The Legacy Continues

This evening we celebrated our youngest's 12th birthday - and continued a legacy. I passed on my Honda 50 Mini-Trail, after a few days in the shop it was running again and just in time. It still needs a little work, the muffler has seen better days and the lights don't work . . .yet; but we're on our way now.

Family Sailing

A few weeks ago we joined the College of Charleston Recreational Sailing Program and last Sunday was our first family sail outing since we moved from California. The weather was great - not too windy, a great day for a new sailor. Some friends came along and helped crewing. The tide was with us and we made it most of the way to Fort Sumter before heading back to the sailing center at Patriot's Point.

"Cougar" the J-22 we took out was a fun boat to sail - more lively (and less roomy) than the Catalina 27 we sold before we left California. Hope to get out again . . . soon.

The Girls are in Africa

Today Elizabeth and Alexis arrived in South Africa! The past few days have been quite hectic as they made their final preparations. This afternoon they text'd that they'd arrived safely.

They are part of a group from our church that is helping to plumbing in to a pastor's house and also are sharing the "True Love Waits" message at several schools. Our church has been partnering with churches in South Africa for a few years and we've developed a great relationship with them.

Please keep them in your prayers; that the message they share would bear fruit. If you are interested in supporting this outreach, please leave a comment.

An Excellent Day!

On Sunday, July 25th David was Baptized at the Beach on Kiawah Island. In the presence of family and friends he affirmed his commitment to follow Christ and shared this life verse: "For nothing is impossible with God" Luke 1:37.

We also took advantage of the waves and had a great time boogie boarding and followed it up with a BBQ in the picnic area. Both the company and food were excellent.

Defending the Faith

This past week our family took a road trip to the Answers in Genesis Defending the Faith conference in Sevierville, TN. We had a great time as a family studying the truth to be found in God's Word. One of the key take-aways for me was found in how far the establishment scientific community strays from true scientific method when it furthers their world-view. The deeper you look at research supporting theories like evolution and climate change, the more fabrication and deception you see. Another reminder was that the six days of creation is reiterated by God much later in the Bible than Genesis, in verses that God transcribed personally -Exodus 20. The 10 Commandments, particularly the fourth commandment.

A Great Week at Camp

We had a great time at Camp Raven's Knob. Over the course of the week I was able to earn my BSA Lifeguard certification - I am reminded why most lifeguards are in their late teens and early 20's. Working at the swimming area was a lot of fun, I was able to see many of the Troop members when they came for open swim and also was able to help several scouts earn their swimming merit badge.

There was a lot of walking, our camp site was the farthest out of any and we estimated our troop members were averaging 10 miles a day.

On the last night the troop cooked pizza in the dutch oven, we used the recipe that David and I worked out last March we found the cooking time was about half (8-10 minutes) in the dutch oven compared to using a camp stove.

Off to Raven's Knob

Happy Independence Day!

Today I'm heading out with Troop 458 to Camp Raven's Knob Scout Camp in North Carolina. Looking forward to a great week away with my son. More to follow!

Iron Man 2

Last night Raheem, David and I went to see Iron Man 2 while the ladies were at the Women of Joy concert. We had a great time at the movie (they enjoyed the concert as well).

The movie included all of the excitement that I've come to expect from the Marvel franchise; how can you miss with fast cars and lots of firepower?

Beyond the action it was particularly interesting to consider the positions taken during the congressional hearing. If you consider the framers intent, Tony Stark seemed to be standing largely on the 2nd Amendment when he refused to turn over the Iron Man suit to the military.

Being home educators (every activity is an opportunity to learn) discussion following the movie provided a springboard for lessons on physics, business management and government.

If you go to see the movie, make sure you sit through the credits - there is a scene at the end that resolves one of the unfinished threads in the story (no spoilers here).

29

Today is the 29th Anniversary of my enlistment as a Private in the United States Army Reserve and following the incident with my car I'm feeling rather introspective - lucky you. After earning my commission in the Minnesota National Guard and spending about 10 years in the California National Guard and now back in the Reserves I can honestly say its the people that I've met that have kept me coming back. Over that time I've had the opportunity to work with some of the most faithful, dedicated, intelligent, insightful and caring people that you could ever hope to meet. It's been the source of some of my strongest and longest friendships as well as some of my greatest challenges.

Thank you Brothers and Sisters in Arms for making the United States Army the great force for freedom that it is!

ouch!

F-250 versus miata, guess who won? Today on the way home from work I had an unplanned meeting with another low country driver. Fortunately there was a police officer there already for the stalled dump truck in the far right lane. It was a very low speed accident; the bumper, trunk lid and spoiler protected the rest of the car and nobody was hurt. I think there was a small piece of spoiler stuck to the brush guard of the truck though.

Accepted!!

For the past 16+ years we've been telling our oldest son that he is exceptional, but as a homeschooling student I don't thing he believed us. I can't imagine why he'd think we're biased.

For the past two years at Contra Costa Community College he's been on the on the dean's list every semester; still he didn't believe us. This past week he was accepted to all three of the 4 year colleges that he applied to - with merit scholarship offers from each. He was surprised, we weren't; we're just excited that he's starting to feel what we see - that the Lord has blessed him with great abilities and he has unlimited opportunities!

Congratulations Thomas!!

Africa Pictures

The girls near Capetown South Africa.

The last night before they came home was spent in a preserve for lions rescued from captivity but unable to be returned to the wild because of injuries.

Here are some of the students and our missionaries at one of the schools in South Africa after a True Love Waits presentation.

The stories are the same there as they are here, abstaining is as valuable here as it is there. Please continue to pray for the lives that will be changed for the better as a result of this trip.

Camp Pizza

This past weekend I was all set for a weekend camp out with the Boy Scouts but a nasty cold kept me and my son home for the weekend. Although we weren't able spend the night out in the tent we did follow through with one of our weekend plans - perfecting the Camp Pizza.

After an hour with Google and mixing, matching and cutting recipe's we came up with our first candidate. We set the following goals for our recipe:

1. Needed to be quick to fix so no yeast.
2. Minimal number of liquid ingredients.
3. Simple enough to put together in camp with minimal work space.

By the end of the weekend we'd worked out a pretty decent pizza that cooked up in about 20 minutes on our kerosene camp stove in an MSR aluminum pot.

Camp Pizza Crust (makes one 9" pizza):

Mix the following dry ingredients in a zip-lock bag:

• 1 c. All purpose flour (If you use wheat flour you will need more liquid).
• 1/2 tbsp Baking Powder
• 1 tsp Italian Seasoning
• 1/8 tsp salt

When ready to prepare add the following liquid ingredients and mix/knead:

• 1/3-1/2 c. of warm Water
• 1/2 tbsp Olive Oil

Pour about 1 tsp. of Olive Oil in the pot and spread around the bottom to keep the dough from sticking.

Spread the dough in the bottom of the pot making a slightly thicker crust around the edges.

Camp Pizza Sauce (enough for two 9" pizzas):

• 1 6oz. can Tomatoe Paste
• 3 oz. (half can) Water
• 2 tbsp Honey
• 1 tbsp Olive Oil
• 1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
• 1/2 tsp Oregano
• 1/2 tsp Basil
• 1/2 tsp Rosemary
• 1/2 tsp Thyme
• 1/2 tsp Black Pepper

Spread the sauce on the the pizza crust.

Add toppings:

• 1/2 c. Mozzarella Cheese
• 1/2 sliced Green Pepper
• 1/2 sliced Red Pepper
• 1 sliced cooked Italian Sausage

Cover pot and put on stove to cook at a very low heat (flame should be orange not blue) and check every 5 minutes or so. Once the cheese melts it should be done.

Enjoy!!

Snow in Charleston???

It must be following me from Minnesota, we actually have enough snow on the ground to make a snowman!!

After the the East Coast was buried earlier in the week it was the South's turn for the weekend. The snow followed me back on my return from Atlanta and shortly after I tucked my car into the garage the melting snow started to freeze and stick - made it back just in time.

The challenge is that everyone I know, myself included, got rid of our snow shovels when we moved here so it looks like we'll be waiting for a thaw before we can get the walks cleared.

I guess we'll need to move farther south or import some snow shovels - now about that global warming ...

More touristing in our own town

This past January we once again took advantage of the tourist in your own town passes that we enjoyed so much last year.

This year the weather wasn't as cooperative regarding some of the outdoor opportunities but we had a great time anyway. My children took me to the Yorktown again where we visited the Medal of Honor Museum and read many of the inspirational stories of personal sacrafice over our nation's history.

We also hit several resturaunts and one of our new favorites is The Buccaneer in downtown Charleston.

While I was toiling away Elizabeth and the kids visited a number of plantations, a great out of the classroom addition to our history program.

Another Milestone

This past week our middle child and only daughter took one more step on the path to adulthood. For years her primary income has been as a child and dog sitter and she has done quite well; but she decided it was time for bigger things and will be going to work at Publix grocery store in the next week.

As a father it has been wonderful to see her excitment at being accepted into this new role. For years we've been telling her how capable she is but for some reason she thinks that we're biased so its great to have our opinions confirmed by an outside source.