Falling into Sweater Weather

Though a few days this week are still topping out above the 80 degree mark, September is here and with it is coming cool nights and not-so-hot days.  I adore fall and the crispness in the air, pumpkin everything (Despite its rampant trendiness that usually makes me stop liking something, I'm still a fan.  Even the PSL.  Though I've only had one and will probably not have any more because after tax the grande I got topped $5.  Unacceptable.), layering up with sweaters and boots, all the amazing candle scents that came out months ago but are only appropriate to start burning now, and the reminiscence that always seems to come with the season.

But as much as I love autumn (#autumnbliss is a favorite hashtag), I'm still mourning the end of summer.  Summer was full of fun and traveling and sunshine and tan lines (that only stay visible for a couple weeks max when you're as pale as I am) and smiles and memories, and I'm not sure I'm ready to let that go.  

There's nothing like a last hoorah to finish out a great summer though.  And this year it was a beach trip/family visit combo.  Not only did I get to spend a handful of sunny days in the Outer Banks with some great friends, but I got to make a marathon of a road trip (read: one fifteen-hour-drive day and two eight-hour-drive days for the return with only two days in between) to meet my brand new, oh-so-lovely, week-old niece.  Playing in the waves and lounging by the pool can only be improved by snuggling a sweet new little one a couple days later.  It was maybe the best week of events ever. 

Beach days with my crew!

Sometimes I feel like I spend my life in a car or a plane or somewhere besides my own house, but I love the craziness of traveling from place to place.  This next month is going to be no exception since trips to Pennsylvania, Minnesota, and Florida are peppering my calendar.  

Amid the hectic travel schedule, this fall is bringing new opportunities to learn and grow.  Last night marked the beginning of a new Bible study my ladies group is doing for the next several weeks that promises to be a challenge in all the best ways.  There are books to be read, people to learn to love better, places to visit, and obstacles to embrace.  Last week I was reading in the book of Philippians, and found these words to be encouraging and a good reminder as I look forward to the busyness of the days set before me:

"...being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." Philippians 1:6

No matter how crazy things get or how much I might feel like I'm not making any progress, I can have assurance that my Lord is not done with me yet.  I can hope in expectant confidence that every day is one day closer to the day I will be complete in Christ.  I'm so much looking forward to that day!

So here's to the sun setting on a beautiful summer and the start of a delightful autumn. 

Nothing beats a sunset over the water.

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MND

It's Monday.

Honestly, Mondays are one of my favorite days.  There are lots of reasons I typically enjoy Mondays, but one of the best is Monday Night Dinner (MND).  MND is a long-standing tradition at ChezMK where Miranda and I host 10-15 of our closest friends for an evening of dinner and fun.  I think we've been doing it for something like four years, just about every Monday night with very few exceptions.

I love traditions like this because it's one of the reasons our group of friends feels more like a family.  We watch Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy and see how many questions we can get right.  We try a bunch of different kinds of food but have a few favorites that we keep coming back to.  The evening activities vary...trivia night, a TV show, Monday Night Football, games, just chatting and hanging out.

We've seen wonderful friends join the MND crew, and sadly, we've seen some move away.  I think we've even had up to 18 people on a Monday night.  And if you've ever seen ChezMK, it is certainly should not be able to fit that many people, but we make a way, and we make it fun.

I love all the memories ChezMK holds, but the ones made at MND are some of my favorites.  

Love. my. friends.  

This was a special, birthday edition of MND a couple years ago when we went out instead of eating at home, but it's still most of the crew and some of my most favorite people.

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The Days of June

I woke up this morning, and it was July!  June slipped away from me but for all the best reasons.  I spent my June days away doing the usual with a few wonderful additions to the schedule.  We celebrated birthdays and beginnings and summertime and soccer.  There were a couple surprise parties, a pirate party, group breakfast outings, group dinner outings, chocolate tastings, visits to the pool and the lake and the river.  

The biggest adventures of June were the parts where I had a couple extra tagalongs.  For a week and a half in the middle of the month, I kept my friends' two kiddos while they were traveling and working.  It has become a little bit of a summer tradition (and I hope it stays that way!), and we simply had the best time.  

Here's a little taste of my time with Scout and Jude.  So lovely in so many ways!  Check out some of our shenanigans!  (There are more on my Instagram...search #scoutandjude)  These two are so, so special to me.  Can't wait for our next adventures together!

After the 7+ hour trip from their house to mine, they were still smiling! (For the most part, anyway!)

The splash park was a big favorite!

Breakfast time was one of my favorites...though I wasn't used to waking up to a little smiling face ready to tackle the day long before I had even found my slippers yet.

I miss all those Godzilla attacks! (Please excuse the part where we were jumping on the bed...)

A little outdoor fun!  Girlfriend loved gathering pinecones and pine needles and building things out of them.

"Do you like my mustache?"

Baking and frosting cookies!  So proud of their creations!

Slip and slide with fun friends!  Loved getting to hang out with so many people!

Miss Sassypants was a well-deserved nickname.  Love. this. girl.

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Birthday Blues

I had a birthday yesterday.  I'm officially older now.  I have had more mixed emotions about this birthday than I have about any other birthday before.  I wasn't looking forward to it so much.  But then it happened (as it was bound to all along).  And afterward, when I was crawling into bed last night, I was glad it happened.  Despite my not-so-much-looking-forward-to-it, it turned out to be a lovely day (if you don't count the weather that was cold, rainy, and miserable) filled with people I love.  It was a good reminder that even when I'm not excited about things, they might not turn out to be so bad, and they might even turn out to be good.  Yesterday, a bunch of wonderful little things added up to make a wonderfully lovely day.  

So instead of birthday blues, my day turned into a not-so-blue day because of all the people who made me feel special.  And what's most special is that the people who made me feel special yesterday on my special day are the same people who make me feel special everyday.  Good things aren't only stored up for birthdays; I get them all year long!

Yes, I may be older now.  But I think it was worth it.

And did I mention there was cake??

  

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Red, White, Blue, & Gold

To say I'm an Olympics enthusiast may be an understatement.

This biannual meeting of the best athletes in the world may be one of my favorite couple weeks every couple years.  This year's winter games in Sochi, Russia were no exception!

Before watching hours of skiing, ice skating, bobsledding (I mean bobsleighing), snowboarding, biathlon, ice dancing, and curling (we can't forget curling!) and tracking each medal won and each disappointing loss, we welcomed the games in typical ChezMK fashion!

Miranda and I threw a pretty sizable shindig for the Opening Ceremonies, more sizable than ChezMK can easily accommodate.  Our par-tay was complete with themed snacks, photo backdrop, medals to win, a winter wonderland, Team USA pride, and lots of Olympic spirit.  Check out some of the highlights!

Olympic Ring-Themed Chip Dips

Torches to Carry the Olympic Flame

Bobsleds (4 Man, of course!)

Ski Slope Cake!

Winter Wonderland!  There may have been more snow hanging from our ceiling than there was at the games!

Suspended O-Games Rings

Medals for the Game Winners

Ring-Themed Candy Favors

Team USA Gear for Party Guests Who Didn't Bring Their Own

Photo Backdrop!

Medal Tracker!  USA ended up in 2nd, but we'll look forward to first place next time!

What can I say? Chez MK loves the Olympics!  Can't wait for Rio 2016!!

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You've Got a Friend in Me

I shared lunch with a great friends this week (as I do most weeks).  It made me thankful for the friendships I enjoy.  

I am blessed with an amazing group of people with whom I get to do life.  When I stop and think about it, I am spoiled to have so many friends who I would consider close, with whom I am confortable to share my life whether they are living in my house with me (shout out to my wonderful roommate!), down the road, in a different state, or a different time zone.

I find myself appreciating the relationships around me most when I approach them with intentionality. If I plan to have lunch with a friend and make sure that we don't just shoot the breeze and talk about the weather but really talk about what is going on in our lives and how we're struggling or what successes we've enjoyed, it makes our time together seem so much sweeter.  I feel like I have invested in our relationship instead of just having someone come over to eat.  I could have people who are just "lunch buddies" all day long.  But when I care enough to share my heart or ask them about theirs, real relationship happens.  And that's what it's all about. 

I'm a big proponent of discipleship.  And I think that largely means intentional relationship.  I have a friend who is older than me and further along in life than me with whom I meet every week (with few exceptions, we've been doing this for six years and some change).  We usually drink coffee and sit in her living room (or on her porch now that the weather's nice!) and share about our lives.  We often do a Bible study together or go through a book together, but mostly we just talk.  We talk about what challenges we're facing or what wins we've experienced.  I've learned from her as she's married and a mom and in a different stage of life than me.  We take time out of our lives to meet every week. To be intentional.  And it's worth it.  

So, I try to do the same thing with people who are  younger than me, who are in a different stage of life than me, but in the opposite way.  Maybe they're still in school or living with their parents or brand new to loving Jesus.  Maybe they can learn from me, but I've found that often I'm still the one learning.  

All this to say, I'm learning more and more how life is made so much sweeter when you share it with other people on purpose.  In fact, I'm meeting a new friend for coffee this afternoon.  Then catching up with some old ones later tonight.  I am one friend-blessed girl!

Just a handful of the wonderful people I get to call friends.  Love them.

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Home Again

So, good news.  May is more than half over.  When did that happen?  

April was an extremely busy, travel-filled month for me that it just flew by without me hardly noticing!  I may have been away more than I was home.  

Just to give you a glimpse into my craziness:

It was a colorful month of driving, flying, and making wonderful memories with people who are so special to me, and I wouldn't trade the living-out-of-a-suitcase feeling I had for four weeks for anything.  BUT.  I'm super glad to be home.  To have slept in my own bed for a whole week straight.  To not have any travels on the docket for a solid month.  

Though I'm sure by the time my next outings roll around, I'll be more than ready to tackle some new adventures....

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Spoiled Rotten

I. love. surprises.

I'm not really sure why, but something about being caught off guard with something that someone has planned for me just warms my heart in a special way.

Lately, I've enjoyed several wonderful surprises.  My heart has been so full.  It was my birthday last weekend, and there were a few planned festivities - a birthday dinner with my friends, a trip to Florida to see my family.  My birthday would not be without celebration!  

But in addition to the celebrations I knew were coming, my week was peppered with wonderful surprises!  The kids at my church sang to me and gave me birthday balloons.  My boss's family surprised me with cupcakes and gifts before I left for Florida.  My boyfriend sent me flowers at my parents' house since he is in Afghanistan and couldn't be there to celebrate with me in person.  My little brother drove down from Orlando to spend the weekend with us.  I got a box of delicious birthday cookies in the mail.  My dad took me on a shopping outing (He said it was to buy my birthday present, but I think it was more just to spend the afternoon with me.).

My not-so-little-anymore brother who for a surprise visit!

Balloons from my dad!

Birthday flowers from my boo!

I felt so spoiled.  There wasn't anything crazy extravagant involved, but I just felt so loved.  The little surprises and ways people made an effort to help me feel special on my birthday and the days surrounding it just blew me out of the water.  Maybe I'm just more nostalgic than usual these days, but I think this will be a birthday week I treasure for years to come.  

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Traditions

I love traditions.  This is a bit of paradox in my personality because I also love new things for the sake of new things.  But there is something delightfully familiar about having something on which you can count, something upon which you can rely, something that is consistent.  

Lots of my favorite traditions are connected to holidays or a special activity.  Here are a few of them:

• The Filipino breakfast the fam eats every Christmas morning
• Getting iced, blueberry coffee at Dunkin Donuts
• The little song my little brother and I made up for whenever my dad travelled
• The shopping trip Mom and I take every time I go home to visit
• Naming ChezMK's Christmas tree and having all our friends over to eat cookies and help us decorate her
• Playing caroms with Peter
• Playing cribbage with Dad
• My birthday trips to Pennsylvania
• And the list could go on.

One of my favorite traditions is at the forefront of my mind this week because it just took place over the past couple days: Lodge Weekend.

A view of Claytor Lake from the dock in front
of our favorite Lodge: Number 15

This is the sixth time we've taken two-ish hour treck out to Claytor Lake State Park for our legendary weekend at the lodge.  Six times is more than enough for it to merit tradition status, me thinks.

It all started back in 2008 when a few of us were invited to spend a weekend with a couple of our friends' parents at this lake.  This was one of my first times hanging out with The Group, so it was a monumental occasion in my life.  

Since then, we have had a winter lodge weekend, a few fall lodge weekends, and even a Christmas lodge weekend.  

Whatever the weather or season, our times at the lake have been characterized by book-reading, by the fire-sitting, meal-cooking, nap-taking, game-playing, and friend-bonding.  The lodge doesn't have a TV or internet (well, internet that actually works, anyway), so we spend our time pretty much unplugged.  Somehow, the weekend always seems to fall on a time when we could all use a weekend of relaxation without the hustle and bustle of normal life.  There's just nothing like having no agenda and no responsibilities for a day and half and getting to spend it with some of your favorite people.

The Crew from Lodge Weekend V, December 2011 on the front porch
Miranda, Jeremy, Clif, Jenn, Drew, Natasha, Dennis, Josh, Deborah, Jimmy, James, Jeff, Steve, Heather, Kristi

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Scout

I just tucked the sweetest little girl into bed.  I should be grading right now in the first quiet, not kid-filled moments of my day, but I just can't help but think about the precious moments she and I have shared together over the past two days.  

My wonderful friends Brendan and Hannah let me steal their daughter for a couple days.  She and I have been friends since the very beginning.  Quite literally.  As in, I was in the room when she was born, and mine were one of the first pairs of arms to cradle this sweet child.  We have been tight ever since, and I'm fairly sure her favorite color is purple because mine is.  

We lived in the same town until she was one and a half or so.  Four hundred miles have separated us ever since.  Though it might mean fewer in-person interactions, the miles haven't put a dent in our relationship.  There are plenty of weekend visits, Skype chats, and, now that both her mom and I have iPhones, Facetime!

Now that she's about a month shy of her fifth birthday, we (her mom and I) decided we would try a few days at Kristi's!  She loved the idea and apparently spilled over with excitement when she was told the visit had been scheduled.  I was in town for her little brother's birthday, and she came back to my place with me. After a longer-than-she-expected seven hour drive with a little bit of a carsickness incident, we arrived at Chez MK for a lovely time together.

The last 48 hours have held some of my most precious memories with this sweet child.  We have read books, laid on a blanket in the sunshine, hung out with a bunch of friends, ate burritos for Moe Monday, gone for a walk, splashed in water fountains, colored, snuggled through movies, sipped hot chocolate on the front porch in our morning robes, played in a bubble bath, took pictures, gathered leaves and acorns, named a pumpkin, worked on Kindergarten, gone grocery shopping, quoted movies, sung along with the Tangled soundtrack, and giggled a lot.  

Tomorrow we will meet her mom halfway between her house and mine for her to go home.  The days have gone by far too quickly and with not nearly enough napping (She has informed me on multiple occasions that she doesn't take naps anymore and that she can't have red dye.), but I wouldn't trade them for the world.  This little girl holds a very special place in my heart, and there just aren't enough minutes in the day to spend together.  She's been my pretty ever since I first held her in my arms, and I savor each precious moment we spend together.  

Meet Scout.

Ready for the oh-so-long drive from her house to mine.

Rockin' the shades cause the sun was just so bright.

How does this tiny little girl take up a whole queen size bed??

Crossing the Wards Road bridge together.

Starting the day off right with a cozy robe and some hot chocolate.

After finding my wide-brimmed hat.

Splash park fun!

Our pile of leaves and acorns.

My goofy girl!

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Feels Like Home

This weekend I'm in Pennsylvania.  It amazes me how much a place can feel like home even when you don't live there.  It amazes me how much a place can make my heart smile.  It amazes me how a place can just feel so right.  

I lived here for five years while I was in middle and high school.  My family moved away from here, so it isn't even the "home" I visit for holidays, but it still holds a special place in my heart.  It's a good six and a half hour treck from where I live now, but it's worth the drive every time.  This is the place where I have a wonderful church, so many great memories, and friends who are practically family.  

This weekend, I'm here for a special little boy's third birthday.  My good friend Hannah's little people are a couple of my all-time favorites.  Her almost-five year old daughter and I are especially tight (she'll be hanging out with me for a few days next week; I can't wait!), but it is her little guy turning three that we're celebrating today.  It make me so happy that he knows me even though we've never lived in the same place.  A weekend visit here and there with a few Skype dates sprinkled in are the ways we've bonded.  Apparently it worked because yesterday as we were lounging on the couch watching a movie, he proclaimed, "Kristi, I love you."  There is about nothing as sweet as those words unashamedly coming from the mouth of a little one.

I make it a point never to miss their birthdays, so every September and October (and other times as I make excuses/reasons to make the trip) I head north for a wonderful weekend in PA.  I mean, tell me Buzz Lightyear isn't worth it!  

They say "Home is where your mom is."  And I have to agree with that.  But you can have more than one "home," right? Cause I know I do. And this place is one of them.  As I love to say: YAY PA!

My pretty Scout; my Buzz Lightyear, Jude; their mom, my PA sister-friend, Hannah

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Hit the Road, Jack

I like to think I'm an adventurous person.  I think I might have proven it to some doubters recently.  On the spur of the moment (with about a week of planning), a wonderful friend and I roadtrip-ed across the country.  Utah to Pennsylvania.  1900 miles.  30 hours of driving. 8 states.  3 time zones.  3 days.  2 fun-loving chicks.  1 '96 Honda Accord.

A few superlatives from the trip:

Most sought after tune for the drive:  Call Me, Maybe (Not sure how proud I am of this, but it is what it is.)

Most flat/boring state:  Ohio

State with the most antelope: Wyoming

State with the most FedEx trucks: Nebraska

State with the prettiest rainbow: Illinois

State with the most tolls: Ohio

State with the prettiest views: Wyoming

State with the most people who knew the town where we were going in PA: Wyoming

State with the most bird casualties: Wyoming

State with the biggest farms: Iowa

State with the most time zones: Nebraska

State with the most pigs: Indiana

State with the most sheep: Wyoming

State with the most cows: Iowa

State we were most excited to see: Pennsylvania

State with the highest penalty for construction zones: Iowa (10,000 fine and up to 14 years in jail if you hit a construction worker.  Yikes.  In PA we just have to turn on our headlights!)

State with the most snow fences: Wyoming

My road trip buddy!

The story of our weekend.  I-80 East

The prettiest part of the drive - this gorgeous stretch of Wyoming right before Cheyenne. 

Our favorite road trip song.  Don't judge.

Across the country adventure? Check.  Next up?  Brazil! 

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Overflow

This weekend my heart has been in a constant state of overflow.  I took last Thursday and Friday off work to participate in all the wedding festivities of my dear friends Jennifer and Clifton.  Jenn and Clif are two of my closest friends, and they have been a big part of why I love my current life/work/friend situation.  Getting to push pause on "real life" and indulge in a fairy tale wedding weekend was nothing less than magical.

I couldn't help but feel overwhelmed all weekend.  Overwhelmed with joy.  Overwhelmed with awe.  Overwhelmed with love.  And I wasn't even the one getting married!

First of all, Jenn and Clif are a special couple.  I've gotten to watch them grow together and figure out the ins and outs of establishing a romantic relationship in the context of being best friends first.  Their relationship is fun and endearing.  They are a picture of love in its ultimate sense:  forgiving and patient, caring and genuine.  But most of all, they love Jesus, and this love is reflected in their relationship.  They desire to reflect the love of Christ through their marriage.  Getting to observe this in Jenn and Clif has given me an even greater appreciation for marriage and made me more excited to experience it some day.  It's easy to get caught up in the romance of weddings and of relationships in general, but the true romance is one that chooses love even on days when someone is unlovable, one that is selfless when it's much easier to be selfish.  I was super excited about the wedding this weekend, but I am also super excited to watch Jenn and Clif continue to grow in their love in the context of marriage.  Love them.

Secondly, the whole weekend, I was surrounded by people I love.  The wedding party was made up of some of my closest friends, and we had way too much fun spending the days celebrating!  From planning and coordinating different things with Miranda, my wonderful roommate, to bonding with a couple of the bridesmaids from out of town, to the "after-party" with a few friends after dancing the night away left us tired and blistered.  It has come up several times in the last couple weeks how blessed I am with the friends I have.   The community of young adults who love the Lord and are passionate about glorifying him with their lives is worth more than I often realize.  So, so thankful for these people with whom I get to share life.  

With the lovely couple, Clifton and Jennifer!

My heart is so full, it can't help but overflow...

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Tis the Season

Something about the Christmas season is magical.  I don't know what it is, but I like it.  It has been pretty warm the past couple weeks, so it hasn't really felt like it's Christmas time.  But somehow there's still some Christmas magic in the air.  This year, Miranda and I are determined to do something Christmas-y every day.  You just can't be too festive! 

Here are a few of the festivities that have made the list (and have been checked off) so far:

Choose a beautiful Christmas tree.

Decorate and name our Christmas tree  - This year, she is named Belle and is as beautiful as she sounds.

Make swags out of extra tree branches 

Put up lights on Chez MK (the affectionate nickname for our house)  Aside:  We actually get some of our wonderful friends to help out with this one.

Bake gingerbread cookies

Decorate at our offices

Line a fireplace with stockings for our friends

Attend the annual Lynchburg Christmas Parade

...and there are still 19 days till Christmas!

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