Messiah's Mansion

This afternoon my family and I went to see a most interesting replica. It was the Messiah's Mansion, a full-scale replica of the mosaic sanctuary.

It was very interesting. We started our 75-minutes tour with learning about the different temples/sanctuaries. Then we progressed to the courtyard, holy place, most holy place, and finally exploring the meaning behind the high-priest's clothing. I took some pictures, and my best are included here with explanations.

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P.S.-learn more about Messiah's Mansion at their website: http://www.messiahsmansion.com/ , or click on the link to their website in the sidebar under the "Learn About..." links section.

The alter. When an Israelite had committed a sin, he/she would bring a perfect lamb to the tabernacle, he would kneel down, lay his hands on the lamb, symbolically transferring his sin to the lamb. Then he took a sword and killed the lamb at the throat, afterward separating the fat from the animal's organs. Then the priest would take the blood collected from the lamb and sprinkle it on the corners of the alter. This symbolized Jesus, the True Lamb of God, dying and saving us.

The table of shew bread. Each week the priests baked new bread, and then ate all of the old week's bread. Jesus is the Bread of Life, and we "eat" him through reading His Word. A relationship is a two-way deal, so the bread plus the alter of incense (not shown) represents prayer. Those two combined, God can mold us into a beautiful new creature, like the lamp stand, below.

The Ark of the Covenant, in the Most Holy Place which contained the 10 Commandments, Aaron's rod that budded and produced nuts, and a bowl of manna.

Our tour guide, Temple. (no pun intended.)

Announcing...the Fall Photo Contest!

^^my cousin Andrea in Spain. Taken by my aunt, Jamie. Photo #1

^^My grandmother when she was out here last Sept. What a nice shot! (Personally one of my all time favorites!) Photo #2

^^Same goes for this photo. What a nice Grandpa! (He also buys Silk!) :) Photo #3

^^My 4-year-old sister Alison by her slide yesterday. What a cute sister! ;) Photo #4

Hi Everyone!

Yes, finally I have gotten in the time to post the first post of the Fall '08 Photo Contest! I e-mailed you, and you said you'd vote, so here it is!

The first section: People. As always, vote your choice in the poll provided in the sidebar. Enjoy!

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P.S.-All photos, unless noted, are taken by myself.

P.P.S-Each poll will be up for a week.

Beautiful Cades Cove

Yesterday was a very exciting day as our family took the day off (well, it was fall break) and drove 2 1/2 hours to the Smokies to see Cades Cove, where many early settlers lived, worked and died before the Great Smoky Mountains park was created in the 1930s.

Of course, 20 other million people went to, as the Smokies are the most visited National Park and Cades Cove is the most visited place in the park. And don't forget, October is one of the highest visitation months, with fall color. Anyway, it was tons of fun, even with the traffic (some bumper-to-bumper) on the 11 mile scenic loop. I took over 150 pictures, and displayed here are some of the best.

If you would like to learn more about this fabulous park, check out the link to the park's website under the "Learn About..." link section in the sidebar OR go directly to it at : www.nps.gov/grsm

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P.S.-the new fall photo contest IS coming in a day or two! A field in this over-6,000-acre valley!

The John Oliver cabin.

^^A house at Cades Cove Visitors Center. (Down) the mill at the Visitor's Center.

One of the Methodist churches in the valley.
More of the mill.

Beautiful Cades Cove Loop Road in gorgeous autumn.

Flyin' Into the "Wild Blue Yonder"

Yesterday morning our family took a little break from household duties and jobs and "flew" over to our local town airport's open house. It was a lot of fun.

At most there were probably about 2 dozen planes there, plus some military jeeps and a fire truck from the local station.

The fire station was giving people rides in the truck's bucket, so of course Dad, Alison and I had to go. Besides, you get a lot better views (and photos) from up there! Surprisingly, I only took about 60 pictures in the 15 minutes we were there.....;)

Enjoy the photos!

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My father said that my Gpa M. in CA has built a model of one of these "Piper Cubs" in the past. Cool!

A Very Fun Fair

This past Sunday was an exceptionally fun day for our family as we drove to and experienced the Hamilton County Fair, held annually the last weekend of September in Chester Frost Park.

Besides seeing all the fabulous cars, animals, home crafts, etc., Mom and I were exhibitors ourselves! I entered 3 pictures, and Mom entered 4 of her quilts.
Mom did very well as she got 2 3rd places and one second. (3 of her 4 quilts placed.) I did pretty well too, getting one 2nd place on my “animal” photo. My other two shots got “Participant”. On the whole, the fair was a whole lot of fun!

Enjoy this digital view of the County Fair……

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^^This was my "animal" picture that landed me a second. I took it on Alison's b-day in July at the Chatt. Zoo.

The model trains were neat-makes me want to get ours rolling! ;)


There was this guy who hand-carved all these birds. Wow, what a lot of hard work!!








I really thought that the old cars, trucks and tractors were neat. Maybe that's the strain of blood I have coming from Gpa W.....;)

^^Fare at the Fair.
^^ Reminded me of Almonzo's pumpkin from the Little House series!