Too glorious to capture

The completion of 2007 here in Seattle could not have been more fabulous.
For you who may have never viewed this fair city,
nothing really compares on a sunny day
when the mountains frame all directions
and the sunlight dances on the various bodies of water.
It is stunning and brilliant.
In keeping with the waiting of advent, I'd been longing for such views. Monday offered such a day.
Sadly, my lil' camera can't do the scenes justice...but I persisted none the less.
In late morning, Jenni and I chased the sun to Golden Gardens where half the city gathered to enjoy the day's beauty. The mountains did not disappoint. Sea birds frolicked in the water. Various boats sprinkled the water's horizon. Chunks of wood served as lures for spritely dogs to splash and capture.
Part of the day included chasing the mountains. By this I mean, driving to find a spot where I might possibly photograph the beauty of Mount Rainier. So we drove to the heights and around corners attempting to escape the concrete of the city to fully glimpse and perhaps capture the view.
Partially through these moments, some hunger pains struck. I asked my sister if she had any food in her car and was excited when without hesitation she said yes and reached into the back seat. The excitement disappeared completely, however, when I viewed the bag of cheetos she triumphantly offered me.
"That's not food," I said.
She quickly countered, "it is for me!"
So we agreed to disagree, cheetos rejected (by me), and moved contentedly (albeit still somewhat hungrily) along for more mountain views.

We picked up Jonathan and Amara, my nephew and niece who were married in August, to enjoy their company and the real food my stomach craved. I was not disappointed!


I don't have photos to recount the close of New Year's Eve. But it was fantastic, too, as Jenni and I headed downtown Seattle to take in the sights and sounds of the Seattle Symphony and Beethoven's ninth.
(The song "Ode to Joy" comes from this Symphony.) It was a metropolitan-feeling year end and a definite treat to enjoy music as a worshipful end to the year.

Thank you God for your beauty in the heights and the depths,
in the melodies and harmonies,
in the crowds and on the beaches,
in our homes and with our families.
May 2008 be a year of your glory God!