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Unexpected Happenings in the Covid Life

The excitement was building as I packed, weighed, and readjusted my bags. Hoping to carry the most needful things to my friends in Africa. Just a few more days and we would be on our long flight. I was excited about spending two months in one community but I was also dreading the 14-hour flight with a mask. And then the unexpected happenings in the Covid life.

Discovering Anxiety

Last year I discovered that I must suffer anxiety at least in some situations. After falling last February and tearing a muscle in my arm, I am a lot more careful for sure. Visiting the doctor to assess the damage, I went home and assumed it would be back to normal soon. After months of trying various things, I gave up.

I have no insurance so I do not go to the doctor very often. I went back to the doctor and he ordered an MRI. Thinking nothing of it I showed up for my test got strapped in and prepared for my test. The earplugs were the last straw. I knew there was no way I could go in that tube. Asking for a moment to get me together the tech took one look at my face and must have seen something resembling terror. He said, “she can’t do this. The other machine is available so let’s try that.” I managed with much prayer, closed eyes, and a conversation with the tech to be able to manage this one. I rehearsed each Bible memory verses I had memorized in my 60 years and felt a new wave of gratitude for my healthy life.

Covid

Covid Testing Requirement

Back to my trip. I was already planning my coping skills. Lots of diet coke, bathroom breaks, eating, sleeping, books to read, lessons to review, etc. Our bags are all packed except my personal item and Lawrence’s carry-on. We had taken the required Covid PCR test and awaited the results ($750 poorer). The nurse called and said your test is negative, Esther’s test is negative but Lawrence’s test is positive. My heart stops. We fly tomorrow, at least we were supposed to fly.

Lawrence and I sit and discuss possibilities. This is an unexpected situation. We feel pretty good. No one has a fever. Lawrence has a little cough. Could it be a false positive? The nurse said not likely and to quarantine for 10 days and go from there. I contact the airlines, our friends in Malawi. They ask questions I have no answers for. Will we all get it? Do we reschedule our flight? Do we assume the best outcome or wait? Wait.

The Wait

We are on day 11 of the wait. What do I do when I was not supposed to be here? Better prepare my lessons, order groceries, update everyone of the change of plans. Check on others we may have been around as we wait for us all to get sick. We take vitamin C, D, Zinc, lots of fluids, juices, and chicken soup, check our temperature and oxygen levels, and rest and pray.

I am so very thankful to know God and to know his timing is best. Thankfulness for the prayer and concern of loving friends and family. Thankful that we apparently suffered a mild case.

So yesterday was the suggested day to retest and now we wait again for the results to see if we proceed with our plans.

 

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Merry Merry Christmas to You!

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Merry Merry Christmas to you! As we near the end of the year and look back you no doubt will have some strong memories. Tomorrow is Christmas. My wish for you is that you will have joy, peace, and gratitude as you head into the new year. That’s what we all wish for, right? Well, at least the joy and peace part. Sometimes we just want to have our own little pity party and rehearse all the bad things which have happened to us. Say NO to that!

You are so blessed

Yes, this year has been a doozy! But look closely at your life and see all the fantastic and beautiful things that have happened amidst the struggles. Please remember those things. Choose to celebrate the blessings instead of the struggles at least for one day. I do not know your circumstance but I do know that you are so blessed. Refuse to give in to the negative. Make your day full of joy and gratitude. You will feel better and so will everyone else you share space with.

A tiny list of my blessings

God is my Father!

Unlimited supply of clean safe water.

Food.

Two legs.

Ability to speak.

I have two eyes and I can see.

I have an amazing family. Yes, both physical and spiritual!

My husband’s health has improved this year.

A new grandson this year.

There are thousands of things that I could add to this list but this is just a tiny list so I will stop there. Why don’t you make your own tiny list?

Thank You!

I want to thank you for reading my blog this year. You have brought me joy in so many tiny and big ways. Your words of encouragement have lifted me up! Have a beautiful Christmas and a Happy New Year.

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Putting More Joy in Your Christmas

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Putting more joy in your Christmas

What Christmas traditions do you have that do not require spending money? Or buying gifts? Can you really have a Christmas without things? I personally do not know. I have lived most of my life in the land of plenty. But traveling to some of the poorest countries in the world really has had an impact on my perspective. There are many places and people in the world who never even question what they will buy for Christmas. Yet they are full of joy at the approach of Christmas.

What do you do when you have little or no money to create a big Christmas? One friend told me that you make the celebration bigger. Homemade decorations maybe, Christmas movies together, hot cocoa or popcorn.

Maybe this year you have chosen to keep Christmas simple for many reasons or just want to add some simpler touches.

Childhood Memories

So ask yourself what memories do you have from childhood? What was fun? Compare Christmas from your childhood with what Christmas looks like now. If you have children at home maybe you can share stories of your childhood Christmas. Most kids love stories. Get the grandparents involved with sharing their stories of childhood Christmas past.

What do you wish for? Personally, I think the gift of time is the best.

Here are a few suggestions for putting more joy in your Christmas

Play charades

Caroling to your neighbors or with them

Lego building contest

Flash mob of Christmas songs

Gingerbread men or houses or Graham Cracker houses

Bake sugar cookies and decorate them.

Make ornaments

Paper chains even the youngest children enjoy doing this.

Have friends or family over just to enjoy time (no gifts allowed) calm, lowkey day, sing songs, put together a puzzle, play a game. Eat soup maybe Andalusian Christmas Soup but keep it simple.

Making gifts for each other from things you have on hand – give a favorite book you’ve read, with your own review or some unknown tidbit about the author. Maybe you have a teacup to share.

Make coupons for backrubs, no chores pass, clean out your car, etc.

Giving something from your wealth of possessions to friends and family.

Write a poem or story for a specific person.

Give extra blankets, coats, gloves, etc. to those in the cold.

Perhaps you will want to purchase a “doing gift” for your family. An experience. This can be a lot of fun but may require some scheduling.

I know that many of you have some great ideas to share. Please do share below!

 

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Joy of Cooking – Gingerbread Men

I would like to share the Joy of Cooking recipe for Gingerbread Men. Joy of Cooking is the cookbook from my childhood.  For the Christmas of 1980 my sister-in-law Linda gave me my own copy. My children grew up with Joy of Cooking in our home kitchen.

Many of the familiar recipes my children grew up with are found in the pages of Joy of Cooking. Here is one recipe for making gingerbread men or other shaped gingerbread cookies.

A few days after Thanksgiving we decided to make a little bit of gingerbread. It was a lot of fun!

Joy of Cooking

Joy of CookingGingerbread Men

Preheat your oven to 350°
Blend until creamy:
1/4 cup of butter
1/2 cup of white or brown sugar
Beat in:
1/2 cup dark molasses
Sift:
3 and 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour
Resift with:
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
Add the sifted ingredients to the butter mixture in about three parts, alternating with:
1/4 cup water
You may have to knead in the last of the flour if you are not using an electric mixer.  I roll mine out on parchment paper and cut the gingerbread men out and place them on a cookie sheet on the parchment paper. Bake them for about 8-10 minutes depending on thickness. Touch the cookie and if it springs back after 8 minutes it is ready to cool on a rack.
I did a search for a gingerbread man and found this template which I printed and traced to make our men.

 

We forgot to take pictures before we started eating them.

Gingerbread Men
Gingerbread Men
Gingerbread
Gingerbread
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25 Ways You Can Teach Your Children to Serve Others

25 ways to teach your children to serve others. Why 25? I’m not sure just a good number I guess. I am sure the list could be even longer. But first I want to talk about why for just a few minutes.

Service begins at home.

Service should begin at home. Your children can make a very important contribution to the running of your home. Children can and should help out. Here are a few reasons. They gain valuable life skills and confidence when they know how to do basic jobs around the house. The world does not revolve around them. Why should someone else clean up all of their messes? Being part of the family team brings you all closer. Enjoy chatting while doing the dishes together. Set a timer for 10 minutes and have the whole team do a quick evening pick up. This will be a time of joy and fun as you serve one another.

Serving outside of your home.

Why serve outside of your home? We live in a self-focused world. Do you know how important it is to see the needs of others and to learn to help? There are a lot of blind people in the world. I am not talking about physical blindness. Children come into the world with no concern for others. Service is something you can nurture in your children by helping them to see and supply the needs of others. You can make a big difference in the world by serving one person. It is rewarding for those who serve as well as those who are served.

Here is my list of 25+ ways you can teach your children to serve others. 

  1. Visit an elderly person and sit on their porch and ask them to tell you about some aspect of their life. Pick up sticks or rake their leaves.
  2. Color a picture and send it to someone in the nursing home or hospital.
  3. Do you work on jigsaw puzzles? Pass it along after you work it. I recently left one of mine with homemade cookies at the desk of a nursing home for a friend of mine. Visits are not allowed. He called me later and said he hadn’t done one in years and really enjoyed it. He has mentioned it since then too.
  4. Pick up trash in your neighborhood. This will help them also be conscious of littering.
  5. Collect all your coins for a set period of time and donate it to a good cause like hhi.org/walk4water/smyrna-tn-2020. Ask others to share with you. You will be surprised at how many coins you can gather in a short time and make a lifelong gift of clean water. The gift of life!
  6. If you sew or have a teenage girl. you might want to help her make sanitary pads for girls in other countries. Many girls must miss a week of school every month. These girls may only have mud or grass to use. If you need a pattern check here:
  7. Do you have an elderly neighbor? Maybe you take their trash can to the street for them every week or once.
  8. Let your children help you make dinner for someone who is ill, had a new baby, or surgery. Even if you have to door drop during this season it will create a lasting memory of serving someone else.
  9. Have an elderly friend who loves to sing? Take a few people and have a short sing along with them. Ask their favorite songs. What song was a new song for them when they were younger?
  10. Do something nice for a single mom or maybe volunteer to babysit one afternoon while she has an afternoon off. Make this a family event.
  11. Volunteer at a workday. Widows, camps, spring building clean up or community clean up projects.  Make sure they are involved with many age groups. They learn so much this way.
  12. Every year there are floods, tornados, tropical storms, or other disasters and you can participate in some way in the recovery efforts. Cooking, donating, actual clean up, etc.
  13. Attend a Habitat for Humanity presentation. You will find several ways to serve. If your kids are too young they can make sandwiches to feed the workers.
  14. Make hygiene bags for the homeless, battered women’s shelters, etc.
  15. Pack snack bags and/or small throws and keep in your car to give to the homeless.
  16. Take a flat of water with you and give out on a hot day. Laundromats are good places.
  17. Encourage them to be the one who meets the new people and visitors at church. Maybe invite them over for a play date and share beforehand how they might feel moving to a new area or visiting a church for the first time.
  18. When allowed visit the nursing homes. Just your presence brings so much joy.
  19. Decorate a door. One year we chose one person in the nursing home and decorated their door for different holidays.  Spread happiness.
  20. Have a free yard sale.
  21. Take your children to be the first to meet the new neighbors with a plate of cookies perhaps.
  22. Hug patrol. Many elderly people miss physical touch. Especially widows. If you are concerned about hugs then encourage your children to pick out one older person at church each Sunday and go speak to them or hug them before they sit down. See my article about a single hug.
  23. Serve dinner at the local homeless shelter.
  24. Take goodies and thank you notes to the local Police Station or Firehouse.
  25. Collect throws and blankets from your stash and share them with those in need. I put these in a ziplock bag and give it to my favorite police officer who keeps them on hand to give out as needed. Maybe have your child write a short note or small picture on an index card to include.
  26. Make Magi boxes.
  27. Write cards to the sick in your congregation or visitors, etc.
  28. Pick up the phone and call someone who might be lonely.
  29. Healing Hands International is in my area and has volunteer opportunities. Many nonprofits are looking for volunteers.
  30. Read books to a daycare or school classroom. Dr. Seuss’s day is a good day to do so.
  31. A few years ago I heard Earl Lavender say, “Hospitality can change the world”. Make it a practice. Remember to keep it simple so that you can all enjoy it.
  32. Make care packages for the military or a college student.
  33. Go on a mission trip with your teens.
  34. Make a game of doing good deeds in secret.

A few more than 25. I hope this list will be a spark. Please comment below with your favorite ideas and experiences. Let’s spread some sunshine!

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The Story of a Single Hug and It’s Importance

Hug
Hug your grandmother today!

Sunday Morning Rush

The story of a single hug and it’s importance. You may not know how powerful and important a single hug can be. Today I want to share with you a little story of a single hug and it’s importance. Here is my story.

Rushing around I make sure everyone is getting ready to go. We wake up early to get everyone ready for church. I hate being late so I try to prepare as much as I can the night before. The kids choose their clothes the night before including shoes which you know can disappear at a moment’s notice. Missing shoes (or keys) can send my attitude into a downward spiral and make everyone miserable. I try to avoid that!  Anyway, back to the story.

Breakfast in the Van

We are rushing around dressing children and getting shoes on and hair brushed. This can take a bit of doing when you have 8 or 9 or 11 children. The van is full of children and I count to make sure we haven’t missed anyone. On Sunday mornings we skip breakfast and eat Little Debbie granola bars in the van on the way to the church building. We arrive a few minutes early and I remind the little ones to use the restroom BEFORE church. The children make their rounds greeting everyone but especially the older ladies. Grandma Lark is a favorite. She is a tiny little lady with a big smile and a happy personality.

A Single Hug

While the kids are passing out hugs and giving smiles, I stop and talk with Goldie, a widow, about her week. “Everyone needs 5 hugs a day”, I tell her as I give her a hug. Her next words stay with me forever. That’s the first hug I’ve had since my husband died. This breaks my heart and stays in my mind for years. I am sure she is not the only one. I give out more hugs now.

Research of Touch

Dr. Tiffany Field has researched physical touch for four decades and has concluded that touch promotes better health, mental and physical. She saw an increase in the natural killer cells that kill viral and bacteria cells in those with more physical touch. The study also found children are physically and verbally stronger and less aggressive when they have the physical touch. Even premature babies gain weight better and go home earlier when they have the physical touch. Physical touch is healing.

From the time we are in the womb through our elderly years, touch plays a primary role in our development and physical and mental well-being. New studies on touch continue to show the importance of physical contact in early development, communication, personal relationships, and fighting disease. Dr. Tiffany Field

Human touch is so vital to our well being. The practice of sharing a smile and a hug will enrich your life! Covid 19 has put a damper on this for sure. Instead of mourning one more thing we have lost I challenge you to put down your phone and computer and give attention to those in your path. Smile, pat a shoulder and for sure hug those in your house for the health of it, for the joy of it, and the love of it.

Hug
Hug

For further study:

Read this good article about Why Physical Touch Matters by following the link below.

https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/why_physical_touch_matters_for_your_well_being

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Trust in the Lord with all Your Heart

Proverbs 3:5-6 says Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.

Trust in the Lord with all Your Heart
Trust in the Lord with all Your Heart

First Memory Verses

This is the first Bible verse that I teach my children around two years old. Yes, I teach them John 11:35 but the first verse is to Trust in the Lord! Don’t lean on your own understanding. Acknowledge God he will smooth the way for you. He will make your path straight if you will let him.

POW Toilet Paper Bible

Memorizing scriptures is very important to me. I first got a glimpse into the importance when I was middle school age and heard a POW speak at an assembly at Mortimer Jordan High School in Morris, Alabama. It so impressed me! I wish I knew who the man was. He probably has no idea what an impact he made on my life. Nonetheless, I still remember his description of how the prisoners pieced together a Bible. They wrote on toilet paper the verses that they could recall from memory. This was a joint project. They valued these words. These scriptures carried them through a dark time of imprisonment.

Freed-Hardeman

As a college student, I was impressed with a professor who memorized chunks of the Bible and sometimes books of the Bible! I wanted to do this!

Would there ever be a time when I would not have access to a Bible? Doesn’t everyone have a Bible? What if the only part of the Bible you could have right now was what you have committed to memory? How big would your Bible be?

Malawi

As I travel to Malawi I see a hunger for the word of God like none I have ever witnessed. They want to own a Bible. They want to hold and read a Bible because they know it contains the words of life.

What a blessing to be able to own a Bible. What a blessing to recall scripture from memory!

Count your blessings today!

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6

 

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Working for the Census 2020 – Exhausting and Exciting

Back Roads of Tennessee
Back Roads of Tennessee

Local Work

Working for the Census 2020 was exhausting and full of exciting challenges each day!

When I first started I worked in my own neighborhood. The extrovert in me was thrilled to see the beautiful faces of my community. My faith in people was restored as I met many wonderful people every day. What a contrast to the community I see on the news. I believe this is the heart of my real community. Yes, there is evil and injustice going on in the world but I choose to believe that is not the heartbeat of America! Good triumphs over evil!

Traveling the Back Roads

When my county was nearing completion I was offered the opportunity to be part of the travel team. It was hard being away and out of touch with my family for 3 weeks but I am so thankful I accepted this opportunity. Working for the Census of 2020 was exhausting and exciting.

Sometimes when I think about my life I feel like I have lived three lifetimes and this is just one of them.

I drove through the most beautiful creeks and backroads in rural Tennessee. The shallow clear streams which echo with the sounds of laughter of children on hot summer days and the sound of birds and insects buzzing in the early morning calm. Fog lifting and bringing in the sunshine to sparkle on the creek. Driving for hours with no cell phone signals, no gas stations or businesses. And obviously, no bathrooms. I contended with chiggers and mosquitos and dogs!

Collecting Stories

I came to envy somewhat the peacefulness of the people. They appear so content with life. How did they get that way? Why don’t I have that? I asked myself.

I especially liked meeting the old widows still living alone in their homes. So at peace with the same home, they spent most of their lives in. They were not fearful when I knocked on their door. (The rifle was right beside the door).  Gracious people greeted me with a smile and a welcome. They shared bits and pieces of their story and life. We connected about our children and grandchildren. Our love for the herbs or flowers or tomatoes growing near their houses. They tell me of their husbands and their life together.

How do they sit on their porch and enjoy watching leaves float by on the creek in front of their homes? They live downstream from where their grandparents lived before them or perhaps in the home, their parents or grandparents had built and lived in for years. They can tell you all the neighbors because most are related. I want to breathe this in and savor it.

Family

Aunts and Uncles and neighbors who have spent their lives not very far from where they were born. This touched me deeply. The generational ties are strong. They each have stories.

Family cemeteries and roads named after their relatives. Churches grandpa Brown sawed the lumber for and helped to build in the 1800s. Roots, connections, etc.

Farmers, politicians, stay home moms, caregivers, sheriffs, teachers, lawyers, doctors, and lots of nurses, etc. I met some amazing people each having a fascinating story of life. Most people do not think their story is so fascinating.

They may have grown up in the same house attended school in that same community, married their childhood sweetheart, helped grow the local church, etc. We each have an amazing story of life. I longed to stay on the porch and hear more of their life, more of their story.

Old Homesteads

The houses almost hidden from view contain stories too. Old homesteads are well hidden from cars passing each day. I climbed mountains and went through fields looking for old homesteads. I wanted to gaze at them and find out about the people who had lived there and why the house was abandoned to go back to the earth.

Why are so many houses sitting empty and deteriorating? Grandpa’s house, Uncle Joe’s house, mom and dad’s house? Is there some emotional connection that does not let relatives sell or occupy these homes? Why are there 3 empty houses and the only person around living in an RV keeping watch over the family land?

Porches Call to Me

The porches call to me. Porches covered with tin roofs. Trees making a canopy over the whole yard. The swings hanging from large trees in the front. Creeks wandering through the property. Old barns tucked into the trees.

Dust was thrown up with each passing car. And a wave to those passing by.

Red chert dug out of hillsides covers the roads along the creeks of Tennessee and take me back to earlier days. Slower days. Gentler days in many respects.

Vacant land where once a home stood. Once a mom and dad dwelled. Raising their family, working the farm, burying the dead in the family cemetery. The stories drift by and I catch a ray of sunshine.

So yes working for the Census 2020 was exhausting and exciting and sometimes even scary (but that’s another story) today I am thankful I accepted the opportunity!

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Do you have a WELCOME sign?

Do you have a welcome sign?

Welcome Signs

Do you have a Welcome sign? One of those cute new fads the porch leaner that has WELCOME on it maybe a sunflower or some other cute decoration. Do you have scripture printed on cute little plaques on your porch or scripture stones in your garden?

I’ve seen these popping up all over my neighborhood and I have begun to notice them more everywhere I go. What does it mean to you? What does WELCOME really mean? Is it just a cute decoration? A nice sign to put on your porch or is it something from your heart? Who are you welcoming to your home? Friends? Family? What about strangers? Lost people? What about door to door salesman? What about Census workers? How far does your WELCOME extend?

Can you spare any kindness today? Does your response to the unexpected knock at your door show the kind of person you are? When you hear a knock do you immediately assume it is an unwelcome intrusion you don’t want to be bothered with? Or do you open the door with a smile? Regardless of who knocks at your door, you can give them a friendly greeting. It might make a bigger difference in the world than you can imagine.

Scripture and Yard Signs

Do you have one of those JESUS the Way, the Truth, the Life yard signs? Or scripture plaques? Are they meant to be a reflection of your heart? Is this a true message you are hoping to share with the world?  When I approach a door and see Jesus signs, scriptures, or a welcome sign I make some assumptions. My first thought is someone believes in Jesus! I expect a friendly response from a house that has such a display. Instead, it seems people have forgotten what they are displaying in front of their houses.

Your Response

I have been admiring these signs for a while but after noticing the response of people it made me pause and consider. Am I am ready to display a WELCOME by my door?  How do my responses reflect my true heart?

It really doesn’t matter why someone is at your door you still have an opportunity to be a blessing right from your own front porch. Regardless of your interest in what the person is there for you can respond in a kind way. You will feel better and they will too. Kindness and smiles are never wasted.

Do you have a WELCOME sign?
Do you have a WELCOME sign?

My friend Lori Morse Winslow has a beautiful heart and she can help you make some beautiful items and this is just one of them! Check them out here.

 

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Weather Balloon Launching

Filling the Balloon
Filling the Balloon

Weather balloon launching? What? For my husband’s birthday last year, our children bought him a group gift! A weather balloon. Somewhere there is a video of him receiving his gift. This is an unusual gift I think. I have never known anyone to receive a weather balloon for their birthday. I am not sure where the original idea came from but Gabriel was the instigator to come up with a plan to make it happen. Everyone else pitched in and it became a reality. Little did I know this was no easy thing to launch a weather balloon. More about the process Lawrence went through later. Now for some Redding history.

The beginning of our balloon launches.

We have had a lot of balloon launches over the years. I believe it all started in the 80s with Azteca Mexican Restaurant in Burien, Washington. Our family has never eaten out very much through the years but Azteca made it very appealing for a family our size. Back then we only had four children. Anyway, back to the story. Azteca had .99 children’s meals on Sundays. The adult meals were large and sometimes Lawrence and I would even share a meal.  Every Sunday as we would exit Azteca they would hand each child a balloon. My husband is very creative. Our children probably thought their dad was just a lot of fun. He is a lot of fun but this was his way of getting rid of balloons and having fun. Balloons can last a while until their helium is finally exhausted! So he turned it into a launch party!

Over the years we have had many launches and many stories have come from those launches. Our kids used to put our address or phone number on a card and attach it to their balloons. Sometimes they would add launch times. One year on John Mark’s birthday, we launched a balloon from Redding Mountain. Six hours later I received a call from a teacher in Washington D. C. who found his balloon. So, we have a long history of launching balloons.

Back to weather balloon launching.

Anyway, back to the weather balloon launching. Over the last year, Lawrence has studied how to use this weather balloon and its equipment. At one point he experimented using the tracker by putting it on my car and tracking my movements. It would send him an email with my coordinates and pin on a map each stop.

Not only did Lawrence have to learn to use the tracker and the service. He also had to study to make sure we would not get in the flight patterns at BNA airport. What legalities if any were involved? He had to assemble the frame which would carry the tracker and device which would record the altitude and other measurements as well as the camera to record what was happening from the air. He also had to take into account what the weather would be like. So this was a very in-depth project.

Launch day arrives.

We set the launch date for Sunday afternoon August 9th. The week before we checked out the park and got permission for the launch. Lawrence had conference meetings with individual team members about different aspects and needs of the launch. We notified the Redding Team to meet up at the park for a 1 pm launch. ! It was a very hot afternoon and I was not on the field 5 minutes before I found my first tick. So we got out the Thistle Farms natural insect repellant and sprayed everyone’s ankles. We had a few to decline.

Job assignments were dispersed and filling and attaching the balloon was soon accomplished!. After almost an hour of assembly time and turning the camera and tracker on we were finally ready to launch! Emily Redding the numbers girl was to do the count down. So we counted more than once and cheered and finally launched the giant weather balloon.

In all the study of jet streams and other things to take into consideration, we never once thought there was a possibility of it flying west! And yes it traveled east just a bit and then straight west.

The balloon landed in Primm Springs, Tennessee and we were able to use the tracker and coordinates and go right to the retrieval point. Of course, we ask the homeowner’s permission before we went trespassing on his property. It landed down a steep bank and up the other side where it got caught in a tree on the way down.

We were able to find it fairly quickly with all this techy stuff. Soon all three vehicles were flying down the road where we eventually met up with some of the launch party that did not join in for the retrieval.

We were able to put the SD card in the computer and watch the pictures taken from the flight. We found out that the balloon had ascended 96,500 feet before it burst and headed down with the help of the parachute. Unfortunately, the camera didn’t do as well as expected. There were great footage and clear footage of the land below. The camera stopped before reaching the full altitude. I am not sure whether they figured out why the camera stopped so soon or not. It had new batteries. One theory I think I overheard was maybe the temperature of the batteries caused a problem. Either way, the film was amazing and we had a wonderful day!

I hope you enjoy some of the pictures from our day!

Filling the balloon
Filling the Balloon