Out of Town

Whew! The past few days have been a whirlwind! We were out of town for a couple of days at a leadership conference in Anderson, SC.

On Wednesday morning, we left town, dropped Lady off with Brian's parents, and then headed north.





We of course, took as many back roads as time would allow.





Our goal was to be in Greenville, SC by 6PM to visit with my family. We made it, and had a great time with everyone. My family is spread out all over the place, so I don't get to see them often. We had an awesome dinner (that we ate too quickly to remember to take a picture of), but it was delicious!






Had some cupcakes...







Opened up some baby gifts for Sophie with the help of my nephew, Jonathan...






... and chatted and laughed until it was time to return back to Anderson for the conference in the morning.





I had to take this picture... this is my Dad's candy stash. I think you can see that I come by my love of sweets honestly.






The next morning we were up bright an early- another 5AM start. :/ We were on time for early registration though, and in time to get some good seats. The conference we attended was a leadership conference at NewSpring Church.





You can see from the picture to your left, that it was very well attended.





One of my favorite parts at these conferences is usually the music... one, I love being in a church where you can feel the music in your chest (and this time, I imagine Sophie could feel it in my belly too); two, I love having the freedom to sing as loud as I want (sometimes not even knowing the words) and the music being loud enough that no one can hear me; three, I love seeing leaders worshiping God through song, especially when they don't always get a chance to during their own services; and four, I get a glimpse into what the vision for Church of the Suncoast is- to see thousands of people along the Suncoast Parkway become fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ.

I am going to blog more about the actual conference on Monday, when I have more time to share some details. This was probably the best conference Brian and I have been to- definitely the most encouraging and life-changing.


After the conference, Brian and I did what we do when we are out of town- find the best local food around and enjoy it to the fullest! :) Mama Penn's is a place we have been to before, but they have some good fried chicken and southern sides.

If you're ever in Anderson, SC, this is a restaurant you will want to check out.

That evening, we literally crashed. We had enough energy to brush our teeth and pull the covers back. Imagine hearing the best seven messages you've ever heard, back to back to back all in one day- it's a bit overwhleming and emotionally draining.

The next day, Brian spent the morning working and reviewing his message for Sunday while I packed and read- trying not to disturb him. Then we were on our way home. Brian wanted to split the drive up, so it was a little easier on him, and not too terribly draining before Sunday.

For lunch, we found a cute little BBQ place that turned out to be the best BBQ we've ever had. It was awesome! If you are ever near Commerce, GA, this place is not too far off the beaten path, and worth the extra few minutes to get to.



We spent some time at Centennial Olympic Park in downtown Atlanta.













We then found our way over to Dallas, GA to visit some friends. After a great dinner, great conversation, and yogurt and a movie with their family, we crashed one more night before the remainder of the drive home.

Fast food breakfast in Dallas, GA... it was what we could find that was not a Waffle House or Huddle House, and to be honest, was pretty good for fast food. We spotted it by the over flowing parking lot. If the place is packed, you know it's gotta be good!








On our travels home, we saw a sign for Lane Orchards and had to stop!






Some pictures by the giant peaches. :)


































I was not sure I had ever seen a peach tree before... now I can say I have. It is the very end of the season, so the trees are bare and the peaches are fresh!







This was the inside of the store. If I could have captured the smell and posted that for you as well, I would have. Unbelievable.





Their marketing totally worked on us. Instead of using our lunch money on lunch, we bought a fried peach pie, some peach cobbler with peach ice cream, and some peaches to take home with us.


After picking up Lady and having dinner with the Moon's, we finally made it home this evening. I thought this picture would be the perfect picture to end on!