Another conference! Woohoo!

Guess what?! I FINALLY got to reunite with my siblings and my very close friends!!! Oh how Great That Was! This past weekend was another good one due to an engaging church service and a blessed reunion for my family and friends. My Sharikov family rented out a minivan and we took it for a spin across the States. Counting the pit stops, it took us 15 hours to get from Edina, MN to our final destination - Erie, PA.

All of the gathered people spent the Saturday together in one building. The church service started at 1pm and ended at 7pm. The good thing is that we didn't sit on one spot for the entire six hours. We enjoyed an afternoon snack break along with challenging Bible games. Two of my pals and I helped with keeping score. After the Bible games, the crowd ordered pizza. Since Teddy doesn't eat gluten or dairy, we came to a mutual agreement to ditch the pizza party and go to Chipotle instead. Can't forget to mention that we took one of our "daughters" along with us. Lana was the perfect kid to take out that night. Not to confuse you or anything, but I've adopted a couple of kids here and there. Thankfully, my husband graciously accepted them into our new family. Sadly, my kids are spread out across America. The only thing that brings me peace is that most of them are not much younger than me. They are quite independent youngsters. 

For the after-party, everyone went to play some ball. Bowling was definitely the highlight of the night. The church that was hosting the conference covered the expenses. That sweetened the deal. After winning (and more winning), the game came to an end. Coffee Culture is open until midnight, so that was our last stop. Coffee Culture is the same cafe where Teddy and I spent time together for the first time. Since we met at last year's Erie Conference, this marks our one year anniversary. 

The next day meant it was time for worship - round two. Sunday morning, rain was falling. Skies were gray. But none of that nonsense crushed our spirits.

Our family participated in the Sunday morning service. This meant that voices needed to be warmed up, instruments needed to be tuned, and sound checks had to be completed. What a short Sunday though! We had to head back home to make it back to work on Monday; while our friends stayed for another night.

Ramen noodles, cozy cuddles and editing pictures composed the ride home.