So this morning was a bit different. Malachi is normally the trooper in the bunch, always being the first to deal with the fact that he must wake up and get ready for school, the first one to be showered and dressed, and the first to bounce back after being ill. But today, it was Sara that rode alone with Daddy to school. I wasn’t sure if that was the reason things felt a bit out of place this a.m. until I made a few of the normal sharp curve on my 20 minute commute to work. It then hit me that it was much darker than most days at 0700. The trees were sharp dark shadows against a gorgeous sky of blue and pink. When I finally saw the sky I was baffled. There was a “hot spot” of pink on the horizon, perfectly centered by a vertical beam of light. I scrambled for my camera knowing I didn’t have much time to capture the moment, and fully aware the lens might not capture the real effect God had created. I tried one parked and one while still driving … here they are.

So Kara and I spent the weekend in Branson and we had a great time. We had never been to the Landing before, and to be honest we were pleasantly surprised. The Hilton was amazing … lots of textures and colors. Click her picture to see the whole shoot.

I had a great Christmas this year. In fact, I think it was the best Christmas I have had as a married adult. My kids got great gifts from “Santa” and I got a great gift from my folks: A Red Sox Team Jacket that is wicked warm and bright red that screams Sox Fan! My brother got one too, and of course my dad (he got the blue “Boston” version, so we posed for a pic.  We had a great time playing cards, scrabble, family fued, and eating like crazy. Pics to come tonight…