Last Sunday, Darren's parents, Darrell and Diana returned to Arkansas after a wonderful, week and a half stay with us. It was such a blessing to have them here, to tour with them and to just relax and hang out with them. I had met them in Maryland briefly but had not had any opportunity to get to know them. Their coming made me a little nervous - meeting the "real" family of my "adopted" family. I kind of felt like I was meeting "the future in-laws" for the first time - would they like me, would their close family fellowship make me really miss my family or would I feel a part of the family? As it turned out, I had nothing to worry about. Darrell and Diana are friendly and loving - two of the most wonderful people - and we had a great time.

The first place that we took them touring was Caesarea. It was a beautiful day to be outside and explore. The kids played on the rocks and in the sand while Maggie and I relaxed in the sun nearby. Darrell and Diana spent more time exploring the ruins, reading the information boards and taking pictures before coming back to play with us.

A large group of Japanese tourists were enjoying the ruins with us that day. I don't know what day they were celebrating, but right before they left, they all gathered in the amphitheatre, each with a helium balloon in his hand. Cheering and whistling, they released their 80 or more balloons at the same time. As much as Nathan enjoyed watching the balloon cloud whip around in the air, he would have preferred to keep a couple on the ground for him to play with. To hold onto a balloon and continue his ineffective struggle to keep his lollipop out of the sand would have proved too difficult for the little guy so it's just as well that they all floated up into the sky.