Presents recieved

This is just a thank you to all the gift givers. We gave hugs while we were there but let it be forever known (or until Achned the terrorist takes down the WWW) that we love the gifts.

We appreciate all the gifts for us and the kids. They have been played with (especially in the car ride home) and used non-stop and they were just what the kids are enjoying right now. Candi and my gifts were perfect also. It's amazing how well you nailed us down even with us being gone from the family so much. I hope we can call and write more often the gift exchange will be easier as the years go by. I hope you are enjoying yours just as much.

Also, thank you for opening your homes for the "homeless Sickels clan" for ten days. We had a lot of fun and made a lot of memories in that short time. I am really happy to have spent time with you all and that the kids were able to get to know you more. God has really blessed us with great family! We'll start adding rooms so you can all come down next year. There's something awesome about hiking in the desert on a "cold" Tucson Christmas day. We love you.

Home again, home again, jiggity jig

Real quick - we drove home yesterday (from MN). 1600 miles and 29hours straight thru. We bought some drugs, er, new movies for the kids to watch on the last half of the drive around noon and picked up some madlibs. Then took a shower at a truck stop in Tucumcari (only $9 bucks for those traveling across the country, but try showering two adults and three kids in 10 minutes - it's amazing no one got hurt). I now believe Clark Griswald is a genius; he knew what true family bonding time was.

Praise Jehovah for beautiful roads again... and that we weren't next to the semi and six cars we saw on their sides/roofs after the few bad hours of freezing rain. In the words of the great philosopher Sid the Sloth, "I choose life."

What's snow funny?

Today was another awesome day in the snow! Uncle Peter hooked up a sled and a tube to his ranger (four wheel drive ATV type thingy) and pulled the kids all over his property. We have a DVD slide slow of the pictures that is hilarious. The joy on their faces in some pictures was only matched by the shear terror displayed in others. All was well until Christian decided the sled had done enough work and tried using his face instead. The sled failed to tell Christian that it doesn't cry or feel pain when drug across hard packed snow/ice at speeds in excess of six mph.

Anyway, I doubt any of them will forget that for a while. It's probably best that Wyatt was asleep with his daddy while this was all going on. We've found that high danger recreational activities and 100% fearless toddlers don't mix well.

Merry Christmas to all.

You got to know when to hold 'em.

Last night was a fun night for me. I played Texas Hold 'em for the first time (at least, for money. It's not really playing when there's no money on the line and people are going all in on the first hand) with my step-mom, wife, brother, and step-brother.

I know that knowledge doesn't equal experience but there are a lot of people at work that talk daily about how they did at the tables the night before. One guy in particular is very good and has won thousands of dollars in the last two years playing Hold 'em and Blackjack. Anyway, they talk about strategies, how to play the cards, and how to play people (and not the cards). Well, I won the nights pot and have to attribute it to listening to the guys talk. I could tell when people were bluffing, trying to bully me, or trying to buy the pot. Now I'd like to take a night at the casino and find out whether I truly did learn something or I was just playing my family... either way, President Jackson and I are close friends now.

Snow much fun!

So far the kids have been having a blast sledding and playing in the snow. We stopped at Walmart and picked up some gloves, mittens, and snow boots. We borrowed snowsuits for the boys and my mom made a new batch of winter hats for everyone. There actually wasn't much snow when we got to Minnesota and it was too cold (about 7 degrees F) to make snowmen (I won't go into that for those that don't understand how snow works). The kids were kids, though. They made fun out of it anyway.
The next day we bought saucers and went to a local hill. We all (Wyatt included) had a lot of fun on the slopes.. er, slope. I'll add pictures later. We were out there for hours until our cheeks were red and Wyatt was mistaken for a snowman. Of course, we returned to the house as victorious sledders and basked in the steam of hot chocolate. There are disadvantages to living in sub-freezing weather, but there are some fun parts, too. Plus, it is just a vacation and we can keep telling ourselves that in two weeks we'll be Tucson again.

The Long Haul

We arrived in Minnesota (my parent's home) today around 0600. It was a long 36 hours. Well, we didn't actually drive for 36 hours; only about 24. I was approximately 1700 miles and to my great surprise gas was about 20 cents cheaper once we left AZ and continued that way for the whole trip. We didn't get to see a whole lot because all but six hours was during darkness. We left at 6pm Sunday night and drove until 2pm-ish Monday in Emporia, Kansas (KS?). We stayed there until 10pm and then went the rest of the way. It was definitely tiring but about $600 cheaper than flying (in addition to rental vehicle). The kids were great and the weather was perfect. Honestly, I give glory to God for how smoothly the trip went because I couldn't have planned it any better! We're here for the rest of Christmas time and will be leaving to come home on the 26th. I'll write later to fill in on the holiday "spoils."

It is finished!

I spent all of today and a lot of last night studying for quizzes, taking quizzes, and writing papers for Evangelism and NT survey classes. I'm ecstatic to say I'm done and just happily waiting for the grades to post! What a rough eight weeks. I'm pretty sure I will not take two classes online again (unless the AF sends me to work away from my family for at least eight weeks). The only courses left have a heavy work load. I was able to earn six credits in eight weeks, but I didn't necessarily learn all that I could have from the classes; I was just trying to get all the work done.

Candi, thank you for giving me the time to study (especially those times it wasn't done happily).
Travis, thanks for the "big picture" viewpoint - I really needed to focus on the 20%! Plus, thank you for letting me ask intrusive questions. I got to finish an assignment and get to know a dear brother at the same time... on to Theology 1 and 2! Ha!

Serving my purpose

Today I did something I've never done before. I shared the entire gospel with someone and didn't end up just debating about pointless Christianity/religion/God subjects. I have always had the desire to tell people about how and why I chose to follow Jesus (that's probably a "duh" thing for a Christian to say), but have never been able to get the conversation to focus on the individual's need. It always ends up just being a theological discussion of whether or not the bible can say it's the only holy book, God is loving, abortion is wrong, etc., etc., etc that doesn't actually challenge the other person to consider their position with God and their eternal destination.

However, the Evangelism course I took thru Liberty University really equipped me to overcome the typical fears and difficulties involved with sharing the true, life-saving gospel. I was actually required to witness and then do a report on it to complete the class. I had intended to witness to someone else, but God led me to witness to someone completely different. It felt great to witness. I always thought it would be scary and nerve wracking - it wasn't. I can only say I'm so thankful for being taught a proper way to present the vital facts and for being forced to do it. I think it's like any other act - the more it's practiced the better I'll be at it (or just more comfortable).

What a week!

This week has been just plain rough. After last weeks revelations and questions, I'm trying to ensure my priorities are in order. It seems I'm over tasked with school because I'm now a week behind in the work. I keep telling myself I'd rather get a C in school and an A in family/husbandry (I really don't think that's a word). With God's grace, I'll be successful and bring God more glory by it.

We got the home school curriculum and Candi is doing an amazing job as always. I just don't know that I would ever do as well as she does in planning and completing plans for our kids. i don't care what anyone in the world says - Candi has the most important job in the world and she is an absolute success at it. I hope to give her a raise soon (depending on how our stock goes this quarter :) ). We're going to teach the kids year round so we're not actually doing a daily-planned lesson. We (by that I mean Candi) just work on a little bit each day and the kids really enjoy it. Nori is happy as a clam being home schooled; Bubba is taking some adjusting. He really likes the social time, a lot. Candi's just making a big effort to invite his friends from school over and getting out during the day to visit other friends.

The only real "stressor" right now is that I'm getting to the final assignments of the Evangelism class, which means I am going to have to go witness to someone. I don't think I'm going start with a stranger. I know some folks at works that I really care about and would probably find it "fun" to be the guinea pig for my assignment. I truly believe I should be able and willing to witness at any time, any place because I believe the saving gospel is the most important message and is meant for everyone in the world. I just need practice and experience so I'm starting small. Here's a question - should Christian's do the door-to-door witnessing that a lot of other religions do? Is it effective and is it biblical (in that there is a biblical precedent for it)?

Cup is Half Full (of what, I'm just not sure)

This week I am 50% done with the two courses I'm taking. It has been very hard. I'm pretty sure I'm a workaholic (so is my wife!) and so a few years ago I decided I would make my focus to be a bit of a slacker at work (at least, as much as the AF will let me). It's been very good for me to realize I don't have to do everything. During that time, God helped me to rearrange my priorities a bit.

At the same time, my desire to get some college learnin' about God and the bible has remained strong (though I don't know what God wants me to do with it), thus the classes I'm in now.

On top of that, I decided that it was time for me to help out where I can in our church (check it out, it rocks! - Beginnings church), so I've been playing guitar with the band twice a month. That is also something I really love to do.

So with all this stuff, our three kids, a marriage to give top priority to, and a house to fix here and there I've managed to once again overload myself to the point that Candi feels like she's the bottom of the totum pole. So I'm once again praying for God's wisdom to get it right. Any advice is welcome.

To home school or not to home school

The kids have been in school at the Academy of Tucson since mid-August; even though it's a good school my wife and I are praying about home schooling them again beginning in December. We've scoped out the program we want to use. It's called LifePac. They basically publish each chapter in a text book separately. It makes things really easy for planning the lessons and course work. Of course, Candi is the one doing the majority of the schooling (I'm there for a solid .5 to 1% of effort). I'm just excited because I love what home schooling did for our family last year. I believe that if a family can make the sacrifices to live on basically one income, it is well worth it! My family as a whole and kids are much happier when home schooled.
There seems to be a lot of factors that determine if a family will be successful or not at it. The biggest one to Candi is whether or not she has a support group. I can totally understand what she's saying. I guess it's kind of like the old rule that says we're afraid of what we don't understand. It seems the consensus from the world at large is that kids come out of home schooling unable to adapt and succeed in life because they haven't had the relational interaction necessary to cope with day-to-day real life. I can see that point, seriously. Why even today my daughter learned something extremely valuable. At school she has a "reading buddy." That's someone from an older grade that reads with you each week. Well, evidently Nori's reading buddy hits her, calls her stupid, and says that another boy Nori talks to is dumb. I can only thank the public school system that she learned that lesson before she got much further in life. How could Candi and I ever ensure at home that she's receiving all that important wisdom and experience?! (Did I lay the sarcasm on too thick?)
Anyway, any comments? Are we nuts for teaching them at home? Are we the best parents in the world? We'll see. Maybe they'll be 25 and blaming me for not knowing how to deal with someone at work hitting them.
God bless you all!

Work and school

I've completed all the training I'm going to have for a while at work at the beginning of November. I can now work all the positions in the tower (except the Watch Supervisor) and train new controllers. I've come to the conclusion that Air Traffic Control is one of those "you had to have been there!" jobs. One of my buddies just came up two Saturdays ago and during the two and a half hours he was there, we talked to zero aircraft. He left out shear boredom. The job isn't usually that slow, but the weekend isn't the best time to see any action.

I started classes at Liberty University again October 11th. I'm working on a BS in Religion. Liberty does a lot to work with military members. The entire degree is online, they accept a lot of military technical training, and provide some vouchers for books. I've noticed a lot of bashing on Liberty by liberal and media (almost the same thing) folks lately. They seem to have an issue with schools requiring students to maintain a moral code. I don't really care what they think of the school. I've completed over 70 credits and have about 50 to go. It's wierd to be getting to the point where I can only handle one class at a time. I've never been this far in college before - I usually quit long before this.

Right now I'm taking New Testament Survey and Evangelism 101. They are both pretty interesting. We've only gotten through the gospels so far in the survey course. I really enjoy it because I honestly have no idea how the timeline of Jesus' ministry worked and where in the world he was in any given chapter. He moved around a lot!

The Evangelism class is really great, too. I guess I just like studying the bible indepth and earning a degree doing it. I really wonder how God will use me once I finish it (or in the mean time!).

8th Anniversary Weekend

Candi and I are celebrating eight years of marriage on September 4th. We were talking this week about special events during the year and how we spend $$$ on those events. We decided we are going to try only spending $$$ on each other on our anniversary (not birthdays and Christmas) but that we'll make it a huge thing every year. To me, my birthday is not a big deal. I always like celebrating Candi's birthday but she's o.k. not doing something outlandish for it. Christmas always ends up being expensive with the gifts for the family (I have a big family - growing bigger every year!) and our kids. So it will actually make things easier on us to do this. So this year we're going to spend the night at Westward Look Resort. Our friends, James and Diane (seen in pictures from the hiking trip) are taking care of our kids while we relax in the Stargazer suite. It has high walls around an outdoor, personal jacuzzi and a nice room - should be sweet!

Who is God?

I've been reading a book I got from my church on Father's day called "In a pit with a lion on a snowy day." Great title, huh?! Anyway, it's about dealing with opportunity in life and how we view God (at least, the first 1/3 of the book is). It's been convicting but also very challenging in a revealing way. He uses a guy named Benaiah and his experiences in the bible to show that what I think about God will greatly influence where I will go, or how much I will grow, spiritually. So I stopped to think about what I think about God. I realized that even though I don't come up with the big meanie head or God waiting to beat me when I screw up, I don't have a lot of good or positive things in mind either. I see Him helping, but not much. I see Him as wise, but not in a way that I can understand. I see Him as loving, but not intimate (the way I want to be as a father). I see Him as real, but vague, ambiguous, or confusing. So I'm challenged by all this to find out how His word describes Him. I'm hopeful.

Bathroom project

I've had an interesting week. I spent pretty much all of last week tile the tub surround upstairs. It is almost finished. I stopped at the wall with the fixtures on it due to time and lack of mortar. I got a little help from my friend Don Ross. Actually, it was a lot of help. He supplied pretty much all the tools and guidance. We actually traded a little work because I helped install a couple of doors that he made in return. I'll gladly give him some free advertising for the AZ area; check out http://www.steelartdesign.com/. Anwway, it's been some fun work. It will be nice to relax in the tub for the first time in a few months. The renovation started out just trying to fix some bad caulking and get rid of some mold! I guess I get carried away sometimes. This is what it looks like prior to grouting: http://www.johnbridge.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=52105

More than meets the eye!

CANDI AND I WATCHED TRANSFORMERS TODAY! THAT WAS TOTALLY WICKED!!! I'm cheesin' just thinking about it. Michael Bay, Roberto Orci, and Alex Kurtzman - way to go! Unreal! Very funny - I've been told Shia LaBeouf has been signed for the sequal. Awesome. I'm really pumped to have my son in to them. His birthday present and Christmas present shouldn't be hard this year! Anyway, it was one of the best movies I've ever seen. I know lots of people are saying that but from a critics standpoint it didn't lack anything. I suppose you can't put in the category with Shawshanke Redemption or Dumb and Dumber, but compared to any action movie... just my opinion. It had it all: plot, acting, action, special effects, the list goes on and on. Enjoy!

New Bike

I got a new motorcycle (mo-mo as my Wyatt calls it)! It's a black '04 Yamaha V-Star Custom 650. It rides great, is very comfortable and sounds cool. I'm comparing to my '97 dual-sport, of course. I'll put some pictures up when I get some. I went up to Pheonix with another controller and picked it up. It was hot that day but the ride home at 10pm was very, very nice. It rode really well at 75-80 mph. It felt like it was the rpms were a little high but there was plenty of throttle left. Only thing I don't like about it is that there is no tack. I suppose that's because I've had a tack on the only other bike I've owned. It's definately a nice blessing. Candi and I have been out once on it - had a blast! I can't wait to get up Mt. Lemon on it. Now I just have to finish the repairs on the Suzuki and get that sold!

Candi's certified!

Candi finished her personal training certification through the YMCA this weekend! It is so exciting to see her get to where she's wanted to be for a long time now. She has sacrificed (and enjoyed completely) a lot being a full time mom. She's wanted to be a P.T. for years but put it behind the children the whole time. I'm just happy to see her happy. She actually isn't using it yet because the Y can't hire her now but she helping people every chance she gets. We're so proud of her!

Dedication

Our second son, Wyatt Andrew, was dedicated at church today. It was very different from our daughter, Nori's, dedication, but very special. They gave us a kids bible called The Jesus Storybook Bible, which breaks the bible into one long love story between God and us. They do an amazing job of bringing God's truths to a kids' level but as always God's love can't be masked or made kiddish; I was blown away by how awesome He has been to me and my family and always will be. We've only read a few pages of it but I'm so thankful for the gift. Nori looks really concerned in the picture, huh?!

Bad news

Today is a horrible and sad day in the Sickels' home. Our girl pup, Molly, was hit by a car Wednesday. She was about 26 months old. Molly was always energetic and fun. She was overbearing at times because she wanted to play so much and be involved with everything we did. We couldn't play with the kids without her throwing her ball or toy into our laps. She liked to chase things and loved to wrestle. She is my first dog. I used to discuss with people whether animals went to heaven and people would often tell me they hope animals did. I never understood why; it was just an animal. I understand now. It will never be a silly thing again to consider a pet a part of the family and miss them when they are gone. I can honestly say I hope Molly is in heaven because she is missed so badly here.

We're coming up on the sum - sum - summer time. Pretty exciting. Last weekend was a blast. We hung with my Aunt and Uncle who live here in Tucson (and played Uno!) Friday, the Allertons on Saturday (hiked and grilled in the mountains - no Uno), the Harts (and played Uno!) on Sunday, and then a various group on Monday. We swam two of the four days; not too bad! Luckily, I got out of work a bit early on Memorial Day so I could at least lay around and chat with friends.
The kids are done with school for the year and are registered at Wrightstown Elementary. We visited the school and like it a lot. It's a cute little school in a pretty nice area (i.e. lots of money) so we feel pretty safe sending the kids there... money = good morals? Maybe it's a false sense of security but it's still a sense of security.
I'm still in training and doing all I can to get rated and off these long hours. I love and hate ATC.
Our house is coming along nicely. We got some major projects done. They were enough to satisfy our itch to throw all of our money into house projects. Some nights I wake up dreaming about additions and painting!
I fixed our computer last night. The power source broke on our Dinosaur computer ('99 Micron AMD 800 MHz - it's like a cheetah... with two legs) so I bought a new tower and moved everything over. It was interesting and I only had to guess on a couple of cables. It just made me want to do more upgrades now that I feel comfortable doing it. Isn't that just like a man? We do things we feel comfortable with and that we know how to do because our egos are so fragile. But things that are hard, uncomfortable, unfamiliar we shy away from (like stepping out on a new job or business, or trying to actually get to know our wife and kids...).
Anyway, I just went from computers to a deep theological discussion on why America has so many school drop-outs, gangs, broken marriages, drug problems, murder, rape, theft, molestation, and hate... men not taking responsibility for our roles given to us by God. The moms and sisters and mothers are left trying to fill needs that God didn't equip or expect them to fill.
It's 0700 in the morning so I'm going to stop there. Hope you all are great!

The begninning

This is the beginning of my blog.