TGIF: Office Baseball & Koinonia

TGIF!

May I take this moment to present to you....

... my co-workers and managers.

True story. 

tgif. express mode.

juggling in heels? sure. (: 

Let me explain.

Every once in a while, my office lapses into a state of uncontrollable chaos. Since there is just a handful of us, it's pretty much essential that we take these little breaks every so often. Some of you remember the last episode of Express PAUSED; it involved a course of 12 holes of mini golf through  the office. I lost, bigtime. Haha.

Today's debauchery started with a padded bat and a foam ball. SOMEhowwwww ... escalated into an all-out war, with an arsenal including an umbrella, a nerf dart gun, a soccer ball, and a wiffle ball. Don't ask why we have all of these things readily available in our office, but these things happen.. haha.

Oh, and for this bout, we went with some video footage, too.
[dun dun dunnnnn]

oh heyyy, ali! (: 

Good stuff, haha. More pictures to come.. probably on facebook. Yenno. 

Ohhhh yeah, and it's Koinonia night! These have a strong track record of being my favorite type of Fridays. Tonight was no stranger to that same vibe, it was just funny because apparently we were all on the same page - not wanting to cook. I'm fairly certain this was about the most unhealthy buffet of food I've ever had on my counter at the same time. Meh. I don't feel guilty; none of us eat this way on a regular basis and it was pretty delish anyway... so... yeah. We'll do some cooking next time ;). 

Happy weeeeeekend!

xo | cmd

Fellowship Fiesta

Switchin' it up! [Primarily because I was off 30 minutes earlier than I usually am and my house is already set up for small group.. planning ahead - BOOYAH]

Today was awesome because...

It's Friday! I don't work tomorrow, my husband is actually in the state of Illinois for small group this week, and I've got a handful of my favorite people coming over in about an hour :)

done.. and done.

I'd stay and chat, but uhhh.. we're about to grub and dig into some Bible study.
Bring on the enchiladas, salsa, and fellowship.

¡Olé!

xo | cmd

Rainy Day Koinonia

it's a good night for
italian food :) 

It rained a lot today.

We still had small group.

I love these people.

... and we love food, too. Italian food, tonight.

There's not a whole lot more I can say that hasn't already been said when it comes to Koinonia nights: these people are incredible and it's a blessing to have them at over for studies every other week.

It's still raining.. and I'm spent. Early day tomorrow, too.
xo | cmd

Itty Bitty Koinonia

mo & evan

It's been a long week. Joe's still out of town and the majority of our small group had other unavoidable obligations. That left us with a small but enthusiastic gang of the Prescotts, the Gobles, Becky, myself, and the little kids. 

We had a great time, as always; it's no secret that large or small, this group is incredible and I love having this time with them on Koinonia nights. Evan had a great time too, and he and Mo and their matching shirts had a bunch of fun all night. 

We missed all of our regulars who couldn't attend tonight, but hopefully we'll see you very soon! Thanks again, Tom, for providing the lesson for us tonight. It's been a wild week and this was the perfect way to unwind: friends, fellowship, food, and funny kids :) 

See you tomorrow, folks :)

xo | cmd

Here We Go, AGAIN....

DagGONNIT!! This has got to stop.


boooo :(. i don't like that empty chair....



My counter-coworker and co-staffing consultant, Nancy, tendered her 2-week resignation today. I knew it was coming and was completely prepared for it last week even, but that's not the point. The point is, there were, at one point, FIVE of us: Meagan, Christine, Nancy, Courtney and myself. Meagan moved to Missouri [which, by the way, kudos for transferring to that Express office :)..]. Courtney, well.. that's another story for another day.. about which I will only say that it was unfairly handled and executed. Christine left exactly one week ago today, and two weeks from now I will bid adieu to Nancy. She, aside from the owners, is the only one here who's been hanging around here longer than me, by about 2ish months. I am literally the last man standing.

I am not a happy camper as work is concerned. I would call this a valley, for sure. A week ago today, Christine parted ways with us; consequently, Nancy and I ended up going rounds with upper management for a large portion of the day until we all fizzled into what I could only describe as still-disagreement, just sans dissension. What a place to be, eh. Haha. In the defense of the office though, it seems to have been on a mild upswing, but with Nancy now heading off to pursue another avenue, I can only brace myself and say my little prayers that we will all sustain, maintain, and, in some cases, restrain... for the next couple of weeks. :) I know, I know - first world problems of an employed person... I'll stop. I really do count it a blessing to have a job in a nation littered with job-hunters, so make no mistake that I am grateful for that. It's just taxing sometimes. Not impossible, just taxing :).

Aaaaaaaaanyway,
My mood [and my entire day, really] was lightened substantially when I received an unexpected invite to the Gobles' for dinner. I don't really think Jackie had expected it either, which made it that much more fun. I gathered up Sydni and stopped at the house to change and we were off to the Gobles for the evening. In that little whispering way - well, in this case, not so much of a whisper, more of a bold proclamation dressed up as pulled chicken and salad ;) - I was reminded of the simple daily graces I am so often afforded but unfortunately don't always appreciate like I should. My pastor had joked on Sunday that God probably has a good laugh many times at the way we overreact to frivelous speedbumps in our lives before sending us a post-it reminder that He is still in control and that all.... is... OKAY.

So thank you, Lord, for THIS day, for yesterday, and for the ones to come. Thank you for the trials - large and small, and thank you for the courage and endurance to see them through. :)

The week is still young; I'm bent on making the most of it! With a visit to Miss Debbie tomorrow for some bead working [yiieeee!!], a slumber party with Mo on Thursday, and Koinonia on Friday? I thiiiiiink that's a pretty good lineup so far ;)

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

Koinonia Grill Out

Thaaaaaaaat's right, it was a Koinonia Friday (:

y-u-m.

We went with grilling tonight, since our group was a tad bit smaller than usual. With Becky, Jarod, Jimmy & Mo, we opted for some grill time, and it.. was... great :)

I love our friends.
And I love Fridays.
Oh, and I love sleep.....

xo | cmd

TGIF | Koinonia!

Ahhhh, small group nights! [My favorite kind of Friday!!!]

First thing, this is a tribute to my husband.... [if you don't know, take a look through some of his pictures; this is his signature self-portrait pose :p]

who am i?? ;) 

We took a new approach to this week's get together, and grilled out for the first time as a small group. We made some notes on getting in gear a bit sooner in the event we want to grill out again. It was a bit of a later start than anticipated, even with the Babots and Prescotts both being absent. The good news - Nick & Rebecca were able to make it!!

What a great night [again!]... I can promise you I'm sleeping in tomorrow! ;)

xo | cmd

Small Group Goodies

just a taste of what our friends are like :)
i love 'em.

It was a small group night. You know how these go.

* We were a few men short tonight; Julie & her boys, the Sandvens, and the Sleemans were all MIA, but we picked up Jarod for the night, along with both Becky's mom and Lara's friend Kim, both of whom were visiting from out of town.

It should go without saying that I beyond love our small group nights; I'm gonna say it anyway though, and with gusto at that:

I:: LOVE ::OUR SMALL GROUP.
♥

Truth. See for yourself :). 

Oh, and the picture there is a depiction of inevitable social time after small group lessons, juuuuuus-so-yenno. We actually did have a fairly cored discussion tonight over Matthew 9, which ultimately resulted in adding a few more points to the already flowering list of reasons that I admire, adore, and cherish my small group. 

.. But I'm still spent. Night, folks. 

xo | cmd  

Birthdays | Meagan's Last Day | Koinonia

What a FRIDAY!

1. HAAAAAAPPPY BIRTHDAY[S!!!] TO...

MY SISTER [xoxoxoxo]

and MY NEICE [her daughter; I know, right? xoxoxo to her, too ;) ]

LOVE YOU BOTH.. and can't wait to see you, soooooon!!!!

my sister | beautiful mom & daughter | my neice
my beautiful family.. that share the same bday - fun!!

-------------------
2. SAD US [@ work]!

So last week, Meagan broke the [bittersweet] news to us that Rob had received a promotion [congratulationssss!!!!] for his job, but that it would come with a relocation for the two of them...

... to Cape Girardeau.

Boo HISS!

1. She'll be leaving us here in the office.
2. She'll be leaving us at church.
3. She's leaving, period.

We got started early this morning with the sour but celebratory process that we're so diligent in doing whenever someone leaves; we each signed and gave Meagan the book I'd crafted last night. Courtney brought Kruta donuts and a cake [adored], and we all chipped in with little goodies, balloons, the whole nine yards. We're really going to miss her! 

we certainly will miss you!!! :(  



♥ candids: mo. lara. jackie+evan |
little evan g | kyle+liam



That being said [and so I'm not left dwelling still on the fact that she will not be there on Monday], it was Koinonia night, which is aaaalways a blast. We were especially blessed tonight with the Sandvens making their first appearance to the extension group. The Sleemans were scheduled to come, too, but had to back out at the last minute [feel better, Rebecca!!!]. It was another excellent night all around :)

The lot of us decided to meet at the Gobles' tomorrow for some aesthetic renovation to their yard and house. It's gonna be a scorcher, for sure, so I'm gonna call it a night and get some rest.. charge up time!

See ya tomorrow!

xo | cmd

Big Small Group

that's right, potluck!

I'd said yesterday that we would be closing up shop 3 hours early today, contingent upon us meeting all of the numbers our boss had laid out. We didn't have any doubts in our mind that we would be free and clear at 2pm; we knocked out all the requirements by 1 in spite of taking an hour to do our typical family-esque huddle around our food-laden table. We don't often all eat together, but when we do, we eat well! I don't know a lot of offices that can break out rotisserie chicken, taco dip, cheddar bay biscuits, ambrosia salad, fruit pie, oreo pie and salad, chow down, and still do some serious damage to the necessary tasks at hand. I was wailing away karaoke style to some song on the radio by 2:12pm, halfway home. Woo!

I used those few extra hours to do some last minute touchups to everything from the food for tonight's small group to tidying up around the house and loading up the car with just about every detail except for Sydni and myself. I bided my time getting some other miscellaneous things done before picking Sydni up and heading to the Woods for our large group gathering.


small group love :)



I'd forgotten just how much fun it is when we're all together. Even though I was goin' solo on this one [Joe's in the process of flying back to Ohio], it was a blast. The Closky's brought new baby Izzy to the party, baby Evan Goble was in attendance, and we even coo'd over the Babots up-and-coming little Emilia. The tykes were all the rage, but more than that the energy of company was at a high buzz just with having everyone together. I loved every minute of it, and was admittedly a little sad that it was over just as quickly as it'd begun.

I really need to put this blog to rest for the night and put myself to bed. Sydni and I plan on head starting outta here by 4am tomorrow. I'll letcha know if that schedule holds fast. Good news, Joe landed safely in Cinci and will be home when we get in tomorrow. Prayers for safe travel :)

G'nite!

xo | cmd

Whew, Friday!

*Whewwwwww!
What a week!

It was one of those weeks that flew right on by, and ended with our office hiring a new outside sales girl. She starts Monday; it'll certainly be a new change of pace around work. It's funny for me to look back and see how much my office dynamic has changed even in the short time I've been at the office. When I first started, I was intentioned to replace Susie, who had accepted a position with one of our clients. Karen & Nancy were there, and when Karen left, I took over her accounts. Meagan came onboard then as the third staffing consultant, and just a month or so back, Courtney joined us as the new FOC. Christine will make 5, and join the team as the newest addition to the zoo that is our office. :) Congrats, Christine!


koinonia!

 Aside from the new hire news, it's been another jampacked week at Express! The day didn't end there; I picked up Sydni and headed back home just in time to do some last minute preparation touches to the house before our Koinonia group started rolling in. The Sleemans couldn't make it, but we had a great turnout no less, and as always, we were oh-so-well fed! :) Joe is still out of the country, so Tom took over and carried us the rest of the way through the last chapter of James. [Great job, Tom!] Two weeks from now will be our first big small group gathering, during which all three extension groups will rendezvous back together as a whole unit at the Woods. I'm certainly excited to do that, especially with the addition of so many new couples across the board in all the groups.

It's about that time to call it a night, after all the craziness that is my beloved small group. Just a few short days until Joe returns!

xo | cmd

Koinonia Chili Cookoff

Today couldn't have been a more perfect ending to a very long week. :) I love those types of Fridays.

casual days, woo!

1. Work. We survived! Meagan has been out all week enjoying a deserved vacation with her hubby Rob on a Mexican cruise. We had the task of adjusting to her absence and the work that came along with it, and managed to power through at a jet powered pace. I've got 10 new starts to add to our running least when Monday hits, and that's just to start. There was a level of productivity today alone that should be worth noting. I'm so proud of our little team! [but P.S. - Meagan, be advised you will be dragged from your house and to the office if you don't return on your own free will on Monday. Hehe.]

2. It was casual day at work. That in and of itself is a celebration. It makes our lives exponentially better just starting off the day sans fancy schmancy wardrobe. I'm all for it.

3. Small Group/Koinonia! We thought chili night would be totally appropriate, for one because everyone loves chili, but also because we've exhausted many of the other more popular options for dinner themes. As is custom with our small group, there was no shortage of delicious food, this time chili, all the fixings, salad, sides, and of course, desserts. On top of that, we had a stellar discussion time over our night's concentration on James 4. Jarod even joined us, and it looks like he might become a regular attendee. We are certainly growing! :) Good times, good times.

chili lovers unite | koinonia fridays ♥

4. Babies!! Well, in this case, just one, but he certainly stole quite the reaction out of all the gals in our group tonight. The Gobles are one of the couples with a new addition, and they bring him each week, along with their older son Jacob. Julie had little Evan giggling and giving us his big cheeky grin, and we were just eating it up. Adorable, adorable, friggin' adorable.

It's been a good day, ya'll.
Here's to the beginning of the weekend :)

xo | cmd

And A-Thrifting We Go! [Again]

It’s been one heck of a weekend, in terms of sleep schedule and time management. Joe started into his mid-shift rotation a few days back, and since then it seems like the zany sleeping hours have spilled out onto the rest of us. For instance, Joe headed out for work around 10pm last night; I was up until almost 4am. Don’t ask me how that worked itself out, but it’s my hope that we’ll nail down separate sleeping agendas sometime before his next rotation rolls around.



christopher. loralye. easton. sydni. carlee
&& santa! :)



Anywho, we managed to pull it together and make it to church this morning, which was followed by lunch at the Woods’ with the Werner’s and Page’s. The somewhat bittersweet blessing better known as our small group expansion, has taken off so much so that it was mutually voted upon to split our one bulk small group into three smaller small groups, if that makes sense. That being said, it was decided that Dan & Robin, Adam & Cathy, and Joe and I would be the three couples accountable for hosting and discussion generation during our bi-weekly gatherings. At the last group gathering at the Woods’, names were drawn randomly to assign out all the couples or families to one of the three groups. We’ve landed three of our groups extraordinary couples, as well as two other ladies looking for involvement with Koinonia. Today we met with the other couples and the Woods in a spearhead planning session. We nailed down some solid ideas on how to move forward collectively, which can’t be shared for the sake of being a spoiler! J



ok, fine... i'll take it!

 Upon leaving the Woods’, we made a bee-line back to the house so Joe could get a start on his sleep. Sydni went down for a nap as well, and I headed out to run some errands. I decided to hunt down a mattress for the [Goodwill] bed frame I’d toted home a few weeks back. Along the way, I must’ve blacked out, and when I came to, I was walking through the door of Plato’s Closet. Go figure. I realized the reason for the unplanned stop when I landed one of those deals that remind me why I rarely deviate from thrift-fueled shopping. I finally made it to my original destination and found exactly what I was after: twin mattress. The whole thing is set up now and I must admit it adds a nice touch. I like it!



twin bed :: finished!



It’s been a long day; the work week starts tomorrow. *Sigh.

ZzZzZzzzz….

xo | cmd

Godfrey Corn Maze[s]

It's Friday!

We had our bi-weekly Koinonia gathering tonight, but instead of the usual meeting at the Woods' residence, we rallied together for a carpool caravan up to the Godfrey corn mazes. It didn't take nearly as long as I'd thought it would, and we wasted no time jumping right into everything. We spent the tenure of our wait time in line joking that we would gladly harrass any members of our group who resorted to calling 9-1-1 at any point during the outing. I am positive that there was a well-warranted reason for the couple that did that, but I sure hope it was at a maze at least five times the size of the one we visited tonight.


godfrey corn mazes 2011



Anyway, traversing a corn maze is quite the parade, especially when you allow the kids to lead. We somehow made our way through, around, and across all the different pathways in record time and found ourselves going back for round two in a different direction. Adam had done some research on this year's maze; the thing is apparently shaped like a giant corvette. So much for our crop circle theory.



scarf!



OH! I nearly forgot [unbelievably so] to mention Sydni's donning of her new scarf! I put the thing on her finally, crossing my fingers that the fit wouldn't be completely awkward. It turns out I caught a stroke of beginner's luck with this one; it fit perfectly, which, if I were a dishonest being, I could probably get away with saying this was a custom-fitted design. Pshhh, yeah right. Praise the Lord for me completing the silly thing in the first place without it falling apart after one wear.

The mazes were a good time, all things considered. The temperatures dropped pretty low by the time the night wound to a close. Poor Sydni in her stubbornnes refuses to keep gloves or mittens on, and her little fingers were shaking by the time we left. That didn't stop her from romping around in the giant sand box filled with corn kernals and having those things stuck in every crease of her clothes. I have a feeling we'll enjoy this experience a lot more in a few years when she's big enough to get down and run through the maze herself without constant surveillance.

All together, we're glad we went, cold or not. We love our small group and we're so thankful for the times of fellowship that we have with them.

the dills

Brrrr! Time to warm back up and call it a night. ♥

xo | cmd

Koinonia Chili Cook-Off

So it’s the every other Friday of my small group Koinonia’s schedule. Robin does such a great job each round putting together a theme and a list of needed entrees, sides, and extras. This week was chili night at the Woods’. We did our small part by supplying the brats for chili dogs and arrived to find all sorts of fun foods.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. I love a church family that can cook J. This church is one of the best I’ve ever attended, and being a part of it and our small group is a solid blessing.

‘Nuff said.
Joe leaves for Langley tomorrow morning. He’s upstairs loading up the suitcase now. Nothing like last minute packing. I need to get Sydni to bed, so we’ll see you blogbots in the morning!

P.S. - This really made me smile, too:

xo | cmd

Farewell, Karen :(

Today was Karen's official last day here with our office. We decided an office potluck was in order, so we all chipped in and brought our dishes to share when the lunch hour rolled around. I made a pitstop at the Christian bookstore right down the street from me and snagged a little something for her as well as making her a necklace she said she'd liked.

  

It's definitely going to be different without Karen around. We spent a large part of the lunch discussing all of our favorite 'Karen-isms' that never failed to get us laughing.

We wish you nothing but the absolute BEST of luck in your next endeavor! Don't forget about us - you'll have to come and visit :)

All in all, not a bad Friday at all. I topped it off with a nice relaxing night with the husband and daughter at our church's Koinonia small group.

Life's good, yeah?
Yeah. :)

xo | cmd

Bible Study Breakfast :)

I have yet to meet anyone who works a standard work week who doesn't love Fridays.

For me, Fridays mean tying up loose ends of work that began Monday or had carried over from the week before, processing payroll, interviews, weekly check-ins, and making nothing short of 100 phone calls. [*sighhhhhhh]. It means sleeping in on Saturday in preparation for completely spontaneous days of chasing my daughter around with my husband and loving that time as a family. It means gathering for church on Sunday, and winding down those last few hours knowing that it all flew by too quickly and the work week is sneaking back up on me.

Friday this week also means Koinonia, which is a Greek word [no, you go look it up! :p ] that to me, is my small group every other Friday at the home of our wonderful pastor and his wife. This is something that I'm quickly growing to love more and more each time we go. Our small group consists of an incredible group of people with equally impressive input on issues that are real and relevant to us as a group, as individuals, couples, and parents. In just the short time we've been attending, I see God working, in real time, on the lives sitting next to us on the couch or floor, and in ours, too. [[It's sensational what our God can do if you just ask!]]

Oh, and we're [Southern] Baptists, so that means we have 3 general priorities when we get together:


blackberry+cherry pie



1. Serve our Lord, and submit praise for everything He is and for all that He does.
2. Serve each other & community : We're equipped to do it!
3. Serve ourselves .... some food.

... Yeah, I said it. If you know anything about Baptists, then you know that a large part of our fellowship efforts usually include nothing less than organizing a committee to decide who's bringing what food and how much. Koinonia is no different: this week the theme was breakfast foods.

Last night [because I get home at 5:30 and the thing starts at 6], I crafted one of these little guys: it's a favorite of mine that was passed down to me from my mother, whose cooking talents are downright heavenly.

As always, tonight was filled with discussion and input all around the room. I have so much respect for this group, and I am so, so thankful that we have the opportunity to do this each week.

Friday's done.
Bring it on, weekend.

xo | cmd