It's snowing sideways outside. It's very warm and cozy in here. I love these types of saturdays. We had not much of anything planned for today. Heather's got all our Christmas decorations up and in their places. The lights on the tree go between disco-style blinking to gently fading in and out. Christmas music has been on and off all day. Various Christmas goodies and drinks are in the works for tonight as some friends make their way over for the evening. We've got the TV set up, with space next to it on the table for this computer. On the TV tonight we will watch Mizzou (Heather's college) fight for a spot in the football national championship game. At the same time, on the computer, we will watch Arizona State (my college) battle their archrivals Arizona. I know the Christmas season is about the birth of Jesus, but football has also been a big theme it seems. During our thanksgiving trip to Missouri, I went to two games on successive days with Dave, Heather's stepdad. It was a blast though. I got to see #4 Missouri beat #2 Kansas live and in person. What a spectacle that was. We went to watch the Chiefs play the raiders (in an infinitely less-hyped game) the next day. We got to spend time with a lot of Heather's family on thanksgiving. We also got to help my good friend Brad in his proposal plot to his girlfriend (now fiancee) Rochelle (sp?). Brad helped me in my proposal plot with Heather a few years back, so it was only fitting that we help him out too. It was at the same place that we got engaged, the plaza in Kansas City. Heather walked into a coffeshop where Brad and Rochelle were, and handed a rose to Rochelle. Brad had a special bible verse attached to the rose. Meanwhile I was just down the street placing some flowers, a blanket and a special gift in a horse-drawn carriage and kept watch. Brad and Rochelle arrived, he helped her into the carriage, and they disappeared around the corner. Brad proposed there in the carriage. What a romantic dude! Brad threw a party at his house afterwards where we got to meet Rochelle and congratulate her and Brad. We also got to see some of our good friends from Missouri that we haven't seen in quite a while. What a special thanksgiving trip.There's a photo from our 3rd anniversary night a couple weeks back. I surprised Heather by having flowers waiting at the restaraunt. (It's a trick I pulled years ago....I am out of new material, so I am recycling all of my old ideas!) We had a very special evening. My good friend Jeffrey helped me out by coming over and lighting some candles, starting some fun Sinatra-like music, and planting some sparkling cider and chocolate strawberries before we got home. It was very fun.

Kona, Bella, and Daisy

I had to show this picture of my sister Kelly's dogs. She dressed them up in their haloween outfits and emailed us a photo. Hilarious!!

Weve just been meaning to put a lot of pictures on here, so here's a few albums!

Cross Countries

Kelly's Wedding/AZ trip

The pictures in the first album are from a cross-country training flight that I went on with my friend and fellow pilot-in-training Jeffrey. We got to enjoy the beauty of Michigan's upper peninsula and it was breathtaking!!
In the second album are pictures from my twin sister Kelly and her now husband Joe's wedding weekend. It was such a fun trip! We saw so many family and friends and the wedding was really good.

A very special ceremony....

Well it is finished! Last friday S.M.A.T. concluded the one year airframe and powerplant mechanic training course with a graduation ceremony for me and my 21 classmates. What a special year it has been. The graduation was held at a local church that two of my classmates attend. Aside from honoring the graduates of the A&P course, we watched a video that my classmates nominated me to make about our year. It included some short interview clips of what my classmates liked about this past year, as well as video and photos of projects we've done and fun times we've had. The video appears above. It's about 13 minutes long. Also our class nominated my classmate Joe to give a short message during the graduation. It was short and very good. His message was a message we have heard many times this year, and no doubt need to hear many times throughout our lives. That is that ultimately what is important about what we do is not the technology. It is not the airplanes and the flying. But what is important is the people, and God's word. Remaining close to Christ and to the people in our lives is the most important thing. And that is the reason we do what we do, no matter if you're a missionary pilot or an accountant. The highlight of the graduation ceremony for me was our keynote speaker, Steve Saint. If you've seen the movie End of the Spear, or if you've heard of the story of the 5 missionaries who were killed in Ecuador back in the fifties, Steve is Nate Saint's son. Nate was the pilot for the five missionaries. Steve had a key role in the making of the movie. He helped tell the story to the producers and they also asked him to find and restore an exact replica of his father's airplane, which happens to be a very very rare airplane that is almost impossible to find and buy. They also surprised him by asking him to fly it in the movie. So when you watch the movie, it is Steve Saint flying the Piper. During the filming of the movie, Steve actually got to land the plane on the "Palm Beach," which is the littlesandbar that his father was killed on. But Steve's message to us was similar to Joe's. "Palm Beach," he said, was not about sand, or airplanes. So many people he said visit there just to see where this great thing happened. When he asks them, "Did you meet any of the people," they often say "oh yeah, I think we saw a few of them." "You went to palm beach and didn't meet any of the people who live there?" Steve would muse. "You went to Palm Beach and walked right by Palm Beach." It wasn't about sand, it was about people. It was about the Waodani people that God used what happened there to bring his love to. The people are what is important. They are the reason. He said several times..."Palm Beach was about people, not about sand." In the same way our lives are about people. It was a very good reminder for me and my classmates, that as we spend so much time learning to become pilots and mechanics to serve in missions, to keep our hearts set on the real reason we are there.