columbus day weekend.

dear mr. columbus,

i want to thank you for coming to america so many years ago. because of you, i was able to go on one of the best three-day vacations ever with my husband. we took a five hour drive to big bend national park and boy oh boy, was it delightful. can you feel our joy?

we had a rocky start at first. this sight definitely made my stomach turn:

i thought we were in for a couple of cold, wet days. it's hard to believe, that ten minutes later, it looked like this:

we set up camp, ate smores, and played games on our first night:

the next day, we hiked a couple miles to "the window":

it was so nice to be around mountains. it gave us that safe, enclosed, utah feel. i lurved it. thank goodness, we didn't have any encounters with wild animals like everyone else around us. between the couple bears and mountain lions that were spotted, we got lucky and only had to deal with the numerous amount of skunks.

seriously though.

i felt like our camp was being overtaken every night. we actually had one skunk almost rip a hole in our tent, trying to get in. it woke both of us up and i shined my flashlight in its direction and i could see its little nose poking through our zipper. i didn't want it to spray us, but i didn't want it in bed with us either, so i grabbed zachary's shoe and smacked it in the face. it pulled back and stuck its tail up in the air immediately! we held our breath, hoping it wouldn't spray and luckily it just walked away. that was one of many during our two night stay.

we spent the rest of our time doing things that all people on vacation should do.

eating ourselves sick with junk food:

{i added the pumpkins to give it a falltime feel. little things like that make me happy.} 

sleeping in:

 {nighttime/sleeping is probably my favorite part of camping}

eating delectable breakfasts and dinners: 

{cinnamon roll pancakes and tin foil dinners, mmm!}

and napping:

{isn't he so cute?}

so, basically we just slept and ate the whole time. it was a much needed getaway and we are very appreciative of your long journey to discover this land, so we can enjoy it. thanks again!

                 

love,

sarah

finally.

so, apparently i was really off in my speculations as to when we were going to find out what we would be doing with the rest of our lives.
really off.
but the good news is that now, a month later, we finally do know.

i got this text from zachary today at 2:29 p.m.:

"3:05 p.m. i'm meeting with the wing commander. today's the day baby. pray and be calm."

i'm pretty sure my heart sunk straight to my toes.
my hands are shaking, i'm on the verge of tears, and i'm fearing that if i don't get it together quick, the two kids i'm babysitting will think i have gone crazily mad.
i take a few deep breaths and regain composure.
i was able to go home about fifteen minutes later, but let me tell you, the half an hour that followed was the longest of my life!
i sat at home trying to do anything that would occupy my mind.
i prayed, read my scriptures, crocheted, prayed again, watched some t.v. and prayed even more.
i don't think my phone rang for more than few milliseconds before i picked it up.
zachary informed me that he will be retained in the air force and will be going on to be a space and missiles officer!
i felt my whole body sigh in relief.
i couldn't have been more grateful.

that's all we really know at this point.
we don't know where our next base will be or when we will be leaving.
we know that there will be some training to be done at vandenburg afb, in california, but as to when that will happen, we don't have a clue.
so far, the space and missiles base options aren't looking too fabulous, but that's okay.
we have no room to complain.
maybe we were supposed to go through all of this crap, so that instead of getting upset about where we are stationed, we can remember the last four months of dread and just be grateful that zachary has a job.
besides, i think if we can conquer laughlin, we can conquer them all.

one thing i have learned in all of this, is that God has a plan.
for all of us.
in my time trying to occupy my mind today, i came across this quote from president Dieter F. Uchtdorf of the first presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints:

"to paraphrase the Psalmist of old, if we wait patiently for the Lord, He will incline unto us. He will hear our cries. He will bring us out of a horrible pit and set our feet upon a solid rock. He will put a new song in our mouths, and we will praise our God. many around us will see it, and they will trust in the Lord."

i don't think that anything has brought me more comfort in the last four months than this.
i couldn't help but think that whether the "solid rock" that He would be setting our feet on was somewhere in the air force or somewhere back home, i knew that His purpose in putting us there would be for our happiness.
that's all He wants to give us is happiness.
though we may not see it at the time, whatever happens in this life is for our benefit.
i truly believe that.
i hope this all made sense and that you are understanding what i'm feeling, which is extreme gratitude and also appreciation for the solace that comes from knowing i have a Father in Heaven that is taking care of us.
thank you for your love, support, and prayers.
we are more than grateful.

-the wife