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

Snips of a Saturday

I've not yet become gutsy enough to go through with as drastic a change as I did a couple years back. the last time I donated my hair, I gave 14 inches of my mane and was left with the expected short hair - only problem was that I wasn' t thrilled in the least with the execution by the stylist versus what I'd requested. It was a cute bob look, but certainly not my style. I was going to be much more conservative this time around, if nothing else than to at least test out the stylist.

I had the recommendation from Cathie for her current stylist, and while Cathie keeps her hair much shorter than mine, it always looks great, especially right after a visit to the salon. I thought I'd give it a whirl. 

6 inches.. see ya later :)

hunger games!

I love it, so far, even though it is exactly as conservative as I thought it would be. I'm still conflicted a bit on whether or not I really even want short hair at this point, so this for the time being at least gives me the liberty of options while dropping those dead split ends. Pretty silly when the stylist holds up a measured 6-inch chunk of hair she's just snipped, when in looking at it now, it still seems long. Haha. I'm satisfied, and I will definitely be making a trip back to see the gal who did this when I'm due up for a snip again. Not a bad way to start the day! 

my doodlebug ♥

I made a stop off at Target after the 8:30AM hair appointment to grab some groceries, and ended up also walking out with a copy of The Hunger Games. Don't judge me, haha. I am completely excited for Mo coming by to watch this with me. 

Back home, it didn't take long for us to decide we would head right back out the door for some breakfast at Cracker Barrel. Sydni loves this place especially for its artistic provisions; I don't know why it is, but she spends more time coloring and doodling when we're here than any other restaurant it seems. Today she even bragged about her left-handedness. Great. haha. 

Back at home, Sydni and I went down for a short snooze while the boys took off for a run; Eric's got an Ironman coming up next weekend, for which he's been training since about this time last year. Pretty impressive, I'd say. It's too bad we won't be able to go and watch him race, but there's no doubt he'll do an awesome job and have some good stories from it all.

The boys headed off to drop Eric at the airport a few minutes ago; I hear Sydni starting to wake up in her room, so I .. am.. outta here :)

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

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

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