[talk: Feeling Lovely.]

I've said it before, and I'll say it again - I think that most women would agree that wanting to be feminine, pretty, lovely ... those are things that are right down in our DNA.  Looking at our young daughters, at our friend's teenage girls, at even our own selves ... God put something in us that makes us want to  put on a coat of lipgloss for a special event, or lose that extra 5lbs to fit into a much-awaited dress ...

Well, this past week I had the pleasure of going away with a few close girlfriends.  We shopped, we worked out (yes - you read that right ... I did my first 1km sprint in 4min20seconds) - we ate sensibly, read books in the sun and didn't have late nights.  We are all moms and didn't want to come home exhausted - but rather refreshed and better than when we had left.  We all wanted our husbands to be "wowed" when we came home ... maybe not super realistic - given the 5 day timespan *grin*.

On Saturday evening, though, we did something that we had done last year:  a photoshoot.  This was something I had wanted to do last year for my girlfriends - as a special treat, just to remind them how beautiful they were and honour them as the beautiful women they are.  And this year was no different - when I threw out the idea, they all laughed and said, "oh yeah - let's do it again!".  We were like a dorm of teenage girls getting ready ... trying on outfits, doing our hair and makeup ... getting each other's opinions while the music blared *grin*.

Super silly.  But fascinating ...  because we all just wanted a "pretty" picture taken.

Why? *laughing* I'm actually really not that sure.  I mean, once you have a new FB profile pic, then what?  I mean, it's not like you're going to print out a bunch of 8x10's of your top 25 pics from the session.  But for some reason, that didn't matter.  It was the experience that was fun - we didn't think about anything but being girly girls ...

So we headed out to the desert - with each of us armed with TWO (yes, you read that right) outfits.  The light was perfect, the girls were ready - and I started snapping pics.

It was just so fun.

Just watching these incredible women "strike a pose", just having fun - just celebrating the beauty that God put inside each of them ... really - it was remarkable.  So much laughter, so much "wooooork-it", so much ... well, fun.  And what was really interesting was comparing last year's shoot to this year's.  My friends were more comfortable - and I think their pics showed that.  And it was also pretty fun directing my friend who was trying to figure out my camera ... I was grateful that she wasn't afraid to try - most people get nervous when I hand them my professional camera and say, "would you mind?"

Now ... I JUST got back ... I haven't edited all of the 200+ pics (yes ... again - you read that right *grin*).  But I will show you a few of myself that I just edited - and it is a STRANGE thing editing photos of yourself, trust me.

But.  Looking at these photos actually brings a happiness to me - how I felt during this hour with my girlfriends.  I had said to one of my friends as we drove, "... I haven't felt this pretty in a long time."  It was true.

I've felt like I'm working hard, succeeding some then failing large at all the expectations I put on myself physically; I feel like I'm blessed with incredible family and friends and a great church; I feel like there's never enough time to do it all ... and that I wish I were so much better at everything I already do.  But feeling pretty?  No.  I'm sure most moms would say hat is not a daily occurrence by any stretch.

So for 1 hour on Saturday - we felt like queens ... and I felt like my hubby would be proud, like my hours of running paid off, like God didn't make any mistakes ... and please - don't interpret this as a post on a massive importance on outside appearance and such ... it's just how I felt for a very short period of time.  And it was nice.

Enough.

Here are a few of my own pics ...  I'll be posting my friends over the next week or so ...

So.  Silly, yes.  Fun, for sure.  But lovely for us all.

Have a great one ...