Thursday, January 24, 2013

More Smoky Mountains


Here are some more pictures of our recent trip to the Smoky Mountains. 
 I had never seen the mountains look so beautiful!!!
January is the best time of the year to visit.














 Below, we visited the Primitive Baptist Church in Cades Cove.

 Tim and I visited the Arts and Crafts Community to find a special momento of our 15th anniversary.  Unable to choose a single piece of beautiful Smoky Mountain pottery, we chose this pottery leaf (which was made from an actual giant leaf in the Smoky Mountains) at Brandywine Pottery, and a a candle holder from Alewine Pottery (which had just been finished that very morning).  When I see these pieces, I'll always remember our awesome trip!

The kids always love visiting the Aquarium in Gatlinburg.  Their favorite part is the sawfish in the shark tunnel.


Great Smoky Mountains

To celebrate our 15th anniversary, Tim and I decided to spend a few days hiking the Great Smoky Mountains.  It was an amazing adventure!
























"He touches the mountains, and they smoke."  -Psalm 104:32b

Thursday, January 10, 2013

15th Anniversary

 Happy 15th Anniversary to my amazing husband!  
I love you even more today than I did the day I married you and we started our life-long honeymoon...








Friday, January 4, 2013

Dead Sea Scrolls

 We visited the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit at the Cincinnati Museum Center.  Although we weren't allowed to take photos of the Dead Sea Scrolls, we got some great shots of the other antiquities.  And the scrolls were really astounding:  I was shocked by how small the writing was!  I'm not sure how people who had no eyeglasses could read such small writing.

 (Above) Some of the pots that were found in the Qumren region, where the Dead Sea Scrolls were kept. (Below) A scale and weights found in the Dead Sea caves.  Do you see that small, round black gadget in the back of the glass box?  That's a thermometer that ensures that the temperature and humidity are kept just right:  these were found in every exhibit.

 Sadly, archeologists have also found many idols like these along with the scrolls.  These are the "graven images" that the Lord told the Israelites not to make.

 There was also an exhibit at the museum about how Cincinnati was involved in the Civil War.  Being Civil War buffs, we couldn't pass it up...