When it comes to hugs, I don't ever want to be the first to let go. I am trying to live this motto out with my kids. The other day, I went into my son's room to get him up for the day. After pulling him out of his crib, he threw his arms around me and snuggled for a hug. It was a Moment that Mattered. Caleb held on tight and I hugged him right back. As I stood there, my mind starting racing about all the things that needed to get done that day. I was just about to put Caleb down so we could get going on our day. At that moment, God whispered to my heart. "Don't be the first to let go. Spend this precious time with Caleb."  When I continued to hug Caleb at that moment, I communicated to him that he was more important than what I had going and what I wanted to get done.

I have been on a hunt lately.  It's a hunt I plan to be on the rest of my life. This hunt is not easy, sometimes it's downright hard, but I know it's totally worth it. I am on a hunt for Moments That Matter.

The story of Zacchaeus has always been one that intrigues me. It's only ten verses long but so much is packed into his story. I have lots to learn from this wee little man. He was determined, a good listener, repentant and one who acted on his word.

As women, we love to look good. We spend lots and lots of time picking out the perfect outfit, jewelry, and shoes to match. The longing to be noticed is there even if we don't admit it. Women have a longing deep inside to be beautiful and to be noticed. But too often than not, we find ourselves comparing to another woman. Sometimes it's our friends or even a family member. We think and sometimes say out loud "I wish I was as skinny as my sister" or "Oh, I love her outfit, I wish I could have clothes like that."  or "Her body shape is so much better than mine" or "If only I could sing or dance like her or run as fast as her" or  "Oh, to have a life like her then things would be all better."

The last session at Hearts for Home was given by Angela Thomas. She did an amazing job wrapping up the conference by sharing a lot of solid truths. One of my favorites was to Run the Race set before you. These are truths I was already familiar with but it was awesome to hear them again.

The third workshop that I attended at Hearts at Home was called Passion Pursuit. It was hosted by Dr. Juli Slattery and Linda Dillow. The first thing the ladies encouraged us to do was text our husbands and tell them "Thanks for watching the kids. I am at a workshop about sex" just to see what they said. Ha! I loved that these ladies were not afraid to talk about sex. Unfortunately, sex isn't talked about much in church settings as much as it needs to be. Sex is important for a marriage. Why is sex so important? Why do we need to pursue the passion in our marriages? Here are some answers to those questions that Dr. Juli Slattery and Linda Dillow shared.

The third workshop I attended at the Hearts at Home conference was called How to cut your grocery bill in half. It was hosted by Crystal Paine. She is the founder of Money Saving Mom. We began the workshop by figuring out how much we spend per person, per week on groceries. It was very eye-opening for us all. Crystal then shared several tips on how to cut your grocery bill in half. It was very helpful. Here are the tips with my notes under each.

The second workshop I attended at the Hearts at Home conference was called "To Every Season, there is a thing." It was hosted by Rhonda Rhea. She began by sharing that each season of life has it's own unique crazy. Rhoda shared she wouldn't trade one second of any of the seasons of life.