Happy April Eleventh

I love April 11th.
It is a red letter day in my book.
A day worth celebrating.

Seven years ago on April 11th I went golfing with my boyfriend and on the ninth hole he got down on one knee and asked me to be his wife, and the rest is history.

My love ran deep for Jonathan Witt way before he proposed on that day, but April 11th is the day that we began the journey of our two lives combining into one glorious life. It is not perfect, and at times it can be chaotic, but it is ours. And every day we are reminded that God is good, all the time.

I personally am reminded on a daily basis that God doesn't just know my story he is a part of it, and when he brought Jonathan Witt into it he knew exactly the kind of person that I needed to be my husband and my partner. A patient man who understands the importance of laughter and being silly. A man who leads our family with great thought and conviction from God. A man who is quick to forgive. A man who does not hold grudges. A man who is not scared to be spontaneous and adventurous. A man who anchors me as I float among the clouds.

Our little family has now grown to three and now I get to see Jonathan in an entirely different role as father. Everything has been brought into a new light. How we spend our money. How we eat and exercise (or don't exercise). How we show each other we love each other. How we communicate. How we fight.

Little eyes are watching our every move and absorbing them, even if she doesn't understand it yet. And this makes April 11th all that much more important. All that more worth celebrating. Because this celebratory date is now a part of her story as well.

I love us.
The Witt family.
Established 2006.

Hands Down

Lately my kid has been obsessed with her hands.
She holds her hand up and stares at it, like she is anxiously awaiting it to do something amazing. But really all that happens is her hand stays an open palm waiting for her cue to pull my hair, again.

Last night when I was putting her to bed, she was drowsy in my arms with her eyes closed but not asleep. And all of a sudden she held her hand in front of her face and opened her eyes for a couple of seconds to look at it and then closed them again, as if she was checking to see if it was still there.

And I all I could think was, "I never want to forget this."

I want to remember every second. Every phase. Every new discovery.
I want to take a photo or a screen capture...and remember this moment. Right now. Right here.

Lately, I have been at this interesting crossroads where I don't want to be in too much of a hurry that I miss anything, but I don't want to be too lazy that I waste my days. It is really hard, and so so important. Because I want to soak up every second of our blessed life. I want to be thankful. Joyful. Patient. Loving.

But in order to really achieve this I need to start with defining "missing" and "wasting". Because some times it is ok to be excited and fully engaged in something, and other days it is ok to put on a pair of yoga pants and not leave your house. But you have to have your own definitions, and you also have to know your own boundaries, which can often be the hardest part.

Six Months

Today is Macy's half birthday.

A hot topic amongst me and my husband lately is that six months ago she did not exist in our world, and nine months before that she didn't exist at all. I am still trying to wrap my brain around the miracle that she is. I am not sure if that will ever be accomplished.

And even though she has been "life" for fifteen months, now she is a real human.
She sits up.
She laughs.
She peers around you in curiosity.
She spits food everywhere.
She reaches for things
She reaches for me.
She is a real human. And she is the best.

My sweet Macy, 

For four years I prayed and pleaded with God to give me a baby, and he did. Then for nine months I prayed the same two things for you everyday: that you would be healthy, and that you would bring joy to people. Again, God has answered my prayers. 

On the day you were born and I held you for the first time I knew it was you, it was always you. You were the one I had been waiting for. You were the one God has sent specifically to me. 

And now I get to live every new adventurous day with you. You have given me a new meaning to the word "blessed". You have taught me so much about God's love and grace and mercy. Even on the hardest days, toughest moments, or most exhausting mornings...you are mine, and I am so in awe that I get to be your mama. 

I love you my sweet girl. I always have and I always will. 

Mom

A Spring In My Step

Well hello, Spring. Fancy seeing you here.

It is Spring, people.
If I still lived in California it would just be any other day.
But I don't live in California anymore, I live in Colorado and the second day of Spring means something gosh darn it.
I haven't asked any Colorado natives or anything, but I am pretty sure what it means is that any snow or cold weather from now on is "unfair". That seems about right. With that said, I see you snow on the five day forecast, and I do NOT appreciate you.

I got the car washed last week. It was kind of stressful, because I was trying to create the perfect Vine, praying that my sleeping baby didn't wake from her nap, AND to top it all off they left the drying up to me. I had 45 seconds to drive through the dryer. This gave me great anxiety. I wasn't prepared. I drove way too fast with the front of my car, and ended up getting an extra 10 seconds on the back of my car. That's what an $8 car wash will get you...anxiety. Next time I will be better prepared. Fifteen seconds for every third of the car...I got this.

Getting the car wash was a symbol of Spring to me, because that is what Spring is all about...washing the winter off.

And we in the Witt home are welcoming the cleansing.

We are ready for more days spent outside.
Bring on the sunshine.
We will always gladly except more energy.
We are all set to explore the outdoor part of living in Colorado.
Pass the sunblock please.
Sign us up for the hikes.
Make us an appointment for a pedicure.
And for Pete's sake put some ice in our coffee drinks.

The Witts have been waiting for you, Spring. We are so GLAD you are here.

These Are My Confessions

{Feel free to sing the Usher song while you read this}

I need to come clean.
I have an addiction. It is so much worst than my addiction to Diet Coke or terrible reality shows about the Kardashians.

Let's start at the beginning shall we.

I have always said that I would not be a mom that heavily relied on technology to entertain my kid. Not that there is anything wrong with that, but I just knew it wouldn't work for our family. I just knew that I wanted to be in control of our screen time, and not have the screen time be in control of us. {"Screen Time" is a phrase that you have to start using when you become a parent. Just trust me on this one.} And even though Macy is only five months old, I think we have done a pretty good job. Aside from one episode of Yo Gabba Gabba on a flight with no car seat (desperate times call for desperate measures), Macy hasn't watched any TV.

As far as our (Jonathan and me) TV watching goes I think we have it fairly under control. We don't have a lot of shows that we "watch". And besides the occasional lazy day or EVERY Sunday of football season, our TV is rarely on for hours on end. Now don't get me wrong...I LOVE television, but I can appreciate a quiet room as much as the next introvert (I know this is not really what being an introvert is...no need to write me any letters of correction).

So of course I entered into this idea of less screen time with the utmost arrogance.

Enter moving to Colorado, becoming a stay-at-home-mom, and snow.
But it wasn't the TV that got me. It was the other "screens". My beloved iPhone and laptop.

I have always loved my phone and laptop. I have been known to pay more attention to my phone than the actual people in the room. And my love affair with the internet started in Alanna Moine's living room in eighth grade. But it is like when I moved to Colorado I became a pro internet user.

It started with my new renewed obsession with blogs, and my discovery of BlogLovin' (Are you using it to read blogs? You really should be.) All of a sudden I had more time and more interest in what total strangers were posting on the internet.

Then it moved over to Craigslist and all the free pieces of furniture I could pick up and refinish (I got over that after one piece...sanding...the worst).

Then I moved on to obsessively searching realtor.com for a potential house for us. Since that process has been stalled for a week or two I decided it would be healthy to take a break from that website.

That was just on my computer.

My phone is next level.
Just to name a few.
Instagram. Vine. Twitter. Facebook. TimeHop. Pinterest.
Every hour on the hour.

Here is where the addiction kicks in.
It's called Candy Crush Saga, and I am thinking about starting a support group for it.
I don't know what it is, but I can't get enough of it. I have become O-B-S-E-S-S-E-D.
Like when you run out of lives they make you wait 30 minutes before you can earn another life. 30 MINUTES! So you know what I do? I straight up delete that app, and reinstall it and start from the beginning.
It. Is. Sick. People.
We aren't talking a couple of times here, we are talking like erasing it probably 20 times in the last two days.

Then something weird started to happen. Macy started to grab for my phone. And my laptop. And all of a sudden things she never even noticed were things she needed to get her hands on. And I had a realization...life moves fast. And if I am going to stick to my limited "screen time" for Macy, then I probably need to do it for myself as well. I don't have an action plan yet, but I know it involves some kind of "only when Macy is sleeping" boundaries...and reading a book (goodness gracious...ANY book).

So wish me luck.
Actually, do me one better.
Pray for me.

So I Bought A Book

Here me out.
Well, first I want to start out by confessing that I STILL haven't read any books this year. At least not to completion. Unless you count Good Night Denver and The Foot Book...which I am not. I have tried. I promise. I have started three different books in hopes that something would grab me and suck me in, but I think it is safe to say I need to get my "screen time" under control {another blog for another day}.

I also know that I set a self imposed book buying freeze for 2013. And I really have had every intention of sticking to it. But here is what happened...

Last week I mentioned how this blogpost was rocking my world. But that is an understatement...it is more like ROCKING MY WORLD!! (double exclamation)

It spoke straight to my heart and not only was it moving it was motivating, and I did something I have never ever done before. EVER. I emailed the blogger, Casey, and thanked her for the post explaining my situation. There is no need to go into detail about my situation here. If you read her post you can easily figure out that I have a little bit of a fear issue.

And do you know what happened?

She wrote back!
Like right away.
Like within ten minutes.
And it wasn't a "thanks for the email" kind of writing back, it was a sincere, friendly, encouraging and affirming kind of write back. When I read it out loud to my husband...I cried (not sure if there is validity in this, because I kind of cry a lot).

The thing is Casey and I are not on the same blogging playing field. She is probably not refreshing her blogger statistics every couple of hours to see if anyone is really reading this thing we call a blog {it is so not about that, but some times a girl does wonder}. Nope she has hundreds if not thousands (probably tens of thousands) of readers. And she probably gets quite a few emails and comments a day that she needs to respond to. So the fact that she took the time to respond to kindly and genuinely blew me away.

And what she said was along the lines with, "You need to buy this book Bondage Breaker by Neil T. Anderson, it will change your life."
So I had to, right? I mean she said it would change my life. And based upon the subject we were talking about I am wanting my life to change. So I did. It showed up yesterday, because in the world of books if a book is less than dollar more than the Kindle edition I am buying the real book. Every. Time.

I haven't even opened it yet. But I WILL read it. You can count on it.

Book buying freeze back on.

Musings From The Witt House

I overheard this conversation the other night when I was putting Macy down to bed.

Jonathan (my husband): We have to watch Argo. It won best picture.
Lance (my Father-in-law): What else was nominated?
Jonathan: {Naming the other nominees}...Life Of Pi...
Lance: What about a pie?
Jonathan: It's the one with the boy and the tiger
Lance: You mean Jumanji?
Jonathan: Yeah, it's the sequel.
Lance: Does it also have Mork in it?

People...this is real life.

Wrapping Up This Week

Somehow I lost a day of this week to travel, and before I knew it here we are at Friday. Not that I am complaining or anything, but it sure does feel like my weeks are moving fast. Here is a list of things that are rocking my world this week.

MARCH
You guys, it's March! I don't really know why this makes me so excited, but I think I am always so surprised by the passing of months. It is such a interesting time of reflection, and asking myself, "What did I do last month?" Jonathan and I have started the potential process of buying our first home, and this morning Jonathan reminded me that we met all of our goals for the process that we set for February. Talk to a lender, and talk to real estate agent...we believe in baby steps around here.

THIS POST FROM CASEY WIEGAND
I don't openly talk about how sometimes fear can rule my life sometimes, but Casey basically took a page out of my journal (or more like a peek into my heart) and wrote it down on her blog. I have thought about this post several times, even used it as an example when speaking to friends about their own fears.

PINTEREST
It is no secret I love social media (is Pinterest social media?), but lately I have been obsessed with Pinterest...OBSESSED. I think it is the possibility of a new home mixed with free time mixed with trying to think of new projects I would like to do. Whatever it is, I can't get enough (more than usual). In fact...I need to finish this up so I can see what new posts there are.

Happy March!

Colorado, I love you.

I think I might have been a little hard on the Pueblo Zoo.

Actually...no...I wasn't.

But I do want to be clear, that we had so much fun - so the adventure wasn't a total loss.

Since it was quite a trek out to Pueblo, we decided to make a stop at a place we have all been meaning to go since we have gotten here, Garden Of The Gods.

The sun was just about to set...so this was just a quick drive thru to get us even more excited about visiting there in the near future.

Garden Of The Gods was donated to the city of Colorado Springs in 1909 under the one stipulation that would also be free to the public. Beautiful is such an understatement when describing it, and these pictures don't even begin to show its true beauty. I can't wait for a little warmer weather when we can go back and explore all the trails.

See those two rocks way up there touching each other? Those are the "Kissing Camels".

Scouting out a future family photo site.

This day was too cold for wee little ones to be out of their bunting bags.

"Kissing Witts"

I have such a crush on you, Colorado.

Happy Tuesday

You Win Some, You Lose Some

I guess not every adventure can be the best (Why not, universe? Why not?), but at least we can try.

Now I want to clarify, there are worst things I can do than go to the Pueblo Zoo (I just sang that line to that song from Grease that Rizzo sings when she thinks she is knocked up. Anybody?). The zoo wasn't all bad, I just will never go there again.

Let's start from the beginning, shall we?
About a month before we moved I got a text from Ange asking if she should buy a Groupon to the Pueblo Zoo (it is safe to say home girl has got an addiction in the form of Groupon buying). As a lover of animals, adventures, and good deals I told her to go for it.

Fast forward six weeks the subject of said Groupon comes up and it is revealed that the zoo is in Pueblo (duh! Pueblo Zoo) which is about an hour and a half away. But seeing how when the Groupon was purchased we weren't Colorado residents, our vast knowledge of Colorado had not yet been tapped in to. This is proof that she has an addiction, because she didn't even check to see where the deal was located. After extensive teasing we all agreed we would still go and check out the zoo.

Fast forward two months. Time was running out on that sad Groupon and even though it only cost her $15 ( for four admissions...can you say "red flag"?) we felt like we needed to use that sucker. So we waited for a little warmer day and planned a small road trip to the zoo with the lowest expectations possible.

First stop, Cracker Barrel.
Because gravy makes everything seem great.

What a proud mom moment.

After we stuffed ourselves silly it was on to the zoo. All the proof you need about how awesome the Pueblo Zoo is can be found with the first animal you see when you come in the zoo, please see the picture evidence below.

That's right. The first animal you see when you come is a raccoon.

We probably should just end this post here.

The best part of the zoo was the penguins.

It was also the worst smelling part of the zoo.

This penguin is posing perfectly for my Vine.

...and my Instagram.

The most beautiful and terrifying peacock I have ever seen.

Oh, I think I spoke too soon. This elk is doing tricks.

Actually never mind.

I mean...can you even handle it?

And then just like that our time at the Pueblo Zoo ended.

Too bad.

Getting Sticky

Hello, my name is Ryanne and I am an Instagram addict.
I have never counted, but I am pretty sure I check Instagram around 163 times a day - give or take.
I am lover of social media as a whole, but Instagram is my jam.

Before we moved our whole fridge was covered with printed Instagram photos. I never really found an easy way to print my pictures with out them being 4 inches by 4 inches, which seriously limited how many of I could fit on the fridge.

This is where I introduce my newest obsession...Stickygram.
You can choose photos from your Instagram and they make them into magnets that are 50mm x 50mm (about two inches by two inches), basically the same size as when you view them on your phone.

You get a sheet of nine photos for $14.99 and they do free shipping worldwide. If you are interested in using them use the code FRIENDJL5P to get $2 off of your first order.

What are you waiting for? Get over there and start picking your photos.





*This is not a sponsored post...I just love Stickygram and wanted needed to share.

The Gang's All Here: The Sequel

If you know my husband, you know one thing is for sure...he LO-VES football. So when I found out that his 30th birthday was actually on Super Bowl Sunday this year I of course started dreaming about ways to get him to the Super Bowl for his birthday.

But you know, tickets are like $2500 a piece, and we haven't won the lottery yet...so...there went that dream. But I still got him. And oh boy...surprising my husband is the very best.

It all started with a text from Tim asking if Jonathan's birthday weekend would be a good weekend for him to come for a visit.

It took Ange and I two weeks to decide how the surprise was going to go down. Then we texted each other ALL day the day Tim arrived. I basically started having an anxiety attack the second I got the text that he landed. My favorite exchange went as follows...

Ange: Josh and Tim just got here. Josh is going to take a quick shower and then we'll head over.
Ryanne: I think I am going to have a heart attack.
Ange: I already had one.

Once Josh and Ange snuck him in the basement I went down, and as soon as I saw him I walked straight into my bedroom, because I couldn't even handle that he was there and Jonathan didn't know it.

Some how I got Jonathan to come downstairs. I think I yelled something like, "Come down here, Ange needs your help." You know just using my super quick thinking and superb acting skills. Whatever. It worked didn't it? Let me help you...yes it did.

 Gotcha.

{Don't mind Ange's celebration hand in the way.}

 I mean...how freaking cute is that surpised face.

{Please note Josh...also in a celebrating pose...clearly all involved were relieved the plan had worked}

 Just buddies hugging.

{Immediately after taking this photo I laid face down on the ground, because I thought my heart was going to explode from adrenaline}

After I asked Jonathan exactly 103 times if he was really surprised, we decided to make some plans for the weekend. And even though our house had only been back on our diet for two days since the gang left, we threw caution to the wind, and decided Jonathan's birthday weekend was a good weekend to eat whatever the heck we wanted.

 Please note the belly (Macy's, not Tim's)...oh AND the socks.

As you know, I love visitors that want to be active, but also want to a lot of sitting around and hanging out (if you plan on visiting, I hope you are taking notes). So we did A LOT of eating and even more sitting around. We did manage to go to Golden one day and eat that delicious sandwich that I can't stop dreaming about. Also, the main thing to do in Golden is go on the Coors Brewing Company. And you know me any free activity is always worth a try.

In case you are wondering...I did take Macy on this tour with us, and as we were walking in some girl who really enjoyed her three free sample beers yelled, "Woo Hoo, babies and bars"

This is me acting like I am "cold". I did a lot of acting that weekend.

I should probably get my invite to the Oscars any day now.

Strangers were eating this pose up. I heard actual audible laughter.

I am also pretty sure they thought we were drunk from our three free 

sample beers, but here is a secret for you - I didn't even drink them, I can be this zany totally sober.

After the tour we drove up a mountain to Buffalo Bill's Grave.

Because, as you can imagine, nothing mixes better than free beer and windy roads. If I am being honest there wasn't a whole lot to see up there, but some how I still managed to take two pictures.

I guess we really enjoyed the eating and hanging out part when Tim was here, because I don't have any other pictures from any other days. And I am not really sure I can remember what else we did. I suppose we watched the Super Bowl on Jonathan's birthday, but I was to distracted counting down the minutes to the Destiny's Child reunion. It was fun none the less. I just have one question...who's next?

The Gang's All Here: Part Two

After a full Saturday and Sunday everyone was moving much slower on Monday. But being the seasoned agenda planner that I am, I knew that would probably happen. So I didn't really plan anything for us. So we woke up to an amazing breakfast made by my in-laws...which is better than any restaurant I could take them to. And then after two hours of discussing what we all wanted to do, and lying around we decided to go to the Castle Rock Outlets.

While we were at the outlets it started to snow...which just was the cherry on top of the whole trip. It was also our cue to head home and bundle up. After much discussion of what to do we all came to the conclusion that we should hang at home and watch The Bachelor and eat pizza. {I told you they were the perfect visitors.}

All partook in this activity, except Matt who watched Netflix on his iPad by himself in a corner. Which if you know Matt, was the perfect place for him to be.

They were all set to leave on Tuesday, but not until we watched Pitch Perfect and went sledding. Which in my opinion is a winning combination.

Ange and I decided we needed a spot where we took the pictures of everyone who came to visit us (we stole this from Alanna). After much thought it felt obvious that Castle Rock needed to be in the background. Just think...you too can pose in this spot if you came to visit me.