Back to Work

Where the work goes down!

I'm baaaaack. At the WoFfice that is and at my cube above. Monday morning came and I started my drive to work. I dropped Mallory off at my sister-in-law's and felt good because I knew she was in good hands. My co-workers were so sweet and told me it would all be ok but if I needed a good cry, that was normal too. Thankfully, I didn't have any meltdowns - I had my moments the week before but this week I tried to prepare myself for what was to come.

To be honest, I was happy to be back with my co-workers. I miss Mallory so much at work but I do love my job too and it was great to be back. I know Mallory is well taken care of when I'm at work. I hadn't been back at the office since mid-March. It had been almost 5 months - craziness. My fellow Event Planners and boss were so great to me during the time I was out and helped so much - I owe them a lot. So, all this to say, the first week back at work went well and I'm back in the swing of things. Event Season is definitley here!

As I said in the previous post, Mallory did get sick for the first time, the first week back to work so that did make it much harder to leave her everyday. I am happy to say though that today, I can see her old smiley self coming back and I'm so grateful!

She's on the mend

We are staying in all weeked to hopefully kick this sickness to the curb! I've just never felt so helpless in my life. She felt so bad these past couple of days but besides giving her medicine, I just snuggled her to hopefully make her feel better. I just prayed and prayed that she would start feeling better because I just wanted to take the sickness away from her! Thank you for all your prayers!

After a crazy, long week, I think Brian and I survived with the help of friends and family. Hopefully next week will be more of the routine week we were hoping we would have this past week.

Here's to the weekend! Have a great one!

5 Years

Today is my 5 year anniversary working at Women of Faith! I really can't believe it's been 5 years. I remember my first day of work back in 2006 - I was excited and nervous. I had wanted to work for Women of Faith so I was really thankful to be working here. I began work at WoF as the Product Assistant. I helped the Product Department as we got all of the product ready to be sold at the events. I'm forever indebted to my first boss, Loretta Cannon, for taking a chance on me and hiring me!

In August of 2007 I became a Volunteer Coordinator. We could not put on our events without our volunteers and so I, along with the other coordinators, recruited volunteers to work our events.

I started traveling more and racking up the frequent flier miles. I loved meeting all of the men and women who took time out to volunteer. They all get a free ticket to the event so it's a great way to save money and still attend the event - just putting the plug out there for my fellow VC's! :)

In April of 2009, I was promoted to Event Planner for WoF. I was so excited to start this new journey but in the beginning, when I was training, I honestly didn't know if I could do it but I knew God put me in this position for a reason and now I can't imagine doing anything else. It's a lot of work but the rewards of seeing the event all come together make it all worth while! From working with all the details of the arena to transportation to hotel reservations, there is always something going on to keep me on my toes but it all works out in the end!

Me and my radio are good friends. It's how everybody gets a hold of me during an event weekend.

I have enjoyed getting to travel with my job. I've been able to go many places that I would never have imagined I would. I feel like DFW Airport is my home away from home. Brian and I both travel for work so we both understand each other's travels and love trading travel stories. It won't be easy to leave at all now that Mallory is here but I am thankful for technology so we can talk and see each other when I'm gone.

St Louis Arch

Space Needle - Seattle

Niagara Falls

I'm also blessed to be able to work with the most amazing people there is! Our staff in the office and on the road are the most fun people to work with. They are the main reason I look forward to going to work everyday. Sometimes you just need good people to laugh with and even cry with. The sad part about when the travel season ends is not seeing the road staff but that's when Facebook comes in hand so we can all keep up with each other!

All kinds of fun & craziness!

I've also gotten to meet and work with some women that I look up to, admire and learn from. I will never take that for granted and enjoy the time I get to do this!

But the best part of all is walking into the arena, where there are thousands of women gathered, and all of us worshipping together. There's not a greater feeling singing than praising his name with an arena full of women. It's an awesome experience and I make sure I get to get worship time in during the weekend. I'm always on call and running around taking care of things during the event but taking that time out really helps me through the weekend and life.

It's been a wonderful 5 years and I thank God everybody for the job I have and the people I get to work with everyday.

Perfect People

At each Women of Faith event, I try to get in the bowl and catch some part of the event when I can. Sometimes it's just going in and worshipping with the thousands of people in the arena and in Denver, I got to catch Natalie Grant's set. Usually each weekend there is something that, even though I may have heard it many times before, I really get and listen to that weekend. This weekend, it was Natalie singing her song "Perfect People."

I listened to every word and really took it all in. It begins with the words:

"Never let them see you when your breaking, Never let them see you when you fall"

I realized that is how we live day to day - try not to show what is really going on. And in the chrous she says:

"There's no such thing as Perfect People,
there's no such thing as a Perfect Life
So come as you are, Broken and Scarred
Lift up your heart and be Amazed, be Changed by a Perfect God"

Thank goodness we have a Perfect God to turn to everyday and we don't have put on a mask and hide what is underneath. Nobody is perfect but God still loves us. May you and I remember that as we face each day!

Mile High City

Today I'm on my way to Denver, CO. I'm going where the high is 79 degrees, not the low like it is here in Texas. I actually packed long-sleeves! I'm going where you can see the Rocky Mountains in the distance - it is a beautiful backdrop. If only Brian could go with me. He was planning on going but he is now going to Denver in October for his cousin's wedding. Too bad the dates don't overlap.

I'll try to bring the cooler weather back with me! It is Fall and all!

Disneyland

I worked hard last weekend and I also played hard...I usually just crash before and after the event but like I said in my earlier post - I took advantage of the seeing the California sights. I went to Disneyland Wed night with my co-workers DeeDee, Angie and Jeremey. We had a great time!

Walt Disney and Mickey

Cinderella's Castle

Splash Mountain

The Best Ride - Space Mountain

DeeDee and Jeremey waiting in line to get on a ride



Angie, Angie's gum and Me

We did not ride the teacups but we did take a photo in one

We did ride Space Mountain and I took a picture of this picture. I was smiling big the whole time because I love this ride! I also love Angie's face - priceless!

Minnie & Mickey at the light parade

Disneyland at night

Unfortunately, all of the characters were gone walking around the park when we got there. We did see them at the parade but none to where we could get a picture with just them. After Disneyland closed, we went to eat at Downtown Disney. I'm so glad I took advantage of the offer to go with my friends. Great memories were made!

The First One

This weekend I was in Anaheim, CA for our Women of Faith event. It was a busy, exhausting, wonderful weekend. I did take the time to enjoy some California things including eating at this place below:

My co-worker, Nicole, told me that she was going to take me to get my first In-n-Out burger. She had lived in California for 4 years so she was looking to have it again as I was looking forward to having it for the first time. She told me she was going to document my first bite.

Our food and I did order the fries animal style!

Here we go

Thumbs up!

It was a good burger and I know they are planning to build one at Firewheel in the future. I will probably have to frequent it when it does open. It was a perfect way to end a long work day. It was a good time of food and fellowship with a good friend. I will now order everything Animal Style :)

Omaha 2010

It's my last night in Omaha and I wanted to share the picture above of downtown Omaha I took Thursday night. I thought it turned out really well. The first Imagine event for the late summer and fall season is a wrap. It was an amazing event with Mary Mary coming on for the first time and we had a surprise mini-concert by Selah. I also got to meet one of Selah's singer's wives - Angie Smith. Many of you may know her from her blog: Bring the Rain. She is an amazing woman of God. My friend, Shannon, texted me on Thursday to tell me she saw that Angie was going to be in Omaha for WoF and so I set out to find her at the event. I got to talk to her, told her that Shannon said she was her BFF and that we loved her blog. She was sweet and Selah was wonderful!

Angie & I

Now that Omaha's a wrap, I'm headed to bed because I have to get up early to catch my flight in the morning. Next stop for the Imagine tour: Dallas, TX. God moved big time in Omaha and I can't wait to worship Him in the American Airlines Center next weekend with thousands of ladies!

Packed and Ready to go

Time to get back on the road...Omaha, Nebraska here I come as we start the beginning of our Women of Faith season. This year I will be visiting not only Dallas, TX but Anaheim, CA, Denver, CO, Rochester, NY, Ft. Lauderdale, FL and Greensboro, NC.

I will miss Brian but am so thankful everyday he supports me and my job. He'll be traveling some too so we'll see each other in passing. The Estes' will be racking up the frequent flier miles. So here's to another great Women of Faith season - I'm ready to see the women transformed by God's love.

Organizing & Prioritizing

Sorry the poor blog has not been my top priority lately. But I have been learning how to organize and prioritize. I am learning many new things in my new position and being very organized is going to be the key to my success. There will always be the surprises that happen two days or one day before the event but the hard work I put in on the front end will show on when it's time. Keeping things organized by email folders, regular folders, binders, will help me in the long run. It's just hard on those days when things are going a million miles a minute and there are 30 papers thrown across my desk and I am just trying to figure out what day it is. Even it the chaos - it is still fun. I know I can do this and I just need to learn what works for me.

I'm also having to learn what is priority and what isn't. I'm the person that as soon as I get an email, I respond right away. I do that because it bothers me SO MUCH when people do not respond to my emails within a certain amount of time. God is teaching me patience and showing me just because they don't respond right when I want them to, that they will respond and everything will be taken care of in time. Easier said than done - can I get an AMEN??

So I guess this post is just to say I'm learning and I know I have a long way to go but I'm enjoying the journey. I'm about to be on the road so that will throw another kink into the organization but it can be done. If anybody has any organizational ideas - please send them my way!

Travel Break

I remember when it was first brought up that we would not have any events to work in the Summer but have two separate Women of Faith events each weekend in the Fall and our Revolve Tour in the Spring. I got really excited because I have been traveling since 2007 and never had a travel break like this. This meant I would get a break from going here - my home away from home:

But I do have to travel to Florida for a site visit tomorrow and have to stay one night, and I'm really excited about it. Who knew I could miss the chaos of an airport? It's not so much the airport, it's the getting on a plane and being in another part of the country in less than 3 hours. I think just one night will be fine on this trip and will prepare me for the busyness of the Fall when I'm gone a lot.

I have enjoyed being home and being with Brian. He's actually been traveling more this Summer so it's a fair trade. I had a co-worker ask once, "How does your spouse feel about your traveling?" and I said "I guess he's ok with it, he's in Miami right now." :) Brian and I were both traveling for work before we started dating so it's always been a part of our lives. I wonder what it will be like when we don't travel (or have the frequent flier miles) but until then, we will enjoy this time we get to do this. So I'm enjoying this break until it ends in August and I'm back on the road. And no, this is not a work break, we have been busy preparing for our Fall Season!

Now, I have to go find my suitcase...

A New Adventure

I love Steven Curtis Chapman's song "The Great Adventure" The lyrics are so true in that it says, "Come on get ready for the ride of your life" I laugh sometimes because we have what we think is our plan for the future and God already has it written and it is and has always been the right path, whether it was our plan or not.

Having said that, I am starting a new adventure, as I call it, at Women of Faith. This week I have begun training in my new position: Event Planner. I have been a Volunteer Coordinator for 2 1/2 years and at first when the position was posted, I just walked by not forcing myself to look at it so I wouldn't have to make a decision whether or not to apply for it. I really wanted it but of course, that would mean change (yes, the C word). With many people's encouragement and an overwhelming peace that is only from God, I applied, interviewed and they offered me the job.

Am I excited? YES! Am I nervous? YES! But it's the good nervous of there is so much to learn but so excited about being in this new position. I'll still be traveling about the same amount, maybe a little more and am looking forward to stepping into a leadership role. I'm thankful for this opportunity God has given to me and we will see how it all goes!

I'm thankful for the support of my family and friends! I'm on my way to Shreveport today to shadow the Shreveport Event Planner. There's so much to learn and I can't wait to soak it all in!

I never thought in a million years I would be an Event Planner...but God knew. He always knows and has the best laid plans for us!

And We Start All Over Again...

I've been a little busy ... but I like being busy so it's all good. Where am I going today? To Des Moines, IA for the first 2010 Women of Faith event!. The first event is exciting b/c we get to see the new speakers and all of the new elements. I'm also looking forward to seeing my road pals again.

As I leave for Des Moines, Brian has just come back from California from a work trip. He's been gone since Sunday. We saw each other last night (while I was packing) and now I'm off. As much as we miss each other while we are gone, we also know we wouldn't have it any other way b/c we are both blessed with great jobs that we enjoy. Happy Traveling!

All Access

Thursday through Satruday, I am working our All Access event in downtown Dallas! Women of Faith Group Leaders of 50 or more are flying in from all over the US to our event for them! They will preview our Imagine and Over the Top events for 2010 as well as attending breakout sessions to learn all about being a group leader and how we can help them. I'm really excited about this...it is our first time and I was there when this idea was presented last year in the Des Moines, IA airport. A lot of WoF staff waiting for our plane to board, ideas flowing and we now have this event come out of that! I'm ready to see what God has in store!

A Grand New Year

This past weekend in Sacramento, CA was our last Women of Faith event for the year! It was bittersweet because as happy as I am to be home for a while, I will miss the people I was used to seeing every weekend on the road.

Thursday night, we had a little End of the Year party. It was fun to play games and look back over the past year. This year's last event was even harder on some because next year we will not have events all throughout the year - we are just doing five events in the Spring and then the rest of the events in the Fall. Our schedule will be completely different and I'm looking forward to seeing how our new split-model will work!

The End of the Year Party Planning Committee with Marilyn

I love Chocolate Fountains!

Love these girls - Breanna & Lauren - WoF Event Planners

Me and Missi

I tried to take as many pics as I could so I could remember this year's event. I loved getting to listen to Steven Curtis Chapman all year long, I always made it out to hear Nicole C Mullen and/or Mandisa sing, and one my favorite moments every event is when our Worship Team would sing "In Christ Alone". Everybody in the arena singing that song together is a moment I'll never forget. Missi and Nia are not coming back next year to be on the worship team and I will miss this group so much...they were Awesome!

In Christ Alone

On the concourse at Haven's World Vision table - Randy, Me, Lionel, Demetrius and Haven

Love World Vision - look at all those beautiful children waiting to be sponsored

Corrie, Steve and me - the cutest and most fun couple!

Breanna, Tyler, Jennifer and me

Our Inventory Team & IT team ... these people work so hard behind the scenes to make the Women of Faith event happen! I'm so blessed to be able to work with these guys!

So long Women of Faith 2009 and hello to Women of Faith 2010...