Merry Christmas! This year was somewhat more relaxed than previous years. Thanks to some extra help on the bus. (thanks Twin!) Dad and I even had some time to go up and fly on Christmas eve! Since I'll have to fly form the right seat for my instructor rating, I let dad have the left and I sat in the right seat. (I have flown from the right seat before) I let dad do most the flying, he did pretty good, except he kept trying to land it 40 ft above the runway, that's when I would take over. It was a lot of fun. It makes me look forward to getting my instructor rating. That evening we had our family Christmas, And left for Grandpa and Grandma Hager's house. Christmas day we were able to sing at the prison in Prairie Du Chien, it went really well. It is really neat to be able to be there on Christmas day.
Everyone have a blessed new year.

Ok! just so that all my "fan base", (is it three or four?) that check my blog know, I'm still alive, around, and well, keeping busy.
Now, I'd like to address some things I see have been going on in my "virtual cockpit". First of all, good things take time. I know it might take ten or twenty years, but I just might end up with some real nice whiskers. And besides, you can't blame a guy for trying his best, can you? I'm mean, my Dad's Dad was the only one in his unit in the army that could go almost a whole week in boot camp without shaving, and not get in trouble! So the fact that it can be seen on a picture after only ??????? days, ok, maybe it was months, anyway, its still beating the odds, even if it is just barely. A couple weeks ago my family was even saying it was to the point of needing trimmed! So I looked it over carefully and trimmed three of the whiskers. They were right, it looks a lot better after that. And just so you know where I stand, I stand behind my whiskers!

Josiah in his cockpit

...now we just have to get him to visit his on-line cockpit once in a while!

I'm hacking the blog!!! (What's the fun of knowing your brother's password and never using it?!)
Due to there being no recent posts on this cockpit called Josiah's, I thought I'd give you an update: He's home. He's busy.

Now that you know what he is up to, I thought I'd get a little more personal: if you hadn't noticed in pictures yet, he came home with some fuzz on his chin...I think it definitely makes him look older; more 'bachlor-ish!' (If that is a word!) He hasn't mentioned anything about it on here yet, but I think he kind of likes it. What do you all think?

Love you, brother! (I bet you'll never guess which sister this is, either!)

[grin]

My first full week of work in Wyoming was just that, a full six day week. We worked from sun up, till sun down. I'm thankful for God's protection as I did fall twelve feet through the rafters on to the concrete floor. I landed on my feet and rolled onto my back, stood up, brushed myself off and went back to work.

As you can see we made pretty good progress this week on this 100x68ft shop.

Today I had the day off so Michal Hipps (a friend for Nebraska who is also out here working) and I went hiking up in the mountains. We were told there were grizzly bears in the area, so we went prepared, but we didn't see any. It was a beautiful seven hour hike.

Here is a fifteen passenger van, Wyoming style! Four wheel drive and tracks.

Working in Wyoming is a little different than Nebraska. The things you see along the road on the way to the job site are quite amazing for this Nebraska boy. Take for instants, this bear. (sorry the picture is not that great, all I had was my camera on my phone) It was just sitting by the road eating berries, it didn't even seem to care that we were there. Then, at the job site, a doe with two little fawns came within twenty yards or so from us as we worked.


My Scripture for the day- The fear of the Lord leads to life, And he who has it will abide in satisfaction; He will not be visited with evil. Proverbs 19:23

825 miles, in eleven and one half hours, and only one stop, (to fuel up and use the restroom) and I am safely in Cody Wyoming. I am not all to sure whats on the schedule for the rest of the week out here. I do know tomorrow I will get some flying in, as I am going to get checked out in an airplane at the local airport here in Cody. Well, I'm a bit tired right now and can't think of any thing more to right. So that's all for now!

After four whole days of sitting at my computer studying, I went and took the Flight Instructor written test. Its a 100 question test with over eight hundred questions to draw from. Praise the Lord, I achieved a 91%. Its good to have that behind me. I still have some other written test to take, but this was the hardest by far. There were a couple questions that I knew, that I knew the answer, but my mind went blank and I could not remember for the life of me ,what the answer was. So I'd pray, Lord give me the answer. Then it was like something clicked, and I would all the sudden remember what it was. I'm so glad I have a God that knows all the answers, from the little things, (like a written test) to the big, "life decisions". Its just a matter of surrendering all I am to His Lordship, seeking His face, and asking. (James 1:5-8 & 4:3)



A quote I saw at an airport recently:

"The only time success come before work is in the dictionary".

OK, here is the answer, (drum roll) I had the shingles. The shingles comes from the same virus as the chicken-pox. So although I had fully recovered from the chicken-pox at five, when I got the shingles at ten that exposed my younger siblings to the virus, and from that they caught the chicken-pox.

A thought for the day:

Do you know who Jesus was?

Or do you know who Jesus is?

So its been a while since I last posted. Its not cause nothing is going on, but rather to much is going on. Well I thought I would pose anther real life riddle. To start with I have had the chicken-pox only once in my life. I got them when I was about five years old, and was over them in a couple weeks. However five years later when I was ten, Elizabeth, Matthias, and Stephen all got the chicken-pox, and they got them from me. How can this be seeing I had the chicken-pox only once and fully recovered about five years earlier? It really happened, but how? See if you can figure it out. (For anyone out there who has already heard me tell this riddle you are not allowed to give the answer.)

So like this is my third try in getting this posted. Two times now I'm almost ready to hit the publish tab, and poof, something happens and all my work is gone. So they say a picture is worth a thousand words, so I'll let the pictures do the talking

While in Bridger Montana, we had fun playing floor hockey!


In Cody Wyoming we spent some time with the Atnip Family,
They had a dirt bike just my size! (haha)
Its little 50cc motor didn't have quite the power as there Sportsmen 700.


But it would get me around, barely.

Here are some pictures from the last week or so. Its been a good week as we have made our way up the western coast, and now we will be heading eastward. God's creation is awesome, the mountains, and water falls, it has been beautiful driving. We tried to see some Red Woods in California, but after driving twenty minutes and and five miles on the little road that leads up there, the trailer had dropped off the shoulder because of the steep turns and we blew a tire . So we turned around and went back to the Interstate.

A big highlight in California was spending time with Caleb Nelson.
The San Fransisco bay!

(if you look close, you can see Alcatraz on the left)

Multnomah Falls My favorite photographer!

Bethany at work!

Charissa has adapted well to life on the road!

Back on the road!

What is desired in a man is kindness, and a poor man is better than a liar. Pro 19:22

All right, its been a while since I have posted, and, well its kind of like this -- I've been busy. We finely made it out to Californa. After a week and a half of working on the bus it was good to get on the road. We drove though the beutiful rocky mountains and after a full day of driving it was a welcome break to stop at a rest stop just into Utah.

The rocks were great for running, climbing, hiding, and burning up a lot of bottled up energy.

No need to worry, Andew was able to pull himself up, or maybe he just stood up.

And welcome to "sunny" California!

Take the old one out, put the new one in, give the wrench a whirl for our trip west must begin. That's been the song around here this past week. The axle housing had to come out to fix excessive ware in the spindles that was caused by spinning (bad) bearings. Also the transmission we found was the same as gone. After looking it over it made us wonder how it even made it this far. Today the new differential came in and tomorrow the new transmission will get here, and the axle housing should be done. So we will be putting everything back together tomorrow and Saturday, and Lord willing will be on the road Saturday night. We have had to cancel and postpone a few thing this weekend, Lord willing, we should be able to be out in California by Tuesday for a school we are supposed to be at.

Some "minor"....or more like major repairs.....

This has been another education for me in the art of

"bus mechanics"

Umm.....I think theres supposed to be a wheel here

Yesterday we were at the shop getting the bus ready to go, changing oil, checking water level and transmission fluid, ect. Last thing we checked the differential oil, and the plug which is magnetic showed a pretty display of metal. So we drained it out and the oil had a metallic look to it. A good friend (thanks Ragnar) helped us, or I should say, we helped him take out the "drop box" and what Ragnar affectionately called "the pumpkin" (the differential) out, They were in really bad shape. (Silver Eagles had the drive shaft go over and past the drive axle, connect to a "drop box", which is just three gears that then go back into the differential from the front.) So this morning I took the parts into Lincoln so they could rebuild everything. Ragnar said he didn't know if we would have made it back from California had we left the way it was. God had led me to pray yesterday morning that if there was anything that needed attention before we left that he would show us, praise the Lord He did. Fixing it before it left us stranded with a tow bill, possibly having to fix it on the road, and the interruptions to our commitments, God was and is taking care of us. We do not sing till Saturday evening in Los Angeles and we think we will be able to have everything back together and be able to leave Thursday. With a couple big days of driving we will get there in time. You can pray that there would be no delay for those rebuilding the differential, that we would be able to fill our all our commitments and opportunities that God has given.

What a weekend we have had! 220 children and about 60 staff, and two big days learning about our King Jesus. It is what we called, "The Quest". Themed around a drama about Andrake, who is a young boy on a quest to become a knight in service to his king. He finds that to serve his king is to keep the kings word and serve those of the kingdom. That happens to be returning a fair young maiden that had been kidnapped, back to her father.

The 50-60 staff volunteers

Lady Rachel leading songs!

Long ago, when knight saved maidens......

The drama team!

Getting ready for scene three!

"Andrake", "Lark", and "Sir Conley"

Buyer beware of the smooth talking peddler
I have just the thing for you!
Turneus (Matthias) and Ichacus (Me) steeling away a Damsel in distress.
(we were called the Turn and Itch crew)

Trying to "explain" our "little brother Del"

All three of us are brothers, we all have the same father......and mother too! Run for it!Dellia is found and on her way back home!
Andrake gets knighted for his brave service to the King and the people of the kingdom.

Will we serve the King of Kings with all our hearts?

This week has been quite an eventful week. On Tuesday dad and I flew (do to weather we flew the airlines) to San Antonio Texas with one way tickets to look at a 45ft Silver Eagle coach we expected to drive back. It was dark when we got there Tuesday and so we decided to make a final decision until we could look at it in the day light. It was a good thing we did, there were a lot of things that would need work that we did not have the time or desire to deal with, and dad did not have peace about it. So we told the lady that we did not want the bus, and she drove us back to the airport, we got there about 12:30. So I got my computer out and begin to look for flights back home, and while I’m doing this dad gets a call from a friend, who we knew was trying to sell there 45ft Silver Eagle, and well I don’t want say to much to early, so just stay tuned to our Family’s Journal, and in the next week or to you will hear the rest of the story. Ok, lets see, where was I, Oh yes, Dad I were stuck at the San Antonio airport with no tickets to get home. Well it was getting to be about 1:10 and I finely found some really good priced tickets online, the only problem was the flight left at 2:10. So dad went to the counter to ask about a flight home. About ten minuets later he comes back, “lets go our flight leaves at 2:10". So we run and check in our luggage and get in line for security. Its now about 1:30 and the line is long. We get through security and are putting our shoes back on at 2:00, our flight is at gate 15, so we run to the gate and sit down in our seats at 2:05, whew, we made it. We had a three hour lay over in Denver and landed in Omaha 9:18 that evening. It was good to be home.
The verse that came to mind is Pro. 16:9 “A man’s heart plans his way, But the Lord directs his steps.

After over seven weeks on the road we are finally home!! You can pray for us as we try to find a replacement bus/coach within the next three weeks before we head out west.

We (that would be us oldest eight children) are helping with taking care of the children for the Nebraska state home school convention as in years past. We will have about 200+ children the last Friday and Saturday in March. And as in years past there is a drama with a theme and biblical life lessons, and last year I made the drama team....as a bad guy. So this year you'll never guess what part they gave me....yep, another bad guy part. They say its cause a I make such a "good" bad guy. But I can't help but wonder, if there is such a thing as a "good" bad guy. Although I must say it is a fun part, and I'll give my best at being a "good" bad guy.

One thing on the trip that really touched me, and I'll share it with you is while ministering in prison, one of the prisoners made the statement that the first time he used a fork and spoon was in prison. Most, if not all these guys came from a rough family background, or no family at all. It made me think, what did I do to grow up in a family that loved me. Absolutely nothing, God placed me here, and for that I am very thankful. But if I had a childhood like most these men behind bars, most of whom either do not know there father, or hate there father, and wish they had never known him because, he was so abusive, I would be right in there with them. Its great to see how God takes and changes anybody when they surrender to His Lordship. For its not that I am better than they, I need God's grace, and forgivness just as much as they do. It is by God's grace and for knowledge (nothing to do with me) that I have grown up in a loving family, but to whom more is given, more is required. Its not how many talents I have, but what am I doing with the talents I do have, or should I say, that God has given me?

This afternoon we enjoyed our last full day in Orlando. We were able to spend the afternoon with the Timothy Pent Family, who had just gotten home Friday after serving as missionaries in South Korea. Back home if you were to go to the lake right now you would bring your ice skates, but not here in central Florida. The Pents had a boat, so Andrew and I were able to try wake boarding for the first time.

Getting up out of the water was bit tricky, but both Andrew and I were able to manage it on the second try. Although Andrew had the advantage having watched me do it first. Bethany is so good at making me look good!
This may look like a cool wakeboarding trick, or something like that. The truth be told, it ended with a big splash!

Something like this.

And here is my brother Andrew! He did pretty good too!

And yes, Andrew had some good splashes as well.

Yesterday we went salt water fishing with some friends in Tampa Bay, near St Petersburg Florida. The friends we were with told us you never know what you might catch when fishing in the bay. We caught 33 little silver looking fish, I forget what they were called, so little silver fish will have to do. I do know that they tasted real good. One of the guys that took us fishing caught a puffer fish. Unfortunately Bethany was not there to take a picture. But this fish puffed up so tight, it look like a ball, and it bounced like one to.
Then, just before it was time to go I got a bite on my line. I knew it was something bigger than normal. After five minutes of fighting it finally came to shore. It was a sting-ray!

Its weighed about 15-20 pounds, and had a wing-spand of about two feet or a little more.

Don't worry, we stayed clear of the stinger.

The stinger is the trophy of the animal. Kind of like the antlers on a buck. So we cut that off. I guess there is some meat in the wings, but we did not have time to work it up. So I will have to wait for another time to get to taste sting-ray.

Ok, I'll tell the painful truth. The truth is we went to the beach yesterday. The painful part is we all got fried; sunburnt real bad. Although it was fun. Swiming in the waves -- and chek out our sand art. This one, as you could guess, is mine.