Nana & Pappy Are Here!



pappy & nana!

 Yay!! More visitors!! Haha.

No, but seriously, I am so so glad they planned to come and spend the weekend with us. :)

As life stands regarding work: We found out earlier in the week that Rob has spent some time planning a surprise and much-needed vacation for him and Meagan; they leave today and won't be here all of next week. I am so so so excited for her, but I did make it clear that I would be kidnapping her at home and returning her to work if she doesn't take care of that of her own free will next Monday. Haha. Praying for a safe and W O N D E R F U L trip for those two! [xo - we will miss you!!]

My parents made it in town earlier than we'd expected, and so they were there when I got home from work. I've spent the majority of the last decade living far enough away from my parents that it requires planning ahead for visits. There's benefit in this type of arrangement, but at the same time, especially now that I'm a big kid with a family, I wish that stopping by could be arranged and confirmed as easily as a phone call en route to them. I'm so glad they're here! [Sydni's already been spoiled senseless; it's only been a few hours!]


long stems.. by the dozen

 Anyway, I walked into the house after work to find my family, and these brilliant beauties in a vase on the kitchen table. Reason? It's Friday and he loves me. I truly am a lucky girl. It wasn't long that I was home before Joe and I scuttled right back out the door to the Page house for a small group leadership meeting with them and the Werners. I felt awful leaving my parents just as soon as they'd arrived, but I'm without doubt that they had a blast all evening with Sydni. The meeting for small group was intensely productive, and I'm so glad we were able to schedule that. I see great things in our near future!

sticker bug | loooooove her.

Anywho, we are home now; everyone's sleeping, and it's gonna be a long day tomorrow.

See... You... Then!

xo | cmd

Happy Birthday, Tessa Bean



baby liam! love, love, love.

Today happened to be one of those days where I found myself alone on my lunch break in my car, sitting at the park, wondering almost aloud where time has gone. In a couple short months, we will have already lived in IL for a full year. Joe's Air Force anniversary is approaching in June, and that's not to mention that we now have a 2-year-old. I'm not entire sure what it was exactly that sparked the mini outburst of reminiscing, but I thought all the way back to this same time last year. Joe was just getting ready to make the official trip out to the strange little destination of Belleville, IL, and I was probably gearing up to leave work behind for the day and finish off the evening with Kalyn, Tim, & Paul over on the sand courts of Cinci Sand Volleyball. I'm amazed how one simple year can move so many mountains. We have been so challenged, but ultimately so blessed by what the last year has brought. Just little sidenotes, I suppose. :)

In other news, I got a text from Joe today reminding me that we were due on base at the Sandven house this evening to celebrate miss Tessa's 3rd birthday. Sydni was beside herself as we headed over there, knowing she would get to play with Tessa. I was excited to see baby Liam, since we had yet to see him since the day he joined the family. He. Is. Adorable.


chicken! :)

 A&K totally outdid themselves on the cooking; grilled chicken, pasta salad, fruit salad, and brownies made for the perfect dinner menu, and we even met a great new couple, Nick & Rebecca. It looks like they may be joining us at church this upcoming Sunday, along with their little one, Max. Exciting!

Happy, HAPPY birthday to you, Tessa Bean!

It's bath & bed time here!

xo | cmd

Leap Year 2012!

hello, leap!

Happy birthday to all the leap year babies! :)

I remember back to my Clearchannel days, and working with poor Lindsay; she was, as she termed herself, an LYK, or Leap Year Kid. She made it very clear that none of us were permitted to wish her a Happy 6th Birthday, because she was so sick of hearing that joke. Haha.

Either way, it's always fun to have a little something different sprinkled into the standard calendar; I suppose I'll take this once every four years. Google seized the opportunity, too. It took us a minute to make the connection between frogs and leap year [obvious, I know], but that's probably because we were all online at work before our brains were actually functioning. Truth, man.

Happy Wednesday! It's time for us to head off to church :)

xo | cmd

Relay for Life Kickoff!

HERE WE GO!



american cancer society | relay for life 2012 kickoff!

Relay for Life is officially in full swing for us. Tonight, Lara and I rode together over to Grace Church in FVH, where Mo met us for the 2012 American Cancer Society's Relay for Life kickoff meeting. We scuttled inside just in time to miss the rain, and wasted no time settling in.

I can't express how truly excited I am to be spearheading this project for Towerview! The meeting session tonight was purposed as the official kickoff for all the teams and their fundraising efforts. We heard the testimonies of multiple cancer survivors, and were focused on our own relations and interactions with those who've stared down some form of this disease.

Tonight was an excellent reminder of the potential brevity of life or the potential difficulties that could impede at any time, such as ... cancer. I admire wholly those who have fought, are fighting, or are involved directly in the life of someone who is.


raffle winners! | lara. cori. mo.

My prayer for the next few months is for our church to rally together to make the most out of the experience. More importantly, I hope that Miss Shirley, Mr. Bob, and the other wonderful members of our congregation who have battled any form of cancer will find some encouragement through this.

Relay for Life 2012:

Belleville West High School Track
July 20-21 (Fri & Sat), 2012
7:00 PM - 7:00 AM

Our church team page can be found here! Please help spread the word! 

xo | cmd

Hoo Hoo HOO [Loves Surprises?]

It's Monday, ya'll.
It's been a surprisingly pleasant Monday, at that!

tom hanks :)



A bashmillion [yup] people all around the U.S. went back to work today after what was hopefully a thoroughly-enjoyed, likely short-lived weekend. I was part of that number. Woot.

 Monday was Monday, except for the delivery of two very lovely things very early on in the day. One of those, The Man with One Red Shoe, a Tom Hanks movie from the mid-80's, arrived in the mail over the weekend and was waiting for my pick up when I got to work this morning. I am one small step closer to completing my husband's collection of every movie in which good old Tom was cast.


from the bosses!



The second gem came mid-morning, when this beautiful arrangement from Lee Russo Designs was delivered [one for each of us gals here in the office], compliments of Marc & Diana as thanks to us for holding down the fort here while they were gone all of last week at ILC. They smell incredible, and are making quite the stand atop my overhead cabinet. I love 'em. 



hoo hoo hoo.. is adorable?
... youuuuuu ....



Thirdly [I'm on a streak inventing words today; leave it alone.....], I found a slew of adorable baby animal photogs in my email from Meagan [I'm claiming the owl; I've named him Oliver and he is officially adorable]. That was minutes before she sprung the news on us that she's headed off for a Caribbean cruise all of next week, a surprise from Rob. Mega kudos there, Rob! I am so excited for her - it definitely springs memories of the lovely little Carnival trip that Joe and I took to the Grand Cayman Islands with Lynn & Co. a few years back. *Sigh. I think I'm going to live next week vicariously through the Greers. Hah.

tiny toms = purple glitters.
sydni's going to lose her mind.
:)



Last but certainly and never ever least, I made the trip on my lunch break today over to Glik's in Edwardsville, with the specific purpose of snagging Sydni a new pair of TOMS. It seems that Spring is starting to waft about in the air, I figured I'd splurge just a bit on her and treat her with a little something. Hey, let's face it; she's only little once, and I'll only have so many opportunities to spoil her now without catastrophic result or expectation of it on an ongoing basis. haha. Here's that went:

Anywho - it's about time for The Voice, so whatever else is important is simply going to have to wait.... :)

xo | cmd

Sufficient: The Reprise!

Trish had asked me last Sunday at the end of choir practice if I would do special music this week; I was much obliged to do so, but wound up having fairly bad luck nailing down a song that just felt right. I know that sounds a little silly, but I have this thing when it comes to singing - I try my best only to present songs that actually speak to me in some capacity that I could convey. There are plenty of beautifully-heartfelt songs composed over the course of music's existence in the library of options, but for some reason, no matter which way I went in my search, I just didn't have any reaction.

Until yesterday.

Yesterday, I sat through the womens' breakfast at church, and will take the opportunity now to reiterate just how deeply I was moved by Ms. Shirley's testimony. Her courage, positivity, and encouraging words reached a part of me that I wasn't prepared to exercise, and after much thinking on it last night, I realized that the first song I sang here at Towerview was the one I would sing, again, today. My apologies again, for the repeat, but the voice of those little words stayed in the front of my mind all day yesterday and into this morning as I did a mental re-confirmation that this was a good idea.

The song, Sufficient, originally recorded by the current wife of Jeremy Camp, speaks these words: 

adie camp



When I am weak, your strength is complete; it's perfect, completely all I need. Sufficient for me, your grace and your peace, are perfect, completely all I need.

Thank you again, Shirley, for your testimony. You are truly inspiring.

Today marks the start of a new week. I have high hopes it'll be a good one!

xo | cmd

Women's Breakfast: Shirley Warren



ladies breakfast @ towerview
guest speaker: shirley warren

I made it out of bed on time this morning and toted my way over to the church for the women's breakfast. By the time we had sat through the presentation from our own Ms. Shirley, I was nearly beside myself: I was reminded today the impact that cancer has on a person. My passion for our church team's Relay was vigorously renewed, and I left feeling so driven to get this Relay thing going. I appreciate beyond words today's testimony, and even though I'm not extremely close to the Warrens, I'll be holding this one close to my heart for a very, very long time. ♥ Not to mention, it was another chance to see some of my fellow beloved ladies for a round of eating and fellowship: Lara, Meagan, & Cathy.
Once we were released from breakfast, I took the opportunity to do some light cleaning around the house before Mo showed up for a quick trip over to Peace by Piece in Belleville. I felt priveleged to accompany her on the mission to purchase her very first pair of TOMS [awww]. We even bumped into Bonnie and one of her girlfriends on the way out. Small world! Either way, our experience went a little something like this:

toms toms toms :)

M: "What color should I get?"
C: "Maybe something neutral, starting out? You can wear it with anything."
M: "K. How about pink sequins?"
C: "How is that neutral?"
M: "Well, true. I'll do red."

haha. Red it was! She wears 'em quite well, I might add. Of course it wouldn't be a TOMS trip without snagging a new pair; I justified that both by that my current treads are starting to [finally] fray out, and also for the sake of the whole One for One thing.

It's going to be somewhat of a relaxing remainder to the day, and I am pretty excited about that :).

xo | cmd