Austin's Polylingual

Here's a quick story that still has me laughing...

The boys and I were standing in front of our building today. They were playing on the steps and in the entry way. Austin sees a Chinese couple walking in. He stands at the door and says, "Ni Hao!" Both of them turn around and said, "Did he really just say that?" I asked what he said. They repeated. "Ni Hao". To which I said, "what does that mean?" Couple, "Hello in Chinese - where did he learn that? He said it perfectly!" I HAVE NO IDEA!

Alive and Active

There are probably five different entries I could write about today. Like the fact that I took the subway all by myself with the boys for the first time today. Or how Austin managed to have a potty accident WHILE WEARING A PULL UP at the museum. Or the way several perfect strangers helped me get down numerous flights of stairs with the stroller through a hilly park in the "city that doesn't have nice people". Perhaps I can go back and blog some about those experiences, but for now, I want to blog about how the God of the Universe is Alive and Active in my life personally!

I have to give you some background. There is this girl named Nicole that so many of my friends from Texas have said I need to meet. She was a member of FBCA before I arrived there. Through several different attempts, I have tried to contact her, but I have not able to get through to her. On Monday of this week, I learned that the first mom I met here in NY, Joelle, is Nicole's best friend. We decided that we would have a playdate soon where Joelle could introduce me to Nicole. More background: I have been craving a Subway sandwich since we first got to NY. There have been numerous occasions where we were on our way to a Subway and found some cool little whole in the wall NY restaurant that made us stop in there instead. This has lead me to really want some Subway. So my new friend Jessica (another post too!) said we had to go fulfill that craving this week. So we planned today to have go to Subway. Remember...I've literally been craving Subway for a month and am just now getting to go.

Jessica and I are standing in line waiting to get our sandwiches. Jessica turns around and begins talking to a girl across the restaurant. The girl cautiously said "your....?" and Jessica finished her sentence by saying "Jessica". They'd met a couple times at a birthday party and other occasions, but didn't know one another very well. Jessica then turns to introduce me and says, "This is Joyce". The girl again said, "and you...." seemingly trying to place me from where she might know me before. I said, "Oh no, I new to the city. You don't know me." She said, "No - we've emailed. I'm Nicole." I said "Nicole Clayman???" Yup - there she was. In a city of millions of people there was in front of me in the same Subway restaurant the one girl I knew I wanted to meet in NYC. It was so bizar and so so so cool. Not only that, but we happened to meet and were able to have an instant lunch date! We had a delightful lunch where all our children (we had 5 kiddos with us between the 3 of us) behaved amazingly well which allowed us to have uninterrupted conversation. This in and of itself is pretty miraculous and we commented on that at the end of lunch! I'd say it was hands down a divine encounter!

As I look back on that crazy encounter I am reminded that my God is ALIVE AND ACTIVE. Only He could make such a perfect encounter. I cannot say enough how much His love for me overwhelms me in this transition. He has been such a kind Lord to provide the connections we have longed for and needed to make this such a smooth and FUN transition! Praise You!

FBCA

It's Saturday night and we are getting ready to visit a new church tomorrow morning in NYC. I am filled with excitement of what the Lord may have in store for us, but I also miss the familiarity of our home church in Texas! Five years ago we entered the doors of First Baptist Church of Arlington to make it our home. Aaron had grown up in this church. To me it was completely new. However, I was not a new comer for long. It seems like from the first week I was already embraced as family. FBCA is a big church with a small church feel. There are families in this church that span 5 generations. It's no mystery why. God is alive and active in this place of fellowship.

"Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing."

1 Thessalonians 5:11

     This verse comes to life among the relationships at  FBCA. The leadership of this church is committed to walking in step with the Holy Spirit and it's contagious! First Baptist Church Arlington was the Lord's provision in every aspect. This church has poured so much into my life and I will carry it with me where ever we go. The lessons I've learned from the people who make up that church have made me a different person...one who hopefully looks a little more like Jesus. The friendships I have from there are little nuggets of what God intends for His Body to experience. The gifts I have been given I will hold dear to my heart. The most tangible one was given to me by the women at FBCA at a farewell party. It's a charm necklace and it's beautiful.



     

Each charm on the necklace was individually picked by a sweet friend representing something about our friendship. Each woman wrote a note describing why they chose the charm. You see the charm laying on a box. That box was hand crafted by one of my Sunday School teachers Jon Hoffman. The top of the box is engraved with the same cross that is on the floor of our welcome center.

There are two boxes because my friend Jackie was also moving at the same time and both of us were gifted with these.

Our names were engraved inside the box

Many of these woman though I have said goodbye to them in Texas, have held me through this the transition to NYC. They've prayed. They've encouraged. They've answered phone calls at random times when I just needed a familiar voice. They've gone out of their way to help be become more familiar with NYC and connected here. I've been blown away by how the miles have not stopped the Body of Christ from functioning as it should. We are well settled here on the Upper West Side of NYC. As I think about our transition to NYC, the word that comes to mind is soft. I see it as such because the community, now on the other side of the country, has carried us through it.

Thank you!



Museum

"MOMMA TALK ABOUT THE NUSEM". If I had a dime for every time I heard that phrase, I would be one wealthy woman. Austin's new thing is having us tell him stories. His favorite stories are of the times he's recently lived and really enjoyed. So he asks me over and over to talk about the museum. He asks his daddy repeatedly to talk about the sea lions (that we saw at the zoo the day after he arrived from Texas -8/13). I guess I am in for a lot of talking about the museum! So in this blog post you are not only hearing about a trip to the museum, you are also hearing a conversation that Austin and I have several times a day!

For Jonathan's birthday, several friends and family members got together and got us passes to the Children's Museum of Manhattan as well as zoo passes. I couldn't be more thrilled! We were excited to take the boys last Tuesday for our first trip to the museum. It was a HUGE hit! Both boys love it. We only saw about 1/2 the museum, but we'll go back for sure! The first floor was Curious George. It was perfect exploring for my curious boys. We learned that the creator of Curious George was inspired to draw monkeys while they were living in the Amazon region in Brazil! He was later inspired to create the cartoon because they owned monkeys! The second floor was Dora and Diego. There was so much to do....a birthday party for the characters on Dora, a music corner where the boys played drums, an animal clinic with stuffed sea turtles, macaws, sea lions, armadillos and snakes...the list goes on. The boys had such a good time and never once were disinterested. We can't wait to go back. Here's some photos of our day at the "NUSEM" as Austin calls it!