Mama's Weekend

I just spent the most relaxing and refreshing weekend being pampered, relaxing, and catching up with some amazing women.  Leigh Ann, Missy, Amy, and I grew up going to youth group together (Amy and I have been friends since PRESCHOOL!).  These are some of the friendships I cherish most in my life.  Although we haven't lived in the same state since we were 18, these are the types of friendships that pick up right where they left off.  Being known is such an amazing gift and this weekend did my soul good.  I learned a lot about generosity this weekend, as one of the girls paid for this trip for all of us.  Seriously, what an amazing lesson in generosity!  It was so humbling to be gifted in this way.  It was relaxing, it was fun, and we had great, challenging and encouraging conversations... just perfect!



Yes, that's right!  A stretch limo picked us up at the airport and took us to our hotel!


Beautiful view from our room!  It was crazy cold for Arizona in March, but it didn't even matter!


We did this awesome 'favorite things' gift exchange.  We set a dollar amount and bought each person one of our favorite things.  It was so fun to pick out gifts for each other and learn what each other's favorite things are.

We ate some seriously good food!

Morning at the spa!  Massages, steam room, hot tub, sauna.... it.was.amazing.

Amy, me, Leigh Ann, and Missy.  Love these women!

Me & Amy... she's my oldest friend!

Despite the fact that there were so many wonderful things about this weekend (a break from our normal daily lives as moms, being pampered, eating good food, drinking coffee & wine uninterrupted, etc..), I think my most favorite part of this weekend was hearing about all the ways God is challenging us and teaching us these days.  These women and I share some amazing experiences of learning about our faith and spirituality in high school, but it was SO incredibly encouraging to hear about each person's journey since then.  The coolest part was hearing that God is challenging us all in similar ways.  From the minute we all sat down together, the conversations about following Jesus started.  It was so encouraging and refreshing.  I couldn't hold back the tears the last night over the bonfire about how lucky we are to have friends with so much history who are being challenged in the same ways - even though we live in Illinois, Georgia, Missouri, and Colorado.  We are all over the place geographically but so close spiritually.  What a GIFT!!

So incredibly thankful for these 48 hours to refresh.  I came home with a renewed passion for loving my husband, mothering my children, and following Jesus.  Thank you, Leigh, for being so generous!!!