I seriously love being friends with planners.
And adventurers.
And other families with kiddos the same age as ours.
And other moms and dads that have the same struggles as us.
And other believers that are just trying to walk in a manner worthy of the calling.
Winter Jam is a way for me to enjoy all these things.
Although the families that go are not all our friends,
there's just something about getting away and the concentrated time that can happen with a retreat.
This year, our fabulous travel agent (ha! not really but she could be) Mandy
rented a house for all of us at Lake Burton.
It was absolutely perfect.
Super large.
Lots of bedrooms.
Lots of baths.
A den both upstairs and down.
And the view ... oh goodness.
The view was spectacular.
We arrived on Valentine's Day to a delicious meal of prime rib
and sides.
And we even had Valentine goodies on our beds to greet us ...
candy bags for the kiddos and some other 'treats' for the adults! Ha!
After dinner, the Dickinson's headed up the 'Not-so-Newlywed' Game ...
while the kiddos were either in the bed or watching a movie in the basement.
The boys working on their answers ...
... the ladies working on theirs.
Just for history-sake: Bo and I won the game!
Forgot the victory pic!
Friday consisted of a lazy morning,
Mike D. and the other dad's attempting to scale down the mountain to the lake
(it was very short-lived),
and then a group drive and hike to a waterfall.
Mandy has now earned herself the title 'Waterfall Whisperer',
as she can find a waterfall on a hike better than anyone we know!
When we left the hike to head back to the house,
we were thrilled to drive through some snow!
We toured the road around Lake Burton and feasted our eyes
on some of the most gorgeous homes ever
(which had docks the size of what I'd call a 'normal' sized house!),
and then headed back up the mountain to our place.
Here's just one of the those ridiculously gorgeous homes ...
And here's evidence of the on and off snow we had all afternoon -
it was a complete white-out at times!
See those itty-bitty flakes on the chair?!
Saturday morning was much the same,
with a yummy breakfast and then a plan to hike Tallulah Gorge.
Yep - I learned that gorge = a ridiculous amount of steps to the bottom
that must then be climbed back up!
It was a beautiful, cool, sunny day.
Perfect for hiking and not getting too hot.
Not all the fams, but most.
Not sure how I missed the Henderson's and Hartsock's.
But Ben ... the term 'photo bomb' was invented especially for him!
Sunday we enjoyed another yummy breakfast
and then the kids had a worship service that Mike D. headed up.
Then the adults had a devotional time that Bo and Mike D. headed up.
It was a great time of challenging us to simplify.
And working out the messy details of what that means.
(which, by the way, we are still working out ...)
Goodness gracious, we love these families.
It's all, once again, evidence of God's great grace to us.
Constantly receiving blessings that we don't deserve.
Over and over again.
So grateful.
