Hmmm, coincidence?...

Last night, 10:38pm. As I exit the bathroom and prepare to slide into bed I hear pitter pattering little feet down the hall and into my room. It's Gracie! With her shoes in both hands wanting me to put them on her... am I surprised that the child I layed down an hour and a half earlier is bright eyed and bushy tailed? Yah, kinda.

Shoes are gone and with a cup of juice in her hand she lays back down. And I nervously go to sleep.

3:15 am. Pitter patter, pitter patter... "Mommy... Mommy". She actually made it to my room though the hallway is basically dark. (Side note: there is a night light down stairs in the living room that lightens the stairwell. But, other than that there is only Gracie's night light in her room.)

"Get back in bed Gracie." I try to lay her down, she only wants to sit in her bed and read a book. So, I close her door and go back to bed myself.

4:15am. Don't know how I awoke exactly an hour later.... kinda weird. I hear random "ABC songs" and other music coming from her room. Her CD player is off!

She is sitting on a chair, playing with a toy. She never went back to bed!!

"Gracie, get in bed now!"... spank. Then the nice mommy refills the juice. I cover her back up and return to bed.

She slept the rest of the morning... until I got her up at 8am.

However, this is the interesting but, oh so expected part: Bryant had no idea!!! He says this morning, "Well, I guess I'm putting her crib back together..."

Really? I think maybe we'll just buy another baby gate to put in her doorway all night long. Sure, it's not going to keep her in bed... but, it will keep her out of my room. And... she will get tired enough to climb back in bed herself, right?!

And Bryant, no more Benadryl before bed dear...

Big Girl Now...

Well, Gracie is officially on her way to "Big Girl" status.
Potty training is amazingly easy, she tells us when she has to go and her diaper is usually dry. This weekend we were out and about and she held it the whole time until we got to a potty! Praise the Lord, girls are SO much easier to potty train then boys!! I've always been told that little fact but now I'm a believer!

And... to top it off last night Bryant switched the crib into a big girl bed! Kinda scary at first, but she did amazingly well!

Our Weekend...

Last night after finishing up dishes, I walked outside to find Nathan playing in a "dirt pile". Oh, what a proud momma I was! Dirt piles bring back so many fond memories for me of my early childhood. My brother and I would spend hours playing at the dirt pile near the swing set when we were growing up. We were definitely not afraid of any dirt... but at that point in my life I don't remember being to fond of showers...hmmmm..... that kinda sounds like Nathan too! Well, anyways Uncle Greg I hope your proud.

And today... it was in the 80's-90's outside and beautiful. So, we ventured downtown. We walked around the monuments a little bit then headed to one of the museums. I must say that Bryant and I are determined that we need a Sit and Stand stroller! Nathan gets tired of walking and we usually just have him stand on the basket or sit on top of the stroller... but, I don't think that can be too comfortable. So, I feel a shopping experience coming on...

And my blog would not be complete without a picture of Flat Stanley. Flat Stanley traveled all the way from North East, PA to stay with us for the month. Our mission was to show him around town and return him back to the wonderful little girl at Davis Primary School with some photos and a note on his adventure. This was our primary goal of our trip downtown today. Flat Stanley will make his trip back to PA on Monday. It was nice having you as our guest Flat Stanley... especially because I didn't have to cook anything special or worry about having a clean house while you where here! Buddy, you can come anytime!

Flips and Rolls...

Last night, Nathan was jumping off of the slide and into the jumpoline in the basement. Well, he was told to stop or he would get hurt and he replied with, "But mom, I want to do flips and rolls just like the girls do...". So, Bryant helped him do a somersault in the jumpoline... here's the result:

Cookie Time...

Today, the kids helped make cookies. After I mixed up the batter they...

scooped and rolled...

baked...

and most importantly ate! Of course the chocolate goes first!

Momma's therapy...

So, some of you may think that living in DC is just the coolest thing... but not this momma. At one point over the weekend I told my extremely patient and understanding husband that I just wanted to go home... to my church, my friends, my family. Obviously, that's not going to happen and after all the wishing and hoping... I knew that too. When reality sets back in, we just simply have to make the most of what we have. Afterall, God brought this opportunity to us, to prosper us not to harm us. And He has opened doors and moved stones out of the path the entire way.

Good news: I really enjoyed church yesterday. And took some advice from a very wise lady and stepped out of my comfort zone and up to the donut table and mingled with some fellow Sunday School parents. So, thanks Jen... I think all I needed was to "go get some juice"!

After church, I decided to complete the weekend therapy with a little bit of shopping. I mean typically if you ignore the total at the end of the receipt every once in awhile, then shopping can be very rewarding. I always feel so guilty about buying myself anything, especially when I have two children and a husband that also require clothing and shoes. So, after I picked up a few things for myself I headed over and grabbed some new clothes for my kiddos. Sorry Bryant, nothing for you this time.... maybe on my next therapy session purchase!

Here's Nathan rockin his new diggs... he asked what a rockasauras was... then rocked on!

Gracie is sportin her new dress and momma's new $2.80 jewelry. Gotta love sales!

"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29: 11

A New Day...

The past two days we've been singing, "Rain rain go away, come again another day..." and today it is 63* and BEAUTIFUL!!

Yesterday we got to spend the evening with Bryant's cousin and her family, they were in town on vacation. They came over to our house for dinner and then we went back to the hotel with them for some pool time and card games. Oh, how I love visiting with people (especially because I still know no one here)! So if you're reading this friends and family: COME VISIT ME!

Today was Gracie's 2 year check up. So, we headed south to Woodbridge... we love Woodbridge, it's so nice there (only sometimes it can be a royal pain getting there... ugh traffic). I can't remember all the stats from the appointment but I do remember that she is a healthy 26 pounder! After words, the kids and I had lunch at Chick Fil A (the Woodbridge location is the closest to us). When I told Nathan that we were going there he started singing his newest hit, "I'm in love with Chick Fil A...", those are actually the only words, he just repeats them several times.

Anywho... nice weather... yes!

Oh What a Night...

Does everything seem to happen all at once at your house? Well it does here! With Gracie being sick our nights are usually filled with crying and multiple trips to her room. So last night around 1:30 I could hear a faint cry in the distance... thinking it's Gracie I was doing my best to try and ignore it (probably hoping Bryant would get up). Then I realized it was Nathan not Gracie. It is very unusual for Nathan to cry at night unless he's had a bad dream or something along that line. So I fly out of bed (I mean FLY) and find him laying on his floor face down. So, as I go to scoop him up and put him back in bed I can see blood all over his carpet. Yikes, me + blood =not good. So, I grab him up and call for Bryant twice (because I'm sure he thinks I'm trying to con him into taking over the night shift with Gracie). Well, thank goodness for Daddy! This man knew exactly what to do and did it calmly too. Me, well if you know me well, I'm sure you can imagine what I was doing next... it involved laying on the floor hoping to not pass out. Seriously, I'm speakin the truth! Not sure if it was the flying out of bed part only to be met with the adrenaline of finding a hurt child or the sight of blood... but, that's me! Anyways, Bryant decided that Nathan didn't need stitches (although we're sure if we would have taken him in he would of gotten at least one) and we had lots of Steri-stips (thank you Adam J) and antibiotic ointment... so Bryant played doctor. Then, Nathan and I sat up and watched The Little Mermaid... and then finally returned to bed (well, the futon... together).

Man, I just want to sleep through the night once!

Forgetful Minds and Runny Noses...

OK, so maybe that shouldn't be plural. After all we only had one forgetful mind and one runny nose today.

Bryant was able to get 3 tickets to the Easter Egg Roll at the White House today, and he had planned to take both the kids. Well, that is until Gracie got felling cruddy... So, Bryant and Nathan ventured off to the White House today to roll some Easter Eggs, dance to music and make a jump rope craft. (There was lots of other activities there for them to do, but there was lots of lines too!)

Forgetful Mind: Bryant.
He forgot his cell phone and the memory card for the camera. He got the camera just no memory card! And he grabbed my phone out of my purse as I dropped my boys off at the Metro this morning. Ya see he needed it if he wanted me to pick him back up later!

So, here's some pictures from the Easter Egg Roll (kinda), only minus a large White House in DC... and instead a smaller house in Springfield.

Oh, and the Runny Nose: Gracie.
Go figure!

Happy Easter

Happy Easter everyone!

On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, "Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: 'The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful man, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.' " Then they remembered his words. Luke24: 1-8

Rainy Day...

Today is a rainy day and all I wanted to do was sleep in. Gracie has not been feeling well the past couple of days, with a fever and a cough that turns her face red. It's been back and forth with whether she should go to the Doctor or not. On Friday I attempted to take her to the Doctors and got stuck in a traffic jam on 95. Since we missed that appointment and nothing else was available we had no choice but wait and see what the next day held. Well, last night was a sleepless one. She was up crying all night and saying "ouwwww"... when we asked her what hurt she told us "my cheek". We assume that means her mouth and are assuming once a gain when we say "her molars?". This poor girl has had one large bump on both sides of her lower gums for weeks now and hopefully those bad boys are trying to finally come through. After all this may begin to explain the eating of books and anything hard she can find, like her bed on a regular basis. Seriously I was starting to wonder if it was a little girl or a beaver loose in my house! Anyways, pray for us as we decide what is wrong with this little girl, after all we are not doctors and have no more wisdom on the subject than God has granted us already. With no fever and hopeing that a cough is just simply a cough... were waiting to see what tomorrow (tonight) holds.

Sometimes it's rainy... I can't wait for the sky to clear and the sun to come again!

Maundy Thursday

Well, today is Maundy Thursday. In the past few years we have always attended a Good Friday service with my sisters' family at their church, this year we were very much looking forward to our first Maundy Thursday service. However, due to a sick child we are unable to experience the scripture reading, music and the solemn feeling of the dark atmosphere upon departure.

However, we are still able to reflect upon the meaning of Maundy Thursday, the day that reflects upon Christ's Last Supper. At the end of their gathering the Bible tells us that they sang a hymn before heading out to the Mount of Olives This was most likely a hymn sang from Psalms 115-118.

Psalm 117

Praise the Lord, all you nations; extol him, all you peoples. For great is his love toward us, and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever.

Praise the Lord.

During the Last Supper Jesus gave his disciples a new command, in John 13: 34 he says, "A new command I give you: Love one another." As we reflect upon the Last Supper and the days that were to follow, may we all remember this command and how deeply God loves us.

Random Fact...

Gracie is a monkey...



...who LOVES mustard!

Friends...

Christie was my best friend growing up and now we live the closest to her and her family that we have in years! In just a couple of hours they were here... we can't wait to do it again! Thanks for coming Christie and Curtis!!

After a hard day of playing and having a ball, we finally got the kids settled down and ready for bed... well, OK Gracie got herself ready for bed.

Cherry Blossom Festival

My parents traveled back to DC with me on Thursday, and then this weekend we took them into DC to see the monuments and the Cherry Blossoms. Our first attempt into DC was by van... and needless to say roads were closed due to the parade and we were unable to reach our destination. So, we returned home and took the Metro into the city. Wow was that busy. Crowds and crowds of people everywhere! Thank goodness for Gracie and her stroller we were able to bypass some of the crowd when entering into the Metro and we could go through the handicap entrance. By the time we got downtown all the roads had reopened and we were wishing we had known ahead of time and drove down in the afternoon instead of in the morning but, oh well. We fought the crowd and were able to see the Washington Monument, World War II Memorial, Korean War Memorial, Lincoln Memorial and the Vietnam Wall. So, we saw all the monuments that we had planned on visiting, but as for the Cherry Blossoms... we didn't see too many of those. Later, however I did find a few in some pictures that we took ! So, the big lesson that we all learned: Don't visit DC during the Cherry Blossom Festival! It's way too crazy!

A trip to NY and Nathan's 4!

Well, our week started with a 7 hour drive to New York and ended with a FOUR year old boys' birthday party!
We were so excited to see all our cousins this past week and eat lots of yummy birthday cake!
And to top it off... now Nathan's in a booster seat!