Time Flies When You're Having Fun

I apologize for not writing in so long. Things have finally begun to get busy around here and I have found it surprisingly difficult to sit down and collect my thoughts.

I really cannot believe how quickly time has flown! I looked at the calendar this morning and received a shock when I saw that we're already more than half way through July! =^O It is definitely true that time flies when you're having fun, and I am glad to say that after months of waiting and sitting around without much to do, we are both having a lot of fun.

First of all, James' training is going very well. He has taken to the F-16 like a duck to water and is really enjoying everything that he is learning. He did great on all of his basic flights, and is now moving into BFM, which basically means that he is learning how to dog fight in the jet. His instructors and commanders are very complimentary and seem impressed not only by his flying skills, but how quickly he is absorbing the massive amount of information that the pilots have to digest. Needless to say, I'm very proud of my high-flying hubby. O=^)

We are fortunate to be a part of such a great squadron. The Wild Ducks (or, as they prefer to call themselves, "The Mad Mallards from Hell") are a very old squadron and have a lot of class pride. Initially we were a little skeptical and thought it was odd that they rallied around this emblem that was clearly a rip off of Donald Duck. However, James recently found out that Walt Disney himself designed this patch back in the day! How many people can say that, eh? But the people are all really warm and welcoming, and already I've attended more squadron parties here than I ever did in Del Rio.

Last Tuesday night I went to my first "Lady Duck Coffee," which is a monthly event where all of the ladies get together to talk, eat, and build up our spouse support network. I sat by a couple of the girls from the new class, as well as a couple of IP wives who apparently just came here from Misawa and knew James' older brother Jon and his wife Claire. So far I have not detected any rivalry between the IP wives and student pilot wives, which is a big change from Laughlin. I really appreciate how encouraging all of the older ladies have been. Our commander's wife, Tracy, is incredible. She is a full time attorney, has two kids and one more on the way, but still manages to coordinate all of our events and personally answers every phone call or email we send her way.

While the squadron has a lot of official events, I want to really make an effort to spend personal time with some of the other young wives while we're here. I think Jordan and I are going to start up a weekly ladies Bible Study for anyone who is interested. It's been a big encouragement having her out here because I now feel like I have a good friend I can call up at any time. Friends make all the difference when it comes to surviving a move!

Speaking of Bible Studies, James and I attended a big meeting last Sunday night where we learned more about how our small groups will be structured and were assigned a specific age group and location. We will be leading a freshmen/sophomore group with another new youth mentor named Bill. I'll admit I was a little surprised that we didn't get to pick which age we want to work with, but clearly God wanted to give us a challenge. Not only will we be working with younger, less mature kids than we initially wanted to, but we have the largest group of all. Most of the other leaders have a potential list of 8-20 students that they are supposed to call and invite, but our list has 41 names on it! I think it's safe to say that we will be learning and growing A LOT in the coming months.

One fun thing I got to do at that kick-off meeting was take pictures of each youth mentor that will be printed in the August newsletter so parents can see who their kids will be meeting with this year. The pictures all turned out really well and I'm hoping that people will be impressed and potentially come to me for their future photography needs. Here are James' and my head shots (James took mine):

I think that's about all the news I've got here. Our small groups start up the second week of August, so until then I imagine not much will change. More of our friends have arrived from Del Rio so our social calendar will probably stay about as full as it's been this past week - which is GREAT! I am so thankful for all of the people and opportunities that God has blessed us with here in Phoenix, and know that I will be very sad to leave in the spring. (Although, it will be nice to go somewhere that is a bit less hot. It's been up around 115* the past few weeks!!)