I must admit I'm rather blessed by a wife who loves to bake...
Karen's Pineapple Upside Down Coffee CakeSaturday, April 23, 2011
Friday, April 22, 2011
Update from Home and Hangar
Friends From Uganda
The past month we've enjoyed having Mark and Sarah Newnham back in the neighborhood as part of their "home assignment" with MAF. Mark and Sarah finished MMS apprenticeship back in 2005 and have served in Uganda for the past six years. They are both from England.
During the 30 months of apprenticeship they rented the house I used to live in which is just three doors down from us. We became good friends and enjoyed each other as neighbors over their apprenticeship. It was fun to have their old house available for them during this short stay prior to their return to Uganda for continued service.
The even more exciting thing, beyond seeing them, was to finally meet the Ugandan children they've adopted: Amy and Joshua! While the Newnhams were very busy speaking at churches, visiting with supporters, and renewing friendships throughout the county, we were able to spend some extended time together and totally enjoyed becoming acquainted with their kids.
Mark, Sarah, Amy, and Joshua in our home.
Spring...Where For Art Thou?
Well, at least it's not snowing...but damp, dark, and "cold" still hold the weather pattern hostage. We've been under "flood watch" forever and it seems a good weather week has one day of sunshine for six days of overcast.
Wednesday we were awakened by the tornado siren at 3:00 AM (the strong wind, lightning, thunder, and hail also playing a part) so we dutifully grabbed the dogs and made the trek down to the basement to wait it out. No damage locally and only minor damage regionally. It's always exciting to wake-up to the tornado siren...
One sign of spring (even when it doesn't feel like spring) is the grass turns green and starts to grow again which means the rest of us start to mow again. Here's a shot of me mowing on our one day of sunshine this week...
In our backyard, between rain storms, making the second cut of 2011.
Hangar Door
The installation of the hangar door is completed though there's still some concrete work to do to smooth the transition from the ramp into the hangar. It's a rather interesting door. Different. It's hinged at the top and swings open from the bottom. Imagine a wall of your house just swinging upward and you kind of get the picture. No wait... HERE's a real picture.
The new hangar door.
Homefront
Karen and I are doing well, Tucker and Tanner have their spring haircuts, and one quarter of 2011 is already gone. We're ready for the weather to get warm, to be able to get outside to walk and ride bicycles again, and to plant our salsa garden (sometime in late May).
As I type, Karen's getting ready to bake an apple pie to share with friends this evening and to make a pineapple upside down coffee cake to share on Sunday.
Karen makes the crust for the apple pie.
Have a great weekend and thank you for making it possible for us to serve through your gifts and prayers. We trust you feel very much a part of our ministry here in Coshocton, and around the world through the people we prepare and the airplanes we fix.
The past month we've enjoyed having Mark and Sarah Newnham back in the neighborhood as part of their "home assignment" with MAF. Mark and Sarah finished MMS apprenticeship back in 2005 and have served in Uganda for the past six years. They are both from England.
During the 30 months of apprenticeship they rented the house I used to live in which is just three doors down from us. We became good friends and enjoyed each other as neighbors over their apprenticeship. It was fun to have their old house available for them during this short stay prior to their return to Uganda for continued service.
The even more exciting thing, beyond seeing them, was to finally meet the Ugandan children they've adopted: Amy and Joshua! While the Newnhams were very busy speaking at churches, visiting with supporters, and renewing friendships throughout the county, we were able to spend some extended time together and totally enjoyed becoming acquainted with their kids.
Mark, Sarah, Amy, and Joshua in our home.Spring...Where For Art Thou?
Well, at least it's not snowing...but damp, dark, and "cold" still hold the weather pattern hostage. We've been under "flood watch" forever and it seems a good weather week has one day of sunshine for six days of overcast.
Wednesday we were awakened by the tornado siren at 3:00 AM (the strong wind, lightning, thunder, and hail also playing a part) so we dutifully grabbed the dogs and made the trek down to the basement to wait it out. No damage locally and only minor damage regionally. It's always exciting to wake-up to the tornado siren...
One sign of spring (even when it doesn't feel like spring) is the grass turns green and starts to grow again which means the rest of us start to mow again. Here's a shot of me mowing on our one day of sunshine this week...
In our backyard, between rain storms, making the second cut of 2011.Hangar Door
The installation of the hangar door is completed though there's still some concrete work to do to smooth the transition from the ramp into the hangar. It's a rather interesting door. Different. It's hinged at the top and swings open from the bottom. Imagine a wall of your house just swinging upward and you kind of get the picture. No wait... HERE's a real picture.
The new hangar door. Homefront
Karen and I are doing well, Tucker and Tanner have their spring haircuts, and one quarter of 2011 is already gone. We're ready for the weather to get warm, to be able to get outside to walk and ride bicycles again, and to plant our salsa garden (sometime in late May).
As I type, Karen's getting ready to bake an apple pie to share with friends this evening and to make a pineapple upside down coffee cake to share on Sunday.
Karen makes the crust for the apple pie.Friday, April 15, 2011
The New Roof Is Going On!
As I sit in upstairs in my office, it sounds like there's a herd of elephants rampaging overhead! A herd of elephants that use drills and tools and power equipment of various sizes and shapes. There's a lot of banging and driving of screws and moving around up there. The construction crew is blazing away on the roof installation as I type. They're making great progress while the sun is shining as it's supposed to get wet and windy overnight and through tomorrow.
It's exciting to have the project coming so close to completion. Lord willing we'll be able to use our front hangar again by the end of next week.
Rolls of insulation ready to be taken topside.
Additional rolls of insulation inside Hangar A. How's that new door looking on the left of the frame?
Removing the old roof panels.
The crew chief takes care of the edge-work.
There's a whole lot of sunshine spilling in!
A workman tapes off the crossbeams before laying a roll of insulation in place.
Thanks for your gifts and prayers that have made this project possible!
It's exciting to have the project coming so close to completion. Lord willing we'll be able to use our front hangar again by the end of next week.
Rolls of insulation ready to be taken topside.
Additional rolls of insulation inside Hangar A. How's that new door looking on the left of the frame?
Removing the old roof panels.
The crew chief takes care of the edge-work.
There's a whole lot of sunshine spilling in!
A workman tapes off the crossbeams before laying a roll of insulation in place.Thanks for your gifts and prayers that have made this project possible!
Thursday, April 14, 2011
The New Hangar Door is IN!
The new hangar door has been installed on Hangar A! It's been a challenging week or so of wet, rainy, windy weather for the construction crew but the door is up, the insulation is in, and the aluminum siding is on!
The construction crew disassembles and removes the old four-panel steel doors. This was the last good weather the crew was going to see for a while.
With the door removed and weather tarps in place, the crew removes the final structure.
The crew positions the lighter, single-panel door structure.
The new insulation and new exterior panels are secured in place.
Here's a picture of the door nearly completed.
It's really exciting to see the project finally come together in the most literal sense. Thank you for your gifts toward the Raise The Roof campaign which made this all, and more, possible. Lord willing we'll soon conduct a door swing test to finalize the installation.
The construction crew is currently overhead working hard and fast at replacing the roof! The sun is out the sky is blue, the old roof is coming off and the new roof is going on.
Thanks for your prayers.
The construction crew disassembles and removes the old four-panel steel doors. This was the last good weather the crew was going to see for a while.
With the door removed and weather tarps in place, the crew removes the final structure.
The crew positions the lighter, single-panel door structure.
The new insulation and new exterior panels are secured in place.
Here's a picture of the door nearly completed.It's really exciting to see the project finally come together in the most literal sense. Thank you for your gifts toward the Raise The Roof campaign which made this all, and more, possible. Lord willing we'll soon conduct a door swing test to finalize the installation.
The construction crew is currently overhead working hard and fast at replacing the roof! The sun is out the sky is blue, the old roof is coming off and the new roof is going on.
Thanks for your prayers.
Monday, April 4, 2011
Saturday, April 2, 2011
A Worthy Week
It was so nice to able to take last week as a vacation week. I headed off on a personal retreat while Karen's sister, Brenda, came out from Virginia to help Karen redo our "library" (the tiny guestroom with all our books in it as opposed to our small guestroom without books in it). The walls were painted in a color very close to Navy blue and had been that way since we moved in 8 1/2 years ago.
Needless to say, with Karen and Brenda on the job, the guestroom turned out GREAT! Thanks, for helping, Brenda! Karen may post some pictures of the room in a future blog but the room's so tiny it's difficult to take pictures in it. Karen's currently in the basement working on some custom curtains to allow the windows to become more of a room feature than they'd been in the past. The fabric is from sheets she bought on clearance sale, the details are from things she has in her craft box, and the curtain "rods" are actually promotional yard sticks from a local company that we regularly patronize. She's amazing. Karen knows how to stretch a Kingdom dollar to make it look like a million bucks!
There's still some small touches to attend to: a reading lamp, two small braided rugs, a small plant stand, and the books need to be reorganized but it already looks like a completely different room and is much more warm looking and inviting to spend time in.
As far as my retreat, I have twenty pages of journal to transcribe and contemplate! I am so thankful to Karen for encouraging me to go. Here are a couple snapshots.
Here I am resting Monday afternoon.
Here's a shot Tuesday morning's sunrise.
Later that day, I made the more-challenging-than-expected hike up to a cross on top of a hill on the retreat center's extensive property.
Finally at the top.
Looking across the valley back at the retreat center.
The retreat provided time to rest, to think, to read, to pray, to write, and to worship.
Here's another view of Tuesday's sunrise from behind a cross on a low knoll at the retreat center. This shot makes me think of Easter...it was a glorious morning. A fresh beginning for me in many ways.
Thank you for prayers as Karen and I seek to grow in God's will.
Needless to say, with Karen and Brenda on the job, the guestroom turned out GREAT! Thanks, for helping, Brenda! Karen may post some pictures of the room in a future blog but the room's so tiny it's difficult to take pictures in it. Karen's currently in the basement working on some custom curtains to allow the windows to become more of a room feature than they'd been in the past. The fabric is from sheets she bought on clearance sale, the details are from things she has in her craft box, and the curtain "rods" are actually promotional yard sticks from a local company that we regularly patronize. She's amazing. Karen knows how to stretch a Kingdom dollar to make it look like a million bucks!
There's still some small touches to attend to: a reading lamp, two small braided rugs, a small plant stand, and the books need to be reorganized but it already looks like a completely different room and is much more warm looking and inviting to spend time in.
As far as my retreat, I have twenty pages of journal to transcribe and contemplate! I am so thankful to Karen for encouraging me to go. Here are a couple snapshots.
Here I am resting Monday afternoon. 
Here's a shot Tuesday morning's sunrise. 
Finally at the top. 
Looking across the valley back at the retreat center.I had a special time of communion with God on that hilltop, all alone but for the cool breeze and the soaring hawks, reading and reflecting on 1 Kings 19.
The retreat provided time to rest, to think, to read, to pray, to write, and to worship.
Here's another view of Tuesday's sunrise from behind a cross on a low knoll at the retreat center. This shot makes me think of Easter...it was a glorious morning. A fresh beginning for me in many ways. Thank you for prayers as Karen and I seek to grow in God's will.
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