Day 1 in Washington DC

This morning on our way to DC, we stopped at the rest area in Virginia for a photo shot of the kids with the Virginia state sign. Of course I got my picture but let me tell you that this was the ultimate kid friendly rest area that I had ever seen. All my life I have loved to travel and if you travel by car a lot with kids, then you know that you are always looking for some type of play area so that the kids can run some energy out. Well, this rest area had a play area/jungle gym for kids and while my kids were close to being to old for it , they still enjoyed a few minutes of play before getting back on the road.
Thanks Virginia for thinking of our kids!

It was also at this rest area that Phillip found a brouchure on a scrapbook store in Fredricksburg and of course, being the wonderful husband that he is, told me about it and even stopped when I insisted that we did not have too. I am glad we did though, it was an awesome store. Everything was organized nicely and easy to find. I spent a little money but not too much. I did find some really cute travel paper and poka dot paper, I could not resist!


Jonah wants YOU!! While at Union Station Jonah found several different "Uncle Sam's" Hat and tried a few on for size. When he put this one on he pointed his finger just like those posters of Uncle Sam.













We ate at Johnny Rockets tonight at Union Station. I had forgotton how large Union Station was' three floors full of shops, restuarants and even a movie theater.







Right after we left Union Station, we headed to the Mall, no not the shopping mall but the where Lincoln Memorial, the Washington Monument and the National World War II Memorial is. It is suggested that you see these monuments both at night and during the day. We had no sooner found a parking place and both kids spoke up saying "is there a bathroom close by." Now let me tell you this, I had no clue where a bathroom was, we had just put $$ in the parking meter and there was not a gas station or a food place around. So we crashed in on a party at the Organizations of Americas. No one spoke english and everyone was dressed nice. Here we stood in jeans and totally stood out like a sore thumb. But the doorman was nice and allowed us to used there bathrooms, lucky for us they were near the front door.

My picture of the day, possibly the trip. I have no clue how it happened, I was not even trying to take this photo. I simply rolled down my window, Phillip was driving kinda slow and I did have my camera set on night time and as I snapped the picture a tree got in my way of the Washington Monument. Cool Picture, don't you think, I could probably never do this again.
I am sure that there is somebody out there who knows just how this picture happened.



















Lincoln Memorial at night is just breathtaking and with today being President's Day around the bottom of Lincoln's stature were wreaths of flowers and roses laid on the steps. Well I guess, I need to call it a day. We have an early morning tomorrow, starting when my alarm goes off at 6 a.m., we need to be heading into the city by 7 a.m. for a 9 hour tour.

Weekend of Winterfest Fun & Challenge

We are now in North Carolina until tomorrow, then we will be heading to D.C. Praise God that we have had safe travels so far and I pray that we can continue to have safe travels. I thought that I would give a brief update on our Winterfest weekend. It was AWESOME! The pressence of God was felt so strongly.

Jonah and Courtney with the beauty of God in the background,

taken on the balcony of our chalet. It's tradition to get a picture of our Winterfest group on Sunday morning prior to leaving.

If you have never been to Winterfest, you are missing out on a great weekend. This weekend between both sessions (which were sold out) there were a total of over 13,000 attendees. It was amazing and probably the best one yet. The theme this year was "The Mission", it was awesome!!! There were several different guest speakers and as always the singing was great. Each session showed us how to take the following steps.......


step 1: KNOW CHRIST


step 2: BE CHRIST


step 3: SEE CHRIST

step 4: SHARE CHRIST

Mr. Mumps, was Harrison's name for the weekend. Yes, with a possiblity of having the mumps, I think that Harrison stilled enjoyed himself, even though he never made it out of the chalet. I wished I had gotten a picture of him with his mask on, but by Sunday, he was able to take it off and would not put it back on for a simple picture. Oh well! I tried to suggest that a cute picture of the group to recap the weekend would be a group picture of everyone with a mask and Harrison not wearing a mask. But no one would give in. It would have been cute!!!

The love of my life, the most wonderful man there could be.

Another fun tradition that we share each year, is to have our last meal before everyone heads home at the Apple Barn in Pigeon Forge. The kids always have a table to themselves and so do the adults. It just our way of having one final time together.

Kerry flipping Courtney upside down. I was so afraid that she was going to hurl up her lunch and she let him do it several times.

Courtney and Jonah are always up to something. Here, Jonah had his legs wrapped around Courtney and was not holding on to her, neither was she holding on to him. He is so his daddy's boy.

Only miles away from home can you let your inner child free and act SILLY!! After waiting for our food for an hour, we (the adults) learned a little more about each other, especially some of our unique middle names, like Steve's is Hargiss. So after we ate, I was standing in the parking lot with Sara, Courtney and Jonah when Steve came out. Well I told the girls what Steve's
middle name was so they took off running across the parking lot towards Steve and was yelling Hargiss. Well, none of us had never seen Steve move so fast. In fact for a moment, I thought that we may need to call 911 for Steve.

Then it was time for goodbyes........... I hated leaving and was teary eyed as we pulled away from some very close friends. But
I know that we will see them again very soon. During our goodbyes though I was able to capture some very funny shots of Kerry. Which is a nut close to home but even more of a nut miles away from home. Here he went to hug Phillip and Phillip picked him up. Then he went to hug Steve, don't ask me why, because they were heading back to Ky together and he wrapped his legs around Steve like he was a monkey. I know that everyone was looking at us pretty oddly
and wondering where that strange group of people came from.

CHALLENGE TO YOU.....
This was our challenge this weekend, well one of them, and I would like to pass this challenge onto my fellow bloggers. John 3:16 states "for God so loved the world....." Yes, I know, the majority of us know this scripture by heart, but the challenge that I am passing on, is to set your cell phone alarm to go off everyday at 3:16 in the afternoon. When your alarm goes off, then this is your time to pray for the world. You can specific or not, but use this time to pray for the well being of our world.

The Start of a Much Needed Vacation

What a beginning to 2008. We are only 46 days into the new year and we have made two trips to Ky, both in regards to Uncle Woodrow, which by the way would have been 88 yesterday (Valentine's day). Oh, how I miss him. We arrived back home Monday evening, just in time for me to wash clothes and repack to head out this morning on a much needed vacation. Our first destination we have accomplish safely. Praise god! We arrived around three this afternoon at our chalet in Gatlinburg for a weekend of fellowship and worship with some Ky friends. We are still waiting for everyone to arrive, but they are on their way. Unfortunately, with a child who has the mumps, which caused a major delay in them leaving this morning. So I thought that I would blog a little, makes journaling easier when I scrapbook these pictures later. Jonah and Courtney are out in the hot tub and Phillip is upstairs taking a nap and can you believe that our chalet has wireless internet, which I guess is not out of the norm since many fast foods places have internet.

On the way to TN, we drove a route that we normally do not drive, so of course there were a few new sites to see. The first was the Tallulah Falls in Ga. It is a 900 foot gorge, which is the largest gorge east of the Mississippi. I never knew it existed. There were some intersting reading on the gorge which is now controlled by the Ga Power, meaning they have control over the water, however the river is still noticable and flowing through the gorge. The second site which we knew was there just not at the elevation of 5048 feet and that was the TN/NC state line. I will say that the temperature was much colder at that elevation, in fact there were still snow and icicles in some places.

We are here in Gatlinburg until Sunday, then we head to our second destination which is right outside Raleigh, NC, where we will spend the afternoon with Phillip's childhood friend "Uncle Danny" and his family. Then Monday we are off to DC. The weather looks good so hopefully we will have an enjoyable vacation..

Hope everyone has a great weekend!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Uncle Woodrow

Well as most of you know, my Great Uncle Woodrow passed away this morning, exactly 1 week shy of celebrating his 88th birthday. Uncle Woodrow was more then an uncle to me, he was like the grandfather I never had. He spent most of his life in the Navy and then married a much older woman, who had already been married and had kids of her own. Never having kids of his own and after his wife's passing in July of 73, the story goes that he came down for Christmas in 1973 and fell in love with me, at the wonderful age of 4 months. My grandmother talked him in to moving back to Fl and living with her and since I was at my grandmother's house 24/7, naturally he filled the shoes of not having a grandfather. I never called him grandfather, but he was truely a very special person to me.

He always either rode a bicycle or walked everywhere he went. I remember as a little girl, I always knew when he would visit my grandmother while I was at school because he would always leave a little money on my dresser. As I got older and was able to drive, I would go over and pick him up and take him to the store or the doctor. I remember for his birthday one year, I saved up the money to buy him a new bicycle. I even had the store place a basket on the front and I comfortable seat on the back.

In the 90's he worked as the nighttime security for the college that I was attending and on the nights I had classes, he would walk to work and then I would drive him home after class.

I will never forget his delish mac and cheese and he would always fry little drum sticks for me.

As the years passed and I got married, Phillip and I continued to take care of him and Phillip grew to love the sometimes gruff man just as much as I did. When Jonah and Courtney were born he was the first one to place a dollar in their tiny little hand,( it was only a quarter when I was a baby and actually I still have that quarter. ) He used to make up things that he needed just so that I would go by and see him, this was especially so after I had kids. He would always give them a dollar and a handful of vanilla wafers. In fact still to this day Courtney will bring up Uncle Woodrow and his vanilla wafers.

In 2003, with the support of such a wonderful and amazing husband, we moved Uncle Woodrow to Ky to live with us. I will never regret the times that we have shared together, Oh and the stories. I'll miss him, that's for sure.

Well I guess that I have done enough rambling.

We plan to leave bright and early in the morning, in fact our alarm is set to go off is 3 hours and I have not even made it to bed yet (good thing, Phillip is driving the first part of the trip.)

Wasn't he a cutie, look at those chubby cheeks!
Age 14
His life was the Navy
Uncle Woodrow and his wife Lillian
1970
This is when he fell in love with me, my first Christmas. Uncle Woodrow, me, my Mema (his sister) and my cousin Clint

1986 -Siblings

Edward, King, Woodrow, and Floy (MEMA)
Uncle Woodrow and my mom -1986
Uncle Woodrow holding Jonah for the first time - 1996
Uncle Woodrow and Courtney - 1998

My family - four generations totalChristmas 2003 - When we brought Uncle Woodrow to live with us in Ky
Mom, Uncle Woodrow, and my aunt Bernice (my mother's sister)
Uncle Woodrow's 85th birthday
Christmas 2003

May he rest in peace!

Counting Down the Days

Eleven more days and hopefully we will awake to a fully packed van, with everything we need (yeh right), lots of snacks, movies to entertain the kids while driving and will be headed north to meet up with several friends from Ky and their children for a wonderful weekend at Winterfest. Oh, how we look forward to Winterfest every year. Which I was starting to panic b/c Jonah was leaning towards go with the youth group this year and not staying with all of us in the Chalet. Of course what do you say, part of me wants him to have the wonderful experience of youth activities without mom and dad, but part of me says, just one more year. But in the end, momma won (I did let him decide, I promise). This year its our same group, in the same chalet but I am taking my snow boots! Last year, on top of getting snow in, I wore shoes that had no traction. It was not a cute sight and I lost count of how many times I slid down while trying to walk up the road to our chalet b/c our van was having trouble making it up the incline in the ice and snow. But not this year, now watch it won't even snow. THEN.........after what is sure to be another fun filled weekend. The Starling's will be heading even further north with a little bit of a eastern direction to our Nation's Capital, Washington D.C.


Several years ago when I started home schooling Jonah, he was excited, with the exception of one thing and that he was not going to be able to attend his sixth grade field trip to Washington D.C. I did not promise but I did tell him that one day we would go as a family and he was content. Well here we are, in just 3 short months, Jonah will be finishing up his 6th grade year (I still can't believe it)and not that this trip has to happen before he enters seventh grade but it is just a good time to take both kids to our Nation's Capital. All four of us are looking forward to this trip. I was able to visit D.C. the summer before I started high school but Phillip and the kids have never been and we really wanted to be able to take the kids in the off season (one of the perks of home schooling) with the hopes of not having to battle with as many school trips. After many hours of research I think I have a pretty good schedule of what our trip will entell. We will even be able to have a free day at the end of the week, in order to do anything that we may have overlooked or go back and visit something again. So, if you have been and have any helpful hints, I will take them.

And yes, I have resisted the urge to place a ticker on my blog (what is the world coming too)!

Jonah's Camera

Okay, I thought that I would share with you what kind of pictures an 11 year old takes with a digital camera. I found these pictures on Jonah's camera when I was uploading my pictures from last weekend and I thought they were pretty funny. The first few were taken in or on the way to KY. This is what happens after ten hours in the van with mom and dad!
Breakfast at the Sowders, must be a timer shot or one of the girls took it.
Great shot on the Sowders front porch.

I have no clue what was up with the Bubba lips

On the way to church, could have been a cute picture of Courtney if she was looking

No hands, testing the timer, maybe

Bubba lips again

Another hands free shot Looks like a criminal mug shot.
a nostril shot

Well I hope you had a good laugh. Oh by the way, I am feeling ALOT better today. I still have that horrible cough but my migraine is gone (Praise God).

What's Worse?

What's worse, do I dare ask? A migraine, sinusitis, ear infection or a horrible cough, OR WAIT........what about all four combined. I will say that I have not felt this bad in a long time. I spent over 3 hours at the doctors office today, part of which I went out and laid in the car because I had no strength to sit in the waiting room. And you ask why is she blogging. Well..........Jonah and Phillip headed to Hard Rock (a dirt bike track) for family night with our neighbors and Courtney is staying at home to take care of me (she is such a good kid). After Courtney was done playing on Webkinz and before signing off I decided to check my email, something I am so behind on right now and then I went to my blog and well you know the rest of the story, plus it helps when you can sit in bed and blog. I am calling it quits for now and to everyone who has called today, sorry I missed your call, hopefully we can talk tomorrow.