Or rather, Papa and Grandmere’s house. The “other nine” had adventures galore while we were in New York.
They even managed a visit with the cousins!
These two girls are so close and I love it! They are so much fun to watch together!
Liam has said that this was his absolutely favorite sightseeing experience. It was pretty impressive. I wish we had had more time at Ellis Island exploring the history was so interesting. We’re pretty certain both of our families came over before the Civil War and probably even before the Revolutionary War. So, we didn’t know a lot about Ellis Island.
We visited the 9/11 Memorial and the 9/11 Tribute Museum. We weren’t sure what the Tribute Museum held because it was a walk away from the 9/11 Memorial Museum and Memorial. It turns out it is the museum put together by first responders, survivors and families of the victims of 9/11. I have no words to describe that experience nor the guts to even take pictures at the museum. It was really an opportunity for us to see the larger and personal impact of the 9/11 attacks. Not only that but it gave Liam an opportunity to really grasp the brevity of the attacks. He couldn’t even speak after we walked through the exhibit. It was a tough but necessary visit for us to honor the families who have suffered and remember the victims who lost their lives.
The Oculus is a mall/Subway stop across from the 9/11 Memorial and next to One World Trade Center.
Out of the ashes…One World Trade Center. Please, never forget!
Our first stop was the Empire State Building. Liam decided he wanted to see this because Ace went to the St. Louis Arch and he wanted to try and get higher than him. Brothers and their competitiveness!
Pretty amazing view but a little costly.
After church on Sunday, we headed out to the USS Intrepid. It’s an aircraft carrier turned museum. It also housed the Enterprise shuttle that was used for test flights. We only had a short time here and Liam told me later he wished we had a longer time, but we all still enjoyed it.
All of us were quite impressed with the to scale lego model of the Intrepid. The ice on the river was quite impressive too! No. Us Southerners have never seen that before.
Up next, the Statue of Liberty and our visit to the 9/11 Memorial.
Liam turned 13 in December last year and ya’ll know what that means in our family…time for a 13th birthday trip. Liam chose New York to begin with then flipped to San Francisco when we thought Mark had a work trip out there but when that was canceled he swapped back to New York. I was excited to get to go with him since I had to miss out on Ace’s trip (we had two swimmers that had district competition that planned weekend). So, ya’ll get ready for a few posts about this special trip with Liam.
First stop was Lombardi’s. We didn’t go to the very first Lombardi’s restaurant but it was a chain of it. Obviously it was yummy and didn’t disappoint. However, later, we tried out the cheap pizza ($2 for two slices and a soda) and it was just as good.
While we’re talking about food, these onion rings were almost as big as my head! Juniors Cheesecake was so yummy. Let me give ya’ll some advice though, order an entree to share with one or two other people so you have plenty of room for cheesecake!
So, I have zero guilt that we totally devoured these milkshake creations. That day we had eaten light and climbed the stairs of the Statue of Liberty from the base to the crown. TO THE CROWN. 708 steep small stairs total! We walked everywhere too. There was not a day we were there that we didn’t walk over 12, 000 steps. So, these Black Tap milkshakes were our big reward. If you go to New York, Black Tap is a MUST!
We passed Radio City Music Hall.
Rockefeller Center. We watched the ice skaters and stopped in at the Lego Store and Nintendo Stores.
This reminds me, please make sure that when you Uber or Lyft that you verify your driver…especially after the tragedy in South Carolina recently.
Mark, of course, can’t go anywhere without doing a Geek Tour (for instance, we had to go by where the first HP was built when we were at Stanford…and the Android statues). Our New York stop included a walk by the B & H store which is consisted of a full block in New York City!
February 2018 will be a month that Crystal Tully and her beautiful family will never forget. In a matter of moments, 14 year old Anna Grace’s active, athletic, swim life changed forever. Crystal shares her testimony of their struggles, their faith, and God’s victories over this past year. Ya’ll don’t want to miss. Again, another tissue episode but also a great worshipful one.
Anna Grace’s contagious smile is a testimony of her faith in Christ!
Are you interested in sharing your story in Holland? Drop us an email me at hollandtourist@bunchofcharacters.com!
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Melissa MacConney joined me on the latest episode to talk about her son, Matthew and life with Gaucher’s disease and other challenges he has faced. Melissa’s an “old” friend (not saying we are old but that our friendship is old)! I’ve enjoyed watching Matthew, who is now 16, grow up and conquer so much of what a lot of people thought he would never achieve.
Are you interested in sharing your story in Holland? Drop us an email me at hollandtourist@bunchofcharacters.com!
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Today we are thrilled to share the story of Coale Peace and his super parents Rebecca and Kevin and his super siblings! Handsome and sweet Coale is a year old living with Type 3 Osteogenesis Imperfecta (OI). Listen in as Rebecca shares their story! Ya’ll may need to grab a tissue!
Are you interested in sharing your story in Holland? Please feel free to email me at hollandtourist@bunchofcharacters.com!
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Let’s start at the very beginning (Sound of Music fans sing with me!). Join your host, Abbie Character and her husband, Mark as they explain where in the world the title for the podcast came from and how they wound up in Holland in the first place.
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Coming soon, hopefully, to a podcast near you! God placed the desire to share stories of moms walking in the world of special needs (all kinds of special needs) a long time ago. When I finally stopped ignoring His prompting and got up the nerves to share with someone (Mark), He moved us forward. Check out our Teaser/Episode 00 now! And get ready for some amazing stories of God’s faithfulness both in our lives and the lives of other families!
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This boy is literally always into something. Ball box, oranges, a big bowl or just an empty box. He loves to get into things.
We got an exercise bike with some Christmas money. It’s supposed to be for me and Mark, but the kids are on it a lot. I’m not telling them that they are getting healthy though.
Trying to, and failing at, demonstrating how to fold a fitted sheet.
We painted our dining room, added two new reading nook chairs to the sitting portion of the dining room and I’m happy. The kids love to curl up with a book in one of the chairs. I think there is a kid in the nook at all times during the day.
My Lulu does whatever she can to get snuggles when she wants them. Sweet girl!
She also likes to read…and fall asleep reading.
After the Women’s Conference, Mark and I were re-capping our weekend and he lost it sharing a story about the kids. Ya’ll there were tears of hilarity. I love seeing him get tickled like this.
Ace scored jackpot of a holy chip! We’re not iconic people so to us, this was hilarious!
When my kids play together without fighting, we have to capture it in pictures.
