She stopped while crossing the South Knoxville Bridge, which spans the Tennessee River.
Friday, September 30, 2011
Friday September 30 Nancy's Drive Home
Nancy stayed late at her school this afternoon in order to get ready for our trip to NYC. So she was coming home later than usual and saw this incredible sunset behind the skyline of downtown Knoxville.
She stopped while crossing the South Knoxville Bridge, which spans the Tennessee River.
She stopped while crossing the South Knoxville Bridge, which spans the Tennessee River.
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Stephen receives official letter of call
Stephen opened his mail today and discovered his official letter of call to ministry! Even though we've known it's official by vote of the congregation, and we know the start date, it is a thrill to see the official document. Congratulations Stephen and Betsy!
Monday, September 26, 2011
Saturday, Sept. 24 Bloomington trip
On Friday afternoon Nancy and Stephen drove up to Bloomington, Indiana to visit Joan, her mother. They drove for about six hours, though most of it was on Interstate highways so it wasn't too bad. I couldn't go because of the HVA football game that night. Every year a huge fundraiser is held for cancer research in Bloomington and Nancy's mother plays a big role in it.
Here the crowd gathers outside the stadium. Nancy says it was cool (below 20 C) and threatening to rain. Even some members of the Indiana University band were on hand to provide music.
Stephen needs to work on his smile, while Jill has mastered hers.
Every year after the race our group moves on to the Steak and Shake restaurant and everyone makes up for their healthy run / walk with a calorie packed lunch. Sitting next to Joan, is PA Mack, her "boyfriend". Nancy's father passed away over 10 years ago. Across the table is PA's son along with his two grandsons.
Unfortunately there is no photo of Nancy since she was the photographer!
The "Hoosiers Outrun Cancer" fundraiser is in the form of a run / walk event. Thousands of people participate. They gather outside the Indiana University football stadium, listen to some speeches, and then do the event. They all end up inside the stadium.
Here's Joan showing off her very special red t-shirt. Only the very important people who coordinate the race get a red t-shirt. Everyone else's is white.
Here the crowd gathers outside the stadium. Nancy says it was cool (below 20 C) and threatening to rain. Even some members of the Indiana University band were on hand to provide music.
Stephen needs to work on his smile, while Jill has mastered hers.
Every year after the race our group moves on to the Steak and Shake restaurant and everyone makes up for their healthy run / walk with a calorie packed lunch. Sitting next to Joan, is PA Mack, her "boyfriend". Nancy's father passed away over 10 years ago. Across the table is PA's son along with his two grandsons.
Unfortunately there is no photo of Nancy since she was the photographer!
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Saturday September 24
This week was "Spirit Week" at Hardin Valley Academy. This means that all week long the students and teachers had special dress up days (such as "dress tacky" or "dress like a celebrity"). All this led up to the Homecoming football game Friday night. On Thursday we had a great pep rally at the end of the day. The pep rally included all 2,000 students in the gymnasium, the marching band, cheerleaders, and the dance squad. The special ingredient was the lack of light...once everyone got in position, the lights were turned out. Completely. There were a few "black lights" and the participants in the show were dressed in white and painted in glow in the dark paint. Glow sticks, which contain a glow in the dark chemical, were handed out to the students. It was quite a scene.
Homecoming is when the students who have graduated return to visit their friends and school. It was a good to see some of our graduates and catch up on what they are now doing. Some of them commented that college is much more difficult than high school.
Yes, these are twins! The beautiful young ladies go to our church and have been faithful members of our Sunday School class. One was running for Homecoming queen and the other was an escort for one of the king candidates. Both are seniors. 
In our continuing series of "painted up" pictures, here are two friends who coordinated their face paint. They've got the H and the V but I can't see the A.
At halftime of the football game all the candidates were announced and escorted onto the field. Many had a father, mother or brother as their escort, while others chose a friend. Then in a suspenseful moment, the winner king and queen were announced. All the students voted on the selection.
There were many candidates for the title of "king" and "queen" of Homecoming. Here is a couple that stopped for a picture.
After the football game it was time for the "rave", the student dance. The atrium was decorated with chains of helium filled and balloons and there were hundreds of students there. I should add that it was almost pitch dark in there, the camera flash lightened up the scene considerably.
This is a sight that makes a Father's heart feel good. Nancy, our normal mowing crew, went to Bloomington, Indiana that weekend, and assigned Jacob the task of mowing the front yard. And here he is, hard at work!
In our continuing series of "painted up" pictures, here are two friends who coordinated their face paint. They've got the H and the V but I can't see the A.
At halftime of the football game all the candidates were announced and escorted onto the field. Many had a father, mother or brother as their escort, while others chose a friend. Then in a suspenseful moment, the winner king and queen were announced. All the students voted on the selection.
There were many candidates for the title of "king" and "queen" of Homecoming. Here is a couple that stopped for a picture.
After the football game it was time for the "rave", the student dance. The atrium was decorated with chains of helium filled and balloons and there were hundreds of students there. I should add that it was almost pitch dark in there, the camera flash lightened up the scene considerably.
This is a sight that makes a Father's heart feel good. Nancy, our normal mowing crew, went to Bloomington, Indiana that weekend, and assigned Jacob the task of mowing the front yard. And here he is, hard at work!
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Friday, Sept. 16 West High football game and marching band
West High played Farragut, a town just to the west of Knoxville, on Friday night. Since the Hardin Valley Academy team was playing out of town, I had the chance to come see Jacob play with the West High marching band. Jacob agreed to pose for one or two pictures in his uniform.
The band plays from the stands during the game. Jacob is in the third row from the bottom, directly under the first tuba.
The band plays a variety of short, catchy, upbeat songs meant to inspire their team to victory.
At half time of the football game the bands perform out on the field. Unfortunately it is dark at that point of the evening and parents are not allowed to wander out on the field and take pictures. That's why this picture isn't so clear. But Jacob is standing just to the right of the "30" yard line marker.
Band members not only play their instruments but also march around in patterns, twisting and turning and somehow not running into each other.
After the half time performance the band members discussed their plans for the second half.
West High has a mascot based on their nickname of "Rebels". I don't think he can hear or see very well and it took a bit of prodding to get him to stop and pose.
Here's the West High stands with the band playing right at the kickoff of the second half. Note the young men with the red body paint. They are lined up to spell out "West Rebels".
The band plays from the stands during the game. Jacob is in the third row from the bottom, directly under the first tuba.
The band plays a variety of short, catchy, upbeat songs meant to inspire their team to victory.
At half time of the football game the bands perform out on the field. Unfortunately it is dark at that point of the evening and parents are not allowed to wander out on the field and take pictures. That's why this picture isn't so clear. But Jacob is standing just to the right of the "30" yard line marker.
Band members not only play their instruments but also march around in patterns, twisting and turning and somehow not running into each other.
After the half time performance the band members discussed their plans for the second half.
West High has a mascot based on their nickname of "Rebels". I don't think he can hear or see very well and it took a bit of prodding to get him to stop and pose.
Here's the West High stands with the band playing right at the kickoff of the second half. Note the young men with the red body paint. They are lined up to spell out "West Rebels".
Saturday, September 10, 2011
Saturday, September 10 Vols Game
Nancy and I had a nice treat today, thanks to the generous offer of our friends, Tim and Leigh Ann, to join them for the University of Tennessee football game. They have special tickets for the games for "club level" seats, which means you are treated like royalty throughout the game. Not only are the seats very comfortable, but you are served food and drink, as much as you want. Plus there is popcorn and some really great ice cream. That was the toughest part of the day, deciding which ice cream to have first! The weather was perfect, cool but sunny. The game was very entertaining with lots of offense, including long running and passing plays, and plenty of touchdowns. UT ended up winning by several touchdowns, enough that we didn't get too upset when the referees made some questionable calls in the 4th quarter.
The day started with a tailgate party. Everyone parks their cars outside the stadium, puts up tents for shade, then enjoys snacks and drinks before the game starts.
We walked around the outside of the stadium, which is huge and seats almost 100,000 fans. At the far right of the stadium is a glass section that pokes out. The pictures that follow of us sitting outside are taken on a porch at the top of this glass section.
Waiting for the elevator to take us up to the club seats, we bumped into this young fan. Not only was his face decorated in orange and white (Tennessee colors) and football drawings, but his nose also featured glittery sparkles.
Here we are relaxing and enjoying some food on top of the glass section, high in the stadium overlooking the road and the crowd below.
Nancy checks out the scene from the porch. You can see many cars parked below, surrounded by fans who are tailgating.
We enjoyed the luxurious buffet of food and drink served in a beautiful room separated from our seats by a glass wall. Nancy is very happy because she has a Diet Coke and popcorn is on the way!
Our seats were extremely comfortable with plenty of legroom, soft cushions, and cup holders. Thank goodness it was an exciting game, otherwise we might have relaxed in those nice seats and fallen asleep. The fans sitting around us was extremely polite and almost everyone was cheering for the right team. You can see the huge video screen which displays the game as it is played, and then shows replays after each play. The fans for the opponent, Cincinnati, are dressed in red and you can see some of them sitting in the top rows of the stadium.
The UT marching band is quite good. They spell out various words as they play. Here they are spelling "VOLS" which is the shortened version of Volunteers, the nickname of the University of Tennessee.
We walked around the outside of the stadium, which is huge and seats almost 100,000 fans. At the far right of the stadium is a glass section that pokes out. The pictures that follow of us sitting outside are taken on a porch at the top of this glass section.
Waiting for the elevator to take us up to the club seats, we bumped into this young fan. Not only was his face decorated in orange and white (Tennessee colors) and football drawings, but his nose also featured glittery sparkles.
Here we are relaxing and enjoying some food on top of the glass section, high in the stadium overlooking the road and the crowd below.
Nancy checks out the scene from the porch. You can see many cars parked below, surrounded by fans who are tailgating.
We enjoyed the luxurious buffet of food and drink served in a beautiful room separated from our seats by a glass wall. Nancy is very happy because she has a Diet Coke and popcorn is on the way!
Our seats were extremely comfortable with plenty of legroom, soft cushions, and cup holders. Thank goodness it was an exciting game, otherwise we might have relaxed in those nice seats and fallen asleep. The fans sitting around us was extremely polite and almost everyone was cheering for the right team. You can see the huge video screen which displays the game as it is played, and then shows replays after each play. The fans for the opponent, Cincinnati, are dressed in red and you can see some of them sitting in the top rows of the stadium.
The UT marching band is quite good. They spell out various words as they play. Here they are spelling "VOLS" which is the shortened version of Volunteers, the nickname of the University of Tennessee.
Saturday, September 10
We've completed another week of school, our fourth so far. Hard to believe we've been back from Indonesia for just a month; it seems like half a lifetime ago already. The culture and the lifestyle is so different in many ways.
Many of my favorite students dressed for the game. I liked the patriotic Statue of Liberty red white and blue toga. Quite fitting with the 9/11 Anniversary on Sunday.
Thank goodness it wasn't a cold evening, otherwise I think the togas would have not been warm enough.
Some of the togas were quite elegant and elaborate. And if you're wondering, I did not wear a toga (this was just for the senior students).
Meanwhile, our star teacher Mrs. Dew was busy setting up for the Freshman dance. She was working with the group of upperclass students who serve as mentors to the Freshman. The dance was held in our atrium area and featured twinkle lights, balloons, streamers, and other decorations.
The "star chain" is one interesting decorative touch. It included the names of each Freshman student written on a star.
The chain also includes encouraging statements for the Freshmen.
And in case you are wondering, HVA won the football game over Clinton by a score of 27 - 0. HVA is now 2 - 1.
Jacob's marching band played at the West High football game Friday night. Nancy described the performance as "colorful" and "creative" and "very good for a small band". His team won their football game. The weather was perfect, with sunshine before nightfall and temperatures around 20 C.
At Hardin Valley Academy the senior students declared it to be "toga night" for the football game and dressed accordingly. It was funny because the girls went to great lengths to create beautiful togas, while the guys just grabbed a bed sheet on their way out the door and wrapped it around themselves.
Even our big Hawk mascot got into the toga scene!
Many of my favorite students dressed for the game. I liked the patriotic Statue of Liberty red white and blue toga. Quite fitting with the 9/11 Anniversary on Sunday.
Thank goodness it wasn't a cold evening, otherwise I think the togas would have not been warm enough.
Some of the togas were quite elegant and elaborate. And if you're wondering, I did not wear a toga (this was just for the senior students).
Meanwhile, our star teacher Mrs. Dew was busy setting up for the Freshman dance. She was working with the group of upperclass students who serve as mentors to the Freshman. The dance was held in our atrium area and featured twinkle lights, balloons, streamers, and other decorations.
The "star chain" is one interesting decorative touch. It included the names of each Freshman student written on a star.
The chain also includes encouraging statements for the Freshmen.
And in case you are wondering, HVA won the football game over Clinton by a score of 27 - 0. HVA is now 2 - 1.
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Ready for the Weekend!
We're ready for Friday to get here, even though we had Monday off this week. Jacob has a home football game Friday night and Nancy will be there to enjoy his band performance. At Hardin Valley Academy we also have a home football game, so I'll be working with the crew that sells tickets (and collects the $$$). The students have planned to wear togas to school on Friday, but have been warned by our headmasters that they need to wait to wear their togas at the football game. On Saturday the University of Tennessee plays a big football game, and we have been invited to join friends there, so you can look forward to some photos of that event too.
Meanwhile, Stephen and Betsy fly to Amarillo, Texas tomorrow to spend the weekend with what we hope will be their future congregation. Stephen and Betsy will meet many of the members of the congregation during the weekend, and Stephen will preach on Sunday. A congregational meeting will be held the following Sunday to vote on extending a call to ministry to Stephen. Please keep Stephen and Betsy in your prayers.
The big weather system that brought the flooding rains on Monday has stuck around, not bringing much more rain but cooler temperatures. It has stayed around 20 C and we are enjoying it very much. We'd like to have more sunshine but the break in the high heat is most welcome.
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Tuesday, September 6
Today was the start of our four day week, thanks to the Monday holiday of Labor Day. The students at HVA were fairly subdued; I believe most of them slept on Monday due to the rain. We have had over 15 centimeters of rain over the last few days. It began on Saturday, paused on Sunday, and then came full force on Monday, when it rained for more than 12 hours straight. We've had some flooding in the area and thank goodness the rain is slowing down now. The temperature has taken a quick nosedive and only reached 20 C today. It is supposed to remain cool for several days, then I bet it will heat back up.
Nancy and I were alone for the weekend since Jacob, Stephen (our oldest) and his wife Betsy were attending the Teens Encounter Christ retreat weekend. Nancy and I went out for dinner twice, drove up to the retreat center near the Smoky Mountains twice, did some yard work, and went to see the movie "The Help". On Monday we had planned to do some more outdoor activities but the rain put that idea out of our heads quickly.
We heard from Craig, our middle son, who now lives in Reston, VA. He spent the weekend in Blacksburg with Brooke, his girlfriend. He said he was going down to see the first Virginia Tech football game, but he didn't have tickets and the game was a sellout. So he had to spend more time with Brooke. Sounds like an excellent Plan B.
Sunday, September 4, 2011
Sunday, September 4
This is a big weekend in Knoxville. Not only is it a three day weekend, with Monday being the national holiday of Labor Day, but it is also the first home football game for the University of Tennessee and also the awesome fireworks show called "Boomsday". The Tennessee football team is called "The Big Orange" since Orange is the university color. Nearly 100,000 fans filled the stadium Saturday night to watch Tennessee beat Montana. They had to be dedicated fans, as lightning and rain began just before game time which led to a delay of over an hour.
Tonight it was Boomsday. Here are links for two videos from a few years ago, they will give you an idea of the size of the event.
This fireworks show is held down by the Tennessee River. It is one of the best fireworks shows in the United States, in my humble opinion. This show includes many elements, with a fireworks waterfall off a bridge, fireworks launched from the water, and of course many, many fireworks in the sky. All are choreographed to a great mix of music which makes it all the more enjoyable.
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