Down Town

WEDNESDAY

Wednesday we slept in a little and then headed downtown to see all of those sights. Thankfully New York knows how to handle the snow so the roads were clear. Unfortunately, I was wearing Uggs (well, fake ones, but that type of boot) and they were not water proof! Thankfully, although my feet got wet, they stayed warm most of the day!

 We took the subway down to the ground zero sight. There isn't very much to see since they are already rebuilding the World Trade Center, but we did go to the 9/11 museum and spent a chunk of time going through the pictures/quote/videos of things that happened that day. It was an emotional morning.

 After that we went to St. Peter's to see where so many people received helped in the months following 9/11. Seeing that church started conversation about how few churches there are in NYC. We have seen several old church that people can come in anytime, but how many are bible believing churches that believe Jesus is the only true way?? Seeing that all were welcome in St. Peter's is awesome... I just wonder how many were turned to Christ as a result?

 I can't believe that I was only in 8th grade when that happened. I was in bible class at RVCS and we had a special chapel to pray for those involved. I remember naively thinking during my volleyball tryout after school that every plane I heard was a terrorist. It was a scary time even for those far away, I can't imagine...

Oh hey, I saw some phone booths. They made me smile. I didn't know they existed anymore. Just kidding. No seriously, they are still around!

 

 After grabbing a quick lunch, we headed past Wall Street to the Staten Island Ferry. We heard by a couple people that you get pretty close to the Statue of Liberty by this ferry and it's free, so we gave it a shot. I had a great time! I loved riding it, going on the hurricane deck and taking pictures, and just enjoyed being on the water. Oh Lady Liberty I do admire you for what you do. There is NO WAY I would be able to stand strong in the freezing cold! But way to go! :)

 We braved Chinatown where I bought a cheap purse and also Little Italy where we ate at an old Italian Restaurant. Yummy food, candle lit, and we survived the sketch area.

 Then, we headed to Madison Square Garden for a night of basketball. Much to our surprise, and Drew's excitement, we realized it was a double header. St. John's men were playing Syracuse, and then St. John's girls were playing UCONN. We started towards the back in our $18 tickets, but moved up to row 12 when most everyone left before the girls game. They were sweet seats and made my hubby really happy. :) Drew's choice of the week... SUCCESS!

DREW: 

Favorite - imagining being at an NBA game up close... being in awe of how many famous sports events took place in Madison Square Garden. 

Least - paying too much for bottled water at dinner. The waiter was tricky, and Drew was ticked. 

KARI:

Favorite - okay don't make fun.. I'm serious, brace yourself. My favorite part of this day was having my books come to life. :) I have been reading so many Karen Kingsbury books lately. I finished a series that was about 9/11 and then several other ones touched on that tragic day and months that followed. I read about firefighters that fought there, people that volunteered at St. Peters. I read about people who lived on Staten Island and rode the ferry and people who had dad's working in the world trade center. There has just been a lot of scenes from the books played out in NYC, even walked in Central park, and going to see 'The Lion King' on Broadway. So I LOVED that I could picture those things better. It made me want to go see so and so at the fire station or go to Staten Island and see a precious little girl I read about. Anywho... it made me happy to imagine that clearly. When I told Drew all of that, he did a good job trying not to laugh. but that's me. :)

Least favorite - my very wet toes throughout the day, and having Italian food make me sick through most of the men's St. John's game. 

HELLO NEW YORK!

Drew and I have been watching the TV series 'Heroes' and in it there is a Japanese man who can teleport. He finally gets himself to go to New York and raises his hands and yells "HEELLOO New York" in the middle of Times Square. So Drew acted it out and we were joking about it all week. :)

We were so blessed to have connections with a couple in Jersey to stay with two of the nights we were in the city. The have a townhouse on the Hudson, and our bedroom window looked out across the river to the city. Breathtaking.

We had such a blast this week and had many memorable occasions. :) There are tons of people trying to sell you stuff, tell you about discounts and get you to help feed the homeless. One guy was talking behind a 'herd' of us on a crosswalk saying "Excuse me, what are you doing on this wonderful afternoon. . . . besides . . ignoring the black guy?" I admit, I did feel bad ignoring them, so I would politely shake my head or say no thanks. I know I know, I would never survive there long term. I'm such a small town girl, but I loved it!

We definitely screamed tourists. I thought it was written on our foreheads because ever store we would enter they would ask us where we were from... After a couple hours walking around I realized it could be that I was wearing the ONLY white coat in Manhattan. Seriously, it's all black for the new yorkers. Which makes sense, it's dirty there. :)

I learned that you don't look at people on the buses, they are too busy looking at their phones to notice, but light conversation is not on any one's to do list. Except the lady with the little boy. I think the only reason that start was because the kid was kicking us.

Nothing says cheap tourist like going in to a 'diner' taking off our coats, getting menus, looking at prices, and then heading quickly to the door before our waiter got time for us. ;) whoops.

On Tuesday we went to the Empire State Building, the zoo/Central Park, Rockefeller Center, all through Times Square, AE, FAO Schwartz, Apple, NBA store, bought the most expensive m&ms ever, and ate at Bubba Gump. We walked who knows how many blocks. It was a fantastic day!

We headed 'home' around 730 because NYC was calling for up to 10 inches of snow and we did not want to get stuck in the city with the buses closed down! We enjoyed watching the snow over the Hudson while watching some NYC movies.

Drew and I have this thing where we try to ask each other what our favorite and least favorite part of our day. We got the idea from a friend, and while we are not daily consistent with it, we try to ask randomly. This trip we ended almost every night with it. It's a fun game, you should try it. Another question is what God taught you today.

DREW:
Favorite - Empire State Building. He has not been up that high before. Looking out over the city was magnificent. 
Least - His feet HURT by the end of the day... solution? wearing 2 pairs of socks a day!

KARI:
Favorite - people watching! I kept hoping to see someone famous but it never happened. I also loved walking the streets of New York happily being married and exploring together. 
Least - worrying about snow. By the time we got 'home' we couldn't see the city because of the fog/snow. It worried me that we wouldn't we able to do some things because of it!

The City of Brotherly Love

Oh the adventures. Growing up, my mom always called terrible experiences 'adventures' so Katie and I would think that we were doing something exciting. It didn't usually work but we went with it. Sometimes things turned out okay, but they ALWAYS ended up making 'memories', which is another favorite Farmer Girl word. I can tell you right now that this trip was a whole lot of memory making. :) My post would be super long if I did our whole trip in one, so look for updates about our 'date week' as this week continues.

Love was shown to us while walking towards to Philadelphia Museum of Art. He honked his horn and exclaimed, "You guys are so cute! Have a good day!" Gee thanks mister!

We walked up the steps and took pictures of Drew acting like Rocky. We also visited the Liberty Bell and some other historic places.

Finding a decent Philly steak was harder than it looked. Philly is not the safest area so we didn't want to stop just anywhere. Finally we found Larry's Steaks : Philadelphia House of the Belly Fillers which was delicious.

We talked to a couple of homeless guys, and one really scared me. All I saw was a blanket... or so I thought. And then it moved. God led me to give a box of Cherrios to one lady that had a sign saying 'Very Hungry'. Even though that was supposed to be our breakfast on the way to New York, Drew made the comment, "I don't think I have ever truly been able to say that, or ever will." So if you are ever thinking about feeding someone, just put some boxes of cereal in your trunk. It is way easier than running through a drive-thru and risking the person not being there when you get back. I have heard of that happening several times lately.

Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious (sp?)

No, this post does not have to do with Mary Poppins, although she is definitely a favorite. You do have to admit that song is totally random, and so are the things I am about to say. I didn't bother spell checking it, because I think I was pretty stinkin' close and that's good enough for me.

Just so you're aware, one should probably look closely at any box before they cook what's inside. While making yummy treats this season, I KNEW I had a brownie mix. Soooo, I mix it up and stick it in the oven. Once the 'brownies' were in the oven I see that it was a cake mix not brownie mix. Oops. My bad.

A Christmas gift of dinner and a chick flick with Starr makes me smile, big time. :) 

Although, I realized while watching said movie, that I have been seriously behind on the girlie movie watching since being married. What is it about guys bending over backwards to do what girls want when they are dating (example: watching movies they would never watch or going out on nice dates when they would rather play video games) and yet once they get married it never happens way less frequently. I think we both compromise to stay on more middle ground, but seriously! I have missed out on so many sappy movies! Guess I'm just going to have to ditch my husband more to go do girlie things with my friends! Hee hee, I'm mostly kidding... although he does ditch me for disc golf often.

Meeting the parents/siblings of friends of ours turned out to be a fabulous afternoon! I love seeing how God is working in other people's lives! The Pughs were such a blessing to us Sunday! It was also fun to have kids I just met color me pictures and give me hugs. I was even invited to a tea party, but since I left my AGD (American Girl Doll) Kirsten, at home, Drew and I headed home before the real fun started.

I was able to host my dear friend Lauren's birthday party. We had several couple over here for some Stromboli and yummy ice cream cake. I'm very thankful for her, and have loved seeing her passion for Christ grow and challenge over the few years I've known her!

We have still not taken our Christmas tree down. Some may call us slackers, others may call us too busy... I think we fall somewhere in the middle.

I went to Target 3 times last week. On 3 different days. I was running errands for the mom I work for, and once I got home after the 3rd day, even though I had asked Drew if he needed anything, that is the time he told me he did. Is it bad I told him 'sorry about your luck, go yourself'. Maybe but he understood so thankfully his new undershirts and I don't remember what else, can wait.

Rummy is a fun game. Even when it's just two players. Drew and I played forever last night, mainly because once I realized I was behind I wanted to play until I caught up... I never did. I know, that's sad, but so was what I saw this morning. At the top of the score sheet it looked like this.

Woman Loser                                                                                                                        Man Winner

 Yes, I call Drew 'Man' not Drew so we title our score cards differently than you might at home, but the point was, my dear husband called me a loser. I was, but still. It hurt. sigh. 

Seeing Mason and Kylee THRILLED over the fact snow was falling made. my. day. It always puts a smile on my face (as long as it doesn't mess up fun plans)! It's the little things people, the little things.

We are going to see Narnia in 3D tonight with the Silers, Daniel and Liz. I'm a little hesitant about this because I have never seen a 3D movie before and I am slightly nervous it will make me dizzy. Here's to trying new things though! (I may also indulge in very expensive cookie dough bites, but I can't quite say at this time)


School starts back soon. YUCK. But I am taking all bible related classes. YAY.

I had mixed emotions leaving work Friday. As you may already know, I am pretty dag gone attached to the two cuties I take care of 5 days a week. They are growing so much and I LOVE seeing the things they learn every day! Well, I had to say goodbye for a WHOLE WEEK. That folks, is sad. BUT the reason, is very happy. 

DREW AND I ARE GOING TO NEW YORK MONDAY FOR OUR ANNIVERSARY!! Oh my goodness I am so excited! We are headed to Philly, NYC, and Baltimore for a week of much needed relaxation. I'm not going to lie, there is something fun about heading on a vacation once everyone else is getting home from theirs. Drew has never been to NYC and I only went once on an evangelism trip with WOLBI, so we are both so excited! This is definitely a time needed for refreshment and bonding. He's my best friend, what can I say, I enjoy road-trippin' with him! 

Date #25, 26, & 27 - Double with the Szymanik's, relaxing, and our 2nd anniversary

This whole 'dating' thing is harder than it looks. When you are actually dating, things are new, exciting and when you don't live with that person, you long to go out so you can see each other. When you are dating your spouse, well, you live with them. ;)  I love Drew so much and spend so much time with him, but as far as planning the date and setting aside specific times, well, I'm not so good at that. Forgive me when I gather several weeks at a time, and there aren't a whole lot of details. I'd be embarrassed except, sometimes, the random times with my man are better than the 'going out to dinner' norm. 

The Monday before Christmas, Drew and I were invited to our new friends Josh and Echo's house. They have been coming to Oakland since August, and we have been thrilled to have a young couple there to encouraged us! Echo made some wonderful cal zones and snuggles were had with their newborn baby Nycole. :) She sure is  a cutie! God sure has answered a huge prayer by bringing them into our lives and we are grateful! 

The following week we were dealing with house stuff and getting ready to head to the youth retreat. Vedging  was the #1 thing on our agenda, followed by relaxing, with some cleaning in between. :) Don't judge me.

On the 3rd, Drew and I celebrated our 2nd anniversary by going to Outback. (It's a favorite we don't get to go to often.) Then we were going to come home and play games but something at dinner made us both sick, so we watched Despicable Me and went to bed early. I was perfectly happy with that because, 1] I was exhausted from the whirl-wind of the holidays and 2] knew I was headed to New York a week later. Which would be this Monday. YAY! :) 

Edge Conference - Oak Island, NC

 Thank you who prayed for our high school kids this past weekend! We had a great time on Oak Island! It was definitely a refreshing time not only for our teenagers, but also for Drew and I!

We were on a gorgeous island!

 A huge thing that Drew and I were challenged by was keeping our hands open for God. So many time we as Christians get caught up in what we are supposed to do. Read the bible, tithe 10 percent, witness, etc... What if God wants us to give 80 percent one week? What if God wants us to spend a day soaking up His word, not just 20 minutes. What if we are called to drop everything, right away, and follow blindly. No matter what the cost. What if God causes hard things to come in our lives. Are we so in love with God that we count those trials as blessings, KNOWING that the Lord gives and the Lord takes away? He has given us everything that we have... to us on this earth but it's not ours. So why do we hold on so tightly?!? Drew and I are trying to open our hands and release all the good and bad things that come our way, KNOWING that everything is from above.

 'Jesus you are the well that WON'T run dry!

 Our teens also took a challenge from Brandon, the speaker. He was talking about marinating in the scripture, soaking in the word of God, not just reading and leaving it. He challenged us to do the 'James Challenge'. The first week we read chapter 1 every day for 7 days. The second week we read chapter 2 every day for 7 days, and so forth. Our kids were so excited about it! I will keep you posted on how it goes!

 Perfect weather, catching up with good friends, walks on the beach, goofing off with teenagers, great messages, challenging worship, talented Christians, tons of memories!

 What a great weekend! I thoroughly enjoyed these friends!

I'm Thankful... Hubby Edition [It is my anniversary after all]

Today I have been married to my best friend for 2 years and we couldn't be happier. As my high school sweet heart, we have been close for a long time. I never want to take advantage of all Drew means to me. Today I am grateful for who He is and what marriage has been like for the two of us!

1] He is the spiritual leader in our household, but he is more than that. He is humble, asking forgiveness when necessary, and challenging me when I need it. I love seeing him get up in front of our church every Sunday and lead in prayer. His heart and passion shows in those few minutes of talking. Jesus is his source of life.

2] Honesty is huge for Drew and even though he has to drag stuff out of me when something is wrong, he always responds with compassion and honesty. I trust him COMPLETELY.

3] He's my best friend. We goof off, pick on, annoy the crap stuffing out of each other. He knows everything about me and I know everything about him. We can sing at the top of lungs in the car, pray right before bed, shoot each other with Nerf guns, and finish each others sentences.

4] Drew is passionate about teenagers and so am I. We love working side-by-side even though it can be stressful, lonely, and exhausting, the fact we are serving our Lord together means the world to me.

5] I love him. Even though he sticks his finger in my arm pit and sometimes smells like rotten diapers an old sneaker. Even though he started a prank war within the first couple months of marriage and has a completely different definition of the word 'clean'. I love my man. A lot.

I am blessed.