Drew's Place

New Site

2008-10-26T01:06:00.004-05:00

Everybody....I finally have my own website. From now on i will be updating my blog from there. for the site itself go to andrewpolanycia.com if you would like to reassign me to your blog roll the new address will be andrewpolanycia.com/blog thank you so much for all of you following me throughout the years. I'm really excited to see what God has in store for me coming up.

Me, her, and the Trail Mix

2008-10-22T00:51:00.001-05:00

Someone long ago once said that every handful of trail-mix ought to be a surprise... actually, I said that, and it was only about an hour ago (fun times at the Polanycia house for us). Basically when you put together a newly married husband and wife, a pantry full of odds and ends, and an empty stomach, who knows what will happen. We have combined kettle corn, carmel corn, seasoned pretzels, raisins, and - yes, you're not seeing things - fruit snacks. Hope everybody likes the update. Just letting you guys know we are still alive out west and doing well as always.

AP + CP

Perham Family Photoshoot

2008-10-10T18:29:00.003-05:00

Sorry it has been such a long time since I have posted anything. It truly has been a busy month and past couple of weeks. My wife and I have been having a great time just simply living life together. We both have enjoyed immensely. We have been diving in head first into a work, social, and church lives. Our church truly has been a blessing to us in many ways and we enjoy the opportunities we get to serve in it. This past Sunday afternoon, I had the privilege to do a photoshoot with my pastor's family. We had a lot of fun doing it, except for that time the sprinklers went off on us (don't worry about it, you would have had to be there to get it) Hope you enjoy the pics!

AP+CP

Game Night at the Lovegroves

2008-09-09T17:44:00.006-05:00

Cristina and I recently had the pleasure of going over to a church members house, the Lovegroves. Jeremey, Vikki, Kyra, and Titus, are all a family with a soon to be third "unknown" child on the way. We had a lot of fun with them as well as playing our favorite game of Rook with them. Although i didn't win I still had a really fun night with them. Below are some of the highlighted images of the event.

Click here to view slideshow

AP+CP

Bek's Cross-Country Surprise

2008-09-04T14:50:00.007-05:00

Once upon a time, I was sitting in our apartment when my dear brother-in-law David called me up and asked what I was doing this weekend. He then proceeded to tell me he found a cheap ticket and wanted to fly his darling wife (who is also my oldest sister) across the country to visit us. Nothing like throwing a weekend trip together! So Rebekah flew into Phoenix Saturday morning, and Andrew, Rebekah, and I drove to San Diego Sunday afternoon. She got to experience both our churches and see both our houses. We went to several very scenic places which my darling husband ate up. Hope you enjoy the taste of the first used-to-be "Baker sisters" adventure out West!

Great fun times

Bek is wearing her "salt and light" shirt for the singles class she works with. She's the salt of the earth and the light of the world. Yeah, I didn't get it right away. Maybe I'm just slow.

Shots of Balboa Park in San Diego, CA

Look, we're all grown up and married!

I once said that Bek had the personality of a sea turtle on the phone cuz she doesn't talk much. Well, she had to get a picture with her little friend then.

My hubby and I at the famous Hotel del Coronado

The amazing thing is these flowers are all real!

There is nothing like family. You get over your differences because you're family; you work together to make things happen because you're family; and you fly across the country to have an amazing surprise weekend of fun because you're family. Love you! And thanks, Andrew, for all your great pictures.

CP + AP

And the Answer Is....

2008-08-30T12:43:00.003-05:00

Voters you did GRRRRRRRRREAT!!!!!! Thank you for everyone who commented on our post. In case you didn't notice, the REAL answer is C. I did have some interesting comments for sure, so I have a few awards to give out.

The Longest Comment Award-This goes to none other then the one and only Mrs. Melissa Smith who wrote practically a book on one comment

The Most Complimentary Award - This goes to Mrs. Beth Birkholz for saying she loved my hair!

The Best Usage of Biblical Numbers - This of course goes to Mr. Doug Baker. He made quite the observation of numericalness in his comment

The Best Observation of Womanly Behavior - This goes to Jason Herr for making his vote based on how much he knows how women truly behave

Once again, thank you for everyone who participated in our little survey. Keep in touch, keep us posted, and keep commenting!!!!!!

Voters You Chose..

2008-08-27T23:57:00.003-05:00

This is officially my 100th post! So I thought I would do something special. I posted this rather interesting picture, and seeing as it is an election year, it is up to you to choose what you think prompted this photo to be taken. So please vote in our comments section and we will see what everyone thinks. Please keep in mind Cristina and I have been married for 10 weeks....

Your test is multiple choice. The question is once again...what prompted this strange photo to be taken?

A. The newly married couple right after a fight

B. Two people completely stressed out because of life and work

C. The newly married couple being completely random and in a fun off the wall mood

D. All of the above

The answer will be revealed on our next post.

AP + CP

Delayed Ruth's Wedding

2008-08-22T19:30:00.005-05:00

I hope you have enjoyed reading about my birthday, compliments of my husband. He certainly did a good job surprising me while making me feel special. Yup, I got a good one.

My friend Ruth Jones became Ruth Ware on August 2nd. Unfortunately, I had not downloaded the pictures off my camera until today. Therefore, you are getting the delayed story of Ruth's wedding. My best friend Beth Birkholz and I enjoyed running around with the bride for a few days, including a 6:30 am run to Chick-fil-a for chicken biscuits the morning of the wedding! Yeah, we have fun like that. The bride was a bit preoccupied with getting married and all and therefore could not make into all the pictures. We can understand.

The former brides amusing themselves at the nail salon

(Notice my long hair. It's all gone now.

The bride and her bridesmaids

Bestest friends on their bestest behavior

The bride and her friend all loaded up in the car

Since Beth's wedding, this picture has become a tradition. The three bestest friends brushing their teeth in full wedding attire just before we walk down the aisle.

The Happily Married Mr. and Mrs. Chris Birkholz

Just chilling after the ceremony

This was my fourth wedding since April including my own, my sister's, and my two best friends. I think I'm done with weddings for awhile.

Cristina Lee's 22nd Birthday

2008-08-21T12:38:00.005-05:00

The story goes like this...

My wife had recently got her hair cut shorter (because of the Phoenix heat) and was very frustrated that she could not do anything with her hair. Well being the perceptive husband that I am, I immediately picked up on this signal and went into the "fix it" mode. Her birthday was coming up and I knew there were some great Salon and Spa's in the area, one of which being Dolce'. It was a perfect opportunity for a great birthday present and also a wonderful surprise. All I told Cristina about her birthday present was this... 1. It would help her in the future. 2. She would not get so frustrated anymore. 3. There were three parts to it. (The first part being the salon and spa, the 2nd a shopping trip, and the third being a great dinner at the Melting Pot, all of which i never would tell her what they were.) 4. We had to be there by 10:30. She was very surprised when we walked into the salon and spa for the first time and still had no clue what we were doing.

At the salon the first thing she had an appointment for was for her hair. A makeover would have been great, but this appointment was called "bring your own blow dryer" which meant not only did they do her hair but they would also teach her how to do it for herself. I thought this would be very beneficial for her when I saw it because most of her frustration comes over simply not knowing how.

The second part to her salon package was a makeup lesson. Here again they only did her makeup but taught her how to do it. All in all it was a great experience and a lot of fun for her (and for me because I got to photographically document the whole thing.) If you would like to see a slideshow of the whole day click on the link below.

Slideshow Link

Cristina with her stylist, Rylie

Cristina trying out the new techniques for herself

Some detail shots

The flames at the Melting Pot

The Bride's Visit to the Doctor

2008-07-31T15:32:00.006-05:00

It has been a while since I have posted anything. Recently I have just been letting my wife do it all which has been great, but still I like to get on every once in a while and talk about my experiences too. The most recent "big event" in our life has been the wedding of Cristina's sister Melissa. (As you can tell from our last post) It was a wonderful wedding but it was full of surprises. One of those surprises was the Bride's visit to the doctor, which I had the pleasure of getting to capture. She was diagnosed with strep and an upper respiratory infection on Wednesday. Unfortunately, the medication did not work, and she woke of the day of the wedding with a swollen lip and eyes. Something had to be done. These are of a few of my favorite images from the doctor office visit.

The Concerned Father of the Bride

The Bride making sure her glands were not swollen

Chilling out waiting for the doctor

The Temperature Test

Can't forget that ole' blood pressure

This was Mel's Doctor. Needless to say she was a wonderful person, we only had to wait maybe a whole total of 10-15 minutes at the most, which if anybody has ever been to the doctor, you know that's record timing. The doctor said that in her 25+ years of practice she had never seen a bride...on her wedding day...in her dress. Congratulations Mel, you hold the record!

Last but not least, the Bride of course had to show off her dress for all the nurses, which they all absolutely loved!

AP+CP

Christmas in July

2008-07-30T14:53:00.007-05:00

My sister's wedding was this past weekend. Quite an adventurous time pulling this wedding off. First of all, the wedding coordinator/florist/singer/program designer/music arranger/everything-guy injured his ankle a few weeks ago so he was hobbling around all week. From there it just got interesting with hair, bridesmaids, and sickness. With a lot of help from family and friends (and a few visits to the doctor), Melissa walked the aisle and became Mrs. Chris Smith. Thank you to everyone who helped to make her dream wedding possible. It may take a while for us to recover, but it was well worth it. Congratulations, newlyweds!

Andrew flew all night Thursday to get to the wedding and helped Ryan with shooting. The bridal party went down to Eden Park before to do a photo shoot. Hope you enjoy his pictures.

My personal favorite of the bride and groom

We'll always have some cheerleader in us.

The bride's infamous "cheerleader smile"

The Matron of Honor and The Former Bride; Present Matron

She looks a little pensive

Their programs which my husband said were the niceset ones he has seen

Your dream of Christmas in July was amazing, Blondie. We're both very happy for you, and I'm so glad to have family within driving distance!

CP + AP

The Process of Everyday Life

2008-07-20T00:56:00.006-05:00

My mother asked me for some more pictures on the blog of us...you know, her offspring, instead of just object or scenery pics. Well, as a result of that, we haven't posted for a few days - ok about two weeks. See, in the process of living everyday life, we don't take a ton of pictures. We have included some here to prove that we both are still alive and living in Arizona together.

Vision threw us a wedding reception one night after church; there's nothing like a church family.

Last week, my sister and brother-in-law posted their rain reports for Greeneville. I can add to it - it rained in Phoenix! Who would have ever thought?

Of course, it had to be right before church Sunday night when I couldn't play in it and relish the feeling of precipitation falling from the sky. Notice the flatness of the hair now. This is not only due to the fact that I had to run to my car which was parked far away but also to the fact that as I was pulling out of our complex, I noticed my trunk bouncing in the wind. Apparently when I hit the unlock button, I also hit the trunk. Yeah, I was pretty excited about that.

This is an easterner's version of an umbrella since she was told it never rained here. Attractive, I know.

Off of the rain...onto the suds. My hubby and I were washing our new knives which created a mound of soap suds. Of course, we then picked up the suds and began a battle. As you can tell by my heap, I won.

Please take note of the water level in the sink. Andrew was running the water but walked away. Luckily, he caught it just in time. I mean really, just in time.

And finally, my frustrating experience with lawn chairs. I found these for a good price and thought I'd get them for our porch. Great idea. Except when it comes to spacial relationships. Let's just say there was room inside the car for them but no way to get them through a door. After twenty minutes in the parking lot in hot weather with my cool whip and butter melting, I threw them in the trunk, tied it down, and drove home.

This smile is to show it all ended up ok, even through the frustration.

Oh, and you know how you can tell who your real friends are? If they would totally jump on a bee for you - totally.

(In case you're confused, it's on a card my beloved-bride-to-be sister sent me. If it made you laugh, you understand. If not, well, maybe someday you'll have that kind of friend.)

Random Details

2008-07-07T18:03:00.007-05:00

Life is Arizona is going well. Granted, the 115 degree weather can be bothersome at times, but as long as you're inside or by the pool, it's survivable. I'm adjusting but looking forward to the fall and winter - you know, where the low is sixty and the high is eighty-five. Yup, that's an interesting definition of winter. (Please notice my use of the word "interesting." It's a favorite of mine. :-)

This picture is specifically for my dad. Notice the IIII instead of IV for 4 o'clock. Papa, you should be interested to know that Brice Perham asked me why there were IIII since that's not what it's supposed to be.

A lone figure on our bookshelf

These are the tracts for Vision. Needless to say, I'm not looking for a home; I found mine.

We are eating very well on our lovely white dishes.

While at Sandals, we got this door hanger. I like it.

Vision Vacation Bible School

2008-07-04T00:53:00.002-05:00

This past Sunday was our church's Vacation Bible School Sunday. The events of the day included the morning service, a dinner on the grounds meal, skits, prizes for the week, and a message by our New Testament Church Pioneer men. It was a lot of fun and it was an all in all enjoyable Lord's Day.

Cristina's Prized Cake

The Cameron Dallmann

My first picture of Andrew James Roy

Some Details...

This was my favorite shot of the day even though originally it was an accident.

AP+CP

Home Sweet Home

2008-07-01T11:56:00.006-05:00

After two weeks of unpacking and my almost brother-in-law coming to help us unload and then take my sister's stuff, we are finally settled in. God has been so good to us with this apartment and our furniture. Vision Baptist made us feel at home with all the food and donations, and now it actually looks like a home.

Our living room as viewed from the front door

Our living room as viewed from the dining room (Please take note of the IKEA bookshelf. We're pretty excited about it.)

Our dining room with a lovely table thanks to the Kesslers

Our laundry room right off the dining room (Notice the 48 rolls of toilet paper in the top compliments of Vision)

This shot shows you the layout of the apartment. The living room is to your back left, dining room to your right, kitchen to your left, bathroom behind the clock, and bedroom to the far left.

Our kitchen where I am learning to keep my hubby's tummy happy

Our bedroom as viewed from the door

Our bathroom

It may be small, but it's home. And as I recall..."There's no place like home."

Moving In

2008-07-01T00:43:00.003-05:00

For the past week, we have been moving into our apartment. My dad arranged for all of mine and my sister's stuff to be shipped out at the same time on a semi. We rented 5 feet of space, and my family loaded it up the week we were in Jamaica. We arrived in Phoenix Wednesday and began unloading Friday. Now, I know I don't make a good man (mainly because I'm a woman) but add loading heavy boxes with 113 degree weather, and I'm struggling. Pastor Perham and his son came to help me get the first load of stuff back to our apartment.

Now it doesn't look like that much, right?

Wrong!

This is some of mine and my sister's stuff just chilling out in our dining room.

We're definitely making those newlywed memories. We didn't have a dining room table yet, so may I introduce you to our substitute - aka the bottom of a box with a dish towel over it. I told Andrew not to have his elbows on the table, but since the floor was about all we had, I guess we can make exceptions.

CP +AP

The Fellowship of the Body of Christ

2008-06-25T00:03:00.002-05:00

There is a large percentage of people in this country who belong to a church. Whether they are an occasional attender, a faithful member who are there each time the church doors are open, or if they just go on Easter and all the other major holidays, most people go to a church. To be a part of a church family is entirely different. The church is not a building, it is a group of people joined together to fulfill the purpose of Christ, to seek and save the lost. As most of you know, Cristina and I have now moved to Phoenix, AZ to be a part of Vision Baptist Church. We are most grateful to the church for everything they do for us and the opportunity it gives us to serve them. To "surprise" us on our arrival to Phoenix after the honeymoon, the church took up a food drive offering and got everybody to give food or money to be donated to us. When we got back to Phoenix this is what our kitchen looked like( See picture below.) I will never forget the moment where Cristina was sitting on the floor with a chocolate cake batter in one hand and a vanilla cake batter in the other balling her eyes out. I then presumed to tell her, "I didn't know you got so emotional about your cake batter?" It was a great experience of the love of Christ through a local church body. Thank you so much, Vision Baptist Church, for what you have done for us. We're excited about all that God has planned in the future.

AP + CP

CP = the new Mrs. Andrew Polanycia

Sweet Panoramic Road Trip Pics

2008-06-20T23:47:00.003-05:00

I am beginning to LOVE taking panoramic pictures of different scenery. I do not have the money right now to by a fisheye lens nor a true panoramic lens, so for right now the shots I do are made up of a series of shots. Each panoramic picture is really anywhere from 10-16 pictures merged together to create one panoramic scene. It's pretty amazing what technology can do. Let me know what you guys think!

Sandals Pool

White Rock @ Garden of the Gods

High Peak @ Garden of the Gods

The Kissing Camels @ Garden of the Gods

Our First Road Trip

2008-06-17T23:24:00.015-05:00

After our wonderful honeymoon was over, Cristina and I flew back into the Dayton, Ohio Airport, spent the night in Milford with Cristina's parents, and then started our road trip. The idea was to head out to Phoenix in the most interesting but yet enjoyable way. We ended up ruling out the southernly route of I-40 (which besides The Big Texan in Amarillo it is pretty boring) and instead chose the more northerly I-70 route. Our first stop was as you can see now...

The St. Louis Arch. By the way this is a horrible portrait of me.

Here she stands in all her glory

Our next stop was Colorado Springs, CO where Cristina got to finally see Whit's End. It was located at the Focus on the Family headquarters. In case any of you are not familiar with Whit's End, Focus on the Family puts out a radio broadcast for children (and according to my now wife, for all ages) called Adventures in Odyssey. It was quite thrilling watching her walk around and discover the whole campus.

Cristina with the Whit's End sign

Cristina and Eugene

This was part of a live radio broadcast session that they were taping while we were there

The two of us in front of the Focus on the Family sign. If you look close you can see the beautiful Pike's Peak in the background.

I included this picture strictly for my father-in-law

Besides Focus on the Family, there are many other interesting things in Colorado Springs, one of which is the Garden of the Gods. This place honestly reminded me much of Sedona, AZ.

Me hanging out doing some sweet rock climbing

Cristina, holding the rocks up

The rock formation behind us is called "The Kissing Camels" we decided to be "The Kissing Couple" and do our best to imitate them.

The two of us in front of "Balanced Rock"

Cristina enjoyed taking this picture of the "other" Las Vegas. Normally when you say the words Las Vegas people think of the lights, glamour, and gambling. However, this Las Vegas was a BOOMING town in Southern Colorado of about 3,000 people.

Nothing but open road

I like this self made portrait of the two of us!

Me doing my best to think i'm king of the world

Sandals Scenery

2008-06-16T20:56:00.004-05:00

I thought in this post I would highlight some of the sights that we got to enjoy while in Jamaica. Hope you enjoy.

Our view of the pool...

The view from the outside of our room balcony

Some Jamaican Floral Variety...

The Front Entrance

Sandals Honeymoon

2008-06-16T20:48:00.004-05:00

Well hello!. I am writing to you for the second time as a married man. For those of you who have been keeping up with my life, my beautiful fiancee (now wife) Cristina Lee and I got married June 6, 2008 @ 6:30 pm @ The First Baptist Church of Milford Ohio. The ceremony was great, pictures of that will be coming shortly. Everything went so very smoothly. From there we went to The Sandals Whitehouse resort in Westmoreland, Jamaica. We both had a great time as you will be able to tell by the pictures below. Cristina and I are very excited about starting our lives together. Please keep in touch. Feel free to leave comments, we LOVE hearing from people.

Outside our room
Our awesome server Chris, a true Jamaican man, NO PROBLEM MON!
A view of part of the beach.
The distinctive club house...

AP+CP

Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Polanycia

2008-06-10T20:32:00.002-05:00

Greetings from our luxurious resort in Jamaica!

AP + CP

Vision Baptist Church Memorial Day Service

2008-05-25T22:35:00.006-05:00

This Sunday was Memorial Day Sunday (Even though it's really tomorrow). We have a Sunday School, a service in the morning, a time of food and fellowship, then our afternoon service. I got a chance to preach in the afternoon service I had a lot of fun doing it. Here are some pictures from the day you can see more on my .Mac Web Gallery.

The highlight of the day for the kids was a man from the community brought military tank to the church. All of the kids got to have their picture taken inside the tank. They enjoyed it thoroughly!

South Mountain Family Photoshoot 2

2008-05-19T00:36:00.004-05:00

Well, as I previously posted, on Saturday I got the wonderful opportunity to do a photoshoot with an 18 person family, for their family reunion. It was great and I loved every minute of it. As you can tell the kids were quite animated. I always enjoy capturing the expressions of the children. The family was great and very patience despite the intense heat. All in all it was a very fun day. Enjoy the rest of the pictures.

What I did not inform you about what that there was a proposal that took place that day. One of the grandsons popped the question to his girlfriend. She was completely clueless. Here are some of the expressions.
The beautiful ring...

South Mountain Family Photoshoot

2008-05-18T02:17:00.004-05:00

This weekend I had the wonderful opportunity of doing a family photoshoot of over 18 people! I have not quite finished post-processing all the photos yet, but I will at least give you a sampling of them for now. Some of them turned out absolutely amazing. This post is just to wet your appetite. Stay tuned for more pics!!!

Graduation...again...for the last time

2008-05-07T22:46:00.004-05:00

This past weekend I had the opportunity to walk in a graduation ceremony for the third time in my life. The first time was when I was a little tike for kindergarten. Oh the memories of that, I got to be a king and I had a scepter that my mom made from styrofoam and a wooden dowel. The second time was last year from Crown College of the Bible with my undergraduate degrees in Youth and Pastoral Ministries. The last time was this past weekend and I walked with my Masters of Ministry. It was a lot of fun, but honestly the graduation was not the highlight. The highlight was seeing people/family that I have not seen in a while. The fun hugs from people you have not seen in months, the conversations trying to catch up, the many laughs of outrageous moments, all of it was thrilling and exciting. I thank my parents for giving me the opportunity to make it all the way through college. I thank my sister for giving me the encouragement to keep on going and finish. I thank my beautiful fiancee Cristina Lee for putting up with me all the way and loving me regardless of my attitude, mood, or demeanor.

Vision Baptist Church

2008-04-20T23:47:00.005-05:00

God has taught me a lot of things in these past couple months moving to Phoenix, AZ and working at Vision Baptist Church. Even though we are taught it and preached it a lot, when we think of a church something like this picture probably pops into our head....

This is the White Tanks Baptist Church, where our mid-week service is held on Tuesday nights. But the thing is the "church" is so much more than that. A church cannot be confined to a building but rather it is the living, breathing, functioning body of believers that meets inside that building, or cafeteria, or park, or trailer, or field that is the TRUE church. We cannot confine God's work to a building and that is a wonderful thing. When the buildings we build on this earth are old and burnt down the body of Christ will still be very muchly so alive in Heaven.

Some Panoramic Pics

2008-04-14T22:04:00.002-05:00

I have been taking some panoramic pictures lately and some of them have turned out pretty well. I thought I would share them with you guys so let me know what you think.

This is a picture of the inside of Millennium High School, where our church currently meets for Sunday morning and evening services.

The Stephen Roy

2008-04-04T20:23:00.003-05:00

The Roy's are a family in my church that have been a great blessing to me. Dave heads up the music ministry and leads the congregational music during services. His wife Rachel plays piano amazingly and has just delivered her 4th Son!!! The order of the Roy boys goes (from oldest to youngest) Luke, Stephen, Ethan, and now...Andrew James (Good name huh?!?! Ya I thought so too.) Anyway...the week before Mrs. Roy was supposed to go into labor I took these pictures of her then middle son Stephen and put them together in a collage type format. I have showed them to many people at my work place and everybody loves them but have not yet shared them with you guys. Hope you all enjoy. Let me know what you think.

Sedona Trip

2008-03-31T23:10:00.003-05:00

This past week, Cristina and I got the chance to go up to Sedona, AZ and see some of the sights there. It is supposed to be one of the top ten places in the world to go for sight-seeing. We had a lot of fun. It was an absolutely GORGEOUS day outside and it was equally as great to spend some more time with my fiancee before we get married. Hope you enjoy the pics!

Bell Rock

Cristina trying her best to impersonate a cactus. She coined the phrase "forest of cacti" this trip. I think its supposed to be more like a desert but hey, let her have her fun.
She found some little cactus as well...

Do I look intimidating?
This picture definitely needs an explanation. There were jeep tours that would take you all throughout the park. One of those jeep tours were the pink jeep tours. I think this was their mascot or something. It's kind of a cross between a pig, boar, porcupine, and a bottle of pepto-bismol.

This was a really neat place we saw. It is a chapel built directly into the rock. It was originally supposed to be in New York in the Empire State Building but then got moved later.

My Fiancee Cristina Lee

2008-03-26T18:44:00.004-05:00

This past week, my beautiful fiancee Cristina Lee has come to visit me. So far it has been a wonderful time together and I thoroughly enjoy her being here with me. It is a lot of fun for me to image me getting married to her in just a few weeks and then being able to come back out here and live together. This post consists of some pictures I took of her so she could send her mom a picture of her new Easter outfit. I hope you enjoy...I know I did.

Amazing Text Effect

2008-03-20T23:36:00.006-05:00

For all of you who like to do some cool effects with pictures, I found a really neat website that turns your picture into text that you copy and paste into it. It's as easy as 2-clicks. Here is the link, check it out. Make ASCII

The End of My Travels

2008-03-20T23:14:00.004-05:00

Well I am finally back in Arizona. It was fun traveling for my job, I loved every minute of it. The opportunity to meet new people, learn new things, and encounter challenging and motivating experiences is a chance of a lifetime for me. Thank you everyone for praying for my safety while I was gone. For those I met on the trip...I thank for your friendship, kindness, and diversity.

At Corporate...

Our amazing accommodations...
Me and others hard at work...
Joe, the amazing Canadian sound man...
Group problem solving 101...

When God is in Control Who Knows Where You Will Be (And thats a great thing)

2008-03-10T20:17:00.002-05:00

So to make a long story short, my plane touched down in San Jose @4pm on Sunday afternoon, get my bags, take a $20 taxi ride to my hotel, get settled in, then start to relax. My brain starts to wonder about how close I am way out here in California to other places. I have heard about North Valley Baptist Church and Golden State Baptist College when I was at my years in Crown College. I look it up on Google Maps from my hotel....6.2 Miles from my room. I'm like NO WAY!!!!!!!! I call a taxi, ride there, get there in time for their evening service and had an absolutely amazing time. It was just kinda funny to me because I never thought I would get to visit there much less on a business trip that was completely unrelated to School or Church stuff. The Lord truly does work in mysterious ways but He does truly know best. Stay tuned for more stories from Cupertino, CA!

Inside the Main Auditorium
The Brad Boruff
Mike Zachary Rippin' Up the Piano
This guy sang a song called "five rows back" I had never heard it before but it was an absolutely amazing message and he could definitely sing his heart out.

Where is Andrew Polanycia?

2008-03-09T14:43:00.008-05:00

Well I am on the move again (Go figure) This time I am going to the much anticipated Cupertino, CA for job training. This should be a fun "business" trip. It will be a nice change of pace from the regular grind. I look forward to seeing some new sights, meeting new people, and experiencing new things. Please pray for me as I travel to and from Cupertino. I trust all is going well. Take care, To God Be All the Glory!

The Roy's Boys

2008-02-28T20:07:00.006-05:00

Well hello there! Sorry it's been a while since I have posted anything on the blog. Things have been going great out here in the Southwest. I have been extremely busy working full-time, working at the church, planning a wedding, and finishing seminary! Anyway...I have met many people out here that have been such a blessing to me. One of the families I have spent quite a bit of time with is the Roy's. They have three boys with another on the way. Here we meet...

Luke (The Oldest)
Steven (The Middle)

Don't try to adjust your computer monitor, I took this picture like this for a reason. Finally, we have Ethan. Needless to say Ethan has MORE than enough energy for two kids. He is always bouncing around, running around, or just plain...around everywhere. Just a little tip for those who plan on getting to know Ethan, never...EVER throw him in the air...not a good idea.

A more candid of Ethan
I hope you enjoy the pictures. Stay tuned for more!

Estrella Basketball Game

2008-02-20T23:01:00.004-05:00

This past Saturday I had the great opportunity of photographing Bryce Perham's basketball game. It was a lot of fun watching the kids play basketball. The facility was actually divided in two courts. It was a full size basketball court with a divider between it equalling two. The varied level of skill was amazing, so could shoot a three-pointer, some were just happy if they could pass the ball, so were just there for the post-game team snacks. I had a lot of fun, I hope you enjoy the pictures.

Phoenix Roadrunners Hockey Game

2008-02-02T01:20:00.000-05:00

This Friday night I had the privilege of attending a minor league hockey game with Pastor Perham's family and Mr. Noreus. It was a ton of fun, a lot of action which included two fights, and an all around great experience. I got quite a few good pictures, these are only a few of them. If you would like to see all of them click on this link for my .Mac Web Gallery. Enjoy!

Sage...

The one and only Brice...
Mr. Noreus enjoying his Chocolate Devotion. He actually said it made him feel more spiritual when he was done. I'll have to give it a try.

AP

Due to Popular Demand...Kinda

2008-01-28T23:31:00.000-05:00

I have recently had some people express interest in my current location and information as to how the particular city got its name. Without any further introduction, here is the information I could find according to ci.goodyear.az.us here ya go...
The Goodyear of today exists because of the cotton of yesteryear. It was part of the 16,000 acres purchased in 1917 for the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company by junior executive Paul Litchfield. Cotton used to make rubber tires for airplanes in World War I was in short supply because foreign sources were in war torn countries or disease ridden. When Goodyear found that Arizona’s climate and soil was similar to foreign sources, the company sent Litchfield to purchase land. The small community that formed as aresult of the Goodyear Farms cotton industry first became known as “Egypt” for the Egyptian cotton grown there and then, finally, was called “Goodyear.”

A Tribute to My Wonderful Fiancee'

2008-01-28T22:48:00.001-05:00

In around 130 days I will be officially married to the beautiful Cristina Lee Baker. I have not seen her in about a month and will not see her again until spring break which is in March. She is in Cincinnati, I am in Phoenix. That's approximately 1880 miles or the equivalent to about 1.5 days worth of driving without stopping. This has been a difficult time because I am anxiously anticipating getting married, but at the exact same time I'm not quite there yet. The situation is definitely trying on my patience but I have to know that God wants me to focus on the things at hand and He has me out here and her there right now for a specific reason. Anyway, I appreciate her greatly and she is a great blessing to my life even beyond the things that I see and her directly from her. It is a joy to know she is praying for me. The pictures below are from a photo shoot I did with Cristina right before she left after New Years break. It was my first portrait photo shoot with somebody and I figured why not the first be with my beautiful fiancee'? Hope you enjoy. Love you Sweets!

This is my absolute favorite of her.

My Life In Arizona

2008-01-21T00:04:00.001-05:00

Well here I am coming to you from the city of Avondale, AZ. Avondale is part of the greater Phoenix area and is a suburb of 77,000 people, bigger than most towns. Vision Baptist Church is in the city of Goodyear which is right next to Avondale geographically. I love being here in Phoenix. It's a huge city, lots of people, places, and things to do. I will try in the upcoming months to take pictures of various scenic parts of the city to keep everybody updated with where I'm at. A few facts and figures for everybody...

1. The State of Arizona is less than 100 years old, it will turn 100 in 2012.

2. The greater Phoenix area (Or the "valley" as most locals call it) is actually big enough to fit the entire state of Connecticut inside of it.

3. The State of Arizona has a woman governor.

4. Phoenix is the 5th largest city in the United States with just under 6 million people.

5. From July of 2000 to July 1 2005 the population of Arizona grew by 423 people per day.

6. Just a few of the state's natural wonders are the Grand Canyon, Petrified Forest, Painted Desert, The Colorado River, and Sedona's Oak Creek Canyon.

7. A person from Arizona is called an Arizonan.

8. It is actually illegal to hunt camels in the state of Arizona.

9. Phoenix averages 211 days of sunshine per year.

10. Arizona is among the last of the states not to observe daylight savings time.

This picture was taken at Pastor Perham's house on Saturday night. All the kids were completely amazed that a coke can could stand on its edge like this.
And this....this young girl is Sage. She is the Perham's youngest daughter. She was kinda shy when the camera came out but after a while she got used to it.

Finally In Phoenix

2008-01-07T20:27:00.001-05:00

I have finally made it to Phoenix, AZ. My dad and I arrived around 3pm on Saturday after driving through Flagstaff while it was snowing!!! That's actually the first time I have drove in the snow so it was quite an interesting experience. I am currently still kinda in the job hunting process as I will be working a full-time job, and working at the church at the same time. These next few days and months will be interesting. A couple named the Noreus's have so graciously opened up their home to me. I have my own bedroom with a queen sized bed, a study room, and...my own bathroom! It's been pretty great, I will keep everybody up-to-date with my plans. Anyway....the above photo is a series of pictures I merged together with Photoshop's Photomerge Technology. It is of a mountain range between Albuquerque and Flagstaff. I'll keep ya posted.

Day 1...or is it 2? Of my trip to Arizona

2008-01-04T21:31:00.000-05:00

Thursday, January 3rd at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time my dad and I began my journey out to Phoenix, AZ. We drove until about 4am in the morning, stopped for about 2 hours at a rest stop to sleep, and continued on until we got to Albuquerque, NM today at 6 pm Mountain Time. If you do the math on that, it's about 18 hours and roughly 1,100 miles. It's been a lot and my dad and I are ready to die tonight in the hotel before we hit the road again tonight. The map below shows you where we started and where we are now. Please continue to pray for us as we travel tomorrow. This is such an exciting time in my life but also a bit scary, so I need the prayer.

The next series of pictures I took especially for Doug Baker to prove to him the fact I tried to explain so long ago that "windmills" do actually exist. These are for you Mr.Baker :-)

For lunch today we stopped in Amarillo,TX at the Big Texan Steak Ranch. If you have ever travelled I-40 out west you know that once you get to Amarillo, besides the airport, this is about the only thing there. The one thing they are famous for is their "free" 72 ounce steak. The key is you have to eat the steak (which is more like a roast in size just by itself) a baked potato, roll, and salad within an hour to get that "free" steak. While my dad and I ate, there were three "idiots" (As he called them) attempting to do their part to devour the meal. Two came close, but none of them won the "free" steak.

DO YOU SEE THE SIZE OF THAT THING?!?!?!?!?!?!?

This picture is of my father goofing off. I thought you would like this one mom!

New Years with Friends

2008-01-01T00:30:00.003-05:00

Well out with the old year and in with the new. As a tradition of several years, my friend Jeff and I have gotten together to ring in the New Year. We always enjoy this time because it's about the only time throughout the year we can get together to hang out. This year Jeff, his friend Heather, Cristina, and I got together and played a very intense card game, Dutch Blitz. We played phase ten but grew tired of it then started with Dutch Blitz. I'm not very good at it at all so i'll have to keep working at it. Happy New Year to all!!!!

The group of friends...

The host with the most...
My best friend from home Jeff...

My beautiful fiancee Cristina Lee Baker...
Jeff's friend, Heather...
The Jeffery Allen Fuller...
AP

Good Ole' Sonny's

2007-12-27T22:54:00.000-05:00

One thing I love coming home to is the great places I used to eat at growing up. One of those is the one and the only Sonny's BBQ. I have had a lot of BBQ in my life but Sonny's....It says it all. If you are ever in the Southeast at some point I would highly recommend stopping by one of their many locations. My personal favorite you might ask? Big Deal, pulled pork, on a sandwich bun, with fries, and a Dr. Pepper. Oh...what more could you ask for in life?

Christmas Eve Time with the Family

2007-12-24T22:31:00.001-05:00

Well here it goes. My story of Christmas with my family. It is so nice to get away from work, school, and the burden of just life to spend time with family and relax. My family has a lot of traditions some of which I will let you in on by this post. Anything from eating traditional Ukrainian food for our Christmas eve meal to look at Christmas lights after dinner. Christmas eve day started for me going last-minute Christmas shopping (What can I say working a full time job and a part time job and doing my masters, things get a little busy!) It's always fun riding around in a car with my sis dancing to the Christmas music.

A Christmas centerpiece designed specifically by my sister

The traditional dish of hul-up-chee. It's basically rice and hamburger wrapped up in cabbage. It's actually really good!

This dish is called pet-eh-he. It is dough with potatoes and onions in the inside of it. Very delectable as well!

A not so Ukrainian dish of ham carefully and proudly glazed by myself and Jason my brother-in-law.

Oh, and of course what meal would be complete without a Dr. Pepper. (I have been trying to lay off the carbonation lately but I have yet to kick the bucket.)

My Beautiful Sister
And her Husband, Jason

And my amazing photography of Christmas lights around town.

My mother and sister goofing off.
And last but not least...My sister Chele dancin' to Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas Is You" her favorite Christmas song of many seasons.

Change

2007-12-23T15:14:00.001-05:00

My life is about to change....everything is about to change. I am currently sitting in a airport in Knoxville, Tn where I have called home for the past five years of my life. I am on my way to my previous home in Lakeland, FL. On January 4th I am going to drive to Phoenix, AZ, where I will be serving there in a church and working a full time job. Six months after that I am going to marry Cristina Lee Baker, go on our honeymoon, and then move with her out to Phoenix. That’s a lot, of a lot of change. I related it to Cristina from the Bible story of the children of Israel crossing the Jordan River. It’s like I’m standing on the edge of something great about to happen in my life, but I’m not quite there yet. The children of Israel knew that they were supposed to cross the Jordan River, but I can imagine what they were thinking as they were approaching it...”What have we got ourselves into?” . I almost speak out to God with a question like, “What is your will?” but I catch myself before I get those words out and tell myself that I know what His will is for my future, I already have described them in the first paragraph. My struggle is in the waiting, in the time of expectancy, in the time of almost but not there yet. I think it is truly in these times where we actually grow and prepare for those times in which are the “big moments” of life. Most of my life can be reduced to waiting on what God really has for me. I feel like after the marriage and move that it will be then that I will actually start doing what God been preparing me for not in the past 5 years of college but in reality my whole entire life. Stay tuned for more of my ramblings

The New Member of My Family

2007-12-18T23:08:00.001-05:00

The time has finally come, the wait is over, no more lingering, it is now in this time of my life, for such a time as this, I have obtained my first Apple computer. It is an amazing thing and I don't know why (other than for lack of money) I did not get one sooner. Anyway... for the longest time I was looking at a Macbook Pro so that's what I was going to get. However, Cristina Lee Baker, my beautiful fiancée' has never had much luck with computers at all because they have never worked for her, so I have always wanted to get her a Mac but never knew how. Well one day it finally hit me when I was looking at prices. For the same price that I could get the Macbook Pro, I could get her a Macbook and me an iMac. So that's what I decided to do. So here are a few shots of my beautiful new addition.

IT'S ALIVE!!!!!!

Here are some pictures of my Macbook taking a picture back at me with Photo Booth.

Our Poppy

2007-12-02T00:51:00.001-05:00

The Bible says that when the saints of the Lord die, it is a precious thing, not fearful, not a dreadful time, but a precious time. When a child of God dies there is mourning on earth because they have departed from us in this lifetime, but there should also be a time of rejoicing because we know that we will see them again someday in Heaven. If we have been born again and accepted Christ as our personal Lord and Savior, we too can join them in the host of Heaven when we die. I had the privilege of knowing Lewis K Baker for a small part of my life. He is my beautiful fiancee' Cristina Lee Baker's grandfather. He went to be home with the Lord recently. I would just like to take this time to post a memorial of him for his family.

Jay & Chele

2007-11-28T00:40:00.000-05:00

Wow! Sorry it's been so long since the last post, life has just been really busy lately. I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving with their families. For me, this Thanksgiving was a blast! My parents came up from Florida and my sister and brother-in-law came down from PA. I had a lot of fun over the holiday with them. It truly was good quality family time. While Jason and Michele were down here I got the opportunity to have a photoshoot with them. They have never been in a "professional" photoshoot together so I took the opportunity to give them one. It was a lot of fun and both of them were full of expression. Hope you enjoy Jay and Chele!

You Tube Balloon Landing Video

2007-11-07T00:08:00.000-05:00

Our pilot for the engagement balloon ride just sent me an email with a link in it to youtube.com. Some kids took a video of our crash landing in there neighborhood. I thought it was pretty neat. Enjoy!

The Story

2007-11-05T10:25:00.000-05:00

So here is the story, I will tell it to you in stages.
The Surprise
It all started on Friday morning about 9:30 am. I arrived to meet my beautiful fiancee Cristina Lee Baker and her sister Rebekah to drive up to Cincinnati for fall break. We stopped at a lot of places that were our "first" places in our relationship (first date, first meeting place, first time I said "I love you" etc... all of which got Cristina more and more aggravated because she just wanted to go home. (Girls just never seem to want to cooperate with surprises.) We finally got to Cincinnati, and that's when I kicked into high gear to get everything going. She was quite confused and once again more aggravated.
The Arrival
She really had no clue about what was going on until she saw the Gentle Breeze Balloon Launch Area sign. It has always been a childhood dream of Cristina's to ride in a hot air balloon. We arrived in time to be greeted by Jim, our pilot, of Cloud Rides Hot Air Balloon Company. We got to set up the balloon by dragging it out, cold inflating, and then filling the balloon with propane hot air. By this time Cristina had in her mind that this was not just another "date".
The Flight
We could not have picked a better day to fly, it was absolutely beautiful weather. We took off with four other balloons, and I got lots of great pictures of all of them. There is no wind chill in a hot air balloon because you are flying with the wind so it was once again a great time. I made casual conversation with our pilot because I was getting more nervous by the minute. I asked him,"So how long have you been doing this?" He answered with a hearty, "Oh, about two weeks!" Of course he was joking, but Jim definitely added to the whole experience!
The Proposal
So there I am about 1500 feet off of mother earth flying high in the atmosphere right above the Lebanon County Correctional Institution when I feel a stomp on my shoe; it was from our pilot Jim giving me the nod that now would be a good time. A thousand thoughts flooded my mind as I dropped to one knee in a very cramped hot air balloon basket. I struggled to get the words out, but they finally came. "Well here is the really reason why I really brought you here, Sweets. I love you with all of my heart, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Would you marry me?" I looked into her eyes as they are tearing up when she says,"Yes!" Immediately our pilot gets on the radio and says, "That's a yes on the big rock" All the surrounding balloon pilots and passengers chime in with many "CONGRATULATIONS!" It was a lot of fun, and all Cristina kept screaming was "It's HUGE!!!" Needless to say I think she liked the ring.
The Landing
We flew around a little longer exchanging hugs and excited glances at each other while she kept yelling to people on the ground, "I JUST GOT ENGAGED!!!" Jim decided to put the balloon down in a small neighborhood community. Many people started to come out of their houses, garages, and kids from their playgrounds to see the event. It was all in all an amazing experience, and we both loved every minute of it. The best part is I know I have fiancee
Future Plans
We had a great time on Saturday registering at Bed, Bath and Beyond. She is finishing up her last semester at Crown College. The date for the wedding is set for Friday, June 6, 2008. Thank you for staying posted. Enjoy the slideshow!!!
AP

Engagement Slideshow

2007-11-05T00:07:00.001-05:00

So here is the story, I will tell it to you in stages.
The Surprise
It all started on Friday morning about 9:30 am. I arrived to meet my beautiful fiancee Cristina Lee Baker and her sister Rebekah to drive up to Cincinnati for Fall Break. We stopped at a lot of places that were our "first" places in our relationship (First date, first meeting place, first time I said "I love you" ect...) All of which got Cristina more and more aggravated because she just wanted to go home. (Girls just never seem to want to cooperate with surprises) We finally got to Cincinnati and that's when I kicked into high gear to get everything going. She was quite confused and once again more aggravated.
The Arrival
She really had no clue about what was going on until she saw the Gentle Breeze Balloon Launch Area sign. It has always been a childhood dream of Cristina's to ride in a hot air balloon. We arrived in time to be greeted by Jim our pilot of Cloud Rides Hot Air Balloon Company. We got to set up the balloon by dragging it out, cold inflating, and then filling the balloon with propane hot air. By this time Cristina had in her mind that this was not just another "date".
The Flight
We could not have picked a better day to fly, it was absolutely beautiful weather. We took off with four other balloons and I got lots of great pictures of all of them. There is no wind chill in a hot air balloon because you are flying with the wind so it was once again a great time. I made casual conversation with our pilot because I was getting more nervous by the minute. I ask him,"So how long have you been doing this?" he answered with a hearty, "Oh, about two weeks!" Of course he was joking, but Jim definitely added to the whole experience!
The Proposal
So there I am about 1500 feet off the mother earth flying high in the atmosphere right above the Lebanon County Correctional Institution when I feel a stomp on my shoe, it was from our pilot Jim giving me the nod that now would be a good time. A thousand thoughts flood my mind as a drop to my knee in a very cramped hot air balloon basket. I struggled to get the words out but they finally came, "Well here is the really reason why I really brought you here Sweets. I love you with all of my heart and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Would you marry me?" I look into her eyes as they are tearing up as she says,"Yes" Immediately our pilot gets on the radio and says, "That's a big yes on the rock" All the surrounding balloon pilots and passengers chime in with many "CONGRATULATIONS!" It was a lot of fun and all Cristina kept screaming was "It's HUGE!!!" Needless to say I think she liked the ring.
The Landing
We flew around a little longer exchanging hugs and excited glances at each other while she kept yelling to people on the ground, "I JUST GOT ENGAGED!!!" Jim, decided to put the balloon down in a small neighborhood community. Many people started to come out of their houses, garages, and kids from their playgrounds to see the event. It was all in all an amazing experience and we both loved every minute of it.
Future Plans
We had a great time on Saturday registering at Bed, Bath, and Beyond. She is finishing up her last semester at Crown College. The date for the wedding is set for June 6th 2008. Thank you for staying posted. Enjoy the slideshow!!!
AP

I'm Engaged!!!!

2007-11-02T22:15:00.001-05:00

That's right folks me, Andrew Polanycia, am FINALLY engaged!!!! You might say it's my fault for the whole finally part, but it has taken place. On November 2, 2007 at 5:36pm, I proposed to my beautiful girlfriend (now fiance') Cristina Lee Baker! It was a ton of fun. I will post a slideshow of all the pictures as it took place, but for now all you need to know is this...it was a complete surprise and I proposed on a hot air balloon. It was great. Stay posted for the whole story and more pictures. I took 342 total!!!!

The favorite picture

The happy couple

The First Breath of Fall

2007-10-30T21:47:00.000-05:00

This past weekend Mr. and Mrs. Baker came down to Knoxville for a visit. It was brief but at the exact same time very beneficial and fun. We got to go downtown to Market Square for a little while. There are local vender's that come down every Saturday to sell food goods, pastries, and baked goods. Hope you enjoy the pics!

We went to Trio for lunch while we were downtown. This is one of my favorite restaurants. It is kind of like a Panera Bread but in the same since very different.
I took these pictures mainly for my dad. Mr. Baker and I pulled off at an Ace Hardware store to get some supplies and I look across the parking lot and here is this beautiful old Ford sitting there. I don't know if it is a model T or not but I liked it a lot.

AP

The Nightlife of Apartment 452

2007-10-28T21:37:00.001-05:00

Late at night, when the events of the day have concluded, work is over, the ball games have been won, apartment 452 comes alive. Some people party at the residences, some people sleep, some people study, but in apartment 452 the Mac's are broke out after dark. It has been a lot of fun being roommates with friends who have Apple Computers. I currently do not have the funds to purchase a Mac but am saving up. With the release of the new Leopard system, Apple Computers are more phenomenal than ever. If you are not a Mac fan I would highly recommend becoming one!

Weekend Get Away Part II

2007-10-19T10:21:00.001-05:00

Well I promised you the rest of my pictures from this past weekend's trip to Indianapolis so here there are. I cannot begin to tell you how nice it was just to get out of town for a little while for some veg time. Hope you enjoy the pics.

The Weekend Get-Away

2007-10-15T20:46:00.000-05:00

This past weekend my best friend from school Justin Green and I got the wonderful opportunity to just get away for a little while and go to Indianapolis. It was a lot of fun and very needed. In life I have noticed when things get really hectic and your under an extreme heavy burden whether it be emotions, workload, or circumstances, it is great when there is a break to take a timeout to recharge yourself; this weekend was just that for me. We stopped in Cincinnati, OH to visit the Baker's and eat an amazing New York Strip steak dinner. Needless to say Justin and I loved every minute of it. The occasion you may ask? It was Cristina's Grandpa's, or "Poppy" as she calls him, 81st birthday. He has been struggling a lot with health issues lately and has been in and out of the hospital. I got a chance to play photographer and document the whole thing. Hope you enjoy. I will have another sideshow later on this week of the events of the rest of our trip.

AP

Fun in Greeneville

2007-10-08T12:39:00.000-05:00

This past Saturday I had the opportunity to go over to Greeneville with my beautiful girlfriend Cristina Lee and Mrs. Charlene Kiser. It was a lot of fun and we did quite a few things including but not limited to, going to former president Andrew Johnson's grave site, going to the Apple Festival in Erwin, TN, shooting my potato gun, and my new favorite hobby/workout boulder chunking. It was a lot of fun. We went and visited Cristina's sister and brother-in-law David and Rebekah Scott. If you would like to see pictures of me and my herculean efforts of boulder chunking check out his blog. It was a lot of fun. Hope you enjoy the pics.

These two pictures of my beautiful Cristina Lee I thought were pretty cool. She looks pretty pensive.

Erwin is a little small po-dunk town on the backside of the Cherokee National Forest. However, it has been said that over 100,000 people come out to this town on this particular day for the Apple Festival. Pretty Amazing huh!?!?!
Cristina, this one is for you!

Another Work Week has Concluded

2007-09-29T00:09:00.001-05:00

Another week has successfully ended in my life. A lot is going on right now in my life. I am in the heat of the masters program, I am working a full time job, trying to dabble and improve my photography skills, and I have recently been working on Vision Baptist Church's website. I will be moving to Phoenix, AZ in January to work their in the church for Pastor Michael Perham. I am really excited about it. God is teaching my a lot right now about waiting on Him for His perfect timing and will in my life. Waiting on God requires not only patience but also faith. They cannot be separated they much go hand in hand. I am glad He is teaching me and moving things in and out of my life. It is amazing to see Him at work. Anyway...enough preaching. I have been working downtown for almost 7 months and there is this amazing looking church building that I have been wanting to shoot but never god around to it. Well now I finally did today. I took pictures in the daytime, sunset, and at night. Hope everybody likes the pics!

AP

Central Baptist Church Mission Conference

2007-09-24T20:31:00.001-05:00

This weekend I had the opportunity to go over to Greenville, TN to Central Baptist Church to take pictures of their Mission Conference. It was a lot of fun and the people were very nice. Hope you enjoy the pics. Just click on the slideshow to play it. Let me know what everybody thinks.

Golfing with the Roommates

2007-09-16T22:13:00.000-05:00

This past Saturday I had the opportunity to go golfing with all four of my roommates. It was alot of fun although the scorecards did not reflect that. It was a good opportunity to relax and let some frustration out. Although, it's amazing to me how much one little round white hard dimpled object can cause ones tempter to get so off the hand. One of the world's many...many unsolved questions...enjoy!
Justin...the real Tiger Woods
Ryan...the real golf pro
Austin...the putting king
Gabe...thinking about his woman
Myself...trying to drive

And then attempting to putt

AP

THE NEW CAR!!!!!

2007-09-09T19:14:00.000-05:00

Well here it is! I finally had some time to take some pictures of the new car I got. I love it alot, it has 3.5 V6 engine with a 6-speed manual transmission. It's an all around pretty great car, I am quite impressed with it and hope it will give me many good reliable and fun miles on the road in my future. Hope you enjoy the pics!

AP

Weekend Full of Crown Sports

2007-09-08T22:19:00.000-05:00

This weekend has been great one and will continue to be. I got to spend this Saturday with my beautiful girlfriend Cristina Lee watching some of the Crown Athletics. She wanted me to get some pictures of her good friend Brittany Brannon playing volleyball, so I got out the ole' D80 and started shooting away. Brittany is a senior this year and plans on getting married I think in November. Hope you like the pictures. There are some of the soccer team at the end. They won 5-0 under the coaching of Shannon Sexton. I do not remember them winning with that high of a margin my whole collegiate career. I was pretty excited for them. Hope you enjoy the pics!

These are some pictures of the youngest Fowler. I hope her mom will enjoy them.

Justin insisted on me taking this beautiful shot of his superlative Nike shoe.

Labor Day Weekend with the Parents

2007-09-03T10:30:00.000-05:00

This weekend I had the privilege of spending Labor Day with my parents. They were in Tennessee because they drove up my new car that I bought in Florida!!!!!! (Stayed tuned I will be posting pictures of it soon.) It's a white 04' Nissan Maxima and I love it. It is a lot different from what I'm used to driving, which had been a sport Mitsubishi Eclipse turbo, but I like the room and it still has a lot of power. Hope you enjoy these pics and the ones to come.

My dad was quite exited about going to the Bass Pro Shop in Pigeon Forge. He was definitely in his element. It was a lot of fun walking around and watching his expressions and excitement to different things.

My mom talked Cristina into getting a picture of them kissing the moose, Quite hilarious!

Take it to the Max!

2007-08-20T00:40:00.000-05:00

School is almost back in session now and some of my friends are starting to come back into town. Max Edwards and I have been great friends for about two years. The first time I met him he was in my cabin for camp. The following school semester he came to Crown and he was in the dorm that I was the Resident Assistant in, so I thought that was pretty cool. He has been a great friend to me over the years and is always encouraging me, whether spiritually or emotionally. Max is becoming an avid skateboarder so I decided to come along on one of his skating outings and snap a few pics. Here ya go Max, I hope you like!

AP

Cristina's Suprise Birthday

2007-08-20T00:32:00.000-05:00

So my beautiful girlfriend Cristina Lee turns the big 21 this Monday. She had to be back down at school this past weekend because she is going to be a Resident Assistant this year. So being the good boyfriend I am I got in contact with her sister and brother in-law which live about an hour away to throw a surprise party for her on Saturday. Everything worked perfectly and she was surprised. The day consisted of me grilling out for her, Beck, and David for lunch, then later that night we went to the Melting Pot for desert. It was a great day and we had a lot of fun. Happy Birthday sweets!
The gift...
The necessities for any good bbq...
Oh the wonderful goodness of grilling meat...

Beck and David got Cristina and I our first "wedding" present even though we are not engaged yet. It was our dinnerware plates. They are just what Cristina and I wanted!
AP

Work..Work...Work...repeat

2007-08-09T18:38:00.001-05:00

It seems like at this time in my life all I am doing is working. I am either working at my official job or working on my master's degree, or working on my "future" plans. It can sometimes get a little laborious, but the Lord is faithful through it all. It's amazing how He works sometimes just to get us out of the ruts in life we have. As someone said, "A rut is simply a grave with both ends knocked out." Anyway...during my lunch break I get a chance to walk around downtown Knoxville very often. I snapped a couple pics of this cool statue. Hope you enjoy.

AP

Weekend with the Baker's

2007-07-30T21:57:00.002-05:00

This past weekend I got the opportunity to spend a little quality time with my beautiful girlfriend Cristina Lee and her family, the Bakers. It was a lot of fun, a ton of activity, good food, and great fellowship. On Sunday I went to their church, the First Baptist Church of Milford, their pastor Bill Dutry preached two unbelievable timely messages. The time with the family and Cristina was great, but honestly it's amazing to me to see God working in my own life through the preaching of His Word. God has no bounds, He is everywhere in the world, but He is also in my heart working to perfect me into His image and convict my of sin in my life. I thank the Lord for the opportunity to hear His Word preached. Saturday we had alot of fun we went and canoed the little Miami river, afterwards got cleaned up and dressed up, and a part that I especially enjoyed, we went to take pictures. Hope you enjoy!

Before...

After...

Mr. Baker and I seemed to have been caught in a fluke wind tunnel there for a little bit!

So it's really funny I was trying to pose us all in this shot and once we got set Mrs. Baker was going to take the picture for us. A lady walks up to her and asks her if we are a traveling singing group. We were not and are not, but it would truly be a funny time if we did.

AP

My 22nd Birthday Suprise

2007-07-30T21:26:00.000-05:00

My beautiful girlfriend Cristina Lee...what a girl. For my 22nd birthday she came down to Knoxville to surprise me. Sound kind of basic? Not at all! She had been in China on a mission trip for the past 3 weeks, which means not only do I not get to see her for that long but the most I got to talk to her was maybe 10 minutes the whole trip. It was a little bit of a valley in my life. I missed her greatly. So I walk out to my car after work and there is a heart shaped note on it. This not being a normal thing you can image my disturbance. When right about then I look up and this gorgeous girl (Insert Josh Groban love song here) who happened to be my girlfriend, Cristina Lee, comes walking toward me. Needless to say I was very surprised. So it worked sweets, Good Job! For everybody's sake, I will spare you the rest of the sappy details. She had made reservations at the Melting Pot in downtown Knoxville. It was a great place, absolutely delicious food, and great company! The Melting Pot is a fondue restaurant, and this was my first time every eating fondue, so it was a great overall experience. Thanks Cristina for making my birthday special!

Here goes one of my first bites ever of real fondue food...
Now it's Cristina's turn. I think she had a little better form then me though...

This is our flaming dessert which included strawberries, pineapple, pound cake squares, banana's, and last but not certainly least a HUGE vat of chocolate in which to dip all of our stuff.
It was a great night!

AP

Life in the Apartment

2007-07-30T21:16:00.000-05:00

Having an apartment is alot of fun. My roommate Gabe Stover brought some of his family over one night and I told him I would post it on here for them to look at. They are a great family and have been a great encouragement to me over the years.

Happy Fourth of July!!!

2007-07-04T22:35:00.001-05:00

Well happy 4th to everyone! After church my roommates and I went downtown to the Knoxville World's Fair Park where fireworks were being shot off. This is my first time shooting them so it was a very new and interesting experience for me. I thought they turned out pretty good. Hope everybody enjoys. Please feel free to comment on any of my posts, I would love to hear some feedback from people to see what they think!

AP

A Busy Weekend

2007-07-02T19:54:00.000-05:00

WOW! What a weekend! It started on Saturday when I got the opportunity to shoot a wedding with my friend, The Great, Ryan Keiter. That pretty much took up most of my day until 8 that night. Then I met Cristina and her sister Melissa and drove to Greenville, TN. David and Rebekah Scott, which are the sister and brother-in-law of my beautiful girlfriend Cristina Lee Baker, are in the process of moving there to serve at Central Baptist Church where Todd Abbey is the pastor. It was a great weekend and full of emotion. Hope everyone likes the pics!
This is the church where David and Beck will be serving at. It is a great church and full of life. We attended their morning and afternoon service while we were there. They were having a patriotic celebration there which included dinner on the grounds after the morning service!!!
Please remember to pray for David and Beck as they are serving the Lord in Greenville. I have grown closer to both of them while dating Cristina and they have been a real encouragement and blessing to my life.

There were several young people that came down to help David and Beck move from First Baptist in Miford, Ohio where they were previously serving. The girls sang in the morning service and Blake helped alot with the moving process.

For some reason Cristina gets amusement out of taking the weirdest pictures of me. It turned out kinda good so I thought I would post it.

Me and my beautiful girlfriend Cristina Lee Baker.

The Abbey's had two younger boys Reagan and Carson. They were really cute kids so I thought I would break out the camera and get of few pics of them.
David got up before the church and gave a word about him and Beck coming to the church before he sang. He said something that I thought was humorous because I could relate alot to him. He said he was a little nervous about getting up and speaking because he is more used to singing, which is a lot easier because all the words are already set for you. Speak is totally different because you have to come up with the words and your brain is often scattered. Public speaking is often very challenging!

And last but not least.....The Baker trio of Sisters. From left to right, Melissa, Cristina, and Rebekah.

AP

My Sister's Wedding

2007-06-25T21:47:00.001-05:00

This weekend I had the privilege of attending and participating in my sister Michele's wedding. Cristina and I flew up on Friday and got there just in time for the rehearsal dinner. I hope you enjoy the pictures as much as we enjoyed the weekend. Michele is now married to Mr. Jason Herr. They will be living in Lancaster, PA. I would love to take credit for these pictures, however most of them were taken by my lovely girlfriend Cristina Lee Baker. Maybe in life we could be photographers together, that would be a lot of fun!

Cristina found her a new friend this weekend. His name was "moo" the kitten because he was black and white all over like a cow.
The following are pictures of Michele in the early stages of the wedding day getting her face put on and other preparations.
I love this picture of my Dad and Mom. It is very encouraging to know that two people can not only love each other on their wedding day (Jason and Michele) but also still be in love over 20 years later (My Dad and Mom).
Michele had a wonderful idea of buying flip-flops for her bridesmaids to wear at the reception dinner. She has told me that often when it comes to women's footwear fashion is always the most important thing...not comfort.

Hike to Spruce Flat Falls

2007-06-12T12:30:00.001-05:00

Last Saturday, Me and two of my roommates, Gabe Stover and Justin Green, hiked up to Spruce Flat falls near Gatlinburg, Tennessee. It was not too far away from Cades Cove. It was a very fun hike, a little over 2 miles total. We had a very scenic route that was about an intermediate trail. Lots of fun, I would recommend it for whoever would like to try. Enjoy the pics.
I took this picture in loving memory of my dearest mother who loves snakes and they are her best friends.....well maybe I'm stretching the truth there just a tiny little bit

Memorial Day Weekend

2007-05-29T20:44:00.000-05:00

Long time no hear from! I know it has been quite a while since I have updated my blog and I do apologize for that. I recently went to my girlfriend, Cristina Baker's, house for memorial day weekend. Her church had a huge old fashion Sunday at their church. It was fun for me because it was a great excuse to wears jeans in church. Jk. Anyway, I had a blast hope you enjoy some pics that I took.

Several men in the church stayed up all night roasting several pigs over an open fire and coals. Needless to say it was very good.

I took this pic for my dad. Classic cars are one of his passions

Cristina's church had a watermelon eating contest. This is a picture of her dad chowing down.

Mrs. Baker had lots of fun watching her kids goof off and have fun.

This was an attempt by myself to see how many people my legs would hold up. I guess I need to spend some more time on the squat rack.

Cristina in her signature flier position, the extension.

Memorial Day, Cristina's mom side of the family got together and went to the graveyard where her grandfather's grave is at. He died 3 1/2 years of cancer.

The whole Baker family

Cristina and Mel showing off their "cheerleader" smiles

Don't they make such a cute couple!

Just food of many that we had this past weekend

These are all the cousins and their "interests/friends"

It was a long weekend. The Baker girls needed a well deserved nap.

The Big Day Has Arrived!

2007-05-08T16:39:00.000-05:00

The day of graduation was very full of activity. It was a day that was emotional, happy, sad, thankful, grateful, and tiring. I graduated with a four year degree as a Pastoral & Youth Ministries double major. It was alot of work but I am grateful that God helped me through all the way.

These are my roommates for the summer (except Pastor Sexton) Clarence Sexton is the president and founder of our college. It has been a great honor to sit underneath his ministry.

This is a picture of Mrs. Charlene Kiser and I. Her husband died of a heart attack a few years back. I can honestly say that he is one of the most powerful preachers I have ever heard in my life. She has been a great encouragement to me throughout my time at crown and is always willing to answer any questions I have

My friend Justin Green tries to do his best impression of a car salesman in this picture. I think he should stick to being a painter.

My Uncle Randy & Aunt Debbie came up for my graduation. It was very nice to have them there. Here is a picture of my mom and her older sis. I tell ya' ain't no tellin' what will happen when ya get them buffington gals together!

Graduation Weekend

2007-05-08T13:43:00.000-05:00

My family came up this weekend for my graduation and we had a great time. I had to work on Friday so I waited to take an extended lunch break. We went to a great place downtown called Moe's. I love that place.

The Moe's

My sister and I chow down on some cookies

My Dad & Mom trying to act like they like to getting their picture taken

After dinner, I took my Dad, Mom, sister Michele, and girlfriend Cristina down to the Knox river and shot some pics. I did not know they would turn out this great. Thanks Cristina for the suggestion to go down there!

The Henley Street Bridge Downtown

Me and my beautiful girlfriend, Cristina Lee

Michele, and Cristina, and I

The three most important women in my life, Mom, Sis, & Girlfriend

Cristina & Michele love this pose the best.

This is probably one of the best pictures I have ever seen of Cristina. She looks absolutely gorgeous. I thank the Lord that I can have her fellowship and friendship in this life. She means so much to me and is a great encouragement to my life.

These next three pictures are mainly for my future brother-in-law Jason Herr. I hope you enjoy Jason. I thought about you when I was taking them. Good luck on planning the wedding.

Graduation Weekend!

2007-05-03T15:10:00.000-05:00

This weekend is graduation. I will be officially graduating from the undergraduate program on Monday May 7th. My family is coming on Friday including my sister!!!!!!!!!!! It will be alot of fun and i will be sure to get lots of good pics. Stay tuned....

I Love My Job

2007-05-01T07:36:00.000-05:00

I work at a bank in downtown Knoxville. I love my job very much and enjoy it quite alot. Here are some sweet pictures of downtown Knoxville

Last Week of School!!!

2007-04-30T10:22:00.000-05:00

Finally my last week of school! I'm really excited about my family coming up this weekend and my sister too!!! These are some pictures from my trip to Kokomo, IN this past weekend. My buddies and I went up there to pick up some furniture for our apartment we are moving into. Enjoy!

Some Valentine's Day Pics

2007-03-30T16:18:00.000-05:00

First Time for Everything

2007-03-29T15:51:00.000-05:00

Hey everybody! This is my first time to do a blog. I hope this will be a great way to keep friends, relatives, and others up to date on my life at this time. I hope it works. Enjoy!