Family Vacation | Arizona 2015

We had such a wonderful vacation last week with my family here in Arizona. My brother, Mike, flew in to town so it was an extra special reunion. He hadn't seen Emma since she was 6 weeks old last Thanksgiving! We had a sweet visit up in the mountains for a few days and then finished the week in the red rocks of Sedona. We enjoyed a few hikes, some delicious meals, early morning walks, a little window shopping and lots of reading and rest. I was thankful to have a few extra eyes on my little babe so that I could sneak away for a few naps - delightful! I'm trying to get better about taking photos and using my camera well, so this vacation was a good excuse to practice. And luckily I had some pretty fabulous subjects and scenery to capture! All in all it was so good to be together, but as usual it feels pretty good to get settled back at home too.

On Lynx Lake

One of our new favorite activities when we visit Mom and Dad is to kayak! We got to go out one evening this week and had such a blast. The sun was warm, the air was cool and the water was smooth as glass. We played kayak catch, had a race across the lake (Paul and I won!) and explored all the coves. It was exactly the type of evening I picture as the perfect summer night.

I've been feeling so thankful for this life that we live.

From My Office Up North

Today I'm working from my parent's house! Although this is not the home I grew up in, it still feels like coming home when I visit. Being with Mom and Dad always feels familiar and comfortable no matter where we are and I love that Paul and I live so close to them and that I can pop up for a visit any time. This morning, the rest of the crew is out for a hike so I'm enjoying some peace and quiet. The windows are open and I've even got my hoodie zipped all the way up. Bliss! The fresh mountain air and mild temperatures are so good for my soul. Thank you, Jesus, for this gift! So I'll just be here enjoying the amazing view from the kitchen table, sipping an iced coffee (my secret is a dollop of ice-cream!), loving the feeling of chilly toes and plugging away at my to-do list.

Easter Weekend – He is Risen!

Our Easter was worshipful and sweet and beautiful and delicious and fun. We started the morning at church. It was my very first Sunday in the newly constructed big room (since last week I was teaching Sunday School). We are so thankful for a space that can comfortably hold more people! What a blessing. We celebrated Jesus' resurrection with two baptisms, a gospel message and lots of singing. I love witnessing baptisms. Watching someone express their faith in Jesus and the amazing stories of people passing from death to life abundant. How wonderful it is that Jesus is alive! It means everything to me!

I'm still getting used to the completely different climate here in Arizona. Easter used to mean the start of spring and would often times usher in warmer weather (and other times bring more snow!). But now, Easter is in the height of our lovely season. Just around the corner we know the hot sweltering days of summer are coming. But for now, we bask in the gentle sunshine and the cool breezes and enjoy our outside Easter. My mom made a delicious lunch and we joined them and some friends from their small group for a wonderful afternoon of porch sitting and neighborhood walks.

He is risen indeed!

at home on my countertop

Last week, one of my dreams came true. I know that sounds dramatic, and it is. But I have been wanting this and thinking about it for a long time. For days Paul had been checking the front porch and calling me to see if a package had arrived yet. I knew it was a birthday present from my father in law and sister in law, so I started to get jumpy for the delivery man too :) So you can imagine my excitement when at the very end of my workday last Wednesday, I opened the freshly delivered box to find this beauty! And it's the prettiest of blues! I was dancing around and reading all the instructions and now I have been planning all our meals around this new toy.

And guess what else? Paul's letting me keep it out on the counter! For those of you who know Paul, you know he prefers things neat and tidy. He doesn't like "dust collectors" (in his words, not mine) left out. But I've been keeping the kitchen spick and span and this baby definitely is not collecting any dust so far ;)

Anyone have a favorite recipe to make with their mixer? I'm on the hunt.

Getting Settled

We are so overjoyed to be officially moved in to our new home. What a gift! We're still trying to get the hang of the new space. And I think with time, it'll feel more comfortable, and things will start to make sense. But for now I'm still in the stage of figuring out where things should go, what will work well with our natural living habits, and how to start making this place cozy.

It isn't really ready for a proper room tour yet, but I did want to capture a few moments so I can always remember these first few days. Above you can see:

1. I was so super super giddy as we began bringing in our bags and boxes from our car. It was so surreal!
2. I'm still getting used to the tile floors all over. It makes the ground super chilly, which I am sure we will love come July. But for now I'm wearing slippers all the time.
3. Deciding if I like the lamp base and shade combo. The bases I got from the Habitat Re-store, and the shades are from Home Goods and I added the black trim last week. What do you think?
4. Our little dining nook. This is probably the most "put together" spot in our house right now. I love the fixture and rug Mom got us for Christmas! (both from Overstock.com)
5. Putting together the shelves in my office space! They recently had a makeover and I find myself glancing over at them while I work throughout the day, just to take a peak. That's when you know you really like something.
6. Paul, Brent and our first out of town visitor, Ben, were working hard to put up the pendant lights over our kitchen island. They did an awesome job. I'm so thankful.
7. Our first minutes in the house together!
8. Sampling a few paint colors. For some reason choosing colors is really stressing me out. I wish I was more decisive.
9. Just a little glimpse of the many piles of boxes still scattered throughout our home!

Part of me wants everything to already be unpacked and settled, but then I try to remind myself how precious these beginning days are, even with all their chaos and confusion. I hope we will always look back and remember how very sweet it was these first moments in our first home together. And someday soon this place will feel so familiar – I'll know the little spots on the walls, and all the little nooks and corners and quirks like the back of my hand. And that will be so nice and comfortable. But for now, it's still new, and we're still getting to know each other, this house and I. So for now I may not know which drawer I stuck the scissors in, or where my favorite sweater is, or what's the best spot for the dinner plates, but I think we're going to get along just fine. This house feels like just the right fit for my Paul and me (and hopefully a few more someday too!).

Today's the Day!

Today is the day Paul and I have been dreaming about for over 7 months now! In a few minutes we will be heading over to our new house to pick up our keys and start moving in!!! We can hardly believe the day has come!!!

Last weekend, we packed up our apartment and moved out of our first Arizona home. We needed to be out by the end of December which left us with a tricky 5 day gap with no place to live. Thankfully, our dear friends here offered their home to us since they would be out of town this week anyways. We are so thankful for all the little ways the Lord has provided for us during this transition time. Speaking of which, we were so blessed to have this crew come help us pack our truck on Sunday.

What a difference it was to a year ago when we moved in. At that time our only moving help was my parents. It was a big job last January for 4 people. But now we have the most precious community at our church, Valley Life, and we are so humbled that we were completely moved out in just 2 hours!

On Monday morning we had our final walk through with our project manager. Then on Wednesday morning, we signed our closing documents and forked over the big bucks!

This process has gone so fast and so slow all at the same time :) And there were definitely many moments when I was unsure if I even wanted to stay in Arizona, let alone purchase a house here. But as the story unfolded, I'm so thankful that I can see how God has guided our steps all along the way through my husband's leadership and through the revealing of His plans for our family. And I know there is so much more I don't even know or understand. So for this gift, we give Jesus the glory, honor and praise!

I promise I'll be back soon with a little tour of our new pad ;)

Goodbye Buddy

This past week, my family said goodbye to our precious little pup of over 14 years, Buddy. He was the sweetest, most friendly and kind dog I've ever known.

I still vividly remember moments from the day I met Buddy. I had been away for a week with our church youth group on a work project trip. It was the summer between my 7th and 8th grade year and our bus pulled into the parking lot where our families were waiting for us. When I spotted my little brother he was holding a puppy in his arms! What a fun surprise :) I remember holding Buddy in my hand on the car ride home. He was so soft and sweet. And over the last 14 years he became an important and real part of our family.

Buddy loved to go outside. He loved to walk and to see people as we went along, to sniff the ground and feel the fresh air. We always said he would "prance" on his walks because he had such an enthusiastic spring in his step. Even the very last walk I ever went on with Buddy, Christmas Day, he still had the same prance as we walked.

In his younger years when we would open the front door too wide, he would run out of the house. Not because he wanted to run away, but because he loved it when we would chase him. We used to say he could run "faster than fast" as he whipped around the yard in circles. He was full of life and excitement.

He had a special fondness for my Pops. Buddy would snuggle his head up on Pop's lap and try to drown him with kisses. I can still hear my Papa's voice, "no licking!" as he tried to guard himself from Buddy's wet tongue.

Even though Buddy lived with my parents and hasn't been a part of my daily life for a few years now, I still couldn't believe how hard it was to see him go. I will miss that old dog so much. He brought so much happiness, so many smiles and so much life and love to our family.

Merry Christmas!

How was your celebration?! Maybe you are still celebrating? We had a lovely couple of days...

serving at church on Christmas Eve,
a late night drive up into the mountains after the service,
waking up Christmas morning with my parents and brother to english muffin bread & cinnamon butter,
passing and opening so many thoughtful gifts,
a brisk walk with my dad and our family dog,
a few rounds of a new card game,
some delicious meals and treats,
a little online decorating and house planning with mom,
a steady fire burning in the fireplace,
and another late night drive down the mountain at the end of the day.

And now we're outta here in just 5 little days! Can't believe the adventures that are ahead! And I definitely can't believe how much packing I have left to do... Things are wild around here. But we are thankful and blessed :)

A New Kind of Winter Wonderland

Hello there! Is it a Winter Wonderland where you live? Snow has been a hot topic on Facebook and Instagram this past weekend and I must say, I'm a bit jealous! Although I'll never see snowflakes fall outside my window in our new desert town, it's the most wonderful time of year here too. With highs in the 60's and 70's and the sun shining bright, it's my ideal weather for sure. The nights are quite crisp and chilly and we've added extra blankets to our bed. The best! This morning I even got dressed under the covers because it was so cold in our room. Does anyone else do this in the wintertime? You must try it. My mom taught me to do this on the dark cold winter mornings when I was a little girl and it makes a world of a difference.

So you can see, we're enjoying our own kind of Christmas season around here. And although I love to watch the white stuff fall, I can be thankful that I'm not scraping off car windows, slipping on the ice, or  shivering as I run my Christmas errands. And that I can just take a quick trip up north any time I need a snowfall fix. In all things, give thanks :)

Well, how was your weekend? We had a really sweet couple of days off. Since Friday, I've gotten to:

Sip coffee with a dear new friend.
Watch Miracle on 34th Street. Paul saw it for the first time! It's so charming.
Take a drive up the mountains to visit my parents.
Enjoy the lights in the town square, and the carols at Acker Night.
Paint my new resale finds for my future office.
Nap under my favorite quilt.
Visit our house. It's so very much almost finished. Just a few weeks now!
Finish up our Christmas stockings. I used this tutorial for the cuffs.

And what's on my to-do list for this week?

Get going on our packing. I'm actually looking forward to this! Gives me a chance to go through our things and get rid of whatever we don't use/need. Nothing like a fresh start!
Address and mail out our Christmas cards.
Finish my Christmas shopping.
Drink lots of mint hot chocolate.
Watch The Nativity Story.
Keep the Christmas music playing.
Pray for a thankful heart and a humble spirit.

My Visit to Illinois

I had such a great trip to Illinois this month! It was a big bummer to be away from Paul for two weeks, but other than that it was such a wonderful time of refreshment. I was able to attend two dear friends' weddings, go into work during the weekdays, connect with so many friends, meet lots of new babies and make a visit to MN to see family. Here are some snapshots from my trip!

Happy Father's Day!

(T & S Hughes Photography)

I have such a great dad and I'm so thankful the Lord blessed me with two wonderful parents. In fact, I love my dad so much, that I chose a husband who is just like him in so many ways (I am finding that out more and more every day...)

Dad, I love you so much! Thanks for always supporting me, guiding me, loving me, and most importantly teaching me about the love of Jesus Christ. Some of my favorite memories with you are:

• Grocery shopping and filling the cart with treats including "Daddy Cookies" (you were so much more fun to go to the store with than Mom!)
• When you took me out to lunch and to buy a TV for my dorm room before I left for college
• Driving to MN together and listening to a book on CD the whole way
• Ordering "Virgin Strawberry Daiquiris" with you at the beach in Lake Geneva
• "Coach K" cheering me on for my marathon (both during the training and when you rode your bike the entire race)
• You sitting up awake in the dark waiting for Paul and I to come home the night we got engaged
• Walking down the aisle with you!

Love always,

Your Button

May Recap

This month we've really just been livin' life. Paul is getting into the swing of his new job (and hitting it out of the park I might add) and I've just been doin my thing. It's warmed up here quite a bit, but I haven't really minded it as much as I thought I would (ask me again in August...).

So, to recap some of our fun times:

We made a couple visits up to beautiful Prescott to visit my parents. It's too hot (in our opinion) to hike down here in the valley anymore, but it's perfect weather up there in the mountains!

We also went to the Scottsdale Rib Fest. One of Paul's favorite summertime events to attend back in IL was the Rib Fest in Naperville, so we thought we would give this one a shot. It was their 3rd year, and overall we'd say it was okay...we were glad we had a Groupon. Paul looks a lot cuter in his picture than I do. I just think it's hard for a girl to look cute holding a rib. But he made me do it for the picture. Plus it was really hot that day (although surprisingly comfortable under the tent).

And this past weekend we went with my parents to the Western Art Show on the main square in Prescott. It was a lovely day, and Mom and I got shaved ice! Yummm.

All-in-all it's been a great May and birthday month for Paul (my main squeeze turns the big 2-9 on Thursday!).

Come back tomorrow for a really exciting Schmitt Family Announcement! The adventures continue...

The Desert Is Not So Deserted

My parents were visiting on Sunday and we decided to get out and go on a hike (surprise surprise!). I was feeling tired and not very motivated, so I looked up easy paths in our area. I found one called the North Loop trail in the McDowell Mountain Regional Park that boasted little elevation change and less than an hour hike – winner! After a quick stop at the visitor's center where we viewed a small collection of snakes and the cutest baby turtles (they were eating tiny flower petals!), we found the trail head and a fun surprise. Turns out this particular trail had 34 mapped out "points of interest." We had such a great time stopping at each number to learn about different plants, mountain ranges and fun desert facts. Like, have you ever seen a Packrat Nest? Did you know that Packrats love shiny things such as jewelry, and in fact if they are carrying food back to their nest, they'll drop it in order to "trade" for the shiny object! I just think it's funny picturing a rat getting all google eyed for a piece of jewelry. But I guess humans do, so why shouldn't rats?! And we learned that a Barrel Cactus can drink too much water that it will fall over! We had a lot of fun on our educational trip :) Here I am with Mom and Dad

Paul was the Artistic Director for these next two. The Saguaros were sooo tall!  Did you know these cacti need a "nurse plant" to provide shade for the first 25 years of their life? And they don't even start growing arms until they are 60-80 years old!

  

"Old Saquaro, won't you be my nurse plant and give me some shade?!"

Here we are learning about the Palo Verde Tree, Arizona's State Tree. Paul and I used to call this tree the Wicked Witch of the West because it has green bark. Weird! Now that we know it's our state tree we won't call it that anymore. At least not in public.

Aaaand nightmare of all nightmares, we ran into a snake on the trail! We're 99% sure it's a Diamondback (poison! rattle! danger!).  Luckily for us we were far enough away that it just lay straight like this the whole time we stared at it. Can you see it?

Ewww! 

Well that's all for now! Come visit us and we'll take you on some cool hiking trails too!

A Climb Up Quartz Mountain

This weekend we went back up north to visit my parents. One of our favorite parts of living here is being so close to them! I have really loved that. On our way up we stopped at sunset point to take some pictures.  Then on Saturday, we climbed up Quartz Mountain. Dad promised that it would be an "easy hike," and I believe it was for him, but as my mom says about me, I'm "built for comfort, not for speed" so it turned out to be a bit of a challenge. But I made it to the top! And I actually had a lot of fun and enjoyed seeing all the beautiful quartz at the top. It made me really want quartz countertops someday (WARNING: I am about to go on a tangent...) and so I came home and did a little research. Turns out quartz countertops are totally awesome. They are basically indestructible, can come in any color, are stain-proof, have an antimicrobial compound which helps to fight bacteria buildup, and they are green (HGTV has used quartz countertops in their last 3 dream homes)! Here are some of my dream kitchens with quartz countertops. Apparently I have a thing for white :)

(via Alice Lane Home on decor pad)

(via 1st Option on decor pad)

(via Alice Lane Home on decor pad)

So see, hiking is good for your health AND design inspiration :)  Sounds good to me. I'm ready to hit the trails!

Made By Bees

Around our house, we're totally into honey. I got Paul a little pot of local honey as a stocking stuffer for Christmas, and he is now a self-proclaimed honey snob.

I originally got him the honey because I heard that eating local honey can reduce your allergy symptoms, but since reading about it, I've learned that raw honey provides so many more benefits as well! Vitamins, minerals, energy, anti-bacterial and anti-inflammotory properties, are just the short list of all the benefits of raw honey. You can read more here.

You have to be careful though, because there is a difference between "Pure" honey and "Raw" honey. Raw is the good stuff. And if you want it to address your allergy symptoms, it has to be local to where you live.

We especially love to eat it in our oatmeal or peanut butter & honey sandwich, but I think it's a great option for a sugar substitute so I'm hoping to integrate it even more into my diet. We purchased the above jar at our local farmers market, and had a good time tasting all the different types. The Desert Wildflower was our favorite :)

As Paul and I have been building our life together these past (almost!) 6 months, I've been thinking more and more about how I want us to live – and a lot of that has to do with what we eat! I really believe that habits we establish now, can carry on for years to come and directly affect our future family. And I really want us to be a healthy family! I have a lot to learn, I know. But I'm really wanting to put forth an effort to educate myself and my husband so that we can make the best decisions about what we put into our bodies. Because I think that it glorifies God when we take care of these bodies He created for us, and it prepares us to do the good works He has set before us. And I'm praying that He'll continue to convict my heart of this truth, and give me the wisdom, resources and ability to make good nutritious choices for me and my family!

I have found some blogs with great healthy tips, (like Summer Harms and Keeper of the Home) but I'm wondering if anyone else out there has any other great resources they love to reference for healthy living?

me and my ski bunny

This weekend Hubs and I got to go skiing in the mountains! I work Monday-Thursday from home, and Paul is still full time job searching, so we decided to take the day off on Friday and make the trip to Flagstaff. It was fun to be reminded of cold weather and snow and what it would be like if we were still be back in Illinois. But by the end of the day, I was glad to get back to the warmer sunshine :)

The view was AMAZING and I can't get over how beautiful the mountains are.  We were at 10,000 ft. at the top of the lift. Wow! What an amazing Creator!

I hadn't been skiing in about 5 years, but I found that it came back pretty quick. Although those boots. Oh. My. Goodness. They are paaaainful and I have a lovely purple bruise to prove it. But hey. It's not easy being athletic.

We also got to visit my parents in Prescott. Did some browsing in the awesome secondhand stores. No joke. These resale shops are legit and Paul says we don't have room for any more stuff in our 1 bedroom, but as soon as that changes, I'm stocking up on all the incredible finds. Including these puppies:

Juuuust kidding :) These were funny though and we had a grand ol' time imagining watching TV side by side.

We also drove up to Jerome on Saturday. It's this amazing tiny town built on the side of the mountain and the views are completely amazing. We had such a lovely time!