack everywhere I can... and as Chad spends many days pushing himself to do the very best he can possibly do.

11/14

Yesterday (Friday), Chad Passed His Test!  He also had a sim that went well.  His class hits the flight line (Phase II) on Wednesday.  They ranked his class in order of who had the best grades.. and Chad ranked third!  I told him maybe he needed to be a Fighter Pilot (just joking).  

 It's Saturday!  Today, I finished making a baby quilt.  It is super cute and I don't want to give it away!  We also went into town in search of a Hobby Shop for Chad.  He's making a tiny version of the T-6 and needed some type of glue.  After that, we took Charlie to the Lake, and watched some friends crash their remote control airplane.  Tonight, we are going to eat dinner with our Hawaiian neighbors :)  In between all of that, Chad has been studying for short spans of time.  

These are pics of our trip to the Lake.

11/11

Hello Hello!

Yesterday, I spent the entire day mastering the art of baking homemade wheat bread.  It turned out great! If you want to try, just ask, and I'll give you the recipe!  Chad was doing school stuff half of the day and studied for the rest of the day.  We went to the gym for a short time... That was it for yesterday.

Today was fun!  Chad was off because it is Veterans Day.  We got up this morning and went in search of the "lake" that is on base.  It was gorgeous, and Charlie LOVED it.  There were 5 other dogs there playing in the water.  They were all running around having the time of their lives.  We had lunch at Apple Bee's (free meals for military).  Mom, Kt, and Alyssa came down in the afternoon.  We went to the grocery store so mom could stock up.  I gave Kt some highlights.  We had giant steaks for dinner! It was lots of fun.  Chad has a sim tomorrow... so he is studying at the neighbor's house (Skip).  That was our day :)

11/09

Today Chad passed his test!  He has another one on Friday... so no time to rest.  He's been studying all evening.  I ran errands in town, mailed Dana and Wendi their pictures, and cooked up a delicious roast in my dutch oven. We made a little time for the gym.  I was lazy though... only two miles.  I walked most of it.  Extreme Home Makeover was on the tv in the gym and I couldn't run and watch it at the same time!  Anyways, it was another good day in Columbus :) (No Pic)

11/08

Sooo... I've gotten behind a little.  

Let me catch you up!  Friday, Chad was in class most of the day, I had lunch with the spouses.  I went to visit little Myla in the hospital.  One of Chad's classmates just had their first child.  I spent some time with another friend of mine, Jessica.  We were looking for a baby gift.  Chad and I went to an assignment night that evening.  That's where the pilots at the end of their training find out what plane and mission they are getting.  To finish the day, we had dinner at the Japanese restaurant.  

Saturday, Chad had career day.  He had to sit through briefings all day, and also attend a "Dine-In" that evening.  That means that wives and family cannot attend.  So... I went home to visit family, work some hair magic, and take some pictures.  I ended up at the ag-center watching Mom and Rob sort cattle for a few minutes.  I spent the rest of the evening at home editing pictures.  It was a great day!

Today (Sunday), we went to Mt. Vernon again.  I just LOVE this church.  I hope some of my family members get a chance to attend church with us some while we are living in Columbus.  It's great!  Chad has a big test tomorrow, so he's been over at the neighbors studying all day.  I have been working on pictures, getting them ready for the mail, washing clothes, cleaning... the usual :) Another Good Day!  Pray for Chad!  He has that test coming up tomorrow!

Gran's Hand

Kissy Kissy

Kissy Kissy

11/05

Chad had another sim today.  It was better than yesterday. He walked away knowing what he needs to study more.  He also had a class today.  He has spent the entire rest of his day studying.  My day was very uneventful.  I spent the day cleaning, washing clothes, coloring my hair, walking Charlie... the usual.  I baked some delicious chocolate chip cookies... I make some good cookies! (no pic today)

11/04

Chad had his sim today.  He didn't like his instructor.  It seems that his success in the sim is very dependant on how involved and interested the instructor is.  So... anyone who reads this blog, we would greatly appreciate some prayers directed towards great sim instructors for Chad.  Today was grocery shopping day for me.  I spent most of the day putting up groceries, making pea soup, a batch of homemade hot chocolate, and cooking dinner.  We went to the gym and tried out a game of racquetball.  The game is kind of hard when you have no clue what the rules are!  That's about it for today.  Remember to pray for Chad to be blessed with great instructors throughout his time in UPT. 

  

11/03

Chad's day consisted of class, getting fitted for a g-suit, and practicing for a sim.  I took Charlie for a walk, went to Hobby Lobby and also to a Tastefully Simple party with Monette.  I have kept myself busy this evening with hanging up the shelves and a picture frame I purchased at Hobby Lobby today (with my hair money).  Maybe I can get some pictures in the frames soon! It wasn't a very exciting day, but it was still a good one :) 

11/02

Today was pretty uneventful.  Chad was in class the whole morning.  After lunch, we went into town, where I found a really nice espresso/coffee cup and saucer set for really cheap.  Chad spent the rest of the afternoon studying (as he'll do for the rest of the night).  I'm going to an Esther Bible study in a few minutes.  It's really been a great Bible study.  It's called "It's tough being a woman".  

11/01

The Mt. Vernon sermon today was great.  It was on forgiveness.  I really like how the preacher lays the subject out in a way that is very easy to understand and then shows you how to use it in your everyday life.  We went to Mi Toros for lunch, and worked on our washing machine when we got home.  Chad studied most of the day while I washed clothes and cooked.  We took a little time to go to the gym for some exercise.  I jogged 3 miles today (but there was a little walking involved).  I didn't get a chance to take an interesting pic... so this is a shot of us on the couch watching an episode of house in our matching red shirts and black pants (accident).

10/31

Happy Halloween!

Today was a busy day!  We started off the morning by heading to Starkville.  We went to a car show on campus.  We accidentally showed up over 2 hours before they were opening up to the public.  We were turned away at the entrance.  So... we drove around back and entered in through some bushes!  It was exciting.. and Chad was happy to see two Grand Nationals there.  We stopped by the

  Mccool Building on the MSU campus where all of my classes were.  I wanted to take a look and enjoy some old memories of my college days.  We also went to a Halloween/Football party that Chad's class was hosting. It was a lot of fun.  Chad and I played ping-pong... and Yes!  We are very bad at it.  We were back home by 6 so we could pass out candy to the kids.  That was our day, and it was a fun one!  These pics are of the car show, the Mccool building, and my first trick-or-treater (Kinley aka Snow White).

10/30

Today...

Chad did GREAT on his test!  He had a "sim" today, and it also went well.  Miriam and Tommy came over this afternoon.  We went out for dinner at Reuben's and then on to Lowe's.  It was a rainy day, but still filled with lots of fun and laughter.  These pics were taken right before we left to go eat.

10/29

Today was a good day...

Jennifer came to visit and to get her hair colored.  I meant to take a pic of her visit but it slipped my mind.  We went to lunch at "Little Kitchen" and then sent her home.  Chad had a class this afternoon and I met up with some friends for afternoon coffee and pumpkin spice bread.  When Chad was done with class, we went for a jog with Charlie.  I am getting much better at jogging, and very excited about it!  Chad will spend the rest of the night studying by himself, and also with our neighbor who is in his class.  He has a test tomorrow on some complicated material.  I'm going to put in some special prayer time to help him out :)  This is a picture of Chad studying.  Charlie is always an arm-length away.

10/28

Hi everyone,

To get everyone up to date...

We've been here since the first week of September.  Chad's school started on October 2nd.  He has already taken 4 written tests and he's done well on all of them.  He's got maybe 3 more weeks before he'll start flying and that's when it get's tough... even longer hours and more stress.  

We love Columbus and we have already met many great people here on base.  We finally found a church last week.  It's called Mt. Vernon.  

Today Chad and I carved pumpkins.  We were very pleased with how they turned out, here are some pictures so you can see for yourself.