Stark Contrast

Alexis needed a couple more pairs of pants, so last night we went down to Old Navy on 125th Street and then decided to head over to one of our favorite pizza places on 110th. After we ordered, Matt pulled out the debit card to pay only to be told they no longer take credit cards- cash only. We were surprised since every time we've gone, we have paid with a card. We decided to eat first and then Matt was going to go the several blocks to our bank to get some cash. After we had all settled into our booth, a woman came over and gave us $20 insisting on paying for our dinner. She said, "It's so cold outside. Just take it. No problem!" We were stunned. We tried to refuse since we have no way of knowing who she is and paying her back. But she was so so so insistent. Maybe she took pity on us since we had 2 adorable kids and seemed to be in an inconvenient situation? Amazing moments like this (and this one with the cab driver) are just a few of the reasons we love New Yorkers and the city we all live in together. They definitely outweigh the very bad experiences.

Hanging Out at the Park

Ella's not really a big swinger yet- just kind of hangs out in the seat and sways a few inches back and forth. Lexi, on the other hand, needs a big *underdog* push to start things off...

Primary Program

Last Sunday we had the Ward Primary Program. Lexi is a Sunbeam this year, so she had one line to say in the microphone (I can't see Jesus but I know He is there because the Spirit helps me to feel good and happy). She basically refused to practice her line at home. One evening we were attempting to get her to practice and I prompted her by saying, "I can't see Jesus....." to which she replied, "Yes I can! He's right there!" and pointed to a picture we have hanging over her desk in the computer room.
The primary had several practices and for the most part she was familiar with her line. The next hurdle was getting her to say the words in the microphone. What little kid doesn't love to hear their voice magnified a bazillion times?! Not Lexi. At least, not in front of a couple hundred people. I desperately wanted to hear her sweet little voice during the program and was considering some sort of bribe... Grandma Susan to the rescue! She told Lexi that if she would say her words in the microphone, she would get a little present from Grandma- a Belle doll, to replace the ones she lost on an outing in the city... The best part of the story is that just before the meeting started, Lexi was seated near a live microphone and proceeded to tell the little girl next to her that Grandma had a present for her if she said her words in the microphone. Don't know how many people actually heard that, but it had us laughing pretty hard!
This little flower was one of the many that each child made to display in the hallway---

The Princess and The Pea

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

This is Ella & her little girlfriend. They spent some time together at our Lunch Bunch Halloween shindig. The "Little Stinker" (she's a skunk) was indulging in a little treat, and Ella was anxious to get a taste!

Pumpkin Carving

Lexi has been excited for weeks to carve her pumpkin. She picked it out all by herself when we were at the apple orchard. Tonight we finally did it. She designed the pumpkin face all by herself, drawing a little sketch on paper for Daddy to follow. Then she helped Daddy do the work- including drilling the holes for the nose and eyes- and signed her work. We are definitely not expert pumpkin carvers, but it was fun! Too bad I kind of burned the pumpkin seeds.

Angry

Lexi and I had a power struggle this afternoon. She was really exhausted, which I am sure contributed to her attitude. I won't go into details, but she was really angry and stomped off to the living room to cry and pout. She ended up falling asleep in this position with her head under the pillow.

Halloween Party

Tonight we went to the ward Halloween Party. It's always well attended. The kids go trick-or-treating around to all the classrooms and there's food, music, games and a costume contest. Matt & I are rather non-festive, but Lexi & Ella wore costumes. Lexi was Belle (from Beauty & the Beast) and Ella was a peapod. Lex was VERY uncooperative and wouldn't let me take a good photo of her. (Jess, did you get one?)

The Forbes Galleries

Today was a rainy day, so I decided to take the kids down to visit the Forbes Magazine Galleries. I've heard about it a couple of times in the past, but had never ventured there before today. It's not a huge place, and there's nothing really hands-on to do there, but it does hold a fairly impressive collection of toys- mostly boats & soldier dioramas and old game boards (mostly Monopoly). One display in particular had a glass-bubble window and when you look through the window, it appears that you are laying in bed with all your toys all around. The display was inspired by a Robert Louis Stevenson Poem.

After the gallery, we got some pizza for lunch and stopped at Trader Joe's. Thank goodness there were elevators at all the subway stops after we picked up a hefty amount of food.

Jumping

For your entertainment... seems Ella is very interested in the door frame.

The Entertainer

Lexi is taking her job as big sister very seriously... she's becoming better and better every day at entertaining Ella.

Food Glorious Food

I did not plan on starting Ella on solid foods until close to Thanksgiving. I started Lexi around 4 months, and looking back, I don't think she was really quite ready at the time. However, the past couple of weeks, Ella's eyes have been carefully following food to our mouths, she has reached 15 pounds, she can sit up fairly well in her high chair, and her sleep periods at night have gotten a little shorter. When we visited the pediatrician last week, she said, "Oh, she's definitely ready to try some solids." So today, we bought some rice cereal for her. At dinner, I had Ella on my lap for a little while and was kind of teasing her with a biscuit- just touching her lip with it to see if she would open her mouth. She did! And when I pulled the biscuit away, she started crying. This from a kid who doesn't really cry very much. So, we popped her in the high chair, mixed up some cereal and gave spoon feeding a try... as the saying goes, "She ate it up!" Looks like we're moving into the world of solids.

**Oh, and in case you noticed the splint on my left hand... it's to minimize my use of my left thumb- it was injured in "the incident". It's on the mend and I'll hopefully be able to rid myself of the splint in another week and a half or so. The girl is facing 5-25 years, though, now that I have a documented injury.

Lexi's Family

Lexi recently drew this picture of her family. From left to right are: Grandma Susan, Aunt Allie, Daddy, Alexis, Ella, Mommy. Is it significant that I have the fattest head? She wrote her name by herself, without even asking what letters to write (we're still working on making the *X* different from a *t*).

Apple Picking!

 

 

 

 

On Monday, Columbus Day, Matt & Grandma had the day off, so we opted to go apple picking in beautiful *upstate* New York (so it's not really upstate, but anything north of the city is considered UPSTATE. Matt has always teased me for wanting to do this sort of thing because he feels that we are really just cheap labor for the orchard. Hey, we want some apples, so we'll come to your orchard in 90 degree weather (yes, it really was that hot that day!) and we'll even PAY to perform some manual labor. But, as we were driving away from the farm, Matt was the first to pipe up and say, "Well, that was a fun little excursion!" We visited Lawrence Farms and came home with several pounds of apples & a couple of pumpkins. We also spent some time driving through Cornwall & reminiscing about our summers there as kids (both my mother & I).
Lexi was not really cooperating with the picture taking, hence the photo of her backside... but we did manage to get a smile out of Ella!
Yesterday, Lexi and I made some homemade applesauce from our hand picked apples. Looking forward to some apple pie, too!

Private Eyes

When we first started blogging, it was not such a huge phenomenon. But the blog world has really ballooned over the past 3 years. We're just trying to be a little more careful with all the crazy nut jobs out there. Sorry for the inconvenience that making this blog private may cause. But we do put a lot of pictures & videos etc. up here, so we'd like to know exactly who is viewing us.

See you soon!

Grand Jury Report

So today I had to go downtown to the Office of the District Attorney. The ADA assigned to my case spent some time with me reviewing my statement and briefing me about what would happen when we were in with the grand jury and how to tell my story (stick to the facts and don't talk about your emotions). I was nervous. This is a secret proceeding, meaning it is just me & the ADA and the jury & the stenographer. No defendant or defense attorney. But I was still sick about it. I mean, I want them to believe me, not her! What if her story is completely different than mine? I know I'm not a liar. And I don't have really any visibly physical injuries. Will they still sympathize with me? I'M THE VICTIM.

The entire *testimony* took about 6 or 7 minutes. They deliberated and decided to indict the girl. Hooray!

Flowers

I ordered something online last week, so when the UPS guy showed up this evening, I thought he would be bringing that package. But when he arrived at our door, he had a big box of flowers for me. To my surprise, my sweet cousin & his fiance sent me not one, but TWO DOZEN roses. So thoughtful and kind and spirit-lifting. Thank you thank you. Love you folks!

Mets Game

Mormon Night at Shea Stadium. We made the trek, but when we got there, Lexi complained of the noisiness and just put her head in Matt's lap and covered her ears. Ella, on the other hand, was so interested in what was going on around her- her very first baseball game! Too bad the Mets lost.

A Few Days Later

Wow. Just wow. I am so humbled by the outpouring of love and support from so many people- even people I really don't know. Thank you. Really. I have been able to talk through many feelings over the past several days with many people. And although I feel that I can talk about it without crying, it still conjures up some pretty intense feelings when I think of the actual incident. I have never felt like a target. Ever really. (Even when I lived in Spain and was the obvious tall, American, religious proselyting woman). I am almost 6' tall without shoes, and that night I had some pretty big shoes on making me more like 6'1" or so. I'll just say here, too, that I am still carrying some weight from my pregnancy, so they were not exactly messing with a lightweight. The cops said that I probably surprised them when I resisted. They must have thought I would be an easy target, and when I wasn't they were caught off guard as well. Guess I had the element of surprise on my side, too, in that regard. There were many miraculous things that happened in apprehending the girls etc. and I am so amazed at the way the Lord has actually had His hand in this awful incident. I truly believe He was as involved as He possibly could be.

The evening that this all occurred was crazy. I was hysterical. HYSTERICAL. And the cops explained the whole justice system order of events and the possibilities of what I might have to do- pick the girls out of a line up, testify against them etc. etc. I was petrified. I didn't ever want to have to see them again. I never had anything to do with them before, and didn't want to have anything to do with them again. Plus, the *good person* in me felt a teeny eensy weensy bit sorry for them, too. What kind of terrible life do they have that they set out to just "beat someone up" ? However, over the past couple of days, I have felt more and more like I am willing to testify if it comes to that. For a number of reasons. Mostly, I don't want them to victimize me anymore than they already have. But, I also feel that they need to deal with the consequences of their decisions. This was a PLANNED attack. One of the girls had approached me outside of my building crying and asking me for help. She wanted to use my phone, but I said I didn't have it and gave her money to use the pay phone. I GAVE HER MONEY. And they still beat me up. They preyed on my kindness. Intentionally. And I feel that that is just wrong. Evil, even. And they made the decision. So they need to deal with the results of that decision. And being LDS, and constantly hearing about loving one another etc and the balance between justice and mercy, I've thought about this a lot. But I truly feel that my desire for their *punishment* does not come from an intentionally malicious place in my heart. So I am ready to testify, if need be...

I'm Starring in Law & Order: Real Life

And no, I'm not an actor on the show. It's a long story and the investigation is still ongoing, so I'll just give a shortened version here, but essentially, I was jumped (attacked) in our elevator last night by 4 young women (teenage girls) on my way home from Enrichment. They attempted to rob me, but couldn't get the messenger bag off of me before Matt heard my screams and came running down the hall. The cops caught one last night and she gave up the other 3, so they are all in custody at the moment. I'm in contact with the detectives and the District Attorney assigned to the case and may have to testify in front of a grand jury next week.

Physically, I am not too badly off. My head is really sore (they basically just pounded on my head and pulled out my hair) and I have some bruising on my body. I am pretty emotionally shook up about it all and I just keep replaying the scene in my mind over and over.

I guess more than anything, I just want to tell all my women friends out there that you can NEVER be too careful. I've never felt like too much of a target because I'm almost 6' tall and not of slight build. But if they were willing to attack someone like me (who was bigger & taller than all of them), they'll do it to anyone. So please, be aware of your surroundings. Make sure the door to your building LOCKS behind you. And if ever in doubt, duck into a store for awhile, or take another walk around the block. It could have been so much worse. I feel very lucky.