2011: Year in Review

Another year has come and gone.  Here are our highlights from 2011:

THE JOB

In June, Jake took a position with a new company.  It was tough to leave our old city, with our familiar church family, coworkers and friends, but it was the best decision for us overall.  Jake’s role at the new company is very similar to his old role (he’s still an engineer performing technical work), but of course each company (and each plant) has its own culture.  Jake loves his new coworkers.  He is always coming home with a funny story of a prank or joke.

THE MOVE

We completed our first real interstate move.  Sure, we moved to a new state after college, but the stuff you accumulate when you’re planning to live somewhere long-term (like a house and a mortgage) makes a move a billion times more challenging.  We made it through the moving process just fine, though, so now we’re in the midst of some other challenging-but-fun activities such as settling into our new house, getting involved in our church and community, and making friends!

THE MASTER’S

In January of 2011, Jake began working on getting his master’s through Purdue’s distance education program.  It’s really tough for him to focus on completing coursework now that he has a career and knows what it’s like to enjoy free time in the evenings, but he has successfully completed two classes in the program and earned credit for a master’s-level course he took as an undergrad.

THE MILITARY

As of October, Jake has been serving as a Navy Reserve officer for one year.  He also completed two weeks of training during his Direct Commission Officer Indoctrination Course this summer, smack dab in the middle of our move.  Before that, Jake often felt like he was winging it when it came to knowing how to behave in military culture.  The class helped him learn some of the nuances of proper behavior, which has helped him feel more confident when acting in official capacity.  Towards the end of the year, we got a surprise when Jake was named the Executive Officer for his unit.  We had a good laugh about it because Jake is one of the newest members of his unit.  Since he’s one of just a few officers in the group, the duty has fallen to him.  For my part, I have appreciated getting to participate in a few social activities with Jake’s group, which has allowed me to get to know some of the people with whom he serves and gain a bit of understanding about military life.  It’s all still very foreign to me, and I know Jake’s still getting used to it as well. 

THE TRAVEL

In 2011, we enjoyed many opportunities to travel for both personal and professional reasons.  We took three trips to Georgia to visit family and friends there, as well as several trips to Arkansas to see Jake’s family.  Since Jake’s previous and current employers are based in the state of OH, we got to see a lot of that state (Cincinnati, Akron, Cleveland, etc.).  We also took a trip through Pennsylvania to New York, where we visited Niagara Falls.  We’ve also enjoyed exploring attractions in our new community and places we see along the way to other destinations.  I’m sure we’ve been to other places that I’m just not thinking about right now, but this should offer a good sampling of some of the places we went this year.

I think those are all the highlights.  Sure, we’ve had a lot of personal and relational milestones as well, but for now I’ll leave some mystery concerning the inner workings of our lives.  ; )

Mammoth Cave

Last Sunday afternoon, Jake and I traveled to Mammoth Cave National Park to take a peek at the world’s largest cave system.  This weekend, the park was offering free tickets to its least expensive tour, saving us $10. 

On the way into the park, we saw several deer grazing on the roadside.  We were amazed by how calm they were as we approached.  Jake slowed down to allow me to capture a few pictures, but quickly sped up because it seemed as though one of the deer was going to walk right up to our vehicle!

We snagged our free tickets and browsed the museum store while waiting for our tour group to meet.  The tour was guided by a park ranger, Lance, who was very knowledgeable about the history of the cave system.

It was very difficult to get good pictures inside the cave since the darkness too much for our basic point-and-click camera to handle.  Still, we did end up capturing several good ones, which we have shared here.

Neat features of the cave:

Jake’s favorite feature of the cave was the piping system used by miners in the 1800s.  The pipes were made from hollowed logs that were shaved down at the ends to fit inside one another.  Jake loves building things, so it’s no surprise that the piping system caught his attention.

One neat feature of the cave is the pulpit, where a minister used to hold church services.  Since the inner part of the cave stays around 57 degrees Fahrenheit throughout the year, it made a perfect place for church services, particularly in the summer.  The preacher stood on top of a big rock above the cave floor.  All of the lanterns brought in to help lead the way were placed behind him, complementing his fire-and-brimstone messages and keeping his congregation from walking out during his sermons, which often lasted five hours.  I wonder how many people went back for a second service after finding out this preacher’s strategy for keeping a captive audience!

Another interesting part of the cave is Booth’s Theatre.  Edwin Booth, John Wilkes Booth’s brother, toured the cave not long after his brother assassinated President Lincoln.  When his fans asked the actor to give a performance, he couldn’t refuse, seeing that sentiments were turned against the Booth family as a result of his brother’s misdeeds.  He performed the “To be or not to be” scene from Shakespeare’s Hamlet and made Mammoth Cave history.

Coming out of the cave was the best part of the tour.  The outside world looked so beautiful to us after we had spent the last hour or so in a dusty cave!

After we left the cave, we chatted with our tour guide and he shared with us another story about the cave.  It turns out that Mammoth Cave was an attractive relaxation spot for soldiers on leave during the Civil War–soldiers from both sides.  Our guide told us a story about two soldiers, one from the Union Army and one from the Confederate Army, both in uniform, who came upon each other on their way into the cave for a tour.  Brought together by the shared experience, they enjoyed peaceful, civil conversation, though they had been soldiers battling one another just before (and just after) their trip to the cave.

While we would have loved to have done a few more tours, we realized that we’d need to get home to accomplish a few tasks before the day was over.  We hope that we will be able to return to Mammoth Cave National Park very soon to explore other parts of the cave system and learn more about its history.

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Signs of the Season

I just wanted to pop in and share a few pictures of the beautiful view from our backyard.  A few show our view in the fall, while others show how things looked during a recent winter snowfall.  We are blessed to live in a neighborhood and enjoy the benefits of living in a community while also getting to see this view from our deck and many of our windows.

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