The Twelve Days of Christmas in Washington, D.C.

As part of our holiday celebration we are reading "The Twelve Days of Christmas in Washington, D.C." by Candice Ransom. This is a great way for us to discover the city and start new family traditions.

So far we have done 5 of the 12 activities discussed in the book. Most of which have been free admission and loads of fun. However the blistering cold of the last couple of weeks have made each an adventure dressing for winter.

I have been having camera issues so most of the pictures will be borrowed from other sources on the web.

Some of our favorites are:

Zoolights at the National Zoo

A chilly Saturday morning visit to the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History. The lobby has a beautiful glass floor with an amazing Christmas tree.

While there we visited the First Ladies at the Smithsonian exhibition. The gowns were wonderful and the space incredible.



My favorite dress. I loved it! The shoes were AWESOME!
Also on the display is the George Washington Statue from 1841. This was a different view of the first president. I personally did not care for it. Then Ironhide say "Look at your man, now look at your president" (reference the Old Spice commercial), I was well and truly done.




And of course the Ruby Slippers.


Our next adventure was on a cold and windy day to visit The White House and the famous squirrels at Lafayette Park.

The original black and gray squirrels where actual escapees from the zoo who found a home here in the park. These are the chubbiest squirrels I have ever seen. They have no fear of people and will come right up to you. When I did not feed them one actually stepped to block my way.

We were all in awe of The White House. It is beautiful sight.



And of course it would not be DC without the Washington Monument.
Well that is all for now.

Blessings,

Let It Snow Let It Snow

Final tally by the end of the day 6 inches of fun.

100 Days

My primary reason for creating this blog was to capture our first "official" year of homeschooling. It would be a way to have an electronic dairy of our work and share that with others. It has been an amazing journey learning how to blog and meeting fellow bloggers. It has fulfilled the primary function as a record keeping tool. As I was scrolling through my entries over the last year I was shocked how much work we have done in our first year. This blog helps me appreciate how far we have come in our homeschooling journey.

Over the last 100 days I have not been updating as frequently as I use to because real life demands have left me with very little if any free time. Those who know me personally can testify to the life changing challenges God has presented to our family. I have been documenting those changes offline and will share them later as life slows down. I praised God for his mercy and blessings through it all.

The core lessons from the last 100 days are that:

1. God is faithful.
   
2. Change is constant.
   

I have gained so much from this experience and will be forever changed by it. My prayers at the beginning of the year were to become more a woman of faith, strengthen my marriage, help me appreciate what I have and become a better parent. Granny always said "God will answer all prayers, but not the way YOU want them answered." All of those have been strengthened, flex and stretched to the point of almost breaking. But we are still here and doing great.

At this 100 day mark I just want celebrate being here!