A Few Birds

We were out gathering up bags for the second half of "Scouting for Food" this morning and saw these two ducks. We would call them "puddle ducks" as they were standing in a puddle at the end of a drieway.

A little later in the day today Maulbeere took my camera out and just wandered the yard, looking for stuff to take pictures. She saw this little bird sitting in a bush out back, near where we have a bird feeding up right now. I thought it was a cool effect how the camera focused on the buds right in front of the bird.

This cardinal was sitting on the fence out back, too. We have seen qutie a few of these this spring.

Some of the pictures she gets are pretty cool.

Some days are harder than others

As you may have guessed, Sweet little Himbeere has a penchant for sleeping out in the back yard. I'm not sure I understand this. After all, we provide him a perfectly good bed in a bedroom all by himself inside the house. Nevertheless, he likes to sleep out in the back. And some days he's harder to get up than others. So yesterday morning, everyone else was up and about and he was still in bed. Time to leave was drawing nigh and he was still sawing logs. So we formed a committee and undertook to get him up. Hollering out the back door hadn't done anything up to this point so we got a little more intrusive.

The shake and the rattle didn't do much, either.

But the roll proved effective.

Ta da! He was out of bed!

Oh, Happy Day!!

You know how it is? You have a son get a mission call and you steel yourself for two years of not having him around, not being able to see him any more than letters, emails and a few phone calls on special holidays. You tough yourself for two years to be able to get thru it and then suddenly, its done! Amazing! Whooooa, he's home! And home he came! So we had almost everyone there at the airport, a welcoming committee, if you will. It was way cool.

Then came the hugs and tears. Two years can be so long and it feels so good when its over.

Soon as we were done at the airport we headed up to the stake center so he could meet with the stake president and have his "exit interview".

This at the map that is on the wall at the stake center. He's pointing to his name. He said that was an unusual experience. That was when the release came. When that was over he was no longer a full time missionary.

The "welcome home" cake, courtesy of his two younger sisters.

Lots of signs all around to help him feel welcome. But there was one that said it all.

So now his calender is booked with speaking appointments; stake conference and two sacrament meetings. He'll be speaking every weekend until he heads out west. Its so good that have him home!