Image Map

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

The Church Family Retreat

Our church family retreat was this past weekend and what a great time it was. Garvin and Angie did a great job of putting it all together and making sure there was lots of fun, fellowship and food! It was held at a place called Temple Hills Retreat Center in Stendal, Indiana, which is just north east of Lynnville. Most everyone that went, went up Friday evening and stayed the night. Some just came up on Saturday. Shawn and I planned on spending the night too, but I talked us both right out of that. I didn't want to have to pack two suitcases, pillows, blankets, sheets, toiletries, etc. for just one night and I didn't want to have to bother someone to come and let our puppy out during the night or really early in the morning. I'm glad that we didn't spend the night. I'm not a camper, and even though we weren't camping, the sleeping arrangements in the bunk areas would have been roughing it for me. LOL!! The beds were smaller than twin-size, basically a cot, with a thin little mattress on a piece of plywood sitting on the frame. No thank you! I welcomed sleeping on my king-size pillow-top mattress. The retreat center was only about a 45 minute drive from our house, so we drove out there Friday evening for a few hours, left about 1:00 in the morning and drove home, and then got back up at 5:30 Saturday morning to be at the center by 8:00 for breakfast.

Friday evening we had a light snack of popcorn, chips and salsa, and chocolates/candies, played a game, had fellowship and then called it a night.

Saturday morning we had fruit and bagels/toast for breakfast. We had a husband and wife from the American Red Cross come out and talk to us about first aid and safety. We also learned some of the basic technqiues for victims that are choking or have stopped breathing. I also learned that I need to have a disaster relief kit ready because you never know when you may need it. After that we had lunch and then free time. For lunch we had lunch meat sandwiches (kind of like subway sandwiches) and chips. After lunch I went outside and took pictures of the kids playing on the playground and just being silly. A bunch of us then took a walk down to the lake on the property and a hike through the woods. Even though it was freezing outside, it was still lots of fun. Once we got back to the shelter house, the adults played a game and just hung out before dinner. For the game, each adult tied a balloon to a piece of string and then tied it around your ankle. The object of the game was to pop everyone else's balloon without getting yours popped. It was hilarious to see everyone running around popping balloons. Of course, I think I was one of the first to get my balloon popped so I had plenty of time to take pictures of everyone else. For dinner we had chili and potato soup, peanut butter sandwiches, and crackers and then played a game of Family Fued before packing everything up and heading back to our individual homes. Team Disney took the win in the Family Fued game. We rock!!

Shawn and I got home around 8:30 and I was completely exhausted and fell asleep on the couch. The retreat was lots of fun and I look forward to next years.

Shawn and I learning CPR and my pastor thinking that he's funny!


Some of the kids playing outside.



Shawn and our Pastor

Taking a walk to the lake. It was freezing outside.


Here we are getting ready to play the balloon popping game. You'll notice the cheater!

Yes, that's a knife concoction he's got on his one shoe. Cheater!


No comments: