dotMom

Last weekend I got to head down to Birmingham for dotMom and I was so thankful for the opportunity!  It took a little bit of finagling schedules and locations to pull it off but my parents and Jason stepped in and allowed me the time off to rest and recharge and I am so grateful for that!

Being a Momma is HARD WORK and I think we all need some time off where we can relax and focus on ourselves and making ourselves the best Mom’s and Wife’s that we can be!  I was blessed all weekend by the fantastic speakers like Jen Hatmaker, Sissy Goff and David Thomas, and Angela Cottrell.  I want to recap my weekend in pictures and then start recapping some of my notes because MY WORD did I learn a lot this weekend and I want to share it with anyone who will listen!

I ended up going to Tuscaloosa with the kids and Mom and Dad on Thursday and then heading back to Birmingham first thing Friday morning.  Lifeway had a meet and greet for those who had registered for the event and said that they were bloggers so I right away got to meet some new friends like Stacy and Amy.  I also saw some big names like BigMama and BooMama in the breakfast but was too scared of looking too stalkerish to go introduce myself.  I did work up the courage to say hello to Kelly Stamps and Amanda Jones though!

Even though I felt like a complete stalker talking to them they were both so kind and sweet.  Kelly had some great things to say about being fearful for our children when we blog and trusting that God has given her this platform and so He will take care of her family’s security.  I didn’t know yet how that would tie into the afternoon’s message but it did and was very timely!

I then went and checked into my room at the Sheraton and was pleasantly surprised with the niceness of it but a little dismayed at the fact that the wireless internet WOULD NOT WORK at all!  Adding to my anxiety about that was the fact that our friend Erin had posted our sneak peek’s from James’ one year pictures and I couldn’t get them to pull up on my phone!  Thankfully Jason texted me the pictures and I was able to relax (again, a timely reminder!).

I did get to spend a few minutes catching up with a fellow pledge sister who works at the Sheraton.  I was very glad to get to catch up on life with Donna Carol and hear about how she is doing.  It’s funny to think that I met my pledge sisters TEN years ago!  It’s crazy that it’s been that long!

I then headed over to the first session with Jen Hatmaker and was so excited with my good friend Leigh met me.  It was such a blessing that Leigh and I got to spend the weekend together since we haven’t had any girl time without kids in I don’t know how long!  We’ve been friends since we were, I think three, and it’s always wonderful to get to spend some quality time with friends who have known you your whole life and already know your back story.  I loved getting to catch up with her and talk about how we can pray for each other and just relax!

After Jen Hatmaker’s amazing first session we headed to breakouts and I chose one called “One Hot Mama” by Branda Polk and “Teaching Your Children God’s Word” by Angela Cottrell.  Jason told me that I couldn’t only go to “Mommy” sessions and needed to go to one “me” session and I was glad that God directed me towards Branda’s.  I learned a lot!  And I’ve loved Travis Cottrell since I heard him at Deeper Still and was so blessed to get to sneak a peek into Angela’s heart and family and get some ideas on how to teach our kids to cherish God’s word.

We grabbed dinner at the packed Subway that was nearby and then headed back for another session with Sissy Goff and David Thomas.  I didn’t know what to expect with theirs but once they started I was floored.  They are counselors at Daystar Counseling in Tennessee and hearing them talk about the children and families that they work with every day made a huge impression on me.  I have also had their books on my “Books to Read” Pinterest board for ages and was so excited to get to pick them up and get them signed by Sissy and David after the session.

Leigh and I headed to our room to chat after the session and then enjoyed sleeping LATE (for Momma’s that is) until 8 am the next morning.  We barely made it through the Subway breakfast line before it was time for the morning session with Vicki Courtney and even though we both left just a tad before it was over to get back to our babies, what I learned was wonderful.

I highly recommend dotMom for any Mom’s out there.  It’s a conference that focuses on God but also on equipping Mom’s to live out their day to day life and isn’t full of lofty goals that are next to impossible to play out in real life.  They’re headed to Frisco, Texas in February and Chattanooga next September and I’m planning on being there!

To read some other recaps check out some that I’ve seen:
Lil Light ‘O Mine, dotMom part 1
Kelly’s Korner, Changing my Prayers
Sullins’ Spot, dotMom 2012
BooMama
Lil Light ‘O Mine, dotMom – main stage

*I know I got link happy on this post (sorry!) but I want to share all of the awesomeness! I’m also hoping to go back and add links to my posts from my notes once those go up too!