Chris's Final Flight

A few days ago Chris had, what could be, his last flight in the Strike Eagle. It was a bittersweet moment for him as he is so looking forward to going back through training to become a pilot, but is uncertain about what the future holds for him as far as plane selection. He & his friend Jason planned a great "low-fly" sortie over Wales, and from what Chris said, it was one of his best rides yet! On their final approach; however, the jet gave them a little surprise. In an ironic twist that only those stationed at Lakenheath can truly appreciate, when they landed they had to be towed (instead of taxiing on their own) over to where everyone was waiting for them! It was pretty funny to see :)

This assignment has definitely had its ups and downs, but all in all it has been the experience of a lifetime. Watching Chris come in on his last ride was sad, but at the same time, it is so exciting to start thinking about what the future holds for us at our next base. Chris's fellow Panthers really did a great job of making his "fini-flight" something to remember. I'm so proud of what he has done while he as been here, and I'm looking forward to all of the new adventures to come!

Being towed :(

Chris saying "totally typical!!" I love his smile in this one!

Getting sprayed w/ champagne in celebration!

Us in front of the jet...thanks to everyone for making it such a special day!!

Not to be missed Giveaways!!!

I really can't believe I'm telling everyone about this...I must be in an exceptionally good mood this morning!!  Could my having yummy cinnamon rolls for breakfast have inspired my niceness??  I'm thinking YES!!

So, do you love free stuff??  Do you love SUPER CUTE free stuff??  If you answered yes (and really...why would you not?), then head on over to The Nesting Place for some awesome Giveaways.  Yes, I said Giveaways...as in FREE!!  The "Nester" is one of my favorite blog-friends, though we haven't met in person, but does that really matter??  She is a perpetual "renter" just like me, but she always has the most fabulous ideas about how to decorate her home.  After you leave your comments on her Giveaway posts, you should just browse her blog for some great tips and ideas.

So, how do you do it, you ask?  Just go to her blog and pick any of the Giveaway posts to comment on...honestly, I commented on just about all of them!!  Then you just leave a little message w/ your email address (if you don't have a blog yourself), and you're entered to win!! There is so much to choose from, your head will be spinning!  And, all of the gifts have been donated by Etsy shop owners.  Oh, you haven't heard of Etsy??  You must swing by and take a look there too!!  But hurry, you only have until Wednesday night to enter the contests...I sorry, I'm not known for my timeliness!!  

Good Luck!  And I'll try not to be too jealous if you win and I don't!!        

Farewell

Last night I was "fare-welled" by our Spouse's group...it was pretty emotional for me.  Before I left the house to go, I had a few minutes to just remanence about our time here.  Looking back, I can't believe we've been here in England for 2.5 years.  It seems like only yesterday that I was having a nervous breakdown (not really, but it was close!) on the bed in TLF, wondering what in the world we had gotten ourselves into!  It was raining and bleak, and our precious savings account seemed to be quickly depleting itself.  Slowly but surely we met some great friends, got a house, started traveling, and started to make our lives here.  The fears that were all too real and overwhelming just a few short weeks before had already started to fade.  And the adventure just seemed to get better. 

Now that we're leaving again I'm filled with the same mixed emotions.  I'm so excited about our new house, exploring Mississippi, and the birth of our little girl.  But I'm also sad to leave all of the wonderful women that I've met here, though I was reminded recently that it's not "good-bye", it's "see you later".  I will surely cling to that sweet comfort in the months to come.  The picture above is from our Annual Red Dress Coffee last year, and it is one of my favorite pictures of all the squadron ladies.  I've had a such a great time with all of them, and I will remember them always.