May is for Maiden Flight! --by Ben

Scott did his first flight all on his own with his Wingdragon. He took off and flew the plane (almost) all by himself. He landed the plane just right but the plane got stuck on the ground and his wing broke. Easy fix.

And then...

It flew! It was pretty scary but the plane flew and came back to earth in one piece. The takeoff was strange. The plane tracked down the runway well but wasn't lifting off on its own. I pulled back on the stick just a little and the plane shot up in the air really fast. I think it may be out of balance a bit. The flight was good. It needed a bit of trim and I found out real quick when I hit the flaps the plane went out of control. I forgot to program in down elevator when the flaps come down. Oops. I was able to recover very well and had to land the plane hot. Upon landing I missed the run way and landed on the grass. Doing so broke the nose wheel wheel mounts. Not a big deal. I just need to glue the mounts back into place and probably get a new servo. All in all the plane is in one piece and will live to fly again. Hopefully next week. It was a blast to fly.

Three years in the making. It was all worth it!

And now we are six

My little Emma-girl has gone and turned six. What a blessing it is to have her with us! When she was first born, and I saw her in the NICU with all the tubes and wires and beeping and unanswered questions, I didn't know how far we'd get to go on our journey together. So I held her and nursed her around all those wires and tubes, and we ignored the beeping, and we agreed that we'd just rely on the Lord and go as far as we could.

Looks like it's going to be a nice, long journey after all!

Emma got to open a present before school. Her new passion is Littlest Pet Shop. I shouldn't be surprised, since she loves little tiny toys. She had to be convinced that they were not allowed in school! After school, we finished the family gifts, drove out to our old neighborhood to pick up three of her friends, and had fun at Chuck E Cheese's. We got home too late for the cake I had made, so we indulged the next evening. (I try to make whatever the kids request. This year, she wanted a chocolate cake filled with strawberry ice cream with white frosting and chocolate, pink, and purple sprinkles on top. I think I was able to satisfy that demand!)

Emma is lots of fun to have around. She fills in the gap of being small with being the loudest in the family! She loves to dress up her stuffed animals with ribbons and clothes, and has a new one tucked in a basket by her bedside every night. She is taking off with reading and loves almost everything about school, even with moving in the middle of the year. I'm proud of the effort she puts into her work. Thanks, Emma, for being part of our family.

I'm FOUR! When will I be five?

Gracie's birthday comes first in Birthday Season in our house. I'm glad, too, because there's not much that the middle child gets to do first. She has been looking forward to turning four for a long time--and for having a special day, just for her--not for Emma or Scott or Caytie. She and I spent a fun day together making cupcakes ("Pink with pink frosting and pink and purple sprinkles and pink candles!") and playing with her new blocks and other toys.

This year was officially a "friend party" year, but the friends she wanted to invite were her sisters, Scott, and Daddy. (I decided to tag along.) Her plan was to go ice skating, but we didn't check the times, and the rinks were all open too late or closing too early. So we convinced her that Peter Piper Pizza would be an acceptable alternative, and thankfully, she agreed.

Our Gracie is a sweet, smart girl. She has strong opinions, and difficulty when things aren't done the way she thinks they should be, but her determination serves her well in other areas. She is very creative and can spend hours building blocks or planning "parties" for us or writing notes and drawing pictures or making "valentimes." She loves her daddy. She is my best cleaner. She wants to do the right things. We are blessed to have her joy in our lives.