Animals and Landscapes

One of the reasons we like to go camping anywhere is to see creation. It's so easy to forget about all the creatures God made and the intricate places they live and thrive, while we're busy here in the city. It's incredible to watch the kids see some animal in real life that they've only ever seen in a book. I remember taking my students to a museum to see and touch and feel some of the concepts we'd been learning in the classroom...what a gift Ryan and I have, to be able to let our kids see for themselves, "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth..." (Gen.1:1) Not to mention it's a great reminder to me and Ryan that we are but a small piece of God's plan, His perfect plan and design...we came away feeling humbled and thankful for yet another opportunity to enjoy God's creativity.
Here are a few pictures of some wildlife and landscapes we thought were beautiful and worth sharing...


These pictures are from Balmorreah State Park. It's a natural warm spring and it houses a few species of fish that aren't found anywhere else! People come to scuba dive...we just dipped our feet in and let those fish nibble away...


Javolina causing trouble at a neighbors campsite...they left their trash out. We learned our lesson in the middle of the night, year two...

These are some pretty deer we found on top of the pass we like to drive up. You can actually see her pretty doe-eyes...looks like she's wearing eye-liner! I've never really thought a deer was pretty...what can I say, I'm getting soft in my old age?



She's eating out of a cactus there on the side of the road. Pretty neat to see. Her baby was down below the road calling to her. The kids and I got to hear that for the first time together.


This is my absolute favorite place to be out in West Texas. I don't know that the picture really captures it's beauty. When we were up there, this was my thought: "It looks like God reached down from heaven, took pinches of earth between his fingers and pulled them up into mountain peaks here and there." Don't know if that makes sense, but I really was able to see this year that God likes us to enjoy His creation. He didn't have to make it beautiful for us, but He chose to bring us joy. He didn't have to make it nice for us but because He loves us, He graced us with beauty.

Another javolina



Some kind of spider hanging from its web in the tree above our tent...I'm a braver woman than I once was...