Happy Birthday, JENNIFER!

FLASHBACK:

circa 2001 | pittsburgh, pa

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JENNIFER!!

I can't even tell you how much I love this girl. She's one of those friends that will stick with you and just be there through the thick and thin, through your weakest moments and the ones that are worth bragging about. More importantly, she's a sound source of counsel and advice.

In honor of your birthday, Jen, I'm bringing back some of my favorite memories:



skyview kids: jen. corin. rini | singing w. jen @ the mv dan emmett festival

That's not even scratching the surface! (:

modern day loves ♥

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, my dear friend!!

*****
As for me, I just finished lunch with the Gobles after a great church service... it's time for a nap and then maybe... just maybe .... some volleyball. We'll see.

xo | cmd

Photogs Galore!

It's a good day for some photography!

I did a major cleanse of the memory cards for the D90 yesterday, charged up all the batteries, wiped down lenses and screens, and tested the flashes yesterday in preparation for a long day of shooting and editing.

Stop #1: Gobles!

This is a family I met at Towerview; they're a part of our small group and I'm glad to call them friends beyond that, too. Plus, their kids are adorable, and it was a blast shooting them in the comfort of their own home & backyard.


goble family | shiloh

Stop #2: Christine!

From Shiloh down to Waterloo to see Christine, Ava & Thomas. I used to work with Christine, and I was just itching at a chance to shoot her and her daughter. We added in Thomas to the mix and walked away with some awesome shots.

christine. ava. thomas | love the smiles! | waterloo

Edits edits edits coming SOON!
P.S. - Check it Out :)

*Whew! More to come... soon :)

xo | cmd

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

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

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

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

Office Fridays & Breakfast for Dinner [Koinonia]

TGIF!

Phew. What a day! It's been a busy one :)

First things first, I'm amazed I hung on through the entire day after the metrolink fiasco from last night. I showed up to work a little groggy still, but nothing compared to poor Courtney. This is what found its way to my desk before we even got the day started:

kicks! 

nobody puts baby in the corner!!
... except express.
express will put you in the corner. 

^ Poor Courtney was at the Cards game last night, too, but had to do a little more walking than we did, in uncomfortable shoes. [It's a tough pitch being a girl sometimes] She ended up sporting these bad boys to the office today. Haha. Classicly done!

Oh, yeah, and speaking of office folk, there was some minor rearranging done today in lieu of our office expansion project. Someone stuffed one of our chairs in a crevice between a file cabinet and Marc's office; we decided that would be the best place to park Christine for the afternoon. She clearly loved it ;)

This buildout thing has been fairly taxing on all of us over the past couple weeks. Between the frame building, wiring, drilling, dry walling, sanding, and prepping, the wall completing Marc's new office space is now fully in tact, walling Nancy and I for the time being in a big cubby hole. Courtney's been shoved just about out the front door, and Christine... well Christine's temporarily nomadic as her desk sits on the open range of still-usable space in the office. Needless to say, we're ready for this phase to be done. Amen.

*****

breakfast!! | quiche. cinnamon rolls | y-u-m.

Once work was behind me, I made straight for the house to get started on breakfast. [Yeah, breakfast!] The Harris family joined us for the evening, and even Dawne stopped by for a bit! It was, as always, an absolutely amazing night with our small group.

Most of the regular crowd was in attendance: 1/4 of the Gobles [Tom! Jackie & the boys, praying for safe travels as they're out of town!], the Prescotts, Julie, Becky, the Sandvens, and now the Harriss clan, too. Sleemans, Babots, Jarod & Lyla - we missed you, and can't wait to see you guys next time! :)

In the absence of Evan, we were able to focus double the baby love on the little munchkin in our group who is certainly lovable. Check him out in his pink Bumbo [it was Sydni's.. haha]. Handsome Liam!

the cutest little chunk everrrrrrr... love him!

Our Micah 6:8 group is heading out in full force tomorrow for our laundromat outreach. Praying that it goes well and we have some response!

Time to gear up [aka, sleep. Chyeah!]

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  

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

Workhorses!

I'm friggin' beat. This was the first truly exhausting yet sheerly gratifying day of manual labor I've had yet this year. I loved it!

I started the morning off by sleeping in to a magnificant 8:30 [in mama-world, that alone is the equivelant of a mini-vacation]. Since Sydni was up late last night with all of her little friends here, I crept out of bed and left her to snooze while I got the laundry moving, cleared and cleaned the remnants of dishes and pans from last night, and tackled what ended up nearly an hour and a half cleaning up our basement, which serves as the kids' stomping ground during small group. I topped it off with a house-wide vacuuming, and when it was all said and done, I spent another near hour buzz-cutting our dog's hair down to a 1. It's not exactly the best look for her, but we do it a few times each year for a little relief from the summer heat. Come to think of it, she looks a couple years younger with short hair. Puppy mode :)
 

yeah, that's the same dog :)
before + after

getting started!
step 1.. movin' bricks

Once I'd cleaned up all the dog hair, given her a bath [and myself, since I was by then itchy and covered with dog shavings], Sydni and I loaded up for a pitstop at the store before making our way to the Gobles. We wasted no time getting right down to it; I managed to snag a few shots during breather breaks before and after. It wasn't long before nearly our entire small group was on scene and fully engaged in everything from ripping out weeds, gravel and brick, painting shutters and garage trim, tearing out rock and plastic liner, tilling, planting, mulching, and even chopping wood. In the midst of it, we even managed to have a little fun climbing trees, playing with the kids, and of course eating. Hey... we're actually a pretty cheap labor force: we'll work our tails off for burgers, hot dogs, and chicken, and not be a bit sorry for it! :)




repainting shutters | jackie

takin' breaks to play with the kiddies in the tree :)
becky. tom. cori. raymond. william. jacob!

mulch. lots of mulch.
jackie. tom. julie

ripping up gravel & plastic
jarod. becky. julie. alex

gettin' dirty!
tom. cori. joe. alex. julie

chopping wood
joe!

ax men
jarod. raymond. joe. landon

Tom, Jarod, Becky and I were the last men standing at 10pm as we unloaded the last bit of mulch from Tom's truck into the newly-planted flowerbed in the blasting glow of Jarod's headlights. We tidied up and sank down next to the fire pit to unwind for a bit before calling it a night and heading home with sleepy kids and dirt-creased hands.
Shower.. check. I think I might've even dozed off a few times during. I can't remember.
My bed has never looked so comforting..... Time to oblige it.

Church in the AM!

xo | cmd

Grubbin' with the Gobles | Joe's HOME!

I have an obvious affinity for alliteration; I think this week alone it's been pretty evident. Hope you're okay with that....

:)

So it's FRIDAY! WooT!!


sriracha. hot hot hot!



Jackie had invited me to dinner yesterday, via voicemail left on Wednesday, that I didn't notice until halfway through the day yesterday. To make that less confusing, the abridged version of that really just boils down to us rescheduling a dinner date from yesterday to today. I put together some veggies and took it to work, miraculously remembering to take it with me when I left. I made my way over to the Gobles for my second dinner date of the week, with some more amazing people.

JOE [remember him??] flew back in today and met me at the Gobles' to relax a bit, eat some dinner... and some ice cream, and discuss some final details for the big Towerview yardsale that takes place tomorrow. We re-introduced him to Sriracha sauce, which he now endorses, made a few last minute touches to the donation jar for local missions, and decided to call it a night. We've all got early starts tomorrow.

We thought our day was completely over, but when we walked into our house, we found this little guy, compliments of Jimmy & Mo, awaiting us on the kitchen counter. I don't know everything about life, but one of the few things I know as fact is that the people in our lives are extraordinary [and clearly thoughtful!!!].


cookie cake .. good call, prescotts. good call. haha :)

I'm on a sugar-high right now from this cookie cake, but I'm gonna attempt sleep anyway. :)
6AM is just around the corner; I'll see you at the Tower!

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

Oh, What a Beautiful D A Y

1. LIFE IS GOOD.
B. LIFE IS GOOD.
3. LIFE. IS. GOOOOOOOOD!

What a truly beautiful little day this turned out to be!



hello, tiny toms!

  We started off the day with breakfast together before Joe had to go in to work. I was fairly bummed that he had to work this morning, especially since my parents were here and we were gearing up for a loaded church service. Sydni insisted on donning her purple sparkly shoes, so the TOMS made their first public appearance this morning, as well. Loved it...

she dressed herself this morning - not too bad!



becky & tom's baptisms | children's choir!

We didn't quite make it in time for Sunday school, but we were definitely there with plenty of time to get settled in before choir and the baptisms started. Nick & Rebecca, the new couple we met at the Sandvens, made it for their first Sunday. It was a whirlwind of a morning; the children's choir debuted for the year, and not one, but two of our small group members were baptized!

Congratulationsssssssss!!!! Tom & Becky, it was a blessing watching you be baptized. [Our small group rocks!] Major kudos, too, to the children's choir. It was definitely a great morning.

Once church was over, our entire small group rallied together at Bdubs to celebrate the two baptisms.

Back at home, Sydni and I resigned ourselves to a long afternoon nap. This is perfect example of the conversation Joe and I had regarding the fact that whenever we are around my parents, be it here or back in Ohio, we always want to sleep. It's absolutely not that we're that bored or disenchanted by the company; I think rather it's such a super sense of relaxation and peace that makes us want to just kick back and snooze for a bit. Today was no different, except that when I finally woke up, I felt like crap. [Boo. On. THAT.]

My parents leave tomorrow morning, and we go back to the week. Here's hoping I feel .. much.. better... tomorrow.

xo | cmd

Fellowship, Mexican Style

If you don't know by now, I love our church and the family it holds. I love our pastor and his family; I love the dynamic of our congregation, and I love the relationships we've already begun forging in the short 7 months we've been here. I have to confess that this is the closest I've ever been to the heart of a church, and I attribute that to the fact that the heart of the church is so genuinely broad and willing to embrace on impact, and unconditionally.

Today was another one of those weekly gatherings with said church family; the message was on point, and our fellowship made its way from the pews to a nearby Mexican restaurant. It wasn't anything extraordinarily spectacular; it wasn't a celebration of anyone's birthday; it wasn't for any special announcements. It was however, another small event that served not only some delicious food, but some casual conversation, funny stories, and hearty laughs. It was a chance for fellowship, and even in its simple, impromptu form, we took full advantage of it.

the motherload of enchiladas

Oh, and for the record, I can't for the life of me remember what the restaurant itself is called, but this sucker came out steaming on its plate and settled right in front of Joe. I have no idea how he finished it off, but I definitely give him kudos for that. We thought we'd photo-document this for the sake of remembering the accomplishment, but also in case we would need to explain to a doctor later on what it was that knocked him out. :)

Luckily, we're still stomachache free, at the end of the day.

Meagan and Rob made their way over after lunch to finally see our new digs, and experience the hybrid indoor cornhole set up in our basement. Once they left, it was naptime for the rest of the afternoon, and that puts us here now.

What a great weekend. :) We are truly, truly blessed.

xo | cmd