I wanted to start this blog so that anyone and everyone who is interested in staying up-to-date in our crazy-busy lives can do so, without destroying the phone bill budget :). I will say that, while I'm sure you'd all love to hear from Eric, too, I'll most likely be the one doing most of the story-telling. I'll ask him to write on a fairly regular (though probably infrequent) basis, but don't be offended if I can't come through on that promise--he's got bigger fish to fry these days.
We've (well, as married people) been in beautiful, exciting, happenin' (ha!) Del Rio for a little over a month now and it's been HOT. The last few days have been the first evidence of temperatures under the triple digits, and we are thankful for the relief. We even got storms this weekend--almost as intense as the Michigan storms we're used to, and that's impressive for these parts! Everyone here picks on how there is NOTHING to do in Del Rio--and it's true-- but for newly-married (and therefore, "financially challenged") young people , it's perfect. Instead of going out on the town on the weekends everyone tends to gather at each others' houses to grill out or invite each other over for dinner, spending a lot of time really getting to know each other and make friends. I've only been here one month and am already impressed with the way friends take care of each other here; it really is a family. For example, when a wife goes out of town, the other wives bring food to her husband almost every day till she gets back. (Yea, these boys are spoiled!) Babysitting is easy to come by around here I've noticed, too--we got to be parents to a Golden Retriever puppy for a weekend while our neighbors are out of town. It's all we can do not to go out and find one of our own--though I am still vacuuming up dog hair three weeks later!
We've also found a church in Del Rio called Del Rio Bible Church, and we like it so far. Most of our friends from base also attend, so it's another great way to get involved with both our church community and the Air Force community.
We live on base in a 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom duplex and we are really happy with it. We've spent a lot of time decorating and trying to make it feel like home, and it's coming along and we are excited to be able to say it's "our" house :).
Last weekend we went to Brenham to visit Grandma and Grandpa Miller and had such a great time. And, shock, Grandma and Grandpa were sooo generous--we left with a Weber grill and the beautiful wine art you see on the red wall in the pictures. We met their church friends, enjoyed their porch and their green grass--we don't really have that here-- and of course, awesome food. Eric also had the pleasure of shooting an armadillo in their yard one night. It was pretty gross. We can't wait to celebrate Thanksgiving with them, and I'm especially so thankful to have them fairly nearby for the first time in my whole life; I plan on taking full advantage of all the possible quality time :).
Welll, the long-awaited journey has begun! Today is the start of week 2 for UPT (Undergraduate Pilot Training), and Eric is encouraged and doing great so far. He's learned about emergency procedures, survival training, and is starting this week off in "aerospace physiology", where they teach the student pilots in hands-on ways all about what kinds of things happen to your body in different situations while in flight. For example, at some point this week they'll get to experience the altitude chamber, where they feel the changes in their body due to different altitudes. Last week Eric came home wanting me to experience self-induced hyperventilation as he had that day--I said no thanks. :) As you can imagine, every time they issue Eric new equipment --like his mask, G suit, and other alien-looking paraphernalia, he puts it on and models it around the house for a little while. Needless to say, I'm rarely at a loss for entertainment. (Pictures available in the next post). Many of Eric's friends have already begun actually flying the planes, and he can barely contain his excitement to get to that phase as well. Now that his days are long and busy, our bedtime, and dreaded alarm clock time, have changed. A typical day has us getting up around 5:30am. Eric gets ready while I make breakfast and put a lunch together for him to take to class. I see him off (or occasionally take him to class, if I need the car), and then head straight back to bed for a little while :) --hey, 5:30 is early for the unemployed! While he spends his day studying hard and acing first tests, I spend mine submitting several job applications and having the occasional lunch date with other wives. Hopefully I will hear back from an exciting, well-paying opportunity soon (prayers welcome!) This past week I had the opportunity to go to a spouses orientation to UPT. We learned every detail about the training process, met other wives, and were briefed by our husbands' commanders on what to expect-- and not to expect-- from our husbands during this very intense training. They told us that we have on of the most important roles in this process, and their wives gave great input on how to really get involved and make it a great experience for both of us. I'm looking forward to taking that advice and making myself an integral and supportive part of Eric's success over the next 52 weeks and beyond.
I'll try to write again soon and keep you all updated--and I promise not every post will go on for days as this one :) We're loving this new life in the Air Force and our new life together, and I think I can speak for both of us when I say that we feel so, so blessed to be embarking on this unique and incredible journey together (especially Eric--he doesn't have to do his own laundry anymore!) Thank you so much for your thoughts and prayers--we miss our friends and family and think of you every day! As always, we love to hear from you, too!
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