A Sister in DC

 I am the youngest child of three, I am the only girl and never had a sister. 10 years ago my eldest brother married his high school sweetheart, Natalie.  It took some time for us to warm up to each other, but as adults living across the street from each other I have come to know Natalie and Natalie has come to know me.  She is the person I call when I am lonely or angry or lost.  She has taught me about God, motherhood, myself and family.  She was a matron of honor at my wedding!  She has sacrificed for my brother and given us two beautiful red headed baby girls.  She is generous, kind and loving.

Natalie has been working in Washington DC for the last two months.  She is an Army civilian helping to design a website to help inform people about civilian jobs in the military... awesome huh? I think so.  But she has been in a hotel during the week and home on the week ends, she misses her girls! So we thought we would bring Sami up and take advantage of a hotel in DC to visit the sights and get some time with my sister! Double win!!  I had to split up our visit up into multiple blog posts since we took so many pictures and had so much fun!

The first night we went into Old Town and the National Harbor, which I, sadly, did not know even existed! We had a delicious dinner at an Irish pub, outside.  Johnny had Daddy's favorite, fish and chips. Since Daddy could not be with us, we enjoy the things that he does for him.

Sami and Johnny are nearly brother and sister! They argue and fight over toys and attention, but they LOVE to be together and always take care of each other when they are around other kids.

Boat ride to the National Harbor, so beautiful! The kids LOVED it!  But I was not going to risk my crazy two year old leaping into the water, because she is fearless and often thinks she is a fish.  The stroller came with, complete with 5 point harness.

We also had a military issued camel back with us to stay hydrate, a perk of being a military family! The kids love to grab the straw that hangs out of the pack on my back, makes me feel like a nursing goat :)

The beautiful sunset over the capital! Perfect time for the boat ride!  I remember my heart ached a little right here, I missed my husband, I know he would have loved it too.

We wanted to get some ice cream as a treat in the National Harbor, but I don't like to clean up diarrhea from my lactose intolerant children...so imagine my excitement when we discovered SORBE!!! Right there in with the ice cream and they can get it in a cone just like any other kid!!

Even with sprinkles, she may never know she is missing out on ice cream!

Then, as the sun completely set and the warm summer night settled in, we found the giant sand box with the statue of a 70 foot man being buried alive in the sand, it is called "The Awakening" 

The kids got to climb on the parts of the giant man that he was able to keep from being buried :) so much fun  .  Lily is being eaten alive!

Isn't that so unique? I can't believe I new knew about this place until now!

We headed back on the boat and it was late, and the kids had been running around for hours and very thoroughly enjoying themselves.  Sami just wanted her Mommy to hold her and sing Little Mermaid songs.  It was just so sweet!

And Lily fell asleep in the stroller for the first time in her life! What a perfect end to a perfect day!!!

But our DC trip was not over!!! The next day we went to the Smithsonian National History Museum, or the "dino museum!" 

Project Friday

I think I am a creative person.  I LOVE to knit, sew, embroider, cross stitch and generally craft meaningful gifts for my kids, family and friends.  I enjoy it and it gives me a chance to really think about the person I am creating for and give that person a little piece of myself.  I always have many projects in the works, so I thought that once a week I would write about something I am working on.  Lily gave me the idea when, instead of swinging on the swing set on playing in the sandbox, she picked up my knitting needles and started to "knit"  Crafting is not always easy with young kids around and my attention span is shorter then some of my projects.  I hope this will show the kids that I did create things and how much of a big part of my life it is, it is my down time and it fills me with joy and love.

Lily says "I helpen Mommy"

This week Lily and I are knitting a sweater for Johnny, a dinosaur sweater! The pattern is called Steggie and comes from a free knitting website called Knitty.  I have wanted to make this sweater for a while, but the spikes seemed hard, but in the end nothing is ever are hard as you think it will be and I am loving this pattern! 

Pattern & image © 2009 Julia Farwell-Clay.

I am using a wool blend yarn in green and will get to the red spikes on the sleeves and hood! If this pattern is as easy all the way though I might make one for Lily in pink and purple! She loves to roar just as much as her big brother.  Maybe she will want to help me with hers as well.

I miss you

I miss you blog! I was reading back to when Lily had no hair and Johnny had tons and I was missing how well I kept up with my family here and leaving these memories for my children to see. I became bogged down and depressed last year, it is strange that now I know what "busy" and "stressed" really mean, and last year was like a vacation compared to it. However I feel much better now, so many things have chnaged and i thrive in the rush. I am here to admit that I suffer from clinical depression, and have for a long time. I accepted that I could not go through life hating myself, crying for no reason, and ignoring joy of any kind. I accepted that medication helps and that every single day is a struggle to push past the depression and find motivation and energy to even do the things I enjoy or take care of my children. God has entered my heart and lifted me up. He has made a difference in the depths of my soul that I never thought was possible. I am not sure if I will be able to get back to blogging for my children, or what will become of this record of our lives, but I miss you and I wanted you to know I am doing well.