The Zoo and 9/11

This past Saturday morning, Hallett and I took Lillian and Curran to the zoo. Apparently the rest of Birmingham had the same idea so it was pretty packed, but it was still fun and the girls had a blast. And Katharyn and Louis were able to join us for a little while, too, so that was fun.

This was our first time to see the elephants since they came back to Bham. Check out that tusk!

The girls look thrilled don't they? {this picture turned out super dark so I tried to lighten it up some}

Louis' first trip to the zoo!

One of my friends was selling her double stroller, so we went ahead and bought it. The girls had fun riding around together!

This is not a great pic because I couldn't avoid the glare. The lions just had babies not too long ago, so it was our first time to see the cubs! They were all sleeping, but they were cute to see nonetheless. {One cub is lying between his parents in this pic.}

Afterwards we went to lunch. C thinks everything L does is the funniest thing ever and gets so tickled at her. I always love seeing them play together.

They were being slightly wild.

Saturday afternoon we hung out with the Escalonas, and C had a blast tormenting playing with their cat, Lucy. C would chase her up the stairs and then make Prim go find her. Or she would chase her into the living room, sending Lucy scurrying for the safety of behind the couch. But I think Lucy secretly like it as she would always come back to find C a little later. :)

C was trying to lure Lucy with her little cat toy.

 And C was beyond thrilled to wake up on Monday to homemade cookies and a card from her buddy. :)

She immediately yelled, "Lucy!!" as soon as she opened the card.




Saturday night and all day Sunday I got sucked into the 9/11 coverage. I think it is almost more devastating watching the coverage today compared to 10 years ago, if that's possible. Now that there are so many personal stories talked about, it just makes it seem much more "real" if that makes any sense. I was just so sad all day Sunday and couldn't shake my funk.

Like most everyone, I remember exactly where I was that terrible morning. I was in my junior year at Birmingham-Southern about to wake up for class. I could hear my suite mates {Sheela, Christopher and Elizabeth} all talking outside my door and I could tell something bad had happened. I heard my sister say something about hoping my aunt was ok {she lived in DC}. Then my phone rang and my friend Carol told me to turn on the TV. We all walked to class in stunned silence, and as soon we got there, we were quickly dismissed and classes were canceled for the rest of the day. My professor, Dr. McCallum, told us that we would always remember where we were on this morning. That it would be a flashbulb memory for us, and he was right.

My family took a trip to New York in 1998, my senior year in high school. We have some beautiful pictures of us in front of the Manhattan skyline with the Twin Towers in the background. We also ate at the Windows on the World restaurant that was located in the North Tower, and we have some pictures of us on the observation deck on the South Tower. I'm so glad we had the opportunity to visit that place.

The first reading at church on Sunday was incredibly perfect for September 11. The readings in the Catholic church are decided well in advance and are based on the liturgical calendar, so as the priest said, it was just God's providence that this was the reading that day:

Sirach 27:30-28:7

Wrath and anger are hateful things,
yet the sinner hugs them tight.
The vengeful will suffer the LORD's vengeance,
for he remembers their sins in detail.
Forgive your neighbor's injustice;
then when you pray, your own sins will be forgiven.
Could anyone nourish anger against another
and expect healing from the LORD?
Could anyone refuse mercy to another like himself,
can he seek pardon for his own sins?
If one who is but flesh cherishes wrath,
who will forgive his sins?
Remember your last days, set enmity aside;
remember death and decay, and cease from sin!
Think of the commandments, hate not your neighbor;
remember the Most High's covenant, and overlook faults.