MY TRIP TO NEVADA!!!!!! Karon, Me, and Mary :)

I just got back Monday from my trip to Nevada, and I had a blast! Friday morning Karon and I got up at 4:30am and got ready for the all day drive ahead of us. I kissed my boys good-bye in their sleep and off we went! We met Kurt's Mom, Nora, for coffee and she and Karon said their teary good-byes, and she prayed over us and our trip. The drive there took 13 hours and was so much fun! I think Karon and I laughed for about 10 hours of it! You should see my great abs from all that laughing! :) Our drive was smooth and problem free. Karon and I made some great memories, I am glad we had that time. We listened to a lot of old 80's songs and sang our hearts out, and did quite a bit of dancing as well! We rolled into Nevada and pulled up to Mary's house at 10pm that night...we were wiped out, but it was so good to see Mo after 2 months!! I got a little emotional as Mo showed me around her beautiful home because it finally sunk in that she really lives there now. Seeing her new surroundings made it all very real, and that was a little tough. Kurt was at a Pastors retreat so it was just us girls that night. Saturday morning was "work" day. Mary's parents came that day to help her continue to set up house, Karon and I went MAJOR grocery shopping and filled Mary's frig and cupboards. Karon and I still laughed ALL day that day, Mary was able to join in some too...I think Mary's family may have thought we were totally crazy!! :) We all went out for an awesome dinner, and then finally saw Kurt later that day. Mary's house is very cozy and warm, you can see pics on her blog soon! I also thought Nevada was very pretty, and it was in the 90's but it was nice and there is a nice breeze. Everywhere you look you see hills and mountains...and there even is some green! :) Sunday was "mandatory fun day"...for us girls anyways! We got Kurt to stay home after church that day and watch Grace. :) That morning I got to visit their church and really enjoyed it. It's very pretty and sits high up on the high over looking the city. As we were just about to walk into church (we were a tiny bit late) so worship had already started. As we walked in I heard Kurt singing and saw him up there leading worship, and my eyes instantly filled up with tears...I was NOT expecting that! I was like "dang it!" Then of coarse, Mary and Karon got teared up too, as it just really reminded us all of the end of our time worshipping together and ministering along side one another. It had been over 2 months since I had seen or heard Kurt lead worship, and I had served his ministry back home for almost 6 years. Anyway, we all managed to get through service without too much tears on my part. :) I enjoyed their church service and took lots of notes from their pastors sermon! I wanted to stay just for worship in the next service, since I was past the emotion of it and just really needed to worship the Lord. So, Mary and Karon ran an errand and I went to the very back row and was able just to get lost in worship, and it was sweet and good to my soul. After that, Karon, Mo and I went to a great lunch and went to the mall in Reno, and toured a bit of downtown Reno...we had a GREAT time. We went and picked up Kurt and Grace a bit later and we all went out to dinner at one of the big casinos in Reno, that was fun! Karon and I even played our very first slot machine!! It was only 5 cents to play, so we kept playing over and over until Mary was dragging us out of there saying, "Come on guys, they have 12 step programs for this sort of thing!" The picture I posted is us just after we left the casino, standing outside. I'm sure Mary will post some on her blog also. I flew out the next morning, and it was sad, especially because I had to now also say good-bye to Karon...that was hard. But, I knew that I had made great memories, that I have beautiful friends who will always be in my life, and that I had a precious family waiting for me to come home. So, it was all good. I'm at peace with it all, and I'm fine...no tears since I've been home! :) John and I are already planning our next trip out there though! I'll keep you posted. But for now, I think I will actually start journaling about others things besides Karon and Mary....hehehehe. I have shut the door to a beautiful season in my life, but not to my beautiful friends, and I am stepping into a whole new season in life...one that I will keep you posted on! :) God's provision for me is beautiful.