It's Monday at almost noon and I'm STILL tired...

The writers conference I spoke at this past weekend (and that my whole family founded and runs) was wonderful!!! But, I walked too much, talked too much, and stayed up too late...so now I'm tired from it all. But it's a GOOD kind of tired!

A few quick thoughts from the conference...

* All of our speakers were so good and inspiring. Our keynote speakers were Gilbert Morris and Angela Hunt, both of whom are very successful, prolific novelists. Everyone really seemed to love them!

* I really do love to speak! One of my favorite things in the world to do is public speaking. I feel very comfortable in front of an audience and I always get a real "high" from teaching and encouraging other people.

* Writers are everywhere! This conference always reminds me of how many people out there write...how many people connect with their feelings and passions and experiences by writing it all down. I love that, and am encouraged by the fact that so many people are still moved by the written word (because it's very important to me).

* The kids in my family are unique and talented. I must be in one of the few families where all the kids--my daughters, my two nephews, so basically my parents' grandchildren!--are obsessed with writing and think having a writers conference in the family is such an exciting thing! My parents started this conference 18 years ago, before McKenna was born, and McKenna has been to EVERY conference until this year. She has always loved it and would sit in on talks and take notes and soak in all the information about writing. This year, Delaney was the same way. She took notes during Angela Hunt's talk on character development and is currently working on a novel. My two nephews (9 and 10) are both writers and Matthew has said that the conference is his favorite thing of the year, even better than holidays! And this year, Sydney just jumped right in too and got involved. She helped sell my books, sat in on workshops, and helped give away door prizes. The kids are quite the "celebrities" at the conference!

And a few quick pictures from the conference:

This photo cracked me up, because I was going around during one of the larger sessions and getting pictures of different groups of people. I stopped here and said, "Smile!" and Sydney comes running back in between these two ladies so she'd be in the picture too...

Here's my Mom talking to one of our speakers, Bucky Rosenbaum, who is the agent who sold A Purpose Driven Life..

A good overview picture of the entire crowd getting ready for one of the keynote addresses. We had around 160 in attendance this year...

Dad, me, Mom, and my brother Christopher...

And at the end of the conference, we had to pack all of our stuff up on carts and get them out to our car. By then, of course, Sydney was pooped and hopped a ride on the cart...

Once the attendees "recover" from the conference and return home, we often get emails and notes from them. One email we received this morning was especially gracious. The woman who sent it--a first-time attendee from Tennessee--said that our family's "love for others was evident." What a wonderful compliment to be given. (Don't you think that's about the BEST compliment you can be given?)

So....we are blessed by the experience every year, and I hope it's something that we get to experience still for years to come!

(I hope all of you had a wonderful weekend too, and I will be popping by your corners of the world soon!)