Leading the Charge

I try to stay out of political discussions because I hate the division it brings. I guess that's also why I liked this article from Cameron Strang so much (also, we're hooked on the Relevant Podcast that he leads).

First Word: Leading the Charge
Reprinted from the Sept./Oct. issue of RELEVANT
September 16, 2008

Here's a quote:

Many Christians traditionally have voted Republican because of their justifiable conviction to protect the lives of the unborn. Now, many younger Christians are voting Democrat because of their justifiable desire to see our nation, the most prosperous in the world, address issues of poverty, global aid and the environment.

The problem is, many Christians vote these convictions, but that’s largely where their personal involvement in the issues stops. Are the government leaders we vote for meant to do our job for us? [More]

Mom and Dad Visit! Andrea & Andy Get Married!

This weekend was a ton of fun with the Trunk and Treat last night, my parents stopping by on their way back from North Carolina, and Andrea and Andy's wedding! :) Hopefully my mom will post some photos on her blog from the weekend because I forgot to take any! Arg!

Here's BJ and I on our way to the wedding.
How cute is this envelope!
The gorgeous bride and groom!

Trunk & Treat

Last night was Bright's Trunk and Treat! :) BJ and I broke out some of our costumes from college (ah the J-House memories) and provided sugar rushes to hundreds of kids. This is so great because (with how seculded we are) we know we'll never get anyone stopping by on the 31st!
BJ and Maria at J-House in 2000... and now. :)
Some of our favorite kids on the planet!
Pudge is a Spud Muffin!

Nashville Wedding!

I just noticed that the photos from Kelly's wedding have been posted online... here's a couple of us. :)

Kate.

Mammoth Caves & Nashville

We don't really have many photos from Nashville - though Nashville was the purpose of our mini-vacation this weekend. BJ's college friend Kelly was getting married there... and along the way we stopped by Mammoth Caves for a little caving & hiking. Most of the cave tours were booked up by the time we got there so we ended up on the LAMEST tour on earth. BJ and I have both been able to explore / crawl through caves in the past so walking .5 miles round trip on a completely flat surface was not the experience we were looking for.

Here's BJ (looking cool as ever) waiting for the tour cave tour & inside the cave.

This is what happens when we have a hiking trail totally to ourselves... we spent the day before landscaping (surprise surprise) so this KILLED my hands!

So pretty...

Apple Orchard Apples

...and now I need to bake a PIE!

Apple Orchard

Here are some of the picts from the apple orchard (during our NonCamping Camping Weekend)! My favorite are the pumpkin pictures! :)

From the Miller's Garden...

...and now on our
window sill. :)

3rd Annual NonCamping Camping Weekend

Every year we have a mini Purdue reunion... it all began as a camping weekend but very quickly became a non-camping camping weekend (ie we don't camp at all). :) This weekend BJ and I headed up to Indy to visit with Kristi, Cary, Chrissy, Chris, Mike, Megan and LUKE! :) We visited an apple orchard which was AMAZING. More on that later.

We also got to meet Chris and Chrissy's bengal kitten (a Asian Leopard Cat decendant). If we didn't already have FIVE pets... :)

Reverse Mohawk

Annie was growing some serious dreads so I had to have a little beauty session with her... She's taking it surprisingly well. :)

Morning Fog

When I saw the massive amounts of fog outside this morning I made sure to grab my camera on the way out the door. You can see in them this AMAZING tree with bright red leaves... we noticed it last night while walking Miss Layla.

I think I'm going to put these photos in my car for those times I wonder why my commute is so long.

Apple Color

We have these fake apples that are remarkably realistic... hence the BITE MARKS in some of them. :) Right now they're serving as wall color inspiration.

New Trees and Such

Here is a sampling of our nursery auction finds... including our scarlet maples (2 of them), lilac tree, and crabapple that I LOVE but BJ thinks will attract birds + their poop.

Indoor / Outdoor Tree

We picked up this tropical tree at our second nursery stop. It's already getting too cold outside for her so I just brought her in straight away. Her blooms close every night and open back up every day. She's a little out of place in our family room but makes up for it with extra pizazz.

My Favorite Jade

My newest indoor plant is this Jade. I love it so much I think I might have to name it.

Some of the leaves didn't make the ride home... so I've got them stuck in dirt with hopes they might grow new Jades. BJ says I have a colony of them. :) I think they look like Kermet the Frog tounges.

Hallway Photos

I just finished this little project with a couple photos from Alaska (plus one of BJ snowboarding in our front yard) and IKEA frames. :)

2001 Chevy Prism for Sale...

Only slight deer damage. :)

BJ had a little run-in yesterday morning. This would be our car with only liability on it. But... it still runs so we're actually going to keep it around, dents and all. :)

Trees and more trees

We had quite the weekend! On Saturday morning we headed to Dawson's nursery - where they were having a going-out-of-business auction. They were selling all of their stock and equipment leaving (of course) the best for last. In the end (after about 7 hours there) we left with 12 shrubs and 6 trees including two scarlet maples (for either side of our house) and a lilac tree.

On our way to pick up soil and other planting necessities after church yesterday, BJ happened to notice a going-out-of-business sign on ANOTHER nursery (I guess it's a sign of the times). We swung in and left with five MORE trees and a just plain awesome jade plant.

So now we have 10 trees and 12 shrubs to plant! BJ managed to get the largest one in the ground yesterday (we needed the mower to pull it into place it was so heavy) while I pruned the crap out of our knock-out roses.