Inchworm Zack

Not crawling yet, but he's on the verge!

Cioppino, Wine, and Good Company

I made a Cioppino dish tonight on a whim.  I've never made it before, much less even cooked mussels, but Prince Edward Island Mussels were on sale so I couldn't pass it up!  Turned out great.  And of course, Janet being with us was the best part.

Gunshots...again.

It's 2:18 am Tuesday night/Wednesday morning.  I heard gunshots at 1:35 am while sitting in our Harlem apartment.  The two shots sounded like they came from Lenox Ave. just half a block away.  And I just came from that street no more than 30 minutes ago on my way home from work.

Gunshots again
How I hate the sound
My stomach turns sour and I despise
Who rules these streets
These paved ways straight but not narrow
Anyone can trespass but who is welcome?

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.

Gunshots again
My mind balloons
Who was the aggressor, who was the victim
What was their crime, who was their judge
My mind is a tortured one
My heart is a weary aching

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord

Gunshots again
...12:52 am
Foul-mouthed commuter trashing the train
a filthy herald using-abusing one man's soul
My walk up Freedom Avenue, MLK way
smeared in hostile glances-prayers made haste

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord

Gunshots again
But first, home at 1:11
My burdens gave way to worship
What else could I do
Psalm 21, Peace, Rest, Abide...
then Hell breaks through

Blessed is he who comes...blessed is he who comes

Gunshots again
Silence follows
No sirens, no chase, just life meandering on as if...nothing
Where is my Hope?  Where is His face?
Where is His Kingdom?  Oh, Lord, please make haste!
Our Enemy roams through Harlem--bring him disgrace

And don't let us falter
Don't let us waste
Our hearts beat louder "Lord, come heal this place!"
Teach us to pray and abide like Fiery Renegades
Though our home is not here we stand and keep watch
And in the depths of our souls we cry out "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!"

My Day....Friday, September 24th

I just feel the urge to pause and reflect on my day.  It's not the best day I've had necessarily, but it has been a good day.  In fact the more I reflect, I realize how full our lives are with goodness.

A friend of mine said something tonight that caused me to pay attention to how I pray.  He said that if God was willing to sacrifice his son for our benefit, how much more willing he is to give us every good and perfect gift.  I tend to be more fearful and wimpy in my requests to God than approach him as if he were someone who deeply loved me as if he constantly entertains what he can do or what he can give me to deepen my enjoyment of him.  I would pray to that God again and again!

Another friend prayed over my son tonight that he would know God.  In fact he simply thanked God that Sam would know him and we imagined together what that would be like.  My wife met a stranger tonight and shared with her how much God sees her as a joyful little girl.  She's a grown woman, but somehow God sees her true self as a playful little girl and he let my wife see that too.

It's now the end of my day.  I accidentally found an amazing cake shop in Chelsea on our way home and bought a couple cookies there.  Turns out the place was just featured on an episode of a new show "Fabulous Cakes" that Jessica recently saw.  We chatted with one of the owners and an employee inside before walking out with two huge cookies:  classic chocolate chip, and a spicy triple chocolate chip.  Uh-maze-ing!  I'm waiting for two very dear friends of mine to skype while I type and eat these fantastic sugar-infused creations. It's been a good day.  And even better, not an out-of-the-ordinary day.

Just thought I'd share.
-Andy

BABY BIDDY #2 IS ON THE WAY!

We are growing into a family of 4!!!

We are so excited about Baby Biddy #2, to say the least. Sam is showing us in the picture where

Baby Biddy #2 is. Jessica is about 4 1/2 months along and feeling well. No morning sickness, just fatigue, but she is handling it all like a champ.

Aside from that super fun news, we realized that we have not posted anything here in a few months. Here are some fun pics and vids that we have been collecting in the last few months...Enjoy!

We have a little graduation to celebrate. Sam moved from his crib to his "Big Boy Bed" this week!

Happy Memorial Day! We spent the afternoon with our neighbors in Central Park. So fun!

Jessica and I recently celebrated our 10th Anniversary. We went back to Cape Cod, MA where we first fell in love 13 years ago.

Windstorms & Ms. Pacman!

Hey there,

We've been having fun with all the new transitions around us. New apartment, new roomate, and all the new things that come with that. One of the fun, unexpected discoveries we've made with the move to our new apartment is that after a full year of not working, our Ms. Pacman table-console decided to work again! No maintenance. Just started right up, out of the blue. We have been working off the rust that collected in the past year+....

(I found a refurbished console of Ms. Pacman a few years ago for Jessica's 30th. It has been a fun addition to our home, to say the least!)

We haven't officially said it on our blog, but we have moved! We picked up and waltzed across the hall to another apartment in our building. It provided a bit more space and the layout was just better for our needs. We also picked up a roommate with the deal. Ashley B. is living with us for the next year or so, renting a room. That has been a lot of fun too. We really like Ashley, so it's worked out very well. I'll post some pics of the new place later.

For now, here's some fun pics of Sam. He and Jess got to take a trip to Oklahoma last month and visit friends and family. And the video is hilarious! It's been a fun game we play with the boy. Watch his reactions to the WINDSTORM!!! (at the bottom of the post).

WINDSTORM VIDEO!!!.......