Time Out For Women . . .

What an awesome experience! I was able to go up to Fresno to a Time Out For Women Conference with some of my favorite women - my mom, my sister Jaimee, my sisters-in-law Tera and Esther, and my Aunt Melanie. It was a MUCH needed break with lots of girl time, and even more positive motivation and uplifting moments. I felt like there was too much to digest all at once. I took pages of notes and still missed so much. I need to go through my notes and break it all down so I can digest it all in smaller doses. How wonderful this weekend was. It's so nice to hear about other people who have had challenges in their life and are still happy, hopeful and have had their faith strengthened. I would do well to learn from their experiences.

One of my favorite moments was when my sister and I got to meet John Bytheway, have our picture taken with him and have him sign a book he wrote that I had just bought. (I think I have EVERY book, talk on cd, and dvd he has made!)

He is one of my favorite speakers, and has been since I was a teenager and first heard him at EFY in Provo, Utah. I actually have a picture of him from my first EFY when I was 14, 21 years ago. (Sheesh, that makes me sound really old!)

John Bytheway and I at EFY in Provo, UT in July, 1990.)

Here is Tera, Esther and Aunt Mel with John Bytheway, too.

This was taken by the staff of Time Out For Women right after they gave us our free bags. They put this picture on their TOFW website. I thought it was fun of all us, so I thought I'd include it here. (The woman next to Tera is her mom who met us up there. I'm not sure who the woman on the far right is, she wasn't part of our group.)

Some of the other presenters that were there were Michael McLean, Hilary Weeks, Laurel Christiansen, Mariama Kallon, Kris Belcher, DeAnn Flynn, Wendy Ulrich, and Mary Ellen Edmunds. Each one had beautiful, powerful, hopeful messages they shared with us, whether it was in word or music.

I'm really grateful for this experience. I've been to BYU Women's Conference and Time Out For Women several times now. Each time I leave with a renewed desire to do better, be better, and with a greater appreciation for my blessings. And now, I hope I've finally convinced the great women in my family how awesome these conferences are! I was so glad to share this time with all of you!! I love you so much.