Christmas in DC

December 24, 2008

Christmas in DC

We took the kids down to the National Mall late this afternoon. Matt got out of work early and the kids had some energy to burn off. Here are a few of the photos I took.

Oliver walking along the path. He loves to pick up the pebbles.

Waverly and I - I love her smile.

Matt holding tight to the kids to try to get a photo.

Oliver walking to the Washington Monument.

Comments

Anonymous said…

What a neat way to spend Christmas Eve! Just wanted to wish your family a Merry Christmas - I don't comment often but read your blog every day. We have the postcard from Waverly and Oliver in our kitchen window and the kids and I pray for you all daily.

December 25, 2008 at 7:01 AM

Stephanie from Portland said…

I have just recently started to follow your family's story. I was sent here from another blog. I know that I don't have to tell you that you have two of the most adorable children I've ever seen. :)
I'm glad you had a great time in DC. The picture of Oliver walking toward the monument is priceless. I vote for a calendar contest!
Hope you had a good Christmas as well.

December 26, 2008 at 9:40 AM

Welcome to Holland

By Emily Perl Kingsley

I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability - to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It's like this......When you're going to have a baby, it's like planning a fabulous vacation trip - to Italy. You buy a bunch of guide books and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum. The Michelangelo David. The gondolas in Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It's all very exciting.After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, "Welcome to Holland.""Holland?!?" you say. "What do you mean Holland?? I signed up for Italy! I'm supposed to be in Italy. All my life I've dreamed of going to Italy."But there's been a change in the flight plan. They've landed in Holland and there you must stay.The important thing is that they haven't taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease. It's just a different place.So you must go out and buy new guide books. And you must learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met.It's just a different place. It's slower-paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you've been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around.... and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills....and Holland has tulips. Holland even has Rembrandts.But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy... and they're all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your life, you will say "Yes, that's where I was supposed to go. That's what I had planned."And the pain of that will never, ever, ever, ever go away... because the loss of that dream is a very very significant loss.But... if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things ... about Holland.