Thursday 3/15/07 in San Antonio

This day 3/15/07 we are celebrating my
girlfriends birthday Deb B.
Happy B-day Girl !!




Birthday girl and our son Anthony in the gardens of the Alamo.










Imax Theatre















Standing in line to get into "The Alamo"














Steve (Deb B.'s husband) Deb B. next to him, then there is Deb McDonald, then their is Deb McDonald's sister's in law, Maureen and Kathy and then there's our good friend Barbara, who now lives in California and then there's my mom and my hubby.


So there are some pictures of our day on Thursday in San Antonio. I will take you on the tour of our day. In the morning we woke up and had a very very expensive breakfast (too expensive for my taste) at the Westin Hotel. That was the picture in the top left hand corner.

After breakfast we headed out to the Imax theatre to meet up with the rest of our friends and see a 45 minute docudrama called "The price of Freedom" - this worked out good because it gave us a better insight as to what the Alamo actually was. Here is a good description - The price of freedom, a 45 minute docudrama about the 13th -day seige and fall of the Alamo. Does that sound boring? It's not! In the film you see the men who had the choice to surrender and live - or fight and die for the cause of freedom. Watching them struggle with that decision (and accept the inevitable outcome) gave us a new perspective on life.

After our trip to the Imax theatre - we then went and began the line to enter into "The Alamo" for those of you that don't know what "The Alamo" is - it's the most famous spot in Texas, where 189 defenders fought and died for Texas liberty on March 6, 1836, after repeated attacks by Mexican General Santa Anna's army. The chapel is one of the most photographed buildings in the nation; it and the Long Barracks are all that remain in the original fort. The museum contains relics and mementos from the Republic of Texas and offers narration on the fall of the Alamo. The Alamo is located smack in the heart of the city, surrounded by beautifully landscaped peaceful garden.

We then finished up at the fort and spent some time doing alittle bit of shopping while walking back to the hotel. We got back from the hotel pretty late in the afternoon, and regrouped for dinner to celebrate my girlfriends birthday. That was fun, we sang happy birthday and shared a yummy desert among all 11 of us.

Getting to the good stuff now: Our evening session at the women of faith began at 7:00pm so we dismissed ourselves from the guys and us girls took off. We walked to the Alamodome, where the actual conference was taking place. The evening opened up with praise and worship (with the christian talented girl named) Nicole Mullen - wow is this girl talented. let me tell you alittle bit about Nicole - Nicole may have played such lofty venues in Carnegie Hall and the Royal Albert Hall, she may have 20 Grammy and Dove awards nominations to her credit, but she firmly believes that the people in the audience have just as much reason to be proud of their accomplishments as she is of her own. "We all get to do different things" she says but when we take everything else off - we take the titles off, we take the job descriptions off, we take the salaries away, - we are all everyday people that hurt, that bleed, that cry, regardless of the skin color, regardless of the title of our job" . Her latest project is called "Everyday People", but Nicole is anything but an everyday talent. However, she makes a point of prioritizing her family and her home life over her career. Nicole, her husband David (which by the way is also a fellow singer and c0-producer) and their three children live on a farm outside Nashville, Tennessee.

After Nicole's wonder opener with Praise and Worship - they welcomed all 15,000 women, speaker team introductions took place and then we continued to worship with an incredible Christian singer named "Sandi Patty".

Let me tell you alittle about Sandi Patty - July 4, 1986: the phone lines jammed at ABC News with callers demanding to know who had just performed that amazing rendition of the "Star Spangled Banner" They learned what contemporary Christian music fans already knew, it was Sandi Patty. The most awarded female vocalist in contemporary Christian music history, Sandi is a 2004 Gospel Music Hall of fame inductee with 39 Dove awards, five grammy awards, three RIAA- certified platinum and five gold recordings. And she's more than just a pretty voice! A best selling author, Sandi follows the success of her autobiography, Broken on the Back Row, with a new book called Life in the Blender, based on her family's experiences. (Since her family is comprised of husband Don and a total of 8 kids, there's a lot of experience to draw from). Sandi lives with her big, beautiful, blended family in Indiana.

After Sandi Patty spoke her encouraging words that left everyone with teary eyes, she then introduced one of the amazing women of faith conference speakers.

Ms.Luci Swindoll and then another one of the women of faith Sheila Walsh. I will write alittle something about all the speakers of the women of faith - because I feel it's important for you all to know what this is about. Maybe I can encourage you to attend, maybe in your own neck of the woods or in other areas were the conferences may be taking place. Don't miss it ladies, it's such a treat for us women and YES you are entitled to this sort of pampering.

Needless to say our Thursday and Thursday evening was very packed. The conference closed at 9:30pm and we were all on the mountain top, ready for some more the next morning.

Stay tuned for Friday's events in San Antonio !!! Peace .