Proud Family!

Anthony's new plane.

Braden trying to tag along to school with Daddy!

We are very proud to share that Anthony has been hired to fly a Gulfstream 200! He left for school today and will be learning everything there is to know about the plane for the next few weeks. We were sad to see him leave, but know it is worth it. Braden gave him a big "Love you" as he said goodbye at the airport... caused a few tears, but was so sweet! Mimi arrives on Tuesday morning and I'm sooooo thankful for that!!

This will definitely be a time of transition in many ways. Anthony will be adjusting back into the world of flying and working. I'll no longer have an awesome, non-traveling husband at home taking care of me all the time. And Braden won't have quite as much time with his Dad. We feel very blessed that he got so much time with him, especially at such an important time in his development. And as Anthony reminded me, once school is over he'll still be home a lot of days. We found a daycare that we like and hopefully Braden's good friend Cole will be attending the same one! It's going to be hard at first (for Braden AND Mommy), but I think the interaction with other kids his age will be good for him. He's definitely a Mommy and Daddy's boy!

In thinking back about the 5-months that Anthony was without a regular income, it is cool to see the little things that God did to help make the time a blessing and not stressful. Anthony had a few contract trips that brought in extra income. We had enough frequent flyer tickets to take 2 nice, long trips to visit family (when Anthony is flying, this doesn't get to happen). We bought some things at a silent auction at the end of last year that covered the entire time he was off - most importantly hair appts for me, which are not cheap! We had free passes to the Children's Museum, Zoo and Science Center that helped Anthony stay sane this summer! We have tons of credit at a local consignment shop and were able to get Braden cool toys. Nothing major happened to our cars or house. We had 2 referrals to swim school and didn't have to pay the monthly fee until this month. I'm sure there are more, but those are the things I can think of right now. They are all little things, but they are all awesome. This, along with the fact that we have always tried to be responsible with our purchases and have savings in place to carry us through times like this, made it an easy time of unemployment (at least for me, Anthony might feel differently!). A great lesson of God's provision.

Braden trying his first California Roll. He liked it!

Coloring at the Gap at the mall. He loves to color!!