What a weekend

We had one great southern weekend! Tony and I headed to Nashville, TN with my mom, dad, Renee, Ronnie, Robin, Duane, Randy, Kathy, and Jarrett. We had SO much fun! It was nice just being together and away from Richmond. We got to see family that are from those parts (hehe, that SOUNDS southern) and that made it even more special. We got to see cousins and their children that I hadn't seen in years! It was a fun time catching up.

We went to a great restaurant on Friday night called, "Cock on the Walk" and had fantastic food! I had the catfish YUM! The picture was taken in the lobby of the restaurant. They had tons of rocking chairs...even those that rocked left to right (TALK about sea sick!) Isn't the giant one a hoot?

We also had what friends of ours would call a hug from God this weekend. On the way down to Tennessee, I was thinking about how things will change (packing and traveling wise) when Abby comes home. I was just chatting with God about how it's SO hard to wait. How I wanted her with us NOW to be able to share with our extended family. I just asked Him to give me/us a sense of peace this weekend, and just enjoy the here and now.

Well, Saturday morning, we strolled down to the breakfast buffet that the hotel offered and what do you know? There was a family sitting near us that had two women that appeared to be sisters, one woman that appeared to be the grandma, a boy of about 16, and a beautiful little girl who looked to be from China. Well, after a 10 minute discussion w/ Tony about how I wanted to go and say something, and he thought I was nuts...I got brave, walked over, and said, "Is this beautiful girl your daughter? Or yours?" Her mom smiled and said, "Mine." I went on to explain we were a waiting family. They were SO nice! We learned that the little girl was named Calista and came home three years ago at 11 months old. She was SWEET...and LOVED Tony. Me, not so much.

So blah, blah, blah, we found out they were from Illinois and CHRISTIANS! That was very special. We spent about 20 minutes or more chatting and promised to pray for one another. When we left, I was bummed because I wanted to tell them Abby's name so they could pray for her by name. Then, fast forward to Sunday morning. We were running late, ran to the buffet again, and there they were!!! Calista immediately wanted to come over and say hello, so we chatted with them about their events from the night before. Then, I was able to tell them Abby's name and asked them to pray for her specifically. I promised to pray for Calista as well and I felt such joy and peace!!! God is SOOOO cool! It was just the hug we needed to top off our weekend.

Ok, I've rambled enough! Enjoy your week! Only 11 1/2 more days till Christmas break!! Is your shopping done yet????