Welcome back to my blog.. LOL I guess I don't update much for those who may visit, but then, nothing much has happened lately. Kat continues to do surprisingly well. Surprising to everybody except Kat. We were talking about algebra the other day and we said something like, "Well, it's nothing compared to a brain tumor." Kat immediately said, "Nah, I got that beat. Now I just have to beat math.". Every day it amazes me how much I can learn from a "kid". Laurie took a picture Kat and Duffy the other day. She added an "artistic" touch and I think it turned out pretty cute. So, for anybody who may visit this page.... Here's Kat!

It's been a long time since I made a blog entry. Where to start?
Well, we found a great house, got it for an awesome price and then poured money into it to make it livable again. Thank God my father in law is Mr Handy Man! I've just about got my man cave finished. It needs some trim paint and Laurie wants lattice work around the bottom of it. I want a coffee maker, mini fridge and a recliner in it! Kat continues to do great and her tumor is stable. The next MRI is on the 29th, so we're all holding our breath around here. Pre MRI stress is the hardest part. Right as we were moving into the new house, Laurie had what is called an Aortic Dissection. Basically, her aorta ruptured but it didn't go all the way through the wall of the aorta. We got lucky. Only 40% of people who get this live. It's what killed John Ritter (from Three's Company). Never a dull moment in our home! It's just amazing that I'm not heavily medicated to cope with stress! Must be the balsa therapy.
And speaking of balsa therapy, a good friend sold me an old Sagitta 600 that he never built. I still haven't finished rebuilding the Sagitta 900 that I bought a year ago at a swap meet. But now I have a workshop/man cave. Maybe soon I can get some work done. How bout some pics?

Been a while since I posted any thoughts here. The wife has kept me busy. We've been looking for a new house with a little more room and enough of a backyard that I could build a small shop (ie-Mancave) so I could have my own model building place. So far, no luck. We've found houses we like, but they're all just out of our price range. Been hoping somebody would come down a bit since we'd be offering cash in hand. Nope. They'd rather get foreclosed.
Kat has been doing awesome. Her hair has grown back and she's turning into a little lady, which scares the living hell out of me. She's started wearing makeup and carrying a purse. She even wears heels to church! My little softball superstar is growing up.


Don't have a recent pic of Kat, but how bout a picture of Duffy the wonder mutt after digging in the red, Alabama mud of our back yard?

Some pics of my little step-monkey Katherine. She was diagnosed with a brain tumor 6 months after her Mom and I got married. Boy I thought it was going to be tough just living with a kid who was about to hit puberty! Puberty has NOTHIN on brain cancer! The picture of her with no hair was taken the day that the ballpark was renamed in her honor. She was weak and tired, but proud. The picture of her with the puppy was taken the day we got Duffy. She was trying to figure out what his name was going to be when that picture was taken. The flying picture was taken somewhere around Montgomery I think. I used to carry my camera with me and just snap off a few shots from time to time.

I was out looking for a decent slope the other day and didn't find one, but I found a decent spot to fly for a while. Notice the old-school, He-man type javellin launch. Only REAL men still do it that way!

I grew up in the tiny town of LaGrange, TN just outside of Memphis. My dad was a pilot with Southern Airways and Mom had been a stewardess with Delta before I was born. From conception I've been interested in flying or more accurately, obsessed with flying. I started flying in 1984 and soloed after 5 hours of flight time. I putzed around with it until college and partying took over and didn't get serious with it until January of 2001. My Dad died 2 weeks later and I put it on the back burner for another year. I finally got back into it and got my license in 2002 and flew a bit but not much.
In November of 2004 I moved down to Mobile, AL with the intentions of moving further south in another year or so. Just as the time came to move on, I found Laurie and her daughter Katherine and we decided to get married. She talked me into getting back into school and going back to flying. I did both. I got my Instrument rating in less than 90 days and scored 6 A's and 1 B in school. Everything seemed like it was going great. Then, one day in October, we found out that Kat had a brain tumor. Life changed instantly. The battles continue but we're doing okay right now. Kat's tumor is stable and after Christmas I plan to get back to my Commercial rating. During some of Kat's hospital stays and time off from school, I decided to build a Dynaflite Skeeter and get back into R/C just a little. I found the forums here and met some friends and had a good time. One of the friends gave me a CR Aircraft Climax and continues to inspire me, check in on me and make me laugh and challenge my (rusty) building skills and imagination. This forum and the people I've met here have become a real stress reliever and a lot of help in maintaining my sanity over the last year. I've learned a lot and continue to make good friends who I hope to meet in person some day.
If you have a chance, visit my step-daughter's website at
http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/katherinebarnard
She enjoys reading guestbook entries from people around the world.