Archive for December, 2006

I made it to New York and back in one piece! But not without having to go through security at the airport in pieces. My flight was delayed both leaving and coming back, but at least it wasn't cancelled! It seems the northeastern coast is not the best place to have an airport. The flights were interesting, though, and it was exciting to see Jay waiting for me just past the security gate when I got there Thursday night. I flew into Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey, and we took a taxi to Manhattan to the Roosevelt Hotel, where we were staying. It was just a few blocks from Jay's office, which was only one building away from Grand Central Terminal, where we caught the subway many times. Jay has become quite familiar with the subway lines as well as the layout of Manhattan, so I felt like I had my own tour guide!

We did a lot of walking, and my legs are still sore! I flew in around 10:00 Thursday night, so after a brief stop at the hotel we walked to Rockefeller Center to see the huge Christmas tree and the ice skaters, and also swung through Times Square. I have honestly never seen so many people! Friday I slept in while Jay went to work, and then I walked (by myself!) to Jay's building to meet him and see his office. I got to meet the people he works with and take in the view from the forty-something floor that he works on. We grabbed some lunch at Grand Central, and went back to the hotel to rest a while before venturing out into the city again. We walked from our hotel up to Central Park and on to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where we made a quick tour of famous paintings, such as "Washington Crossing the Delaware", as well as sculptures, armor, furniture, and other pieces of art. It was really neat! After the museum, we took the subway to Lower Manhattan, where we walked around at Ground Zero. There was a wall displaying photos and a time line of the events on 9/11. It was a very moving display, not to mention the view of the huge holes that used to be the tallest buildings in the U.S. It was an emotional experience for both of us. After that, we walked around Wall Street and to the Staten Island Ferry. We rode across to get a closer look at the Statue of Liberty, which was quite a sight!

Saturday we slept in, after having a late night of sight-seeing. We had planned a trip to the Brooklyn Tabernacle to see their Christmas program, so we rode the subway to Brooklyn and found it just in time for the 2:00 show. The building that houses the Brooklyn Tabernacle is a renovated theater, so it is basically a huge auditorium. We found some seats in the balcony, and we really enjoyed the program. Many of the songs they sang were ones that our choir in Starkville sang (out of a Brooklyn Tabernacle book) at our Christmas program a few years ago, so we had fun singing along. After the program, we explored Brooklyn a little (it was Jay's first time to go there, too) and then got back on the subway to Manhattan. We rested at the hotel for a while before walking to the Empire State Building, the most popular tourist attraction in New York City. We rode the elevator to the top, where we viewed the city at night, and my own personal tour guide pointed out the most notable buildings. We ate dinner at around midnight at the Hard Rock Cafe in Times Square, then it was back to the hotel via subway.

Sunday we slept in again (notice a theme here?), then we walked to a little restaurant called Cafe K, where we had lunch. After that, we did our Christmas shopping at a few souvenir shops, and then it was time to head to the airport. We took the subway to Penn Station, then waited for the train to get us to Newark, then we took the air train to the airport. We made it with very little time to spare, and the lines were long, but then we found out the flight was delayed, so at least we didn't have to worry about not making the flight. Jay watched me go through security and on to the gate, where I waited to get the boarding call. It finally came about an hour late, but then we had to sit on the plane for another hour and a half before we actually took off. Apparently strong winds earlier in the day had delayed all the flights, and we basically were waiting in line during that time. But I made it home!

New York was pretty much how I had pictured it. Everyone seemed in such a hurry, and the drivers were crazy! Honking is apparently a form of communication that is used quite often. However, the people we came in contact with were, for the most part, polite and even helpful. For example, a woman on the subway saw us looking at the map on the wall and gave us her pocket-sized fold-out subway map. On another subway trip, a man offered to stand up so that Jay and I could sit together. It is impossible to move around without bumping into someone, but most people were good-natured about it and some even said, "Excuse me." It made me feel better about the possibility of living there for weeks at a time. Also, it shouldn't have surprised me that there was so much diversity, but I didn't expect to walk down the street and hear other languages spoken more often than I heard English! It is amazing how many people groups are represented in that one city!

I spent last night at my family's house since the kids were already asleep, and I got to see them this morning. They didn't miss me too much, which was good. James finally asked about me while he was trying to go to sleep last night, but Eliza apparently didn't mention my name at all. I'm glad that they were able to have a good time while I was gone! And maybe they didn't give my parents too much grief.

It was good to be in New York with Jay, but it's good to be home! We did take a few pictures while I was there, but mostly we just enjoyed our time together. We have a few days and then Jay will home, and it will be Christmas. So far it's been a memorable holiday season!

Well, I leave for the Big Apple tomorrow. I'm a little nervous about flying by myself for the first time, and I feel sorry for my mom who is keeping my kids while I'm gone. But I guess it will all work out! We are planning to go to the Brooklyn Tabernacle's Christmas program, and I am excited about that! We will also see Rockefeller Center and a few other landmarks. I'm sure it will be quite an experience!

We had our church's Christmas program last Sunday. It was called "I'll Be Home for Christmas", and it was about a family living in the "golden days of radio". Our choir was the studio choir, and so we had fun singing songs that might have been on the radio in the 1940's. The story centered around the family trying to make it through the holidays while missing loved ones (especially the husband who is helping with the war), when Pearl Harbor is attacked. It was very touching and the cast did a great job, including my mom who played "Lil", the building maintenence supervisor, and my brother Benjamin, who provided some voices for the radio shows (like the Lone Ranger and Tonto). We all had a great time and hopefully it helped some people remember the true Reason for the Season!

James has been having some strange nightmares recently. He calls one his "broken dream", and another his "spider dream". He told me all about them: "Everything was broken, and we were trying to get away from all the broken pieces. The house and the sidewalk were broken. I was there, and all my friends were there. They left me up in the air, and I was trying to move my arms to swim, but I couldn't go anywhere. In the spider dream, there were all these cages with spiders, and you went into one of the cages. Then you were playing this game, and I was trying to get away from the bad guy, but he picked me up and I couldn't get away, so I screamed in my dream." It amazed me how well he was able to recount exactly what happened in his dreams. Thankfully, he hasn't had any more in the last several nights.

We have taught Eliza a few new tricks lately, like answering the question, "How old are you?" She holds up her pointer finger and says, "Uhn!" We also have been working with her to learn her name. She has gotten really good at saying it, it sounds kind of like "Eyisa". But she still gets confused sometimes, and when you ask her what her name is she holds up her finger and says, "Uhn!" Either way, it is still so cute!

Our Christmas card

Baby Jesus

Whew! It has been a crazy weekend, and we are all exhausted! Our children's choir Christmas musical was tonight, and we all had a part in it. It was called "Christmas in Egypt", the story of what Jesus' first birthday might have been like while living in Egypt. Jay made a wonderful Joseph, and miraculously remembered all of his lines. I played Mary, and that went really well, too. I managed to sing my solos pretty well, even though I have been having trouble with my voice because of the cold that I can't seem to get completely over. Eliza was the young Jesus, and she was pretty happy except for at the very end, when she was mad because I had taken away her snacks just as we walked back on stage. James joined the 4- and 5-year olds when they came up for the "Birthday" song. He was supposed to stand there with the others, but he kept coming over to us and talking, and was mad that he couldn't stay with us. He also wanted the microphone that the older kids were singing their solos into. He kept whispering, "It's not fair!" and making mad frowny faces. It was hard to stay in character while all that was going on, but it worked out okay, and no one seemed to mind James' antics. Overall, I think it turned out very well, and we were glad that we got to participate. We are glad it's over, though!

Jay was supposed to fly into town Friday night, but his flight was cancelled because of the wind in New York City. He got another flight going through Houston, but it was delayed so that he had to spend the night in Houston. He flew in Saturday morning, just in time to meet us at the church for the Christmas program's dress rehearsal at 9:00. (It was the only rehearsal he was able to make it to, and he barely made it!) He was sick and tired, but we made it through rehearsal and were able to rest some that afternoon.

Saturday night it started getting very cold outside. The heater had been coming on a lot, and it seemed that our bedroom was a lot warmer than the rest of the house. Jay went up in the attic to see if he could adjust the air flow so that it balanced more, but the piece that was supposed to control the valve broke off in the duct and so then the valve was stuck closed. Very little air was going to the rest of the house, while our bedroom was probably over 80 degrees. It was getting very late, so we decided to sleep on an air mattress in the living room, and put a fan blowing warm air out of our room to the rest of the house. Jay had to stay home from church Sunday morning to try and take the duct apart and remove the broken valve. He was just finishing it when we got home. The air is more balanced than it has ever been, I believe! At least our room is not much warmer than the rest of the house!

Jay has to fly back to New York tomorrow morning, so he has to be at the airport at 6:00 A.M. Hopefully he will be able to rest some on the plane. I'm planning on taking it easy tomorrow. It has been a wild weekend, but I think it turned out to be a good one, too!