Goodbyes and Hellos

This past month brought two big events as we said "Goodbye" to David for his first two week trip since Caleb was 7 weeks old and "Hello" to my parents for a two week visit (woo-hoo!).We were blessed to have one week all together, which was when David and I squished in some important appointments and our lovely anniversary celebration in DC. We were able to make a few memories, but it was a rushed and busy time preparing for David's trip.

Finally the dreaded day arrived. After church on mother's day, David ate a rushed lunch, gave hugs and kisses, and left for the airport. I had no idea how Caleb was going to react to his most adored playmate being gone for an extended period of time, but I was thankful my parents would be with us the first week to ease the transition.

The first 2-3 days were definitely the hardest on him, especially in the mornings and evenings. He'd often ask me, "Daddy? Daddy?" tearfully. It broke my heart. Then, David and I got into a rhythm of skyping each morning before he went to work. Due to a time difference, this required David waking up at an insanely early time to pull off, but it made all the difference to our little guy.

Instead of asking "Daddy? Daddy?" in distress, he'd simply say, "Daddy?" calmly. I'd reply, "Daddy's at work." to which he'd always reply, "Mama?" and I'd say, "Mama's right here." and then he'd smile, giggle a little and move on. This ritual seemed to comfort him and continued both weeks.

As the first week progressed, I became a pro at finding ways to make him feel connected to daddy. I'd give him kisses from daddy, look at daddy in the photo album, build a model of daddy out of playdough (don't laugh, the kid loves it!). Caleb learned to blow kisses to daddy through skype and one night, he was even able to stay up late enough for daddy to read him his bedtime story!

This was the photo in his album Caleb chose to fixate on most often during the week. One night he didn't take his eyes off of it during his entire bedtime story.

Dressing up as daddy was a big hit!

 Despite the challenges of David being gone, my parents and I were finally able to slow down and savor a wonderful week playing outside, visiting a local greenhouse, going to the park, and just spending time together.

 Fun Times with Grandpa and Granny 

He's so excited to be hanging out with Granny and Grandpa!

Grandpa was his special buddy

Relaxing in the backyard

Field trip to the greenhouse.

They take gardening seriously up here. Those beautiful baskets line downtown from spring to early fall and I love it!

Checking out the tadpoles and fish. Caleb's favorite part!

Fun at the park!

Getting a free ride from Granny during toddler time at the roller rink

Mom and I even got a girls night out thanks to Dad babysitting!

On Saturday the 19th, I drove Mom and Dad to a nearby town to catch a shuttle to the airport. It was hard to see them go. I don't think Caleb really understood they were leaving until I put him back in the carseat and Granny and Grandpa didn't reappear. He had a few minutes of hard crying, but luckily my sweet friend Julie who lives nearby (and was many days overdue for welcoming her newest addition) had toys waiting to distract him. We had a great play date and she got to meet her adorable little man the next afternoon!

After that hurdle, the week flowed pretty smoothly. We had three rainy days in a row so we went to the library and the skating rink to burn energy and avoid cabin fever. Friends met up with us and came over for dinner. One friend slept with her phone beside her bed as our "on-call" person all week should an emergency arise. Other friends reminded me to call if we need anything, and I knew they meant it. Our neighbor let me hang out in their back yard while my son mooched animal crackers ; ) I don't think I will ever get over how incredibly blessed I feel to have so many supportive people in our lives.

On Thursday we got a very special piece of mail- Daddy sent us a post card! I told Caleb it was from his daddy and he ran all around with it and cried when I hung in on the fridge so I gave him a piece of tape and let him hang it on his fridge. He seemed satisfied with that solution.

Finally Saturday arrived. I wish I could have somehow captured the joy at that reunion, but photos will have to do!

He hears someone on the stairs and somehow he seems to know who it is...

First sighting of Daddy!!!

Telling him all about it...

He instantly wanted David to play with him

Daddy kisses...

Lead to long Caleb hugs. He latched on and didn't let go for several minutes.

Caleb hugging the special surprise Daddy brought home just for him. We both have fond memories of our dad's bringing us special momentos from a trip and David continued the tradition. 

There were more precious moments, but I didn't capture them on film because it was my turn to get a big hug!

Happy Anniversary to Us!

As always, David and I spent some time this anniversary reflecting on the past year- how we've grown, how we want to grow more, all the things we're thankful for about the other person. It feels like we just got married yesterday in some ways, but I realized I was already beginning to forget how we celebrated each anniversary. Here's a quick photo recap:

May 16, 2009

The day that started it all

May 2010 
 We picked up lunch and Panera and took it to a nearby state park. We walked by a stream, I rested on our picnic blanket to ease my back pain and we imagined what it would be like to be parents. 

David sneaking in a kiss to my chubby-bunny cheeks

All the weight was worth it. I'm about 5 weeks away from meeting Caleb in this photo.

May 2011

At this point, we were now veteran parents of an 11 month old, had moved to Florida and then back to Pennsylvania again for David's job. We'd almost gotten the boxes unpacked when David needed to travel for work again. This time, for just a week and I have to admit, just like our Florida trip, it ended up being pretty sweet : )

The view from our hotel on Baltimore's historic inner-harbor

I didn't have to cook or clean (much) for a week

I met our amazing friends, Drew and Melissa for the first time. They offered to watch Caleb for us one night so we could go out to eat for our anniversary. Little did we know then we'd be using the swap system for date nights for the next year, or that Melissa would completely take over watching Caleb while I had pain clinic appointments because she's amazing!

Somehow, we managed to not get a photo together the entire month of May. This is from a date we took while still in Florida.

May 2012

 I'd say this year was both the hardest and the easiest year of marriage yet. Hard dealing with my chronic pain issues, but easy because we've learned to love each other so much better! We celebrated the ups and downs with an overnight away in DC. We enjoyed the city, our (uninterrupted!) time with one another, ice cream and sleeping in...although not in that order ; )

Getting off the Metro at Union Station

First stop, the historic DC post office and museum

The Capitol Building

Together on the National Lawn after spending some time in the American History museum.

I love milestones and traditions. I love reminiscing and looking back. I love planning for what is to come. I'm so so thankful for every year we've gotten to spend with one another. I'm thankful for a husband who challenges me, encourages me to grow, prays for me and loves me unconditionally. Thank you so much to all the friends and family who have celebrated, encouraged and been there along the way!

On Not Getting What I Wanted for Mother's Day

A couple weeks ago, one of the blogs I read asked moms to leave a comment about what they'd like for Mother's Day. As I read through the responses most wanted time with their family, a morning to sleep in, a clean house or a combination of all three. I'll admit, my first thought was, "To have clean drip pans on the stove."

The more responses I read though, the more I realized that everyday is like Mother's Day at our house. David knows there are a number of household chores that I find physically painful and is always careful to make sure they're done frequently. He mows our grass, takes out the trash, mops the floors, and scrubs the tubs. We share the responsibilities of loading the dishwasher and vacuuming about 50-50, mostly because he's awesome not because I find those 2 things physically difficult. He also completely takes over Caleb's care from the time he gets home until Caleb goes to bed at night.

Somehow, despite all the responsibility David takes on, he still calls me "the glue that holds our family together." Even though there is so much I can not do, he values me. He treasures the intangible contributions I make to our family and considers that tangible ones a bonus.

What I ended up realizing I really wanted for Mother's Day was to be physically able to be the Mom I want to be. I'd love to clean the house from top to bottom for once and let Caleb wrestle me to the ground and crawl all over me while David rests on the couch.

Instead, I was presented with three beautiful watercolor prints I had admired, told how beautiful David finds me and what a great mom I am, and got big snuggles from my two favorite boys this morning. My heart longs for more self-sufficiency and productivity, but instead I get to experience grace. Thank you, to my wonderful husband, for being the hands and feet of Jesus in my life. I love you.

Mother's Day 2012

When Mornings Matter

One of my goals in Welcoming 2012 was to make our marriage a high priority. Last week, as I read this encouraging article about sticking with a bed time, God convicted me about how important my presence in the morning is to David.

I know he cherishes the time we spend chatting over coffee, planning out our day and even just reading the comics together. It makes him feel loved when I make his lunch, even though it's usually just something boring like left overs or a sandwich. Not everyone feels this way, in fact some people prefer to be left alone in the morning, but knowing how precious that time is to him (and me), it was something I wanted to reclaim.

One of the few times in our marriage I was awake before David. Definitely photo worthy : )

During our push in February to get the main rooms of our house under control, I found myself exhausted. David graciously encouraged me to sleep in and get the rest I needed. For a while, the extra hour of sleep was a necessity, but soon staying in bed lapsed into a habit.

After praying about it, I told David my intention to begin waking up with him this week. I hate making commitments like that because

A. They require effort.
B. I feel terrible if I fail to live up to them.

I wasn't sure how hard getting up at 5:30 again was going to be, but I certainly imagined the worst.

Last night before bed, I prayed God would enable me to keep my commitment. David is fantastic about putting aside his wants to serve the greater good of our family. In fact, he's so good at it, I often take it totally forgranted that it doesn't just flow naturally from him because he has such a kind and willing heart about his tasks. Me...not so much. I tend to be a grudging giver.

To my joy, I woke up 9 minutes before David's alarm went off this morning feeling...refreshed. Really? After 6.5 hours of sleep? I knew who to give the praise to. How wonderful to be reminded that God cares about the little things and that his strength is sufficient for my weakness. What a great way to start the week. Tonight, though, I think we'll try for 8 hours of sleep : )

A Golden Friendship...and the story of how I met my husband

At the end of summer camp each year we used to sing a song, "Make new friends, but keep the old. One is silver and the other gold." Since moving to Pennsylvania, God has blessed us with so many wonderful friends through our church, David's coworkers and our neighbors. Yet, there is always something so precious about spending time with those who've known us for years.

This weekend we were finally able to make it over to Philly to visit our friends Dave and Christine. The role they've played in our lives is a story worth telling. Dave M. and my David met when they were matched up as random room mates during their first year of gradschool at FSU. Dave M. and Christine were dating, but Christine still lived in Pennsylvania. After a year of doing the long-distance thing, she moved down to Florida so they could determine if God was moving them towards marriage.

I met Christine and Dave when they started attending the same church as me for their protestant service (Dave is Catholic, so they went to Mass also). Apparently, after the first time I met Dave and Christine, Dave went back to the apartment and informed David, his room mate who was 27 and had never had a girlfriend, that he needed to come to church to meet the woman he (David) was going to marry. David responded by rolling his eyes.

After a month of hearing Dave insist that this girl had a neon sign above her head that read "David's girl" on it, David finally caved in and came to church with them. He was in a bad mood since he already had a church home of his own across town and thought meeting a girl was a terrible reason to switch churches for a morning. I had no idea any of this was going on, but after being introduced to Dave's room mate, trying to start a conversation and receiving mono-syllabic answers...well, let's just say it wasn't love at first sight.

Dave convinced David that he needed to get to know me through the Weds night Bible study where he could actually have a conversation with me that went beyond, "What's your major?". Since David's church didn't have a Weds night service, he agreed.

David and I share a love of reading and discussing the Bible and it didn't take many Wednesday nights for us to become friends. We also shared similar tastes in movies and books and jokingly said we should combine our libraries. I admired David's singleness, as, at the time, I was pretty certain I was going to devote the next 5-10 years to teaching before settling down as wife and mother, if indeed that was something God had planned for me at all.

Dave M., however, had other plans. As the four of us became better friends he was there to, not so subtly, make sure David and I got to spend lots and lots of time together. Dave made sure that no matter how awkward or inconvenient it might be that wherever we went, David was the one sitting next to me, opening my car door and driving me home. Never mind that Christine and I were leaving at the exact same time and my apartment was on her way home, Dave was quick to volunteer that "David could drop you off." David was ready to murder him sometimes, I would just turn red and nod...yet somehow neither of us could be heard to complain...

When David finally worked up the courage to ask me to date him, Dave's advice was "Just kiss her!" Advice that was, thankfully, ignored. I'm grinning as I reflect on all these things. Although David was ready to kill Dave for his pushyness at times, I think we both needed a bit of a shove in the right direction!

Since those days, life has been busy for all of us. Dave and Christine married in 2008, David and I followed the next year. 2010 brought Caleb, and 2011 brought their son Elias. Both couples have moved at least twice and now here we are, all back in Pennsylvania together.

It would have been impossible for me to imagine, playing cranium and talking theology until 2 in the morning at the guys apartment in Florida, that in 5 years we'd all be hanging out again, this time in Pennsylvania. We're still talking theology...but not past 10:30 because we all have to be ready to greet our energetic toddlers in the morning. Now, I can't imagine it any other way.

We feel so blessed for this friendship that has survived distance, moves, and life changes. We're thankful for friends who remind us of those days when we were first falling in love, who challenge us, who are willing to be transparent about how difficult marriage and parenting can be, and who know what it's like to survive colic and a baby who doesn't sleep.

Of course, it's not all theology and serious discussions. The guys went climbing Saturday morning, despite the fact that this was the view outside the window.

Christine is expecting a very special delivery in 6 months, so she and I stayed home and played with the kiddos

Once the guys got back home there was even more fun. Dave and Elias chasing Caleb.

Daddy is base!

Welcoming 2012

It's hard for me to believe February is here already. I've kind of been in denial that 2012 is underway. Last year we rang in the new year with an at-home date where we talked about our hopes and dreams for our family in 2011. We crafted a family mission statement and my guiding word was "routine". It was all very purposeful and refreshing.

This year, we hung out with family, shared a quick kiss and midnight and then hopped into bed since our toddler would still be up at the crack of dawn the next morning. As soon as we got back to Pennsylvania, we hit the ground running with new commitments like leading our small group on Weds. night, preparing for another 10 hour trip, and (David) teaching Sunday school for 2 weeks. Not to mention taking down Christmas decorations, unpacking and reclaiming order in the house.

So perhaps it's not surprising that January was almost over before I felt like we had a chance to step back and evaluate how last year went and beginning planning for this year. David and I tend to use our long drive to DC for pain clinic appointments as an opportunity to catch up, regroup and plan. Last week, we carved out some time in between preparing our lessons to discuss family life. Here's what we found:

Recaping 2011
Developing a routine with a new baby and a 1000 mile move was no easy task. In fact, when our conversation first began, I thought we had made very little progress at all. However, as David guided my memories back to what life was like in our very first months of parenting, I could see a huge difference. The growth of a family rhythm is like the growth of child, it's something you're immersed in, and it's hard to see without looking waaay back for perspective. It would probably bore you to list all the teeny tiny goals our family reached, but it was so encouraging for me to hear David's perspective on how I've grown as a home manager in the past year.

While we still have much we want to improve upon this year it's nice to have figured out ways to minimize dishes, keep the clutter from completely taking over, cook healthy meals almost every night and still have lots of time to spend with Caleb.

Moving forward in 2012
Although 2012 has had a very busy start, David and I are both so thankful for the way our commitments have forced us to put down our books, turn off the TV and spend concentrated time reading the Bible and praying. I've seen a huge difference in how much I talk to God throughout my day and my attitude towards disappointments and frustrations. Less time spent with entertainment and more time spent with God is definitely a trend we'd like to see continue this year.

Now that I've developed a pretty good routine for keeping the basic household tasks up-to-date (who knew rinsing dishes immediately could be so helpful?) we have 3 major home-related goals this year:

1. Declutter and deep clean the house. As we began to learn last year, a house with fewer things is a house that is easier to enjoy and maintain. We are planning (as in, need to pick dates on the calendar) a room-by-room declutter and deep clean as our spring cleaning this year. I'm dreading the effort required, but know the results will be worth it!

2. Develop a paper management system. My desk is supposed to be our home management hub. With no system to organize the receipt, bill, file and shred piles though, you can imagine the pile of paper that has resulted. Not to mention all the little stacks of paper shoved in various corners of the house before company comes over...I'm nervous about this goal because it's going to involve building a new habit, which is always a challenge, but I can't wait to not worry if I've misplaced a bill or wonder where a receipt is!

3. Make our home "ours". There are so many decorating projects David and I have had on the back burner because we felt overwhelmed just trying to keep the house clean. Our reward for taking care of these not-so-fun tasks will be to finally get to do some of these long awaited projects.

I can't wait to post before and after pictures : )

Finally, a personal goal of mine is to make David and I's marriage my biggest priority after my relationship with Christ. I must confess that all too often, we put our time together and cultivating our friendship behind other obligations. Interestingly, the focus on cleaning our home is a big part of that goal because David especially needs the peace and calm of organization to relax. I enjoy it too, but not in the same way. Just as he gives me the gift of long conversations, I want to give him the gift of service this year. Neither comes easily for us, but what could be worth more effort than truly speaking to our spouses heart?

I've never been big on making new year's resolutions, but the start of a new year has become a great time for us to take a step back, assess what worked well last year and what needs some tweaking and plan to live more purposefully with the time we are given. I hope 2012 is off to a great start for each one of you!

On Giving Thanks

Did you guys see all the "Thankful November" status updates on facebook? I loved reading them. One, however, made my stomach sink a little every time I read it.

I'm thankful for my health

Over the past few months, my doctors have been able to rule out just about everything that could possibly be giving me the horrible pelvic and abdominal pain I've been in for almost 2 years. Which has left us with the dual diagnosis of Fibromyalgia and Chronic Accute Myofacial Pain Syndrome.

Unpacked, those terms basically mean that I have a hypersensitized central nervous system that causes me to feel pain from everyday stimuli. My husbands hug and my son's snuggle bring me both joy and pain. The fibro is an all over ache that you can find quite easily by gently squeezing any of my muscles. The myofascial pain manifests itself in knots of hyper-tender points throughout my abdomen that cause me constant pain (and are what sent me to the doctor in the first place).

Myofascial pain syndrome isn't recognized by a lot of doctors. In fact, I probably would have said it sounded like a fake disease myself, until I became the one whose life was being turned upside down by it and no other plausible explanation can be found. The great news is, it's not fatal and there is a wonderful pain clinic in DC where I'm receiving treatment under a neurologist and physical therapist for a disease most doctors don't even know about.

Coming to grips with this diagnosis has been my battle these past few months. At first I went back and forth between self pity and rationalizing why "it's not so bad". I struggled with seeing so many healthy 25 year old friends of mine who don't spend 1 day every 2 weeks getting poked with needles to help tense muscles release. However, I also have a 25 year old friend who has battled leukemia for several years and recently had to have both hips replaced because of a side effect from her treatment. Who am I to complain? I am thankful for my health.

Slowly, God convicted me that playing the "who has it worse/better than me" game is asking the wrong question. The answer is always "yes, someone does have life harder/easier than I do." The question God wants me to be concerned with is, "Am I willing to glorify and praise him in the circumstances I've been given?" Or, will I waste my life waiting for the way I thought he was going to use me to take place?

Life is not how we imagined it would be before we said "I do". After a day of running after our very active toddler, I struggle against crabbiness in the evenings. David does quite a bit of the housework in addition to being the bread winner. Sometimes I have to go lie down for an hour or two the pain gets so bad. Our house is often messy. Not just a little bit. We definitely never thought we'd be delaying having a second child or wondering if I'd ever be physically able to carry another. We don't answer phone calls, have people over for dinner or keep in touch with family as well as we should because we are so exhausted from trying to cope with the pain and it's effects on our family.

Watching our dreams being deferred month after month has been painful. Slowly though, we are learning to trust that God is offering us something better.

The catalyst for beginning to understand this was a sermon our friend, and church elder, preached about the Israelites coming out of Egypt. Apparently there were two roads to the promised land (check out Exodus 13:17-14:4). A nice, short, easy one and the way God actually took them, through a barren desert. Had they been given the choice, I'm sure the Israelites would have picked the short road. Wasn't God's plan for them the promised land? He'd said it himself.

However, although God had taken the Israelites out of Egypt, he still needed to take the love of Egypt out of their hearts so that they wouldn't be led astray once they reached their destination. Before marriage we had our eyes on the promised land of a large family and thriving marriage. We've found ourselves in the desert. And it's taken me about a year to realize it's not a mistake or a detour.

We're here because of the things we can only learn when all of our dreams seem to be crashing down around us. We're learning to love one another, not because it's easy, but because it's what we've been called to. I'm no longer the bouncy, joyful wife David used to come home to. Even when I'm able to avoid outright crankiness and harsh words, I tend to be more subdued. It hasn't stopped him from being the most amazing husband and father I could ever imagine. It's made me love him even more for all the responsibilities he has so willingly taken on. I'm learning to parent, not in my own strength and wisdom, but on my knees, because I know I am unable to meet my son's needs on my own. We're both learning to trust God to write our future, rather than dictate our dreams to him.

I am thankful. Not just for the level of health I do experience, but for this refining fire that has come into our lives and shaped us in ways we could never have imagined when our eyes were looking at the promised land. We are in the desert and our eyes are on God.

Caleb: 18 Months

18 months, otherwise known as when life begins to return to normal, or so I was told by one of my most encouraging mom friends. And, with 5 kids under age 8, she knows what she's talking about. Both she and her husband affirmed to David and I that life would seem a lot more similar to life "before baby" around 18 months. They were so right!

I think, at some point, every mom probably feels like their pre-baby self is gone forever. No matter how hard I worked to make David and I's marriage a high priority...mostly, I just wanted some extra sleep and to feel less overwhelmed. Over the past year-and-a-half, I've often wondered...will life ever go back to "normal" again? The answer, finally, is "Yes!" This past month has brought many new joys with Caleb and the return of more time for David and I to spend together.

Caleb is getting easier and easier to leave with a sitter, especially if they have kids of their own for him to play with. Caleb is able to understand most of what we tell him now, which means we can work on tasks as a family or even *gasp* sit next to one another on the couch as long as we can see Caleb : )He still loves to climb, put things in his mouth and do all the other toddler things that required us to be within 6 inches of him at all times, but now, he knows and (mostly) listens when we say things like "gentle", "sit", "put that down" or "no eat!".

Clearly, we're still working on "no climb"

As Caleb's understanding of the world grows, so does his self control. One of Caleb's favorite games is to shut David or I in his nursery and run into the living room to jump out and surprise us. He will wait almost indefinitely. In fact, thus far, we always break first! It's amazing to me that our 18 month old can be so still and silent while waiting to pounce.

Along the same lines, a source of pride for me this season has been Caleb's great Christmas tree etiquette. After a few days of reminding him not to yank the ornaments and praising him for pointing at them instead, Caleb is safe to be around any Christmas tree, which has been a huge blessing as we have traveled to hotels, homes without toddlers and other public places with Christmas trees laden with breakable ornaments. He is so quick to learn and eager to please!

Caleb brought more even more joy to the Christmas season than I could have imagined. Seeing him begin to understand that "the star" and "the angels" on the tree all have something to do with the tiny baby in the nativity has been so powerful.

There have been so many moments to treasure. The way he asked for Christmas carols to be turned on every morning and reminded me to put a new CD in whenever the music stopped. The look on his face as he ate his first Christmas cookie, and second, and third...

This month we also had the pleasure of spending a week in DC while David took a reverse engineering class nearby. Our hotel was 2 metro stops from both the National Zoo and the National Mall. Caleb and I had a blast strollering all around DC and I felt super-buff when a scale at the zoo informed me that stroller, baby and diaper bag combined added up to a whopping 50lbs.

Caleb at the national mall. Did I mention the highs were in the 40's during our stay?

Caleb and I in front of the Christmas tree at the Smithsonian

Invesitgating rocks at the Smithsonian with his buddy Christopher

Completely conked out at the Metro station

Caleb has also discovered the joy of hugging his friends this month. Unfortunately, not all of his friends appreciate his affection : )

Giving his DC travel buddy Christopher some love

Caleb added a new word to his vocabulary this month, for his very favorite food, "Broc!" (broccoli). For reasons beyond our comprehension, the green leafy veggie is the one thing I can always count on him to slurp down like it's chocolate. Well, besides Christmas cookies, of course.

Caleb is such a joy to us and we feel so blessed to be his parents. David is especially enjoying being the "favorite" parent at the moment. Caleb loooves his daddy and stays firmly attached to David's hip when he's at home. I love watching their relationship grow each day and seeing Caleb's face light up whenever he can do something "just like daddy".

How Mommy Got A Vacation for Our Anniversary

As many of you know, David's job involves quite a bit of travel and it's not always at the most convenient time. My first taste of this was when I put David on a plane to Hawaii 3 weeks after we said "I do." Buying a ticket for me to go with him would have set us back a whopping $2500. So, having lived in my new state, 1000 miles from everyone I knew for just one week (the first two weeks were the honeymoon), I dropped my husband off at the airport and for two weeks spoke to him for about 20 minutes at 3am (eastern time) after he finished his 12 hour work day. Fun times.

Then there was the time work sent him on a week long trip and I was alone with a 7-week-old who was colicky and waking every 45 minutes all night long...or the 6 month move we embarked on two months after that (and yup, Caleb was still waking every hour, but at least the colic was improving). I don't say this to complain. I feel so proud to have a husband with a strong work ethic, blessed to be able to be a stay at home mom and completely support him in his work. I do say all this, so that when I tell you what a completely fabulous week I've just had, you'll know this coin has two sides : )

A few months ago, when David told me he'd need to attend a conference on our anniversary week, I was pretty bummed. I was relieved to hear it was in Baltimore, so Caleb and I could go with him. As the time drew closer and plans solidified, I found out I'd be spending our anniversary week in a suite on the Inner Harbor and that another coworker's wife and 9 month old son would also be coming. Now I was really looking forward to the trip. No cooking, no cleaning, beautiful places to see in easy walking distance and another mom and baby to hang out with while the guys were at work...perfection!

The view from our window

Skyline views from the hotels roof top garden. I wish our camera had panorama capability!

The week has been every bit as amazing as I was hoping it would be. These trips can be lonely during the day, but getting to know Melissa and her baby boy Braydon this week has been such a joy. Caleb is slowly being taught the meaning of the word gentle (he wants Braydon's hair so badly...) and I'm loving having another mom to fellowship with. We've walked (and pushed strollers) all around the inner harbor, met our husbands for lunch each day and gotten to rest during naps times- an unusual occurrence! In the evenings the four of us played Settlers of Catan together after the babies were in bed.

Boys attacking David together

I won the first game of Settlers. David has taught me well!

We've also been able to trade off babysitting for one another, and each took a date night to the Cheesecake Factory. Drew and Melissa surprised us with a Starbucks gift card for our anniversary. We never go out for coffee unless we have a coupon or they are running a special so having a gift card is a real treat!

Caleb did NOT like sharing mommy during Drew and Melissa's date

As the week drew to a close, yet another small surprise sat buried in my wallet. One of my favorite places to visit on the Inner Harbor is the gigantic Barnes and Noble that was built inside the old power plant. On our second to last day, I discovered a gift card for B&N tucked away in my wallet. It had enough on it that I was able to purchase 5 new books for Caleb. We now own Clifford, The Mitten, Go Dog Go, Pat the Bunny and yet another Boynton book (he loves her writing and rhymes!).

Barnes and Noble- Inner Harbor style

Inside the old smoke stack at Barnes and Noble

I was so excited to get to add some more classics to his collection, especially since flipping pages and being read to are some of his favorite things. I had hoped to get him a set of Beatrix Potter books, but the only treasury they had was a giant, heavy single book. When I was little I had a set that was the perfect size for children's hands and each story was separated into a tiny book of it's own. Publishers just don't think of these things sometimes.

Of course, while I was exploring and shopping, David was spending his days learning more about his favorite topic- Computer forensics. He really enjoyed this conference and came home with a smile on his face. Wednesday, I noticed that smile was a little wider than usual. He tossed me a coin (which usually signals someone thought he did an outstanding job) and proceeded to tell me the story of how he plowed through a forensics challenge and became the first to actually solve it in class. This earned him a coin bearing the title: Lethal Forensicator. A little long for a super hero name, but I'll go with it : )

It's been an awesome week of connecting with my husband over lunch, getting to know new friends, not having to cook or clean and spending time exploring a historical part of our nation. Despite all that, there really is no place like home.

A few more photos from the week

Our hotel room

The kitchen became Caleb's nursery

Goat cheese, sun-dried tomato, arugula, and prosciutto pizza...Mmmm!

History Abounds

This ship survived Pearl Harbor