We have been slammed with appointments – meeting with people to share about our ministry with NYC and how they can partner with us – and while that is a huge blessing and has been super encouraging, it was nice to take a little time this weekend to spend with friends and our family, enjoying Fuquay Varina’s Hot Air Balloon Festival.

We packed a picnic dinner and joined friends for the evening, excited to wait it out to see the balloons do a mass ascension into the sky and to see the balloon glow they held after dark.  Thankfully, they had lots of fun things to do and look at while we waited, like rides for the kiddos, arts and crafts tables, military vehicles to sit on, and live music.

I thought these two pictures were funny because they perfectly depict Emerson.  Sweet one minute and oh so cute – and then “who knows what” next.

Instead of a mass ascension, they only let two balloons off into the sky.  Turns out it was because of high winds, but we didn’t know why from the ground.  However, we did have a moment of panic when this balloon (which we found out was a racing balloon because it was skinny, long, and went super fast through the sky) got twisted in the wind and the bucket turned almost sideways.  Everyone on the ground gasped at the same time because we all just knew it was going to be a disaster in the making.  Thankfully, it wasn’t!

We loved seeing the balloons in the sky from our street, seeing friends pictures of the balloons floating all over Fuquay, and hearing from friends that the balloons went right over their houses (seriously, one friend had the balloon so close to their house that the person said Hey to her and she heard them – crazy!?!).

And, the moment we so patiently (or not so patiently) waited for – the balloon glow.  It was definitely fun and something that was worth waiting to watch.  Pictures don’t do it justice.

And just to provide an update – we are at 66% of what we need to move to NYC.  We started out at 56%, so this is huge and we are so thankful to the Lord for the partners He is bringing on our team.  We are so grateful for them, their heart for NYC and college ministry, and your prayers as we continue on this journey!