the best birthday present of all...

It is amazing what rest will do for the soul. And I don't mean sleep. I just mean rest.

Last week, I got some rest. It was amazing...and honestly unexpected. I didn't set out to rest...it just kinda happened. I think it was like my birthday present from up above!

so check it...here was my birthday week:
Sunday = Easter = no youth group. Now don't get me wrong...of course I love youth group. But a night off every once in a great while is a welcomed thing! So after church was over that morning, I had no more responsibilities for the rest of the day! I got to totally relax for the rest of the day with my "Jesus family" celebrating the awesomeness that is Easter! Of course, no blog post is complete without some pics, so I'll include some here

(side note: Our youth Easter service was AMAZING! We got to have church in a tent! that's right...old school revival - style!)
What better way to celebrate on Easter Sunday, right?!?!?!
Riley and I paired up as a team for the egg hunt...we were quite the killer combo...

LOVE...these people...

JESUS FAMILY!

I purposefully took off work on my "big day" (Thursday). Spent the day with two of my favorites...
had my first-ever Curious Gourmet cupcake...
and then to cap off the day, went to see Demetri Martin with my good friend, Melanie!! oh my goodness...HILARIOUS guy...

I laughed so hard, I got a headache...oh how the cheeks hurt.

Friday night was girls night over at the Robinson's. Jill made my very favorite cake (strawberry with strawberry icing) and some of the girls came over and we watched one of my favorites: STEP UP 2, baby!! I have a not-so-secret burning desire to be a hip-hop dancer :)
Then there was Saturday...which ended up being a day with my girlfriends full of:
sitting out in the blessed sun...reading (or in my case...preparing Sunday night's lesson...)
eating...
napping...
and we can't forget...
PARTYING
the girls threw me a little surprise, ghetto-fabulous birthday party. HILARIOUS

So that was my week...amazing. I felt so rested and rejuvenated starting out this week. Makes me wonder why I don't take time-out for myself a little more often.

So although I was given many wonderful things on my birthday week, I might say that the Lord's gift of rest, friends, family, and fun might have been the best gift of all!