these are a few of our favorite things

Rock and grass springing up outside our apartmentWalking. We love to take walks in our neighborhood. Many of the homes were built in the late 1800’s and are made of stone from the area. There’s also a lot of trees, parks, and woods in our neighborhood. Now that the air is warmer and little signs of life are pushing through the snow, it’s even more energizing. Plus it’s great exercise for us and for Simon!

Baking bread. We’ve stopped buying bread at the grocery store, and now Leah just pours some ingredients into an old hand-me-down bread maker a friend gave us. It fills the apartment with that great homemade bread scent, it’s less expensive, and there are no preservatives and crazy ingredients in there. Plus she makes awesome banana bread, pumpkin spice bread, and more! Wonderful and fun.

A twig curling through the melting snowGoing to church. We found this really awesome church  and we love it. We have several friends there and a whole bunch of warm, loving, happy, joyful, active role models. This church sits on the border of several different populations (rich/poor, black/white, young/old) and has stabilized as a community for all of us. This is not a church in transition from white to black or young to old, it is a mixed church that is working and alive and so very loving.

Simon the dog in his winter coat.They have somehow found a way to harvest the most valuable aspects of tradition, while remaining open to change and actively serving the real (not perceived) needs of the community. Leah and I love the liturgy and find the message of this church to be powerful and relevant.

This is us spending time together. Spending Time Together. We love spending time with each other and finding new and cool things to do together. Friday nights are date nights, and although budget constraints prohibit lavish and romantic evenings out, we always do something fun, creative and memorable.

A twig slowly cutting through the snow. Philadelphia has a great art museum, beautiful parks and rivers, an interesting downtown, and in the summer there's "Opera In The Park." Last weekend we had breakfast with friends, then photographed a wedding together. Anyway, we're doing great, and we hope you are too! Drop us a line when you have time.

Simon has long legs for his body size.                    
A branch buried in snow, but glowing with the warmth of the sun.