Though routes and plans changed a million times (sorry Aunt Jill!), Eric's cross country was a success. He visited several different cities--Tucson, Phoenix, Albuquerque--and got 4 great days of flying in. Now, after one more ride and an instrument check flight, Eric will be in his final block of Phase 2 training-formation! Yep, by next week he'll be flying about 6-10 feet away from another airplane for 16 different flights, doing all the things he's learned thus far--including aerobatics! He's really excited to see what formation is like, but even more excited to get through this last bit of training before tracking to T-38s or T-1s on April 1st! Time is flying down here (no pun intended!), which is a great thing because this program can get quite stressful at times. Because of uncharacteristically bad weather in Del Rio lately, Eric's class (and all others) have fallen a bit behind schedule, so they've been having to fly regularly on Saturdays and will continue to until Track--or so we're told. As you can imagine, after 12 hour days, and studying on top of that, adding a day to the already strenuous work week makes for one exhausted boy! I'm so proud of him and all of his hard work; the stamina and focus required to even get by here is commendable, and Eric is doing FAR better than just "getting by". The stress level is high lately, so your prayers that he will continue to be his dedicated, positive self are appreciated! We're confident that regardless of where he ends up for Phase 3, God's got a great future in store for his career.
As we head into a new month, some exciting things are planned. My friend and college roommate, Ashley, is coming to visit for a weekend. We're really excited that she can be here on a drop weekend so she'll get the full Laughlin experience. What's even better-we know the people who are graduating that weekend (it's always more exciting when you know the class). I also plan to show her around San Antonio and the Riverwalk on a day trip. Eric and I have also set a few goals for ourselves, and to celebrate achieving them we're hoping to plan a weekend in Fredricksburg, TX, a romantic little German town south of San Antonio. What a welcome break that will be!!
Have a wonderful week!
xoxo
Monday, February 22, 2010
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
This Just In...
So if you haven't heard already, next weekend Eric will be flying a plane (with an IP of course) to Phoenix, San Diego, back to Phoenix, and back home. He will be leaving me for 5 whooooole days to have way too much fun and spend some serious quality time with his good buddy, the T-6 Texan II. And since he's going to Phoenix, he'll get to visit Uncle Dean and Aunt Jill! He's pretty excited about showing off his new best friend to family! I'm super excited for him (although I wouldn't mind having my Valentine home...but oh well), because after this, we only have 6 WEEKS left in the T-6 before he tracks to the T-38 (fighters) or T-1 (heavies/tankers)!!! That may sound like a long time to you, but in UPT it's equivalent to approximately 5.2 seconds--time flies around here. Ahhh, we can't wait!
On another note...I know you may find this really hard to believe, but just humor me and give wrapping your mind around it a good try: waking up at 5a.m. to do P90X Plyometrics when you have no other reason to get up that early is no fun...and definitely not easy. UGH. Shocking, I know. My friend Annaleis and I have decided to start a workout routine together, but that is the only time she has because she works 12+ hours everyday....I think it's safe to say I'm motivated--5am?! yuck. But the nice thing is, when I shower and go back to bed for an hour or two (heehee), I wake up, have breakfast with Eric, and my exercise is already out of the way!
On my own job front, I've gotten busier. I've also started volunteering when I can't get substitute jobs. I judged an elementary school science fair last week--so stinkin' cute! I also have an interview this Friday with Baptist Child and Family Services for a position is Abstinence Education--perfect, right?! I applied with them when we first got here, but no positions were open. I'm excited about the interview, but I am going to see about volunteering there even if I don't get the job.
Exciting things are happening spiritually in the Butler house, too. It may not sound as exciting as everything else, but it's more--it makes everything that much better! We're really beginning to love our church and we're making lots of great connections with wonderful people (we were actually invited to our pastor's home for the Superbowl!). I've joined the praise team and a women's Bible study, and we're reading together when possible. We're learning and growing so much, and it's amazing! Sharing this UPT adventure and all the excitement that comes with it, being newly married, exploring a different part of the country-- it's all great. But having God be a part of all of that and change us in the process makes it so much more fulfilling and purposeful! Growing together in our faith through all of it is the journey we're most proud of and excited about.
We hope your new year has started off better than the last! Happy Valentine's Day!
:)
On another note...I know you may find this really hard to believe, but just humor me and give wrapping your mind around it a good try: waking up at 5a.m. to do P90X Plyometrics when you have no other reason to get up that early is no fun...and definitely not easy. UGH. Shocking, I know. My friend Annaleis and I have decided to start a workout routine together, but that is the only time she has because she works 12+ hours everyday....I think it's safe to say I'm motivated--5am?! yuck. But the nice thing is, when I shower and go back to bed for an hour or two (heehee), I wake up, have breakfast with Eric, and my exercise is already out of the way!
On my own job front, I've gotten busier. I've also started volunteering when I can't get substitute jobs. I judged an elementary school science fair last week--so stinkin' cute! I also have an interview this Friday with Baptist Child and Family Services for a position is Abstinence Education--perfect, right?! I applied with them when we first got here, but no positions were open. I'm excited about the interview, but I am going to see about volunteering there even if I don't get the job.
Exciting things are happening spiritually in the Butler house, too. It may not sound as exciting as everything else, but it's more--it makes everything that much better! We're really beginning to love our church and we're making lots of great connections with wonderful people (we were actually invited to our pastor's home for the Superbowl!). I've joined the praise team and a women's Bible study, and we're reading together when possible. We're learning and growing so much, and it's amazing! Sharing this UPT adventure and all the excitement that comes with it, being newly married, exploring a different part of the country-- it's all great. But having God be a part of all of that and change us in the process makes it so much more fulfilling and purposeful! Growing together in our faith through all of it is the journey we're most proud of and excited about.
We hope your new year has started off better than the last! Happy Valentine's Day!
:)
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