My Year in Photos 2012 Part 2

And at long last, the second half of my 2012 year in photos…

See the first half here.

July

I had the privilege of photographing the C family kids. They are so photogenic.

My Kitchen Garden flourished.

We had a huge storm that knocked over many trees.

We spent a few weekends at the cabin.

Fun times at the family reunion.

Baby Susan gets more adorable each day.

August

More fun times at the other family reunion.

September

We finally announced to the world that we are expecting!

I had so much fun doing a mini session with my sister-in-law. See more photos on her blog here.

Elinor turned four.

Here I am at 20 weeks.

October

We had a beautiful first snow. Read more about it here.

I shot the C Family and my sister’s family.

Here I am at 24 weeks.

November

My favorite kind of day.

Frosty Morning.

Here I am at 28 weeks.

December

Good times ice skating. I chose not to skate because of the risk of falling.

Our Charlie Brown Christmas Tree.

Christmas Morning.

Here I am at 33 weeks. I got very sick with a stomach bug, so I was unable to post at my regular 4-week interval.

And there you have our year in photos! It’s hard to believe that 2012 has already come to a close and that we’re so close to embarking on a new adventure as parents.

If you’d like to see my previous years in photos, follow the links below.

2011: PART 1 | PART 2

2010: PART 1 | PART 2

Here’s to a marvelous 2013!

3 Responses to My Year in Photos 2012 Part 2

1. Raelyn Nichole 
   January 17th, 2013 at 6:37 pm
   What a nice post series! I really enjoyed “seeing” your 2012. Your sister’s husband looks an awful lot like Reuben. Are they brothers?
   -Raelyn Nichole
2. Sarah G. 
   January 18th, 2013 at 4:36 pm
   Raelyn I was wondering the same thing! They sure do look a lot alike. Fun pictures!
3. Erica Lea 
   January 19th, 2013 at 3:57 pm
   Raelyn & Sarah: Yes, my sister and I married brothers. It will be fun to see how similar/different our kids look. :)

Lovely Things in the Mail

Posted by Erica Lea on January 15th, 2013 . Filed under: around the house .

Yesterday my order from David’s Tea arrived.

I am beyond excited for these mugs. I have been wanting some earthenware cups like this for a while, and I found them for a really good deal over at David’s.

Along with each order they include three free samples of tea. The Chai they sent was absolutely lovely.

Beautiful steam.

I had Reuben help me capture a cream-pouring shot and turned it into a gif.

What sorts of lovely things have you got in the mail lately?

8 Responses to Lovely Things in the Mail

1. Megan 
   January 15th, 2013 at 4:16 pm
   Love the cups!! :)
2. Samantha 
   January 15th, 2013 at 8:12 pm
   Those mugs are gorgeous!
3. Rebecca Lately 
   January 16th, 2013 at 9:31 am
   Absolutely gorgeous! If my cupboard wasn’t already brimming with mugs, I would purchase those right away.
   Love the gif :)
4. Peggy 
   January 16th, 2013 at 11:11 am
   Simply beautiful! I think I’ll have to keep checking on them since they are currently out of stock. We have a son who will be moving out on his own soon and these fit his personality and tastes perfectly.
   I recently received a BUNCH of different types of labels for canning jars and the cookbook “Food in Jars”… all of which were won on giveaways! I was so tickled felt like Christmas (or early birthday) all over again! :)
5. Lorraine 
   January 17th, 2013 at 1:14 pm
   I love those cups, but I didn’t see them on that website. What exactly am I supposed to click on?
6. Erica Lea 
   January 17th, 2013 at 1:43 pm
   Lorraine: Hummm…they must be out of stock right now. From what I can tell they are made by the Miya Company, but you can get them at Terrain as well. I got them for a MUCH better deal on David’s Tea – $19.50 for 4. Maybe they’ll get them back in stock!
7. Anna H. 
   January 25th, 2013 at 11:05 am
   I was not able to find these mugs on the website you linked to? Could you help with a link?
8. Aiza 
   October 26th, 2013 at 2:22 pm
   Those mugs are so amazing. Gosh. And that gif is a job well done!

Best Face of 2012 | I Heart Faces Entry

I had the hardest time deciding which was my favorite face photos of 2012, but I finally settled on this one of Judah. I love the way he’s pressing in his cheeks to make sure we know he’s smiling.

For the I Heart Faces Photo Challenge

5 Responses to Best Face of 2012 | I Heart Faces Entry

1. Cindi 
   January 8th, 2013 at 12:45 pm
   What a CUTE kid!! Totally adorable!
2. cindy 
   January 8th, 2013 at 1:42 pm
   SO ADORABLE!!
3. Samantha 
   January 8th, 2013 at 2:17 pm
   ^DITTO!
4. Megan 
   January 8th, 2013 at 4:25 pm
   Love it!:)
5. Life with Kaishon 
   January 9th, 2013 at 12:10 pm
   He is too cute for words. What a great picture : )

My Year in Photos 2012 Part 1

And so 2012 has come and gone. It all seems a bit of a blur in my mind. Every year I’m so glad that I took the time to document little parts of our days with photographs. They help me to remember moments that would otherwise be completely lost.

Here are some of my favorites from 2012:

January

New haircut! That was the shortest I’d had it for quite a while. It was fun for a change, but I’m growing it back out now.

We took several ski trips. This is Reuben, being awesome. The norm.

You can watch a short video of us skiing here and here.

February

I hosted a tea party at our house. So. much. pretty. hair.

Since our uncle was traveling to Indonesia, we decided to have a Rijstaffel (Rice Table) for him, a traditional Dutch/Indonesia feast.

Grandpa’s lilies. Frosty tree. Handsome husband. My Valentines Day orchids. American flag. Pretty sister.

Various captures.

March

I can’t believe how much younger Reuben looks without his “affectation” (what we call his beard).

We did some rustic camping. You can see more photos and read the story here.

I did a mini session for my pretty sister, Amanda.

My adorable niece and nephew, Judah & Elinor.

New skirt.

April

Snow in April!

First sign that spring is truly here: the hepaticas, or Mayflowers as we used to call them.

With the warmer weather comes volleyball!

May

I love fixing little Elinor’s hair.

New addition to the family: baby Susan. Watch a film and read more about it here.

I got very sick. Kind of a scary time of my life.

Springtime. See more photos and a short film here.

My kitchen garden. See more photos here.

June

Corn coming up.

Enjoying the warm weather by traipsing around the yard barefoot.

For our first anniversary we took a trip to the cities. I got to try out some new lenses and settled on a 28mm.

For supper one night we ate at Black Sheep Coal Fired Pizza. It was delicious and different from anything you can get at a chain, but the service was (much) less than spectacular.

Tuesday, June 19: I learned that I was pregnant!

STAY TUNED FOR THE SECOND HALF OF THE YEAR…

4 Responses to My Year in Photos 2012 Part 1

1. Caitlyn 
   January 1st, 2013 at 2:07 pm
   Gorgeous pictures, Erica!
2. Elizabeth 
   January 2nd, 2013 at 12:16 pm
   I have been in love with your blog since I found it a couple years ago. What a lovely life you have. Thank you for sharing. Happy New Year. Feel Good!!!!!
3. Kathryn Grace 
   January 5th, 2013 at 4:02 pm
   I really enjoy your captures of your everyday life! Those purple flowers are just too pretty… I remember you posting that picture the first time.
4. Abbie 
   January 7th, 2013 at 5:18 am
   So lovely to see these glimpses of your year – look forward to seeing the rest of them too! :)

33 Weeks

I’m at 33 weeks! Four more weeks and my baby will be full term…


Weight this week: 134.8 lb. – I’m a hair under my goal weight gain of 1-2 pounds a week since I had the stomach bug last week. More on that in a bit.

Measurements around largest part of my tummy:36.5″ – I’ve gained 1.5 inches around my middle since5 weeks ago.

Measurements around smallest part of my waist:32″ – up 1 inch from last time. Okay, okay, so I don’t really have a “waist” anymore. That measurement is just around the part of my belly that USED to go in. ;)

As I mentioned above, I had a nasty stomach bug last week, hence the 33 week update instead of the planned 32. It was pretty miserable. Not being able to eat but desperately needing food is NOT a good thing while pregnant. But Reuben was awesome and helped me through it – made me eat when I didn’t have any appetite. I don’t know what I’d do without him.

What with the sickness and the holidays, I have been less than steady with my exercises. Okay, that’s an understatement. I’m lucky if I get one session in per week.

Now it’s getting down to the wire and I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed with the things I need to accomplish – prepare my mind for labor, buy essential baby items (diapers, car seat, etc.)…Your prayers for my peace of mind would be appreciated. :)

And there’s my 28 weeks update.

Hope you all had a very Merry Christmas and that 2013 will be an awesome year!

Erica Lea

6 Responses to 33 Weeks

1. Kathryn Grace 
   December 27th, 2012 at 9:49 pm
   You look so cute. :-) So does this mean that the next update will be baby pictures??? :-D
2. Moriah Mari 
   December 28th, 2012 at 10:30 am
   Oh . . . your little one is almost here! :)
   I’ll be praying for your peace of mind. I can only imagine how much there is to do.
3. Abigail 
   December 28th, 2012 at 7:05 pm
   Awesome!! So excited for you! I LOVE LOVE the pics!! :) Your blog is super nice!
4. Diane 
   December 28th, 2012 at 10:10 pm
   You look like you’re carrying a girl to me. ; ) At least from the angle of the picture. Take as many naps as you can since you won’t get to sleep all night for a long time after the little one gets here!
5. Rebecca 
   December 29th, 2012 at 7:12 am
   Dear Erica, you’ll be just fine in your preparations. I had my first little girl in March and felt exactly like you did – that I wouldn’t be prepared enough. The truth is, nothing really can prepare you for what’s about to happen, but you adapt – even to the less sleep, and I still got enough … If you have a supportive family around you, and it certainly seems you are blessed with that, anything you miss in your shopping can be picked up later. As for your health and strength, I hope and pray you will be improving soon. And where I live, full term is considered 40 weeks (from the date of your last monthly …) – so you might even have 7 weeks to wait before meeting your little bub. Bless you.