Two Tests Down...lots to go...and Tribute to my Momma and my Hubby :)

The ultrasound went well, was able to get the labs drawn and was home by 10.  :)  Had a fun time talking with my Momma.  :)  Even at 28, when I'm sick the two people I want the most is my hubby and my Mom...there is simply no one that can ever replace your Mommy.  Thanks for always being by my side through all the pain and heartache...I know it hasn't been easy because I'll always be your little girl and I was an adventure from 24 hours old...actually scratch that...I forgot she had a tumor on her ovary she had to have removed at 19 weeks (or maybe it was 22 I can't remember) and I was her first child.  I cannot even begin to imagine what it was like to have an emergency C-section then be told that your baby girl was being air-vacced to UMC in Tucson (I was born in Douglas, AZ), and that because of the C-section you weren't allowed to leave.  She left.  My Grandparents drove her and my Dad up in their Motor-home...I spent 9 days in NICU and they never could tell them why.  We wouldn't know until I was 13. (Your cilia are instrumental in drying your lungs out from womb to air...my cilia don't function properly so my lungs were not dried out properly, thus causing the collapse...being a C-section on top of that only added to the problem because God's design has a reason for every little detail.  I recently learned that you get your first dose of probiotics going through the birth canal from your Mom!  The more I learn about the human body, the more amazed I am at our Creator!!)  Mom and I are incredibly close and I'm so thankful God gave me you as my Mom...I love you!!!!!!  Now that I've made my family cry, here are some fun pictures with some great memories from over the years.  :)

I learned young!

 

 Recovering from one of my Tympanomastoidectomies 

(AKA ear surgery)  :) 

 Mom and me at a horse show with Goldy and Red

who have both passed on...God gave us a lot of 

great memories with those two incredibly special 

horses!!!

 

 We had family shirts made with 

"I'm the Mom, I'm the Dad and 

Kid #1 through #5" so everyone could

keep us straight at the horse shows :)

This is one of my step-brothers (we 

are all one big happy family though!) Sheldon,

and my Daddy with my Momma and her 

beautiful smile. :)

 Mom and I in Washington, D.C. for the 

8th grade trip.  She taught at Marana Middle

School for 13 years so we all got to go to 

D.C. with her and Jackie.  :) And our 

awesome bus drivers, Dale and Ted...I haven't

forgotten you and never will!!!  :)

 Mom, Me, Justin, and Jenny at one of 

Aunt Dawn's pool parties.  :) 

 Mom, Me and Jen...was just Mom and

Me, but Jen dove her way into the 

picture which is why Mom and I are 

laughing hysterically!  :)

 Mom and Gold, Jen and Dreamer, and Me and Buddy

in May of 2010...we did a "horsey photo shoot" with 

my good (and very talented friend!) Brad Gill.  :) 

Fun Family picture from a couple

years ago minus the boys.  You can't see it

but it was my bright idea to have us go youngest

to oldest with Jen, Jus, and Me, then Jordan

and Dad after me...I didn't think through the weight

issue and who had to hold who up on the slide!

Aunt Anita is out of the shot holding Jen up so we don't all go 

crashing down...Justin and Jordan are doing their best to hold us up 

while Mom and Dad are just cracking up as we slowly slide down 

the slide as Uncle Frederick snaps the pictures.  :)  

     I will keep you all posted on the results and the next steps and how my heart is doing with the "waiting game" that comes with every test.  Someone wiser than me once told me not to pray for patience because then God will give you lots of practice...I prayed that prayer long ago and I'm still getting practice.  ;)  

     Off to do bits and pieces of the loads of vacation laundry that are clean but not put away, go through my massive "stock up because I got 50% off my Arbonne order", treatments, vitamins, sinus rinse, call hospitals and doctor's offices to pay bills and set up budget payments (yep, they are a rolling in about now!),  and oh yeah...still need to call and make an appointment with an Endocrinologist to get stuff going on my Thyroid so I **might** start making more emotional sense to my hubby again....last night I was exhausted and tired and reality was hitting hard and if he looked at me wrong I just started crying.  At one point, he said, "This does not make sense...you shouldn't be crying right now."  Through my sobs I managed to say, "Juu-uuss-sst reaa-aalii-iiize that I'm noo-oott-tttt going to maa-aaakk-kke sense toniii-iiighttt-ttt...I'm sooo-rrrry honey!."  We prayed and God helped, but it's still a challenging evening when he comes home from an 11 hour work day and just wants to relax and we have to figure out how I'm getting to an appointment on Thursday, what I should and shouldn't do, what our plans for the week are, and that budget thing that we need to stick to...how are we doing with that? and so on and so forth...all in the two hours before 10pm hits and we are both catatonic...well he was already catatonic when he got home but had to "uncatatonicafy"...(yes Tom Massa, I just created my own word!) to help me sort through my crazy emotions.  So thankful for a hubby that loves Jesus and loves me and does his best to "love me as Christ loves the church".  He will say he is horrible at that, but so thankful that his heart's desire is there, and though he may miss the mark like we all do, in striving he loves and treasures me and knows me better than anyone else on this earth...God made him for me and as I messaged him from Sedona when he left a day early, "I'm not me without you!".

 Walking at the Renassaince Festival with 

our dear friends, Jeremy and Jenn several

years ago.  :) 

DA BEARS! Christmas at Great Grandpa's :)

Now I REALLY am signing off to go do some of all of the above!

Rachelle :)   

GI Appointment Down and off to the Tests

     I REALLY liked my GI doctor...he was personable, he listened, reassured me, and is starting with the least invasive tests and seeing what happens and then on to the more invasive.  Thank you so much for praying...God is so good and so faithful!  Yesterday and even this morning I was a wreck, but I knew lots of people were praying, Jordan was with me for the appointment, and friends and family texted, emailed, and called me with verses and encouraging words and listening ears.  I had to stay at the dealership Jord works at a little longer waiting to sign the final papers for my (oops, OUR...) truck (which makes me smile every time I see it, drive it, or ride in it...living a dream you've waited 15 years for is super sweet!!!) so I left later than I had planned.  But it was definitely in God's plans...on the way home a new song by Kutless came on the radio called "Even If"...the main chorus line is "Even if the healing doesn't come, and life falls apart, and dreams are left undone, you are God, you are good, forever faithful One..."  Wow.  I was driving down the freeway with an arm lifted and tears streaming down my face, but they were worshipful tears.  Yesterday my heart was anything but peaceful.  Even after talking to Jordan last night after we went to bed I just started crying.  He held me and let me cry..the tears subsided and then started all over again.  I got up and got my IPOD to listen to worship music...the tears still came with no sleep.  It was after 1 by the time we finally fell asleep.  I read the Word and prayed and got ready for the appointment.

     Once I was there, the "auto-pilot" seemed to kick in as I filled out paperwork and gave them my insurance card, the stack of records to copy, paid the copay and all the things I've done millions of times in the past.  It was nice having Jord there to lean on...having him there to make the occasional smart-Alec remark to make me smile or just say something random to keep my mind from wandering was exactly what I needed for this appointment.  He knows me so well...God made us for each other and blessed us with meeting young and having the opportunity to spend a lifetime together.  The end of this month will be 10 years ago that we met at a Funtasticks in Tucson for a miniature golf "group" outing which ended up being like a double date...but that is definitely another story for another time.  ;)  Here are the "bullet points" from the appointment:

1) Get the gallbladder checked out.  First is an ultrasound then depending on those results will schedule another test where they inject die and test how the gallbladder is functioning.  

2) Labs to test a bunch of different things including Celiac disease, liver enzymes, and lots of other things that I understand but am not good at translating from medical lingo to layman's lingo.  With the blood work, they want to make sure it's safe for me to do an Endoscopy or Colonscopy since my Vitamin K has been so low.  Vitamin K helps with blood clotting, which is why I have been bruising so easily so if it is too low, it is too risky to do the scopes.  

3) Once we find out all those results, we can determine if scopes, upper, lower, or both are necessary and go from there.  

That's pretty much exactly what I expected and part of what I was letting overwhelm me yesterday.  If you count, there are three separate procedures to start, and then the potential for another visit to the office, one or two procedures, and a visit with the referring surgeon when they figure out what might be wrong.  And that's only if nothing shows up abnormal.  If I get an abnormal anything at the beginning, then that leads to more extensive tests, procedures, appointments etc.  And I still have to make an initial appointment with an Endocrinologist to get my Thyroid checked out.  I'm seeing my Naturopath every two weeks right now, in a couple weeks will re-check with my lung doctor, and still waiting on some test results from my trip to North Carolina at the end of June.  It's enough to wear a healthy person out just thinking about all that.  Then add the fact that Jordan just started a new job where instead of being gone from 8-5 and coming home for an hour lunch, he is gone at least 10 hours a day, most days 11-12, moving three times in the last 6 months (and Jordan had a heart attack in the midst of all that!), my sister getting married, and trying to figure out how to emotionally process all these organ systems and take one step at a time.  Whew.  Oh yeah, and it being "that" time of month makes everything seem 10 million times worse.  And I can't remember EVER being this sick and this physically worn out and exhausted and one complication following another (oh yeah...still need to get my clotted port taken out!), for this long...and it's just the beginning of a long road.  Instead of being overwhelmed this afternoon, God has flooded my heart with His peace that passes understanding...and I believe it's the answer to prayers from all over the world going up on my behalf.  I will leave you with the lyrics to Kutless' "Even If " song.  :)  Click here to play the song and read along below :) 

"Even If"

Sometimes all we have to hold on to
Is what we know is true of who You are
So when the heartache hits like a hurricane
That could never change who You are
And we trust in who You are

Even if the healing doesn’t come
And life falls apart
And dreams are still undone
You are God You are good
Forever faithful One
Even if the healing
Even if the healing doesn’t come

Lord we know Your ways are not our ways
So we set our faith in who You are
Even though You reign high above us
You tenderly love us
We know Your heart
And we rest in who You are

You’re still the Great and Mighty One
We trust You always
You’re working all things for our good
We’ll sing your praise

You are God and we will bless You
As the Good and Faithful One
You are God and we will bless You
Even if the healing doesn’t come
Even if the healing doesn’t come 

Me and Safari ready for the GI Adventure :)

My heart resting in Him,

Rachelle :) 

             

      

Daily Devotional | Joni and Friends Entitled "Horsey Obedience"

Being the "country girl" I am I couldn't resist sharing this devotional I got from Joni Erickson Tada who was paralyzed in her teens from the neck down.  Her story is remarkable...I read one of her books several years ago and her story of learning to trust Christ through tremendous physical trials spoke to my heart.  This devotional reminds me so much of me and my horse, Buddy.  I got him when I was 13 and he was 3...I am now 28 and he is 18 and I call him, "my Old Man".  Our bond is incredible and I am SO incredibly thankful to my parents for not only buying him for me when I was 13 but paying for his keep all these years...that's a lot of money over the years and not easily repayable.  There is something far greater that cannot even be explained to people that have never known the bond that can exist between a girl and her horse.  That bond has only grown over the years...there are many stories I could tell you about me and Buddy but I will leave you with this one:  I couldn't have had him for long, but my Great Grandma was diagnosed with colon cancer.  I can still see Aunt Netta walking with her head down through the window of our house coming to tell us how the surgery went.  They opened her and closed her right back up and gave her two weeks to live.  We lost her 7 grueling months later.  This was the first time my life would be touched by cancer.  I remember sobbing and running out to Buddy's pen...I threw my arms around his chest and he stood there and simply wrapped his head around me, "hugging" me.  It is a moment I will never forget!  God is so kind to have given us such majestic animals who have such a desire to please their masters...their friends.
Enjoy this devotional (Daily Devotional: Joni and Friends) and here are a couple of pictures!  :)

Me and Buddy when I was 13 and he was 3

Me and Buddy when I was 17 and he was 7

Me and Buddy when I was 17 and he was 7...

I was in a photography class in high school

and love black and white photos :)

Me and Buddy running through the desert in

May of 2010. :) I was 26 and he was 16...our

good friend, Brad Gill took this photo.  Buddy
hadn't been out in awhile and was trying to buck
but Brad captured the majestic power God has

given horses...(read Job chapters 38-42 for more on
God's magnificent creation!) and the bond between horse
and rider...this is my all time favorite picture of us!!! :)

"Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God" 1 Corinthians 10:31...Lord, thank you for the majestic power you have given horses...and that you have given us the ability to caputre that power and get them to obey us and work WITH us.  There is nothing more exhilarting than running through the desert at full speed, feeling one with the horse and feeling like you could fly.  Lord, you are an awesome and mighty and wondrous, gracious, loving Father.  Thank You for your good gifts and thank You most of all for the gift of Your Son Jesus...for apart from Him I can do nothing.  He numbers our days and You know the number of breaths I will take.  May I pursue the passions You have given me and run the race You have called me to, giving glory to You in ALL that I do, until my very last breath.  Lord, some days are hard and I long to finish well...help me by Your grace to keep my eyes fixed on You...and run with the wind towards the "prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus" as Paul calls us to in Philippians 3.   Lord, I know I cannot do it in my own strength...enable me by your grace and strength to do all that YOU have prepared for me to do!

In Jesus Precious Name,

Amen

To the end of Myself

It's been a busy several days and I know my last post was kind of a "cliff hanger" so I apologize for those that aren't friends with me on facebook or haven't heard through the "church or family grapevine" yet.  The appointment with the Psychiatrist on Friday was the beginning of a new beginning for me.  I hadn't seen him for a year and a half so he asked what was happening in my life to bring me back to his office.  I began talking and out tumbled one thing after another.  When you live with a chronic illness NOTHING is simple.  When I go somewhere for a weekend (or even overnight) I joke with friends and family that between my vest, vitamins, meds, clothes (I am a typical girl and throw in three extra outfits "just in case!"), and oh yeah you can't forget the 3 books I'm currently reading because I don't know which one I'm going to be in the mood for, I already need a Tahoe to carry it all...if God ever does indeed bless us with children you better believe the first upgrade is going to be to a Suburban.  Sorry Jord, but between me and the future child can you fit your stuff in a backpack???  :)  All kidding aside, nothing is "normal" or "simple" and after 28 years that all builds up.  I've had my share of "meltdowns" over the years but this is just a sampling of what I shared:

     Well, I've been sick since June 4th, I get sick and tired of being sick and tired, I love people and love to serve and help people and I'm stuck on a couch right now.  We haven't been able to have kids, and I have finally (after 5 1/2 years) come to terms that we may never have kids.  My Mom and I just went to NC and they told me I had possible issues with my thryoid, pancreas, gallbladder, liver, and oh yeah, your low on Vitamin K.  The NTM bug you are being cultured for can be difficult to get rid of and there is was a slide that was presented in one of the PCD presentations that showed a picture of the NTM eating away the lower part of a PCD patient's lungs and this patient had to have a lung transplant.  I always knew that was a possibility, but in my head that was when I was 60, not 30.  Oh yeah, my husband had a heart attack in January (it was a virus that attacked his heart and he will 100% be ok for all those that don't know that story for another day), we have moved 3 times in the last 6 months (to which the Psychiatrist said, "Oh, is that all?"), I just reconciled with my Dad and he had an emergency appendectomy while I was in NC.  In my head I know God is in control, but in a way I just got him back and don't want him taken away so soon! I hate seeing Jordan and my family hurt and cry for me and oh yeah, we have some family members that are struggling and are not doing well, some that have cancer, my sister is getting married and I'm the Matron of Honor and her bridal shower is this weekend and Aunt Netta had to do most of the work (thank you again!!) because I can't drive myself places and my creative juices are limited to what I can do from the couch, I haven't been this sick since I can't remember when.  I went from feeling the best I have felt in a really long time (1 year of no antibiotics...a true miracle for me!) on June 3rd to coughing up blood on June 4th and have had two procedures (bronchoscopy and PICC line), still need to have my port taken out, new doctors appointments to make, new lung doctor, and and and and....

There is STILL more, but you get the picture.  I took a deep breath through the tears and looked at my Mom and was like, "My meds aren't making me crazy, I have way too much stress in my life!"  When you live with a chronic illness from day one and don't know any different and you become a Christian and as scripture says in one of the Peters, "Don't be surprised at the fiery trials that come to you..." you learn to just "roll with the punches" as they come and I don't really keep track of trial after trial...it's something called life.  Then you throw my sin of fear of man (or codependency or people pleaser etc) and pride into the mix and you get 28 years of getting lots of attention for being so sick and that becomes your identity.  Some of my PCD pals coined the term, "It's not who you are but what you have."  In my head as a Christian for the last 12 years I knew my identity was no longer in anything but Christ as He paid the penalty for my sins and absorbed every ounce of God's wrath for me so that I might have an eternal relationship with Jesus and other believers.  However, I still struggled with rejection and making an idol out of attention and acceptance.  I am just now recognizing this and putting it into words.  The book of the month at our church last month was When People are Big and God is Small and I have had that book recommended to me I don't know how many times but I have never picked it up.  It will be one of the first books I purchase so I can mark it up because I know it will speak directly to one of my biggest sin areas.  Instead of running to Christ and the gospel I "processed externally" and needed to talk to people and if I didn't get the reaction I was looking for I either tried my "other lists" of things I have endured or under the guise of humility and confessing my sin I would seek attention that way.  UGH.  Our hearts ARE desperately sick and wicked and yet as Romans 5:8 says, "God demonstrates His love to us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."  Wow.  If you look at the ugliness of sin in your own heart and see who you truly are then realize that as a Christian who has repented and turned from your sin and placed your faith and trust in the work of Christ on the cross ALONE for salvation, God the Father loves you.  You are His adopted child.  Forever.  NOTHING can snatch you out of the Father's hand.  There is no more condemnation for you, not even an ounce of wrath, but instead a cup overflowing with blessings (paraphrased from this awesome Little Book, the Gospel Primer) and we are on the road that will only end in heaven.  As Josh Miles read from Psalm 103 this morning during our communion meditation (link coming soon!) he expounded on the steadfastness of God's love and my heart fixated on the familiar verse "He heals all your diseases."  God's promises are so certain that they could be in the past tense...and in the Hebrew it may very well be.  God provided the cure (Jesus Christ) for the worst disease I will ever have and EVERYONE has it...sin.  Although my PCD is rare (only 400 people are diagnosed in the world!), my body is "weird", I get tired of explaining every little detail etc, there is a Day coming when I will have a body that works perfectly and will never run out of energy to serve my Lord and Savior as I serve and fellowship with other believers for eternity in the New Heaven and the New Earth He is creating.  My heart longs for those days as my body literally falls apart.  In this sanctification process, God has brought me to the end of myself and the verses in 2 Corinthians 1 have never resounded so clearly in my heart:

Comfort in Suffering

³ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, ⁴ who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. ⁵ For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ. ⁶ Now if we are afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effective for enduring the same sufferings which we also suffer. Or if we are comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation. ⁷ And our hope for you is steadfast, because we know that as you are partakers of the sufferings, so also you will partake of the consolation.

Delivered from Suffering

⁸ For we do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, of our trouble which came to us in Asia: that we were burdened beyond measure, above strength, so that we despaired even of life. ⁹ Yes, we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead, ¹⁰ who delivered us from so great a death, and does deliver us; in whom we trust that He will still deliver us, ¹¹ you also helping together in prayer for us, that thanks may be given by many persons on our behalf for the gift granted to us through many.

He is a loving Father who pursues us vigilantly until we "get it" and He graciously answers prayers we prayed in very different ways than we expected but in the very best way for us because He knows us better than we know ourselves.  I prayed for God to reveal my sin to me because I had a hard time "seeing" my sin and confessing specific sins.  Apparently, (ok Mom already knew this!) I am a very stubborn person and for 28 years was living with the "I got this, I can do this, I can suffer well for the glory of God, I can show people what it looks like to suffer with the joy of Christ, I can, I can I can, I got this God, I don't need You..."  It took all those trials and more that I am still processing internally and have not even begun to share for God to TRULY bring me to my knees...for me to humbly confess, "Lord, I am weary, I am sick and tired of being sick and tired.  Lord, I am angry and frustrated at all the things that I feel have been "taken away" because of PCD: children, getting my ears wet (snorkling, swimming, knee boarding, etc), I am angry that I had to learn to take care of Jordan and he had to have a heart attack and Bill and Cathy and my Mom and Dad want to have Grandchildren and I don't know if I will ever be able to give them that, I have to have a minimum of two hours to even be able to get out the door because of my treatments and when we go somewhere with a group people, they get ready while I do my treatments and then I feel rushed because I don't want to keep everyone waiting. I am hurt and angry and bitter that my family and friends have to watch me hurt again and again and again and again and its only going to get worse.  I want to be able to drive myself to the stor and cook my own food and take Jordan lunch and be the wife I want to be and not be the failure I feel like I am being right now.  Lord so much sin that boils down to the fear of man and my pride and discontent.  So much ugliness but Christ, you absorbed the wrath for every single one of those sins.  You took the nails in your wrists, You took the lashings that I deserve.  For so long I have felt like I have to explain and justify everything to everybody because I don't like having to be different when I want to fit in.  Lord, I try to explain everything to everybody and apologize constantly to Jordan because he has to help me in so many ways that I want to be able to do for myself.  Lord in Your great and unfathomable mercy, You died for that sin.  It's paid for. It's forgiven.  It is finished.  You completed the work you began.  I am justified because of Your death on the cross and I will one day be glorified and free from this wretched body and flesh and sin.  O for that Day Lord!  Thank You that for the first time in my life, I don't feel like I have to tell everybody about everything so they "understand" why I have to take 20 pills along with breakfast, lunch, and dinner, or why I'm late, or why I could ride my horse an hour ago and now I just threw up and can't get off the couch.  I'm exhausted and worn out because I've been trying to be perfect.  Jesus, You are the only One that is perfect.  Thank You that You died for that sin and that for the first time I truly understand You created me, You know me, You know why I have to do what I have to (even better than me!) and that is TRULY all that matters.  Thank You for taking the burden of my sin, my illness, my loved ones salvation, Jordan's hurt and pain watching me suffer, my family's hurt and pain watching me suffer...You have shown me I cannot do it on my own even though I have tried for 28 years.  You are God and You have it all under control.  And that is all that matters...may I truly learn to rest in Your everlasting, loving arms.  You are my "Abba" Father, my Daddy who I can run to with the biggest mess I've ever made and You welcome me into Your arms and love me and hold me and know EXACTLY how to comfort me and what I need without me having to tell you.  Thank You Father!

In Jesus Precious Name,

Amen.

Friends, I cannot remember feeling so much freedom...and Mom, the Truth does indeed set You free...all because of Jesus!  

My favorite prescription I ever got from a doctor..."Ride your horse more." Check! 

More to come,

Rachelle :)

Secret to the fevers discovered....

     So last Tuesday I saw my Naturopath and he gave me a gastro supplement to help the inflammation in my large intestines.  Within an hour of taking the first dose my fever broke and hadn't come back...until this evening....when I ran out of the supplement yesterday and his office was out of it today.  My sweet friend's (Hilarie) husband works near the place where they are manufactured here in Phoenix and is going to get me some tomorrow.  I was tired but not horrible when I got home from being out for the doc for several hours.  Did my treatments, updated some computer stuff, finished listening to a sermon but just started feeling blah....took my temp...ta da!  99.7 ding ding ding....well now I KNOW that supplement really was the answer...unfortunately I am finding out in a way that I didn't really want to find out.  Amazing how yucky a fever can make you feel...and makes me all the more thankful for the last week without fevers!  Also, very thankful that I started seeing Dr. Force last September...and that there are some alternatives to western medicine that help tremendously when it comes to dealing with a chronic illness.  :)  Also, very thankful that God has given me a hubby who doesn't get frustrated or angry when 50% or more of our budget goes to medical costs...whether its co-pays, hospital bills, extra healthy food, ginger to make my tummy feel better, distilled water to decrease exposure to NTM causing bugs (a Reverse Osmosis system will be a must when we buy our own house...), not to mention the fact that we did an entire 500 square foot addition on our house in Tucson to get air conditioning and tile floors for my lungs, or a vitamin that it turns out REALLY does help.  ;) I love you honey!!!!!  

     I know I've said it a million times but I don't think it can be said enough....August will be 10 years ago that I first met you and I am so incredibly thankful to God for bringing me a husband that desires to be a godly man and truly treasures me above everything else in this world...there truly is no greater gift from above than you.  :)

This is one of my favorite pics of us...taken during

our trip to the 2010 Shepherd's conference...

Lots of good things came from that trip!! :)