All around!

So, we've been pretty busy lately! It feels great. Everything feels great. So here are some things we've been up to!

James and I did a three legged race at a church Easter party. (This is when we were visiting Nate and Renee in CT) I was so proud of him. He totally got it and we didn't fall down once!

This is Kyle giving James a motivational speech as James prepared to do his first ever potato sack race.  James came in very last, but had fun the whole time. 

Kyle and William

William is exploring all over the place now. I just thought this was a funny picture. He was so proud of himself for climbing in there and sitting down just right.

We went on the Ferry to Staten Island!

Still on the Ferry.

Visiting the Staten Island Zoo! 

Taking a rest at the Twin Towers Memorial. 

Aquarium day! We met the CT cousins at an aquarium!I know its a flattering one of me:)

Park Day and flying a kite!

Beach day! We went to a nearby beach and played! It was only about 30 min drive! Too cold to swim, but great for building castles!

Bridge day! We walked across the Brooklyn Bridge. Very cool.

Bridge...obviously.

I decided I need to venture out more with the boys so I took them to this festival thing that was going on in Manhattan....all by myself! Well, Kyle met us there...thats why he's in the picture:) I only got lost once. It was a mere half mile in the wrong direction..no big. This is a video of this really cool music group where we all were supposed to be part of the music. It was my favorite part of the day. The video doesn't really catch how cool it was though. 

William is getting more brave and takes his first step!! He has taken one step about 5 times since this, but he always goes back down on his knees. It will be a while before he's actually walking, but this was his official first step.

March

Well, we have had a great month! To start, Kyle quit Staples and began substitute teaching! It has made a huge difference to all of us to have him home more! What a blessing! Also with substitute teaching, we were a little worried about whether he would get enough jobs. We heard that some get called every day and others only once a week, so we were not sure how it would go, BUT the first week he got a job everyday!! The last part of the week he worked as an English teacher at a middle school for all the students who have been suspended. Well, it turns out he has a way with the boys that he taught and the principal asked him to stay on for the rest of the year as their full time teacher!!! So, because of budgets, they can only have him come three days a week, but still he has his own class and classroom and he creates the curriculum and everything! Then the other two days, he is still available to sub at other schools. This is such a blessing and a reminder to us that the Lord will take care of us. It has been really nice for Kyle to go to school, then he stays a little longer to write music, then he is home by 5. It is amazing.

As far as me, I have made great strides in learning to enjoy this foreign place. We have had some beautiful days and it has been nice to get out and walk to all the places we normally go to in the car. We still have to drive for a few things, but its fun getting into the sunshine!! I think that as the trees start blooming and leaves come out we will see a prettier side of this city too. Not so pretty in the winter. So, I feel happier than I have felt since we left Virginia, which is a really good feeling. I might be able to live here a while! I think that I have gotten over the culture shock that was pretty hard on me too, so that is a big help. I think things will just get better from here on out in this aspect!

To update on the boys, William is getting anxious to walk! He stands on his own and looks like he will take a step, but then he wimps out and crawls. He does lots of walking as long as he is holding onto our hands or furniture, so we are betting that he'll be walking soon....actually more like running! James is doing great as always. He is learning faster than I teach. He is always coming up with new words and new phrases that I don't know where he learns it all!! He even started saying, "What? Where'd I learn that?" and laughing. I guess we say that to him a lot.

Its been a good month...so here are some pictures and videos. Enjoy.

I started baking our own bread! This was a huge accomplishment for me since I thought I wouldn't be able to do it!, but it is delicious! and it makes me feel good.

This is just a video of James talking. Its kind of long, but I thought it was fun to catch my conversation with him.

This one is William playing a game on my phone. He is just supposed to point to these little animals that float across the screen. I was just impressed that he knew what to do!

William's walking progress

James doing addition. The counting with his nose was his own idea. Whatever works!

William's Smile

So I just had to post this video. Its of William crawling up the stairs. The real reason that I wanted to post it though was because at the end he is so proud of himself and he gives his BIG smile. He smiles at me all the time with this huge smile and I just love it, so I'm glad that I caught it on video! I also caught his high pitched scream which he does all the time and his growling, which he does all the time too. He's kind of loud.

And it unfolds

So I haven't really posted much because I feel like there isn't much to post. The good news is things are getting better. In fact, things are great. We still have the continuing struggles of getting around this city, but I guess its just become part of how things work. Kyle is still working at Staples and is looking into switching over to becoming a substitute teacher. We are hoping that will be better as he begins getting his teaching certification so he can be a high school teacher in a couple years. We will see how that works out, but we're hoping it will get him home a little more. Kyle is doing well in the BMI workshop. He is learning a lot and we remind ourselves all the time that that is the reason we are here, which makes it all worth it. So as far as the update on our lives, that is really it. We are doing great and feeling happy and grateful and blessed. We are learning about keeping a bigger perspective on life, which has made everything easier.

So updates with the kids now. William started crawling about a month ago! He is at full speed now and is getting into everything. He loves to be into everything and part of everything. Sometimes I can't even get him to eat because he is afraid he is going to miss out on something! As soon as he started crawling he stopped wanting to be held all the time and went back to his pleasant and happy self. All I have to do is set him down with toys and he is happy for a long time! His favorite thing EVER is taking a bath. If he hears the water running there is nothing stopping that kid from diving in head first (except a very nervous mommy)! He will laugh and splash for as long as I leave him in there, which is never that long because I am quickly covered in water and he slips all over the place!! He also just adores James. James can make him laugh any time of the day--even mid cry. William is getting old enough to play a little more with James, which makes them both happy!

James is getting bigger and bigger and I can hardly believe it. He is finally potty trained! Although, he still has some occasional accidents. It was funny how it finally worked out. I tried everything I could to get him potty trained, but it was like as soon as he decided he wanted to I didn't have to do a thing. He tells me when he has to go and all I have to do is help him get there. Nice. He also has an increasingly interesting vocabulary like, "awful", and "terrific," but my favorite is, "uhhh..... sure!" when responding to a question, or, "no problem," when I tell him thanks for something. He is so fun...most of the time :)

So here are some pictures and videos!

James loves to help will everything I do. He actually did a pretty good job feeding William!

This is from Staten Island looking at Manhattan.  We came here on a drive to look around and were suprised at how pretty it is there. 

William is really ticklish!

William in the bath...they both have fun.

I caught this video of James without him knowing. I don't know where he gets his moves. Some of them are all his own! He has also and a very fast growth spurt lately, which explains why is jammies are too small. Please ignore the plumber :)

We've had trouble in getting to Solla Sollew

So here we are in Brooklyn New York! I hardly know where to begin with an update on the last couple months of our lives. There is no question it has been the hardest struggle Kyle and I have gone through together so far, yet we have been strengthened and we have been blessed to see many small and large miracles. Kyle took some time to write many of our experiences in his blog, so to make this easier here is his post if you are interested in details.http://www.Kylefackrellmusic.com/blog.html Since I really can't say it better, I'm not going to add many details.

What we have found at the end of this journey, is that God is so aware of us and he has heard our prayers. We are not done yet though. It has been a struggle here in Brooklyn. Kyle's work hours are long and the pay is little. I am struggling to find a way to get around this city with two children! It is so different! Most stores don't have parking lots! That means for a lot of looking for parking and walking and fighting traffic (not my most favorite thing). So, it has been an interesting experience. I also am finding that I don't really like city living. It is so busy and noisy and crowded. Our ward is also very different from what we are used to. This is a cool thing in many ways. It is fun to be the minority and to listen to a range of accents and experiences from all over the world. It is neat to be around so many different kinds of people. There aren't many kids in the ward though, so I am hoping to get to know people in neighboring wards that we can be friends with for play dates and things like that. Despite the challenges of living here, I have been able to find some places that are easier to get to and there are some beautiful parks and beaches very near. I do keep in mind that it takes a long time to feel at home in a new place. So, we are going to give it a couple years. The longer I am here the better I get at city living and I know there is a reason we are here. I think I can say pretty confidently that this is not where we want to settle down by any means, but I am hopeful that it will become a place that we will be sad to leave when the time comes. We will see how our journey unfolds.

Here are some pictures. Sorry about the poor quality, they are from my phone, I can't find our regular camera at the moment...in a box somewhere maybe!?

Also, to those of you who are wanting to visit NYC you have a place to make home base for a couple days! We are about 1 hour from our door to Manhattan on the subway, shorter by cab. We would love to have visitors and we have a living room and a blow-up mattress and couches! Feel free to call or email and reserve at date at the Fackrell Inn. :)

Here are some pictures and other updates.

So, in the craziness of everything James has stated to not take a regular nap, and when he does he won't go to sleep at night! So, we have tried to keep him awake in order to keep bedtime reasonable. (With a nap he will literlly stay up until 11 still bouncing around!!) However, the poor child still gets tired and will fall asleep anywhere. We are getting into a better pattern now that things are a little more stable, but in the transition it was funny to see all the places he fell asleep!

Yes, he is totally asleep here!

Also, WIlliam is growing and I am pretty sure he is bigger than James was at this age. He is not a great sleeper anymore, although he is getting better. He is 4 1/2 months and I just put the 12 month clothes in his drawers because he has grown out of most of the 9 months clothes! He is quick to smile and laugh and he adores James. He will watch him and smile at him all the time. He prefers to be held and is not great at being left while I do things, so my arm is getting strong to say the least. My patience is being tried at times too. :) He has started rolling both ways in the last few weeks and he grabs at everything!

James being a "light pole" at Prospect Park

Sadly we didn't get to do anything Halloween related this year because of
weather and James was sick, but he is a darn cute pirate!

Here are some pictures of our new house, as it is right now...so its not really clean and organized, but if I wait until its perfect, i will never get pictures. :)

This is our house! The lady standing in front is the angel that owns it and is letting us rent from her for ridiculously low price. She is standing on her level and we are on the bottom just below her. 

from front door before we got couches

from the kitchen

play area behind the couches (one of my favorite thing about this house is that it feels much more spacious than we expected for a NYC apartment.)

kitchen is very open and i can see the whole room from here!

go up the stairs to two bedrooms and a bathroom

our bedroom

boys room...needs some serious decorating...maybe someday!

James and William

Well, I've officially been on my own, with no help for about 2 weeks. I have to say, I am so much busier and I can't keep up with the chores! I am really trying to find a balance of play and work, but it seems like I can never get all my work done to start the play. Anyway, it has been a bit of a struggle, but I'm hanging in there. I figure that this has been done before...some have even raised more than two kids, though I can't imagine how at this point! :) Anyway, here are some pictures from this week. Also, my sister Megan pointed out to me some pictures of James and william at about the same age, I thought it was pretty amazing how much they look alike, so I decided to put them on here too.

James making William smile. That made me smile, despite how disobedient James was being at the moment.

William at 7 weeks

James at about 10 weeks.

William at about 4 weeks.

James at about 6 weeks.