Masterpiece

Lily would paint all day long, if I would let her... her new favorite thing is to paint with two brushes at once.

Praise Song for the Day

Ever since yesterday, I cannot get "love with no need to preempt grievance" out of my head. In case you missed Elizabeth Alexander, read on...

Praise song for the day.

Each day we go about our business, walking past each other, catching each others' eyes or not, about to speak or speaking. All about us is noise. All about us is noise and bramble, thorn and din, each one of our ancestors on our tongues. Someone is stitching up a hem, darning a hole in a uniform, patching a tire, repairing the things in need of repair.

Someone is trying to make music somewhere with a pair of wooden spoons on an oil drum with cello, boom box, harmonica, voice.

A woman and her son wait for the bus.

A farmer considers the changing sky; A teacher says, "Take out your pencils. Begin."

We encounter each other in words, words spiny or smooth, whispered or declaimed; words to consider, reconsider.

We cross dirt roads and highways that mark the will of someone and then others who said, "I need to see what's on the other side; I know there's something better down the road."

We need to find a place where we are safe; We walk into that which we cannot yet see.

Say it plain, that many have died for this day. Sing the names of the dead who brought us here, who laid the train tracks, raised the bridges, picked the cotton and the lettuce, built brick by brick the glittering edifices they would then keep clean and work inside of.

Praise song for struggle; praise song for the day. Praise song for every hand-lettered sign; The figuring it out at kitchen tables.

Some live by "Love thy neighbor as thy self."

Others by first do no harm, or take no more than you need.

What if the mightiest word is love, love beyond marital, filial, national. Love that casts a widening pool of light. Love with no need to preempt grievance.

In today's sharp sparkle, this winter air, anything can be made, any sentence begun.

On the brink, on the brim, on the cusp -- praise song for walking forward in that light.

2009 Inaugural Ceremonies

So it has been a day since Obama's swearing-in, and I am still at a loss for words as to how to describe what it was like to be a part of the huge crowd. Instead, I'll just recap our day:

I don't know why, but I was psyched about the fact that 395 was closed, which meant the tunnel was open to pedestrian traffic. It is definitely not a pretty walk... but I'm a sucker for those "When are we ever going to be able to this again?" moments. Jeremy was a trooper and agreed to satisfy my curiosity. I felt like we were having a Will Ferrell in Elf moment, but instead of the Lincoln Tunnel, ours was the 395 tunnel.

Out of the tunnel... woohoo!

Noah and I snuggling among the masses...

Apparently karma smiles upon two people with little ones hoisted up on their backs. We managed to land a spot near the Museum of the American Indian (surprisingly, not too far from where our friends Matt and Colleen had tickets). We had a great few of the Capitol and the podium during Obama's speech.

Walking home... sooo many people!

Noah was his cheerful little self the whole time... he just wouldn't let himself fall asleep. Here he is making his "Nope, not sleepy!" face.

Lily was so excited during the ceremony. People in the crowd gave her little flags, which she waved enthusiastically while yelling, "Look! It's Barack Obama!" She crashed on the walk home though...

How did we reward such patience? With a cupcake, of course...

The best part of coming home? Snuggling on the couch while watching it again on TiVO...

She wears many hats...

Cootie

Lily received a number of games for christmas... candyland, chutes & ladders and several other classics. But her favorite, by far, is Cootie.

National Day of Service on MLK Day

Lily and I volunteered at a local school today... the students had been busy decorating their space to honor both Dr. King and the President-elect. Lily was hard at work making pencil holders for the teachers' desks and she had a blast sharpening the new pencils to put inside each holder.

Building Museum

Nothing beats the National Building Museum on a cold DC day... Lily and I left "the boys," as she refers to her Daddy and little brother, at home and had a fun time playing in the Building Zone.

Purple Potatoes

I love the weekly produce box we receive. It sounds like something out of a Dr. Seuss book, but this week we enjoyed purple potatoes. Lily has been a touch on the picky side lately, but she was very excited to find something purple on her dinner plate!

Cookies

Since we were all under the weather during the holidays, we didn't have much time for making cookies. So Lily and I made snowman cookies, albeit a little late in the season. She was surprisingly calm and helpful... a lot less messy than our previous attempts at baking. We may be onto something here!

Specs

Lily got a fabulous artsy-crafty book from her cousin (thanks, Aurora) for Christmas. She has had a blast gluing together purses, glasses and lots of other little accessories!

Happy New Year!

Our friends Becky and Jeff came in town for New Year's Eve. We were all in surprisingly good shape on New Year's Day, and Lily and Noah had fun playing with Maya.

Braving the cold

Last weekend, we braved the cold and headed to the Mall to watch the ice skating near the National Gallery. Lily's little brother was happy to snuggle with his mama, while Lily squealed as she watched the ice skaters go by.

She also got a lot of enjoyment watching as the ice was cleaned and now her new favorite word is "Zamboni."
We headed through the sculpture garden on our way to the Museum of Natural History, one of Lily's favorites....
... however, she spotted the Carousel across the Mall so we begrudingly gave in and endured the cold for a little longer.
Apparently even 30-degree weather cannot put a damper on the little girl's enthusiasm for horses!