Things Of A Random Husband

First off, I got home this evening to find this in my mailbox:


towerfest??! what's that?! ;)

The only reason that's funny is because these fliers [on behalf of Towerview Baptist Church] were intended for distribution during local neighborhood canvassing, and were designed to attract the local community...

... by me.

Haha. I found out that Mr. John had done some rounds earlier today, and clearly didn't realize this was our house. I admit I reacted like I'd never seen it; I opened up the mailbox and got really excited, too, because I hadn't yet seen this thing on print - only on the computer. Ladies and gentlement, hang on to that thing; it took four drafts to look that way ;) haha.


presenting: princess monster sydni!



ANYWAY,

It's no secret that I'm a little bit out there when it comes to having a spirit of random spontenaeity; naturally I should have married someone of a like-minded nature. Well, folks, I did. Joe whisked Sydni off tonight after dinner to the store, and came back with a couple things:

1. When we asked her if we could call her Princess Sydni, her response was, "No. I am Princessss MONSTER." *Sigh. I suppose we should start exercising a tactic to delineate between a real name and a real status. I joke, I joke.   

Either way, she was absolutely stinkin' adorable, and wore this thing around all night until I finally coerced her into PJ's based solely on the idea that if she slept in her dress, she would get it "aaaaaall wrinkly... and we don't want wrinkles, do we?" [a totally convinced Sydni: "nooooo, no wrink-a-lees"] Ah, the power of parental persuasion ;).

I said a couple of things, didn't I. 

princess and her castle



Well.. as I sat upstairs wrapping up a few last-minute craft things I seem to never finish, Sydni, in her Rapunzel dress, bolted into the living room and demanded I go see her 'Rapunzel castle' in the basement. Of course I obliged, expecting to find the futon with some added chairs draped with every spare blanket in the house.

2. Nope. This is what I found instead. Hahaha. Now, let's give the hubs some credit here; for someone who doesn't typically jump at the chance to assemble anything, he's quite skilled at popping a TENT.. in the BASEMENT. Hahaha. I couldn't help but laugh when I saw what is probably a 9-person? tent standing squarely in the middle of the playroom. So very random, but so totally awesome.

No, I did not opt to sleep in it for the night like they will, but once that thing is outside, I'm all game.

... And friends, that is the latest and greatest from the Dills' residence.

See. You. In the mornin' :)

xo | cmd

How's THAT For a Midweek?

I think I have a problem...
Seriously.
I'm addicted.

I watched the third night of blind auditions for The Voice tonight, and I've gotta say I'm goin' on night 3 of inspired by some of their stories, their talent, and the fact that they're putting it all on the line for the approval of the industry's megastars.

This one, by far, was my favorite from tonight:


I've always been a fan of the Marley vibe - there's something so relaxing about the emotion behind reggae in general. This kid's got it nailed down, and I'm kind of excited to see how he does in competition.

Then there was this one, by a guy whose family suffered through extreme political turmoil in Nigeria; his father was wrongfully incarcerated, while he and the rest of his family fled the country and made it here to the U.S. It's one of those heart-string stories that makes me stop and appreciate the gravity of the life with which I am blessed [magnified by the whole adoption thing]. His testament that music saved his life is dually-noted [no pun intended].


Suave, yeah?? I like the natural rasp in his voice. Major talent. 
Oh..  ... and just in case I'd forgotten this is still mainstream media programming, I'll include this one particularly unique gal: You can search her audition on your own if you feel inclined; I'd rather not have it on here... I didn't realize until I went back to watch the others that she ["Domo"] is on crew for Rhythm City [ABDC]. Interesting. Definitely conceited, though. Too bad, too - she's a pretty talented dancer, if nothing else. :/ 
Well.. all things The Voice aside, I caught some of the opening moments of America's Got Talent before retiring the TV for the night, but I did see this, which I thought was cool [apparently they're in the finals now? Sure.]: David Garibaldi & His CMYK's - I'll let you look that one up on your own too [video.overload]. Pretty amazing stuff! 
****
Anywho, today was about as decent as they do come.
Do I dare forget the birthdays for today?
Umm, absolutely NOT! ESPECIALLY since we LOOOVE these two munchkins! 
HAPPY 4th BIRTHDAY, LYLA!!!

beautiful lyla! 

and of couuuuurse,

HAPPY 4th BIRTHDAY, JACOB!!!

silly candid from the dual bday party we had a few weeks ago : jacob!

We have the privilege of having both of those little ones [along with Landon, the other September birthday kiddo] in our small group every other Friday, so we get a little extra dose of them from time to time, and we love it. Happy birthday to both Lyla & Jacob [& no, in case you thought to ask- they are not related. hehe]

**** And in other news: 
Nancy stopped by to see us late this morning - her new job seems to be treating her well and she's enjoying it. I'm so happy for her, but slightly reminded still that we miss her. Well, I miss her. A whoooole lot. *Sigh. So good to see her though!! Miss you, Nanc!! To top off the morning, I gave some blood and such to the life insurance medical examiner. I found out today that my heart's still beating and my arm still bleeds like it should with a needle in it. It's a start. :p.
Sydni and I did some more damage to the weed infestation that keeps threatening to overtake every spare inch of soil in the front and back gardens. I'm almost glad for The Voice airing at the same time every evening for the past 3 days - it's brought us back inside after about an hour of digging and pulling. I don't think it's over-exerting work by any stretch, but the mosquitoes have taken an equal liking to the moderate temperatures and it's made for very itchy evenings. My arms and legs look a little bit like broken brail sentences right now. Oy, bugs. >:[ Grawr. 
It's been a jam-packed week so far; I've got some last minute details to do on one of the Towerfest mail-outs, so I suppose I should get back to that before tomorrow. Oh, and I'm slated to sing this Sunday and have yet to solidify a song choice. 
Hey procrastination, heeeey. 
xo | cmd

Sundays With Sweet People

I'm ashamed to admit that this was my first Sunday back in Sunday School in about 4 weeks. I have no admissible excuse; my only explanation consists of failed attempts to heed the alarm clock, hiccups with coordinating the entire family, and on one occasion, a migraine. I know, I know.... far from valid. I was reminded this morning how much I love my Sunday school class, my church, and especially the people.

Speaking of people, there's a lot going on with any given person or people at the Tower, and today was no exception.

First....

Happy 4th Birthday, Landon!! 

We love this kid. The Babots were one of the first families with whom we connected here at Towerview, and we're blessed to have them as friends. We've had a few awesome play dates with Landon, they're in our small group extension, and naturally we see them at all the church functions and outings. Syd even referred to Landon as her "little brother" [although yes, he's older] for a bit until she decided he was better as a friend :). Happy birthday, to our little buddy - Hope it was an excellent day!! 

shot from mother's day 2012 | landon!
happy birthday!!

Also, 

Happy FORTIETH Anniversary to the Bests!!!

Ironically, by Bests, I mean THE Bests, literally! John & Ellen Best, that is. Ms. Ellen is our nursery director at church, but she's sooo much more than that. She's an amazing person, and John is nothing less than just as awesome. I'm so inspired by their generosity, and by the example they set as a married couple for those of us far less seasoned in the art of being married. This is the kind of example more of us need to follow!

40 years ago today :) 

As if it weren't enough that Jimmy brought and sported a stick mustache [originally for the skit, but it worked throughout the entire service this morning], the funny times with our friends carried out over the course of the day, and eventually into the evening, even after choir practice. The Woods invited us to Arby's for some last minute munchies, and we had some fun with Sydni's kiddie meal "toy." It was a cowboy, but totally resembled someone else we know, if that someone had a boxy head and a permanent plastic-esque glow. :p In my defense, I wasn't the first or only one to notice.... 

cowboy? ... or... joe? haha ;) 

Ahhh, I'm such a sucker for fun times with fun people :).

It's about time to call it a day; I'm due for an early start tomorrow.
Oh, and The Voice starts tomorrow. [*squeaaaaaaal!]
Here we go, work week!

xo | cmd

!! FINISHED !! [Towerview Design Projects]

It's perhaps not a good thing that I blog so frequently that at times, it all blurs together & I forget what I have and haven't shared with the class.

So, at the risk of repeating myself? Well, I do that a lot in real life, too, so whatev'.

Over the past... month-ish? or so?, I've been working alongside the deacons' wives at our church on the construction of a new member handbook. We devised this to go in conjunction with the new member social [quickly approaching!] scheduled later this month; each new member will receive a new member handbook packed with info on the church, our ministries, and the deacons themselves. I know that I would've really found this helpful when we first joined [not that I hold any qualms, because I... just... love this place now], because joining a new church can be a little overwhelming if you're not sure where to start.

That being said, I launched myself into design mode and over the course of the last month or so, pieced together information from ministry leaders and deacons, comprising a complete how-to guide of how to navigate everything from the actual building, appropriate ministries, and the people to ask if and when questions or concerns should arise. I had a blast doing it, I just wasn't sure if that day would come on which I would see the finished project [college lit paper flashbacks, whoa].

And then Cathie sent me this today:

and..... print! :) :) :) :) :)

 Yiieee!!!! I wasn't able to make it to church tonight, but I can't wait to get my hands on one of these just to see how they turned out. This may not have been the most complex design project ever, but I'm gonna go ahead and be super proud of it anyway, not so much for the face value of what was put in there, but because I have high hopes and expectations that these will ease a lot of that up-front tension for new members who want to get plugged in but aren't sure how.

Oh, and speaking of:


[because we can party and eat with the best of 'em! ;) ]

^^ I had the privilege of putting these together, too [thank you, deacons' wives!!]. If you're not sure how the social's going to work, you should probably just come and check it out for yourself. It's gonna be a great time, and we'll have the chance to get together over delicious food and get to know each other a little better. [How could we not love a proposition like that?!].

One last little diddy, and I promise I'm done giving PSA's for the day.
[A million thanks to my Towerview family for entrusting me with these projects.. I'm having a blast doing them!]


september 29. Seeeeee..you....THERE! :)

Oh man. There's so much going on at the Tower right now, and these few events are just barely scratching the surface. I can't wait :)

Happy Wednesday!!

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