And now we're home. What a long, exhausting trip we've had. And 2/3 of our luggage is still in Flint. We've been assured, however, by Harlan in the baggage office, that our duffels will be delivered to us sometime tomorrow. Here's hoping the shuttle can find our apartment with no help from anyone else on campus... since there is no one else on campus until Tuesday.

And now here we are. In 25 and a half hours, we'll be getting off a plane in Flint. It'll be our first time in Michigan in 5 months. That didn't really seem like so long to me, until an acquaintance called it "half a year". That makes it seem like ages. We're packed and ready, just waiting for 9:00 tomorrow morning to get here so we can hop in the car and go. When I get done fooling around on here, I'll go to the American Airlines website to check us in and print our boarding passes. How truly strange it all seems to me.

We're now only barely two days out from our trip to MI. I did most of my packing earlier and we just spent some time reading the American Airlines website to learn as much as we can to prepare for our flight. Not a whole lot left to do now except get all anxious and lose sleep. Big fun!

Last call

Does anyone want some Mexican Kool-Aid? Seriously. We're bringing some back to Michigan for my sister's family and Kara and Casey's gang. It's actual Kool-Aid brand, but there are 4 flavors you can't get in Michigan (at least you couldn't 5 months ago), and underneath the Kool-Aid logo, it says "Aguas Frescas". The flavors are pineapple, mango, tangerine, and one called Jamaica which, near as I can figure, is based on the juice of a certain flower (it tastes a bit like tea). If anyone in Michigan wants some, please let me know before Saturday so I can get it for you before we head for Tucson.

On the verge

We're now only 4 days away from our trip back to Meeeeeeeeechigan. People keep asking me if we're "going home" for Christmas, and it's really starting to get to me. Since July 13, our home is Douglas, Arizona, so we're not going home for Christmas; we're going to Meeeeeeeechigan for Christmas. And yet, bother me though it may, I find myself occasionally slipping up, too, and saying things like, "I can't wait to eat at Panda Express while we're home." Annoying. I guess I'll really be in a state of confusion when we move to Africa. "Excuse me. Excuse me, sir? Can you tell me where my home is?"

Tis the season

Here are some pics we've taken over the last week or so. The bears are what Jen and I decided to buy Mady and Jack for Christmas. It's a little bit hard to tell, but the bears' shirts say "Cochise" and "Cochise College" on them. The green sleep pants are one of the presents Jen gave to me for Christmas (please ignore the pink shirt I'm wearing, as I have a hard time seeing the value in matching my sleep clothes). Moving on, the cloth thing with a chicken on it is actually the cross-stitch project I'm giving my mom for Christmas. I just finished it maybe half an hour ago (I started it in March). And finally, the pic of Jen being cute is... well, it's just Jen being cute, and I really like it. This being my blog and all, I decided all of you should like it, too. You're welcome. And enjoy!

Mady

Jen and I got a Christmas card from my sister today, and inside was our niece Mady's school picture. Seeing as she's the most beautiful 4-year-old in the world, I decided to share the pic with you. Enjoy!

Got this in an e-mail

A lady wrote the best letter in the Editorials in ages!! It explains things better than all the balderdash you hear on TV.

"Let's Say I Break Into Your House"

Recently large demonstrations have taken place across the country protesting the fact that Congress is finally addressing the issue of illegal immigration. Certain people are angry that the US might protect its own borders, might make it harder to sneak into this country and, once here, to stay indefinitely. Let me see if I correctly understand the thinking behind these protests. Let's say I break into your house. Let's say that when you discover me in your house, you insist that I leave. But I say, "I've made all the beds and washed the dishes and did the laundry and swept the floors; I've done all the things you don't like to do. I'm hard-working and honest (except for when I broke into your house). According to the protesters, not only must you let me stay, you must add me to your family's insurance plan, educate my kids, and provide other benefits to me and to my family (my husband will do your yard work because he too is hard-working and honest, except for that breaking in part). If you try to call the police or force me out, I will call my friends who will picket your house carrying signs that proclaim my right to be there. It's only fair, after all, because you have a nicer house than I do, and I'm just trying to better myself. And what a deal it is for me!! I live in your house, contributing only a fraction of the cost of my keep, and there is nothing you can do about it without being accused of selfishness, prejudice and being anti-housebreaker. Oh yeah, and I want you to learn my language so you can communicate with me. Why can't people see how ridiculous this is?! Only in America....

Stitcheroo!

As I mentioned in my profile, I like doing counted cross-stitch. I find it very relaxing to bring the focus of my perpetually over-active mind down to a tiny little hole and the point of a needle. The only really crappy thing about counted cross-stitch is that it's hard to find decent patterns at stores, unless you go specifically to a craft store. If you do that, though, you end up paying $20+ per pattern. On top of that, we haven't found any craft stores around here, so even if I had $20 to drop on a craft, I wouldn't be able to.

Last night, I was sitting around thinking about what I want for Christmas, and I remembered that there's computer software out there that will convert photos into cross-stitch patterns. I decided to do a little price-checking online, and discovered PM Stitch Creator 3.0 has a free 15-day fully-functional trial you can download. So I downloaded it, and wound up spending 3 or 4 hours last night learning how to make my own patterns. It's not a flawless system, as it has trouble converting detail in photos sometimes, but it's a heck of a lot better than having to stitch Dogs Playing Poker because that's all I could find at Wal-Mart. So far, I've made a Yoda pattern, a Spider-Man pattern, a me-and-Jenny pattern, an MAF pattern, and a pattern based on the Thomas Blackshear painting Forgiven. Will I actually stitch all of these pattern at some point in the future? Probably not. But it's fun to make them, all the same.

We just got home from our Sierra Vista Thanksgiving adventure. We had Thanksgiving dinner at Belinda's (assistant chief flight instructor) house, with her husband and kids, and some of their church family. We had turkey and ham and stuffing and all the normal Thanksgiving foods, and we ate in their backyard. It was really sunny and warm out. We had a very nice time.

After dinner, we weren't quite ready to go home yet, so we went to Fry's instead. Fry's is a grocery store that we had never been to before. We decided to check it out, since it was one of very few places open for business today. We discovered that it's sort of the Western U.S. version of Kroger. In fact, they sell Kroger brand products. And, upon close inspection of Jenny's Kroger card, we found out we're able to use our Kroger cards at Fry's rather than having to obtain Fry's cards. Very cool. It's always refreshing to discover something familiar when you're far away from what you've known. Our plan is to go to First Baptist of Sierra Vista (Belinda's church) on Sunday, then maybe stop at Fry's and do some grocery shopping.

Yeah, we're still trying to find a good church around here.

My wife is the most wonderful wife in the world, far as I'm concerned. Not for any one particular reason; she's just all-around wonderful. She's also unspeakably adorable. That being the case, I'm done speaking.

A Private Pilot by Thanksgiving

I just got home from my check ride. By the grace of God, I passed it. I am now a Private Pilot. What that essentially means is that I can now legally fly a plane by myself, without an instructor or an instructor's endorsement whenever we have the money to rent an airplane for me to fly. It also means that if we do rent an airplane for me to fly, I can now take Jenny up with me. This will most likely result in higher quality aerial photos in greater quantities, again assuming we find money to rent a plane.

Just like I did after my last stage check, I need to make sure the glory for this is all directed toward Almighty God. This isn't anything I'm achieving on my own. I'm here, both in this place and in this flight program, because God desires it to be so. The skill in my body and the knowledge and wisdom in my mind are gifts from God and answers to prayer. The successes I enjoy are also gifts from God, and also happen solely because it is God's will that they should. Without Him, I'm unable to do any of this. Without Him, I'm nothing.

How do you study for a test when you have no clue what the questions will be about? I just want the stupid thing to be over and done with, so I can move on with my life. Stupid anxiety.

Have you ever spent so much time and effort studying for a test, that you end up not even caring whether you actually pass the test? That's sort of where I'm at right now. Since yesterday afternoon, the majority of my time has been spent studying for my practical test on Tuesday. A few minutes ago, I finally had to put the study guide down and decide to call it a night. My head hurts and I'm about studied out. Tomorrow looks to be another exciting day of study, though. And Monday. And probably the time on Monday night when I'm too anxious to sleep.

Tonight is my second night flight, this time a cross-country to Tucson for some touch-and-go's. Finishing it will mean that I've completed nearly everything I need to complete in order to take my check ride on the 21st. I also discovered, last night, that I own the "practical test study guide" which will be really helpful when I start studying in earnest for the practical test (fancy term for check ride). See, the bookstore bundles a bunch of private pilot stuff together into a flight bag, so when a new flight student goes over to get their stuff, they can just buy the bundle and not have to try to pick up each individual thing. The problem is that there's too much junk in there, and I just tossed mine up on my bookcase and pulled out each book and item as I needed them. Well, Erin kept mentioning a study guide they sell in the bookstore so I went to the store to try and get one, but they didn't have any. So, later on last night, I looked over my bookshelf o' flying and found a crisp, new practical test guide. I plan to spend the weekend reading it to prepare myself for Tuesday. I'm so ready to be done with my private cert.

Another solo pic

Here's another pic of me soloing this morning. I'm mostly just posting it so I can use it as my new profile pic. Enjoy!

I'm back from my long solo flight. It was exhausting. I took some pictures. I'll post one now and the rest later. Very tired.

Spontaneous final exam

I'm supposed to be taking my Aviation Weather final exam right now. I don't remember if I've mentioned it before, but my Aviation Weather class was a mess right from the get-go. It was being taught by a guy who has never taught before and, by his own admission, has never scored higher than a 78% on any test. That said, his "lectures" were, almost without exception, either him reading from a book or him just throwing random weather-related facts at us. Often, he would either be unwilling or unable to answer weather questions his students asked him. It was bad. Anyhow, fifteen minutes into class yesterday, he looked at his watch and said, "Well, that's 16 hours of lecture. You guys wanna take the final right now instead of waiting til tomorrow?" So we did. He based the entire final on a handout packet he'd given us a few days prior, and he allowed us to use the packet during the final. So, ultimately, it was just a matter of looking up each answer and copying it onto the test. I'm guessing I got an A. In fact, I'm guessing everyone in the class got an A. I would be bewildered if anyone DIDN'T get an A.

Tomorrow morning, bright and early, I'm flying my long solo cross-country. I had mentioned previously that it's to Silver City, Safford, Willcox, Sierra Vista, back to the college. I was mistaken: there's no Willcox leg. It's just Silver City, Safford, Sierra Vista, and home. I'm allowed to fly the route either way; either Silver City or Sierra Vista first. I would love to go to Sierra Vista first, since it's the only towered airport on my trip, and I'm required to make 3 stop-and-go landings there. However, since tomorrow is Veterans Day, the tower isn't in operation until 8:00. Since my flight begins at 6:45, and Sierra Vista is a 20-minute flight, I'm forced to save Sierra Vista for last.

Great scott! I just noticed that if you read the "random facts" part of my profile in a certain mindset, you could draw the conclusion that we're trying to get pregnant. I feel an overwhelming need to clarify as immediately as physically possible. Jen and I are most certainly NOT trying to become pregnant at this time. Please don't read more into the profile than is intended to be conveyed. Yes, I write messages to my future child. Yes, I'm secretly (I guess not really secretly anymore) envious of my friends who have kids. Yes, we would very much like to be parents one day. But that day is not today, or any day in the near future. It's probably more like a "someday between finishing college and moving overseas" kinda thing. Now you know.

Holy crap! I passed my stage check! I gotta testify. My short-field and soft-field landings have been consistently bad since I started doing them. Even yesterday, I attempted 10 landings total (a mix of short and soft), and only managed to pull off one decent soft-field landing. Today, I asked God (repeatedly) for skill, for knowledge, and for His will to be done in this. Belinda had me do one short-field and one soft-field landing, and was so pleased with both of them that she didn't make me do any more. I also did very well on all the other exercises I had to demonstrate. In fact, Belinda only critiqued one thing I did, but after I explained my reasoning to her she agreed that my decision was valid.

The other thing I asked God for this morning was the humility to continue to give Him all the glory for my flying and keep none for myself. I'm telling you very plainly that God worked a miracle this morning in that He enabled me to do far better than I really expected to do. He gave me that skill and knowledge I asked for, and His will was done. The flight was His, and I praise Him for His goodness.

Quick update

Thank you everyone who wished me a happy birthday. I really appreciate it.

I passed the oral portion of my X-C stage check this afternoon, without too much difficulty. Tomorrow morning at 7:30 I'll be flying the practical portion of it. I'm a little nervous. I'm going to have to demonstrate a few things that I've been having trouble with in my daily training sessions. God willing, I'll muddle through somehow.