Monday, January 29, 2007

North Fork Mountain Trail

Okay so this hiking event that Adam, Eric, and I went on was like a month ago (1/1/2007-1/3/2007), but I havn't had the time to sit down and put all of these pictures on till now...and actually I'm supposed to be doing homework anyway. We went to the North Fork Mountain near Petersburg WV and hiked this trail that runs the entire ridge, its over 24miles or so... Oh yeah we didnt have a map. This is by no means an easy hike. No water in sight except for the water you bring in. A quick run down of what happend: We got to Petersburg late on Jan. 1st and found that we were given wrong directions to the head of the trail. Luckly, with help from Uncle Brian, we eventually found the head of the trail and began hiking even though it was raining and dark. We went almost 1.5 miles before finding a good spot to camp our first night. Good food, good friends, good times. The next day was fun until about 3:30pm when we found a great camping spot and decided to pass so that we could get a few more miles in that day. Bad choice, we ended up hiking for 3 more hrs or so before finding another camp sight in the dark. Good food, good friends, good times. The next day we were fooled into thinking we only had a half a days hike left in front of us. We found out rather quickly that it was a little more than that. We drank the last of our water and ate last of our food around noon, thinking we had to be close to the end. We blanked out from there on and ended up seeing the car alittle before 5pm. WOW!! Great time out in the woods and it was so beautiful. Now that I know whats instore I feel more confident in the next trip to the North Fork Mountian Trail! Now for some pics!





The three hikers in front of my apartment, prior to departure.


Eric at the head of the trail....late the first night right before we started in.



Eric and myself at our first camp sight....I only brought a disposable camera so the pictures aren't very good.


The first morning by the fire. Adam is looking at all of our mugs in the fire where they are heating up some water so we could had instant coffee...yummers.



Adam and I at the first of many breath taking views. We are so high up right now it is crazy.




Adam and Eric contemplating life atop this wonder of God's creation.





Its really hard to see but I'm standing on that rock. The picture is taken by Adam and he is standing where the above picture was taken from.


Eric and I at another over look, crawling toward the edge to find a huge drop off. It was so beautiful, but Eric wasn't to fond of the hight.


Eric and Adam at the same over look.


This is a section that we were walking where the only thing you could see was rhododendron bushes and it was so cool look and the camera, as you could guess, doesn't even come close to do it justice. Think how amazing this would be with flowers in full bloom. WOW.



Same place as above but look back, away from the sun.


Adam at an overlook. Look at those rolling West Virginia hill. No wonder there are numerous songs written about them.




This is me. I know mom and dad not smart, but a great picture. Some times you have to take risks for a good memory. I just can't explain the feelings you have when you can see God's creation like this.





Look close....Seneca Rocks!!! This is our first sighting of the infamous rocks.






Me in front of Seneca Rocks...the back side of Seneca Rocks.







Adam and I with Seneca behind us. (and the wind blowing like crazy)





This was honestly the most beautiful place I have seen on earth. The memories are amazing and the experiance was so great. I can't thank God enough for giving me this personal time to reflect and to stand in awe of what God has done. Time out side like this really help me connect with God and honestly I don't know how it couldn't. I hope you like this Blog...Sorry it was so long. Tell me what you think of the pictures.

Mannington!!!!!

Zach and I went to Mannington last weekend to spend some quality time with the folks and we had a blast. We made the rounds in Mannington which include:





  • atleast one meal at a fancy restaurant. this time we picked an all time favorite of mine, Mi Pueblo's.


  • a trip to the mall which excitingly enough included a trip to a pet store AND a peek at our future baby puppy, "Natalie Portman."

  • One church service.

  • Atleast one "kitchen-talk"

  • Commonly a boardgame of some sort.

  • A visit from Kole.



AND.....






  • A trip to wal-mart...

ahh...what a weekend.

Monday, January 22, 2007

Hooray Snow!

It snowed several inches yesterday morning while we were at church and it didn't stop snowing until we got back to parkersburg at 5:30 in the afternoon. Zach and I were so excited about all the snow that as soon as we got back home, we bundled up and went out to play. We did so much fun snow stuff that I hadn't had the chance to grow up doing. We went snow sledding for about an hour, we built a ramp with snow and jumped it, we had a contest to see who could slide the farthest on their belly, and finally we built a snowman and carried up onto our porch. Sadly, the temp raised so quickly that he melted right away this morning. Here's a picture of our snowman before the sun got him.

Tuesday, January 16, 2007

Mary and Martha


Zach and I were reading the story of Mary and Martha last night and with most Bible stories, when we were finished reading it we both said. I just wish I had a heart like that. Zach and I have decided to read the Message translation and it gives such life to Jesus that I've never picked up on before. When Martha comes in to Jesus after she has been slaving in the kitchen and says aren't you going to do something about Mary abandoning the kitchen to me? Jesus flat out says Martha, stop fussing and worrying and getting worked up. this is how the message says it..."Mary has chosen the main course and it will not be taken from her." I get so fussy when serving people. Instead of just doing it and feeling good about it. I worry about whether dinner will be ready on time or if all the dinnerware matches and where everyone will sit...instead of taking my time and enjoying the company and taking joy in having another opportunity to share laughter and my heart and giving my friends the chance to feel good about serving by helping with what should be done for dinner. I just wanted to share this because it's been on my heart and I'm working on it. :) We love you all.