Happy Birthday, Trisha!

Seriously? It's JULY already?! WHERE.. is this year going? Hahh..

I always know it's July when I hop on Facebook and am quickly reminded by the newsfeed that July 1 is the birthday of my former roomie Trisha and of course her twin, Laura.

former roomies @ the doebler wedding!

happy birthday, girls!

July is HERE! Let's make it a great one!

 

xo | cmd

Congratulations Laura & Kaylee: 2014 Knox County Distinguished Young Women!

Today was day 2 of the Knox County Distinguished Young Women scholarship [formerly Junior Miss] competition weekend. The 21 girls in the program have been working for six straight weeks on preparing for this; as an alumni of the 2003 program, I know exactly what they were going through today.

Since today was the finale of the show, I rustled up a couple of memoirs from the 2002 show:

2003 Central Knox County Junior Miss Winners:
back: Me! & Chrissy
front: Kate. Kelly [2003 winner]. Dericka 

& this classic shot that will make me laugh forever...
1st runner up & the winner!

The first and pretty much only thing on the early part of today's agenda: Contestant interviews!
... To say that I had immediate flashbacks of doing this 11 years ago [no, I'm not awful at math; the actual competition was fall of 2002 before we graduated the following Spring ;)] is an understatement. As I sat in that room with the other judges, I felt so much empathy for these girls and their obvious nerves. I will spare details for the sake of confidentiality, but I will gladly say that I enjoyed the day and the full glimpse into what happens on the other side of the table.

The DYW board treated the judges to dinner at The Alcove, a classic fixture of downtown Mount Vernon. It's been yeaaars since I set foot in that place, but we all walked away with our appetites satisfied and our minds ready for the final leg of the competition.

Before I knew it, we were back in our balcony seats of the Memorial Theatre, plugged in to the last half of talent, fitness & self expression performances. I was reminded tonight how proud I am to have come out of Knox County; I have spent the past two days watching 21 of the most talented young women in this county showing off what they should be rightfully proud of. We might be a small place, but our talent is far from it!

I borrowed some snippets from the Mt. Vernon News, compliments of Virgil Shipley [aka, MV's legendary news photographer]:

alumni!
[shout out to kelly{2003 central knox junior miss}
 & luisa {2002 central knox junior miss} in the front!]

contestants on stage - beautiful!

left: central knox winner, 1st & 2nd runner up
right: greater knox winner, 1st & 2nd runner up

When it was all said and done, and the numbers had been tallied, a community of people stood to applaud and congratulate the 2014 Distinguished Young Women of Central & Greater Knox County.

So... CONGRATULATIONS to Kaylee (Greater) & Laura (Central)!



2014 distinguished young women of knox county, ohio
laura (central) & kaylee (greater)
{headshot photo cred: nicole leone miller photography}

There is no way I would've been able to judge this competition on my own; there were so many talented girls on that stage [21, to be exact] and I honestly believe they are all on their way to do great things after graduation. Did I mention I'm super proud to be a Knox Co. native?? (:

It's still November, so it's still that month of Thanksgiving & being thankful. On that note...

Day 23: I am grateful for the opportunity to have been a part of this incredible scholarship program when I was a high school senior. I am grateful that my beautiful, small but historic hometown is the center of competition for the local and state program. I am grateful to have been selected as an alumni judge for the 2014 program, thus being reminded of the talent and ambition in the seniors coming out of Knox County. I am grateful for the other four judges [JoEllen, Tina, Kait & Jenn], and for Tim & Leah, our navigators through the process over this weekend. What an incredible group of people, and an honor to be a part of it.

GOOD LUCK at STATE, to Laura & Kaylee!

& on that note, good night (:

xo | cmd

Happy 30, ROE Girls!

I always wondered what it would've been like to be a twin. Sometimes that thought scares me, because that would've meant the world would have two of me to handle. Haha. Other times, I think it would be hilarious and fun, since the majority of the twins I know prove twindom to be just that. Or, it could be just that the twins I know are all beautiful people, inside and out, so they make the whole shebang look that much better. Either way....

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!

- to my former roommate Trisha, and her twin sister, Laura. Today they are the big 3-0, and I wish them both the best of the best for their birthday! (:

adorable, right??
l: i think it's laura, then trisha?... and on the r: trisha & laura (:

birthday memoirs!
b: trisha & catie
f: jacinda. laura. cori

I remember when Catie and I joined the Roe family for a birthday celebration for these two ladies a few years back; we decided we'd tell everyone we were also twins and see if they believed us. [I'm kidding; we didn't, and it wouldn't take more than a snail to recognize that clearly we aren't.] Anyway, happy birthday to these two beautiful girlies and wishes for many, many more!

The only thing about which I'm not sure I'm crazy when it comes to the Roe birthdays is the fact that it marks the first day of JULY, which means it's time for me to do my annual peek back at the first half of the year, and consequently wonder where in the heck it all went. I know I'm not alone. Haha. This year certainly has made its way without lag and while it seemed like it would be a daunting one at the beginning, there was a certain shine to it that I saw early on... I'm convinced the last half will be amazing.

Something else I found for the day that I thought was fitting for both a Monday, the first day of July, monumental birthdays, whatever.... [borrowed this from searchquotes...]


happy ________ ! [july! birthday! life!]

This is going to be a great week for a multitude of reasons... including [but most certainly not limited to:] Sydni being with me all week, Ali & Co. visiting this weekend, a holiday [=shortened work week!], possible camping trip with Becky, maaaaybe having a visit from Rob, fireworks, gosh.. list could go on. I am blessed, and you are too, whether you can see it now or not.

"Wait for the Lord; Be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord." -Ps 27:14

Here's the the second half of the year.. Happy JULY!

xo | cmd

VBS Kickoff: Amazing Wonders Aviation!

What's up, SUNDAY?!

I'm pretty sure one of us ran the other ragged today. It actually seems to be that we both exhausted each other. This day's on its last drop and I don't feel like a bit of it was wasted.

First: I would like to request a prayer for my neighbors. I don't know exactly who they are or whose car this is, but it seems to be the sole victim in my subdivision of the storm that plodded through here last night. Bummer.

:( 

Hm.. So yeah - Whether it was the anticipation of today's VBS kickoff, or the unrelenting heat that has settled into my AC-deprived house, I spent the bulk of last night tossing, turning, listless for the most part.I must've lapsed at some point sometime after 2:30am, brought back to by my alarm declaring it was 6:30am and time to get moving.

the runion brothers: derek & ryan | gabe [not pictured]
congratulations!!!

Grawr. < That's the sound my body and mind makes when I'm out of bed long before I should be on a weekend. *sigh. Anyway, it was just before 7 when I met up with Kirsten outside Walmart to pick up the VBS choreo DVD for practice later between church and the kickoff. I made a pitstop at the gym on the way home, since I was already up.

Church flew right on by in the usual phenomenal Towerview fashion: It started right off with not one, not two, but three baptisms. I love these kinda mornings! [congratulations to the Runion brothers Derek & Ryan, and little Gabe, who snuck up there after I'd put the camera away!]

Once church let out and lunch had been devoured by grumpy, nap-needing little fingers, I made a date with the VBS DVD and committed myself to memorizing the last of the VBS music for the week. I apparently dozed off during a little break; I awoke to Mo calling me to come and help w/ her classroom setup. Off we were, back to church to put final touches on all things VBS.

towerview vacation Bible school 2012!

And V-B-S.... BEGIN!


I'm spent. Kirsten and I did about as much jumping, waving, signing, and dancing tonight as I could manage for one night. As is customary for any good VBS week, we're gonna be ready to fist-fight this stuff by the time Friday comes around, but in an endearing way. Haha.

Many, MANY thanks to Laura for "managing" the production of this year's VBS, to all the teachers, to the nursery workers, and especially to my church family as a whole for having me participate! It's gonna be a long but totally rewarding week!

Tomorrow starts early. G'Nite :)

xo | cmd

Twin Bdays | Deacon Meetings | Volleyball

It has been a DAY!

First off, it's the first day of JULY [holy cow, already??]. More importantly, it's the birthday of a dear friend of mine, who happens to be my old roommate, who also happens to be a twin. Yay, double birthdays! I still remember when she couldn't quite cooerce her duo partner to get a tattoo on their 25th birthday [heh], but I know they are celebrating in style today.

roomies ♥

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, to my former roomie TRISHA & her twinnie LAURA!!

These two are ADORABLE. HBD!! ♥



i told you they were adorable, didn't i??
trisha & laura

Here in IL, the Dills did Sunday in our own style: church and a deacon's meeting afterwards. We got an early start and stopped by for a special breakfast out with little miss; she just insisted on dancing with Daddy in the parking lot before we drove over to church. She's been on a Disney kick lately [parents, nod your heads... you know], so she made it clear that Daddy was Beast and she was Belle for their little sache out on the pavement.

beast & belle.... & beauty brands outside bread co. ;)

Like I mentioned, we had a deacon's meeting immediately after church; Joe is being considered as the next potential staff member, perhaps at a limited capacity for now, but ultimately with the goal of Associate/Assistant Pastor. We met at Bandana's [because if we're gonna eat, we're gonna EAT] to discuss things, and left with the decision resting in the hands of the current board of deacons. We'll hear the final verdict here soon, but we are okay with whatever timing God's gonna lay on this one. (:



syd @ bandana's

The kids had fun, too. Very funny ;)



loralye's rendition of the dills fam ;) hehehe.. notice joe!

After quite an eventful morning, we took advantage of some down time with family-wide naps and lounging around before Joe took off with Sydni to Jarod's to help Alex & his dad move the bathtub out of the house. I'm telling you, that place will be whipped into shape before we know it; they're doing a great job! I got ready to head to volleyball, and made my way over to Clayton without a hitch. It was great seeing the SM folks again and laughing myself stupid by the end of the evening. Good times.



SMMU volleyball time!

these people... haha.. love 'em. post vball @ bw3

Yeeeeeks, it's late. I've gotta be up bright and early for work tomorrow, so I'm gonna bid this one adieu.

Hasta mañana (:

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