Hello, DECEMBER

As promised, we started our day - and December - off right, worshipping down the street at SonRise. I haven't made any final decisions yet, but I think this just might be my resting spot in terms of a church home back here in Cincinnati. There are a lot of different choices, but there are many facets I appreciate at SR. I'll keep you posted.

I started the month off as the now 29-year-old me. It's really not that different from 28, other than next year I'll be bidding farewell to my twenties. We'll cross that emotional bridge another day; today I'm feeling thoroughly blessed on all accounts.


and this is 29. feels good. (:

In the holiday vacation absence of the senior pastor, Adam delivered a message today, that as usual felt applicable to my life in a variety of ways. I won't go into great detail, but the most interesting point I gathered from it was that we as humans have an innate nature to gravitate towards whatever seems the most stable. Along the way, because we are humans and not God, we trip, fall, bust our tails and complicate things far worse than they should be. Adam drew a parallel to a C.S. Lewis book in which the character finds himself on a foreign planet comprised of a floaty, mist-like land. In the center of it was an island of solid, immovable ground, but to his dismay noone is allowed to live on that solid ground. The reason? Once we accept living on a plane of ebbs and flows, waves, dips and eclipses, we will become conditioned to have faith in the one who created us. It's NOT our job to be God, because we are not fair creatures. We are neither objective nor impartial. We are emotional and irrational. We are not capable of handling that kind of wisdom or power without destroying ourselves and everything around us in the process.

sonrise Christmas series

So as we enter into the Christmas season, I thought it would be fitting to share today's message with everyone else, because I think I needed that reminder more than anyone. Christmas is about the gift given to us by a holy God: His son. And now, He gives us the promise that His knowledge and intervention are what we really need. I dunno about you, but that's a promise woooorlds outta my league to try and give to someone else. How we respond to that gift is ultimately our choice. I'm choosing to be thankful that I can trust in not just that solid ground, but the maker of that ground, because He really is.. capable of anything. AAAAMEN. (:

And, speaking of THANKFUL, take a look-see at the dinner that Rob crafted when he volunteered a turn at it, with pretty much no plan and no menu. I'm more than a little jealous of this, but so impressed that it didn't matter. First a surprise arrival last week, then a homemade birthday card, brake change in my car, and now... this. If I didn't know better, I'd think that the games have begun... haha. I need to step up my game, yeah? Either that or just be grateful that I have a guy who loves me enough to give me what I want most: quality time.

homemade dinner, by the boyfriend.
this one makes me look bad... delicioussssss!!

So yeah, December's officially HERE. It's pretty crazy to me; I think I share the confusion on where about half of the year really went and how quickly the end of it is here. It's certainly been something of a year, and I don't think next year will be any less eventful [I'm hoping that in the best way....].

Most of us head back to work tomorrow, and after a long weekend, I'm sure there's going to be lots to catch up on. G'nite!

xo | cmd

Saturday Swims | Brittany's Housewarming

Catie and I originally rough-sketched an afternoon of wedding dress shopping [for her, let me clarify], but that wasn't exactly how it happened.

Rob and I took a gracious liberty of sleeping in until mid-morning, because ... well, we could, before we finally started moving and I made breakfast. 


mmmm breakfast!

Much to my displeasure, but understandably, Rob had to head out today as opposed to tomorrow. He had a lot of stuff to take care of, so I knew it was best, but goodbyes with him always suck, and if it's all the same, I still dream about not having to do that one day. No rush, but maybe (:

So yeah.. we did the whole goodbye thing, which sucks... but I'll be headed that way in early August for Mike & Kelly's wedding, so it's not that bad. So Rob was on the road by 2pm, and I headed downtown to meet up with Catie, Andy and Adam for some time at the pool before the rainclouds started creeping in. Not a bad time!

pooooooooltime! ♥ this woman!

Once we were finished swimming, I stopped at home to clean myself up and head right back out to Brittany's housewarming party. She asked for bottles of wine instead of any other gifts, to help her fill up her racks in the basement. I thought that was an adorable idea, and it definitely didn't look like a bad time once we saw all the others start to pour in ;)

wine!

We were all so busy goofing off and having fun that we forgot to take too many pictures.. but somehow I ended up with one of Brittany and Mandy, and of course one of mama & me [aka Kalyn & me haha.. ]

mandy & the woman of the hour [aka brittany!]

best friend-o. ♥ ya, kalyn!

So good to see some familiar faces that I hadn't seen in a while [shoutout to Westy, Matty Fine, etc..]. I'm home now, and am dedicating the rest of my evening to movies, popcorn and photo edits. Don't you dare judge me and my lame-o Saturday night, haha ;)

xo | cmd  

Easter 2013 ✞

It is EASTER. Today I celebrate the resurrection of a savior who gave his life to save mine, and rose to live again over mine. I am saved, redeemed and blessed because of the sacrifice and resurrection, and I give Him all the honor, glory and praise today. He is not here; He HAS risen!!

amen.

I had promised Rob over two weeks ago that we would be back to Taste of Belgium on our next visit to the Nati, so I had to make good on my word. It was a piece of cake [or rather, chicken & waffles!!], and coercing Catie, Andy & Adam into going along required no convincing at all anyway. It was a slightly drab start to the day, but we made the best of it and enjoyed every bit of breakfast at our beloved TOB (:


taste of belgium | hardcore parkour? ... no.... not really....

Drab days after long nights call for naps. We're all really good at that, so once we'd conquered brunch, we went to war against tired eyes and heads and snuck a good nap into the middle of the day. We came out of that coma a few hours later and made a trip to the new Kroger in Newport to grab some food for a stir fry night, headed back to the apartment, made & ate dinner, and are now settling into cozy couch spots for a funny movie marathon [Hangover & Step Brothers? WIN!]
My eyes are starting that whole groggy flutter thing again... I think that's a wrap tonight (:

xo | cmd

Cincinnati & Cegg's Birthday Bonanza!

Good news: We made good on our word to get that early start we discussed yesterday... haha. We were up out of bed on full-fledged loading mode at 3:30, had the bags in the car, Sydni in the carseat, the dog fed and watered and ourselves dressed in something one step above total hobo status.... and on the road by 4:00....... A.M. Yeah.

true story. we were driving....

Oh, and did I mention it was foggy?? Just a little though : /

fog. as in.... can't see 6+ feet in front of you fog. in the dark. no good :(

Luckily, it started to burn off some once the dawn broke through, and by the time we hit Milford, there was no trace of any upside down sky [Sydni reference]. We took care of the necessary business there and decided it was off to meet up with Catie & Andy in West Chester for Rob's first taste of IKEA.  



ky! [circa..2008]



We stopped first at the SW in Loveland to say hi to Ky - it's been a while and I was glad he got to meet Rob, and we were able to do a speed-version of catching up in the 10 minutes we were there. [I'll see ya soon, Ky-O!]

It was off then to West Chester, on the opposite side of Cincy, to the big, bad, ever-wallet-draining IKEA. Oh, and Catie & Andy, too ;)

HELLO.... IKEA!

[I've missed you.......]

ohhh... ikea... haha

I learned some new things today from IKEA. They have tarp bags they sell near the checkout lines that 1) look much smaller than they are, and are deceivingly sturdy, and 2) can easily house an adult woman up to at least ... my weight. I am pretty sure I could've fit Catie in there with me. Just sayin'.


same bag... haha. thanks, ikea (:

IKEA run completed, we made a break for lunch at the Dingle House across the street. Not extraordinary, but not awful, either. 

dingle house irish pub | west chester, ohio

We were fed, we were soothed by some retail, and we were sleepy from going nonstop since 3:30 this morning. Erego, insert nap................ here. (:

.... and napping....
.......... still napping.......

Refreshed. Success!
It was dinner time; we geared up for the evening and made our way over to start the night off with dinner at Amelia Street with the Luers. Jen made her way over by the end of the meal, so that was fun, and we stuffed ourselves with some deeeelicious food before digging into the real party of the evening. 

amelia street | downtown cincinnati, ohio

Next stop: Lackman & Neon's. I was finally reunited with my old roommate Trisha; Catie actually lived with us for a short time as well. She's engaged to Adam now, and it was downright awesome to see both of them and hang out as a group for the night. 

roommate reunion: circa 2008 & 2013 | love these gals!

Nader is back now from Jordan, too, so we coerced him into making a stateside appearance. He brought Keith along, and Daggy eventually filtered into that, too. 

look at those familiar faces! :) :) :)
[[ & welcome home, nader! ]]

We rounded out the night at Below Zero, caught a cab back instead of forcing our tired feet into any more city street trudging [all ... 4 blocks of it, don't judge...], ate some pineapple & jelly beans [jealous? hah], and are calling it a night. 

Oh, and yeah, this is backdated. I don't care. (:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, AGAIN... CATIE!!! I LOVE YOU!
[Tomorrow's EASTER!]

xo | cmd

Alex Babot Day

There is something to be said about the power of good friends and the impact they can have on us.
There is something even more to be said about the power of fellowship among believers; we, on so many different levels, are capable of reaching so much deeper into each others' lives than just the surface, and have that relationship echo back to us.

That being said [I know, something of an epic intro for what is actually pretty silly], today was orchestrated to be Alex Babot Day among a few of the guys at the Tower. For those of you who don't know Alex, his better half is Lara, and they are the first couple with which we really bonded when we first got to Towerview. I love them to pieces, and wish we had more opportunity to see them outside of church [ah, life]. Anyway, one of Alex's signature trademarks is his affinity with, and absolute ability to successfully sport the bowtie. I'm telling you, it might seem like a dated form of neckwear, but this guy can pull it off.

Erego, Alex Babot Day. :)

joe. pastor ron. adam. jarod.
ta-da! [this wasn't even all of them]
{missing at least jason, jimmy, kyle, and of course, alex! :( .. }

And if you think the fun stopped at the grown boys.....


cutest thing, ever. haha.. little luke!

^ I was actually on nursery rotation this week with Mo & Tanya; Tanya put Kyle's tie on Luke to see how it would look... and might I just say, he was dashing! He looked like a little sub-contractor; Tanya even managed to snag a shot of him making some important business calls. [We don't mean to interrupt, Mr. Luke! ;) ].

Now, because my husband is a married man, he is part of the larger collective group of married men who so often are found with one or both of their feet squarely planted in their own mouths. [I say that lovingly.. lol] In this case, a comment was made that Joe should buy lunch for every participant of Alex Babot day if Alex did not show up to bear witness. Welp, Alex did not make it this morning, so I'm not really sure if or when that's going to actually happen, because today was consumed with last-minute errands before Joe headed out to Cinci tonight. Haha. Good. Work. Joe. :p

Anyway, just a few more days before the next weekend, during which we'll all be in Cinci. I'm chompin' at the bits to get home.. good grief. I can't wait :) :) :)

Almost Monday!

xo | cmd

Robin's Birthday & A Driving Lesson

Happy birthday, Robin!!!

Today started out with some sleeping in..... because Saturdays should always be that way. Right? :) 

... By sleeping in, I mean 8:45am. Watch out, I know. :) 

Anyway, we loaded up and headed over to Eckert's to meet up with the Pages and Robin and her boys; Joe and Adam had decided they would take the kids out to the farm for the day while we took Robin for brunch and a movie to celebrate her birthday. Well, the guys taking on five kids for the day was a large part of the birthday present as well, so I wouldn't dare detract from that value ;) 

I've never had breakfast at Eckert's, but after today, I certainly will again. Deeeelish. From there it was off to Wehrenberg, where we met with Rachel and headed in for a late morning showing of The Words, starring Zoe Saldana [who I adore!] and Bradley Cooper [who Robin adores! haha.. ]. I wasn't entirely sure what to expect from it, but whatever that was, it wasn't that. I definitely liked it; very unique. I'll probably have to re-watch this one at some point. Either way, it was a fun little outing and we even snagged a shot of us.... with Bradley Cooper. It was definitely by chance, lol. 

cori. rachel. cathie. robin.
...... & bradley. hahaha.... 

We found after the movie that the guys had finished the fair and apple picking at Eckert's, and had moved the party to Chuck-E-Cheese. We rendezvoused there for a short bit before heading back home for some family-wide nap time before making with it onto what is now an open driving range, literally. Remember a few days back when the Alexanders' birthday gift for Sydni arrived at our house and we weren't able to take it for a spin?

Well......

She's DRIVING!!! :-O

uh-oh..... driving already!

She had a BLAST. Holy cow. I loved every second of it. Love love love love her. A million x million thanks to Gerald & Leslie for their incredible generosity and for being so thoughtful!

Time now for some dinner with the fam....

See you tomorrow at the Tower!

xo | cmd

Koinonia :)

Koinonia night, as always, was a huge succes. Tonight was something of a unique night, in that Joe was still gone in Reno for work. The Page family joined our group for the evening, as well, since the members of their extension had regretfully opted out for other obligations. It was awesome having them; we so rarely see the other families of the original large group if we're  not at one of those gatherings. I felt like we'd exhausted the typical food themes, so we went with a more simple menu of "finger foods."

I think this may've been the best buffet we've had yet! :) I think the highlight of the spread was the batch of whoopie pies that Cathie baked. Apparently, this is a Maine thing, because not only had I never heard of them before, I'd certainly not ever tried one. Yes, yes I will be asking her for that recipe ;)

Oh, and that little couch debacle we'd had a few weeks back? Well, leave it to Jarod and Jimmy to engineer an almost embarrassingly-quick remedy to that whole transferring of couches from room to room. Solution? Remove the door from the guest room and haul that sucker in. Really? Haha. I'm almost glad Joe wasn't here to witness this, since it was a pretty polar contrast to the hassle he and Jimmy had faced in the original attempt to store the Prescotts' couch in our basement..... or guestroom.... or the living room. Haha. This ended tonight with the loveseat in the guestroom; Jarod and Jimmy snapped a couple shots of their success. 

Pretty funny stuff. I love these people. I wish every Friday was Koinonia Friday :) 

xo | cmd

It's a Good Day to Praise!

Amen? Aaaamen!

So today was one of those days that was a blessing from top to bottom.

adam baptizing carlee! :)

First, we started with church [as always!]. We are home this weekend, a welcome return from visiting my parents' church back in Ohio. Adam had asked Joe to lead Sunday school, since he was tied up with another obligation for the 9:00 hour.

At the start of the service, the projection screen lifted to reveal Adam, dressed in baptistry garb, in the water ready to do his first baptism. We excitedly watched as he baptized their youngest, Carlee, into the church and into Christ's family. It totally melted my heart to be a witness to that moment; how awesome to baptize your own child! :) Welcome, Carlee!!

dan & robin
dan, we'll miss you | robin, we love you!!

On a slightly more somber note, today was Dan Werner's last Sunday with us for at least 1 year. He leaves for a 1-year deployment on Tuesday this week. We surrounded Robin & Dan before the service and prayed over them. I know how tough it was some days when Joe was gone for a year, but we were free to coordinate Sydni and I visiting on average once a month. Not only will Robin be void of that luxury, she'll be with two children here. My heart goes to them, along with all of the military families who face the challenges of deployment. Either way, it was wonderful to see them together at church today and to be a part of Dan's church family send-off. I pray this time will pass quickly!

rebecca & nick | new towerview members!

It's that time of year again for graduations, and today we honored our high school graduates. Congratulations to all of them!! :)

Lastly [but certainly not of any lesser value!], Nick and Rebecca took to the aisle during the invitation and joined the church. They are now official members of Towerview Baptist!! It's been nothing but fun getting to know them through the Sandvens, and seeing them get more and more involved with us - like our small group Friday - made me thrilled to see them join up with the ranks of the rest of us Towerviewers. Welcome!! :) :)

After the service, we gathered downstairs for lunch and a VBS kickoff of sorts. Joe gained a whole new level of appreciation for childcare workers after it was said and done and we'd left him with the kids for nearly an hour. Hah. Back at the house, Joe and Syd settled in for a nap and I took to grocery shopping and some other miscellaneous Sunday things.

Now we're all back here, settling in for the evening, and I can't complain one bit about that. :)

This is the way to start a week!

xo | cmd

Character Profiles: Adam

Good News: We have reached the long-awaited completion of our study over Psalms 119.

Bad News: We covered just as much meaty information tonight, and I’m not even sure where a good place would be to start laying that down in a follow-able format. [That’s a good problem to have, though!]

So tonight we dove right into the second portion of what we’ve coined character dissection, this week covering ‘The Adams.’ Naturally, when regarding Biblical characters, most would immediately think of Adam, and then be lost in identifying the other Adam. [That was me, too, don’t worry.]

We started with of course the first Adam, who we all can track back to the Garden of Eden, when God created him from the earth and of His own image. I don’t know why it struck me as perhaps a novel presentation of the fact that Adam was the first, the original, and the only person to ever walk the earth that was created directly of God. He wasn’t born; he was made. There’s no record to break, no title to transfer. He was the original man. Of course, I already knew all of that, but that’s God for ya: He’ll open your ears and your heart at a different angle than what you’d already tried to do yourself. Love.

From Adam [then Eve, and the entrance of the original sin into the world], we journeyed in our study to the second Adam. Who’s that? Jesus J. The other ‘One-and-only,’ but for a completely different reason and purpose. I hadn’t previously thought of it this way, but since I’m all about illustrations, I figured I’d outline the generics of our study here [both for your eyeballing and for my own referencing later on].



of the many, many artistic interpretations of these characters [thanks, google]
adam & eve | Jesus

You’ve got Adam [the actual Adam], and you’ve got Adam#2 [Jesus, and by no means am I trying to distract from the fact that He was in fact Jesus, in all of His due honor], creating the following little thought ditties:

Adam was the gateway for sin to exit the world.
Jesus is the gateway for it to exit.

Adam was breathed of God.
Jesus was God.

Adam was the first man to audibly speak with God.
Jesus was that voice.

* These could go on all day J.

I’ve got the complete series of notes tucked away in the pages of my church Bible [p.s. –Amen that we live in a country who affords us the freedom to own not just one, but however many Bibles we desire. I will not take that for granted….], so I’ll have to refresh on passage references for everyone, too.

It’s been a good day.
God is GOOD.

xo | cmd

2012: A NOT-to-do List

Dear 2012,

Heya. Nice to see you.
Bring it on. :)

Love,
Cori

It's January 1st, folks! Whoa. It still hasn't fully registered with me that I'll be writing 2012 on everything I date at work now. Oh well. I'll eventually make habit of that minuscule change, but more importantly, I'll embrace this new year, and every opportunity I'll have within it to seize each day :).



the page girls



First, I wanted to wish both Miss Kathy K. & Adam Page a very happy birthday! I would love to have a January 1st birthday - I'd have all kinds of motivation for re-vamping my life every year ;), hah. Anyway, we celebrated this afternoon with a late lunch at Bandanas to celebrate. We had a blast! Happy New Year, and Happy Birthday!!

Today at church, my pastor gave us a message on approaching the 'new year' from an agle with a bit more depth than the traditional resolution. I don't know why I hadn't ever thought of it this way, but perhaps that's why my ears were opened today to a new, refreshing perspective.

my [silly]  loves. they deserve my all in 2012 ♥

I know that yesterday, I gave a list of just 5 fairly broad goals I wouldn't mind accomplishing by the next time December 31st rolls around. Don't get me wrong, I would be thrilled to cross the finish line of another marathon, to obtain professional advance, and maybe even add to my family. Fitness and health are always a priority; our bodies are vessels and therefore required to be respected. Of course, I absolutely plan to get more involved with my church; if one or more of those things are in God's plan for me, then I have no doubt they will happen. What I didn't add, was a list of things I plan on NOT doing in 2012. As I left church this morning, I thought to myself, "Duh, Cori. Isn't that just as important, if not more?"

Well, of course it is. From where I'm sittin', there's a slew of things I could identify in my life that don't need renovation, they need removed, completely. I figured I'd start by sharing some of those things. This will be a running list, so expect to see additions over the course of this year. I'm not numbering these, because there shouldn't be a priority of one over the other. Hold me accountable, yeah?

--*--

NOT-to-do, 2012

- Prioritize anything work, home, or family-related over my one-on-one time in the Word.
- Deny grace to anyone, regardless of circumstance, deed, or perspective.

- Speak brashly, out of anger or frustration towards my husband or child.

- Turn away from an opportunity to share the greatest news of all, no matter how uncomfortable.

- Take for granted of any relationships with which I've been blessed - family, friends, or colleagues.

- Take for granted the moments with my daughter.

- Make excuses for not going after the things I want.

- Hold a grudge, for any reason.

- [Piggyback] Refuse to accept the path God chooses, even if it is steep, rocky, and solitary.

--*--

That's just a start. I'll be the first to tell you that it's not easy to admit that every single thing on that list is to some degree a shortcoming in my life, perhaps not over my entire life, but at the very least at some point in 2011. I don't often wear my heart on my sleeve, but I felt led to put these on paper. It's not going to be easy, but even that shouldn't be a shock to me. The realest walk with the Lord promises that there will be struggles in this temporary life.

My pastor asked us a question today:

Why should we give our lives on purpose to the realization of God's purpose for us?

Answer:

The home we have secured in Heaven is our home for all of eternity. Our lives here on earth are the single, ONLY chance to fight, wholly, on behalf of our Lord & Saviour.

There's not much else to say after that. :)
My one, solid resolution for this year is to adhere to that list, and add to it as I'm reminded.


happy 2012!



I'm still Cori. I'm still a daughter, sister, wife, and mother. I'm still an athlete, colleague, and friend. I'm still blemished, and I'm still undeserving of each blessing I have. I'm still goofy, and I still laugh at myself. My prayer for 2012 is for the wisdom to recognize the plan He has written for me, the courage to share His ultimate plan with those around me, the humility to understand when my choices are not part of the plan, and the perseverance to get back up when I fall flat on my face. :)

All right, kiddies. Happy New Year.
Let's get started!

xo | cmd

Merry, Merry Christmas!!

Merry Christmas, loved ones!

It's Christmas!!

The only thing that I can pin that would've made this day any better would have been the presence of Joe's mom and family. Aside from that, it was an incredible day filled with worship, food, family, and friends.

We started the morning with the customary opening of presents, followed by breakfast, followed by our church service. The usual Towerview morning worship was replaced today with a choir-based service, complete with cantada and mini-message from Pastor Ron.



yay, presents!



After the service, we rushed back to get started on the afternoon's menu. I finally put the turkey given to me as a Thanksgiving gift by my bosses to good use: we had that buster in the roaster in no time and were on to getting everything else done. Three hours later, we were putting the finishing touches on maple-glazed carrots, green beans almondine, sweet potato casserole, mashed potatoes, and salad. Our guests started trickling in around 3pm, and in no time we were off to a full course meal. The Pages were the first to show, followed Jarod, and the by the Babots. Both Lara and Cathie brought desserts to share, which were absolutely delicious; I'm glad they took the leftovers back home with them, for the sake of my diet. ;). The kids were able to run completely wild in the basement, and eventually settled in the living room for an early evening showing of Finding Nemo. Even the Sandvens stopped by after dinner with Tessa, who wasted no time joining in on the cycle of kids racing throughout the house.

This may be one of the best Christmases I've had so far.

We are truly, truly blessed. Amen.

xo | cmd

Dinner Play Dates [Dills.Babot.Page]

Dills, Babot, & Page.

Sounds like a law firm, yeah? Not so much.

Anyway, the Babots were so kind to invite Sydni and I over for a dinner playdate tonight along with the Pages. Not long after we strolled in the door, the Pages pulled in, and it went from Landon's castle to a mini playground of four kids playing to their hearts' content.

Halfway through the evening, Carlee and Loralye emerged dressed in two of Landon's halloween costumes: Batman and Spiderman. Sydni and Landon followed suit with a fireman's hat and cowboy hat, respectively. Lara managed to get a few shots of that action, which may follow a bit later depending on how quickly I remember to get them up here.

Also, an update on Joe:
They've held their third round of cuts for the AF team, and he is still in the running! Praying constantly for him to stay there through the end. We'll see!

Dinner. Friends. Kids. Fellowship.

I'm one heck of a blessed girl.

It's the weeeeeeekend!

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

If You Want Me To

The pathway is broken, and the signs are unclear.

And I don't know the reason, why you brought me here.
But just because you love me, the way that you do,

I will walk through the valley, if you want me to.

Because I'm not who I was, when I took my first steps,

and I'm clinging to the promise, you're not through with me yet.

So if all of these trials bring me closer to you,

then I will go through that fire, if you want me to.

Though it may not be the way, I would have chosen,

when you lead me through a world, that's not my home

But you never said it would be easy.
You only said I'd never go alone.

So when the world turns against me, and I'm all by myself,

and I can't hear you answer my cries for help.

I'll remember the suffering your love put you through,

and I'll go through the valley if you want me to.

***

I sang that in church today, and the more I think about that song , its lyrics, and its ultimate meaning, the more I love it. This is such a powerful song, and I am so glad that I had the opportunity to share this with my Towerview family. Ginny Owens is one of my favorite Christian singers, and this song was perfect for me today.

***

After church, we headed out to Eckert's with the Page family for lunch, and then back to their house for a short little visit. Sydni absolutely loves her time with Miss Carlee and Miss Loralye, if for no other reason than the fact that she gets spoiled beyond belief when she's there. 

See that girl there?
That's her throne that was set up for her by the Page girls; she soaked up every minute of having her very own special seat on the couch - complete with headrest, footrest, and personal blanket.

So silly. :)

Sundays are beautiful. They really are.

xo | cmd

Dills, Page & Babot : A Dinner Story

One of the greatest social benefits of joining a new church is the fellowship that seems to just naturally evolve between its members. We've already met a lot of great Christian advisors and peers here at Towerview; tonight we were invited to dinner with two of these great couples: Adam & Cathie Page, and Alex & Lara Babot. 

feast!



Plus, no biggie, but we're Baptists, so that means we're usually eating. :) No qualms there, especially when the cooks are well-seasoned and quite talented [Cathie, and the evening's grillmaster, Adam!]

Our menu:
Corn on the cob
Veggies [zucchini, peppers, onions, delicious]
Seasoned potatoes
Grilled chicken [or pterodactyl, these things = massive]
Cake ["birthday cake!" ~Landon] by Lara

We ate, we laughed, and we watched little kids try to feed themselves. It was mostly Sydni, because Landon still cooperates when his mama tries to help him; Sydni on the other hand is miss independent, and refuses to let anyone come anywhere near her dinner plate. The two Page girls are well old enough to feed themselves in a tidy manner, but watching the little ones was cute.

wii pong

And then there was Wii. We won't mention names, but some fellows got their pride handed to them on a digital plate when they challenged the eldest Page daughter at Wii Ping Pong. I hate to say it, but it was a fairly entertaining sight.


girls :)



By the end of the night, Sydni was completely tuckered out and ready to go.

Amen for these wonderful people. :)

See you tomorrow, Illinois.

xo | cmd

Practice Makes... Better!

This is definitely already proving to be quite the eventful week. [[ I love it! ]]

Today I met up with Kalyn at my church [[free plug:: New Harmony Baptist | Milford, OH ]] to do a few quick runs through the two songs we're to be singing this upcoming Saturday at her mom's wedding. I am so honored to be a part of that day with them, and I have to thankthankTHANK Laura & Adam for stopping out to help us for a bit before their evening plans.

I just have to share something else today that makes me not just proud, but impressed, excited, and grateful.

One of the greatest people I've ever met is doing something wonderful this weekend.
He is my husband, and he is an extraordinary person. To catch everyone up a bit: Joe has been working unbelievably hard to become successful in his field of weather forecasting for the US Air Force. Along the way, he's managed to hold roles such as dorm chief at Basic Training, and Red Rope at Tech School. Throughout my visits, I was amazed by how many people rely on him for advice, information, and support. He is willing to give all of those to the best of his ability without thinking twice.

He is my husband..... and that is why I am so proud that this weekend, our church has voted to license him into the ministry. This means that he will have the supportive backing of our church when he starts the required training for a pastoral position in ministry. This is a huge step, and I couldn't be any more proud of his dedication and where his heart is. I hope that all the people along the way who helped plant seeds in his heart to study and learn to love our God know how much they are appreciated. We as a family are embracing the directions of both Air Force life and ministry work.. Please keep praying for us along the way!!

SO yeah... like I said, very eventfulweek ahead:
1. - Wedding this Saturday.
1.5 - [songs x2, dress prep!]
2. - Church & Joe's licensing
2.5 - [practice song for church service, too!]
3. Moreno diet, still goin' strong!
[*excited*]

xo | cmd