Wild and Free 2014

Over the past few weeks, I've been going on and on about Wild and Free Conference.  Some of you may have read my posts thinking,

"What is it? Some type of nudist festival?"

Slightly intrigued, you may have clicked the link to read more about it, only to find in the very first paragraph:

"...a beautiful homeschool conference for women."

Now you're thinking,

"Oh, gosh. A slew of stay-at-home, homeschooling moms are going to be running wild and free all over the place. It's going to be a mad house of mini vans, mom jeans, mommy rap parodies, ungodly amounts of Costco wine flowing from the box, and trivia series to prove the Champions of ABeka and Charlotte Mason." 

I would add some jean jumpers paired with white sneakers in the above, but this is 2014, folks. We don't do that anymore. Everything else?  Maybe.

So, if it isn't a nudist festival and it's not a poorly-dressed, under-socialized, boxed-wine party, then what is it?

Here's a portion from the website: 

"Announcing a beautiful homeschool conference for women called, 'Wild & Free,' in Virginia Beach on September 19-21, 2014.  Whether or not you educate your children at home, you believe childhood is a wonder to behold, to be cultivated with love, nature and adventure.  This will be an experience to remember, with talks to inspire, new methods to share, seasoned mothers to meet, kindred spirits to discover, and new friendships to forge.  Not to mention, it's all happening at The Founders' Inn, the gorgeous Colonial-style resort in Virginia Beach, just minutes from the majestic Atlantic Ocean.  Instagram has allowed us to discover a community of like-minded mothers from all over the world.  So many of us have never met, and yet we feel like we’ve known each other our whole lives.  We may not all use the same approach to homeschool our kids... or the the same curriculum or the same schedule.  But there’s one thing that unites all of us - we want our children to grow up to be their true, uninhibited, beautiful selves.  We want them to Be Wild & Free."

Sounds great, doesn't it? I'm still in amazement that I'm going! 

(Though it is a long-ish story, I really want to share just HOW it worked out that I can attend this amazing weekend!) 

I stumbled across the Wild and Free conference one afternoon while sifting through Instagram.  I noticing someone had posted a photo of The Founders' Inn (which is just up the road from us) with hashtags: #homeschool, #homeschooling, etc.  I was immediately interested, but like every other amazing conference out there, I doubted the possibility of attending.  

There was one perk: With it being local, I wouldn't have to travel.  But, by the time I found out about the conference, I was on the late-end of registration, which would mean no early-bird pricing for me.  I like to think of myself "frugal," and the late-bird registration was way more than I was willing to pay. I really, really wanted to go, especially after I read the schedule and speaker line-up.  

In the following days, I found each of the speakers one by one on Instagram and had begun following their every post.  They are incredible women who have so much to offer young mothers in the thick of it. I was hanging on to every ounce of wisdom they would share in each post.  

While I had been praying over it, I finally just said out aloud, "OK, if it's meant for me to go, God will provide a way for it to be His purpose and not my own striving."  Because the truth was, I could go, I could afford to pay to go, and I'm sure I could scrounge up a babysitter.  But, it all felt silly. Silly to go to such extents to leave my kids behind, to spend so much on registration, to rearrange our life so much just to attend a first-year conference I knew nothing about nor anyone attending!  It weighed heavy on my heart with a desire to attend and a desire to feel it working itself out, so I waited on it for a little longer. 

Within a few days, I noticed that someone had posted on the Wild and Free Facebook page.  Sadly, she couldn't attend after all, but was willing to sell her ticket at the Early Bird rate she had bought it back in the summer. Whaaaaaat?? I messaged her right away with my interest, but told her I would need to wait just another day or so until my childcare had worked out somehow...and without me feeling guilty!

Within hours, on the same day, my mother-in-law texted me... 

"Hey! My mom is visiting the week of Sept 17, so I was hoping we could pick up the boys to stay with us that week, Wednesday through Sunday. Is that OK?"  

Is that OK? It's MORE than OK! It was completely the hand of God working out the desire of my heart to attend this beautiful conference. I knew it, and I could finally feel it.

Right away, I purchased the Early-Bird ticket and prepped my boys for their big weekend at Grandma's house!  I really don't leave my children often, and when I do, it needs to be with family. It simply must. 

So, here I am, on the day of the first conference gathering. In just a few short hours, the ladies will be gathering for check-in, attending the welcome dinner and sitting quietly for the opening remarks that will embark us on a weekend of newness. New friends, new wisdom, new encouragement, new vision, new ambition... It's going to be beautiful. 

You can click HERE to see the schedule of events, and click HERE to peek at the gorgeous Founders' Inn where it will all happen.

(The Swan Terrace)

 

(The Ball Room)

Stay tuned for the full experience! 

I'll be posting live via Instagram and Facebook (CharaNoelleBlog),  

and will blog the depth of the experience in the coming week.

(Photo Cred: Wild and Free)

"The Lord your God is with you, He is mighty to save.  

He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with His love." 

Zephaniah 3:17 

And now, I'm off to get ready.... eek! 

Cheers, 

Chara