New York photos and things I was grateful for..

 "If you look for me in earnest, you will find me when you seek me.  I will be found by you," says the LORD. "I will end your captivity and restore your fortunes..Jeremiah 29:13-14


i recently wrote a post about every day miracles... Everyday is a gift and we should treat it as such..
God leaves His handprints everywhere.. If we are seeking Him, in earnest...we will find Him..

a few weeks ago, I found Him in New york.. I had never been there before.. I wasn't quite sure what to expect...some people told me that I would love it.. others told me that the people were rude.."it's too busy and crowded..and dangerous.." 

all I can say is that I fell in love with New York.. sure, it was busy..and parts of it were crowded.... I didn't come across any rude people.. many of the people we met were helpful and friendly..

I saw God's handprints all over New York...sure there were places that wouldn't meet God's approval...but there was so much life..so much beauty wrapped up and hidden in the most unexpected places...

there have been times when I beat myself up and question every decision I make.. at first, I had the temptation to mentally beat myself up for taking a vacation.. with so many hungry people in the world, I loathe the selfish ways of humanity..  maybe in some ways, we all struggle with the denial of self.. but my finest moment in New York was this......
My mom, Cade and I had just got back from walking the streets of Greenwich Village. We had coffee at a little cafe tucked away in a cozy corner of the world. We saw outdoor cafes with an array of bright flowers sitting on the tables. I fell in love with every tree and every branch that lined the streets. I fell in love with the smells of life coming from the windows..the smell of ethnic foods seeping into the streets.. I ate a chocolate croissant later in the day and I fell in love with that too. I fell in love with the architecture and the fact that people once worked so hard to make something beautiful. 
Back on the bus, later that day..I think I cried..maybe it was just a single tear...but I just remember being really grateful. Really, really happy. I know that happiness isn't a nice vacation..but I remember being so overwhelmed that God had taken me from my suicidal state of a few year earlier...he had taken away all of my anger and hurt and frustration with the world... I felt wrapped up in gratitude..just so thankful that God took me out all of that and put me in a place I have wanted to see since I was a child.

There is a verse in the Bible where Paul says that he has learned the key to happiness in all situations...

Philippians 4:11-14

 I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. ¹² I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.  I can do all this through him who gives me strength.

In life, we can choose to hold onto negative things, or we can choose to be thankful... I pray that we all find New York in our very own backyards.. and some of the things I was thankful for on my vacation.

here are some photographs...

thankful for an eye for interesting things..and a safe plane ride..

thankful for the beautiful clouds spread out across the blue sky

thankful for a loving boy that loves to build and create..thankful to have finally made it to a lego store..

thankful for the taste and smell of new york hot dogs! They were so good!

Cade fell in love with this phone on display at our hotel.. thankful for interesting things..

thankful for lots of color and thousands of people

thankful for amazing architecture and beautiful details.. Don't details make all of the difference?

Thankful for a stroll through greenwich village..and the brillant colors everywhere. the trees that grew along the sidewalks, and the little cafes dotting the streets..

thankful for interesting cars that give character to beautiful days... I want to ride in the caliente cab!

Thankful for places that serve wonderful iced coffees...

thankful for my mom and my boy

thankful for hot teas and cold milk

mmmmm...thankful!

thankful for being able to cross the brooklyn bridge in the rain...I wouldn't have had it any other way..

thankful for  colorful umbrellas

thankful for parks that look a little bit like Heaven.. so perfect and neat and clothed in color..

thankful for roses and lilies and lilacs and park benches and rain

thankful for surprising little nooks that rise out of ashaplt

thankful for rare beauty

thankful for places to sit after hours of walking

and sights that country girls don't normally see

thankful for seeing a part of history and knowing that beauty rises out of chaos.. this was in front of the world trade center when it collapsed...it survived some damage.. it still stands tall and proud and a reminder that God uses us in our brokenness

this was taken in the park near the statue of liberty...

thankful for fruit stands

thankful for variety and options and good food

thankful for creative minds that conjure up all sorts of interesting things..

thankful for buildings that rise into the sky...

a relplica of the titanic..the three men are trying to pull a man out of the water. this reminds me of how God often picks us up when it seems we are drowning..

thankful for life and liberty and freedom... the true freedom that comes through Christ....and for fires that never cease to burn..   Random fact...did you know the statue of liberty has been struck by lighting hundreds of times? She is made of copper and her green color is the result of patina... the result of metals chaning over time..

thankful for pretty spaces and ornate chairs

The ceiling at the Ellis Island Immigrant Museum... there was no shortage of beautiful details and architechtural handiwork in new york...people once took pride in their work..

thankful for winding staircases

and a gorgeous day on the river

and subways...

The angel of the water in central park.. several movies were filmed here.....

a really amazing tunnel in central park...look closely, do you see the bride and groom in the archway?

horse and carriage in central park....

a lego lion creation in the NY public library...we were  told to stop in to see one of the most amazingly beautiful buildings in NYC... several movies were filmed here also..

the ceiling

The empire state building can be seen through the window... have I mentioned that I was thankful yet?

thankful for purple flowers in large pots..

my mom modeling her "booths grocery" t shirt in front of the empire state building. It was sort of like a roaming nome thing....she wanted the shirt in as many pics as she could get...it was a running joke...that shirt went all over the city..booths grocery at Saks Fifth Ave.

thankful for breakfast nooks

and a boy with a healthy appetite....

and wonderful views from our restaurant...that's grand central sation across the street..

thankful for a smiling mother

and my newfound passion in life...chocolate croissants...the best!

grand central station. Pictures cannot do it justice. It's beautiful..the ceiling is painted with stars..

Rockefeller  Center

View from 30 Rock....

Me...

Add caption

This was taken near ground zero. Our tour bus driver told us that New yorkers do not use the term "ground zero"... Ground zero, he says, looks to the past... They say, "the world trade center" to look to the future... It says New Yorkers appreciate when people don't use the term "ground zero."  I was sad looking at all of the faces of the people that died..near one of the flags at the top is a picture of a little boy about two years old.. I am so sad that he died that day. But I know that death is not the end of life for the innocent.

ellis island museum

times square

thankful for flowers that look like bells... does anyone know what kind of flower this is? If so, let me know.. I love them

I once read something that said that Heaven was like a city... I always thought that sounded a bit silly... until I went to New York...and then it made perfect sense..
the city can be a place for life..where life rises up..where care is taken in things built and things created..
where flowers grow in unexpected places..
and smells of life emerge from every corner and every nook...  where there is beauty and depth and surprises around every corner...
Yes, I believe that a large part of Heaven is like a city.....

Thank you Jesus..
I love you..
and I love New York

this past crazy week

this past week has been bittersweet.... i will count it as more sweet than bitter...yes, it was sweet.....

the week started with me getting my nails done. I haven't done this sort of thing in about 15 years, so I thought it was worth mentioning... I work in a plastics plant..so it was nice to have pretty hands for a week or so...

then, my sister came into town from North Carolina..I went out and bought a badmitton set and she forced me into running around the yard... so far, we have tasted the sweet parts of the week...

midway through the week, little bear gets an ugly virus. One night, his fever was so high, it seemed that as soon as I would put cool rags on his head and legs..i would need another...i half expected to see steam.. one night his heart rate seemed really high, his little eyes were blootshot, and he just kindof laid there...so, I scooped him up and whisked him off to the emergency room in the wee, wee hours of morning. 

We arrived. They swabbed his little throat to check for strep..gave him some medicine, and told us to wait.. so we waited in a really cold room... Cade and I watched infomercials for extreme exercise programs for about an hour while we waited...meanwhile, little bear rested his head on my shoulder and slept...

The test for strep came back negative....the prognosis- a probable virus.  On the way home, little bear perked up and the boys decided that they were hungry.. so we headed to the only fast food  restaurant open at 2:30 in the morning.. McDonalds..

On the way, while stopped at a red light, we heard what sounded like a gunshot.. Cade thought i should call 911. So i did...

the boys got their food and merriment followed.. little bear, now completely different from a few hours earlier, kept cracking jokes about mommy's diry car..he kept suggesting that I wash it...

I think little bear is obsessed with cleanliness. The following night, I had gotten the little bear a set of Lincoln logs. I showed him how to build a house.. I went into the kitchen for a few minutes to whip up some icing for a cake that my sister made.... I went back into the room five minutes later to check on little bear and he was nowhere to be found....

I went upstairs and, much to my bewilderment, there was little bear..giving himself a bath..
apparently, baby bear went up the stairs, stuffed a washcloth in the drain, and drew the perfect, tepid..bath.. 
Lesson learned.
Never leave baby bear alone ..not even for a minute. --

this week was filled with starbucks coffee cups and milk stains on outdoor swings..
badmiton sets and sore legs from running..
high fevers, doctor visits, and bottles of motrin...
boys in the backseat laughing at messy cars, plucking toys from fast food, happy meal wrappers
waterslides and sore throats....
chicken noodle soups and stomach aches from chicken stock cans...

This week, once again, showed me that beauty can be plucked out of chaos...  every smile that comes out of struggle..makes the struggle worthwhile..
this week, i felt a little closer to my two sick boys..
cade with his sore throat..and baby bear with his ugly, nasty virus.. and his penchant for cleanliness...


this week God answered my prayers in specific ways.. 
one day, I was driving along.. I kept thinking about a statistic that   i read... I read that children that grow up in orphanages often resort to prostitution or thievery when they are adults. ever since i read that, I get sad when I think about it... I guess we all want to hear that they go on to thrive or find love or start a business or create something... so I did what I know how to do... I prayed about it..  "I simply said, God, I don't understand.. I want these children who have never known love or a home or a loving family to belong to you..but how can they when they grow up to be thieves? God, i know you are fair and just, please show me, something, anything about the orphans.."

God has special ways of answering my prayers.. on my cell phone, I subscribe to an app called "Daily Bible"..
Every day a "random" verse is chosen as the daily verse...
Well, on the day that I asked Jesus to speak to me about orphans, I checked the random verse of the day and this is what it said..

" I will not leave you as orphans, I will come to you." John 14:18..."

Now, to some people..this may sound random ..but, to me..It was an answer to prayer..It was God saying..Hey there, I got this.. don't worry too much about these kids... I have them in my very hands..

God answered another specific prayer this week... more on that, later... :)
Well, I hope you enjoyed these little snippets of my week..

oh  yeah..and today the car got revamped..washed and vacummed and all..
little bear was happy