A little announcement...

If you follow us on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter you'll already know what our announcement is.

Last night Kyle and I celebrated our fifth Valentine's Day together. Our first date was on Valentine's Day 2012 and with every year that goes by, I enjoy our time together more and more.

For our first Valentine's Day, Kyle made me dinner at my apartment. It was a nice way to spend our first "date"...quietly in and together.

This year, our weekend was spent the same way. Saturday night we ordered in pizza and last night, I made dinner for the two of us.

Quiet weekends are some of my favorites. I love being able to spend time at home with Kyle. And this year we are cherishing the quiet moments even more. That's because we will be adding a third member to our family this July!

Stick around and join us in this journey!

Happy Monday!

A tish of nostalgia

Well, we're out. We are officially moved out of our apartment.

We've lived there since last March. Before that we were in our little one bedroom apartment in the 55+ building.

Our first apartment was special. It was the first place we lived together. We celebrated our first married Christmas together. We learned how to live together.

But this second apartment was special to us too. It was where we remembered what it was like to have a roommate (or two) that you're not married to. This second apartment was where we started to naturally fall into our roles in our marriage. One of us naturally has a desire to cook more. One of us naturally has the urge to do dishes more.

This was the home where we spent too many hours watching tv during supper. It was the home where we could walk across our back yard to see our good friends. It was the home that would be our last apartment before we purchased a house.

It was also:
...the home where we had downstairs neighbors whose cigarette smoke wafted in our open patio during the summer.
...the home where our across the hall neighbor had a smelly, giant white dog whose fur would clog up the vacuum in the halls and eventually wind up in our hallway.
...the home where our garage leaked every time it rained or the snow melted.

But it was still our home. It was still a place we could entertain people and make memories. It was home for a short time and part of me is sad to say goodbye.

However...
...the rest of me is VERY HAPPY that we now have a house to call home and we won't have to rent (hopefully) ever again.

#mugswap14 {Link Up}

Greetings! It's been ages since I've written and I'm so sorry to leave you hanging! I'm back now, so don't worry your pretty little heads one more minute.

I'm back to tell you about something pretty awesome! Kim, over at the lovely blog ACuppaKim, hosts an annual mugswap. It's pretty boss. You should totally check it out. Write it down in your planners and count down the days til next August. (Do you sense how exciting this all is?? Because you should.) 

Anyway, this was her 4th annual #mugswap. It was only my 2nd year participating. BUT! It was so much fun. This year the theme was to "Bless Others". We (#mugswap14 participants) were encouraged to spoil our partners and to donate to the Hopper family for their upcoming adoption. Check out Kim's blog for more details!

I was partnered up with sweet Meg over at rivers & roads. I've gotten to know her through her blog, IG, and Pinterest. I know that if we were to meet in person, we'd be friends. Go check her out. 

Through our mugswap partnership and social media, I found out that Meg loves Disney, Harry Potter, coffee, caramel, and blue. And as hard as I tried to find something special for her that hit all of these loves, it just wasn't happening. Alas, I settled with creating a special gift for her. Check it out!

I had SO much fun shopping, crafting, and wrapping! She wrote to me to let me know she loved it and she squealed when she opened the package. It made my heart happy! My pleasure, Meg!

And I do know that the purpose of the mugswap is to bless others and make their mail happy. While I LOVED every minute of this adventure, I don't have the second half of the mugswap adventure to share with you. And as I sat at my desk today, I thought about how blessed I am. I don't need to receive a mug in return (I would like it very much...BUT), but that's not the purpose. 

I have so much more than some others. I'm blessed with a job, a wonderful husband, a loving Savior, a roof over my head, a car. I could go on, but you get the picture. So, even if my mug doesn't ever make it to me, I've been blessed by #mugswap14 anyway. 

Kim, here's to another year until #mugswap15. And Meg, here's to a new friend gained. 

Cheers!

Ps. I will be posting new job (eek!) updates soon! xo