Highway Shrunken Head?

True Story:

I was driving home from work today, and saw this:

Look closely.
Yeah, weird.

Clever, though, for the dingo that thought to put this up on a post on the roadside. I wonder how many drivers and passengers other than myself had to tap their brakes for a second to look.



Just thought I'd share. :)
Happy not-quite-but-working-on-getting-to-Halloween.

xo | cmd

[Big Kid] Picture Day

This took me back to the yearly event that was school picture day. In my elementary years, it meant moms everywhere teasing our bangs and dressing us in corduroy dresses for those classy riser group shots. There were always a handful of us missing teeth, sporting goggle glasses, or wearing sweaters that our parents legitimately thought flattered us. In middle school, my pictures clearly reflected the sheer awkward transition from childhood to pre-teenhood. Every other yearbook square had braces, and most of us were still sporting left-over 90’s hairstyles. By high school, I remember clearly my friends and I spending an entire week discussing and preparing outfits, how we’d fix our hair, and praying fervently that we wouldn’t break out into some sort of acne disaster the night before. Even my senior pictures make me laugh.

Fast forward to today, at work, where our boss had declared it Office Picture Day. Haha.

There we were, putting last minute touches on jewelry, hair, and suit jackets [yeah, big kid work clothes…].

Totally corny, and totally going on our office’s microsite.

To top it off, the Jimmy John’s down the street from our office occasionally makes a round to all the local businesses and markets their location with free food. You don’t have to ask us twice ;)

Hard to believe this time last week we were lounging in the Smokies. Oh well :P.

Happy Wednesday!

xo | cmd

Gift Cards Galore

So, clearly this isn’t the stash of gift cards we opened from our [generous!] friends and family as wedding offerings; these are a little more diverse in color J. Either way, Joe and I sat last night as we tore through envelopes and wrapping paper, trying to decide how we would trade these little plastic treasures. Joe won, with the suggestion of us getting a new T.V. for the master bedroom upstairs.

So tonight…

Ta-da!

While Joe was occupied putting together the new display on the dresser in the bedroom, I took the opportunity to convert Sydni’s crib to the toddler bed rails. She’s been climbing up, over, and out of the crib on and off recently, so I figured it’d be a better bet for her to accidentally fall one foot instead of three in a misstep.

We’ve had an super-productive night, but we both have early days tomorrow.

Ciao!

xo | cmd

Cori, Meet Reality.

[&& Monday to Boot!]
-- Today was a typical Monday, plus some, since I've been on a weeklong hiatus.

Some notes on quiet time this AM [the best way to start what is sure to be a challenging week]:

***

Radical Reconstruction: A Max Lucado excerpt:

“Rejoice and be glad, because you have a great reward waiting for you in heaven.” – Mt 5:12



sermon on the mount | eli westbrook



In the Sermon on the Mount, … what Jesus promises is not a gimmick to give you goose bumps nor a mental attitude that has to be pumped up at pep rallies. No, Matthew 5 describes God’s radical reconstruction of the heart.

Observe the sequence. First, we recognize we are in need [we’re poor in spirit]. Next, we repent of our self-sufficiency [we mourn]. We quit calling the shots and surrender control to God [we’re meek]. So grateful are we for his presence that we yearn for more of him [we hunger and thirst]. As we grow closer to him, we become more like him. We forgive others [we’re merciful]. We change our outlook [we’re pure in heart]. We love others [we’re peace makers]. We endure injustice [we’re persecuted].

            It’s no casual shift of attitude. It is a demolition of the old structure and a creation of the new. The more radical the change, the greater the joy. And it’s worth every effort, for this is the joy of God.

-          The Applause of Heaven

I needed this this morning; it was my first day back after a week of total serenity. In my work, being gone for a week makes it seem as though I’ve missed two weeks of actual work, and getting caught up today just never happened. I can tell it’s going to be one of those weeks, but this message during quiet time today certainly helped see me through.

*Sigh.
I’m callin’ it a day. See ya’ll tomorrow, folks.

Howler.

xo | cmd

Done Driving.

Today was our last leg of a round-trip journey:
Illinois > Ohio.
Ohio > Tennessee.
Tennessee > Ohio.
Ohio > Illinois.  



stylish travelling

Too bad there's no frequent driver mileage program. We're not the only folks that would benefit from that.

Anyways, long story short, we stopped in to see some familiar faces at New Harmony this morning, then did lunch with Joe's mom before 6 more hours of driving.

Now we're home, and we're sleepy.

This was one of the best weeks of my life, and I wouldn't have changed a thing.
Back to the real world tomorrow.
*Sigh.

xo | cmd

Grandparents | Game Night Pt.2

I was really looking forward to seeing my parents, and Sydni, since we really hadn't seen much of them at all since the Sunday after the wedding. They showed up around 11, and we were quick to get lunch rolling and on the table. Joe's mom and my parents provided all the edibles; altogether it was a chatter-filled, good time.

We headed out to the park with Mom & Dad, to allow Sandy to get some rest before work, and to secretly let Sydni play until she was tuckered out [success!].



hangin' out at uncle jb's

Once we did the customary swapping of carseat, stroller, shoes, clothes, and diapers, Mom & Dad left to head home to Mt. Vernon, and we headed out for another game night at JB's house. Eric met us there for a battle at Trivial Pursuit. In the end, Joe and I came out victorious [not sure how, exactly]. It was well past Sydni's bed time, so home it was.


tired girl!



Tomorrow, we're visiting New Harmony again, and then heading back to Illinois.

Long day.

xo | cmd

Game Night: Cranium

It was difficult to bid farewell to our country abode this morning, so with reluctance we loaded up our gear with destination: Cincinnati, OH.

Here we are.

The good news is, we didn’t have to completely crash off the ‘high’ of a stellar honeymoon; we were greeted by an invitation to join our friends for a game night. We met up with JB and headed out to West Chester to meet up with Eric at Geoff & Sam’s.

We quickly progressed into an ambitious go of Cranium, with the artistic women on Geoff’s team, and Joe, Eric, and JB left to their own creative devices as a trio team.

I’m so thankful for friends like these, for real, soulful laughs like these, and for nights like these.

My parents are coming down tomorrow to visit with us, and to return their little vacationer. We're all doing lunch here with Joe's mom. We’re looking forward to having the family together; right now, it’s time for sleep J

xo | cmd

Souvenier Day

I thought about posting all sorts of pictures of all the things we bought today, but figured that I’d share this one with everyone instead. I didn’t buy it, because I’ve seen it before at a few of the bookstores closer to us at home, and plus they didn’t have the right size. Bummer.

This is a tough pill to swallow, and it stings even more to admit it out loud that this is the fallen world in which we live. Not to mention, this really is the answer to so many doubts about the future of human generations.

I thought about this a lot today. I hope there’s someone else out there thinking about it, too.

Oh, and we also did the Ripley’s haunted house [lame, sorry] and some more mini-golf to round out our card of Ripley’s attractions. We were determined to get our money’s worth of these things. Haha.

We also visited the Nantahala Outdoor Center and picked up some cool things there. I’m proud of myself for not splurging on some Chaco’s, Vibram’s, or tent gear. I can wait… I can wait… I can wait….

Today was our last full day in the Smokies. We head back to Cincinnati tomorrow for the rest of the weekend and then it’s back to the dreamland….

J  See you then!

xo | cmd

Hey, Little Horsie!

Back in the day, back in the ‘Vern, when I was but a tot….

Okay, well that may be a slight exaggeration of the country bumpkin that I was growing up, but it’s still a fact that I spent a lot of time barefoot, and a lot of time on the Fowler farm with my buddy Lisa and their slew of farm creatures. Some of my best memories involve day-long horseback rides out onto the plains and pastures on the Fowler properties and finding all kinds of things to poke, prod, and explore. Thinking back, it’s a wonder we never got attacked by an angry animal or contracted some bacterial disease from jabbing around the inevitable find of some poor carcass.

Still, I didn’t realize at the time that I was learning to ride, to saddle, bit, shoe, and break a horse, day by day. I’ve loved horses since I was a kid, and so when we decided today to go trail riding, I was all for it.

Fact: Trail riding is pretty boring for someone who’s ever ridden a horse freely, for fun.
Fact: Observing the behavior of people who’ve never stepped within 30 feet of a living horse, let alone sat on a moving one, is hilarious.

Fact: The stable hand at the dude ranch we visited today hails from central Kentucky, which is still considered our neck of the woods in relation to Cincinnati. Since this is his daily job, he had plenty of stories to share of the antics people can create just trying to ride a horse moving at 2mph down a straight line.

We had fun, no less. There was a couple that showed up with their 2-yr-old son, who sat nervously still between his daddy’s legs and the saddle horn of a gentle Appaloosa for the first ten minutes before he realized he was safe. By the end of the trip, he was waving at the other horses and telling his Mommy on the horse behind his that their horses were best friends. We are having the greatest time on this trip, but deep down we both can’t wait to share an experience like this with Sydni.

The rain came like the blink of an eye, right at the 5 minute mark after we had all finished the trail and returned to the stables. The raindrops were those meaty ones that almost sting when they hit because of their weight. We took the opportunity to head back to our cabin and relax with the storm serenading us. We made dinner in our kitchen, ate together at the table, and cozied up in PJ’s to take full advantage of doing absolutely nothing.

This is proving to be one of the greatest weeks, ever J

Tomorrow is souvenir day. I’ll have to suck it up and pay full MSRP on some stuff, I know.

xo | cmd

Great Smoky Mountains National Park

It was just back in July when I trekked through the Rocky Mountain, Great Sand Dunes, and the Grand Canyon National Parks with Kalyn and Sam en route to Arizona. It was the perfect road trip, embellished with National Geographic scenery and the ideal company. 

It’s September now, and off we were this morning on our adventure deeper into the heart of the Smoky Mountains. It took us a while to hunt down the national park sign, but since that’s a mandatory part of any NP visit, we finally managed to find it and continued on our way.

We saw three adult black bears, and a pair of cuddly looking cubs skittering across the roadway over the course of our winding tour through Cade’s Cove. It was vast, calm, and beautiful, and being there with my husband – just the two of us – was a breath of rejuvenation nearly as invigorating as mountain air.

With our souls re-fueled with the intricate fashions of God’s creative genius, we made our way back towards Pigeon Forge. With no agenda, we happened upon the Wonderworks upside-down mansion. It’s a true tourist attraction, but that didn’t stop us; we are after all, tourists this week. So yeah. This place proved to be another major supporter of military discounts; long story short, we paid less than half of one regular admission for both of us combined. I’m glad, too, because aside from the high ropes course, it kinda-sorta-really paled in comparison to places like Cosi.

Note: Don’t do the simulated roller-coaster thing more than once. We were nearly sick for the rest of the evening. Thankfully, there wasn’t a whole lot of evening left after we finished the entire place, so that was okay.

Tomorrow is Wednesday, and as of now, we are plan-less. We’ll let you know tomorrow how today goes J … Make sense?

xo | cmd

Ripley's in Gatlinburg

Day one in the SMOKY MOUNTAINS. The scenery here is such a refreshing change from the flatlands of Illinois. I love mountains anywhere, but still each time I visit them, I realize how creative our Lord truly was when he molded them. We’ll go see the heart of the Smokies tomorrow; today was all about Gatlinburg & Pigeon Forge.

We took our sweet time waking up today. The only thing about that is that when you’re on that first day, your body is still on its normal time. Couple that with the anticipation of getting out there to explore, and you find yourself out of bed before 9am anyway. I figured if that was our biggest issue today, we were off on the right foot.

Not having a rigid agenda is what we’re all about on vacation. We took advantage of our tactic and took off driving towards Gatlinburg. We decided to check out the Ripley’s aquarium after hearing positive feedback from nearly everyone we surveyed. It turned out we were in for a much bigger surprise than we’d bargained.

Apparently, military discounts are nothing taken lightly anywhere in Gatlinburg. Ripley’s has a whole chain of attractions in the area, and to visit them all should have realistically cost us right around $90/each [ummm…]. We’ve learned that it never hurts to at least ask about military discounts, and in this case, its pay-off translated into us handing over $55 total, for both of us. You do the math there.

The aquarium had one of the best tunnel tanks I’ve seen. We spent the majority of our time standing under there watching sharks and rays swim over and beside us. I even shook the fin[?] of a giant sea turtle today. I’m such a tourist. We got our share of jellyfish to weird fish, sea horses to a giant octopus, stings and mantas to crabs and lobsters.

After the aquarium, we set off on foot a few blocks down to some other Ripley’s gigs. The mirror house, the Ripley’s Believe it or Not museum, and the Guiness Book of World Records museum were the next three attractions we hit along the main strip in Gatlinburg. Going on a Monday helped with minimal wait times, so we cycled through at a pretty good speed.

The clouds started forming overhead, and we noticed hints of rain, so, like the rational couple that we are, we hit one of the Ripley’s mini golf courses. Yes, this would’ve made more sense during sunny weather, but hey, we’re all about random.

Lastly, we made a run to Kroger [awesome] to do some grocery shopping for the week.

Now we’re here, enjoying the solitude of our little cabin and the re-introduction of cable t.v. into our evening. Ha.

Tomorrow is our Smoky Mountains tour J

G’Nite!

xo | cmd

Honeymoon Bound!

Don’t ask me how it was that we mustered up the energy to be awake, showered, and downstairs for breakfast at the hotel by 8:30 this morning. Hoooooly tired.

I was able to finally see Arley and the Clinedinst clan briefly in the hotel dining room during breakfast; the thing about weddings, if it’s your own, is that you don’t get nearly enough time to visit with guests as you wish you’d had. The good news is, sometimes they stay at the same hotel, and you get even better face time at breakfast J. [ta-daaaa!]

Once breakfast was wrapped up, we saw my out-of-town family off and loaded up our car. My parents and I stopped by Sandy’s for some parting words and to pack Sydni up in my parents’ car for her mini-vaca with Nana & Pappy.

It was honeymoon time! Oh, by the way, kudos to my husband, who rarely ever manages to keep even small surprises hidden for longer than a few days, yet planned an entire week’s vacation without so much as a hint to me. After just under 6 hours of driving, I found myself riding shotgun through the ever-beautiful Smoky Mountains. Yes, yes, and yes please.



living room | pool room

 

guest bedroom | kitchen

hot tub | main bedroom

And forget hotels. Joe had reserved us this adorable 2-bedroom, 2 full bath cabin, complete with stocked kitchen, pool table, foosball table, and hot tub on a back porch overlooking a fire pit and a petite creek. This is better than any beach resort.

We dropped off our suitcases, changed, and found a Mexican restaurant along the main drag. We rounded out the night with a game of foosball and some reflection time in the still of mountain privacy on the back porch.

Shut eye time. Tomorrow is a Gatlinburg day!   

xo | cmd

Renewed, AT LAST!!

renewed | joe & cori
photography: amy hildebrand

T-Minus… ZERO days.

Whoa.

TODAY!!! [& in case you’re wondering, yes, this entry is backdated. Hush.]
p.s. - more wedding photos coming soon. Stay tuned!

The day started [for the gents] with 9 holes of golf. It was colder this morning than yesterday. So yeah. Take that for making fun of us floating around icebergs yesterday. J



preparation is hard work.. :)

The ladies all made their way to the ‘Big House’ [factual term] for a bridesmaid breakfast. Thanks to Maricor for jumping right in on the omelette pan – you’ve got skill, cousin, SKILL. It was so nice seeing all of my bridal party together, informally, just eating and getting to know each other. I am so grateful to have these women in my life, and even more blessed that they were all here because I asked them. Each one of them means the world to me; I am definitely one blessed girl.

Once the ladies headed back to their hotels to spend some time with the dates they’d brought or just to tie up any last minute details, Kalyn and I embarked on our own mission to get all the final finites in order. We all rendezvoused back at the big house to do the hair & make-up prep before tailing over to the manor. We met up with the photographers there for final touches, zip-ups, double checks, bobby pins, and hairspray before lining up in our aisle-marching order. The music trickled in, and we were off.

Show time.

I had a revelation:

During the moments I stood still holding my father’s arm, staring at the husband God created for me, it hit me. As Cynthia finished out singing Look at Me, I had just a moment to breathe deep and realize that everything – all the planning, re-planning, budgeting, phone calls, emails, stressing, and crafting – had not only paid off, but was completely minute compared to the serenity of that moment. I don’t think I’ll ever forget that.



top photo | jess. cori. kalyn. brittany. donna
bottom photo | our handsome gentlemen!



To say that we are blessed is a gross understatement. My beautiful niece/bridesmaid Cynthia blessed us by singing, Eric did a reading, my husband and I sang our first public duet, our friends and family were there to see us, and we couldn’t have asked for better weather. I wouldn’t have changed a thing. We had officially had our first real wedding, and it was perfect.

As the night wound down to a close, and our guests started trickling home, we loaded all our gifts into Adam’s car, and we all headed back to the hotel. That brings us to now [still back-dated], which means curing our exhaustion with some sleep.

[The renewed] Mr. & Mrs. Dills are gonna get some Z’s, starting now.

xo | cmd

Canoeing | Rehearsal Dinner

jess | meagan | becky | kalyn | brittany | cori
loveland canoe & livery

Thanks to my best friend and maid of honor Kalyn, our original plan this morning was to head up to Loveland Canoe & Livery for an early morning float down the river. However, what we hadn’t considered was that when we were ready to head out, we found ourselves confronted with a temperature well below what we felt like enduring for two hours. It started with Kalyn and I at her house with Joe and Sam, brainstorming different options: sand volleyball? Rock climbing? Horseback Riding? Bowling? – Gettin’ desperate on that last one; remember it was just before 10am at this point. We finally agreed to bundle up and take it like real men: canoeing it was. Kalyn, Brittany, Meagan, Becky, Jess, and I loaded up and carpooled over to Loveland....

Fast forward to us arriving at the livery and Becky knowing the guy working the desk from one of the summer camps on whose staff she’d served with him. All I need to say is that if Becky knows someone, that’s always a good sign. For us, that translated into some certain ‘liberties’ which aren’t usually afforded to canoers, and that made for a fantastic time. The weather even surprised us by warming to a final product of us all stripped down to short sleeves or tank tops. Perfect.

The only downfall of the morning was that we had spent valuable time in deliberation, which meant that we had about 45 minutes to get back to Sandy’s, pick up my things, get back to Kalyn’s, get showered, and get over to the Norlyn Manor for rehearsal. I have no idea how in the world I was only 10 minutes late. [Thanks, Sam, for your superior chauffeur skills!] We managed to wrap up a walk-thru with minimal drama [save for the disgruntled and socially inept woman that booted us out, unwarranted at the end], and off we were to the rehearsal dinner at The Great Scott. [If that made you think of The Office, you’re not the only one!]

Great Scott Oktoberfest menu = interesting, but delicious. Oh, and after that experience, I think I should probably learn some German. Just sayin’.

I’m shacking up with Kalyn tonight, and Joe with the boys. Sydni’s with Sandy, so that means we’re all accounted for. There’s something big happening tomorrow, so I suppose I should get some shut eye.

‘Til then!....

xo | cmd

Ah, HOME!

I woke up this morning and did that whole disoriented haze thing that seems to happen to me every once in a while when I forget that I’m visiting, and not in my own room. It didn’t help that Sydni had realized her ability to shimmy out of the pack-n-play that serves as her bed when we visit Mamaw’s. She was cozied up between Joe and I in the bed, which wouldn’t be a big deal if Sydni didn’t fully sprawl out every time she falls asleep. J

larosa's. ♥



So there we were, HOME. It felt good. I started the day off by running some last minute errands in preparation for the big wedding: getting satin fabric from which the bridesmaid sashes would be fashioned, bobby pins, and of course stopping by with some Halloween Buskins for my [original] beloved Express family. It was amazing to see them all, though I did miss out on catching up with Brandi. Something about her just having a baby, or some jazz… Just kidding. I’m thrilled that her little boy was delivered safely and they’re both healthy and happy. I miss them, and I’m so glad we are still in touch!

Meanwhile, Joe had linked up with JB, and the two of them were tackling a workout at the gym. The three of us and Sydni did dinner at La Rosa’s and thought we’d call it a night. We headed back home; Joe just left to go back to JB’s for a while before he picks his good friend and former Red Rope Aaron up from CVG just before midnight tonight.

Tomorrow morning, it’s canoeing with the girls. We’ll see how this goes!

xo | cmd

Juke?

Call me a total noob, but I’ve never seen this car before. Seeing as how we also are a Nissan family, I couldn’t help but taking a picture as I sat behind it at a traffic light driving home.

Speaking of driving home, that’s definitely what we did today. After hitting send on an all-day draft email outlining all the stuff that would happen in my name while I was out of the office, I stopped off at home just long enough for Joe and I to load up the car [to its brim, no less] with everything we would need for the next ten days, plus Sydni and her suitcase of fun for a mini vaca with Nana & Pappy. We hit the road and were off, back to Cincinnati….

… and here we are. We made it, on three whole pieces, and are going to friggin’ bed.
Mahalo.

xo | cmd

Checklist? Check.

I had one goal today:

Check things off the wedding checklist.

Dress hemming [finally] .. check.

Finalize details w/ photographers & dj's .. check.
Pack ... everyone .. check.

Pack ... everything .. check.

Checklist? Check.

I have never felt so organized, and simultaneously disorganized in my entire life.

*Sigh. Tomorrow we head out.

..Wonder if I should get a checklist for that, too...

SLEEP....?
... CHECK.

[g'nite!]

xo | cmd

Soul Surfer.

I had heard about this girl the year that this event took place, but hadn't really tuned into it in detail until today when I watched the movie for the first time.

[[**Spoiler Alert**]]

Long story short: Bethany Hamilton was a 13-year-old surf prodigy, living on a fast-track to pro status as a competitor in Hawaii. She was resting off the coast on Halloween of 2003 when a tiger shark attacked her, completely severing her left arm all the way to her shoulder. She survived, and overcame surmountable odds to get back in the water by Thanksgiving of that year, and later to earn her deserved victories. And then, she immediately credited her amazing journey through all of it to her faith in Christ and His divine ability to save her life.

Pretty. Darn. Inspiring.

I tie into that story when I watched Soul Surfer, starring that adorable little AnnaSophia Robb as Bethany, and I would safely state that I cried for over half of the movie. Truth.

I spent a lot of time post-movie just reflecting on how drastically different my life would be if something like that happened to me or someone I loved. I've never had to summon courage like that from myself, but after seeing this, I'm reminded that nothing is impossible. This girl is a beast when it comes to surfing [youtube her if you don't believe me], but I admire her more for her unwavering faith. Talk about an incredible testimony.



the real bethany hamilton & annasophia robb | credit imdb

**+**

Once I pulled myself together, I got back to work on wedding stuff [yeah, I'm counting down the days until the 17th... is that bad?] I did manage to get some more little cards tacked together [hooray, cardstock!]. I spent way too much time arranging them on the coffee table for nothing, so here's that... :)

Five days.
It's kind of flying up on me sooner than I thought, but I expected to feel this way, so yeah. I'm dealing. Ha. We leave Wednesday after work to head back to Cinci to start all the festivities.
I'm excited ;)

xo | cmd

Ten Years Later, We REMEMBER.



towerview baptist's salute to our fallen

Here in Belleville, IL, the sun was shining bright and the light breeze was refreshing as we gathered around our church's flagpole. The mood was contrastingly somber; we stood still, our heads bowed, and our eyes closed, silently pushing prayers from the deepest depths of our hearts that the survivors, families, and friends of all those directly affected by that defining day would feel some sort of comfort.

Ten years ago today, fathers and mothers went to work. Brothers and sisters, sons and daughters entered into their daily routines likely thinking that Tuesday was just Tuesday, and would consist of nothing more than pushy deadlines, countless emails, demanding labor, or, if they were so lucky, a productive meeting or two. Students went to school, and children went to daycare. Passengers boarded airplanes.

Ten years ago today, the world halted in unison as real-time feeds across the globe honed in on New York's iconic Twin Towers being attacked by enemies of our country. The reports would proceed to show our Pentagon undertaking a devastating blow. The shock stopped a nation dead in its tracks just moments before fear and panic covered us from head to toe.

What just happened?!



world trade center



I remember exactly where I was. On September 11, 2001, I was late for school. I had been in the hospital the night before, following a soccer game during which I was kicked in the throat. It was painful, and I was frustrated at being so inconvenienced. I could nearly taste the intense shame I felt afterwards. I can, to this day, close my eyes and smell the remnants of cleaning solvents in our cafeteria as I walked into the building. I clearly recall the rows and rows of students, teachers, and faculty gathered in our cafeteria. Every television in the room was on. Every television in the entire school was on. I don't need to look up the video feed of what I saw that day in order to remember it. In Mount Vernon, Ohio, miles and miles away from New York City, a high school was frozen. Teachers were crying. Students' cell phones began ringing incessantly as parents at home just need that extra inch of reassurance that their children were all right. The doors were locked. Head counts were taken. Intercom updates came from sad voices trying to sound steady. That was just Mount Vernon, Ohio.

That day.....

A city was brought to its knees.

Husbands and wives were lost.

Mothers and fathers became single parents.

Brothers and sisters were separated.

Rescue responders made their final calls to duty.

Families were ripped down to their roots.

Teens and tweens around the country would become America's next-in-line front-line uniformed heroes.

**

The events that day have been carved in the the heartstone of our existence as a nation. As we watched, helplessly, from our safe homes, schools, and businesses, a city with a crater blown straight through its heart bled. Reel after reel of raw terror, dispair, chaos, and panic panned across screens in slow motion. The footage of the towers collapsing became a burned image in every mind.

However, the miracles bloomed on the heels of the disaster. Rescue responders flooded in from states away. Hospital facilities worked tirelessly. Civilians met their neighbors during search and rescue efforts. Churches rallied together like never before. Millions of people sought God, and through tragedy discovered a healing power greater than anything they'd ever felt before. America held out its hand to pull one of its children back to her feet. She was scarred, bleeding, and devastated, but she stood, and Americans everywhere stood with her. We cried for our brothers and sisters who were lost. We reached out in ways we never thought we could. We readied, as a collective unit, to answer that blow with our own, tenfold.

We fell together.

We prayed together.
We fought together.
We rose together.

We remember together.

Today marks a decade's passing since those thousands of irreplaceable lives were taken from us. I saw a magazine in the grocery store featuring a girl whose father lost his life on that day, before she was even born. It takes everything in me not to become angry when I think of how I would feel, honestly, if my husband's life had been stolen away before his daughter could meet him. I can't imagine it.

Over time, survivors of this event will pass on. Bystanders will pass on. Those of us frozen in Mount Vernon High School on that day will pass on. Our children will have only the graphic story of what happened. Their children will have that in a school book. My fear is that the emotional detachment will cease to be, and that September 11, 2001 will just be another catastrophic event on humankind's rollercoaster of fanatacism, compassion, and unification.

I promise to never forget. I promise to honor the fallen, support those fighting for our freedom, and defend the rights we so often take for granted. For the airplane passengers, the responders, the military, and our nation: I am small, and I am just one, but I am praying.

9/11/2001 - I will remember.

xo | cmd