Washington D.C

Wow! That pretty much sums up how I felt at the end of Saturday. You see, we used to live in Sunny Florida, just a short little drive over to Disney World and we spent our entire 2008 visiting Disney and all those magical characters. When we left Florida, I was saddened that our children would not get to experience that for 2009. Kya has been saying she was tired of Disney and wanted to do Sea World anyway. And, yet she and Autumn could not wait to see the White House. Well, let me just say I was blown away at all that D.C. has to offer and am so happy to be living here. I grow to love this area of the country more all the time. Besides Lily screaming all day long, we very much enjoyed our day. :-)

First, we strolled by the Washington Monument. We need to return because Autumn very much wanted to ride up to the top but we could not do it this day.



We made our way around the outside of the White House. This is the South Lawn.


And here is the front lawn.





And then we walked over to Freedom Square for a photo op with the U.S. Capitol Building behind us. (Later we drove around the building.)





Before leaving D.C. for the day, we stopped by the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History.




It was such a neat day and we can't wait to go back often!

About our Florida Visit

It was a sweet visit. We enjoyed each minute we got to just absorb with our friends and family. I only wish we had a little time to see a few more folks. We've only been gone from Florida for less than 3 months but I was missing everyone so badly. I wondered how this visit would sit with me emotionally. Would I miss everyone more? Thankfully, our God is good. He is sovereign and He used this visit for healing. It helped me to not feel so far away from everyone. I did miss my husband and the cooler weather of the northeast. It was good to come back home. I felt peace, a peace I didn't expect to feel. Joy, actually an abundant joy, for what the Lord has done. He has given me great friends, sweet family, wonderful trips to sunny Florida and a beautiful life in the northeast. I get to live in one post card town and visit another post card town. He is the creator of all things and the beauty of his creation just surrounds us. As I came home and felt much joy, I found praise in this Psalm. Those of you who know my heart and know our struggle since October 2007, you know it's been a long road and that road may or may not be over but I praise God in all He's done. He does have a perfect will and perfect plan and I am so glad He is in charge and not me! I would certainly muff it up and yet, he never does.

Psalm 34

I will extol the LORD at all times;
his praise will always be on my lips.
My soul will boast in the LORD;
let the afflicted hear and rejoice.

Glorify the LORD with me;
let us exalt his name together.

I sought the LORD, and he answered me;
he delivered me from all my fears.

Those who look to him are radiant;
their faces are never covered with shame.

This poor man called, and the LORD heard him;
he saved him out of all his troubles.

The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him,
and he delivers them.

Taste and see that the LORD is good;
blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.

Fear the LORD, you his saints,
for those who fear him lack nothing.

The lions may grow weak and hungry,
but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.

Come, my children, listen to me;
I will teach you the fear of the LORD.

Whoever of you loves life
and desires to see many good days,
keep your tongue from evil
and your lips from speaking lies.

Turn from evil and do good;
seek peace and pursue it.

The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous
and his ears are attentive to their cry;

the face of the LORD is against those who do evil,
to cut off the memory of them from the earth.

The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them;
he delivers them from all their troubles.

The LORD is close to the brokenhearted
and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

A righteous man may have many troubles,
but the LORD delivers him from them all;

he protects all his bones,
not one of them will be broken.

Evil will slay the wicked;
the foes of the righteous will be condemned.

The LORD redeems his servants;
no one will be condemned who takes refuge in him.

10 Things we did in Florida

Number 1: Hanging out with Family



Number 2: Visiting the YMCA


Number 3: Cooling off with watermelon


Number 4: Having a little girl time


Number 5: Reuniting with an old friend, Elvis Elmo


Number 6: Puttin' on a concert


Number 7: Havin' a little girl talk


Number 8: Lettin' *uncle* Vito give a giant spoon of coolwhip


Number 9: And, more Swimming with the girlfriends


Number 10: Letting your best *boy* friend cool you off from the hot, hot sun

Beautiful Childhoold

One thing I strive for as a homeschooling mom is to make the most of every moment. That, honestly, does not always happen. But there are times like today you can say "forget school work and let's have ice cream sundaes just after breakfast and paint instead.". These are the days of Beautiful Childhood. I love living them!

Wild Things Among Us

Every once in a while we see a little fox running around our house. Sitting at dinner the other night, we spotted him out back.



We soon noticed he had something in his mouth.


Not sure if it was a bird or mouse, or what, but he stayed around for about 30 minutes having dinner the same time of night as us.


We think one of our deer is pregnant. This is not the best photo to show off her belly but her mid section has a hump where the rest of the deer their mid section is either flat or sinks in a bit.

Autumn caught a giant beetle this week. It looks pretty small here but it's quite large. She allowed it to crawl all over her hand and arm. He stayed in the box for 2 days but eventually he fled back to wherever home might be.


Or, maybe, just maybe our snake ate him for lunch one day. Here is Slither. He tends to take a sunbath on our deck every once in a while. He is a Northern Black Racer and he is not poisonous.

Before you get a Guinea Pig

Make sure you do your research and that you are ready. They are not like hamsters. They do require a bit more DAILY work. Here are some things I did not know.

1. The litter goes in the bottom of the cage. You must clean up the messes daily.
2. They get scurvy pretty easy so you must give them Vitamin C supplement's.
3. Their front teeth never stop growing. You must give them wood chips to chew on to keep the teeth filed.
4. They do not play with toys. They only want to play with you and be socialized daily.
5. They love to snuggle with you.
6. They eat regular Guinea Pig food but for digestion they require daily doses of special hay.
7. If they get sick, you must take them to a vet.

Patches & Little Popcorn

Guess who came home today?

Meet Patches


~and~
Little Popcorn



Two very sweet guinea pigs for two very sweet little girls whom have been begging for a pet of their own.


~Today was the big day we had planned for 2 weeks now. The girls woke up screaming "It's guinea pig day!!!" Each of them was going to pick out their very own guinea pig. At the first store we went to, they had 2 sweet 10 week old babies. From their Autumn fell in love with Patches, who has one pink ear and one blackish ear. So cute. But Kya could not warm up to the other baby because it was just too skittish. We adopted Patches, bought all the supplies and left for another pet store where Kya found her special pet, Little Popcorn whom is a few weeks older than Patches. I am glad that Kya didn't settle because Little Popcorn is perfect for her. Both of the girls are happy and content and the guineas are so sweet and so cute. ~