Thankful this November

November started just after Hurricane Sandy made its way through New York and the Northeast.  As I mentioned before we were very fortunate and sustained almost no damage in our area.  We had a scare during the windiest part of the storm when a window flew open and we thought it had broken, but thankfully it just needed to be locked and it stayed put the rest of the storm.  It's hard to believe that it's been over a month since the storm and yet there are still areas where the damage is so complete that people have had to leave there homes.  Many of you have gone through hurricanes before, but to then be followed by a cold winter makes it even tougher!  Please continue to pray for the recovery efforts! 

The first weekend in November we had another fun and successful dinner at the Ronald McDonald House, we served a Mexican Fiesta themed dinner.

Robby jammed out on the drums in the Activity Room while one of the older kids that is staying in the house played the bass.

Right after the RMH dinner, we went celebrated two of our friend's birthdays at a mustache themed party.  Check out the cupcakes!

On Sunday, we took some non-perishables to a local restaurant that was arranging deliveries to the Rockaways.  Check out all the boxes!  They had sections for canned goods, toiletries, clothes, baby supplies, blankets and more! It was so moving to see all of these people giving to those who are in such great need. 

We had our first snow storm the next week.  I worked from home, and Bess helped!

Robby had to go in to the office, but thankfully it was only a 5 minute walk.

In a bitter sweet turn of events, I got to go to Florida to be with family to remember my Godfather, Orlando, who passed away from a heart attack.  He was always the life of the party, so he will be missed immensely.  I am so grateful that I was able to be with family during that time and that B & D, Mark, Crystal and Toots came by as well!

Back in New York, the City began preparing for the upcoming Holidays! One of the subway trains was even decorated inside and out for the MACY's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Robby, hanging out with Papa Smurf!

We decorated our apartment for Christmas as well!  No tree this year though, since we will not really be spending much time in New York in December.

During the days we had off from work, I got around to (finally) making the cushions for our chairs.

We had to cut the cushion to match the size of the seat.

Here are some of the supplies we used.

Check out this action shot of Rob!

I had already sewn the fabric together several weeks ago, so they were all set to staple into place.

Danger: Drea with a staple gun!

Ta DA! We are so happy with how they turned out!

In addition to cushion making, we also ventured into Pie Making!!

Yummy pie crust, courtesy of Fresh Direct!

All in all, we made FOUR pies (two traditional pumpkin pies, and two pumpkin cheesecake pies.  We also made Cornbread Casserole, Green Bean Casserole and Baked Mac and Cheese.  (So. Good.)  That weekend we also got to spend time having lunch at Serendipity with the Milian's who were visiting from Florida!  Needless to say, we are eating extremely healthy foods in preparation for the Christmas festivities!

November 27th, Robby began his 6 month seasonal position with the NFL.  What a huge answer to prayer!  Thank you everyone for joining us in praying for Robby to get this opportunity.  We still can't believe it! We are hoping that this can lead to a full-time opportunity if it's God's will.

Rob was excited to expand his wardrobe beyond his school related coaching gear, check out his Tie-tying skills! Whattup!  This pretty much sums up our month of November, and we continue to be so thankful for all that God has been doing in our lives.  This year so far we have spent two different seasons wondering what job Robby would have next, and both times, God has provided in His perfect timing!  It has been hard for us to trust God in the times of waiting, but it has been really faith-building as well.

This last "Do-it-Yourself" project is from the first weekend in December, but I wanted to share it now anyway, because I know the December update will be jam-packed with lot's of good stuff. I made Euro Sham covers for the pillows on our bed.  Above you can see the Mauve colored fabric, those were our old covers.  So I went about cutting and measuring the fabric. 

Then I ironed the seams... I have found that ironing the fabric is actually one of the easiest ways to quickly make a sewing job look a little bit more professional.  So it takes a little extra time, but it's worth it!

Then after pinning the fabric together and sewing everything up, voila!

Here's the completed view of the bed with the new Euro Shams!  Another success!

Love to you all, Drea and Rob

Tourists and Apples and Hurricanes, Oh My!!

October ushers in the wonderful fall weather and gorgeous coloring leaves.  This October also ushered in great visits from Agu and Eli, a weekend of "Apple Picking" and Super Storm Sandy.


This is picture is of the birthday girl, Agu in Central Park.  We walked through the Park from 86th and Lexington to 53rd and 5th Avenue.  We were treated to a great lunch at the MoMa to celebrate the birthday girl!





Birthday Dinner at Yuca Bar on the Lower East Side.


The next night Drea cheered Robby and the Monroe Mustangs on in the chilly fall air.  Sadly they lost, but it was a gorgeous evening.



Eli came to visit the very next weekend, and we had a great time.  She had never visited NYC in the fall.  On her first night here, we snapped this great pic when she fell asleep!!




We got together at the MoMa again for a great lunch and Eli got to see her favorite painting, "Starry Night".



After church on Sunday, we went to Shake Shack and then strolled through Central Park with the Beltrez gang.




The next weekend, Rob had a Bi-Week, so we went "Apple Picking" with Anthony, Judy and The Ethan.  Due to Super Storm Sandy, all of the apples had been removed from the trees and were in huge bins for us to select from, so we weren't able to actually pick them off the trees ourselves.  Seeing all the  trees changing colors, and the mountains rolling across the view was so gorgeous.


We bought a delicious Blackberry Pie and Apple Cider Donuts!!


Two days later, Super Storm Sandy made her way to the Northeast.  This is from the top floor of our apartment building a few hours before the storm hit land.  The clouds are so thick, you can't even see the City.  Normally, you can see the New York City Skyline very clearly from up there.




We stocked up on some Spaghettio's, Wine, Cereal, Oreos and Popcorn.  We made a couple of bags just in case we lost power.  Thankfully we actually never lost power and although the wind was scary at some points, our area suffered very minimal damage.  Just a few miles away from us in places like Brooklyn, Staten Island and New Jersey, there are communities that will be facing many months of recovery as well as a cold, cold winter.  Please pray for these communities to get back on their feet soon!

Celebrating and Living it Up in September

Over Labor Day weekend, we got to celebrate the marriage of two great friends Brett and Erin.  They had a beautiful wedding overlooking the Hudson Valley.  We rented a car and drove an hour and a half up state and enjoyed the picturesque views and perfect weather.

With the bonus day of a long weekend, we also got around to some DIY projects.  Drea took apart Grandma Hickson's vintage fan, cleaned it up and gave it a new paint job.

This project is definitely random, but wanted to share anyway.  Drea made a mop pad for the steam mop from a car wash mitt and an old pair of plaid shorts.  The mop pads the steamer came with were horrible, they would not absorb anything and just mucked around the dirt and steam across the floors!  So this has been a good fix so far :)

Every Friday morning, in the park across the street, there is a small farmer's market.  We wish it was on Saturdays because then we could actually go to it!!  Instead we just pass it on the way to work as they are still setting up.

The next weekend, we had a Ronald McDonald House Dinner, Rob wasn't able to make it because he was out of town at an away game, but it was still a fun night.  Brandon and Karyn are cutting up fruit for the fruit salad, which is a favorite for the kiddos.  We can't make dinner without having fruit salad on the menu!

The next week, Drea met up with a friend (Linda) for Dinner after work.  We met at Pershing Square, an adorable restaurant built under Park Avenue.  Since the weather hasn't gotten too cold yet, we sat outside where all of those red umbrellas are.  Now that we live in New Rochelle and have to catch the scheduled Metro North Trains from Grand Central or from 125th street, we have tried to be creative in finding as many places to meet up with friends near the stops so we don't have a hard time getting home.

For the first home game that Drea was finally able to attend, we made "reese's peanut butter" footballs.  Drea accidentally bought unsweet bakers chocolate to dip the rolled up peanut butter balls in, which was EXTREMELY bitter.  But the peanut butter balls were made with peanut butter, crushed graham crackers and a pound of powdered sugar, so the sweetness countered the bitterness.

Monroe's home field is at SUNY Maritime (where Rob coached the last 2 years) so we still get to enjoy the great views of the city beyond the Long Island Sound.

Drea and Kim Karg (Head Coach's wife)

After the game we had Brett & Erin (the newly weds!) and Scott and Katie over for dessert and a game of Killer Bunnies!

Notice the football game on mute while we played.

Erin won and Brett was an extremely supportive husband.

We got an unexpected surprise in the mail.  A "Happy Fall" package from B & D! Thanks so much for the candle and the cookies!!!

Last weekend, we were able to finish another DIY project by giving the desk a small face lift.  We bought new desk legs to replace the metal cylinder posts.

They came in silver, so Rob spray painted them white.  Our building manager let Rob spray paint them in the loading dock for the building and leave them there over night to dry which was helpful.

Since the desk didn't have the right holes lined up to install these legs we probably spent about 2 hours trying to get them secure, but in the end it was worth it, don't you think?

The last day in September was the Homecoming game for Monroe.  The day was absolutely gorgeous, crisp blue sky and sunshine for miles... until in the distance over the city we started to see grey skies and then we could tell it was pouring because we could no longer see the Manhattan skyline.  Monroe was in the lead the entire game and it was almost over, it seemed we would make it without getting wet, but during the 4th Quarter, the storm quickly made it's way over the Long Island Sound and froze us all to our seats!!  Thankfully by the last 5 minutes of the game the storm had passed, the sun came back out to warm us up and Monroe won 28-14!  Another exciting thing that happened after the game is that Drea got to meet the VP of the University who said, "they are working hard for your husband" to try and provide Rob with a full time position at the school once football season is over.  (November is coming up quickly!)  We are praying for God's will and hoping that there is an opportunity there for Rob.

Last picture for September is what Drea sees every morning coming up the stairs from the Metro North train track.  Just wanted to share it, it's such a gorgeous landmark building, and people just hustle and bustle their way through it, to and from work.  It's nice to pause and admire it for a moment.

Love, Rob & Drea

PS - Does anybody know about blog photo storage, we have reached our max!!!