Baby Shower | Grafton | Birthday!

I've got a lot to cover in this episode of unimportant Cori ramblings.

First things, first, Marlene's baby shower was today! It was off to the Tower with a familiar group of beautiful women to celebrate the not-so-far-off arrival of little baby girl Cunico. I'm so excited for them - what better way to celebrate than with a beautiful shower for Marlene. 

Thank you so much, dear Marlene, for inviting me to share this special day with you!! I cannot wait to meet little Miss Baby Cunico. She's one lucky little gal! 

******

While we're talking about friends, I'm dedicating birthday wishes out to one of mine from home. I remember both the silly & stupid things of the younger years that were our birthday celebrations, and I'm very proud to see that we've both come a little ways since then. Haha. Happy BIRTHDAY, Nikkis!!  LOL... 

nikki! happy birthday, friend!

Nikki, seriously, hope you're having the best birthday yet; you deserve it, mama!

******

An important bit of realization hit me recently: 

I have been living in the state of Illinois for over a year now and haven't really seen much of anything in the state. To combat that, I thought it well-overdue to oblige a friend's advice and take a trip out to Grafton (IL) today. 

It was my previous perception and absolutely ill-assumed belief that the entire state of Illinois is flat. Haha. I say that only because coming from the hilly roads that traverse most of the frequently-traveled routes in Ohio to Belleville, IL was something of an adjustment, for sure. 

Fact: This place has landscape after all! It was a huge breath of fresh air today when I realized not only is there mild elevation [mild meaning something more than a speedbump, which is about all I've got for miles around where I live], but there's a riverfront, state park, campground & hiking trails out there. It's gorgeous. 

[borrowed photog] pere marquette state park | grafton, il

That's what it looked like from one of the lookout posts. I know I keep making references to the things of OHIO that comprise various fond spots in my heart; you'll just have to pardon those. Standing atop one of these lookouts today instantly catapulted my brain back to Eden Park, my favorite coined spot of reprieve through college. The moments of solace I found there over the course of the time I spent in Cincinnati are unrivaled, and I was reminded of those today. Perfect timing, too. It was one of those days on which I really needed to take a deep breath and just.... exhale.

*Siiiiiiiiiigh. :) 

PLUS, Grafton's a river town, which means that it's situated along a river [for those of you who didn't need that delineation, sorry]. Again, Cincinnati's riverside scenery came flooding back to me [[Montgomery Inn Boathouse, Newport, WEBN Fireworks, Yucatan?? << Really just kidding on that last one.. lol]] Well I had the chance to visit The Landing, this cool little bar/patio spot right on the river. According to the owner, it's shutting down for the season here in a couple of weeks, so I'm glad I was able to stop through before that happens. 

[borrowed picture ;)] | the landing

I must say, I'm both impressed and disappointed.. haha. I'm pretty excited that there's a little scenery to be found around here, but a little peeved that I never went searching for it before. Sad sad.

I'm spent. Today was a good day. 

Let's see how tomorrow goes (: 

xo | cmd

Mo's Baby Shower

I love having pregnant friends (: They're adorable, and the showers are always a blast.

Today was no exception.
Mo's shower took place after church today, which I missed due to a certain little girl who shall remain nameless, having a snotty nose and cough. [Update - she's doing better!] I would've like to have gone, but in an act of motherly restraint, opted out of potentially infecting the rest of the nursery. You're welcome. Haha. I joke.

Anyway, Joe made it back in time to tag team watching Sydni while I headed straight up to the church for her baby shower. The Finding Nemo theme was adorable, and made for quite a fun little shower!

finding nemo! ♥ my prego friends ;)

I had the privelege of capturing gift moments on camera; fun fun fun for me - CONGRATULATIONS to Mo & Jimmy, and I cannot WAIT to meet little Natalie. *Squeal!

That being said, I'm planning to do a whole lot of other nothing today, and I plan on enjoying the break :).

Happy Sunday!

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

Alex Babot Day

There is something to be said about the power of good friends and the impact they can have on us.
There is something even more to be said about the power of fellowship among believers; we, on so many different levels, are capable of reaching so much deeper into each others' lives than just the surface, and have that relationship echo back to us.

That being said [I know, something of an epic intro for what is actually pretty silly], today was orchestrated to be Alex Babot Day among a few of the guys at the Tower. For those of you who don't know Alex, his better half is Lara, and they are the first couple with which we really bonded when we first got to Towerview. I love them to pieces, and wish we had more opportunity to see them outside of church [ah, life]. Anyway, one of Alex's signature trademarks is his affinity with, and absolute ability to successfully sport the bowtie. I'm telling you, it might seem like a dated form of neckwear, but this guy can pull it off.

Erego, Alex Babot Day. :)

joe. pastor ron. adam. jarod.
ta-da! [this wasn't even all of them]
{missing at least jason, jimmy, kyle, and of course, alex! :( .. }

And if you think the fun stopped at the grown boys.....


cutest thing, ever. haha.. little luke!

^ I was actually on nursery rotation this week with Mo & Tanya; Tanya put Kyle's tie on Luke to see how it would look... and might I just say, he was dashing! He looked like a little sub-contractor; Tanya even managed to snag a shot of him making some important business calls. [We don't mean to interrupt, Mr. Luke! ;) ].

Now, because my husband is a married man, he is part of the larger collective group of married men who so often are found with one or both of their feet squarely planted in their own mouths. [I say that lovingly.. lol] In this case, a comment was made that Joe should buy lunch for every participant of Alex Babot day if Alex did not show up to bear witness. Welp, Alex did not make it this morning, so I'm not really sure if or when that's going to actually happen, because today was consumed with last-minute errands before Joe headed out to Cinci tonight. Haha. Good. Work. Joe. :p

Anyway, just a few more days before the next weekend, during which we'll all be in Cinci. I'm chompin' at the bits to get home.. good grief. I can't wait :) :) :)

Almost Monday!

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

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

Towerview "Speed Chat" !

Today was quite the buzz at the Tower!

It led off by Trish asking me early last week if I could both fill in for Carla today in the praise band as well as move my solo up one weekend to today. It wasn't until Friday night that I nailed down exactly which song I wanted to present today, and in a typical string of lateness, I found myself without a run through before go time.


natalie grant | alive (mary magdalene)



I'd like to think it went off about as well as it could have :). I really love Natalie Grant's music, but hitting some of her power notes is iffy for me most days. This one (Alive) was pretty moderate as far as belting lines goes; I might just keep it around for another good day to sing it. Easter, maybe? Hrm.. we'll see.  

Back home, I ended up falling asleep [it's been a long week]; Joe took Sydni down to SAFB for the air show to meet up with the Woods & the Cunicos. I'm sorry I missed it, but I did see some funny videos and even heard that mini crawled up on Miss Debbie and passed out. She's silly. And random :)

Nowwww on to the really exciting part! 

towerview speed chat!!

It's heeeeeeeere! [& gone by this point, but it was here, and it was amazing!] A few months back, the deacons' and staff wives had gathered together to devise some sort of event purposed to welcome new members that have joined our church recently. We had something like 27 members to welcome, so the idea was proposed to do a "speed chat." Of course based off of the principles of speed dating, this event would follow a similar format, seating new members around tables with the "old" members travelling from table to table asking fun, pre-written questions to get acquainted in a light-hearted way. Fellowship, welcoming arms and a great atmosphere to boot.



new member books!



Oh, and of course, food. [We're Baptists, c'mon.]

It. Went. Off... WITHOUT A HITCH.

Major, major thanks to the deacons' wives for all of the careful planning and execution of this event, and for entrusting me to create the new members' book. I had the best time doing it, and although I'm kinda glad it's done, I'm happy I was able to contribute, and hope that it helps a little with easing that overwhelmed new member feeling that I know I had when we first got here.

Seriously, it was an amazing time.

I knew before people even started arriving that it would be a great thing; I got to the church to set up my camera and help with the table spreads to find the entire crew already buzzing around. I've not seen so many different desserts in one church basement in a long time, all of which [from what I heard and experienced throughout the evening] were incredible.

We had nearly 100 people show up for this. How amazing! We had a blast - well, I know I did - and, might I say, did a pretty good job of clearing some major space on the dessert line ;)

Photog time: 

dessert spread.. y-u-m.

baptists ♥ food

some of the sillier moments :) | keeping it fun!

full house :)

i love these people | xo

[for all the pictures, go check out the Towerview Facebook page ((& feel free to like us while you're there, heh..))!

My goodness.. it has been a DAY.
-- A GREAT day, that is. Not a bad way to start the week, at all....

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

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

!! 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

Owing Some Odes. Chyeah.

Good Tuesday evening, blogbots :)

Wellll... today was the first work day of a now four-day week, thanks to the holiday. I took a deep breath before walking in the door this morning, and good thing, since it was over in a blinding flash of call-offs, fires to be extinguished, and of course the ever-looming task of weekly payroll. Sidenote: Shortened work weeks are good for many things; payroll is not one of those.

Anywho - towards the end of the day, Joe texted me to see if I'd be up for dinner with our pastor and his wife. Duh. Since we're officially "staff" now, I suppose it would've been rude to decline..... Hah....

JOKE! I was super excited - One, it's our pastor and his wife. The two of them are among the coolest of the cool people we know, and in the realm of admirable humanoids, they are at the top of a very sparse list. Two, whether or not we're dining at their house or out somewhere, they always know how to pick cuisine. As we're still quite the novice pair at navigating around the local dining scene, it's always helpful when the places recommended by other people turn out to be awesome.


pretty lil' macro compliment of google...
[because i know some of you would
call me out on the bacon.. haha]

 Word to the residents of, in, and around Fairview Heights: Olga's Kitchen is a gem. I found it quite endearing based solely on face value because my maternal grandmother's name was Olga. [Remember, I'm adopted, erego only Italian by purchase order ;) ........... some of you will get that later] So we rendezvoused with the Woods at St. Clair Square and quickly found ourselves taking quite the liking to this place. It was one of those clear face-palm moments because I've passed by the place surely a handful of times while at the mall, but never had a reason to stop.

Yeahhhh.. so once we had our fill of snackers and Olga's [menu item.. I'm tellin' you, just get there], we went on mall-walker mode and did some light traversing back and forth across the grounds before we did two trips up/down the glass elevator for Syd, egged on especially by Pastor Ron & Debbie [so clearly grandparents ;)]. All in all a great night, impromptu as it was!

Oh, and speaking of Pastor Ron - we are prolific followers of each others' blogs, and tonight he shared with me the journey of one of his former youth group-ers, a gal just a couple years younger than me, who is in the midst of a repeated bout with cancer. [[While I don't have cancer, I've seen the havoc it can rain on any one person and their families. After heading up the Towerview team for the 2012 Relay for Life, I've gained a deep, earnest appreciation for the ongoing effort of the American Cancer Society, and moreso for the courage behind every individual person who has had to stare cancer in the face. MAJOR kudos doesn't even begin to describe the level of admiration I have for the conquerers :) ]] Soooo.. this girl, from what Pastor Ron told me, recently started a blog, and since that seems to be a thread that we both understand, he recommended I check it out. He seemed to think her candor and style of scribing were similiar to mine, too, which naturally peaked my interest.



remember this? :) | relay for life belleville 2012
the towerview fundraising tire

 So I checked it out.
And I loved it.
Blunt. Honest. Funny.
Don't believe me? -- Check it out for yourself :)
I'll be following these chronicles, for sure.

So...

Today turned out to have some unexpected turns:
Thank you to Pastor Ron & Debbie for the dinner invite, excellent company, and new reading material! ;)

Thanks to Olga's Kitchen for being so fabulously delicious... I'm on to you now..
Thanks to Ashley Brown, the girl with cancer who has decided to laugh in its face rather than succumb to it. I think that's the absolute spirit with which we should approach anything threatening to overcome. That, and pray, of course. :) Fresh perspective? Check.

Over and out, folks.

xo | cmd

Goofy Girls :)

Hey, Sunday!

Today started with nursery rotation downstairs. Luckily for me, I ended up on the rotation with Mo, Tanya, and Michelle. It flew right on by, followed immediately by a meeting with the deacons' wives to lay down some additional details on the new member fellowship later in September. I'm working on the welcome book; it is well-underway and just about finished! :) 

[photog | ria periera]

[photo cred | f.daisy1401

Once the meeting was over, I loaded both Sydni and Emma up and the three of us set off to spend the afternoon together so Becky could conquer the task of moving, unhindered. The girls and I had a blast- played in the backyard, the basement, Sydni's room, the living room, and outside in the cul-de-sac. They got the trikes out and I was instantly reminded of photographs of myself as a kid playing on my own red tricycle. I found a couple pictures that would suffice as substitution for the actual shots of me as a mini [note to self: dig through some of the collection at the padres'.]

I borrowed this shot of an itty bitty chuck taylor; Sydni has the same exact ones. I also was reminded that I need to get the camera out and start doing a better job of photo-documentation. Eerie as it is, I've been slacking bigtime on my photographic endeavors as of late. I have a bunch of places I've noted just in the past couple of weeks that I'd like to shoot while there's still plenty of greenery and the pre-autumn lighting.... Hmmmm.. 

Anyway, the girls wore themselves out running around the house, up and down stairs, and all over the driveway. Becky just stopped by to get Emma and Sydni is already about to pass out. It's been one of those weekends - wonderful but all too short. 

Sigh. 

Tomorrow it's back to the fanciness that is the work week. We'll see how this goes. 

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

Colors of Today :)

Today was quite the colorful day. After all of the ruckus from yesterday, it was a nice change of pace [and a welcomed surprise] to see some bright pops of orange and yellow, complete with the simple but elegant grass decorations which I'm totally hacking.... :) Plus, Nancy brought in some itty bitty onesie kimonos that she still has as part of her online shop inventory. It kiiiind of made me want to have a small human again to wiggle into this thing for the sake of pure cute overload. We shall see....

flowers from diana (:

baby kimonos. cuteness.over.load.

Work ended in its usual fashion; I headed straight for Fairview Heights to grab Sydni and stop at Target before our evening dwell at the Relay for Life Wrap-Up Celebration potluck. It was wonderful to see some of those familiar faces again, but more importantly a great night of recognition for the ACS and Team Towerview!! We officially get to trade in our Silver Level fundraising sign for Gold Level, because we have, at this point, surpassed the $5000 mark. NOT a bad way to kick off our first year of participation in Relay! (:

relay for life wrap-up!

Oh, and we [Team Towerview] earned the award for the Heaviest RFL Fundraiser [aka, the TIRE!] for this year. Christine decorated it with the shot of Mo, Becky and me "sleeping" in and on it during relay. Pretty funny stuff - very thoughtful!! 

Joe's back in town. That means Eric will be here tomorrow through the weekend. Never a dull moment in the Dills' house! 

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

Happy Birthday, Dad!



my dad. ♥

She spins and she sways
To whatever song plays
Without a care in the world
And I'm sitting here wearing
The weight of the world on my shoulders

It's been a long day
And there's still work to do
She's pulling at me
Saying "Dad, I need you

There's a ball at the castle
And I've been invited
And I need to practice my dancing
Oh, please, Daddy, please?"

So I will dance with Cinderella
While she is here in my arms
'Cause I know something the prince never knew
Oh, I will dance with Cinderella
I don't want to miss even one song
'Cause all too soon the clock will strike midnight
And she'll be gone...

She says he's a nice guy and I'd be impressed
She wants to know if I approve of the dress
She says, "Dad, the prom is just one week away
And I need to practice my dancing
Oh, please, Daddy, please?"

So I will dance with Cinderella
While she is here in my arms
'Cause I know something the prince never knew
Oh, I will dance with Cinderella
I don't want to miss even one song
'Cause all too soon the clock will strike midnight
And she'll be gone, she will be gone

Well, she came home today with a ring on her hand
Just glowing and telling us all they had planned
She says, "Dad, the wedding's still six months away
But I need to practice my dancing
Oh, please, Daddy, please?"

So I will dance with Cinderella
While she is here in my arms
'Cause I know something the prince never knew
Oh, I will dance with Cinderella
I don't want to miss even one song
'Cause all too soon the clock will strike midnight
And she'll be gone
- "Cinderella" by Steven Curtis Chapman
^That was the song to which I danced with my father at my wedding. I love it because it is my dad and me, and reminds me just how quickly my childhood flew by. Moreso it reminds me of the fact that my father is a remarkable man with a heart of gold and fierce passion to love his family and his friends. I love him so dearly and hope that today is the best birthday yet. Happy birthday, dad! ♥

----
Our pastor is back from vacation, and made with it to bring us a solid message on the parallel between olympian dedication to running the race and our plight to prevail in our own race of life. Very inspiring. Following closely behind the service was lunch at Applebee's with Becky, the kids, and Becky's mom before she headed back out of town. Jimmy, Mo, Jarod, and Julie made for great company, and we had some inevitable moments of laughing fits before we parted ways and I headed home to rest up before volleyball.

Volleyball proved to be more food than play at first; we were celebrating all of the August birthdays and Irene's farewell as she returns to college in a week or so. The perk behind having a barbeque before volleyball: getting home two hours earlier than I would have on a typical vball night when we make our stop at BDubbs after play is over. The weather was beautiful, the friends were awesome, and for a break in the INSANITY routine, it wasn't bad at all.

Not too shabby for a Sunday. Let's see what Monday has in store :)

xo | cmd

Birthdays! : Maricor | William

Dear Cousin,

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!



I love this girl to pieces. Cousins, best friends - it doesn't get much crazier than the antics we've been through together growing up into this adulthood thing.. haha. There's nothing quite like having someone 2 months older than you with whom you can share both the beautiful and the broken moments of life and all that comes with it. There are very few people in this world on which I have no doubt I could cast any and all of my problems without judgment, disownment, or otherwise crushing response. Family is family, like it or not, but I definitely love her. She's a friend, a wife, a mother, sister, daughter, and cousin. Happy birthday to my always beautiful, always there, cousin.

^^ Playing on the BMW [cousin, Jeremy's!], some fun memories in Columbus, and of course, a shot with the cousins [minus Andrea & Jamie], Ate Caridel, Kuya Eddie, myself and Maricor at my wedding :) ^

In the spirit of birthdays, today was William's birthday party, held at the church, so I went along to help take care of the photography. Between cake, cupcakes, presents, water balloons and bubbles, the kids had a blast, and the adults were awarded with exhausted kids to take home and relax.... which is exactly what we did afterwards.

Happy Birthday, William!! :)

See you.. at the Tower tomorrow!

xo | cmd

[This is] INSANITY.

INSANITY, meet Cori.

INSANITY

Day 1: Done.

Holy cow.

I'll keep you posted.

xo | cmd