Panama 2019 Introduction

LOL. Okay soooo.. for those of you who are just landing on this page for the first time:

I'm Cori, and while I can't and won't say I'm a missionary, I am one who goes on missions trips when I can. My church's ladies group recently asked me to put together a video introducing this trip for some of those who might be interested in some more details.

So that video.. is THIS video:


1. I have never, do not, and likely will never... enjoy hearing and watching myself on video. I didn't do much aesthetic prep for this one, so what you see is what you get: no professional make up team or lighting. Literally done in my living room, and this is take #6 I think.

2. Despite the fact that *I FEEL* like I look a little tired here, I can assure you I am BEYOND excited for this trip. Details below:

**********

2015: My first trip to Panama, and my first time meeting the wonderful Vega family. The Vega's are the family who spearhead the Panama missions (MG PANAMA), and who have worked tirelessly since 1995 to share the good news into the mountainous Ngöbe villages. Listen to the video, and visit the MG Panama site for more background on their missions! ♥ The 2015 introduced me to the Ngöbe, and I fell in love within the hour. We shared life, love and the gospel, with a village of beautiful people, and I knew without doubt that I would run headfirst through the door to return, if God should open it again.

2017: .... and He DID. In 2017, alongside the same leader from the 2015 trip, we returned to Panama, to spend a week again with the Vega missions, in a different Ngöbe village. God took it up a notch the second trip around, with us being tasked to build a physical church building for the village. In a week, it went from flat ground to a full completed structure, and on the final night, my best friend and I were able to lead worship for the church's very first service. I will never forget the magnitude and the responsibility of that moment.

2019: Third time's a charm? The adage is a classic, but I wasn't sure it would apply to this trip, until Chris (the again, same strong leader) asked me to lead the women's small group study while we are there. He made clear that this will stretch my boundaries of comfort and ability, but in ways which will grow me. I began immediately praying over this, and today had the opportunity to sit down with one of the women in my church who I most respect and admire. She is the brand of bold I want to be when I grow up, and has not only traveled the road of international missions, but the very specific one I am preparing to walk down, in a leadership role. There is a level of responsibility that comes with this, a new degree of pressure and accountability, and a heart that must, without fail, rely wholly and fearlessly on the results that God has already written into the plan.

If you watched the video, then you know that my biggest prayer right now, for my team, is for preparation not only of our bodies, our resources and our classroom material, but for our hearts and our minds, that we will walk every. single. step of this trip in unbridled faith and flexibility, and that we are willing to step out in boldness when He calls us to, and be authentic vessels through which these people will see the love of Christ as He intended it to be seen: for EVERYone.

trans | Galatians 6:9
"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a
harvest if we do not give up."

We can't wait to share more of this with everyone! ♥xxo | cmd

s u r r e n d e r

image credit: Instagram @morganharpernichols

I needed to sit down and write this out while it's still fresh.

I was driving home from church this morning, overwhelmed by the A-ha! moments I've had, just so far today. It's barely afternoon, and I'm brimming with conviction. But that's how God works. Today's entry is for me. I'm speaking in raw format for myself, so if this maybe resonates for you too, then know I am in your corner, and perhaps we're wearing at least one of the same shoes.

Today's church service, at a glance, was all things routinely slated as it can be: worship, sermon, invitation, communion, fellowship - all the things that comprise a Sunday morning, come and go. If I said that every single Sunday echoed at a core level like today did, I'd be lying. While there is always a powerful point to the message, there is, with varying frequency, one (or more) that I feel were designed to speak directly and specifically into the spaces of my mind and heart that are wary, tired or broken. Today was one of those.

Today was one of the weekends I was scheduled off in the rotation of the worship team. It is just as beautiful to me to lead out through the mic, as it is to be still and be fed. It is just as necessary. Today was a day to be fed. Today was a day to be humbled. To be an active listener. To be an ACTIVE responder. To surrender.

One of the most basic tools we are given as humans, as friends, as families, as Christians - are relationships. We are wired to seek and serve a purpose, and we thrive when we do so, according to our individual gifts. If we are living out our abilities, we will inevitably be doing so among the company of others who share gifts, or who serve in other ways that complete the picture. We are built as relational creatures: in our families, in our friendships and in fellowship. By definition, 'relationships' is a plural entity, meaning that we will find synchrony with other people in the process of building and living out those relationships.

That then, by proxy, means letting go.
To clarify, that does not mean losing yourself. They are not the same thing.

I have lost myself before. I'm sure I'll do it again before my time on earth is over. I've tried to fit the mold that something or someone else has built, and all too late realized that I was never meant to fit into that mold. I have focused on becoming or being the way someone else is. I have tried and failed, tried and failed, tried and failed. But I have also tried and succeeded! The difference comes when I let go. When I surrender myself to the goal at hand, and get out of my own way.

Sounds easy enough right? Well, I suppose it is, in most cases. As a Christian, as a believer, I can vouch though that the real test of faith comes when I am asked to surrender. Why? Because I am very much human, and surrendering the things that keep me "safe," requires a faith that I do not always have.

Not on my own, anyway. What do I mean by this? Well for starters: When I am called to serve. Something as 'simple' as our praise team. It is an area of ministry that must be filled, and in the last year, my church as been blessed with a worship leadership team that has brought us together and sculpted us into a well-oiled machine (with room to grow, always always always!). But the process took faith! It took a determination to be flexible. To adopt new things, and integrate them with old things. To follow. To work together. To accept instruction, constructive criticism. To accept praise. To be patient with technical issues on a Sunday morning. Tuning issues. Tempo issues. It is all of those things.

On a larger scale, surrender comes as a struggle for me where relationships are concerned.

Forgiveness. 

Grace. 

Mercy. 

Humility. 

Guilt. 

Am I the only one who struggles with LETTING GO of some of those things? 

Am I the only one who feels somehow ENTITLED to keep a white-knuckle grip on some of these? 

Am I the only one who feels like they might lost themselves if I give these things up? 

Am I the only one who fears the unknown that lies beyond the surrender of these things? 

I am not the only one. I am surrounded by a church family, comprised of other humans, with other life experiences and wisdoms that sometimes dwarf my own, or in other cases remind me of the beauty that I may have lost sight of through something of my own. Today, a few members of my 'family' spoke into me, through the message (Josh), and in personal anecdotes afterwards (Joyce & Dale), and for them I am so thankful. 

I struggle with surrender. I often equate it with being weak. With failing myself. With the natural fear of the unknown. With the dread of repeating the same mistakes or experiences again. I hold onto what tangible security I feel like I have, and live inside the isolation of fear. I often wonder, "am I the only one who does this?" and "if I let go, I'm going to get hurt again." I worry. I become anxious that I will be caught off guard or otherwise unprepared for something I should've seen coming. I doubt my abilities, my capabilities and my emotional bandwidth. I FEAR THAT I WILL NOT HAVE WHAT IT TAKES. I fear that in letting go, I may just lose myself. 

Cori, the hard and indisputable TRUTH is that there is FREEDOM in surrender. There is LIBERATION in letting go. There is PEACE in the stillness. Think about it. Just THINK, how beautiful it is to plant a seed and literally NOT have to be the one who waters it into full maturity? How freeing it is, to allow your shoulders to breathe OUT from beneath the weight you've made them carry? How triumphant it feels to look back at the transcript of your life so far, and realize that your testimony lies in the FACT that God has literally N E V E R been absent in providing you with what you've needed?! That to forgive yourself for the things you've done wrong, allows you the space to forgive others for what they've done to you? To model service after the way Jesus served, allows you to get OUT of your own way and let God move in the impossible formats that only He can? That to SURRENDER your doubt, means that you don't have to carry it? How many times have you lost sight of this? And have you not suffered EVERY single time because you did?  YOU DID. 

S U R R E N D E R. 

Let go of the control. Let go of the plan I have, and remember that God will bless my efforts tenfold when I let Him in to heal. When I stop trying to do it all on my own, is when I will win. When I finally pause long enough to see that there are outstretched hands from other people - other believers - who have been here before, who are living in service and ready to help me do the same.. that is when I will truly be able to serve with a clear heart. 

I'm human. The idea of blind trust and faith is something that we are all literally born with. We grow out of it as we grow, as we are exposed to the world. As we experience. As we find joy, and live through pain. As we build walls to try and neutralize the stings of rejection, betrayal, loss, disappointment. I cling to my own devices more often than not, and without fail, it leads me further into chaos. 

This isn't a new thing for me. Surrender is something I have always struggled with. I find hope in the fact that I surrounded by other humans who struggle at some level with this, too. I find comfort in knowing that I am loved by a God who gave His son's life so that I would not have to pay the price of death for the things I've done wrong. 

Just as this isn't a new struggle for me, it will not resolve itself overnight. But here I sit, confessing this area of perpetual weakness, on a platform that will give me reference access to anywhere I go, anytime I need to be reminded. And it's here for you too, if you're out there reading this and relating. 

"Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will lift you up." 

- James 4:10

It's okay to let go. In fact, that is what we're called to do. It's part of growth. In order to grow, I have to trust the process. I have to try and fail, and I have to try and succeed. I have to forgive. I have to show mercy, because I have been shown mercy beyond my comprehension, let alone my merit. I have been shown grace and love so unconditional that I am a fool not to show them to the people in my own life. I have scars that should not serve as shackles, but as blocks on which I can build my testimony.

currently listening…. highly recommend! 

This will be a process. It is always a continuous process.
Surrender isn't easy. But it's necessary.
I can do this. We can do this. ♥

xo | cmd

Cousins for Christmas

The past week's been ...... one. of. those. weeks.
My heart's been heavy with the weight of some things I hadn't expected, and it's been an emotional rollercoaster. Everything from my soul to my skin feels tired, strained, and in need of some rest and healing. (Don't worry guys, it's a temporary lament - I'm not going anywhere, just being... human.)

I needed a break in the waves, so it was with a heart insanely full of gratitude that I headed out after church to catch up with my Ate Caridel, in town from Arizona for the holiday. To say that I needed the company of these women (& little women!) is an understatement.

I am.. so, so thankful for these ladies.

♥ ate caridel & maricor

♥♥ my heart was so happy to see them ♥♥

just add frappucino ;) 

pinsan ♥ | [cousin]

ate caridel ♥

Aaaaaaaaaalso, I'm not sure why I'd put off watching Crazy Rich Asians until tonight, but I couldn't have picked better company for a viewing party. I loved it, I love them, and I feel immensely recharged.

We're on the homestretch of 2018. I'm thankful for this season, as it's mixed with both anticipation and exhaustion. It's a strange blend, but 2018 has taught me more in one year than I'd expected or hoped. Today was a much-needed, much-appreciated chance to slow down and be present with some of my favorite humans.

I hope you're taking those moments this Christmas season, too - to slow down.. and just.. be :). ♥

xo | cmd 

To Easton We Go!

Dear Future Self: 

It's late in the evening, and I'm still smiling as I think of the day we just had. It wasn't anything huge, but it was everything to have had it, anyway. I hope that on a dark day somewhere down the road, you'll look back at today, in all its simple perfection, and remember how much love you felt today. 

Love, 

Your Present Self. 

**********************************

My mom's birthday was last Sunday, but since we can't be in six places at once, I wished her happy birthday over the phone. We decided mid-week that the weather would be just fine for us to meet up for lunch in Easton, which is just barely an hour drive for them. 

Oh, and in case you haven't been in Columbus in the past 15 years, the answer is yes, we are STILL under construction. 

I'd forgotten how ridiculous parking at Easton is on a Saturday, but we finally made it to the restaurant to meet up with Mom.  

could she be any more adorable?!

happy birthday, mom!

Since we were at Brio, Sydni got to have some fun of her own: 

And entertainment: 

^ I can't handle this girl ;) 

Anyway, more fun from mom's birthday lunch and trek around Easton: 

3 generations ;) 

gosh, these two... 

hahahaha

dad!

i may be partial, but i'm sure my mom is the cutest! 

so. much. love.

After lunch and a quick stroll around Easton, Sydni and I headed another 15 minutes north to stop in and say hi to Maricor.. 

cousin time! 

We're back home now, and with another good Whole30 dinner under my belt, I think this was a pretty good way to wind down the day. A friend of mine just got tattoo #1 tonight, so now I'll be on Pinterest for the next definitely-unhealthy-length-of-time digging around mandala elbow pieces.. because I'm the type of addict who can't bear hearing about it without also going to get one.. haha. 

All ideas welcomed. For now, as Iliza puts it, "PINPINPINPINPINPIN"

Happy Saturday, blogbots.

xo | cms

Buon Compleanno, Mamma!

IT'S MY MOM'S BIRTHDAY! 

look at that hair! ;) 

I'm not the kid that can say she and her mom have always been best friends. We fought a lot in my formative years, but here's the deal: she didn't then, hasn't since and I'm fairly certain never will not have my back. She's fought for me every day of my life, even before I was born (because yenno, adoption). She made sacrifices I can't imagine making, to be sure that the child she chose - not birthed - would have a well-rounded life. She invested in me with everything she had, and even though we can agree now that the good intentions didn't always hit their mark, they were there. Even when I felt most alone growing up, she was there. She is always, always there.

I wanted to say some things about her - my mom. 

The first of those things is this: My mom is  not the perfect mom. She never has been. She won't ever be. HOWEVER, the fact remains that she started that journey almost an entire year after her child was born. If you're anything other than blind, you've understood that I'm adopted; by definition alone that means that I am not her biological-born, and so the choices she made on my behalf were, in my eyes, just that much more intentional. She had none of it figured out when I got here. She didn't have to. My mom is the type of person who shines even brighter after moments of failure or mistake. I've never met anyone who so thoroughly uses a setback as an opportunity to do and be better on the next chance. That's been a hallmark of her personality for as long as I've known her, and from what I hear from my family, long before that. 

Another thing: My mom is the epitomy of the finite balance between endless positivity and an almost annoying air caution. I don't know how she achieves both so fully. She chooses to find the light in everything, even if that light is a buried underdog in the battle. In the same breath, she's warning me to check my fruits and vegetables for pesticides and not to use toxic chemicals when I clean the areas my pets and family might use. She has an unwavering smile through it all, as though the sun being out in the sky is the best thing since the sun existing in the first place. 

And then.. she's been the logistics coordinator and structural brain of our family for years, and is still somehow hilariously and adorably aloof. 2017 was the year she and my dad finally emerged from the leashes of FLIP PHONES, and went straight to smart phones. I now get to hear her say things like, "Oh, I just love the Google." 

Us too, Mom. Us too. 

If ever there was a non-celebrity human being who invested herself into the well-being of others around her before herself, it's my mom. She's a professional samaritan, which by proxy is likely one of the biggest contributors to her endless supply of joy. Oh, and if you've known my mom for more than 5 minutes, you'll know that that compassion is distributed in this order: Animals, Family, Food (aka, for everyone else). Those legends you hear about animal activists in the 70's with clipboard petitions to save caged pigeons are not just tall tales. That was her, in all her Farrah hair and bell-bottom prime. She channeled that into 20+years as the president of our hometown humane society, and has every ounce of credit for surrounding me with vets, trainers and breed advocates who taught me the fundamentals of animal well-being. I assisted in my first hands-on feline spaying surgery when I was 9, and was pulling rounds of deer ticks off stray dogs for multiple-hour sessions in my garage by the age of 11. I could recite the foster-to-adopt program by heart before I finished middle school, and it's because my mom was (is!) so passionate about any creature - 2 or 4+ legged, who don't have their own voice. 

Lastly (for purposes of this blog, but certainly not lastly in general), my mom is HAPPY. She is happy with the life she's built, with what she's lost and what she's gained. The joy that is in her eyes isn't fake. It's not forced. It's there because she obliged her passion for adventure and loving others. For being a part of a community, a family, a business, or an excursion. She's happy because the things she's poured herself into were not always rewarding, but then when they were, it was tenfold. She is happy because she has surrounded herself with people who share her beliefs and her passions, and who continue to encourage and keep her accountable to her goals. And she's happy because she still has goals. My mom is genuinely happy with her life and what it has given and continues to give her. Our running joke is that she'll be the one still riding her bike 13 miles a day at 212 years old, when we're long gone. I mean, it's unlikely, but we'll see ;). 

Mom, you deserve every bit of love and light today. I love you to the moon & back.

Happy Birthday ♥

xo  | cms

Letting Go of ME (A 2017 Archive)

Happy Monday TUESDAY, blogbots!

I started rummaging through old unpublished entries on here last night, and I came across this one, about Panama. I thought I'd go for it, since I haven’t yet and it’s been nearly six full months since we got back from the 2017 trip. In the midst of all the other stuff I never got around to documenting, this too fell by the wayside, and that’s not okay.

One of the things that hit me as I was looking back through the first couple days of pictures from the 2017 trip, is how much I really took for granted this time around. Even two months later, some of the finite details had just then registered with me. This, just as any other missions trip, could have gone way worse. Could’ve had serious logistic hurdles. Could’ve, for all we knew, been a complete disaster. But it wasn’t. I’m looking back six months and feeling for the first time, a real gratitude for how that trip turned out.

I’ve been to Panama twice now, and am more cognizant of how those two trips varied:

2015: Rewind almost three(ish) years ago, to when I stepped off my front porch at 3am with my hiking pack and loaded into the van with Chris, Aaron, Marissa and Quinn, for my first Panamanian trip. I was nervous – not in an overwhelming way, but in a way that made me hyper-aware of committing every last detail to memory. I had no idea what to expect. My team, as far as I was concerned at that point, consisted of the people in that van. A confession I’ll make now is that while we sat by the gates at CVG, I penned an open letter to nobody in particular, just in case something were to happen.

That was the state of my heart as I boarded the first plane to New Jersey. That was my focus. I’d completely lost sight in that moment of why I was there in the first place. I got on the plane and cried. We were less than two total hours into the trip and I was already a mess – nerves compounded with disappointment in myself for allowing the doubt to creep in. And then I prayed. For the remainder of that first leg, I prayed. I praised. I made a mental list of and thanked God for each person on the team, in the seats beside me. For our church family who’d backed us. For the missionaries who would be responsible for us while we were there. For our families back home, who would be doing life per usual for the week that we were gone.

equipo ♥♥
suiche, panama | ngobe reservation | 2015

And then I prayed that He would, if nothing else on that trip, help me to live in the moment.
And that is exactly what happened. I spent a week tucked into the side of a remote Ngobe village serving the most incredible families, to whom I am eternally indebted for what they taught me about myself in the process. I came home with an entire journal filled with memories. With moments. With names of new lifelong friends, and places and feelings and descriptions. With notes for my future self. Ways I’d been challenged, and truths I’d realized. I came home and re-lived that trip for months. The foundation had been laid in my heart for Panama, for MG3, for the Vega family, for the Ngobe people. I knew I would be back.

suiche, panama | ngobe reservation | 2015

And I’d only arrived at that place because I finally let go of me, and let God move.

"For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline."
- 2 Timothy 1:7

 

*****************

MAY/JUNE 2017: Forward to 2017’s trip. Chris had made attempts in 2016 to form a team, but for reasons I’ll never know, it didn’t happen. We accepted that, and started praying for whatever 2017 might hold. It was February when the plans were finally announced for Lightpoint to be sending its inaugural team of missionaries out of the country. We were to be that team. We barely became a full team; a few who expressed initial interest ended up unable to commit, at least for this year. I prayed and again propositioned Marianne, who’d been unable to go in 2016, in hopes that maybe.. just maybe.. this year would work.

And she WAS. And so was her boyfriend, Derrek. And so we became a team of four: Chris, Mare, Derrek and myself. Chris had orchestrated with Todd, a pastor from Crosspoint Church in Cleveland, for the four of us to rendezvous with his team before we got to Panama. We accepted that at face value, and took diligently then to our weekly FaceTime conference calls, where Chris was able to connect with Mare & Derrek and lead us as a team to prepare for Panama 2017.

Approaching the 2017 trip, I was confident of an exponentially higher number of things than I’d been in 2015. Marianne is my best friend, Derrek is her boyfriend, and I’ve had two more years to really get to know Chris and his family. Our international team consisted of people that were no longer strangers to me, and I felt at peace knowing that all the new faces of this expedition would still come with the familiar.

We flew from Cincinnati to Atlanta on the first morning out, and met there with Todd's team, which was a compilation of members from Crosspoint in Cleveland, and then two other couples from Todd's hometown church in Benton, AR (Holland Chapel). Together we had managed to rally 3 churches and 3 different states' worth of teammates, combining for the first time in the Atlanta airport just hours before we were to embark on a pack-only hike into one of the most remote areas of another country.

Now's not the time for Trust Issues. 

We touched down in Panama and seemed as though we didn't stop moving until we got back off the plane seven days later back in Cincinnati. Already a much different pace than 2015. Remembering what I'd eaten 2 hours in the past was a task, let alone compartmentalizing each of the days, and what they stood to represent. For all I can say, this trip was a blur. In a good way, but a blur no less.

team vermoncinnati ;) - chris, cori, derrek, mare
en route to balsa/algorrobo, panama | ngobe reservation | 2017

To nobody's surprise, I took literally a couple thousand pictures, but I'll admit that I am really seeing some of these pictures for the first time, even now. I'm recalling the hours we spent dragging our bags off the bus and stuffing them back on again. Of how we all adjusted to our surroundings, and became wholly reliant on translators to speak in Ngabe on our behalf. How we trusted each other without question, and set foot onto the mountains for hours of hiking into a village.

Letting go of myself on a trip like this is not an option. The difference in how I had to let myself go on this year's Panama adventure was equal yet nearly opposite the way I had to before.

It's something I struggle with obviously on the missions field, but absolutely and frequently off that map, too. And if there was ever a weekday built to test my resolve, it's a Monday, dressed up as TUESDAY. Today really didn't prove to be one of those days, I guess, but I know they're very real, and that separating myself from the voices of control, inadequacy and guilt that I am often prone to hearing is often harder done than said.

2017 equipo : ngabe, esp, eeu
balsa/algorrobo, panama | ngobe reservation outset | 2017

I'm posting this now, because as I set the stage for my 2018, it includes reflecting on a prompt I'd obviously had one day halfway through 2017. I don't know why I didn't post this in its entirety originally (when I first wrote it, in July 2017), but I'm posting now to give myself something to look back on even a week from now, when I'm not feeling particularly sentimental about this the way I am today. I have no idea what 2018 holds, what the Panama trip will look like this year, and although I'm not wired to trust easily, I know there are bigger plans in motion than my doubt. It's a tough pill to swallow, but that's a part of the journey that's just as crucial as being along for the ride. My only real wish, believe it or not, is to be pushed so far out of my comfort zone on the next trip that I have no choice but to stare down whatever two options there are, knowing both will catalyze me in a permanent, hopefully positive way.

With all of that being said, any and all prayers would be hugely appreciated as we work through orchestrating this year's trip. It will be a completely different trip, if I understand it correctly, but hey.. I'm in. :)

xo | cms

A BRONZE FRIYAY!

TGIF!

Today I walked into my office and was greeted by all of this, because my office collectively hit a new milestone of Bronze Circle. In my world (Express), that's a big deal, and is indicative of a team that puts in the dirty work. I am surrounded by some incredibly talented people, and we are blessed to have leaders who will go the distance just to say thank you.

happy friday!

And yes, we did. 

fruit and fizzy.. 

Really not a bad way to end the week, at all! I'm so proud to be a part of my team, and thankful every day lately that I'm back in a place where I can fully function, with a team that is right there with me. 

TGIF, ya'll. It's time for me to rest up; tomorrow is going to be a long day ;) 

xo | cms

Celebrating Mama Julie!

So this is a thing, just in case you were concerned... I dunno.. that it wasn't.. ? 

i mean.... 

^It's funny because I drive past that thing at least 3 times weekly, and I've always wanted to stop and at least look at it. Cincinnati has a thing with posting various flying pig statues around the city, and this one has always seemed like one of the more elaborate among them. If you're ever in Milford, you'll probably spot it ;) 

I arrived at small group expecting to delve into adult conversation right away. Instead, I built a house. 

and i am not sorry. 

The REAL story tonight is that we celebrated Mama Julie's fast-approaching retirement! This upcoming Saturday will be her last 'official' day as a nurse, but I am always in awe whenever she shares stories from her career. I've determined that she, along with people like my dad and a few other mentors I've had along the way, are models for where I want to ultimately find myself. I so admire her for having such a full and rewarding career, raising a family in the midst of it and all the while actively and intentionally pursuing her faith for herself and all those around her. 

mama julie!

You've earned it, Mama J! 

we love you mama j! 

Jaclyn and I also thought we'd share with you the truth behind our small group study. If you're in the market for notes on how to study, well.. we've got you covered ;). In style. And fringes ;).

♥ you jax!

Whew. Happy almost Friday, blogbots!

xo | cms

School Days & Segways

Today was a long, long day.
Today was also an absolutely amazing day :).

First things first: Sydni's first day of 3rd grade. I am not an emotional wreck. *Rinse & repeat*
---------In my defense, I was entirely fine with the entire thing until she said to me,

"Mommy. I am walking fast because I am excited. Not like, because I'm trying to leave you behind or anything. I really wish you could come in here with me." 

... I swear. That kid can ruin me... haha.

my 3rd grader!

my ♥.

♥♥♥♥

We joke that Sydni has an entourage everywhere she goes; it's the truth.  

sisters! 

aw :) 

Parents & teachers everywhere: I'm praying for you. I'm praying that every. single. one of our kiddos finds joy and progress while they're at school. I pray that they find classmates that will encourage them, accept them and challenge them in the way that helps them realize their best self. I pray that they'll be safe. That they'll feel welcomed and protected. That we as parents can do our parts to encourage them and reinforce what they've learned at school. That we'll be involved. I pray for Syd's and all the other teachers - that you'll be able to stay healthy these first couple weeks especially [germs, x infinity ;)], and that your classrooms will be safe, cultivating environments for your students but also for you, too. I pray that you continue to have the passion and patience that I. [most often, if I'm being honest] Do. Not.. for the swarms of our kiddos that you'll see every day over this next year. That we as parents will help you when you need it, and in ways that set positive examples for our kids. I pray for all the kids going back, from preschool to grad school: You've got this, and you'll move mountains! Amen! 

That brought us to the second half of today: work, of course, but immediately followed by a group outing to Cincinnati Segway! Nobody on my team has ever done this before, so we went into it a little apprehensive of our own balancing abilities.

You guys.. I haven't laughed this hard in a long time. We were so close to a couple serious spills, but fortunately they didn't happen. 

.. and it began.

We did the welcome video, met our guides and donned the standard and quite flattering tour attire:

stef modeling the getup

we've got this :)

practice makes perfect... or something close enough to it ;) 

and we're off .. haha

Some footage to go along with it..

express takes on segway

eden park lookout

team! 

i really think i've got it now? 

your cinci east staffing consultants! ♥

rami :) 

And last but certainly not least.. this hilarious Hawaiian tour guide.. 

aloha lilly! 

I'm wiped. I couldn't have imagined a funnier night to end a great day. Hopefully nobody's too sore in the morning ;). 

Good night! 

xo | cms