OLYMPIC SPOONS!

Here we aaaare, smack dab in the middle of another week of organized mayhem.. haha. Today was a bit on the taxing side; it's one of those seasons of life where we are challenged with difficult and immovable people, if for no other reason than to continue refining our own character and tenacity. It is a marathon in this particular season, and although today aired more on the brutal side, I've come to a realization of the light at the end of the tunnel, if you will. Soon. Very soon :)

So with that in my heart, it was easy to transition into my evening, complete with my small group and a night of games, snacks and open-hearted fellowship. I am so. wildly. grateful for this group of people, especially on a night when I really needed some encouragement. My small group is where it's at, when it comes to prayer warriors and real people living real lives, bringing practical application and wise advice in whatever subject is on the table.

Tonight though, we took a break from our regularly weekly studies and just... hung out.
It was so, so, SO very needed.

SO, in the spirit of the Olympics, we decided as a group to play something with medaling potential. That something was decidedly SPOONS. If you've never played before, you're missing out. If you have, you'll understand then that we issued each other preemptive apologies for any and everything that might be said during play ;).

It started with 8 of us.
And then there were 7.
And then 6.

The semi finals came down to Jen, Scott & Randy:
Randy missed the grab during the semi finals, which left Jen & Scott to battle it out for the gold. Scott, in what we determined to be reverence to his wife [and that happy life, har har], conceded the victory to Jen, who's spoon-grabbing reflexes are so far unrivaled.

Nice job, Jen!

From what I hear, there are actual Olympics happening somewhere else... or something like that. :p
I'm kidding, of course. These games have kept us all up well past our bedtimes. *Yawn.

Good night for now, all you blogbot champions.

xo | cmd 

12-HOUR CLEANING

Q: Wanna know what I did today?

A: I made friends with all my cleaning supplies..................................

............................ for twelve hours.

Literally. 

hello..... clean house.

I spent the night at Rob's house last night for the first time in a while; we moved one of his vehicles back to his house and took some of my leftover things to store in the basement. I opted to take a day off work today with the sole intention of cleaning the house top to bottom before the landlords came to do my checkout.

Mission accomplished, baseboards and all. Two full bathrooms, four bedrooms, living room, hallways, kitchen, basement, laundry room and garage: DONE. This girl......... is SPENT. I even relocated the robins nest that was situated above the porch light [I wore gloves, and carefully re-positioned it in a nook of the tree where we always spotted mother robin; I hope she continues to tend to these little eggies!]. I know there's a risk there, but the nest really couldn't stay, but the last thing I wanted to do was harm any of the beautiful eggs. Cross your fingers with me....

no makeup... exhausted, but done!

I'm tired. I am.. super tired. I smell like pinesol and windex. I have some bleach spots on my knees from cleaning the bathroom floors, and I'm pretty sure I will wash out a full layer of dust from my hair when I hit the shower tonight. 


I picked Rob up from work and helped him put the bed cover back on his truck, also loaded up with some of my things, did a final walkthrough of the house with the landlords, and pulled out of the driveway for the last time. It's been a little bittersweet leaving that place, but I'm looking forward to this next chapter of my life, too.

I've done nothing but clean and reflect all day long today, and I've come to the conclusion that life is too short to be anything but happy. It really is that simple. I'm dedicating myself now to looking forward, not back. To seizing new opportunities and making the best of the ones that are just residual runoff from a life from which I am now liberated. I see people around me with so much less than I have, even in my current state, and I know that I'm blessed with more than I deserve, but less than it's worth if I don't take the steps to make the most of it.

I have my faith, and a Savior who does not disappoint. EVER.

I have a beautiful, healthy daughter.

I have a job.

I have family, friends and colleagues.

I have my health.

I'm stressed, but I'm happy.

I'm cleaning out more than a house, from here on out. (:

[[[ I'll keep ya posted ]]]

xo | cmd

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

Quotes From A Pastor

"Each of us needs a friend who loves us but is not impressed by us." - Pastor Ron | 8.19.12

In other words, each of us impeccably needs that confidante friend who cares for and loves us, but is willing to tell us the truth, based on grounded scriptural fact. We need that accountability of recognition when we fall, when we are succeeding, but especially in hearing those grinding life truths we don't necessarily want to hear.



"mama, close your ONE eye!" .. "okay.."
♥



Powerful stuff. That was one of the bullet points my pastor touched on this morning in a lesson focused on outlining the guidelines we should utilize in deciphering whether or not our decisions are God-based or emotionally-calculated. This was one of those revealing lessons that hit me pretty hard and made me squirm a little in my seat as I sat listening. Believe it or not, I count that as a blessing, for I truly believe it's an indication that God's chosen to use that message to speak directly to the core of... well, me. Thanks, a million times over, for the excellent delivery, Pastor Ron!

I felt caught up to speed after the service, even in lieu of my passing on Sunday school to nurse a migraine [agghh], and felt decently coherent by the time we made last minute lunch plans for Dos Gorditos. As with these lunch arrangements, they so often bloom into a whole party, which is exactly what we had. Robin Werner brought a new couple from the base and their adorable little girl, and we had our usual great time doing that fellowship thing that comes so naturally to us. (:

Back at home, Sydni and I committed to a nap before getting up and seeing Joe off for another week-ish of his travelling for work. I had originally made plans for volleyball, but since I'm still feeling a bit lofty in the head, I'm passing for the evening to hang here with the munchkin. It's gonna be an early night; I'm totally fine with that.

Tomorrow's a new week!

xo | cmd

Mega.. Monday.. Meltdown.

Monday doesn't have a track record of being my favorite day of the week. That being said, today was like the highlighted version of chaos in motion.

reasons i miss her.. already.. lol.

We lost another one today. I mean that to say that the Express crew is yet another man short after Christine tendered her resignation today. It's been a long time coming, and honestly, I admire her for sticking in there as long as she did. Major kudos for all her hard work. It was bittersweet to watch her go, but we're all in agreement that there are bigger, brighter opportunities awaiting her gracing, and I definitely hope they're ready. Best of luck in your next move, Christine.. I definitely hope to see you very very soon [as in.. we're scheduling a shoot, soon soon soon, yeah? Yeah :)..].

Now, I called it mega Monday meltdown because the early morning resignation business boiled quickly into an honest rant session during which myself and a coworker let loose, upon managements' beckoning, on the list of reasons life as we know it between 8am and 5pm has morphed into something more closely resembling a chore than the realization of anyone's real passion. *sigh. It might be a stretch to think we made a dent in the bubble, but I'm goin' that way..... anyway. Chyeah. Keep ya posted.

meltdown .. kiiiiiinda what i felt like today.

Phewwwwwwww.

Softball tonight was a chillier experience than Sydni and I had anticipated, spotted by poor little Easton taking a spill and taking a bleacher corner through the front of his gums. Ouchy... He's a little trooper though! I was reminded of those moments as a mom during which panic must be traded for the cool, calm and collected fixer-of-boo-boos. Thanks for the reminder, Robin :)

Well it has beeeeeen a day. I rounded it off with the first day of week 2 of INSANITY. Nothin' like rounding out one of those Mondays with some cardio resistance. Yep...

G'Nite :)

xo | cmd

Mother's Day 2012

The number one thing on my mind this morning:

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!!

the mamas of my family
niece cynthia | sister heidi | mama | me :)

I know that in my immediate family alone, there are four mothers. We each have our own style, our own tastes, and of course, our own daughters. These three women are three of the most incredible ladies I've ever known. They are among the ranks of mothers who constantly surpass the expectations of being mothers, and for that I admire them.

.. But they don't stand alone. For every mother, every where, I'm celebrating your victories today: both big and small! :) The world moves because of you. Thank you to my mom, my mother-in-law and all the other moms who are the example we need to follow. ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

=====================

We started church off this morning with an incredibly fun performance of the Mom Song, sung by Robin & Rachel. Great job, ladies!

rachel & robin : the mom song! :)

Once church was out, we made a quick pitstop at the store and grabbed some last minute grub before heading over to base to the Babots. We joined Alex & Lara, along with the Gobles & all the little ones, and also Lara's friend Brooke, for a grillout. We filled the afternoon with eating and playing outside. Jason showed up towards the end, right before Lara got the slip-n-slide out for the kiddos. 

Here's how that went.....

tom. jason. alex. joe.

landon & jason | getting air!

kids tying each other up ;)

she's getting so darn big! :|

alex setting up the slip-n-slide

three little ones in a row
jacob. sydni. landon

i. love. this.
syd & jacob

water!

"mama, i'm cold. brrrrrrr!"

"daddy: march!

slugger :)

paparazzi ;)
brooke. lara. cori

what a beautiful day :)

time to go: that is one tuckered-out little lady ♥

 Happy Mother's Day, everyone :)

xo | cmd