But something tells me that they won’t. I just have to accept that it’s February 1 and that the first month of the year is already behind us. That means that the first month of our well-intentioned resolutions for 2012 are history, too. How’s that going for ya? 

For the New Year, I resolved to spend time everyday, even if only a few minutes, to read the Bible and pray. By God’s grace, I’ve actually stuck with it. I’ve missed a day or two, but I was able to catch up on my reading plan the next day. For the first time in my life, I’m keeping 100% of my resolutions going into the second month of the year. Maybe turning (insert age here) was just what I needed to nail down some discipline.

Are you still going with your New Year’s resolution(s)?

Before I plow ahead with another year of questionable ideas and immature jokes (chicken butt), I wanted to take a quick look at 2011 and see if I could come up with an overall personal theme (I’m not speaking for CM here) to the year. 

My initial thought was that ’11 was about rejection. Perhaps my new Uniqlo flannel shirts were sending me into a Seattle grunge type of self-loathing, but when I looked at two key plot lines through the year, it made sense.

1. The big one was my search for employment. I was laid off from my job on Thanksgiving 2010 due to financial hardships at the company. The fam spent an extended holiday in Florida, and I returned to NYC with a drive to find a job. After applications, phone interviews, and in-person interviews, I was still part of the unemployed masses.
2. Another arc, which wasn’t really rejection but still gave me the feeling of separation, was our recent move to the Bronx after two years on the Upper East Side. Our church and many of our friends were on the UES, and while I worked through my initial frustrations of being away from them, I felt alienated, like the life that I was living for the past two years was going on without me.

Saying that last year was all about rejection sounds cool and brooding, but it’s wrong. I feel good about life, and that’s because 2011 was a good year. Things didn’t all go my way, but that’s what happens when you go through a year of focus.

Here’s how my life began to come into focus in 2011:

1. As the job search went on, I picked up small projects, ranging from web design to writing. As I succeeded through those, I honed in on what my different talents are and how proficient I am with each of them. The experience continues to help me decide how to translate those talents into marketable skills.
2. I gained a love for our neighborhood. We got to know friends up here better and made new ones. We used our car, which we could in no way have brought to NYC while we lived in Manhattan, to explore the Northeast. And the (relative) affordability of the area means that we can sustain a life here, and we want to.
3. My time at home strengthened our family bond. I’m glad to have been around for Cool Newbie’s evolution from a baby to a toddler, seeing his little personality develop and being available to hug him all throughout the day.
4. The passing of our friend Sunday inspired me to learn from him and be an intentional and outspoken friend.
5. The year gave me a couple of fun creative goals to work towards and find the partners who will help make them happen. I can’t wait to get started.

So, enough about 2011. I just know that 2012 will be much better! You know why? Chicken thigh.

photo: Julie Jacobson (AP)

Historically, I’ve followed college football more closely than I have the NFL – a natural result of having lived in my college town of Gainesville, FL for 14 years. I’m a fan of the NFL’s New England Patriots, and I want them to do well, but pro football is usually no more than a passing interest as the season rushes by.

However, this year has been different. First of all, the Florida Gators stunk. Moreso, I’m tuned in to the NFL this season because of its story of the year, the unlikely success of Denver Broncos quarterback (and Florida alum) Tim Tebow.

Even if you don’t watch football, you probably know Tebow’s story; it’s transcended the sports page. Expected to fail as a pro QB because of his unconventional skill set, he’s led Denver to six straight wins, many of them last-minute comebacks, and resurrected the team from a lost season to first place in their division. He’s living every underdog’s dream on the largest stage in American sports. Even more newsworthy is his outspoken Christian faith, which is testing the boundaries of sports, the media, and religion. He is often seen kneeling in prayer on the sideline and begins many an interview by thanking his “Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” If that’s not polarizing enough, he appeared in a pro-life commercial during last year’s Super Bowl.

It’s interesting to watch the media analyze every angle of Tebow’s piety because I’m reminded of when I saw it in person – before he led the Gators to the 2008 national championship, before he won the 2007 Heisman Trophy, and before I stayed late at work to watch him commit to Florida in a 2005 press conference. Before all of that, I praised the Lord with Tim Tebow the High School Kid in a small church near Jacksonville, FL.

For most of my 14 years in Gainesville, I was in a Christian rock band. The band often led the music at church gatherings for middle and high school kids. The events went like this: we played a few songs, a speaker preached a short sermon, and we closed with more music. At some point in Christian antiquity, pizza and soda must have been decreed as the official meal of such youth events – an adolescent Eucharist.

Before the program, we greeted the event speaker, Tim Tebow, quarterback at Nease High School. The first thing I noticed about Tim was that he exuded more manliness than us four band members combined.

Having to run for your life and throw a ball 30 yards, QBs are obviously athletic, but they’re not often known for their physiques. They look like normal guys, maybe on the tall side. However, this Tim kid must have lived at the gym when he wasn’t at church or on the field. Maybe he did push-ups during his bedtime prayers. More bodybuilder than quarterback, I’m not sure which he shredded more, opposing defenses or the stitching in his polo shirts.

And let’s be honest, the guy is gorgeous, with the winning smile and supermodel-marrying capability of Tom Brady.

I wish that I could remember Tim’s sermon as well as I do his appearance. I paid attention. It’s just that our band had led hundreds of youth gatherings, and I don’t remember most of those sermons. If someone had told me that he would be the most prominent athlete of 2011, I would’ve taken some solid notes.

What I do remember was that he seemed genuine, which is not a given when you put a teenager in a position resembling royalty (high school football star in Florida) and ask him to be a moral guide. He didn’t talk down to his audience; he spoke to them like they were his peers, because they were. As the band drove back to Gainesville, we agreed that God was doing some good things through Tim Tebow.

When Tim came to Florida, the campus was in a frenzy. He was to be our football Messiah. Though I rooted for the kid, I swore not to succumb to TebowMania. He was 19. How could I, a late-twenty-something data entry expert/musician with an engineering degree, look up to him?

He won me over. I didn’t buy his jersey or paint #15 on my chest on game day, but I couldn’t help but admire all of his good work on the field and the way he helped and encouraged people in the real world. I even featured a Tebow-like character in my first (and only) screenplay, a dramedy about faith and college life.

As I watch Tim on TV now, it’s hard not think of that high school kid preaching in front of a few dozen of his peers in a small Jacksonville church. It’s probably because that, despite the accolades, admirers, and riches he’s amassed, I don’t think he’s changed much at all.

I’ve been a Patriots fan since their first Super Bowl in 1986. I’ve never rooted against them, but I guess there’s a first time for everything. This Sunday, they play the Denver Broncos.

This picture has nothing to do with Thanksgiving, but I am very thankful for our Cool Newbie.

It’s our third Thanksgiving in New York City, and after hosting last year, we’re celebrating out of the Cool Home.

Tomorrow, we’re heading down to Manhattan, steering clear of the parade traffic, and invading our friend’s West Village home for the holy trinity of Christian alliteration: Fun! Food! Fellowship!

On the menu will be:

• Roasted free-range chicken
• Stuffing
• Butternut squash
• New potatoes
• Brussel sprouts
• Green bean casserole
• Sweet potato casserole
• Bruschetta
• Apple pie
• Vegan chocolate cake

I apologize for knocking you from your chair when you noticed that turkey didn’t make the list. Given the prolonged preparation and usual dryness of turkey, we’re going for chicken this year. Besides, with all of the turkey sandwiches we eat around here, we’ve gobbled our fair share of gobblers for the year.

What are your plans for Thanksgiving?

Yesterday morning, three days after he was declared brain dead, Sunday was removed from life support and died shortly after. Our hearts ache for his family and his friends everywhere.

Kristen Ball wrote this gorgeous poem to commemorate Sunday.

His absence leaves a vast hole in our church, and the world, really, by the looks of the comments from his 2500+ Facebook friends. In my own small way, I want to shine brighter now that Sunday’s light is gone. This means being more proactive about spending time with people, encouraging them, ensuring that they know what they mean to me, and just making fun memories. It wouldn’t hurt me to dress a little smarter, too.

The last tweet/Facebook status that he posted was a one-word declaration: “Faithful!” I think God would agree and has told you as much, Sunday.

Jeff Rogers created this stunning piece to honor his friend with his art.

This print is available for sale now, with all profits going to help Sunday’s family cover the medical expenses.

Rest in peace and love, Sunday Ibok. A life so well lived.

He’s someone that you don’t forget easily, and I mean that in the most wonderful terms. He’s stylish, warm, gentle, exuberant, and filled with the love of God.

Last night, I prayed with friends for Sunday because he’s dying in a hospital room in Dallas.

Sunday was visiting friends in Texas over the weekend when he complained of a severe headache. When he couldn’t stand up, 911 was called. Doctors determined he’d had a brain aneurysm, and a series of CAT scans showed massive bleeding and no brain activity. He’s been on life support ever since.

For work, Sunday is a stylist/fashion consultant/brand coordinator-ambassador. This is clear when you behold his unique sense of style in person. Bow ties, blazers, remarkably unbuttoned shirts, shorts that come in a rainbow of colors, boots – and that’s at church. He’s actually agreed to give me a fashion makeover for the blog, possibly his toughest assignment yet. His style is vivacious and inviting, just like the man himself.

Sunday serves as a greeter at church, holding watch on the sidewalk for anyone and everyone arriving. More high-fives, handshakes, and hugs take place here than at any other time or place on the Upper East Side. As the Cool Fam pulls up to the curb, Sunday lends a hand to unload the Cool Boys and our copious baggage.

And we always know when he’s nearby, thanks to the NO-AAAH that he booms when he sees Cool Baby. CB usually shies away, partly because Sunday stands a good 6’2 at least, but on the times that he relents, he’s treated to a higher helicopter ride than I could ever give the kid.

Most of us, whether as friends, spouses, or parents, talk about scheduling “quality time.” It’s not really a talking point for Sunday; he lives it. He spends time with people to simply be with them.

And Sunday loves Jesus.

His medical team doesn’t think he’s going to make it. He’s been declared brain dead, and, in their experience, there’s no coming back. But still we pray, as a family, as a church, as the great swath of humanity that’s been touched by his life. Will you join us to ask God for miraculous healing for Sunday?

By the time you read this, it may be too late to pray for physical healing, but his family and friends will need waves of prayer. Or, by the time you read this, you may have already heard about the biggest miracle to ever come out of Baylor Medical Center.

It’s all in God’s hands, and we are filling His ears with prayer for our friend Sunday.

Here’s a video of Sunday and his closest friends performing a dance at church.

Here’s a moment from church yesterday that I was fortunate to capture. WARNING: This video is insanely sweet and may not be appropriate for those allergic to extreme cuteness.

Almost exactly three years ago, we almost stayed home. Our plans of Cool Dad interning in NYC fell through a few weeks before we were supposed to move. But we moved anyway. We didn’t stay home, even though all the common sense in the world would have told us to.

While it’s too overwhelming to think of all the richness of adventures (a major family value around here) of the past three years that we would have missed out on, I feel that I should make a record of just one week in the life of the Cool Fam. Just to say thank you to God for giving us this dream of living in NYC and providing a way to do it. And to think we almost stayed home…

Tuesday, August 9
The Cool Kids and I took the express bus to a kid rock (no, not that Kid Rock) concert in Madison Square Park, where CB and CN got their groove on. We shared a meal at a very cool organic food spot.

Wednesday, August 10
The Cool Kids and I drove to our beloved Trader Joe’s, stopping to meet with our neighbor who wanted to give us a big bag of tomatoes, onion, and peppers from her garden. After unloading the groceries, we went to another cool neighbor’s house to take a dip in the baby pool. CB watered the garden and CN splashed while the mums chatted. We came away with more delicious tomatoes from this garden!

Thursday, August 11
I drove on my favorite parkways (just like highways, but smooth and uncongested, without any semi-trucks or commercial vehicles) to get to a pristine park in Westchester County, a more residential and relaxed area north of NYC. CB got his first skinned knee on his way to the playground, but we all still enjoyed the leafy green trees and hills everywhere. The park mums were amazed by CB’s love for vegetables when we brought out our bagged lunches.

Friday, August 12
The whole Cool Fam drove into the city for a full day of adventures! We parked on the Upper East Side and took a subway (rare activity) to the bottom tip of Manhattan. From there we got on a free ferry to the leafy and uninhabited Governors Island. CB made a trapeze man (with a long ponytail, I might add) out of paper at the art table and then proceeded to watch people on an actual trapeze that was set up in a field. CN walked around and played with CD while I viewed art exhibits held in the historic unoccupied houses. Two cool friends came with us, too!

Then, we dropped off both boys at a friend’s house where they had a movie night with the three children of the household and stayed up late giggling. CD and I had a date night. We went to a classic NYC restaurant, Chipotle. (What can we say, we’re suckers for counter service and cilantro lime rice.) After that, we shared a 4-count box of sugar-free coconut, chocolate, and almond ice pops while discussing music. Glorious.

Saturday, August 13
The Cool Fam redeemed the morning by driving into the city for Summer Streets, where Park Avenue is blocked off to car traffic from 72nd Street to the Brooklyn Bridge. We got out the double stroller attachment and walked the whole way — over 80 blocks! We didn’t do the free rollerblading like we did last time, but we DID sample all the free organic cheese, yogurt, fruit, and guacamole along the way. Our cool friend Kristin went with us, as is the tradition!

Last weekend, on rollerblades

After that, we took the subway back up to get our car and drove to Long Island City, a neighborhood in Queens right across the East River from Manhattan. CB hung out with some of our friends (to make room in the car) while the rest of the Cool Fam traveled to Flushing, the Chinatown of Queens, for a super-cheap food tour with a cool couple we’re getting to know. After sampling some Peking duck sandwiches, bubble tea, wontons, and lamb cumin burgers…we called it a day.

Sunday, August 14
We made it to church on time, and there was even an open spot to parallel park right in front on this rainy day. Incredible feeling of community and inspiration, as usual. We caught up with good friends afterwards at the pizza place around the corner.

Monday, August 15
Stormy day was a good excuse to stay inside after the busy weekend! I finally got around to making salsa for the first time with all the fresh vegetables from two different neighbors. YUM.

Tuesday, August 16
Like I said at the beginning of this post, we almost stayed home because of the rainy forecast. Instead, we went to Central Park for the 2011 Korea Day celebration. We met up with my cool roommate from college and indulged in more-than-we-could-eat Korean specialties and treats. All for free and no major crowds thanks to the cloudiness-turned-sunshine. CB and CN listened to their first K-Pop band, and CB went on to compete and WIN the dumpling-making contest…earning us a $50 gift certificate at a Korean restaurant, in addition to lots of “awwws” and applause from the crowd as he was interviewed.

I came home just thinking how amazing this week has been, all thanks to God. I am thankful that, in spite of all the daily challenges and hassles of living in NYC, for the past three years we have felt ALIVE as we put our heads down on our pillows at the end of the day.

I also want to encourage our readers–if you have a crazy ridiculous dream that God has put in your heart–go for it!!!

This post is part of Works for Me Wednesday.

The Cool Grandmums are going to be so proud. I purchased a whole chicken at Trader Joe’s (organic, free-range of course) instead of the bag of frozen chicken breasts yesterday!

This is part of my quest to eat foods that are closer to their natural state. Right now it’s cooking away in crockpot so that I can run into the kitchen at dinner time, eat, and get the heck out of there. (Did I mention our kitchen is not air-conditioned? And that yesterday it was over 100 degrees in there? And how much do we pay in rent again?)

Just like probably 99% of girls I know, I have always been disgusted by the thought of handling a big raw chicken with its movable wings and scary bag of organs inside. I decided to face my fears head-on today!

As I rinsed Chicken in the sink, I realized that it might be good for me to be grossed-out about meat sometimes. It’s uncomfortable to think about what has to happen in order for us to eat meat for dinner (I read this somewhere).  Then I got all philosophical, remembering that Chicken had to die so that my family could have all kinds of good nutrients in our bodies. That train of thought led me to start thinking about Jesus and the uncomfortableness surrounding what he did, as I stood there holding that chicken. I’ve never had that experience cooking beans or vegetables.

So yes, even though I would be really happy to live on beans and rice and not have to deal with the bones and death of animals, I don’t feel it’s the most physically and spiritually satisfying route for our family right now. (I bet I’m earning some cool points with Cool Dad too!) Thank you, God, for meat!

Next up: chicken stock? chicken liver pate? I’ve gotta make use of all these parts!