Working, Living, and Loving the Weather

Once again, it's been too long since I've been able to write anything here, and I apologize. AT&T, though, has to bear at least as much of the blame as I do. We still do not have internet, despite a few false hopes we've been given throughout the months. It's very frustrating. I had planned several things for this year that are simply not working, since I don't have regular access. There are several friends who have been very generous and allowed us to use their wi-fi, for which I am very grateful.

Right not, for instance, we are at Mrs. H's house. The kids are taking art classes from her, which is wonderful. They've painted, drawn, shaped clay, and more. It's so nice to have friends who can fill in the gaps of my teaching skillset. She is patient with them, and a great teacher. She had nine kids of her own, so that explains a lot.

We've also been able to get outside and enjoy the beautiful Florida winter. The produce stands here run year-round. It has made cooking and providing healthy options for the family ten times easier. Although it was freezing cold (OK, almost freezing) when the kids did the "Marathon" in Ocala last weekend, most days have been wonderful, and the kids still wear t-shirts and shorts. Compared to this time last year when we were parked in our RV next to the frozen Chesapeake Bay, even the marathon was positively balmy.

In fact, a couple weeks ago we went out on a family hike that we thought would be about four miles in total. We finally go so exhausted, and realized we were still so far from the midpoint of the trail, that we turned around and went back. When Aaron checked the mileage on Google earth the next day, it was eight miles. Eight! I know, all my runner friends are rolling their eyes. Go ahead. The day was warm enough that we had to do some emergency surgery on Mim's long-sleeved shirt. The sleeves made great, if slightly dorky, hats. The were used for a variety of things throughout the trek.

Aaron is continuing to work on the UAV's. This is a tricky time in their development. Now that they've had successful tests, it is tempting to be too optimistic about the time when they'll be ready to send out for use. They want to know that the finished product is so reliable that it doesn't take two engineers and a couple pilots to ensure a safe flight. There are lots of little improvements and corrections, and they want to make sure that they and the eventual users can have full confidence in what they've made. There are already people who have heard about the project and who are interested in having a UAV for their missions work, so there's an added urgency to their work.

We may not have much of an online presence these days, but we're still here. We still appreciate your thoughts and your prayers more than you'll ever know.