Prayer for Bri and her children!

Lots of you know Steve and Bri Morris. They operate Kids Kickin' 4 Christ. (KK4C) Steve is currently out of the country on a missions trip. I just got word that Bri took all three of her children to the doctor and they all three have influenza type A. Since I'm hardly ever sick, I don't know much about the flu, but apparently that is the worst of the worst of the flu's! She is also taking Christopher, the youngest boy, to get chest x-rays. He may have pneumonia. Please keep Bri in your prayers this weekend. I can't imagine being pregnant, having all my children sick at the same time, plus not having my hubby there to help!

This picture was taken almost a year ago at Nate's birthday party. The Morris family was all there and the two little boys here with Elijah are hers. They also have a sweet little girl.

Skirt Giveaway!

I found this adorable skirt for my daughter, Rebecca, and it's too tight for her. I got it cheap, so I thought I would have a little fun and offer it as a giveaway on my blog! It is a size 12, but in my opinion, it is closer to a 10. The waist is 26 inches and the skirt is 26 inches long and fully lined. There is a cute braided leather belt with red beads on the end of the dangling strings. The tags are still on it and the comparable price is $42. So, if you think someone you love would look cute wearing it, just leave a comment. Next week I'll put all the names of those who left a comment in a hat and have my daughter draw out a winning name. For fun, you can send me a picture of your "girl" wearing the skirt and I'll post it in another blog. (optional!)

A Martian's Crash Landing~ the sad end of a $45,000 toy

Before moving his family to Florida in the late 70's, my father-in-law was a pilot in Alaska. After the move to Florida, he said goodby to his flying career. He wasn't content with his feet on the ground so eventually he bought a Gyrocopter, sometimes called a Gyroplane. He found someone to teach him to fly it and has been flying it as often as he can ever since. Before long, people were asking him to take arial photos of their homes and that's when I started flying with him, manning the camera. I was always nervous while flying because as you can see by the picture below, it is an open cockpit with a simple seatbelt around the waist. Once I was in the air and snapping away with the camera, though, I really injoyed the incredible views.




Inevitibly, on our way back to the airport, we would fly over the ocean or river. The view was always breathtaking.


Here is the sad ending part. The last couple years, dad has been a certified flight
instructor. He has had a few students flying with him on a regular basis. This past Saturday was one of those days. Dad keeps his gyro hangered at Aero Acres, an airport community in Ft. Pierce. Thats where they were this weekend. His student Timothy, was practicing what is called "touch and go". You can't see it in the photo, but there are two control sticks and two sets of pedals. The pilot sits on the left and passenger on the right. Tim was piloting but at any time Dad could take over the controls and fly it himself. Dad's machine is a super-safe machine. Believe me! It has a lycoming engine which is very reliable. If anything, the only thing he hasn't been happy with is that the rudder isn't as responsive as he would like. That's what got them into trouble. At the point that Tim had messed up with the controls and Dad took over to correct it, the rudder couldn't respond fast enough. At the same time, a cross-wind got them. The wind pushed them towards a canal (they were flying near an orange orchard, I believe). Dad gave it full throttle but the wheels caught and the prop on the back of the engine started hitting the bank of the canal. I'm not exactly sure of the sequence of events, but the blades struck the ground at some point and flipped them into the canal. By this time, the machine had torn itself to shredds. Tim got himself free. Miraculously, he wasn't injured at all. He got out of the water and looked around for Dad. Not seeing him, he grabbed the gyro and lifted it up and Dad came bobbing to the surface. He had been pinned under water for a full minute with a mouth full of mud. He was about to pass out and later said that he thought this was the end for him. Tim laid him on the bank and ran 3 miles for help. 40 minutes later, help arrived, but Dad says he doesn't remember anything until help came. He said he was fine and unbelievably, the EMT's agreed to not transport him to the hospital. After the shock wore off, the pain settled in and one of his buddies took him to the hospital. He had a severely dislocated shoulder requiring a specialist to come in to reset it for him. After making sure he didn't have any head injuries, they let him go home.

Here is a picture of the gryo. The prop, mast and blades are gone.



A big piece of metal (I'm not sure what part it is) that is connected to a rubber hose whipped Tim on the helmet and cracked the helmet. They aren't sure how it happened, but Dad's shirt was torn off.




This photo shows the once perfectly smooth, straight blades now a tangled mass of metal. The white thingy in the back with the black numbers and letters on it was the rudder. The FAA has already come and taken all Dad's flight info to investigate.


We are SO thankful to God that Dad survived this crash and we are equally grateful to Tim for saving Dad's life. There have been many fatalities in this "sport" and Dad was very close to being another statistic. Dad lost his brother, Jim, to an airplane crash. He was a pilot, too, and went down in Alaska while flying a DC3.

So, sadly enough for him, Dad's flying days are once again over. I'm sure he'll fly in his friends wings, but without insurance (experimental=unisurable) I doubt he'll ever save enough again this late in life to have his own wings. This will be very hard on him, I'm sure. It's quite a loss for him!

PS (added tonight after Rob and his dad and brother-in-law brought the plane home and looked it over more carefully) Dad is hopeful that the gyro can be salvaged. The engine would need some careful work, a new shaft, prop, blades and rudder put on and various other repairs would need done. Maybe he will fly again!

Revolve Tour

While a dozen or so of you ladies wandered across the state for a Revive your Hearts seminar, I loaded up my daughter (along with a friend and her daughter) and headed for Orlando. Women of Faith has started a Revolve Tour for young teens. They address different issues like purity and modesty along with painful issues that some girls face like abusive fathers, anexoria, etc. They have music, drama and special speakers including Rachel Hocket and Jenna Lucado. (Max Lucado's daughter) IF I were to go again, I would research the music ahead of time. Natalie Grant, Ayiesha Woods, KJ52 and Hawk Nelson were the main musicians. Of course, Natalie was top notch in her music and message. Ayiesha Woods was tons of fun, too. As for the other two groups? I definitely could have live without ever hearing them perform. But then again, I'm 35, not 15.

Here we are in front of the Amway Arena where the Tour was held. My parents live 6 miles down the road, so we all stayed with them to save hotel expenses.



Here is Rebecca and her friend, Courtney who we have know since the girls were very small.


Rebecca stood and stood in line to get her Revolve Tour bag signed by Natalie Grant. I LOVE her song "Held". I handed my camera off to another of Rebecca's friends, Katrina, and she snapped this shot.

Overall, besides my dissapointment in some of the music, we had a great time! The main message that Rebecca took home came from an illustration given by a young man named Chad Eastham who wrote the book "The Truth About Guys". He compared a young lady who properly waits for her future mate to "earn" the right to her heart to a guy who has to earn the money for a Ferrari, research insurance rates, sign on the dotted line, etc. He will cherish the car. Defend and protect it. Contrast that with a guy who is handed the keys to a car free of charge, to do whatever he wants with it. He will light the engine on fire, burn all the rubber from the tires and push the pedal to the floor, and walk away when he is done, never looking back. Chad made this statment to the girls: "You are never to be a test drive in a guys life". I thought that was just awesome!

Decorating on a shoe-string budget

With the exception of one or two pieces of minor furniture (bookcases) I have never bought any brand new furniture. Before Rob and I got married, we bought a houseful of furniture from one of my dad's customers and put it all in storage until we moved into our home the day before our wedding. Since then, we have acquired more used furniture, either bought at a garage sale or Goodwill, and we even had stuff given to us. One of my favorite things ever given to us was a blue checked couch that Rebecca Negron gave me. Since our living room is green, it now sits in the Ehr's blue-decorated living room. :-) I have wanted to upgrade our living room for years, but just never came across a good deal that I was in love with. A couple months ago, my sister-in-law, Diana, called me and told be about a wooden bench at the Goodwill in Port St. Lucie. I drove right up and bought it. Later, I just happened to find a super rug half off at Lowe's. Then, I became a regular visiter to Craigslist. For those of you who don't know, it is classified ads on-line. My first find was an armoir for my computer and two printers. Perfect match to the aforementioned bench. Then, I found two side tables that also match the other pieces! Much to my surprise, less than a week later, I found an entertainment center that ALSO matched all the other stuff! I still can't believe my good fortune. Actually, I believe God put it all together for me! I mean, really, what are the odds? The pieces came from Port St. Lucie, Palm City, Stuart, Jupiter and Green Acres. And it all matches! I love sitting in my living room, now! Wanna know how much it all cost, total? Less than $650. Amazing, huh?