It all started out on Thursday. I waited patiently for 8PM to roll around so I could head home from work, get the car packed up, and wait for B to get off at 9:30. Once he got off, we hit the road and headed to our home town, good ol' Rapid City! After 400 miles and a few rest stops, we were finally at our destination. We were both extremely tired. After all, it was 2:30 in the morning and we are a few old married folks. :) We both had a hard time sleeping though because we were anxious for the day to start and to see our loved ones. After what seemed like forever, morning FINALLY came. We were greeted by the most adorable smiles from 2 of our nieces. They were ecstatic when they saw us. More so for Uncle B than me though. (They hadn't seen Uncle B since Christmas). We spent some time with them, played Disney Apples to Apples, then got ready to go to meet B's mom and sister in town. We were switching our cell phone service over to have more coverage. B was excited to get a new Droid RAZR Maxx. And me? I jumped on the iPhone train! I must say I LOVE my iPhone!
After setting up our new phones, B went to talk to an Air Force recruiter. He is planning on joining after he graduates from college and wanted to get his foot in the door. The recruiter was AMAZING. He gave him all sorts of information regarding the different jobs he may qualify for and eased my mind about basic and tech school, for now at least. B scored very well on the practice ASVAB and will be in touch with the recruiter around November/December time to take the next step. Later in the day, we went to a military retirement. Let me tell ya, it was a good one! Some people think that retirements are boring and have a bunch of old boring people and blah blah blah. You've never been to a retirement where someone has selflessly served their country then! I was so honored to be there, as a husband and a wife had served a combined 51 years in the United States Air Force. 51 years, people! It was simply amazing. They had a fun hog roast afterwards at their house. We then watched my brother play softball, got soaked as the game was cancelled due to a thunderstorm, and after the storm passed, went for a late night swim with my mom and cousins. Busy day, huh? And that was just Friday.
On Saturday, the nieces woke me up bright and early to go yardsaling. (Made that word up all by myself). I got a few cute buys, then headed to Gizzi's, AKA, the BEST coffee house in the world, and down to my grandparent's house, where I spent the next few hours. You see, a few weeks ago, grandma was diagnosed with cancer of the lungs, liver, and pancreas. Visiting with them was so great. It was a HUGE moment for me to be able to kiss my grandparents, possibly for the last time.
The whole reason we visited Rapid was to go to their annual Christian music festival, Hills Alive. It's this event where all these awesome Christian bands come to Rapid City to perform in front of thousands of people for free. You heard me. FREE. This two day event is based solely on donations and is open to the public. So many people who would never step foot in a church got to hear God's word and about His love. Amazing, isn't it? We got to see artists like Dara Maclean, Anthem Lights, Mike's Chair, Toby Mac, etc. and didn't have to pay a dime. That's what the rest of our days on Saturday and Sunday consisted of.
We were really reminded of how much God loves us. Especially when we heard that a fellow church member had been in a very bad car accident. We were praying restlessly since we found out about the accident on Friday night. The accident could have been much worse than it was and the injuries sustained could have been fatal. God had His hand over that family. The "G" family had been moving to a new base. In Wyoming, on a stretch of highway that the cell phone service was 20 miles away, the dad and the older 2 of the 5 kids were in an excursion pulling a camper, packed to the brim with the families belongings, mostly clothes, when the camper started fish tailing and sent the excursion rolling down an embankment. The mom and the other 3 kids had to witness the whole thing and thus, were the first people on the scene. The children suffered bruises and cuts but the dad was in and out of consciousness and was life flighted to the hospital. He suffered a c7 fracture in his neck, bruised lungs, and cuts and bruises on his body. He stayed in the hospital for a few days but with lots of prayers he was able to go home in a back brace with no spinal cord damage! God really revealed Himself to this family and their whole church family!
To wrap up the weekend, B and I drove back to BK after Hills Alive ended on Sunday and got to share some special time together. We watched a spectacular lightening show all across the state. I am so thankful that we got that weekend away from our life here and were able to see our families and definitely cherish the time we got with them.
-Staceye J.
