Grand Canyon Video

I have taken this video on our honeymoon at Grand Canyon...

How beautiful!

Squirrel Stew

No kidding...

Bryan & I went to Hualapai Ranch and saw this recipe on the wall.

All fellow New Yorkers - in case recession gets real bad we can now hit Central Park in hunt for food :)

Anybody brave enough to make this?

So... I'm married...

Bryan & I wed on July 25, 2008 at Metro Christian Center in Brooklyn, New York.

We do not have our pictures done yet - but we'll post some soon.

Thank you to all friends and family who made this amazing day happen for us and supported us throughout our lives.

Born To Be Free...

4th of July... All US are celebrating the Independence Day. The tradition that even non-Americans are aware of is that you HAVE TO GRILL on Independence Day...

But alas! It's raining...

...determined as I am, I wasn't going to give up on my grilling dream... so here comes Mr. George Foreman himself...

You gotta do what you gotta do, right?

(our beautiful veggie burger creation)

In the evening we went to our friends' house to eat and watch fireworks.

(our lovely hosts: Ramon & Sabrina)

(Bryan gets in touch with with his second personality...for all of you who watched Kung Fu Panda let me know who the panda reminds you of :)

We like to PARTY

Summer is here! Yay!

For these 2 weeks in July we have Teen Mania join us and together we're doing big summer parties (outreaches) in different areas of NYC. For the past 2 days we've gone to Far Rockaway (my Sidewalk Sunday School site).


For the first day (Wednesday) we set up the tents with Face Painting & Nail Painting. Also we had a place where they could get some fruit punch and a cookie. We played water games all day and simply had tons of fun with the kids. And then yesterday (Thursday) we had a Sidewalk Sunday School program for kids & adults. It was wonderful.

(it was fun doing opening with Bryan)



(that's me getting dunked because girls won the game)

Since we had so many people AND didn't have to rush on to the next site it was possible to allow for ministry time at the end. When Craig (our team leader for the event) first had teenagers lined up and announced that people could come and get prayed for, nobody stood up. We knew God was doing something in the hearts of the kids and parents but they wouldn't come up. The seconds felt like hours. Nobody stood... Then finally a little girl (about 6 years old) got off the tarp and came up front. On the boys' side immediately an older boy (11 years old) got up and followed her to the stage. And then "the damb" broke... people flooded to the front to be prayed for.

On Tuesday our team will do the same outreach in the Bronx. Keep praying for us...

MIA

Hey, sorry you haven't heard from me in a while...

the reason for that is that Bryan's computer is officially dead.

feel free to call me & chat

until then i won't post much

poka - bye

Dress Up. Save the World.

Superhero Week in Sidewalk Sunday School.

Princess Ashley waiting to be rescued :)

And here are our noble heroes

Princess Tea Party 4/20/2008

So much fun for the girls! They all got princess dresses provided by Women of Excellence Foundation in CA and they had a nice banquet and they learned that they are princesses in God's Kingdom ...by the way... so are we! our youngest princess

My Reads

At the moment I'm reading "Troubled Sleep" by Jean-Paul Sartre.

The book depicts the fall of France in 1940, and the anguished feelings of a group of Frenchmen, whose prewar apathy gives way to a consciousness of the dignity of individual resistance and solidarity with others who are oppressed.

It is easier to build boys and girls than to repair men and women

What can I say? Preschool Rocks! Done it again. Here are some pics from today.

Amish roots

I visited my friend Deanna in Lancaster, PA last week... And today I saw this hat in our Kids Church storage... I couldn't resist taking a picture :)

Pirate Week

Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

We have just finished Week 4 of Sidewalk Sunday School.

We've done the Pirate Week and pretended to turn our Sunday School truck into a pirate ship.

The lesson was on guilt. We were encouraging kids not to carry their guilt but give it to Jesus.

My Very Long Birthday Party

My longest birthday party ever! It lasted SIX DAYS!!!

This year I celebrated my birthday with my Sidewalk Sunday School kids. We did an entire Birthday Week. Every day I baked 96 cupcakes for each site (240 cupcakes on Friday)... and our wonderful an amazing interns ended up having to frost all of them... they didn't complain and still smiled even after having plastic spoons break inside a container of frosting. He-he-he :) Our cupcake grand total for the week was 528 (44 dozen) cupcakes... and a box of Dunkin Donuts munchkins.

The kids who came to Sunday School were encouraged to bring a self-made birthday card. The best card from each site won a prize. The one below is one of my personal favorites (try to read what the text says).

I had a great time. Our attendance this week was 800 people. That's one big birthday bash.

Bye Bye for now...

I said, "YEP"

That's exactly what I said to... Bryan asking me to marry him. It was very beautiful and romantic (which I guess was the effect he was going for :) )

We went to the beach right by my Sidewalk Sunday School site. He told me to close my eyes and gently lead me somewhere. When I opened my eyes, I still couldn't see anything but the... beach? so what was the big deal? Bryan pulled out a bouquet of white & red roses and started telling me how great I was, etc., etc... and then he turned me around and I saw this:


Bryan stood on one knee and pulled out the ring. Here comes the moment! I said, "YEP"...

We had our picture taken by a random man who happened to be walking on the beach. When he saw us he tried to turn the other way as not to disturb our little romantic picnic so Bryan had to chase him down to ask him to take our picture. He said he's been happily married for 45 years (that's encouraging :) )

I'm BACK!!

Hi there...
Quick observation - I survived a month without much internet - and I enjoyed it :)
Spent time with God, my boyfriend and friends, drank coffee and read books. It was great.
I think all www lovers should do that once.

Bye Bye For Now

So...
I will be doing a 30-day online fast. That means you will not hear from me on this blog, myspace, etc. until April. Exceptions: I will still check my email once a week and make online bill payments when necessary. I also will be going online once a week to listen to Pastor Sunday's sermon (www.pastorsunday.com) but that's it... so if you want to know what's going on - call me (he-he) or even better - come visit :)

In Search Of Simplicity - Law 1

Law 1: Reduce.

Author writes: The best way to achieve simplicity is through thoughtful reduction.

Problem: My room is cluttered & uninviting; I feel like there's not enough room for mny stuff. I have looked through some of my things - stored in far corners of my room and realized that some of them I have not even seen since I moved here over a year ago.

Solution: Garbage Bags. A-ha!
Unused for years clothing goes in a laundry bag to take later to a rehab center for some of the ladies I've been working with. Other stuff (and how much stuff there really is) is either thrown out or put in bags to be given away.

Note To Self: Be careful to remove only what is unnecessary and has no emotional value attached.

On The Other Hand: I really don't need as much as I think I need. I won't miss some of the things that I think I'd miss.

Result: 2 garbage bags out the door this morning. A lot more stuff to go through over the weekend. Feeling of accomplishment. Cleaner room.

In Search Of Simplicity

Simplicity is the property, condition,

or quality of being simple or un-combined.

It often denotes beauty, purity or clarity.

Simple things are usually easier to explain

and understand than complicated ones.

Simplicity can mean freedom

from hardship, effort or confusion.

It may also refer to a simple living lifestyle.

(Wikipedia)

I love simple. My life is overscheduled, overcrowded... with people, things, pressures...
I found the 10 laws of simplicity online and I am determined to try...

Prayer Requests

The prayer of a person living right with God

is something powerful to be reckoned with.
(James 5:16)

Please Pray:

1) N. 19 yrs old – left rehab program on Wednesday for some guy she met while in the hospital, the day before she was supposed to visit her daughter. Please pray that God will protect her from harm and that she will come back into the program.

2) E. has been denied parental rights of her daughter. According to court she cannot appeal.

3) M family was all very close to God once. Now the family is all falling apart with one child often in psycho ward, one in group home, and others not well taken care of, and the mother so bitter that she is totally oblivious to the destruction in her family. They have all turned away from God.

4) We're starting Sidewalk Sunday School next month. Please pray that God will give us as a team wisdom as to how better reach people this upcoming semester.

5) P. used to come to church faithfully every week. Now she cannot get on the bus because of the problems with her back. Please pray for healing.

6) my green card situation is still unresolved... so if you're not weary yet - please keep praying

Six-month-a-versary :)

What a word... basically to say that Bryan & I have been dating for 6 months.

A friend of Bryan's from Arizona sent him some money with a note "Do something fun with Helen". We decided to take this money and use it to celebrate our six months together.

After some discussion we decided to go to The View - the revolving restaurant in the middle of Times Square. Here're some pics.