Anyway, in August, we stayed in DC for a week before coming up to Baltimore. While there, we revisited many of our old haunts, including “our” playground- the one where I spent countless, countless hours with Simona and Andreas. Especially Simona.

Here are a few LOT of glimpses of them at that playground over the years. Believe me, there are many more that I didn’t include. It’s a fun way to see them change over time. Enjoy!

Hope I didn’t bore you too much. Happy Fall!

We cannot believe that she is so big (and that we have been parents for so long)! Of course, as her parents, we cannot help but take every opportunity we can to brag, so here goes:

Simona is funny. Just ask Maria! No one can make Maria belly laugh the way Simona can with her silly dances and faces. Simona is also amazingly good at math. She can figure out basic multiplication problems (four times three, etc.) on her own, and she recently was able to tell us that half of sixty is thirty. She is learning some basic reading but is much better at it in German than in English. This not surprising, since we speak German here at home and since it is a much, much more phonetic language than English. Simona also has a kind heart and overall is quite empathetic. She is creative, artistic, and far more graceful and girly than I’ve ever been. She balances this with a love for swimming, bike riding, digging, and climbing. We delight in watching her grow into her own person.

(Just so you don’t think that all of the preceding praise is made up, I will throw in the honest truth: she can be harsh with her little brother, sometimes lies to avoid getting in trouble (bad move!), and doesn’t quite yet get the nuance between being proud and excited vs. being proud and boastful. But she tries so hard to please us and to be a “good person.”)

We celebrated her fifth birthday twice. The first event was a pool party on Saturday at our apartment pool.

Her second party took place on Sunday, her actual birthday, in “Berbree City,” as Andreas calls Oma and Opas house. Opa took the kids swimming and kayaking in their pool (yes, he put the kayak in the pool. . .) and then went on a bike ride to the elementary school playground. Simona got her requested meal of “hamburgers and mac-n-cheese,” supplemented by some tolerable green beans, followed by presents and ice cream cake. Sounds like a successful day by any 5-year-old’s standards, I’d say!

BIG NEWS
Our big news is that . . . we finally know where we’ll be moving! We had planned on “knowing” by graduation, but graduation came and went back in May. Lest you think Caleb was dragging his feet in the job search process, let me assure you: He was not. He spent many, many hours over the past year drinking gallons of coffee at various “meet for coffee” networking meetings throughout the Atlanta area. I think he knows every individual who has ever been even tangentially involved in the real estate industry in this city.

Along the way, we learned that a job search like this can be a bit of a geography bee. There were MANY places we considered moving during this job hunt process. Some of these were serious considerations, complete with actual interviews or job offers, Google map geography lessons, elementary school research, etc. Others ended up being long-shot scenarios– job postings to which Caleb deliberated applying, job leads that quickly dried up or ended up not being the right fit for us, etc.

A few of the cities we considered:
- Piscataway, New Jersey
- New Delhi, India (yes, the country!)
- San Antonio, Texas
- San Francisco, California
- Chicago, Illinois
- Birmingham, Alabama
- Charleston, South Carolina
- Charlotte, North Carolina
- Boston, Massachusetts
- Hanover, New Hampshire
- McLean, Virginia (near Dulles Airport)
- Baltimore, Maryland
- Atlanta, Georgia

But in the end, we are moving right back where we started: Washington, DC! Caleb has accepted a job in Baltimore, Maryland. We have been deliberating whether to move to Baltimore or DC, but for a variety of reasons, we have decided that at this point, DC makes more sense for us. We are very open to the possibility that the commute will be too much, so we plan to reconsider our situation after 6-12 months. In the meantime, however, we are excited to return to the District!!

We will be moving out of our apartment here in about 1 week and will spend time in Germany before beginning our next adventure: Round 2 in the Nation’s Capitol!

At times, getting these pictures has meant going to great lengths, braving seedy industrial areas or making a 20-minute detour just to get the photo taken. And sadly, we’ve missed a few state pictures along the way, which just means we’ll have to re-visit those at some point.

However, it’s been a fun way to document our kids’ travels. So without further ado, I present the states our kids have visited (or in which they’ve lived), in alphabetical order:

1. Alabama

2. Arkansas

3. Connecticut

4. Delaware

5. Georgia

6. Illinois

7. Indiana

8. Iowa

9. Kansas

10. Kentucky

11. Maine

12. Maryland

13. Massachusetts

14. Minnesota
*We flew in and out of Minneapolis and didn’t see a state sign on our drive up to Longville, so these had to suffice for Simona:

15. Mississippi

16. Missouri

17. New Hampshire

18. New Jersey

19. New York

20. North Carolina

21. Ohio

22. Oklahoma

23. Oregon
*Sadly, we had to choose between catching our return flight or getting our picture at the “Welcome to Oregon” sign at the airport. Andreas and Simona definitely attended Tante Janice & Onkel Gus’s wedding, and we’ll definitely all need to return to get that photo (not to mention visit Tante J & Onkel Gus!).*

24. Pennsylvania

25. Rhode Island

26. South Carolina

27. Tennessee

28. Virginia

29. Washington, D.C.

30. West Virginia

31. Wisconsin
*The last shall be first! Maria beat both of her older siblings to this one!*

TOTALS, in case you are keeping score:
Simona- 30
Andreas- 28
Maria- 5
(and for good measure, Nancy- 45, Caleb- 41).

**PLEASE NOTE** that this is out of 51. . . we can’t omit DC, the land of two of our children’s births. . .

Instead, we have replaced that with angst about how our decisions impact our kids. I say that half-jokingly, since we believe that their little lives are shaped much more by who we are as parents than by where or how we live. But, the truth remains that “what’s next” for us does have a major impact on what their lives will look like for the next few years. And for Simona, who soon will be leaving behind early childhood for the elementary years, SCHOOLS are becoming an issue.

Though it’s impossible to know for sure where we’ll live after May, the nature of Caleb’s career makes a large city more likely than a smaller town. And for a variety of reasons, we prefer urban living to suburban life. Which makes schools something to “figure out” rather than just “attend.”

Here in Atlanta, we happen to have moved into the district of a new, highly touted public elementary school. We like the neighborhood for other reasons, too, and would be happy to stay in this area. Enrolling in a great school would mean filling out a few forms, and that would be it.

Should we return to Washington, D.C., matters would be a bit more complicated. The District also has some high-achieving public schools, but we would not be able to afford to live in-bounds for one of those schools. Fortunately, the DC public schools “out of bounds” lottery allows residents to apply to up to six OOB schools, and all public charter schools admit students by lottery, too. Which means that, despite our Mennonite connections, we’ve been hedging our bets and rolling the dice, so to speak.

The results of the OOB lottery were published last week, and Simona “won.” She’s been admitted to one school and is in the top 3 on the waitlists of three other schools. Of course, we still have to figure out whether we’ll be moving back to the District or not; whether she is accepted to any of the charters; where Caleb’s job would be; and where we can afford to live without being terribly far from schools or work. Minor details.

All of this planning and applying and pondering may, in fact, turn out to be wasted time, since we may end up moving to a totally different city. In which case we’d be back to square one, trying to figure out school options all over again.

Yes, it’s not like it used to be, folks. Gone are the days when Grandpa walked eight miles, uphill both ways, through the snow to get to school. Somehow, though, that doesn’t seem so bad after all. . .

On to catching up. . .
Saying goodbye in DC was sad! This move has been a possibility for over a year, so in some ways, it was a long, slow farewell. Each season, month, and week of the past year has been marked by the thought, “This might be our last ________ in DC,” which has been nice, because we’ve been able to savor all of it.

In a formal sense, though, our “official” goodbyes really began late this spring. We have played with Chomp, an ultimate frisbee team in DC, every spring and fall since 2004, but we knew wouldn’t be able to play this spring. We had hoped to make it to one last game, but between weather and our schedules, we had to settle for an e-farewell.

In mid-April, I spent my last evening at “The Porch.” I have worked as an adult leader with this youth ministry on Capitol Hill for the past three years. In fact, one of the girls in my small group was even my “tutee” back when I tutored at the Neighborhood Learning Center from 2004-2006. Which means we’ve had a mentor/mentee relationship since she was in 4th grade, and now she’s a rising 10th! grader. Saying goodbye to all of the youth at the Porch- but particularly to my small group- was emotional. I so wish I could be there as they walk through there remaining years of high school– to see them in grow into young ladies, wear prom dresses, pick out colleges, graduate, etc.

Although we said farewell to a few friends from church and other social settings on an individual basis, we didn’t have too many other larger goodbyes until our last week in DC. Caleb’s office hosted a going-away luncheon for him on his last day of work, to which the kids and I were also invited. Several of his former co-workers who have since moved on to new positions were invited, and plenty of people came by to wish him well. Overall, it was a really kind send-off.

Then came “moving weekend.” We picked up our HUGE Budget truck on Saturday, May 1. That truck was a BEAST! I was glad that I didn’t have to drive it!
Many, many thanks to the wonderful friends who helped load our belongings, including Laryn, Corey, Rebecca, Sara, Jana, Mary Ruth, and Brett. An even more special thanks goes to our friend Janel, who watched Andreas & Simona ALL DAY that Saturday. Hers was hands-down the most taxing job of the day. She also hosted our family for dinner that evening. . . and I have no idea how she managed to cook for that 7 people while watching three kids all day!

Sunday, we ate one last breakfast at Pete’s, a diner on the Hill that we’ve visited a few Sunday mornings a year throughout our seven years in DC, even before we were married or had kids. After that, we headed to WCF for our final Sunday service. We had been given a brief time during the service to say goodbye to the congregation, but I was most emotional during other parts of the service. Looking at all of the faces, I couldn’t help but think that this is what the kingdom of heaven will look like: A random bunch of quirky people all trying to do their best to love God and love each other.

Sunday evening, our friends Heather & Kevin and Laryn & Janel hosted a going-away party for us at Heather & Kevin’s house, which was really special. So many friends came by to say goodbye, and aside from our wedding, I don’t think I’ve ever felt more surrounded by people who love our family. A huge thank you to our gracious hosts!

Monday, my dad flew up from Georgia to drive the truck back down. He loves to drive and was eager to take the opportunity to help us out. We were glad not to have to drive in two separate vehicles! We worked all day, loading final belongings and cleaning the house. Caleb and Dad concluded the day with a wild chase for our scared cat, which apparently involved crawling between drywall and the outer wall of the house, pulling the cat out of her hiding space with a hoe, and trapping her in a garbage can to get her into the back of the truck . . in the end, she did make the journey to Georgia, just not in her cat carrier as planned. Our friends Heather & Kevin again hosted us, this time for our last night in DC (Maryland, actually), while Dad drove overnight to avoid traffic with the big truck.

Tuesday, May 4, was the long-anticipated moving day. It was also the day of Simona’s “graduation” from Little Learner’s Playschool, which she attended for two years. It worked out perfectly to be able to attend the last day of class and feel like she had some closure around that. We love all of the kids and families we have met through the school and will miss this group, too.

After graduation and the class party and luncheon, we piled into our packed-up car and hopped onto 395 for the long drive to the Peach State. Watching the Washington Monument, the Jefferson Memorial, the Capitol, the Pentagon, and the Potomac fade in the rear view mirror was sad. So long, Washington, D.C. Thanks for so many great memories and for becoming our home.

The first is the most important! In late March, we took a trip to Georgia to accomplish as much as one can possibly accomplish in three days: rent an apartment, attend Emory’s MBA orientation weekend, participate in a bridal shower for my sister, drive to Greenville, S.C. to have fun at her bachelorette party, and then get back to Atlanta in time to catch a return flight to DC. During those days, I had several hints that turned to suspicion that turned to confirmation, in early April, that baby #3 is on the way!
We are excited to welcome a new little one to our family but approach this pregnancy differently than the previous two. Having watched dear friends go through the wrenching experience of losing their newborn daughter in the past year has reminded us that we are not guaranteed a healthy pregnancy or a healthy baby. We know that at this point, “odds” are on our side, but we move forward with joy tempered by a heightened awareness that we cannot know what the future holds for us or this baby. We are due the second week of December.

The second highlight was another confirmation:

The third April highlight were Grandma’s & Grandpa’s visits to DC. Caleb’s mom came for about 10 days to spend time with us and the kids as we packed, ran errands, and prepared to move. His dad spent one weekend in town, and the kids had a great time playing with Grandma & Grandpa. I didn’t get any pictures of Grandpa, but I have a couple with Grandma:

We would not have been able to move without all of Grandma’s help. Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!

Fourth, Caleb and I celebrated our FIFTH wedding anniversary (and our TENTH anniversary of “couplehood”)! Because Grandpa & Grandma were in town, we spent a night away from the kids, wondering at how quickly the time has flown by and at how much our lives have changed in five short years! This year, all three of my sisters and one of Caleb’s brothers will be married (plus two cousins!), and reflecting on our own experience with marriage fills us for excitement for them. Sadly, I captured not a single picture to commemorate five years.

Andreas provided the fifth highlight: He FINALLY started walking! At sixteen months, little man decided to the time had come to explore the world upright and hands-free. (I think he was waiting for the one-year anniversary of his surgery!) We have been anticipating this since he began “cruising” at 8 months, so it’s been a LONG wait for “independent ambulation,” as it were. Here are a few of him and the trouble his new mobility let him cause:

Finally, the sixth highlight was simply savoring our last springtime in DC. The azaleas at the National Arboretum are stunning in April, and the weather hovers near perfect for much of the month. Simona FINALLY got her long-anticipated ice cream from the ice cream truck, and we soaked in our last days of trips to the playground and being with friends.

COMING SOON: Part 2- Saying Farewell and Adventures in Moving

First came an after-work picnic near the Washington Monument and a (partial) walk around the tidal basin to see the cherry blossoms during twilight.

We have seen the cherry blossoms at sunrise almost every year, but we really enjoyed them at sundown, too!

The second adventure was during the workday, so Caleb couldn’t join us. The kids and I took the Metro down to Union Station and enjoyed the sunshine, flowers, and fountains along the Mall.

We rode the carousel near the Smithsonian “castle,” which was fun for Simona but a bit nauseating for me! That thing spins much more quickly than I remember, and balancing Andreas and a camera left me no free hands with which to hold on for dear life! Nevertheless, I did not fall, and she had a GREAT time.

The “half smoke” is the only food item I can name that screams Washington DC, so it seemed only appropriate that we end our touristy morning with a bite of local flavor from a street vendor before hopping on the Metro and heading for home.

We will miss living in our nation’s beautiful capital!

A mom-friend of mine whose husband is a pastor at a local church recently described ministry in DC as “like trying to hug a parade.” She was referencing the transience for which this city is renown. The reason behind the revolving door is manifold: student interns who visit for three to six months, congressional representatives (and their staffs) whose time in office is brief, presidential administrations and their political appointees who rotate positions, college students who attend one of our many universities, government employees who rotate between domestic and international assignments, and so on.

We recognize that this characterization of the District primarily describes our demographic- educated, white collar people who did not grow up in the region- but the fact remains that this trend shapes and affects relationships of everyone who lives here- from the third-generation-native-Washingtonian to the just-arrived-yesterday-college-intern.

Our DC friends & acquaintances who have moved away have landed across the country (and even the globe!), meaning that we now have friends all over the place but that we have also had to say our goodbyes far too frequently over the past nearly-seven-years. Each person who’s moved on has left a mark on our hearts (and often, a void in our social calendar! One of the upsides, though, is that new friends have always stepped into those voids.)

Well, the time has come for us to start marching again. Our parade is moving on. . . to Georgia. Caleb will begin a graduate program at Emory University in Atlanta in May, so VERY soon, we will be the ones saying our goodbyes. It is bittersweet– we are excited for what is ahead, but we have come to love our lives here. This is where we went from dating to engaged to married, where we bought our first home, and where we welcomed our two children into our family. This house and this city are filled with memories and friends, and parting will be difficult.

We hear the music, and we know that God will be there right beside us, wherever this parade may lead.

Just a smattering of the nicknames we have heard for the snowy weather that has pounded DC this winter. I heard on the radio today that if we were located in Upstate New York, we would be in the running for their “Golden Snowball” award, which goes to the NY city with the most snowfall in any given year.

I’m snowver it. This may be fun for those who own cross country skis and/or Netflix subscriptions, but it’s snow fun for those of us with small children with bundles of energy and a constant need for entertainment. Since Caleb has turned the kids’ bedroom into his home office, the three of us have been restricted to amusing ourselves in about 500 square feet. . . for DAYS on end. I’m snow excited for spring, but I think that is still a ways off.

In case you somehow haven’t heard about DC’s many snow storms this winter, I have chronicled a few here:

Our first snow of the year barely even counts anymore! It’s funny now that I was very deliberate about making sure the kids took advantage of the inch or two. Had I known then what I of course snow now, I probably wouldn’t have taken snow many pictures of this!

Second December Snow (The first “Snowpocalypse,” on December 19th)

Our kids really LOVED the snow. . . can you tell?

But at least our Christmas lights looked beautiful in the two feet of snow!

January was not snow bad. . . I think we had a few light snowfalls, but these days, we barely take note of anything less than a foot! We had some snow on the 30th/31st, and another light, fluffy snow on February 3. You can see some of the remnants of the first and beginnings of the second of those two snowfalls in these pictures. At least they were not significant enough to trap us indoors!

Then came snowmaggedon. We got about 25 inches on Saturday, February 6. It was too cold and windy for our kids’ tastes on Saturday, but Sunday was sunny and allowed for some good sledding.

We also were dog-sitting Bo for my sister.

Simona and I made a snowman, and she was VERY proud. (Unfortunately, the snow was a little too fluffy for a really good snowperson, but she didn’t seem to mind one bit!)

One of the reasons I am not snow excited about all the white stuff is that this is my route to our laundry facilities:

These icicles have formed on the back of our house. They are pretty to admire, but they are dangerous! I was on our back steps when a sheet of ice fell and shattered around me; luckily, I was just hit by a few small shards.

Finally, today’s snow has been the most grueling. We are snow tired of sitting around the house, but wind gusts of up to 50 mph and white out conditions have meant yet another day of staying indoors. Simona has been asking if we can please GO somewhere, and even Andreas seems antsy. It’s snow fun for active preschoolers and toddlers to be trapped! A few photos from today:

And now, pop quiz: Can you find our car?!

1. Rock Creek Park. Technically, this may not be in “our” neighborhood, but since it is only a mile away and since it is where I have logged hundreds of running miles, I think it counts. RCP is a national park and is an amazing forest within Washington, D.C.’s city limits. (Thank you for your tax dollars, which help maintain it!) With dozens of hiking (running!) trails; beautiful streams, trees, and wildlife; a nature center adjacent to horse stables; and some historical sites to boot, RCP is the perfect escape from city life. Some of the animals I’ve seen on runs in the park include hundreds of deer (some quite bold!), foxes, blue herons, and a hawk. I love witnessing the changing seasons and experiencing a bit of nature on a a regular basis.

2. The Takoma Rec Center. We live literally a 3-minute walk from the Takoma recreation center, which includes outdoor basketball & tennis courts, our amazing playground (see below), a kid-sized & Olympic-sized swimming pool, a community center, a baseball field, and a soccer field. It is such a privilege to have all of this at our doorstep, and we try to make good use of the open spaces and the facilities on a regular basis. I swam throughout both of my pregnancies and continue to frequent the pool to cross train on non-running days. (The rec center also offers a wide variety of classes and boasts a fitness center, but I’ve never availed myself of those amenities. Still-nice to know they’re there.)
**Incidentally- if you click on the link for the rec center, it takes you to a picture from the website for. . . Caleb’s employer. Yep, this gem was one of his company’s projects, though Caleb himself did not work on it.**

3. “Our” playground. I know there are many wonderful playgrounds all over the world, and there are several wonderful parks within walking distance. Still, I love the one by the Takoma Rec Center for several reasons. First, it is about a 7 minute walk from our house, so we can go any chance we can. Second, it has swings, which not all playgrounds do these days. Third, it is surrounded by beautiful shade trees, which are a must on those hot summer mornings! Fourth, it is a true cross section of the world. I have met au pairs from Thailand, Germany, and France; nannies from Honduras, Peru, St. Martin, and Costa Rica; moms from Mexico, England, Liberia, China, and Latvia; day care workers from Jamaica and the Dominican Republic; and Dads from El Salvador and Cuba. (Of course, there are plenty of born-andbred Americans, too.) What a mix! Finally, fifth, our playground is a community-building center. I know countless people in our neighborhood only because our kids play together regularly, and I treasure that connection to the community around us.

4. Walkability. In addition to the above-mentioned amenities around here, we also live less than a ten minute walk from a major grocery store, a pharmacy, a post office, a shoe store, three or four dry cleaners, several carry out restaurants, a few sit down restaurants, a variety of banks, a thrift store, a dollar store, multiple churches, and a public library. We can also access public transportation without problem, as we live steps from a bus line connecting us to the Metro (which itself is less than a 15-minute walk). We enjoy the convenience of having a car because we have kids but believe that if we were childless, we could easily get by with bikes, our feet, and public transportation. Even with kids, we occasionally go for days without using our car.

5. Coolidge High School. Living across the street from a large DC public high school is certainly a mixed blessing, but we enjoy being able to use their recently resurfaced track and football field (for playing soccer with Simona) during non-school hours. We also get to watch their drum line, football team, and cheerleading/dance squads practice, which is cheap entertainment to a young preschooler!

6. Our neighbors. Last but not least, we enjoy our neighbors. This is a predominantly African American, working class neighborhood, and many of our street’s residents have lived here for decades. Living in such close proximity to others- sharing walls, parking spaces, and sidewalks with them- can sometimes be difficult, but it creates shared space and shared experience nearly non-existent in the suburbs. We have been awakened by the police knocking on our neighbor’s door to deliver tragic news, and we have shared another neighbor’s joy at finally receiving a wheel chair for her disabled son. We have helped and been helped in snow removal and car repair efforts. Kids have spent lazy afternoons having a tea party with Simona on our porch or coloring with sidewalk chalk outside our house. Sometimes we feel like we live under a microscope, but we believe that sharing life with those around us has helped us feel connected to our street and neighborhood.

There you have it– the reasons I love our neighborhood. I will periodically be posting more lists about “What I love about DC.” Stay tuned!
____________________________________________________
Other udpates: Simona has fallen and hurt her other top front tooth, so we’re waiting with bated breath and hoping that it will not also need to be pulled. Andreas is taking more and more unassisted steps, so we think he will be fully walking in the next week or so.