yikes.

Yikes. It's been three and a half months since I began my unplanned hiatus from this blog. I've been away too long, and now seems like as good a time as any to come back, as I sit in the dark in bed because I drank a latte too late in the day & Rynn is doing crazy karate moves in my belly. For starters I'll catch you up on where I've been, explain who this Rynn character is (not to be confused with Remi), and give you some of the highlights of the past few months & my excitement about things coming up in the future. 

When I first started this blog, I pondered the question, "What's a little seed?" 

{from 4/14/14}
A hope? An uncertainty?
A question that sprouts into too many answers.
An idea that takes root.
A possibility...

The best news I have to share with you is that we are now expecting our very own little seed... our own hope, uncertainty, possibility. Her name is Rynn Olivia Rogers & she's due sometime in June. We found out about her not long after my last blog post at the beginning of October, and even though she isn't here yet, the expectation & anticipation of life has changed us forever. We are terrified and feeling completely inadequate, but we are filled with joy and peace.

On December 18th we closed on our first house. After four places in four cities, from a tiny apartment to a beautiful bungalow, all rentals & ours only for a season, it feels so good to have a place we call home. We are still in Charlotte, a little further from the city but not much, and love the new place. Our weekdays & weekends are full of projects and dreaming and trips to Lowes. 

In the midst of all of this, we took an incredible trip over New Years to Key West with my family. We decided in lieu of gifts this year, we'd take a trip altogether.  In all honesty, I was sort of annoyed that my dad didn't want to leave the contiguous U.S., making the most romanticized places in my mind out of the question (Puerto Rico, Hawaii, tropical islands). I thought Key West would be just OK. I promise to never think that again. The place is amazing. We snorkeled the third largest reef in the world, swam every day in the ocean, kayaked through mangroves, and ate delicious seafood. It was so great that I didn't even mind having to pass on margaritas & mimosas. Coming back to the winter weather was rough, but here we are, finishing off January in Charlotte, which is not as bad as it seems after coming back from the Keys.

This month I started my second semester of horticulture classes at NC State University, with the goal of obtaining an undergrad certificate after 15 credit hours. The class is Home Plant Propagation, so get ready for some tips and photos of propagation structures & cuttings & {hopefully} successful endeavors on the garden front. Caleb & I are hoping to build some raised beds in the brand new {to us} backyard & laying some soil heating coils in at least one of them to start seeds outdoors early. C is also planning to make me a compost bin that should look something like this when completed:

{The three compartments allow storage of compost at its different stages, making usable compost accessible and allowing the piles to be turned more frequently & more easily.}

I'm thankful that my pregnancy has been never-terrible, with only minor nausea in the first trimester. I have energy {for the most part} and have still been exercising, mostly doing yoga or the elliptical and I've taken up swimming at the Aquatics Center in Uptown Charlotte. Although I can hardly believe I'm going to just keep getting bigger, I'm so thankful for Rynn's growth & healthy development. I hope as she continues to grow, that I will too - in my preparation for being a mother, my discipline in my studies, my devotion as a wife, and even the small things like my knowledge of plants & my endurance in the pool. Oh, and... in keeping up with this blog;)

I am excited for the season that is coming, but for now, I am content in the season that is today. We have so much to be thankful for, and I'm praying to grasp that daily and live out of that gratitude.