You're an Inspiration

Sarah Ayer is my sister-in-law's sister (We are both the proud aunts of Micah and Anna)...pause for thought comprehension. She is a high school senior and a very accomplished photographer. Since I've become more and more interested in the art of photography, her flickr site has become a constant on my search history.
I love the thought she puts into every shot.
Thank you Sarah for being an inspiration : )

http://www.flickr.com/photos/changeofpace/

A Day in the Life

I thought this was interesting and thought you might also.

The following schedule is an example of a typical day for a WOC (Warrant Officer Candidate) at the WOCS:

0545 First call, physical training uniform,

prepare for inspection.

0552 Physical Training formation.

0700 Return to billets for personal hygiene and

preparation of common areas for inspection.

0730 Breakfast formation.

0830 Academic instruction.

1230 Lunch.

1320 Academic, unit instruction, and leadership

assessment.

1700 Retreat formation.

1830 Evening meal.

1915 Personal preparation time--work on your

personal living area, prepare for inspection.

2015 Academic study hour--work at your desk.

2115 Common area detail hour--clean everything.

2215 Personal hygiene.

2245 Lights out.

Warm Fuzzies

WOW! This week was long and eventful! From the pictures you'll notice a wedding and babies. You know how there are certain smells and sounds that just instantly calm you? Like the way your mom's house smells that just makes you feel all warm inside or the sound of a song that was playing when something important happened. I get calmed and excited at the same time when I hear the beginning music to Grey's Anatomy, but I also LOVE babies! They just melt my heart and boy did I get my share of them (funny enough, all boys) this week! Not only are there a few new young (very young) men in my life lately, but I'm definitely learning a lot about myself too! I have a few fun projects coming up that I'm really excited about, so I'll keep you guys posted. Until then, enjoy this week's pics and remember that if you have Christ, nothing is impossible.

Cole flirting with me!


Baby Jaxon and me at one week old!


Dana and me at the reception.


Amanda & Matt Rivenbark


Sweet baby Benjamin -NICU graduate!

Love?

I am just now realizing how much I DON'T understand love. Don't get me wrong, I love my husband and my family and friends and would do anything to show them that, but with Easter just behind us, I was pondering how much Christ actually went through to show us how much he loves us.

I have a feeling love will be a wee bit clearer when I have a child, because then I will actually know what it would be like to sacrifice something you helped to form and something you think so highly of and want to protect with all your heart. I know how much it hurts me to see anyone I love hurt, even, and maybe pathetically, my dogs. God and Mary watched their son get beaten and mocked for telling the truth, bringing the best news of the world to the world, offering people freedom from their sins and sacrifices, and showing how unconditional love truly is.

We read the story of Christ's ultimate sacrifice and think how awful and hateful those people were, but we would have been doing the same thing. We mock Christ daily and he STILL loves us and still we are seen as princes and princesses in his kingdom. I just don't think I will ever be able to really understand or be able to explain to my own children the magnitude of what was done by our Lord.

And yet with all the sins that I have perfected, he still loves me and blesses me.

I'm also coming to grips with needing to act more Christlike. Revenge is not a word that should be in a Christian's vocabulary. When we are done wrongly, we are to "turn the other cheek" and forgive "not seven times, but seventy." We are not to publicize others' sins, because we too have our own "planks" that we must repent from. God gives us chance after chance to do the right thing, to show what love really is...GOD.

Then - Brad Paisley Lyrics

I remember trying not to stare
the night that I first met you,
you had me mesmerized,
And three weeks later,
in the front porch light,
taking 45 minutes to kiss goodnight.
I hadn't told you yet,
that I thought I loved you then,

And now you're my whole life,
And now you're my whole world,
And I just cant believe the way I feel about you girl,
Like a river meets the sea, stronger than its ever been,
We've come so far since that day,
And I thought I loved you then

I remember taking you back to right where I first met you,
You were so surprised
There were people around, but I didn't care,
I got down on one knee right there,
and once again
I thought I loved you then,

Well now you're my whole life,
Now you're my whole world,
I just cant believe the way I feel about you girl,
Like a river meets the sea, stronger than its ever been,
We've come so far since that day,
And I thought I loved you then

I can just see you, with a baby on the way
I can just see you, when your hair is turning gray
What I can't see is how I'm ever gonna love you more
But Ive said that before

Now your my whole life
Now your my whole world
I just cant believe the way I feel about you girl,
We'll look back someday at this moment that we're in
And I'll look at you and say
And I thought I loved you then

So this week has been a big one. Caleb and I ventured to Fort Rucker, Alabama, which will become our new home in June for the next 2 years or so. He is there now enduring WOCS (Warrant Officer Canidate School) and will become a W1 in June.

Fort Rucker is located in Southeast Alabama and takes about 7 hours from Columbia, SC to get to. The trip is very scenic with farmlands and old plantation sites seen on the way. We will most likely be living in Enterprise which is a small town that borders a third of Fort Rucker. It is definitely a military town, but I really liked the area. I'm looking forward to small town living and the fact that Panama City is just about and hour south is awesome. We also found out that the area is known for its good fishing and hunting, not mention helicopter pilots.


Our last night in Enterprise, Caleb and I took a quiet, and I mean quiet, stroll around Main Street. This was about 9pm and we saw about 5 cars pass. I'm sure we looked like deranged tourists which is probably not seen often in this area, but my wonderful husband fulfilled my camera itch. This is a monument that is in the middle of Main Street showing a goddess holding a boll weevil (a bug) that infested the area's cotton crop which is was solely dependent on. The loss of the cotton that year forced the community to invest in other things to sustain its economy, so the town is grateful to the boll weevil. And now you know.



Here, he is standing in front of a building painted to show the history of the town.


This is a model chinook. This helicopter is used for transporting troops, artillery, and/or supplies to the battlefield. It can pick up some pretty fast speeds from what I hear as well.


And this, is mine and Caleb's amazing appetizer, barbecue chicken nachos...MMMMMMMMM

Life Lately

So much has happened in the past few days, and there's so much more to come. I spent some time with the girls In Charlotte for nurse Amanda's bachelorette party, had a blast, got no sleep, came home to find my husband had cleaned the entire house, took a nap, went to nurse Kala's and pilot Brandon's wedding, left early because Caleb got sick, cleaned the house more (I have no clue how it gets so dirty so quickly), played with the dogs, and now I'm writing this. I'm using this post to show some pictures from the wedding and Caleb's surprise party. Getting ready for a fun-filled Sunday!


This is Kala and Brandon Arrington cutting the cake at their reception. She was so beautiful and told me she couldn't stop tearing up! Such an amazing but emotional day! Their life together has officially begun!!!


Me with "B" (left) and Lauren - fellow nurses and nursing school alum



Little miss Keeley (aka -Kiwi) stealing the show at the surprise party. She was so in love with our dogs!


Dixie got a workout from having Wes make her work for her food.


My Boo and me! I love her so much!

Love is in the Air

Hey Guys! I know I've been MIA lately, but I've been spending a lot of time with Caleb and family. Since then, I pulled off a surprise party in Caleb's honor (and actually surprised him), gotten over an awful virus, and tried my hand at photography. Caleb and I have 2 friends, Brandon and Bethany, that are getting married on July 18, 2009. They wanted engagement pictures but didn't want to have to fork out the money, so they asked if I would try taking some for them and I JUMPED at the opportunity. Here are some of my favorites!









Until next post, I hope you are all enjoying the pollen and April showers : )