Opening the Window Again

I am again going through some old pictures.  First I worked my way through a couple of over flow boxes which contained many pictures from years past.  There was no particular order to these photos.  At first that really annoyed me because of the way I covered this before now…I think I’ve warmed to going through it in no particular order and sharing it for the fun of it.  This first picture is from a reptile farm near Bangkok.  They actually fed these monsters whole chickens…already plucked and dead of course.  I want so much to return to visit Thailand with my family…someday.  This next one is an island in the Philippines.  Doesn’t it look inviting?  I got sunburned horribly here.  I am a Montanan and don’t always consider tropical sun the way I should…boy did I learn otherwise!  This next one is a view along the walk to the church we were working with in the Philippines…such an amazing cloud shrouded mountain.  During one of my trips to Thailand I went on a three day elephant trek.  My companion took the b&w photo.  Why were we not on elephants?  Well, as it turned out much of the elephant trek was actually on foot in the golden triangle.  Looking back on the jungle we walked through makes me feel so strange somehow.  Our guide tricked us and part of the group we were hiking with went ahead where they said they’d smoke opium…so me and my friend didn’t go ahead…later they returned laughing at us saying they ate lunch…we were hungry for the first part of that day.  What do you think?  Want to walk the jungle of the Golden Triangle?  Our would prefer the safer elephant show they have near the reptile park?  This is a photo from the Yuhiko Orchid Garden where Lovely and I were married in the Philippines.  There are some fantastic sights in these nations…I wish it were a safer world, I’d like to revisit these places.  Some missionaries were captured and one killed in the rescue by Filipino soldiers when we were there…things are often troubled though it appears to be a paradise to the naked eye…your not even necessarily safe riding on the back of a massive elephant.  Sometimes the danger is forgotten when trying exotic foodsbut still it is there.  Now that I’m married and have a family of my own I recognize more than ever that no man is an island unto himself.  More to come….

Revenge Served Cold

Do you remember that movie Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan?  He stated that an old Klingon proverb was: “Revenge is a dish served best cold.”  I don’t know about that but I do know that to me February is often mother nature’s revenge…not that it’s all that cold usually but it seems my longing for spring comes to a head and yet there’s the last roars of winter that are often to be heard and certainly felt.  The sun is beginning to seem more spring-like…it just has a tinge to it that lets me know spring is out there.  I love when it peaks through the pine tree on our yard letting me know there’s hope out there: .  Yet this morning winter served us some breakfast.  The good news is that it’s already melting.  The trees must have spent the night catching snow flakes from the look of things.  By the this afternoon I suppose the snow will melt and stop its branch balancing act…in spite of myself I do think it’s nice to look at.  I sat waiting to catch this photo at just the moment this drop fell…not quite as spectacular as I’d hoped but there you have it.  The rocks are soaking up the morning sun and freeing themselves of the thin blanket of snow that fell last night.  I always like the snow caps on the fence posts.  Next one of my favorite photos of the morning…can’t say why but it is:  .  The stones in back in the shade look like frosted candies…look a late box of frosted chocolates left over from Valentine’s Day.  Good to watch my footing on these rocks…they’re slippery!  The pine has a slight dusting of snow as well.  Wondering around looking for good shots I found a Flicker all puffed up against the morning cold.  Whatever dish has been served up to you, I pray it’s not cold…it is for me today.

Valentine’s Day

Before I continue with this post I first want to thank all who have left comments and been so good to me on my birthday.  I am sort of strange about my birthday in that I don’t like to make a big deal out of it but I feel bad when I’m forgotten…does that make sense?  Bottom line:  thank you everyone for make it a special day!  My wife made it especially nice the day before my birthday by setting up a dinner at Jake’s with our friends Jeff and Stephanie…it was a great time!  Okay V-Day, well what can I say?  Wisdom has been the greatest gift to open on this day.  Back during dating days it was about making something happen that didn’t always work out…high stress kept it many times from being fun.  Now I’m with the woman I love and we let things flow a lot more organically.  We go and enjoy each other and keep the stress low…it really works to make a great day and today was no exception.  We started giving the kids their hearts from us.  Gabby of course was first up to enjoy her treats.  Lovely and I then went out and spent the day together just letting things happen as they came along…it was truly enjoyable.  Starting things out with Starbucks didn’t hurt.  We took some pictures together in a photo-booth which was fun and shopped and hung out together before heading home.  Gabby wanted a rose so badly that we stopped and got her some little miniature roses.  Better than some big long stemmed ones that die all too quickly.  Back in the day I felt the need to fit someone else’s idea of romantic now we let the love between us dictate our course…oh how much love that!  I hope your day was blessed but whether or not it was remember that today is just a day not the rest of your life…and love is way too big to fit into one day alone!  All that we know of love pales in the light of the love of Christ who loves us so much He died and rose again for all.  God bless and keep you all.

Not Very Much of Anything

Man, today was a day of dreary semi-cloudy goodness.  The snow is gone and the sky isn’t providing a nice back drop today so what am I to do?  Time was moving on…I had to make a make a run to the store.  I have no pictures from outside at all this time.  I was glancing at my faith suit of armor where I let my solar powered watch rechargeand knew I had to get going.  What do you take pictures of when you’ve run out of subjects?  I was looking at some of my simple yet favorite things around the house.  I love this wicker Baobab tree I bought in Ghana, West Africa that holds my necklaces…the memories, that brings back every time I look at it.  It’s been nearly three years since we went there as a family.  I was able to show my family the place where I first entered the mission field as an eighteen year old…how I treasure that moment.  If I’m not reminiscing these days I’m doing a lot of reading.  Much of my reading is on my Kindle…the original model…it’s the perfect thing you know.  It doesn’t take up the space of all the books in a regular library and the books are cheaper…easily readable and easily held.  Now I’m reading “Agenda 21” to the kids and have several I look forward to that I’ve got to download.  “Killing Lincoln” and “Killing Kennedy”  I’ve heard are really good and I look forward to checking them out soon…I own them on there already but haven’t read them yet.  I also recommend the Michael Vey series…I finished the first and my daughter is lending me the second so I’m reading that too.  You heard right…two books at once…that should keep me busy!  Not to mention a new game I bought that I love:  http://www.ea.com/deadspace/.  Little things are keeping me occupied.  I also bought some music via i-Tunes…the only way to get music if you ask me.  Red is one of my favorite Christian bands now and their new album Release the Panic is really good.  I also bought a song from Josh Grogan’s new album called Brave which is really good.  I think I’ll not be bored for a while!  Lately when we go out our family has a new favorite store.  Have you ever heard of the World Market?  They have stuff from all over the world that’s so awesome…furniture…food…so many things.  They had a whole line of products from the movie “The Life of Pi”  We bought these for Lovely.  It looks so much like the little things I saw when I lived in India years ago.  These are little stuffed elephants and camels on a colorful string tipped with little bells.  Someday I’d love to bring my family to India…it’s one of the few places I haven’t brought them that I traveled and lived in…someday…someday.  Well, I’m about to make like my salamander who barely sticks his head out from underneath his water dish…see him?  I peeked in to say hello…now back under my rock…