FAO. It's Easy as...1..2..3

How have I lived in NY for 4 years and had my first FAO Schwarz experience today? I do not know. It is a tremendous store and such a fun experience for EVERYONE! My mom, Kate, and I went to FAO for lunch and an afternoon of fun. Yes, I said afternoon. We were there 4 hours. Can that be?!

We began by having lunch in the FAO cafe - surprisingly great and of course, kid friendly. We then spent most of our time down on the baby/preschool floor letting Kate play with oversized stuffed animals and toys, toys, toys. Here are some pics of her in her first (and last - according to David) Mercedes Benz and riding on a "rocking" duck. ha. She looks like a pro!

We then made our way up to the 2nd floor for the "BIG" piano, Barbie boutique and Lego Land. Loved them all. I could just picture Kate a few years from now running around there with her head spinning on what to see first. I can't wait. 

We had a lovely time and then as we were on our way out - we saw a celebrity just shopping around the store. She was tall, beautiful, and yes...friends, it was Liv Tyler. LOVE her!! She was so close to us and we just stared at her - even when she glanced at us. She was so beautiful and it was a fun way to end our perfect afternoon! I get to add her to our "celebrity sighting" list. 

Let me tell you...even if you don't have children - FAO is a must for your next visit to NYC! I can't wait to go back. 

7 Months

Kate is now...

eating cereal, bananas, pears, apples, carrots, sweet potatoes, starting yogurt,

rolling, waving, always laughing, curious about everything, wanting to touch and pull,

saying dada-dada all day long and babbling on and on.

sitting up to play, loves her books, loves music and dancing, loves people,

seven months. 

Double Nickel

Last Thursday, my mom says she turned the "double nickel" and we had the privilege of celebrating together in New York. We had a very fun girl day out on Thursday. The day started early with a pilates class and mom did GREAT for her first time.  I was so proud of her. Then we walked and earned our delicious lunch at a local fav, Sarabeth's. It was so good, as always and a must for anyone traveling to the City. 

The celebration continued as my dad flew in to join us. Mom and dad saw Mary Poppins on Saturday and then David and I met them for dinner at Ocean Grill on the West Side and dessert and coffee at the well known, Cafe Lalo. For those who don't know, it's the coffee shop where Tom Hanks goes to see Meg Ryan for the first time, while she waits for him with the rose in You've Got Mail....you remember the scene. Well, it's a great place to go for dessert and so we did! Happy Birthday, Mom!

An Apple A Day...

Some of you remember seeing pictures of Kate as she first started solids over Christmas. Well, we have come a long way in just a few weeks. She turns 7 months this Sunday - I can hardly believe it - and is really enjoying some "real" food now. Kate's very favorite is banana, but she also eats sweet potatoes, carrots (in progress), and pear. 

Tonight, I thought I would try something fun and different. She already has two teeth and is working on the top two as we speak and so I thought it would be fun to see her face with a real apple. Here are some pics from tonight. So great!

Wanted: Martha Stewart Living

Does anyone have a January 2008 copy of Martha Stewart Living magazine that they are finished reading? My sister, Alicia, is in an advertisement in it and all of the stores here already have the February issue. So sad. If you do, I would love to get it from you. Let me know! 

P.S. If you have it and want to see my sister, she is on the inside page of the back cover. She said it's not the best picture of her, but it's super fun that it made the magazine and it's supposed to be in several others. 

Back to the Basics

First of all, let me say how excited I am that some of you are joining me on this journey through the Bible this year. My prayer is that more of you, who are still thinking about it, would just jump in and join us, knowing we will all be moving at our own pace. No pressure - just encouragement and accountability. I have found that I am needing to get back to the "basics" and fine tune them in my spiritual walk. 

As such, I thought I would recap a few of my thoughts from (my) last week's readings and a few things to think about this week.  I literally could make each of these a blog, but there is so much more to write. So, bear with me and please feel free to add your own thoughts - even if you aren't reading along right now!

1. Do you know how many times "be fruitful and multiply" appears in Genesis? Too many for me to count while Kate is napping, that's for sure. Seriously, God emphasized that phrase so much and I think it's something we should pay attention to and ponder for a second. Of course, the goal in the beginning was to populate the earth, so not sure what that means for us now...but we can definitely focus on the "fruitful" part. Several of you have written or asked about growing in your spiritual lives this year and how to measure it. I think that's a good answer. Is there fruit in your lives? If yes, then you are growing. It ties in to Matthew 3 & 4 when John is speaking to the Pharisees about having fruitful lives so that our lives now should look different than our past. A good reminder.

2. In reading Matthew, I love knowing that he was an "eyewitness" to what he is writing about; it is so powerful, especially as I get into the "red section" this week. I also love how Matthew points out the fulfillment of prophesies over and over again with excerpts from the OT. Don't miss that. 

3. Noah's wife. Hmmm....who ever thinks of her?! As I read the more familiar story of the ark, I can't help but think of her and what she must have been thinking as her husband was explaining the call on his life. Did she ever question it or did she just go with it. God must have given her the faith to support Noah through this whole deal. I have a feeling that if she wasn't willing to follow the calling, that Noah would have had a much harder time being obedient. What a great example for us wives. We must be sensitive to the calling on our husbands just as much, if not more, as the calling on our own lives. I was talking to David about this and asked him what it must have been like to hear from Noah that he was going to build a boat. He said..."think about when I came to you and said, 'What do you think about starting our lives in NYC?' and multiply that by tens of thousands and that's close to what she was feeling, probably." Ha. I got a big laugh. Yea...

4.  The blog that I'm reading along with during this year pointed out something interesting about the simplicity of John the Baptist (JTB). As David and I are focusing on simplicity in our own lives this new year, it hit me even more so. The first introduction to JTB is made in the third chapter of Matthew and yet it is simply this, " [he] wore a garment of camel's hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey." Let's not forget - this is the man who baptizes the son of God. He is introduced in such a plain and simple manner. The focus was not on his clothes or the latest designer wear of the time, nor was it on his physical appearance or his new hair cut - it was on the message he was delivering. The kingdom of God is near. That's all that mattered. Wow. 

5.  Scripture memory is a must. I feel like I try and try in this area and never stick with it. I can tell you words or a "general idea" of many verses, but rarely can I say it word for word and give the location. Seriously. But, I can sing you any country song that has come out in the last decade from Garth or Carrie Underwood. What's wrong with this picture? We remember what we care about and are passionate about - right? It hit me even more when I read Jesus' responses after Satan comes to him with temptations. As you remember, Satan tempted Jesus three times and each time, Jesus says FIRST... "It is written, ..." and then answers him. Even Jesus quoted God's word. I need to follow His example. 

6. Obedience. A theme throughout the bible, I'm sure, but is already made clear in Genesis and in Matthew and is so convicting to David and I.  Look at Noah - enough said. Then in Matthew 2, there is this picture of Joseph hearing from God to wake up in the middle of the night and take his family to Egypt. So, he left immediately. Immediately. Not after contemplating the housing market, or how hard it would be to leave the kids school, or their friends or even their church, but immediately. That is tough. Then God came to him again and said move your family to Israel. Israel? But, didn't you just tell me to move my family to Egypt and now we have to move again? That's what I would be saying. Again...Joseph took his family and moved to Israel and in a town called Gallilee and then and only then was a prophesy fulfilled. Powerful. 

and I'll end with this one...

7. Can you name the 12 disciples? I think most of us can name the seven dwarfs or even Santa's reindeer, but couldn't for the life of us name all 12 of those Jesus walked with daily. David and I laughed last night as we tried and failed miserably. That's my goal this week...to name all twelve. :) Hint...the answer is in Matthew 10. 

Happy reading!

Join With Me

This year, I am working towards a lifetime goal of reading and really studying through the Bible. It may take me a little longer than one year, but my goal is to get through it from Genesis to Revelation. Of course...I will continue to study pieces deeper than others at different phases in my life, but it is time that I read the book that I live my life by and claim as Truth. Join with me!

I am reading out of the ESV, a translation that I find easy to read and as close to the literal translation (from what I know). Follow along here for a guide to what scripture to read each day. It gives a Psalm and a Proverb each day, which I love. 

I started reading through and then realized I needed a study guide or something to help me see what I really should be getting out of some of the passages - like the genealogy of Noah, for example. This blog is SO great and is very interesting as it provides additional insight of study for the passages. Join with me! 

Come on, I started over too, so that I could study more in depth and am just now at Jan 4th, but I'm getting so much out of it already. Start with me. I'll be blogging periodically from things God is teaching me in my time with Him in His Word and I would love to hear what He is teaching you as well. Plus, selfishly, I could definitely use the accountability! Let me know if you decide to join me. :) 

Praying the Psalms: "Lord, help me delight in your Word and in your law and to meditate on it day and night."

Fox 5

David and I have our certain TV shows that we like to watch together. Grey's Anatomy (usually), The Office (always), American Idol (oh yea!), and....the Ch. 5 News. We add the news in there with these other fun shows because it is just that - fun - for us (disclaimer). Picture Saturday Night Live goes Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy and you have the Ch. 5 New York City News. Actually, it is even better. We have laughed so hard at times, that we are literally left speechless and teary and we recommend it to all of our City dwelling friends for good family evening entertainment. 

Just to give you an example, each night there is a segment called Shame, Shame, Shame and a reporter goes to a local business or company and reveals a scandal or civil crime that has taken place. Then, not only do they reveal the "scandal", but they seek to get a comment from the one taking advantage - as if that is an easy task. Like we expect a Superintendent to want to comment on how he misappropriated the school money. Oh, but the reporter is relentless and tries in every way imaginable, which always leads to a hilarious scene in public. One of my favs was the time the "con man/business owner" tried to rush into his car (in the dead of winter) and pull out so that the cameras couldn't catch up with him and he was wedged into a snow bank on both ends, so he couldn't go anywhere. I mean - it was like a movie and we were dying laughing. They kept the camera rolling the entire time as he kept hitting the snow over and over and we are like - what is this!? This is our news?

One mantra that we have for our family, as a result of watching the news here is "whatever you do, do NOT ever speak on the news if given the opportunity." Because let me tell you, friends, I do not know where these people come from that are interviewed on TV. I truly think they are actors at times, and I am convinced that no matter how competent they may really be in person - the news edits it so that you look like the most juvenile, adolescent thinker alive (hence, our mantra). 

So...all of this to say...I walked into my gym last Thursday, dropped Kate off in the childcare area as usual and happened to notice a large camera and reporter standing around. Now, I do live in New York City and there are cameras and people with microphones ALL over the place...so I think nothing of it. As I take my fleece off and am down in my spandex workout clothes, a woman approaches me just as I am about to get on the machine...and says the inevitable question, "We are with Channel 5 news and would like to interview you on our segment for New Years resolutions. Would you be interested?"  

Uh...uh....uh....I stuttered over and over in my head. It would kind of be cool but then kind of not. I'm sure no matter how intelligent I make myself sound in here, on the news I will sound like a workout idiot and what do I have to say about working out in the first place?! Oh, and I only have an hour for child care ... PLUS - who in their right mind wants to be on the NYC news in their workout spandex?! NOT I! So, politely I refused to "comment" at this time. David has not let me live this down; however, I feel confident about my decision. The opportunity to be on TV for a short story is way over compensated by saving my dignity and reputation. At least, I would like to think so. 

So - here's the question to you. Would you be on the news in your area if asked?  Or, would you be like me...and politely refuse because you would be afraid to see the actual segment they "air"? 

Fun Memories!

Here's our slideshow from Kate's 1st Christmas in Texas!

5 1/2 months old

Here are some pictures we had taken of Kate when she was about 5 1/2 months old. She is now 6 months...so more pictures are on the way!