Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Hurry Up and Slow Down!


I'm sitting in my office this morning taking a moment to slow down (and write this post). I got in a little late this morning due to the traffic and the rain, so I hit my chair running (can you do that?). I fired off a few docs, put the finishing touches on some graphics and registration forms, zipped down the hall to pick them up from the printer and deliver them to their intended recipient. I cruised back down the hallway and prepared to slam back into my seat to tackle the next "to do" when I thought, "Whoa, big fella. What's the rush?"

I am wired to hurry. Even when I'm not in a hurry...I'm in a hurry. No major deadlines looming, no outside pressure, nothing urgent...I'm just in a rush. And when I rush, I find that I'm less attentive to others, less patient, more uptight, and less able to listen to and respond to God.

So...today I'm slowing down. The earth will still spin, our world will rage on, but I'm kicking things down a notch. I think that's what God would have me do. What about you?



Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Saying from Cole

Our son has a knack for spouting funny phrases. We've been saying for a long time that we need to write them down (but never do). This morning, Cole is in the office with me until his school begins. He showed me his artistic abilities by turning the outline of his hand into a turkey. When I put the picture down on my desk, he said, "Dad, put it up on your wall. You can staple it up on your wall...right over there. Look, that's premium space!"

"Premium space"? Where did that come from. Funny boy...

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Multimedia message

I've been having trouble with the whole MMS thing on my iPhone.  Let's see if I can successfully post to the blog with this thing...

Sunday, September 27, 2009

Striking!

I got real lucky and captured this ground strike from last Monday's storm. I was coming in behind the storm so I got to see it all without being caught in it. Amazing!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Friday, July 17, 2009

Arizona Science Center

Let me say that the Arizona Science Center is WAAAYYYY cool! We had a great time yesterday--spent about 6 hours there. They have a huge Lego Castle Adventure exhibit going on right now. The kids got to build castles (ok, that didn't last long), joust a bit, dress up like knights and princesses, and look at some really neat Lego creations.

Other exhibits included learning about home construction, energy conservation and use, the human body, gravity, pressure, and so much more. Probably our favorite was the section on electricity and magnetic fields. We spent a lot of time there. To end our day we took in an IMAX show on migration--very cool. From whales to African wildlife to monarch butterflies to red crab on Christmas Island (very interesting segment), it was great fun.

Today we're just bumming around the resort for one more day. We'll be swimming, resting, and packing up for our long trek back to Texas in the morning. We'll be losing two hours on the trip so we plan to get off as early as possible. I'll be adding a few more videos from yesterday if you want to check them out.

Thursday, July 16, 2009

New Videos Up, and the Dry Heat Thing

I've added some of our Grand Canyon Clips to the playlist at the bottom of the blog. Check them out.

OK, on the subject of 'dry heat'...Its been 111-115 each day we've been in the desert. Does the fact that its a 'dry' heat make a difference? First, let's get this out of the way--ITS HOT! The sun is extremely intense here. So don't kid yourself, 110+ is hot no matter what the humidity. However, the biggest difference is the fact that you don't sweat near as much as back in Texas (at least I don't, and I'm quite an accomplished sweater). It can be in the mid-nineties back home and just a couple minutes outdoors will produce significant sweat. Here, not so much. So far there has been only one time that I've broken a sweat (going from door to hot car). So, in that sense, it makes a big difference. Also, it seems that the shade makes a bigger difference in this climate. In Texas, muggy is muggy whether you're in the shade or not.

Not quite an episode of MythBusters, but it did answer a few questions that were on my mind prior to the trip.

A Grand Day


Yesterday was a day at the Grand Canyon. It was a really good day. The weather was really nice--low 90's, cloudy, sprinkles here and there. We squeezed about 3 hours out of the kids. Not too bad. I think they were more impressed by the birds and squirrels than the enormity of the Canyon. They're kids. That's ok.

It wasn't too crowded yesterday. We (fortunately) found a parking spot right off that was just a few steps from the information center, shuttle pickups, etc. I was a bit surprised by all the languages we heard as we poked around the canyon. At each stop, I'm certain we were the ethnic minority. Most of the English we did hear was spoken through thick accents.

For me, the Grand Canyon is just another testimony to the awesome creativity of our God. Its one of those moments where creation really reveals God's glory. I would love to go sometime and be able to hike down into the canyon, see a sunrise and/or sunset there--really drink in the splendor of God's handiwork. Maybe when we have older, more adventurous kids. Or, maybe without them altogether.

Shortly after we arrived back at the resort we were greeted with our first desert thunderstorm. It was nice to hear and see the rain. However, I don't think it will have any impact on our climate for the day. Today we're off to the Arizona Science Center and an afternoon at the resort. Should be a fun day.
I realized we didn't bring the cable for our camera, so I only have a couple of pics that I took with my phone. I'll upload the videos later today. You'll have to wait to see all our pics once we get back home. Sorry. :(