May Update Letter

A GIRL!

Yesterday we found out that we have a daughter on the way! The ultrasound tech let us know in the first few minutes of our appointment and we were both just shocked and very happy. Not that we didn't expect a girl, but I think we were both amazed that our baby had just went from an it to a she!
The ultrasound took a couple hours and we saw every part of her precious little body that they could possibly look at, and everything looks healthy! Wow. She was moving around "quite a bit more than normal," or so said the ultrasound lady. That could have had something to do with the sugar cookie Heather ate before going in!
So to celebrate the news of our daughter we went out to lunch together to talk about her. And we also went out to buy her her first outfit. Here's what we picked out!

I was not expecting some of the thoughts that would go through my head right after finding out we're having a daughter. One of my favorites was "Man, someday I will have to give her away!!" So we will have to call her "her" for a while because we agreed not to start talking about names until we knew if it was a boy or girl. Now it's "game on!"
Due to popular request from our family, we are firing up the "belly update" for you to check on the status of Heather's Belly. Have fun!

A fun week in Missouri

Here are some pictures from our recent trip to Missouri. From Saint Louis to visit Bridget (and go to the zoo) to Mary Jo's wedding in Carthage, to spending the week with Heather's family in the Kansas City area, we had a really good trip!

Weddings Weddings Weddings!

Two weekends ago we went to Mary Jo and Pablo's wedding. Mary Jo is Heather's friend and roommate from college. Heather was a bridesmaid, and so were some of their other roommates from Mizzou.

Here's my pretty bride in her bridesmaid dress!

And a few weeks back, my dear friend Brad married Rachele. Heather still had morning sickness then, but thankfully we could still make it to the wedding. Here's a few pictures from the wedding.



I have some exciting news. I passed my commercial checkride on June 24th! For those not in with the aviation jargon, I passed a big test to earn my commercial pilot's certificate. It was a full day test, with a full morning of quizzing from the examiner, then a flight test in two different airplanes, culminating in the nerve-wracking "simulated engine out" where you only have one chance to land the airplane within two hundred feet after a selected point on the runway with no engine power. Praise the Lord I passed, and am now a commercial pilot! The most common question I get is, "wow, does that mean now you can go fly one of those big 737s or something"...the answer ironically is no. But it is the beginning point for those that do fly in the airlines. As for me, it is the basic requirement that Mission Aviation Fellowship requires (in addition to the A&P mechanic's license). They recommend a flight instructor rating (which Im working on right now) and also require at least four hundred flight hours. If I work as a flight instructor for about a year, like we're planning right now, then I will be well beyond the 400 hour minimum.