We spent most of Saturday around the house working on various projects–and I could tell the boys {and me} were getting restless so Steve I decided we needed to get out and do something. Once we were in the car, we couldn’t decide where to go, and finally we settled on Avila Beach. We thought we’ll just walk down the pier and then see how we feel. At first, we were all pretty grumpy and just kind of ‘off’. But once we relaxed, we started to enjoy ourselves, and ended up having a great evening!
We ate dinner and when we came outside, the sun had set. Such a different kind of lovely–don’t you think? How do you chase away the grumpiness?
Hi, I’m Lisa-mommy to my boys, David, 9 and Matty, 7 and wife to Steve. I create handmade jewelry and love taking pictures. Stick around and get to know us!
my family
Our happy little family… David, Steve, me and Matthias
Archive for the ‘family’ Category
avila beach with my boys
January 24th | an everyday moment, family
Matthias’ 8th birthday party
January 17th | DIY, events, family
Hello friends! I thought I’d share some pics from Matthias’ birthday party on Friday afternoon. I tried to keep it suuuper simple–but it’s still always a lot of work. This party came together really well and the kids had a blast.
I thought I’d swing by and get some balloons at the grocery store and it took forever. Sheesh! Thankfully, Matthias loved them, and they do add a lot of fun and color.
The cake was just a vanilla cake baked in a bundt pan–but then I separated the frosting into 6 parts and used food coloring to make it colorful. I warmed it in the microwave just a bit so it would drizzle over the sides of the cake.
Candles made it even more fun.
Paper plates and napkins were from Target.
I used paint brushes to hold the helium balloons in place–a couple of the balloons still wanted to fly around.
For the party favors, we got each kiddos a box of skittles and they were stoked. So cute.
Bonnie Johnson came and taught an art lesson. Matthias chose a power ranger for the subject of the painting. Each kid had a set-up with various size brushes, pencil, eraser, paper towel and canvas. 
First she she showed the group how to draw an outline of the power ranger in pencil. She went step by step.
They did such a fabulous job. I love how each one turned out differently.
Matthias blew out his candles, opened presents {he received so many nice things!} and the kids went home. Yay the party was a success!
Then we cleaned up the leftovers and went to bed early!
Happy Birthday, Matthias! I can’t believe you are 8 years old. You are creative, smart and insightful. I can’t wait to watch you grow and learn new things this year. I love you so much!
daily routines
January 10th | an everyday moment, family
I’m participating in the instagram ‘January photo a day’ challenge and it’s been so fun and inspiring. Yesterday’s prompt was ‘routines’ and I snapped a pic of my morning coffee and David playing in the tub. My mornings tend to begin with a warm cup of coffee and my evenings usually end with bathing the boys in a warm tub. Maybe two of the best routines to make for a good day!
Other routines that make our days go smoothly…
Preparing a hot breakfast
Walking the boys to their classrooms at school
Browsing Pinterest for inspiration {and getting overwhelmed with so many good ideas!}
Unloading and loading the dishwasher. I love a clean kitchen
Chatting with Chrissie on the phone for 10 minutes
Sketching creative ideas
Blog hopping to keep up with my favorite bloggers
Snuggling with my sweetie on the couch and watching TV or a movie
* * *
What are some of your favorite routines?
the good and the bad
January 3rd | family
It’s back to school today for the boys and back to the workshop for me. We had a good break filled with lots of family time. I want to say it was perfect and magical and I soaked up every minute, but the truth is, alongside the beautiful was some challenging and difficult stuff.
We flew to Omaha to see Steve’s family and it was great. Many memories were made with the cousins and we had lots of downtime to relax, nap, play video games and watch movies. One really hard part of our trip was David’s congestion. He was fighting a cold and was pretty miserable–especially in the evenings and into the wee hours of the morning. Some nights he was up until 2am crying and hysterical at times.
My family came to our home for New Year’s weekend and I worked hard to get lots of beds made and the house cleaned. I grocery shopped and planned a few fun activities. We counted down the minutes to their arrival. My sisters are incredibly helpful with my boys {especially David} and everyone pitched in for meals and clean-up. We had some sweet conversations and time to stroll around downtown and shop. We ate at the Apple Farm and saw the movie Tintin {loved it}. But one day into their stay, my twin nieces came down with the stomach flu and threw up for about 24 hours. A houseful of company combined with my germ-phobia made me feel like a stress case and while I was able to relax and laugh at times, I also had moments of feeling like I might come completely unraveled.
On New Year’s Day we drove to Montana de Oro after lunch and enjoyed a chilly, foggy hour at the beach. I love the ocean, it feeds my soul.
So I can’t say it was a perfect holiday, but amidst the craziness a lot of honesty and bonding happened–and if I can let go of my {sometimes} unrealistic expectations, those things bring us closer together as a family. And that is a beautiful thing.
How do you let go of expectations and let things be imperfect?
hello merry {link up}
December 26th | adventures, family, hello monday
We’ve had such a relaxing time with family in Omaha. We’ve done a good amount of lying around, watching movies, playing video games and eating delicious food. We also made it out to the Omaha zoo–which was fabulous!
hello trees ready to bud {you’re going to have to wait a few months}
hello brothers checking out the turtles
hello family and cousins that are getting so old {the oldest even babysits!}
hello sunny skies and no snow in the forecast. but we did find a snowy patch of ground and had fun!
hello shadows holding hands
hello lazy leopard. we’ve been lazy just like you.
hello christmas morning with lots of gifts and a wrapping paper explosion
hello monday! i’ve completely lost track of time since we are away–but i’m pretty sure it’s the beginning of a new week! and almost the beginning of a new year.
what are you saying hello to today? link up in the comments section and let us know!
Merry Christmas!
December 23rd | family
Our friends Cameron and Anna Ingalls shot family pictures for us a couple months ago. We met at Flying Caballos and spent a half hour together–they make picture taking easy and fun. We love you Cameron and Anna {and Asher too!}
Things will be a little quiet around here for the next few days while we relax with family and enjoy Christmas.
We wish you peace, joy and lots of love. Merry Christmas, from the Leonards
what if?
December 2nd | david, finding beauty, thoughts
the other evening after tucking the boys into bed, steve came downstairs and said, ‘i just had the most surreal experience. i was telling david to lay down and kissing him good-night and as i looked at him i saw a nine year old boy–no disability. just david. it was like our souls had a connection.’
as soon as he described the interaction the tears began to roll down my cheeks. i knew exactly what he meant–there are times, moments, i see beyond david’s disability and into his soul. and i see a little boy stuck in a body that won’t cooperate with him. i see him wanting to speak words and unable to get them out. i see him wanting to tell me something, to ask for something or describe something but there is a chasm between us and it’s too wide to cross.
i’m blogging over at {in}courage today. hop over and read the rest of the post here…
friday love {instagram}
November 11th | family, instagram, photography
this week was pretty crazy. david got sick–really sick. then i got sick. and just when i thought we were on the other side, matthias got it. then steve. crazy! so we spent a lot of time at home, curled up in blankets and watching all the narnia movies.
which is kinda nice in a way. now we are back on our feet and ready for a long weekend. here are some pics from my phone…
1 all my boys chilling on the couch–this is how we roll.
2 gorgeous flowers from our friend {and customer service supervisor} claire. they’ve made me happy all day for many days. so thoughtful.
3 i hung a vintage painting over the aqua cabinet in our living room–feels like fall.
4 a cinnamon latte making my morning perfect.
5 since we were sick, we’ve been washing everything–towels, blankets, and hands. and david loves to wash his hands.
6 matthias’ creativity at work–he named this monster inside out. it’s creepy and cool at the same time.
we have an old friend coming to town this weekend and no big plans–which sounds like the perfect weekend to me. what are your plans?
fear and finding peace
November 8th | david, inspiration, thoughts
Things have been a little crazy around here for the last couple months. It’s mainly focused around David’s burst of new activity and trying new things. It’s incredibly exciting so see him climbing stairs, standing on tables {yikes} and clearing out the cupboards. Every day it seems like he’s trying something new–and it makes my heart so happy to see him grow and learn and succeed.
But there’s another part of me that struggles with change. I have to watch him more–a lot more. The more independent he gets, the less independence I have. And while that’s a phase with toddlers and preschoolers, it will be likely be life-long for our family. The other day while I was driving to meet my sister I was trying to sort through all my emotions. Why am I not overjoyed with David’s progress? What is going on with me?
And then the word hit me like a ton of bricks. Fear. Fear that my life will stop and will completely revolve around his needs. Fear that as David gains independence I won’t be able to keep him safe. What if he climbs up something and falls down and really gets hurt? What if he opens a door when I’m not looking and gets out of the house? What if we’re no longer able to eat out or have friends over because David takes too much of our time and attention?
Recognizing my own fear helps to stop me from falling into a spiral. Today may be difficult in ways, but today is manageable. Today is beautiful. Today we are busy with David’s needs but I get time to sneak away and be with friends. We have people over for dinner often. I have time to create and dream and get inspired.
Last week I met Chrissie in Carpinteria for a sister day and it was like food for my soul. It was so good. 
Time with her wipes away fear and helps me to regain perspective. Maybe since we are identical twins, I’m actually more myself when we are together? A day away last week was just what I needed to refresh, recharge and get inspired. And truthfully, coming home I am ready to give all I am to my boys. I’m ready to celebrate David’s success. I’m less fearful and more whole.
We are all facing challenges in our life–small or big. How are you coping with fear and finding peace these days?
halloween {2011}
November 1st | adventures, family
there was much discussion about what matthias was going to be for halloween. first it was humungasaur {a ben 10 alien}, then it was army captain america, and finally he landed on a knight.
we have lots of costumes around because we tend to dress up on a daily basis. so matthias put his own costume together–and he looked great!
david was ben 10 {for those of you who don’t have young boys, he’s a teenage kid who can turn into all kinds of aliens}. yeah, david pretty much rocked the ben 10 costume. that’s a omnitrix on wrist–and if he hits it right he can turn into any kind of alien.
we went door to door around the neighborhood with a bunch of friends and collected all kinds of loot. the kids had a blast.
did you do anything fun for halloween? tell us about it!