The Lincoln Memorial

I am teh busy today... but I had to share these photos. I love the Lincoln Memorial. It has always held a certain magic for me, and I remember getting chills as I climbed the steps and his face emerged from the shadows when I visited last -- in sixth grade! It was so great to see my own children's expressions as they experienced the same thing during this trip.

Lincoln was an almost mythological character to me as a child. I grew up reading about him, just like Laura Ingalls Wilder and Gandhi. He was one of my earliest heroes, and I still love reading about him today. I am glad that my children are interested in history and in the same heroes that I loved reading about as a child. It's so neat to relive my childhood a little through my own kids. I get to re-experience childhood, but with the benefit of everything I've learned since then.

Six!!!

One of the things about having a birthday the first week of November is that you can still get by with having a Halloween-themed birthday party! We had Miss O's birthday party over the weekend, and it was a blast! We called it a "masquerade ball" just in case anyone questioned our creepy choice for a little princess's birthday party theme. :)

I can't believe she's 6 already!!! It seems like just yesterday that she was born. I remember the day perfectly. It had been cold for a few weeks, already, and we were blessed with a few really warm, beautiful early November days. I went out for a walk feeling great -- oddly, no pain, no signs of labor or anything. It was absolutely gorgeous out, and the sky was the most brilliant cerulean blue against the few orange and yellow leaves left on the trees. I saw lots of different bird varieties, as well as rabbits, deer, and squirrels. I felt like I was in a Disney movie! I thought to myself, "too bad I'm not anywhere close to going into labor -- what a beautiful day this would be to be born on!!!"

And then I felt a twinge.

Of course, any Mom can tell you that a twinge does not mean anything, and labor pains can go on for literally days. But these didn't let up. In fact, by the time I turned around to walk home, I had to hold on to people's fences to walk! I had left my cellphone at home (duh!) and almost thought I wouldn't make it back! But I did... I threw a few things into a bag, called my parents to come get the boys, and off we went to the hospital!

My little princess was born so quickly, the doctor almost didn't make it to her birth! As I held her for the first time, I remember being amazed at just how girly she looked! Even with her scrunched-up newborn look, she looked like a perfect little china doll. She had a girly little cry, and such a calm baby personality. She was the easiest baby of all four of mine -- easiest birth, easiest to take places, easiest demeanor... best sleeper!!!

She still has that peaceful personality. She wants to be "an art teacher or a space guy" when she grows up, and is content to paint and draw for hours. She loves to read books with me, and is elated to be learning how to read, herself. She loves to find beautiful things in the world and point them out to others. It's interesting to me how much her personality and interests match the day of her birth -- the peacefulness, the beauty of nature, the warmth...

She's such a cool kid, and I am lucky to have her in my life. Happy sixth birthday, Olivia!

Picture Day!

I didn't take this picture, but I love it. This is my daughter on her way to kindergarten today (it's picture day) with a friend's pet Turtle. The picture was taken by my friend Tracey, whose kids also attend school with my kids at the really cool, little, school in the country I wrote about earlier.

A Little Princess

"Hotchkotch"

Because "hopscotch" is kind of hard to say when you're five.