thanksgiving in nyc // day three.

 This was the most uniquely blissful Thanksgiving we have ever had! Where do I even begin?

This day looked like: a cold, early morning cozied along 6th Avenue for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, a restful nap time in the room, wandering through Central Park (with a pit stop for a carousel ride), admiring The Plaza Hotel & doing our best Kevin impression, a food truck dinner for the kids (their request), a fancy room service dinner for Teejanna, robes before bed (just because), another really alarm (!!!), and replaying this glorious day over and over again before turning out the light.

A highlight reel of our day: 

Honestly, this day felt other-worldly, which both thrills me and terrifies me. Thrilling, because it was AMAZING. Terrifying, because howwww does one simply go back to “normal life” after what we expereinced. We have so, so, so much to be thankful for and plenty blessings to count and be humbled by. We missed being with our family this Thanksgiving, but we soaked in this once-in-a-lifetime day with zero regrets...and a fair share of tantrums, too.

NYC // Day Three (2019)

thanksgiving in nyc // day two.

Our first full day in NYC looked like sleeping in, ordering delicious room service (another perk of my Globalist hotel status), and spending most of the day in & around Central Park. We went ice skating (a core memory for me), strolled through Central Park Zoo, wandered beneath falling leaves, and then headed back into the city for some…

BALLOON PEEPING!

It was THRILLING to see all the balloons being filled. I just don’t have words to say how much so. The public is invited to walk through the balloon-filled streets as they prepare them for the parade, and this was a personal highlight of the trip for me.

We, also, stopped in at the best bakery in NYC for treats, and my kids gobbled up their Levain lemon cakes. I enjoyed a cappucino and a oatmeal raisin cookie, and they were just as delicious as I remembered them being three years earlier. If you ever get to go to NYC, this bakery is a must visit!

Then it was more pizza for dinner (duh) and another ride in a Tesla (via Revel), this time to the 9/11 Memorial before heading back to our room for the night.

A highlight reel of our day:

It was a truly amazing day, even through the bursts of whining and achy bodies.

But the next day was the whole reason we came: only one more sleep until the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade!

NYC // Day Two (2019)

thanksgiving in nyc // day one.

I've been watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade since I was just a child, and it has been on my personal bucket list to attend in person for as long as I knew what a bucket list was. It had always felt out of reach, a pipe dream never to come true, until November of 2021. We were watching the parade from the comfort of our couch, as we did every year, and I smiled as my kids watched every float with glee. The way they exclaimed, "looooook, Mommy!!" sounded like a song, one I wanted to memorize. I grabbed my phone about halfway through watching, and sent TJ a secret text from my couch to his: "Next year? Let's go."

He laughed, but I was serious.

And later that night, after we had eaten our fill of delicious food, I logged onto my hotel account and booked 4 nights in a hotel only two blocks from Central Park in NYC. I did a happy dance when I received my confirmation email, and we began a year of waiting and anticipation!

Then, finally, early on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, we drove to GSP and boarded a plane that would take us to our destination. It was our kids' first flights, and they did SO good with the early wake up, waiting, flights, and general travel. We flew Southwest for the first time, and we were pleased with our experience; family boarding was fantastic. It was a long day of travel, but that didn't stop us from hitting the ground running. We took a Tesla to our hotel (which was an amazing experience), and we checked into our hotel, a new luxury hotel in a great location: Thompson Central Park. At check-in, we were upgraded to a city view suite (thanks to my newly-earned Globalist status with Hyatt), and it was absolutely incredible. It was our first luxury experience since our honeymoon (something we never thought we'd experience again); we were all-around impressed with everything Thompson had to offer: it was modern and chic, with a hospitable atmosphere and a fantastic location. We were so giddy to be so close to Central Park!

It had been three years since my own first trip to the big city, and I’m honestly surprised at how well I remembered how to get around. We showed them a few highlights throughout the day: Macy’s, Times Square, Rockefeller Center, Bryant Park, Saks, all-things-6th-Avenue, Radio City Music Hall, and more.

A highlight reel of our day:

After a year of anticipation (and a lifetime of dreaming),

we were here!

We went to sleep with full hearts that night. And the next day, we explored 'til we dropped!

NYC // Day One (2019)

hallowed // 2023.

 2015: trust.

2016: healing.

2017: growth.

2018: discipline.

2019: new.

2020: rooted.

2021: release.

2022: see.

and this year?

2023: hallowed. 

(adj.) made holy; consecrated.

if it seems like a strange word, I thought so, too, when I was journaling and listening to Holy Spirit. other words kept coming to my mind (hidden, covered, surrounded) that made sense to what I’ve been hearing all year. but none of them seemed to fit, none were “it.” so, I continued to sit and wait.

all the words I’d thrown out and sifted through were the “what,” and I sensed in my spirit that I wasn’t seeing (aka our word from 2022) the bigger picture. I was looking to the “what,” but Holy Spirit was pulling me toward the “why.”

so, I sat a while longer (weeks longer) and it came to me while reading Matthew 6:

“Pray then like this: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.’” (vs. 9‬-‭10‬)

we have cried so much and laid down so many fears this year as we’ve wrestled through hard diagnosis after hard diagnosis, heartbreaking growing pains, financial strain, and more. we have been candid about a lot of it, because every time we are ready to share the latest, something worse hits and we are back in the grief cycle again. grief has compounded this year, but so has joy (a miracle). the unimportant things fall away when your heart is crushed, and we have come back to the heart of worship in many ways.

so, when I read this prayer (that I have offered daily this year because I’ve struggled to pray with anything other than groans) this particular time, I stopped and circled back to a word I’ve muttered my whole life without much extra thought:

h a l l o w e d

after a minute, I scribbled this down in my journal: our trials and suffering will try to make us hollow, but He desires for us to be hallowed.

hallowed, not hollow. what a beautiful thought, a sacred prophecy over us.

I believe that is what God is inviting us into as we enter into a new year, a year that holds so much mystery and is already tempting with so much fear and sorrow. but we have a Hope that goes beyond what our eyes can see, an Anchor that keeps us secure even as waters rise and waves threaten to drown, a Strength that is made manifest in our weakness.

our only response: we receive it, Lord. we receive You, Lord. hallowed be Your name.