A Saturday Report In Late October

The month of October is nearly over. Oh my. That's a bit hard to wrap my head around. The World Series is underway (or so I'm told). I realize the NFL has started playing games again but when your state is home to the Bengals and Browns...does the NFL really matter? And I've noticed the weather is getting colder, darker, and damper which means it won't be long before it's COLDER, DARKER, AND FREEZING.

So as the leaves fall from the trees, as the clouds come in to roost for the next six months, and we put a new filter in the furnace...we appreciate the few warm, sunny days left in 2011 by spending time on our back deck, which gets the full sun, and getting ready to augment the heat of our heater with a bit of real wood for the fireplace.

Karen and Tanner enjoy some fall sun.

I enjoy my one-day-a-year use of a man-tool.

Thanks for letting me borrow the saw, Tim!

The fall is a great time for reflection and I was blessed to get away on a personal retreat earlier this month to enjoy a long weekend of silence and solitude. Here are a couple snapshots of the scenery from one of the hikes I took as part of my retreat. If you haven't broken out of your routine for a while...I can't encourage you enough to get away, catch your breath, and to simply sit at God's feet. You'll be amazed at what He says...if you get quiet enough, long enough, to listen for His still, small voice.

Beginning of the trail

On the trail

Along the trail

Reflection

These are tiny, delicate flowers growing in the anarchy of a field of wild grass.

God's attention to detail is beyond our comprehension.

Hangar Snapshots And A Video!

Summer has temporarily returned to the Midwest with clear sky and temps into the 80's. It's kind of nice as the past weekend was wet, cold, and rather dreary. Right now there's blue sky as far as the eye can see and sun so bright you have to squint when going outside.

The trees have started to turn color with some gold and red leaves mixed in with the green. It gets very pretty up here when the trees reach peak color. Yes, we're officially in fall and it's a great time to have all the hangar doors open. They'll be closed long enough soon enough, I'm afraid.

Here are a couple snapshots of progress on the Gabon 207 and the Wings With The Word 402. Also, we sent another mission airplane back into service today, the Brigade Air 172.

The Gabon 207

The 207 is very close to flight. The wings are on, the control surfaces are hung, and the interior is being installed. Lord willing, it'll be back in the air over the next couple weeks.

Hanging one of the propellers on the Cessna 402

The Cessna 402

The Cessna 402 is back on its wheels, its propellers are in place, and is only a few more structural repairs away from rolling out into the sunshine and leaping into the sky.

Speaking of leaping into the sky...

Brigade Air's Cessna 172

Brigade's 172 was back in our hangar for annual inspection these past couple weeks. With the inspection completed the 172 is once again enjoying some air time.

Video
Here's my latest video project:




Have a great weekend, and thanks for your interest and involvement with us as we prepare people and planes for worldwide mission service.

Nine Years and So Happy (A Belated Posting!)

This week (August 22-25) marks nine years of marriage for us. What a blessing! Keith made it a very special celebration this year. We went out for a nice dinner and there, already sitting on our table, was this lovely flower arrangement! He had already been there, chosen our table and "planted" beautiful flowers! I was totally surprised and we enjoyed a relaxing and delicious dinner at the local Thomas' Steak House. That's the place we like to go for something special.

I asked Keith a funny question. Since we have two wedding anniversaries each year, can we call this our 18th anniversary? That's right, we have two wedding anniversaries! As many of you already know, our Ohio pastor and his family traveled with us to have our wedding ceremony on the beach at Kitty Hawk, NC on August 25th. However, since Pastor Chris didn't have his license to marry us in NC, we had an informal wedding celebration in their living room on August 22nd before we left! So, our marriage certificate says we were married on August 22nd with a note at the bottom that says, "and on August 25, 2002 at Kitty Hawk, NC"! So, guess that means we can celebrate all week!

Thank you for the love and encouragement through our years of dating and marriage. We are so blessed by all God has given us...each other, friends, family, work to do and strength and health to do it.