Please, let it be true...

Yesterday morning, we sat down in church, and David said something to me, and I heard a lower tone in his voice that surprised me. It wasn't his normal voice, but it was definitely lower than I'd heard in a long time. It lasted for awhile, but then got more scratchy, but it does seem to have improved a little. Our neighbors last night, who had talked to us a few days ago, commented on the improvement last night.

This morning, he woke up with the good lower tones again. And I'm thinking, "Please, God, please let this be You healing him." It feels like we've had one delay after another on him getting the shot in his vocal cord to make him sound more like his old self, and I'm hoping that that is because the Lord wants to heal him first. He saw a new specialist at Chapel Hill literally the morning after we moved in here. That doctor was singing my tune that he didn't need the additional test that the dr. in DC had recommended, and he set up a time for David to get the shot on Aug. 6. That still seemed like really far away to us at the time, and I was impatient about another delay, but maybe it has a purpose. I'm hoping for that, anyway...

David and I are looking at this situation, and we are realizing that it has good humbling properties for us. When you're just off of a Supreme Court clerkship, the world is your oyster. There are many people out there lining up to throw ridiculous sums of money at you if you'll come to work for them. I don't say this to be prideful, but to explain why we may have needed this humbling experience. We don't want to be in danger of forgetting that it is the Lord that lifts up. We were very aware of that when David got the clerkship.

David is a very hard worker, and he did make great grades at UVA, but he wasn't the top student in his class, and there were plenty of other people that he knew just as deserving or more deserving of the honor than he was. We were in awe that the Lord had put David where He did. But after a year of being around a large group of the smartest young legal minds in the country, maybe we were beginning to feel more entitled. I don't know; maybe it was a danger for us. So, right before the clerkship ended, David got a difficult and embarrassing impediment handed to him that could potentially hamper his legal career in unforeseen ways. At the least, it made him feel less desirable and singled out as somehow less than the others. And I felt humbled with him. We are both very aware now of how quickly things can turn from great to precarious. We are humbled by our own weaknesses and by the fragility of all situations in this life.

Please pray for David. Pray for his healing, and please pray for wisdom for us. We don't want to get this shot prematurely if the Lord is healing him in other ways. Please pray that it would be clear what we need to do.

The porch swing...

Here it is, our porch on a sunny Sunday afternoon, light filtering through the trees, and the ceiling fan making it's soft noise as it spins around and around. I'm making apple cake, and it makes the kitchen smell delicious. We're having our next door neighbors over for cake and ice cream tonight. They're a very nice Lebanese Christian family.

We went to our first church today. Sigh. Now begins the great church hunt. Again... We were spared that last year. We knew of a good, solid church in the area, so we went there immediately, and we didn't look around. It was nice not to have to do that. But this time around, there are a million good churches in our area. You can't throw a rock without hitting a church. They're everywhere. Though I admit, there aren't a lot of good churches with a rockin' contemporary service, so that limits us. We're going to miss that about Sovereign Grace of Fairfax. Sniff. I'll probably write about our feelings about churches and church hunting sometime, but I'm not feeling ready to write a nuanced post that manages to convey the struggle without offending anyone, so I will wait on that. =)

My timer's going off. Cake is ready! Big hugs to all of you.

Random rainy evening post...

It's been a lovely evening so far. David and I ran around today, getting items for the impending visit of cousins who live overseas. We wanted to make this place as visitor friendly as possible before they get here next Monday, so we headed to Target and Lowes. We left with a new gas grill and my favorite item...a porch swing!

Mom and Dad dropped by this afternoon because Mom had left her clothes hanging in our closet. They were going halfway to Raleigh to pick up something this afternoon, so they just came the rest of the way to pick up their things. I haven't lived within "dropping by" distance of my parents since I was first married, over 6 years ago. So, they got here, and I was sure glad they did.

I found a great sale on the porch swing, but David was nervous about trying to put it up, so he said my dad would have to do it sometime. Well, that time was today! I couldn't wait. I was like a little kid about this. So David put it together, and he and Dad hung it from the back porch rafters. It's perfect.

We all sat together on the back porch, and I got to swing to my heart's content. I came in to make dinner, and when I turned, I could see all my family out on the porch, with Mom on the swing with Seth. The water bubbled for the noodles, the smell of meatballs came from the oven, and I heard the voices of so many people that I love right outside. We ate on the porch with a light rain drumming on the roof.

I feel so blessed right now. I've wanted to come "home" for a good, long time now. God provided a way for us to do it, and I am so appreciative. But, Seth is crying in his swing instead of catnapping, so I must go. It's been a wonderful day, though. And I'll get up pictures of my swing soon, whether you care or not. =)

First days...

Whew! It's been a whirlwind. I don't want to move again for a long, long time. Putting the stuff into boxes is so stressful that it does me in emotionally, and taking it all out because I can't stand to have the boxes sitting around does me in physically. But I think we're largely settled at this point...

We left on Sunday afternoon at 3:00 p.m. from Arlington, after spending the night in our empty apartment on a borrowed air mattress. We went to church in the morning!, largely so that we could go with a friend who wanted to visit, and then we rushed outta town as quickly as we could. It wasn't that quick. It's amazing how much stuff we had to get out of the apartment before we could leave. But finally, we were on the road. Seth did great, for the most part.

The highlight of the adventure for him and us, though, was when he woke up and began to meltdown from too long in the car, right after I'd passed the last fast food exit for 30 miles. So, desperate, I pull off in Dinwiddie, VA, home of nothing but a sign for Good Home Cooking, 3 miles away. I pulled over, and David was game for trying it after he heard the crescendo of wailing. So I got back in the car, and here I am, winding along a country road, Seth screaming in the backseat, and I keep making turns and following old, faded signs, praying that this is place is a) coming up soon, and b) still open for business. We got there, after turning off on a country road that scared me for David in the UHaul. When we got to the parking lot, there was a sign that said, "Thanks for not giving up." =)

But it was a nice place to stop and rest. The little restaurant overlooked a lake, and there were a mother and daughter waitressing. We sat out on the porch and rocked Seth while we waited for dinner, and after dinner, the sons of the mother waitress came in from fishing on the lake to tell us all about what they'd caught. =)

We made it to Mom and Dad's about 11:00 p.m., completely bushed. Monday morning, we were up bright and early. David got my parent's neighbor, and they cleared out our storage unit, all before 9:30 a.m. Then I headed to Raleigh, straight to the rental office to pick up keys, and David took the truck to the house. We finished our fast food lunch on the stoop 5 minutes before our movers showed up.

We spent Tuesday and today unpacking boxes and getting things together. Mom and Dad came with us and were a HUGE help. Dad and David went out this morning and came back with a bunch of expensive, but necessary, yard equipment. They argued over the meaning of "necessary" in the store, and David managed to whittle down Dad's list. Dad is the King of All Yard Work, the Sultan of Lawn Maintenance, the Godfather of all Things Green. His lawnmower cost more than my first car, and he maintains 2 acres...pristinely. We, being smart people, figured out that if we got some of the stuff on Dad's list today, then he would do yard work for us all day. He did, and it looks great, but honestly, Daddy, I do like the wild, "English garden" look. I know; I must not be your daughter.

We unpacked the last box this evening! I know, I've been told we are lightning speed unpackers. I just can't stand looking at boxes and junk lying around. It's part of my OCD tendencies. My husband is also an incredibly hard worker, so that makes it all possible. We found at least temporary places for most of it. We'll rearrange more in the coming weeks, I know. And we have a lot of little projects that I'm looking forward to getting on. We haven't put up any pictures yet, and I'm thinking about curtains, and I desperately need some spice rack thingies, we have to change the dryer cord for our outlet or we can't use the dryer, and it appears that we have no bolts or screws for the crib we were given, so I'm going to contact the company about getting some of those, etc.,... so I think we're going to be pretty busy.

But I LOVE this little house. It is so perfect for us, and I feel blessed to be in it a little more each day. Our neighbors are very nice, and I've never really had "neighbors" before, in the cul-de-sac sense, so I'm looking forward to that new experience. At this point, David's home with me, and it still feels like an adventure. I'm looking forward to this month of settling in together. I love hearing the crickets outside, and I love all the green of our trees that I see out of the windows. We have eaten every night on a card table on our screened-in back porch while Albert has had the run of the back yard. Mom and Dad went home tonight after dinner, and we'll miss their help, but I think it's under control at the moment, anyway. Thanks for all your prayers for a smooth move. It's gone really well so far.

Baby Moves to Raleigh...

Hmm, this is new. I wonder why Mom and Dad put me in here.

Well, at least I have my elephant and some milk. This is going to be great!

Ya know, it's kinda dark in here, but the new guy carrying me sounds nice.

Wheeeee!!!!!

Hi, Daddy! So, this is North Carolina, huh! I like it!


(No actual babies were harmed during the filming of this post. =)

Goodbye from Arlington...

This will be my last post from Arlington, VA. They're coming today to take away my cable modem, so that's why I can't hang on a little longer. Just about everything is packed. We mainly just need to do some cleaning and making calls today. We pick up the UHaul tomorrow, and the movers will be loading it tomorrow afternoon. We head to NC on Sunday after church. Please pray for us as we travel. I haven't done the 6 hour drive to my parents with Seth before, so I'm a little nervous about how it's going to go, especially since David and Kitty will be behind us in the UHaul.

When we left Alabama, I was ready to go. I was pretty sure we were right to leave, even though I wasn't sure what was waiting for us up here. This time, I'm not ready to go. I haven't emotionally left Arlington yet. And I don't really want to leave. If David could get his dream job here, and we could afford a place big enough for a little family, I wouldn't go. But really, it's just that I don't want to say goodbye to the best year of my life. We visited Charlottesville, and prior to this year, I would've said that that time was the best year of my life. But, driving around town, looking at our first apartment, hanging out with my old co-workers, I realized, "That happy time completely pales in comparison to this." And I guess I'm afraid. I'm afraid that we will move, and things will get hard again. I'm afraid that I'll be lonely in the suburbs. I'm afraid that God will call us to another tough church and another tough time in life if we leave here. I feel like, as long as I stay here, I can hang on to happiness. What will happen if we leave? Will life still be sweet and peaceful somewhere else?

I don't know. But I have this verse to comfort me: "And Joshua set up at Gilgal the twelve stones they had taken out of the Jordan. He said to the Israelites, "In the future when your descendants ask their fathers, 'What do these stones mean?' tell them, 'Israel crossed the Jordan on dry ground.' For the LORD your God dried up the Jordan before you until you had crossed over. The LORD your God did to the Jordan just what he had done to the Red Sea when he dried it up before us until we had crossed over. He did this so that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the LORD is powerful and so that you might always fear the LORD your God."

Years from now, Seth and I will look at the pictures we took this year in Arlington, and I will tell him of God's faithfulness to our little family. I will show him "stones" of remembrance of how God provided for us. We have truly crossed on dry ground. There are many piles of rocks that we have laid down all over the country, from NC, to Virginia, to Maryland, to Alabama, to Virginia, and they all tell the same story. The Lord is powerful, and He has been good to us. We will praise Him, and we will raise another pile in Raleigh, NC.

First bowl of oatmeal...

Seth has started enjoying his baby food a little more. For the past couple of days, he's started opening his mouth for me to put the food in! I like this better than the system we had going where he'd arch his back and cry, and I'd shove it in while his mouth was open. Today, we served him his first bowl of oatmeal. I think this was a definite hit, much better than the rice cereal. He was actually leaning forward for the spoonful of goo, and he reached for the cup a few times. I think watching him enjoy new foods is going to be fun. We're crossing our fingers that he likes green beans. =)

Why I will miss Pentagon City...

I thought I would take this post to tell you a little bit about why I love where I have lived for the past year. When we moved into the River House at Pentagon City, I was not a city girl. At this point, I have learned to see the appeal of living in a city. I never thought I'd be wistful about leaving my 17 story apartment building, but this place has made me nostalgic about city life. You see, there are many perks to being a stay at home mom with a small baby living where I do. You never have to be lonely. If I want to see and hear other adult humans, I can walk out my door, go down the elevator, and instantly run into the cleaning staff or the front desk attendant. They will coochy coo Seth and ask me how he's doing. There is one janitor who says, "Hey, Little Man!" every time he sees us, and that is often at least once a day. Then if the weather if good, I can walk out my front door and see the view above. There is a park right out my front door, and on that circular path, there are often other moms with strollers and elderly people walking their dogs during the middle of the day. If it's after work, there are even more people out. And in a city, nobody expects to have much privacy. We all nod and smile, say hi, and sometimes, indulge in a bit of conversation. We know we'll see each other in the elevator, in the lobby, getting mail, at the restaurants acrosst the street, etc. I spend so much time outside now that the weather is good, especially now that Seth is kinda fussy before bed in the evenings. David and I walk the cute little neighborhood behind our building about every other night. When David wasn't home until late at night for a couple of weeks, Seth and I would walk over to the baseball field after dinner in the evening, and we would watch people play and talk to the moms and dads with strollers that were watching their spouses play. Then we would go inside for bed, tossing a ball for the same Golden Retriever each night as we passed him, and telling his owner that we were heading in for night night time. If we got tired of the park, we could cross the street and find ourselves here...


There is a large mall right across the street from my building. It starts with an outdoor court surrounded on all sides with shops and restaurants, and back behind that is a 3-story indoor shopping mall. I can walk to Harris Teeter in less than a block, and there is an Eckerds literally across the crosswalk from my building. On summer evenings, there are concerts in this courtyard, and the kids play in the grassy areas.

Mornings are lovely in this courtyard, too. There are plenty of people with their Starbucks and a newspaper sitting at the little tables. One morning, I got up, fed Seth, threw on some clothes, ran a brush through my hair, and walked across the street to Eckerds to pick up a prescription. As we crossed the street, another mommy with a little boy in a stroller crossed behind us, calling out a cheerful hello. We smiled at each other as we shopped, and after Seth and I were done there, we walked over to the courtyard for a minute. She was there with her son, and we struck up a conversation. She lived in another building in my complex. We talked for about half an hour, and she gave me her name and phone number and info on a playgroup of moms who all live in our complex. We talked about how much we enjoy being stay at home moms in Pentagon City because of mornings like this. I'm really going to miss the easy access to so many people and things where I live now. There is nothing like this in the suburbs. I will have a nice backyard and a great porch in my new house, and I'm thankful for those things, but at this point, I kind of prefer sharing my "yard" with many other people. I don't yearn for suburban privacy like I thought I would. I will miss Pentagon City more than I ever thought possible. It has been a wonderful place to live and love and have our baby boy, and I will say a tearful goodbye to it when we roll out of here on Sunday afternoon.

Specialist's appointment...

David saw the specialist in laryngitis this afternoon. Seth and I went with him, and we got to be in the room, ask questions, and see the whole procedure. The doctor put a scope down David's throat (poor guy, it was hard not to gag), and he took video of the vocal cords when David spoke. He used a strobe to get better slow motion pictures. The pictures were quite clear, and he used the machine to show that David does have vocal paralysis of the right vocal cord. The muscle tone of it was slack and drooping, and though it did move some, it wasn't moving much at all. Because of this, his vocal cords weren't coming together and closing when he spoke, leading to the higher pitched, weak voice that he has now had for nearly two months.

Here's where things got really hard for me. David's ENT doctor who referred us to this specialist had given us the wrong idea about what he would do for us at this visit. That ENT gave us the impression that this visit would more clearly diagnose the problem, which it did, but also that he would be able to do a test that would determine whether or not David's vocal cord function is likely to return on it's own. At the conclusion of these tests, she said, David could get a shot in the vocal cord to give him much more normal speech. That test could be scheduled for this following week, before we left D.C. This is what we were led to believe. She was wrong, and that was hard on us. We had waited a month for this appointment, for the hope of some improvement.

Instead, the specialist tested David with the strobe and recommended that he see another doctor for a second test to determine future vocal cord function. He couldn't do that test at this visit. In fact, he didn't do it at all, and only one doctor in this area actually does it. Of course, we couldn't see him next week. He's completely booked. So we waited a month, looking forward to David getting this shot and getting some of his voice back, all for nothing.

I don't think I realized how much I'd been looking forward to the possible return of David's voice until it was denied to me. I was very angry at first, and I felt really betrayed by the false information we received. I was angry that this long wait had given us nothing but more waiting and more tests. And I was then sad that this tough chapter is not over for us. I had really high hopes that we would leave DC with the problem at least partially solved and with less to worry about.

It is hard to trust God with this, and I think it's getting harder in some ways. David's ability to do his future job depends on his ability to speak above a whisper. In a way, I think I was clinging to him getting the shot as a lifeline. If we got it before we left DC, even if it was a few days before, and it didn't work for some reason, then we could cancel the movers, get out of our lease, and figure out what to do next without uprooting our life to move to Raleigh. We'd have some time to think. We wouldn't potentially leave here for nothing. We'd have an out, and even if it was by the skin of our teeth, we could stop this thing.

But as I have learned over and over, God doesn't deal that way with us. He wants us to hang EVERYTHING on Him, when doctors can't make promises, and when doctors can't do anything. Haven't I learned by now that doctors can't fix anything without the Lord? I don't like the lesson this time any more than I liked it last time. But it's what I have come face to face with, once again. So on July 22, this little family will be packing up our moving van and driving to Raleigh to start over. We're doing it, hanging everything on faith that the Lord has called us to this job and this place. He has provided a wonderful home for us. And He will make a way.

The sweetest ache...

It's a beautiful morning in Arlington, VA. My house is clean and neat, and I'm sitting here with a nice cup of hot, gourmet cocoa and my breakfast muffins. Everything is calm and serene. Why, you ask? Because David took the Munchkin on their first big Father-Son Outing to the National Zoo. I fed him, and off they went. They'll be back around 2:00, and David is keeping that cell phone on all day. I'm a paranoid mama. This is their longest outing without me, and I had a hard time watching Seth roll away from me down the hall. But now, I'm fine, and I'm relishing some reading, blogging, painting my toenails, etc. time.

Above, I have a picture taken of Seth several months ago, on Easter Sunday. He fell asleep in my arms, and David snapped this while I rocked him, so content just to be his mama. But he's not that little tiny one that he was then, and sometimes my heart aches to look at these "old" pictures.

See, we hit a big milestone yesterday. It was one I'd been dreading almost since the day he was born. Whenever David would mention it, I would cover my ears and starting singing. But it was time. I couldn't avoid it any longer. Yesterday, we gave Seth his first solid food.

I'd waited as long as I could. I clung to my pediatrician's attitude that he didn't need anything but breast milk until he was 6 months old. My hungry eyes gleamed when I saw the American Academy of Pediatrics said the same thing. But the last couple of nights, he'd been waking up a couple of hours earlier to eat, and he seemed pretty hungry when I fed him. And so, the mama instinct that is slowly growing in me told me that you do what is best for your child, even if it's hard on you. (I'm still amazed at that instinct and how it helps make the early mornings and late nights and cranky children easier to bear somehow.)

But I still mixed up that innocent looking white goo like I was stirring up a big batch of arsenic. I put on his little bib with defeated resignation. And I was gleeful when he didn't much care for it. =) He ate a bit, then he didn't want it, and he was highly offended when he put his thumb in his mouth to suck, and he ended up swallowing the goo left in his mouth with it. We'll keep going, because once you start, you can't go back. Maybe in a few days, we'll try something he likes a little better, like some sort of yellow veggie. It has begun.

I never thought I'd be such a huge fan of breastfeeding when I got started. It was a hard battle for me at first, and I didn't think it'd ever be easy or fun, but now it is. (This is not meant to offend any of you that bottle feed.) I have loved that I've been able to provide everything that Seth needs, right from the amazing tap that God gave mamas. I've watched him grow and bloom and get so big, and it's all from the milk that God put in me to provide for him! How amazing! But that joy of being the sole provider also makes this kinda tough for me. He's growing up, and the dividing line between baby and kid for me was always right there, at starting to eat his first food with a spoon, his first food that comes from the big, wide world and not from the safe, warm confines of my protection. Breastfeeding is a big tether that ties Mommy and Baby together. I have embraced my golden chains.

This last week, knowing that this was coming, I have fully enjoyed waking up in the middle of the night to feed Seth. I slip out of my bed in the dark when he begins to cry for me. I pull him out of the tent, and we settle in on the couch. I stroke his soft hair in the darkness as he eats, and I cherish these moments. He falls asleep again in my arms as soon as he's done, and I kiss his baby forehead a couple of times and whisper a blessing as I put him back down in his bed. How much longer will I stroke your head in the wee hours, my little one? How many days are left before you sleep until morning? I don't know, but I do know that I will miss this time more than I ever thought I would.

So, please don't make fun of me too much. Please don't think this is all unnecessary drama. The "growing up" will get easier to bear, I hope. And I don't think every milestone will be this hard for me. But I learn all the time how the sweetest love and the sweetest ache mingle together when your name is Mommy.

"Customer service"...

David and I have been calling up and cancelling our services these past couple of days. We called to cancel a credit card that I'd gotten to get a substantial discount on an Amazon purchase. Anyway, we don't have additional credit cards laying around because we only really use them for special situations, like renting a car, so we only need one card. This is kinda how that exchange went:

David: I would like to cancel my credit card.
Cus. Service Rep. (completely horrified): Why?
David: We just don't want the card. We have one with our bank, and that's enough.
C.S.R.: Can you tell me why you prefer your other credit cards? We have many, many different credit card plans to meet your needs. Let me tell you about 5 of them...
David: I don't want to talk about why I like the other card better.
C.S.R.: Please, sir, I know that we can satisfy you. Let me transfer you to our department that harasses people who just want to cancel their credit card for 10 minutes before you hang up on them.
David: Please, just cancel my card. I don't want to talk about it anymore.
C.S.R.: At this point, my supervisor requires me to tell you that I will sacrifice my firstborn child to keep your business. I will also sing any song that you would like to hear, including, but not limited to, anything by Billy Ray Cyrus, and I will send you a check in the mail for $100 that you can cash. If you cash it, of course, you will then be signed up for another credit line with a higher rate of interest, but I hope this will entice you, sir. (note of desperation in voice.)
David (heart of stone): No, thank you.
C.S.R. (defeated): Thank you. You've been a very good customer. (Note: She actually said this. We never used the card after the initial deal. Not once. I didn't even activate the thing after it came in the mail.)

The saga continued today when David attempted to cancel our phone service. We knew where this was heading when they asked where we were moving. David said, "North Carolina." Immediately, he was transferred to someone in North Carolina. He was then told that X Company doesn't provide service in Raleigh, so he was transferred back to Virginia to cancel our current service. This led to us speculating on what would've happened if we'd answered this way:

C.S.R.: Where are you moving?
David (completely straight face): Zimbabwe
C.S.R.: Wonderful! We have just joined Zimbabababnasiuowejklsfidfliown Telecom in Zimbabwe as a strategic partner. I'm going to transfer you right now, and we'll have you set up in a jiff.
David: AGGHHHHHHH!!!!!!
C.S.R. in Zimbabwe: Oh, Mr. Bragoon, it is so good to welcome you to Zimbabababnasiuowejklsfidfliown Telecom! For joining, we will be giving you a big bunch of bananas as your welcome gift to our country!
David: (click)

Baby tent training and other random thoughts...

David is home with us, and we've had a busy weekend. It's a little weird knowing that he isn't going back to work tomorrow. I almost don't know how to feel having him around. It's nice, but it's entirely different. I'm not sure if I should go about my daily activities or not. We're planning some activities for this week, before we get into full scale packing. We're going to make a pilgrimage to Charlottesville to visit UVA Law and our first little home together. David is going to take Seth to the zoo for Father-Son Day (I'm sending him off with a bottle of milk =). And we may check out the Mint so we can watch them make moo-la. It's only open on weekdays, so we weren't able to do this together before. And now that David is home and things have slowed down a bit, we decided to do something we'd been putting off. For instance, we started baby tent training.

The picture above shows the baby tent folded up, and that picture illustrates why we want to use this thing for a travel bed. See that small, round, cloth bag hanging on the smiling man's shoulder? That's the whole thing, folded up. He's smiling because he's got an 8 lb. bag on his shoulder instead of a 35 lb., unwieldy, difficult to fold up, Pack N' Play. We have a Pack N' Play. We've used it. But man, this thing is so much better! Vance and Terri introduced us to the Peapod baby tent, and we requested one as a baby gift when Seth was born. They used it when they went to Germany for the summer when Isaac was about Seth's age. Isaac slept in it all the time, for naps and at night, and as a result, they could put him down anywhere and everywhere, and they did. We quickly realized what a good deal this was as we watched them do it. Since it's so lightweight and compact, it's easy to just throw in the car for a trip to a friend's house. It's small, so it fits places that a pack n' play won't. It fits in small corners, on stairway landings, etc. And since it's enclosed mesh, when Baby wakes up, he's always in familiar surroundings, no matter where he is. And it's just as comfy as a mattress. Basically, the tent has a small air mattress that you pump up with the hand pump. Then the mattress zips into a separate compartment in the bottom of the tent. Voila, soft and comfortable digs for baby!

Ok, so we started putting Seth to sleep in this thing a couple of nights ago. We were a little nervous that he wouldn't take too kindly to it, but we put him in it wide awake so he had a chance to look around and get his bearings while he was falling asleep. He could still hear us, and even see us through the mesh, and we put it where his cradle would normally go. He did great. He did wake up more often in the night than usual, but he always went back to sleep. We put him in there for his morning nap yesterday morning, and he slept soundly. And last night he slept normally, just like in his crib. I think we're going to use it for the rest of our time here in DC, just so he gets really used to it before we're on the road.

I've got to admit, though, I'm a nervous Nelly. We put Seth down the first night in the tent, and of course, he immediately rolled sideways and stuck his face up against the mesh. Instantly, Mommy freaks out, sure that he's going to smother to death. I sat by the tent, watching for him to breathe. I put my hand between his face and the tent, nearly waking him up. I then Googled "Peapod smothering deaths." =) Nothing. There isn't even a warning label on the tent, and these people make safety equipment as well, for crying out loud. David insisted that this was breathable tent fabric, it wasn't like a crib bumper. I almost called off the whole experiment, but I decided to trust David and the fact that my nephew is still alive and well after many, many nights in it. Everything is fine. Seth has learned not to get wedged in the corner anymore, I think, so that helps my peace of mind.

I promise, the Peapod people are not giving me any advertising revenue for this post. =) But I do love this thing, and I think more people with babies should know about it.

Happy 4th from D.C.!!!

We had a wonderful 4th of July in the nation's Capital. I'm pretty sure that it will be a very long time before we get this kind of view behind us again while watching the fireworks. This picture doesn't do it justice. It was a very pleasant night with a mild breeze, and children ran all around the lawn while the fireworks went off. The National Symphony Orchestra played the 1812 Overture nearby while rockets exploded over the Washington Monument, and after that, they launched into some Sousa marches. Rachel, I know you said you taped "A Capital 4th" off of PBS. Well, we were there live for the taping! =) I thought it was cool that other people watched what we did on the holiday on their tvs.

Seth LOVED his first fireworks. I wasn't sure how he'd feel about it, so I brought some cottonballs for his ears, just in case. But he wasn't the least bit scared. (I credit the loud praise band at our church with getting him used to loud noises.) He stood on my lap and said, "Oooh. Oooh. Oooh. Ooooh." over and over again while waving his arms. I haven't heard him get that excited before. It was so fun to share his first 4th with him, well, his 2nd really, but his first when he could enjoy the fireworks.

We put this little boy through a lot on the 4th, and he just kept on going. He did great! We left our apt. with a bag packed full of food and water at 11:00 a.m. David worked out a way for us to drive into town, avoiding all the closed streets, and he dropped us off on Independence across from the Smithsonian Castle. We unloaded a bunch of stuff, and then he drove off to park at the Court in their garage for the day. We hiked across the Mall, went through the Natural History Museum, and ended up on the other side at Constitution and 10th for the 4th of the July Parade. David walked down several blocks from parking at the Court, and he met us there.

This parade was something else. It was about an hour and a half long! Seth and I pooped out after about 45 minutes, and we went inside the museum to sit and snooze. But there was an Uncle Sam balloon, a fife and drum corps, about a bazillion high school marching bands from all over the country, some Bolivian dancers, the Vietnamese-American society, and even the Hare Krishnas at the end. I have a bone to pick with the parade coordinators wanting the 4th of July parade to be so "diverse," (well, really, their definition of diverse, I guess). Diversity has been a wonderful and important part of American history always, and it's one of our strengths that we are a nation of immigrants. But I guess I would've liked to have seen a little more "melting" in the pot. Instead of a crew of Bolivian dancers, I think it would've been more fun to have seen a group of Bolivian Boy Scouts. I guess I want to see all Americans, no matter their color or origin, doing things that all Americans do and relate to in the 4th of July parade. But I'm not sure if I'm right about this, and I don't want to cause a fuss from someone thinking I'm too narrowminded, so that's all I'll say about that.

Ok, I've digressed long enough. After the parade, we ate our lunch in the overcrowded museum cafeteria, after some hard work to snag a table and 4 chairs. Then it was time for the Folklife Festival on the Mall. Mom was hard to pull away from all the exhibits, as you can imagine if you know her. This year, the three cultures represented were Northern Island, Historic Virginia, and Mekong. It was kind of funny when I heard a guy talking on his cell phone, and he said, "I can see Ireland from here." They had tents with authentic music and dancing, tents with traditional crafts, and tents with traditional food for sale. It was great fun, and Seth did wonderfully with it all. By mid-afternoon, though, I thought he was looking listless from the heat, so we dragged my parents away, and we headed back to the Court. There, we had a lovely al fresco picnic in David's office while it poured outside and we avoided being the poor people who waited in line to get on the Lawn and then had to leave to run for cover. =) Seth and I got a nap, and then it was back outside for the concert and fireworks! What a day! Even with traffic, we made it home before 10:00, and Munchkin spent a restless night waking up his parents and grandparents every few hours. =( I guess there were still visions of fireworks dancing in his head.

Ah, this picture definitely deserves an explanation. This is Sethline Davidina with his grandmother. He is wearing the outfit she bought for him over a year ago for 4th of July this year. When I told Mom that I was pregnant, she was sure that I was having a girl. She was so sure that she bought this adorable, bowed, outfit for my sweet little girl. Isn't he precious? =) So, being the terrible parents that we are, and at the risk of being billed by him for his future therapy sessions, we put him in it. Too bad some of the best pictures that I got of him that day were during the hour and a half he was wearing his girly clothes. Mom was a good sport about it, and she actually wanted to pose for this picture with her "granddaughter."

In other news, today is David's last day at work. I wandered through the quiet halls of the Supreme Court last night, wishing it a silent farewell. We have loved our time there as a family. I will never be able to express all that this year has meant to us. We come away with some unforgettable memories, new friends, and some experiences that we will never be able to repeat, unless David gets tapped for Supreme Court Justice when he's about 45. =) Ha! David will be home with us for the next month and a half as we prepare to move and move. We're looking forward to having this time off with Daddy. Have a wonderful last day, sweetheart! Relish it, and remember the Lord put you there, and the Lord is leading you on.

Our new home...

This weekend, we found our first house. This only took six years of marriage, y'all, so it's a huge deal for me. =) It's a rental, but it's ours for at least the next year, and probably at least six months longer. We looked at six houses, and this one was the top contender right from the start. The others were larger and fancier, but they didn't have the particular homey feel of this one. And they didn't have the wonderful trees, the spacious backyard, and the private, serene feeling. This one is better on our bank account, and quite frankly, we don't need a large home right now. We're still thinking of space in DC terms, and this house is HUGE by those standards, about 1150 square feet. I am overwhelmed by God's goodness to me. This house has all three things that I have proclaimed over and over again that I wanted in a house. It has a huge, screened, covered back porch. (I LOVE this porch; I want to marry it. =) It has a kitchen that is NOT a galley. And it has a wood burning fireplace.

Not only does it have the amazing back yard, which goes back farther than this, it also has a new deck on the lower level for grilling out. The yard goes back farther than from where I took this picture, and it's fenced in. You also can't see it, but there are two large storage buildings. They are clean, spacious, and appear to be waterproof. Just one of them is larger than the storage unit we're renting now, so I have no worries about fitting all our stuff in, Dad. =)

Isn't it wonderful? =) First item of business is installing a porch swing, immediately. Then maybe I'll get some hanging baskets of ferns...and then maybe Mom and Dad have a couple of old porch rockers hidden away somewhere. I have already decorated in my mind, in case you can't tell. It also has a ceiling fan for hot afternoons. The kitchen looks out onto the porch, so we can look outside while we eat.

This is the view from the porch. In this picture you can see the two outbuildings. One of them is kinda ugly, but it's not that bad in person.

The paint and the carpet are brand new. I think the mantel is, too. The living room isn't big, but I think we can get all the essential furniture in there.

My new kitchen! I LOVE that the linoleum isn't white. I have come to despise white linoleum. It shows absolutely every speck of dirt. I also like the gray blue background with the white cabinets. It gives the kitchen character. And I also have a huge pantry in there. The fridge even has an ice maker that makes crushed ice! Another little treat. Yeah, I know, I'm a kid in a candy store here. Little things make me very happy.

This is another nice surprise that makes me grin. There was a kid's playset right there, and it looks pretty new and clean. I think I can even fill the little sandbox underneath with sand when Seth gets older. I can see us helping him slide, and I think we might put in a baby swing where one of the other swings is. This will be nice for when friends and family come to visit, too. I can't wait to invite all of you to come in and set a spell on my porch with a nice, tall glass of sweet tea. And in the winter, we'll roast marshmallows in my fireplace. Home, sweet home.