Happy Thursday!

I hope everyone is having a great week thus far!

I wanted to share two verses with you that I have been meditating on for this week. Whenever I read these two verses, I get so excited because it reminds me how powerful God is. When we have faith (big or small) and believe in God....He can do more than we ever imagined or thought.

Matthew 17:20- "Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."

Ephesians 1:19- and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength.

Whatever your situation may be...I pray that you draw on God's strength to pull you out of the situation. God is an amazing God and if we believe in Him and have faith....He will give us the power to work through our situation. His great power is extended to all believers to give us help!

I leave you with this song below from VaShawn Mitchell. This song always ministers to my heart.

Be Blessed!

How we spent our weekend!

We had a blast celebrating B's bday weekend at Sesame Place on Saturday despite the few meltdowns B had! This was our first trip to Sesame Place and it didn't disappoint. We arrived at 12:30 pm and we were on a mission to see as much as we could. Thankfully the park is catered towards little one's....so, it wasn't huge, but it was still a decent size. We weren't able to do everything we wanted because it was pretty packed and the lines were long, but we managed to get on a couple of rides and even saw the Elmo show. You can see some of the pics below of our day:

B with the Count and the #2 to represent his age

B playing shy

Daddy had to step in to save the shy guy

Playing in the funny mirrors

The Elmo show

One of the many meltdowns

Happy ending to our day. He is still talking about his ride on the carousel

On Sunday we spent majority of our day in church because we have two services at 10 am and 12 pm and it was Baptism Sunday. We had 14 people baptized in the name of Jesus at the 12 pm service. It was awesome to be able to witness what God is doing in the lives of so many people. At our 10 am service, our pastor was led to allow an impromptu testimony to be given be a new member of the church who doesn't speak English very well. A member of the church translated her testimony into English and her testimony was so touching to someone in the 10 am that the person requested to be baptized at the 12 pm service. GLORY TO GOD!! I was so touched to hear that and God brought to my memory this verse in Revelation 12:11-They overcame him (the enemy/satan/devil) by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony. 

All believers in Christ have a testimony to share that will be a blessing to someone!

How was your weekend? Did you do anything exciting or did you just hang out around the house?

Happy Thursday!

This morning I opened up my YouVersion app and the Verse of the Day that appeared is from

Isaiah 55:8-9

"For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways, " declares the Lord. "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts.

This speaks volumes to me because we sometimes forget that God is greater than any of us or anything. We tend to try and fit Him into our plans and we get mad when things don't go our way. However, we can't make God conform to us...... we have to do everything we can to fit into God's plans and His perfect will for our lives.  We need to stop trying to be a god and allow God to move mightily in our lives. 

Happy Thursday!

Enjoy the clip below of one of my favorite songs by Chris Tomlin

B celebrates his 2nd birthday!

Yesterday we celebrated my sons 2nd birthday. It's such a wonderful experience being able to watch your child grow up and see how much information they soak up. B is a sponge and he picks up on everything we say or do. We have been preparing him and letting him know that his birthday is coming up and he's going to be two. So, yesterday morning before the hubby left for work we woke B up by singing happy birthday and his response was "mommy daddy birthday!", we thought that was so cute and we loved on him and told him how much we loved him.

Last year B had a huge birthday bash that I had planned out because it served two purposes.... him celebrating his FIRST YEAR of life and me celebrating my FIRST YEAR of surviving motherhood! But, this year I didn't plan for a birthday party and that was probably for the best because we have been very busy.  However, we didn't do much yesterday because B woke up with a 101 fever and diarrhea so I kept him in, but that didn't stop us from enjoying each others company. I actually enjoyed the intimate celebration we had for Brandon and being able to let him know that he is loved and giving him ourfull attention. Here's a pic below of him yesterday eating his breakfast and then devouring his cupcake:

Not feeling so good!

Feeling better after I ate my cupcake and part of the candle!

This weekend we plan on taking B to Sesame Place to celebrate his birthday and I am so excited for the trip. I hope we can catch the Elmo show because that's his favorite character.

Tell me what you think.....Do you believe that kids should have a birthday party every year? 

I think we have a comedian in the family!

My little man is growing up soooo fast, but I never thought that I would have to deal with his funny personality this soon. Yesterday while hanging out with B he was having fun running around and making himself dizzy.  However, I wanted him to stop because I didn't want him to get hurt.

So, this is our little conversation

Me: B stop running around

B: No mommy

Me: B please stop running around

B: Mommy, ENOUGH!

Me: What did you say

B: ENOUGH!

All I can do was laugh after our little banter and I remembered that he's not even 2 yet!

This is my heart! 

What do you all do when you have funny conversations with you children? 

Fall is quickly approaching...

This is the season that I really love because I am a College football fan and being from Florida my husband and I are University of Miami Hurricanes, Florida A & M University Rattlers, and The Florida State University Seminole fans. Every year we gear up to participate in FAMU's homecoming festivities and The Florida Classic game that takes place in Orlando, Florida.  I love the unity that the fall season brings.....we get together with our family and friends having a great time tailgating, watching football and participating in the activities. I remember as a young girl on Saturday's I used to watch BET's black college football games and couldn't wait to go to College to enjoy the times.

However, this fall season will be a bit different for us because we are not in Florida, but we are planning on making the best of it by searching for fun cool things for us to do here in Jersey City/NYC. I am sure that we will not be disappointed by what the cities has to offer. But, before we move on to the fall season my family and I enjoyed our summer here in our new city.  

This weekend we had a chance to visit the New York Botanical Gardens located in Brooklyn. The Botanical Garden is so beautiful and a serene place to visit. Also, its a great place to visit on a budget. The normal admission for an adult is $10, however, our admission was free because we made it before 12 pm on Saturday. That was definitely a plus and it made our visit more memorable. After our visit we strolled around Brooklyn and I fell in love with the beautiful Brownstones and just Brooklyn itself. It was my first time visiting Brooklyn and I enjoyed my time...there is so much culture and diversity. Oh, we had a chance to see a glimpse of the children participate in the Brooklyn West Indian American Day Parade. Apparently, this parade happens every year and the there is a week long calendar of events that takes place. Next year we hope to make it to the parade. On Monday, we attended our church first annual family day picnic and we had such a great time. We spent hours at the picnic enjoying good food, kite flying, playing volleyball, the men playing flag football, the kids participating in sack races and a lot more. This was a perfect way to end our long weekend and summer. 

Pics of children performing at Parade

Pics from NYBG

Pics from Church Picnic

Kite Flying at Church picnic

As the summer is coming to a close...I would love to hear what you are most looking forward to in the fall?

I hope you all had a great weekend and summer!

I woke up this morning with so much JOY....

No matter the situation don't allow the devil to come in and steal your joy away from you. God is an awesome God and He will do more than we can ever think or imagine. So get up and go get what God has for you! 

Be BLESSED!

We hit the city all by ourselves...

B and I recently trekked into the city last Thursday to meet hubby at his company annual family fun picnic event in Central Park West. Initially, I had some level of anxiety because this was my first time taking B into the city all by myself. This was a new experience for the both of us and being from Florida I didn't have to worry about public transportation because I had the liberty to drive wherever without the hassle of lugging a stroller, bumping into people, and no temper tantrums. Usually when I go into the city it's with hubby and he is there to assist me with B when he's having a temper tantrum because he refuses to get off the train, or when there are no elevators and he carries the stroller up or down the steps. However, because my hubby was so excited about this event I made the commitment to get there....despite the fact that I had to do these things alone. However, I thank God for B's travel companion, Thomas the train because it helped him to behave on the train and we were able to avoid a meltdown.

When we finally met up with hubby he asked me how did it go trekking into the city alone with a child and I told him it wasn't bad at all. Now, he wants me to meet up with him so we can chill in the city when he gets off of work. We'll see about that! Anyways, B was excited to see daddy and he had a great time playing and interacting with the other children. There was a face painter and clown at the picnic and B did really well not being afraid of clowns. We enjoyed good barbeque from Dinosaur BBQ and after the picnic we strolled around the park and the city.

Since I survived the trip and managed to avoid a meltdown from a toddler....I may give it another try! It may not go as smoothly as this trip, but we will see.  I saw so many women with their children in strollers or walking hand in hand getting on and off the subways. Heck, there are children traveling alone on the subways....but, that will not be my child! I said to myself that there is no reason why I can't do this alone and sometimes meet the hubby in the city when this everyday life for a New Yorker.  I'll keep you all posted on the next adventure into the city with a toddler.

Laters!

Back to Life....

The family and I returned from our week vacay in Jamaica last Friday and it has literally been a challenge for us to get back into the swing of things. We had an awesome time in Jamaica and did not want to return! We stayed at the all-inclusive RIU Resorts in Ocho Rios, JA. The scenery at the resort was gorgeous. Check out the pic below.....its a view of the ocean from our hotel. It was postcard ready. However, I give this resort 4 stars and the reason being is because I was not impressed with the food selections and customer service requests could have been handled a bit differently. Anywho, I don't know about you, but when we go on a vacation we like to eat GOOD.  Don't get me wrong the food was fine, but it was not "knock'em dead" good or "make you wanna slap yo mama" good. However, we did have the opportunity to go out and explore the country with our friends who were natives of the country. They took us out and about in the community to experience the authentic food of the country and we had jerk chicken that was excellent. Thats the type of authenticity I was hoping to get at the resort. 

Despite a couple of hiccups we had we really enjoyed our stay and would definitely go back. I would recommend an all-inclusive resort to anyone who is going on an extended vacay out of the country. It's well worth it. 

Below is a pictorial of some of the things we did on our vacation: 

The fam at Dunn's River

My friends and I. My godson at the bottom of the pic.

At Somerset Falls

The famous Blue Lagoon

Blue Lagoon!

Me and my boys!

The water is beautiful

It's the end of the month.....

And the time has really escaped from me since our trip to Florida! So, I'll catch you all up with pictures as far as what we've been up to in Florida and Jersey.

Daddy and B at the family reunion picnic

Play time at the picnic

Daddy took B for a swim

B enjoying his first mango

At New Jersey Children Museum

Shopping at the museum

On the computer

At the lake house in Toms River

We had a great time

Well, I have to get back to packing again. I've been packing since Sunday to ensure that I don't miss anything because I would hate to be in a different country trying to find something that I left stateside. We are leaving Friday morning for our week long trip to Jamaica.....and I am super excited!! This will be our last trip for the summer and we are making the best of it. 

I hope you all enjoy the remainder of your summer.

Take care!

Life has taken over...

This past weekend and week has really gone by quick for me. We have been so busy that I haven't really had a chance to sit down and catch my breath until now. However, I am excited because tomorrow we are flying out to Florida for a (mini vacay) my hubby's family reunion. We'll be able to get a break from little man because his grandparent's are going to be happy to see him, which means we have babysitters on deck!

Speaking of little man we had a scare with him over the weekend. B was bitten by an insect on Saturday on his wrist and it caused an allergic reaction, which made his hand and arm swell up. I was so freaked out because his arm looked deformed. Thank you Lord that his pediatrician has several offices around the city because I despise ER'. The office that was opened on a Saturday was in Tribeca in NYC and we quickly rushed over and he was seen. The pediatrician said that it appeared that he was bitten by an spider and she gave us somethings to look out for and to follow-up on Monday to ensure that the swelling went down. One of the reasons why I am really tired is because I came home after B's appointment to search for the darn critter that bit him. I cleaned my house again, but this was a deep thorough cleaning to make sure that whatever insect bit him was taken out with a vengeance and it wouldn't return again.  Well, B is doing great today and the swelling has gone down a lot and where he was bit is healing really well. However, I am definitely on critter patrol!

Well, I guess I need to start trying to pack for our trip. I really dislike packing, but its for a good cause.....it's for my sanity. I NEED A BREAK!

Laters,

P.S. Enjoy the remainder of your week and have a good weekend.

The fourth recap!

I hope everyone enjoyed their mid week fourth of July holiday!

We had a great day and the weather was cooperative....thank God! Our day started out with us sleeping in which was much needed for all of us. Once we woke up, we decided to go to the store to get a couple of items for our mini barbeque. So, we thought we had everything....but guess what?! Yes, we FORGOT to purchase a small grill. Anyways, I improvised because I refused to go back out to the grocery store and I baked the chicken and then coated it with BBQ sauce and let it broil a bit to give it some color. I made some side dishes to go along with the chicken. The hubby and child were very satisfied with the meal and they both had full tummies. After dinner we went joyriding around town and went to Liberty State Park to just stroll around. There were tons of people in site preparing to watch the fireworks show. The park is very beautiful, however, we decided to leave after a while because we wanted to get a better view of the fireworks show nearby our apartment and really didn't want to fight with traffic getting out of the park.

This was our first time viewing the NYC Macy's fourth of July fireworks show. It was held over the Hudson River and parts of NYC and New Jersey were able to view this show. Luckily, we live in Jersey City which is very close to Hudson and we walked down to the boardwalk and posted up until the show began around 9:20 pm. This was way past B's bedtime, but he hung in there for a while!

Below are some pics of how we enjoyed our time until the fireworks started:

Our view of the WTFC

Statue of Liberty at Liberty State Park

Daddy & B

I had to get a self portrait 

B is the ladies man

Caught  B jumping around 

B and another new friend

I need to watch him

Colgate clock

Alas, the show begins

At this point we had to leave because B wasn't haven't it and the pics below came out blurry 

We were so tired after the show that we all slept like babies! LOL!