And I am HOME for Christmas (:

I MADE IT!!!!!

this is my vacation. home at the one & only dren lodge for the weekend.
i'm in country heaven. parents' house = ♥

I can't even tell you how much I've missed this place. Welcome to the Dren Lodge, otherwise known as my parents' house in Mt. Vernon, also the house in which I grew up. My heart will always be dedicated to this place; Mom & Dad built it themselves when we first moved to Ohio and they're still there. [Cue Miranda Lambert song...]

So I almost lost hope in making it home for the weekend. I had every intention of leaving yesterday to start on my trek back to Ohio, but after creeping through traffic at a neutral ONE mph from my office to my house, I quickly put a nix on that. Never has it ever taken me an hour and 45 minutes to get home from work, and with the traffic moving at the pace of sap, I had lost all patience in the thought of attempting to wait that out.

That meant falling on a backup plan of going to bed early and getting up by 3am to hit the road early with hopes of being home by 1pm EST. I was gonna make it here one way or another, daggonit.

Sooooo.. I met up with Rob, Mike & Kelly for dinner, before calling it an early night. Setting the alarm for 2am was painful in and of itself, but actually getting up when it went off was another story. At least I made it to the gas station for coffee and out on the road without too much fuss... and that was that.

Fast forward five hours to Cincinnati, when I stopped in at Joe's to grab Sydni, and then another 2.5 and I fiiiinally made it!!!

Just in time, too... My cousins rolled in the driveway shortly after we did, and we proceeded to spend the evening with them. As a note, the younger of the two turns 21 in a few days... and that ... makes me feel pretty freakin' ancient. Thanks a lot, Markie. Hahaha.

Here's how that went: 



top: christmas 2007 | bottom: christmas 2012
look at those boys! lol... love them (:

cousins + mom & dad + syd!

I love my family. This was night one of two that I'll have with different parts of my family, and I can't wait. (:

Speaking of being home, I just got back from the new BDubbs in Mt. Vernon [that's another story: I come from a small town and they are just now getting one of these... you would've thought we adopted the Statue of Liberty for as much fuss as they've made over it.. haha]. I got a message from Dusty earlier asking if I was available for a few minutes to catch up, and we opted for Bdubbs.

I was instantly reminded of what it means to be raised in a small town, leave, and then come back. Basically, every fifth person, on average, is someone you know, had a class with, lived by, dated, or avoided at one point growing up. Haha.  

hey, dusty! (:
neighbors since first grade, still an awesome friend!

krystal!
friends since elementary school... and yeah we've been through it ;)
top L-R: 2003. 2007 | bottom L-R: 2009. 2012!

Of the handful of people with whom I coincidentally reunited tonight, I was definitely pleased to run into one specifically - Krystal! We've known each other since fifth grade and I still love her to pieces. I shouldn't be surprised. Familiar faces have a way of aligning themselves at the same time in the same place when that place is so condensed :)

That being said, it's an early day tomorrow... time to get munchkin to bed.

I'm out (:

xo | cmd

VBS Finale | Family | Bitter Goodbyes

Before I get into the meat of this one, I want to THANK Christine for bringing me this little diddy today! Anyone who knows me knows I'm a sucker for all things charitable, and I try to do my best to support causes that serve the needs of under-developed countries, the less-fortunate or otherwise forlorn. This one, Puravida Bracelets, donates a portion of all proceeds to the development of resources that enable local artisans in Costa Rica to find and maintain full time jobs. Sure, it's a far, far degree of separation between myself and the hands-on part, but with these kinds of things, I firmly believe that every little bit counts.


the small beaded bracelet [puravida] hanging out with my invisible
children liberty triangle! many thx, christine!! i love it!

Soooooo,


from lara: "we're going home!"

Good news passed on to me from the Babot family: They're all home now! Woo! Mama & Emilia are doing phenomenally; I'm so thrilled for them!

We are definitely chompin' at the bits to go and see the Babots, and shower that little munchkin and her big brother with some fun stuff.

Here in the Dills house: we are ALL here. My family came in from Ohio to visit for the weekend! Joe came back from Albuquerque, and the VBS parent night/finale was tonight. *WHEW. We had a BLAST. I was so thrilled that my parents, sister, nephew, and sister's beau were able to come and see the last bit of what we've been doing all week for VBS with the kiddos. It was so much fun :) They're all here at the house now, hanging out and having a family jam session with the guitars. I love my family, and I love when they visit. ♥



the little ones [with some help] doing their vbs song!

mo! love this girl. love our shirts, too ;)

PS - VBS IS DONE!!! It's bittersweet, but for the moment, feeling slightly more sweet than bitter. Talk to me tomorrow and I might feel differently ;) Heh. On an absolute positive though, I believe that 6 kids this year dedicated their lives to Christ and committed to following in His path. All music jokes aside, that really is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!!! Amen? Amen!

*

Last but absolutely not least, on a somber note:

I recently caught up with Dusty, an old friend of mine from back home, who I've known since we were about 6. We were close friends for a long time, but just happened to lose touch over the last few years. It's been great reconnecting with him and updating on our lives since the last time we saw each other. He and his family used to live on our street, and I fondly remember the shenanigans of our days as the 'neighborhood kids.'  



from the newark advocate & a shot borrowed from fb... :(



My heart breaks today for his family; Dusty's older brother Mark lost his life today in a motorcycle accident back in Ohio. I can't imagine the strain of losing a sibling, especially in the midst of other trying obstacles. Our deepest and most sincere condolences go out to the Runyons today and I pray that whatever peace can be found, is embraced.

Life is short.

Embrace it.

Love your family.

You really don't ever know.

*

With my family being here this weekend, I plan on doing exactly that - I love them to the end of the earth and I'm so blessed for them being here.

Happy weekend, friends :)

xo | cmd