We didn't know it would be so deeply moving

When I met Debbie in our women's small group from church, I really liked her though she was quiet and didn't speak up nearly as much as some of the other women in our group (like me!). But over the past year, I got to know her bit by bit and really came to love this sweet, quiet, deeply caring woman. And when we opened up registration for our Christmas weekend, I was THRILLED when she signed herself and her daughter, Megan, up!

Megan just had a sweet little baby girl, her first and Debbie's first grandbaby. So we just KNEW this weekend away for the two of them would be extra special bonding time for the two of them.

We always want to get the experience perfect at Girlfriends' Getaways, but because it was Megan's first time away from the baby and their first getaway together since Baby Girl arrived, it felt even more imperative to me as Chief Experience Designer to get it absolutely perfect. Happily, I think we got pretty darn close to that!

You can follow along on their three day experience on our Instagram (Day 0, Day 1, Day 2, and Day 3) to see how it went! We knew it would be truly amazing to give them New York Christmas lights, the Rockettes, the quintessential Broadway evening at Wicked, Krispy Kreme donuts at 1:00 a.m. and so much more.

But what we DIDN'T know is how incredibly special it would be for us as hosts (Kim and Kari) to help create for them this magical New York Christmas experience.

It was newly magical for us, to see the city their their eyes and to capture their wonder and fun on my camera. The times we were together, we talked about everything under the sun, from babies to peri-menopause, from foodie topics to street performers, and even from painful memories to deep belly laughs. Though as hosts we weren't with Debbie and Megan the entire time, we felt like experiencing this wonderful city with them for their first time together was incredibly bonding for us as hosts. As Kari, put it, it was almost "spiritual" to be joyful and awestruck and, sometimes, in that sensory overload that New York can put you in, together. I am so grateful for my beautiful, crazy, spontaneous New York travel buddy!

PS: Debbie and Megan had a magnificent time!! Here's what Debbie had to say about it!!