Deep Breath
You know it’s a slow morning in the Hibbard house when Mama isn’t showered and dressed until nearly 10:00! I am not a “lounge around in pajamas” kind of person. You might find me dressed in flannel pants and a comfy t-shirt, but it will still be something other than my pj’s. I’m slow if I don’t have clothes on by about 8:00. So nearly 10:00? Yep, we’re in recovery mode! (And the cats are in “you abandoned us for four days and now we need all the attention we can get to make up for it!” mode.)
It was worth it, though! We left Almyra after church Sunday afternoon and made our way to the mighty metropolis of Cabot, Arkansas. (You doubt my description of Cabot? I cannot imagine why!!) The amazing staff and members of FBC Cabot rolled out the red carpet for the annual meeting of the Arkansas Baptist State Convention this year. When the minister’s wives leadership team got there Sunday afternoon to set up for our Monday luncheon, we hardly had anything to do! What a blessing! (The visit was nice, though!)
We crashed Sunday night and then got up early Monday morning to start the activities. All three kids had childcare provided this year (thank you, organizers, for listening to the homeschooling moms!), so that left Doug and me free to really dig in to the convention. The minister’s wives luncheon went beautifully this year, and Doug enjoyed a good bit of connecting and visiting throughout Monday. We ended the day Monday with a nice long dinner visit with my parents. YAY!
Tuesday was our big day – the main portion of the convention business. The kids joined us for the evening service, always the best of the convention because of the entertaining reports and incredible choir performances from the Master’Singers (musically inclined ministers and wives from around the state) and either the Ouachita or Williams Baptist choir. This year it was Williams. Tuesday night was somewhat bittersweet this time around. Our state’s executive director, Dr. Emil Turner, is retiring in February, and the official convention farewell was held during Tuesday night’s session. He has done amazing things for our convention and has been a personal encouragement to so many ministers and their families, ours included. We all love him dearly, and although we know we’ll still be able to interact with him, we will miss him in his role as executive director.
We finished the day with our Tuesday night of the convention tradition – dessert afterwards, no matter how late! This year we were blessed to be joined by our friends the Albrechts, former neighbors in Monticello. What a delightful visit!
Wednesday morning we awoke tired, but ready for the last bit of business before heading home. Doug has been invited to a breakfast the past couple of years, and last year he took Olivia with him since I couldn’t go. This year he took Angela. She was so excited!
This morning we are all delighted to be back in our element, back to our own home, and back to normal eating. Meanwhile, I’m very thankful for a large capacity washer and dryer!!
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Julie G