City Life!

So you might be wondering just what our city life is like....

On weekdays Dustin and I wake up around 4:30 a.m. (That's right a.m.!) I wake the kids up at 5:35 and we are out the door by 6:15. Generally I ride with Dustin and the kids and they drop me off at the subway station by their school. Dustin and the kids go on to school and I take the subway to my office where I begin work at 7:30. The kids all go to school with Dustin and Samara stays in the class next to Dustin's classroom. There are 4 one year olds in her room and she loves going there! I get off work at 4:00 and I take the subway home, Dustin and the kids drive home after school and we are usually all home by 5:30. Then as most working parents know its a race to get supper cooked, homework finished, lunches packed, baths, books read, hugs, kisses, prayers, and all kids to bed by 8:00. One of my favorite times of the day is when the kids are all in bed asleep and Dustin and I have an hour or two (depending on how tired we are) of quiet time alone! One or two days a week I work from home instead of going to the office or working in the field. This really helps me keep things in order at home.

After school and work we head to the church on Friday evenings where we have services for kids, youth and adults. Dustin and I are currently helping out with the youth. It is neat to see some of the kids we had 6 and 7 years ago now in youth. Saturday mornings we have about an hour or two of "cleaning the apartment". Then we spend the day having family time unless we have something special going on at the church. Sundays we go to church which is close to an all day event here! Our church is located on the lower east side of Manhattan and we absolutely love our church family here. We usually leave church around 2:00, stop somewhere for food, and end the day relaxing at home and preparing for the next week.

That's just a quick run down of our new life. The kids are all doing so well. They are trying new things, eating new foods, and learning. Last week we purchased necessities, candy, and toys for needy children and Dalton and Lyric took the boxes to school. Dalton told me after school that day that he got up during Chapel and spoke in front of 2nd through 5th graders about how he felt about giving. Too say I was so proud is an understatement. Lyric has been memorizing memory verses at school and comes home so excited about what she has learned. I feel so blessed that they are going to a school where there is such diversity but also where they have teachers and staff that love them and where they can learn about God. I see Dalton and Lyric growing and changing so much. It is amazing to see this new life for them. A life where there is not constant uncertainty or worry of what will happen tomorrow.

This Saturday we are having family pictures made at Central Park. I'm really excited because it will be our first family picture with all 5 of us. Afterwards we will be going to the church and helping with Boxes of Love. A church in Greenwich, CT partners with our church and we pack about 40 to 50 boxes with a turkey, pies and canned goods to take to needy families in the area around our church. We break up in teams and deliver the boxes and pray with the families. It is a very rewarding experience and I am excited for Dalton and Lyric to be able to participate.

There is so much to do this time of year, baking, christmas shopping, decorating, etc...... and I still haven't finished hanging stuff in our apartment. Oh well! It will eventually get done. I'm looking forward to having some time off of work next week...to spend time with my family, eat some delicious food, and to decorate for Christmas. It will be a fun time and a sad time. We will definitely be missing all of our friends and family back in Oklahoma. Wish we could be with you all!

Fun, Fun, Fun!

Last Tuesday we celebrated Dustin's 32nd birthday! We had dinner at Dustin's favorite restaurant, Edo's. We also had cake and Samara had her 1st taste of Chocolate Icing! She is doing so well and has been off of her reflux meds for over 2 weeks. No problems...just a very happy baby! The week was full of preparations for our church's Fall Festival. Which was on Saturday evening. The kids could not hardly wait until it was time to dress up. They had so much fun! Dalton was a super cute Mario!

Lyric was an adorable Strawberry Shortcake!

Samara was a beautiful Butterfly! I really wanted to get a picture of all three of the kids together but Samara wasn't having it. She is on the move and doesn't have time for pictures. Oh well...maybe next year!

Here are the kids and some friends from church...I couldn't believe they kept their costumes on all night and they totally had a blast at the Festival.

Here is Samara and me during the Fall Festival. Dustin and I helped organize volunteers for all of the games. It was a lot of fun and exhausting! There were so many kids and families from the neighborhood that came. It is really an awesome outreach. The last time we were in New York we held the Fall Festival inside the church but it grew so much that now they rent the outside area of a nearby school and all the moon bounce activities. They also provide cotton candy, popcorn, and a sack with goodies for every kid. I don't know what the total count was but I know there were a ton of people there even with the rain that came in around 8:00 that night.

I had to add this pic. Isn't this girl adorable. She was all dressed up for church on Sunday! Dalton and her were mad that they didn't have Sunday School this Sunday. It was cancelled due to the Fall Festival and clean up. They earned extra Sunday School dollars this weekend by helping out so much. They are really excited about that!

Hopefully this week will be back to normal. We are slowly getting into our new normal routine. Can't believe it is already November and Thanksgiving is just around the corner!