sitting...

our little man who is almost 5 months can sit up (when we prop him up) on his own! he lasts only a few seconds before plopping over, but we can tell he loves it so much.  sweet boy.

in other news...sorry for the long absence.  once you have a child, or if you already do, you realize how your life is prioritized differently...which is a good thing for me.

* i just purchased a new camera this week and have love playing around with it! it's a nikon d5100 and i'm dying to explore the video capability as well as playing with shooting in manual as encouraged by my boss who is a pro at this stuff.

*we've had some weird weather including warm and freezing, but we manage to get out for walks and runs here and there.

*landon and i had a "planning meeting" a couple nights ago.  a first for us as a couple, long overdue i'm sure.  we talked and dreamed and planned for our near future including a few fun vacations and deciding what to do after our lease is up next march.

*ditched Starbucks as our outing place and switched to Panera instead. cheaper, far better coffee in my opinion, and come on, they have asiago cheese bagels! :)

*helped our church move to a new location.  a sweet new place with room to grow.

we are enjoying this spring time together as a little family.

catch up...

Hey friends!  I'm so sorry to be silent for so long.  These past couple months have been a much-needed break for me from the blogging/internet world.  I find that life slows down a bit when I'm not concerned about updating statuses or taking a picture of my lunch so I can write about it later. :)
I want to savor life and make the most of each day.  I love blogging, and I hope to get some regular posts in now, but I'm not wanting to let it control my free time.  Maybe I'll post some more thoughtful things, and let the fluff posts be.

 Also, some big news!  I quit my nanny job and am officially done working outside the home for a good while.  The photo editing job will start up soon, and I can do that from home and make my own hours. (*fist pump*)

Anyway, here's some photo catch ups for you...a little slice of what we've been up to these past few months.  I hope you all are enjoying spring and the warm weather!

We love our fireplace in this new condo!

Lunch out with Landon.

Staining our chairs from Ikea.

Lucy's wedding!

With the newlyweds.

Fresh new petunias for our front porch.

Hopefully we'll get some hummingbirds this season.

More petunias for the step.

Our back patio, perfect for grilling this summer!

My new reading spot.

Gerber daisies from Landon to celebrate my last day of work.

Fun new spring colors...I'm so excited to wear sundresses all summer long.

Spring time...

Hello friends,

It's been awhile since I've posted, but I just wanted to check in and let you know I haven't fallen off the face of the earth!  Things have been crazy around here...too much to go into detail.  But Landon and I have a lot on our plates and it's been nice to take a break from a lot of things.

I can't put much effort into blogging right now, but I'm going to try to get back into it in May sometime.  I promise I'll be much more relaxed and breezy and have something of worth to say instead of nothing. :)

For now, spring has sprung in Indiana and the trees and plants and grass are so beautiful.  I took a walk yesterday with one of the little boys I nanny and it felt so good to be outside breathing in some fresh air and admiring nature.  He showed me how he finds wild chives in the woods, which he refers to as "chife" and we washed some and he let me taste it.

I'm really looking forward to this spring and summer and trying to enjoy each day as much as I can.  Easter will be here soon and with it some wonderful family time and of course great food.  Can't wait!

Miss you all and I'll be back soon. 

Love,

Leah

image

spring clean...

Whosever room this is should be ashamed!
His underwear is hanging on the lamp.
His raincoat is there in the overstuffed chair,
And the chair is becoming quite mucky and damp.
His workbook is wedged in the window,
His sweater's been thrown on the floor.
His scarf and one ski are beneath the TV,
And his pants have been carelessly hung on the door.
His books are all jammed in the closet,
His vest has been left in the hall.
A lizard named Ed is asleep in his bed,
And his smelly old sock has been stuck to the wall.
Whosever room this is should be ashamed!
Donald or Robert or Willie or--
Huh? You say it's mine? Oh, dear,
I knew it looked familiar!

Shel Silverstein

Ok, so maybe my room doesn't look or sound this bad, but it's always a good idea for me to keep up on cleaning and tidying up.  The fact that the weather has turned warmer and the air feels fresh definitely helps.

Here's to spring cleaning!!

xo

oh happy day...

I completed one of my spring goals by adding some color to our home.  I was grocery shopping at Krogers and saw these beautiful football mums beckoning to me.  They look perfect on our wooden table.

It has been easy to be joyful lately.  I have had so many good things happen in my life this week...family, friends from church, encouragement, good news, and support.  The hard part is staying joyful when the days aren't so good.  But getting practice in now will surely help later.

Today I am letting my hair down and relaxing.  I'll be finishing my book and munching on raw almonds...my most favorite snack lately.

I hope you all have a wonderful day and can find something you are joyful about, even if it's something as small as remembering to floss or eating your favorite cookie.

xo

via

Get up, my dear friend, 

   fair and beautiful lover—come to me!

Look around you: Winter is over; 

   the winter rains are over, gone!

Spring flowers are in blossom all over. 

   The whole world's a choir—and singing!

Spring warblers are filling the forest 

   with sweet arpeggios.

I know spring isn't quite here, but I am wishing for it so dearly.  

The sun is shining so beautifully today and it is getting me so ready for warmer weather.

Have a fabulous and wonderful day...snuggle with someone you love, take a long walk, read a book, drink some tea, try a recipe you've always wanted to but never have.

xo

Leah

Luncheon on the Porch

Since Landon and I were spending Mother's Day with my mom and dad, we decided to go to Landon's parents' house this past Sunday for a late Mother's Day meal. It was so good just relaxing with them in the afternoon with a lovely homemade meal.

We had grilled salmon and pork chops, green beans with potatoes and mushrooms, fresh strawberries and kiwi, and homemade spelt bread, which is so good and very good for you. After dinner, we had a most delicious dessert of peanut butter pie (ahh, so amazing!) and Chai lattes using the recipe from an older blog post of mine, thanks to Cathy who read the post and tried it out. The lattes were really good by the way and so easy to make.

We sat outside on their porch, the one Landon and I were married on, and had a lovely drawn out lunch in the fresh air. After a wonderful day, Landon and I took a nice night drive back home and I snapped a photo....I LOVE night drives.

Here's to good times and good food with our dear family!! Love them.

Cheers,

Leah

Up to Date

I officially started my job full-time yesterday. Whenever I start a new job, I just wish I could fast-forward three weeks where I am finally comfortable and know my way around what I am doing. It's a great job though, and I'm really looking forward to getting to know the family better. They got a new puppy yesterday, and he is so adorable! I want one badly.

With working full-time now, I've been trying to think of how I can manage my time more practically since I don't get home until 8pm. I still want to take care of my husband and cook and clean, so I've just had to juggle some tasks around. I'll just prepare the supper for the evening as much as I can before I leave after lunch, then Landon can just warm it up when he gets home. I'll definitely need to plan ahead of time and schedule my days so that nothing goes to waste and I can be productive. Hmmm, this new schedule is vaguely reminiscent of my college days. But I'm the type of person that thrives on the challenges of scheduling and busy days, so this shouldn't be too bad.

Landon's work is going very well. They said it was alright if he wanted to adjust his hours to fit a little better with mine, so he's working from 9 until 6 or so and getting home not too early before me. He's glad for a couple hours to himself after work so he can get some projects done as well. I love him so much...he had a sweet note waiting for me with some chocolates when I got home last night, and he had taped Jeopardy! for me so I didn't miss my show! He's the best.

We are excited for this new job and extra income. God has really been amazing to us and provided so much. We are thankful.

And now for a treat! I discovered a wonderful yogurt yesterday that I think everyone would love. It's Greek Gods Honey flavored yogurt. Very creamy and thick and such a wonderful flavor. Dairy products are slightly iffy with me sometimes, but this yogurt is delicious! I got it at our Kroger's right down the street. Try it sometime.



And since it's springtime, here are some new looks from Ruche that tickled my fancy today.







Aren't they lovely?

Cheers,

Leah

Glass Bottles & Potting Soil

Ahhh, it is Springtime! This is not my most most favorite season (fall trumps all), but I love the beginning of the spring when the earth is finally waking up from winter. I get an itch to get outside and get my hands dirty planting or work up a good sweat by running. Plus the birds! I love waking up early to the sound of birds out the window...best alarm ever.

I went to a cute little garden shop a few days ago to gather my little bit of supplies needed to plant a few flowers. Pansies are so beautiful, plus they will do well on our front porch which only gets partial sun. Then I had to buy a beautiful houseplant to bring some green into our apartment. I wasn't sure what to put it in, then I found a wooden bowl we had bought recently, but didn't really have any purpose for. The plant fit perfectly inside and I love the natural look!! Complete with my pansies, house plant, and potting soil, I was set. I may have used our tiny square of linoleum by the front door to pot the plants using a metal serving spoon, but hey, whatever works right? But they look so wonderful sitting by the front door and inside our home...which feels more homey because of them.

We've also been drinking some wonderful wonderful lemonade. We bought some at Marsh the other day mainly because we loved the glass jug it came in. Oberweis sells milk in these jugs too, and I just loved the look of milk in a glass bottle. Sometimes I wish I grew up during the '40s when milk still came in glass bottles.

Landon and I have a big weekend! He gets off at 12:30 today! Then, we're celebrating our 6 month anniversary a day early and going to see Clash of the Titans in 3D, and getting some yummy grub at Cheeseburger N' Paradise....I love meat! We're heading back to our parents' for Easter and I cannot wait to be with family and cook with my sister and have a wonderful Sunday service at our church listening to my Daddy preach. I am making some dishes for our Easter dinner that sound so good right now:
Creamy Chopped Cauliflower Salad, and Raspberry Chocolate Torte.





























Here are some images of my springtime fun for you to enjoy.

Have a wonderful and blessed Easter weekend!!

Cheers,

Leah