CRISI RIVERA QUINCEANERA {sneak peek}

MICHAEL W. SMITH CONCERT { my favorite singer of all time}

So for those of you who don't know already, I am a BIG Michael W. Smith fan. I always have been ever since I was really little. My dad took me to my first Michael W. Smith concert when I was in Jr High (I think it was Jr High). 
I would always sing along to his songs, with a hairbrush as my microphone in my bedroom when I was younger (who am I kidding, sometimes I still do) :) 
I have all of his albums that he ever put out, and know ALMOST every word to every song. (does that make me creepy? haha... nah) When I was younger when I listened to cassette tapes (yes, I am THAT old) I would hit rewind all the time. Then the day came for CD's to come out and I remember telling my dad that I have to get all of his CD's so I can still listen to his songs when the cassette player becomes extinct. ;) 
All that to say, I drove last night to Grand Island, NE for a concert of his, at the Nebraska State Fair. My cousin, Alycea lives around there, and so being the awesome cousin she is, she decided to come to the concert with me. We had a GREAT time! It was fun walking around and looking at the animals at the fair before the concert. And then I was all smiles for the rest of the night once Michael W. Smith came out on stage :) Here are some pictures that I was able to get last night. 
I had some tall people sitting in front of me & I didn't want to stand up to get a picture & block the view of the people behind me so most of the pictures aren't the absolute best. But at least you get the idea :) 

My cousin and I before the concert. 

THE LOFT {middle school Wed night meeting area}

Well we have kicked off GRAVITY 2014 on Wednesdays. Last night was our first youth group back on our regular wednesday meeting schedule, and it felt so good to be back!! I am so excited for what this year has to hold! 

So yesterday I spent the morning and afternoon turning The Loft into a place where it felt more of a meeting place for Middle schoolers. I am still not completely done, but I figured I would post a few pictures from what I have already done. So here ya go... enjoy! 

This is my "stage" 

I Figured we needed signage :) My best friend Jackie helped me put these letters up awhile ago.

Just in case someone forgets what day it is. Plus I figured it added a little something to my table. 

My cool colored podium that I got from none other than Target. (where I got most of my stuff) 

My stool that I don't sit on, but just have for looks :) I stand when I preach, but if students want to talk after it's nice to be able to sit :) 

I thought these little hook picture holders were pretty cool. So I purchased them :) 

Decided to go a little crafty. I bought picture frames from Target and then instead of putting pictures in them, I decorated them. This isn't a great view of the frame but I couldn't get up high enough to get a full on shot with this, so I apologize. This says "GRAVITY" which is the name of our youth group. 

In the sermon series I am teaching right now, this is our main verse we are going back to for the next 4 weeks. So I figured what GREAT way to display it than to put it in a frame. 

I used typewriter stamps and just stamped the verse on there. 

Once again using stamps I just wrote out our youth group mission statement. 

Didn't know what to do with this one yet, so I just added some fun colored paper in there for the time being :) 

A sweet looking notepad that I got. Figured it's always nice to have loose paper around to write on just in case. 

These lights are what I use to map out my "stage".   

Since THE LOFT is for Middle school on Wednesday nights I wanted to personalize it for them. So I put a picture up from our first Kick-Off night last Sunday. 

Also I put up the logo of the message series we are in. 

And here is a straight on view of what I put up yesterday. I know it doesn't look like much, but hopefully little by little this Loft will become even more incredible! 

BROOKE JOHANSON SENIOR PICTURES {Sneak Peek}

A few Colorado Vacation Sneak Peeks {moon, cars, mountains, and sunsets}

LOVE Colorado! 
Just wanted to post a few sneak peek pictures from the 1,000 that I took while Ben and I were vacationing in Colorado. Some of these I may just have to blow up and use to decorate my house :) Loved the scenery, and I FINALLY nailed down how to take pictures of the stars :) (something I have been trying to do for months) So.. enjoy these few sneak peek pictures, as more will be coming in the next few weeks!! :) 

A sunset view we had while heading to Colorado

 One of my star pictures!!!

 Ben and I went canoeing one morning so I snagged some amazing scenery pictures... there are plenty more too :) 

 We canoed to an island and then walked around and explored... this was a pic of our red canoe with the mountains.

 The SUPER MOON was shining on our way home. So I stopped & took a picture. I don't have a zoom lens so this was the best that I could get with the lens I have. Not to bad for my first attempt. 

 Cars on the Interstate

TITUS & EMILY WEDDING {SNEAK PEEK}

Crisi Rivera is getting ready for a big day.... {Quinceañera}

At the end of this month I get the honor of taking pictures for Crisi Rivera (one of my youth) at her Quinceanera party. 
So in order to do some prep work for her big day, we went out yesterday and took some pictures so she can post them around at her party. 
She is such a incredible beautiful girl both inside and out, and I am so proud and excited for the woman that she is becoming! Here are a few gorgeous pictures of Crisi.