One of my favorite trips we took in 2019 was to Washington, D. C., to visit our old friends Wesley and Brittany Burke! Wes was interning at Capitol Hill Baptist Church at the time, and he got Daniel a highly-sought-after ticket to a 9Marks Weekender, an event that the church hosts for pastors, elders, other church leaders, and seminary students. They get a front row seat to the way Capitol Hill does things, and it was life-changing for Daniel to get to go. I didn’t get to go to the sessions with him, but I did get to spend four solid days catching up with Brittany and our friend Kelli, and that was THE BEST consolation prize.

I can’t believe how fast all of these littles have grown! 😭😭

Daniel and I got to walk around the Capitol Hill area one afternoon with Blake and Kelli, and my favorite place we visited was the Library of Congress! Thomas Jefferson’s personal library was on display, and the number of topics he had books about blew me away. I was disappointed that we didn’t actually get to go inside the iconic rotunda, but it was still neat to see the place in person through the glass.

The girls and the kids explored the city on our own one day too, and even though our feet felt like they were about to fall off, it was a great day! We went to Grand Central Station, walked the National Mall, saw the Lincoln Memorial, WWII Memorial, walked around the Washington Monument, and we even got a peek at the White House. Towards the end of our adventure, we lucked out and found a little farmer’s market in a park near our bus stop, and I’m telling you….that burger I took a picture of might have been the best burger I’ve ever had.

Love my Burke babies!!

Daniel and I also got to hang out with Josh and Nicole, Daniel’s older brother and his girlfriend who live really close to the Capitol Hill area. I realized too late that we never took any pictures together, but it was so fun to browse the nearby art museum and enjoy a few drinks with them at a local pub.

The girls LOVED him. ♥

I can confidently say that if we lived in D.C., we would absolutely go to Capitol Hill. Their Sunday service was absolutely amazing. The music made me cry, the preaching was intelligent, thought-provoking, and engaging…but more than that, it was just so apparent that they are doing things in a wise, healthy way. Daniel learned so much from their elder body, things that are helping transform and energize our local church now. I hope we get to go back someday!