Blast from the Past

Since I woke up really early and couldn't go back to sleep,
I decided to yearbook ourselves.
Here are the results:

1952

1976

1996

1956

1976

1990

Which ones do you think are the funniest?
Which ones do you think look the most realistic?
I love the one of Walt in 1956 because it looks so stinkin' real.
Go and yearbook yourself!
www.yearbookyourself.com

5 weeks and 2 days

Time has flown by. I can't believe we've been in Maryland for 5 weeks and 2 days already! We have experienced so much in just a short amount of time. It kind of feels like we've been here forever, but I think that is just because the month has been filled with lots of things to do. From meeting people to figuring out directions to the grocery store/Wal-mart/Trader Joe's to visiting DC/Mount Vernon/Alexandria to learning the quirky nature of our new world up here to finding the best Vietnamese restaurant to getting to know the family that I work for to figuring out Walt's study schedule to sharing about our lives in care group to finding a hairdresser to hanging out with PC friends and the list could go on and on... All these experiences we've had we find to be blessings from God! He has lavished his unending mercy and grace upon us and we are grateful to our good Lord!

Last week, Mark Mullery came to teach Hermeneutics at the PC. This week, Biblical Fellowship will be taught by Kenneth Maresco. I am particularly excited about this week because all the wives will come to class all day on Tuesday as well. I am looking forward to seeing a glimpse of what a typical day in class looks like for my babe. Plus, I'd like to grow in pursuing biblical fellowship with Walt, so I am anxious to take some good notes and learn from Kenneth.

On Saturday, we ventured to a nearby town to dine at Ba Le, a Vietnamese restuarant. The food was delicious and you get plenty of food for the affordable price you pay. You can easily split a meal with another person so it makes for a cheap dinner. We knew the place had to be good because there were all kinds of folks dining there. As usual, we ordered cà phê sữa đá (Vietnamese iced coffee) and I think it was the best I have ever had. Every sip was just the right amount of sweetness. Walt was adventurous and ordered Banh Xeo. For those of you who are wondering what in the world Banh Xeo could be, it is a crepe stuffed with a combination of pork and shrimp, scallions and bean sprouts and is pan fried. It is wrapped in lettuce leaves stuffed with various herbs like mint or basil, and dipped in nuoc mam (Vietnamese fish sauce).
I am so thankful Walt loves to eat Vietnamese food! I can't believe he does because he is pretty much a meat and three kind of guy. It blesses me so much that he enjoys the foods of my family's culture. If you ever want to step out and try it, let us know and we'll broaden your sense of taste! Vietnamese food is very fresh and filled with flavor. You won't regret it!

Walt's parents will be visiting us next week and we are looking forward to spending some time with them! It'll be great to be around some of our family. We love having visitors!

Mount Vernon and Old Town Alexandria

One of the best things about living in the DC area is that you are surrounded by so many places of historical importance. We both love history so this is just perfect for us! Walt surprised me yesterday with a date to Mount Vernon (home of George Washington) and dinner and coffee in Old Town Alexandria. I am so thankful for my sweet husband to plan fun things for us. It was refreshing to be able to just hang out with each other and enjoy learning about our nation's 1st president. Thanks babe for planning our fun date!

(By the way, photography wasn't allowed inside the mansion, so we don't have any pictures. But our favorite part of the house was the private wing of the Washingtons.)

Mount Vernon sits high above the Potomac River
with the Maryland shore beyond
(East front of the mansion was taken from a free cruise
they offered to visitors on the Potomac)

Demonstrations on how to fire off a cannon
It's incredible how many people it took to fire off just one cannon.
Check out the rooster's comb! We heard this guy but never saw him
and Walt finally spotted him through some shrubs.
Washington died in the master bedroom
at Mount Vernon on December 14, 1799.

This is a picture of his tomb. There was also a verse engraved inside the tomb,

but I don't remember the reference.Some fun facts we learned:

• Mount Vernon's homesite was land originally owned by Washington's great-grandfather, John Washington.
  
• In 1759, Washington marries Martha Dandridge Custis, widow of Daniel Parke Custis, and they settled at Mount Vernon with her 2 children. George and Martha never had children of their own.
• 1789-97- Washington serves as first President of the United States. During this time he only visits Mount Vernon 15 times.
• Washington dies at the age of 67- only 2 years after he finishes his second term as President of the United States.

After a sunny and very hot day (we heard it was the hottest day of the year to date) at Mount Vernon, we hopped into the car and drove to Old Town Alexandria, VA. Since I love being surprised, he didn't tell me that we were going here either.

Alexandria is a cute town with cool old buildings, lots of fun shops and plenty of restaurants to choose from. A perfect place to come for a date!
(This is a picture of their local cinema and it shows 2 movies at a time. I thought the sign looked really cool.)

After asking a local, we decided to go to Murphy's Irish Pub on King Street for dinner. I actually got something other than a burger and fries (Walt ended up getting this...go figure). I ordered Irish Meat & Potato Pie with cottage fries. Similar to chicken pot pie, this was a homemade blend of beef, sausage, minced onions, and mashed potatoes in a pie crust topped with gravy. I liked it pretty well. The evening ended perfectly with us sipping on some Coco Loco (hot chocolate with a shot of espresso) and iced coffee for Walt at Misha's Coffee Roaster & Coffeehouse...what sweet memories made!

My 1st Blackberry Cobbler

Walt is enjoying his classes and his classmates. I am enjoying my job and hanging out with the other PC (Pastors College) wives. Last week, Walt was taught by Jeff Purswell on the New Testament Gospels. Now he's gearing up for Old Testament 1 taught by Bruce Chick this week. (Thanks to everyone again who have been praying for us! We are thankful for your prayers and know that the Lord hears them!)

On Sunday after church, we took a trip to a local orchard and picked blackberries and apples. It was so much fun picking the blackberries...especially knowing that I was going to make a blackberry cobbler for our dessert after dinner.

Walt really likes to eat pies and cobblers,
so I want to get good at making them.
(Feel free to send me your favorite pie and cobbler recipes...
I'd love to try them out)
Here is a picture of the final product:It was yummy with the vanilla ice cream. Walt preferred no ice cream. But to me it's like cheeseburgers and fries- cheeseburgers eaten by themselves aren't as good as eating them with fries. You can't have cobbler without the ice cream- it's so much better together. I am just glad that Walt enjoyed the cobbler and gave it his approval!

Happy Birthday, Jake!

Today is our dear nephew's 4th birthday!

Some things we love about Jake:
his joy, his grateful heart, his energy, his love for people, his love for Spiderman,
and his sweet hugs and nose kisses

Happy Birthday, buddy! We love you and miss you so much. We can't wait to see you at Thanksgiving!