Remembering the Challenger Astronauts

Twenty-five years ago today we watched and listened in shock and horror as the astronauts of the Challenger traveled to worlds far beyond their expected destination. We honor their memory today.

Memorial located in Arlington National Cemetery
(Photo taken by author in June 2010)

A Moment In Time

Here is a picture taken exactly one year ago today.

 

The pictures posted here were also taken that same day even though they were not uploaded until a couple of days later. I remember being shocked upon our return home that little Fen had learned to crawl during that week that we were away. Now he runs circles around us all!

Ah! The memories!

Our Private Retreat

Pastor Dad and I felt the need to get away for a little quiet time this weekend. That old adage "if you don't come apart you'll come apart" was ringing in our ears.

Therefore, since Pastor Dad was scheduled to preach at a friend's church in Indiana this past Sunday he decided to leave a day early and stay at the inn at Clifty Falls in Madison, Indiana. I'm so glad he invited me to go along for this day of rest. :)

There are 4 falls in Clifty Falls State Park but we saw none of them. The deep snow that blanketed our own home on the High Hill last week also hit Madison, Indiana and closed most of the roads inside the park. As much as I enjoy seeing beautiful waterfalls, it wasn't necessary in order to experience the serenity of our little private retreat. Besides, in order to see the falls one must hike great distances through rugged terrain and park signs proclaim that any limbs that fall to the ground should be left there to become part of the humus. That's fine as long as we're just talking about trees!

So instead of taking pictures of waterfalls I took pictures of the scenery as seen from inside the inn:

We did take one short hike from the inn to an observation tower less than half mile away. I took a picture of Pastor Dad standing at the top:

And he took one of me:

Near the inn we encountered another bright couple out enjoying the sunshine:

As we were leaving the park we saw "mini falls" on the cliffs over the roadway. Even though they aren't the ones for which the park is named, they presented themselves as a worthy substitute. And as such they seemed to bid us a hearty, "Thanks for coming! We hope you enjoyed your stay with us!"

We surely did!

Providence 365 - Week 3

The verses given as the project challenge this week seemed perfect for showcasing more pictures of my trip to visit my daughter last month. Lisa and I spent a few hours on the Sunday afternoon of my visit hiking and climbing on the rocks at Red Rock Canyon near Las Vegas, Nevada. Seeing pictures from my recent travels reminded me that the various terrains and biospheres contained within the continental United States are testimony of the greatness of our God!

If the assignment required that we do layouts using only pictures taken this week there wouldn't be anything to show except more pictures of snow here in the Midwest. But even reading the book of Job recently has shown me that God's handiwork is in the snow as well. (Job 37:6; 38:22)

For this page I used paper courtesy of Designs by Angel from the "A Mother's Blessing" kit. The name seemed serendipitous when used to display pictures of a mother visiting her daughter. :) I didn't use any elements because I didn't want anything to detract from the natural beauty of God's creation.