What a treat it was to get away with these precious friends to celebrate Marla's 40th birthday. Her parents graciously offered us their beach condo and there was no way we could turn down that opportunity! It takes some MAJOR coordination to get out of town and leave behind our twenty-three children, but thankfully we pulled out all the helpers (parents, sitters and husbands) and made this trip happen!
Road tripping' with friends was super fun and really easy! Nine hours in the car went by in a flash as we talked, laughed, played twelve straight rounds of Scattergories and snacked on my favorite Arkansas popcorn---it was a very enjoyable road trip.
Upon our arrival, this was what we took in.
We sat around one morning sharing what the Lord has been showing and teaching us. There were tears, there was laughter, we needed a box of tissues for sure. The thing is, the last 6-12 months have been pretty intense for each one of us. We've all had difficult circumstances and hard realities to grapple with. Having friends to walk through the hard times with is such a blessing. These women have held me up on difficult days and encouraged and cheered me on when I needed it the most. The word that comes to mind is edifying...time with these friends was incredibly up edifying.
We were definitely in Vacay Mode and LOVED every.single.minute of it!
Great minds think alike. Carol and I unknowingly, both picked up this cute Trina Turk cover up and some how managed to never wear it the same time all summer, so we had to get a picture.
A charcuterie style lunch can never be wrong, this is what it looked like every d With cheeses, salami, fruit and crackers all while taking in the beautiful water...it was basically heaven on earth!
We stayed up way past midnight every evening. You'd think we would've run out of things to say but nope...we just talked and talked...uninterupted, which was amazing! Several of us actually started getting hoarse from all the talking, but it didn't slow us down.
We did play some games, I was introduced to several new ones, Code Names which was a team game as well as Nerts, which uses multi decks of cards to play an epic game of speed Solitaire. I was clearly the under dog playing with some Nerts pros so it was a tad overwhelming for me but I'll know more of what I'm doing next time. I do enjoy a good game!
Each evening we went out for dinner enjoying the different coastal settings.
We had a few fun drinks too.
We met these ladies who had been coming to Perdido Key, Florida for the past 16 years. They didn't start until their 40th high school reunion so when we told them this was our first time as a group, they highly encouraged that we continue to make the trip a priority in the years to come. They were quite a cute group of friends...I do hope that we can take their advice and make this trip happen again! (Unfortunately we weren't able to get a group pic of all us with these ladies, just Marla and Keri.)
The condo we were in was well appointed with lovely views! What a gift her parents gave each one of us as we got to partake of their birthday gift to Marla!
This trip was a true and total joy! It was idyllic in every way. I can't imagine it having gone any better. The weather was perfect, the conversations hilarious and heart warming, real and vulnerable. I left my time with these women grateful and thankful that God graciously placed them in my life!
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