SPANISH PAELLA

Tonight I attended a Relief Society enrichment activity. I learned how to make Spanish Paella! A sister in our ward, Rosi, is originally from Spain, and she was teaching this class at her house. On my first Sunday at church, during Relief Society, she approached me asking me if I were from Spain, because I looked like one. We got to talking and I told her about my trip to Spain. We discovered I had been visiting a city very close to her town. She was so fun and told me that I had to come to her class and learn how to make paella for my husband. I happily agreed to go, but with no promises in learning or cooking it for my husband. When I got there, I was able to visit with the many ladies I had met on Sunday as well as on Wednesday during playgroup. Rosi had prepared a lot of Spanish finger foods as well as one whole paella. She was going to make a second one while we ate. The food was delicious, the company proved kind, and I learned to make paella. Not bad for someone who got here few days ago. Here are some fun pictures I took tonight:
While I was gone and enjoying myself, the children were having a good time with dad. Elijah reads with Gillian every night. They read either Hardy Boys, House on the Prairie, or some other book Gillian wants to read with him. In addition to reading, tonight the children assembled a small erector set into an airplane. This was Jefferson's choice. He loves to build things and is pretty good at it. Needless to say, he took charge of the project and finished it on his own. The set consisted of very little parts and I was proud of the children for figuring it out.

Back in school

It was Gillian and Jefferson's first day in their new school today. They were looking forward to meeting new friends and learning fun stuff. I was a bit sad; I really enjoy having my children at home. Last night, Jefferson requested another father's blessing for beginning school in a new place. Elijah gives them a father's blessing beginning each school year, and last year was no exception. However, Jefferson wanted another one because he said he was starting in a new school. Gillian and James received one as well. It is a blessing to have a righteous priesthood holder in the family. I appreciate Elijah for honoring his responsibilities and for being an exceptionally good father.
School starts earlier here than in Virginia, and as a result they come home earlier, with more time to learn, read and play. The school is located close by, and it took me few minutes to drive them there. Jefferson was very happy to see me pick him up; he has half-day kindergarten. As soon as he got in the car, he started telling me all about school and the fun he had. He already had homework. The school that Gillian and Jefferson attend didn't have any opening in any of the kindergarten classes, but because the school has also few charter school classes, they were able to place Jefferson in one of them. That is a blessing. After talking to the teacher and participating in the classroom, I felt that these teachers were on the ball. It seemed that they took teaching these little kids seriously. I hope I'm right. Also, this year the parents and teachers had voted for school uniforms, so Gillian and Jefferson get to wear navy pants/dress and white shirt uniforms. Here they are on their first day:
When Gillian got back from school today, she said she missed me. I knew she would have harder time, because she is a bit more shy than Jefferson. To make her feel a bit better, I spent some time alone with her, and later on she wrote a poem to thank me for making her feel happy. This is the poem that Gillian wrote:
Dear mom, I love the way you smile,
Your face is like a song
You look so good in sun and rain
For I know! Because you are my mom
And I love you!
I love you, too, Gillian. I'm blessed to have you as my daughter.

New ward, new friendships

Today was our first time at our new ward. We were glad to meet new people and hoped to make new friendships. Friends are a vital part of my life. I've been blessed with many friends, and most of the friendships, I know, will last forever. To tell the truth I was a bit apprehensive as I arrived at the church building, but my fears disappeared as people welcomed us with open arms. Many of them came and introduced themselves to us, and they all seem genuinely happy to have us in their midst. Then, as sacrament meeting started, the Bishop read our names and welcomed us officially (our records had already been sent; thanks, Paul). He mispronounced Gillian's name, but Jefferson without hesitation spoke up (and loud) and corrected the Bishop. You have to imagine that here we are trying to make a good first impression with everyone in the congregation listening and watching us, and there goes Jefferson, who seems is not paying attention since he is occupied in his drawing, speaking in a clear and loud voice, and with a little bit of attitude (like"how dare you mispronounce it" kind of tone). It doesn't help that the chapel has great acoustics either. You can just imagine how red Elijah's face turned and how shocked I was, the mother who loves manners in children. The Bishop just laughed it out and said to us good job for empowering our children with confidence. After that the ice was broken, and we had a great time for the rest of the meetings. Elijah and I were very touched by the kindness and acceptance we felt by the ward members. They all seem very friendly, and I have already been asked to go to two parties this week. During Relief Society, they asked me to introduce myself, and I very honestly told them that I cried before I left, because I knew that I would miss my friends and my home of six years. One of the ladies responded that while I was crying, they were rejoicing. That was sweet to say; it made me feel welcomed.

San Francisco, here we come!

This whole week has been unpacking, unpacking, and more unpacking. The children stayed home with me this week, since we wanted them to adjust and rest a bit, so I've had a tremendous help from Gillian with Charlton. I thought I was going to have all unpacking done by the end of this week, but it was harder this time with a baby and three children around. However, I got a lot done. The living room, kitchen, dining area, bathrooms, linens, and guest room is done. I'm waiting for few bookshelves and dressers for the children's rooms as well as an office desk and chair for the office. So, I feel good so far for all the hard work, but I'll be satisfied when all of it is done.

Having work so hard this whole week (Elijah also started work this Friday), we thought we deserved some fun times. Our friends, Gary and Alice, invited us to spend the afternoon with them in San Francisco. We took the BART(Bay Area Rapid Transit)into the city from Walnut Creek stopping at Powell Street. We were going to ride the cable cars, but were discouraged by the long line, so we decided since it was a beautiful day to just walk across the city. I was glad we did that, because walking seems to be the best way to experience San Francisco. If I had to compare it to any other city, I would say it feels more like New York City than Washington, but it also has a lot of its own personality as well. I surprisingly enjoyed the fact that people were not in any hurry, but were enjoying the weather and each other's company. I liked the architecture, although very different from what I'm used to in Virginia. There were modern buildings as well as historical ones everywhere, and either of them had a lot of Spanish flair found in the roofs, doors and windows. There were a lot of palm trees found next to most buildings. Also, I saw a lot of orange and lemon trees along the way that really looked pretty. There were many restaurants in every block we walked by. We stopped and ate lunch at Vito's pizza (we had kids with us). Here are some pictures I took as we were walking through the city:The highlight of our visit was the Ghirardelli Square, home of Ghirardelli chocolate. It was located near the shore facing the Golden Gate Bridge and neighboring the Fisherman's Wharf, which we didn't get to visit because it was too dark. We all enjoyed some tasty chocolate and ice-cream treats, and then rode the Powell/Hyde line enthusiastically. The kids really enjoyed the cable cars, especially Jefferson, who was observing more the driver than the sights. He was really curious about the way these machines worked. We were very tired when we got home tonight, but very excited and a bit impatient for more sightseeing.


There is one picture above that I took just for you, Cindy. Can you find it?

A cross-country journey comes to an end

We are in California! We arrived yesterday, and today we entered our house and were able to unload the truck with the help of many brethren from our ward here. I'm delighted with the house, and I think it will fit us well. I already set the dinning table and chairs as well as the rug under the table, just so we can feel mass free while we eat. I had put aside some linens and blankets for our beds, so they are set as well. What remains is a whole house full of boxes.

This post will probably be a bit long, since I would like to record our cross country journey in few details, so the children can read it later on and remember the fun times. I'm grateful that we had a great trip. The children, including Charlton, did amazingly well. They actually watched only one movie the whole week. The rest of the time, they drew,colored, played games, and had fun with each other. I had Gillian sit by Charlton, so she could take care of him, and we were pleased with the help she gave us. The boys played so well together, and we heard them laugh with each other countless times through out the trip. Gillian and Elijah listened to "1776" on tape, and she would later ask questions about the things she heard. I would sleep on occasion, but mostly would talk on the phone catching up with friends.

We started our journey on Monday morning of January 11, 2010. We left early because we wanted to reach Nashville, Tennessee before nightfall. We made the decision to follow the southern route to California, which would include Virginia, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Texas, Arizona, Nevada, and then California. We followed I-81, same route we used to take down to Georgia, but this time we continued through Tennessee. We did stop in Sevierville, TN to see the Smoky Mountain Knife Works, a museum and knife shop. Elijah had wanted to always see it, and so we stop for him. The children really thought it was cool to see so many knifes, swords, and guns all in one place. After that, we continued our journey till we arrived in Nashville. It was starting to get dark, but we were able to drive through downtown, and got to hear live music from all the restaurant we were passing. Elijah showed us the Ryman Auditorium, Grand Ol Opry, and while there the children saw the Rain Forest Cafe across the street, so we went and ate dinner as well. That ended our first day, with us enjoying the really nice hotel room Elijah had reserved for us. Here are some pictures of the first day:


We continued the second day through Tennessee, into and across Arkansas, and over to the Arkansas/Oklahoma border. We stopped in Fort Smith, Arkansas. We have planned our trip in a way that we can have one long day and one short alternating. Today was a short one and we enjoyed the rest. Not much to note on today's journey with the exception that we crossed the Mississippi river and that was a pretty view. I also thought that Arkansas was very clean with very little to no littering. Although there wasn't much to see in terms of historical buildings or museum, I have to admit this part of the country has its own beauty with its vast fields and open skies. Here are some pictures:
January 13th, 2010. We covered a lot of ground today. Elijah and I wanted to visit Roswell, New Mexico, and because it was a bit out of our way, we started early. We passed Arkansas quickly, continued on with Oklahoma, passing Oklahoma City on the way, entered the Texas panhandle, which we were pretty excited to see, and then at Amarillo, we headed toward New Mexico and made our way straight for Roswell. Texas was a pretty country and different from Tennessee and Arkansas. It had more of Spanish flair, and the country side offered vast plains with lots of cattle wondering around. We planned to visit Roswell in the morning, since we were all tired from the long day. Here are some the pictures we took at the UFO Museum:January 14, 2010. We slept in and had a leisurely breakfast, after which we all headed toward Roswell UFO Museum. The children were very excited to learn about this special story and had many questions. The museum was really interesting in that it tried to show convincing evidence of alien existence throughout the history of mankind. We looked through few stores with alien stuff, and the children, especially Jefferson, really wanted to buy various things. We bought some postcards for our friends and family. After that, we headed straight for Arizona. We stopped in Flagstaff, Arizona, where the hotel room was awaiting for us. The voyage from New Mexico to Arizona offered heavenly landscape. Here are some pictures of this beautiful and vast country:
January 15, 2010. During this whole week, we have encountered great weather. Today was no exception. The sky was very blue and the climate offered us the chance to wear no coats. From our hotel in Flagstaff, we headed straight to the marvelous Grand Canyon. It was truly spectacular, and although there was snow in the ground, we truly enjoyed being outdoors. The children really loved the view, but they especially enjoyed playing in the snow. It could be the last snow that they might see for a while, so we allowed them to play for a while, before heading toward Nevada. We got a chance to view the amazing Hoover Dam. Next to it, they were building another gigantic bridge with the purpose of having the big transportation vehicles such trucks and trailers not use the Hoover Dam as much. It seemed like it was going to be a beautiful sight to see when it's over. Then, as we approached Las Vegas, Gillian exclaimed "Wow! Look at those lights!" to which we responded that indeed it was called the city of lights. She thought for a moment, and then added with appreciation "This trip has been amazing. We have been to the city of music (Nashville), to the city of aliens (Roswell), to the city of rocks (Grand Canyon), and now to the city of lights. I can't wait to explore this one." I had to laugh at that last comment, because I knew we weren't going to explore certain parts of this city. Here are some fun pictures I took during this day's journey:
January 16, 2010. We arrived the night before at our friends' home. We hadn't seen each other in 9 years, so it was a lot of fun to visit with them and meet their children. We didn't get to go to sleep till past midnight, but it was O.K. since we slept in. Saturday was going to be our rest time, before heading on to California on Sunday and getting into our new home on Monday. Aaron and Janet were great and we were grateful we had the chance to spend those two days with them. On Saturday, Elijah took the kids to Red Rock Canyon, an amazing rock formation close to our friends' home, and I stayed home doing A LOT OF laundry. In the evening, we drove through downtown Las Vegas, so the children could see the fun buildings and the many lights. The conversation about gambling did come up, and after we explained it, Gillian decided she needed to go out and do some missionary work. We decided to head back and get some sleep. Tomorrow was going to be a long day.

January17, 2010. We left Nevada behind, and entered California with glee. The journey through California was a bit longer than I expected, but we made it finally to Danville around 7:00, where our friends Gary and Alice had prepared a nice dinner of Chinese dumplings. This day's trip was interesting in two different fronts. First, we were welcomed by a lot of rain. Ironically having had sunshine the whole trip, and now that we were in the sunshine state, we were experiencing foul weather for the first time during our journey. Secondly, I wasn't enjoying the scenery much. With the exception of Joshua trees, which were beautiful, I thought it dull. Elijah had his theories on my attitude. First, I had seen a lot of this kind of scenery throughout the trip, but secondly, and most importantly, entering California was making it real for me the fact that I have truly left Virginia. What do you think, is he right?January 18, 2010. Home at last! We arrived at our home around noon. Our truck was expected to arrive between 12:00 and 4:00. It arrived around 3:00. By four, we had a lot of brethren from our ward here come and help unload. The work was finished in couple of hours, and the real fun is awaiting Melita. We love our house, and the neighborhood, and of course look forward to see it made into a home soon. Very soon if Melita has anything to do with it. We were grateful to have arrived safely and especially to have had such a great trip. We thank the Lord for all of our blessings. Our total mileage since leaving Virginia ended up being around 3,343 miles. Long live America with its beauty and freedoms that it has to offer.

SPAIN

I know I said there will be only three parts to the best moments of 2009, but so many of you have wanted to see the Spain pictures for a long time, that I had to make a special post showing some of them. It was very hard to choose few pictures out of over 600 pictures I took during the two weeks were there. We stayed and visited several cities in Southern Spain, such as Madrid, Toledo, Sagovia, Granada, Valdepanas, and many more. My favorite cities were Toledo with its orange trees, Cordoba with its amazing mosque turned into Cathedral, and Alarcon, where we stayed in an 8th century Moorish castle. I really enjoyed Spain. I loved being with my husband, just the two of us; I had a great time visiting cathedrals and ancient castles; I liked eating outside in the numerous plazas; and I thought the people were very friendly and kind, and very family oriented. Great trip. I can't wait for the next trip of just the two of us.

My favorite moments of 2009 (Part 3)

Here we are with the last installment of my favorite moments of 2009. As I was preparing this last photo group, I felt sad that 2009 was over, and that we won't be in Virginia any longer. I have really loved the East Coast, but I do hope I'll enjoy the West Coast as well. I know that as long as we are together as a family, lasting memories are bound to be made no matter where we are.

-Gillian was invited to a birthday party by one of her class mates. I think Gillian was the only one invited from her class; everyone else there were friends of the birthday girl, and they all knew how to skate, except for Gillian. I was proud of her; she never gave up, and she had a blast.
-As Gillian and Jefferson started school, I was finding more time to spend with James. He is very loving and sweet, and above all it doesn't take much to please him. In this picture, he is having a time of his life just playing in a indoor playground located in the mall. The simple pleasures of James' life.
-This year our children had no doubt what they were going to be for Halloween: Star Trek characters. Gillian took the role of Kirk, Jefferson made a very convincing Spock, and James wanted to fly the Enterprise as Sulu. I know that not many children know what Star Trek is about. Our children had once a week a movie date with their dad. Every Wednesday, they would watch one episode of the original series of Star Trek. They know a lot about the characters and the plots. We haven't introduced them to the movies or the other Star Treks since they are still very young, but watching these episodes with their dad will be one of their favorite memories.
-I honestly love being with my kids as long as we are doing two things: reading together or being out and seeing something educational or entertaining. I'm the best mom then.
-This trip to Monticello was fabulous. The weather was beautiful, the leaves had just turned color, and the house was enchanting. I had written an essay on Monticello while in college, so seeing it and looking at every nook and corner was awesome for me. We loved the house, with its amazing architecture and inventions; we loved the storage area and the rooms where they cooked and baked; we were astonished by the vast land and gardens Jefferson had the servants plant all sorts of vegetables and fruits, and we were in awe as we visited the tomb of this great renaissance man. Our Jefferson felt very proud to carry this amazing individual's name.
-My trip in New York city was a lot of fun. My mother, my brother and I (and Charlton) spent three days there. Elijah had found us a great deal at the New Yorker hotel right down town, and so we were able to truly go anywhere we wanted. We went up the Empire State building, we strolled through Central Park, and we visited Wall Street, Federal Hall Memorial, Chrysler Building, Rockefeller Center, Radio City Music Hall, the Statue of Liberty, and of course many more on the way. Two things I want to mention here. First, the elevator at the Statue of Liberty wasn't working so I climbed the stairs up the statue's skirts holding an 18 pound baby in my arms. I will always remember that I climbed the stairs with Charlton in my arms. The other interesting thing also happened while at the Statue of Liberty. Sunday morning come, we were still in New York spending some time with my cousin. While we were in New York, Elijah is asked at church by a couple if his wife was visiting New York city this weekend. We hadn't told anyone, so Elijah was a bit surprised. The couple mentioned that they had been there this weekend and had thought that they had seen me. When that was confirmed, they added to Elijah smiling "Don't worry, she was behaving." Of course I was behaving, what else can you do with a baby in your arms, and a brother and a mom on each side:) It was very funny incident, and it goes to show how little our Mormon world is.
-This year we spent our Thanksgiving with friends in the Outer Banks, North Carolina. The children had the most fun. They got to swim in the ocean, although it was pretty cold. They would stroll along the beach collecting shells, and then they would master the courage to get into the water, and after they had had enough cold water, they would run to the house to get warmed up in the jacuzzi. Seeing them had so much fun made me want to be a child again. We were able to visit lighthouses, Kill Devil Hill, Roanoke Island, and of course Thanksgiving dinner was great, because each family cooked one or two dishes and I wasn't tired out before the dinner even started. We all had a great time.
-Christmas season came to fast this year. In the beginning of December, we had a long list of items we had to accomplish before the 18th, on which date we were planning to go down to Georgia for the holidays and two weddings. The list included finding a house in California, buy presents, mail some of them, prepare for James' birthday on the 13th, and of course pack for the trip to Georgia, and having a plan for packing the house when we got back. Everything was accomplished with lots of help from friends and family.

My favorite moments of 2009 (Part 2)

-We had a small patch of land where Elijah and the children did some gardening. It was such fun seeing the children helping Elijah in the garden and bringing me fresh produce each day. They were so proud of their work.

-One of my favorite spots in D.C is the Arboretum, and next to it I found this beautiful botanical garden full of waterlilies and orchids. The children and I had a great time admiring the flowers,learning about them, and then later drawing them. However, the most exciting moment was when we discovered a water snake trying to devour a frog, while the frog was trying so hard to get out of snake's mouth. I know, it is gross. We all thought that, except Jefferson who wanted to come closer and closer to study it and "see the snake's mouth and teeth." I personally was scared, but my James held my hand whispering that he would protect me, while he was shivering himself. Fun memories...

-Gillian wanted to celebrate her birthday in Georgia last year (Jefferson did, so why not her as well). She wanted a Star Trek cake, and although the cake maker thought it to be Star Wars, everything looked great and tasted delicious. Gillian really had a great time.

-I had to put this picture of me giving Elijah his cake, just so you could see the big belly from the side. Ready to burst...

-On the 14th of August, it's our anniversary, and although Elijah and I celebrated it in Spain earlier this year, Elijah took me on a day cruise on the Potomac with food, entertainment and great view. We both enjoyed it, especially being together.

-Now I know most of you have heard the story of Charlton's birth and the reason that Melita looked so beautiful even though she had just given birth. But, for the sake of recording this for my children here it goes: So, I went for my weekly check up to the doctor, and as I stand on the scale for the nurse to weigh me, a gush of water flows freely across my legs. Having had a similar experience with Gillian, mind you at home and in bed, I knew my water broke. The doctor comes quickly, checks me to confirm what we all knew by now, calls my husband and then tells me to go straight to the hospital. I wasn't having any contractions, so I was calm and ready to go home, and make the proper arrangements for my kids and everything else. While I'm driving, I'm reminded of the horrible pictures of me when I gave birth to Jefferson. I had pink eye on both eyes and the epidural hadn't work so I'm transfigured into a witch from the miserable pain my body and soul is suffering. I didn't want ugly pictures. So, I get home and take a nice shower, put clean clothes on, make my hair, and put my make up on. Meanwhile, I'm on the phone with friends to have my kids taken care of. Jenifer comes and picks me up, and then drops me off at the hospital. When I get to my room, I ask my nurse to take a picture of me and then to call the anesthesiologist. Then, I pick a book to read. Charlton comes five hours later finding a happy and pretty mommy. Just so you know, my labors usually last more than 12 hours.

-Gillian and Jefferson's first day in public school together. They really loved the idea of riding in the bus together and eating in the same cafeteria.

-Charlton's first bath and first church attendance.

-My mother was a great help these four months. She made me fat by cooking delicious food for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and not letting me do any house work, especially laundry, which I detest. However, her favorite thing to do was take care of Charlton. She really loved being with him.

-I love this picture of James; he looks so mesmerized by the knight's armor, helmet and other clothes. He was so excited that he got to try them all on, although they were a bit big on him. The next time we went to the library, of course, we had to have some knight stories.

-This last picture here shows the boys and Elijah leaving for the 'father and son' camp out. It's without exaggeration the boys favorite thing to do all year. They really look forward to being with dad and in the wild. You can imagine Gillian is not very happy about this whole ordeal, since she is supposed to be daddy's little girl. I try to make that night special for her by eating out just the two of us and by watching her favorite movies. Deep down, I know she still wishes she were with dad. I love Gillian; she is so totally me.

My favorite moments of 2009 (Part 1)

Since this new year will find us in California, I thought I could recap the best moments of 2009 with what I got in pictures. I loved homeschooling for many reasons, one of them being the fact that we got to go anywhere we wanted and see many things. I wish I could have kept a journal of the things that the children said as they went through beautiful and fun experiences together. Here are some things that I remember (some of these correspond the pictures above):
-Jefferson and James wanted to be rock stars with Gillian doing the singing and dancing
-enjoying D.C with mami Lili
-crying when they saw the many statues in memory of the fallen at the Korean War Memorial
-loving and eating the snow
-learning about cactus and teaching mom how to get water from them if I found myself stranded in a desert
-special moments for Melita when she FINALLY became US citizen
-as we would study various things each day, the children would find it very hard to decide on one thing they like the best and one profession that they could do their favorite thing; they were all in agreement that they loved them all and they could do them all, and some of the professions that were discussed were pilots, police officers, construction workers, doctors, biologists, airplane builders, paleontologists, soldiers, chimney sweeps, singers, firemen, and many more. It made our everyday life very entertaining.
-we loved visiting Chicago and our friends. The 'bean' as this gigantic sphere was called was really cool
-the children loved visiting this Battleship; every time we went they pretended they were in outer space on the ENTERPRISE.

I have so many more pictures of the fun things we saw and did, but I think I'll just do two more parts with the most interesting things, just so I can have them here for later publishing.

Virginia is for lovers...

As we drive away from Virginia and travel from one state to another, I stand in awe at the beauty of this magnificent country. I'm so grateful to live in it. I'm grateful to have had the blessing of traveling in so many places, and look forward to seeing many more. But I have to say, I truly enjoyed my stay in Virginia. I love Virginia! I felt more at home in Virginia than anywhere else. I loved the driven and goal oriented people. I enjoyed visiting the historical sites, the museums, the parks, the monuments. I took pleasure in attending the many arts that the Northern Virginia/D.C area has to offer. I loved the fact that I could wake up in the morning and decide right there and then to take my kids out and learn something first hand. My favorite spots, and they are many, include Shenandoah Park, Great Falls, Williamsburg, Monticello, Jamestown, Mount Vernon, the Botanical Garden, Arboretum, the WWII Memorial, Jefferson Memorial, Lincoln monument, the Washington D.C Temple, and many more.

However, my stay in Virginia has been so special primarily because of all of you, my friends. Thank you for all of your friendships, love and kindness you've shown toward me. I'll mention few names, with the full knowledge that I might forget some, so forgive me. I value so many of you for so many reasons, but for the sake of time and space I'll mention one quality that I like in each of you: Jenifer-brilliant, Katherine-understanding, Cindy-funny, Carolyn-diplomatic, Elizabeth-intuitive, Marcia-gracious, Aubrie-generous, Amy B-driven, Hillary-sweet, Emily H.-talented, Nicole- calm, Kylee-beautiful, Heather M- my liberal twin, Heather B-organized, Stephanie P-happy, Charish-amazingly mature, Suzanne- a bosom friend, Sharise-pure, Ann Marie-faithful, Jana-easy going, Rebecca Y.- capable, Bishop S-quick in understanding human nature and fun to be around, Paul- great father and a doer. I know I'm forgetting many more, but thank you to all of you for making my life in Virginia wonderful.