Time Out For Women

Liz and I went to a Time Out For Women event in Richmond, Virginia. 

We drove down on Friday afternoon. 

We checked out the schedule.
Josh Wright was amazing on the piano.  Check here for his version of How Great Thou Art/Clair de Lune

Sandra Turley was amazing too.  She had her mother and her daughter with her.  Her mom played the piano and her daughter joined her for In My Daughter's Eyes.  It was beautiful. She also sang Glorious 

Wendy Ulrich's talk about relationships was good.  

Saturday morning, all the presenters came on stage and introduced themselves and gave us a little teaser about their presentation.  

Emily Freeman talked about how seeing the hand of God in our lives can be difficult.  She said, " Just because you can't see the hand doesn't meant the hand isn't working.  Look for the fingerprints".  She challenged us to look for the fingerprints in our lives. 

Gentri (The Gentleman Trio) sang Dare

There were over a thousand women in the audience. There was a small TOFG event too for part of the time, the girls joined us.  

Shopping is always fun.  

I filled several pages with quotes and thoughts as the conference progressed. 

Sistas In Zion were fun to listen to and they had some great stories 

They also shared some great quotes. 

Hank Smith was the concluding speaker 

Gentri sang Bring Him Home  They actually met while they were performing in Les Miserables.

They also sang a beautiful arrangement of Guide Me To Thee.  It was arranged by their producer when his mother died while he was serving his mission.  He introduced the song and told us that the song reminds him that if he keeps focused on what he needs to do, he will return to live with Heavenly Father and be reunited with his mother.  I just cried through the entire song.  Liz lovingly put her arm around me.  

Such amazing talks, songs, stories, tears. It was a very uplifting weekend. 

We ended the weekend with dinner at the Cheesecake Factory before heading back home.  

Shopping, Dinner, and a Game of Checkers

Last week, Izzy, Liz, and I went shopping after school. 

Izzy needed new clothes for winter - Abby received some of Izzy's clothes. I needed to pick ups few things too so we had a fun shopping adventure. 

Afterwards, we headed to Cracker Barrel for dinner and then Izzy and I played checkers. Love being able to do fun things with the girls. 

If You Give A Young Woman A Selfie Stick . . .

If you give a young woman or a young womens leader a selfie stick,

There will be silly grins, 

giggles and fun!

Family Photo Shoot

Newtowne Neck State Park was the setting for our family photo shoot. It is on the Potomac River.

Jodie is amazingly patient, especially when our little ones get tired of pictures. 

Time for a break at the beach. 

Looking for rocks to skip

Wandering around the beach. 

Abby and Gary enjoying a walk on the beach. 

Adeline loves the sand and the water. 

Ellie enjoyed the break. 

Abby trying to skip a rock.

Exploring. 

Checking out another area. 

Climbing on the rocks with Papa is fun. 

Enjoying the view. 

I love living close to the water. 

It is relaxing to look at and listen to the water. 

These girls love exploring with their Papa. 

Some last photos. Tony was making silly faces and we were playing some fun music on our phones to get everyone smiling - or at least not crying - during the photos. 

Thanks Jodie for an awesome photo session. Can't wait to see the photos. 

Watch Me Teach, Teach

A group of us ordered some fun tshirts. Watch me teach, teach, Watch me grade, grade.

I work with such a fun and amazing group of hardworking, dedicated teachers. We face many challenges daily, but always support one another through those challenges. It makes tough days much easier knowing you are surrounded people who know and understand what you are facing each day and are willing to reach out and offer an encouraging word, a hug, or chocolate when you've had a rough day. I love teaching and my teacher friends

Grandparents Night

We had a fun YW/YM activity last week. 

Some grandparents were invited to come in and visit with the youth. 

The grandparents shared some fun stories about their youth. 

They answered questions.

They shared experiences. 

Everyone was actively engaged during the session. 

It was fun to listen in on their conversations. 

I'm so proud of our young men and young women and their attentiveness and respect shown to the grandparents. 

It was a fun evening for everyone involved. 

The fun conversation was followed by yummy brownies and ice cream. 

I really enjoy working with the youth in our ward.