Monday, December 23, 2013

Tuesday, November 5, 2013

2nd Dan

2nd Degree Black Belt: check 





Saturday, September 7, 2013

Zoo Photos

Click on the word Zoo below for slides from our zoo trip. 

Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Chief Pathkiller

Chief Pathkiller was the last great king of the Cherokee nation. He was the chief principal leader. He's buried facing the river "so that he could see the steamboats passing by".  You can't even see the river now from his burial site. I find it sad that he's buried by himself.  I love the headstone though b/c it describes who he was. 




Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Noccalula Falls.

One of the waterfalls we saw was Noccalula Falls.  The legend has it that a Cherokee Princess fell in love with one of her tribesmen.  Her father, the Chief, thought him not good enough for his daughter and chose a man from another tribe for Noccalula to marry.  On her wedding day, distraught with grieve and very much in love the man from her tribe, Noccalula ran to the edge of cliff and jumper off the waterfall.  The Chief, now grieved named the waterfall after her.  The first picture shows Noccalula’s statue. 












Saturday, July 27, 2013

Being a Christian is more than words...



Pastor Jeremiah Steepek transformed himself into a homeless person and went to the 10,000 member church that he was to be introduced as the head pastor at that morning. He walked around his soon to be church for 30 minutes while it was filling with people for service, only 3 people out of the 7-10,000 people said hello to him. He asked people for change to buy food - NO ONE in the church gave him change. He went into the sanctuary to sit down in the front of the church and was asked by the ushers if he would please sit n the back. He greeted people to be greeted back with stares and dirty looks, with people looking down on him and judging him.

As he sat in the back of the church, he listened to the church announcements and such. When all that was done, the elders went up and were excited to introduce the new pastor of the church to the congregation. "We would like to introduce to you Pastor Jeremiah Steepek." The congregation looked around clapping with joy and anticipation. The homeless man sitting in the back stood up and started walking down the aisle. The clapping stopped with ALL eyes on him. He walked up the altar and took the microphone from the elders (who were in on this) and paused for a moment then he recited, 

“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

'The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

After he recited this, he looked towards the congregation and told them all what he had experienced that morning. Many began to cry and many heads were bowed in shame. He then said, "Today I see a gathering of people, not a church of Jesus Christ. The world has enough people, but not enough disciples. When will YOU decide to become disciples?" 

He then dismissed service until next week.

Being a Christian is more than something you claim. It's something you live by and share with others.

Friday, July 26, 2013

A story worth sharing..

  For half a century, the world has applauded John Glenn as a
heart-stirring American hero. He lifted the nation's spirits when, as one of
the original Mercury 7 astronauts, he was blasted alone into orbit around
the Earth; the enduring affection for him is so powerful that even now
people find themselves misting up at the sight of his face or the sound of
his voice.
  
       But for all these years, Glenn has had a hero of his own, someone who
he has seen display endless courage of a different kind:
 
     Annie Glenn.
 
     They have been married for 68 years.
 
     He is 90; she turned 92 on Friday.
 
     This weekend there has been news coverage of the 50th anniversary of
Glenn's flight into orbit. We are being reminded that, half a century down
the line, he remains America's unforgettable hero.
 
     He has never really bought that.
 
     Because the heroism he most cherishes is of a sort that is seldom
cheered. It belongs to the person he has known longer than he has known
anyone else in the world.
 
     John Glenn and Annie Castor first knew each other when -- literally --
they shared a playpen.
 
     In New Concord, Ohio, his parents and hers were friends. When the
families got together, their children played.
 
     John -- the future Marine fighter pilot, the future test-pilot ace,
the future astronaut -- was pure gold from the start. He would end up having
what it took to rise to the absolute pinnacle of American regard during the
space race; imagine what it meant to be the young John Glenn in the small
confines of New Concord.
 
     Three-sport varsity athlete, most admired boy in town, Mr. Everything.
 
     Annie Castor was bright, was caring, was talented, was generous of
spirit. But she could talk only with the most excruciating of difficulty. It
haunted her.
 
     Her stuttering was so severe that it was categorized as an "85%"
disability -- 85% of the time, she could not manage to make words come out.
 
     When she tried to recite a poem in elementary school, she was laughed
at. She was not able to speak on the telephone. She could not have a regular
conversation with a friend.
 
     And John Glenn loved her.
 
     Even as a boy he was wise enough to understand that people who could
not see past her stutter were missing out on knowing a rare and wonderful
girl.
 
     They married on April 6, 1943. As a military wife, she found that life
as she and John moved around the country could be quite hurtful. She has
written: "I can remember some very painful experiences -- especially the
ridicule."
 
     In department stores, she would wander unfamiliar aisles trying to
find the right section, embarrassed to attempt to ask the salesclerks for
help. In taxis, she would have to write requests to the driver, because she
couldn't speak the destination out loud. In restaurants, she would point to
the items on the menu.
 
     A fine musician, Annie, in every community where she and John moved,
would play the organ in church as a way to make new friends. She and John
had two children; she has written: "Can you imagine living in the modern
world and being afraid to use the telephone? 'Hello' used to be so hard for
me to say. I worried that my children would be injured and need a doctor.
Could I somehow find the words to get the information across on the phone?"
 
     John, as a Marine aviator, flew 59 combat missions in World War II and
90 during the Korean War. Every time he was deployed, he and Annie said
goodbye the same way. His last words to her before leaving were:
 
     "I'm just going down to the corner store to get a pack of gum."
 
     And, with just the two of them there, she was able to always reply:
 
     "Don't be long."
 
     On that February day in 1962 when the world held its breath and the
Atlas rocket was about to propel him toward space, those were their words,
once again. And in 1998, when, at 77, he went back to space aboard the
shuttle Discovery, it was an understandably tense time for them. What if
something happened to end their life together?
 
     She knew what he would say to her before boarding the shuttle. He
did -- and this time he gave her a present to hold onto:
 
     A pack of gum.
 
     She carried it in a pocket next to her heart until he was safely home.
 
     Many times in her life she attempted various treatments to cure her
stutter. None worked.
 
     But in 1973, she found a doctor in Virginia who ran an intensive
program she and John hoped would help her. She traveled there to enroll and
to give it her best effort. The miracle she and John had always waited for
at last, as miracles will do, arrived. At age 53, she was able to talk
fluidly, and not in brief, anxiety-ridden, agonizing bursts.
 
     John has said that on the first day he heard her speak to him with
confidence and clarity, he dropped to his knees to offer a prayer of
gratitude.
 
     He has written: "I saw Annie's perseverance and strength through the
years and it just made me admire her and love her even more." He has heard
roaring ovations in countries around the globe for his own valor, but his
awe is reserved for Annie, and what she accomplished: "I don't know if I
would have had the courage."
 
     Her voice is so clear and steady now that she regularly gives public
talks. If you are lucky enough to know the Glenns, the sight and sound of
them bantering and joking with each other and playfully finishing each
others' sentences is something that warms you and makes you thankful just to
be in the same room.
A story worth sharing?  Yes, indeed. 

Thursday, July 18, 2013

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Reader's Digest Fun..

From Reader's Digest

Some headlines are better than the news they deliver:

Self Proclaimed Invisible Man No Show at Court Hearing. 
Police Arrest Naked Man with Concealed Weapon
Wisconsin Woman Takes Husband to Police for 'Talking Stupidity". 
SUV Crashes Into House After Suffering Seizure. 

Monday, July 15, 2013

Birds

A male finch.


Female cardinal


A titmouse (on the left) and a nuthatch


Chickadee


Male cardinal


Hummingbird. 




Cowbird--at the wrong feeder lol



Juvenile Male Cardinal trying to decide if he wants to encounter the squirrel.  He didn't


Cowbird again


Blue Jay


Saturday, July 13, 2013

Tuesday, July 9, 2013

 Pictures from the 'adventure trip' yesterday.  The cemetery is one that has many graves from the 1800's and early 1900's.  It was cool.  
The water pump was in front of an old church. 
I may have more river pics later.  It was fun walking the trail by the river.