I need a Time Out!

So, a group of ladies in our ward were heading down to Orlando for Time Out For Women, put on by Deseret Book. I had never been to one, but had heard good things about them. Chris was supposed to be out of town, so I didn't think I could go, but then the stars magically aligned, Chris was home, and he said go for it. I was super excited, thankful for his support, and it was just what I needed. Of course, I ended up taking Kylie in the day before I left for double ear infections - just what I wanted to leave Chris with - sick kids. (The crazy thing was, that even though Kylie was totally sick, she had ran a lap and a half around the track at mile club earlier in the day. She's a goer for sure.) But Chris handled the kids like a pro. He did the whole movie night, watched another little boy that I had previously agreed to watch, was giving antibiotics to Kate and Kylie, did a "guys night out" at Chick-fil-A with the other dads whose wives were gone, took everybody to Aly's soccer game, and did Church all by himself. He even took them to Twirl, our favorite frozen yogurt spot! AND, according to him, Kylie pooped like 5 times every day I was gone. So yeah, he earned major stud points in my book for this little excursion.

It is a 6 hour drive to Orlando - 7 with stops. But I gotta tell ya, it seemed much shorter with a car full of ladies chatting away, than when you're traveling with kids. I was like, "we're here already?" We were able to do a session in the Orlando temple before everything started - and what a way to start. So peaceful and the power of the Spirit. It was amazing.

The speakers and performers at TOFW were great. I got to listen to Hillary Weeks, Sheri Dew, and Virginia Pearce, to name a few. They spoke on Forgiveness, the art of apologizing, the power of our thoughts, purpose in trials, Charity, and how to be productive while we wait. The main things I got out of this conference were that

*Heavenly Father gives us weakness so that we will feel after Him, and together become strong,

*We can place our burdens on the Lord and pray for peace in our lives, and

*No matter what we are trying to fix in our lives, we need the power of the atonement to bring about real change, or else we are just going through the motions.

The added bonus on top of a total spiritual high was getting to know these women in my ward better. (Something about a spiritual boost and a six hour car ride just makes you want to spill your guts to everybody.) We had a blast, stayed up way too late, and laughed our heads off. I felt like I was in college again. Lots-o-fun. I would definitely do it again, if given the chance.