The Eyes of a Child

That is T crossing the Yangze on a cornstalk raft. One of his cool stories.

T in a village. He always made sure he had lots of candy. :)

We've had many adventures through the years, but T takes the cake in that realm. He has traveled to many places and has done some really cool things. He is a major backpacker, and has this stamina that always amazes me. So when he would come home from his trips, he would put his things down in the doorway and immediately the smells in the house would transform our home to a house in a village, with the smell of campfires, backpacking stuff laying all over... it was a good time. Then we would all sit around the living room, no matter the time of day or night, and listen to his stories. He has some great stories.

I have never realized the effect these stories would have on our youngest son, San (short for Nathaniel...it's a long story). I've listened to him talk about his dad lately, and it seems that in his eyes, there is nothing his dad can't do. We tend to watch the Adventure Chanel on Saturdays, and any time there is a skydiver, iditarod racer, scuba diver or any other adventurer, San asks, "Dad, have you done that?" I guess he figures it's easier to eliminate what he hasn't done than to list the things he has done. Police officer, car fixer, furniture builder, backpacker, fisherman, hunter, microbiologist, mountain climber, mischievious child.... the list goes on.

Such is the view from the eyes of a child. And the neat thing is that we get our first views of what God is like through our Fathers. I'm sure for San, God is an adventurer, lover of nature, and a great story teller. I think that's a good place to start.