Our Texas Home

Wow! I am finally posting again. What a crazy few months. We are all settled here in Texas and loving it. We could not be happier. Brydon loves his job in the Air Force and Abilene is such nice town. I recently uploaded all the pictures off the camera and have been anxious to share our new home with everyone. We feel so blessed to have such a great job and home right now. The Lord has truly looked out for our family. So here is the new house. We LOVE it!



We live in a duplex on base. We are in the right side. I love having a huge garage and it is such a beautiful neighborhood.



The Master Bedroom is huge and has a great big walk in closet and a master bath. I feel really spoiled having my own bathroom now.



The spare bathroom and bedroom have come in very handy. Caleb wanted a blue bathroom and so I found all this for a steal during Christmas sales.



Caleb's Room. We have had to start decorating it with fighter jets. No more baby's room. Sad but fun to see him begin to display his own personality.


A view from the top of the stairs to the dining room, living room and half bath.


The Kitchen. I love how open and light it is. There are so many drawers and cabinets.


This room is right next to the kitchen and could be a place for the kitchen table but I turned it into a play room. It has been so nice to have the toys in one place and right where I can keep an eye on things easily.


The dining room and a great spot for the piano.


The living room.


Our backyard. It is so big and it is so amazing so have a backyard. We really want to get a big trampoline in the near future. It won't even take up half the yard. Cooper and Caleb love it!

1st Lieutenant Brydon Manning

Feeling very behind on all the changes in our life but wanted to at least get a couple posts recorded before the big move. So right after I got my new teaching job at Agora Cyber Charter School, we received a phone call from the Air Force asking us to accept an offer to begin work on Oct. 18th. Of course we couldn't turn the offer down (part-time UPS package handler or Public Health Officer). So we said yes and have been busy shifting gears ever since. First Brydon had to get Scroll Approval from Congress and then had to be commissioned as an officer so he could then get orders to attend Officer Training. None of these were easy to do in a short amount of time but did happen. So on October 6th, Brydon was commissioned on PCOM's campus in Philadelphia by a new medical student who had recently joined the Air Force.





A week after that, he received orders to attend Commissioned Officer Training School in Montgomery, Alabama beginning October 18th. On the morning of the 18th, Brydon flew out and is currently learning how to be an Officer in the Air Force. So far the experience has been fine. The lack of sleep the first week was tough but they are beginning to loosen up a bit. They no longer have to eat at attention in 10 minutes and can walk around the base and not just march in a group everywhere. He has had two interesting experiences. First a girl in his flight group went CRAZY. She couldn't remember her name and just lost it. It was Brydon's job to oversee her safety and so that made things interesting. He also got in trouble for pulling a prank for their "Spirit Mission". Apparently the prank wasn't taken well and caused a bit of a scandal. I guess that is what happens when a bunch of military folks are told to create covert operations to steal artifacts from other classes. The flight commanders like to give him a hard time about it. He will graduate on November 19th and then head right down to Dyess Air Force Base in Abilene, TX. Caleb and I will join him soon after and then we can begin the search for a home!




I sure think he makes quite a good looking soldier.

Just a Couple Jobs

I wanted to write this post a week ago but life has just been so busy lately. Well Brydon and I were recently able to secure employment that will allow us to stay in Philadelphia while we wait for Brydon to begin work with the Air Force. Brydon works nights (about 11pm-2am) for UPS loading trucks. The pay is ok and there are no benefits but it is very close to our home and the hours work well with my job and his church calling. Last night he actually got asked to be on the UPS safety committee. His supervisor learned about his thesis and so once a week he will attend a committee meeting and do safety inspections. So far the job has been pretty easy. I was recently hired as a Third Grade Math Specialist for the Agora Cyber Charter School. It is a really unique experience to work for a cyber school. I will work from home on a computer, teaching lessons and attending meetings. It is a certified teaching position and the pay and benefits are good. I love the fact that I get to stay home and have lunch with Brydon and Caleb. There is no nasty commute or long hours setting up and cleaning a classroom. The only drawback so far is that I am not used to sitting in front of a computer all day. But it is really a great opportunity for our family right now. I feel so blessed to be able to find employment during this time. Most school districts have few openings and some have been on hiring freezes. It is truly a miracle I was able to secure a position in just a couple months.

Abilene, Texas.......Here We Come!

Right before we left on our trip to South Dakota, Brydon got some good news! He got a job! We received a call from the Air Force and they offered Brydon a position as an Officer of Public Health. We have been stationed in Abilene, TX for our first post. We are really excited for this opportunity and Brydon is looking forward to the training and benefits the military offers. The only hang up is that he won't start officer training until March 8th, and right now that feels like an eternity. So we are in the midst of figuring out what to do until March, but happy to see some light at the end of the tunnel. Abilene should be a great new place to live but it is about as opposite as you can get from Philadelphia.

So Abilene is located pretty close to the center and heart of Texas. It is 3 hours west of Dallas. It is a city of about 120,000 people.


When we first googled housing in Abilene we found a gem of a home very close to this one. Yep a great trailer home in literally the middle of nowhere. I don't think we will be feeling overly castrophobic in Abilene.


We will definitely miss the beautiful folage here in Philadelphia. It looks a bit dry and brown in Abilene and I will sure miss the vivid green summer and colorful falls.


I don't think we will have quite the same skyline. I will miss the metropolitan area but since the biggest town I ever grew up in was only 10,000 people, I think Abilene will be plenty big.


We will definitely not miss a beauty like this. This great rental property not far from out apartment is renting for $850 a month with no utilities included and a high crime rate included.


However we are really looking forward to this. This beautiful 3br 2b home is $25 less a month than we are paying for out 2br 1b, 820 sq.ft. apartment. Doesn't it look dreamy!!!


And check out the beautiful fenced in backyard! Yeah I think we will survive just fine in Abilene. Now to just figure out how to survive 8 months of limbo!

The Alaskan Escape: Just a Dad and His Son!

So to celebrate Brydon's recent graduation from Graduate School and a looming 50th Birthday for Dad, Brydon and his dad had a father/son outing to of course ALASKA. Homer, Alaska! They had such a great time together and Brydon is so lucky to not only enjoy being with his dad but having a dad who is truly his best friend. They were able to walk on a glacier and see all sorts of beautiful wildlife. They spent two days deep sea fishing and caught everything from cool Salmon and Yellow Eyed Rock Fish to truly ugly Ling Cod. Rumor has it they had some popular fish to photograph! The guide they used comes highly recommended. In the end they shipped home 350 lbs of fish. Good thing we like fish and for great internet recipes! Then they were able to enjoy a bear sight seeing adventure in Katmai National Park. These two loves bears! And of course they have taught Caleb well. I love the pictures from the park. The trip was then completed with a kayak trip. Brydon is now just as convinced as his father that living in Alaska would be "pure heaven on earth". I can't deny that it sure looks amazing but I just don't know if I need to live there; especially during the winter. But I have been informed that Brydon will be going back!

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My Sweet Grandma

While we were out in South Dakota, my grandma fell and passed away a few days later. It is still hard to imagine her being gone but I am so blessed to know that she is in a better place surrounded by her loved ones. I know her mind is now whole and that she will be looking out for us, like she always did. I feel blessed to have had a very close relationship with my grandma. She was there when I was born and I have so many memories with her as a little girl. Grandma and grandpa were my cheerleaders through college and I never could have made it through school without them. Then we got to live by them while Brydon was attending the University of Utah. Last summer they even came out to visit us in Philadelphia and we had so much fun. She will truly be missed. She was a wonderfully amazing woman. Love you grandma!

The Great Big 4!

Well Caleb could not be more excited to be 4 years old! He has been dying to turn 4 like his friends and was so excited for the big day to arrive. He informed me that he is big now and can get married. I sure wish I could slow time down a bit. He will be 18 before I know it.
This year Caleb got to take 2 friends to the zoo with him and then we had a Scooby Doo cake with mint chocolate icecream in the evening. He had so much fun and can't help but tell everyone he knows that he is 4 now.

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I am so grateful for our sweet boy. He is so smart and observant. Caleb constantly keeps us on our toes but I wouldn't have it any other way. I will always see that sweet little round baby face when I look at him. Caleb we love you so much and are so so grateful you are in our family.