NEW YORK, NEW YORK.....

Yes, you read that right!! Thursday, Drew and I flew to New York City for a weekend together. I have to tell the whole story, so just sit back and relax or you can skip on down to the pictures. Drew and I have always loved to travel and even back when we were dating we would talk about places we wanted to go. One of those trips was to NYC to ice skate, have a nice dinner and see Phantom of the Opera. We were even going to get really dressed up. So, 13 years later, it actually took place. We have been so excited- Drew borrowed a tux from a friend and bought me a new dress. Well, 5 days before we leave, the stagehands of several musicals go on strike- Phantom being one of them of course!! Then two days before we left, I got some kind of respiratory infection so I was taking the medication the whole time! ha! We tried to stay bundled up because it was SO COLD up there!!!! There were many other funny parts leading up to this trip, and even though we did not get to see Phantom, we had a wonderful time together. It was an ecletic weekend- which totally describes us. The girls did so well here and we are grateful to our parents for taking care of them while we were gone. This trip was much needed and we were so thankful for the time together!

On our way!!!
Rockefeller Center
Yes, he got me on ice skates- it had been 20 YEARS since I had put on skates- and I did not fall at all!!! ha!Times Square
on top of the Empire State Building (Drew and I did a great job entertaining ourselves during the two hour line!) You have never experienced long lines until you have done so with my husband! We also went to the Morgan Piedmont Museum- again, you haven't experienced an art museum until you go with us! ha! ha!
View of New YorkWe got dressed up and went to a fabulous resturant called Anthos- we highly recommend it!! It is Greek cuisine and we did the chef's tasting menu and it was superb!At AnthosNo trip is complete without Starbucks- and I don't know how many we had! ha!
Okay, these next two pictures really touched us deeply. We went to Ground Zero and the church St Paul's that ministered so greatly to the people of NYC during the tragedy of 9-11 was open for us to walk through. This very formal, historic church completely opened its doors and truly met the needs of thousands of people for an entire year after the Trade Towers went down. It was such a blessing to see how people didn't worry about the church building and just let it be used to meet the needs at the time. The pews were scratched badly from the firemen's equipment, cards and photos and stuffed animals poured in from all over the world and they just taped them everywhere they could find a spot. They fed 5000 meals PER DAY to volunteers and set up cots, and every other type of need there was, it was met. They have left many of the items still in the church as a reminder to all of us about 9-11 and still meet in that building in chairs instead of pews so people can come in. It was the most perfect example of how church should be to us. They showed NYC Jesus- true Jesus in the most beautiful way.You can see the fireman's coat left here and the scratched up pew. These men would come here and rest during their 18 hour shifts.On to Lady Liberty- we did not go to Ellis Island but we saw the Statue of Liberty from land. These guys were outside dressed like her and so we took our picture with them. They were hilarious!Street vendor pretzels- after living in Philadelphia for two years, this was something I have missed. So when we saw them, I had to share the memory with Drew. Central Park- this was GORGEOUS!
We had a great time! And let me say for all those adoptive families that have survived China and Taiwan in a cab- we relived it all over again in New York! ha! I love you Drew! Thanks for a great weekend!