PANIC ATTACK

So last week we have officially been in Alabama for.......1YEAR!!??!!?

What the HECK!!!  Where has the time gone????

I cannot believe that we have lived here for that long and that Jordan has made it this far already!  After his check ride on Monday and his PT test this morning, Jordan was officially done with the primary flight school!  Which means now onto his advanced aircraft!!!

Which also means

SELECTION????

Selection of aircraft is not the problem....  It is making the decision as to where we want to be sent next

DUN DUN DUN...!!!!

(NOT THAT THAT MEANS THIS IS WHERE WE WILL END UP)???

Honestly, I am totally stumped and we only have 1 more day to decide.

There are so many things to think about and consider during this process.  There is always the possibility of deployments, not to mention ...overseas service....being together...where is the best training...where is it better for Jordan's career...where is the closest to family...where is best for our little family...etc. etc.

SEE OUR DILEMMA!?!?!?

I am seriously beginning to panic!!!  I am so confused and scared that we will make the wrong decision, yet we still have to make a decision.  I know that we just need to decide then jump in with both feet and NOT look back!  But....

I am freaking out!!!!!

( I realize the extreme over use of exclamation marks in this post, but I can't help it)

I wish the answer was easier to see and that we had more control, but we don't.  I just keep telling myself that we will end up where we are supposed to be.  I am not sure if it is working for or against me at this point.  We shall see!

 FRIDAY.....ready or not, here we come!

Peanut Anyone????

Ok....so I am a little slow in sharing, but a couple of months ago we experienced the

National Peanut Festival in Dothan, Alabama! 

Cool little tidbit:  Dothan is known as the “Peanut Capital of the World." 

Of all the peanuts grown in the United States approximately half of them come from a 100 mile radius of Dothan.  The National Peanut Festival is held each fall to honor peanut growers and to celebrate the growing season.  Peanuts are farmed on nearly 200,000 acres in southern Alabama, along the Gulf Coast from one side of the state to the other and as far north as Hale County.

Needless to say, it is BIG NEWS down here in the deep south!!!

We started the morning off at the Peanut Festival parade.  Jordan was lucky enough (1 of 40 chosen out of 2000 or so soldiers from Fort Rucker) to march in the parade!  Or unlucky...depends on how you see it!  But that just made it all the more fun!  Bradly came with us and we watched for Daddy and had a great time.  It was a far different parade than we are use too.  It consisted of mainly tractors, harvesters, military branches, local high school bands and lots and lots of beauty queens....from little miss on up!  It was definitely an experience but a little boring.  The coolest part was a big cement truck that comes along and dumps thousands of peanuts out in the middle of the road and everyone runs out and fills up buckets of em'.  Sadly, about 25 yards before it got to us, they ran out!  BUMMER....but then just after it past us it literally dumped out the last hundred peanuts and everyone made a mad dash to get a few!!

Lincoln got a handful and was thrilled!
Thanks for helping Bradly!

 

The only other highlight....DADDY!!!

Can you find WO1 Hooge???

Third row back second from the right

 

 

Lincoln got a little bored with the parade

Next we drove to the fairgrounds for the festival.  It was pretty fun to walk around and check everything out.  They had a petting zoo area, which of course my kids love.  There was also a demolition derby going on that we stopped and watched for a bit.  It was so crowded that we could barely see, but Lincoln thought it was pretty funny!  Then we rode a few rides...and by a few I mean 3, who can afford more GEEZ!!! 

Now that is a BIG NUT!!!!

They even had a camel

Lincoln and I on the Ferris Wheel

Carousel Anyone?

Lincoln and Daddy riding the roller coaster.

I think he is EXCITED!!

Where did Lincoln go?

We had a pretty fun day at the Peanut Festival! 

You gotta experience a little lower Alabama when you can!   

Christmas ornaments

Today we pulled out the paint and the Boys each got their own ornament to paint and hang on the tree.  Lincoln took his time and did such a great job!!!  He made sure not to mix the paints (like usual) and covered every inch of his ornament.  Sawyer on the other hand.....was done in about 30 seconds!  I showed him how to dip the brush in the paint and put it on.  "Pretty"  I said.  Then it was his turn,  dip...paint..."Pretty!" he said.

And......Drum roll Please

The finished ornaments

We had fun and the Boys did such a good job!  I think we will start a tradition and do this every year so the boys can see their work from years past hanging on the tree every year!!

Thankful

I honestly have so many things to be Thankful for this year!!!  Words cannot describe what a lucky girl I am!  Sorry Ladies, but I have the greatest, most amazing, not to mention handsome husband in the whole world!!!!  Jordan is truly my best friend and I value what he thinks more than anyone.  He is such a great example to me.  He makes me want to be a better person everyday.  He will do anything for anybody and do it without complaining.  He is such a hard worker and puts everything into anything that he is doing.  He has been working so hard in flight school and he is doing so well.  I am very proud of all that he is accomplishing right now.  Not only is he providing for our family, but he is serving his country and living out a dream!  I cannot thank my Heavenly Father enough for bringing Jordan into my life...and so Thankful for OUR ETERNITY!

Now on to my 2 Handsome Boys!!!  Lincoln Boy and Sawyer Boy are seriously the two cutest and most perfect little boys ever!  (Well most of the time anyway).  Honestly, I am not gonna lie....some days are really hard and I wonder why or how my Heavenly Father ever trusted me with these two special spirits.  They teach me so much and seriously make me laugh so hard.  And...regardless of how the day went they are both so very forgiving and loving to their imperfect mother!  My heart is so full when it comes to those two boys!  I cannot imagine my life without either of them!!!!

Our little family is also so very lucky to have the extended family that we do!  I am so very Thankful for my parents and for Jordan's parents and for all of their love and support!  We also have lots of siblings and nieces and nephews that we love so much!  It has really been tough to live away from all of our family, but we know that they are always there for us and would do anything for us!

I am also extremely Thankful for all of the many wonderful friends that I have made in my life!  From school friends..to Ballet besties....to all the new friends that we have made as we have moved around so much since being married.  It has been such a blessing to make such great friends especially now when we are so far away from our families!

But....most importantly, I am Thankful for the Gospel in my life!!!  I have a LOVING Heavenly Father who knows me better than anyone else.  He knows my strengths and my weaknesses...he knows my heart and my intentions and HE still LOVES me regardless!!!  I also have an Older Brother and Saviour Jesus Christ who paid the ultimate price for me.  He suffered and endured all of my pains and transgressions so that I would have the opportunity to repent and hopefully someday return to live with Him and my Father in Heaven.  I am grateful for my Eternal Marriage and Family and knowing that if we do our part we can all be Together Forever!!!

So Much to be Thankful for!!!!!

Halloween....LOVE. LOVE. LOVE.

So Halloween is one of my favorite holidays.  I love to dress up and decorate!  I love the fall smells and the yummy foods and of course the ....CANDY!!!!

We started off the Halloween season by taking the boys to Aplin Farms.  It was so cute there and we had such a good time.  There was a petting zoo that the boys LOVED.  We could not drag Lincoln out of there.  Then we went on a hayride out to the fields to pick out our pumpkins.  The boys loved it and came back with pumpkins "just their size" as Lincoln said!  Then we went through the corn maze.....which turned out to take a little L-O-N-G-E-R than we thought.

 

  

Then it was on to pumpkin carving....Lincoln actually got into it this year, though he did need help with his scary face pumpkin!  We forgot to take pictures when they were done.