Beach Trip 2009

Jill and I went to Orange Beach for a wonderful vacation over the 4^th of July! We are thankful to have awesome friends in the Bailey’s and Hollon’s. We only see each other once or twice a year but when we get together we never miss a beat. The highlight of the trip was definitely the shrimp and crab boil. Four pounds of shrimp and six pounds of crab (something like that). It was so good that we had to do it twice in one week! We saw fireworks on the beach at Perdido Beach Resort while dinning to an incredible buffet. We soaked up many rays, built sandcastles, took walks on the beach (got sand flees), vegged out, and spent time with true friends! KC’s sandcastle was quite impressive being that he spent the entire day on it.

Our First Kentucky Derby

We attended the 135th Kentucky Derby. We decided to go this year because you can’t move to Louisville and not experience the Derby. The city literally shuts down for the Oaks and Derby weekend. Our goal for this year was to figure out the best experience for the general admission price so that when we invite family and friends we’ll know what we’re doing. To get tickets that actually have seats you either have to be someone special, know someone who is special, or be rich. We found parking for 10 dollars with a free shuttle that dropped us off at gate three. Now we know to go in the front gate because gate three is the party gate. Knowing that the infield is nothing more than a drunken frat house party, we made our way to the paddocks. After nudging through the crowd of 150 thousand plus people, we made it to the railing in the paddocks. Here we were able to see the horses enter the paddocks, get their lip tattoos checked, saddle up in their stall, jockeys mount, and then make their way to the track. It was especially nice because we were within arm’s reach of the horses, jockeys, trainers, owners and family. We were then able to watch the race on the giant screen. The race was pretty exciting. Jill and I are not the betting type, but we picked our favorites for Win (1st) Place (2nd) and Show (3rd) just for fun. Jill’s picks: 1st Friesan Fire, 5-1 odds, 2nd Pioneerof the Nile, 4-1 odds, and Papa Clem, 20-1 odds. My picks: 1st Hold Me Back, 15-1 odds, 2nd Pioneerof the Nile, 4-1 odds, and 3rd General Quarters, 20-1 odds. The winner of the Kentucky Derby was Mine That Bird which was the second biggest upset in Derby history at 50-1 odds. Good thing we don’t bet! Jill and I both got Pioneerof the Nile right coming in 2nd place and Jill’s Papa Clem came in fourth. After the races are over, the losing jockeys come back past the paddocks….covered in mud….the track was sloppy all day despite hopes that it would be fast and dry by Derby time. It’s amazing how small the jockeys are, and amazing that they can see anything at all through their mud caked goggles. Did you know that Mine that Bird is a gelding? Too bad, because they could have made a lot of money in stud fees.

Musket Man placed 3rd in the Derby

Pioneerof The Nile came in Second

Mine That Bird Kentucky Derby Winner 2009, his jockey

getting a pre-race fist bump from a handler.

He came from dead last!

Twin Spires built in 1895

Thunder Over Louisville

Last year we experienced Thunder over Louisville from the 14th floor of the Health Science tower in downtown Louisville. It was a glorious view of North America’s largest fireworks display! Fireworks are shot from the 2nd Street Bridge and a barge close to the I-65 Bridge. They actually shut down I-65 for the show. Both bridges cross over the Ohio River from Louisville, KY to Jeffersonville, IN. This year we decided to experience Thunder from the River Walk located on the waterfront in between the two bridges. It truly was amazing. We were surrounded as the skies were lit up with the colorful pyrotechnic display. Of course to experience Thunder from the River walk you must fight the crowds of 500,000 plus. The air show and fireworks are rated in the top 100 events to experience in North America. Thunder over Louisville kicks off the festivities of more than 70 events during the two weeks leading up the Kentucky Derby. One of the events was the balloon glow which you can see below. We also went to a concert on the waterfront featuring honeyhoney, Everclear, and Gavin Degraw. It poured on us, so we didn’t stay all night, but we still had fun.



Best Pic Award!

Barge under I-65

2nd Street Bridge

Weather in Kentucky

When we moved here, they told us that "If you don't like the weather here, just wait a few hours." Indeed. We have had a slew of natural disaster type weather here in Louisville, KY in the last few months. But let's just go through them since we've been here.

We had a rash of tornadoes break out across the state in Feb, 2008. Chris was at work in recreation center at Southern. I had just arrived home at our campus apartment. The weather was very freaky. When the sirens started sounding, I caught a ride up the hill into campus with a neighbor. I met with Chris in the rec center. Many of the dorms had come there too since it was a designated safe place. They divided us into the locker rooms since those were the safest most interior parts-but seperated girls and guys. No one was hurt here, but it was scary.

Among many snowfalls we have now experienced in Ky, we had the second largest snowfall recorded from a storm in the month of March, 2008. We were still living in our apartment on campus at Southern Seminary. We met with friends and sledded down the seminary hill at night in the falling snow. School/work was cancelled for a week. We did not lose power.

We had the wind storm September 14, 2008. The remains of hurricane Ike whipped through here on a Sunday. We really didn't know what was going on. Going into church, the wind was blowing some. By the time we got out, it was violent. We went down to the Wendy's on the corner for lunch and I thought their sign was about to blow off. There were reports of gusts at 75mph here in the city. We just took a nap. We didn't take any damage, but a lot of places did. Lots of trees down, some blocking the road and such. A few people died from falling limbs. Lots of power out (60% of homes in Louisville), but not us.

Then we had the earthquake Sept 18, 2008. Although this is not weather, I feel it is worth mentioning, since in AL we don't feel too many (although one did occur close to Centreville, AL a few days ago 2.9 magnitude). This one was the first one that I've ever "felt". It was a 5.2 magnitude. We felt little shock waves at work later that rattled the glass cabinets in the lab. No damage was done to the city. No one was hurt.

Then we had the ice storm Jan 26, 2009. This one was really bad. Everything caked in iced-or rather iced in ice. It really did look like someone had sprayed clear icing on everything around. Work and school was shut down for a week or more. Gov Beshear declared it the largest natural disaster in the state's history. Lots of power out, but not us. Around 700,000 people without power. And it was COLD! All night we could hear cracking, loud pops, and crashes. The next morning we were surprised to see that it wasn't just tree limbs, but whole trees had snapped in half or been toppled to the ground. We had never experienced this kind of winter weather before. Today crews were finally picking up storm debris in our neighborhood.

Recently, Chris has not been happy with the spring weather. It will be beautiful all day, and then rain for 30 minutes on the baseball field just after the first inning. He's had around half the games cancelled because of afternoon rains. This weekend, it felt like summer. Temps climbed up to 86 degrees. I planted most of my garden and got a little sun on my shoulders. Bring on the sun!

Kentucky Derby Festival Great Balloon Glow

Last night was the annual KDF Balloon Glow at the KY Expo Center. This event is the eve before the Great Balloon Race, and the pilots tether the balloons in a massive field and light up the night sky. We did not attend last year due to the cold. This year the weather was perfect. Did not need a jacket even after the sun set. At first we were disappointed; we were stuck on a side road, along with around 50,000 other people. It was terrible. We were getting bumped around, we couldn't see the balloons very well, and I had thought it would be a good idea to bring Biscuit, but she was getting stepped on. Needless to say, we thought the hype was highly overrated. But then the balloons started to light up, and they let us "loose". We climbed the fence, passed the dog over, and we were free! It was wonderful being surrounded by the glowing balls of color. You could feel the heat on your skin when they fired a burst into massive balloon. Later we found out that they were keeping the crowds out longer than usual because of the winds. The balloons are not safe to be close to with winds much over 10mph. The whole event actually was cut short because the winds started to pick up again, but not before we had our fun! Enjoy the pictures!











































I really like this pic!




































Chris says my face is glowing as bright as the balloons!






We had a countdown for an "All-glow".






Pre-All-glow....














All-glow!!








The one that got away....
One reason that the event was cut a little short was that the wind started to pick up again. The other is that one balloon flew away-on accident. The University of Louisville balloon broke its tether, and the pilots had no choice but to take it up over the crowd to avoid an accident. We were actually standing beside it when it happened. It just floated away--up over I-65, under an airplane (that looked a lot closer than it probably was), and then landed in an empty field where the "chase team" (good name huh?) picked them up and packed up the balloon.








Minutes before it took flight...
























The UofL balloon actually won first place in the Great Balloon Race today. Go CARDS! At the end of the race you have to drop a bag of Kentucky Blue Grass seed onto a target. I guess the balloon was ready to take off even the night before.
This event was definitely unique! We enjoyed it very much!

Jill’s Birthday Present

Ok, we decided to go to the Humane Society to just look. Well, we looked pretty good and came home with Biscuit formerly known as Duck. Funny name but she was too cute not to take home. She is very smart of course and mild tempered. We have already taught her to sit, lay, and roll over! She is about 15 weeks old and very playful. Ed is now miserable.

CAN WE KNOW ANYTHING FOR SURE?

The answer to the question “Can we know anything for sure?” will vary from person to person. Just as personalities differ, beliefs, experiences, and faiths differ. In order to perceive reality, can we depend on others or should we focus on ourselves or maybe a higher being? When this question is asked, there are two important starting points. The first is honesty with one’s self and the second is trust in God. Think of a semi-circle of honesty and a semi-circle of trust. One can trust that there is a God but not be honest with himself that they need Him. One can be honest with himself and know that there is something wrong but not trust in God. A circle of honesty and trust must connect in order to perceive reality.

A person with a life controlling addiction such as drugs or alcohol may not feel or recognize that they have a problem. Reality is obscured. It may be the substance that hides reality, or the person is not honest with himself about the problem. It has been said admitting that one has a problem is the first step to recovery. One must be honest with himself and admit that there is something wrong internally even in the absence of a controlling substance. One must be honest and acknowledge that they know there is right and wrong. We must be honest and ask the question why do we continue to choose wrong over right.

We must trust that there is a God and that He has given us the ability to make sense of our surroundings through Him. This means we must use our senses to logically conclude, if we are honest, that there is a God. Kantzer states this profound idea this way, “To trust the laws of logic is not to put law or logic above God. Rather, it is to recognize that the laws of logic are an
expression of the rational nature of the God of Truth. He created humans in his own image so that we, like him, can think rationally. He also created an objective world that conforms to the reason of God and to our own reason so that we can trust our senses and arrive at the truth.”[1] Once we have done this personally and individually, we can then be open to how God communicates and how He reveals Himself to His creation. This is the only way to know anything for sure.

Through the revelation of God’s creation and the revelation of God’s spoken Word, we can know divine guaranteed truths. Some say revelation cannot be proved or disproved empirically, therefore disregarding revelation altogether. They say it must be accepted by faith. However, all things in one way or another must be accepted by faith. One must still place their faith in an airplane while boarding, even though it has been tested and proven it flies. Scientists place their faith in percentages when doing research to trust a desired outcome. We are people of faith whether one believes in creation or evolution. Faith is not something that can be disregarded or dismissed, for it is apart of everyday life. Faith is not the only measuring stick of judgment. We do not put our faith blindly into something without reason or logic. People do not get on airplanes that have not passed an inspection. Scientists cannot make conclusions without the proper conclusive researched evidence that supports their ideas. Faith is placed as an action of assurance after a sufficient amount of evidence has been discovered. The evidence of truth is in general and specific revelation.

So how do we know anything for sure? We receive the answer when we are honest with ourselves, when we trust in God, when we see the transformation in the lives of others after they have placed their faith in Him, when we use the logic and reasoning that God has given us to conclude that He not only exists, but has made a way for us to know Him. When we take the first step and acknowledge that we need Him, we begin to see reality for what it really is.

[1] Kenneth S. Kantzer, Doing Theology in Today’s World, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing, 1991), 475.