Mr. Atkinson Goes to Washington . . .

. . . and Mrs. Atkinson tags along!

The first week in March, Kevin was asked to speak at a conference for work. Many of you know Kevin finished up his internship with DCMA last year and spent 8 weeks in Canada. (You can visit our Travel Blog to see our adventure.) Kevin was flown out to Virginia for an hour to share about his internship and international rotation. I took the opportunity to go with him and see D.C. for the first time.

We saw most of the monuments on the Mall on Thursday afternoon. It was cold (for me, probably 48 degrees) and very windy. And then spent most of Friday and Saturday taking in more of the sites and some scheduled tours. Here are a few of our 300 pictures!

Lincoln Memorial

Vietnam Memorial

Drifts of snow on the side of the road.

Capitol at sunset.

Kevin and Lincoln at the Ford Theater.

Leftover pizza lunch on a park bench.

Supreme Court House

Me waiting for our tour of the Court.

Potomac River



Rotunda at the Capitol



15 weeks in D.C.


The Smithsonian Air and Space Museum - We only visited the exhibits for the WWI and WWII planes. The place was packed with families on Saturday.

Arlington National Cemetery

JFK's Eternal Flame

The cemetery was too big to walk around - at least for me. I had been on my feet for three days. We saw a ton and still have more to see if/when we go back. We had a wonderful time.

Present and Future

As I dream about the future I think of the things we will get to do as a family; the zoo, camping, excuses to go to a G rated movies, and things like that. I am excited for family game nights, trick-or-treating, and Christmas mornings. I was anxious and nervous about getting pregnant because I wasn’t sure if it would happen for us so I always looked farther to the future, at times not even thinking about the baby stage of my children. But in looking so far to the future, I neglected to dream and think about the pregnancy part of the process.

As I watch my belly grow, I am amazed at how God orchestrates everything. This little being is growing and changing inside of me. And God already knows His plan for our child. (I can’t even see what I am writing through my tears.) I have always loved Psalm 139, but it seems to have such deeper meaning now. Verse 15 and 16 read “My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” Even though I cannot see this little one, and can’t even feel the movements, God knows what comes next.

The phrase “His perfect timing” seems so cliché, but it could not be further from the truth. I praised God this morning for allowing me to carry this child. (More tears.) I don’t seem to have the words to express what I am feeling. I look in the mirror, see my growing belly, and still cannot believe this is all real. I never thought about what it would look like to be pregnant or how I would feel. I seem to be in more shock now than I was when we first found out.

God reminded me to slow down and live for today. I can be excited, and have hopes, dreams, and plans (which always end up changing anyway), but I need to cherish this moment. A couple of weeks ago I bought a little book to write down the things I want to remember from this pregnancy. It’s a fill in the blank and paste in the picture sort of thing, but it will be perfect. I am excited to save these things not only for me to reflect on but for my child to read one day as well. (There I go with the future again.) But I am excited for what is going on now. It’s almost a weird limbo stage; not knowing what is to come. By enjoying what is here and now, I am able to calm my spirit (a little) and prepare to be changed and stretched. As a wise man once told Kevin and me (Coach Rick York), “You don’t even know what you don’t know.” We were first told that phrase in the application of marriage, but it seems fitting again as we embark on this new journey. The wonderful thing is that Kevin and I get to do this together (crying again.) We get to lean on what another in a new type of partnership; parenting.

Borrowed Puppy

Yesterday Kevin went out for a morning run. He was gone for about 10 minutes. He comes back to the room and says "Babe, I need you to get up and help me this morning." I oblige and get out of bed. I put my glasses on to see a puppy in his arms. Apparently, our boys wanted to play with him. Kevin, being the good citizen he is, brought him home. Immediately, we began trying to find where we could take him. Unfortunately/Fortunately, the shelter didn't open until 10. I gave him some milk, put him in the bathroom with some newspaper and a towel, and headed to work.

I posted some pictures on facebook and sent out a ton of text messages trying to find this guy a home. He was so little, and dirty, that we assume he didn't run away from home. Most likely, someone dumped him in the field behind our community. We never did go back to see if he had brothers and sisters.

After work (and after checking on him at lunch), Kevin gave him a bath, we fed him, and played for a little.

Me and Borrowed Puppy waiting for Kevin to get home.

After a bath.

Getting to know Bubba.

Napping.

Yes, he slept with us. I think Kevin took this picture last night. It was in my email box this morning.

Thankfully, a friend of Kevin's from high school (now also my friend) saw the pictures on facebook and told another friend about the little guy. He also went to high school with Kevin. After many texts and frantic planning, I think the little guy is going to a permanent home tonight. At least I hope so. With two 100 pound dogs, and a baby on the way, I can't do another puppy. He is really cute though . . .

Dinner - Take Two

I worked late tonight. Then I went to the store to grab food for the week. I didn't get home until around 7 but knowing that I wasn't going to be home tomorrow night I decided I would make something Husband could reheat for dinner tomorrow. He loves (or never complains about) leftovers, so stroganoff seemed simple and would rehear well. I bought ground beef, some fresh mushrooms, and even some fresh garlic. Unfortunately, when I got home to put it all together, I only had rainbow pasta. Some how I didn't think stroganoff would look very appealing over green and red pasta.

Instead this is what I ended up with for dinner

Pancakes with fresh strawberries and powdered sugar. And although I thoroughly enjoyed it, it looks like Kevin will end up with cereal for dinner tomorrow night.