Natural Refreshment

We had a wonderful day today visiting our Austin friends one last time before our big move. While we were eating lunch out on the veranda, I commented on how the hum of cicadas has always been the sweet sound of summer for me. They were singing for me very loudly today! Soon, there were some very large butterflies (Swallow Tails, I was told) casually fluttering by on their way to some nearby lantanas. That's not something I see every day, so it was a nice change of pace. The kids enjoyed swimming very much...and truth be told, so did we big kids! Britt mentioned how nice it felt to just sit in the sun for a while (slathered in sunscreen, of course); I agreed. The late afternoon brought about a drop in temperature which made it quite pleasant to sit outside and chat over homemade ice cream. Later, on our journey home from Austin, I succumed to my drowsiness. As soon as I awakened, Britt said Look at the rainbows! Sure enough there was a rainbow and its "echo" clear as day right outside my window. The further we drove, the more of the arch we could see until the full arch was visible with only a tiny bit of cloud interference. It was spectacular! The colors were so vivid! I called Ginger to tell her how I wished she could see it. We wished our Ava were big enough to enjoy its beauty too. A full rainbow is a rare spectacle. The clouds were particularly wonderful today as well, many colors and seeming textures represented. And as we rounded the corner to our last little stretch of highway, there was the huge, rich henna sun sinking into the horizon and oozing syrupy goodness all around it! A sight to behold! Though I was physically drained from our trip, my spirit felt a bit rejuvenated by all the fabulous little natural expressions of God's presence in our lives during such a hectic period when we don't take much time to look around.