A Review of All The Things

My alarm rang at 3:00 a.m. last Wednesday morning because I had to be at the airport for a 6:00 a.m. flight to Kansas City. Several co-workers and I were headed to the Leadership Institute at Church of the Resurrection. Upon arrival, we stopped at a BBQ restaurant for lunch. We then headed to the church and met together for a couple of hours and pounded out some plans for Christmas Eve. Our hotel was basically in the church parking lot, so after our meeting we headed to check in and rest a few minutes. We then walked to a Mexican restaurant for dinner. I ordered a bowl and it was gorgeous and tasty.

The person sitting beside me ordered the "taco flight." Isn't that cool??

We ate quickly and walked back to the church for the opening session of worship.

Adam Hamilton spoke at the opening session.

On Thursday, we attended multiple sessions. Andy Stanley was one of the key note speakers and he did an amazing job. I've heard him speak several times over the years and he always speaks to my heart.

I didn't take a photo, but Dan Heath, a well-known author, also spoke and his session was excellent, too.

I also went to a break out session on radical hospitality. I think this chapel is so beautiful. I started thinking about Mark's mom during the session and I started crying. I'm not a crier so it really caught me off guard.

Pastor Laura went down the giant slide in the kid's area.

Here we are - all of us from Trinity UMC.

On Thursday night, we ordered pizza from a local pizza restaurant. We set up shop in the hotel lobby during happy hour and we all hung out chatting and working a puzzle.

The conference wrapped up on Friday at noon. We checked out of our hotel and went to an amazing BBQ restaurant. Kansas City is known for "burnt ends" and they are definitely delicious. We had several hours so we went to see the stadium.

We then went downtown to Messenger Coffee Shop which was cool! One of the employees told us about a unique Indie bookstore so we headed there next.

It was truly one of the most unique shops I've visited. I wanted to bring the library ladder home with me. Please??

Our flight was on-time departing Kansas City, but was delayed leaving Chicago . . .but it all worked out. I got into bed around midnight on Friday night.

Saturday morning . . .I took my mid-term that was due at 11:59 p.m. Friday night. My professor was very gracious and extended my deadline. I made an A.

I did laundry and wrote a Sunday School lesson.

Our daughter came up for a few hours and brought our middle granddaughter, so we met the two of them at our son's house. He LOVES cooking and trying new things. These are deviled eggs . . .but the whites have been deep fried and are crispy. I didn't eat one, but they said they were delicious. My daughter-in-law bought the egg board at Tractor Supply.

There was a "nail salon" on the back deck. All of the ladies plus a couple of the guys were treated to a manicure.

In yesterday's Sunday Stealing, there was a question about our families and the old proverb "the apple doesn't fall far from the tree." I mentioned that Glenn is very much like Mark. Here they are -- Mark and Glenn frying fish together. Perfect illustration of that old saying.

The weather was perfect for porch sitting and our son built an amazing deck/porch on the back of their house.

The night ended with dessert. Our daughter's little girl is on the left and our son's little girl is in the middle. The little boy is the son of our son and daughter-in-law's best friends and not only are the parents friends, but those two kids are tight!

On Sunday, I worked and taught Sunday School. We threw a quick lunch together and took a nap! I finished up homework and rode the bike and did more laundry and dressed our skeletons while Mark went to Culture Fest at our West Campus, where he volunteers a couple of days a week. He said it was the best one yet. I was sad to miss it, but I was done for the weekend.

We ended the weekend with an episode of Breaking Bad, an episode of Eli Stone, and an episode of Six Feet Under . . .while I ironed.

What did y'all do this weekend?