High Five for Friday!

What a week! All in all, it's been pretty fabulous! Here are a few bright spots from this past week...

One: Jake Patrick Wald

My lifelong friend gave birth to this precious baby boy earlier this week. He and his sweet momma are doing well...and his big sister couldn't possibly be more excited that he's finally here.

Jake Patrick
Born to Brandy Packard and Justin Wald on
March 24, 2015 at 5:30 PM
6 lbs., 13 oz. and 20" long

First Family Photo

Big sister Preslee couldn't be more proud! She's so in love with her baby brother!

Brandy told me this considerate little guy entered the world after just two pushes! Where can I sign up for a delivery like that?!!?  Please. Pretty please!

Congratulations to this beautiful family of four!

Two: Baby Martin's 20-Week Sonogram

More details on this in my next "bumpdate" post, but I can't help but share a little preview of our "halfway there" baby-doctor appointment.  All is well! Our little guy is right on track. We got to see him wiggling around and hear the sweet sound of his heartbeat! 

Three:  An Unexpected Baby Gift

A friend from high school sent me this A-DOR-able onesie:

I mean, seriously...how flippin' cute is that?!!? I can't wait until he can wear it...and duh! of course I'll be blogging about it!  :)

Thanks so much, Joclyn...you're so very thoughtful, and this little gift totally made my week! 

Four:  Spring has Sprung!

A little look at the Spring/Easter decor brightening our home...

I'll be the first to welcome the warm, sunny weather...and I cannot wait to spend a little time outside this weekend hopefully nourishing my {abnormally pale} skin with a little Vitamin D!

March definitely roared in like a lion...but, based on the forecast for this weekend, it looks like we're in luck for this month to go out like a lamb!

Five: Blog Love

• A Love Letter to My New Babysitter, by Ashlee @ Where My Heart Resides. A funny read straight from a mama's heart! This really hit home for me as we're in the process of exploring daycare/nanny options...which, let me tell you, is overwhelming and slightly terrifying! 

Today I'm participating in lots of Fabulous Friday link-ups: 

"Oh, Hey Friday!" {hosted by The Farmer's Wife and September FARM} 
"5 on Friday" {hosted by A.Liz Adventures, North Carolina Charm, The Good Life, and Hello! Happiness}
"Blogger Love" {hosted by All the Joys}

"Friday Favorites" {hosted by Momfessionals} 

Thanks so much to all of these ladies for hosting fun Friday link-ups!

Christmas Home Tour

On this perfect Christmas day, a little glimpse at our holiday decor...

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care...

Gotta have a little Jayhawk Christmas decor!

The Christmas village that belonged to my Grandma Lukens.

And, of course, the real reason for the season...

Merry Christmas from our home to yours!

Our First Christmas Tradition

There are so many wonderful traditions that go along with celebrating Christmas. Family traditions seem to create the very best memories...memories that you can hold on to forever. As we get married and start families of our own, it's fun to establish new holiday traditions.   

Our first "Martin Family Tradition" came about unintentionally...and I guess it started even before we got married. It goes back to the first Christmas we were dating when I gave Ryan an ornament for his non-existent Christmas tree. The following year we both got each other ornaments, and so the Christmas ornament tradition was born. After we got married, we decided that we'd pick out one ornament together to represent something special from that year and wait until Christmas morning {or whenever we exchange gifts with each other} to hang it on our tree.  

2011: The beginning of our ornament tradition.

2012:  The long-distance relationship ornament. 

2012: Ryan gave me this ornament the night we got engaged {12/22/2012}.

2013: An ornament to represent buying our first home together.

Our Christmas ornament tradition evolved a bit while we were on our honeymoon in Aruba. We knew we wanted to take home some type of keepsake to remember the trip, but we had a hard time finding a souvenir that wasn't ridiculously cheesy. We finally found a small "beach in a bottle" trinket and decided we could turn it into an ornament. Thus, travel souvenirs were added to our ornament tradition.

November 2013: Aruba

January 2014: Breckenridge, Colorado

August 2014: Nashville, Tennessee

November 2014: Napa Valley, California

Do you have a unique Christmas tradition?

Today I'm linking up with Katie {Katie Elizabeth}, Lisa {Lisa Loves John}, Annie {Home of Malones} and Cait {Home Sweet Ruby} for the Christmas Holiday Link-up. Thanks for hosting, ladies!

FALLing

Well, Hello October...

The colors and scents of Fall make me happy. Almost as happy as a new handbag. Almost. 

The practical side of me knows that it takes years to acquire seasonal decorations to fill a home...but the brat-tastic side of me wants it all RIGHT.NOW! This year I used some birthday money to purchase a couple items to go with what I already had {thanks to a November wedding!}...but I'm trying to refrain from buying more until it goes on sale post-Thanksgiving. Nice little test of my self control....blaugh.

Anyway, here's a little look at my attempt to Fall-ify our home...

First up...the front porch:

Do you know how hard it is to find a hay bale in the city? I sent poor Ryan on a wild goose chase in search of a hay bale because obviously his truck is a much better option than my car when it comes to transporting shedding straw. A couple of days {yes, days!} into the search, he finally found a bale at a local nursery {the plant kind, not the baby kind}. I'm so excited to have it...but I'm not going to tell you how much he had to pay for it. Pretty sure his term for it was "highway robbery." Soooo...I'm thinking next year I'll just bring a few Kansas bales back to Dallas and sell them right out of my front yard! Just call me an entrepreneur. Until the HOA shuts me down.

Moving along, here's a look inside the house:

This little piece of Fall fabulous-ness is extra special. 
It was part of the decor Ryan's mom used for our rehearsal dinner.
The "box" is actually a sewing machine drawer that had been given to Ryan's great grandmother on her 80th birthday.

I'll just go ahead and say it: the quality of these pictures leaves something to be desired.  My photography skills might need a little work...but you get the general idea, right?

The orange Fiesta pitcher on the far right side of the mantel is also a special piece. It belonged to a very special lady who was my grandmother by all definitions except blood. When her daughter noticed Fiestaware on our wedding registry, she sent us the pitcher with a heartfelt note telling me it was from Miss Marjie and that she would have wanted me to have it. {Yes, I cried the rest of the day.} There is truly nothing better than a meaningful gift...and that orange Fiesta pitcher means the world to me.

Happy Fall Y'all!