A Wonderful Weekend

I spent the last 3 days on a glorious women's retreat with no cooking, cleaning, or children (except for Timothy). Myself and about 140 of my closest friends went to Cedar Springs Christian Retreat Center in Sumas Washington. We had beautiful gardens and trails with wonderful food and fellowship. I had a great time but it was a very emotional weekend for me.

Friday we had a short session with lively music, a wonderful game show (the price is right), and we were introduced to our speaker Cynthia Cavanaugh. Then we were off to have some fun with our friends. We played some games and talked together for a couple of hours. Afterwards I went to our room with my roommates Tani and Karen. We stayed up until 2:30 in the morning giggling and talking. In fact, we later found out that our room was up the latest and we were a little louder then the others. But that had nothing to do with me...it was all Tani's fault!

I was so proud of myself on Saturday morning. The session began with some powerful music. Most of you know that music is what causes me to break down. I did, along with several of my friends, but I didn't leave. I was able to stay and face my emotions with my friends by my side.

When Cynthia started her lesson she began with a question. "Is God enough in your lives?" I really wish that I could say that I heard the rest of that session because I'm sure that she had wonderful points, but I didn't. I just kept asking my self that question, over and over. God clearly wanted me to answer it. There are days when I would have said NO!! And as I started thinking about those difficult days I thought about what I do to get through them. I call a friend, my sister, or my mom, and on some of those days I spend the entire day on the computer. Reading stories of other moms with Trisomy 18 babies or angels. I began to realize that in those moments, God provides me with "enough". He is using those friends, family members and sometimes even the internet to speak directly to my heart, to give me comfort.

I am happy to say that by the time the morning session was over I had an answer to that question. Yes, God is enough.

During the weekend I was able to catch up with old friends, make some new friends, and get to know acquaintances better. I shared more tears then I can count, and was almost rolling on the floor in laughter. One of my favorite highlights was when a bat came into the conference center during a session. It was quite a bit of fun trying to get it back out!

On the way home I realized how fast the weekend went and regret not having more time with everyone. There were so many friends that I really wanted to spend some time with but only got to see from a distance.

I would like to send a very special thank you to Angie. You were amazing this weekend. You kept us having fun, but at the same time, taught us how to "keep it real". Thank you for loving each one of us, and sharing your story. I have been and will continue praying for both your family and Evan. Your special prayer for Timothy meant so much to me, Thank you!