My amazing trip to Maryland/D.C.

Its taken time way to long to write this post about my visit to Maryland. I can start by saying that God is so good and kind and he provides for those who love him. I flew 4 hours there and 5 hours back alone with no children in tow. I actually was sad when I left on the first day. I was saddened to leave the girls and my hubby. I haven't been away from them this long before. I wish I could have taken them all with me but this trip was a great reminder of how much I am blessed with a wonderful husband and 2 daughters who patiently took care of dad for 8 days.

Now for the bad news. When I returned home I loaded my 500 photos to the laptop and a week later the computer crashed and is out of commission. I also didn't save them to a disc and therefore have no photos to post. I hope to get the laptop fixed and retrieve them but it may be a lost cause.

(This may be the most confusing post ever. I actually had 5 precious photos on my camera still. Strange photos that were kept but needless to say here they are.)

I was so thrilled to see my sister. Tiff and I are very close. I adore her and admire her spirit. She lights up a room and people who know her love to be around her. She is a devoted and loving wife an mother and a beautiful Christian woman.

The week with Tiffany and Jason started out busy. Tiffany ran her first 1/2 marathon in D.C. Saturday morning bright and early. I arrived at 3pm Friday. The east coast is 3 hrs ahead of AZ. So 5am (2am to me) came fairly early the next morning. We got up and boy was it chilly. It was in the 40's for the high but that wasn't until later in the day! We got the girls up and rushed to catch the METRO about 5 minutes from there apt. We caught it just in the nick of time too. Had we of missed that ride Tiffany would have missed the race. By the way I thought the Metro was the coolest thing ever. Some of it above ground and most of it under ground. Like a really nice subway. Tiff and a few of her friends were running the race and they got off a little before we did and Jason, the girls and I had quite an adventure attempting to catch Tiffany come by at 2 points in the race. WE were on and off the metro a million times trying to find her and when we finally made it to the 2 point (mind you we ran a mile and a 1/2 uphill with the stroller) we saw her friends but Tiff had already come by about a half hr before. So of course not wanting to miss her at the finish we ran down the hill and hopped back on the metro an raced to the finish only to see her waiting for us! She had finished about 40 minutes before we got there. Jason and I felt so BAD. We didn't get to see her run at all and she didn't get to hear us cheering for her at all. IT was sad but we were so proud of her. She ran the 1/2 marathon in 2:04 minutes! That is incredible. Tiff is a fast runner and for her 1st race we were impressed. Way to go Tiffany! After that we walked around a bit then headed back to the metro to take the girls home for nap time.

Sunday I had the privilege to attend Covenant Life Church. Its Big and beautiful. I met C.J.'s sister Betsy and some of wives at the PC.. The worship was awesome and to hear Bob Kaughlin in person was a treat. Just like back home at Sovereign Grace, the folks are warm and friendly and welcome guests with love. Tiff showed me around the pastors college part of the church and we ran into Jeff Purswell too. What a humble man. Some of these men and their families are from all over the world, As far as Korea, Germany to name a few. There are only 20 men in the college this year. As far as I understand, the group is usually small in size. We saw the library and there were men studying there and in class well after class was over. They have access to the school rooms late into the evenings if needed to study. Which Jason took advantage of often. Jason even read some Greek to us from his Greek bible. That was really cool.

Sunday after church The girls and I hung out at the apt while they got out for a while for lunch with Gary and Betsy Ricuii. Katie took a nap while Abby and I watched a movie. They are getting so BIG. Abby is like a little lady. She is beautiful. Long blond curly hair and big blue eyes. She is adorable. Katie is a ham. She repeats everything she says at least 2x. She says "no mama, no mama" real well. which is followed by loving and gentle correction. She has such a little personality. She dropped a sticker in the car and she said "reach it, reach it" anything she says is in twos. Abby, Abby, Daddy Daddy, Dora Dora, Mickey Mickey. Its so cute. She is a little love bug. She loves her mama. She is a cuddle bug too. I loved it when in the the mornings Abby would crawl into bed with me and she was so excited to just hang with me and watch cartoons. The littlest things bring the biggest smiles:)

This was the Massive Lincoln Memorial. Isn't Abby gorgeous...

The girls were getting colds and coughing a bit but we still managed to get to D.C. 4 days in a row. Tiff showed me all the sights we could possibly cram into 4 days. The first day we spent time in the Smithsonian Museums. The Archives, National and American History Museums. I saw the Declaration Of Independence, Bill of Rights, Magna Carta and many more historical documents. We saw the dinosaurs and fossils, the gems and minerals. The HOPE Diamond was too cool. 42.50 carats. Marie Antoinette's earrings and the First Ladies inaugural gowns. Even Martha Washington's. One the 2nd day down town we hit all the memorials. Wow!! is all I can say. Everything is White and Marble. Massive in size. The pictures I have seen in my life just don't do them justice. We saw the FDR memorial. Jefferson Memorial, WWII memorial. The Lincoln memorial, Vietnam and the Korean memorials. and of course the Washington Monument. I had alot of pictures of it because everywhere you look you see this massive, huge towering , tall steeple of a memorial everywhere you look. Pretty impressive. The 3rd day I was bound and determined to get close to the White House. We walked around the whole block which took us to the South Lawn and the North Lawn. We got close alright. Lots of great photos (of course that will hopefully make it to this blog) and even saw some protesters outside the south side. They were quiet though and dressed in orange and black. The buildings downtown are amazing. I thought of Haley the whole time. She loves old buildings so I tried to get lots of pictures for her to see. We went to the White House Information Center and they said that tours were 6 weeks to 6 months out! During our time in the visitors center we realized that we had lost track of time for our meter. We were parked on Constitution Ave and had about 6 blocks to run to attempt to avoid a ticket. Tiff took off and I followed behind. When we reached the van God was kind to us and there was no ticket on the window. We decided to have lunch with the girls in the van. We noticed all of a sudden there was absolutely NO traffic on the streets. We got out and realized the presidential motorcade was about to pass us. Seriously, They went right next to our car. I filmed it and by the time Tiff got her camera out it had already passed. But it's on film of course. After lunch we trekked a few miles it seemed to the Capitol. The place where the Inauguration took place. We ran out of time and didn't make it inside but it is massive too. Huge. Bigger than I imagined. We did manage to see a few Cherry Blossoms and a few trees with white flowers. I was a few weeks early for the full bloom of the Cherry Blossoms but I saw a few.

I saw this total hippie van and thought of Haley. She wants a van like this but Cherry red. I had to get this photo for her.

One of the best parts of the trip for me was when we found the Law Enforcement Memorial. It wasn't on the National Mall with the rest of the memorials though. It was in the business district where everyday business folks work. I wanted to find this because I have a co-worker whose husband was a sheriff and he died in 1978. His name is one of 1800 names on the wall at this particular memorial. She has never seen it of been to it and I told her I would try my best to locate it and scratch his name for her. After some hunting down and illegal turns on the streets of DC we found it and I got some great pictures for her too. It was truly a privilege for me to have found this for her. I know she will cherish these memories for a lifetime.

This photo was on one of the museums. I thought he was so cute and cozy.

The day before I came home Jason was out of school a little early and Tiffany and I had a few hours to ourselves. So we caught the Metro in the rain and went into town to see the SPY Museum. It was by far the coolest museum. We ended up buying the movie Breech about Robert Hansen, The biggest spy in American history who worked 20 years for the FBI. The movie was good. It was good to have some time with my sister before I left. Thanks Jason for giving us some time together that day.
This Aquarium was so big and beautiful. Great screen saver.

Tiff and Jason are blessed with an apt in a home real close to the church. About a mile away. There door backs up to the woods and we even saw 2 deer walking just a few yards from the fence of the yard. It is beautiful in Maryland. I loved it. Some of the homes are huge and on lots of land, with acres and acres of green rolling hills. The drive to the airport was so beautiful. I hope you can catch a glimpse of where they live for now. Thanks Tiffany and Jason for having me and spending a week with me in DC and in your home. I cant wait for you to come home though. Home sweet home. Jason graduates June 7th and they will be home towards the end of the month. I had an amazing and memorable visit with you all. Kiss the girls for me. We'll see you guys soon.