Mr. & Mrs. Epperson!

Have I ever told you I love weddings? Well, I do. It's not a secret. Today was one of the many we'll attend this year. It was a blast!

mr. & mrs. dills | purpled

I took off out of work early to head home and get ready; with as many weddings as I've attended, only one other time have I been to one scheduled for a Friday afternoon. I know there are absolute perks to claiming a Friday, so more power to the Eppersons for taking that road.

Oh, and I finally decided to go with the plum-toned Essie polish, for those of you just dying over my final verdict [what? that's none of you? lol.. shocking ;)]. I've gotta hand it to Mr. Dills for doing such a fine job suiting up to complete a matching pair.

We ran into the Lopez clan as soon as we got to the church - complete with little 2-month-old Ava [so daggone cute!!]. Stephanie looks fabulous for being two months out from childbirth, and Ryan as always was his ragged, hilarious self.

steph & cori | mamas!

The ceremony itself commenced promptly at 3pm, and was completed by 3:30. It took us about 20 minutes to decide on Applebee's as our temporary home for the next two and a half hours until the reception began at 6pm. It's been a long time since I had that much fun with a group of folks dressed up for a wedding at an Applebee's on Friday afternoon... oh wait. Haha. Good times; YOLO, right?

a wowing candid of mr. & mrs. epperson!
[[even crying, she looks amazing!!!]]

*Thank you for allowing us to share in this special day with you. We're so excited and wish you the absolute world as you start this next step of your lives... together! ♥

Congratulations to the wonderful couple!

Mr. & Mrs. Brandon Epperson!! 

xo | cmd

Short Lived But Well Worth It

In case you didn't know, Joe's in the Air Force. It's the military that brought us here to Illinois and opened the door for everything that is now a part of our daily lives. In hindsight, I should really be exercising a more prominent sense of gratitude for everything we have now and everyone who we've met in the last few years. I absolutely believe in the God things; my life now is the perfect testament to just that. [Free Plug specifically for our incredible church, Towerview Baptist, and its family, who has become one of our favorite, favorite things!]

So since Joe's been in the Air Force, he's found some once in a lifetime opportunities: he traveled to Virginia and earned a position on the 2011 All Air Force soccer team. They won gold medal in their tournaments, and he returned home an athletic icon at work. He's met a full battery of amazing people; by association, I've had the pleasure of meeting many of them. We've gotten a taste of military life and the perks that it offers. However, when it came down to it, we prayed over it and Joe felt prompted to part ways with the Air Force and pursue another avenue. His flight decided to throw him a going-away party of sorts, which was tonight! We summoned the aide of our unbelievably awesome babysitter, who agreed to keep Boogie overnight so we could enjoy the shindig company unrestricted. By 7:15, a crowd of nearly 30 people were packed into tables at Bdubs being entertained by the happenings of the evening....


too much. too much.



But let's REWIND. It's been quite the multi-tasked ride at work over the past week or so. With the warmer seasons comes a budding of business; it's awesome, but it's got each of us now shedding our winter coasting skin and branching out into all kinds of different directions at the same time. Apparently, I've been so engrossed in my day-to-day that I figured I'd make some last minute calls on my way home...

... with my computer mouse.

Yeah.

We pulled into the parking lot at Bdubs tonight and I thought i'd double check my memory to bring my camera. I thought I'd found it in the bottom of my purse, but instead fished out my mouse. I immediately sent a picture to Meagan & Nancy, who confirmed that I had just taken it to a whole new level of crazy. Woops.

Anyway, this night wasn't about me, at all. Joe's friends from work made the trek from base and surrounding area to hang out and celebrate his short lived but impacting career in the Air Force. Brandon even got him a plaque engraved that reflected the hilarious sentiment, underlined with Joe's famous tagline, "Hey big guy.."

joe's plaque | joe & brandon | puppy!
cori & caitlin | c&n's beautiful save the date

Pretty funny. We stayed through dinner, and ended up taking Caitlin back to her and Nick's apartment afterwards. We got to meet their adorable dog, and we even got a personal delivery of their Save-the-Date for their big day: November, in Arizona! [can't wait, can't wait, can't wait!]

All in all, definitely a good night. I'm spent though, and it's off to work early in the AM.

G'night!

xo | cmd

11.11.11



at work. exhilirating, i know. : /

What a binary day ;)

[[I had to, sorry.]]

So today's 11-11-[20]11, which is pretty darn cool if it's your birthday.
For little Lillian Andrako, today's that day, which is especially neat since it's her actual day OF birth...

baby lillian & proud mommy andrea



That being said, CONGRATULATIONS!!!!! to my cousin Andrea & her newest [[beautiful]] addition!

Daddy and big brother Thomas are definitely included in that congratulatory note; we are so thrilled for you!!

Next on the list of great marks for today:
It's Veteran's Day.

Although we're not technically a veteran family yet, I see the impact that my husband's job has on the military's overall mission. I see the enormous amount of reverence that eminates from families of veterans. Then I see veterans themselves, and occasionally, if we're within sitting distance, I see the looks on the faces of the older ones when people start talking about a time or era that strikes that chord with them. It's a bittersweet expression: sweet because they know that their goal of serving their country was accomplished, but bitter because even though their lives may be in a later season, their sense of awareness is dangerously acute in regards to the sacrifice it takes to maintain our freedoms. I'm just me, just one person, just Cori, but from the very bottom of my heart I'm extending my sincerest gratitude for the service of the men and women who chose the road of service and dedicated all they had to the cause. We are in your debt. Thank You.

Lastly,
we are heading home here within the next few hours, basically as soon as Joe gets home from work. I'm hoping he'll breeze through the door any second now, but if we hit the road before 11pm, I'll still be satisfied. Kim's getting married tomorrow. Weird. Exciting. I can't believe it's happening, but I can't friggin' wait, either.

I'm gonna go finish packing some stuff :)
Happy BIRTH[day], Lillian!
& Happy Veterans Day!!

xo | cmd

Stinkin' Swing Shift

Today was Joe's first day back at Towerview after his month-long run with the championship All Air Force soccer team. It was so nice to have him beside me during the service, and afterward he even orchestrated lunch plans with the Greers at McAlister's. They're hilarious, and the four and a half of us [Sydni ;) ] had a great time just kicking back for a bit.

We had to cut our afternoon short so that Joe could get to work on time. Stupid swing shift. Part of being a military family is being flexible as an entire unit to the schedule of the active member[s]. Any military spouse can tell you that. Between TDY, deployment, or just an inconvenient set of working hours, there's inevitably going to some sort of uncomfortable time frame during which everyone involved just grits their teeth and grins. We're still major newbies at the whole process, but even up to this point I've realized how much credit should be given to families of active military members. [[So I applaud you, husbands, wives, and children of our men and women in uniform!!]] I'm not seeking credit here, simply stating my empathy.

Anywho, I took advantage of some good Sydni-Mommy time, because I'm quickly finding that no matter how much time I get with her, I'll look back one day and wonder where it all went. We plowed through a few books, tore apart a toy chest, and played dress up with some oversized plastic rings with fake 75 carat colored gems. Good stuff.

Tomorrow it's back to the work week. My bosses are returning from their week-long Cancun getaway, and we'll be hitting the ground running.

Oh, and it's Halloween!

xo | cmd

An Air Force KEEPER!

LITERALLY!

Joe called tonight to tell us that he is now an officially rostered member of the United States All Air Force Soccer Team.

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!

We know how hard he has worked and how badly he wanted this; I am thrilled that the final cuts were made and he is now a part of the team. [Sorry about the photo quality, he sent that to me via text] I am so proud of his dedication, endurance, drive, and committment to this goal. We've been praying faithfully here that this would pan out, and strangely enough I felt a huge weight lifted off my shoulders tonight when he broke the good news.

There ya have it. Joe's officially playing soccer for the U.S. Air Force. That's awesome :)

[[[& congratulations to the rest of the team members who survived cuts!]]]

I'm sad I won't get to see them play, but I'm so thankful that Joe's been blessed with this opportunity. He deserves it.

That made my night; I can't imagine how he feels! :)

That's about it for tonight... we'll see you blogbots tomorrow!

xo | cmd

Eating... All Day.



pegs.

Raise your hand if you've ever done one of those.
Now raise your hand if you've scrambled to start over before you finished, because you knew you would have at least 2 or 3 left over, when the goal is 1.
I may be the only one with two hands up right now, because I'll be the first to admit that, unlike my husband, I am a moron when it comes to these things.
This one was at Crackerbarrel this morning when we stopped in for breakfast. Sydni has about as much fun trying to color with the colored pegs as we did chasing them down after she got frustrated that they were, "broke, " as she called them.

Today was absolutely a good day. It was spent vegging out - I titled this one appropriately, because looking back at today, I feel rather gluttonous. It was all in good fun though; we had breakfast as a family, then spent the day together and headed out again at dinner time to Lotawata Creek for a group dinner with Meagan, Rob, and a handful of Joe's Air Force coworkers.

Now, about Lotawata Creek: There aren't any of these joints in Cincinnati, so this was a new experience for me. Apparently one of their famous trademarks is their portion size. In a comical spirit, I say that this is definitely an American favorite, because the plates here are well over what any single human being would ever need to eat on his/her own.

Examples:



sandwich hiding behind fries

club. club crazy.



attempts to conquer....

We. Are. FULL.
We made it home, got Sydni to bed, and hung out with Meagan and Rob for a short bit before calling it a night. It's church in the AM! :)

xo | cmd

Dude, it's HOT outside.



hello, sun

Over the past few days, the weather around here [well, from what I understand, it’s all over the Midwest] has been more than just nice. I hate to say it, but it’s so hot that it’s almost been mildly irritating. I heard on the radio on the way in today that there was a heat-related fatality in this area. It saddened me, and made me thankful at the same time that my family and I are blessed with the luxury of relief and shelter from the elements that should not be taken for granted.

get into the Word!

Plus, I live with a U.S. Air Force weather forecaster. The term, high pressure cell has become a regularly-used term around our house. High pressure, in laments terms for all us non-weather guru’s, means simply clear, beautiful, sunny skies.

Whatever the case may be, it was friggin’ H-O-T out there today, and apparently that isn’t going to change anytime soon. Let’s get sweaty.

Relief = Wednesday night Bible study. These are always good refreshers to have for the middle of any hectic week.

Orevua!

xo | cmd

Base Picnic & Bible Study

Today started off with waffles. A day that starts off with waffles is rarely ever a bad day. Haha.

waffle time!

The boys headed out to meet up with Kyle, Lorne, & Nick to help one of their buddies move his things out of a storage unit. Sydni and I hung back to clean up, which we finished sooner than we thought. That meant some free time for jewelry!

Behold:

handmade fun:
dragonfly pendent for mama
simple purple droplet for sydni

Sydni & I headed to the Sandven’s and the lot of us trekked over to the Scott AFB picnic. We hadn’t been to a base picnic yet, so we weren’t sure what to expect. It was a free event, and the entire base was invited. This thing was huge, more like an outdoor festival with free food, swag, and hot, hot sun. We ate, we walked, and we played. Definitely not a bad day for a picnic. We took Eric over to the lake for some cool-down cornhole before we headed back home to get ready for Bible study.



local radio station promo inflatable | eric & joe trying out a picnic game




bengals cornhole



rick warren

Towerview has a couple’s bible study that takes place every other Friday at the pastor’s house. This was our first session; the topic series tonight was the first of three on Raising Your Kids Without Raising Your Blood Pressure. How appropriate! J Excluding us, the pastor and his wife, there were five other couples in attendance, all with at least one child. We watched a video lesson by Rick Warren on parenting, and had a group discussion following. I was thoroughly impressed with how it went, and with how warm and welcoming this group is. I have a feeling we’re going to fit in and stay here. We’ll see.

We plan on doing a little touring tomorrow! The Gateway Arch, in St. Louis is on our list, along with either the Anheuser-Busch brewery or Grant Farm. We’ll see what we fancy more when we wake up in the morning….

xo | cmd

Happy Birthday, Nicki!

Joe’s sister, my sister-in-law, turns 30 today!

Happy Birthday!!



happy birthday, nicki!



Today also marks Joe’s 1-year anniversary in the Air Force. We are so very proud of him, and am excited to finally be living under the same roof again, as a family. Joe left for basic [BMT] on June 1, 2010, and this would mark our 1-year date of living apart.

So today = more chipping away at the crazy piles of stuff outlining every room. Sydni and I took a break to meet Daddy for lunch at the golf course on base. It’s beautifully serene, and I’m planning a definite visit to the 6-mile running trail that leads through it.



first family lunch on base



After lunch it was back home to build a bookshelf & TV stand, providing homes for four more boxes of books and DVD’s.  I’m making a small but noticeable dent, I think.

Another day, and I’m spent!

G’nite, ya’ll.

xo | cmd

Memorial Day 2011



American Flag: USAF F-117 Nighthawks



Happy Memorial Day!

Today I want to pause and THANK, from the core of my heart, the men and women whose lives were and are dedicated to protecting our rights and freedoms. You are remembered, supported, and honored.

Today started fairly early for us. We had a 7:00 AM breakfast date with KP & Sam before saying tearful farewell-for-now’s [mainly just KP & I crying like babies]. I got another parting gift from my best:



handmade book :)

Joe, Syd, & I hit the road after breakfast for the mid-length haul to IL. Time to move!! I didn’t realize exactly how FLAT the landscape actually becomes when nearing IL.



nope, not ohio, but i gotta love the name ;)



The good thing about driving from Eastern to Central time is essentially gaining an hour’s time. So, we made it to our IL home around 1:00 PM, CDT. We unloaded the final cargo and wasted no time getting refreshed and ready to head over the base [Scott AFB] to visit the Sandven clan [Kyle, Amy, & Miss Tessa]. We took a group stroll to the park and let the girls romp around together for a bit.

base park near the sandven's

Not too bad for the first day in! The Dills are officially together as a family.

I love it <3

 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