Colors are Changing

Fall is finally in full swing! Two weeks ago Louisville set a record for how hot it was. October was a very warm month, just as September was. A week and a half ago, the heat finally broke, but it didn't go without a fight. We had a cold front come through that conflicted so much with the heat that it caused a large storm with tornados. We didn't have any tornados touch down in Louisville, but the sirens went off and we had to take shelter at a neighbors. This is the first time we have had the sirens go off since we have lived here. Two different funnel clouds formed right over Louisville, one of which was only a couple of miles from our house. We had hard rain and heavy winds. After that, it finally started to get cooler. We started having highs in the 60s and lows in the 40s. This weekend though has been fantastic! Lows in the low 30s and highs in the low 50s. The last two mornings have had heavy frosts. My kind of weather!

We have been able to get out and do some more hiking recently which has been really nice. We found a new place to hike in Indiana that is really beautiful. Many of the pictures below are from there. There are great trails for hiking and a lot of places to picnic. The fall colors are finally looking beautiful here and that has been really nice to be out hiking in. Little Tess is starting to hike now which has been good. All the girls really enjoy hiking.

School is only a few weeks away from being done for me now and I will be one class away from being half done. Praise the Lord! I wrote two big papers for last week and I have one more paper to write. Jess is doing well with the pregnancy. The only thing is she is having a hard time falling asleep. She just lays awake at the beginning of the night. This has been a new issue and she is hoping it goes away soon! Kate is reading up a storm now. She loves to read and reads Tess books now. She also enjoys reading signs when we are driving.

Jess' dad came this week which was really fun. It was great to spend time with him and the girls really enjoyed seeing him. We are looking forward to being back in California in less than month! We fly in on December 4th and leave on the 14th. We are looking forward to seeing our family and seeing our friends at Cornerstone. It will be great to visit!

The girls have been saying some funny things lately. There is a 2nd hand childrens store here called Buttons, Bows, and Britches. Rose talks about it all the time, but unfortunately, she doesn't quite get the r sound in "Britches". You can use your imagination to know what it sounds like she is saying! The girls planted some beans from the grocery store and they grew really quickly. I was joking with the girls and told them that is why you have to be careful when you eat beans because they grow so quickly. Kate shook her head and said "No Dad! We're going to poop them out!"

Well, better go.
Blessings,
Shane

Hiking at Cherokee Park, just across the street from the Seminary.

A beautiful little road in the fall! This is also at Cherokee Park.

This was a new park we found in Indiana that is nearly 20,000 acres. It is a little over an hour away and is a beautiful place to hike. We went out there twice in October because it is a great place to see the fall colors.

Yes, the swing on the left is a doll, not a real baby. Whenever we go hiking, Rose always brings her baby doll. She even has a front carrier, as well as a sling that she uses to carry it.

2010 Fall Break

I am sitting in the gym right now watching Kate and Rose in their motor skills class and I am wondering how they are getting so old and praying for grace to shepherd their hearts as they grow older. They are both changing so much, especially Kate. Kate is moving into a stage where she wants to go and do things, but she wants to participate, not just tag along. It is different and difficult to explain, but there is a difference in her as she is maturing. I have been shooting my bow a lot lately and she not only wants to go with me, she wants her own bow to shoot! Last week she told me she is glad we are not having a boy because then I would probably take him hunting and she wants to be my hunting buddy.

The fall semester is already over halfway done and there are only six weeks left in the semester. Once again, it is going by very quickly! Fall break was last week and it was a great week. On Friday I got to go hunting for whitetail deer again, the first time in 12 years. It was a great blessing to be outdoors for the day! On Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday we went camping. We had a great time together as a family. The weather here has been very hot, but when we were camping, we had a short break from the heat. The night temperatures were 42 and the daytime temperatures were in the mid-sixties. It was beautiful! There were a couple of mishaps, such as forgetting diapers for Tess (Jess made some out of Wal-mart bags and paper towels) and I had a problem with fire this trip. Twice chunks of coal popped out of the fire and landed on me. The first one caught my jeans on fire and burned a hole in my brand new boots. The second one went so high it went down my shirt and gave me a real nice burn at the base of my neck. We did some hiking, enjoyed playing in the campground, and had a great time sitting around the fire. Now that we live in the city, camping takes on a whole new meaning for us!

Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday I worked on a paper I am writing for my counseling class entitled "Counseling the Loveless Marriage". On Saturday, we went up to Nashville, Indiana with my uncle Chris. It is a great little town with a lot of great shops. It is on the border of a 16,000 acre state park that is stunning in the fall. That was a fun day.

The fall colors are in full swing here now. They are about two weeks early from last year and they are not as vibrant as last year because we haven't had any significant rain in 2 and a half months. It has been the third hottest fall in Louisville history and the driest September in Louisville history. Sunday set a record for heat when it got up to 92. We are very ready for the heat to permanently break and the cold frosty days to begin. Well, here are the picture from the last week! Hope you enjoy them!

Sitting up in the deer stand on a beautiful evening waiting for Bambi's parents.

Our campsite with the sun setting on the trees

First evening around the campfire.

Jess making Tess her diaper. Worked pretty good!

The first hike we went on doubled as a scouting trip for hunting. It was a pretty area to hike.

The second hike we went on was a beautiful trail that meandered through the woods. It even went through a beautiful grove of mature pine trees. This is one of our favorite trails at the campsite.

Tess was running around and kicking the ball. She was very proud of herself!

The girls nestled in for the night. I actually took this picture at 3 in the morning.

Ice cream in Nashville Indiana.

These deer creations were great! Someone was very creative in coming up with this idea. If I had a place to put it and money to buy it, I would definately put this on my porch!

The beginning of the fall colors in Nashville Indiana

Nothing But Girls

Well, its official... In this sander home we have nothing but girls. Yes, I am 20 weeks and had our ultra sound and it is another girl. We are all rejoicing at the blessing of another daughter and the girls are excited to have another sister, however, I think we all hoped a little that we would have a boy. But praise the Lord all is well with baby and myself and He knows what we need and what is best! I knew there was a reason I packed at least 4 cosco diaper boxes full of girls clothing. What a good use of resources! So thankfully I won't need too much and I think I have something lined up to get what we do need, so may the Lord provide yet again. He is so faithful to us and is, as always, so gracious and generous. I know many of you have asked what we were having... so here you have it. Thank you for all your prayers and encouragement!
Blessings,
Jess

Finally another post from Jess

Well, I think I would still prefer paper and pen, but this is a great way to communicate with so many at once, so once again, I will renew my efforts to actually post some things more often!

This fall has been busy as Shane said. I have begun school with Kate and it is going really well. The curriculum we chose has been a good fit so far and it has been very managable for me, so far. I praise the Lord for this, because, most of the time I feel pretty maxed out.

With having three little ones already, watching a one yr old 30 hours a week and being pregnant and tired (always) it definately leaves me with little time or energy left over. In fact, this has required some stretching and growing as I often don't know how I will make it through the day. I have noticed a pattern, that I worry that I can't handle everything and become very overwhelmed and discouraged. What I havn't been considering is that God's grace and strength is sufficient for the day. Each day is brought to me by my loving Lord who knows exactly what I need. I can rest that no matter how I feel, He is working in me and through me to accomplish all things to His glory and I can rest in Him that He is in control of the day and will give me all that I need, if I trust and depend and abide in Him. So, these new trials have definately been strengthening my faith in our wonderful Lord and Savior!

I have so much to learn in trusting Christ, training my children, encouraging my husband, managing my home, encouraging my friends and doing everything to the glory of God. I pray and trust that He will be faithful to complete the work He has begun in me.

On a lighter note, we find out the gender of the baby a week from today (last monday in Sept) and we are excited for that news. This pregnancy has definately been more challenging than ones past. More sick and less energy. So it keeps me on my toes (or knees :))

More to come later.... Thank you all for your prayer and encouragement!

Jess

Fall in Full Swing

This picture was taken before this school year began. These are the books I read in my first year here at seminary.



We were able to finally go out and barbecue again! The summer has been very hot and so has the fall. We can't seem to consistently stay out of the 90's. I am told it has been a very unusual and very hot fall so far.

The following pictures are from the 2010 Fall Festival here at the seminary. Once again, it was a really fun time.






The fall is in full swing! I am only two weeks away from midterms. School is going well. So far, this semester has been extremely busy, but most of the business has come from things outside of classes. Classwork has been very consistent, but church and other things has been very busy and unpredictable. My classes have been very good and I am grateful for what I am learning this semester.

We are all doing well. The fall has been very hot and unusual. The trees are already beginning to turn because there has been very little rain. Unfortunately, there is little color and they are mainly going from green to brown. We keep looking forward to cooler weather but it just doesn't come! This week is supposed to be in the mid 90's.

I have been preparing to bowhunt whitetail deer. A good friend of mine gave me a great hunting bow so I have been practicing with it a lot. Bow season began the first weekend of September, but I have been waiting for cooler weather and more practice with the bow. Hopefully, I can begin hunting in October. Getting a couple of deer would really help our food bill.

Jess has began first grade with Kate and so far it is going really well. Jess really enjoys teaching and Kate really enjoys learning. The annual Fall Festival was last week and that was a great time. There were a lot of rides for the children as well as a lot of free food! It was a fun evening. There were a couple of live bluegrass bands as well that were very good.

Well, that is all for now!

Blessings,
Shane

The Summer Comes to a Close

The summer for has now come to a close as classes began last week. The summer went by very quickly but it was a good summer. It culminated with a trip to Montana. Being out of the city was wonderful and we thoroughly enjoyed being in the mountains. It was also wonderful to visit family and spend time with them.

School is now in full swing as I am reading aplenty and already writing my first research paper. This semester I am taking Greek Exegesis of Matthew, Church History I, Pastoral Ministry, and Typical Problems in Biblical Counseling. They will be good classes and I am excited for how God will use them to continue to shape me, mold me, and prepare me for ministry.

The following are several pictures from our trip to Montana. Enjoy the pictures!

Tess is being potty trained! She was very proud of her first box of pull-ups!

Mom made these dresses for the girls while we were there.

All the girls got to ride with Papa Tim on the little motorcycle, dubbed "Lil' Putt Putt"

Dad and I on top of a beautiful mountain in Idaho. Great 360 degree view. Rode the motorcycles near the top and then hiked the rest of the way.

Kate performing her fire skills on a camping trip!

Papa Time and Kate.

Camping in Idaho.

Dad and I rode for ten straight hours. Needless to say my rumpolia was quite sore at the end of the day. Beautiful ride though. This picture of me is a point in which we crossed a river in which this is the only access by road. We saw three moose on this trip.

On a day hike.

One of the hikes we went on had a lot of cedars. This one Rose fit right inside of!

We camped on the top of a mountain where there was an old fire lookout. The view was beautiful but the thick and fine dirt was a bit of a problem with the little ones!




Rose and Kate each getting ready to ride Lil Putt Putt.

We got several loads of firewood while we were back there! It was a good workout and great to run a chainsaw again!

Blessings,

Shane