Oh My. Relay Is Tomorrow. Whoa.

ivy! better yet, cheap ivy!
thanks, dollar tree :)

No, I'm not too good for the Dollar Tree. In fact, I found tonight that the DT was the only place in which I found exactly what I needed, for obviously less than I could've spent elsewhere. Woo!

I think I've finally got it all under control; I guess we'll find out when I'm in the midst of decorating tomorrow evening and realize I've forgotten something, probably at that point something fundamental, like scotch tape or a pen. I'm like that. Hah.

Anyway, my daily allowance of free time today was spent doing last minute coordination of tent and space decorations, nailing down the logistics of who is bringing what and when, and checking and re-checking the event schedule for everyone involved. RFL is quite the production. I'm reaaaally getting excited!

I'll leave it as that for tonight: this thing goes down tomorrow at 7PM - Belleville West High School. See you there!

Check out the event sched, if you haven't already.

[this is for a point of reference. clicking this will not actually take you there.]

This time tomorrow, we'll be a-walkin' ... 

xo | cmd

INSPIRED.

I wanted to take a break from the typical recounting of my day to share with the world some of the things and people by which I'm inspired. While I do have a rewarding life, I love to live that little bit of myself vicariously through others, or if nothing else at least draw some inspiration from things, places and people that move me.

Just SOME of the motivations in my head today :)
In no particular order... 

christine ha | master chef

1 | Christine Ha. I don't watch the show Master Chef, but a couple of my co-workers do, and they share with me the day after each episode how this girl is still hanging in there in this reality show competition for amateur chefs. She's adorable, and quite Asian, yes, but she's blind, too. That's right. The girl who can't see is on national television kicking tail and taking names in the kitchen. I have 20/10 vision, according to my doctor, and I am absolutely positive that I can't cook better than this gal. 


rissa. nancy. yun. joann
august. september. october. november

2 | Adorable Prego Friends. You're lying if you don't think that all four of these girls make the cutest pregos ever. These are four of my girlfriends from back in Cincinnati who are all [obviously] pregnant, all due one right after the other. They got together recently and had i2 studios do a shoot; this is just one of the many killer pictures they got back. They look like pretty little autumn skittles. This one confirms that there's a slight chance I will be this cute in the event I'm pregnant again. Now I just have to find 3 other girls to share the pregnancy journey with, hire an awesome photographer, and we're good. Haha. Seriously, I really was moved by this in that it highlights the innate and natural beauty of a mother. There is so much complexity to the process of literally growing a human being from essentially just a few cells; to have that captured as a complete picture should be a moving reminder to every mom out there. :) I love everything about it and am excited for all of them!


see red.

3 | RED. This is one of the blogs I follow: Tewfic El-Sawy. He's the Travel Photographer, and posted this collaboration recently. Read about it >here<. This is from a tribe of people in Northern Malabar. I wouldn't say I follow the ritualistic tradition behind this customary getup, but I am so intrigued by the cultural concept of such elaborate decoration. Plus, I love red, and the monochromatic way he put this together is quite appealing. I stand to learn so much from photographers like him! This reminded me that I need to travel more, photograph more, and make a constant, proactive effort to maintain an appreciation for worldly culture even while I'm living in the good old midwest, USA.


toms | boot wedges!

4 | TOMS BOOT WEDGES. I'm such a prolific lover of TOMS, not just because their classics won me over from the start, but because I am fully-aware of the impact they have as a grassroots operation gone-global. Sure, their gear is a little pricey for what it really is [truth, sorry], but I've read the articles on their advocates going directly into the hearts of undeveloped territories and putting shoes on the feet of kids who otherwise use whatever they can find in the woods or in a trash can to keep their feet protected. Call me a hippie, but TOMS are comfortable and supportive of a good cause. These new wedges are adorable, and I'm thiiiiinking about checking them out. We.. shall.. see. I use TOMS [& coincidentally the store in which I get them, shout out to Peace by Piece in Belleville] as motivation for my future potential endeavors of entrepreneurship, too. It could happen ;).

that's love! mama & daughter
[borrowed from fb, christine... it looks like a magazine ad :p ]

5 | SINGLE PARENTS. I work in a small office, but there are two single moms on our staff. It's a weird emotion having sympathy for but lacking the experience to have empathy for single parents and the strife that comes with the territory. I had a[nother] conversation with Christine today, with whom I've grown fairly close in our time working together, and was so moved by the current challenges she faces being a single parent. Sorry to single you out, Christine, but it was in something of an odd way, compelling to be reminded of the strength and courage it takes to continue on with blinders focused on objectively raising a happy kid. My respect for the single parent has exponentially increased over the last few months. Make no mistake, either, I share an equal admiration for single fathers, because I know the indwelling of maternal instinct may come a little rougher to them, but they hold down the cycle with the best of them. I had the privelege growing up with two parents; many of my friends did not. I am so grateful for the blessings I've had in that arena. I look at the broken world in which we live sometimes and I can't help but think I couldn't do what these parents do. The ones who choose to raise their kids right in spite of circumstance amaze me. My job as a co-parent looks like a cakewalk compared to what you do. It's parents like this that remind me of the human capacity to overcome and succeed, if the will is there.


happened across this online

6 | NOT JUDGING BOOKS BY THEIR COVERS. I just needed that reminder. Sure, there are exceptions to every condition, but loving art and expression as much as I do, I just have to say that while I wouldn't necessary canvas my body out to the extent this guy and many of my great friends have, I absolutely believe that a heart is a heart and that doesn't change. 'Nuff said.

rick & dick hoyt

7 | TEAM HOYT. If you haven't heard of them, seen their pictures, watched their videos, or checked out their journey, quit reading my amateur blog and go look it up. I'll get ya started: It's amazing. If you need some motivation to work out, or quit complaining about your workout.. or really your life in general, this is a good place to start. Yeah, this is a bit of an extreme example of how my circumstance could be different, but there is so much that I stand to admire about this father and his son. If there's been a testament of dedication, sacrifice, endurance, and unconditional love in this century, I'd say these two are strong contenders for a top spot. Notice that the wheels say, It's a Good Life! Talk about motivating.. :) 

8 | BEADS. I've had these for a few weeks now and finished up the last one tonight. These look like simple little charms, but there's much to them. These are for my pastor's wife, Debbie, who has a severe version of asthma, and has to wear a medical plaque on her wrist as a failsafe in the event she would have an episode. The way she's got it figured, if you're gonna wear the thing, wear it in style! < Totally adoptable principle, and clearly it works, since for the longest time I thought it was just a regular - but stylish - interchangeable bracelet of some sort. She had asked me some time ago if I could make some minor repairs to a few of the adorning bands; I finished the last of them tonight and thought I'd share. It's been a little while since I touched jewelry-crafting... I made a mental note that I must start making time for it: I love it and it's relaxing. Thanks for the reminder, Miss Debbie! 


photog credit : dk

9 | THE BIBLE. Duh. I know this should've been at the very top of the list, but I decided to save it for end so it would be the last thing we leave with for today. There are a million ways to dive into how this one book has revolutionized my life; I will keep it simple and succinct by just saying that there are so many paths down which I tried to take my life on my own terms, but by this book and all the wisdom in it, I found that real peace, that real happiness, and that real fulfillment I wanted, but never had. It's the instruction manual for creating and achieving my short and long-term goals, raising my children, coping with trials, and appreciating my blessings. It's a link between myself and the Lord who so willingly sacrificed his everything so that I could have everything, without hesitation or doubt. It is unchanging, unfailing, and hugely underestimated. It's my lifeline; by and through it I am who I am, and growing, still. TRULY.. Inspired.

What's inspired YOU today? :)

xo | cmd

Date Night :)

♥

^^ Because that's what you do when you're kid-free and your husband's home from travelling! :)

Mo pointed out yesterday when they were at our house that it's noticeably quieter without mini running around. I guess I hadn't really noticed the stark contrast until she pointed it out, but in either sense, we didn't feel like hanging out in the calm of our place for the night. Once Joe was home, we made quick to head right back out the door for one of those rare, cherished date nights that parents of itty bitties see so infrequently. Haha.

We decided to stay local and re-invent the evening on local turf: downtown Belleville. There's nothing I don't love about that little stretch of Main Street, other than that I am always fighting the urge to go home with some handmade or locally-crafted thing that I realistically don't need.

In any event, we took to the streets of our little town and figured we'd stop off at Se7en, a little sushi bar we've tried before and loved.



sushi!

Also, it wouldn't be an outing in Belleville without a stop-off to see Bulent and raiding his supply of delicious gelato :). Duhh... We even ran into a musician there who plays in a local Christian band. He gave us his card, so you can trust that once I check it out, I'll share it all with you, too :)



one of each, please? :)

relay for life 2012 - paint the town purple!

 On our way out of downtown, I stopped to admire and capture the 2012 Relay for Life's Paint the Town Purple efforts by those who volunteered to do it. We were in VBS while they were out and about tying purple to every available post and pole in the area, but major kudos to those who made it!!

Our original theory for the night was that we would stop and see the new Spiderman after dinner, but unfortunately none of the show times were within an hour of us finishing dinner, so we opted to RedBox it and head back to the house to relax.

Good thing, too, since the movie we rented is still sitting on the coffee table, unopened and unwatched, because we are both about to crash out instead of watch it. Go us.

Haha.
We'll try it again tomorrow. :)

xo | cmd

Kat | Changing Light Bulbs | Softball

I have to acknowledge first and foremost that today is Kat's birthday. Happy birthday, Kat. Words cannot express how much you are still missed. The pain of your passing has dulled in intensity over the last 7 years, but in no way have I forgotten you, forgotten our friendship, or forgotten how much you meant to me when we were friends and roommates.

kat & cori [& patricia, too! :)]
circa june 2005...

Happy 25th birthday, little K.
7.16.87 - 7.28.05.

Now, because I know that Kat would not have wanted any of us to waste any part of our day being sad, I will say that in every other sense of today, it's been another blessing :).

So Happy Monday!

In the spirit of mentioned transitioning, I thought I would start this week off with a little long-forgotten humor. This joke surfaced yesterday in a discussion between my sister and me.

This is all in good fun. My friend Brittany had posted this a few years back and I thought it was funny then [I’m Baptist, and must admit that the Baptist one is pretty stinkin’ accurate]. Either way, it’s cute, so I figured I would share ;) 

HOW MANY CHRISTIANS DOES IT TAKE TO CHANGE A LIGHT BULB??

i'm baptist.. so there are at least 14 more of me
ready to go on this ;)

Charismatic: Only one. Hands already in the air.

Pentecostals: Ten. One to change the bulb and nine to pray against the spirit of darkeness.

Presbyterians: None. Lights will go off and on at predestined times.

Roman Catholic: None. Candles only.

Baptists: At least 15. One to change the light bulb and three committees to approve the change and decide who brings the potato salad.

Episcopaleans: Three. One to call the electrician, one to mix the drinks, and one to talk about how much better the old bulb was.

Mormons: Five. One man to change the bulb and four wives to tell him how to do it.

Unitarians: We choose not to make a statement either in favor of or against the need for a light bulb. However, if in your own journey you have found that light bulbs work for you, that is fine. You are invited to write a poem or compose a modern dance about your light bulb for the next Sunday service, in which we will explore a number of light bulb traditions including incandescent, fluorescent, three-way, long-life and tinted, all of which are equally valid paths to luminescence.

Methodists: Undetermined. Whether your light bulb is bright, dull, or completely out, you are loved. You can be a light bulb, turnip bulb or tulip bulb. A church-wide lighting service is planned for Sunday. Bring a bulb of your choice and a covered dish.

Nazarene: Six. One woman to replace the bulb while five men review the church lighting policy.

Lutherans: None. Lutherans don’t believe in change.

Amish: What’s a light bulb?

*********

If you're a Baptist like I am, you laughed because you know it's exactly true. ;)

Anyway.... Happy Monday! I started my week off with something little to appease a craving I'd had over the weekend: Sounds silly, but these things make a world of difference when you're sitting at your desk looking to appease the munchies.

<< That's for Mo, specifically, since I had been on the hunt for these things on Saturday before the drive-in movie, to no avail. See? They do exist! Haha..

The rest of today passed by in the familiar fashion of Monday [you ragged thing, you], and I'm glad to see it go. I was reminded via sermon from our beloved Pastor Ron on Sunday to count my blessings and not the little things that seem to pickle my day instead of enhance it. In the spirit of doing that, I am blessed to have a job, the means to get there, and all of the other small and large things in my life that I love.

*********
Summer Mondays = Softball!

softball fun with the little ones!
seth. christopher. easton.

Softball was h-o-t. Yeesh. I know the boys were roasting out there, because sitting on the side watching alone was something like baking slowly in a wide open oven. Oh well. Dust and all, we had ourselves a good old time on the side playing with the kiddos, munching through a 2 lb bag of Twizzlers & a gallon box of Goldfish, and speculating on the game. I took some time to snap a few pictures, too, primarily because moving around a bit was a welcomed reprieve from the still heat.


softball :)

Jimmy and Mo just left the house; they stopped by after the game for some quesadillas and unwinding. Such great friends.. We sure do love 'em!
Early start tomorrow, folks.. I'm outta here.

xo | cmd

God's Moving at the Tower :)

Towerview is, as one of my co-workers says when things are a-happenin', Cookin' with Gas!

Happy baptism week, #3!

little tanner!

If there is one reason to reflect back on VBS and be forever thankful, it is clearly evident when a child is moved to be baptized. I was priveleged enough to work directly with two of his big sisters Kirsten & Kaitlyn for the music ministry, so it was between their two beaming smiles that I sat and captured these little shots of Pastor Ron and Tanner in the baptistry. AMEN!

I felt like today flew right on by. My family is still in town, so after church, the lot of us tailed over to McAllister's for lunch before heading home. We all went down for some afternoon siesta time back at the house before rallying back at the church for the business meeting and Q&A session for Joe as he prepares for his transition onto the volunteer staff at Towerview. It was a lot to recount here, but we are certainly blessed, I'll say that much :).

The week starts back in full swing tomorrow. My family heads back to Ohio, along with Sydni [vaca week for everybody while she's with Nana & Pappy! Heh..]. We will certainly miss her, but this time is good for all of us, and we know it.

The jam session is already in progress here in the house - Jonathan & Paul are giving the guitars a workout and I think it's time to join 'em...

xo | cmd

Clydesdales, Bald Eagles & Camels, Oh My!

It was an early start today. Well, early as could be for it being the Saturday morning after my finishing VBS and my family driving almost 8 hours the day before. Mom had it decided before we were even out of bed this morning that we were doing something, likely in St. Louis. After some review, we settled on Grant's Farm.

joe. sydni. cori | dills

Heidi & Paul had some plans to do some hiking over on the Cahokia Mounds, so Jonathan loaded up with us and we started on our exhibition to St. Louis. We didn't take off before stopping by to see our good friend Bulent in Belleville [gelato stop, duhhhh] and of course taking Mom by Peace by Piece. Oh, and remember a week or so back when I stopped in and nabbed my TOMS ballet flats.. and I'd ordered something else? At the time, I was holding out because I didn't wanna ruin the surprise.. Well....

I ordered a necklace. Sounds a little goofy, but here in Belleville, there are a plethora of locally-based artisans who I would love to see be successful. Heather, the crafty hand behind this piece, took my order herself and did the work of putting the Dills on a chain in something of a non-traditional way. I'm not big on the typical mother jewelry, but I was attracted to the simplicity of this one, along with the fact that it's the entire family. Like I said, I could've easily done this myself, but I'm happy & I love it.

Grant's Farm was the place to be today!

grant's farm!

It took us no time at all to cover the horse stables and see the beauty of the famous Budweiser clydesdales. It also afforded us some great opportunities to update some long-overdue family photos...

family :) 

daddy & syd
joe. jonathan. dad | joe. syd. mom&dad | me & jonathan!
mama & syd

There was of course the tram ride that traverses over the grounds of the farm: Naturally I wound up with three times as many pictures as necessary, but Sydni kept demanding that I capture every single animal, be it sleeping or flying. We tried. Haha. 

animals everywhere!

My favorite collaboration from the day: 

she. is. adorable. call be biased ;)

Oh yeah, and of course Nana & Pappy insisted on buying a "little something" for Sydni, so we stopped off at the gift shop and spent a good while churning through a bin of colorful rocks. Sydni picked out as many as she could fit into the little leather bag provided, and shared with us her brazen pride with her selections all the way to the car. So... stinkin' ... cute. 

pickin' out rocks with mama

Whew. We are... spent! It's time to get to grillin' - Heidi and Paul are back from their day trip and we're about to do some business with the grill :).

I LOVE.. MY FAMILY!

xo | cmd

VBS Finale | Family | Bitter Goodbyes

Before I get into the meat of this one, I want to THANK Christine for bringing me this little diddy today! Anyone who knows me knows I'm a sucker for all things charitable, and I try to do my best to support causes that serve the needs of under-developed countries, the less-fortunate or otherwise forlorn. This one, Puravida Bracelets, donates a portion of all proceeds to the development of resources that enable local artisans in Costa Rica to find and maintain full time jobs. Sure, it's a far, far degree of separation between myself and the hands-on part, but with these kinds of things, I firmly believe that every little bit counts.


the small beaded bracelet [puravida] hanging out with my invisible
children liberty triangle! many thx, christine!! i love it!

Soooooo,


from lara: "we're going home!"

Good news passed on to me from the Babot family: They're all home now! Woo! Mama & Emilia are doing phenomenally; I'm so thrilled for them!

We are definitely chompin' at the bits to go and see the Babots, and shower that little munchkin and her big brother with some fun stuff.

Here in the Dills house: we are ALL here. My family came in from Ohio to visit for the weekend! Joe came back from Albuquerque, and the VBS parent night/finale was tonight. *WHEW. We had a BLAST. I was so thrilled that my parents, sister, nephew, and sister's beau were able to come and see the last bit of what we've been doing all week for VBS with the kiddos. It was so much fun :) They're all here at the house now, hanging out and having a family jam session with the guitars. I love my family, and I love when they visit. ♥



the little ones [with some help] doing their vbs song!

mo! love this girl. love our shirts, too ;)

PS - VBS IS DONE!!! It's bittersweet, but for the moment, feeling slightly more sweet than bitter. Talk to me tomorrow and I might feel differently ;) Heh. On an absolute positive though, I believe that 6 kids this year dedicated their lives to Christ and committed to following in His path. All music jokes aside, that really is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!!! Amen? Amen!

*

Last but absolutely not least, on a somber note:

I recently caught up with Dusty, an old friend of mine from back home, who I've known since we were about 6. We were close friends for a long time, but just happened to lose touch over the last few years. It's been great reconnecting with him and updating on our lives since the last time we saw each other. He and his family used to live on our street, and I fondly remember the shenanigans of our days as the 'neighborhood kids.'  



from the newark advocate & a shot borrowed from fb... :(



My heart breaks today for his family; Dusty's older brother Mark lost his life today in a motorcycle accident back in Ohio. I can't imagine the strain of losing a sibling, especially in the midst of other trying obstacles. Our deepest and most sincere condolences go out to the Runyons today and I pray that whatever peace can be found, is embraced.

Life is short.

Embrace it.

Love your family.

You really don't ever know.

*

With my family being here this weekend, I plan on doing exactly that - I love them to the end of the earth and I'm so blessed for them being here.

Happy weekend, friends :)

xo | cmd