ups and downs

Winter hasn't closed in yet. In fact, we had just the right weather for one last afternoon of ballooning on this Black Friday.

The Lingenfelter family took their regular position as crew and chasers. The launch was beautiful and in the cool 42 degree air, the hot air took the balloon (with Kathy, Deb and Brianna) to great heights. Like 4700+ ft.

Then the winds began to spin them like a top. I, for one, was glad to be tucked safely in the Jeep.

Now, balloon pilots have some control over their craft, but mostly up and down. Really good pilots somehow manage to put the balloon down where they want. Kathy is really good. After about 30 minutes at great altitudes and many miles, she landed the balloon at our church, Northwoods. The fabulous crew of Clydescope (humble group) even managed to arrive ahead of the balloon and assist in a most gentle landing.



Much to the surprise and joy of Josh and Erin, they were chosen for what was most likely to be the last flight of 2009. Larry was added as the co-pilot and off they went, expecting to land somewhere near the village of Dunlap before the sun set.

Josh brought a camera along to capture the sights from high above the earth. Here is his first shot looking north. Allen Road is running to the horizon.

In the photo to the right you can just make out two of the Chillicothe water towers (center of the pic all the way to the left). Thats the IL river on the horizon.

Hickory Grove Road intersects with Allen Road in the bottom of the picture to the left. The little black dot in the center of the pic is Pam and me in the Jeep.

In the pic to the right the kids are over Green View Nursery and looking NE.

Pam and I parked along Cedar Hills Drive as the kids flew over. They took a pic of us stopped at the intersection pretty close to the time we took this pic.

It was a race against the sun (and moon) to find a suitable place to land.

Sometimes we as chasers can get ahead of the balloon and assist the landing. Sometimes we can't. This time we couldn't. With power lines looming beyond a tree line, Kathy and Larry dropped the balloon suddenly. We chasers lost the chase.




A small tree, sent by God himself, reached out and grabbed one of the ropes. It tied the rope tightly around one of it's branches and stopped the balloon from getting tangled in a much larger tree. It tied the knot so tightly that Larry had to climb the tree to free the balloon. The landing was exciting and fast, a total plus for a 13 and 9 year old.

What a great afternoon.

We even stopped traffic for a little while as we packed up the balloon.

A great day with great friends.

DLmail 11/25/2009 times are tough

Times are tough. Due to cutbacks there was no DLmail last week. Those same cutbacks will limit the amount of info you receive in this DLmail. To compensate for the lack of wording, the photo number has been increased (pics including but not limited to Stephanie Elder, Brian Cooper and Amy Crose).

Times are tough. So tough are the times that I am being left in charge of 2nd-5th grade this coming Saturday night. Keep in mind I am a last resort, which means all the qualified people are gone this weekend so they assigned the job to the guy most likely to show up. Anyone who serves this weekend (meaning Tim, Em, Pam and Brian) shouldn't over expect. No Keith, no Jeannine, no Susan, no Gary.

Times are tough. So tough that I don't even have a copy of the small group material to attach to this DLmail. I also don't know who is teaching (we are a combined large group) or who is "tech"ing.

Times are tough. Pray about this weekend with enthusiasm. We will need some divine intervention.

part the man

I think sometimes it skips a generation, this father/son thing. I am a mere fraction of the man my father is and I have hope that my son (the every other) turns out to be just like my dad. The 2009 Business of the Year guy. And now, the 2009 Chillicothe Santa Parade Grand Marshal. Not sure how they pick a grand marshal, but they picked the right guy this year. He loaded his carriage with three of his seven grandchildren and one of his three great grandkids and off he went.

The streets were lined with thousands to watch the three bands, the dozen or so antique cars, the dozen or so firetrucks, the Wizard of Oz characters, the several business sponsored floats, the bunches of boy scouts, wrestlers and dancers, and the rest (including but not limited to the ladies riding the horses clutching their (soft?) drinks in coozies, the antique tractor guys, some struggling to light their smokes and keep their 90 year old tractors driving in a straight line) And, last but not least, our Santa, cruising through town on an open bow Chillicothe Fire/Rescue boat pulled by 8 Dodge cylinders. We do live in middle America. You can't beat it. (We even have clever flower carrying parade goers...feel free to download this pic for your desktop wallpaper).

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Why did I leave facebook? Because facebook...

DLmail 11/11/2009 good old days

Last Saturday was kind of like the good old days. Normal number of kids. Solid lesson taught by Rogy. Kids really clicking during the small group time. A really nice Saturday night.


We were an all male team of leaders with Monica still out and Pam staying home to tend to our Erin (who showed signs of getting sick, but seems to have simply had a cold...whew...no missed school, no fever). We'll hopefully see Pam back this weekend, but we'll lose Kevin and Tim. Kevin landed DL hall of famer Brian Cooper to sub and Zach Van B should be back on the horse in Tim's place. Em and I will round out the leaders and everything should be cool.


Our lesson (for small group info click here) will be titled Go & Tell. The Bible story is Jesus' Life, Death and Resurrection, 1 Corinthians 15:1-8 and Acts 2:1-41. Our series memory verse remains the same, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind." Matthew 22:37. This weeks memory verse is one of my all time favorites (of course I like to add verse 10 as well), "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is a gift of God." Ephesians 2:8-9. The bottom line...we can make a difference in people's lives by sharing the message of Jesus. Prepare well by opening your Bible and praying. God has already decided there are things that we should be doing. I kind of think serving is high on the to do list. If you needed to hear Jeff Schwarzentraub's message from last weekend again, here it is.


How exciting it was to see all the responses to last week's one item quiz. What a bunch of car buffs we have. We had a winner not long after I posted the DLmail. Congratulations Emory III. You were right, and with your first thought. SAAB. The car often thought of as about the size of a large boulder. Coming in a close second was gymnast Tim Thorson, Hog fan Sammy Waller was third, and in fourth place was newcomer Ray Detwiler of Texas. I don't know Ray, but he registered an enthusiastic answer in the comments section, and boy I appreciate that. Welcome Ray. I assume you made a total wrong turn on the vast information highway and ended up here, but I am glad you did. Welcome. You seem to be a really fine photographer (especially the car shots, nice depth). You also know your brand symbols, gotta admire that. How are you with sports stars from the past?


Who knows these young men?

DLmail 11/05/2009 5/36

How did Oct. 31st landing on a Saturday affect us in Discoveryland? 5 kids in 4th/5th. 36 kids ages 0 through 5th grade total. In a church of thousands which routinely sees a couple hundred kids on Saturday nights and roughly 900+ for a weekend total.

There isn't much to say about last weekend. We combined for worship and teach time with the 2nd/3rd graders, making our total 14. Teaching was done "unplugged," giving everything a bit of a different, quieter feel. So quiet I couldn't hear a thing. Dang I wished I would have used ear protection during certain loud activities throughout my life.

I emailed you all this weekend's small group info. I really expect a lot of kids this weekend. I am thinking Kevin, Tim, Em and Pam will be leading this weekend. Momica??? Someday. Zach Van B advised me he has returned from Wisconsin and is available. I will ask him to serve on Nov. 14th. Losing Tim that day to some gymnastics meet. I just learned he is a nuclear engineer about a month ago. Now I find out he is also a gymnast. That guy is amazing.

I am guessing Jeannine tapped into some of the economic stimulus billions because she landed new flat screen LCD HD TV's, two new HD X-boxes and a Wii last week. Em, Tim and Kevin got everything up and running, so the kids have a surprise coming.

Last week I posted a quiz for you. Sammy didn't win. He got second. The surprise winner was Pam! So you know, the images were: Houston Texans, Seattle Seahawks, St. Louis Rams, and Tennessee Titans. Nothing super extensive for this week. Just guess which make of car goes with this little fella.

That dress up "holiday"

Some sights from Halloween, minus pics of Erin with Abby and Josh with Mason. Missed that opportunity with the camera.

What we do have is pre-Halloween Erin with Rachel and Maggie (Rachel with the bloody ear). Josh (the chick magnet) with Erin (the candy corn witch).

Erin planned all along to trick or treat with Abby. Josh planned on not doing it again this year, but the allure of some fun wandering around town with a friend in the dark while being given candy for free was too much. So he donned the extremely simple costume and had a great time. Pam diligently inspected the candy for safety (and to take her cut...her words).

In hindsight we are glad it is over. Not the favorite "holiday."