in every season: 10.11

weekend fun.

it was a pretty great birthday weekend!

happy halloween!

it's my birthday! (almost)

tomorrow i turn the big twenty-five.

we're going to silver dollar city...

it's tradition.

i love silver dollar city in the fall. i can't wait to show E.

*photos from my phone last year.

oh, and i got a nook color from michael!!

i need book suggestions!

also: i decided to join in...

yesterday was just what i needed. it was a rainy, chilly fall day. ellie and i went grocery shopping and then took lunch to michael. i need to do that more often... it's so, so good to see him during the day. she was worn out and took a super long nap. this led me to having time to relax a little and bake. i made some pumpkin chocolate chip cookies (recipe i used) ....hmmm mmm. and, for dinner we had grilled cheese and tomato soup... perfect for the weather. today i think we'll stay cozy in our pajamas until it's time to get ready for life group tonight. this is the life.

sleepy baby.

remember how i said ellie rubs her eyes when she's sleepy? well, it's pretty much one of the sweetest things ever.

(please excuse the "baby voice"...;))

battles.

isn't my husband so cute?

michael and i helped with escalate this past weekend at our church. the main focus was about battles... battles the youth face in school, home, work and just day-to-day life. it got me thinking about my own battles. i'm not going to go into great detail, but my top two that i'm really focusing on are: time management/productivity vs. laziness and comparing my life to others (in the blogging community as well as "real life")/trying to be someone i'm not. my life is not perfect... it is pretty great... but, i have things i need to work on.

so, some personal things i'm working on: starting my day right... not by checking blogs/instagram/twitter/facebook/pinterest, but by praying about the day ahead and spending time in Scripture. being myself... this is where the whole i want to live simple thing comes into play. i like nice things. i like clothes. i like to decorate my house. but, i want to keep it completely low key. minimal. i like it that way. i don't want to think less of my life because someone seems to have so much more fun. there's a lot of love in my home and we're a happy bunch. that's good enough for me.

some fun things: pinterest: this ties into the whole productivity thing. i pin things ALL.THE.TIME and don't do anything..... but pin. i want to start making the things i find. i'm going to try all those yummy recipes and make things for our home and for ellie. purging soon: i don't know if it's because i'm about to turn 25, but i feel like my "style" is changing. simple. so, it's time to go through the closest and donate some clothes and go through the house and de-clutter.

i'm pretty excited to face these "battles" and focus on getting back to the basics and seeing where God leads us in the next few years.

simple things.

we had another too warm fall weekend.

and we spent it with the youth from our church.

my baby can now roll from her tummy to her back (as of yesterday). she gets excited and likes the sound of her own voice. and rubs her eyes when she's sleepy. she can hold a rattle. i want to remember all these little firsts. it's funny how excited i get over these simple things.

i just decided i'm giving in and i'm going to dress ellie up for halloween! i haven't the slightest idea what she's going to be. i know.... procrastinator. any ideas for cute, easy baby costumes?

PRETTY FALL.

fall has always been my favorite season.

and this might just be my favorite fall yet.

it's my birthday week! saturday is my birthday. i plan on taking this week slow.

i've been thinking a lot lately and i'm realizing more and more how i want to live simple.

i'm discovering more and more who i am and really, who i want to be...

as a wife, mother, sister, daughter, friend, and Christ-follower.

so live more simple we will.

happy friday!

three great posts all blogging mommas (and non-blogging moms too) should read....

two by danielle: here (tip #4) & here.

and one by melissa: here.

I DID IT.

we had a date night.

just the two of us.

some blurry pictures. with no car seat in the back.

ellie stayed with grandma and grandpa for 2 whole hours. and i'm not going to lie... i got teary eyes a couple of times. michael would look at me and i would tear up. and i would say "i just miss her." but, then i realized michael wasn't having the same reaction... he wasn't having the same reaction because he's had to be away from her from the very beginning when he went back to work. he has to leave her when she's all smiles in the morning and, up until recently, had to come home when she had her fussy time in the evening. i started to feel so sorry for him. she's growing out of the "cling to mom in the evenings and won't let ANYONE else hold her" stage. it happened. anyway, we had a nice dinner without having to rush through because that also happened sometimes if we were afraid ellie was going to start fussing. we talked. we laughed. we had fun. ellie is 10 weeks old now and we've decided it's ok to have time for ourselves every now and then (it was still SUPER hard for me). luckily, since i'm her food supply we can only be away for about a 2-3 hour stretch. thank goodness.

also...... it's official. my family is THE worst at taking pictures of ourselves. we need a live-in photographer to take a group shot of the 3 of us. or, maybe we should invest in a tripod... either way. proof:

i know what you're thinking.... that poor baby!!!

cupcake in the morning.

mornings might just be my favorite time with ellie. i love my days with her... she just talks and smiles so much in the mornings. i am in no way wishing her newborn days away, but i can't wait to hear her little voice say "momma" and tell me what's going on and i hope to be the kind of mom she can come to with secrets and dreams as she grows. i will forever be thankful for this season and remember these sweet mornings filled with cuddles, baby smells, gummy grins, kisses on her sweet cheeks, and the love i have for my precious little cupcake.

i love her profile and her birthmark on her hand and i even love her old man hairline.

our weekend.

oh, weekends.... i kind of love you.

my parents came to town. mom & i went thrifting and michael & dad trimmed our trees.

we had a lazy saturday morning. complete with mcdonald's for breakfast.
i happen to really, really like mcdonald's breakfast.

we spent lots of time together after church on Sunday...ellie took the longest nap, ever.
it was kind of a blessing to us.

it was over 80 degrees yesterday. this week has highs of low 50's & 60's.
FALL WEATHER! a perfect fall treat is the chocolate drizzled popcorn. so. good.
and you are welcome. :)

i got new glasses and probably took too many pictures of myself.

sometimes ellie isn't a big fan of taking pictures. i love my little cupcake.

**sorry if you follow me on instagram and have to look at these all over again. ;) i like to document them here, too so i have them in the future.

friday favorites.

pumpkin pie cupcakes. making these soon.
etsy shop with dreamy mobiles.
wrapping gifts with yarn. so fun.
this cozy room for when ellie gets bigger. she can take her little time.
i'm making this for dinner. thanks, mandy!
a favorite blog right now. full of inspiration and simple living.

i guess i'm jumping on the "make a link list on friday" band-wagon today...
i just had some goodness to share.

happy weekend!

p.s. don't forget to send me an email if you'd like a FREE ad space next month. :)

OUCH.

ellie showed off at her ped appointment yesterday. she was all smiles and talking away. she was loving her hands and showing off during tummy time. then came the shots. oh, those 2 month shots. that was not fun! i surprised myself by tearing up a little bit when ellie was receiving her vaccinations. that's not usually my "personality" BUT the girl was mad... like red in the face mad and there were tears. thank goodness my mom was there to be with us! i comforted her after, put her back in her car seat and she was out. she took the longest nap ever and looked so sad the rest of the day. she perked up for my mom while i was getting my eyes checked later in the day. and this morning she was all smiles for her daddy, but she's been a bit clingy and not sleeping much today.... she's finally taking her first nap of the day right now! she needs it. and so do i. sleeeepy momma here. i love ya girl, but i also need sleep sometimes.

um, i knew the darling was growing. i just didn't realize how much.

poor thing.

2 months

Ellie Reese:

weight: 12 lbs 9 oz (90-95 %)

height: 22 1/4 inches (25-50%)

head: 41 cm (90-95 %)

see her newborn measurements here.

a visit to seneca.

i grew up in a tiny town called seneca. these days it's known for border town bingo and casino. i know it for the home of the indians, the little lost creek, main street with a handful of places to eat... there's no mcdonald's or walmart. there's a dairy queen, a dairy land and the best pizza buffet at simple simon's. uh-huh. it is delicious. ellie and i made a little trip to see my cousin, lindsay, while she was in town from cali. and you know we had to stop by and see my dad at work and visit my mom at work and spend the day with my sister and her two "babies." it was kind of a really great day.