15 February 2009

Last weekend nearly 700 people gathered for the Christians at the Crossroads conference in Columbus, Georgia. The speakers were the Botkin family, a family that has a vision for family and the future. Each session was convicting and encouraging. These are a “few” of the photos that we took throughout the weekend. (For quicker loading, click here.)

On Friday night, the Botkin daughters played a few southern pieces on their harps. Such beautiful music!

One of the exciting things about the trip was that there were live plants outside. As Hoosiers (natives of Indiana), we had not seen green in quite a long while. How refreshing the lovely clover was to look upon!

We had a little picnic on the lawn outside of the convention center with Mia‘s family. The weather was perfect (we even got a bit too warm), and the company delightful! I had originally met Mia through her blog and was excited to actually meet her in person.

There was a nice little river along the walk where we ate. It was a bit of a steep journey down to the water, but we made it safely down and back up again. Here is Mia’s sister, Macy, standing on some rocks in the water.

We wanted a group shot, so Breezy held onto one side of our camera and Mia held onto the other. We all fit in perfectly. Credit goes to Mia for this photo, as she was the one who clicked the button.

I was able to meet several bloggers during the weekend, it was wonderful! Here I am with Christie and one of her lovely daughters. She is an encouragement and a beautiful portrayal of Biblical womanhood and femininity.

Shannon and I. Shannon’s blog has been an inspiration to me for several months now. I also had the privileged to meet her sister, Tiffany — they are both such sweet young ladies.

Jessica and I. I found her blog a while back and have enjoyed her photography and sewing projects. She brought her coat (she made up the pattern from a photograph), which was very neat to get to see in person. We had a very encouraging visit along with her sister, Rebecca.

Breezy, Julia, Mia, McKenzie, and I. Julia’s family and our family were able to sit together for most of Saturday and Julia makes lovely jewelry (you can see some in her shop). I enjoy reading McKenzie’s blog and seeing her love for the Lord and her family through her writing.

Katherine, Allie, Kristin, Breezy, Me, and Lauren. The Allen ladies (the three at left) were a sweet surprise to get to meet. They went to Scotland for the Faith and Freedom Tour and we recognized them from pictures on Mr. Phillip’s blog. Lauren is a fellow Hoosier, we were able to spend a good deal of time talking with her and her siblings.

Breezy and I took turns taking our family pictures on top of the parking garage.

Olivia and I. It was really good to get to visit with her and her younger siblings. The Powers family were an important part of the conference, as they scheduled and set up the conference.

Rebecca and I. It was very exciting to finally get to meet Rebecca. We originally met at the online Christian Homemaking Conference (Anna and Elizabeth Botkin were two of the speakers) two years ago and have been writing to each other ever since. She is such a sweet friend and it was a great blessing to get to meet her and her family!

Me, Elizabeth, Rachel, Rebecca, Christiana, Lauren, Breezy, Anna Sofia, Prentiss, and Emily. This was taken Sunday morning at the church where Mr. Botkin preached.

Several pianists played after the service while families lingered talking. How sweet the fellowship was with other like-minded believers! (This is of Rachel playing the piano.)

On the way home, the clouds were reflecting off the windows of the car and were visible through the rear view mirror.

Before we left Georgia, we stopped that the beautiful Callaway Gardens in Pine Mountain.

There were little pine cones on the ground at the gardens, so I bent down to get this photo of one (I wasn’t looking through the viewfinder, so it took a couple shots to get the right angle).

Breezy, Daddy, and I. I am so thankful for my father and his love and faithfulness in leading our family.

The gorgeous sunset on the way home. We arrived home Monday evening. What a wonderful and encouraging weekend it was! I plan on posting some of the notes I took at the conference soon.

Categories: Conferences, Encouragement, Family