States on My List

I stole this idea from my friend Jordyn's blog, but I think it's great to compile a list like this. Now I know I need to head to the NW part of the country.

To visit:
Alabama
Alaska
Connecticut
Hawaii
Idaho
Montana
North Dakota
Oregon
Rhode Island
South Dakota
Vermont
Washington
Wyoming

Visited:
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Delaware
District of Columbia
Florida
Georgia
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
Ohio
Oklahoma
Pennsylvania
South Carolina
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Virginia
West Virginia
Wisconsin

Day at the Nelson

A couple shots from this afternoon at the Nelson Atkins.

Ranchin' in Russell

This past weekend my friend Dave invited me and the other guys from high school out to his family's ranch in Russell, Kansas. Needless to say we had a blast checking out the whole property and floating the river that goes through it. There's even an old group of abandoned buildings called "the town" and an abandoned one-room school house.

Old Theatre

Found this old theatre in Coffeyville, KS this past weekend. When my Mom was growing up her parents would take her there and a woman that looked and dressed just like Joan Crawford would be working the ticket counter... back when going to the movies was a grand experience.

Osawatomie Asylum

We had a family wedding this past weekend in southeast KS, and so we traveled the familiar path down highway 169. My cousin, Kerri, and her husband, James, mentioned how they had stopped off in Osawatomie, KS to check out the eerie site of the State Mental Hospital. It still operates as a mental hospital, and there are still some of the older buildings standing from when it was known as the Kansas Insane Asylum. I thought it would be interesting to see as well so we stopped off for a minute. It was pretty fascinating. The look of the place was right out of "Shutter Island."

Near the grounds we found a cemetery with 346 headstones marked only with numbers. According to an online article by the Pitch, these headstones all belonged to patients who went unclaimed by families. People were buried there up until the 1950s. It was disturbing and intriguing all at once.

New Work: Breathe Fire Logo

Logo for the Presbyterian Synod of Mid-America's conference, entitled "Breathe Fire." The idea behind the conference is that people will become passionate about their faith. As the Holy Spirit comes to them they will be energized into acting on their beliefs.

Keep Dancing Amy

This past weekend a friend and high school classmate of mine, Amy Wooddell, had a major stroke while she was in Washington D.C. for the law school graduation of her brother. They rushed Amy to the hospital and discovered that the stroke had been caused by a blood clot. They quickly got her into surgery to break up the clot, and she endured a 7 1/2 hr procedure. She also was placed on a ventilator. Although she is breathing some on her own she remains in a coma. Amy just recently married my good friend, Jonny, in December. I have always been impressed by the strong faith that they both possess. Please pray for healing power for Amy and continued strength for Jonny as he patiently waits at her side. Jonny continues to update frequently at the following site...

keepdancingamy.com