Cavity Free Club!!

Good job, Mr Nut! After three trips to the dentist and two rounds of drilling, the peanut is cavity free. Max did really well at his last appointment thanks to the assistance from NO2.

Yamaha

Just a few more pictures of the yama-honda. Based on how it started Sunday, I think that the next thing I need to replace is the battery. I found out that I can get ~45 miles from a gallon of gas, but not much more, and that after a block of pushing it gets kinda heavy. The motorcycle is ready to get painted now, but I'm going to wait. I think that I will try and build a new seat before I paint it.

stage-5???

We're getting closer now. Adam delivered the Yamaha to me a few weeks ago, and I have been slowly eeking away. Because of the home construction, weddings, baby, showers and work, I have had about 1/2 an hour per week to work on the motorcycle. There's lots of rust to be dealt with, and some hours of repainting and sanding in my future. For now I have been honing my sanding skills on the dresser and baby changing table in the garage. I went to the DMV today and was in and out in 5 minutes. It was $75 dollars to transfer title and re-activate the registration in my name. The annual registration will be based on the selling price of $50 thereafter. The only big monetary investment that I'm not looking forward to is the $250 bucks for the safety class. The class will cost twice what I've spent on the bike so far.

She's a little cold blooded, and doesn't like to start all the time... But when she starts, she goes!

Rugrats

Motorcycle-Stage 3 And it Runs!

Hard to tell with the fantastic pictures from my phone that thinks it has a camera, but the bike has underwent some substantial changes. Adam hotwired it sufficiently that it can idle on it's own and shake off 10 years of rust. Last Wednesday we borrowed a tank from his rat bike and took the ol' Yamaha for it's first ride in a decade. I zipped up and down a back road and ran through a few gears just fine. I have not sat on a motorcycle in 15 years so I was a little hesitant and drove like a duck. Adam took it out for a run and cleaned out all of the rust. The speedometer is not working yet, but he said that it went around 65ish through all 6 gears just fine. Now it is time for some more permanent wiring and some minor adjusting and the bike is ready to roll! It will be up to me to make it look less like something that Tina Turner rode back from the Thunderdome and more like a respectable motorcycle. Removing the luggage racks and changing the seat and tank have removed about 100 pounds, and really changed the look.

Trying out a tank from an old CB750, but it still kinda sat too high

Notice the pile of chrome and plastic that used to be attached to the back end

I really like the look of this tank, off another Honda.

Hard to see, but look at the fuse that Adam used on the very bottom.

What is the amp rating for a number 4 bolt?

Motorcycle-Stage 2

"The bike goes Vroom" Adam, tired of waiting on me, and tired of the bike taking up room in his garage, has diagnosed all of the electrical symptoms that have manifested this far. Initially we purchased and installed a new Ignition Box, then Adam noticed that a critical component of the distributor assembly was missing. The Governor Assembly ($89.94 at bikebandit.com) had, at some point in time, been removed and not replaced. Not having this part is like trying to strike a match on the pavement, but not having a match in your hand, it just doesn't work. At this point, Adam sat silently and let the wheels turn. In what can only be described as "Adam Logic", he came up with the solution. So basic, so simple, and so easy. We could balance the State budget and end the war in Afghanistan in a month using Adam Logic, but the answer would be too simple, and make way too much sense. So Adam's idea was to remove the electronically controlled ignition system and install points. This model bike was built up to 79 using points, a system of mechanical trips and levers that control the rate and timing of spark. He yanked the electronic controls and installed the points, and electricity flowed like a river.

The next challenge was combustion. How do we achieve combustion? WD-40 and Duct Tape. No kidding, he removed the carburetors and covered the cylinders with duct tape, then filled them with WD-40. Add spark, and "The bike goes Vroom." Thus, I received a text last night with this message. It didn't run too long on Water Displacement formula 40, but the cylinders did what they get paid to do.

Next step, clean the carb's and get a cold pack for my handy mechanic.

Triumphant Life Youth Camp Grant Application-Vote Today!

Please take a minute and read this article, then go to the website and vote! TLC is among 100 candidates vying for 30 grants. That’s pretty good odds, but they need you to vote to make this happen. Help keep a positive thing going for our community and our kids!

TLC has had a long standing reputation for positive influence in Humboldt County and needs the support of those of us who have stayed at TLC, sent our kids to TLC, or have friends who have had the opportunity to spend time at TLC. Some of the activities and groups at TLC that I have been blessed to take part in have been life changing for many members of our community. These groups would not have been successful, had this facility and its directors not been there.

Jack Unstoppable!

Rach is way ahead of me with the blogging updates, but here is a pretty good video of Jack walking last week, and quickly moving to attack mode!

Not a big fan of the cameraphone by the way.

Mortorcycle - Stage 1

First attempt at fixing up the freebie. My buddy at work was looking to pass this bike off to some other poor sucker, and thought that I'd be perfect, so... here we are. The bike has been sitting at Adam's for about a month now, and this Saturday was the first chance that I had to try to work on it. And by work on it I mean watching Adam perform diagnostics and isolate the electrical problem. In about an hour he found the problem, and price for the new part, $70. I don't know if I'm ready to drop $70 on a freebie yet. I will, but just not this weekend. Right now we have better things to spend money on than an old motorcycle, so I need to either scrimp and save or come up with some side jobs. The bike still shows promise, so far there have been no fatal flaws found, but we have not dug too deep into the monster. It's fun getting together with a friend, working on something and having to use my brain on a Saturday. If only I didn't have to spend money. I'm going to try to get it home this week so that I can start removing all the excess weight, ie chrome fenderie things around the luggage boxes, mega chromie trim around the super seat, luggage boxes. Right now this thing looks like it is twice the size that it needs to be.

Centerpointe Community Church Good Friday Service is this Friday evening at 7:00 pm, we hope that you can make it. Please pray for this service and the Easter Service.

Easter is Approaching

I am very excited to have the opportunity to lead an Easter worship service. This will be the first Easter that I have ever leadand this has always been a life goal for me as a worship leader. So I am stoked. I have been kicking around the idea of going big. I really enjoy Easter time and the anticipation of Easter.

The month leading to the Easter weekend was an intense time for Jesus' life on Earth. He was greeted when he entered Jerusalem by people waving branches and singing to him. Shortly afterwards, how many of the "branch wavers" do you think he recognized gambling in the temple? And, am I one of the branch waving gamblers too???? yikes. Often I feel that I am. Two of his closest friends will betray him soon, and he knows this. Yet, he still offers the cup and the bread to them. The forgiveness for their sins payed to them in full before they would materialize their acts of betrayal.

People tend to put a lot of influence on Christmas time as the Holy Season, which I agree that we should celebrate the birth of Christ as the beginning of the great work about to take place. The Easter Crucifixion, and more importantly, the Resurrection is the time where the fulfillment of God's mercy comes to be.

This brings me back to my original thought of the person of Christ. Jesus Christ became fully God and fully man. I am not going to get into the theological explanation of this. If it is unclear to you, search the scripture and talk to your pastor. Nevertheless, Jesus was fully God and fully man. I tend to dwell on the fact of Jesus being man. Jesus felt the same pains and anxieties that we are susceptible to each day, but how did he overcome these things? By searching the scripture and daily communing with his Father. So, thinking of the man aspect of Jesus, re-reading the gospels in a new light, I will look at the timeline immediately preceding the Easter weekend. From the moment he entered the gates of Jerusalem, knowing that he was going to die for the sins of the people who were singing around him, to the Garden of Gethsemane where the man aspect of Jesus shows most evident. When he begins to feel the weigh of the cup of judgement, but then knows that these things must take place so that the Father's perfect will can be seen. Then the betrayal of Peter, the rock. Peter, the rock... Peter who succombs to fears of persecution for being a friend of Jesus and denies knowing Jesus. All the while Jesus carries this cross that is rightfully Peter's, and mine. Then, Judas Iscariot, who has already sold Jesus out. Jesus knows what business Judas has to attend to, and chooses not to rat him out. Instead, he offers him the cup, the bread, and redemption for sin.

So... This Easter 2009, I am excited to take on the challenge of Easter. Beginning in March, I will look into this time in the life of our Savior. My Easter music list will be epic. In the upcoming weeks, I intend to reflect on the time Jesus spent in the city preparing himself to die . Good Friday will look at the Crucifixion, and Sunday am will be the time of celebrating the Resurrection.

This will be difficult, but exciting. I have always wanted to do an Easter service, and I think that it has quite a bit to do with the way I think, and how symbolism is a very important part of my make-up. Hopefully, it goes well, honors this time, and in all things gives glory to the Lord.

CTI Music Ministries rocked Eureka this weekend. If you missed it, you're pretty lame... = ) Seriously, the show they put on this weekend was amazing, awesome worship, testimony, dramas, preaching. It was the seven sided assault on satan. Praise God, how awesome is it that these people are traveling America and the planet reclaiming the lost for Christ!

Link to the team blog if you would like to know more about the team members and their travels.

Thank you guys for blessing us, travel safe, and keep proclaiming the beautiful news!

Cold mornings in January when the sky is black and the coulds are orange, and the geese fly loudly overhead, make me wish that I was trimming ancient fruit trees with Larry in Ettersberg, Bear River, Weott, or anywhere else but where I am now.

Happy Birthday Mr. B. Nimble!!!

Jack is one year old today, January 8, 2009. Although he isn't walking as soon as Max did, he sure can rock the red walker like nobody's business! Max was never as stoked to push the red noisy car walker around like Jack is, but Jack is all over this sweet ride!