Girl Get-Away

Abbey's Confirmation

10.30.16

My beautiful God-daughter/niece Abbey wanted her Godmother to be at her Confirmation.

This request reveals her beautiful heart...

She values this time of commitment to the Lord and she values family.

How could I say no?

😊

...even if it meant a weekend trip from Phoenix to Billings, followed by a full day of driving to Vegas.

So worth it.

Yeah, we do crazy.  ;)

And my girls' auntie couldn't pass up the opportunity to make it a "girls weekend"

filled with surprise and blessing and joy!

 My lovely travel buddies

The girls and I loved seeing all the varied landscapes passing beneath us...

...and being up above the clouds is just cool!

(We seriously have a ridiculous number of photos out the plane window.

Have you ever seen crazy people taking photos on the plane, or is that just us?)

The surprises began at the airport... sweet Jenna didn't know her cousins were coming!

My darling Mom was there at the airport with Nancy to pick us up...

 My girls didn't know she would be there!  Surprise!  😃

The surprises continued at the gym after Abbey's volleyball game (which we barely missed 😕).

Abbey took Mom and me to the concession stand to get us a drink,

where her cousins popped up from behind the counter!  😃  Surprise!

My sister is my hero.

No matter how hard she has to work to make it happen, she loves creating moments like this...

How much fun can you have at a vintage clothing store?

:)

Almost as much fun as you can have at Hobby Lobby!

;)
Yeah... I'm crying.  My mom was so hilarious taking pictures with a phone, I just lost it!
There were some normal photos before this (Mom took about 8), but this one makes me laugh.
Those of you who know her can imagine those funny faces she was making as she was figuring out how to work the camera on the phone....!!  :)

...and the reason for it all, Abbey's Confirmation.

It was a beautiful service confirming six beautiful girls' commitment to follow Jesus.

I sure love this girl! ...and I'm proud of the young lady she's becoming.

Her sister and cousins had a blast creating food art to celebrate.

Can you find the "A" for Abbey?  ;)

Cousin love!!

Another blessing of the visit was getting to see Honey Dew,

Ellie's hamster, who Jenna graciously adopted so Ellie could go frolicking around the country.

Nancy and Jenna sent Ellie home with this sweet gift...

She has a crazy long name and will be appearing on Ellie's blog soon, I believe. 😉

We flew "home" (back to our boys) literally into the sunset.

Remember, the sun is always shining above the clouds!

...and the most beautiful thing to see on a trip are the faces of those you love.

Thank you, Abbey, for wanting me to be there.

Thank you, Sister, for all you did to make this wonderful time together happen.

Thank you, Jenna, for your joyful smiles and hugs.

Thanks, Brent, for chauffeuring us and for the great stories and conversation.

...and thanks, Mom, for being there.

Everything is better when it's surrounded in Mom hugs and Grandma cuddles.

💜💜💜