This second week was full of traveling, lots of friendships, and building new relationships!
My husband’s family celebrated the 85th family reunion out in Buffalo Gap. It is unique to see a family come together like this every year and it serves as a great reminder of family history and culture. The Jennings family (yes this includes Waylon Jennings) gets together every year for their unique event out at the Presbyterian Encampment. The full Saturday event includes a family meeting, knife auction, another silent auction of blankets or random items, a potluck meal, and swimming! Brandon and I enjoyed our time connecting with those who we were unable to see in March at our wedding. We could personally hug necks and thank those who sent gifts which was very nice to put faces with names. One thing I appreciated was being able to hear the stories of past family reunions and stories about Brandon’s grandparents. It was a wonderful day! Below is a picture of a few of us in the pool.
The next few days I was able to go to San Angelo to spend time with my dad. Since he is currently without a job and facing some hard times in his life, my visit was different than the usual visit. This time there was more laughter, more time spent together, and an overall sense of peace. We spent several days together cutting up, talking about old memories, watching some good old hallmark movies and just enjoying each other’s company. In the 23 years that my dad worked for his previous company – I have never seen him without stress or full of so much joy as he was this time around. I know the Lord has a plan in all of this and am very thankful that my Sabbatical fell during this time. I was encouraged by my dad’s positive outlook and approach to this stage of life. We had deep conversations about life and we could catch up on the day to day things that slip by when you no longer live in the same town. I also had fun going through some old photo albums and looking at family portraits. You can see one of my favorite pictures of my dad below:
While I was relaxing in San Angelo, I also started my book “Captivating” that I chose to read over Sabbatical. So far, I am enjoying the perspective that the author has given me in the first few chapters – more on this later!
The finale of this week and going into the new weekend was the celebration of a friend’s wedding in Dallas. Serving as the Matron of Honor, I was able to complete a lot of behind the scenes work to help the bride not get so worked up. Weddings are always stressful in some way, so I am thankful everything went well and it was beautiful! Brandon and I enjoyed our time together as we reminisced on our own day not too long ago. With the busy wedding weekend, it was nice to have a great time on the dance floor together! Below is a picture of my sweet husband and I at the wedding.
