Notes and snapshots

Wow. Our household is completely refocused for a few days while Rebekah and I play host to four nieces and nephews. Their parents flew out of Tampa to Wisconsin this morning and we won't see them again till Monday night.

One moment we have this sophisticated, completely remolded home, custom-designed as a cool pad for empty-nesters... then in a matter of minutes it transformed into kid-central!

Rebekah's dog Scout, as you can tell, has the right idea. She found the highest possible place to perch and retreated to safety so she can take a long look around before committing herself to too much stress.

Anyway, the first thing we're doing - having taken the parents to the airport and out of reach - is sitting down to make a weekend menu with the children. In a few minutes, when we've figured out exactly what they're not allowed to eat at home, I'll be taking a couple of them with me to the grocery store and we'll break all the rules.

(Of course, we'll be buying organic, sustainable, free-trade hot-dogs, cookies, frozen pizzas, sodas and potato chips!).

Snapshots:

Driving back from Orlando this week I pulled off the road to shoot the following cloud formation. Cool, huh. Or, as one of my facebook friends commented, "Beautiful and a little scary looking."

Central Florida can put on the most spectacular shows in the sky; there's nowhere quite like the thunderstorm capital of the world for a little atmospheric action.

I've now decided I need to have my camera with me all the time - just in case. There's a sense, of course, in which it's easy to pass by beauty and wonder unless we are deliberate in keeping our eyes open. Jesus said "Those who have eyes will see, and those who have ears will hear."

Fred Rogers (Mr Rogers Neighborhood) picked up the theme when he said the following: "God's revealing evidence is everywhere; we just have to open our eyes."

Fred was pretty sharp, you know.

Stay tuned for more on the nieces and nephews. There's bound to be some stories this weekend!

Love and blessings - DEREK