NYC: One Month In!

It's hard to believe that it was one month ago that we moved from Alabama and started our NYC chapter. It has been an eventful month, from visiting family to having our first set of visitors here! Will is settling in to his role as lead pastor of Crossroads Christian Church. We're finishing up the to-do list of things that are required from a move to a new state, and the house is 99% set up.

A lot of people have asked about how the kids are adjusting. I really appreciate the prayers for them, because we can tell that they are effective. In fact, several times I have posted a prayer request on social media and I have clearly felt the Lord's presence and we have heard specific answers quickly. So... thank you! We know these prayers are being heard.

The kids are doing AMAZING!! It's so cool to see how resilient they are. They have generally been very happy. Our apartment is smaller than our former house, but it is almost like they have MORE play space now because they have access to their bedrooms (their rooms were on the 2nd floor at Yellouise and we hardly played in there). They love going from room to room.

Israel has been a little obsessed with sitting in Edith's crib and searching for Mickey Mouse (Kickey Mo). He LOVES looking out the window at the cars going by. He has still had sleep issues, and we moved his toddler bed into our bedroom. That has saved me from walking back and forth through the apartment at night, and he seems to be sleeping better close to us.

Israel has made some remarkable growth in the last few weeks. He has said several new words: clock, neck, where'd you go, STOP!, pool, and a few others I can't remember. He's been playing better than normal - he will sometimes be content playing alone, ha! In general when we have visitors over he still demands constant attention and interaction. We just got his therapy lined up for the summer and I'm really thankful that he will get a physical "reset" button twice a week when he has PT and OT.





Edith has been the same sweet girl. She hasn't skipped a beat with sleeping well and exploring. She loves every park and place we've been. She has been worn in the Ergo a good bit but she's also happy in the stroller. She has had a few toddler meltdowns but we have relied on the paci out more than we ever did in Alabama. She has been consistent in that she still doesn't really like to be enclosed in church nursery. We had a major meltdown last week that was really exhausting for everyone in the church nursery room... so I ended up coming home early. Church meets during her nap time so when she's a little older I'm hoping this won't be so difficult.



We are really enjoying exploring Bay Ridge and other parts of Brooklyn. There's several parks in our neighborhood and most of them have slash pad areas, which Israel really loves. We have a Dunkin Donuts, grocery store, laundromat, Starbucks and many other restaurants and stores within one block of our apartment.



I'm getting in the groove. I've ordered more things online than ever before, including groceries. I have started to figure out groceries and laundry and just have to manage my expectations. Getting out of the house is a bit complicated. Typically I take the stroller downstairs to the lobby, then make two more trips bringing the kids down one by one (we have a locked lobby). This has been a little intimidating and there are days I talk myself out of going places because it takes effort. I really miss drive-thru places (especially Sonic!). I've walked way more in the last few weeks than I normally would.

I'm putting myself out there to make friends. This season is always just a little awkward. I've cried some because I miss the comfort of friends that know your heart and conversation is easy and there is a history. Starting over is never easy, but it requires just putting yourself out there and making play dates or planned activities necessary. I've met some wonderful people already and we know that having a NYC "family" will happen in time.




We're really excited about raising the kids in the city. Every other city mom I talk to can't imagine raising her kids any other way. I do miss Suburban life some, especially my friends and our church. I really miss having college students a quick phone call away to hang out with! Several friends are already planning trips up here, which makes my heart really happy.

I anticipated that this transition would be hard. Going from Alabama to Brooklyn is a huge contrast. But we are going to just keep pressing forward, digging down until we have roots here too. Soon enough this will feel like home, and these people will be our family! We're excited about that happening and starting this chapter of our life here.