NY part 4, The Finale

Even though Tuesday was an exhausting day, I woke up really early Wed. morning. I knew we only had a short time left and I wanted to enjoy every moment. So I quietly got dressed, left the girls sleeping (Garry and Skye were in a different room) and headed to the lobby. I started to walk down the street to Starbucks but since they were serving it in the hotel restaurant, I just got a cup from there. I sat in the lobby, read my devotional, drank my coffee and soaked up as much of NYC as I could. The lobby was decorated so beautifully for Christmas. I snapped this with my phone.

The girls had said that they wanted to go to the Today show and try to get on tv, so when I got back to the room, Garry called and wanted to know if they still wanted to go. They grunted and groaned and basically said, no. But then I convinced them to get up because we only had this one opportunity and they could sleep on the plane! So we got a little bit of a late start but we headed back to Rockefeller Plaza. There was a pretty good crowd gathered around already. At one point, Garry struck up with a lady standing beside us and she was from Statesboro! Small world! A few minutes later, Skye and I had stepped back from the railing and we were looking through the window into the studio, when Michael Bloomberg, NYC mayor, walked right in front of us headed into the studio. Eventually Emma and Mia were able to get right up to the railing and while Jeff Kinney, author of Diary of a Wimpy Kid, was being interviewed, they were on tv!

Walking and texting on the streets of New York!

We had an amazing trip, I only wish we could've stayed longer. Thank you Garry and Skye for making this happen. We love y'all and will always remember this trip!

I miss you.

Dear Grandma,
After dropping Emma and Dougie off at school today, I was headed back home and just listening to the radio. Being in the car by myself (a rarity!), I was lost in my thoughts until I heard the very first note of the song. It was the song that will forever remind me of you. I started to change the station because honestly, I haven't been able to listen to the whole thing since you went home to Jesus. But then I changed my mind, something told me to just push through it. By the time he began singing the words I was already in tears. By mid song my grief was so strong.
I miss you so much.
But then he sang these words,
"And I hear the voice of many angels sing, "Worthy is the Lamb!"

At that moment, mind's perspective was shifted, my grief was taken over by a deeper, stronger, more peaceful emotion as I allowed myself to envision you before Jesus, singing those same words. It was so powerful that I thought I was going to have to pull over. Thank the Lord for back country roads!

As the song repeated, I was even more overcome when it registered in my mind what the song says next,
"And I hear the cry of every longing heart, "Worthy is the Lamb!"

Then I understood what I was feeling, I am longing. Longing to  stand before my Redeemer and sing those precious words, "Worthy is the Lamb!" and I'm longing to see you, Grandma. Someday.

Almost a year ago I wrote this post about you and I want to share is again.

Originally posted May 18, 2011

Last Monday morning, I called my Grandmother to see how her Mother's Day went & to just catch up. I knew that she had planned on going with my mom & dad to my sister's church for my nephew's baby dedication. She shared with me how her legs had really been hurting her for several days and by Saturday night, she'd pretty much decided not to go. She didn't want to be a burden to others because she would be getting around slowly. But when Sunday morning came, she got up, decided to move around a bit and see how she felt. She went into the living room to watch her favorite Sunday morning show, The Gaithers. But when she tuned in, she realized that her show had already gone off and that another show was on and Chris Tomlin was singing. Her words to me were, "I just love Chris Tomlin."

*I love the fact that my 86 year old grandmother loves Chris Tomlin!

So she decided to watch this show. As some point during this show Chris sang, "I Will Rise" which is an amazing song. And as my Grandmother listened to this song, she knew that despite how she felt or the fact that she might be moving slowly, she had to "get up off her rear and go." (Her words!)

There is so much to learn from this example that my Grandmother has set for me. When I first decided to write this post, I was thinking about how she is an example of someone who is willing to embrace change, especially in the area of music. But as I typed this, I realized that there's a deeper lesson to be learned, with me being the first needing to learn it.

My heart and mind are now churning over all that I am sensing the Spirit speaking to me about in my life.

Sometimes I just need to get off my rear and go!
When I grow up I want to be just like my Grandma!

NYC part 3

After resting and getting ready, we headed out to the 5 o'clock show. We decided that we'd get something to snack on at the show and eat dinner after. Our hotel was only a short walk, so we arrived in plenty of time. Garry had arranged for us to be able to get in early and meet a Rockette.

Y'all, I cannot even begin to tell you how beautiful the lobby of this theater was! The chandelier was absolutely breath-taking. I wish I had a decent picture to show you but I don't. So after meeting the Rockette, we got our snacks and headed into the show. Emma and Mia sat on about the 8th row and Garry, Skye and I had seats right behind them. To be honest, I wasn't sure what to expect but y'all, I am forever a Rockette fan! The precision in which these girls dance it unfathomable. The sets and the singing blew me away. At one point, they even had a real NYC red tour bus up on the stage. The storyline of the show was about a mom who was trying to get that "it" gift for her daughter, boy could I relate! Eventually, it's Santa that gets the mom to see the real meaning of Christmas. And before I realized it, the mom was sitting on the stage with her daughter reading directly from Luke 2. Now we had been told that no pictures could be taken but when they began the nativity scene, I absolutely could not stop myself. And I hope my pictures help you see why~

During the wise men procession, they had live camels on the stage. I didn't get a picture of them.

We were all amazed at how the birth of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ was represented. (They used those words!) Truly God was glorified through this presentation and I was in tears by the end of the nativity scene.

Since I'd already broken the 'no picture taking' rule, I snapped one more picture at the finale. I was trying to get the Rockettes doing their world famous kicks.

It was an amazing show! If you every have the chance to see it, I highly recommend it.
After the show, the girls wanted to go ice skating at Rockefeller Center. It is just around the block from Radio City Music Hall. It was a little rainy and pretty cold but it didn't dampen our spirits.

After the girls ice skated, we really wanted them to see Times Square, so we started walking. It's a pretty good walk from where we were to Times Square but so worth it!

We ate dinner at a restaurant in Times Square. I can't remember the name of it but we ate upstairs and we were overlooking the M and M store. The food was good but we were so exhausted at that point it really didn't matter.
On the way back to the hotel, we walked up on an event that they were pre-taping for the Rockin' New Year's Eve show. We just missed seeing Jimmy Fallon perform.
It was a fun-filled, packed day! One that I will remember for a long time.
I can't believe a 2 day trip is taking 4 posts but it is!
To be continued.....

NYC part 2

Sorry Nana that I took so long to get to part 2!So we headed to the airport early Tues morning and we arrived in New York a little before lunch. We headed to the hotel, checked in & then headed out to go sight seeing. By this point, we were all starving, so we did what all tourists do, we got a hot dog from a vendor! After eating what was probably the best hot dog I'd ever eaten, we started walking & headed towards Central Park.

We did the carriage ride through Central Park, and you can tell by how we're dressed that the weather was pretty cold. But we didn't mind because we'd left warm weather in Ga. & we wanted it to feel like Christmas! After the carriage ride, we went across the street into the FAO Schwartz toy store. I think the part of the store we enjoyed the most was the candy store! Just look at these nerds!

Everything in this store was super size & that Reese's cost $24.99

It didn't take these girls long to get acclimated to NYC!

Right after taking this picture by Radio City Music Hall, we walked around the block & unknowingly were right next to the side entrance of the Hall. We stopped to talk about something & right where we were standing, a black suv pulled up & all these people started piling out. It caught our attention because a college age looking guy even climbed out when someone opened the tailgate! Then we heard a familiar voice. My brother & I looked at each other & he confirmed what I was thinking, Nancy Grace has just gotten out of that suv. She was standing almost directly in front of me, so I introduced myself & she chatted with us. She lives in the Atlanta area & was happy when we told that that was where we were from. She took the time to take a quick picture with me. And as you can see in the picture, she was hugging me. She really was a very sweet lady. And just a funny note, the guy in the red striped sweater was the one who was in the very back of the suv! After all that, we headed back to the hotel to get some rest before the show.

To be continued.....but it won't take as long, I promise!