Watching Ike’s Move Toward Houston, and Praying

Last May we went to Jamaica Beach on Galveston Island in Texas for a family get-together. Our beach-front rental house may not survive Hurricane Ike, if predictions are anywhere near accurate. We have friends and family in the greater Houston area, and are praying for their safety, as well as for the safety of those who could not - or would not - evacuate. Following the storm on several sites like this one.

Friday Five: Favorite Things About The Weekend

In random order, five things our family enjoys about weekends:

  1. Saturday morning pancakes
  2. Sleeping in (for the adults that means sleeping past 5:30, for the kids that means sleeping until 7:30 or later)
  3. Going to church
  4. Cleaning the house (well, this is something the parents enjoy more than the children!)
  5. Homemade pizza for Sunday lunch, popcorn for dinner

And how about your family? Any treasured aspects to the weekend?

Camping Pics

From our recent camping trip (see August 29 post) some photos…

Top: At Weston Pass, where there is - still! - snow at the end of August.
Center: The river was slow and meandering. Perfect for playing!
Bottom two pics: Beautiful child, beautiful Colorado scenery.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Friday Five: Our Camping Trip

Top five things about the camping trip we just enjoyed:

1. Family time - of course! In addition to a hike and that trip to Weston Pass, we especially enjoyed an evening of charades. By firelight. With goofy kids.

2. Scenery - beautiful surroundings, and we went over to Weston Pass, which offers stunning views. Follow the link and you’ll see the aerial shot of the little lake we enjoyed looking over.

3. Food - we ate too much, but that is always the case when we are outside. Why is that?

4. Isolation - only one other party in the camp ground! We manage to avoid the crushing crowds by going camping after school starts (for most families) and before Labor Day weekend.

5.  The Platte River - which runs slowly through the area, meandering and allowing the kids to safely play for hours.

We’ve camped for many years, and it is a family tradition we’ll continue for years. The only downside this year: Our oldest is already at college. We missed his presence!

Question for you: What  do you especially enjoy about family getaways?

Day In Denver

Spent time in Denver with our four youngest. No, we didn’t attend any political events, even though the city is quite a beehive of activity with certain dignitaries and politicians convening.

Instead, we had a fun educational field trip. Here’s a shot of the skyline, taken from the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. Cool place, and a mighty nice view of the Rockies. I’ve some great kids!

Friday Five: Back-To-School Routines

Top Five Fuller Household “Back-To-School” routines include:

There is one more thing that we do every year: send Mom away for a few days so she can put the finishing touches on the game plan for the coming year, She spends a lot of that quiet time in prayer and meditation.
And you? What routines are you and your family going through now that school is here - or just around the corner?

Friday Five: Family Vacations

ocotillo-sunset.jpgTop five Fuller Family vacations, not in any particular order:

  1. Grand Tetons and at Yellowstone National Park - Spectacular, majestic, huge.
  2. Big Bend National Park (pictured above) - Diversity of desert, mountains and rivers that flood unexpectedly!
  3. Colorado Camping trips- Western Slope, Four Corners, Routt National Forest, NW corner of the state - we’re “rough it” kind of campers, and Colorado offers so much rugged back-country that we can barely contain our enthusiasm…
  4. Redcloud Ranch - When you you want to be in the great outdoors, but have all the comforts of a great lodge-based getaway, this is a terrific place.
  5. Branson, MO- Alright, this is a bit of a departure, but we had a blast at Silver Dollar City, and the beautiful bluffs in this region are awesome.

As I look over this list, I realize that each of these involved some spectacular scenery and wonderfully memorable times together as a family. I’ve not run the list past my wife or kids, but suspect they’d agree with much - if not all- of these choices.

Tell me about your favorite family vacations?

Rocky Mountain High

Have you had a good family vacation this summer? Last week our family visited the western slope of Colorado, enjoying time in a state wildlife area (gorgeous!) and then a week at family camp. We had a blast!

Look, Dad, I can get my boots wet! Zane loved the mountain stream we hiked along.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Our youngest daughter enjoyed a snake she caught. Mercy was shown hours later when “Corbett” was released.

 

 

Chatting With Brandon Heath

In April I was in Nashville for Gospel Music Week, and had the privilege of talking with Brandon Heath, who has had some great response to his new single. It was a really enjoyable conversation with a fellow who displays some admirable depth of heart and soul. I’ll post more of his comments here in the coming days.

BTW, I only had one microphone, so won’t be able to show you a true Q&A format here. Just his responses to some questions I asked. Up first, some thoughts from Brandon about his songwriting and storytelling - I asked what he hoped to accomplish through his music?

Listen Button

Find out more at Brandon’s website.

Terminal D, Friday Noon

Let me share some thoughts from an experience from last week, at the Dallas-Fort Worth airport:

They came along the upper deck of Terminal D. Three and four across, they strode the walkway toward an unknown destination. Men and women in combat fatigues. Carrying packs and gear bags, they were obviously back from a tour of duty in the Middle East.

I first became aware of the clapping several gates down from where we sat eating lunch. And as the wave of applause came nearer we joined in. Many in the terminal stood to honor the soldiers as they passed by.

One man raised his glass in a toast to those warriors who, having fought for the freedom that we enjoy and too often take for granted, were finally coming home.

Home to be reunited with loved ones and friends. Home to recover from the wounds, physical, or emotional - or both. Home to a daily routine that doesn’t revolve around the threat of IEDs, planning escape routes, weapon readiness and patrols. No known enemies here, no bad guys to engage, no need to say goodbye to fallen comrades. They were coming home to safety, security, serenity. And they surely needed, wanted and deserved to be home.

The applause continued. On and on those soldiers came. The clapping kept on going, as well. It was an emotional scene. I found my eyes tearing up as this kept on for at least seven or eight minutes. So what that my food had gone a bit cold – I was sure these brave men and women had had plenty of cold meals, plenty of interrupted lunches, while they served in Iraq, or Afghanistan, or wherever they had been for months. I could enjoy my entrée’ in a few moments. This was a moment to let go of my own selfish interests and to express gratitude to those who risked it all for me and for my family.

I wanted to capture this moment and never forget.

How I wanted my wife to see this. How I wanted my kids to be here, so they could catch a glimpse of the honor being afforded these warriors. I hope they will one day have the same kind of opportunity, the privilege, to one day give a round of applause for some soldiers passing through an airport.

So they never forget.

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