I'm just saying. It's kinda funny when I find myself turning my head to check out a cute sweater, and it is on a chihuahua!
It's not even that cold. I think the low was in the upper 50's. But, the little doggies are all sportin' their winter apparel. Maybe this is just the fall line. Maybe in winter I will see some cute doggie boots and scarfs.
And, this is in Brooklyn. Imagine what I'd be seeing in Manhattan!
About Me
- Superstar
- I'm not really a superstar, except maybe to my husband, who I happen to be deeply in love with. My life: Discovering, growing, evolving, learning to live and love like Jesus, and accepting invitations to adventure along the way.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Happy Yom Kippur
Well, we had a happy Yom Kippur. I don't have a lot of knowledge about Jewish celebrations, but we had fun because we had the day off.
Here are the girls and our neighbor having fun at the audobon center at prospect park. We had fun biking, climbing trees, and just taking in the gorgeous park on a perfectly beautiful day.
Monday, September 28, 2009
good times
Friday night we had our small group. Still small :) But, so nice to hang out with people and dig into God's word, spend some time in prayer and getting to know each other.
Saturday we were able to go to the soup kitchen and serve as a family. That was nice.
Saturday night, I was invited to join the "over 40" girls night out. YAY! Clearly, I am FAR from 40....OK, a couple of years. But, I was so glad to be included. We walked around the Lower East Side, found a great place for dinner, then went for coffee. Ahhh, hanging out with the "girls". How refreshing!
Sunday morning church. Our last week of "practicing". Next week, we open our doors to whoever God brings our way.
Later in the day SUnday, went shopping w
ith Alli. Finally got the coat tree for our entry way. Went to IKEA. There goes a few hours! Then, we made a "quick" stop at Fairway Market. Or, so I thought. Quick stop??? I guess not! This place had to be 2 acres of grocery store. We got lost at least 3 times. But, it was fun. ANd, it was the first time I went grocery shopping with the van since we moved. So, I stocked up on a few things since I didn't have to carry it all. We finally have some meat in the freezer.
So, today we have the day off. Still in our jammies. The schools are off for the Jewish holiday.
Those are some of the "good times" recapped from the weekend.
Just to feed those of you (tmp) who read this to stay connected to what the Kelly family is doing :)
Saturday we were able to go to the soup kitchen and serve as a family. That was nice.
Saturday night, I was invited to join the "over 40" girls night out. YAY! Clearly, I am FAR from 40....OK, a couple of years. But, I was so glad to be included. We walked around the Lower East Side, found a great place for dinner, then went for coffee. Ahhh, hanging out with the "girls". How refreshing!
Sunday morning church. Our last week of "practicing". Next week, we open our doors to whoever God brings our way.
Later in the day SUnday, went shopping w
ith Alli. Finally got the coat tree for our entry way. Went to IKEA. There goes a few hours! Then, we made a "quick" stop at Fairway Market. Or, so I thought. Quick stop??? I guess not! This place had to be 2 acres of grocery store. We got lost at least 3 times. But, it was fun. ANd, it was the first time I went grocery shopping with the van since we moved. So, I stocked up on a few things since I didn't have to carry it all. We finally have some meat in the freezer.So, today we have the day off. Still in our jammies. The schools are off for the Jewish holiday.
Those are some of the "good times" recapped from the weekend.
Just to feed those of you (tmp) who read this to stay connected to what the Kelly family is doing :)
Friday, September 25, 2009
the timing of Jesus
I know what you're thinking. If I don't have anything else to do all day but sit around painting my nails, watching soaps and eating bon-bons (whatever those are), then what seems to be the problem with updating my blog? geez.
Whatever.
I think it was about a year ago that Timm listened to a sermon from Tim Keller (a pastor here in NYC who is a great teacher/author) called "the timing of Jesus". And, it came at just the right time to encourage us. It restored our faith in the PERFECT timing of God. And, just so you know, His timing IS PERFECT. Even when we can't see the big picture.
We have been blessed to see some very tangible, concrete answers to our prayers. We have been fortunate to see God's perfect timing unfold before our eyes. But, sometimes, we don't see the things we want to see and it is frustrating, and confusing, and it rocks our faith. But, God can be trusted no matter what we see.
Anyways, I have been lamenting about my issue of "How does God want me to spend my time?" A few years ago at a "hearts at home" conference (a wonderful place for moms to be encouraged, equipped, and affirmed) I learned that there are some moms who tend to be "do-ers" and some moms who tend to be "be-ers". In other words, some moms are really good at DOING things, while other moms are really good at BEING in the moment. It was a good lesson for me. Because, those who tend to be "do-ers" often look at "be-ers" and think "Why am I not more content with spending downtime with my kids? Why am I so impatient and why am I anxious if we don't have at least two things scheduled on our calendar each day? I wish I could be more relaxed and less scheduled like my neighbor. She is so relaxed and she never seems uptight about what they are going to do". Then, those who tend to be "be-ers" often look at "do-ers" and think "Why can't I be more motivated to get up and go? Maybe my kids are missing out on things because I'm not more like my neighbor who seems to be signed up for every activity that is offered."
In other words, we often don't see the value in the way we are wired. We only see someone else and measure ourselves against their strengths, weaknesses and temperament. But, we need to STOP DOING THAT!
OK, now, back to what I was going to talk about. That was just a sidebar that has been on my mind lately.
Anyways, I have been praying each day for God to lead me to the serving opportunities He has for me. I was able to meet with someone from a very cool organization called CHIPS . You can click on the link to check it out. Such a neat place and they have a parallel vision/mission to our church! I think I am going to volunteer one day a week preparing, serving, and cleaning up a meal in the soup kitchen. They serve up to 200 meals a day! Anyways, that was an answer to prayer.
I was also able to help out a group from our church at a food pantry one day this week. That was great. I am a do-er by nature, so I absolutely lOVE doing.
Then, I was excited that our first PTA meeting was this week. I was praying that God would provide for me some opportunity to be used. The meeting was last night, and it was interesting to me what God placed in my path. There really wasn't anything presented at the meeting that I could do for the school like I was anticipating. I had already signed up to volunteer for a few fundraisers and stuff. But, they announced that the speech pathologist from our school was just diagnosed with breast cancer. My jaw dropped. Of all the staff at the school....the speech pathologist is my next door neighbor. She just found out. She has a one year old baby girl. And, she is going to be facing treatment soon. I'm not sure exactly how I can serve my neighbor, but I know that God has placed us side by side for a reason. Here I was at that meeting, fully expecting God to reveal to me a divine appointment, and an opportunity to be used by him. But, I thought it would be IN THE SCHOOL. Maybe it is right next door?
God has been reminding me every day to be PATIENT. His timing is perfect. He has plans for me. My temperament drives me to fill up my calendar with obligations, commitments, serving, fun, and opportunities. God is telling me to quit getting so far ahead and to take each opportunity as he places it in my path. The timing of Jesus is always perfect, but it is often mysterious to us. And, it usually doesn't follow our projections for how things will unfold.
Whatever.
I think it was about a year ago that Timm listened to a sermon from Tim Keller (a pastor here in NYC who is a great teacher/author) called "the timing of Jesus". And, it came at just the right time to encourage us. It restored our faith in the PERFECT timing of God. And, just so you know, His timing IS PERFECT. Even when we can't see the big picture.
We have been blessed to see some very tangible, concrete answers to our prayers. We have been fortunate to see God's perfect timing unfold before our eyes. But, sometimes, we don't see the things we want to see and it is frustrating, and confusing, and it rocks our faith. But, God can be trusted no matter what we see.
Anyways, I have been lamenting about my issue of "How does God want me to spend my time?" A few years ago at a "hearts at home" conference (a wonderful place for moms to be encouraged, equipped, and affirmed) I learned that there are some moms who tend to be "do-ers" and some moms who tend to be "be-ers". In other words, some moms are really good at DOING things, while other moms are really good at BEING in the moment. It was a good lesson for me. Because, those who tend to be "do-ers" often look at "be-ers" and think "Why am I not more content with spending downtime with my kids? Why am I so impatient and why am I anxious if we don't have at least two things scheduled on our calendar each day? I wish I could be more relaxed and less scheduled like my neighbor. She is so relaxed and she never seems uptight about what they are going to do". Then, those who tend to be "be-ers" often look at "do-ers" and think "Why can't I be more motivated to get up and go? Maybe my kids are missing out on things because I'm not more like my neighbor who seems to be signed up for every activity that is offered."
In other words, we often don't see the value in the way we are wired. We only see someone else and measure ourselves against their strengths, weaknesses and temperament. But, we need to STOP DOING THAT!
OK, now, back to what I was going to talk about. That was just a sidebar that has been on my mind lately.
Anyways, I have been praying each day for God to lead me to the serving opportunities He has for me. I was able to meet with someone from a very cool organization called CHIPS . You can click on the link to check it out. Such a neat place and they have a parallel vision/mission to our church! I think I am going to volunteer one day a week preparing, serving, and cleaning up a meal in the soup kitchen. They serve up to 200 meals a day! Anyways, that was an answer to prayer.
I was also able to help out a group from our church at a food pantry one day this week. That was great. I am a do-er by nature, so I absolutely lOVE doing.
Then, I was excited that our first PTA meeting was this week. I was praying that God would provide for me some opportunity to be used. The meeting was last night, and it was interesting to me what God placed in my path. There really wasn't anything presented at the meeting that I could do for the school like I was anticipating. I had already signed up to volunteer for a few fundraisers and stuff. But, they announced that the speech pathologist from our school was just diagnosed with breast cancer. My jaw dropped. Of all the staff at the school....the speech pathologist is my next door neighbor. She just found out. She has a one year old baby girl. And, she is going to be facing treatment soon. I'm not sure exactly how I can serve my neighbor, but I know that God has placed us side by side for a reason. Here I was at that meeting, fully expecting God to reveal to me a divine appointment, and an opportunity to be used by him. But, I thought it would be IN THE SCHOOL. Maybe it is right next door?
God has been reminding me every day to be PATIENT. His timing is perfect. He has plans for me. My temperament drives me to fill up my calendar with obligations, commitments, serving, fun, and opportunities. God is telling me to quit getting so far ahead and to take each opportunity as he places it in my path. The timing of Jesus is always perfect, but it is often mysterious to us. And, it usually doesn't follow our projections for how things will unfold.
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Ahh, the weekend
It may sound like I am relieved to have the weekend arrive because I am exhausted from a hectic workweek. Not exactly. Reality has sunk in this week. My kids are gone. All day. I miss them. So, I am enjoying the weekend because I am hanging out with my very fun kids and my great husband. Ahhh.
So, as I have mentioned before, people ask me what I am going to do with my time now that my girls are in school. I still have to answer "I'm not sure".
This week I had to get Olivia from school one day because she had a stomach ache that persisted for over a week. I also was experiencing a bit of a stomach problem for several days, so I had to take it easy. Then I took both girls to a doc appt for a physical one day. I was scheduled to volunteer with friends from church, but had to cancel because of Olivia not feeling well.
So, each day I am waking up, spending some time with God, and asking him to guide my steps for the day. I literally ask him to help me make my daily "to-do" list. And I am focusing on each day as it comes. Just so ya know, that is NOT the way I am wired. God is stretching me. I desperately want to fill my calendar and feel like I am being productive and useful and BUSY. But, God is clearly telling me to step back and give him control and be AVAILABLE and take his daily and weekly assignments as they come. UGH! I know, I can't actually complain, because I'm already sure i"ll get a handful of comments saying "oh, you poor thing. you have a lot of free time? that must be so hard." But, if you really know me, you know I am being stretched!
Anyways, I am going to get off the computer a play a game with my sweet 9 year old. I am not ready to start calling her 10, but it won't be long now!
We enjoyed a visit with a friend that olivia made at school. They came over today and I visited with her mom and my girls played with her two girls. We ended up walking to their place to visit and, in all, we spent 4 hours together! It was nice. New friends! YAAY!
TOmorrow I send alli off with a friend to celebrate the girl's birthday. She gets to go the movies, then for pizza with her friend! I'm only a tiny bit nervous about sending her off with parents I do NOT know.....pray for me.
Ahhh, the weekend
So, as I have mentioned before, people ask me what I am going to do with my time now that my girls are in school. I still have to answer "I'm not sure".
This week I had to get Olivia from school one day because she had a stomach ache that persisted for over a week. I also was experiencing a bit of a stomach problem for several days, so I had to take it easy. Then I took both girls to a doc appt for a physical one day. I was scheduled to volunteer with friends from church, but had to cancel because of Olivia not feeling well.
So, each day I am waking up, spending some time with God, and asking him to guide my steps for the day. I literally ask him to help me make my daily "to-do" list. And I am focusing on each day as it comes. Just so ya know, that is NOT the way I am wired. God is stretching me. I desperately want to fill my calendar and feel like I am being productive and useful and BUSY. But, God is clearly telling me to step back and give him control and be AVAILABLE and take his daily and weekly assignments as they come. UGH! I know, I can't actually complain, because I'm already sure i"ll get a handful of comments saying "oh, you poor thing. you have a lot of free time? that must be so hard." But, if you really know me, you know I am being stretched!
Anyways, I am going to get off the computer a play a game with my sweet 9 year old. I am not ready to start calling her 10, but it won't be long now!
We enjoyed a visit with a friend that olivia made at school. They came over today and I visited with her mom and my girls played with her two girls. We ended up walking to their place to visit and, in all, we spent 4 hours together! It was nice. New friends! YAAY!
TOmorrow I send alli off with a friend to celebrate the girl's birthday. She gets to go the movies, then for pizza with her friend! I'm only a tiny bit nervous about sending her off with parents I do NOT know.....pray for me.
Ahhh, the weekend
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
BVA in NYC!
OK, I am definitely the luckiest wife EVAR. Sorry for rubbing it in to all you other wives out there who had to settle for the man you got, because I got the best one!
Not only that, but I have the best friend EVAR too!
Last night, my husband surprised me. When I got home from taking Olivia to dance, our friend was here, ready to babysit for the evening.
Come on, I came home to this smiling face! And what did she say when we got home? She said "The girls and I agree that next time you should go out on a weekend night so we get more time together and you don't come home so early".
Then, I left with my man and we went into the city, lower east side. We were walking down the sidewalk, enjoying all of the cute pubs and cafes, when we stopped in front of one. Timm pointed to a poster in the window and said "Hmmm, look who's playing tonight. Wanna check it out?"
My response.... "SHUT UP!" And I pushed him almost into the street. My absolute, all time, favorite singer/song writer ever was performing at the "living room". Brian Vanderark was the lead singer for the Verve Pipe, then he has released several solo albums. I have probably seen him perform over 20 times over the last 15 years. He is from Grand Rapids, MI, so I wasn't expecting to see him pop up at a small venue in NYC. It was AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!
OK, so if that wasn't enough to make me smile from ear to ear non stop for hours....get this. We were able to chat with Brian before he went on. We have met him a few times, and he (sorta) remembered us. He asked us if we wanted him to add any requests to his play list. YES! Then, he had to excuse himself to submit his VIP list to the ticket guy, and stuff like that. So, he takes a few steps away, then comes back and says "Hey, what am I thinking. I'll put you guys on my VIP list. Just give your name to the ticket seller, and you'll get in." So, we were VIP for the night! We didn't even have to pay for our tickets!!! Seriously.
For some people, this would just be a nice night out. For me, it was the BEST!!!! Did I mention I love this guy? I am a nerd fan. I turn into a total dork because I like this guy so much. Next time he comes to NYC, I hope to bring a bunch of friends!
But, this time, it was the best date night I could have ever dreamed up. ANd, I was so glad to have Timm all to myself to enjoy the night.
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