Weekend full of blessings

Welcome back to the real world!

Most of us got a day off yesterday thanks to the Labor Day holiday. I treasured the three-day weekend, a time when I actually got to get out of town and have a little fun.

After working late Friday night, I drove up to the Twin Cities on Saturday morning. My mom and I met there and went straight to IKEA to do some shopping. We finished up by going to a couple other stores in a strip on the way home and grabbed some food at a Rainbow mart.

Our hotel room, bought very inexpensively on Priceline, had a full kitchen and living room as well as the bedroom. For dinner, we sauteed some chicken breast and made some corn on the cob in the microwave.

The next morning we headed out to an outlet mall, having our special Bible study along the way. We had a great talk - to the point where we didn't recognize landmarks on the way back because we were obviously so involved in our talk. We talked a lot about our purpose in life and asking for God's help and blessing on what we do.

We prayed and asked God's blessing on our day, whether it be finding good shopping deals or just having a great day together.

After the outlet mall we hit up Mall of America and checked out another little mall by our hotel. We ate at Cheesecake Factory and even brought a slice of cheesecake - Brownie Sundae Cheesecake - to see "The Help" at a local movie theatre.

I have to say, we really didn't find a ton of clothes or deals at all the places we shopped. I found things, but it wasn't a crazy amount. The biggest blessing was definitely the time I got to spend with my mom.

We have a crazy pace shopping that some people would probably not enjoy - going from mall to mall to store to store. We sort through the expensive clothes to try and find some deals. It's a little crazy and we were beat each night, but that's what we often do together.

Many people might not see the trip as successful, because we didn't come home with a car full of stuff. However, I left with a full heart and a smile on my face. It's great to spend time with my mom, and I was blessed to have that time and to just have my mom in general.

Thanks for a great weekend Mom. You're the best!