Because I have been posting so much about the St. John’s drama, we haven’t posted many family photos or updates on what we have been doing. So, hold on to your seats and be prepared for LOTS!!
This sweet first-born of ours turned 9!! Oh man, I about flipped out when I realized that is halfway to 18! She is so kind and considerate of others, she is super helpful, she is able to socialize with anyone and never meets a stranger, she loves schedules and routines and comfort, she likes for others to do what they are supposed to be doing and has no problem bossing them around, and she loves one-on-one time. I love seeing her heart for the Lord grow and I pray that continues as she grows more independent.
She wanted to go the bounce house place, have an Incredible cake with a 9 on top, and she loved her older girl presents like a journal, alarm clock, and shirt.
Ed got to go with a friend to the NY Rangers game as his belated birthday gift. AND he finished another half marathon – the NYC Half. How fun that they run right through Times Square? We finally got to go and cheer him on and it was all fun and games until we noticed the dead rat on the sidewalk next to us 🙁
I had to say goodbye for now to a very dear friend of mine – Marie. Marie became a part of our family when she would come over and help with the kids and Brynn after I had Brynn, especially when Ed was away during the evening or had long hours. She loved holding and rocking Brynn and loved on my other kiddos when momma was busy feeding. Since then, we have shared so many great talks, fun times and laughs, and I have loved seeing her fall in love with a Boston man. She was a true gift to me – I value her friendship and will miss having her “nearby”. She is getting married this month to him and while are so excited for this next step for her, it meant moving to be near him. 🙁
My friend Jane and I took a long overdue trip to Scarsdale, NY (about 45 minutes north of NYC) to visit a close friend who moved away last year. Esther and I met through moms group shortly after moving to NYC and became fast friends. She is hilarious, authentic, direct, intentional, and a phenomenal cook! Jane met her at a mom’s night out we had and they quickly bonded. We have been joking about heading north to visit for a while, but I finally worked up the courage to drive further than my neighborhood (NY drivers are NUTS and their roads and directions are SO tricky!) So, these pictures are from our visit – complete with food of course since she knows how to do it right.
The last two weeks have been warmer temperatures, which have been very greatly welcomed! When the winter starts wearing off, the sun starts coming out, and the weather gets warmer, I think we live outside. Here is Kinsley enjoying her new bike and Ed enjoying good weather to use our steal-of-a-deal yard sale find grill in – accompanied by Blake’s grill, of course.
Blake loves helping Ed out in the mornings when Ed runs sound at our church.
We have made some delicious food – the first picture is pileau – a South Carolina lowcountry favorite which Ed is slowly perfecting to taste like my dads. The second is my attempt at making Pad See Ew. I got Ed to go by an Asian market to pick them up when he left church and he definitely had a cultural experience as most of the people inside didn’t speak English and he was the only white person there. BUT, ya’ll, let me tell you, these fresh noodles that we used were AMAZING!! I used oyster sauce, dark soy sauce, rice noodles which are ingredients I had never heard of, tried something new, and it was edible! So fun to be able to make authentic dishes with authentic ingredients.
This weekend, some friends from our small group invited us to travel out to Long Island with them to a State Park for the day. They did a great job planning a trip that had something for everyone to do and enjoy. They had fishing (which the kids enjoyed even though they didn’t catch ANYTHING), they had playgrounds, they had plenty of grass to run around in and play sports in, AND they had mud. Man, did I cringe at the mess that was made but of course, it was the kids’ highlight.
More adventures to come!!!