Weekend of Blessings

This past weekend we attended a Regional Gathering for FOCUS Missionaries in our area.

It's supposed to be a retreat and a time of fellowship and recreation; it was a most timely gift. It was held in the Smokey Mountains (hills, really, compared to the Rockies, but beautiful nonetheless) at lodge/retreat cabin, and it was perfect for our family! Amelia was able to nap in the our room at the same time as I was in meetings in another part of the building, at the bonfire outside, etc. And because it was so dark, Amelia slept in, and I exercised two of the mornings!

Our teammate Jerome turned 25, and since I couldn't bake him a cake out there, I did the next best thing: bought him a half gallon of Blue Bell. (Dessert Trio flavor... not the best, but still Blue Bell.)

The place we were staying had a stable and a few horses. While we were unable to hike the "walking trail" because it's the horses' trail, and therefore very dirty, Amelia did enjoy seeing horses "NEIIIGH!" upclose.

We also got to go on a family walk or two, enjoying the fall weather together. We've been busy and apart for many weekends this fall, so it was great to have down time as a family! 

This sweet girl was a good sport about riding along. (She did put her boots to work, but those little legs just don't cover ground too quickly.) I should get commission for promoting the Ergo. I'm 100% sold on it.

Where did her hair go? Not sure. But I love, love, love this smile.

The best take-aways from the weekend were a renewed conviction in the mission and particularly in spiritually "mothering" souls: being an instrument for God to use to transmit divine life {mostly by praying for and loving them}. And, finding out that Amelia is actually capable of attending daily Mass! I'm so excited to be able to attend more-- for the sake of my personal relationship with Christ, to be able to attend Mass with Tim, to see the students at Mass, and especially to pray for others at Mass more frequently.