Bluegrass Ladies Retreat 2015

I made it!!

I finally made it back to the Ladies Retreat. 

I always have a horrible time getting there. Last year my Mother-n-law passed away and I couldn't go. I got to go the year before for the first time and I loved it. I regret not ever going before, but it was usually on our wedding anniversary weekend. 

My alarm clock went off at 5:00 a.m. on Saturday morning. Then I started receiving  "Amy, are you awake" and "Amy, are you really up out of bed" texts. My newest friends know me so well already. Ha ha. Amy has to have her sleep. 

I left the house at 5:45 and made it to the church by 6. So much easier when there's only one of you to get dressed. 

8 ladies from FPC was able to go. We all loaded up on the church bus and headed for Louisville. It was nice getting to talk to each other and even watching the sunrise. 

We made it to the retreat right on time. They had just started as we were taking our seats so I didn't get to seek out my Mom, sister, or sister-n-law. 

We had a few songs and introductions and then headed to our first session. A few of us decided to go to Sis Mary Miracle's Children evangelism class. It was wonderful. She was such an inspiration. She has such a burden and passion for children. She even quoted the whole book of Jonah while showing pictures on PowerPoint.   It wasn't just quoting it. She was saying it expressively like she was telling the story. It was very impressive. I believe I could learn a lot from her. 

Then we met back in the auditorium and I still didn't get to see my family. 

We heard the main speaker and it was really encouraging as well. 

Finally it was time for lunch. By then I was starved and would have been willing to eat anything they served. Thankfully we wasn't too far back in the line and they had a yummy looking buffet. There were 2 lines and I still hadn't seen my family yet. 

I grabbed all our purses and went and saved our seats. 

Chicken cordon blue and turkey/dressing. Yum!!!

After we ate we took a few pictures, but the rest of our group was at different tables. 

Our normal look. 

Not so normal faces. Ha ha 

Then I finally seen my family and went to mingle a little bit. It was so good seeing friends I hadn't seen in such a long time. 

We were now full and sleepy, but it was time to head back for the second session. By now we were all fighting sleep. I was so tired I had a hard time keeping my eyes open. 

I had a blast with these 2 ladies. They were a lot of fun. I like that I can be myself around them and don't have to pretend to be someone else. Yeah, I'm a little more crazier than them, but they'll come around. Ha ha

We seen a skit and played "Price is Right". It was a lot of fun. I even won a door prize if you can believe that. I never win anything hardly. 

Our second class we went to was taught by Janelle Webb about marriage. She done a great job. I happened to make the comment, amongst my friends, that if Maynard got ahold of her notes I was gonna be in trouble. She may of as well had an alter call. I did glean a lot from what she had to say and I am trying to be a better wife to my husband. 

I was so sleepy though. I was literally feeling myself nod off. Not to mention I was sitting right in front of a rocking chair with a blanket and pillow. It was also dark and cool in there. I seriously could have laid right out and went to sleep. Then again I'm not used to getting up at 5 a.m. every morning either. 

We got a few more minutes to mingle and talk then it was time to head back. Things were coming to an end and they had one more special session. 2 ladies got up to share their testimonies and did an amazing job. One was my sister-n-law. I was so proud of her. She hasn't been saved too awful long. Maybe a little over a year and here she was up front in front of hundreds people sharing her testimony. 

Don't ever doubt what God can do because she is a living example of that!!

We dismissed and took some group pictures before we headed home. 

We wanted to do the crazy photo booth, but didn't want to have to wait for our turn. 

We made one pit stop at Arby's before the trip home and settled in for the ride. Once again we all got to talk and get to know each other better. 

We pulled into the church parking lot and I was so happy to see my family waiting there for me. Yes, I enjoyed the time away, but yet I couldn't wait to get back to them. 

We went to Cheddars to eat before we headed home. 

Maynard had done an awesome job with the kids. They had already had their baths. The house was cleaner than what I left it. The yard was cleaned and he even cleaned our van out. 

I was very thankful that he didn't care if I went to the retreat and in fact he encouraged me to go. I felt so refreshed and ready to take the wife and mommy role again. 

Can't wait to go next year and hope to bring more with us.