His Eye is on the Mama Dove

This little Mama Dove found a snug spot to lay her eggs in the spiky boot of a palm tree.  Mom spotted her outside her hotel room when we were in Jacksonville, FL, where Dad was in the hospital.  It makes me cry to look at her tenderly guarding her babies- and thinking of God who was also tenderly guarding her.  And tenderly guarding us as we were getting ready to say goodbye to Dad.  His wings cover so much and He is so good.  He is good, ya'll.  He loves us! He really, really does.

Old Town Alexandria St Patrick's Day Parade (3-3-12)

The St.Patty's Day Parade in Old Town is always a treat.  We made it this year, even though Jay was on duty.  We got a great parking spot, which is always the trouble, and the people in the row home gave us cupcakes when we got back to the van after the parade! 

Coasties!

Really, we're having fun, boys! 

Pipers!  My favorite!

Old Town is dog-crazy- here are three fun examples of dressed up doggies we saw.

Here Comes Petey in the Baby Carriage (March 1 2012)

Ruthie was given this old-timey baby carriage from some sweet neighbors who moved and she had been wanting to put Pete in there for the longest time.  I finally gave in and she had so much fun snuggling him in the carriage and strolling him around.  Pete is so laid back he didn't mind at all, just looked all around and sucked his thumb.  He is a dear boy.

Leesylvania State Park (March 2, 2012)

I always say you can't go anywhere in Virginia without stumbling upon something historical, be it Colonial or Revolutionary War or Civil War history.  We went to hike at Leesylvania (Lee's Woods, just like Pennsylvania is Penn's Woods!) State Park and once there learned that it was the site of the ancestral home of Robert E. Lee.  The trail we hiked had various spots marked and we could see the ruins of the old homestead and great views of the Potomac River.  My favorite thing about our hike was seeing Bald Eagles soaring overhead, crying their high pitched cries!  It was amazing.  I'm very glad they are our national bird and not the turkey, as Ben Franklin suggested.

Spring was beginning to show her stuff.  I loved seeing the fresh green of daffodills popping up in the deadness of the surrounding woods.  This spot was where the gardens of the estate used to be, and some of the flowers have kept coming up years and years later (again sorry for the blur).

"Pickin' up PawPaws, puttin em in our pockets!" (For Jay's step-dad, our PawPaw)

Great Falls, VA (Feb 25 2012)

Great Falls is a beautiful waterfall on the Potomac River, on the border of VA and MD.  We were on the VA side.  It was cold that day, but we enjoyed a hike along the river ending at the falls.  We even got to see a couple of kayakers braving the rapids.  (I am having some issues with my camera lense- sorry for the blurring. Currently trying to get it fixed...) 

Hello again

Sometimes something happens that changes everything.  My Dad died on March 10th and this is one of those somethings.  I think most of you know from emails or facebook or just by being in touch with me in general.  It has been the hardest most painful thing I have ever walked through, and the wound is still deep and painful.  I don't really want to say anything else about it right now except that Dad loved Jesus and he is with him now, and I will see him on the day that I die.  For this blog right now I just want to catch up with some things before FL, and then all the things we did while down in FL.  If you didn't know about my other blog, it is called Going Coastal- you can read the eulogy I wrote for Dad's funeral there.