Catching Up

Fall is here, maybe... there is a chance of snow tomorrow which makes it feel more like winter is here, but this weekend is full of fall activities. We are getting into our new rhythm with Jack in school and working our day around his schedule.  It's been amazing having the connection with other families at his school.  There are two families specifically that we've really connected with.  This weekend we'll be going to Fright Night at Jack's school with 2 of his friends and their families and then involved in other activities Halloween related Sunday and Monday.  I'll write more about them when I have pictures to post.

I feel like once we moved to our new neighborhood a new chapter of this journey opened up for me.  The way I'm getting to connect with other moms has been very refreshing to me.  I have good friends at church, but have struggled connecting with others outside the church.  Part of that is I've had a hard time relating to other moms because my kids have not been in school or in other extracurricular classes.  In NYC when you meet another mom the first question is always "where does your child go to school?"  It's really great now to be able to share a school and then, with a lot of families in our neighborhood, automatically have some common ground.  It's been nice.

We've had a lot going on at The Gallery.  Several months ago we moved to one service and in that transition moved the church offices to the back of the room where we have our Sunday morning gatherings.  It's been a great transition.  The office space is very small, but for the first time since we've lived here Freddy T. actually has a room he can shut the door and have private, quiet study. He can now counsel with people and not have to talk quietly or worry about everyone else in the room being able to hear.  It's a great setup.  This past week a team was in town and built an amazing floor to ceiling bookcase in Freddy T.'s office.  I bet he has told me 1,000 times how excited he is about the new set up.  It's really great.  I'll have to get some pictures to show you.

Enjoy a few pictures.

 Lillie plays her "guitar" on a daily basis.  We have a few play guitars, but this is her preference.

 This was the first time I braided Lillie's hair, you can't tell, but it was adorable!

 When we ride the bus Lillie always asks all the older ladies "what's your name?"  They love it!  This particular ride the lady, Marilyn, invited Lillie to sit in her lap so she did.

 This is "Spike" and Lillie.  I told them to smile for the camera.  Spike is saying "cheese" and Lillie is smiling.

(Elliott asks to have his hair spiked on a very regular basis)

 We were going on our church wide retreat the first of October.  I think it was Jack's Gran that introduced him to Bubble Tape, she gave it to him for his airplane bag to travel back to NYC over the summer.  So Jack insisted that he needed Bubble Tape for his airplane bag to take on our hour long drive to the retreat.  We went to 20 stores looking for Bubble Tape and finally found it... one very random pack on the shelf of a 7-11.  He was thrilled.

 The kiddos riding a play police motorcycle on the playground.

 Jack one morning on our way to school.  The Steelers hat goes with him everyday and stays in his backpack.

 Elliott taking Grover for a walk and Lillie pushing her baby.

 We have neighbors across the hall that are away from May through September.  They live here the other months of the year.  Anyway, we just met them several weeks ago, since we moved in right after they left.  Lillie and Elliott are crazy about Rita and Don.  They have lived here for 36 years...same apartment!  They think they are supposed to get apple sauce every time we see them.  This picture is taken from Rita's kitchen floor.

Sweet brothers... very rare moment!

Oh by the way... we might get 2-4 inches of snow tomorrow!