Amazing Grace

Do you see us?

Right there... under the tree. LOL!

"America today...

begins to turn back to God."

Restoring Honor Rally- 8/28

Along with all of the other "fun stuff" we did this week- our real purpose in going to Washington DC was to attend the Glenn Beck, 8/28, "Restoring Honor" rally. It was the most amazing event that we have ever attended! You can now google various topics and find the Internet "a buzz" with articles, photos, blogs, videos and comments on this event. Don't believe everything you see out there. One example is even in the guesses on how many people attended this event. Numbers ranging from 1 thousand to 1 million. CBS claimed that there were 87,000 there. (don't believe that) The park service number was more like 600,000. The event started at 10 am on Saturday morning. Ron and I arrived at the Lincoln memorial at 12:30 am. We spent a gorgeous night just sitting around with thousands of other people trying to get there early enough for a "good spot". Basically we watched people arrive for 9 hours. This was a religious revival to bring America back to God. It opened with a very powerful prayer. (Given by Pastor Paul who is a direct descendant from the Mayflower.) It honored the founding fathers- especially George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. It honored all military service men and women. It donated 5 million dollars to SOWF (Special Operations Warrior Foundation) It included some well known people. Sarah Palin, speaking as a mother of a soldier and Alveda King speaking as the niece of Martin Luther King. It gave us some real life heroes- Pastor Charles Lewis Jackson (Pleasant Grove Missionary Baptist Church from Houston, Texas). He represented FAITH. Albert Pujols represented HOPE (Honesty, integrity, trust) He spoke briefly about baseball and the Pujols Family Foundation for downs syndrome individuals. Jon M. Huntsman represented CHARITY. (He wrote a book called "Winners Never Cheat". He is the founder of the Huntsman Cancer Institute. He has donated billions to charity. He was not actually in attendance at the rally- but he was given the "Charity award") There were stories of 3 military men, who had survived truly remarkable situations. Then of course Glenn Beck spoke... time to restore America and restore honor in this country. He gave specific teaching on how we as individuals can "make a difference"-- on how we as individuals can be better people-- on how we as individuals can turn back to God-- on how we can teach all of these things to our children. The crowd was (I think) 700,000, average Americans, just like Ron and myself, who are conservative, Christians wanting God back in our country, our government and our schools. (Just that in it's self was a miracle) The crowd was friendly, even in an unfriendly situation like being tired, hungry, hot, and in close proximity to one another. I didn't see this myself, but I believe that there was no trash left at this event like there was for the inauguration of President Obama. There were 240 religious leaders there, from all faiths, standing together. While these people from different faiths don't all believe the same religious philosophy- they do all believe that "returning to God" is the answer. The entire event ended with a very moving arrangement of Amazing Grace and another very powerful closing prayer. I truly believe that this will be the beginning of a movement- the beginning of an awakening of a sleeping giant- the awakening of the conservative Christians in this country. At least there are 700,000 people out there that have been strengthened, motivated, and unified. And their lives will be changed forever. An interesting underlying idea, from Glenn Beck- is that somewhere out there in that crowd might be a child, who 25 years from now might be another "George Washington". Someone with integrity, honor, faith, hope, and charity to lead our nation.

(sorry, but I couldn't get any better pictures- where Ron and I were sitting, it was impossible to a better view of the entire crowd. But you can find great pictures on the Internet)

Chocolate and Lobster

Before I came on vacation, I was on a low meat, low milk, low wheat, low carb, low everything diet. I decided to try my best to "stick to it", but I knew that would be almost impossible this week.

One evening we ate at The Chart House.

Dessert was chocolate brownie, covered with chocolate syrup, covered with chocolate candy bar, topped with ice cream.

We had to eat it, it was free! lol

I think it was called a chocolate lava cake or some such thing :)



Last night we ate at the Fish Market.

Here is what Ron's dinner looked like :)

He watched them pull it out of a tank of water- carry it back to the kitchen- then this plate showed up.

I had lump crab- it was alot less work then Ron's meal. lol

26 0n 26

Happy Day- 26 years old on day 26.

You are probably spending your day in the car (with a back ache :)-

but we will be thinking of you. We wish you another great year.

Some things that you will learn soon is that everyone will only come to see the kids. All the phone calls and letters will be for the kids.

All the gifts will be for the kids. So...

here is the first item I bought while on our trip here in Alexandria- it will be a gift, in the mail, to you (or maybe to baby C.)

Hopefully your real gift will be waiting for you at home :) :)

My Day Off from Walking

You can't come to Washington DC and not WALK alot. After two days of walking, today was my day off. We mostly just hung around the condo. We had lunch at the Hilton that is next door. We are going out for seafood dinner tonight at the Chart House. It is at the river end of King Street, here in Alexandria. "With breathtaking views of the Potomac River, Chart House offers world-class dining and impeccable service." (at least that's what visitors guide says :) We rode the King Street trolley again today, but only went to a couple of places, so not much walking. I bought a few items for myself at the Christmas Attic- a cute little gift shop. One of those places STUFFED with so many items that your brain goes on overload mode. I bought a kitchen decoration, a Halloween decoration, and a box of bright colored Christmas ornaments. Tomorrow we are going to Mount Vernon. We are going there by boat and then coming back on a bus and the metro. The other gift shop that I wanted to go to today was closed. We will have to go back there tomorrow when we get back from Mount Vernon. Then tomorrow night we are going to eat at The Fish Market. "Known for its clam chowder, raw oysters, crab cakes and "schooners" of beer, the newly remodeled Fish Market is a landmark. From its unique balcony, watch the bustle of King Street and the Potomac River." (so says the visitors guide :) We'll see. I think we are just going there for the beer. lol


I took this next picture yesterday. We are standing at the back of the Washington Monument, looking toward the Lincoln Memorial. I wanted this picture of this area without people there. Then on Saturday- I will try to get a couple of pictures with a million people there :) :)

Old Town Alexandria

We are in Old Town, Alexandria, VA, this week. We arrived here on Sunday night. Yesterday we spent all day here, just getting acquainted with the area. We are staying in the Wyndham, on King Street. King street is lined with new shops, old shops, and restaurants. There is a trolley that goes from the metro station on one end of King street, to the river that is on the other end of King street. We rode that trolley to the "river" end and then walked back. For lunch (which might have actually been breakfast since we slept in until 10 am :) I had the BEST chicken pita sandwich I have ever had. For a mid afternoon snack, I had the BEST frozen yogurt, I have ever had. Last night we went on an evening tour of Washington DC. We rode a bus to see the most popular "sites" there. Today, we rode the metro to Washington DC- we went to a couple of museums, went to the top of the Washington monument, had lunch at the Natural History museum, saw the sculpture garden at the art museum, and then rode the metro back to Alexandria. Tomorrow we may just hang around the condo- I need a day off from walking and eating out :)

(The night time tour was bad for good pictures, and today was overcast so it was bad for good pictures- maybe on Thursday and Friday, I'll be able to get some good pictures) I think we may go to Mount Vernon on Thursday, then back to Washington DC on Friday and Saturday.