The City of Brotherly Love

Just got back from an amazing trip to philadelphia.
Wayne's sister lives in King of Prussia, a little community in the Philly suburbs. He totally loves it there and has often maintained it's the only "city" he would ever live in... so I was very, very curious to see what it was like.
We drove up on Friday morning, expecting an eight hour trip through several states. Unfortunately, it was DUMPING rain. The kids were really cranky because there was nothing to do or even look at, we could barely see anything, and traffic was inching along. We made it to Washington DC around 14:00, and thought we were making good time, but didn't count on insane DC traffic keeping us at such a slow pace that it took us SEVEN MORE HOURS to get to Philly from there. Wow.
Poor kids--- we all needed to pee, they needed changes, we were starving and tired. We had cookies for dinner because we couldn't find a place to stop. Awful.
We did, however, get to see some really amazing sights, including the capitol building and my very first IRL LDS temple. Which was huge and amazing.
I started getting stoked about 1/3 of the way into Baltimore when I started bonding with the road signs: we went from alternating "Waffle King, JESUS IS LORD (Closed on Sundays)" with "24 hour topless ROADSIDE CAFE" to "OUR LADY, QUEEN OF PEACE, PRAY FOR US!" and "IT'S FRiDAY-- HAVE You ABSTAINED TODAY?" Awesome.

Anyways, we got there at about nine PM. I was immediately taken by the scenery--- it looks SO euro in certain parts!!! Many of the houses had tons of character, there were rolling hills and forests and deer---steps that led no where, remnants of old buildings. Really neat. She lives by a little stream and they have such a cute home.

She's the one sister who really "made it" in life (Wayne's sisters and brothers had a really difficult upbringing, making it a challenge for them that few people could comprehend.) He looks up to her because she has a wonderful family, own her own house, two cars, has college she paid for herself, a great job, etc, etc. For him: she's made it. I love her because we are like two peas in a pod. I always wanted a sister growing up and she and I have so much in common it's ridiculous. She's a very special girl and has such a wonderful family! She's ambitious and fun, culturally literate and interesting, and always has a positive thing to say.

Her husband was doing his National guard weekend so we didn't get the chance to enjoy much of his company, but she does have two kids, one is eleven and the other is nearly two----perfect for Annika to have a total blast.

There was a lot to do in just two short days, so we took advantage of every opportunity. I became TOTALLY smitten with the area--- the Burrough of Bridgeport in particular. Little townhouses lined the street where they were preparing a block party.
Men in utility trucks were driving home after work and getting accosted by gleeful, numerous children as they walked in the door. Moms sat on the porch rocking babies and preparing snacks for the neighborhood kids. St. Patrick's day decorations were up. A couple guys got out of a truck in kilts! The fire department is a mostly volunteer force...cementing the strong sense of community. Block parties abound. The schools are amazing. There is a BEAUTIFUL Catholic church on ever corner. People have grottos in their front yards, with Mary extending her hands to passersby. It looked like heaven to me--- very near to what we saw on Ft. Bragg the other day.
It's a totally blue collar community, of course, but it's a good dream. And more importantly, it's an achievable dream. I knew immediately what Wayne liked so much about the area. Wow.

We had a lot of fun. Philly is beautiful, full of a rich historical heritage and culturally fascinating. I couldn't quite get used to the ----I'm sorry, but this is personal opinion---- hideous accent people have up north, but it definitely provided entertainment. (I kept thinking about Carri on King of queens going: "I mean, do I Towalk so frigging bowad?) My nephew Alex said: "Aunt Barbie, why do you say "totally," all the time?" Hahah.

Anyways.... I have a feeling things are on the up and up. I've discovered a Secret that really changed the way I looked at my circumstances. I don't feel powerless anymore and I don't feel that God is allowing us to go into "Job mode." I feel that God is watching us and waiting for us to pick up the reigns and DO what He's given us to do.

My MIL has given me a van so I can tote the kids around and is footing my car insurance bill, so I'm going to go take my driving test for the first time two fridays from now!

Wayne and I both have a renewed heart for our marriage and our family. We don't feel that things are out of reach anymore. We feel energized and ready to face the world.

God is so good. :)