Happy Fall! Decorating Here We Come!!!

One thing I learned about my husband right after we were married is that he really loves to decorate and especially LOVES to decorate for the HOLIDAYS! He loves Holidays! Since we were married right before Christmas, we had a lot of fun shopping the after Christmas sales and planning out our holiday schemes very early in our marriage. Halloween is so much fun and we love getting to pull out the Holiday tubbies. Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas are some of our favorite times, and we have had so much fun collecting decorations. So last weekend, we could officially pull out the Halloween decor and let the Fall Season begin!

One tradition in our home is that we pack away all holiday items, including books and movies.  So opening the tubs is so much fun and holds so many fun treasures!  Caleb loves reading the Halloween books and just pulling everything he can out of the tubs.

Having lots of fun!

Our Haunted Village!  We love these village pieces and were excited to add a new piece to it this year.  We love Department 56 and this is one of our little splurges in life. 

These pumpkins are one of Brydon's pride and joys and have their own special tubby and method of packing so they could survive all our moves.  (So far so good!)  We found these in Denver before our first Halloween married and passed them up the first time we saw them.  But a while later Brydon was able to go back to Denver with his family and made a special trip to pick up these guys.  We ADORE them. 

Last year life was a bit crazy during the Holiday season, due to our new job and moving.  Brydon actually missed Halloween while he was at Officer Training School.  So I have to share just a few memories from last year.

Caleb was the cutest Scooby Doo ever!  My mom was able to spend Halloween with us and we all went along with the Scooby Doo theme.  I was Daphne, Grandma was Velma and then of course the great Scooby Doo!  Caleb still can't decide what to be this year.

We made sugar cookies and then decided to decorate them with black frosting.  Well we all got black!  We love you grandma!!

We will most definitely miss Fall in the East!  It is so beautiful there and we have so many great memories.   

OnE YeAr!!

I just realized that it was ONE YEAR ago today that we officially joined the Air Force!  Brydon was commissioned a year ago.  He has had a pretty amazing year and is sure doing some great things.  Sure am proud of you, babe!  We love you!

In honor of our one year, I want to share this poem that was given to me at one of my "introduction to military life" classes.  It is one of my favorite Military Wife's Poems.  I am so grateful for all the mentors and amazing people we have met that have helped us on our military journey.  We have worked for some of the best Commanders and have the best Flight.  We could not have asked for a better year or to have been surrounded by better people.  We could not have done it without you all!

When God Created The Military Wife The Good Lord was creating a model for military wives and was into his sixth day of overtime when an angel appeared. She said, "Lord, you seem to be having a lot of trouble with this one. What’s wrong with the standard model?" The Lord replied, "Have you seen the specs on this order? She has to be completely independent, possess the qualities of both father and mother, be a perfect hostess to 4 or 40 with an hour’s notice, run on black coffee, handle every emergency imaginable without a manual, be able to carry on cheerfully, even if she is pregnant and has the flu, and she must be willing to move to a new location 10 times in 17 years. And oh yes, she must have six pairs of hands." The angel shook her head, "Six pair of hands? No way!" The Lord continued, "Don’t worry, we will make other military wives to help her. And we will give her an unusually strong heart so it can swell with pride in her husband’s achievements, sustain the pain of separations, beat soundly when it is overworked and tired, and be large enough to say "I understand" when she doesn’t and say, ‘I love you’ regardless". "Lord," said the angel, touching his arm gently "Go to bed and get some rest. You can finish this tomorrow". "I can’t stop now", said the Lord "I am so close to creating something unique. Already this model heals herself when she is sick, can put up six unexpected guests for the weekend, wave goodbye to her husband from a depot, pier or runway and understand why it’s important that he leave." The angel circled the model of the military wife, looked at it closely and sighed, "It looks fine, but it’s too soft". "She might look soft", replied the Lord, "but she has the strength of a lion. You would not believe what she can endure."

Finally, the angel bent over and ran her finger across the cheek of the Lord’s creation. "There’s a leak", she announced. "Something is wrong with the construction. You are trying to put too much into this model." The Lord appeared offended at the angel’s lack of confidence. "What you see is not a leak", he said, "It’s a tear." "A tear? What is it there for?", asked the angel. The Lord replied, "It’s for joy, sadness, pain, disappointment, loneliness, pride and a dedication to all the values that she and her husband hold dear." "You are a genius!" exclaimed the angel. The Lord looked puzzled and replied, "I didn’t put it there".

Hurray for Baby Girls!

My Sister-in-Law is expecting a baby girl in a little over a month, so it gave me a chance to make some girly stuff.  I got to make her some fun, pretty bows and then learned how to make these really cute flowers.  The rolled fabric flowers are so easy to make and I love them!  I even made a couple for myself.  The pink fluffy flower is made out of fabric as well and was a lot easier than I thought to make.  I am anxious to make more and really want to make a Fall Wreath out of these flowers.  We will see if I manage to get it done.  I think this a great way to use up all those fabric scraps!

Dyess Spouse's Day

Last Friday, I was able to have the unique opportunity to visit what the military calls "the Line Side" of the Air Force.  Since Brydon works in the Medical Group, he pretty much does just ordinary Public Health stuff.  He inspects food facilities on base, tracks STI's and any random diseases, and is in charge of pretty much just keeping Airman healthy and safe (whether through hearing tests, work safety inspections, or determining what shots they need when they visit a foreign country).  He doesn't get to deal with all the cool machinery and airplanes that we identify the Air Force with.  Actually Brydon has never gotten to visit "the Line Side". 

At Dyess we house 2 types of Airplane groups.  The 7th Bomb Wing is in charge of the B-1 and the 317th Airlift is in charge of the C-130.  The 317th was kind enough to host a Spouses Day for all spouses on our base that would allow us to visit their shops and even get to ride in a C-130!  It was a great day and the 317th did an amazing job. 

They began the day by walking us through what a day is like for the pilots and crew of a C-130 on a deployment.   C-130 crews can deploy about every 4 months for 4 months at a time.  They are constantly deploying and their families sacrifice a lot.  These planes are Cargo planes and so are used to transport troops and cargo to the field.  They are being heavily used in the fighting in Afghanistan to haul equipment to eliminate damage from road side bombs and to get supplies to very hard to reach places.  They are also being used in Iraq to carry out our troops and equipment as we scale down.  We got to see pictures of them hauling troops, delivering packages to Marines through parachute parcels in remote locations, evacuating wounded soldiers, and landing in hot zones on nothing but a short sand road.  One of their motto's is that they "Deliver Hope".  What heroic things our soldiers do every day!!

My group began our tour by visiting a B-1 and talking to the pilots.  We were able to go into the cockpit and sit in the chairs.  This plane goes over 1000 miles an hour and is pretty much just full of bombs.  I believe it carries more fire power than any other plane.  It has room for 4 people and a small little "toilet" (or just whole in a board with a sheet to hang in front of you).  The cockpit is a tight squeeze and I can't imagine sitting in these chairs for 5+ hours at a time.  They are a huge asset in the current wars and truly are amazing aircraft.  The B-1 is known as one of the "sexy" planes of the Air Force.  It was fun to actually see the inside for the first time.  Caleb loves to watch these guys fly around the base!

Next we got to visit one of the maintenance shops for the C-130.  This building is where they pretty much take apart the whole aircraft, inspect everything, and then put it back together.  This is done repeatedly after a certain number of flights.  Each aircraft is assigned a crew and you are in charge of everything for that plane.  These crews deploy with their planes and became very familiar with how their plan works.  These planes were built in the 1970's and so need lots of tender loving care to fly as much as they do.  Maintenance crew often work miracles to get these babies to fly in order to complete the mission. 

We were then led into the briefing room to begin the briefing for our C-130 flight.  It was interesting to hear all the things they consider when going out on a mission. 

During the briefing, we were given one of these envelopes and a set of ear plugs.  We were instructed to not use the envelope but to use the plastic bag inside (apparently that mistake has been made).  I love the instructions on the envelope!  It didn't help me feel confident that I wouldn't get sick on this flight.

Heading out onto the Flight Line!  We first got to wander through a C-130 before boarding our actual flight.

I got to fly with some great friends who were all in my group!  It was so nice to have such fabulous women to hang out with!  We are inside the Cargo hold.

In the Pilot's seat!

Our Plane!!!  I chose to ride in a C-130J model, which is the newest C-130 plane and was delivered to our base a few months ago.  I figured I might as well check out the new stuff.

The C-130H Model sitting on the runway.

Loading up!!  Little did we know what we were really in for!

Hanging on as we ascend.  It was really loud and you can't see out so take off was a bit shocking.

We got to get up and look out the windows.  It was bumpy but not too bad and really neat to see outside.

I love this picture!!  That is our shadow in the middle of nowhere Texas.

A picture of our pilots that my friend took, because at this point I was SICK!  It hit me suddenly and I sat quietly with my eyes closed and worked on breathing for the rest of the flight.  By the end, quite a few woman had gotten sick.  I did meet my goal of not throwing up but only because my stomach was empty.  My body did not enjoy that ride in the end but I did it!!  I once in a lifetime experience!

After lunch we got to visit the safety shops.  These folks work on all the equipment that will save your life in case of an emergency.  So we got to try on those fabulous emergency life vests found in all aircraft.  It was pretty neat to actually pull that cord and have the vest inflate.  It is quite the pop and not that easy to put on honestly. 

Emergency rafts with covers. 

After trying out Night Vision Goggles (sorry no picture of that).  We got to put these wonderful bags over our heads.  This is the emergency oxygen system they use in the C-130's.  Obviously gas masks will not be able to fall from the compartments above our heads like in a commercial flight so get to wear these.  You take them out of a little canvas bag, pull a cord to start the air flow and then put the bag over your head.  It was actually difficult to put that thing over my head and wear a bag.   They did tell us that you know when your air has run out and you need a new bag, when the bag starts collapsing around your head.  NICE!

So now I have 2 very jealous boys that I got to be the first in the family to fly in a C-130 and see the inside of a B-1.  I am so proud to part of such an amazing organization of people who do things not just everyone does.  I am most definitely a proud spouse a United States Airman!

Conference Weekend!

This past weekend was General Conference weekend for our church. It is a time that via Satellite or Internet we spend four 2 hour blocks of time watching inspirational and uplifting talks from the leaders of our church.  There is so much to learn from it all and it can truly be the best weekend ever.  But it can be tough with kids.  As a child, I remember this being a really long weekend and for most of my childhood we had to travel over an hour away to an older lady's house that was literally in the middle of nowhere because she was the nearest place with a satellite.  Now Conference is easily available in most homes and we got to watch in on our own television.  Since Conference can be watched at home now, there are many great websites that talk about creating Conference Weekend Traditions and how to make this a fun weekend for kids.  I wanted to start some of those traditions in our home.  Caleb has always "watched" conference with us and there are some great activity packets that have made it more fun, but this year I wanted to do a little bit more.  And it was so WORTH it!!  Caleb loved Conference Weekend and was anxious to find out when we do it again. 

This year we decided to make Cinnamon Rolls early Saturday morning and then during each session we got to to eat a Cinnamon Roll.  Caleb loved this and was usually the first to remind us conference had started and that we needed to get ready so we could have a roll.  This year I again printed off a fun activity book that I found at my favorite church

resources website www.sugardoodle.com.  It had lots of fun cutting, coloring, and hidden picture activities.  I also found these cute bingo cards to help children listen for key words in the talks.  Caleb really got into this game and used a different card for each session.  He really listened carefully and was so excited fill his card.  We also helped him set up his own little table right in front of the TV so he could be right in the middle of everything.  We wanted to do a little camp out in the yard but it didn't work out, but I like the idea of pitching a tent like King Benjamin to get ready for conference.  There are so many great ideas available now and it sure made conference weekend so much fun for our family. 

Caleb eating his Cinnamon roll and obviously having a lot of fun with markers all over the floor!  And yes we are still in PJ's.

The fun Bingo card and some of the activities he was working on.  He really loved the 2nd Session on Saturday.  It featured a Children's Choir that sang many of the songs we had been learning in Primary.  Every time they sang, he would tell us to be quiet because it was his job to sing.  So Cute!!!

I also prepared some fruit and vegetable trays to snack on during the two days and tried to make food prep easy.

It might be hard to tell but he has marker everywhere!  Face, hands, arms, and we even found some on the bottom of his toes!  He really got into coloring!  Well at least he had fun.

Conference is a great time to rejuvenate and find ways to improve yourself. This time I have two favorite talks. The first is from the Relief Society Broadcast which is a meeting just for the woman of the church. Elder Uchtdorf gave an amazing talk about 5 things we should not forgot. It was so beautiful and had me in tears by the end. Brydon was so interested in it that as soon as I got home we watched it together. You can check it out here if you have not heard it yet. I also like Sis. Dalton's talk about what every father needs to know about raising a Daughter. We don't have a daughter but her ideas are still relevant to any child or parent, and I loved her talk. You can check her out here. (be patient with the uploading)  We are most grateful for weekends that we get to spend together as a family and that help us grow and become better. We have most definitely started some new traditions in our home.