surprise girls night.

so... i took an unplanned break from the blogging world for a couple weeks... the internet in our apartment was out and reading blogs is just not as convenient from my phone. so i feel like i've been out of touch for awhile! anyway, thankful to have our internet up and running again!

last night i was "kidnapped" by a good friend and taken to our friend, d's house. i was all ready to "go see a play" with brian, when my friend andrea showed up and said i was coming with her. she drove me to d's house where a few other friends were waiting with a great homemade meal and banana split cake. our friends are so sweet and planned this fun night to celebrate andrea and i's birthdays. 

after we ate our delicious meal, d told us that we were heading to the toledo museum of art. the museum itself was beautiful and it felt like we were the only ones there... and that was pretty much how we acted ;)

the 19th century french section was my favorite section by far. there is so much romance in those paintings!

there's a section right across from the museum itself thats a glass pavilion and specializes in glass art. check out this dress made entirely of glass!

we also got to watch a tutorial on making glass art, which was pretty fascinating! 

we had a great time and i cannot wait to take brian to this museum one night for a fun date. 

the art museum was also on the list of things to do in toledo, in the sweet scrapbook that d made for me. it was great being able to check another item off the list! thankful for these ladies who have shown me so much love. 

SYMC 2013.

This past weekend Brian and I went to the Simply Youth Ministry Conference in Indianapolis. It was an amazing weekend of workshops, classes, peer panels, amazing speakers, and worship. It was cool to be around so many great authors and leaders in youth ministry. 

Worship was led by Shane and Shane, Lecrae, and my personal favorite, All Sons and Daughters. Did I wait outside the doors for an hour so I could get a good seat? Maybe. Did I practically run over people to get to the front? Maybe. But it paid off... we were four rows from the stage when All Sons and Daughters played. It was such an awesome time of worship and refueling. 

The next morning, Leslie Jordan, the female singer, got in the elevator with Brian and me and we got to talk to her for a brief minute. I was all Kristen Wiig on the inside, but tried my best to play it cool on the outside. 

My brain: OMG LESLIE JORDAN, WE'RE LIKE BEST FRIENDS, YOU JUST DONT KNOW IT YET, THIS IS SO FREAKIN EXCITING!

My mouth: Yeah, I like your music. 

I'm already looking forward to next year. While we had the perfect time, I missed my little lion cub... my mom was gracious to watch him for the weekend, but I was so excited to see him after four days and take him home :)

If you work in youth ministry as a pastor, volunteer, or mentor, I highly recommend SYMC. Next year's conference will be in Columbus, Ohio! 

O-H!