Now arriving in.....Brooklyn NY!

I have to say getting ready to go to NYC for three weeks was NOT my idea of fun. Don't get me wrong, I truly do LOVE NY! In small......spaced out......visits. But, Hunter had worked so hard to get there and her love of this city and her art helped reconcile me to living there for three weeks. What we won't do for our children, right????? The search for an apartment (which is SO much cheaper than a hotel) did not prove to be easy and I have to say when we were finally settled on one, I never had a "peace" about the one we chose. But, to be fair, I wouldn't have had a peace about any place in NYC until I gave it my inspection with my own eyes. But again, one of the things about renting in NYC is that you often have to do it sight unseen. And let me say, Brooklyn has very nice parts and very nice homes. But, lessons learned are this: No deals are to be found in NYC and if your going to live in Brooklyn, KNOW where you are living! I prayed and I prayed for God to give me peace over this trip because something kept stirring in my soul about it. Maybe it was taking two girls without my husband to a HUGE city that was freaking me out, but anyone who knows me knows that I thrive on INDEPENDENCE! So, here we go! And you know what, God did give me peace!!!!! We ended up sharing our plane ride with Hunter's pilates teacher and her family (literally sat right beside them on the plane), we got an amazing cab driver with ease (I hate cabs and had fear of getting our suitcases into one) and we arrived at our destination without any issues. And there, my friends is where my peace ended that day. I won't go into details but after getting all our heavy suitcases up three (what is it with the number three?????) flights of stairs in an amazingly hot stairway, talking to the owner of our apartment and taking in my new "home away from home" let me just say there was no peace in anyone's hearts or minds. It felt "off" from the moment we arrived. Even my outgoing, make friends with everyone Katie was extremely quiet and subdued. Since I needed to wait for our young friend from home(who would be in our care), I had no choice but to "hold tight". However, by the time he did arrive, I had made a decision. I took the kids out to eat pizza and while they ate I went into action. I called Jay, then I called the Hilton and then I called for our driver (if you EVER need a driver in NYC this man was an absolute angel and God send to me....I will connect you...you will love him!). Within the hour I had all our suitcases back downstairs loaded into a car and on the way to a nice safe Hilton. It was hot, I was tired, I was honestly AFRAID and I was in constant prayer. But not once did the children in my care ever truly know how afraid I was. You see, when a little girl grows up the way I grew up (no blame to be placed just stating the truth), you learn to be discerning. You wait for the whiff of alcohol on the breath, you watch for "signals" that someone is about to harm you, you read between the lines when you know someone is not telling you the truth. And, like it or not you usually develop a sort of radar that follows you for the rest of your life. As an adult, I don't usually rely on this too much anymore because all my relationships are SAFE, but on this day, I am so glad it was there for me. What it comes down to is this: There was very questionable material in this apartment (think young young young people in pictures) and whether it was illegal or not, my spirit could not be at rest there. And, call me paranoid, but I do believe there were cameras in that apartment and other goings on in that building that were not honest or moral and, yes, bordering illegal. I lost a boat load of money. Was I being paranoid? Maybe so. But once I got my kids to safety, that peace did come over me again. I can't help but wonder if God hadn't given me such peace in the beginning so that I could be quiet in my mind and realize when the peace wasn't there anymore. All I know is this: I would give much more money than what I lost to have my children be SAFE. At any cost. My firm standing that if it doesn't feel right it isn't right was just been cemented deeper into my inner being. And I have been affirmed that a good mother will go to the end of the her strength and her sanity to keep her children from being harmed (because friends this Mama was at the end.....). You see, EVIL (is that too strong of a word..no, I don't think so because the material in the house was just that...) can be subtle. It can be polished. It can be masked. We can be coerced into it so easily without realizing what it truly is and lost in it before we know it. And I feel it is up to us as parents to protect our children from it. Teach them to flee from it and teach them to be smart about it. I honestly did NOT care if my girls thought I was CRAZY that day, I didn't care if anyone got mad at me or upset with me. I didn't care how much it COST me (and/or if my husband would flip out for the loss of the money....which he didn't btw). All I knew was my still soft voice was actually SCREAMING "get your children out of here". So, I obeyed it. We did find an apartment and the stories get a little more entertaining as our weeks go on in NYC. We ended up having a wonderful time and both my girls enjoyed their dance experiences beyond measure. I look back on that first day and I do remind myself that it was all about that anyway. God kept us safe, He kept us well (Hunter didn't have ANY issues with her body after dancing 19 days straight!) and He led us each and every day. What more could we ask for?

Stay tuned!

So, it's been a while since I have used my blog. My thoughts are that with longer posts on FB I just jot my thoughts down there very quickly and go on about my way. But a sweet friend reminded me today of my passion for writing my thoughts, feelings and ADVENTURES out into stories :) I actually started this blog many years ago as therapy for myself when I lost my wonderful Father in law because writing does soothe my soul. It always has and I now find myself wondering...."did I let my crazy life take away this little oasis from me?" Hmmmmm, I guess I did. So, welcome back if you are interested. I plan on sharing my NYC adventures here soon and who knows what else. LOL I have to re-learn the ins and outs of using the blog since some things have changed, so bear with me if you will. If you have the time, join me and discuss with me! Oh, how I love discussion (not arguments, mind you). I do warn you though, I keep it pretty calm on Facebook, but this is MY space and I am open, honest and real here. I don't hide things, I don't sugar coat things and I don't pretend to be anything other than what I am.....just a real wife and Mom trying her best in this crazy world to raise 3 productive citizens of society who all love the Lord more than themselves. Hugs and promises to tell stories about rats and roaches real soon!