*Update*
Here are the username and password so y’all can see Rich’s pictures until we get the slideshow up and running. Thanks!
username: siesta
password: fiesta
(lowercase)
Rich just sent me this panoramic he made of all the Siestas together.
Hi Siestas!
I have a couple of links for you today. First, for those of you who attended the Siesta Fiesta, go here to download the group pictures that Rich Kalonick took for us. They are full resolution and printable. Use the username and password you were given on Saturday and make sure they are typed in lowercase letters.
Second, if you have written a Siesta Fiesta recap on your blog, you can put a link to your post on the LifeWay All Access Blog or on Kim and Patty’s Siesta Fiesta Blog. It’s been really neat to read all the posts about the weekend and see pictures.
I honestly don’t know where to begin when it comes to my own recap of our big weekend together. I could not have imagined how fun it was going to be to meet all of you in person. What a thrill! I left with a big smile on my face and an ache in my heart for MORE TIME.
So here’s my play-by-play. Mom and I flew into San Antonio and immediately met up with Melissa. We went to lunch at J. Alexander’s at the Alamo Quarry Market (such a neat place!). After that, Rich and Ron drove us to the Alamodome for Mom’s sound check and prayer time over the arena. When we walked in the dome, I honestly got dizzy and nearly fell over because of how massive the place was. Luckily the team had set up the event in one end of the dome and because of some giant curtains, it seemed like the appropriate size. I can’t even imagine that place filled to capacity.
A few minutes later we checked into our hotel room. We happened to run into Melanie/Big Mama while we were unloading the car. She is so much fun. We had a little problem with my mom’s room because, hello, the people wouldn’t check out of her room! (And it was well past checkout time.) So she had to hang out with Melissa and me for a while. This was not a good thing because she needed some solitude to prepare for that night. Melissa needed a nap (having not slept at all the night before), so I called Melanie and asked if I could come hang out in her room for a while. We got to chat for a while about everything from how potty training is the great equalizer to her husband’s and my dad’s love of Texas Trophy Hunters magazine. I enjoyed it so much.
Then it was time to get ready and head over to the Siesta Fiesta check-in! It was so exciting to walk up and see everyone in action. I got to meet Patty, whom I have corresponded with for about six years, for the very first time. How fun! I loved getting to meet so many Siestas as they checked in. What a joy to connect a face with a screen name! It seemed like just the blink of an eye before I was whisked away to dinner. Y’all know Pregnant Girl can’t skip a meal. I have to feed the fig/lemon/Nutter Butter/apple/baby!
The conference began at 7:00. I have to say that the praise team was so anointed the entire weekend. Wow. I asked Travis at the end of the conference, “If y’all can sing like that, what must God sound like when He sings?” They led us right to the throne to worship the Lord.
Mom taught on the theme of Inheritance. There are so many things she said that I can’t stop thinking about. It was a feast of the Word and personally, I left the conference feeling so loved by God.
After the third session concluded, our family got to have a very quick lunch and prepare to meet with our Siestas. The Alamodome catering staff served us THE best quesadillas I’ve ever had in my life. Seriously. What is sad is that I can never go to a restaurant and find these quesadillas again. Travis was sitting next to me while I went on and on about their goodness and he said, “I am witnessing a blogable moment right now.” Truly. Travis, I hope I did not disappoint.
The clock struck one before we knew it and it was time to begin! We went out into the arena floor where the Siestas had already gathered. They were arranged in smallish groups and Mom, Melissa and I just jumped in to each one while Rich did his magic with the camera.
For the rest of the time, the Siestas sat in a section of seats and Mom, Melissa and I sat on three chairs on a platform. We gave away some door prizes and in the process met a Siesta who had flown in from Tokyo(!!!), a Siesta who had been married 58 years, a Siesta with eleven children, a Siesta with my same due date, a Siesta who got engaged on Thursday night to a great guy on the Event Team, two Siestas who had road-tripped from Wyoming with “Miesta Moose,” a newlywed Siesta, and several Siestas who celebrated birthdays that weekend. We also got to meet three Siestas whose hard work, creativity, and leadership made the weekend all that it could be. We spent the rest of our time doing a Q&A session. I don’t know what it was like to listen to from the Siestas’ end, but we had a lot of fun doing it. And I will always remember that Baby Jones #2 received his or her first gift at the Siesta Fiesta. It is a very soft and very precious blanket with little giraffes on the four corners. It is monogrammed to say, “Shh… I’m taking a Siesta.” How fun is that? I will treasure it forever.
Before we knew it, our time was up. We had to get in the minivan and head to the airport. The Four Original Moores talked all the way home about the great weekend God had given us. He was so faithful! Thank You, Lord!
Huge thanks to our ministry director Sabrina and to all of our co-workers who helped us through the registration process amidst my transition to working part time. Thanks to everyone at LifeWay who put many extra hours of work into planning and executing the Siesta Fiesta. You girls (and guys) were incredible. Thanks to Holly for making the amazing cookbooks that contain tons of recipes from this blog and that will help drill a water well through Life Outreach International. Last but certainly not least, thank you, thank you, thank you to Kim and Patty and their team of volunteers who did everything in their power to help the Siestas make the most of their weekend together. T-shirts, tote bags, lunch, a riverboat cruise, sign-in, name tags, the pajama party…oh my word! We Siestas are so blessed by you! We appreciate the untold hours of planning, work, and prayer you invested in our weekend.
And thank YOU, Siestas near and far, those we’ve met and those we haven’t yet, for enriching our lives so much. We love all of you to pieces!
P.S. I just spoke to my mom and she sends all her love. She says she keeps picturing your sweet faces!
Amanda, many thanks for all you do to keep the blog going. I don't know where you get your energy especially with Jackson now in the twos! You and Melissa were precious at the Siesta Fiesta. I know mama Beth was so proud of you both and the sweet, sincere, honesty with which you voiced your reply about being her "girls". She has certainly, with God's help, done an awesome job with parenting….well, we should probably give Keith a little credit! hehehe
It was an awesome, awesome weekend singing & praising our Father and loving on one another. I am so glad I am His and He is mine!
BLessings abundantly on you , Curtis and Jackson. Take care of yourself.
love,
Sharron(Hartselle, Al)
Im so sorry I missed this! It sound like you had a great time!
Loved your recap, Amanda! And thank you for posting all those links. It was so fun to look at all the pics!
Glad I got to hug your neck! You are seriously precious.
Hope you get some rest this week!
Linds
(I’ll still be looking for you around town!) 🙂
Dear Siestas, I was unable to attend the conference in San Antonio as my father passed away unexpectedly. I gave my ticket away and I know the message was meant for someone that was supposed to be there. But, I have taken heart, as I just learned that Beth will grace us in my hometown in February. Thank You Daddy in heaven as I think you didn’t want me to miss Beth after all. Blessings. Also, you haven’t had Mexican food until you eat ours in EP. Susie in El Paso
I’m so happy for all of you that were able to attend. It sounds like it was such a blessing.
I’m hoping LPM will offer another time like this in the future. I would LOVE to be a part of it!
Anne in MO
Could you keep my son Bryan Wilson in your prayers please? His tumor shunk and his operation is on Thrusday. He lives in Sweden and that is 9hrs ahead of US time. I’m believing for complete healing! Please pray for his wife and 4 year old child. Thank You So Much!
This is my first comment. I found you through another blog and enjoy Listening to Wednesday’s with Beth!
GOD Bless You and Yours and Thanks You So Much for Your Prayers!!!
Wonderful weekend Thank-you Beth for such a powerful word! ~ jan
All I can say is “thank you” to the Lord for orchestrating our time together in San Antonio. So many people worked long and hard to bring the Siesta Fiesta to fruition.
Just to hear, from Genesis to Revelation, God has been telling us He is our inheritance and we, His people, are His. To say I am an heir of God, learn what it means, and to truly believe it has so blessed my heart.
A HUGE THANK YOU TO ALL. My heart is forever changed; glory to you, Lord!
Hugs,
Mary
[email protected]
Pooh! I missed so much. Wish I could have been there.
Maybe we could start some “State By State” groups for smaller gatherings until another big event comes along??
Hi Siestas!
Reading through Psalm 16 again after this weekend!
Verse 4 really hit me after doing No Other Gods…
“The Sorrows of those will increase who run after other gods” Psalm 16:4
Just wanted to share! I love how God causes these things to just “Pop” out to you (like a Pop up Book as Mama Beth says!)
Miss you my Siesta Heiresses!
Emmy : )
The music was great, the teaching was grand and the spirit of God was ever real and present!!! I was truly blessed by it all. I went by myself (needing a time to focus as I prepare to lead our fall bible study) and God did not leave my side for one minute. I was blessed beyond my wildest imagination and I am grateful.
I am an heir of God……
Many blessings to you all,
Royana
What a joy to travel with my friend to Texas. We are California girls and have to say Texas hospitality is wonderful!! What a joy to worship Jesus with you and to grow in His Word.
This past weekend was amazing! Thanks to you three lovely women for taking time to let us get to know you all better. You are all such great examples of God using you to be His hands and feet. Thank you for following Him, and in doing so, blessing us all so deeply.
Sincere gratitude from Tracy
This is a great recap, Amanda! I have to check out the links to read some posts and check out some of the pics:) That’s really cool that you ran into Big Mama!…Women-we can talk about most anything for hours!:)…Yay! Amazing worship!…little one is an apple now?!…Whoa, lots of siestas you got to hug on and talk to:) That is a great baby gift!…Wow, that’s some plannin’…All your siestas love you and the crew to pieces too, ((HUGS)) to Spiritual Mom Beth thinkin’ about us-it’s mutual:) So, when is the next siesta fiesta?:)
I am having a hard time pulling up the pics that were linked to this post! Any suggestions? Kristina
Oh how I wish I could have been there. I love you all so much!!!
Maybe this will be an annual thing!
I just looked at Rich’s pics! They are great! You all had soo much fun!:) The moose was fun! Siesta mascot-I like him:)
Have a blessed day!~
katiegfromtennessee
Tell your mom that I keep picturing YOUR sweet faces! This weekend renewed my soul like no other. I felt like Beth was so truly annointed by God – that message spoke straight to my heart. And in the midst of heartache, I heard a Word from the Lord that encouraged me and strengthened me and gave me a new perspective. Thank you and God bless you all. You are all so dear and I love you so much. It was so fun to see your beautiful faces up close and in person. I just wanted to hug your necks and not let go. The Lord was truly in that place and we were ALL so immeasurably blessed, our hearts drawn closer to the heart of God and the truths of His character. Amen!
It was a blast and a blessing to be able to be part of such a wonderful experience
I just keep wondering – when is the next one – hehe
We love all of you – especially you funny Moore girls 🙂
I have never laughed so hard so thanks again for taking the time to do the Q&A – fun times!
Much love
Kim
ok, yall could NOT be a cuter bunch of ladies. Is it Rich or was every single one of you just beautiful?
Thank you Rich for all the pictures!! We trult appreciate the extra work for the event!!
Blessings,
Patty
I am so glad that all you Siestas were able to be a part of a wonderful time of fellowship with the Moore ladies! It was an honor to take part in a Spirit-filled lesson last weekend about Psalm 16! I look forward to being able to fellowship with each you on our new lots in Heaven! Amen! Have a blessed week in the Lord!
how i wish i could have been there!! the pics are great. Thanks for sharing! Amanda, I have to tell you, the first time that I read your re-cap, I missed the part about having to have a username and password to see the pics (obviously this was before you posted them for us), and I clicked on the link to see the pics. Haha!
Thanks to everyone who made the Fiesta possible!
The teaching was timely, worship anointed, and fellowship sweet.
To the person who asked about the RAINBOW–YES!–we saw it from our balcony! It was like a “Good morning!” kiss from our heavenly Father.
See the picture next to my post? That’s it!
Blessings,
Tami in LA
I had so much fun!
I didn’t get to speak to everyone I wanted to. But Amanda, it was a treat hugging you twice!
Angela, who sings with Travis and was there for this event…Jan and I love her but didn’t know her name. We bumped into her husband at the airport when we flew out of San Antonio and that was a treat!
Tell your mom we saw a rainbow on our flight. I think it was over Mississippi or Alabama. We were flying over the top of the rainbow as it dropped down into the clouds. THAT was a godstop!
Father, bless Beth with rest and peace. Give her time to settle and restore her strength. Thank You for pouring out love all over us this past week. You are Good. In Jesus Name.
I had so much fun! Thanks girls! And my sis loved winning for shortest time married. Sorry Melissa, you were really close 🙂
We love you very much!!!
Man, I wish I could have been there!
I am so bummed that I couldn’t attend this year…it looks like everyone had an awesome time and I’m sure God showed up and showed out!
I’m hoping the Fiesta Siesta will be a yearly event and I can attend next year 😉 …say maybe in Memphis or Little Rock 😉 (hint)
YES!!! I saw the RAINBOW!!!! It was the first thing I saw when we walked out the door of the Hotel. It was the only place I saw it though. I knew, that the day was going to be a special one…and WOWWWW what a BLESSED day it was.
It is Thursday and I just spent some time reading all the comments so far. I am so out of words for how overwhelmed with love I feel from our time with the KING!!!
Have a super awesome day SIESTAS 🙂
kate in charlottesville
The weekend was amazing! I don't even know where to begin.
First of all, being blessed to travel with my 25 year old daughter for 4 days was a memory I'll never forget.
Meeting so many wonderful Siestas and some of our blogging friends was all I thought it would be and more. We got to meet our new mascot "Miesta Moose" along with Melana & Veronica, the first evening while we were waiting to enter the arena. They are a hoot!
Beth, Amanda & Melissa, thank you so much for the time we were able to spend with you all after the conference. It was so much fun. I just love you all so much.
Rich, thank you for taking so many amazing pictures.
Patty, Kim & others who helped you behind the scenes….everything was organized and perfect. Thank you.
Holly….I love the cookbook and have been asked by some of my friends if they are available for anyone to purchase?
Lifeway…thank you!
Travis & praise team…you are so anointed. Loved every minute of worship.
Keith, thank you for your support and prayers. I'm so glad Beth has "Supperman!" 🙂
Lastly, but most importantly I thank my God who is so faithful to me and gave us a safe trip and blessed us with His Word.
Love you all! And yes, we need to plan another blogger get-together in the near future.
Love,
Valerie
I attended this past weekend, and I felt so overwhelmingly blessed. I have had a trying year with being diagnosed with breast cancer, trying to raise my 4 young kids among uncertainty, keeping my marriage strong in the midst of this severe storm. My mom and I attended this event thanks to a wonderful friend that bought our tickets early in my battle.
I have kept my own blog, and my mantra is that “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Phillipians 4:13. I have held steady with this and I was sitting there wondering what my inheritance was with all of this. Not a minute later Beth stated Phillipians 4:13. Thank you God for opening my eyes and heart at that moment to know He was telling me that I do have an inheritance to share and I need to continue to find my strength and hope through Him. It was in that moment that I felt the world tilt a little and the warm tingling over my body. I went home that night and cried, opened my heart to my husband to share my thoughts,fears and excitement.
I will forever remember this past weekend in San Antonio and know that I am an heiress! Can’t wait to have the heiress hair do though!! I would love some Texas Hair right about now!
Amanda…thank you for posting the siesta fiesta password..i almost tried those words yesterday but knew it wasn’t cool and now – look i get to see them honestly!!! I was struck by the simplicity of the setting with you, Beth and Melissa sitting in such a “mundane” venue compared to the soon to be live event in Denver…(Thurs. night) and how your Mother’s requested prayer for the event and God’s Grace and Mercy pulls it altogether…with his children…not with massive stage sets, plywood scenery or foundationless hopes and dreams…but with flesh and blood people with hearts and minds in search of Him building His temple….so Thanks for the pictures….Praise Him! ps..hope you had a good time last night too!
Totally random but was that curtain not the hugest thing y’all have ever seen? I couldn’t help but think about the Holy of Holies. :))
Hey ladies,
I have been a siesta for ages but was always anonymous and signed off as Sarah from Wyoming. I had to comment to say that I have an identity now….lol. I even started a personal blog so stop by and say hi if you can. I was not a the fiesta but enjoy reading about it just the same.
The weekend was so incredible. God really got a hold of me on Fri. with our being His inheritance. Absolutely incredible in my thinking. I also feel so unworthy and overwhelmed. It also was so much fun to meet you. I loved the q and a time. Thanks for recognizing my birthday. Kim B. in AZ
Great photos – but why are some blacked out? I was hoping to see the group photos here….
Enjoy reliving this special time with y’all. Being back “in the daily grind” is challenging and I believe Satan is attacking but all I have to do is look at all of your dear sweet faces again and I’m refreshed all over again. Countless thanks for all you’ve done and do!
love-n-hugs,
Thank you Amanda for posting the secret codes to the pictures from the Fiesta. I was not able to go and I was feeling very left out because I didn’t know the password to see the pictures. Then when I logged on and saw that you had posted the login and passwords I was so happy! Now I feel as if I was almost there. Thanks for allowing those who couldn’t be there to “be there” vicariously!
Tammy in Montana
My son picked out the FIESTA dvd from Elmo this morning and I thought about all of you!! Just amazing the way God puts things together.
I wish i could have been there! I had my freshmen orentation! You all on here are like famaily! All of you! Beth, i saw a pair of shoes today that made me think of you! Its was funny! Love ya!