"We all have something to SHARE"~ Ladies' Retreat 2011

Our ladies' retreat was held over the past weekend at our ranch in Llano. I was asked to organize it this year so I was very busy the last couple weeks getting things ready. It all turned out very well and everyone had a GREAT time! I decided to use sunflowers as the theme and had so much fun decorating...no surprise there, right?! :o) My mother in law and I headed to Llano on Thursday evening so that we would have all day Friday to set up. I was SO thankful to have all of my mom's and Pat's help with the shopping, set up, and clean up...thank you to both moms!!

The church van and a few cars showed up a little after 7ish on Friday evening and we enjoyed a light supper coutesy of Subway. Several ladies brought yummy side dishes and desserts to go along with the sandwiches and chips. My absolute favorite was definitely Pat Jackson's mint brownies...TO DIE FOR!!!! We kicked off the retreat with some good singing led by Mary McIntosh and had a wonderful session from Rebecca James, our guest speaker from Aledo, TX. She was our speaker last year and I was so fortunate to be able to get her to come again this year. She is so awesome and such an inspiration to many of us. The rest of the evening consisted of lots of visiting and laughter while working on our craft. Several of us staying in the hunting cabin (including me) didn't go to bed until after 1am!! The other ladies stayed in a motel in town for the night.

Saturday morning came quickly and we were all ready to get going again. After eating breakfast we had our 2nd and 3rd sessions with Mary and Rebecca. A lot of sharing about various things in our lives commenced and we grew closer as a group. My wonderful uncle catered our lunch...good old BBQ!! It was sooo yummy and we enjoyed every bite. Thank you Uncle Gary!! After lunch I announced the "Woman of the Year" winner which was a tie between two awesome ladies. The first was Dorothy Jenkins who was just recently killed in a plan crash along with her husband and son. She was a treasure to many of us and we miss her terribly. Sarah Lopez was the other winner and she is without a doubt what you would consider a "Proverbs 31" woman. She is a strong Christian example to many of us and we all love her so much. We also presented gifts to Rebecca and Mary for their hard work in all our sessions...those two did a terrific job!! The 4th session followed and since it was so H-O-T we moved the chairs outside of the barn and sat under the carport where there was a nice breeze. It was the perfect place to conclude our retreat surrounded by the beauty of the country and our sisters in Christ. God's presence was felt the whole time and we are so thankful to be so close to each other. I love you all!!