retreating

husband and I were asked to go away to Brenham this past weekend and cook for our elders, church staff, and their spouses. what, go to Brenham?? stay in a cozy cabin, cook, and take our dog on walks all weekend? pfffft, o-KAAAYYYYYY, if you twist my arm a little more...

we had a really lovely time. our lodgings were so great, and though we actually had quite a bit to stay on top of we still had a restful, quiet weekend. we've known for awhile that we enjoy feeding others and seeing to people's comfort, and it was nice to have an opportunity to serve. plus, we learned some valuable lessons about time management and planning/cooking for a large group...

here's our cabin, called the Grand Retreat:

hot tub! we had every intention of getting in it (you could easily set the thermostat to a pregnant lady-friendly temperature), but got sidetracked and never quite made it. but you should all go and do it, like, next weekend.

the cool doors to the Retreat:

we made the walk over to the Farmhouse, there in the distance, a couple of times a day to make sure everyone had snacks to munch on between meals.

another look at the Farmhouse, which is a great place for a group of people to stay. I think it had three bedrooms, a nice sized room for hanging out, a big kitchen, tons of deck space, and another hot tub.

when he wasn't sniffing around outside, Chino spent much of his time engaged in this activity:

M working his voodoo on the breakfast... he turned 35 while we retreated, btw...

we served major meals on that bar...

and here's another shot of the greatroom/dining hall, complete with a big television and dvd player, rocking chairs galore, and a seriously awesome disco ball:

the greatroom also had a massage table in one corner and a chair with one of those Sharper Image shiatsu massagers. I enjoyed that chair very much. when we came out of the kitchen to socialize a bit, we had a great time hanging out with our elders and ministers and so appreciated the sweet and confirming things that were said to us.

while in Brenham I got my latest email update correlating my growing baby to food, and in this 18th week it said blam! is the size of a big bell pepper. we go tomorrow for our level 2 ultrasound, during which they check out the baby's organs and things to make sure everything is developing as it should. we're glad to get to see it again, but you can't help but be a little nervous and hope everything goes well. oh, and p.s. I'm feeling the little mover and shaker. VERY ODD FEELING. but once you feel it, you really want to feel it again.

I did not take the following photo and was tickled to find it on my camera... we're so thankful for these fine people and are very glad they asked us to come cook and play in the country.

I just wish they weren't so SERIOUS all the time .....read more about the retreat at Chelsie's blog!

-m.y.