New York, New York!!!

The past few days have been hard with the loss of a loved one. We have had Olivia with us for a couple of days trying to give her some normal, routine time with such a tragedy occurring. She has been having fun and seems to be doing as good as a kid can do since just losing her dad. The funeral will be tomorrow and it will be a difficult time, so please continue to pray for all that this has affected.

Towards the end of the New York trip, it had been stressful and sad because I wanted to get back to my family with all that was going on but now I will look to all the fun that I had! It was an amazing place but definitely not a place where you "relax." I enjoyed it because I am such an on the go person and we crammed as much as we could in the 3 1/2 days that we were there!!

my cousin's wife, Tina and their sweet daughter, Shelbs

Highlights of the trip were:
1. Al Roker thinking I'm a creepster but he was super nice
2. Seeing Times Square! Ahhh-mazing!
3. Shopping on 5th Avenue!
4. Seeing all the diversity there!
5. Eating pizza in Little Italy...delish!
6.  Riding a tour bus through NYC and seeing all the cool history
7. Eating their food...had a lamb gyro and it was so yum
8. Seeing the statue of liberty while hanging out at Battery Park
9. Going to the Stardust diner on Broadway
10. Shopping...everywhere!!!

It was a blast and I am so thankful to my sweet hubby for letting me go and watching the kiddos who I missed so stinkin' much!!

Finally in Times Square!

Of course this was one of my fav places!

I was in love with the 3 and 4 story Toys R Us and Disney store

This was for Grayson but he informed me that "That is not how Power Rangers stand, Mommy!"

Looked at the subway and ran...we were a little scared.

 

 

 

 

If only I was 15bs smaller and 7 inches taller...I could be a Rockette...haha!

Where the ice skating rink and Christmas tree usually are

Gorgeous buildings

All hyped up on Starbucks

Today Show

I would be a good critic

The history and buildings amazed me

Those taxis are rascals...I almost got hit by 2 and they honked and put up a "sad finger" at everyone

Where Yoko Ono lives

Night at the Museum!! Well I guess it was a Day at the Museum

Good ol' Teddy R

I found some owl friends!!

Exploring my culture

Me and Shelbs really showed that $6 photo booth....instead we just took our own pictures for FREE,,,ha!

My first food from a cart

amazing architecture..

Duke Ellington

I LOVE libraries...is that weird? This one looks amazing!!

The Philippine consulate...went to visit them a bit

The only Baptist church I saw...love the front

our hotel

This was my fav part

My New Year's wish that will be put in the ball that will be dropped from Times Square in 2013. How cool is that? It says. " For the Lost to be Saved!"

Memorial made by kids for the Sept. 11th attacks

How cool would it be to go there?

Stardust Diner on Broadway

The waiters and waitresses sang while they worked and they were amazing!!

 

a little snack at FAO Schwarz

I so wanted to get Grayson and Ella a Muppet puppet b/c they are so about Muppets but I only did carry on and you get to design the...definitely something I will find for them close to home

my fav part...seeing the Henri Bendel store on 5th avenue

So that is a little glimpse of New York. It was so much fun and it's a place I would definitely like to visit again...maybe next time with Joey!

So I know what you really came here for...pics of the kids! Before I left I tried to do a lot with them so we headed on over to Chuck E Cheese and had a candy-eating, prize-winnin' good time.Then we enjoyed a Kindermusik playdate which are always fun, if you haven't tried one with your kiddo, I highly recommend it.

Ella stealing hugs at Dippin' Daves

And last a picture that brings tears to my eyes yet joy to my heart...a picture of a liitle girl who is going through so much yet has a smile on her face!

Have a blessed week and again keep Josh's family and our family in your prayers....

A Whirlwind Week....

This past week was full of so much......good and bad. On Sunday, we were waiting to see if our counter offer on our house was going to go through. We had an offer and we were going back and forth and they did not accept our counter offer so our house it still on the market. Joey is a bit happy with this because he loves where we live and our house but I on the other hand am ready for a change! We will see what happens and I am sure the Lord will put us where we're meant to be whether it's somewhere new or staying here.

On Tuesday, I left for New York City. It was amazing and I will talk about it more in my next post.

The hardest thing about this past week was hearing the news while I was in NYC that my brother in law had taken his life. I was full of shock and sadness. Him and my sister were going through a divorce but I know she still loved him so much and I know he loved her, it was one of the those things that just didn't work out. I am not sure why or the reason but he will be very missed. I have many memories of him that I will cherish. He was only 22 and would often joke that I was super old. He would always say..."Hey Melanie, aren't you like 50?" or if I made a comment about good music that was from the 70's...he would say, "Oh yeah, weren't you like 30 in the 70's?" Him and Megan would come to our house often and stayed with us weeks when Olivia was born. I remember that he would eat anything I made which would make me feel good about cooking...haha. I remember him and Joey telling me and Megan they could not ice skate and then they started skating around us and laughing and Josh skated backwards showing off. Ever since we told Grayson that Aunt Meggy and Uncle Josh were not going to be together anymore (because of the divorce) on his own he would pray for Uncle Josh almost every night. It is a sad time for his family, our family, and of course Megan and Olivia. I know it will be hard for Liv and I keep thinking of the times where not having her Daddy will be so hard but I know she has an amazing support system made up of his family and our family. So please keep everyone is your prayers as we remember Josh. He will be missed.

How do you fit it all in???

I had someone ask me the other day, how do I do all that I do? How am I a working mother, do activities with kids, have time to look somewhat decent when I step out the door (even if I look a little crazy), try to start my LPC, help teach at church, etc? Well, honestly I can't do it all. You should totally see my laundry room. It is full of clothes either hanging or organized in baskets that just needs to simply be put away (hey, at least it's clean, right)?  Since Joey and I got married I have always been used to burning on both ends. I was a newlywed, a recent graduate, just moved in our new house, just started my master's, started my first year teaching, and got pregnant all within 6 months of each other. I am used to being busy and having days full of activities. It probably explains why it's SO hard for me to stay at home all day in the summers.

But what I realized the other is I have so much more to grow as a Godly wife and mother. I know I have written about this before but I feel like it is something I want so badly to strive to do. I think the most important part is to be in God's word. The other day on facebook (ironic), someone posted a picture of a cell phone with facebook open and a bible and below it said "which do you spend more time doing?" It was so convicting because it was hands down facebook. It made me realize that to be a better mom and wife and person in all, I have to spend time in God's word. I have to learn more about Him. It made me think of this blog I saw the other day: Need a Little Time: Grade Full Mama
It details how she fits it in her schedule to have some quiet prayer time with a house full of kiddos. It seems geared towards older kids but I am sure it can be tweaked. A lot of times, in the summer when I am home with the kids, I want to get stuff done around the house when they nap, but I think I will take the moment for this quiet time. Luckily, I have a husband that does most of everything in the house helps me out around the house. : )


 I hope you all had a great fourth! We had a blast. We spent time with both sides of families and then headed out to Terrell. Joey and some guys from our church and other churches did a cool outreach! It involved Star Wars to get people's attention and then they used the amazing message of the gospel. A lot of people stopped by before the Star Wars guys but it was neat for the kids to see, too. Grayson even said he wanted people to know about God so he enjoyed passing out tracts.Here are some pics from the outreach and our 4th.

Joey witnessing to a drill team

grayson and pastor rocky

Also, I have had a lot ask about my health. My stomach is doing great. I have been doing much better and had a digestive test done Monday and will meet with the doctor soon! In the past 6 months, I have lost a total of 14 pounds. I am not sure if it's my stomach issues or that I have just been eating better. It doesn't look drastic or obvious to me so I am not sure where it came off but it has stayed off...now if only I could lose 10-15 more. Haha! But my clothes fit differently. I will let you all know what the dr. says as soon as I find out!

Well I am about to go read with the kids but I also wanted to let you know that our house is for sale. We will see what happens. We don't have to sell but would like to know if other options are possible. We tried to sell a couple of years ago but then I was got pregnant with Ella. Our house has been a wonderful place to be but being a mom and wife you see things you would want different so that's kind of where we are. So if you know of anyone looking in the Forney area, let me know!

I hope you all have a great day and rest of the week. I am looking forward to my trip to NYC in less than two weeks!

 But I sure will miss these faces......

dessertapalooza at firewheel

my new fav pic of these two!

Have a great week and please feel free to comment below how you handle being a multi-tasking mom!