Cooking!

Being that I am a working wife and mother, sometimes I feel like there just isn't enough time in a day. One of the things that tend to take up most of my time it seems, is dinner. So, as some of you know, I am taking a different approach to cooking. I make up a menu, or dishes that I want to eat that month, make out a grocery list based on the food I pick out, print out coupons, and hit the grocery store. I am finding that we are eating much healthier, spending less money, and spending more time together. I usually do this over a weekend because it usually takes me all day Saturday and sometimes Sunday to make up all the food and freeze it. I just decide a day or two in advance what we would like to eat, and pull it out of the freezer to thaw. For some of the dishes, I found it was better to prepare them and bake them after I unfreeze it. I am beginning to realize that I like to cook a lot more than I thought I did. Rygh and Will are being wonderful at trying all of the food I am making. (Vegetarian dishes and all)

In combination with making food for the family, I have been making my own soups for my lunch. I was getting tired of Turkey noodle soup, so I decided to branch out. I made an incredible batch of Tomato, Butternut Squash, and Herb soup.

I was able to get 11 servings of soup from one batch.
Will likes to joke about all of this is helping me prepare for "the jungle". I laugh, but he is probably right. Knowing that I can make food that isn't from a can or box is a good thing.

Mission Aviation Fellowship

On Saturday MAF dedicated their new plane - The Kodiak. Each time MAF adds a plane to their fleet, they dedicate the plane to God and his work. This time was no exception. As MAF president John Boyd put it "We are experiencing history". This is the first time that a plane has been engineered, created, and built for the sole purpose of furthering God's Kingdom. The Kodiak is impressive to see and look at. We are all excited about the new addition. MAF has 15 more Kodiaks on order.

We were all able to check out the new plane. Will spent quite a bit of time explaining all the controls to Rygh.
Rygh is standing in front of the Cessna 206. This is considered the "workhorse" aircraft of MAF's fleet and is being used for most of their missions throughout the world.


As you can see the Kodiak is much bigger and can be of more use in the remote areas.
One of the reasons that Mission Aviation Fellowship wanted a Jet engine plane was because of the cost savings in the jet fuel. ($4/gal) Jet fuel is easier to come by in underdeveloped countries. All of the 206's use Aviation Gas, which can cost up to $13 per gallon in some countries.

Even though the day was mostly raining and overcast, quite a few people showed up for the dedication. John Boyd recognized a father and son that drove all the way from Sacramento California for the event. The son, who is only 14, wants to be a MAF pilot, and is a faithful supporter.After the dedication we took a tour of the headquarters. Rygh was able to see the wreckage from Nate Saints plane. He was a MAF missionary pilot in Ecuador. The movie "End of the Spear" was about his life and work and that of his family, in the mission field. It was an incredible movie.
We were glad to be a part of the celebration and can't wait to be more involved in this ministry!

Finally Caught One!

That's right, we finally caught a fish. It actually fed the entire family the next night. (4 pounds, 20 inches)We believe it is a male brook trout. I am looking forward to stocking our freezer with fish! Hopefully Will and I can start fishing soon. That may be a little trickier than it would have been before the men decided to get a new hobby. The metal detector arrived on Thursday. I am not sure if they will want to go to the river to fish or hunt for buried treasure. We will see.