Worship & Winter Walks

First things first, WELCOME BACK, Josh!!

We've been waiting anxiously for weeks for Josh to be well enough to return and take up his spot on the praise team. While we'd adjusted to his absence, having him back today was the best way we could've started the service. Oh, and we brought out the instruments to celebrate :)

we're all here! ♥

rehearsal time :) 

We headed home after church, where I threw in a load of laundry, made a couple eggs and did a quick change to head out for a quick hike with Jess & Bumper.

stella didn't feel like going.. 

i was hungry?

let's go, bumper! 

East Fork was pleasantly quiet today, with the exception of a few mountain bikers and one couple hiking with their dog. Jess, Bump and I took to the Harsha Lake circuit - today was the perfect day for it.

hi jess!

william harsha lake | east fork state park | ohio

(and the masses ((and I)) said yes.)

all the while knowing full well i wasn't going anywhere..

cold but happy ♥

Earlier this morning at church, Chad emphasized the idea that in walking with someone, we have the opportunity to find true transparency. He referenced the amount of time Jesus spent walking - physically - with His disciples. With strangers. With the outcast. With everyone. They walked and talked with each other. Some of the Bible's most iconic characters became such as a result of the relationships they developed while literally walking.

I was reminded today how thankful I was to be present in that moment, with one of my close friends. I'm thankful for her insight, conversation and what she has already given me as a friend. We talked at length about what 2018 looks like for us individually, and agreed that we've both put self-love on the list of things we intend to pursue this year. Self-love. Self-care. Self-inspection. More investing into the things that really fuel us, rather than the things that deplete us.

It's something I'll build on as the year gets underway, but today was a secluded eye-opener as we marched through the woods alongside the frozen stream bed and sunlight. Today though, I'm grateful for the praise team and church family who continue to walk through life with each other, and for my beautiful friend Jess, who walked with me today and obliged real, life talk. I really do have much more than I've earned.

Oh, and I made some banana bread that's Whole30 APPROVED, so if y'all would like the recipe, well.. it's the easiest thing you'll make this week, so just ask :)

It's back to work tomorrow, and I think I'm ready.
January, you're lookin' okay so far. :)

xo | cms

Date Days Are The Best

I live for days like this.

I woke up on the couch this morning, after having apparently fallen asleep there last night. I had a pajama-clad, tornado-haired mess free climbing across my lap to start the morning, and although my couch doesn't have a sleep number, waking up was no issue.

First order of business?
Pancakes. I mean, when it's a date day with Sydni, you'd better plan on pancakes at some point, otherwise you'll end up eating them for dinner (she's a focused kinda girl..). It may seem like a small formality, but I know better, and as I'd expected, it was a good call.

With bellies properly filled, we set off on a course for the woods. With the trees still bare, it's not the type of nature outing I generally envision, but that didn't detract from the satisfaction of fresh air and uneven footing, an uprooted tree and treads of dog prints scattered across the path recovering from last week's heavy rainfall. For the majority of our adventure, we were the only two on the trail, which afforded some genuine Sydni conversation.

and we're off! 

the joys of self timers! ;) 

the this tree almost fell on me! face
[for the record, no, it did not]

As always, I was reminded again today just how proud I should be - and am - of this girl, for the perspective on the world that she's happy to share with me, and that every single day, a new part of her personality blooms and makes its statement in a new facial expression, unexpected quip or something otherwise random or unique. Goshhhh, love this girl..

my favorite from the day

sassy lil thing! 

We finished our hike, and I agreed to continuing on our date day by indulging multiple requests for froyo... haha. IYO it was. We ran into one of the pastors from Syd's other side, who I've met once before but of course invited Sydni back to assist with the operations for the short time we were there. 

cashier in training! 

Our day out and about ended with a heaping bowl of pasta and a Disney Netflix marathon. There's a tired little bug snoozing away in her room with two pups using her feet as pillows, and I'm one happy mama.

Rob's back tomorrow, but it won't be before the post-service informational meeting for SonRise Panama, round 2!! Any eyes that cross this post before tomorrow morning, please know that prayers are hugely appreciated and needed for this - I believe the plans are still in their infancy stage now, but I know June will be here before we all know it. 

So for now, good night, loves! 

xo | cmd

Clone the Hiking Pack

It's heeeeeeeeeeere!

So way back in March, when my SonRise team and I headed off to the mountains of Suiche, we were equipped with borrowed hiking packs, courtesy of Chris' old church up north. It's been on my bucket list for about the past 5 years now to snag my own new pack, but I never got around to it... until now.

Out of curiousity about a week ago, I asked Professor Google about "Swiss Gear Hiking Pack," to see what the results that would ping back from the World Wide Web of Wonder.... As it turned out, the exact same bag that I carried for that trip was on Ebay, used twice by a seller who found that he had another bag that he wound up preferring.

Bottom line, I bought it.
And today, it arrived!

it's here! :) 

I let Elisa have the pleasure of opening the box, and before I knew it, this happened. Dave came out just as she was answering a call, stuck somewhere between a mountainous trek and an office:

hahahha

The arrival [& excellent condition!] of this new/used hiking bag shoved my day in the right direction; I topped it off with a client meeting in Springdale - with a fellow Pinoy!, and then with a 3-2 win over our competition at volleyball.

And now I'm home.. planning my next outing.
Any and all ideas are welcome!

xo | cmd

Smoky Mountains, Here We Come!

We left today for a weekend in the Smokies.

Before that could happen though, it was a prioritized early morning that began with yoga at 6AM.
That was followed by breakfast at First Watch once Becky came by to get us.

Here we go!

let's go! 

Here's the before shot... I can guarantee we'll be 1) nowhere near this clean in 3 days, and 2) probably still wearing these exact clothes [still] in 3 days. We've already accepted it.

The drive through Kentucky into Tennessee is beautiful enough when you're by yourself. When you're with two of your favorite friends, it warps into something beyond a scenic drive; it becomes a 5-hour launch into hilarity, during which you spend the entirety of your time doing one of three things:

1. Sleeping
2. Eating
3. Laughing so hard that you're crying & gasping for air. 

All of those things happened within the 5-hour confinement on the way down. 

WE MADE IT! 

Cataloochee is our starting point for the weekend; we're here in the lower portion of the North Carolina mountains, surrounded by trees, rivers, elks and hammocks. 

Our first order of business was a suspended timeout:

1-2-3, go. 

just... leave... me..... here.
forever.

 

Our contingency plan:

We broke out the JetBoils and had a successful first night of Mountain House dinners.

let's do it... 

Marianne and I managed to gather firewood; for Mare, this translated into full tree branches, but hey - noone's judging.. haha.

"wrist size or smaller.... " haha

Day 1: COMPLETE. We are here in the Smokies and ready for the weekend! 

xo | cmd

Wednesday Is Gear Day...

The best part about ordering things online is undoubtedly the day that you get them. It's even better when what you ordered is exactly what you wanted, the shippers got the order right, and even when you've guesstimated {<really? No autocorrect? Guesstimated is a word?..Huh...} the sizing of something, it turns out to be just right.

Today was a day of receiving many of the things I've recently ordered; things I've needed for a while now, but have pushed off until there was really a need to get them. That need of course: Panama.

timex :) 

So my WATCH is here! I was iffy about getting a white one, since I've traditionally always gone with black, or gray... or.... black or gray.. for those types of things.

I rendezvoused at REI [& didn't buy everything I saw!] with Becky after work for a quick browse through some of the smaller stuff I was going to need: a bowl, plastic ware and miscellaneous small things.

$15 say what? have we gone mad? 

^ Oh, and just a sidenote, NO.. I did not buy that bowl. I'm going into a mountain for like, 4 days. I don't need a $15 bowl. I found and purchased 2 non-flexy plastic bowls and two plastic sporks for under $7. There is no reason to buy one of these for what I need now. Just.. sayin'. Just because it's at REI does not mean you should pay REI prices, folks. REI, I still love you, but c'mon.... :)

We tested out  a two-person tent..

^ We vote sleeping pads if you're planning to sleep on the floor of a store.. haha :)

We finished there and headed out to the cars, where Becky surprised me with THIS!

sawyer!!

^YIIIEEE! Those little guys are lifesavers in filtration. Small & compact, easy to use and super effective when done correctly. It of course was on the list of things to get for not just Panama, but for other ventures into the woods that are starting to dot my Summer calendar already. THANK YOU, BECKY!!

After REI, we met up with Rob for dinner at El Rancho, and then parted ways before the winter storm that's been looming over us started to settle.

haha, love her.

At home, the socks I'd ordered were waiting. They're among the pricier things I've done so far, and honestly I probably didn't need to binge on them, but again, I was trying to think big picture and not have to do this later. Kinda solid logic, right? :/

I'm checking things off this Panama list like mad here lately. It's all coming together, and although my bank account is raising its eyebrow at me, I'm preparing for long-term things, too. I still need a new hammock and tent, but those are things that aren't necessary for Panama, so I suppose they'll wait. :)

I'm overwhelmed by the amount of support I [and we, my team!] have received over the last several months for this trip; Please, please, please continue to be in prayer for us! We're within a couple weeks of departure, and would greatly appreciate it!

xo | cmd

Valentines & Birthday & GORGE [Oh, My!]

to all of you, love... me!

Happy Valentine's Day, folks! Whether that should translate to Happy Lovebirds Day, or Happy Singles Awareness Day, whatever... do what you need to BE HAPPY today, and extend love to someone. ♥

We took a different approach to Valentine's Day this year, by hitting the southbound road early in the day, en route to the Gorge. Red River Gorge, that is :). 

First things first: In Powell County, KY, if you are injured, you will be high-rollin' your way to the hospital:

hilarious. 

Anyway, we left early and made it to the gorge for a day celebrating Jessica's birthday! We met her, her family and the solo welcome party at the door:

bump-a-lumper... 

Don't ask me how I managed to get ZERO pictures of this killer cabin + separate yoga house + sauna and hot tub arrangement that we spent the day in; somehow I managed to do exactly that, and am very disappointed in myself.

awww.. look at him! 

A few other faces joined the party and we managed to load everyone up for a hike up to the arch. It was threatening snow, but that didn't phase us one bit, as we embarked like city-slickers out into the woods armed with nothing but our coats, hats and gloves. This is depressingly funny & ironic because literally everyone in this crowd is savvy to the common sense/equipment/supplies of trail hiking. You just.. don't ever do what we did today. Ever. Fortunately, there were no major issues, and we all made it down into the valley and back out in the same shape.

Pictures, pictures, pictures!

so many places to go :) 

icicles everywhere

icicle cavern

posed for a group shot! 

the arch! (: 

jess & clan!

love this of jess & bumper!

happy valentines day!!! xxo ♥

Whew! It was a blast out there, and although we nearly got snowed in on the mountain, we made it safely back to the cabin, where we spent the rest of the evening playing games, eating & making valentines cards. 

happy birthday, jessica!!!

The darkness set in around the cabin, and our plans to stay the night - whether with the Ghantous clan or with Kalyn, as originally planned - came into question due to the already-fallen snow and impending freezing overnight temps. We spent a few hours in deliberation, until Jessica's dad decided he was taking off, and we voted to just follow him down the mountain and out of town. 

Poor Lexi wasn't happy at all about this adventure. The poor girl didn't have her winter boots on for this trip, and didn't know what to think about what she'd been through today... 

lit up like a lexi Christmas tree :( 

Anyway, I was bummed that we didn't get to see Kalyn, but am glad that we made it back home safely without any issues. The commute back from the Gorge was almost a welcome 2 hours, compared to 5-6 hours that we usually endure between here and St. Louis.

Anyway, we're home, safe & sound, with just minutes to spare until it's officially Sunday.

Jessica & family - thank you again for having us down to celebrate your birthday! Cheers to you, and many, many more!!

xo | cmd