My weekend actually began on Wednesday morning last week. We loaded the car up and headed to Belton, TX for 3 days to see the wonderful Watson family. Since they moved to Portland a few years ago, we try to see each other at least twice a year. So far, it's worked. They were going to be in Texas with Brad's grandparents and asked if we wanted to meet them there for a few days. It was so perfect. Not only did we love sitting and talking with them, but we loved getting to watch our kids (who are only 3 days apart) play. What a couple of crazies. ("What's for breakfast, mom?") (The tall blonde guy and the beautiful short girl make quite a pair.) (So what?) (Love this sweet moment.) Norah and Duke were just two peas in a pod. They always wanted the same remote, the same ball, and the same everything. Needless to say, they had to learn to share on this trip. They enjoyed playing outside together in the beautiful weather and had some great conversations. They even a did bit of chasing around the house, which caused them both to giggle. What a joy it is to have children the same age and get to watch them grow together. We couldn't have planned it any better! (Everybody has a remote = everybody is happy.) Pappaw gave us many, many laughs and Mimi filled our bellies with ridiculously good food. She'd suddenly say, "Oh, I guess I better go get dinner going." An hour later, the table was full of mouth-watering food - chicken enchiladas with guacamole and rice, roast with potatoes, carrots, and homemade bread, quesadillas with homemade chips and queso, smoked brisket with sweet potatoes and homegrown fried okra. Obviously not all at the same time. But gosh, it was so good. And I felt so terrible for Colt that he had to return home to my cooking. Which, so far, has been pizza and McDonald's. Mom of the Year, for sure. It was hard driving away from these sweet friends. After being together, it always feels like we've finished a good, refreshing marriage counseling session. We learn more about how to be married and how to be married well. When we got home on Friday night, I headed straight to the church for our women's retreat. I spent most of Saturday there as well. The 3 speakers talked about very practical things - learning about how God speaks to you through dreams, how God speaks to you through the Bible, and figuring out what the heck "God speaks to you" even means. The last session was especially meaningful since I think the word "speak" really messes people up sometimes. Those of us who grow up in the church throw it around like it's normal. Like it sounds perfectly normal that God has been "speaking" to us. But honestly, it sounds weird. I've been learning so much about this very thing since we've been at OLCC and this speaker explained it on such a basic level. For me, it's always reassuring to hear that those quick, passing thoughts that enter your head while praying could very well be God. I was writing as fast as I could to keep up with all the good stuff she was saying. I probably should just read her book. (If you want to check it out, click here. And, no, as far as I know I'm not related to Buddy Westbrook.) Sunday night was catch-up night. We've got a busier week than usual with something every night, appointments, and my MOMS group that started back up today. I wanted to get the house completely in order before the week began. It's nice to have that checked off the list. I wanted to leave you guys with the song that Colt and I did for The Verses Project this week. We were so excited when we got asked to do it and loved getting to be a part of it. It's Phillipians 3:10-11 and I hope you'll give it a listen. (As of right now, it's not up, so just keep checking back on the website.) Hope you all have a great week!