A Time to Give Thanks...

This time of year always seems to be the busiest for us.  Matt is busy studying and working, I'm busy with nanny responsibilities and sewing, but in the midst of all this business it's good to stop and take time to give thanks.  God has been so good to us!  Matt began his second year of Seminary in August and he is now in his last weeks of finishing up this semester.  As I'm writing this post, we are sitting in Barnes and Noble and he is studying, reading, and preparing for his finals next week.  We are so thankful for every circumstance that God used to bring us here to The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.  At work, Matt received a promotion to operator; which came with a nice raise.  God is good to us financially! I could not be happier with my job as a nanny.  It is the perfect job for this season of our lives.  Since both of the kids that I nanny are in school, I have the whole middle of the day to myself.  This has allowed me to be able to attend chapel services with Matt on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  I'm so thankful for what God has been teaching me through all of the Godly chapel speakers.  God is allowing us both to grow so much in the knowledge of Him and Who He is while we are here attending classes.  I just finished up my third semester of Seminary Wive's classes by taking a discipleship class.  I learned so much from this class, but one thing that stands out to me is this profound lesson:  "ministry wives will need to learn to be 'self-feeders' before they will ever be able to feed (disciple) another."  This class greatly challenged me in my own personal walk with God through helping me to be more consistent in my daily Bible reading, prayer, and worship time.  I'm so thankful that Mrs. Mohler, the seminary president's wife, began this special school to train up minister's wives alongside their husbands.  I don't want to give any of you all the false impression that we live perfect lives.  No, we don't have perfect lives, and everything doesn't always go our way.  But, we are doing our best to learn from what the Apostle Paul said:  "I have learned in whatsoever state I am therewith to be content."  Even if that state is Kentucky and not California.  :)  Yes, we miss California, but we know that God has us over here in Kentucky to prepare ourselves for the future ministry He has planned for us.  We both can boldly say that whether in good times or bad, God has always been there working in us and even through us, and for this we are ever thankful.

Okay, now I will get you all up to date with some of the pictures of our latest adventures since our last post.  I don't know about you, but I love looking at pictures, so if you're like me, than this section of this post is for you.  Enjoy!!

Back in September, Matt and I went on a little mini-vacation to the Madison Art Festival in Indiana, which is about an hour away from Louisville.  The town of Madison, IN is reminiscent of small-town America, and we really enjoyed looking at all the amazing architecture from that era.  We had a great time even if it did pour on us the second day we were there.  There were many local artists and artisans with some very unique art on display.

We have found the best spot for eating fresh seasonal food at The Blue Dog Bakery and Cafe.  It's walking distance from the Seminary, and they have the best soups, pizzas and sandwiches.  Everything there is so fresh, and a lot of it is served farm to table so we are supporting our local farmers and enjoying good food. 

Last year we got our pumpkins from Huber's Farm in IN, so this year we figured, "why not make it a tradition while we're here."  Matt had never been to an actual pumpkin field to pick his own pumpkin.  This was quite fun watching my perfectionist husband trying to pick the perfect pumpkin in a field of 100s of pumpkins.  

In October, my mom surprised my dad by flying me home for his birthday.  It was so good to see family again, and to meet my cousin Mike and his family for the first time.  It was a quick two-day trip.  Just a little teaser to make me miss California even more.  :) 

Before I left California to go back to Kentucky, my parents took me to see the ocean.  I sure do miss the Pacific Ocean.  The Ohio River here in Kentucky just doesn't compare to the great big Pacific Ocean.  

I've always had this fear of cooking steaks, but I love to eat them.  So recently I decided to conquer this fear and learn how to cook a good steak.  I've been doing pretty good so far, and Matt sure does like steak night Saturdays.  

Every year, since we've been married, Matt and I have packed up shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child.  We always have so much fun shopping for the items to put in our boxes and then coming home and trying to fit everything into the box.

Ok, I'll admit it.  Kentucky does have something up on California.  The trees all turn the most beautiful colors here during the fall!

As a side job, I sew vintage belts for two ladies who have a business designing the belts and selling them to boutiques. When I'm not sewing these belts, I love to quilt.  I made this wall quilt out of a bunch of vintage scrap material that I found at the thrift store here on campus.  All the pieces of material were already cut into shapes, so it was quite a challenge trying to piece them together, but I like the end result.  

Matt and I took our Christmas card picture the weekend before Thanksgiving.  It was freezing outside at Cherokee Park.  Matt was a good sport though.  We had to use the timer on my camera and set it up on a tripod to take the pictures for us.  It took us a while, but we finally got a picture we both liked.  The picture above is not the picture we used for our card, I didn't want to put that one on here only on our Christmas card.  

Ice Cream, Fairs, and Festivals Oh My!!

At this season in our lives, God has placed Luke 12:48 heavily on my heart.  "Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more."  We are both being given so much training while we are here at Southern Theological Seminary.  I truly feel like a sponge doing my best to be saturated with the good Godly teaching we are being influenced with on a daily basis.  Then, it dawned on me the other day, we are going to be very responsible to the congregation that God leads us to after graduation.  We have been given much, and then it will be our turn to give back.  That's definitely a scary thought, but I have all confidence that God will never give us more than we can handle, and that He is always there to strengthen us to the task He has laid before us.  Which brings another excellent passage to mind from Joshua 1:9b "Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”  What an excellent promise to hold on to wherever God has brought us to in our lives.  He will be with us wherever we go.  Once again I stand in absolute awe of what an awesome and mighty God we serve!!  We are definitely enjoying this season of intense training in our lives right now.  Which is good, because we have 3 years and 11 months more of it, not that anyone's counting down or anything. :)  Besides a busy schedule of studies, Matt and I find time to enjoy the Southern life here in Kentucky.  So, without further ado, here are the pics of what we've been up to since the end of July.  Enjoy!!

Ok, I had to start with this pic, because we have eaten more than our fair share of ice-cream this Summer. :) 

We experienced our first tow.  It was fun!!  It didn't cost us anything thanks to good Costco Insurance, and it ended up being the alternator which Matt was able to replace himself.  In the pouring Summer rain, it was a pretty interesting experience, but one that God blessed throughout.

Louisville is definitely known as a foodie Mecca.  So, we've been trying a lot of the local restaurants.  I loved the grilled cheese at Tom and Chee, but Matt didn't like it so much, probably due to the fact that he's really not a cheese lover. :)  I'm so blessed with a husband who took me to Tom & Chee anyways because he knows that I LOVE cheese.

See, we really don't just go to festivals and eat all the time, Matt does a lot of studying too.  

I just had to mention this.  I don't think I'll ever stop saying "you guys."  

That's what a tobacco plant looks like.  It kind of looks like seaweed to this CA girl.  There was a whole exhibit of all the varieties of tobacco at this year's KY state fair.

Ahh...now doesn't this State Fair exhibit look so healthy?  Do not be deceived though, this is not how all Southerner's truly eat....see the next picture and you will know what I mean.  :) 

Yep, you're seeing this right, Krispy Kreme Donuts on the grill!!

And here's what they're turning  those Krispy Kreme Donuts into.  Jelly filled sloppy joes, and donut burgers.  

I know...You're asking yourself, "who would eat such fattening weird food?"  Well, this picture says it all.   Hungry seminary students will! :)  Yep, Matt loved them, me no thank you.  :) 

Ok, this is the last fair picture, but isn't it just so creative?!!

For my birthday this year, I got the most amazing dutch oven ever!! Thanks to my wonderful husband and mother -in-law.  I've already cooked pork roast, and creamy chicken noodle soup in it and they both turned out amazing.  

One thing about being way out here in KY is that I don't get to go shopping with my mom for my birthday. :(  But, she sent me a JCPenny's gift card and I was able to buy a whole new outfit.  I was so excited because I have lost 25 lbs since we've come to KY and my clothes were making me look like an orphan.  It's so nice to have an outfit that actually fits now, plus I had fun picking it out.  

This lovely little Southern vegetable is called Kushaw and it's actually from the pumpkin family.  One of the men from the church in Turner's Station was always sharing produce from his garden with us, and one Sunday this is what we got.  They told me that pretty much anything that you make with pumpkin, you can use Kushaw instead.  So, I was pretty excited to try cooking with it.  I have to say, it made me feel kind of Southern. :)

Here's what it looks like on the inside.

And here's the finished product....Kushaw pie.  The verdict:  it tastes even better than pumpkin pie!!

Ok, we've discovered that late Summer and early Fall is definitely festival time here in Louisville.  Matt enjoyed at least 3 of these pina colada's at The World Fest in Down Town Louisville.  I know what you're thinking...no they didn't have alcohol in them, we're in Seminary. :) 

While at the World Fest, I thought I died and went to Heaven when I saw that they had Elote...which is Mexican corn on the cob.  Oh how it made me miss the little street vendor in San Jose, CA that I used to buy it from every Saturday while I was going to college in the Bay Area.  

And the festival's continue with The Bluegrass Festival.  The Kettle Corn was amazing!!

So, what's the best way to enjoy bluegrass music?  Flat on your back on the lawn according to Matt.  

Before the Bluegrass Festival was over, God decided to roll in some "music" of His own with a huge thunder storm and buckets of rain.  Needless to say, the rest of the festival was canceled for the night.  That was okay though, because Matt and I enjoyed watching and listening to God's "festival" much more anyways.  Not that bluegrass music is bad or anything, you just can't compare to perfection.  

At the Seminary's Fall Festival this year, the them was "The World's Fair 1904."  We had the best time ever.  We were so surprised to see that they even had boba.  We haven't seen boba since we left CA, where we used to get it every Thursday night after classes at CBU at Boba Loca.  The night ended with an amazing light show right on the face of the Seminary's library.  I'm so thankful that we attend a Seminary where they truly care about their students.  

Ok, this last picture is just so you guys don't think that all we eat is fair and festival food all the time. :)  We actually eat really healthy during the week thanks to a great local farmer's market that we go to just about every Saturday.  

Well, I hope you all enjoyed that picture journey of our lives since the end of July.  I just wanted to include a list of a few things that we would like you to join us in prayer for.

1. That God would lead us to a permanent church home here in Louisville.  Matt finished off the summer preaching at the small church in Turner's Station, KY.  After much prayer, he decided that he would not be able to have the time to adequately server the church there during the school year.
2. For Matt's studies here at Seminary.  Especially for time management.
3. For both of us to be a light and witness at our jobs.

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.  

Summer Beginnings

Well, Matt is officially on summer break, and I now have the kids that I nanny all the time during the day because they are on summer break too.  It hasn't been too hot over here in Kentucky yet, the highest it's been is in the high 80s.  Life has been busy as is to be expected while you're in Seminary.  Matt has been preaching at Turners Station Baptist Church for 4 weeks and all is going well there.  The people there are so kind and welcoming to us and we are so thankful for this.  Matt's schedule seems to be so jam packed with things to do, but God is giving him the strength to get everything done and to balance preaching, studying, work, and of course being married. :)  I sure am enjoying my summer break with the kids that I nanny.  We've been going to parks, bounce houses and my favorite...The Library!!!  They really are good kids and fun to be with, so I'm sure I'm going to have a fun summer with them.

I thought that once again I would share with you all what we've been up to since my last post through pictures.

We love going to Bernheim Forest and just relaxing on a Saturday and enjoying being with each other.  Most of the time we'll  take a picnic lunch and some books to read in the hammock.  This state park is such a peaceful place and great for relaxing from a busy week.  

Matt and I do our best to have date nights once a week.  Sometimes it's hard if he's working mandatory overtime on a weekend, but we do the best we can.  I will usually make a yummy dinner for us and end it with a sweet treat such as these strawberry shortcake parfaits.  

For Memorial Day, Matt and I visited Cave Hill Cemetery's Civil War section.  Being native Californians, we've never been to a cemetery that had a section dedicated to Civil War soldiers.  It was quite an experience for us.  As we slowly walked through the hundreds of Civil War graves we were solemnly reminded of the great sacrifice both men and women have made for the freedoms we enjoy today in our country.  

We're used to seeing American flags on soldiers graves for  Memorial Day, but we've never seen a confederate flag on one before.  This section of the cemetery is where the confederate soldiers of the Civil War were buried.  For the most part Kentucky was a divided state during the Civil War so it makes sense that both Confederate and Union soldiers are buried in her cemeteries.  

For me, the most poignant reminder of the cost of war were the hundreds of tombstones simply marked "unknown" in this cemetery.  These men fought for a great cause and were buried without even knowing their name.  Let us not let them have died in vain.  

Here is the marker marking the many graves of the unknown dead from the Civil War.

After visiting the cemetery, we decided to do a little treasure hunting at the local Goodwill.  We found a few items, and then moved on.  

Growing up it seems like we always did a Memorial Day project around the home, so we decided to make cornice curtains for our family room windows.  Here's Matt carefully measuring one of the pieces for the cornice.  

I cut out all the fabric and batting that we used to staple to the cornice boards. 

Don't I have the best husband!?  He worked with me to get these cornice curtains made, and then he hung them up for me too.  

And Here's the finished project.  We actually made two of these cornice boards, the other one is over our dining room window.  They were a great project for Memorial Day.  

I'm having a great time being a Nanny.  It is kind of uncanny how much our hair looks alike isn't it?  It seems like everywhere we go people are always stopping to comment on our hair.  I guess it's kind of strange to see two people together in Kentucky with such curly hair.  :) 

Yesterday after church we decided to go and try out the new pedestrian bridge that crosses the Ohio River over to Indiana.  That's a picture of the bridge in the background.  Actually it used to be a bridge for trains, but they didn't need it anymore, or it got to week for trains or something.  (It's over 100 years old)  

Somebody was kind enough to take our picture for us as we were making our way up to the bridge.  It sure was a beautiful day.  

For all of you out there who are into looking at structures, this pics for you.  These are the over 100 year-old iron beams that suspend the bridge across the Ohio River.

Here's a picture of Matt next to one of the beams just so you can get an idea of how large they are.

This picture was taken at the center of the bridge.  That's the Ohio River.

This was our best attempt at taking a picture of the both of us by ourselves.  That's downtown Louisville in the background and the Ohio River.  We had such a good time enjoying our walk across the Big Four Bridge and the weather was perfect.  

Well, I hope you all enjoyed this latest update to our ongoing journey here in Louisville, Kentucky.  As always, God is so good to us, He has blessed more than we could ever deserve.  We are looking forward to seeing where He will call us to serve Him after our days here at Seminary come to an end.  Thank you all for your prayers, they are very much appreciated.