a good, old-fashioned list

:: First off, thank you for the encouraging and enthusiastic response to The Creative Domestic. Really, it means the world to me. I've posted a few times already and am so excited to see where this blog goes.

:: Secondly, thank you again for the wonderful response to my post about the current events being publicized about my church. If you ever have any questions about the issue, I'd love to answer them for you. I just love knowing that I can write about things close to my heart and have those thoughts received so well on this space. Thanks for helping me make this space one of safety.

{Josh told me to take a picture of Asher's hair on this particular Sunday, because its styling was the ideal. I live with some pretty cool dudes.}

:: On Monday I got to spend some time with Katelyn, one of my all-time favorites. I think it's a heaven-sent blessing that I happen to live in her motherland, because she comes up to visit Oregon at least once a year. Every minute I spend with her is lovely. We walked up and down Alberta Street in Portland, where we browsed patterns and fabric in Bolt and found the most adorable toy store. And we found the most delicious pain au chocolat you'll ever eat outside of France itself. We were caught in a torrential downpour near the end that left me drenched and Asher bewildered.

{We have a couple of public splash parks around here, and Asher spent a solid 20 minutes sticking his face in this water spout.}

:: I've been feeling some serious motivation for home improvement projects. And by "home improvement" I mean finally painting that accent wall in the dining area and sprucing up that big frame on my mantle. I can credit this motivation surge to this book.

:: That spring cold is finally on its way out of here. And it is not welcome to return.

{The "helmie" with "cahrs."}

:: We bought Asher a helmet for when we ride our bikes with the bike trailer. And it's pretty much all he can talk about. His "helmie" has "cahrs" on it. I'm not usually into character paraphernalia, but I just couldn't resist buying him a helmet with Lightning McQueen on it. I mean, come on. I have a soul.

:: I scored some cute finds at Goodwill today. Whenever I mention to anyone in the Portland area the specific town in which I live, I get, "Oo, they have the best Goodwill!" I'm keeping my eyes out for a cute area rug to go under the dining room table.

{Asher and our friend Ben at the zoo a couple of weeks ago, laughing at the hippos. We had to fight with a million and one elementary school kids for this primo viewing spot, since apparently we decided to go on The Day of All the Field Trips.}

:: Pretty much none of these photos have anything to do with anything I'm listing, with the exception of the Lightning McQueen helmet. But I just had to post them, because this boy is my favorite.