REUNITED in VEGAS!

YAY!!! Okay, so I woke up at 4am, so excited, and waaaaaaay too tired because I only had about 3 hours of sleep, and hopped into the shower. My flight wasn't until 7:05am but my brother told me Delta had been really janky and I had to be there at LEAST 2-3 hours before if not more. My mom picks me up at 4:30am and off we go to the airport. I was so nervous I was going to miss the flight and then not be able to go because I bought the last of 3 $100 tickets to Vegas. All other tickets after that for memorial day weekend were up to $450. If I missed my flight I couldn't afford to go...But I get through security just fine. I grab myself a Starbucks then go around looking for my gate. CLASSIC JILLENE JOHNSON! I was at the wrong terminal. Last time this happened I had to re-do security and everything! I was like okay I only have an hour till my flight at this point to get to the next terminal. I'm directed to a bus, with no one else on it, and safely make it! YES! It's all happening. I'm finally getting to see my fiancé after all this junk, out of school, and stress free. I was in a need of a major break!

After I landed I jumped in a cab and was dropped of at Patrick's hotel. The front desk calls his room and says, "Hi Sir, your fiancé is downstairs, shall I send her up? Okay... okay... thank you, bye. He say's he's coming down for you". I quick run to the restroom and notice the carpet of the hotel is a design of butterfly's! Of course it was.

He meets me down stairs and gives me a big ole' bear hug that lasts forever. Our love for one another froze time, all I saw was him. We go upstairs and he shows me his palace of a room. It was only 8:30am so we just sit down and catch up about the past two days (we hadn't spoken due to my silent retreat.) We couldn't stop talking, and laughing, and kissing, and talking some more (and kissing some more shhhhhh). I was filled with so much joy, and peace, and love for him. It truly felt that God was granting us the harmony I so desired. I was sharing with him what God was sharing with me during my retreat and everything I was reading during the morning.

I asked, so what's the plan. He said, "well I figured we could go to the Strip, get you those glasses you've wanted for forever and then go have a pool day before we go and see Blue Man Group?" AH! SO FUN!!! I have wanted a nice pair of glasses for years! But the ones I wanted were like $400 and I thought to myself, ugh you don't deserve $400 glasses that's crazy! But he said he'd get them for me!? So we grab our stuff and walk down the strip jabbering away the whole time about our families and God, just so happy to finally be with one another! He said he felt like God told him there would be a sale at the sunglasses place so he wasn't worried about spending the money.

We get to Sunglass Hut, and I notice a different pair of Ray Bands that I instantly fell in love with! They were so fun! AND, they were only $170. We spend an hour trying on funky glasses together because there is indeed a sale where if you get two the second pair is $40 off! So not only do we only spend $300 versus the $400 but we also both get fun new glasses together! It's such a silly thing but I've never really been taken out by a man and have him buy me something just because he loves me and wants to. I felt like such a princess. At this point we are pretty hungry so we go to look for some vegan food in Vegas. Yeah right.

There was an awesome mexican restaurant that opened at 12pm but it was only 11:30. So we went to the Body Exhibit. I had never been before and it was so weird! We both made little stories for the various bodies and were acting like goons (Patrick taught me that word. He also taught me scantily clad, which is a state you will not find me thank you!). He was making me laugh so much! When we got to the heart area there was a station that said "write your lover a note and place it in the case". So we wrote each other notes. When he gave me mine it said something along the lines of, "Wow I love you so much! Maybe we get married today in Vegas? What do you think?" It gave butterflies! Honestly I wanted to! I thought why not? This day has already been so amazing, ending it with us getting married could be perfect instead of trying to create a perfect day to then get married, we could just do it at the end of an already perfect day?! I told him I'd think about it... My note said I love you. P.s. I'm Pregnant. He thought it was hilarious and kept it instead of putting in the little mailbox (obviously I'm not pregnant unless this year I will be staring in my own reality TV show "Jillene the Virgin".

We then grab some food and talk about our family of origin. We've been going through this book together called How We Love and it's helped us identify so many of our hurts from our past that have made it hard for us to communicate and reconcile. It's been an incredible blessing. We only have these talks for about an hour at a time though because they're often heavy. Putting a time limit helps us slowly digest what's happening instead of being overcome with "problems to fix".

We walk back to the hotel and lay out by the pool. Then we hop in the water. Patrick doesn't know how to swim... so I tried teaching him to float. Not successful. HAHA there was a lot of sinking and a lot of water in the eyes. I think swimming lessons are not my strong suit. Luckily it was only 4 feet deep, so I didn't have to worry about him drowning. We start practicing hilarious fake couples-yoga positions and cracking ourselves up. It felt like a honeymoon. We just kept on playing and being childlike with one another.

We then get ready for the show. We run down stairs for the Uber. It's 3:40 and we are 20 minutes way from the show. Yikes. We hop in the Uber and have an incredible driver named Rocky who starts really opening his heart up to us. It seems so many people are carrying such heartache that no one asks them about. I think why Spiritual Direction is so helpful for people is because they're able to share their pain and process what they're feeling, so it's not stuck in their hearts.

We arrive at The Luxor and run inside. We grab our tickets... the show is just starting and we scootch into our seats that the tour manager from his show got us for free. Our seats were amazing! We were like 3rd row in, just off the center. So amazing! The show was hilarious and crazy fun! Full of solid drum beats and good clean humor. We were both so tired but the show was too creative and smart to not stay fully engaged. I realized how long it had been since I'd seen good art, or a fun show. Just the day prior I was praying for more fun, adventure and creativity. I felt like I was sitting inside an answered prayer.

After the show we get our picture with one of the Blue Men and then head out to find some coffee. Patrick had arrived at his hotel that morning at 4am and I arrive at 8am so he also was terribly tired. But we both promised each other no matter how tired we were, we were going to DO VEGAS because it will be way more fun. Normally, because we are so active during the day, we just end up cooking food at home and relaxing. BUT WE WERE IN VEGAS SO WE HAD TO GO HARD! Haha. We get some Starbucks and sit own and begin dreaming together about ministry and what it looks like to serve others well. What next year could like like and how we might be used to love people well.

Around 6:30pm Patrick shares, "Hey I think we can go see KA, a cirque show, for free at 7pm, do you wanna go?" I was like "um, yeah?!" So we start walking to MGM to meet his friend Josh to see the show. Again we get there right at 7pm, the show had just started and we scooted across all the knees into our seats. We were again, 5th row up dead center. The seats were incredible! The show was magical. Romantic, inspiring, breath taking, always keeping you on edge like cirque shows tend to do. I found myself just in awe of the artistry of these performers. Again, I felt my prayers so answered as I sat there with my beautiful fiancé who I am so head over heels in love with, watching incredible dancers and acrobats and feeling so peaceful and present. God has totally restored my hope and joy. He really does give good gifts. Here I was freaking out that I "wasn't suppose to go" and instead there were blessings of joy waiting for me here once I took a little step of faith to follow through.

After the show we grab dinner with his friend, the physical therapist of Paula's tour. We have a lovely night just chatting and getting to know one another and sharing stories. After our two hour dinner, it's 10:30pm. We part ways, and even though we are so tired we feel like we could crash, we had said that we would go dancing. We have been together for almost a year and we'd never gone out dancing before?!?! I know!? We are both dancers who've never gone out dancing together, so obviously it had to be done. He said, there's this dance club called Hakkasan that we could check out. We walk up to it but the line is crazy and so I chicken out and say "eh no let's just go home". We start walking home and I feel that little bit of disappointment. I think "Okay come on Jillene why did you actually leave?" I felt like the whole idea of standing in line for a club just Patrick and I would be silly. FEAR. So then I thought "NO!! I'm done letting fear rule my life. We should go." So I ask a guy on the street, "What's your favorite club here"? and he says, actually there's this place called Hakkasan that's really awesome! I took it as a sign and we turned around to go back to the club.

On our way we pass a man carrying a sign that said "in need of a miracle". We had a conversation earlier that day about desiring our life to be full of ministering (aka LOVING) to others. So Patrick suggested we go and pray for him! We walk over to pray for him and we are intersected by a man who claims to be a satanist, and practitioner of dark arts.We simply love on him, speak to him and try to understand him, offer him prayer, a little money and then after 30 minutes or so we walk away. Our hearts and bodies were shaking. The energy coming off of this man was so incredibly intense. We both were praying under our breaths the entire conversation. Before we walk into the hotel we take a moment to pray with one another.

Still feeling shaken, we tap about the various ways we could have handled the situation. Patrick thinks we def. should go dancing as a prophetic act of breaking off strongholds. So we step into the crazy long line. Somehow we are scootched and moved around and find ourselves getting into the club after only 5 minutes. It was nuts. The first floor was playing super fun 90's RnB and hip-hop mixes. We start dancing together and I was having so much fun. Yes it's crowded and crazy but I don't care. The music is good and I'm finally getting to dance with Patrick, so I couldn't be happier. The smoke started getting so intense though so we went upstairs to the EDM set. Normally that's super fun! But we weren't digging the vibe, so we went back downstairs to find an area that was a bit more secluded. We find a place all to ourselves but still close enough to the speakers where it's really loud. Not gonna lie. I was a bit intimidated by him... He looked SO GOOD, wearing denim on denim and when he dances I melt. He's just too good. Like~ I club dance, and he DAN-CES! It was so fun watching him but I did feel a little self-conscious. I don't really know how to dance WITH someone who starts doing like an entire hip hop routine on the spot. HAH! I'm used to going out and dancing with someone versus being in the same space as another person who is free styling...kinda different. But you know what, I'm woman enough to be okay with him just being a crazy amazing dancer and enjoy him in that! Maybe he'll dance with me if we go to a partnering specific club ie. salsa, swing, blues etc...

side note: You know, it's hard being around girls in tiny dresses in vegas with these long perfect stems so in general I was a little self-aware. I found myself kinda of getting in my head and I really had to shake off those silly thoughts everytime they tried to settle in my brain. I wasn't going to let the night get ruined by me feeing self-conscious. Too ridiculous. So know that it's so normal to think this but you can absolutely throw those thoughts away.

After an hour or so we leave the club so tired and spent from our crazy day. Once we got in the back alley of the streets I say "Sweetie I don't think I can walk 20 minutes to the hotel. My feet are shot". Knowing that it was going to be impossible to catch a cab we began to walk. One minute later an Uber dropped off someone right in front of us and I said, "Hey have you okay'd another ride? Can you take us to our hotel and we will just give you cash?" He agreed! We jumped into the car. Sleeping the 20 minute drive back to the hotel, we wake up and he says, "Don't worry about it, you don't have to pay". Wow thank you God!

We end the night sharing our favorite moments of the day till we fall asleep. God is so faithful. I was filled with gratitude for the incredible day we had. It wasn't simply incredible because of all the fun things we did, but because of the joy, kisses, conversation, and giggles throughout the day. It truly was a dream.