[ now that it’s over… ]

March 15, 2015July 15, 2015 ~ Rachel ~ Leave a comment

now that it’s over…
i can say that the winter was simply beautiful. on that day it dropped to -2°, my sentiments may not’ve been quite so positive, but because my blogging is always about a month behind, and i don’t have the most stellar memory, i can say with all sincerity that winter was awesome, haha.

this is me. gettin’ after that snow shoveling business. it’s actually the first time in my life i’ve actually had to shovel snow, so yes, quite momentous.

the last time this red vintage sled was used, it probably had a little 12 year old boy on it. yep, the same handsome boy that’s in this picture. due to the light, poofy snow, it was more for looks than capability, but i shall continue to dream of someday when we have feet of thick snow and a huge hill. then it’ll earn its stripes.

our cozy little pod, covered with a blanket of snow. and our not-cozy little shed, where i keep hoping i didn’t leave anything temperature sensitive buried in all my bins. this house already has so many happy memories. it’s tiny, but if houses had hearts, it’d have a big one.

let’s just say, she was pulled a little farther and faster than he was. ha.

oh, and i don’t know if i mention it enough, but this guy makes me smile.
not only because he wears a cap cause i said it was cool,
(even though it’s a kid’s size cause i found it for like 90% off for $2 at Gap and couldn’t resist in case i have a little boy someday)
and not only because he trudges to work in a small blizzard to provide for us,
(even though it is just trudging across the church parking lot, and yes that is 2 pictures pasted together on a cool app i didn’t know could do that)

but he’s got the kindest heart, the hardest work ethic, the strongest shoulder to lean on, and such a heart for serving God and people. it may’ve taken a lot of waiting for us to find one another, but now that the waiting is over, is sure is easy to smile.

and now that winter is over, it’s even easier to smile, too. :)

[ samoa cookies & phone screens ]

February 15, 2015July 15, 2015 ~ Rachel ~ Leave a comment

it all started at 10:00am. our first Valentines day together. and if there hadn’t been any other lovely things in this day, that right there woulda made it special enough. sleeping ’till 10. ahhh.

so, there’s this little work shed in the woods across from our place that I’ve seen and always admired its little red door. A bit grungy, but kinda Valentinesy. :)
then, there’s this guy. he puts up with my little whims so often…and poses for me to get the camera lighting right…through bitter temperatures and crazy wind…and is a sweet fella to be around…like, pretty much all the time.

i think he kinda likes me, too.
he also takes good pictures of my little braid. side note: i like braids and hope they are always in style. considering they were cool in the pioneer days, i think they always will be. :)

ah yes, the title of this post.
that’s easy. i made him Samoa (girl-scout) cookies because they make him happy. if i were to hashtag in a blog, it would go something like this: #timidbaker #overheatedchocolate #hardtomake #sothat’swhyeveryonemakeschocolatechipcookies.

but you know what? he loved them, even if i physically forced the chocolate onto the cookie instead of drizzling it.

and yep, he got my cracked phone screen replaced. (hooray!!) which, ironically neither of us broke. it used to be his, and without mentioning names, we’ll just say that some ahem groomsmen…nevermind, it’s fixed now. :)

before we blew away, we went to look at potential new houses…
because ya know, that’s a pretty romantic thing to do.

then thanks to some sweet friends (yay gift-cards), on to Longhorn, where we called ahead, and there was an hour and 45 min. wait. no joke.
so, we passed the time at goodwill, and found a childhood memory to play with. always loved this globe.

can’t call it your 1st Valentines day without a good, romantic…ol’ disney cartoon, haha. (didn’t know if our normal choice – Andy Griffith – was quite romantic enough ;)

still loving all these “firsts.” but have a strange feeling we’ll enjoy the seconds, thirds, etc. too. :) and because you can’t have a Valentine’s Day post without 1 kissing picture. there.

[ farewell Christmas ]

February 5, 2015July 15, 2015 ~ Rachel ~ Leave a comment

Christmas was here. and as our first, it was quite special. now the season is over, and away go all the little decorations we collected for our first Christmas. don’t know if i have the heart to put this cute fella away just yet… after all, reindeer do exist all year, right?

one of our wedding-reception-table jars. so far, this one’s held candles, petals, ornaments, and receipts. ok, so we like to be able to see our receipts. :)
the precious little box that held our wedding rings. now it holds chapstick.
still as precious.

for some, it doesn’t cross their mind that their parents have been collecting ornaments for over 15 years…until their first Christmas.
and then they pull out all 3 ornaments they have, and pitifully hang them on the branches. that’s when little decorative balls you picked up during fall clearance save the day.

the sweet little snowflake ornament i bought in spain. yes, it broke.
after this picture, it broke again.
someday little ones will hang it on the tree, and it will break into 10 more pieces. but it will still have lovely memories attached to it.
for spain, you see, was the place where 2 people fell in love, and…
well, we’ll save that story for another post.

our tree skirt, which just happens to be a hand-me-down skirt from a friend! and Saturday afternoon goodwill stops with the hubby who finds cool little pottery things.

the christmas program at church this year was such a blessing. think i’ll be singing those songs for the rest of 2015. oh, and it’s kinda fun being in choir when you’re head over heels for the choir director. so thankful to God for the amazing gift of His Son – may we not forget that all year long!
{photo credit: David Goosman}

Christmas with the family down in GA!
yes, i asked for my favorite childhood game, chutes and ladders. :)
{ photo credit: my cool brother, John }

and of course…the {epic} yearly family pictures!

the most dear family one could ever hope to have. love these people!!
{ it’s always the outtakes that are the best… }

this girl. one super special person right here, folks.

oh, and we’d better commemorate our first ugly sweater party, cause, ah, it may never happen again…
(a thank-you to those dear friends who loaned us these lovely ugly sweaters)
till next year, Christmas!

the day [ us ] came to be

January 24, 2015July 15, 2015 ~ Rachel ~ Leave a comment

that blessed day when this little Pitts family came to be…

thank you to Evangeline Renee for the stunning photography – y’all are truly artists and we just loved all the ways you made our wedding so “us!”

to Chris Hunt, thanks for wonderful video footage – you captured so many of those special moments that we’ll treasure forever.

and to everyone else who made that day in May more beautiful than we could’ve ever imagined, thank you.
we love you all!