A City Life For Me

While we were in Oklahoma visiting my Grams and having a deputation meeting, we had time for a special activity.  I hadn't been through Muskogee since I was on my way to Virginia Beach, VA with Ben after our honeymoon.  We saw Grams and Gramps at a family reunion in June, 2010, and introduced them to Elaine.  My Gramps went home to be with the Lord in August, 2010, just after we moved to NYC. Gramps was the first grandparent I have lost.  (I feel very thankful for this - that I have had so much time with all of my grandparents and that they are relatively healthy).  Though Grams had sent pictures of the gravestone, I wanted to see it in person. I guessed it seemed appropriate that it was raining when we made our trip to the cemetery.  Grams changed out the flowers for Easter, and we got to explain to the kids that Gramps is in heaven.   

I took these pictures of the kids on a deputation stop in Maine a few weeks ago.  I just came across them today, but they seemed so appropriate, considering the 13th anniversary of 9/11. This was a war memorial and the sign says “The Price of Freedom Is Not Free”.  So true.  I am so thankful for the countless lives that have been given to allow me to grow up in a free country.  I am blessed by the freedom of America on a daily basis.  I am free to attend the church of my choice.  I am free to live where I believe the Lord has led me.  I am free to have as many children as I do.  I am free to homeschool my daughter. It just happened that Elaine was wearing red, white, and blue in this picture, but it fits so well! As part of our homeschool routine, we say the Pledge of Allegiance to the American Flag and to the Bible before we pray for school each morning.  I know Elaine doesn’t understand all of the words, but it was a good exercise for m...

Today is Nolan’s birthday.  I can’t believe he has been a part of our family for a year already…yet I can’t remember our family without him, either.  He was born on Thursday, June 30th at 10:38 a.m. weighing 7 pounds, 6 ounces, and 19.75 inches long.   He was a pretty easy going baby from the start, and he hasn’t changed much! six  weeks four months four months six months six months – this is my favorite picture of him.  His cheeks are rosy from teething! When he was six months old we started calling him “The Nolanator” and the name has stuck…probably because it’s so appropriate!  He started eating solid food at four months, crawling at five months, sitting at six months, pulling up to stand at seven months, and walking at nine months.  I wasn’t really ready for any of those things…Nolan keeps me on my toes! nine months Nolan is now a bundle of energy & movement, with a lot of noise thrown in fo...

Last night was beautiful here in Brooklyn, so we decided to take a walk after supper.  We didn’t quite make it to the park before dark, so we ventured out to the American Veterans Memorial Pier which is very near to us.  From the pier you can see Staten Island and the Verrazano Bridge, Lower Manhattan, the Statue of Liberty, and both the Hudson and East Rivers.  There is a “tower” on the pier that says Brooklyn remembers September 11, 2001.  Elaine had fun running circles around it!  Too much fun…she wouldn’t stop and smile for me! I was able to get this picture of the Lower Manhattan skyline.  The bright tower on the left is the unfinished Freedom Tower (I think).  The red building in the middle is the Empire State Building, and the bright pointy- topped building on the right is the Chrysler Building.  While I was admiring the Freedom Tower, thinking again about September 11th, and feeling proud to be an American, something else caugh...

Today marks one year since my Gramps stepped into eternity with Jesus.  I can hardly believe that it has been a year.  (Read more here and here ). I’m sure the time has dragged by for Grams as she has had to make many life adjustments.  I was thinking about Gramps this week.  I was remembering everything that took place at this time last year.  I was leaving the Bay Mart after a regular shopping trip.  Elaine was in the stroller.  Mom called and I cheerfully answered the phone.  She said, “It’s not happy news that I’m calling with.  Gramps is in critical condition.”  Gramps is the first loved one that I have lost, and it was very sudden.  I just didn’t expect to hear my mom say those words. After Dad and his siblings made it to Oklahoma to say their goodbyes, the decision was made to remove Gramps from life support.  It was very early in the morning.  Dad called me right afterward Gramps because I am an hour ahead and...