Kansas City Christmas Lights
December 20, 2010
Last night was our annual Christmas light tour! With beverages of joy (i.e. peppermint hot chocolates & caramel apple spiced ciders) Caleb & I (plus two friends) cruised around the Kansas City metro checking out Christmas light hot spots. Much joy and merriment was had by all!
We’ve always enjoyed Christmas lights this time of year. However, a couple of years ago, I got the bright idea to google “christmas lights in Kansas City.” (See my post from 2008.) Lo & behold! There was someone who was documenting all the great houses, businesses, and neighborhoods that go crazy with decorating this time of year!
You can find that website here – created by Keith Stokes.
This particular site lists most of the great light locations in Johnson County and even lays out suggested map tours. We like to pick some of our favorites and make our own route. Either way – this website is an awesome resource.
Last night we visited a couple of places for the first time. Paulie’s Penguin Playhouse – was INSANE… Over 150 inflatable Christmas themed penguins IN THEIR YARD. You can actually walk through their yard and they even have a snow machine. If you have small children that can handle the 20-30 min car ride there… this might be a fun stop. Here is a long review of it.
Another one, that you’ve gotta stop and see at least once in your life is Mike Babick’s House. All of those individual “store front” windows have moving animatronics inside.I’ve never seen anything like it. Honestly, (as I mentioned in the post from 2008) all the moving creatures kind of creep me out, but it’s incredibly impressive that he does this to HIS HOUSE.
We also particularly enjoyed driving through “Christmas Place” a small neighborhood that completely decorates each of their homes. It’s located at 131st Place West of Antioch Rd in Overland Park.
The Ultimate Holiday Tree is pretty impressive – a giant tree shaped LED light screen coordinated with Christmas music. Again, amazing what lengths people will go to decorate their homes. This house was even featured on a TV show.
I do tend to be a sucker for displays in which the lights coordinate with the music (you just tune your car radio to a particular radio station to listen). Places like Vince & Associates light display on Metcalf . That’s probably the biggest one I’ve seen. I’m not a huge fan of their music selection this year but the size of their display is rather impressive.
Anyway… if you’re looking for a fun holiday activity in Kansas City – check out the Johnson County Light website, hop in your car, turn on the Christmas tunes, and go on an adventure!!
The Most Important Thing About Me
November 24, 2010
This year for me has been an emotional roller coaster. I often wonder if this is a “season” or if it’s just the reality of human existence. My guess is the latter. In the midst of traveling, circumstances that have been out of my control, and beholding suffering, I’ve been trying to find a place of rest. I long for communion with Jesus that transcends circumstance and the inevitable storms of life.
My tendency throughout my journey has been to numb my heart (false rest). This can look like keeping incredibly busy, spending all my spare time with people, or gorging on entertainment. I admit I have done all of those things this year, but in the midst of it all I keep reaching for Jesus. I keep striving to fight against those tendencies and place my broken and weak heart before Him.
In the midst of one of those reaches several weeks ago, I pulled out “The Knowledge of the Holy” by AW Tozer. I stopped short at the first line:
“What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.”
Somehow, this statement got me back on track in a way that I needed so desperately. I have thought about it repeatedly since then. When you don’t know what to do, set your eyes on Jesus (2 Chron. 20:12). Beholding & declaring Jesus is always our way forward.
So, who is my Beloved to me?
He is faithful, exceedingly faithful. He never leaves me. He is always working everything together for my good, conforming me to His image as I choose to love Him (Romans 8). He hedges me in and afflicts me in faithfulness (Hosea 2 & Psalm 119). He speaks tenderly to me and upholds me with His right arm. At times His works are invisible to me, at times He whispers, and at times He thunders. Always, He is good.
He is true. Never has He, and never will He, lie to me. He’s not like mere man (Numbers 23:19). I can trust His Word. I can trust His actions. He lived a blameless life and then chose to die for me. I can trust a God who has bled for me. I can trust a God who IS truth. He is who He says He is.
He is humble. The fact that a divine God chose to put on flesh forever, in order to raise up kings and priests (as His family) astounds me. Not only has He died for me, but He lives to intercede for me on a regular basis (Hebrews 7). My God is a God who washes my feet, cleanses my heart, and shepherd’s me (John 13, Psalm 23, John 10). Have you ever heard of a God who is a Shepherd?
He is beautiful. I long to be captured by something bigger than the day to day and Jesus is my answer to that ache. He is beautiful to my eyes – dazzling & radiant, shining like a jasper diamond, surrounded by an emerald rainbow and living creatures (Revelation 4). His eyes burn with fire (Revelation 1). Christ is beautiful to my heart – His Name is my comfort & if I really run into His name, I will find fascination.
He is attentive to my cry. Knowing that a God who owns the cattle on a thousand hills (Psalm 50), He who is seated above the circle of the earth (Isaiah 40), the one who created all things by the Word of His power (John 1), is listening to me (me?!) is terrifying and glorious. I have the ear of the One who can actually bring change (Psalm 18). I have everything I need if I have Jesus (2 Peter 1:3).
This list could go on and on and on… but in the midst of the whirlwind of life I seek to come back to the first things. I long to behold Him and bless Him. I long to love Him and declare His name. What I believe about Jesus and living like I believe it, is the most important thing about me.
Christmas Light Adventure!
December 24, 2008
Yes, yes… I know. Me and my adventures. 
Nevertheless, last night we (myself, my dashing husband, his sister, and our dear friend Kari) bundled up and went searching for Christmas light displays.
I did my research ahead of time and found that there are actually A LOT of places to visit in Kansas City that have pretty neat displays. A lot of them will be going until Dec. 31st so if you have time… you could still catch some!
I found a lot of the info here.
For those of you who don’t live around here the rest of this may be meaningless. But for those of you that do – you should check these places out!
The first place we tried to visit was Longview Lake’s – Christmas In the Park or Lights on the Lake. Fortunately we had read that it could take hours of bumper to bumper traffic to make it through. So when we got about a mile away and saw a long line of cars at a standstill, we knew it was time for moving on. I think their display is only through the 25th, so if you’re interested, better do it soon!
Next we headed to Metcalf to watch Vince & Associates lights (see photo above) dancing to the 96.9 on the radio. We watched from the parking lot of the Baptist church across the way and it was SO cool! Caleb and I had driven by there before and weren’t aware that it was tuned to a radio station, and just thought it was an epileptic seizure waiting to happen. However, with the music it made a lot more sense. Definitely go check this one out!
Next we went to Candy Cane Lane in Prairie Village. It was a quick drive up and back the cul de sac but very fun.
Then we were on to another ‘dancing’ Christmas light display. The ‘Dorr Family’ Christmas display. This one we tuned to 91.1. It was hysterical because they had little elf and Santa faces lit up on the roof, that sang along with the music. Very cool though hard to convey with words. Definitely worth the stop.
We continued on to Mike Babick’s house. And quite frankly, we weren’t sure what to think. Here is a link to some more pictures of it. On one hand it was really cool and super impressive that he had built it. On the other hand all the animatronic stuff kind of freaked me out. I think that’s just me though… Definitely worth the drive for the gawking factor. (You can actually go up to the house and look in all the windows. I think sometimes you can even go inside and visit with him.)
We stopped at one more spot that’s not really worth mentioning but was still fun to see. I had no idea that Kansas City had such cool displays to offer. It was definitely worth the gas (plus we had to stop at Starbucks to enjoy some salted caramel hot chocolates!) I’d recommend the whole experience!
(Only the first photo of this post is my own. The rest I got from this site.
The Whirlwind
November 21, 2008
I saw this photo in the latest edition of National Geographic, and then subsequently found more info on it online – here.
It’s actually a volcano erupting in Chile but it made me think of the pillar of cloud or whirlwind in Ezekiel (see Ezekiel 1).
Ezekiel 1:4 “Then I looked, and behold, a whirlwind was coming out of the north, a great cloud with raging fire engulfing itself; and brightness was all around it and radiating out of its midst like the color of amber, out of the midst of the fire.“
Fall Day Photos #3
November 14, 2008
The last of my ‘fall day’ photos.
Ok, I have a feeling I’m not going to explain this right, but here goes nothing. In the photo below, Caleb (note the ‘C.P.’ initials on his gloves) is pointing out what I believe is a wound in the tree. And he was showing me the phenomenon of ‘included bark’. I think he said that included bark is when there isn’t live tissue the whole way through – that it’s a weak bond. Whatever that means! But you can at least see where there was at one time 3 separate parts to the tree… and the bark actually grew all around it. Pretty neat – even if I don’t understand it!
A friend of Caleb’s bought him this hat as a joke. He wears it a lot as a work hat. I couldn’t pass up this detail shot while he was getting cleaned up. 
Fall Day Photos #2
November 12, 2008
A few more photos of our fall adventure (I think I call everything that brings my heart joy an adventure.) Most of these are very self explanatory. Except the one with the “wood borer”. I think that’s how you spell it. You’ll find the explanation at the picture.
Ok, so you can see our little friend the wood borer here (click on the photo to see him large and in charge). Caleb pointed him out to me, and told me that it would have taken him a long time to have gotten that far. Not incredibly fascinating, BUT I still love finding things like this!
The last of the photos soon…
Fall Day Photos #1
November 10, 2008
Last Sunday, Caleb needed to work on chopping up a trailer load of wood he had acquired, and he invited me along to take pictures. I’m so glad he did, because it was probably our last really beautiful fall day this year. One morning this week I woke up, and all of the leaves had seemed to fall off overnight.
I’ll have 3 posts total on the photos I took, and here is the first.
Caleb hauling the wood to the “chopping spot” (that’s my term… I’m sure there’s a real name for that spot.)
I thought these roots looked like a little tree!
Caleb would like me to remind all of you at home – to NOT follow his example… and wear safety goggles!
Yep, that’s a lot of wood folks.
These next 4 are of the “wood splitter”. This thing was so cool! It moves very slowly but with steady pressure it splits ginormous pieces of wood. Quite handy when you’re dealing with a large load – or working by yourself.
To be cont’d…
More Time At Moonlight
October 26, 2008
I’ve posted photos from this beach (Moonlight) before – here and here. (Moonlight Beach is the beach closest to our wonderful friends the Williamson’s.) But I’ve not yet posted any from our most recent trip. These are from two different nights there. And who can have too many beach photos anyway?
It still trips me out that you can have fires on this beach. Fires weren’t allowed on the beaches I visited in my childhood (on the east coast).
Caleb chasing the sea gulls.
The beautiful Jamie Williamson took the next 3 of us. Fun.
Misc. Photos From Our September Trip
October 25, 2008
I know these are way overdue – but better late than never! Here are some miscellaneous photos from our trip in September.
Oh and I have a blog confession – I started listening to Christmas music already! It was only going to be one cd… and well it didn’t stop there. I may have potentially pulled my Christmas movies out too…
This is a window at Caleb’s grandparent’s house.
A photo from our breakfast there. I like the story it tells. 
This is a detail of a tile his grandparent’s kitchen. His grandma is painter and a potter!
Gotta love wild sunflowers.
Outside his grandparent’s house.
This was on our way from New Mexico to California.
I’ve never seen anything like this before… As we were driving through the desert – a little whirlwind! I guess they’re common there – but we thought it was awesome! (Click on the photo to get a better view.)
Caleb was blessed with some work while we were there – it helped make our trip possible! Of course, I had to document it. 
Delight In ‘Anne of Green Gables’
September 4, 2008
We are having delicious fall weather today and it somehow makes me think of watching the PBS movies – ‘Anne of Green Gables‘ with my mom. We used to always watch it during this kind of rainy day weather.
One of my summer reading books (well, really the whole series) has been ‘Anne of Green Gables‘ by Lucy M. Montgomery. Though I watched the movies, I somehow got through most of my life without reading any of the 8 books in the series. What a crime!
Montgomery’s writing is both enchanting and engrossing – it’s very difficult to put these stories down. The characters she has created are so imaginative and in awe of beauty. I LOVE this!! The 8 books follow Anne throughout her life in Prince Edward Island, and then through the lives of her 6 kids (I think my favorite of the series is actually the book that focuses on her kids – Anne of Ingleside). They are set around the turn of the 20th century.
I believe that Montgomery was married to a Presbyterian pastor, so there are scripture references and biblical themes throughout. Man, they just don’t write em’ like this anymore! I think I just really love classics though.
The ‘Anne’ series is now considered a children’s book series, but I believe she intended them to be works of fiction for every age. Also, if you like audio books, I’ve found four of them read by Barbara Caruso at an online library. I’ve recommended her before – she does an AMAZING job with these books.
If you have time for some fiction – I highly recommend going on an adventure with Anne!
