sums up my week. although i was leaving as a complete train wreck, i had some wonderful traveling mercies as i took a business trip to washington dc this week. i love love that city. i forget. it's so beautifully powerful and powerfully beautiful and i am always grateful we lived there. my memories of that city and my life during that time are so rich (and by no means do i mean this in the financial sense, these were the glory days of $24000 government salary). incredible community, first job, second job, the thrill of the Hill, engagement, marriage, first apartment with boy (it was my spouse, relax), kickball, carpool, 10th flr. balcony, CNN night and day.. i could go on and on.. 9.11, anthrax, the sniper, etc (we try to leave these off the positive lists, but still unbelievable experiences). anyway, some of you are skimming now, so i'll just say, thank you Lord for the wonderful traveling, for a good conference, and for a great dinner with my cousin Lori and a great dinner with my sis in law, Sarah and her beau, Danny. adding memories. i have also become obssessed this week with Sprouta's movement. Or lack of, i should say. i have experienced the foreshadowing of when the parent books say that your kid should be doing something by a certain age and mine won't and i lose touch with reality. the baby books say i should feel movement all the time. i don't. it's probably all in my head b/c i am sure she is somersaulting in there, i just haven't slowed down to figure out the difference between gas bubbles and movement. until the other night when i was feeling anxious so i got in the bath and tried to focus and suddenly after about 12 mins., she gave like a karate chop. it was awesome and i laughed outloud at myself and her. i so heard he saying, mom, chill out, I'm having a blast in here. phew. the other movement issue is just the movement in my heart. and this entry is already too long for me to go into detail, so i will just say that i am thinking so much about my career, where it will go, how i want my days to spent, how i can stay engaged in work and the life giving parts of that and also enter into caring for mini me. so last last is that my girlfriend encouraged me to keep note of the things i craved with this little one - the list is simple. meat, chick-fil-a, fruit, meat, lemonade (from chickfila nonetheless) and finally marshmallows. Bryan and Isaac left their smores material at my house after the last visit and it hasn't been uncommon at all for me to sneak away for a graham cracker, dark chocolate morsel, and a marshmallow heated in the microwave for 12 seconds. YUM.