Three weekends ago, Mom, Melissa, Annabeth and I headed north to Dallas-Fort Worth. Our co-worker’s son was getting married and we were excited to make a girls weekend out of it. I realize the relevance of this post has now dwindled, but it’s been sitting in the draft folder for a couple of weeks and I would hate to waste it.
As always, we had many “That’s going on the blog!” moments, some of which I will document for you.
The first was when we passed the giant statue of Sam Houston just outside of Huntsville on I-45. If you’ve heard Beth tell about the night she thought she saw our Lord on the highway, you will appreciate this. At night Sam is lit up against the pitch black background of pine trees.
Too many hours later (Mom was behind the wheel and she drives like a granny), we finally arrived in the Metroplex. We went through Irving and got one last look at Texas Stadium. It was already very stripped down in preparation for Sunday morning’s implosion.
After a much needed stop at Starbucks, we stayed the course of our long journey until we arrived at the perfect Moore Girls Weekend destination – a hotel at Southlake Town Square. Praise the Lord and amen.
In this spot, please imagine a picture of Melissa and me unloading our overpacked bags and toddler paraphernalia out of the car while Mom visited with two really cute ladies who seemed a little surprised to be seeing her.
Right here, please imagine a picture of my mom’s face when they told her that their church was hosting a women’s retreat at that very hotel and – you’ll never believe this – Mom was the retreat speaker! Yes, you read that right. They were using the Revelation DVD’s for their women’s retreat. Isn’t that ironic/hilarious/crazy?
We didn’t waste much time unpacking. There was eating and shopping to do before bedtime!
We had a great time exploring Southlake and just being together. We met lots of really neat ladies and even a few Siestas!
Our time flew by and before we knew it, it was time for the Mattingly/Simpson wedding. We all got dressed up. Mom wore the gold dress that she’s worn to almost every wedding in the last 8 years. I wore a “new again” black dress that hadn’t fit since Annabeth was born. I also wore a brand new pair of heels that quickly became my nemesis. Melissa took a fashion risk and wore something less conventional. Halfway through the night, she saw a picture of herself and suddenly there was no convincing her that she didn’t look exactly like the wedding cake in her voluminous, tiered white blouse. She said she feared people would begin approaching her with their cake plates. I believe this was Melissa’s first time to experience fashion remorse. Unfortunately, all pictures of it have been destroyed. (I thought she looked beautiful!) Annabeth wore a sweet little dress that had pink tulips on it. Unfortunately, a toddler really limits one’s participation in a wedding celebration. Annabeth and I just walked up and down the halls of the church during the ceremony. Our time at the reception ended up being short and sweet, seeing as how my daughter was two hours past her bedtime and nothing could make her happy. At least she was cute!
The Lord allowed us to have a couple of unexpected moments with Adam and Laura, the beautiful bride and handsome groom, on our way out.
There happened to have been some red and pink tulips nearby that matched Annabeth’s dress. What a great photographic opportunity, right? Annabeth did not agree.
The next hour held one mishap after another. I got us terribly lost, Melissa dropped a room service tray on the floor and broke some plates, and Mom and I accidentally ate her dinner while she was cleaning it up. (We thought it was an appetizer for all of us.) Bless her heart.
Soon we called it a night. Early the next morning I woke up to a rumbling sound. I glanced at the clock and realized it must have been the stadium coming down. You can see a video of the implosion here. People cheer at the end but I thought it was pretty sad to watch! (I used to live by this stadium and even though it was u-g-l-y, I felt sorry for it.)
We dropped Melissa off at DFW airport so that she could fly home to Atlanta. Then Mom, Annabeth and I made our way toward the stadium so we could see the pile of rubble. It was so freaky! It looked like there had been an earthquake. I tried to imagine how horrifying Port Au Prince must be with most of the buildings looking like that. Awful.
A highlight on the way home was stopping for lunch at the Collin Street Bakery in Corsicana. One word – YUM! There was a big field of bluebonnets (our celebrated state flower) next to the parking lot, so we did what every self-respecting mother and grandmother in Texas would do. We plopped ourselves and our baby down in the middle of it and took some pictures! Ideally, these would not have been taken with an iPhone and Annabeth would have been wearing a cute summer dress. We also had to hurry because we could tell the church crowd was about to arrive at the restaurant.
And this concludes the semi-annual Moore Girls Weekend recap. Our DFW trip was a great success. Thank you, Adam and Laura Mattingly for getting married and giving us a great reason to get away. We love you guys!
That post cheered my already very full heart!
Melana 🙂
ROAD TRIP! Gotta love ’em and so glad y’all had fun.
BTW, So long insecurity…you’ve been IMPLODED! We’ll cheer for that!
Amen!
Can you imagine what tremendous memories to charish? I loved the pic of the groom and bride with Beth! Y’all are so precious including Annabeth, and the looks on her face are incredible! We live in Irving, so we quite frequent Southlake for shopping, so I know you had a tremendous time. Thanks, Amanda for sharing!
aw, do you all always have to “rush” because of people recognizing Beth and wanting to take up time? I hope not! I hope people are sweet to you all. I know I would be, but probably would squeal with excitement to see all 4 of you, and have a picture made. I feel like I can relate to each stage of life each of you is in. Each one of you has spoken life into this heart, and I love you all!
Happy Thursday!
In His Grip,
Aimee
You girls EAT. Man! Everytime I read one of your blogs it makes me hungry.
I also have two daughters and I hope they are BEST Friends one day. And that I can take them to EAT with me ALL the time!
What fun we’ll have!!
Thank you for sharing snippets of your lives with us and for being so transparent. You “Moore” women are such a blessing!
Oh, and I LOVE that you put a bow in Annabeth’s hair even when she’s wearing a “jogging” suit. My husband thinks I’m nuts when I do that with my 20-month old daughter. LOVE IT!!! The bigger the bow, the better! 🙂
Oh sweeet Amanda,
Thanks for sharing the little tibbits….I love it! I am SO SO SO SO proud of you for making it into your pre-Annabeth dress….I hope it made your heart sing! I am sure Melissa was beautiful is her cake top shirt…and I bet you those ladies at the hotel were blown away to see your Mama in the flesh right before their retreat….how awesome is that God of ours!?!?!? And pictures of your sweet Annabeth make my heart sing….no matter how big the meltdown! Have a fabulous day today!
In Him,
Andrea
Great pictures, thanks for sharing! Annabeth looked like a doll! I loved the tulip pictures!!
I had a sweet conversation with Nancy at the SSMTC. She is a real sweetie! Congratulations to her family!!
We all have so much fun laughing with and sometimes at you girlies(in a good way). Seeing your relationships causes me to really appreciate the stolen moments with my girl family members. I am close to most women in my family but some relations need more work than others. You guys move me to work harder on those relationships. Your testimony is alive in your stories and pictures. Thank you for that. I have a road trip in June(10 hrs/1 way), with my daughter, sister and niece. My sister and I are in our forties, daughters in twenties. I think we are looking more forward to the road trip than the beach. We laugh until we hurt when we are together. We are all so blessed in so many ways!!!
What cute pics. I thought Annabeth matched the Bluebonnets quite well in her warm up suit. Glad you all had a great time
I love to read about your trips…thanks for sharing the pics. When a toddler doesn’t want her picture taken, nothing works! I am glad you all were able to share time together as only sisters and a mom can. I love Annabeth in the bluebonnets!
Thanks for sharing your family weekend with us, Amanda. Thanks for letting us know about the restaurant at Collins St. Bakery. It has been awhile since we were there for their bakery “goodies.” We will certainly try out the restaurant next time we are in the area. Love all the pics, but like some of the other Siestas, would love to see Melissa’s ‘wedding attire.’ LOL!! Love to all….
I just spent last weekend enjoying Southlake town square…sigh…all the good stores right there together..it’s shopping mecca! Staying at the hotel there would truly complete the experience! Cute post 🙂
Poor Melissa! Too funny that you ate her dinner; hopefully she got something else to eat and didn’t resort to eating those weird orange crackers with peanut butter from a vending machine… And I just can’t believe she made a fashion mistake! She always looks lovely and has the cutest outfits, as do you and Beth. Y’all are just gorgeous.
Thanks for sharing the details of your girl’s weekend.
Love and hugs,
Adrienne
Love the “weeping tulip” amongst the happy ones!
She is a piece of work!!
I think the fact that Annabeth’s outfit looks like it matches the blue bonnets is PERFECT !
when those women told your mom she was their speaker for the weekend, I’ll bet she had one instant of blind PANIC wondering if her calendar had somehow gotten messed up.
heheheheheeeee
I love to hear about your “girls weekend”. What would we be like if we could not get away from life now and then? I have 4 daughters ages 19,16, 14, and 13. There is nothing more fun than to make “fun” food, put on a chick flick and have a ball laughing and talking. We all talk so much you can’t hear the movie….
Loved it!
Heidi
You all have so much fun, I have a 4 year old and a 2 year old and I can not (but really can wait) until we get to this stage.
Amanda thanks for the laughs…
Ciao
Chrissie
Thank you for commenting on how you don’t get to watch events when you have a toddler. I figured I was the only one who didn’t make their child sit during events since I was the only one out running around playing. I always (insecurely) thought – what am I doing wrong as a mom that my child won’t sit still?
Dear Amanda, I love your daughter’s dress. It is beautiful. My Melissa is 9 and I remember the beautiful dresses she had when she was little. Treasure these memories and take lots of pictures. I still go back and look at her when she was little.
I do have a question for you. Since we are new to the Houston/Katy area, can you recommend a really good Italian restaurant. Coming from St. Louis, we have the hill, known for excellent Italian food.
If you are going to be with your mom when she goes to St. Louis in June, I would be happy to recommend a couple of really good restaurants.
Thanks,
Kathleen, I really like Carrabba’s, Ciro’s, and Grotto. We also have Maggiano’s and Buca di Beppo, which you may have had in St. Louis. We are probably not known for our Italian food here, but we do have lots of good Tex-Mex, right? Blessings!
Of course Texas has great Tex-Mex. We love it. My husband grew up in Lubbock, so he is familiar with really good Tex-Mex food.
If you like ice cream, in St. Louis there is a place called Ted Drews Frozen Custard. It’s is truly awesome. Hope to see you in June. Have a great evening to you and your family.
My hubby is from Springfield and while I was falling in love with him, I also fell in love with Missouri’s frozen custard. Praise the Lord!
Thanks for sharing your weekend with us. I love the story about Melissa’s dinner being eaten by mistake and the “Bless her heart” comment…that phrase is one I frequently say as well. I cannot believe how much Annabeth is growing, she sure is a cutie.
Glad to hear that you all had a good weekend away. You all deserved it.
I heart Southlake!
I just found this blog a few weeks ago and LOVE it! You all are so funny & inspirational and just wonderful. A friend of mine recommended Beth’s books and that’s how I found your blog! I cannot wait to start the books. 🙂 Bless you all!
So glad you all enjoyed your stay in Southlake! I live about 10 minutes down the road from the Town Square. Love to shop, walk & eat there. I take my grandboys to both of the fountain areas to run wild & play.
Just went to your mom’s recent book signing in the Barnes & Noble. What a treat to meet her & Francine Rivers and get a picture with them!
Next time you come this direction, be sure to try the ‘Nothing Bundt Cake’ store.
So very yummy!
Thanks Amanda for sharing your fun weekend! Love this blog community.
I just realized something!! Being a new Christian and recently accepting Christ in my life a couple of months ago. Now this is going to sound very silly, but hear a Siesta out! I have been so insecure about interacting with anyone outside of the group of women that helped me bring Christ in to my life. The Funny thing about this insecurity is that all of the women in my Group are much older than me. I am 32 and the other women are in there sixties, which is great, because I have to tell you they are the greatest women in the world.
My husband (who has not accepted Christ) always jokes around with me when I get home late from Bible Study at Judy’s. He says, I see that Moose Lodge ran late tonight. Which is so funny in so many ways, but I ramble sorry!! ANYWAY….!!! I am sorry I am just so excited about this. Can I get an AMEN!!
Anyway, the funny thing was that I was sitting at your Simulcast sitting in between two of my Friends/Bible Study Ladies and after Praise Worship, I sat down real slowly and said, Oh Boy My aching back!! Well the three of us laughed so hard, because here I am 32 years old acting like an old lady. We were laughing so hard that the women around us were laughing so hard. Again WHY DO I tell you this!!! Mainly because I have realized that I need to get out of my shell of insecurity. Interact with women my age. Not saying I do not love My Monday night Bible Studies, please those ladies are crazy, Our motto is what happens at Judy’s stays at Judy’s. I am telling you great times there. ANYWAY!! Again I will say this often. :o)
My joining this blog and responding to you all and laughing at your stories, is a huge step in my growing with Christ and getting past one of my biggest and silliest insecurities. I can not thank you all ladies.
You all Rock! Thanks Beth Moore for bringing a Sista out!!
Much Love to you all!
Go girl!! I accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior when I was 35 and have been told so many times that new Christians are so refreshing to be around. That was (gulp) 10 years ago and reading your post was GREAT!!!! Thank you for RAMBLING!
Thanks Rene,
I will continue on with my Secure Self and Rock on my Siesta’s!!
LOL!!!!
Christine P,
Amen and congrats on following Jesus! The 60’s ladies Bible Study group is and has been a very secure place for me to work through hard spiritual issues also.
Amen Siesta–(and I’m not too much older than you) 🙂
Dear Beth,
I just needed you to know that your blog is my social life right now and you and all the siestas are my best girlfriends. I went back to work full time a little over a year ago, as did many of my friends, and with a family of five filling up the rest of my time–gone is any time for hanging out and chatting with friends. Although I love reading about you and your family, I have little time to post anything. However, seeing as you are now one of my BFFs, I thought I ought to introduce myself; especially since my family had dinner over at your house last night–in this dream I had. You had two houses side-by-side; a house for company and a house for living in. We were such great friends that you even let me see your “lived in” house. We enjoyed a wonderful dinner at your “company” house and afterward all us girls sat cross-legged on this huge four-poster bed and talked for hours while the guys were in the garage working on my truck (weird, I know). BTW, Keith had a fresh buzz cut in the dream—I thought that was kind of funny. Anyway, my name is Shelley and my husband is Brian. Then there is Caleb (17), Todd (15), and Brianna (12). We live in Fort Worth and your family is welcome at our house anytime. Just be warned, we have only one house and it is most definitely lived in!
A few things I want to say to you. One, all three of you ladies or absolutely beautiful. I would so love to raid your wardrobe. Two, I really enjoyed Melissa’s last post and the chance to get to know her voice through blogging. I can’t imagine her having a bad fashion day. Three, I cracked up as soon as I say Annabeth’s pretty lil pic where she so was not in the mood. That was totally me as a child, thank you very much. Then, to top it with that pic in the end. Just priceless.
I am late to the party…I hate when that happens…but I have JUST this minute completed chapter 5 of So Long, Insecurity” and am weeping. I have to say thank you so I logged right on (and loved the Moore girls trip recap — thank you Amanda!)…as a Mom of 13-yr-old triplets, two of whom have Cerebral Palsy, as a woman who received one of those calls when my sweet Daddy died when I was 25, and as a woman who also “writes the story” for every embrace she sees in an airport….thank you, Beth, for validating me and for already reminding me that because of Jesus all of this will in fact pass away…God Bless you, Beth, for being an instrument!! I can not wait to keep reading/healing/turning it over to Jesus!
Great story! I’m glad it didn’t forever languish on the draft floor.
I am a die hard BM Bible Study girl myself. My 10 year old son and I made a road trip from Chicago to Dallas during the same time to see my husband who is doing a work project in Irving. Our road trip was much longer. We stopped at Laura Inger Wilder’s home on the way to Dallas.
We kept hearing about he stadium coming down when we were there and thought it very odd why there was so much sentimentalism about it. You must have to be a Cowboy fan to appreciate it.
I really like your “keeping it real stories” of traveling with a toddler and the flower pictures. In my humble opinion I think Annabeth’s sweat suit was beautiful with the purple wildflowers. As you can see from my Gravator icon I take a lot of flower pictures also. This pink rose is one of my all time favs.
Good Times…..Great Pics…..a few mishaps makes a great time away. Why do people always want to see us at maybe one of our worst moments…..???? Agree with you Melissa….NO PICS!!
Blessings,
Have a great week end
Bible Bunny in NO MI
serious hair question for Amanda- what kind of rubber band are you using in Annabeth’s hair? I put one that was supposedly safe in my 20 month-old girls’ hair last week and it broke her hair off !!!! I was so upset! Fortunately it just shortened Ginny’s bangs/upper hair, NOT the main portion of her hair, but still!
Help out a sister in hair distress.
Deirdre
“Serious Hair Question” Now that just makes me smile.
Sorry I’m no help. My daughters and I all have horse- hair. Actually had a hairdresser say that. Sounds awful, but I think it means you can’t hurt the stuff.
Someone help this siesta out. Hair Ministry 🙂
Kathy,
The thing that just kills me about this is that I have waited so long to get to do little waterspout pony tails in her hair (other people call it a “Pebbles” hair style) and now I have to wait all over again. *sigh*
oh well. At least I can still use clip bows till it grows out.
Deirdre
p.s. I KNOW this is not earthshaking stuff here. I’m not that shallow, I promise.
Deirdre, we use the tiny, clear Goody rubber bands. I’d never thought about them breaking off hair. Thanks for warning me!
Amanda,
we didn’t use the clear ones. We were using a soft fuzzy kind that were supposedly very gentle.
i’ll try the clear Goody kind (once Ginny’s hair grows back out) I’m not risking the rest of her hair at this point!
Deirdre
Beautiful pictures!!!
My good friends live in Austin and they said the bluebonnets are gorgeous this year, they had a picture of a longhorn right in the middle of the bluebonnets, how neat we don’t tend to see that in IL.
Thanks for sharing, looks like you girls had a BLAST!!!!
What a fun post! I love all the pictures! Have never seen a bluebonnet field… just breathtaking! Hysterical about the ladies retreat!
Nancy if you read any of these comments… your son and daughter in law are absolutely precious! So excited I got to see a wedding picture! : ) Made my day! Know your heart is full!
Emmy – I firmly believe that Texas wildflower fields in spring is a little glimpse of what heaven will be like. You’re missing out. Check out this link to the Austin American-Statesman’s reader wildflower pictures.
http://galleries.statesman.com/gallery/readers-wildflower-photos-2010/#80162
Emmy! It was a great celebration, for sure! So thankful then that I got to share last weekend with YOU!
What a fun post! Amanda, you look absolutely amazing!!! You’ve been such an inspiration for me to keep at the last seven pounds I’m trying to lose and had all but given up on. Melissa, you always looked like you’ve stepped out of the pages of a fashion magazine. I bet the blouse looked better than you thought.
I needed a good laugh this morning…I got a speeding ticket on the way to work this morning so this did brighten my day a bit. I loved the part about you and your mom eatting Melissa’s dinner. So sorry Melissa b/c I do feel your pain. It never fails that when my mom, sister, and I go out to dinner something always goes wrong with my food. They either bring the wrong thing or forget to put my order in or run out of what I ordered…without fail. It’s a huge joke in our family now. Thanks for sharing your trip with us!
P.S. Annabeth’s little Adidas outfit was absolutely ADORABLE to me.
We travel to Gun Barrel City from Houston….right up 45. Our kids have always judged how long it will take to get there by TWO landmarks – “The Big Man” and Collin Street Bakery (since they moved to 45). My favorite thing from that bakery is the croutons!!!! How silly is that? Love the croutons!
I also heard the implosion that morning. Weird, huh?
Glad you enjoyed yourselves. I love Southlake Town Center. Did you happen across Milwaukee Joe’s? Love that ice cream.
Stand strong Melissa. If only I had destroyed pictures of fashion mistakes of my past… I think I’d be a happier person today.
😉
I thought the color of Annabeth’s outfit perfectly matched the color of the bluebonnets! Glad you had fun~
Warm in Alaska.
Ah! Manda, what a fun surprise! LOVE the whole weekend recap – and were thrilled you were there with us! SO blessed. Just so bummed, I didn’t get a good look at Melissa’s wedding cake impersonation! 🙂 love you!
Thank you so much for sharing your road trip with us! I love the bluebonnet picture!! My mom makes me stop everytime we go to Austin this time of year and take her pciture!! Ha ha! We are those crazies on the side of the highway taking pictures! Ahhh…the memories! : )
LOVE Annabeth’s dress! My 17 month old wore the shirt and capri set in that same Gymboree pattern today! i had to laugh out loud when I say the picture! Isn’t that the best place to shop for little girls??
I can pictured Beth’s face when told that a whole retreat of women were staying at your hotel. The night of my senior prom (during the Ice Age – 1963) a friend and I, adorned beautifully in evening gowns, were standing outside the entrance of the Hawaiian Village in Tampa, Florida while our dates parked the car. MICHAEL LANDON (who was in town for the FL State Fair) and his entourage arrived. He stopped when he saw us and, looking at our evening gowns, asked what the occasion was. When we replied that it was our prom, his face went white with horror and he wanted to know if the whole class would be there!! ROFL I doubt Beth was quite as terrified, but I’ll bet she wondered if her “girls only” weekend was about to involve A LOT MORE GIRLS!
Thanks for sharing! I cannot imagine Melissa looking anything less than stunningly beautiful! So, Amanda, congrats again for the weight loss! I have struggled with weight all my life and have been doing serious praying and soul searching and know God is setting me free; now, the question is, how do you all slim women, once you’ve lost the weight, keep it off. Like, you are on this trip and there’s lots of wonderful food everywhere. Do you just forget WW and points or do you splurge on points since it’s a special occasion? I have lost weight and gained it back several times and am longing to know how to get the weight off and KEEP it off. I tend to be an extreme person – like all WW or NO WW and once I’ve gone off just to splurge I cannot get ‘it’ back mentally. So, please share how to do this. Thanks so much!
By the way, Annabeth is adorable! I love the way you dress her.
We have SO many pictures of my girls crying in front of beautiful back drops 🙂
Sounds like a fun lil getaway!
How tall is Beth, Amanda & Melissa? Beth made a comment one time that you girls “towered” over her?
I think she is 5 ft. 4 in. Her hair gives her a few more inches. 🙂
HAHA! Cute!
I love Southlake Town Center–and we had our families annual girls weekend there at the hotel in Feb for my 30th birthday–great fun! Sounds like ya’ll had a great trip!!
I loved the photos with the Blue bonnets. They are stunning. You may have wanted Annabeth in a cute dress for that, but the outfit you put her in matched the flowers quite nicely.
For your Dad, the hunting fool, my daughter saw this on David Crowder’s twitter roll this morning. Thought he might get a chuckle:
“Our governor shot a coyote with his laser-sighted .380 Ruger pistol while on his morning jog. God bless Texas.”
Sorry, I didn’t mean to offend anyone with the last post. I forget that not everyone in the country is in favor of hunting, so you may not want to post it. Again, sorry.