NTB 2014 Tour – Philly Day 2: 9/25/2014

Since this was technically a work trip… cough cough… I started the morning with meeting a brand new client. That was an easy-going meeting but I had to bring my co-worker for lunch and then to the airport so my poor friend Jill spent the day being bored 😦 We made up for it though with our visit to the Reading Terminal market. We ate so much delicious food and I got the cutest latte of all time. Since we were in Philly – we had to get a Philly cheesesteak. We rushed to do that so I could find a seat for a conference call, to which no one dialed in. That meant our #musicadventures got to start a little earlier!

We ate a little bit of this and a little of that.  We even tried a bit of healthy “stuff” – veggies that were actually very yummy.

 

Then we had a whole mess of NOT healthy at all stuff.

 

I was overly intrigued by the espresso machine and baristas’s at Old City Coffee inc.

I gazed with curiosity while they prepared my latte because it was taking quite a bit of extra time. That left me excited to see what creation they came up with.

When my latte arrived I was nearly in tears. Best Day ever!

After feeding ourselves until we were going to burst, we ventured into the rain, headed to see our boys again :). We had to stop at a local convenient store and grab an umbrella. The only one we could find was over-priced and had a handle like brass knuckles….very strange.

While waiting in line we met a few girls from our neck of the woods. They were funny and friendly. One of them went to get pizza. What she came back with reminded my of something that would have fallen out of the sky like Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. That pizza slice was HUGE!

The second nights’ show was just as wonderful as the first night. The Oh Hellos didn’t let us down – with the melodic screams and head banging form the banjo player.

The accordion player was hysterical…again.

We fell in love with The Oh Hellos and they definitely got us hyped up for Needtobreathe.

Our boys put on yet another amazing show. We screamed and danced and laughed and smiled ear to ear.

We made an attempt to find the boys to say hello, by wondering down a sketchy alley. It didn’t lead to a band soooo we decided to grab some pizza. On our way back to our car a really nice man gave us a copy of the set list. 🙂 We could live with that because we knew we were going to see them the following evening!

Casting Crowns and Sidewalk Prophets 12/6/14

It had for sure been too long is be I saw live music. A while as in a couple of months… I’m a little spoiled 🙂

Live music and two of my best friends all in one place was pretty overwhelming: in a good way of course. The fact that these two best friends are hilarious together is also a blessing.

After a little drop-off, pickup craziness we got to grab a bite before the show at Trinity Brewhouse. The muscles were so delicious!

Apparently I need to brush up on my Casting Crowns music collection because I did NOT know many of their songs. I didn’t mind that at all though. They are absoltely amazing musicians and very “natural” – not using a lot of special tricks and things – just great voices and beautiful spirits.

The structure of the show was unique – different for sure. Sidewalk Prophets started the show. It was so nice to hear them again. Their music is very uplifting and sincere. I would have liked their set to be MUCH longer because I love them so much. It was a bit short and then Casting Crowns came to the stage for a few songs. We were a little confused because Mandisa had not sang yet?!!

 

After Casting Crowns played a bit they took a break and gave an opportunity for people in music ministry to meet and chat with them. Mandisa played after the break and then Casting Crowns made their way back to stage for an acoustic set! It was like being at a large church during worship time. It was sweet and peaceful.

Before leaving we stopped to say hello to Sidewalk Prophets and Jill had a poster signed 🙂 Yeppp… he’s wearing a Pawsox hat – AWESOME!

I made butt cheeks!! :)

It was a pretty eventful weekend if I might say so myself. Friday night we kept it early since my little man had a 6:20AM hockey game an hour away. That’s super awesome…wake up before 5am, don’t shower, drive for an hour, then freeze for another hour, while watching your sons team get beat…ha ha. It’s not actually all that bad but driving all day isn’t very fun. We had to head back home after so he could wash the young adolescent stink off of him before venturing out for the day. I think hockey skates are made with some type of biohazard because the odor that penetrates my car after a game can make my eyes water like cutting onions. Hockey bags should be marked as hazardous waste with those bright orange stickers with skull and crossbones… Felt the need to share but not sure why.

My timing was WAY off for getting the kids dropped off at Grandma’s before my Espresso Class. I was NOT going to allow myself to be late for that class so I apologized to my minions for having to endure the next two+ hours, while I basked in the sunlight of espresso shots and delicious drinks. After 45 minutes my amazing friend trucked her kids out to come and save mine from the torture. My peanut was actually very interested and could’ve likely stayed intrigued the entire time!

The espresso class was a small group, which is definitely nice for asking questions and getting more opportunities to use the brewing equipment. It also allows everyone participating to feel a little more comfortable and you can see where each person’s passion lies…I might be the only interested in that part…maybe?…People like to know about people…so Im probably not the only one interested in that part. Thanks for participating in my thought process there. And back to the coffee – the hop trainer remembered me from previous classes which was cool.

There was a college student present who was part of a coffee club they started and was extremely educated about coffee. There was another lady who was researching coffee and happened upon the class and a new coffee shop owner from CT – who whom I spoke the entire class and asked a ton of questions. Questions about her shop, all excitedly, not taking much time for a breath, eyes laser focused, quickly realizing I probably appeared to take on the character of stalker”esque” so I had to simmer a bit.

I was finally able to watch someone, live, pull shots and steam milk with perfect form and very simple, clear directions. My extreme fear, of molten hot lava – or steamed milk – exploding all over the place, subsided. The anxiety about pulling a sludge syrup espresso shot went away. I became even more comfortable in my form and I pulled some GOOD espresso shots! The crema was spot-on for the first shot…tiger stripes.

I must say I was pretty happy with myself. We made cappuccinos and latte’s and mine were “edible”! Like you could actually drink them, on purpose because they tasted good!

My “latte art” consisted of what appeared to be lop-sided butt cheeks :0) HA HA!

Towards the end we had an opportunity to see beans just delivered from Guatemala and got to check out the coffee roasting area.

We were at New Harvest Coffee Roasters for about 3 hours total and I felt like it was 30 minutes. I could have stayed there for another 3 hours just playing with all the pretty coffee stuff. I learned a few invaluable lessons as well. Most important was NOT to buy a home espresso machine, since its so vastly different from the one I will have in my shop – just practice where they have an industrial machine so I don’t teach myself bad habits.

After class I had lunch with my super saves the day friend and all the kids. I’m sorry but Denny’s just doesn’t get old lol. We let the kids spoil themselves for lunch and dinner. It takes a lot for me to feed my little ones anything with sugar involved and they just ate smoothies and snack stuff but it’s okay – sometimes a little treat isn’t bad.

After bringing the little ones to grandmas house and spending a few minutes relaxing, I made my way to my besties’ house and got showered to start our fun evening. We met several friends at Philanthropy Coffee and Tea in Chepachet for some nice chit chat and awesome live Music. Jonas Woods played that night and he was so good – such a true musician: playing several instruments and he had an amazing voice. I can it wait to see how successful he will be. A couple of my friends decided to do a little ditty on the grand piano inside – some impromptu silliness is always appreciated.

The tea house was fun but we weren’t done just yet, so what better decision was there – other than karaoke! Sweet Tomato was busier than normal – well from my experience at least. The crowd was fun and we sang a lot of songs! It wasn’t long before our group had several songs in the queue and most of them included very off-beat, tone-deaf bellows of the most popular karaoke songs. We danced and sang and had an awesome, fun time.

It was a really great weekend with really great friends and coffee-shop readiness training 🙂

Don’t Mind Your Messes

From this mess comes more powerful prayer, stronger friendships, growth in spirit and laughter and tears.

Beside this mess is self-reflection, release of frustration and redemption; a moment of healing.

Under this mess is motivation, success, independence, blessings and miracles waiting to happen.

Inside this mess is ambition, anticipation, yearning, love and salvation.

Don’t mind your messes – Recognize their Significance.

Small Victories = Big Motivation

Today I opened a bank account OFFICIALLY for my business! BAM! Just a small $500 to start but the fact that I have it “on the books” makes it feel so much more real! That was just one of the many things I have gotten accomplished in the last couple of months.

Opening the bank account has been on my do-to list for a while and for some reason I felt like I had to be especially prepared to go speak with them…like i had to be fancy or something ha ha. I’m using the local bank that I have been visiting for business classes over the last year or so. They have a great small business department and really cater to the community. I’m excited to start making some relationships there. We opened an account for each of the twins also and my peanut was really excited about that too. It would be great if this starts the kids on the right path to being more financially responsible than I was when I was younger.

My motivation has been at a whole new level lately – so much more confident that I will accomplish my dream: we ARE going to have this coffeehouse. Not only will we open the coffeehouse, but it’s going to be amazing. I am so deeply passionate and intrigued now by the coffee culture, the history, the craft behind a good cup, all of it.

I am actually reading books… yup…big deal. I am not a book reader – could never keep my attention long enough. I used to read a lot of Dean Koontz but now I can’t read things like that so it’s been years since I started a book and finished it. I read the abridged version of “All About Coffee” by William Ukers. It’s not a long book but it could be difficult to read if you are just a coffee drinker and looking for some entertainment. I found it really sweet and enriching. The work is a result of his travels around the world, studying coffee – which is to be admired in and of itself. What pulled me in most was his underlying belief in the power of coffee, not just the bean but the story it has told and artistry. Ukers stated “Tea and coffee promote a harmony of the creative faculties that permits the mental concentration necessary to produce the masterpieces of art and literature.”

Now I’m reading The Blue Bottle Craft of Coffee, by James Freeman, Caitlin Freeman, and Tara Duggan. Blue Bottle is a well known roasting company based in Oakland, CA. I chose this one because of reviews I read online about their coffeehouse in New York and because they use the pour-over method for brewing coffee, which is my intent as well. I feel like I’m reading a text book – in a GREAT way. It takes you through the fundamentals of the coffee plant, processing, equipment, how-to’s, etc and there is a fun, sarcastic tone to the book that makes it a very easy read. I’m about halfway thru. I have three other books in line; to include the book by Howard Schultz of Starbucks (aka – the way I don’t want my coffeehouse to feel).

Within the last few weeks I have been able to attend two different coffee brewing classes. New Harvest coffee roasters in Pawtucket,RI hosts classes at their training center. Huge score for me! It’s close and the peeps teaching are very friendly and quirky just as one coffee fanatic would expect and love. Not mention – its in the same building as The Met, where I saw the most absolutely amazing, best, Needtobreathe show to date. This was the extremely small venue they played during the Stomping Ground tour. Siigghhh… Okay okay back to class.

The first brewing class was several brewing methods: Aeropress, french press, Chemex. I had never seen an Aeropress before; knew about the French Press but don’t like the sediment, so I was pretty pumped to play with the Chemex. They let me take home the rest of the Colombian coffee beans we used which I was also very happy about because its quite delicious. The second class I took was just about the Kalita Wave – one specific dripper for pour-over. Having a flat-bed verses the cone-shape of the Chemex, would assume that all grinds would be evenly brewed rather than having those at the tip of the cone extracted more than the grinds at the top of the cone. Now I need to try brewing them against each other. The next class i’m booked for is espresso! Yes!! I am loving espresso more and more lately and the idea of getting more creative with coffee beans is enticing to me. New Harvest also just recently opened a cafe/whiskey bar so a friend and I of course visited to enjoy a very yummy latte. The espresso used a was a blend of an Ethiopian bean and something form Kenya. Again – yummy.

I also have started to pickup some fun pieces for the coffeehouse – mugs, teapots, cups, etc. There of course, will need to be standard equipment to service in – that hold temperature, have the right shape, and all those necessary things. In my place there will also be some unique pieces that we can use to serve and host tea parties and such. I bought a cheap grinder, a Moka coffee pot and my own french press so I can start to experiment at home. Next to come is a legit espresso machine for the house. I need to become an expert in pulling shots and want to start trying latte art

The reading and classes (oh and hours of online tutorials I’ve been watching) are helping me to become more familiar with equipment, which should help push me to get my business plan further along. This coming week my goal is to chat with a friend who works for USFoods – hopefully to gain insight into suppliers, so I can start to understand realistic costs.

One more quote, before I go, from William Ukers that I loved: “Coffee has promoted clear thinking and right living wherever introduced.” I concur Mr. Ukers.

 

Bottomless pit

Most times this phrase, “bottomless pit”, can be related to someone who eats and eats and eats and eats…aaaallll of the food.

This is my attempt to minimize the dramatic emotions I felt tonight, knowing that I will snap out of it in no time, but acknowledging the feelings so I can do something about it.

My life is very distracted. Yes, by all of the same things the rest of the human race encounters each and every day. I won’t bore you with information about how to defeat the social media demons or fighting your natural instincts to stare at your phone before bed.

My life is more distracted by my ambitions and goals – to a point where I want so badly to give my kids everything I possibly can to make them happy. Along with that unrealistic, and honestly unhealthy, expectation of myself – I have dreams of my own business.

This leads to over-working, over-committing, over-scheduling, over-obsessing….OVERWHELMING!

I try sooo hard to do things for them and to squeeze it all in, that I end up with no quality time, no free nights, no meditation, and most of all no patience. There isn’t time for natural happiness, unaccounted for silly moments and spontaneous enjoyment of each other.

We attempted to decorate the Chritmas tree tonight. Aaannnddd cue dramatic tenor piano music. I was rushed to get a tree to start – picking one out and expecting to decorate it the next evening because we wouldn’t have time for both in one night. I of course picked the largest, fattest tree, strapped it to the car to get home, squeezed it in the house…and it didn’t fit. There was about 10 inches of tree topper space bent over and across the ceiling. After several attempts at measures to shrink the National Lampoons Christmas tree – we got to decorate it three days later.

I, of course, had work calls until 6:15 leaving dinner not accounted for, ordering in and rushing to get the tree done. Having it be an hour past bedtime, just finished eating, and mom being exhausted from work, no down time in weeks, and being completely impatient; the twins were less than excited for tree-trimming festivities. Myself and my honey were forcing energy and motivation.

In my head – I feel never good enough. I spent all week running around for work and kids and everything else. I spent all this time trying to fix the tree so it could fit, spent money to order in so cooking dinner wouldn’t cut into decorating time…etc. Decorating the tree wasn’t very pleasant for any of us and we didn’t get to finish. I feel like a bottomless pit: I can never do enough to make them happy.

I sat on the couch after my peanuts went to bed and stared up at the ceiling pinned, plump, lit up tree. My vision of the family singing Christmas music, prancing around the tree, reminiscing over hand-crafted ornaments and the stories behind their creation…all was cut short by arguing, nagging, frustration, anger and tears.

I’m exhausted with the bickering, snide comments, complaints and sighs. I’m going to make a very conscious effort to be less distracted by self-inflicted perfectionism: and try to just RELAX and let the good times roll…without me scheduling them 🙂

End rant!!

One step closer…or further?

I’ve wanted a coffeehouse since I was a teenager. Wanting one and actually thinking I could have one are two very different things. About two years ago…maybe more (need to figure that out) I went from wanting one – to working on having one. Why can’t I have my dream? I started to research, take classes, learn about coffee, got training…all in preperation to open my own business. After about a year I started to be concerned what I want was more important than what God has planned for me. I took some time to really think about it and pray. Then the desire grew stronger and stronger and now I feel that not only do I want it but God is behind me 100%!

It would appear that I found the perfect place for my coffeehouse. The location was on the exact street I’m looking. There was ample parking – which is hard to come by in the area – with additional free public parking in a lot within walking distance. The building had multiple rooms – to accommodate the different parts of my business…separated but still one. This even included a small room in the back where meetings could be held. And get this…back there was a commercial espresso machine!! I mean come on!!! It needed repairs but it was direct from Italy and would be well worth it.

Outdoor seating was avaialable with a walk-up window. There was kitchen equipment, a front counter and a built in speaker system throughout. Upstairs from the shop was rental property – additional income.

Previously here, was an ice cream shop – a staple to the community. Everyone in town knows them and loves them. This would afford me some potential customers right off the bat.

A friend shared the article about the business being sold and I immediately made the call to speak with the owners. He agreed to meet the next day first thing in the morning! Was this really happening!?!

Although there would be work to get done – I was anxious and excited but…unfortunately too late. The owners had sold the building (themselves) to a large commercial property management company. The building will be torn down to make way for another commercial office property. It broke my heart. I walked in picturing my coffehouse…already laying out in my head where it all would happen. I could see the small stage for open Mic night. I could see a barista serving the business folks in the coffee catered meeting room. Over to the right would be the set of iPads setup for the kids to use – educational or inspirational material ot of course 🙂 On summer days customers would be lined up at the window for iced coffee to go.

The gentleman was extremely pleasant and offered encouragement and an opportunity to purchase some of the remaining equipment. He took me to the back room and showed me boxes of dishes and mugs and utensils. He also shared a story of a time when the ice cream shoppe served breakfast and lunch. They didn’t offer meals for too long because it takes a lot of work and money. He pointed out that a particular set of bamboo bowls were really great for serving a small fruit bowl. Random right?

Well he handed two of those bowls to me… Told me I could keep them. I welled up…realizing that this wasn’t going to be the place for my coffeehouse. My dream was going to take place somewhere different than this. What I have been working for and wanting for so long – wasn’t going to happen here. It hurt – felt like I was one HUGE step closer to making my dream a reality and then in the same moment being pushed back to start.

Then I realized – this chance meeting wasn’t in vein. It wasn’t for me to find this place and make it my business home. I’m not well prepared but this meeting was to motivate me. Instead of being upset about what was NOT going to happen – I got excited about the realization this could really happen for my family. It WILL happen for us!

Intangible Rewards

Being a parent has tangible rewards – report cards with encouraging comments, fingerpaint masterpieces, handmade cards with glitter glue and cotton balls. We cherish them, usually posting them on the fridge as a reminder of how wondeful our children are and then we store them away as treasures we come upon years later.

Being a parent also has intangible rewards that far surpass ANY gifts your small treasures hand to you – or from anyone else for that matter. These rewards make your heart skip a beat, cause streams of joyful tears, and fill your spirit and mind with amazing love and happiness. These rewards can turn a terrible day into a pleasant memory. These intangible rewards turn a doubting momma into a proud parent.

At times it can feel like all you do for you child is unrecognized, unappreciated and exhaustingly frustrating. Looking at your parent self in the mirror can be terrorizing – considering that you haven’t done enough or haven’t provided a good enough example. Staring into your own parent eyes can be embarassing and overwhelming – questioning your intentions and direction.

Then your special little child gives you an intangible reward – an action you wish you could capture in a jar:

They repeat an uplifting word you’ve said to someone hurting.
They cry at the joy of God surrounding them.
They sing a song, and dance around the house in excitement.
They dress themselves in the clothes that remind them most of you.
They cuddle up beside you and stretch the blanket to share.
They take time to pray for your dreams and hopes instead of their own.
They tell you if they could be anyone else for a day – it would be you.

The impressions we leave on our kids can be shaped by the words we say to them, the time we spend with them, the people we share our lives with, and the relationships we invest in around them.

Strive for the intangible rewards and be sure to pay attention enough to see them.

Creation Festival (NE) – Day 4

If I want to be honest…which I do…knowing that NEEDTOBREATHE was actually headlining the entire Creation Festival…made it virtually impossible to consider missing it. Although I don’t any of the band personally – it felt like a family member was about to make it “in the big time” with how excited I was for them to be headlining!! Switchfoot playing right before them made it absolutely perfect!

Getting ahead of myself there…lets back it up. Ookkkaayyy – so before I watched them play and danced like Kevin James during the best scene of Hitch – we roamed around and bought some things from the vendors. We managed to catch part of Hawk Nelsons’ set. Apparently that isn’t the name of the lead singer – ha – oops.

Then we heard soundcheck happening for Switchfoot and Alexa’s eyes opened crazy wide. She said “MOM!!! We need to RUN!” We took off down the hill, almost losing our footing and rolling onto the hardened mud pit in front of the stage. We got the stage and heard them playing a couple songs. After finishing up, Jon Foreman started chatting with the crowd and came down in front of the stage to say hello. He made his way over and to me and Alexa and I asked for a picture. I pointed out her fedora that had his autograph (and the rest of the band) on it and said that he may recognize her. He looked at her, took his finger and pulled her sunglasses just slightly down her little nose and said “ohhhh – there you are. Of course I remember”. I don’t think I can even describe the star struck look on her face – she was so beyond happy. He took an adorable photo with her and thanked us for coming to see them again.

We quickly ran back to our tent so we could change and get ready to spend the rest of the several hours sitting in front of the stage waiting for our favorite bands to come on. We found out that Switchfoot was doing a signing and were almost the last people in line before they closed it off! Alexa was so relieved to make it. She already had several things singed, so we bought the Fading West DVD for them to sign.

Slightly exhausted and VERY sweaty – we had to hurry back across the festival to get in line for Neetbreathe to chat at the K-Love tent. We got there nice and early and had a BLAST with the folks from the Radio station. My friends daughter was HILARIOUS – helping them come up with winners of the K-Love hand towels. She chose things such “person with the tallest hat”, “person with the most words on their shirt”. Our friend Matt form the tent was super fun and made my obsession with Needtobreathe seem perfectly normal.

I waited IMpatiently behind the red ropes and white chairs for the band to come out. The radio station had some of us write questions down on a clipboard and the guys seemed a little shy answering some of them. Mine weren’t asked so I don’t take any blame 🙂 It was great to see them and got my pumped up for their performance!!

It was a very quick stay for questions but it was well worth the wait 🙂 We headed to the main stage to claim a spot for the rest of the night. We wanted to be sure that we were upfront – especially since my pint size mini-me wouldn’t be able to see anyone otherwise. We also spent some of this time selling our VIP passes because we realized that VIP meant we sat up on the platform that was NOT close to the stage and we had to be all up in the mix! We got to see Eric Samuel Tim speak and paint – after we chatted with him near the port-a-johns earlier in the day HA! We managed to be up against the gate, unfortunately a little further right than we would’ve liked but at least my peanut could see. We didn’t have to camp out for too long.

As soon as Switchfoot came on Alexa was ecstatic; dancing and jumping all over the place. We had our own little dance party going on and it was AWESOME! The guys waved Hi to her a few times and made her night. Drew even pointed directly at her. So sweet of them 🙂

When they started to play Gone I thought she was going to pass out from happiness.

Jon of course made his way through the crowd as he always  does and climbed all over the staging. He came over to Alexa and touched her hand to say hello 🙂

We didn’t have to wait all that long for NEEDTOBREATHE to come on stage. That was helpful because we were definitely not going to move an inch with the chance of losing our place close to the stage. I spotted a familiar face a few folks over. I couldn’t tell at first how I knew her but I had seen her face before….yup she was another super fan. Ha ha ha ha I recognized a complete stranger from Twitter because we had communicated before about the band. Mmmhmm that happened. We both got really excited to see each other there.

I had butterflies in my stomach when NEEDTOBREATHE came on stage – like when you see a new boy you like. Not in a creeper way but just excited for them to be at such a large venue. Bear even mentioned to the crowd that Creation was the biggest venue they have ever played for. He shared their huge appreciation for being there and he was awestruck looking out at the sea of people.

Although we didn’t have the best view, because of the enormous cameras in our way, we still had a dance party 🙂 I did warn the girls around me that I might bump them and stuff because I really like to dance and NEEDTOBREATHE is my favorite band so I’m a little crazy. My peanut was again super exhausted but she hung in there for most of it. She sat a few times but would look up and giggle at me being so “crazy”; screaming the lyrics at the top of my lungs and bouncing around all over the place. It was an amazing performance and I couldn’t have been more ecstatic that my favorite band got to close Creation Festival. They have worked hard, went through a lot of “stuff” and really deserve it 🙂

See people how He sees people

Out of nowhere I felt a sudden urge to burst into tears this morning.

As I sat beside my mom, waiting for them to call her in for bloodwork, I saw the people around me. I actually saw them – noticed them and stopped to consider them. Life is so distracting and loud sometimes that I don’t often pay attention to things other than my own.

I encouraged an older gentleman to think of his wait as an opportunity to rest for a few moments. His impatience to be called in and move on with the rest of his day – caused me to reflect and also take advantage of the waiting. In my head I prayed that he would be able to sleep more restful, that he would be given a break from the pains in his body. I fought the feeling to reach out and grab his hand to pray boldly – but I know God heard me anyway.

Earlier I noticed a young guy – looking drawn and tired…afraid and anxious. Instead of judging him and assuming he was an addict or some punk: I prayed for him. I silently asked that he would be freed from the pressure he wore on his face and that he would find peace. I saw him as how I can imagine God sees him and feels about him…heartbroken that he’s hurting. I felt it too.

I took up an amazing conversation with a pint sized Sponge Bob Square Pants fan. He was barely tall enough to reach the chair bottom and the mumblings were so sweet but in a foreign toddler retorect 🙂 He was quite entertaining and very excited to share with me how quickly he could make his way through YouTube videos. His mom walked over with a newborn – as of Monday – and still had the new mommy glow. As dad gathered up their family and belongings, my mini friend trotted away with a big smile and wave. I asked God to bless their adorable family and keep that innocence strong.

Mom popped out with a small bandage in her elbow and as we walked out – a dad and his little ones made their way down the hall past us. His pretty little miss waved and yelled “buh-bye” to the entire reception area. Her cute brother did the same and blew all of us a kiss.

All of those small instances are proof that God is always around and working to love on people – you just need to take a moment to quiet down and recognize what he sees. I’m so glad I had the chance today.