Daughters of the King

Tonight I had the pleasure of attending the Daughters of the King banquet at my church. (Basically a mother-daughter banquet where any female can attend b/c we are allll daughters of the King :-))

It was a great night! Great food, great company, and a great speaker!

At my table were my sister and myself:

My mom, my grandma, and my Aunt Beth:

and my cousin Rachel, our friend Michelle, and my cousin Sarah
(This picture would be cuter if they had been looking)

There were over 300 women in attendance, and it was great to be sharing the evening together! Every year they have it catered, but some men from the church always serve the food. It is always a nice night to not have to cook or worry about things at home! (I made Luke fend for himself and he heated up some frozen taquitos in the oven for dinner :-P)

The speaker was a very special lady. She was actually my art teacher all through elementary school. In 2004, her husband, son, and brother-in-law were all killed while in Canada on a fishing trip. They were killed by carbon monoxide poisoning in their cabin. She wrote a book after the tragedy, and spoke to us about it tonight. It was obviously a little depressing, but very powerful as well. God has brought her so far, and brought her so much hope in such a horrible situation. It was very enlightening, and I'm so glad I was able to hear her! It was neat to hear my old art teacher speaking about all God has brought her through. God is always there during our darkest times when we need Him the most.
My sister bought the book, which Karen, the speaker, signed. She is going to try to read it this week, and then when she comes home from school on Thursday, she's going to let me borrow it! I can't wait to read it! The book is available on Amazon.com. It's called "Held in Heaven's Arms" by Karen J. Common if you're interested!

There's Julie holding her copy with matching bookmark after she got it signed.

The Daughters of the King banquet is a blessing every year, but this year even more so. I really can't wait to get my hands on that book and devour it this weekend! I hate to admit that I haven't cracked open a book for leisurely reading since I read "The Last Song" over Easter Break. I just haven't had the time or energy! I think this book will kick-start me back into reading again.

I hope everyone has had a fabulous Monday as well!

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Summer countdown: 17 (school)days!!!