Balloon Fest!

Recently was Midland's hot air balloon festival. This is a festival that takes Midland by storm each September and brings in hundreds of "balloonists" to the area. On Friday night they have what they call "the glow". It's when some of the ballonists unpack their balloons and air them up at night. They don't fly anywhere, but they just fire off their flames to fill up their balloons. Because it's dark out, the flame makes the balloon glow and makes for an incredible evening. On Saturday and Sunday the balloonists compete in several competitions. One that I know of is where each balloon flys around the greater Mid-Michigan area and drops beanbags at large targets painted in designated fields. Unfortunately the weather was too foggy this year and so they didn't take off on Saturday. Sandy did get pictures of one balloon that did get unpacked to give short up-and-down rides to children. The balloonists did get to compete on Sunday however!


The balloon festival makes driving a car just a bit more interesting and definitely more challenging than usual that weekend. Besides the average Joe who is looking up at dozens of balloons and watching them hover gracefully in the sky, each balloon has a spotter team who's job is to follow the balloon from the ground in case there is trouble.(so you know they're not watching the road either) Being in a car is definitely taking your life into your own hands. As if Michigan drivers needed an excuse to drive poorly!


I attached a few of the pictures that Sandy took this year. Somewhere I have pictures from last year's festival as well. If I find those I will be sure to post them. Many of the same balloons show up from year to year and it's a great time to see what fun designs will be floating around. One balloon was in the shape of a house while many others take the shape of popular cartoon animals. If you've ever been curious what the Macy's Thanksgiving parade would look like if the balloons were to get free, this event would give you a pretty good picture of that might look like :)


The past few weeks have been busy ones, but good. My classes are in full swing and a lot of my time has been devoted to that. We had the opportunity to spend an evening playing games and eating snacks with some of our neighbors last weekend. They are a "couple", of people who share an apartment together. They are both handicapped so they usually don't get out much. They are a riot together, but neither are walking with our Father. They both have religious pasts, but neither go to church now. Tony continues to express interest in what it is we believe and how that differs from what he has been taught from his Catholic childhood. He's a great guy, but doesn't have the joy of a Saviour in his life. Please be praying as Sandra and I find openings to talk about Spiritual matters with him.


We've also been crazy busy with our church and are serving as part of a Timothy team. A Timothy team is a team of people who come together and support a couple or family that is preparing to go the mission field. Every person that is sent by our church has a Timothy team in place. We're not for sure what our specific roles are going to be yet, but we are excited to send out an awesome family overseas and to see what this process looks like. We want to know what it looks like to be sent well by the body so we can continue in this work and that we will know what we may need if Father leads us in that direction!

I Still Have It!

Although I haven't taught since May of '05, judging by this quiz, I learned that grad school hasn't made me lose my mind just yet! Where do you rank? No cheating!!!

You Passed 8th Grade Science

Congratulations, you got 8/8 correct!

Could You Pass 8th Grade Science?

Pictured Rocks

"He makes springs pour water into the ravines; it flows between the mountains. They give water to all the beasts of the field; the wild donkeys quench their thirst. The birds of the air nest by the waters; they sing among the branches. He waters the mountains from his upper chambers; the earth is satisfied by the fruit of his work." Psalm 104:10‑13

This past weekend, Sandra and I went hiking through some beautiful countryside. We went to a place in "da UP" called Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. I highly recommend this place for any who enjoy being in God's wonderful creation, nature. We drove up on Saturday morning, hiked around for 11 miles or so and then settled in for the evening. The next day we finished our trek by going another 5 miles or so. Needless to say that our backs were a bit tired from carrying our packs, but it was so much fun! It really is beautiful up there and it was so inspiring to see the works of the Great Artist, our Creator. He is so imaginative. It reminded me of "the Magician's Nephew", the prequel to the Narnia series when the new world was created. Walking through the forrest and just trying to take in all of the scenery and animals. Unfortunately there were no bear sitings, (sorry mom) but we did see chipmunks, rabbits, bugs, spiders, and a plethora of species of birds. Here are a few pictures to show you what it some of it looks like. We didn't get anywhere near to seeing everything that the area has to offer so I'm guessing we'll go back when it warms up again. I'm also looking forward to hiking the Porcupine mountains area, but agian, it'll have to wait :) If anyone wants to visit us AND have a great outdoor adventure, be sure to come on up to MI for a few days!

Also, after we got back from our adventurous hike, I ran a 10K here in town and survived. I was tired, stiff, and sore after hiking for so long and then driving in a car for 4+ hours, but I managed a 12th place finish overall and 2nd in my age group. I finished in 44:25, not bad considering. This run just confirmed that I think I can successfully finish my upcoming marathon in under 3:30. We will soon find out!

A Picture of us at Chapel Rock


Sandy at Mosquito Falls


Sandy and I on the shores of Lake Superior


Just one reason why the area is called Pictured Rocks