God's Timing is Perfect

So, I have many an excuse of why I haven't been blogging lately- of which you will be updated in this blog- and I am sure you will forgive me for not updating you as I promised!!
After finding out we were moving to California everything just flew by the next couple months- really until now! We had Brett's graduation and had many family come down and had a great time! We were able to fly the simulators, look at the planes, and spend time together. It was so great to see Brett graduate and I was able to pin on his wings. He was the top of his class and won a lot of awards! I am so proud of him! Below are some pics of the event!

We found out that Brett would be going to training on August 11th and had to be moving to California by September 13th. We went to Bismarck, ND for our good friends' wedding Kari and Chase and had a blast seeing college friends that we hadn't seen in awhile!

The wedding was beautiful and we all had such a fun time dancing the night away together and catching up with each other! Kari and I were roomates for three years so we got to be pretty close- as did Chase and I- it was so fun to be a part of their big day!

As soon as we got back from North Dakota the next day we flew out to California to find a house to rent. We flew standby on tickets we got from one of our friend's that is a pilot and had quite the trip. We were able to sit in first class twice and had quite a smooth trip out there! We stayed on base and looked at many houses and were able to decide on one and put in an application all within 48 hours! It was such a blessing to have that time to pick out a house together and see the place where we will be living for the next four years! Brett moved in a couple weeks ago and I was able to go out this past weekend and we got some decorating done! I will post more pictures once we are completely finished but here are a couple to tide you over until then!

After we got back from California we spent the rest of the summer packing up the apartment and cleaning since Brett would only have a few days after he got back from Survival School in Washington to get out to California. We spent some time with all of the great friends we had made in Oklahoma and friends from ND that were in Oklahoma- Steve- who graduated from UND with Brett and is a C-17 pilot in the air force and his girfriend Jamie- who happens to be in my PT class! He was in OK for training so we spent a couple of weekends with them- it was so great! There are so many more pictures and stories than I can even write here so you will have to just ask me about it sometime!

On August 11th Brett left for training and I left to spend a week with my family in Minnesota before heading back to school. Initially I had been upset about Brett having to leave for training when we still would have had a week left together but God knows what he is doing. My Grandma Clara who had been put on hospice about a month before started to decline fast. I was so blessed to be able to spend that last week of her life here on earth with her talking about the good old days when we would spend time at her apartment having sleepovers and she would make us pancakes in the morning. I spent many hours at her bedside that week reading the Bible to her and singing hymns. I still can't believe how amazing of a woman she was even in her last days as she would tell me how beautiful I was and how great it was that I was there with her. She went home to be with Jesus now and I still miss her everyday. I don't think I could have ever gotten enough of her and I can't wait to see her again someday!

I hit the ground running as I came back to school- Grandma's funeral was Saturday, we moved some of Shelly's stuff up to Fargo on Sunday and I started class Tuesday. It has been busy as ever- but I am so glad to be on the home stretch. I will be in class in Grand Forks until December and then on clinicals all spring and then I graduate in May!!! I am so excited. I am so blessed to be able to do my first clinical in Stillwater, MN and live with Brett's parents and then my second clinical will be in California! Brett and I will finally get to live together and we couldn't be more excited! (Although he could get deployed in March- but I am trying not to think about that) He starts his training in the KC-10 on Monday and will be done in February.

The picture below is of the Tour de Forks 5-K to raise money for Breast Cancer Research. These are some of my classmates and the 1st year PT class as well as one of our professors. My good friend and classmate Alishia (in the pink in the front middle) was diagnosed with Breast Cancer this summer- she is on chemo now and doing well. So keep her in your prayers! She is a dear friend of mine and an inspiration in her strength in fighting through this tough time in her life.

So hopefully you now have a window into what my life has been in the past few months! I will try not to be so long between posts now! Through all of the craziness I know God has a plan and he is good! I just keep trusting he knows better than me!

Happy Fall!

Emily