Hanging with Heather

Our dear friend, Heather Miller, came to Louisville recently to visit some old friends. Jeff, Heather, Rayah and Ashlyn moved from Louisville back to California about one year ago. We only had a few short months with them, but it's amazing how God blessed our brief time together.

Anyway, Ryan and I got to have lunch with Heather while she was here. It was great to catch up and hear what God has been doing in their lives over the last year.

We miss you, Millers!

Flying with the Pattersons

AMAZING! That's the only way to describe our night with the Pattersons.

Ok, so our good friends, Robert and Jennifer, are preparing to do missionary aviation, meaning that they will be able to fly missionaries where they need to go and to bring them supplies and what not. Anyway, Robert has finished aviation school and is now in mechanic school. As a fun little date for the four of us, Robert flew us to Sikeston, Missouri for dinner. Yes, that's right. We flew to another state just to have dinner and flew back right after. We ate at this really fun restaurant called Lambert's Cafe, "The Only Home of Throwed Rolls." I'm getting ahead of myself, so I'll start from the beginning.

Ryan and I pulled up to Bowman's Field that night. Robert gave us a quick tour of the hangar and the planes in it, and then we headed outside to see our plane. It was this small four-person plane. We climbed in and we were off. We all wore headphones, both to protect our ears from the loud noise and so we could talk to one another throughout the flight. It was overcast and drizzling when we took off, but as we climbed in altitude, we went above all the clouds, allowing us to see the end of a beautiful sunset. The sky seemed endless, and the clouds below us looked like waves in the ocean. It was breathtaking! I mean, when in your life do you feel like you are the only person in the world!? That's how it felt as we flew above the clouds. The hustle and bustle of the world was far below us, hidden by a sea of clouds.

"Bless the LORD, O my soul!
O LORD my God, you are very great!
You are clothed with splendor and majesty,
covering yourself with light as with a garment,
stretching out the heavens like a tent.
He lays the beams of his chambers on the waters;
he makes the clouds his chariot;
he rides on the wings of the wind;
he makes his messengers winds,
his ministers a flaming fire."
Psalm 104:1-4

When we landed in Sikeston, we used a phone to call the restaurant, and they sent a courtesy van to come pick us up. Though it was a busy Saturday night, we were given the next available table. We quickly understood the tagline for the restaurant as we walked to our table with rolls flying overhead. Ryan and I had seen a segment about this restaurant on the Food Network, so we were excited to experience it in person.

As soon as we sat down, rolls were being thrown to us from the other side of the room. Right after that, a guy came around and put large scoops of fried okra onto paper towels we had laid out. We ordered our food and then watched the rolls flying around. One guy even proposed to his girlfriend while we were there. He apparently hid the ring in a roll that was thrown to the girl. Our portions were huge, and yet when we were done eating, I had lots more food on my plate than when I first got it. That's because throughout the meal, people walked around scooping different side dishes onto our plates. After dinner, we packed up a total of five completely full to-go boxes between the four of us. I'm not sure how that was possible, but it made for some yummy leftovers!

I hope you can appreciate the humor in this picture. Right as Jennifer was taking a picture of Ryan and me, Robert decided to throw a roll at us.

We got back in the courtesy van and were driven back to the airport, where we loaded up for the flight home. This time, Ryan rode in the front seat with Robert. On the way home, Robert taught us all about flying. He explained the importance of looking at the instruments in the plane, as opposed to relying on your own intuition. Ryan even got to fly the plane for 20-30 minutes. He was so excited! I must say, he was the cutest pilot ever! I am amazed at how much goes into keeping the plane level and at a constant altitude. Ryan did such a great job, though.

It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and it's one that we will never forget! Thanks, Robert and Jennifer, for sharing this part of your life with us! May God bless you and your ministry.

Bishops: Bocce, Bonding and Bernheim

Ok, so I'm behind on my blogging. What's new? :)

Brandon, Jill, Joshua and Aby came to visit the week before last. They drove in Tuesday night and left Saturday around lunch. On Wednesday, Jill and I drove to the Gap Clearance Center in Hebron, Kentucky. We found some good deals and were able to spend some precious time talking. Girl time is so important! We even picked up some Chipotle on the way home. YUM! (Sidenote--Can someone please tell me why there is a Chipotle in Cincinnati and Lexington, but not in Louisville?)

On Friday, we went hiking at Bernheim Forest. It was a perfect day to be out in God's creation. It was a cool day, the sun was out, the birds were chirping, the leaves on the trees were starting to turn their brilliant colors. It was amazing. I can't imagine being in a place like that and trying to argue that there's not a God.

"Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice;
let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
let the field exult, and everything in it!
Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy
before the LORD, for he comes,
for he comes to judge the earth.
He will judge the world in righteousness,
and the peoples in his faithfulness."
Psalm 96:11-13

Later we played Bocce Ball in our backyard. Some kids from the neighborhood came over and played for awhile too. That night Jill and I played Ryan and Brandon in a mean game of Rook. There were moments when we were laughing so hard we were crying. So fun!

Time in Texas

Ryan had Fall Break last week, so we decided to make a trip back to Texas to see our loved ones. We first dropped Wally off in Nashville with Brandon and Jill. It was fun hanging out with them for the day before leaving the next morning for Texas. The boys were so cute playing Wii.

Of course we were very excited to see our family and friends, but we were also excited about all the great places we wanted to eat while at home. Contrary to popular belief, Kentucky is not known for its Mexican food, so we were ready for some good ole' Tex Mex! We arrived in Texas on Saturday and spent the day with Ryan's mom. We ate lunch at Cadillac Bar, which was one of our favorite Mexican food restaurants in Houston and then we had dinner at Shady Oak Barbeque. If you've never eaten at Shady Oak, you are really missing out! It was one of my favorite meals of the week.

On Sunday, we went to La Madeleine after church and to Uncle Julio's for dinner. These are both restaurants that we wish would make their way to Kentucky. It was so much fun hanging out with Ryan's mom.

We headed out to Ryan's dad's ranch on Monday. We spent some good time with his dad and Terri. We even got our first pair of cowboy boots so we would have them to ride horses. That night for dinner, we met Ryan's cousin, Tim, and his wife, Therese, at Mama's Pizza, which is a favorite among the boys in Ryan's family. We were so blessed to be able to catch up with them.

On Tuesday, we headed to Ryan's grandparents' house for lunch and games. After a good homemade meal, we played the marble game. I had never played it, but it's very similar to the game, Sorry. Ryan played on a team with his grandmother, "Gamie," and I played with his mom. Ryan and Gamie killed us! His grandfather, "Dagy" kept trying to help me and Ryan's mom, but we still lost two games in a row. Oh well! We had Taco Bueno that night for dinner--what I wouldn't give to have a Taco Bueno here!

Ok, I know I'm obsessing about food, but these are luxuries that we only get once a year.

Anyway, on Wednesday, we had lunch at Freebird's with Mandi, who is a dear family friend. Freebird's, for those of you who aren't familiar, is famous for their monstrous burritos. Seriously, they're huge! After lunch, my sister, Jenna, and I went shopping. It was fun playing around in the different stores. We spent so much time laughing. That night, we had dinner with my dad and his new wife, Janet. We hadn't gotten to meet Janet yet, so it was great getting to know her.

On Thursday, we met Brandon, Michelle and Luke (Ryan's cousin) for lunch. They came to visit a couple weeks ago, and we were so blessed to get to see them again. That night, we went with my mom and Steve to Texas de Brazil, which is a Brazillian steakhouse. Holy cow! I'm normally not a huge meat person, but my plate was overflowing with meat that night. They have "gauchos" who walk around with skewers of different kinds of meat giving you as much as you want. It was delicious!

We went and rode horses at Ryan's dad's ranch on Friday. We had only ridden horses once before so had to be trained a little before we got on. It was a lot of fun. Ryan rode "T.C." and I was on "Maud." I had no clue how many muscles I used to ride a horse--I was so sore the next day. After riding horses, we went over to see Ryan's best friend, Kyle, and his wife, Jessica. They are such sweet friends, and I really wish we got to see them more. That night we hung out at my mom's house and played with Steve's kids.

We spent Saturday hanging out at my mom's house. Steve's parents even came over that night for dinner.

We flew back to Nashville first thing Sunday morning. We got to hang out with Brandon and Jill for a few hours before heading back to Louisville.

The week went by quickly, but we were thankful for the time we got to spend with our family and friends.

I've Been Tagged...

By Jennifer, to tell about my sweet husband.

1. Who is your man? Ryan Anton Bishop. He's a godly man who loves me as Christ loves the church. Ryan daily seeks to become more like our Lord and Savior. I am so incredibly blessed to have this man as my husband--a man who fears God, who loves me so sacrificially and unconditionally and who, I know, will keep me laughing all the days of my life.

2. How long have you been together? We met in March 1998 (we both worked at the Black-Eyed Pea Market Grill in Arlington, Texas) and started dating that July.

3. How long did you date? This sounds like an easy question, but the answer isn't quite as simple. Ryan and I actually dated for a couple months (starting July 1998) and then broke up for about a year. We went to college in different cities, so for that next year, we didn't see each other much. Let's stop here for a second to clarify that at that time, I was a Christian but Ryan was not. We both came back to Arlington the following summer and started working and hanging out together again. When August rolled around, we went back to school. Ryan was only in College Station for one night before he moved back to Arlington for good. You see, the next day, through a series of circumstances, Ryan recognized that he was a sinner who needed a Savior. He recognized Jesus as Lord and the rest is pretty much history. Side note--Ryan has a pretty incredible testimony. You should ask him about it if you haven't heard it. Anyway, we started dating again a couple months later (October 1999). We got engaged 6 months after that (April 2000) and then married 2 years later (April 2002). I can't believe we've known each other for almost a whole decade!

4. How old is your man? Ryan will be the big 3-0 on January 13! (My sweet husband was actually born on Friday the 13th.)

5. Who eats more? It depends. I would say he can typically eat more than I can, but when it comes to sweet treats, I can beat him hands down!

6. Who said "I love you" first? Ryan did.

7. Who is taller? Ryan definitely is. 6'3". He's one tall drink of water! It's great to be able to wear heels as tall as I want, and he's still much taller.

8. Who sings better? I think Ryan does. Besides his singing talents, he's also an excellent song-writer. We often make up silly songs for each other.

9. Who is smarter? Definitely Ryan. He might try and argue with me on that, but he'd be wrong. :) Ryan excels at EVERYTHING he does, especially at school. He is brilliant!

10. Whose temper is worse? That's a tough call. His, I guess. I don't really see it all that often though.

11. Who does the laundry? I usually do, but Ryan started it for me tonight.

12. Who takes out the garbage? Whoever has time.

13. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? If you're facing our bed, then Ryan does. Really, though, it depends on where the door is in whatever room we sleep in. Ryan always sleeps closest to the door. It makes me feel safer. He's my Knight in Shining Armor. He also always walks between me and the street.

14. Who pays the bills? I used to, but Ryan took over awhile back and does a great job at it!

15. Who is better with the computer? Ryan. He knows HTML and all that advanced stuff.

16. Who mows the lawn? Ryan does.

17. Who cooks dinner? Ryan does. Praise the Lord for this one! I am not a good cook, nor do I enjoy cooking. God so perfectly designed us that Ryan is everything I'm not. Ryan is an excellent cook and likes to do it. (I told you before Ryan is really good at everything he does.)

18. Who drives when you are together? Ryan does.

19. Who pays when you go out? Ryan does. I hate calculating the tip. Ryan is really good at math and can do it so quickly. Are you noticing a pattern yet on who does everything around our house? I promise--it doesn't sound like it, but I do help some.

20. Who is most stubborn? Hmm. Very tough question. We definitely both have our stubborn streaks. I would probably say Ryan, but he would probably say me. :)

21. Who is the first to admit when they are wrong? Again, tough question. Really, it depends on what we're wrong about. We're both fairly good at it.

22. Whose parents do you see the most? It's pretty close, but I would say Ryan's mom. Almost all of our family lives in Texas, so visits are somewhat rare. Ryan's brother lives in Nashville, so his mom can usually see them both in one visit.

23. Who kissed who first? He kissed me first.

24. Who asked who out? Ryan did. He did.

25. Who proposed? Ryan did. It was such an elaborate proposal and is a wonderful story. He planned everything out, and it began with a bridal bouquet being sent to me in my Marriage and Family class one Friday morning. Ryan is such a romantic! I mean, who has flowers delivered to them during their college class!? I'm so tempted to spill the whole story. But I'll leave it at this, and you'll just have to ask to find out more. ;)

26. Who is more sensitive? It depends what you mean by "sensitive." Ryan is really good at being sensitive to people's feelings. I probably get my feelings hurt more easily, though.

27. Who has more friends? Ryan does. We have pretty much the same friends, but Ryan is much better about keeping up with people than I am.

28. Who has more siblings? Hmm. Let me think. I guess Ryan does. He has 1 brother, 6 half brothers and a half sister. I have a half brother and a half sister, as well as a half sister whom I've never met. I also have 2 step brothers and 2 step sisters.

29. Who wears the pants in the family? Ryan does. I am so thankful that I was designed to submit because I would hate to have to lead all the time.

30. What's your favorite thing about your man? The way he loves other people. He genuinely wants to know the hearts of others. He cares for people in such a Christ-like way.

Jennifer, thank you for the tag. I don't take nearly enough time thinking and talking about how blessed I am to have Ryan.

Now, tag you're it:
Jill
Suzanne
Jenny
Ashley
Cara
Heather
Kelly
Kristi
Karen
LeeAnn
Heather
Jennifer
Emily
Stephanie
Emily
Jaimie
Jessica

(By the way, I added that last question. Feel free to add your own!