New Jersey

Barnegat Light, Long Beach Island

I couldn't wait to come here. All these years I had never been to the lighthouse near my grandmother's house, and recently it was restored and now beams a bright beacon once more. I learned that George Meade, the Union general, was responsible for its design and construction; as a government engineer before the Civil War, inspecting the old lighthouse, he foresaw that light's crumbling into the sea and recommended replacing it.

We had a lovely picnic on the bay, and then...

Joshua scampered with alacrity up more than 200 steps! I could barely keep up with him! David also climbed all the way up by himself, but not quite so quickly, probably to the relief of the rest of the party.



Happy climbers at the summit, not even breaking a sweat.



Out on the catwalk it was quite windy and I lost my sunglasses, but the view was beautiful. My favorite sight was the southern tip of Island Beach State Park, where we used to go to the beach when I was little.

We all enjoyed the sunshine and the ocean views, and I - this is one of my quirky things - particularly delighted in the salty air. I insisted that we roll down the windows in the van so I could smell the sea.

Grandma Monika generously suggested we stop for ice cream on the way home.

David very decidedly wanted a chocolate ice cream cone.




And he thoroughly enjoyed eating it!



Joshua and David had a wonderful time with their dear GG. She is one in a million!

She even gave us a plant to take home!

It was somewhat of a mystery plant until it just bloomed. It turned out to be a Black-eyed Susan, which I recently read is the Maryland state flower. Isn't that fitting?

Thank you, GG, for letting us visit - we love you so very much! And thank you, Mom and Dad, for joining us in Philadelphia and Forked River. It was so fun to be with you and such a blessing to have your help in caring for the boys!

Philadelphia

This conference was the reason we went to Philadelphia.

Independence Hall.

The Liberty Bell.

Mural in the convention center and old railroad terminal entrance. There were huge murals on many buildings around the city.

The food court where we tried Philly cheesesteaks.

Joshua loved the guitar sign at the Hard Rock Cafe.

The seaport museum on Penn's Landing housed an active wooden ship-building shop.

The four-masted Moshulu (now a restaurant), the Spanish-American War cruiser U.S.S. Olympia, and the U.S.S. Becuna (a WWII diesel sub). We toured the latter two.

Yum! Fifty-cent soft pretzels!


Benjamin Franklin's grave in the Christ Church cemetery. We also went to the U.S. Mint right across the street from here but were not allowed to bring cameras.

We took a ride on a historic PCC trolley car down Girard Avenue. (Thanks Dad! We never would have done this if you hadn't been there!)

"There he is! There's William Penn!" His statue is visible atop the old city hall from all over the city center, and the boys shouted excitedly every time they saw him.

The Please Touch Museum was an experience unto itself. We took the city bus there and back, a roundabout trip through the real Philadelphia. We went during a two-hour window when admission was only $2pp, compared to $15pp for over age 1 at all other times. To say it was crowded would be a severe understatement! But it was worth it. I didn't get too many great photos being focused on trying not to lose the boys, who were obviously enjoying themselves despite the jostling mobs, but this children's museum had it all. We managed to at least see most of it, but we plan to go back someday.

They both waited patiently for a turn to drive the excavator. David needed a little help but Joshua managed to scoop a bucketful and dump it on his own.

The child-size grocery store was worse than Costco on a Saturday. There was hardly a cart to be had! But they had all this nice bread to bake, and Joshua had a blast as Able Baker Charlie. And guess what he and David stuffed their cart with when given the opportunity to make their own grocery shopping choices? Bread, bread, and more bread!

One area was devoted to water play. They had a non-slip draining floor and convenient blue smocks with drying racks for all the kids to put on while they splashed in the locks, canals, rivers, water wheels, rapids, rain storms, and all kinds of water activities.

We're so grateful we had the opportunity to visit a new place and spend some time with Chris during a week when we otherwise would have been apart. Philadelphia was wonderful and we had a great time! Next I'll post the pictures from our side trip to New Jersey.

A Word on Books

For all those waiting for photos of our new tile floor and Philadelphia excursions, please bear with me! I keep forgetting to get the flash drive with the photos on it out of Chris's laptop bag and only seem to remember when he's at work and I can't possibly retrieve it.

In the meantime, we made a new friend today at a mutual friend's birthday party, and she asked me what three books for children I would rank as indispensable. It's almost impossible for me to pick just three. I think there are multiple sets of three that would be worthy of saving from a burning building or bringing to a deserted island...or for that matter, bringing to a place where many people could benefit from them. I had a hard time responding in the midst of the party, but now that I'm at home and can think more clearly, these are the three I would choose today, for the preschool ages:

1) The Jesus Storybook Bible, Sally Lloyd-Jones
2) Winnie-the-Pooh, A.A. Milne
3) Dangerous Journey, Oliver Hunkin, adapted from John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress

Why? Well, all of these are wonderful for reading aloud. And at the preschool level, there's not much better than cuddling up together with a good book. These three selections are enjoyable for both the parent and the child, which would become much more important if you had to read the same three books over and over again. We love how The Jesus Storybook Bible connects all of Scripture to Christ...as Lloyd-Jones writes, "every story whispers His name." Milne's classic keeps us chuckling and singing the hums of Pooh. Joshua and David regularly laugh - hard - at Pooh's silly predicaments. Dangerous Journey retains much of Bunyan's original dialogue and conveys the gist of Pilgrim's Progress effectively. In addition to the rich allegory that fosters plenty of discussion, the illustrations are riveting even for our two-year old.

Other favorites that might make the list on a different day include:
Leaves from a Child's Garden of Verses, Robert Louis Stevenson illus. Donna Green
Make Way for Ducklings, One Morning in Maine, Blueberries for Sal, and other Robert McCloskey gems
Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel, The Little House, Katy and the Big Snow, and other Virginia Lee Burton stories
Letting Swift River Go, Jane Yolen
Whistling, Elizabeth Partridge illus. Anna Grossnickle Hines
Corduroy, Don Freeman
Frogs Wore Red Suspenders, Jack Prelutsky (we especially like "Winnie Appleton" and "Peanut Peg and Peanut Pete")
Lassie Come-Home, Rosemary Wells, adapted for children from Eric Knight's 1938 original
Charlotte's Web, E.B. White (intended for a slightly older age group, it was a bit of a stretch for our two-year old at times, but even he enjoyed the goose's "idio-idio-idiosyncrasy")

We've also been enjoying children's nonfiction recently. We try to find books about places or historical figures we'll be encountering on a family vacation and then learn about them before traveling, and even with young children we have seen evidence that they are learning from their "research." Delving into children's biography and history, including the work of Betsy and Giulio Maestro (Liberty or Death, American Story Series), has been rewarding beyond expectation. There are more realistic, lively, entertaining, educational, and exceptionally illustrated nonfiction picture books than I would ever have guessed. What a treasure trove!

If you have read this far, hopefully you've been inspired to visit your local library to find a few new and old favorites of your own to enjoy with your child this month. Happy reading!

Busy busy busy!

The past few weeks have been a whirlwind! Here's the text version of what has been going on with us. Hopefully in the next few days I will get some photos up too.

Philly
We went to Philadelphia with Chris the last weekend in May through the first week of June for the ASMS conference. He worked, we played! It was so wonderful to be with him for much of that time we would have been apart. My parents came down to join us for a few days, and they came with me and the boys to my grandma's house in New Jersey for a couple of days too. We already want to go back to Philly to do some of the things we didn't get to do this time. There is just so much to see and do there! We tried to find inexpensive, kid-friendly activities. Some of our favorites were the SEPTA transit museum, the Please Touch museum ($2pp on Wednesdays from 5-7pm, opposed to $15pp if you are over age 1 normally), street vendor pretzels for fifty cents, Independence National Historic Park including the liberty bell, the U.S. Mint, Franklin Court, the seaport museum at Penn's Landing (pay-as-you-wish on Sundays from 10-12!), and riding various forms of mass transit including the historic PCC trolley car. Overall my impressions were that the people are friendly and helpful, and they care about their city. We took a bus through some neighborhoods that looked old and dilapidated but even there were signs that the people were making an effort to rise above poverty and take care of their city. For example I was struck by a plastic K-Mart bag tied to a chain link fence. My first thought was "that looks trashy" - and then I realized it actually was a trash bag, purposely hung there by a bus stop that had no garbage can, and that people were actually using it - there wasn't any litter in the area! Now around here in our relatively well-to-do suburb the bus stops have no trash cans and for the most part the streets we walk in our neighborhood are strewn with trash. Other things about Philly - we tried the famed cheesesteaks and were not impressed, but otherwise the array of dining was fantastic. And the boys loved the blue Benjamin Franklin Bridge across the Delaware, and the statue of William Penn atop the old city hall. We could see it from all over and they constantly pointed at it and shouted, "There's William Penn! I see William Penn!" And last but not least, we went into Macy's, formerly the famed Wanamaker's, to buy a wedding gift for a friend. Did you know the largest pipe organ in the WORLD is housed in a department store? It truly is, and they truly play it, and it truly sounds amazing. You shop and all around you these beautiful tones are reverberating making you feel like you're in a cathedral. A must-see if you go to Philly!

Home Improvement
While we were there my in-laws called: "Do you mind if we go to your house and install a new banister while the boys are away?" "Take out our cruddy old iron thing and replace it with beautiful colonial-style oak? Go right ahead." Then they called back. "Can we varnish your floor too?" So we returned on Thursday night to a vastly more polished (ha ha) entryway. Then the next day they temporarily left while we had some other guests for the weekend, and on Monday they came back. Our bathroom floor had been sort of bubbling up, which is never a good sign. We had to see what was going on under there. Turns out our toilet wasn't sealed properly and unmentionable filth had been seeping out into the floor for several months. We never smelled anything, but there we had it, and the floor had to come out. So my father-in-law spent three days working nonstop to tear out the floor, replace it with ceramic tile, and put our bathroom back together - without leaks. (Did I mention Chris was traveling again by now? It was just a little hectic at our house!) Between the shiny floor, the banister, and the tile bath, some parts of our house are actually starting to look a little classy now - what a difference! And my father-in-law also found time to do a few other more minor projects too, while the mortar was setting and the grout was setting, etc...what a servant he is!

Guests
Besides our amazing carpenter parents, we also had the pleasure of hosting the Haywards, friends from Minneapolis who are preparing to go on the mission field. They have an almost-two-year-old son named Jacob who was instantly buddies with Joshua and David. It was an incredible time of reconnecting with David and Katie, encouraging one another in the Lord and having long conversations about missions, marriage, parenting, education, and the list goes on. (Katie actually came with a list of topics but I don't know if we got through all of them!) These wonderfully generous friends even babysat for us for a wedding we went to on Saturday night for the first couple we met with for premarital counseling (remember the gift we bought in Macy's in Philadelphia?). It was so wonderful to spend time with the Haywards before they leave! It will probably be a long while before we get to see them again.

Wrap-Up (for now)
So thanks to my mom and dad and grandma, and Chris's mom and dad (hope the new GPS helped get you home speedily!), and the Haywards for an amazing couple of weeks. This weekend we caught our breath and relaxed - we went to Renee's student recital Saturday morning, the Gaithersburg community chorus concert outdoors Saturday night (and have been singing "Seventy-Six Trombones" ever since), and played two Scrabble games. For the record, Chris snapped his losing streak with two wins. And another happy birthday to my grandma (June 11) and my dad (today)!!

A final thought - today is Flag Day, which is the day that Betsy Ross's original United States flag was ceremoniously unveiled and publicly displayed. We went to her shop on Arch Street just a little over a week ago! It's amazing how much American history is preserved not far from our doors. Imagine how it would be to live in Europe or Asia, where the history that is preserved is many hundreds and even thousands of years old! Ok, I guess I'm turning into a history nut, but it's really interesting and fun and helps develop a deeper appreciation of the places we visit! And I think it does help me to worship God more when I consider myself in the larger context of the globe past, present, and future, and his plan unfolding.

It's Official!

Actually it has been official for a long time, we just haven't announced it yet. Joshua's favorite color is...YELLOW! Which means he insists on yellow drinking cups and gets excited about yellow anything, including his new (need we say - yellow) bathing suit. Even his Sunday school pictures are always colored completely yellow! A few reasons why we suspect yellow may have risen above the rest of the spectrum:

1) CAT construction vehicles
2) macaroni and cheese
3) orange juice

So, in honor of Joshua, our blog is now yellow. At least for a little while!

"You're a grand old flag, you're a high-flying flag...

...and forever in peace may you wave..."

We had a great time at the National Memorial Day parade!

We're grateful to live in a free land, and we're grateful for all who have helped secure that freedom and who are protecting it today.

The things kids say

A few recent funny comments I want to record before they are forgotten:

David was mixing pretend food and Renee asked him what he was making. He responded, "I'm not makin' anyfin for you, I'm makin' somefin for me!"

When I said it was time to get ready to go to Mommy and Me on the Square (a local event), Joshua shouted "No!" (My heart sank as I thought he was going to disobey.) But then he finished, "Mommy and Us!"

Reading the Bible after dinner, Chris asked David,"Can I have your attention?" David looked around and then wondered aloud, "where's my attention?"