The Sun Came Out Today

The sun came out today. Trust me, that's NEWS around here. Actually it came out one day last week, too. We're in the spring weather cycle of one day of sunshine for every six days of overcast and/or rain. But we are definitely into spring. In fact, as hard as it may be to believe, we're only one month away from summer...

We've had our second set of Mourning Doves raise a family in our front porch nest this spring (previously used by three generations of Robins), flowers are up, trees have all their leaves, we're mowing twice a week (if it's not raining), the climbing roses are getting ready to bloom, and Karen's been planting.

Here's one of our Iris's after a spring shower.

Karen's 2011 Side-Street Salsa Garden is in! Lord willing we'll be canning salsa by late August.

Jalapeno peppers, banana peppers, grape tomatoes and the monster Mum bush...

Roma tomatoes, bell pepper plants and our other monster Mum bush.

And the climbing roses just before bloom.

The roses are just a tad late this year but that's no surprise after our longer/colder winter and darker/wetter spring.

I'll see about having Karen post some pictures of all the planting she's done. We hope you're having a great weekend. Thanks for your gifts and prayers which enable us to serve!

Nine Men, Two Planes

Here's my latest video project from up at the hangar. It's been several weeks since I've produced a video, but my energies of late have been rather focused on an HR administrative project. I hope you enjoy the video.

Bakery Update

I must admit I'm rather blessed by a wife who loves to bake...

Karen's Pineapple Upside Down Coffee Cake

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.