We love our neighborhood!

One of our very favorite things about living here in Virginia is the beautiful townhouse neighborhood we live in and our very cool neighbors. 

This Memorial Day, we attended a block party BBQ with our neighbors and their adorable kiddos. 

Check it out!

There was yummy, patriotic food

And cute neighborhood babies.

We pooled all our BBQs, law chairs and card tables in the shadiest part of the common area we could find!

And boy did we need it - it was HOT that day.

But heat can't stop true football players of all ages :)

Happy official beginning of summer!

Every day is Memorial Day...

...for Johnathan at work at Arlington.

And for families grieving the loss of a loved one there.

But, on some days, the whole nation remembers with them and we get to share a picture of what we do.

This morning, we got to share it with one of our littlest neighbors and friends.  In two weeks, we'll share it with my family and right here I get to share it with you!

Thank you for your support of Johnathan and I as he works to honor the memories of veterans.

Every day.

Week of Prayer for Foster Care

This week, Focus on the Family is hosting a National Foster Care Prayer Vigil.  May is Foster Care Awareness Month and I can think of no better way to "look after orphans in their distress" (James 1:27) in our own country than getting involved in foster care.

Years ago, I adopted this verse as my rallying cry for children's advocacy and inspiration for work everyday:

"Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves,

for the rights of all who are destitute. 

Speak up and judge fairly;

defend the rights of the poor and needy."

- Proverbs 31:8-9

And this is just one reference in the Bible to God's heart for the orphaned and needy.  The Bible is chock-full of instruction to us about caring for those in need in our world, particularly the orphan, "fatherless," and widow.  (See: Exodus 22:22,  Deuteronomy 24:17, 19-21, Psalm 82:3, Isaiah 1:17, Jeremiah 22:3, Zechariah 7:10). 

We don't use the word "orphan" very often anymore in America, but a child displaced from his family is essentially that.  And the "fatherless" issue is a whole 'nother soapbox for a whole 'nother day.  But, believe me - we've got them.  And fulfilling God's commands to care for them can start with prayer for the "orphans" in our own country today.

The Bible is also full of references to our God as one who cares about justice, compares us to children and treats us as once-orphaned, now adopted children in His kingdom.  (See: John 14:18, Deuteronomy 10:18, Psalm 10:14, 18, Psalm 68:5, Psalm 146:9,  Romans 8:15, Ephesians 1:5, Matthew 19:14). 

It's a beautiful picture of our faith, this work, and a clear mandate from God in Scripture - Be like Me.  Care for the least of these.

So, adopt this verse as your own this week.  Check out this prayer guide from Focus on the Family and join in the work of foster care (and Christians around the country) with your prayers this week. 

I'd be honored to partner with you :)

This Land is Your Land

Johnathan at a reception on roof of the Hay-Adams Hotel, across from Lafayette Square and the White House.

It's officially tourist time here in Washington.

And it's the beginning of a summer full of patriotic holidays and extra funerals at Arlington.  (Did you know that - Johnathan and the troops there perform more funerals in the summer months, when people are more apt to take time to travel/vacation in Washington and there's no chance of cancellation for snow!).

I personally love the summer in DC.  The heat reminds me of Louisiana (though it doesn't get fully wet-hot-swampy until July and August here, and March sometimes feels that way in LA!) and I love, love the mix of people here in the summertime.

You know it's summer in Washington when the metro smells like sunscreen, the Mall is full of 8th graders and the streets are tour bus logjam.  From the first April bloom of the cherry blossom trees to Labor Day school time, Washington (and my metro train) is a mixing bowl of people and purposes - work and play, business and vacation.

Sitting together on any given Monday you will see focused work commuters and wide-eyed family vacationers; dark, solemn business suits and lime green fanny packs; briefcases and strollers. 

But, grumpy, sullen commuters can't help but smile at chirpy preschoolers riding their very first train on their way to see a (real!) dinosaur.   Though your regular morning power walk from metro train to office may be briefly delayed by a dawdling clump of fluorescent tee-shirted 13-year-olds, the sight of them and the memory of your own pre-teenage self is worth a momentary courtesy and a little help with directions, if needed.  And no one dares begrudge the uniformed visitors we sometimes see in town - a real, live soldier to our wee visitors and locals alike.

I like the summer in Washington because its full of reminders of that part of our life here. Traffic, corrpution, urban yuckiness aside - I love what DC represents.

We get a little tunnel vision here sometimes in DC - traffic, train, desk, repeat.  And we forget that we don't live in just any urban mecca of office buildings and subway-riders.  We live in a city full of public property - buildings that belong to the people, monuments that mean more than stone. 

We work for a government run by people.  People who live all over the country, but think of Washington as the place that their money (!) and representatives go to work.  So, those people like to come in person and see how their government is getting along! 

And so they should.

So, welcome retired military couples proudly posing at the monument for the war you saw firsthand. 

Welcome middle school government class giggling, running and scavenger-hunting our history. 

Welcome families, kids and strollers to our Mall and woolly mammoths and monument playgrounds. 

This is your town. 

Thanks for letting us live here.

Two steps forward, one step back

This picture illustrates the ASL sign for "learn."  And that is what we're doing around here.

Johnathan and I continue in our journey to seek God's will for us in Deaf Ministry and learning sign language.  I am blessed every day by the sweet support Johnathan has given me in this adventure.  It is a precious enactment of love to me the way he supports this (seemingly random) call I felt to learn sign language.  Like most of life, we cannot see the end result, but feel peace and God-joy in each step of obedience we take on this journey. 

Even when we feel like we're stepping slowly or stepping backwards...

This weekend contained a few good examples of those "steps" for us.

Two steps forward -

The sweet gentleman who has served our Deaf congregation as interim pastor for four years had his last Sunday in that role this week, as we welcomed a new full time Deaf pastor.  Our outgoing pastor and his wife joined us for lunch at our home this Sunday and you'll be happy to hear that there was no knife throwing or major interpreting disasters.  It was in fact a really encouraging visit where (I hope) we were able to honor the service of this great couple and learn some more about Deaf culture and practice our signing skills.  Two especially precious things happened:

The first had to do with this painting, given to me by Johnathan's family when I graduated from law and graduate school.  Knowing I planned to practice "children's law," my very thoughtful family-in-law and love contacted this artist who specializes in painting children and told her my story.  They purchased this painting, signed to me personally by the artist, and gave it to me at graduation with a very encouraging note from the artist attached.  It hangs now on our living room wall and reminds me of the great support I have had and continue to have in my career.  I've always loved it, but now have reason to love it even more...

When our Deaf friends first saw the painting upon entering our living room, they exclaimed and began asking a million questions about where it came from and what it was because, to them (and now to me!) it looks like these children are signing!  There is a another Kathy Fincher painting in which children really do sign "Jesus Loves Me," but the hand position of these kids so closely resembles the small, purposeful motions of a child learning to sign.  My life is simply full of God's writing on the wall and encouragement in the paths he calls us to walk on.

The second "step forward" and forever memory from this day came at lunch when we were all seated to begin our meal and my very sweet husband lead us all in a blessing - in sign language!  To the delight of our dinner guests and my complete adoration, Johnathan learned a simple 3 or 4 sentence prayer in sign language and lead us all in prayer before the meal.  It was beautiful.

I've commented here before about how quickly Johnathan is picking up sign (without a single class or moment of real study, I might add...a little jealously...).  But, the truth is - it takes an enormous amount of courage to actually put your little bit of knowledge about someone else's language into practice in front of them and rely on God to "interpret" where you fail and make up for where you lack.  I'm so proud of Johnathan and grateful for the way he has dived into this new area of ministry with me.

And speaking of letting God make up for where we lack...I'll share my signing "one step back" from this week:

On Sunday morning, we attended our church's main, 11:00 worship hour in which the Deaf congregation participates on the first Sunday of each month.  In March, I had the pleasure (and great responsibility!) of interpreting music at this service.  I was not scheduled to do any interpreting this week and was just enjoying the service in the company of our Deaf friends, our new Deaf pastor and worshiping the Lord in my favorite way - with voice and sign.

The interpreter for the day had to leave the service unexpectedly right at the end of the hour and frantically turned to me and asked "Can you finish?"  What could I say, but "yes?" in that moment (being the only hearing/signing person available to at least try and muddle through the remainder of the service).  So, I did, feeling mostly confident that I could handle the only thing left on the program - a closing song, which I knew fairly well.

So, I stand in front of the congregation, poised to "sing" and leave totally forgetting that closing announcements and the introduction of new members always precedes the closing song!  The pastor stood and began rattling off a thousand announcements and introducing a hundred new members and I frantically attempted to translate with my very new, unpolished skills until he got to the new members  names and my spelling fingers froze.  And I just totally went blank.

Thankfully, our regular interpreter had returned by this time and graciously took her place again to finish, but I was so embarrassed!  It was a major, technical "fail" in my efforts to interpret worship for the Deaf and help them experience a hearing worship service.  But, in my heart, I couldn't feel embarrassed for very long because I knew in my "failure" I had still been obedient, and maybe even still used by God to bless some hearing or Deaf person that day. 

I still have so much to learn - technically and spiritually - that I have to be grateful for all the steps that teach me something.  Forward and back, we learn.

Monday Morning Randomness

I want to make every single recipe in this month's Southern Living magazine.  So far, I've made one and it was a hit!  Try this: Spicy Coconut Shrimp soup.  It has a yummy Thai flavor (like Tom Yum Gai soup) without too much spice.  A nice soup for spring and summer.

Netflix must think we have multiple personalities.  Our "recommended movies" (based on previous movies rented and rated) fall into these categories: Sentimental Dramas Based on Books, Heartfelt Children and Family Movies, Goofy Comedies and Exciting Crime.  Hmm...can you guess whose movies fall into which category?? :)

Everyone I know is pregnant (or has a new baby).  Seriously.  Are you pregnant?  You can't be my friend anymore if you're not.  It's apparently a new requirement :)

Our Deaf pastor and his very sweet wife are coming over to eat this weekend and I am equally thrilled and (don't tell them...) - nervous!  Will I be able to understand and "speak" enough to sustain a night full of dinner conversation?  Will I be able to interpret fast enough for Johnathan to participate and not leave our guests out of anything?  Will I throw a steak knife across the deck while trying to tell a story with my hands??  Say a prayer - I'll let you know how it goes!

This is the first work week in weeks that I will not be at court every waking moment of the day.  And it's wonderful.  But, I've realized that I enjoy my time in the courtroom, in front of a class full of new volunteers or in a family team meeting more than any other (administrative) part of the job.  Those moments - court, family, volunteer based moments - feel like the purest form of the work that I do, and though hard, are more meaningful (to me) than any desk work or research or paperwork I must do in between.  Do you feel that way at your job, too?  The hard parts are sometimes the most "fun" or at least the most rewarding?

I will be 29 years old in approximately one month and I'm not sure how I feel about this.  Twenty-nine seems to me like the number people use when they don't want to tell you how old they really are.  But, it's what I'll really be.  Really.

The Girl Scouts of Washington, DC made a donation of 60 crates of leftover cookies to CASA a couple of weeks ago, at the end of their cookie-selling season.  We've been up to our ears in Tagalongs and Thin Mints in the office.  Surprisingly, this is not as big of a temptation to me as it sounds.  I've just never had the sweet tooth that some people do.  I'm much more of a salty girl.  Now, if that were a room full of donated chips and salsa? or popcorn.  Watch out...

Yesterday was the 200th Birthday of Louisiana (and the Louisiana Purchase).  It is also Jazz Festival in New Orleans this weekend and next and I am craving crawfish, beignets and real cafe au lait even more than usual this week.

Hmm...this post is taking a decided turn towards the subject of food.  Must be time for lunch!

Happy Monday!

April

So, it turns out I am a terrible blogger...when things are busy, when I don't have a pretty, unified "theme" to write about, and when I feel like there is more going on than I can capture in words.

But, that's not fair - to you or to me and my whole reason for starting this silly blog: RECORD life, for in writing I process what is happening and in looking back I can learn and remember.

So, here it is: a busy, no-theme, late April recap:

I love Easter!  It is really the most spiritually-meaningful holiday to me (more than Christmas, even) and I look forward to it every year.

We were here in DC again this year with our little family on Easter morning



and at a mega family-friends egg hunt, Greek feast in the afternoon.

We served lunch at our house in between the two,

with yummy Easter lamb (by Johnathan) and a once-a-year wedding china table setting (by Liza).

I'm always a little homesick at Easter, but mostly at peace and full of joy at the many blessings in our life.

I have no pictures to represent the rest of my updates, so you just get to view more pictures of Johnathan's gardening handiwork while I chat.

Work for me is crazy(er than usual) right now as we transition FOUR new staff members on board (to a staff of 12) and complete another new volunteer training.  I am so blessed, though, in the midst of crazy schedules and truly exhausting cases, to feel at peace and lifted up and encouraged through every single day at work.  I still feel like CASA DC is where I am "meant" to be, that this heartbreaking/heartwarming work is what I'm "meant" to do and without God's hand in every moment of my day, the work would simply be impossible to do.  That's a cool place to be, in such complete reliance on Him. 

Kids like Sammy and the work I do with them also make it all worthwhile.

Check out this radio broadcast that aired today in Washington about Sam's story and some of the work I do here.

We have officially passed the two-year mark in this three-year assignment, and expect to be moving on to a new assignment and state by this time next year. 

Johnathan will soon bury his 1,000th veteran/family member at Arlington and continues to minister daily to the families, troops and staff there.  That number is really getting too big for me to fathom.  And I really can't imagine what his final "tally" and impression of this work will be, when we move on from here next year.  I hope that he leaves with a deep knowledge of the impact he has made - the families he has comforted and the veterans he has honored.  Those numbers are really more important than the funeral tally, I think.

I still go out once a month on my Arlington Lady gig (complete with new white sunhat!) and we love/hate every minute we're there:  Love the amazing opportunity to work at this national landmark, hate the grief and pain we daily see families suffer.  Love the people and friendships we've made, hate that we'll leave them all next year.  Love our ministry and calling to serve, hate there is a need to do funerals at all.

In boring, daily life news (that I'm sure I will want to remember one day) -

I have taken up jogging through the "couch to 5K" program and can now (relatively) comfortably run 3 miles (or almost 5K) a few times a week. 

We still love our neighborhood and awesome neighbors and kiddos for playing with and BBQs.

We go out for sushi every Friday night, Skype with our family in Louisiana every Sunday afternoon and have the same breakfast and lunch every Saturday we are at home (spicy grits and eggs for breakfast, shrimp quesadilla for lunch).  It's a good routine and we are really putting down some roots here, I think.

We still love our church and spend more and more time in fellowship with the Deaf congregation, with Johnathan developing quite a signing vocabulary of his own!

We still love to cook, have friends over, play the piano, Xbox (Johnathan) and read (Liza). 

We miss "home" but are "at home" here.  Life is good.