Mr. Jackson Goes to Washington

A lesson I have been learning over and over again this last year is that divine help is readily available. God will walk with me daily. He will guide and magnify my thoughts, efforts, and abilities if I ask. He is the source of all success and strengthening. It is a very humbling, joyful learning path.

Before Andrew left for Washington D.C. he gave me a blessing that reinforced this lesson. I share a few of the details out of gratitude, because those three solo days at 39 weeks pregnant were miraculous:

I will feel the involvement of Heavenly Father in every part of my day
I will be blessed to have extra strength when working, patience when talking to the children, and joy when playing with them.
I will know the source of this is Heavenly Father
Let him sustain us while Andrew is gone

I walked in a bubble of love, peace, and gratitude while Andrew was gone. I felt amazing physically most of the time. I was able to do what needed to be done and let go of what didn’t. I was truly strengthened for the task at hand, because there was a decent amount of work involved.

I felt like God was reminding me that this is how life can be all the time. The magnitude of my needs/his help might be less than it was during those three days, but he is ready to help me always.

The kids did a lot of playing on their own, mixed in with a few activities we did together. Emily decided to paint her peg dolls and a few rocks. This led to Nathan wanting to join in so they both ended up painting scrap wood blocks.

Emily made a leash for the pig and played with it for days.

Before Andrew leaves for trips he makes a timeline for the kids so they know where he is and what he is doing.

He traveled to Washington D.C. as part of being a 21st Century Scholar. It is a leadership program for Technology Educators that lasts for a year. There are various responsibilities and learning opportunities, and a fun part was this trip.

Sunday was a long day of travel with a pit stop in Florida. On Monday he took the Metro to morning meetings, including a stop at the National Science Foundation to learn about educational research programs and federal funding for education. In the afternoon he went to the American History Smithsonian. A highlight was an exhibit about religion in America including manuscript pages of original copies of the Book of Mormon.

On Tuesday he had a few more meetings and toured the Capitol building. The tour was set up through a senators office so they got to go as a small group. His last stop before heading home was the Library of Congress. He got a library card and is an official Reader.

At the Metro Station.

The Washington Monument and Capital Building taken from the middle of the Smithsonian Mall.

Inside the Capital Building. Andrew Jackson with Andrew Jackson – controversial statue because he was a confederate and is still representing Tennessee.

In the Library of Congress there were statements all around the room that were profound.

In the Library of Congress they have an exhibit about Thomas Jeffersons library. During the War of 1812 the Library of Congress was destroyed and Thomas Jefferson sold his books to Congress to restart the library. They have some of the original books, some that are the same as the original books, and a few placeholders.