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Tuesday, April 29, 2008

I'm still here

No, I haven't dropped off the face of the earth. I'm still here, still kicking, alive and well.........well, with a nasty sinus infection, but well. Anyway, I normally post more frequently but I've been out of town. Last Thursday, I left for a weekend retreat with the girls from church. This is the fourth year we've gone, and I look forward to this weekend all year long. It is always "just what the doctor ordered". We have such a great time. It always blesses me that we can be exactly who we are and do exactly what we want, and it's always A-OK with everybody. Now, that is a relaxing weekend.

A few of us use the weekend for our ONE chance a year to get caught up on (or at least work on) our scrapbooks. You should see the "stuff" we bring. It's nothing, if not a veritable scrapbook supply store.....and yet it always makes me laugh that we still end up needing more. I am tickled pink at what all I got done.......Bryce's book is basically up-to-date, although I need to add his baptism page; and Sara Kate's book is too, except for maybe a page or two. In my estimation, this is nothing short of a miracle. I suppose it pays to be hard-core. I think my scrapbooking accomplishments are another reason for a lack of post. It took all of my creativity to come up with pages for the book, and I left my creativity tank at zero......so the poor blog took a turn on the backburner for a while.

In spite of that fact, though, I couldn't pass up a chance to post about the weekend. The weekend is always salve for the soul. Again, to have so many ladies go, and still have the luxury of being totally yourself and doing exactly what you want, without fear of hurting someone or being judged is a blessing that I refuse to take for granted. Partly, because I think it's fairly rare; and partly because I'm smart enough to recognize a good thing when I see it.

So, thank you God. Thank you for blessing me with a group of friends that love me (neurotic, fat head, and coughing/hacking, 'hired' self and all). Thank you for giving me time away from my family to refresh, renew, and recharge. And, like Marilyn said, thank you God, for wrapping the blessing of friendships in different packages, all of which are used to minister to one another.

With all that nice stuff said, I feel like I must go on record as saying, "I'm on Nancy's team next year!!"

And, I must pay proper respect to Tammy, who bless her heart, had to sleep with my coughing, hacking, sniveling self. That's some kind of dedication, if you ask me.

Love you girls!

Shana

11 comments:

Nancy Suits said...

Shana,
I love your new post. It truely was a wonderful time. You could not have said it better about being able to be yourself and not be judged. We have such an awesome God and he knows exactly what we need when we need it. I know that I have said this on nearly everyones blog but I did really have a wonderful time. It was so relaxing and I really needed it. Thanks for letting me hang with all of you.

I would love to have you on my team next time!! Not to smart on questions but for some reason, I do seem to be able to draw with my eyes closed. (cant say much about drawing with my eyes open!!) You might want to get Mary Beth she is a pretty good guesser. Is that really a word, guesser or did I just spell it wrong?? Maybe I am part of the "hired" family!! Hey and remember Angela toght me everyting that i nos.

Love ya'll Nancy

Cyndi Lou said...

You said it well Shana! It was a wonderful weekend and it was such a blessing to be able to do what you wanted to do without being judged! Everyone had a wonderful time and did their own thing!

We have such a great group of ladies and as 'Nana Elaine' said, it only gets 'funner' from here!!! Isn't that something to look forward to??!! I enjoyed working on my scrapbooks with the hard-core scrappers! That was awesome!

Also, I want to be on Nancy's team next year, so that we can WIN again! Shana, thanks for listening to me last night and for laughing with me and for just being there! You are the BEST! I hope you are feeling better!!

evoL uoY,

idnyC (os "TON" a "deriH") :)

Maddie said...

Let me just say that if you can put up with me and all my "ugliness", I can put up with a little coughing now and then! I'm like Nancy, I think I have said essentially the same thing on all my comments, but it just can't be said enough. What we all got to share this weekend, and the bonds that were started and/or strengthened is a very rare thing. We make God proud when we recognize the blessings that He has given us.

Now, I know I am not the smartest in the bunch (I was on the losing team after all), but I am not sure Cranium will work if we are ALL on the same team! :)

The Wild World of Richmond said...

Awwww...all I can say that hasn't been said before is I love you!!!!
Terri

Klingbeil Family said...

Love your post! We all came away with warm fuzzies this weekend! I guess sometimes I don't realize what an oddity our group of ladies is but today I went to the dentist, and the hygenist(sp?) was asking me where I went this weekend, etc. and she said things like "Were you all crowded there?" - Nope.."There weren't any arguments?" - Nope.. "19 ladies from the same church? - Yep.. "No disagreements?" - Nope.. The last thing she asked was "WHERE do you go to church?!" We are the exception, not the rule aren't we??!!!
Love you 'hireds'
M.

Tim & Angela Fleming said...

Shana, I had the best time with you and the girls this weekend. Thank you for including me and Nancy. God has truly blessed us with some great friends. I can't wait till next year! Love ya, Angela

Jess said...

How fun!!
Now, that's what I need! A fun little get-away with some of my best girlies!! :)
Sounds similar to the little one my mom and sister just did a week or so ago. (I just don't quilt or scrapbook!)
Oh, well, maybe tomorrow at the dr, I can get him to write out a prescription for "TIME AWAY"!!! :)
Glad you had a good time... but more glad that you're back!

~jess

Tamara Chastain said...

Ditto that! It was a fabulous weekend. Those damn "hired" are pretty fun to be around.

-brittany- said...

Sounds like so much fun. Did you stay up for 48 hours straight? I can never go to sleep when I scrap. What a nice feeling to be caught up. I am years behind and now I have a child and I have never taken so many pictures in my life. I think I would need to go on a year long scrapping cruise and refrain from taking pictures the entire time and then I might possibly maybe get caught up...argh!

Tammy Howard said...

I don't know what to say that hasn't been said....so let me just say.... I love my peeps!!!

Tammy

Bridenstine4 said...

Sounds like it was a fun weekend!