A spledid Saturday

What a splendid Saturday for the Kelly family.


Started out by heading out to St. Joe's soup kitchen. We helped set up the "restaurant" that would serve 200-300 meals to those in need. We set up tables and chairs, cleaned, cooked, wrapped silverware, did dishes, and more. And, my little girls rolled up their sleeves and dove right in to help. For 2 1/2 hours, they worked non stop and never asked for a break, a snack, or anything! It felt so right to spend our family time together serving. Thank you God for giving my girls such serving hearts. We look forward to MANY opportunities to use our time, treasure and talent to honor God by serving the needs of his precious people.
Next, we split up and Alli and I went shopping in Manhattan. We were looking for shoes for her, and we had a great time! My little girl, who has feet the size of a woman, has learned that sometimes the shoes that LOOK good do not FEEL good. With all of the walking we do now, she has to be practical in her choices. So, the little strappy cute things she was desiring didn't work out for her. Although she tried many on, she knew they just weren't comfortable enough to walk in. But, she is thrilled with what she found, so that is good. And I was happy too. Because she ended up finding them at payless and we were able to do the bogo 1/2 off. So, she got two pair.
Meanwhile, Daddy and Livvy went to the green market in Union Square to get some produce. They spent some time walking around and enjoying a Saturday afternoon also.
When we all got home, we rested and relaxed. Ahhhh. So nice.
The girls watched a movie, Timm read and napped, I read and took a bike ride. Then we enjoyed our fresh sweet corn for dinner. It wasn't bad, but you must understand that we are spoiled. We have enjoyed a lifetime of the BEST sweet corn anyone will ever taste....for free. Because my family grows it, we've always had a supply. This is the first harvest season of my entire life that I don't have a supply of my Dad's produce! And, for those of you in the Macomb/St clair county area, you must check out the "corn mobile" on Gratiot at 30 mile rd. If you like sweet corn, just dew it! IT is the BEST!
A splendid Saturday indeed.
Life is good.

take 'em to the zoo

So, the last couple have days have held a more relaxed pace. The girls seemed to be craving some time to just play and rediscover their toys and be creative. So I was able to get a bunch of little things done like hook up my webcam and skype aunt KT. Yay. We're ready for the Jetson-type communication now for whoever is equipped! And, loading and ordering photos, and organizing the printed ones into albums, and bunch of other little things that have been on my to do list.
Last night we went to our bible study group. Every other week is a study, then the next week is a time to reach out together to serve. So, last night we took garbage bags and walked the streets surrounding the neighborhood our church services will be in and we cleaned up garbage while praying for each person God will put in our path as we start our proclamation of the gospel there on Sundays. The girls were so awesome. THey truly are little servants.
Today we are going to check out the Bronx zoo. Wed is "pay what you wish" day. So, we are making the one and a half hour trek up there to check it out. My friend babysits a 3 year old boy on Wed and she is going to meet us up there. It is a high of 90 today, but there is not humidity. So, it will be fine.
Oh, I haven't even posted yet about my friends coming to visit!!!! What the heck!??!
I can't post all about it, becuase I'd be writing way too much. I will say that it was so wonderful to have them here visiting. It filled me up beyond measure. I loved seeing the city with them and showing them around Brooklyn. What else can I say? I love them and it was so awesome to see them. I thought I'd cry when they left, but I didn't. I think that everything is still fresh and new and exciting and exhausting here. I have not yet reached a point where it is mundane. That is when I will feel a void and miss my friends and family. And, like Timm pointed out, you don't really miss them until it has been a while since you've seen them! Duh. That makes sense.
OK, gotta pack some lunches for the zoo!

holy crap, it's HOT

Man, is it HOT! High in the mid 90's and low in the high 70's. whew.
A little storm is blowing through right now and I can feel the temp dropping just a little.
TImm isn't home from a board meeting yet, and the girls and I made it into the apt just in time to miss being caught in the storm. We were coming home from our bible study group, walking from the subway, and the wind picked up and the lightening and thunder started. I haven't seen Liv trot along at that pace yet since we got here. She was trying to play it cool, but I know she was about to start running to avoid getting caught in a storm.

Well, we did visit a nearby church Sunday morning. It is a great community of people who are doing some neat things to expand the kingdom of Jesus and demonstrate his love and "be the church" in their community. The girls made friends with a couple of girls who happen to be the Pastor's daughters. And, their mom was running the kids program. THe church has a coffee shop and we made plans to meet up with them there today so that the girls could play. We ended up hanging out there for a while, then walking to their apartment and eating lunch, and then their mom had to go to a meeting and the kids wanted to keep playing, so I hung out with them (their girls are 11 and 9) for another couple of hours! How funny. Here I was, haninging out in this apartment of a family I just met several days ago! And, of course the girls didn't want me involved in their play time, so I was just hanging out. I wasn't prepared to be gone that long, so I didn't bring anything to occupy myself. So, I ended up reading one of their magazines. It was just kinda funny to me. But, I'm already thanking God for new friends.

Hmmm, the storm has passed. Maybe it dropped a few degrees, but not much. I think tomorrow's high is still forecast around 92. holy crap, that is HOT!

Couldn't God make it easier?

There are times when I get frustrated because it seems like God could make it a lot easier for people to believe in him. Like, he could do anything! Yet, he often times leaves it to unworthy and ill-equipped people like me to try to explain Him to others. And He seems to remain just far enough away from my grasp, that I have to really make efforts to connect with him. Stuff like that makes me stop and ask "why in the world does God have to be so mysterious?"

But here is the thing I know for sure. God is love. ICor says that Love is patient and kind and does not envy or boast, it is not arrogant or rude. It does not INSIST on it's own way, it is not irritable or resentful. And GOD IS LOVE. He doesn't merely demonstrate love, HE IS LOVE. Love doesn't force itself. God extends a loving, patient, gentle invitation to me. He desires nothing more than for me to respond to that invite and engage in a love relationship with him. That's why he made me. But, my response has to be out of love. It can't be forces, coerced, or done out of guilt. It can't be something that I do simply because I'm sure I'll receive external blessings in my life. It can't be done so that I escape punishment. That's not love. That's just using God for my own purposes.

God loves us so much that he gives us absolute freedom to choose. And, He can not love us and then try to manipulate us. That's not love. And, he HAS revealed himself in so many ways. But, we often choose to doubt whether those "stories" are true. Or, we try to give alternate explanations for things. Even for stories in the bible. We get to decide whether we believe those revelations.

But, here is another thing I know for sure. Besides the fact that God is love. I know that once you accept His loving, patient, gentle invitation, you WILL get to know Him like you have never imagined! Once your faith moves beyond a hypothesis that you are pretty sure could be true, and into a faith where you make a CHOICE to BELIEVE it....you enter into a relationship with your creator. He gives you the holy spirit. He begins to reveal things to you, you experience his closeness, you get to KNOW HIM. The God of the universe. And, NOTHING can compare to that. NOTHING. It is why you were created.

He is there. He is extending His love. But, he won't force it. He can't. That's not love. He is waiting patiently for you to accept and join Him. So......dew it.

Cramming it in

Yep, we're cramming it all in! Me and my girls. First, we are back to doing a little bit of school each day. Not much, but we really dropped the ball this summer! We weren't even consistent with devotional/bible reading and journaling. So, we've been spending some great time doing that daily, as well as some math. And, add to that some sweet "field trips".
Thursday evening we took a nice long bike ride in PRospect Park. Checked out the entrance to the zoo and the children's area surrounding that. We decided we needed to go back when it was all open. Meanwhile, we walked around the little lake and the children's area, just checking things out.
Friday we went to the Brooklyn Children's museum and spent about 5 hours there. It was great. What a wonderful day. After 5 hours, the place was closing, we were leaving and Liv said "what?? we have to go? Can we come back soon?" I said, "sure" because the cool thing is that I was able to use our Detroit Science Center pass to get in for free (recipricol agreement thing is very cool).
Today, we went into Manhattan for "summer streets". They close off Park Ave from the Brooklyn Bridge all the way to Central Park. No vehicles are aloud, just bikers, roller bladers, walkers, etc. from 1am-1pm. And, there was a family stage area where we listened to a band, the kids jumped in a bounce house, we grabbed a few free samples (mmm, cheese). Then we went into the American Girl Doll store (or world or whatever it is). Wow. That was wild. Three stories of American Girl Doll.....OK.....
We came back home for a little rest, then headed out to Prospect Park - me jogging - the girls biking. Yay, I got to squeeze in a jog (see my last entry). We visited "Letfer's house" which is this old farmhouse from the 1800's. We got to do a tour, the girls dressed up in olden day clothes and bonnets, played with some olden day toys, I couldn't beleive how long they stayed and enjoyed it. Again, they didn't wanna leave and it was closing! So, we finished off with the rest of our bike ride/jog with a quick visit to a playground with a little waterfall thing for the girls to run around and cool off in.
Cramming in all of the free fun activities I can! Cramming in time with my sweet girls. Cramming in some school work. And yet, feeling relaxed and enjoying it SO MUCH!
Tomorrow morning we're going to check out a church in a nearby neighborhood to peek at how they do things (specifically to see how they run their kids program). Then, we're taking advantage of another free performance (Afro-Latino dance) in Lincoln Center in the afternoon before we head to our church in the evening.
So, for those of you asking me to keep you posted on what we're up to, here you go:) We're having a great time.
Expecting a heat wave for the next few days, then our friends are coming to visit mid week!!!! YAY! Can't wait for that!
God is good to us!

A sad goodbye

This week has been filled with many goodbyes. Friends......Family.......hometown and state.......
And, here we are in our new home, and I find myself having to say goodbye again. This time I must part ways with a treasured possesion that has been a significat part of my life for the past 10 years. Yes, it is my treadmill.
Apparantly something must have gotten "jacked up" during the move.
It was actually comical. Monday morning, Timm's gone to work, girls are in PJ's slowly easing into the day, and I hop on my treadmill for a run. Pop my earbuds in and start jogging. As i'm bopping along, I am FILLED with joy. I am literally praising God over and over....for the beautiful apartment I'm in, and the fact that it actually has room for my treadmill, and I'm able to go for a jog while the kids are right there in the living room. I'm actually running with a big smile on may face because I am so happy.
Suddenly...."what in the world is that screeching noise? and, oops, what just happened? the belt hesitated. what the?"
I look down, and the belt had shifted a bit and was off track and screeching along and not doing well.
After I used my keen mechanical sense and bloodied my knuckles trying to get the belt back into position through brute strength and hand dexterity....I conceded that I was losing the battle.
Chalk up another thing on Daddy's "honey-do" list.
"Come on girl's....get dressed...let's go for a bike ride so mommy can finish her jog." So, the girls biked, while I jogged along. And, that was fine. But, they simply don't have the endurance right now to go as far or fast as I'd like.
Well, Timm gave his best effort to save the life of our beloved. But, to no avail. She was pronounced dead on Wednesday evening at 9:30pm.
So, I used my jumprope a few times this week, as I can watch the girls play at the park while getting my exercise in. Or I can go in the "back yard" while they are in the apartment. And, I used my new Tae Bo dvd (believer's workout-which was kinda neat). But, I am jonesing for a run.
So, I think I may have to do a little shopping. I looked on Craigslist and online. I don't need anything fancy. But, I believe I need to say goodbye, pitch this baby to the curb and find a replacement!

new this week...

Lots of new experiences this week.
First visit to Roosevelt Island and a ride on the tram (which is like a big huge gondola)
First trip to Coney Island Beach. On a VERY HOT day, we hung out with about 7,000 of our closest friends, crammed on a little parcel of sand, wedged shoulder to shoulder. OK, none of them were actually friends, but after being that close to people who were dressed that minimally, I feel intimate with many of them.
Figured out a different grocery store that is only .5 miles from our apartment. Much better produce selection...AND...I was VERY pleasantly surprised by the reasonalbe prices!!! All of my fretting over high grocery expenses, and maybe that won't be as big of a deal as I thought. THe girls and I rode our bikes (fyi-we started wearing helments, which will somewhat ease the minds of my safety conscious friends). Anyways, that was very exciting for me. Easy walk or bike ride.
We found a pool today. THE HUGEST POOL I'VE EVER SEEN. And, it is FREE! YES! YES! YES! I love free. ANyways, we have to walk about 10 min to subway, ride about 15 min on train and walk another 10 min. But, it is a nice pool and I am very excited about that. Wish I had found it two days ago when it was 95. Today it is only 85.
What else? Oh, speaking of 95 degrees, we have wall unit AC in every single room of the apartment. But, they don't work. HA. So, we had to make a run to target to buy a couple of fans for sleeping.
Every outing is an adventure right now. Very different from navigating a suburb.
What else? ENjoyed bible study at our friends apartment and learned that the timing is perfect for us to start a new small group. THere were 23 people crammed in the apartment! Hopefully some friends will wanna hang out with us in Brooklyn to enjoy bible study, food, prayer, and laughs. Our friends do Tuesday evening, but we'd like to do Friday evenings because then we can party into the wee hours and not be concerned about getting up for school/work in the morning.
Just visited a dance studio that is around the corner. Have an appointment for Aug 24 to meet the dance lady and ask questions, etc.
On our walk home, we came across a box of books at the curb that we picked through and found a few treasures. Also, saw that someone is having a YARD SALE one street over from us this Saturday. THat is just hiarious.
Well, I'll update more frequently, and less lengthy, if I can. Some day maybe I will master the art of communicating with LESS WORDS. For now, you are the sucka who reads this! Sorry.
We are enjoying our last month of summer. Trying to soak up the city before I have to say goodbye to my beautiful girls and send them off to school where they will be influenced by others for 6-7 hours each day, while I miss hanging out with them and laughing and learning and loving on them.
more soon....

Family Time

Wow. I know you are sick of hearing how great my summer is :) Sorry. Not done yet.
I cannot express how thankful I am that we were able to be a part of my cousins wedding celebration this past weekend. Not only did we get to celebrate with him, but it afforded us an opportunity to visit Michigan's beautiful Upper Penninsula, do some sight seeing, visit the casino, and hang out with my family.
I wish I could post a picture of my cousin and his bride. Their joy would shine through the photo as bright as the rainbow that God placed in the sky on their wedding day. My cousin has endured a lot of pain and loss in his life. I'll never understand why one family should have to endure so much. So, to see him celebrate a day of true joy and blessing was an honor and privilege and cause to praise God!
Well, I could ramble on forever, but I won't.
If the trip to the "UP" weren't enough, we also had the chance to invade Daddy's room at the Amway in GR. I wish I could have captured the look on my girls' faces as we walked through the lobby of that gorgeous building.
We had a FABULOUS time walking around GR Thursday night and Sunday night. Eating Thai food one night and Tapas the other.
I know, we have way too much FUN. It's sickening.
So, here we are spending our final week in MI. We're eating up our time with all our loved ones. I'll never forget the "summer of '09"
Next week, I'll be signing on from HOME....Brooklyn. Settling in and getting ready to start the school year and our ministry in NY!