2012 :: Our Best Year Yet

2012 was the best year of my life.  I gave birth at the very beginning of the year, and we have spent the past 11 and a half months thanking God for his precious gift to us.  Riggs has filled our lives with more love and joy and light then we ever thought possible.  We purchased our first home in April and have fallen more in love with it each and every day we are here.  There have been some lows throughout the year, but they pale in comparison to highs.  I am so excited for what 2013 holds, yet very sad to see 2012 go...

We Are Lovely: Riggs' Birth Story

I am so excited to share some news with you!  Riggs' birth story was posted on a blog full of empowering birth stories that I've read for quite a while.  The blog is called We Are Lovely:  A Blog About Birth Stories and here is the link to my story.

I don't know about you, but when I was pregnant, I must have read hundreds of birth stories.  Every single one was so interesting and educational for me, and I still love to read them.  I hope you go visit this blog and enjoy reading some of the birth stories!

chinook winds

A Chinook wind blew into our neck of the woods last night and we woke up this morning to find that most of our snow is now gone.  I'm sad about the snow, but I love the feeling of the warm wind on my face and the sound of it blowing through the trees.  Riggs enjoyed crawling around on the dry, snow-free porch and sat there for quite some time watching Tutka and I out in the yard.

I made some cocoa from scratch to warm up with when we came inside.  How do you get outside and stay positive even when the weather isn't optimal?

Homer trip recap

I'm stopping by to share some pictures from our long weekend in Homer to spend Christmas with Steve's family there.  It was so much fun to see his family get to know Riggs a little better, and to just relax in the seaside town that we both love.  Plus it snowed nearly three (3!) feet while we were there.

Riggs became a stair climbing expert while we were there.  We don't have stairs so he's not used to them at all, but as soon as he saw the staircase at Grandma Dotti's house, he just climbed right up, no problem!  Steve kept a close eye on him, and he couldn't quite figure out how to go back down, but he still had a blast trying (lol).

we visited Santa at the Library

Riggs loved his cousins kitchen, and he especially loved playing there with her

Riggs got to chill in the Ergo while we went out to enjoy the new snow

did I mention snow?

Riggs loved to rock in front of the fire

he was very impressed with the tree and the pile of presents from Santa that was taller than him

"Please can I have some eggnog?!"

Morgan trying to show Riggs how to open his present

wouldn't be Christmas without a little grumpiness

beautiful drive home in the blizzard

Riggs practiced his driving skills with daddy ;)

Now I'm off to go bake some cookies for my family's Christmas celebration at my house this weekend. Hope you have a fantastic Friday and a family/friend filled weekend :)

lazy days

We've been enjoying some lazy days since we got back from Homer on Tuesday.  It snowed here at our house too while we were gone, and we've spent quite a bit of time outside with Tutka - who missed us so much!  We missed him too, and we missed our home.  No matter how much fun I have on a trip, getting home is always my favorite part for some reason...there's just nothing like being in your own space and back in your old routines.  I think it's good that Steve and I found each other, because we are both such homebodies!

We've become even more home-centered since we moved into our very first home and since we've had Riggs.  One of our favorite things about being home is the outdoor space and privacy that we have - we just love it more and more as we settle in.  We don't have to drive anywhere to throw the ball for Tutka, or to go on a walk with Riggs.  Each season we've discovered little things about this place that just make us love it even more, and I feel so blessed that we found such a perfect little home for us.

If you can't tell from the pictures, I was wearing sweatpants and a sweatshirt that I've had since 1998 - I wore them all day and thoroughly enjoyed it too.  I love fashionable clothes and getting dressed up, but when I'm home jeans and tights and blouses just seem so uncomfortable.  My uniform for a typical day at home is usually yoga pants or leggings and soft cotton tops, but there's nothing like the comfort of your favorite sweatshirt (the fact that it's been your favorite sweatshirt for over 10 years is just a bonus). 

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas from the Harness family, 

buried under nearly three (3!) feet of snow in Homer!

Christmas Love #3: Christmas Cards!

You may have seen my other Christmas Love posts, #1 here and #2 here, in which I have been sharing some of the specific things about the holiday season that make me love it so much.  On Tuesday I was so excited to find lots and lots of Christmas mail (and some magazines, my second favorite thing to get in the mail) in my box when I got my mail at the Post Office, and I was inspired to write Christmas Love post #3!

I don't know about you, but I love getting real mail, I always have.  When I was in elementary school, my neighbor and girl scout buddy and I wrote letters back and forth over the summer and it was so much fun.  We would dip the paper in tea to give it that "old fashioned" look, then after it dried we would write a nice little note on the crinkly paper before folding it up and walking it over to each other's mail boxes.

Source: akduchess.tumblr.com via Whitney on Pinterest

Because I love getting mail so much, I often try to write handwritten notes and get them in the mail as soon as possible, whether they be letters, thank you notes, or in this case, Christmas cards.  This year I was so incredibly excited to send out our Christmas cards and show off our new member of the family.  I was determined to get the perfect picture, and as I've already shared here, we were successful!  I love how our pictures turned out, and I sent them out at the beginning of the month.

Now I am even more excited each week to visit the Post Office and see what letters may have arrived from my friends and family scattered all over the country.  I love to slowly read each one or look at the beautiful pictures and then hang each one up by the tree to enjoy the entire season.

Merry Christmas form the Harness Family

OHP: glitter nails, cheesy soup, and braided hair

Hello everyone!  It's Wednesday and I'm linked up again with Michelle over at The Vintage Apple for Oh, How Pinteresting.  First I'll list my 5 favorite pins and then I'll list the top 3 repinned pins.  Here we go...



.................

Source: glitterandnails.blogspot.com via Whitney on Pinterest

Source: heart-2-home.com via Whitney on Pinterest

Source: manifestvegan.com via Whitney on Pinterest

Source: rufflesandtruffles.com via Whitney on Pinterest

Source: via Whitney on Pinterest

:: top repinned pins from last week ::

#1

40 repins

Source: etsy.com via Whitney on Pinterest

#2

19 repins

Source: browneyesblueskies.tumblr.com via Whitney on Pinterest

#3

16 repins

Source: ogorgeous.com via Whitney on Pinterest

this happened today

#1

We used to have a very big and beautiful Christmas tree that we cut down in our backyard (you can read more about that, here).  It was so pretty and I had so much fun decorating it.  But I have a baby/toddler (only 26 days till he's one!) and a 10 month old, 85 pound black lab puppy.  To be honest I'm surprised the tree lasted as long as it did!  Today was the final straw for me, I just couldn't stand sweeping up the needles every 15 minutes so that Riggs (and Tutka :/) wouldn't eat them.  

#2

So this happened:

#3

And then THIS happened:

It really was very sad, but we managed to have some fun too.  We snipped off the biggest branches on the bottom and I carried them out into the back yard where I know the bunnies sleep snuggled under the trees at night.  Hopefully all the branches will help keep them a little warmer at night!  Destroying the beautiful tree that we had loved so much was a little bit like what I imagine a trash-the-dress session is like, except there was no chance of anyone dying (well, except the tree I guess).

It was also fun because we got to decorate again!  We are spending Christmas day with Steve's family, so I had planned on putting everything away before we headed that way, but I changed my mind.  I was just really in the mood to decorate this morning (maybe the negative 25 degree weather has affected my brain).  We had Christmas music playing as I set up the little fake tree of past Christmases and Riggs opened his little box of ornaments.  

Then we went to work decorating the tree, and I am really happy with how it turned out.  It's a pretty homely little tree, but I love it.  I'm so sad that the pictures I took are so washed out, I'm still learning in manual mode and it's hard to tell on the little screen if they're just bright enough or too bright.

I plan on changing the 'Rowan' to 'Riggs this afternoon or tomorrow...
although I do find it kind of funny to have a stocking for Riggs with another name on it.
He is SO NOT a Rowan...lol.

I love all the decorations but I especially love these snow globes my sister made for me for Christmas last year...they are so cute and cheery and vintage looking.  I can't wait to collect more decorations as the years go by, but I also need to figure out some better spots for things.  I didn't have a spot to put up the nativity this year, but hopefully Steve will have time to build the wall of book shelves I have in mind for our den/office area and then there will be plenty of space for all the decorations.  I also want to get some big letters and garland to put above the cabinets in the kitchen, but that will have to wait until next year I guess.  Did you set up any decorations this year that you are especially proud of?  What are your future plans for Christmas decorations?

Hope every one is having a happy Monday, even up here in AK where it is so cold again!