A City Life For Me

I blogged previously about an area in the Bronx which is our prayer focus for a future church plant.  The Kingsbridge area in the Bronx is home to the Kingsbridge Armory.  It is a great landmark, and it would be easy to tell people that our church is located by The Armory .  We knew that there were plans to renovate the old Kingsbridge Armory, but nothing was definite yet. On Tuesday, Mayor Bloomberg announced that a deal has been struck to transform the Armory into the world’s largest indoor ice rink facility.  It will have nine regulation size rinks, and cost $275 million dollars.  The project is expected to be completed by 2017.  This project has been debated and in the works for more than ten years, according to the New York Daily News . This area is now even more of a prime location for a church plant.  Think of the people that will be drawn to Kingsbridge area just because of this ice skating complex.  In addition to the local people,...

Nolan can say “Hewo” and “Bye” on the phone now! Picnic at the park – Daddy is bouncing them on a bouncy bridge Happy to be out of the house! Nolan discovered a squirrel, and they played chase around the fence.  Every time Nolan moved inside the gate to get the squirrel, he hopped through the bars.  When Nolan came around to get him, he would hop back.  Nolan had great fun!

:: When driving home, the Verrazano Bridge was shrouded in heavy clouds so that you couldn’t see the top of it.  Elaine looked up and said, “Oh, no!  The bridge is broke!” :: Once when Nolan was wearing his sunglasses I told him he was “hot stuff.”  After we left the doctor’s office, Nolan put his sunglasses back on.  Elaine said, “He looks like hot stuff again, right Mom?” :: Elaine wanted to know where a certain man’s wife was.  The man is a widower, and we tried to explain that his wife was with Jesus in heaven.  Elaine:  “Oh, well he needs to get a new wife.” Me: “Well, maybe he will sometime, but probably not yet.  He’s not ready yet.” Elaine:  “So, in phree (3) hours he will get a new wife?” :: At naptimes and bedtimes we have really been praying for the babies to come soon.  Today Elaine made this announcement: “We have been praying for them a lot, but they are taking a long time to come!” :: There is a Smart Car...

In October when we found out that we were having twins, Ben told our Pastor that there were three things God was going to have to do to get us ready.  We needed a new house, a new job, and a new van.  Little by little, in just His timing and way, God has provided those things. We moved into our new apartment {on the 1st floor!} on December 15th.  In January, Ben launched out into Home Improvement Contracting business on his own.  It was nerve wracking to not have something steady & consistent, but as we trusted God, He provided job after job after job.  The only work Ben has missed since January are the days he has chosen to take off.  This arrangement has also been a blessing as I have had more doctor’s appointments that a normal pregnancy.  Ben’s flexible schedule allows him to watch the kids while I go to the doctor. When we announced my pregnancy to our family, we asked my dad to help us find a van.  He is the “car guy” and I don’t kno...

Giving “Manny” some medicine Reading the Bible to Manny so he would feel better. How do you like the combination of doctor outfit and monkey hats?

My kids have been singing up a storm…I think it’s the sunshine and nice weather! Nolan randomly breaks out into a song–and it is always this one! Did you know that Elaine can spell? Well…sort of. She got in a bit of a hurry! Check out the laugh at the end!   We corrected the spelling problem, and she gives it another try in Take 2!

Elaine & Nolan Feeling the Babies Kick Elaine and Mommy signed Nolan’s cast Trying to fix the train bridge with only one hand…

While we had lots of fun flying kites at the park last night , the day didn’t end quite so fun for Nolan.  After the kites, we stopped off at the playground for a few minutes.  The kids wanted to go on the tire swing, and Ben was spinning them around.  Suddenly Nolan let go, and landed with a thud on his back. He cried for a while and I thought he just got the wind knocked out of him, or really scared himself.  During supper and the rest of the night, however, it because apparent that he was favoring his left arm.  We checked his elbow and it was not dislocated.  We figured out it was his wrist that was hurting. When he would try to use his hand to pull himself up, or to stand, he would cry in pain.  He woke up a couple of times in the night crying, presumably from bumping his wrist. This morning we took Nolan to the pediatrician, who noted a little bit of swelling and sent us for x-rays right away.  It was a beautiful 70 degrees outside, so...

One of Elaine’s favorite movies is Mary Poppins.  Last fall I got two kites at a tag sale for $1.  We got to fly them one time, but Mommy isn’t very good with kites.  After our nap today, Daddy took us to the park to fly our kites.  It was nice and windy! Elaine did a great job helping to get her kite in the air, and tugging on the string so it wouldn’t fall down.  She had a fabulous time!  Nolan’s kite ended up with a hole in it, and we couldn’t get it to stay in the air.  He didn’t seem too bothered by it, and enjoyed tinkering around the grass.  Elaine even shared her kite with Nolan {did that really happen???} but he wasn’t interested. We had a few raindrops and it got dark, but we had a wonderful time.  Just like a typical girl, at one point Elaine was trying to multi-task.  She was flying her kite with one hand and “helping” Nolan with his kite with the other hand.  Elaine was funny trying to help with the kite, ru...

Today I’m guest posting over at the Imperfect Homemaker about a craft I made with the kids a couple of weeks ago.  Head over here to check it out!

Nolan was given a new umbrella.  Though it was sunny & beautiful, the kiddos begged to go for a walk with their umbrellas.

Somewhere in my box of treasures I have an envelope that has my name on it, written by my Grandpa Paul.  Inside is a small stash of $2 bills.  For many Easter’s when I was growing up, Grandma & Grandpa gave each of us grandchildren a $2 bill.  And since they are not made anymore, each year I would tuck the new bill away in my envelope to save. Yesterday, my kiddos received Easter cards in the mail from “Old Grandma & Grandpa”.  {Elaine gave them that name at Christmas, in order to distinguish them from my Mom & Dad.    Now that the grandchildren are all grown, and many of us are married, my grandparents have continued the tradition with their great-grandchildren. This is the first year that they understand enough to open the mail themselves. The neatly pressed bills got a bit crumpled.  Nolan doesn’t have a clue what he received, but Elaine exclaimed, “Money!”  They may not understand completely the “treasure” they received...