It had always been a challenge to raise our six children on a minister's salary but we were on an especially tight budget. We were only a few weeks away from our planned departure to the mission field of Russia. We were living in a teen-insy two bedroom house with the few belongings that we still owned and we were watching our pennies very tightly. Feeding our brood meant doing a lot of stretching of ingredients ... and eating meat only a few days a week. This night was a non-meat night ... potato soup night.

To say that Dustin wasn't especially fond of potato soup would be an understatement. The rest of us enjoyed it though, so it was what was to be served for supper. We had a rule in the Kendall household ... at least three bites of anything set before you. Being finicky just wasn't an option  ... we ate what was placed before us ... with gratitude and without complaining.

I had left the potato soup slowly simmering on the stove while I worked on things around the house. I still remember that smell ... that obnoxious, nose-scrunching, burning smell. I will spare you the details of what happened when I discovered my soup burning on the stove but suffice it to say, the culprit responsible was a 9-year-old little boy who didn't like potato soup. It turns out that he had walked non-chalantly by the stove, turned the fire all the way up and waited.

It was Dustin's intention to deter us from eating potato soup that night. However, his mom (me), who had already discovered by this time in his short life that he was a certified PILL, had other ideas of how this should affect all of us (and him). Dad immediately called for pizza to feed the rest of our klan ... and mom set out Dustin's fare before him. Bless his heart, he ate burned potato soup every meal until that big 8-member family pot was gone.

I know some of you are already considering turning me in to CPS for what I did to right Dustin's wrongs but I promise he really did survive. And ... I guarantee you that he never tried that tactic again when he didn't want to eat something. As a matter of fact, before he drew his last breath, he had willingly partaken of many bowls of potato soup as an adult.

We all still laugh when we think of that day.

Today would have been his 25th birthday so we are celebrating with his favorites ~  grilled steak, watermelon, hot bread ... and potato soup (un-burned). Not your normal way of serving potatoes with steak but it made us smile to do it that way today.

Thank you all for your many notes and calls to remind us of how well we are loved and how Dustin is remembered. It means so much.  

We just returned from several days in Washington DC and it was a precious time spent. Our primary reason for traveling there was to visit Dustin's gravesite. We haven't been in a long while ... and it was time ... but we wanted to take this trip to also soak in the awesome history of our country that shouts from every inch of that city.

We spent each morning at the cemetery, then worked our way into the city for some sightseeing. I think we ended up walking an average of 5-7 miles a day and though we wanted to see it all, it was impossible. We only touched on a tiny portion of what DC has to offer but I stood in amazement of what we beheld.

We carried our cameras everywhere and took over 700+ images that I will not ask you to view here ~ smile. I wish I could have captured in my photographs, the massiveness of the buildings and the majesty that they each held. Hope you don't mind me sharing a few as an overview of our time there.

Arlington National Cemetery

Lincoln Memorial

Korean War Memorial

The Capital Building

The White House Garden

The Washington Monument

The National Mall ~ Smithsonian

The Smithsonian ~ American History Museum

 Union Station

FDR Memorial

Walking Through the City

Doors of DC

We were also blessed to see some special friends while we were there .. unfortunately, we missed a few special friends as well. I'll be looking forward to getting back to DC quickly so I can hug their necks.

We have a special place in our hearts for Rowan and his staff of instructors at IPS (Institute of Photographic Studies) ... they are the ones who gave BK, Jared and I our beginning in photographic instruction. We were excited to find out that they were in DC conducting a school while were there so we hung out with them at Union Station one afternoon and participated in their 'school project'. I'm embarassed to say, I didn't do as well as I would have liked. No matter how good you become or how much you think you know, there is always a desire to make your 'teacher' proud of what you do ... no pressure though! Anyway, we shared some yummy Chicago-style pizza with the crew and the students that night and were so blessed by their sweet, Godly spirits. They even invited us back the next morning to be the student's couple models. We should see the images soon but I figure if they can make this old, chunky couple look good, they are on their way to stardom. =0)

We continued our day with a precious friend from our Arkansas days. Todd and Jen are living in Philadelphia now, so Jen drove a long 3 hours down to DC to spend the afternoon with us. Unfortunately, Todd wasn't feeling well. It was a blessing to catch up on all the goings on of the last few years, to hear about Jen's victory over breast cancer and to share some time with her at the cemetery. They were our prayer warriors while we ministered to the church in Arkansas and Todd was one of Dustin's teachers in the college class so he had a special place in their hearts. It was a precious time that would have only been made better by more of it. I'm afraid I have no photo to share ... for ... the three of us, trapsing around DC with our cameras and not one of us remembered to take a picture of US. I'm using that as an excuse to get back together with her real soon.

Our time in DC was a precious time spent ... some moments were sobering but many were joyful. That is how life is most of the time, I think. Sometimes the journey is rough but we must take the bad with the good to get to our destination. Prayerfully we see beautiful things along the way and we become stronger and wiser and better for having traveled it.

We are on our journey ... thanks for sharing this part of it with us.