Lisa Leonard

*

i like love.

i like kisses (and hugs).

i like to be held.

i like hearts.

and pink and red.

i like candy. i like flowers.

i like handmade valentines.

{what do you like?}

***

on sale just for saturday

our true love hearts.

so, so sweet.

*

please get all valentine’s orders in by feb 5th in time for feb 14th!

(US only, international will take longer)

*

we drove to children’s hospital LA today

but they had scheduled david for a regular CT instead of a sedated CT.

bummer.

3 hours in LA traffic and no answers.  big bummer.

did i call his doctor and give an earful?  um, yes.

i honestly don’t mind the time–i would drive anywhere, pay anything, and wait for hours

if it would help the situation.  it’s the lack of information and answers that’s wearing on me.

so we are scheduled to go in monday morning

they will admit him if he is still congested (he has a cold)

run a sedated CT and schedule surgery.

on a happier note,

i had the most delicious chocolate croissant and coffee this morning,

i found a cute dress at target yesterday

we had a blast playing at disneyland (gotta do something to fill the time!)

and david has been in pretty good spirits.

thank you again and again for your sweet comments, encouragement and prayers.

we are so grateful.  hugs, hugs!

we are hanging out in long beach at my sister’s comfy home waiting for the hospital

to call with a ct scan appointment.

it’s looking like it may not happen until monday.

so in the meantime we’ve been watching tv, browsing target

{i just founded the cutest pale pink flats},

playing with power rangers figures and munching on el pollo loco,

i took my camera into the backyard and really tried to think outside the box to capture something unique.

*

not sure why, but i think power lines can be quite lovely.  and i like the branches coming into the pic as well.

dandelions.  a flower that is usually overlooked but filled with tons of detail.

and the prettiest shade of yellow.

*

*

love the teapot sitting on the stove.  plus, it’s used to make hot cocoa.  yum.

i thought it would be fun to make the shadowed hand the center of the pic.

*

*

an airplane getting all tangled up in power lines

and a heart drawn on a dewy deck.

*

*

i don’t know what these pods are called but they have so much texture.

we used to call them ‘monkey guts’ when i was little.

i’m pretty sure that’s not their latin name.

and my black ballet flats (target, again) next to a brick walkway and some daisies.

*

i am so moved by your thoughtful comments and kind words.

i’ll post an update as soon as we know anything.

hugs, hugs to you all!

***CT scan today at 2pm!

*

we drove down to LA to meet with a pediatric ENT

who did a quick examination of david’s nose

and confirmed yes, there is a bump inside

and he doesn’t know what it is, or why it’s there or if it’s a big deal or not.

even though i tried to push him to give us more by asking,

‘what does your gut tell you?’

and he said his gut wants a ct scan

and that surgery is inevitable in the next couple weeks.

so we are hanging out in southern california and waiting for a ct scan appointment.

and we’ll most likely plan the surgery for after blissdom.

*

you know how you feel fine, and you do all the things you usually do, like sip coffee and laugh at little jokes and bathe the kids and enjoy a great slice of pizza…and then someone gently puts their hand on your shoulder and asks you if you’re okay and you suddenly fall to pieces?  that’s pretty much where i’m at.  i really think it’s all going to resolved easily and quickly and we’ll look back and say, ‘that was a crazy few weeks’.  but when it comes to david, there is this really soft and tender part of my heart and seeing him in pain or at risk can turn me into a pile of mush.  man, i love that kid.

*

thank you so much for your sweet comments and tweets.

i’ve been reading them all day and they make me feel so loved.

*

i am happy to report that david’s tummy is feeling better .

he has been much less crampy and reflux-y.  we are so happy!

but a couple days ago while i was picking his nose

(don’t you pick your kids’ noses??)

i noticed a bump just inside the left nostril.

so we saw our pediatrician yesterday and the ENT today.

it looks like a benign polyp, but they want to do an MRI and see if there are other polyps or anything else to be concerned about.

we are driving down to children’s hospital in los angeles tomorrow morning to see a specialist.

they’ll probably schedule a simple surgery to remove the polyp(s).

we are hopeful that it will be simple and taken care of quickly.

in the meantime i am madly doing laundry, rescheduling meetings and getting the house in order since we weren’t planning on leaving town.

i’ll keep you updated.  and thanks for caring about our sweet david!

*

i bought the most amazing vintage painting today at the thrift store.

i fell in love!

*

*

it came with the frame i’m holding in the first pic.

but i really prefer oil paintings unframed with an exposed, wrapped edge.

casual decorating would be a really good way to describe my home.

*

*

so we took the unneeded frame outside to give it new purpose!

*

*

chrissie and the girls helped fill the empty frame with a lot of beauty!

*

*

then matty hopped in.  such a goofball.

he’s so used to me with a camera–but he’s usually up for trying something new.

*

*

kinda fun, right?

i thought this would be so fun for a christmas picture or engagement photos…

*

matthias turned six last week, but because we had a wedding out of town, we celebrated this weekend.

He definitely wanted a power rangers party.  no question about it!

since the party was at two, i just set out some munchies–cheese, crackers, salami, hummus and crackers,

spinach dip and of course cupcakes!

*

*

chrissie made this adorable (or should i say AWESOME) banner that read ‘mighty morphin matty’.

she recently started an online shop called handmade play.  it’s perfect for everyday play and party planning.

you can find the banner here.

*

*

not sure why, but lightsabers became the hot thing.

last year we had a star wars party, so we have at least 10 lightsabers around the house.

poor steve, he wasn’t expecting to be the ‘bad guy’.

everyone ATTACK matthias’ daddy!!!

*

*

it was so fun to have my sister and her girls here.  she way so helpful.

especially when i had my it’s-one-hour-until-the-party-and-the-house-is-a-mess-and-i-have-no-makeup-on freak out.

guess the party wasn’t exciting enough for david–he sacked out.

*

*

lots of balloons and paper lanterns.  so cute.

*

*

steve taught the kids some power ranger moves.

they all practiced jumping off the wall like power rangers.  it was awesome.

those kids have some moves!

*

*

and matthias got so many wonderful gifts.

including a snuggie which he really, really wanted.

and uh, even though they’re a little dorky, i kinda want one too!

cuddling up with a snuggie sounds pretty good right now.

* * *

the weekend was full of party prep and clean up, time with family

and friends, cupcakes and happy kids.

tell me about your weekend.

*

we’ve got a bday party today!  the cousins are already having a blast.

and the rain stopped (thank goodness!)

i’ll take lots of pics!

do you read bliss?

she posts the most beautiful images and finds.

it’s actually very, very dangerous.

she frequently does an ‘i heart monday‘ post with some of her favorite finds.

and she’s inspiring. so today i’m doing an i (heart) friday post.

*

*

i (heart) the heart shaped glow in this image i took last night

i’m working on some photography tricks–more on that next week.

*

*

yes, you knew it was coming.

i (heart) coffee. but wait, something new…

i (heart) coffee with whipped cream. it’s sooo delicious.

*

*

i (heart) cloudy skies, reflective waters and a break from the rain.

*

*

i (heart) david, playing in his new kitchen and feeling much better the last 24 hours.

thank you, Lord!

*

*

i (heart) super-matty. chillin on the couch

in a mask, cape, and jammies.

*

*

i (heart) these four birdies. just sitting outside our window.

*

*

i (heart) this bracelet.

that i wear everyday and constantly reminds me of my many blessings.

* * *

your turn! what do you (heart) today??

*

i found an awesome app for my iphone called shakeitphoto on shutter sisters via ali edwards.

it takes your iphone pic and turns it into a digital polariod.

totally addictive.

so yesterday i documented parts of our day in polaroids.

a very rainy day. very, very!

you can see my keyboard.  we spend a lot of time together!

i packed up markers, a notebook and snack for matthias so he could hang out at daddy’s office

while david and i headed over to radiology for more tummy xrays.

(still waiting for results, but i’ll update if i hear).

thank you for your kind comments yesterday.

i ‘ve been feeling frustrated and worried about david.

today’s a new, fresh start.  praying we get some answers today!

* * *

UPDATED

the GI office called and said david’s tummy xrays look great-no build up in the intestines, no excess gas on xrays.  so we are taking him off miralax to see if that helps with the cramping and pain.  hoping, hoping!!

* * *

and i’m over at (in)courage today.  so hop on over!

*

we’ve had some seeerious rain the last couple days.

but also nice breaks, with lots of blue skies and sunlight.

i wandered outside to shoot some pics between downpours.

i love how everything looks and smells fresh after the rain.

*

*

then i set my computer on the kitchen table

so i could enjoy every ounce of sunlight.

love.

*

*

finding {love} in the ordinary #3.

#2 was yesterday.  i forgot to number it, oops!

i took this pic with a flashlight set in the middle of a book.

the beam of light casts a glow in the shape of a heart.

and the book is a hymnal.  opened to my favorite hymn…come thou fount.

this guy sang it at our wedding.  i love that hymn.

what’s your favorite hymn?

*

and david.  sigh. he is still having a lot of discomfort.

lots of cramping and gas.  you probably don’t want to know all the details.

but he is tired and so am i.

i called the dr. again today to see what we should do.

praying that he’ll call back with a simple solution.

i hate to see him uncomfortable.  i want my happy guy.

* * *

sending hugs your way!

*

we had a very rainy morning here in california today.

it’s supposed to thunder and lightening tonight

and continue to rain all week.

it’s a nice change of pace, i just think 5 days might be tiring.

but i know i can’t complain. we get a lot of nice weather here.

what’s the weather where you are?

*

*

the rain stopped around 1pm and the sun broke through.

perfect timing because matthias and i had really important errands to run.

*

*

like getting ice cream at thriftys.

matthias wants to order and pay all by himself (sniff.)

he likes rainbow sherbert.  i like malted chocolate.

what’s your fave?

it’s really cute.

when the ice cream lady asked, will there be anything else?

matthias responded, ‘just a spoon, please’.

*

*

and matthias is bringing brownies to his class tomorrow to celebrate his bday.

i wanted to put some frosting and sprinkles on top

but he wouldn’t let me.  just. plain. brownies.

okay!!

* * *

i’ve got some serious catching up to do today with emails, faxing, ordering, blah blah blah!

and the boys need haircuts.  bad.

plus all your comments yesterday make me want to get my hair done.

and get a pedicure and go out for dinner with my girlfriends

and eat cupcakes.

girlie treats are the best!!

happy tuesday to you!

*

i’m so glad you guys like the new design!

thank you, thank you for all your kind words.

i wanted to wait until february to introduce the illuminate necklace, but i just couldn’t wait!

**

in addition to an illuminate necklace…

THREE lucky winners will also get a set of chandelier letterpress from paper lovely letterpress.

how awesome is that??

*

*

feelin lucky today??

leave a comment and tell us your favorite girlie treat.

blog about the giveaway, tweet about it and facebook about it–make sure to leave a comment for each entry.

*

Matthias turned six yesterday.  It seems impossible, but yes, it’s true.

We were out of town for a wedding this weekend

(which was beautiful, by the way!)

so the official (power ranger) party is next weekend.

but we made some time to celebrate as a family.

including chicken strips at Cheesecake Factory

picking out a toy from Target

an amazing new cape from grandma

and some cheesy strip mall rides.

Happy Birthday, Matthias!

you rock.

*

we are so, so excited about the new illuminate necklace.

our hand-drawn chandelier is hand-stamped on a 1″ sterling disc,

sweetened with a swarovski crystal teardrop

and strung from sterling chain.

*

*

customize with a meaningful word, phrase or names.

up to 18 characters.

*

*

and for three days (friday, saturday, sunday) you can get FREE crystal drop earrings

with the purchase of every illuminate necklace.

in the notes section request ‘free earring weekend’.

perfect for earlybirds who are already planning for valentine’s day!

*

*

you can find the necklace here.

what’s making me shine today?

it’s the weekend, my boys are healthy and we are celebrating a wedding this weekend.

what make you shine?