Up & Down

This weekend will be one filled with up and downs.
Friday we help pack up and say goodbye to Aunt Karen (Dave's sister) as she moves out to Pittsburgh to start her new job. I know it will be difficult for Lilia, but thankfully Karen's dog is staying here. Lilia loves to visit and care for the dog.
The kids and I will spend the weekend at my parent's. We'll go Christmas Tree hunting with my parents, my brother, his wife and their 4 month old (almost 5) baby, Ellie. Then we'll celebrate my dad's birthday Saturday night.
Lots of good times with family; quality time spent.

Lilia's Quote of the Day

So we were in a hotel all weekend.
We were getting ready to walk out the door when I asked Lilia to please put her shoes on.
She was carrying in her arms her blankie and a toy and replied to me, "Do I look like a have a free hand?"
Dave and I laughed so hard and for so long. I know it was with a hint of attitude, but it was too funny. Also, I wonder where she learned that line? I have NO idea!

"Sushi"

A weekend away

We are having a great time at Regional Staff Conference in Arlington VA. It's such a beautiful town. It's like Philadelphia meets Charleston with some of the houses. Love it!
The kids are having a blast staying in a hotel! They are sleeping better each night and with each nap.
I am getting to have great conversations with old and new mom friends.
God is showing up and doing a lot of work in my heart to change me from the things I worship other than Him.
I met a girl named Anna that reminds me so much of my dear friend Emily who lives overseas with her family. I love it!
I discovered a store called, The Paper Source. Oh SNAP! I could spent countless hours and money there. I wish I could work there, but I would spend all my paycheck in the store (plus I'm not allowed to have another job working with Bridges and I'm thankful for that).

Little boys & cars

I apologize for the lack of blog posts lately. I haven't been on the computer much, which I guess is a good thing.
So Alex has moved on from balls/sports obsessions to cars, including Thomas the Tank Engine, which he excitedly watches EVERY day, without fail.
Someone gave my mom a huge original (iron cast) collection of matchbox cars. Dave's mom also went up into the attic to pull out Dave's old collection. In terms of cars Alex is set!
As you can see from the picture below he doesn't go many places without at least 2 cars, generally many more than 2 though. He wants many of them in his crib and if I took them out he would be very upset. When he sleeps at night I just tuck them into the corner of his crib. It works out just fine. I knew I had to capture this on film to show him this adorable passion when he's older.

The sights of fall

Gingko trees

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Always Prepared

 Somewhat early one Saturday morning Dave, myself and the kids headed out on our somewhat usual trek of walking to Clark Park, playing and then strolling through the growers market.
As usual I had packed a very large mug of tea, and much to her personality, Lilia packed some essentials that you see pictured to the right.
It was a frigid morning! The kids tried to run around to warm up to no avail. I asked Lilia if she wanted to try some of my tea to warm up. She was willing.
She pulled out a toy wine glass from her bag and I proceeded to fill it up; topping her off as she would finish off the small portion. It certainly helped, she warmed up nicely!

Quote of the Day

"It will always remain true that a preacher, a teacher, a parent will achieve more by encouragement than by scolding."  - William Barclay

I'm not really into quotes; in fact I can't stand quotes. I hate seeing them posted or up and around. For some strange reason they make me want to rebel. 

However, William Barclay has changed my world around. Almost every time I open his book I am writing something down and wanting to share it with others. Amazing!

This quote is going on my fridge because I have a hard time remembering to encourage when my natural tendency is to scold.

The Navy Yard

Dave discovered the Navy Yard one day on his bike. When he saw it he knew he had to take us down, along with my dad.
Friday morning my dad and his buddy George came with us to the Navy Yard. George worked there for some time painting ships, and preparing them to go out.
George told us lots of stories and walked us through what it was like. It was so cool. My dad was shooting his camera at almost everything he saw. It was a great morning!
Then we topped it off we donuts at The Federal Donut on 2nd street. Dave met the owner waiting in line to get into Greenfield Elementary school. We tried so crazy kinds like, blood orange, nuetella, key lime and chocolate raspberry. The place was off the hook busy at noon on a Friday. They only sell donuts and fried chicken which they were just about sold out of when we left!

George worked on this air craft carrier in 1983.

Urban Outfitters also has offices there. They use the old buildings that line the ships. As we explored the area the scenery was blowing me away. What an incredible place to work! To be in those old buildings and have such cool surroundings would foster such creativity! In that moment, I longed to work there. (There's not a chance I could for various reasons, but it was fun to dream of what it would be like.)

Campus campfire

 Wednesday evening we played on Penn's campus. It's about 16 blocks from our house. The grounds make for a perfect playground that encourages lots of creativity.
On this particular day Lilia wanted to build a campfire. We collected sticks and sat around the campfire. It was hilarious to see Lilia's leadership ability come out. First she had me draw a campfire. Then she was directing me around with how many sticks to collect, leaves and fire according to the fire "recipe" I drew for her.

The Fine Arts Library

Rocks rock!

 On Wednesday morning I had a conference call that I knew would last close to an hour. After we dropped Lilia off at school, Alex and I headed to Kelly Drive to get in some exercise and enjoy the beautiful fall weather. We made it to these boulders just in time for my call. Alex played trucks on the rocks for the full 45 minutes without even moving.