I Love You

What better way to remind yourself of your vows and the beautiful union of two people in love, than a wedding! We got to attend a wonderful wedding for a friend of ours, John. John has been a friend of Brian's since he moved back to Virginia years ago. John was in Brian's small group that he first joined and they have been great friends since. The ceremony was in Arlington and the reception was in D.C. at the Old Ebbit Grill....which by the way is great food, really neat atmosphere of old historic photos and things on the wall, but very crowded as it's a local gathering. If you plan to go to the hangout which is also right near the White House expect the place to be very crowded with at least a 2 hour wait for a table. The reception was in a seperate atrium, beautiful with waterfountain and palm trees.

Brian and I had a great time and even got to dance some. After the reception which ended about 6pm we joined with some friends whom we had not seen in awhile and caught up with them. Then we walked several blocks to Oceanair for some great food. Mind you the kids are with Grandma and Grandpa...Brian and I had not had a date night in at least two months! Yes way overdue.

John and his new wife Ashleigh! What a gorgeous couple...we are so happy for them!

Outisde of Old Ebbit waiting for car...yes it was very cold and I didn't have a big jacket on.

The night coming to an end, here we are with our friends Laura and JK...thanks guys for a great night out!

Winter Wonderland?

So we got about 4' of snow over the past two weeks! We get snow in Virginia but not this much and I have to say I had cabin fever bad at the tail end of the last storm. After being cooped up in the house for a week, the kids and I were ready to go out even just a short trip to the mall. But boy was that a mistake, because us and everyone else wanted to get out too. The roads were fine but the parking lots were half taken by story-tall walls of snow and everyone seemed to be in a hurry to get somewhere. Except me of course, so I got a little frustrated by all the road ragers.

I have to say it's beautiful and I enjoyed it at first but now I am ready for Spring! And the sun for that matter! Looks like snow is at bay for now, and I am just praying that God will bring us some beautiful Spring weather soon so we can start going outside to play. Here are some pics of our Winter wonderland...

Our street as we headed out to visit Grandma and Grandpa.

The farm road we take to get to Grandma and Grandpa's...normally a gravel road. We did fine with our awesome 4x4 Tundra. We ran into two cars that should not have been on this road; a RAV-4 with 4 wheel drive. Brian pulled them out with much ease. They offered us some money but of course I kindly declined and just said it was a good deed for a neighbor. Then we got confronted by a truck without 4wheel drive and this road was a one lane road. Luckily he was able to back up to a point where we could squeeze by. It was close and had we not turned our side view mirrors in we definitely would have hit.

One of the hay farms we pass on our way to Grandma and Grandpa's house...beautiful! I wish that was my land:-)

Proud Owner of A Minivan

Yes I never thought I would say it but I am now a proud owner of a 2006 Honda Odyssey. With the arrival of baby #3 we knew I couldn't keep driving the Toyota Tundra much longer, not to mention it is a gas guzzler. So over the past month we have been researching and deciding on what car to bring into our garage.

The Honda Pilot, the Ford Flex were just a few that we considered but in the end I knew in my heart the lack of space would come to be an inconvenience and I would have wished that we would have just sucked it up and bought a minivan. At least we would have space for all of us plus three more guests and plenty of cargo room for long trips. Not that there is anything wrong with a minivan, I guess it's just a sign of getting older?? Like when you leave your 20s...getting gray hair or other signs of maturing. But I know it was the wise choice, for everyone's sake. Especially mine on those days coming when I am out running errands with three kids, one in hand and two at my side...those automatic sliding doors and rear door will be my best friend.

So we bought used of course, these things are over $30k brand new which I could never spend that much money on a car. But God surely blessed us on this purchase which Brian made after a snowy day. It is the Touring model which is the highest package that Honda offers on the Odyssey. With black leather seats, bluetooth navigation, and seating for eight it was worth buying the older model. The one owner took great care of the interior and the leather is in amazing shape. So next time you see us, don't laugh, trust me once you ride in this thing you will wish you had one:-)