Yesterday my wife had her baby shower (wow…so much pink…), so the boys and I decided it was a good time to get out of Dodge. We went shopping for baby ourselves so the boys could get an outfit for her (wow…so much pink…). After that, we hit Tautphaus Park in Idaho Falls.

We found an area where there was some playground equipment ringed with trees. I thought they’d want to hit the jungle gym, but the preferred activity at first was tossing the football around. There was a good blanket of fallen leaves, and the boys happily crunched through them diving for balls (I admit I led them sometimes to make them fall in the leaves, heh-heh-heh). Then Dad had to start a leaf fight. I shouldn’t have let them in on the secret of “downwind” though. Finally we finished up with a rousing soccer match.

The day was one of those times where I was struck by God’s grace and wonder in His creation and His love for us. The crisp autumn air, the crunch of the leaves underfoot, the laughter of children, wrestling and rolling through the leaves; all these things are a joy that wasn’t necessary, but still given to us by the God of all comfort.

Thank you Father, for your incomparable gifts!