Wednesday, December 17, 2008

All I want for Christmas!






















Many of you know that the only thing I want is to be with my kids. To be with all of them at once is Heaven! And I do mean that! I finally got my wish for Thanksgiving. We spent a week in Washington D.C. with Brandie and her family and then drove down to N.C. to spend the Thanksgiving week with Lance and his family. Tiffany's family met us there. What a perfect moment to have all my babies under one roof at one time. I took over 350 pictures, I tried to pick just a few, man they were all so good.
Our trip to D.C was incredible. Rick had never been there so all the sights and experiences were new and fresh. Of course it is an awesome place that is full of history and makes you proud to be an American. We saw all of the monuments, got a personal tour of the pentagon with Josh, Arlington, Mt. Vernon, the Smithsonian, Gettysburg, Mananas, D.C. temple and so much more. We were so fortunate to be in the right places at the right times. At Mt. Vernon in George Washington's home we were there the day after they brought the original painting of George Washington kneeling in prayer. It was huge and incredible. They told us that Arnold brought it there himself. When we went to Gettysburg, it was Remembrance Day. The day they reenact the Gettysburg Address. Hundreds even thousand of people dressed in period costume were there. A big parade then battalions march to the drums and fife on the fields. The lined up, the North and the South. In grey and blue. It was a sight to see and we got to witness it from the warmth of our car. We went to the Smithsonian American History museum the day it opened after being closed for many years, they greeted us with flag pins, people dressed in character (George and Martha Washington, soldiers, Jefferson) and we saw "the Star Spangled Banner". The original flag that flew over the fort during the civil war. Unbelievable.
Thanksgiving day was the best. Brooke outdid herself. The food was delicious and we ate all day. Everyone was is such good spirits and happy to just be together. We ventured out to McDonald's, the movie, and the mall to ride the carousel. The kids were so good. We had no glitches what so ever. Rick and I got to babysit all 5 girls one night while the big kids went to dinner. That was heaven. There was not a minute that you couldn't reach out for a hug or a kiss from anyone and they were all so willing. Saying good bye was the hardest. Especially when you don't have a "see you in..." date to look forward too. This was definitely the best gift I could ever have received. So I thank Rick for taking me, and all my kids for arranging everything and all the entertainment. But best of all, thanks to my "five little girls" for loves and kisses and the frosting on the cake. Somebody up there loves me to bless me with all of this.