Barking Kids & Tied-Up Friendlies

I'll tell ya what.. this girl.... haha..
Kids are awesome. Seriously. Funny, weird, messy... and awesome. Mine is no exception.  Today was a pretty good day, all things considered, and hanging out with my mini first thing after work is like the icing on a cake. Seriously. She's hilarious. And although I find it inconveniencing at times whenever we're anywhere and we have to stop for a 1-minute ride atop Sandy the Meijer horse, I have to stop and remind myself that these little moments won't last forever, and the world is big enough for me to relax and allow her to have them. 

sandy the meijer horse! 

In other news, the USWNT ladies took on Japan tonight, and although I'm not sure how I stayed awake through the entire game, I did it, despite the dismay of ending with a tied 3-3 match. Ladies, we're cheering you on from Cincinnati, and you blogbots will be seeing plenty of weigh in here on their Road to Rio as we get going. Oh, and sidenote: SUPERIOR PLAY, EQUAL PAY. 'Nuff said ♥.

An uneventful Thursday, really, I know.. but hey, it was what it was and tomorrow is Friday and YAY. :) 

See you then! 

xo | cmd

Like Nehemiah :)

Happy Wednesday, bloggers! 

I hope the week's gone well for all of you, even if it's one of the abbreviated work weeks like mine has been. It's certainly been a roller coaster week for us, but there've been more highs than lows, and for that I'm grateful. 

Tonight after work, we were able to convene with our small group and transfer guardianship of the two boxes for the foster graduates. I'm excited to hear how they're received. 

Something that we covered tonight in small group that resonated with me; bear with me - this isn't long, I promise, but it's certainly worth the recall on a later day, I'm sure. 

Scott walked us through the book of Nehemiah tonight, focusing primarily on Nehemiah himself, and the qualities that defined him as the leader, prayer-warrior and consistently faithful person he was. We centered our study tonight around Nehemiah's journey to Jerusalem to rebuild the broken walls and restore the inner city. 

I can't imagine. Seriously.
The journey there, in a time where Uber, Mapquest and anything faster than a horse or camel didn't exist. We're talking miles.. and miles.. and miles of walking. 

Then there was the matter of obtaining all the things he'd requested from King Artaxerxes: letters ahead of him requesting protection. A calvary of bodyguards. Timber & material to rebuild the walls and gates. Other people to go along and help. Things requested from a king during a time in which you could very literally lose your head if the King felt slighted or upset with you for any reason. Talk about confidence! 

We dissected Nehemiah's experience through the 52 days it took to rebuild the walls around Jerusalem, and I realized that although the [literal] work itself is so very different, the principles of leadership, discernment, trust, confidence, faith, endurance, consistency and resistance are tried, true and timeless. 

First and foremost, Nehemiah was a prayer warrior. That in itself is a step on which I fall short more often than I care to admit. Sure, I pray, but when I'm being honest, I can't say that it's always the first thing I think to do when I'm caught off guard. It's one of the first, but it's not the first. 

Then, he's a leader by example and participation. You know, one of those working manager types. The coach that gets on the field and does the drills with the team. The teacher that gives the instruction and then provides individual attention until the whole class understands at the same level. Nehemiah was a tutor, trainer and humble servant, all wrapped up into one man, powered by God, purposed to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. 

Love

Joy
Peace

Patience

Kindness

Goodness

Faithfulness
Gentleness 

& Self-Control 

[wait, those sound familiar.... ;) ]

Just some things I've been reflecting on since we left tonight. I am not the first person I would think of if asked who I knew that exhibits all of these boldly, daily, and because of that, I know I need to work on it. 

For now, I wish joy and peace to each of you for the rest of the week! 

outside our house ♥

xo | cmd

Last Day of May

Ya'll, I have some serious joy in my heart today. There was also a little strife, but that came later, and not really at my expense. 

For starters, I ordered this SHIRT back at the beginning of April, but never received it. I'd sent an email out to the company, with wavering expectations of hearing back. I was told that when the next batch of them came in, a replacement would be shipped.

Well... 

This came toooodayyy! Yeyeyeyeh, I know I probably read too far into this, but hey - if there's anything I really love to do, it's give credit where it's most definitely due. I got the shirt, yes. That little blue card down there is a hand-penned note from Rikki at OhioExplored, explaining that the 8x10 print, decal stickers and gold engraved cuff are a complimentary apology for the delay. 

CUSTOMER SERVICE, MUCH?! It's pretty daggone hard to really, really surprise me, but this one got me right in the feels. I hadn't asked for anything extra, and certainly wasn't expecting anything other than exactly what I'd originally purchased. I'm crazy impressed ya'll. If you're an Ohio junkie like me, you'd better take a moment to check out @OhioExplored, @RedGiraffeDesigns & @ChampaignPaper - all Ohio-based, and all awesome. 

It made my day, seriously. Then, there was after work; I set off on the final leg of my adventure hunting down the items for both of the boxes for our small group's sponsorship in the Clermont County Foster program: 

so excited!! 

We'll deliver these two tomorrow night at small group, and they'll continue on to two of the seniors graduating both from high school and the Clermont County Foster program. I'm honored to be a part of this, and more so to be charged with the procurement of said items. Excited! :) 

There was a quick dinner date with Rob, followed by an unscripted evening hosting one of my best friends for a sleepover. The evening took a turn for the unpleasant, but as with all things unfavorable, I'm a proponent of hopeful belief that this too shall pass.

I'm going to leave that right there, for anyone else who might need it today. I hope that wherever I've found you tonight, fellow blogger, that you've had someone remind you that you are worth exactly what you want, and you are worthy of being loved for all that you are and aren't. You are wonderful :). 

Good night, for now - see you tomorrow ... In JUNE! 

xo | cmd 

Ladies & Gentlemen, She's a SECOND Grader!

Gooooood ole' Cincinnati, Ohio: Rain, sunshine and reaaaally strong breezes within the hour. If we'd gotten the full experience, it would've snowed for an hour right in between the tornado and the flood.

rainy day... womp womp.. 

Fortunately, the dampness of the day couldn't weather a chance against the clear landmark not just for today, but one of the biggest of this year:

2nd grade! 

We officially have a 2nd grader!
I won't launch off into a novel about how I can't believe how fast time is flying - even though it is, and I'll try to keep the 'I remember when...' cutaways to a minimum... but seriously?!

Mini, you'll never know just how proud of you we are!

One more day, and then we're outta here to go see Nana, Pappy & the rest of the MV family. Jonathan graduates high school this weekend, too [another reminder that time can just slow down wheneeeeever it would like to...any time now!] - I can't wait to see everyone!

One. More. Day.

xo | cmd

The Biggest Hearts Live in the Smallest Spaces

We woke up to this today:

We've recently remodeled Sydni's bedroom, a process which included wall-painting, furniture building, hammock hanging and the general reorganizing of everything else she owns. We'll soon be adding decorations, a desk/workspace, reading nook and whatever else we can dream up to make that space truly hers. 

The only thing we didn't really take into full account with this was that our dogs - Stella especially - can limber up the stairs of her new loft bed, but cannot make the final jump up onto the bed itself. The horizontal space on the landing platform between the wall and the bed doesn't allow for any dog-conducive ramp addition, which has left poor Stella stranded like a castaway from joining Sydni at night. 

I've caught her the past few days lying on the carpet floor directly under the loft; if I were viewing from the ceiling and had overlapping images of Sydni on the bed and Stella on the floor, I'm certain they would align exactly as if they were sleeping side by side. 

This is something I didn't realize until today, when I woke up to find Sydni in our room, having toted a pillow and blanket from hers, asleep on the dog bed, with Stella splayed out beside her. Something in my heart broke this morning, for this aging dog of ours who wants nothing more than to be with her little human 24 hours a day, and for Sydni, whose heart is made of pure gold when it comes to loving animals. It hit me also in that moment that the biggest hearts often live in the smallest spaces. 

I don't know how this managed to grab ahold of my senses in the way that it did today, but I am suddenly acutely aware of the fact that my dogs can't sleep with their smallest commander - which in itself is fine, but it's a stark note that they are in fact aging, losing agility and no longer bouncing hairballs of puppy energy [ok, well maybe Sasha's an exception on most days, but still]... 

Really, I don't know where I'm going with this, other than it looks like we'll be working out something to make the co-sleeping arrangements in Sydni's room both kid and pet-friendly, and go from there. I just.... I really wanted to pen out my thoughts for a later day, for whenever I start to feel frustrated with my pets for something they've done, that they're just hopelessly, unconditionally devoted to us and want nothing more than to have that same love returned. 

Love your pets today, bloggers. We forget often just how much they love us.
[[Yes, even cats. That's a diatribe for another day, I know; they're fickle, brooding & moody little mysteries, but they do love us just the same, in their twisted little ways.. haha. #ButIDigress]]

The rest of today wasn't so awful, either :).

after work.. happy little bits of the universe

Small group was tonight, and it goes without saying that these are often my favorite evenings.  We're working our way through the Old Testament, and tonight we processed through Ezra and all that it has to offer. Some challenging - and very much eye-opening - material! I would highly recommend reviewing Ezra if it's been a while. If you can get through the lineage of chapter 2, you'll be great! :)  

small group: ezra!

Post small group, we made a pit stop at Orange Leaf, because we pass the daggone place on the way home and WHY NOT?! Haha. Also, BOBA. That's right, BOBA.

boba for daaaays... 

I hope the rest of you've had a wonderful week so far, and that it only gets better from here. 

Happy Hump Day! 

xo | cmd

Sunshine, Bicycles & Good Books

Ohhh, sunny DAYS!
Even though I was working today, I did have an altered schedule that I didn't hate. It was mostly due to a hiring event I hosted in partnership with one of the Northern Kentucky career placement services; she set me up in a conference room for the afternoon and I knew then that the day would be all right:

i'll just swim on in there... hardy har har... 

The event ending gave way to a commute back across the river, which was packed full of commuters until I neared the river line on 275, and I couldn't help but snag a shot of the state line welcoming me back across the water.

and i'm cooomin' on back.. 

I hurried so that I could catch Sydni's bus; it's the first time this year that I've been able to see her off the bus after school, and while I snagged a shot of her coming off the bus, I wish I could've captured her face when she realized she was going straight to the car, with me. Be still, my heart... seriously.

so little, but so grown up.. how's that possible?!

We ran a couple of errands, went grocery shopping and had a mini mommy-daughter date for a snack before we headed home. Today's been gorgeous, and this evening didn't disappoint. Sydni and I cleaned up some around the house, and then I joined her outside for a couple hours of bike riding.

my toothless little darling! ♥

I had to remind her today that there was a time not long ago that she believed she would never learn how to ride her bike, and now.. this.  For hours, if I'd let her. I love everything about it.

I sat outside sprawled across one of the patio chairs, with Sydni blurring across my left and right peripherals as she rode in a circle up and down our street. Eventually, the bike retired to the garage, and for a moment, I became audience to an impromptu 1 person gymnastics meet:

She tumbled on and on, rolled around the yard several times and chased a teasing blue jay until it finally got bored of her being bound to the land. I drank it in, and managed to squeeze in the final few chapters, epilogue and bonus short story at the end of the latest book. I've been afraid of finishing Lady Midnight, because if I'm honest, I've read all 6 of the The Mortal Instruments, all 3 of The Infernal Devices and now this, the first in The Dark Artifices series that Cassandra Clare has released.. all within the span of less than 2 months.

lady midnight - done! 

NOW WHAT DO I READ?! 

Just kidding. I'll hunt down the Bane Chronicles or the Shadowhunter Academy books next and indulge myself in Simon's quest for ascendance. Do I sound like a nerdy maniac? Only if you've never read any of these, I suppose.. haha. Never in a million years would I have thought I'd be the one hooked on a book series like this, but yeah.. let's go with it! 

Anywho, it's late, and we're all spent. Happy Tuesday to you, blogbots! 

xo | cmd

'Tis The Season for Froyo & Cheetah Helmets!

I could only describe my attitude today as Senioritis. Remember that? That feeling we all [well, if you're an old hen like me] had way back when we were still in school and the end of the year was so close we could taste it? 

Yeah, so that was me today. I have no reason to feel that way, since I'm a grown up human with grown up responsibilities and a grown up job that doesn't go on summer break. It made no sense to feel like that today, but the fact that I did accomplish several things spoke enough to say that I somehow made it through the way I imagined a more adultier adult would've done it. So... yay! 

On the other hand, I took Sydni out on a mini date after school today and she gave me, in two pictures, the exact explanation I needed to describe how I felt all day today - the left is me on the outside, and the right is me on the inside. Like.... all day. 

life story... haha

We really need to come to Orange Leaf more often... not just because it's delicious, but because there's some pretty legit tokens of wisdom coming out of this place.. hah...

#preach

Back at home, we took to the street to pedal and jog off some of that froyo. Did I forget to mention we picked up a cool bike helmet on the way back today? Because that happened, too, and it made for an even merrier afternoon on the bike. Mama got to meet some of the neighbors, too, which was added a little extra flair to the experience.

little rider 

Rob came home and immediately took to the garage, where the vertical storage project continued. I truly wish I had a picture of the garage before we started sifting through the piles of stuff we've had in there for the past couple months since we moved, but he's definitely brought the potential out of that space. In just a few more weeks, I suspect we may actually be able to park one of our cars in there. 

Say whaaaat? Park a car in the garage? ;) 

I know, I know.. just kidding, babe. The garage is looking incredible, and I will wait as long as we need to! 

in progress! 

It's a good night for this little family :)
See you tomorrow!

xo | cmd