Back To The Grind

 

Christmas Cheer

 

 

 Merry Christmas to you all from these adorable kiddos!

So Precious

We watched this precious video this morning with the kids and now they are downstairs dressing up and acting it out, too.....with slightly less whimsical costumes and a pink penguin as baby Jesus:)

Perseverance

Work on the farmhouse continues around here.  Most Saturdays Scott spends all day there, busting out the old and putting in the new.  He has been steadfastly doing an amazing amount of work, and it's starting to get exciting as we see progress being made, step by step.

 

 

 

The other 3 of us spend our Saturdays more like this:

 

 

 

 

 

Our search for a church home continues, so please keep us in your prayers as we keep working to feel settled and find new friends.

Pink

Can't believe our little one is 3!

 

 

Kip is crazy for anything pink, so we hosted a Pink Party here yesterday, complete with pink cupcakes and lots of pink wrapping paper.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Kip is easily overwhelmed by large crowds or being the center of attention, both of which happened to her yesterday. She rallied long enough to blow out her candles, but was much happier when she could content herself with feeding her little cousin his dinner.  A servant's heart in the making!

 

 

 

 At 3, Kip is cheerful and a joy to be around.  She loves her stuffed animals, catching bugs, playing soccer with her Dad and riding her new pink scooter.  She has a strong independant streak and often insists on doing things herself.  Her favorite pretend game is "I'm the grown-up," which consists of telling others what to do in a very authoritative voice, ordering things on-line, and drinking coffee:)

 

 

 

We love you Sweet Girl! 

May you continue to grow into a woman after the Lord's heart this coming year.

 

Pumpkin Patch

Today Gus and I went on a real pre-k field trip to a pumpkin patch on the Eastern Shore.  It was a little boy's dream come true: tractor rides, stomping through fields of pumpkins, jumping on a moon bounce, riding pedal cars and tricyles, a combine turned into a slide and a huge corn maze.  I've got to admit, it was pretty fun for this grown-up, too:)

 

Never Say Never

 So....back in high school, I had a few friends who were much more sophisticated and fashionable than I was, am, ever will be, etc.  Anyway, as a result, I heard A LOT about New York City...and didn't really get it.  But, wow, I do now!!

Scott put together an absolutely wonderful weekend away in the Big Apple for us at the end of August and I LOVED every minute of it, from the incessant honking of the traffic, to the spastic taxi drivers we rode with, to the very tippy top of the Empire State Building.  It was fabulous!  To be (relatively) young, childless and able to set our own schedule would have been enough in itself, but being able to hit so many landmarks and enjoy some fantastic dining made it truly great!

 I made Scott take this picture because I found all the honking of car horns so hilarious.

So a rundown of the trip:

Friday:

We drove to NYC and got settled in our friends' empty apartment on the Upper East Side (thank you, thank you, guys!!)

Then we set off on a walking tour of the city:

Grand Central Station

Lego Store

Rockefeller Center & Radio City

Pizza for dinner...yummy!

Then, on to Times Square

It's a bit too crazy there for me...all the screens and lights and people....but a fun experience none the less!

Afterwards we saw Cirque Du Soleil at Radio City and then ended the evening with a beer on the rooftop of the apartment building overlooking the city. 

Saturday:

We hit a neighborhood farmers market after a jog in Central Park.

local deliciousness:)

 Lunch at an authentic italian market called Eataly

Then on to a tandem bike ride through Central Park (that place is HUGE!)

And last, a quick trip through the Guggenheim Museum before dinner on the rooftop.

Sunday:

Church at Redeemer Presbyterian and then a street market.

 

In the afternoon, we took the Staten Island Ferry to see the Statue of Liberty.

We ate dinner at a tiny little Jamaican place in Brooklyn and then walked back across the Brooklyn Bridge.

In the evening we braved the Empire State Building!!

Monday:

Breakfast in Chelsea

The Highline: an abandoned, elevated rainroad track that has been converted into a park.

World Trade Center Memorial

And then a few more landmarks...

New York Public Library

They had a very interesting display about American lunches over the years....I found a couple things noteworthy and/or just plain funny:

Unbelievable!

Finally, we stopped at FAO Schwartz for some cuddles...

And finally, the reason for this trip in the first place:  the US Open!

We got to watch the Kim Clijsters match and the Roger Federer match.  I spent most of the time desperately trying to unravel the mystery that is tennis scoring.....but Scott, the tennis nerd in our family, had a blast watching some of the world's best.   

Love you, baby! Thanks for taking me on vacation:)