GORT 2011!!

We just got home from GORT! This was our 14th annual college roommate reunion! yes- we are old!
 These 5 guys were roommates at good ol' ACU (and Kathryn was my roommate!) but the 5 wives are just as close as the men and we all LOVE our time together each summer! (when we moved the reunion to Tennessee Dave kept calling it "Good Ol' Rocky Top" hence the GORT name, and it just kinda stuck) Normally we stay at a lake house but this year, Dave and Candice offered to have it in their home in Cookeville, TN. Let me tell you, these people can host! It was one of the best GORTs yet!

We played games (the ladies play Nerts all weekend long!)ate, relaxed, ate, went on the lake, ate, watched movies, ate, and talked, and ate. We went to Bobby Q's- our favorite little place in town.
 And we all got to share with each other what has been going on in our lives the past year. There are always struggles, triumphs, job losses or new jobs, new babies and miscarriages, families doing great and families that are struggling, but we always feel so much better being around each other and being prayed for by these friends! We are all always lifted up and feel spiritually fed each time we leave.

We all went on a walk- this is their FRONT YARD! It goes on forever and it is so beautiful!

These are the kinds of things you see on a farm in Tennessee!

by the bridge on our walk

The guys took a 2 hour walk through the creek- this is still their yard:) My kids would LOVE to live here!

It was wonderful to spend some time talking to Kathryn about her roller coaster ride of a year. She had precious Nathan (her 4th!) only 8 weeks ago, and he is just the cutest thing ever!

Kathryn has been dealing with some major, life altering things these last 9 months. Her life at times has seemed to be threatened but her faith never has. She is so amazingly strong and faithful and although a lot of this has been scary, unknowing, and just too much to take in, she has ridden this out with courage that could only come from the Lord. I am so blessed to call her my friend. I am so thankful that the diagnosis COULD be something completely different and not as altering as we first thought. I am thankful that we serve a God who can handle it either way. Even though I knew everything before I came on this trip, just hugging her and seeing her in person made it SO much better! Love that precious friend!
   The older we get the less skiing and tubing we do and more made-up games like bocce/tennis/golf. Poor Candice- we were literally throwing tennis balls from upstairs down to the basement!

Such great memories! Thank you Lord for the blessings of friends!