Gettysburg, PA

We enjoyed being tourists this morning in Gettysburg. We stayed at this hotel below - at General Lee's Headquarters on July 3, 1863. Inside is a small museum that you can visit for free if you're a guest of the hotel.
After touring the museum, we did an audio tour through the battlefield - an 18 mile journey that takes you through the ins and outs of this violent battle. It was interesting to imagine what had taken place here almost 150 years ago. It definitely left me with a greater sense of appreciation for those who have fought to give us the freedom and the united country we now experience today.


The 2 pics below are taken from the top (1st pic) and then the bottom (2nd pic) of Little Round Top.

"Little Round Top is the smaller of two rocky hills south of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. It was the site of an unsuccessful assault by Confederate troops against the Union left flank on July 2, 1863, the second day of the Battle of Gettysburg.

Considered by some historians to be the key point in the Union Army's defensive line that day, Little Round Top was defended successfully by the brigade of Col. Strong Vincent. The 20th Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment, commanded by Col. Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, fought the most famous engagement there, culminating in a dramatic downhill bayonet charge that is one of the most well-known actions at Gettysburg and in the American Civil War" (taken from Wikipedia).

At the completion of the audio tour we made our way over to the Visitor's Center and the *main* museum in Gettysburg. This was definitely the highlight as we took in a great video that really brought the Civil War Era and the Battle of Gettysburg to life. We also had the privilege of seeing a Cyclorama, a painting by the French artist Paul Philoppoteaux depicting "Pickett's Charge", the climactic Confederate attack on the Union forces during the Battle of Gettysburg on July 3, 1863.

Now we're in Grantham, PA at Messiah College for the annual ACSD conference. Becky Weber, a good friend from Simpson, just arrived and is my roommate for the next several days. This is gonna be fun. I am definitely missing home though. Priya melts my heart every time I hear her sweet voice on the other end of the phone line.

Last morning in DC and on to Gettysburg, PA...

We left Washington DC this morning and made one last stop before heading out of the city. I wanted to see the Pentagon and the site of the 9/11 crash. It was surreal to be in that place where 184 people lost their lives, a place that changed the face of history and our country in so many ways. Aaron and Kari had been in New York just prior to meeting up with me and had just see the memorial where the Twin Towers once stood.

After leaving DC we headed over to Gettysburg, PA to get in a little bit more touring before going to Grantham, PA for the ACSD (Association of Christians in Student Development) conference that is the "real" purpose for this trip (the conference begins tomorrow). Gettysburg is quite the city! It's amazing to think about the horrific bloodshed that occurred in a location that seems so peaceful and calm now... We went on an evening walking tour and plan to do a driving audio tour tomorrow. I wasn't able to get any good pics of this historic location but will be sure to get some tomorrow. Until then...

Touring Washington DC, Day 1

Aaron, Kari and I had a great day touring our country's capital. We signed up for a Hop-On-Hop-Off Open-Top Double-Decker Bus Tour that gives us 2 days of unlimited use.

We started out at Arlington Cemetery where my morning sickness got the better of me. Great way to start the day, eh? But fortunately I was fine from there. Our first stop was the Lincoln Memorial.

From there we walked the length of the reflection pond, taking in the war memorials along the way.
We ended up at the Washington Monument.
It was about 90 degrees and quite humid today so we ventured into an indoor space and found ourselves touring the Holocaust Museum. From there we grabbed some lunch and then hopped back on the bus to take in as many sights as possible and making note of places we want to go back and visit in greater depth tomorrow. Below is the Capitol Building.
And The White House... Did you know that if you want a tour of the White House you have to book it at least 6 months in advance?
The Washington Cathedral...
The bus tour lasts a total of 2 1/2 hours and we enjoyed most of that time on the upper portion of the bus - dodging treacherous tree branches and attempting to avoid sunburns along the way. We walked almost 5 miles, drank a ton of water, saw some amazing sites and had a fabulous time doing it. Aaron and Kari have been so much fun to travel with. Tomorrow we'd like to visit the Ford Theater where Lincoln was shot, see the White House from a closer vantage point, tour the Smithsonian as well as several other important landmarks. Should be another fun filled and blister causing day. :)

I'm Here!

It's been a very long day, but I'm finally here in Washington DC! :) Actually, I'm in Alexandria, Virginia right now, but who's counting? Most of the day was smooth sailing. I got up at 3:45am PST, left for the airport an hour later, flew from Redding to San Francisco and then to Chicago. From there things got a little crazy on my connecting flight to Baltimore with flight delays, engine issues, and weather delays. I got into Baltimore, Maryland about 2 hours late and then we had a luggage delay and finally a hiccup with the car rental company whose network had gone out from the weather problems. But in the end it all worked out just fine!

I drove about 30 minutes to pick up friends Aaron and Kari Beadner (we all work together at Simpson) who had just come in on a bus after touring New York and Atlantic City for several days. We arrived about 5 minutes apart which was perfect. Now we're all settling in about an hour away from our meeting place at a fabulous Hilton hotel (which we got for quite a steal) and are gonna get some much needed rest before hitting the town and doing some sightseeing in the morning. I can't wait! It's gonna be great! So much history to see and learn more about! I love this stuff!

But for now I need to get some sleep. I'm operating on 3 hours of sleep! Yikes! Until tomorrow...

DC Here I Come!

Tomorrow I'll be heading out on an exciting adventure. I leave at 4:45am and will be flying to Baltimore, Maryland where I'll meet up with two friends and spend a few days exploring Washington DC before heading to a conference in Pennsylvania. :) I'm sure I'll have lots of exciting things to share along the way... :)

Sadly, Ashish and Priya have to stay home so I'll be missing them (this will be the longest I've been away from Priya and that's going to be especially hard). But I'm trying to focus on the positive and how much fun it'll be and how nice it'll be to have a break from the realities and stresses of life.

Fun at the Festival

This morning Priya and I joined the Peterson family at a Global Arts Festival put on by one of the churches in town. We had a wonderful time making crafts, getting faces painted, watching theatrical and dance performances and looking at arts and crafts from around the world. Our times with the Peterson family are always special and this was no exception!The girls were making fingerprint bookmarks...
Priya was immediately drawn to the purple stamp pad - her favorite color...
Some fun ethnic pics and poses...

I love Priya's little hands poking out with her face. Too cute...

Face painting time!



All of the girls ended up getting butterflies painted on their faces. Beautiful, aren't they? :)

A Glee Fan? Or A Child of the 80's?

Priya loves music and she loves to dance! A few days ago I turned on the TV to watch the end of a Glee episode. Priya immediately took to the song that was playing (could she be a fan of the 80's?!) and kept asking me to play it over and over and over again. She continues to ask me regularly to play the video so that she can sing and dance to it again. So for all you Glee fans out there and/or fans of the 80's, we hope you enjoy Priya's performance!

Swimming Pool

The weather has really been warming up around here and Priya finally had the chance to use her little pool and Grammy and Papa's house. She squealed with delight and was overjoyed to be able to go swimming again!

Priya got a little silly with her watering can and Papa took the brunt of it. But I'm sure you'll laugh along just as we did... :)

First Ultrasound Pics! :)

Ashish and I had the pleasure of seeing little Baby Christian for the first time on Friday (May 7). It was amazing to see tiny legs and arms moving about and to see the heart beating. It's definitely becoming more real and our excitement and anticipation are growing. Tomorrow I'll be at 12 weeks. Only 27 weeks to go... ;)

Baby's due date is November 23, but since I'll be having a c-section it looks like he or she will enter the world about a week earlier (unless I go into labor early of course like I did with Priya). November 16 would be special as that is my mom's birthday, Ashish's parents' anniversary and Arpit and Binal's (Ashish's brother and SIL) anniversary as well . November 18 would be another great day too, right Greg? ;)

The ultrasound pics are a bit blurry, but Baby Christian is hanging out upside-down and his/her arms and legs are pointing to the right. Our doctor had a big screen in the ultrasound room so we got to see the baby much bigger. Ahhh...what a gift to be able to have a small window inside to catch a glimpse of what is going on in there... :)

Reason to Celebrate!

Today the letter that we've anxiously been awaiting arrived! Ashish passed the NCLEX exam!!!! He is now officially an LVN (Licensed Vocational Nurse) and can begin looking for a job! Congratulations Ashish!! We are so very proud of you! All of your hard work and perseverance paid off! We thank God for answering our prayers and for showing Himself to be so faithful to our growing family!

Fun At The Park

On my days off I love to take Priya to fun places and do something special. And with Mom and Dad heading back to Canada tomorrow we wanted to soak up some extra time with them and enjoy the pleasure of their company. So we headed off to the park to enjoy the beautiful weather and Priya's enthusiastic responses to everything that the park offers a young child. (Ashish was working so he wasn't able to join us.)Priya continues to be enamored with cats, so the opportunity to play with a "kitty" was a welcome surprise for our young cat lover...

I wasn't able to capture Priya's enthusiasm when swinging today, so you'll have to take my word that she loved (almost) every minute of it. "Higher! Higher!" is something that we regularly hear as soon as Priya gets settled into a swing...

Priya has recently latched on to the word, "hallellujah" and loves to exclaim it any chance she gets. Below is a glimpse of Priya expressing her hallellujah's as we were wrapping up our time at the park. She made some new friends at the park as well but I try not to film other kids - especially if they are strangers and we don't know the parents/have permission from them.

Yep, It's True!

Priya really is going to be a big sister! :) Baby Christian is due November 23 and we couldn't be happier! Any guesses as to what it'll be? My guess is that it's a boy but we'll be happy with whatever God chooses to give us. Every day Priya changes her mind about what she wants. One day she wants a sister and the next a brother. We will definitely be eager to find out as soon as it's possible! :)

Happy Easter

Sadly I didn't get very many good pictures today. So this really doesn't adequately portray the wonderful day that we had. After church we went over to my parents' home and enjoyed food and fellowship with family from Redding. The weather left something to be desired (mid 40's and raining with strong winds) so we kept the festivities indoors. These pics are of our hang-out time after a wonderful Easter dinner.

Thanks Mom and Dad for being such wonderful hosts! We love you and appreciate you more than we could ever adequately express!

Easter Eggs

Priya and I had a fun time decorating Easter eggs this morning. It's fun that she's at an age where she can begin to enjoy fun traditions like this. We only had one fatality throughout the process (the orange egg broke) but Priya got to eat it for lunch and enjoyed it all the more since she had a hand in making it.