In the Good Ol' Summer Time!

So far Summer has been beautiful over here in Kentucky.  It's been a little wetter than normal, but this past week boasted some absolutely gorgeous weather (with very little humidity. :) ).  Summer time is so green over here in Kentucky.  I'm constantly amazed at how much green is everywhere.  I guess this is probably because I was raised in dry, brown Southern California.  I am learning to appreciate both colors - brown and green.  They both have their advantages and disadvantages.  Perhaps the biggest disadvantage of all this green is bugs, bugs, and more bugs!!  Some of the bugs are actually pretty cool to look at, but I definitely don't appreciate getting bit by them.  Of course the most amazing bugs of all are the little lightning bugs that appear every night!  Matt recently told me that when we are done with Seminary he thinks that he will miss the lightning bugs the most. :)  Of course one of the biggest disadvantages of a "brown" landscape is dust, dust and more dust.  It is kind of strange not having to worry too much about dust over here.  I finally decided to deep clean my car since it's been over a year that we moved here from CA.  I couldn't believe all of the CA dust that was still in all the nooks and crannies of my car.  I honestly don't think I will ever get it all out, and that's fine with me... it keeps CA in my memory every time I'm in my car. :)  So, why have I been deep cleaning my car?  Well, my parents are coming for a visit tomorrow!!! I'm so excited... we've been planning for their visit for a long time now.  We can't wait to show them around KY and all the beautiful amazing places that this state has to see.  So, I thought that I'd better get caught up on my blog before they come out, because after their visit, I will be writing up another post on all the places that we went.  Okay, now for some pictures and stories of what we've been up to since my last post.  Enjoy!!

In order to celebrate Summer we always like to enjoy some good ice cream at The Pie Kitchen or Graeters.  In this picture Matt is enjoying some $.25 per scoop ice cream at The Pie Kitchen.  They were celebrating they're anniversary, thus the low prices.  I just got one scoop, and I won't reveal how many scoops Matt got because he'd probably be embarrassed.  :)  Let's just say he had a pretty achy stomach after all that ice cream, but it was really yummy on a hot and humid KY Summer day. 

One of the things that we definitely miss from CA are the amazing sunsets.  One evening as I was walking I saw this sunset and I had to snap a picture because it sure did remind me of our sunsets back in CA, minus all the trees of course.  

So I've already mentioned that we love the lightning bugs.  (For the record, I've learned that in the South they are "lightning bugs" not "fireflies.")  Here is a short video of all the lightning bugs on the front lawn of the Seminary under the beech trees.  This video really does not do them justice.  You just have to see them for yourselves to really appreciate them.

Look at all this green, you'd think it was Spring, but it's Summer.  I love taking the children that I nanny to the many different parks here in Louisville, this picture was taken at Cherokee park, which is definitely one of my favorite parks and it's right across the street from the Seminary.  

On Sundays after church we like to try to go on a date day adventure.  On one of these Sunday's we decided to follow one of those "brown historic site signs."  It led us to Locust Grove.  This plantation is one of the early Louisville plantations and it is still standing today.  It has been turned into a museum and it is a wonderful place to visit and learn more about Kentucky's early history.  One of the interesting things that we learned was that Kentucky was considered the "Western Frontier" at one point.  That was kind of strange for us Californians to hear being that we're from pretty much the Westernmost state.  It was a beautiful plantation to visit and we had a great time.  

Fourth of July started with a not so American breakfast of potato pancakes, ham and eggs.  I think that potato pancakes are probably from Germany.  We've been eating them forever in my family and we love them!  After breakfast we headed out to Turners Station, where Matt has been preaching, to spend the evening and night with one of the church member's family.

The drive out to Turner's Station was beautiful as it always is.  It was a pretty wet and rainy day, but that didn't dampen the Fourth of July spirits.  On the way out there we stopped to see the Ohio River.  It's the closest thing to getting our "ocean fix"  Once we got out to Turners, Matt started teaching all the kids how to play ball tag.  They had a blast!!  The fireworks were incredible.  We can't do our own fireworks in dry California so I wasn't quite sure what to expect from this KY home firework show.  It was amazing, it was like being at a real professional firework show, only a little bit more scary as the firework debris was raining down on your head.  :)  We loved spending time with the people  in Turners Station, they are so generous, kind and well they just have that Southern hospitality thing down. :)  We praise God for giving us this great country to live in and we pray that He will use us to help turn America back to Him. 

A milestone event occurred for Matt this past Saturday... he officiated his first wedding.  He put so much prayer and preparation into this wedding, and God truly blessed on the day of the wedding.  Here in this picture Matt is doing some last minute prep in the car before the wedding.  Oh yeah, he also had to buy his first suit for the wedding.  We were truly blessed to find and amazing deal on a new 3-piece suit, and now he has his marrying and burying suit.  

Here is a picture of the actual wedding ceremony that took place at Campbellsburg Baptist Church in Cambpellsburg, KY.  We both had such a wonderful time getting to know the bride and the groom and we hope to spend more time with them now.  We praise the Lord for giving Matt the opportunity to be able to officiate at this wedding.  We're also so thankful for the bride and groom entrusting their wedding to Matt when it was his first ceremony to perform.  

Well, these pictures began with Matt eating ice cream and now they are ending with me eating the biggest sundae that I have ever seen!!! For one of our date nights on a Sunday we went to Bucca di Beppo because we had a coupon for a free colossal brownie sunday.  They weren't lying when they said colossal were they?  Don't worry we didn't eat it all, just most of it. :)

God is continuing to bless us over here in KY.  He is so faithful to provide exactly what we need when we need it.  Please continue to pray for both of us as we minister to the church in Turners Station.  Also pray for Matt as he has been sharing the Gospel with his co-workers.  Pray that  God will soften their hearts to receive His Son.  We firmly believe in the power of prayer and we appreciate every single prayer that you offer on our behalf.  Until next time, enjoy your Summer and remember to look around and rejoice in what God has done in your life.