Sunday visit.

In case you were wondering, the new banner photo was taken in Fort Walton Beach with my iPhone, which I'm convinced takes better pictures than my DSLR. (If you weren't wondering, just ignore that last sentence.)

When I was a kid, my grandparents, who were farmers, used to come to our house on Sunday evenings for "tea." Sometimes that was a pan of lasagna, sometimes a burger or a sandwich, sometimes a pizza, but we always got together on Sunday nights for a family visit. Ben and I are trying to do more of that these days, whether it's going to see my parents or hanging out with some of our kids. Life goes by so quickly, and we never get these days back. We're trying to make them count.

Today Ben and I drove south to go to church with Mansquared and Abbey, but before we left, we checked Google Maps and Mapquest for directions. NEVER again. It was 112 miles, mostly on 2-lane roads with no lines and crumbling edges. And an abundance of dead skunks.

In Virginia, we don't use a groundhog to tell when spring is coming. We just start counting the roadkill.

After church we all drove to Lynchburg to have lunch at Abbey's house. Ben had smoked a Boston butt yesterday, so we brought pulled pork and buns, mop sauce, slaw, and broccoli/cauliflower salad. And potato chips and blond brownies. It was such a delightful day we sat out on the back deck enjoying the warm sunshine. And the neighbor's screeching peacock. It added such a nice touch of ambiance, especially since it made Pete a nervous wreck and he paced back and forth trying to jam his head between the bars for a better look.

After stuffing our faces and me forcing everyone to eat two (or three) brownies so I wouldn't have to bring any back, we made the two-and-a-half-hour drive home on blessedly wide, lined roads, which now seems amazingly tame after the harrowing trip down this morning. It's all about perspective.

And somehow it's Sunday night and tomorrow starts another week of work. It's amazing how fast it goes.

Be thankful ~