Showing posts with label Weather. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Weather. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Becca's perspective of Buster
Ice Storm
We have been buried in ice the last few days and are thankful that our power is delivered underground instead of from poles like other parts of the state.There are very few original trees from when we first moved into the house and one of them is this Magnolia that is sagging under the weight of the ice. I sure hope it pulls itself up when the ice thaws. We have shot many three point shots through its branches over the years, so it will be hard to imagine the front yard without the Magnolia hanging over the driveway.
Becca and I went out this afternoon to take some pictures of the sun reflecting off and through the ice.I also wanted to record some of the damage that occured around the house as our gutters were pulled slightly away from the house under the weight of the ice and constant rain snuck behind the flashing against the brick in the back of the house under the main roof.
Taking photos of minor damage seems trivial as the state experiences the second largest power outage in history.If you can see past all of the damage, the vision is rather glorious.
The kids have also taken advantage of the comfortable 32 degree weather, lack of friction on the ground, and no school for the entire week.
Lots of sledding and sleepovers.
As I passed the elementary school on the way home from work, I noticed many families that decided to have some fun instead of cleaning up trees. Most of the tree cleanup can wait, but you can't sled next week.
The last picture is of the Tulip tree in our back yard. Seeing how this is the Kentucky state tree, one would hope that it would survive Kentucky weather. It lost some branches, but it is fairing better than our Cherry, Lilac, Dogwood and Magnolia.
Sunday, March 02, 2008
Bradford Pear: Designed to break
While we were in Nashville a few weekends ago, there were strong winds there overnight. Apparently those same winds made it to Lexington on Sunday morning and pruned a Bradford pear tree in our back yard.
It took Adam, Becca and I two weekends to get this cleaned up, but it is done now.
I cut up small branches for Becca to carry to the front yard, but I couldn't get her to stick at it very long. The only way I could motivate her to help was to suggest that she play a game with Buster while moving the sticks.
Adam, on the other hand, motivated himself in a couple of different manners. First, the opportunity to use a hatchet and second, the potential of creating a fire.
The picture on the right side is the "fire pit" after it sat outside a week in the rain. Obviously, he never got around to the fire part.
Now to the question... Why would God design a tree to break?
These trees are the beautiful flowering variety that are found all over the commonwealth of Kentucky. Yet, in every ice storm or windstorm they are the first to go.
We purchased our house with one in the front yard, but it collapsed before we moved in. Inspecting the bark, a neighbor pointed out that this particular branch had started to fall away years ago.
This is the tree that the kids climbed and swung in while they were growing up and I was always telling them to be careful with all the contraptions that they put in the tree because of its weakness.
Looking back on the two weekends of work to remove the branches, I now think I was wasting my breath with the kids. Although these trees were designed to break, knowing that a half damaged branch could sustain that much weight through the torque of many storms, makes me believe there is nothing the kids could possibly do to damage a 20 year old tree with weight or leverage from swings or stands.
I'd still like to keep Adam's hatchet and fire away from all of our things in our yard.
Saturday, January 19, 2008
A quiet, cold day at home
Today is one of those rare days where no one needs anything right now and there is no noise. A day like that defines all people.
Adam took off yesterday to spend some time with some great people in Hardin, KY. I don't know what Bob will be talking about but the people that gather there are incredibly interesting and I always leave there inspired to be a better person.
Jackie and Becca took off this morning for Nashville, TN with some great people. Emily, one of Becca's friends, invited Becca to go along with her to Nashville while Emily's class headed for Chicago. Looking at the weather this weekend, I think Emily made the right choice. Jackie talked with Carol and just yesterday decided that she would go along to make it a foursome. Jackie and I will be spending many weekends with Carmen at volleyball tournaments in the next few months, so this is some great Becca time and Jackie couldn't pass it up. I'm sure there will be some great Carol time as well.
Carmen will sleep late and be quiet and productive all day long, so there will be peace and order with Carmen. Of this, I have no doubt.
After seeing Jackie and Becca off this morning at 9:00, I shut all the TV's off and read for half an hour in uninterrupted peace.
Adam took off yesterday to spend some time with some great people in Hardin, KY. I don't know what Bob will be talking about but the people that gather there are incredibly interesting and I always leave there inspired to be a better person.
Jackie and Becca took off this morning for Nashville, TN with some great people. Emily, one of Becca's friends, invited Becca to go along with her to Nashville while Emily's class headed for Chicago. Looking at the weather this weekend, I think Emily made the right choice. Jackie talked with Carol and just yesterday decided that she would go along to make it a foursome. Jackie and I will be spending many weekends with Carmen at volleyball tournaments in the next few months, so this is some great Becca time and Jackie couldn't pass it up. I'm sure there will be some great Carol time as well.Carmen will sleep late and be quiet and productive all day long, so there will be peace and order with Carmen. Of this, I have no doubt.
After seeing Jackie and Becca off this morning at 9:00, I shut all the TV's off and read for half an hour in uninterrupted peace.
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Community responds to a Tornado
What a Weekend for Nappanee and NorthWood High School!
Wherever I have gone in the world in the twenty years since I have left, Wakarusa and Nappanee have remained home to me. One of the things that makes these Northern Indiana towns special is the community that is modeled to the world.
It doesn't matter if the community is modeled in the many small churches, a high school, a football team, an Amish heritage, a mega-size missionary church or the Amish people that still live simply and live at a pace that doesn't exist elsewhere.
Community springs to action when trouble comes.
Interesting links about the tornado and the community:
- Tornado Ravages Nappanee on Thursday night
- Band Places 6th at State
- Volleyball team won the sectionals (delayed to Saturday morning, and moved to Tippecanoe Valley)
- Football wins thrilling first game of sectionals (delayed to Saturday night, and moved to Bremen)
- 3000+ volunteers meet at NWHS on Sunday to help tornado victims
Wherever I have gone in the world in the twenty years since I have left, Wakarusa and Nappanee have remained home to me. One of the things that makes these Northern Indiana towns special is the community that is modeled to the world.
It doesn't matter if the community is modeled in the many small churches, a high school, a football team, an Amish heritage, a mega-size missionary church or the Amish people that still live simply and live at a pace that doesn't exist elsewhere.
Community springs to action when trouble comes.
Interesting links about the tornado and the community:
Thursday, September 20, 2007
First Football Game of the Season
Fall is here when the first football game comes up. The weather was perfect tonight for watching Adam's new school play their first game.They won 26-0 but it was one of the sloppiest first games I've seen in a while. His team has lots of talent if they can get it all going in the same direction at the same time. Adam had a sack and several tackles as a defensive end. The picture above is a decent tackle on a kickoff return.
Head is on the correct side, head is not completely down, wrapped up nicely around the waste but he dropped to his knees just a little early... maybe next time.
I do have to make an excuse for him. Leestown had a couple of offensive tackles that were twice his size, so I can understand taking a rest on his knees during the tackle.
Friday, January 06, 2006
Christmas Card 2005
We have really enjoyed receiving all the updates from old friends and distant family this year via the Christmas letters. This year I've decided to post the contents of the Christmas letter here for wider distribution.
Family is very important to us today. It also played an essential role in the first Christmas. The lineage of the Christ child was one of the longest promised, most prophesied blessings a family has ever received.
Adam (the first Adam, not ours), Noah, Abraham, Ruth, David and many more were among the ancestors of Christ that celebrated the Savior’s birth to the virgin Mary.
I’ve been converting VHS and 8mm videos to DVD so that we can all remember special moments like first birthdays, first steps, first bike rides, baptisms, programs, sports and other memories. We are still making family memories everyday. That is the life and hope that Christ offered to us that first Christmas and even more so in His death on a cross and His resurrection. One of our favorite memories this year was our family vacation to Maui. The weather and natural beauty was breathtaking.
Jackie and I both turned 40 this year and we are looking forward to celebrating our 20th anniversary in 2006. We are proud of the choices are children are making in this world that is full of negative influences due to the fallen nature of each of our physical births.
In varying degrees, everyone that we send this letter to has an impact on our family and we thank you for being a part of the antidote to those negative influences of society.
Spiritually, we celebrated the rebirth of our youngest daughter, Becca and her baptism this year.
Physically in the last few years, Jackie’s sister has made it through a near fatal infection and Jackie’s mother has finished cancer treatments successfully and is now regaining her strength.
We are thankful for family and life.
Family is very important to us today. It also played an essential role in the first Christmas. The lineage of the Christ child was one of the longest promised, most prophesied blessings a family has ever received.
Adam (the first Adam, not ours), Noah, Abraham, Ruth, David and many more were among the ancestors of Christ that celebrated the Savior’s birth to the virgin Mary.
I’ve been converting VHS and 8mm videos to DVD so that we can all remember special moments like first birthdays, first steps, first bike rides, baptisms, programs, sports and other memories. We are still making family memories everyday. That is the life and hope that Christ offered to us that first Christmas and even more so in His death on a cross and His resurrection. One of our favorite memories this year was our family vacation to Maui. The weather and natural beauty was breathtaking.
Jackie and I both turned 40 this year and we are looking forward to celebrating our 20th anniversary in 2006. We are proud of the choices are children are making in this world that is full of negative influences due to the fallen nature of each of our physical births.
In varying degrees, everyone that we send this letter to has an impact on our family and we thank you for being a part of the antidote to those negative influences of society.
Spiritually, we celebrated the rebirth of our youngest daughter, Becca and her baptism this year.
Physically in the last few years, Jackie’s sister has made it through a near fatal infection and Jackie’s mother has finished cancer treatments successfully and is now regaining her strength.
We are thankful for family and life.
Saturday, December 25, 1999
Christmas Card 1999
Another Birth, Addition to our Family
This has been the most special birth that our family has ever experienced. It was the shortest and most painless labor and delivery. It was also very special to us because the new child was born in our own home. On 10-10-99, the Lord changed the heart of our 60 lb, 50 inch daughter Carmen Hope. She was baptized in November.
The new addition referred to in the title is a puppy. We picked up Buster from the humane shelter. We believe he is mostly a German Shepherd. You can judge for yourself.
Adam has been very entertaining this year. He is always making something out of nothing or destroying something of value. This summer a bunch of ants were making tracks to and from an ice cream sandwich Becca left in the garage the night before. All the neighborhood kids were concerned about how to remove the ants without hurting them. As soon as the kids left, he blasted the ants with RAID and posted this sign, using all the elements of his personality.
Carmen and Adam are both doing well at public school. Becca enjoys preschool for two hours on Tuesday and Thursday and this gives Jackie a chance to volunteer in Carmen and Adam’s classrooms. Here’s a collage of all the kids’ first day in school. All three kids have great Christian teachers, which is an answer to our prayers.
Our summer vacation to South Carolina was a highlight of the year. We saw lots of dolphins at the beach, lots of deer at the condo, a few alligators at a plantation, toured Charleston, visited with friends and spent a day on the USS Yorktown. It sounds like a busy week but it really was relaxing.
If you have spent any time with our family, you know that the oldest four of us are very competitive. Carmen and Adam are continuing to be aggressive athletes. However, God decided it was not good for us to always be in a contest and He made Becca. Becca loves to have fun. She loves to be pretty. She loves to encourage. She is our cheerleader. When everybody is negative, she is positive. Everyone was stunned at a basketball game when Becca shouted, “Adam, where’s your man?” Well, there are four of us against one of her. Eventually, we knew she would have to cave in, but so young. But no, she didn’t mean it. She looked at as with a Becca grin, indicating she wasn’t aware of Adam’s open opponent. She was letting us know that yelling is just part of the fun.
We have many things to be thankful for this year. In January, the Lord delivered on our prayers to become debt free. We have been committed to being good stewards of the money that has passed through our hands and God’s Word has a lot to say about that. I have been blessed with the opportunity to teach God’s basic principles of finances at our church. I am always thrilled to be a part of releasing Christians from any bondage to the world.
Jackie and I had a great time on our trip to Albuquerque, NM for Matt and Kim’s (friends from church) wedding. We had a wonderful time seeing, experiencing, and especially tasting the Southwest. Cable cars, desert, history, culture, a rodeo, concert and beautiful weather. Mountain biking will always be etched in my memory thanks to Scott (another friend from church), who demonstrated an incredible dive over the handle bars into a cactus. Ouch! We want to go back some year for the balloon festival and some more food.
We hope that all of you will enjoy your Christmas and New Year holidays! After all our family has received, it is still amazing to me that our God loved us enough to send His Son as a baby to earth to show us how personal His love is. He didn’t stop there, He allowed His Son to die on a cross to pay for my sins. Amazing. Not done yet, Christ rose victorious over death so that we might live victoriously now and forever. Amazing.
Kevin, Jackie, Carmen, Adam & Becca
This has been the most special birth that our family has ever experienced. It was the shortest and most painless labor and delivery. It was also very special to us because the new child was born in our own home. On 10-10-99, the Lord changed the heart of our 60 lb, 50 inch daughter Carmen Hope. She was baptized in November.
The new addition referred to in the title is a puppy. We picked up Buster from the humane shelter. We believe he is mostly a German Shepherd. You can judge for yourself.
Adam has been very entertaining this year. He is always making something out of nothing or destroying something of value. This summer a bunch of ants were making tracks to and from an ice cream sandwich Becca left in the garage the night before. All the neighborhood kids were concerned about how to remove the ants without hurting them. As soon as the kids left, he blasted the ants with RAID and posted this sign, using all the elements of his personality.
Carmen and Adam are both doing well at public school. Becca enjoys preschool for two hours on Tuesday and Thursday and this gives Jackie a chance to volunteer in Carmen and Adam’s classrooms. Here’s a collage of all the kids’ first day in school. All three kids have great Christian teachers, which is an answer to our prayers.
Our summer vacation to South Carolina was a highlight of the year. We saw lots of dolphins at the beach, lots of deer at the condo, a few alligators at a plantation, toured Charleston, visited with friends and spent a day on the USS Yorktown. It sounds like a busy week but it really was relaxing.
If you have spent any time with our family, you know that the oldest four of us are very competitive. Carmen and Adam are continuing to be aggressive athletes. However, God decided it was not good for us to always be in a contest and He made Becca. Becca loves to have fun. She loves to be pretty. She loves to encourage. She is our cheerleader. When everybody is negative, she is positive. Everyone was stunned at a basketball game when Becca shouted, “Adam, where’s your man?” Well, there are four of us against one of her. Eventually, we knew she would have to cave in, but so young. But no, she didn’t mean it. She looked at as with a Becca grin, indicating she wasn’t aware of Adam’s open opponent. She was letting us know that yelling is just part of the fun.We have many things to be thankful for this year. In January, the Lord delivered on our prayers to become debt free. We have been committed to being good stewards of the money that has passed through our hands and God’s Word has a lot to say about that. I have been blessed with the opportunity to teach God’s basic principles of finances at our church. I am always thrilled to be a part of releasing Christians from any bondage to the world.
Jackie and I had a great time on our trip to Albuquerque, NM for Matt and Kim’s (friends from church) wedding. We had a wonderful time seeing, experiencing, and especially tasting the Southwest. Cable cars, desert, history, culture, a rodeo, concert and beautiful weather. Mountain biking will always be etched in my memory thanks to Scott (another friend from church), who demonstrated an incredible dive over the handle bars into a cactus. Ouch! We want to go back some year for the balloon festival and some more food.We hope that all of you will enjoy your Christmas and New Year holidays! After all our family has received, it is still amazing to me that our God loved us enough to send His Son as a baby to earth to show us how personal His love is. He didn’t stop there, He allowed His Son to die on a cross to pay for my sins. Amazing. Not done yet, Christ rose victorious over death so that we might live victoriously now and forever. Amazing.
Kevin, Jackie, Carmen, Adam & Becca
Sunday, December 25, 1988
Christmas Card 1988
Written by Jackie, Posted here by Kevin
Kevin graduated from Purdue in May and along with that came many changes. He started interviewing early in the year with different companies and by March had wrapped that up. In February, Kevin was contacted by IBM in Charlotte, NC. He flew down for an interview and was successful as you notice our return address. It wasn't an easy decision, believe me. Kevin had other offers closer to home which we were also considering.
Well, like I said earlier, it wasn't an easy decision; but after much discussion and prayer we ended up in Charlotte. We truly felt the Lord was leading us to Charlotte. I still get homesick once in a while; but knowing God wants us here really helps. It has been confirmed to us many times that we made the right decision and we are happy here in Charlotte.
The move was an experience all in itself. We had a moving company move us and I hope we don't have to do that again in the near future! A few things were broken and time schedules were mixed up, but everything eventually was taken care of - PTL! We now live in an apartment and hope to start looking at houses within the next year. For now we are thankful for the extra space we have compared to our last apartment in West Lafayette. The traffic here is awful and sometimes we would rather follow an Amish buggy. (We were not born to be city folk)
Kevin loves his job, he is a Computer and Electrical Engineer, but is working now as a Software Engineer. He is working on Proprinters, which this was printed on! He wanted me to throw that in. I am working in a Medical Clinic right now in the Lab and enjoy the regular hours with no weekends or holidays. It is much different from the hospital in Lafayette. I am changing jobs in a week, though, basically because of salary and benefits. My new job will be with Charlotte Allergy Clinic. I will be working in the lab there and am looking forward to it. I'd appreciate your thoughts and prayers throughout this transition. Thanks!
We have joined a Southern Baptist Church and have met some super friends. Kevin's officemate is a Christian and he invited us to their church. Wow, how God works is so wonderful. We still visited many other churches and different denominations, but with much prayer we felt led to University Hills Baptist Church. We are really happy there and are getting involved with many different areas. We both sing in the choir and are involved in a Friday evening Bible study and a Sunday prayer and devotional group. I'm also involved in the Women's Ministries group and we help with the college ministry also. Our church is located across the street from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. It has a great college group and we help plan activities for them and whatever else they need. We really enjoy ministering that group. As you can see we are keeping busy and loving every minute of it. We were able to drive back to Indiana in August for my High School Class reunion. It was a rushed and packed weekend, but a lot of fun. It was good to see everyone again and spend a little time with family too. Our families are all doing great. We have had a few visits already from family and friends since our move in May. It's always nice to have visitors, but hard to see them go again!
We had a blessed Thanksgiving which we spent with friends from church; since we were unable to go home. It makes it a little easier being away at special times and holidays when you have a church family right where you are. We have worked it out though to go home for a week at Christmas. We are really excited about that and anticipating many visits with family and friends. We leave on December 23rd and will be home until January 3rd. We are praying that the weather cooperates with us and with other travelers on the road as well. It takes between 12 and 13 hours to make the trip, so we're hoping the snow and the ice stay away until we get there.
Looking back, we can see once again the many changes we've gone through and the busy year we have had; but also looking back we can see God's hand at work in it all. What a fantastic and blessed year we have had. We hope that you have had the same. Isn't it just wonderful to know that God unconditionally loves us and we all have family and friends that love us too! Wishing everyone a joyful Holiday Season.
Love in Christ,
Kevin & Jackie
Kevin graduated from Purdue in May and along with that came many changes. He started interviewing early in the year with different companies and by March had wrapped that up. In February, Kevin was contacted by IBM in Charlotte, NC. He flew down for an interview and was successful as you notice our return address. It wasn't an easy decision, believe me. Kevin had other offers closer to home which we were also considering.
Well, like I said earlier, it wasn't an easy decision; but after much discussion and prayer we ended up in Charlotte. We truly felt the Lord was leading us to Charlotte. I still get homesick once in a while; but knowing God wants us here really helps. It has been confirmed to us many times that we made the right decision and we are happy here in Charlotte.
The move was an experience all in itself. We had a moving company move us and I hope we don't have to do that again in the near future! A few things were broken and time schedules were mixed up, but everything eventually was taken care of - PTL! We now live in an apartment and hope to start looking at houses within the next year. For now we are thankful for the extra space we have compared to our last apartment in West Lafayette. The traffic here is awful and sometimes we would rather follow an Amish buggy. (We were not born to be city folk)
Kevin loves his job, he is a Computer and Electrical Engineer, but is working now as a Software Engineer. He is working on Proprinters, which this was printed on! He wanted me to throw that in. I am working in a Medical Clinic right now in the Lab and enjoy the regular hours with no weekends or holidays. It is much different from the hospital in Lafayette. I am changing jobs in a week, though, basically because of salary and benefits. My new job will be with Charlotte Allergy Clinic. I will be working in the lab there and am looking forward to it. I'd appreciate your thoughts and prayers throughout this transition. Thanks!
We have joined a Southern Baptist Church and have met some super friends. Kevin's officemate is a Christian and he invited us to their church. Wow, how God works is so wonderful. We still visited many other churches and different denominations, but with much prayer we felt led to University Hills Baptist Church. We are really happy there and are getting involved with many different areas. We both sing in the choir and are involved in a Friday evening Bible study and a Sunday prayer and devotional group. I'm also involved in the Women's Ministries group and we help with the college ministry also. Our church is located across the street from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. It has a great college group and we help plan activities for them and whatever else they need. We really enjoy ministering that group. As you can see we are keeping busy and loving every minute of it. We were able to drive back to Indiana in August for my High School Class reunion. It was a rushed and packed weekend, but a lot of fun. It was good to see everyone again and spend a little time with family too. Our families are all doing great. We have had a few visits already from family and friends since our move in May. It's always nice to have visitors, but hard to see them go again!
We had a blessed Thanksgiving which we spent with friends from church; since we were unable to go home. It makes it a little easier being away at special times and holidays when you have a church family right where you are. We have worked it out though to go home for a week at Christmas. We are really excited about that and anticipating many visits with family and friends. We leave on December 23rd and will be home until January 3rd. We are praying that the weather cooperates with us and with other travelers on the road as well. It takes between 12 and 13 hours to make the trip, so we're hoping the snow and the ice stay away until we get there.
Looking back, we can see once again the many changes we've gone through and the busy year we have had; but also looking back we can see God's hand at work in it all. What a fantastic and blessed year we have had. We hope that you have had the same. Isn't it just wonderful to know that God unconditionally loves us and we all have family and friends that love us too! Wishing everyone a joyful Holiday Season.
Love in Christ,
Kevin & Jackie
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