In a perfect world, little men would always have a daddy who takes them to parades. While this can’t always happen, it’s good to see that in some cases, it still does. This picture helps reassure me that there are still strong, heroic fathers in the world, willing to stoop down and lift a little boy up to eye-level, so he can have a full view of the world.

Picture taken Saturday, April 10th, 2010.

Due to the early warm weather, the Cherry Blossoms (at their self-titled week-long festival) in DC chose to bloom a bit early this year. While this is all well and good, it meant that the majority of visitors who came the second weekend of the festival completely missed the vast majority of blossoms… myself included. Upon arriving at the Tidal Basin, where an entire walk is shaded by the Sakura trees, we noticed a distinct lack of pink… anything. Giving up, we kept moving forward to our next endeavor – seeing at Nationals baseball game (which also was a bust).

Along the way, however, we ran into a small patch of five or six Sakura trees, still in full bloom. A gaggle of 40 or so tourists were gathered beneath their branches, all taking pictures. We didn’t stay very long, but I took enough pictures of the pretty, delicate flowers to tide me over until next year.

Picture taken Saturday, April 10th, 2010.

Every spring and fall, Area 10 cancels its Sunday morning service in order to get out into the community and participate in service projects. This year we had 185 people serving in four different locations for three hours. That makes a total of 555 community service hours in one morning!

My Artist’s Community small group met up at Cary Elementary to re-paint a map of the USA on the blacktop. Here, Zach and Nick are touching up the northeastern states.

Picture taken Sunday, March 28th, 2010.

Just over a week ago, for the seventh time in the past three years, I packed up all my belongings and relocated them to a change of scenery. This time I landed in the lovely home of the Shibut’s. Their home has a warm, lived-in feel with lots of bright colors and constant, calm activity taking place: critters running around the backyard, enjoying dropped birdseed, a maine coon lazily yawns and watches them from her indoor perch, and the tv glows and buzzes in the evenings. It feels familiar to the home I grew up in, which is perhaps why I felt instantly comfortable there.

A real home feels so much different than a dorm room or a twenty-something apartment. There is a sense of stability and longevity that the poster-clad walls and futons of youth cannot compete with. Things are softer, warmer – more welcoming.

It’s not in my near future, and part of me is glad of it, but I’m also looking forward to the day when I know I won’t have to move out of a space by that time next year, so that I can really start to lay the foundations for a real home.

Picture taken Wednesday, March 31st, 2010.

Isabel, Chloe, and Mac are three of my new feline roommates, and they all have one hobby in common: watching critters. So, when I decided to work from home this afternoon, I took a moment to try and see what was so entertaining. I was vastly amused to find this little guy digging and rolling around in the flower pots outside, pausing only for a moment apparently to pose for a few pictures. Cute, ain’t he?

Picture taken Wednesday, March 31st, 2010.

On Saturday, thirty-seven thousand runners lined up to run a 10 kilometer race down Monument Avenue and back. Some raced to win, others to beat a personal best, others simply to finish, and still others to dress up in costume and just have a good time.

Picture taken Saturday, March 20th, 2010.

In Elementary and Middle School, I always had about a 45 minute ride to and from school each morning. Most of the time I would quietly sit next to the window and think what I thought were grand thoughts as I watched all the cars and houses and people pass by.

One thing that utterly amazed me was that of all the hundreds of individual people I saw each morning, each was having an entirely separate cognitive and physical experience. Each person was seeing something different, feeling something different, and thinking something different. And none of them were really aware of one another’s existence.

This always strikes me when I can take a step back and see things from a wider lens… when can zoom out and see so many people in a crowd, each continuing their own story line.

Picture taken March 20th, 2010.

The Irish Festival on Church Hill is a celebration of Saint Patrick’s Day for all Richmonders. Even if you have no Irish blood, all are welcome to come sample the corn beef and cabbage (or a giant plate of freshly fried potato chips covered in cheese and ketchup), drink beer from a giant trailer, and watch little girls jig around to the sound of bagpipes. It’s all quite entertaining and provides me with ample opportunities to people-watch those eager to enjoy the warmer weather.

Picture taken March 20th, 2010.

I am not a fan of winter.

I know most people say it, but I doubt very few people mean it as much as I do. Just the thought of it makes me want to curl up in bed and hibernate until Spring. Which is what I basically try to do. I eat a lot of hearty meals, watch a lot of movies, and pile on way more blankets than is ever necessary. Let’s call it a survival mechanism.

However, it is now officially spring and, although today’s weather doesn’t much show it, things are warming up nicely. Flowers are starting to bud and bloom, and the numerous runners that reside in Richmond are gearing up for tomorrow’s Monument 10k. Yes, spring is finally here. And that means its time to start dropping some of those pounds that accumulated over the winter season as well. Ugh, wish me luck.

Picture taken Saturday, March 20th, 2010.

Wylie Pennell and Matt Crane are a fabulous young couple that I have the esteemed privilege of calling my friends. Although they’ve been dating for who-knows-how-many-years, they are my most recently engaged friends as well. Although they were engaged back in January, the women’s retreat last weekend was the first opportunity I had to take pictures of her beautiful ring. Now, I’m not by any means well versed in jewelry (especially engagement rings), but I do love the dainty look of this ring.

Oh, that and it gave me the chance to use my micro lens, which is always fun.

Picture taken Saturday, March 13th, 2010.