Friday, January 29, 2010

January in a nutshell!!

Well ... we finally got our cheeky girl off the blog to update it ourselves (although we're very grateful to her for filling you in our Christmas antics!!!) ... she is now happily chilling out on her new Amish made rocking chair bought with some Christmas money from Auntie Betty!!
We all enjoyed the snow at the beginning of the month ... with Abigail and without!! Jenny and Mark made the most of one of Abigail's naps on a Saturday afternoon ... to sneak outside, have a snowball fight and build a snowman ... lots of fun ;o) As you can see though, Abigail really loved her little toboggan ... sliding up and down the sidewalk outside our house ... major upsets when we want to take her inside!!! The snow disappeared for a little while ... but we're pleased to report that this week it has returned and everything is beautiful and white again!
In the hangar Mark's had some ups and downs! He had a major Electricity chapter to study for ... so long, it was broken into 2 tests ... and not a subject he was very familiar with! Unfortunately he didn't pass the first one, first time round ... which was very frustrating for him (especially as he was only one question away from a pass!!) ... but as of yesterday we are pleased to say both tests have been taken AND passed ... and he's very pleased to be moving onto another subject!
Mark is taking a break from the Cessna he has been working on to help out on an annual inspection of a Piper Aztec (see above) ... another skill he will have to master as an aircraft maintenance engineer. Below you can see Mark removing some panels for the inspection. If you would like to have a look at a specific task he was doing today ... click on the following link (http://mmsaviation.blogspot.com/2010/01/video-what-are-you-doing-today-mark.html) a short video clip from the MMS blog. Keith Dodson keeps the MMS blog up to date with everything that is going on in the hangar ... so if you want to see what Mark and the rest of the guys are getting up to check out that blog from time to time too!
Jenny has been getting up to date with a lot of our paperwork and continuing to keep in touch with many of our supporters ... she has also had the chance to spend a few hours one Saturday with a group of the MMS wives ... to hang out, catch up and do something crafty! All the ladies brought something they were working on ... it was a great chance to spend some time together as although the guys see each other every day, the ladies are dotted around getting on with their own thing! The plan is for this to become a monthly event ... hosted by Isobel Dunkley (the Dunkleys were the family who allowed us to use their basement for a few weeks when we first arrived in Coshocton!).
Jenny has also been getting to grips with her new sewing machine (yes, she is becoming very missionary-ified!!) ... we now have new cushion covers, kitchen valence and a few other things are in the process of being made ... all a lot cheaper (nicer) and more personal than anything we saw in the shops!! As you can see below Abigail approves of the cushion covers ... she spends a lot of time jumping all over them!!
Abigail continues to amuse us on a daily basis! She now has a whole load of animal noises going on and has started on quite a few random words now too including Hi, Daddy, duck, eye and banana (sounds more like ba-larl-larl-la though!!). She's also been spending more time with people of her own age ... and has been playing really well, sharing toys ... giggling alot! Her latest thing at home is to remove one of the huge spongey coloured tiles from her bedroom and carry it through to the kitchen (with lots of huffing and puffing!!) so she can sit on it while playing with the letters on the fridge ... check out the morning hair!!!
In other news ... we have finally got our second car situation sorted ;o)! We were given some money from one of our supporting churches, Croham Road Baptist, when they had a special offering in November ... that and the remainder of our car allowance from MAF together are almost exactly to the dollar the cost of the car we found for Mark to use! We pick it up tomorrow afternoon ... thank you so much to all those who gave towards the Ambassador offering ... it will make a huge difference to us out here!
We are all aware of the situation in Haiti this month ... for those of you who don't know, MAF who we now work for are out there working hard and MMS who we are training with have been able to send a team to Florida to help maintain the aircraft for MFI (Mission Flights International) who are flying in and out with aid. It's great that people we know have been able to help out first hand ... please remember them and their families as they work overtime in this situation to help as much as possible.

Friday, January 15, 2010

The rest of Auntie Amy's visit!

It's still Abigail here ... if I don't write this you'll never find out what we've been up to!!! As well as lots of eating and sleeping when Auntie Amy was here ... we showed her some of the local sights ... starting with the hangar where Daddy works!
While we were there, me and Mummy finally got to see Daddy's new tool chest ... it's MASSIVE ... I looked so tiny when I was sitting on it ... I bet I could fit in one of the bottom drawers if I tried!
This doesn't happen very often ... but in this next photo ... even Daddy looks small ... this is the map on the wall at MMS showing where previous apprentices have ended up or where planes MMS have worked on are now flying!
We also showed Auntie Amy the main street in town ... County Hall and the bandstand looked lovely with a light dusting of snow!
One afternoon we took a walk through Lake Park to Roscoe Village ... when I say 'walk' I mean 'cosy snug ride'!! We all enjoyed Roscoe Village ... but Auntie Amy, Mummy & Daddy still can't get their heads round it being considered 'old' ... I guess it's not something I'll appreciate for a while!
While Auntie Amy was here I had to prove that I pull my weight around the house ... unpacking the shopping is just one of my regular tasks (I'll have you know I like to make a scene if can't help out the second we arrive home!!) ... I also like to put my dirty clothes in the laundry bin ... Mummy and Daddy think I'm such a star ... they don't know I'm just lulling them into a false sense of security ... and will later on play it to my advantage!
We also took Auntie Amy up into Amish Country ... making the mandatory stop at Millers Bakery, the yummiest shop EVER!!! I only ever get given a few mouthfuls of whatever goodies are purchased ... and when you see the size of the pastries there, you'll understand just how stingy that is!
As you can see Auntie Amy was enamoured with the different things she found up at Zincks fabrics ... I wasn't quite so sure ... but didn't like to burst her bubble! Mummy and Daddy are a bit worried that she's loosing her unique sense of style ... or just going off at a tangent!!!
Even though it didn't snow loads while Auntie Amy was here ... we made sure we made sure we had at least one crazy afternoon enjoying what was there ... as you can see I LOVED IT!!! ...
... even when I was completely covered!! Auntie Amy and Daddy kept throwing the snow up in the air so it felt like it was snowing ... all I could do was squeal and giggle a lot! ;o)

Christmas according to Little Miss Abigail!!

Hello There!! Mummy and Daddy have been a bit busy lately ... so while they're not looking I'm jumping on the computer and adding my own update!
We had a fun time over Christmas ... Auntie Amy came to visit ... all the way from England ... one night Mummy and Daddy put me to bed and when I woke up the next morning there was an Auntie Amy in the basement ... it was very exciting!!!
I've been told that it's traditional to have Christmas Cake in England ... filled with lots of dried fruits and things ... Mummy and Auntie Amy did a great job at making an alternative fun cake for us this year!! Mummy cooked a chocolate cake in the shape of a giant cupcake and Auntie Amy decorated it like a Christmas tree ... it almost looked too good to eat ... but we did and it was yummy!!
Last year I was a little bit too young to appreciate presents ... even on my first birthday I didn't really get it (I even read all my cards upside-down!!) but this Christmas it finally clicked that unwrapping presents is fun ... and what's inside is even better!!
These jigsaw puzzles are the best ... I think I've just about mastered all 6 of the set now ... much to Mummy and Daddy's dismay ... they thought it might take me a bit longer to work out ... they're relieved that I love doing them over and over again though!
Once I worked out where the presents were coming from there was no stopping me ... I went straight in under there ... unfortunately I wasn't quick enough ... we'd already opened most of what was there ... it did make Mummy, Daddy and Auntie Amy laugh!! Watch out next year!