Happy 4th of July from our little family!

We watched the fireworks from the top of our 17-story apartment building tonight! David and I were planning to go to the Mall to camp out near the Washington Monument and watch the fireworks with thousands of other patriotic Americans. But as we got on the Metro today to ride to Bethesda to have a cookout with our friends, Jenny and Sean, we realized that today might not be the best day to start a new relationship with public transportation. It was hot, crowded, and full of tourists who blithely disregard Metro etiquette like letting people off the train before rushing the doors. The thought of trying to leave the Mall and get on Metro at the same time as thousands of others, pushing and shoving, became less appealing by the second. So we decided to try the view from the rooftop sundeck of our building. We are about a mile from the Pentagon, and we are probably three or four miles as the crow flies from the Washington Monument. It was a really fantastic view! We watched the sun go down and the soft glow of the lights coming on at the Lincoln Memorial, the Washington Monument, the Jefferson Memorial, and the Capitol building. It was a really interesting perspective. We could see that the fireworks were being set off between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument. We knew that when we watched the fireworks from the Mall three years ago, but we got to see the fireworks against the background of these famous monuments this time around. I would've taken a picture of the skyline for you and posted it if I thought for a second that it would turn out. Another neat thing was that we could see the fireworks of Maryland and Virginia from our vantage point. They were going off along the skyline all around the distant horizon. It was really neat! David and I were talking about where we were last year for the fireworks. We were at a resort in S.C. with Mom and Dad and Vance and Terri. It was a great vacation overall, but right before the fireworks, I was just struck by this beautiful little girl I saw, and it caused my crying jag of the week. We made it to the fireworks on the beach, but I made it there thankful for darkness so that no one could see my tearstained face. We were early in our treatments then, and we were starting to figure out that they might just be unsuccessful month after month. It was so hard. It was weird to think that that was just last year. It feels like forever ago and also far too recent at the same time. This year we watched the fireworks, and I thanked the Lord for another year, another 4th of July, and a chance at our American dream coming true. Happy 1st 4th of July, baby.