dotMOM...

Ok - I am going to try to give my Friday/Saturday experience justice in this blog post. 

But let me warn you that it can't be done. 

Because y'all. 

IT WAS JUST SO AWESOME!

Friday morning I was giddy - like Christmas morning as a 4 year old, giddy.

I was packed and had on actual make up, hair spray, cute and trendy clothes, etc. Cindy and I were meeting at the kids' school and then we were going to head to Frisco for dotMom. 

We were "so cute" in fact that more than one teacher commented (with surprise in their voice) "Wow. Y'all look good. What's the occasion?" 

(I will try not to hold that against them when it's time for end of the year gifts.) 

We grabbed some Fuego and embarked on the 3 hour trek to Frisco where the conversation consisted of husbands, friends, college, God, kids, party planning, photo shoot planning, exercise, clothes, and all the things that you discuss with one of your besties. 

Those 3 hours alone would have been worth the trip.

But then we arrived.... 

Along with about 800 of our closest "mom friends".

800+ women being led in worship, all there because they want to better themselves as wives and mothers - such a powerful moment for me. I was inspired to go home and give more of myself and that was just after the first 30 minutes! 

Angie Smith, Vicki Courtney, John Croyle, and Priscilla Shrier were the keynote speakers throughout the weekend. Some mighty words to remember included:

How do I approximate the way God loves THEM through being the best Mom I can be?

Do I give my life to things of secondary importance?

Productivity is not a representation of a life well-lived.

(yeah, that one stung a little)

We get to be used by God to change kids' lives.

And the list goes on...

I'll be honest - I expected to be rejuvenated....but I didn't expect to be so moved and inspired. 

There was plenty of time for fun, too. A few women from Cindy's church also attended and it was so fun to meet and hang out with them.

(They even loved me despite being the "crazy Catholic")

(That's a total joke - I'm not crazy at all).

We shared stories and laughed like old friends and then headed back to the conference center for the last session of the day.

Friday night they hosted a little party for everyone to hang out and meet new people. Well, one of the people we got to meet was Kelly.

And if you read her blog you will love to know that she was just "chawed" by being the center of attention. She is just as sweet as you would imagine. 

She really does use her blog as her testimony and was just so gracious to sit and talk to everyone. Lauren, one of the girls in Cindy's Sunday school class, even moved Kelly to tears when she told her how much her honesty means to her. 

The blog world is just a fun group to be a part of. Whether it's 10000000s of readers or a little over 50 (yay me) we are a small community.

And then the night got better.

(if you can imagine)

We got to meet Melanie (aka Big Mama). 

If you don't read her blog then I don't know what you are doing. 

Actually stop reading this post and go click on the link on the right of this page. 

Melanie is an Aggie (whoop), a momma, a blogger and simply put - awesome. She just released her first book and had a signing at this event. Cindy and I have copies and maybe bought 2 more each (as gifts) so we had 6 copies total for her to sign.

Melanie's best friend, Gulley, was her college room mate and they live 1 mile a part from eachother. 

Long story short... they are us - 10 years earlier.

We obviously let them know that.

And...

They loved us.

Like ugly laugh loved us.

Like we are on speed dial for the next time they are in CS.

(which is a total lie - but wouldn't that be fun?!)

But we clearly made them laugh.

We all headed home and got some much deserved sleep and headed back up for more on Saturday where we shoved our minds and our hearts with even more good things than could possible exist.

These 36 hours were just wonderful.

Much needed.

Appreciated.

I left feeling energized and motivated. I was convicted and inspired. I was challenged to be great. 

And I was grateful to spend that time with a girl my college room mate once dated, fell in love with and married. A person that has become one of my greatest friends.

This is definitely going to be an annual event and I welcome and encourage all my mom friends to carve out time for it. 

I am so grateful for this gift of motherhood. 

And overwhelmed with thanks that I get to share in this club with so many of you.