12.2007: week 4

Spent Christmas Day in 3 cities, driving about 600 miles in 48 hours or so. This was in Charlottesville with the extended family. Merry days after Christmas!

And so the Photo of the Week blog comes to the end of its 1st year. Out of 52 weeks, we published 47. Some of them were make-ups for missing too many weeks, but it worked and it was a blast to tell the stories behind some of these pictures. Now it's time to set out into year 2. Lots happened last year, and more is coming this year. Hop on for a great ride. Happy New Year!

12.2007: week 3

For some reason, I never got to put up our engagement pictures on this blog. The slideshow made it onto rvaYM. So here you go, a selection of photos taken by our professional photographer. Ah-hem, aka the best man, my brother (not really professional...yet).

12.2007: week 2

You mean it's not Tony Danza?!

Originally published online at Crummy Church Signs. You can buy Joel's book of Crummy Church Signs online Here

12.2007: week 1

It is hard to believe that December is here, and at the same time it's hard to believe it's just now December. It seems like an eternity since Thanksgiving, and still 25 days until Christmas. We pulled out the Christmas decorations the day after Thanksgiving, so here's a glimpse of the front of the house.

Merry Christmas!

11.2007: week 4

It's about time for a flashback. Basketball season's starting, so we'll go back to March 2005.

The Spiders women's basketball team traveled to Hartford, Connecticut for the first round of the NCAA Tournament and played Florida State at UConn. The game didn't turn out so well, but it was a fun trip! This was from right before tip-off.

11.2007: week 2

Monday was Veteran's Day (observed), so I found it fitting to take a pit stop at the National D-Day Memorial in Bedford, VA. I have passed it nearly every trip to Roanoke for the past year, and finally got to stop. It is a very nice memorial in a great location with more yet to come.

Thanks Karl.

11.2007: week 3

I took family pictures for some friends at Hotel Roanoke. Virginia Tech was getting ready to play Miami that afternoon, but hadn't left the hotel yet. We ran into Coach Beamer while we were walking through the hotel, and the boys were pretty excited. It must have been good luck, cause the Hokies won that afternoon!

11.2007: week 1

I had a birthday -- back in January -- and one of my presents was a helicopter ride over Richmond. I reserved the flight in a timely manner, or 9 months later, and flew this week. Here's Richmond from the air:

10.2007: week 4

It's been a while since we had a flashback. This one goes back to the spring of 2006.

This was an assignment for Digital Artmaking [I've posted a video that I made during that semester here]. I met Saona Chapman, the point guard from the women's basketball team, one afternoon in the arena to shoot the pictures. This is probably my all-time favorite piece of artwork that I've done. It will probably also be my last. A framed, autographed original hangs on my wall.

It only took one shot at each position to create this picture.

10.2007: week 3

I saw this in the seminary parking lot last week. Yes, the seminary. 'Nuff said.

10.2007: week 2

Took a little road trip down to Clemson, SC this weekend with Kim's family. College football rivalries are always referred to in unkind terms. Not so in Clemson. Some of the nicest fans in all of sports cheer for the Tigers in this town. Wearing Hokie gear, I heard, "Welcome to Clemson, good to have you here!" no less than a dozen times walking through downtown Clemson, around the stadium, and postgame on the way out.

The highlight of the trip, aside from seeing the Hokies hand one to the Tigers, was catching up with Daniel. We caught up with him postgame after he had performed all of his ROTC duties.

10.01.2007: week 1

NCAA Division I Football has over 200 teams, and before last weekend the Richmond Spiders were one of 5 teams that still had not played a home game. That changed Saturday as the #25 Spiders beat the #11 New Hampshire Wildcats. Tim Hightower (above, left #22) and Eric Ward combined for 385 of Richmond's offensive yards. Hightower's first of three touchdowns (below) came with 9:07 remaining in the 1st quarter.

  

09.2007: week 4

Apparently the US Postal Service decided they needed to start reaching out to Star Wars fans.

09.2007: week 2

The start of school meant a boring week. Which means it's time for a flashback:

In the fall of 2005, I got to spend a weekend away from school on the island of Andros in the Bahamas. A church in Richmond wanted to see how they could meet the physical needs of the people of Andros, and I was the poor soul brought along to document the weekend. No college student wants to wake up before sunrise on a weekend, but this was well worth it.

09.2007: week 1

An archive in week 1? Naw, let's keep breaking the rules.

April 16 at Virginia Tech was a horrible day. Since then, Hokie Nation has wanted to return to normalcy. Part of the recovery process was a date they all looked forward to: September 1. The start of football season would bring 66,000+ into Lane Stadium for an emotional day. And joining in the remembrance was the crew of ESPN's College Game Day.

We are Virginia Tech.

08.2007: week 4

Kim and I were excited to spend a week at the beach with my family. It had been a long summer, and fall was right around the corner. We had been dating for seven months, and after spending 3 hours every other weekend on the road, long distance was taking its toll! This week together would be the most time we had spent together.

We had conversations throughout the summer about getting married, but Kim was under the impression that a ring would not come anytime soon. I had just changed jobs, graduate school tuition was due soon, and the timing did not seem good.

Monday night, we returned to the condo from dinner with my family and I asked if she wanted to take a walk on the beach. Not out of the ordinary by any means. As we started to walk down the beach, I asked what she was thinking. "Oh, about marrying you," she replied. What better timing?

We stopped walking and started talking. The sky was perfectly clear, the moon reflecting over the ocean. I decided this was the moment. I told her about a conversation I had with her Dad about marrying her, why I wanted to marry her. I reached down to my pocket to pull out the ring. She thought I had an itch, and still had no clue I was proposing. I stepped back and opened the ring. It took her a minute to realize what this was all about. Her jaw dropped, and I said, "Will you marry me?"

She thought about it for about a half-second. She said yes.

08.2007: week 3

The start of the school year means college football season is right around the corner! The Spiders returned to the field this past week, so this week features another flashback.

In the fall of 2004, Coach Dave Clawson had just started his first season at the helm of the Richmond Spiders. The team lost its first week game at NC State, and made the trek during week 2 to Lexington, Virginia, to take on the Keydets of VMI. Perched atop the next-door arena, I had travelled with the team to film the game. During the pre-game festivities, including the procession of the Keydet students into the stadium, I snapped this panorama.

The Spiders went on to win this game for Coach Clawson's first win as Spider head coach.

08.2007: week 2

It's been quite a busy summer, so I haven't had much time for digging into the 'ole archive.

It's back-to-school season over at UR, home of the Spiders. During the 2004-2005 basketball season, the Spiders women's basketball team cruised into the NCAA Tournament. They were to play Florida State at UConn. I got to travel along for a great weekend in Hartford, but a disappointing game. After a long night, our mascot decided to take a tour of the hotel. We joined up with Kate (left), the team's senior leader, for a visit to Coach Boyle's door -- at 2 AM. They knocked, she answered, and we had a little photo op.

And to all of you Florida State fans out there, remind your band that a spider is not an insect.

08.2007: week 1

After a weekend at the beach and a few days in Greenville, I headed back to the beach for a few more days with Kim's family. Always good to have a little vacation time.

07.2007: week 4

I spent last weekend in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina with a friend's youth group as their worship leader, and then travelled with them to Greenville, North Carolina where they worked with the Hispanic Ministry of the South Roanoke Baptist Association at The Memorial Baptist Church. The church was devastated by an arson fire in January of this year, and parts of the building are still under construction. Here's one of the students making up name tags for the kids.

07.2007: week 3

Friday night was a great evening at the ballpark for my brother's church softball game. The coach's daughter decided late in the 2nd game that she was thirsty:

07.2007: week 2

Well, we've got more new ones this week. Maybe we'll get to the flashback next week... Great sunsets this past few weeks, just unbelievable. And a fabulous marketing slogan I've seen twice in the past few weeks, originally on the Eastern Shore, and this time in Southside Virginia.

07.2007: week 1

Welcome to suburbia, home of...bambi??

07.2007: week 1

Forget flashbacks -- we've got a good new picture this week! And next week. Kings Fest 2007 at Kings Dominion, featuring TobyMac, Casting Crowns. And the always amazing David Crowder Band, featuring the infamous keytar and a modified Guitar Hero guitar. Pure sweetness. Here's TobyMac and Casting Crowns on stage:

06.2007: week 4

I've spent a lot of time with Impact Virginia!, and this week was #23. I was exhausted heading into the week, but a good crew of students always helps to get you re-energized. We replaced a roof and installed new gutters, and made a few other fixes to help them live more comfortably. This week's pic: the "Jars of Tar" crew:

06.2007: week 3

All good things must come to an end? Sunday was the end of an era at New Bethesda. Randy resigned to spend more time with his family and explore other opportunities, and said goodbye to our church. Thus the end of the first church staff I served on.

06.2007: week 2.1

A glimpse of the future? Perhaps. Kim's cousin had her baby, Karter, tonight. Fun times.

06:2007: week 2

Richmond's latest trend in weather: thunderstorms. Sure, it's that time of the year. But everyday? We've had some great ones lately. Here's what tonight's looked like:

06:2007: week 1

Seven years ago I traveled to Austria. We spent a few days in Vienna, then ventured to a rural farm halfway between Vienna and Salzburg. There we helped with the summer youth camp run by Austrian Baptists called "Jesus Camp." During one of the first evenings, I started to talk to Honnes. He followed me around the rest of the week at the camp, and we became good friends. Only one problem: he spoke very little English, and I was far from fluent in German. Communication was a struggle, but we shared two loves: God. And baseball. Honnes had never played baseball, but he learned that week. It was a fun experience. I've grown up just a little bit since then. And I wish I knew how Honnes was doing.

05.2007: week 5

My brother's youth choir from church sang the National Anthem on Saturday at Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore. What more is there to say?

05.2007: week 4

4 weeks in a row? It's a miracle!

Saturday was our church's benefit concert to support IJM, Mission of Mercy and One Life. It was a great outdoor festival feel on the field behind the church, and 7 bands played throughout the afternoon and evening. Being the small church that we are, I feel we did real well with raising support for those three organizations. The concert brought in over $2,000 [updated 5/28] and the number keeps rising. Here are a few shots from the set by Sovatone:

05.2007: week 3

I watched my brother's church softball game Friday night, and it started raining midway through the 2nd game. We turned around to the next field and saw a little girl sitting in a chair holding a huge golf umbrella. And then I found $5...

05.2007: week 2

Flashback: I've showed this picture off a couple times in the past few weeks, so here goes.

In 2003, I was on staff at camp. We started our 2nd week of the summer on the Eastern Shore of Virginia, and the first day, Ash (from last month's "Body of Christ" picture) and I got to know the ER staff at the hospital real well. First, a guy got something in his eye. I don't remember the second injury. While we stayed with "eye boy", another kid was brought in. He and a girl had a tug-of-war over a hammer, and he stepped backwards onto a board. That still had a nail in it. Fast-forward to Friday. The last day of camp, we were ready to start packing up and head out to our 3rd week of camp. I decided to take a break and play basketball with some of the kids. I landed awkwardly on one kid's foot, rolled my ankle and it immediately swelled up really bad. We went back to the ER, and the lady at the front desk said, "Now what are you doing here??" Here it is, what beautiful colors...