Hearts at Home and Meeting the Duggars

A chance to get away....

A few months ago my new friend Leslie posted on FB about this conference in Illinois for moms that she would love to go to. I just casually replied "yeah- that would be fun- I'd go with you" without giving it a lot of thought.

Later that day I mentioned it to Marcus and he said "you should go"- I thought "why not?"

You see- one weekend a year Marcus has a "video game weekend" where I just kind of pretend he doesn't exist and I take care of the kids alone while he and his friends/fellow gamers get together and tell ghost stories and trim each other's goatees... What? That's not what happens? You mean to tell me they drink Mt. Dew and 5 hour energy until they glow in the dark and play games all night until their eyes are bloodshot? Hmm...sounds like fun. Not really. :o)

So since he gets a "guys' weekend" I figured I could use a "girls' weekend"- plus my husband has always been supportive when it comes to me getting some "me" time. A movie by myself? Shopping alone? Eating at a restaurant alone with a good book? He makes these things possible. I don't do them often- but from time to time I need to get away for a bit. I know that I need to spend a little time away from the kids to stay sane. All moms need that (especially all of you stay at home mommies!) I feel blessed that I AM able to do that because I know that there are many moms out there who for different reasons can't get away.

Leslie and I made it official the next few days by actually signing up and paying for this conference. I didn't know much about it other than it was a weekend away, that it was Christian conference called Hearts at Home, and Michelle Duggar was one of the speakers.

March seemed forever away at the time we planned this but before we knew it- it crept up.

The kids were extra sweet in the way that they made sure I really NEEDED to get away. The days leading up to this trip were extra...ahem...challenging? By the time March 15th came I was ready to get out of here for a few days. Leslie felt the same way! Thank you kids for preparing us- aren't they just so thoughtful?! ;o)

I realized that this was the first time Leslie and I would have a chance to just talk with no distractions and I was looking forward to getting to know her more.

Leslie drove us and our 5 1/2 hour trip to Illinois seemed to take no time.

When we checked into the hotel late that night we were greeted with a dirty hotel room. They obviously hadn't cleaned it yet because there were sheets on the floor and soiled towels everywhere. When Leslie went to let the lady at the front desk know I texted Marcus and he said "It's the first test of the conference- will you or won't you clean it?" Haha.

We got little sleep that night due to an air conditioner unit that sounded like it was literally going to take off, make three laps around the room, scream something in German and bust through the wall. 5:40am came way too fast.


The First Day...

The two day conference took place in Normal, IL at the Illinois State University campus. 6,228 women attended and 31 different states were represented!

The first day of the conference we were scheduled to attend two main sessions. Spread out during the two days we also went to several "workshops" that covered a variety of helpful topics such as nutrition, balancing work and home, and finances. The workshops were informative but it was the main sessions that I loved the most.

Main session- thousands of women at ISU

They had an amazing worship band called Abide (2/3 of the former group Sierra) What an incredible sound to hear thousands of female voices sing to our God. I know my mood was definitely lifted by the angelic sound of it.

My favorite part of the morning main session was the unforgettable testimony of a woman named Olive. She grew up in Africa and faced many dangers in her life. Through the Compassion organization she was blessed with a sponsorship. That money literally saved her life and she is now a social worker in Georgia. We participate in another organization very similar to Compassion. It was so touching to get to hear from someone who was on the receiving end of a sponsorship and how it truly made all the difference in the world to her and her family.

The morning session featured Michelle and Jim Bob Duggar. They went into detail about their upbringing and how they met and their early years having children. It's truly an interesting story. They originally planned on just a few kids but God had bigger plans for their family and I think the way they handle challenges with such grace and faith is a lesson I could learn from them.

The afternoon session was great too but by that point I think Leslie and I were a little tired and ISU was pretty hot so the heat was getting to us. No one thought they would need the air turned on in March!

One of the speakers in the afternoon session spoke about wisdom. How scripture tells us how valuable is it, how available it is- but then why don't more people have it? Because they don't seek it. She said many things that will hopefully stick with me.

Meeing the Duggars...

During the first day Leslie and I got the chance to meet the Duggars (we actually skipped a workshop because of this...shhhh). The funny thing is when I was talking to Michelle I thought how weird it was to see her "react" to things on tv and all of a sudden I was the one she was reacting to. Does that sound weird? I'm sure it does but that's what was running through my mind when I was talking to her. I told her about how I didn't know it was possible to donate breastmilk until I saw that on her show and now I have had the opportunity to bless several other babies through donations. I also mentioned how my 4 yr old thought it was super cool that I got to meet "the lady with all the kids."

Leslie was pretty excited- she's a big fan :o)

Jim Bob, Me, Michelle, and Joy Anna

I sent Marcus a text saying that I got to meet the Duggars and he sent this picture back and said "He's shocked" Haha.

Mom's night out...

Friday night was MOM'S NIGHT OUT!!!! After a yummy dinner we were entertained by Abide singing an altered "mom" version of "I will survive" while pictures of kids caught making huge messes flashed on the screen.

We then were VERY entertained by a group called 321 Improv. I had seen them twice before on The Music Boat Cruise in 2010 and they are HILARIOUS!!! Improv takes real talent. And I love comedy but unfortuantely clean comedy is hard to find.

Oh boy. Did we make those three men earn their money! We were throwing some pretty interesting and feminine suggestions their way when it came to thinking up things they had to act out. Wow. We were all laughing so hard we were massaging our cheeks. What a mood lifter! I'm sure every woman in that room needed to laugh that hard.

After Mom's Night Out Leslie and I dragged our tired bodies back to the hotel that night. We slept well that night despite the air conditioner :o)

The second day...

We enjoyed the next day because it was a little more slow paced- we didn't have as much to do and took our time walking around the bookstore and looking at all of the venders. I bought a few things for the boys and was beginning to miss them a bit but enjoying my time away at the same time.

Overall- I really had a great time. ISU and Hearts at Home were very accomodatting....so much so that they converted the men's restrooms to female restrooms at for the conference. This is what they did to the urinals. We thought it was pretty funny.

(I hope those plants were later thrown away...)

Hearts at Home also thankfully provided a "Lactation Lounge" for the nursing mommies. It was a private room with ice water and enough outlets for an army. The camaraderie was fun in there- there was a lot of "how old if your little one?" "oh wow you have twins!" "you have HOW much spare milk frozen?"- I was encouraged by all of the other moms that work full time and still nurse their babies- it's not an easy task and it helped to discuss it with other people that carry the mixed feelings of missing our babies while also doing a job that we enjoy and serving the community in the workplace.

Coming home...

The ride home was uneventful in a good way. We talked and talked some more. Baffled by how much we have in common. Several of my close friends now live in different states so I had been praying to make a few close friends that are more local- and I can honestly say that God is answering that prayer.

(The only pic of us I took!)

We got home late Saturday night. I walked in to a CLEAN HOUSE (GO MARCUS!) and the boys were sound asleep. It was hard not to wake them- especially Luke since it was the longest I had ever been away from him.

I really hope I'll get the opportunity to go again! They have several conferences each year in different locations- every mom needs to go to one!