Macy's Baptism

Macy came to us a few weeks ago and said that she was ready to be baptized. We have never pushed our girls into baptism, but we have taught them that it is a public display of their salvation. We told them that Jesus commanded us to be baptized, but we knew it was their step of obedience to take and not ours to dictate.  And as it turns out she was baptized on Father's Day. What a special day we had!

She was not scared or nervous at all. And it was neat that a friend's daughter was being baptized the same morning.  We were both pregnant at the same time and now our babies were baptized on the same day.

We are so proud of you Macy! First, for your salvation and that you have realized that you are a sinner in need of Christ's saving grace and secondly, for your obedience to him in baptism. We have seen evidence of your salvation in the way you act. You love Jesus, and you love learning the things in His Word. I am so thankful to be able to call you my daughter and my sister.

Vacation Part 5: Washington DC

I will wrap up our vacation here, so consider yourself warned at the number of pictures in this post. :)

We headed out Saturday morning to visit Mount Vernon, the home of George Washington.  Every room/section you entered had a different docent. Unfortunately we were rather unimpressed with most of the docents.  A couple were animated and gave you great information, but the rest didn't seem to enjoy their job and just wanted you to move on through.

View of the Potomac River.

Kitchen.

We made a quick visit to the Air and Space Museum before heading out to our tour of the Capitol. One of the things on Kayla's must see list was the airplane used by the Wright Brothers. The fabric was replaced on the plane in the 1980's, but everything else is original. 

Our last stop of the day was a tour of the Capitol. Our tour guide was great and we learned so many new things.  All 5 of us even stepped on the spot in the Capitol which is the exact center of DC. When the Capitol was built a special spot was made underneath that spot in hopes that Washington would be buried there.  He made it clear that he wanted to be buried at Mt. Vernon with his family, and so he remains there.

This is the original painting of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.  It is the same picture that is on the back of the $2 bill.  In the painting Thomas Jefferson has his foot on top of Sam Adams' foot. Interesting considering they were rivals, but on the $2 bill the foot has been moved to the side. Another interesting fact that I had forgotten was that Adams and Jefferson both died on July 4, 1826 - 50 years after the Declaration of Independence was signed. 

On our way home we made a quick stop by Arlington Cemetery.  I wanted to take the girls to see the changing of the guards, but it was quite a hike. Instead we just took a few minutes to observe a small section of cemetery.  I know they can't grasp what these men and women have sacrificed for us, but hopefully seeing a small portion of the thousands of grave sites left a small impression on them. 

After 12 hours in the car we finally made it home.  It was a long journey home, with extra stops for some reason, but we were happy to be in our own beds that night. I am thankful for the opportunity we had to visit our nation's capitol with our children, but now I need a real vacation!

Vacation Part 4: Washington DC

I'm trying to break up the posts some so it is not quite an overload of pictures.  Since I print out a book of the blog every year for myself and the girls I want to make sure I include lot of pictures for them.

We woke up Friday to a rainy day.  It rained constantly all day long.  We really wanted to see the documents at the National Archives, so we headed out and waited in the rain for over an hour.  The kids were good sports, and it was so fascinating seeing the actual documents that were written over 200 years ago. We are truly citizens of a great nation. Who knows what the future holds for us with the decisions that are being made these days, but we have been a blessed nation in so many ways.

Umbrella malfunction.

 

We enjoyed a tour of the Library of Congress.  Our guide was fabulous and we learned so many new things.  We saw Thomas Jefferson's library collection, the first map where the term America was used, some old Bibles, and many more things. Unfortunately in DC there are so many things that you can't take pictures of, but I would rather them be preserved for future generations rather than getting a picture of them. We also learned about the fires and architecture of the building.

 And when you are related to Benjamin Franklin you can't stay in the city without getting a picture with his statue outside of the Post Office.

All of that walking in the rain wore a couple of little girls out.  Brooke was the first to fall asleep (the only nap she took the entire trip other than car rides) and Macy fell asleep on the metro shortly after. 

We ventured out to the Lincoln Memorial after dinner.  It is a spectacular monument anytime you see it, but at night when it is all lit up, it is quite amazing.

Marc and I traveled to DC before we had children, but it is still amazing to venture into the monuments and memorials.  Knowing our history and seeing the quotes of these important people truly brings history to life.

And we did make time to visit the pool. :)

Vacation Part 3: Washington DC

When we were planning our trip we didn't know that the Alabama Duttons were planning a trip to DC and Williamsburg as well. Turns out that they were leaving DC for Williamsburg about the time we got into DC.  They met us at the hotel and we all went out to dinner.  While the kids enjoyed their cousin time the grown-ups traded tips for each city.  We were able to take their metro passes and we gave them our Williamsburg tickets that gave them access for one more day. Win-win for both of us!

On our first day in DC we took a tour of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing followed by a LONG walk around the tidal basin to see the Jefferson Monument, FDR Memorial, and Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial. We had plans to take a ride on the paddle boats, but the water started getting a little too choppy for our liking. Unfortunately we weren't able to fit it in before we left town.

The President was leaving town this afternoon so we saw Marine One and the decoy arrive in town.

The FDR Memorial is one of my favorites.  It's a peaceful walk with little waterfalls.

And of course we had to get a picture with the dog. :) 

Vacation Part 2: Williamsburg

Our first stop was in colonial Williamsburg.  Before the trip we spent a little bit of time every day learning about our nation's history.  Kayla already had a good foundation from school, but a lot of this was new to Macy. We all enjoyed learning from the people in Williamsburg.  They were very knowledgeable and played their roles very well.  One of my favorite parts was talking to some men on the street.  They asked the girls what they like to eat and if they enjoyed certain colonial dishes.  The girls were stumped as to what they were talking about until they said that there was a new recipe where cheese was poured over noodles.  They perked right up with talk of macaroni and cheese!

Making chocolate.

Colonial Marching Band.

It wasn't unusual to see people riding down the streets or walking a couple of oxen around.

The Capitol

The Virgina Court

The grounds were full of funny looking trees.

We probably could have spent a few more hours walking around exploring the different stores and trades, but we needed to get on the road toward DC.

Vacation Part 1: Road Trip!

We just returned from our longest road trip. We loaded up the kids and drove to Williamsburg, VA then to Washington DC. I wasn't sure how the car ride would go with three little ones, but they did great! They watched lots of movies, colored, did some worksheets, read books, and played on the kindles.

We went on this adventure with two other families: The Andersons and the Smiths. There were 6 adults and 9 children. Everyone got along great the whole time!