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