walk humbly.

He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God? (Micah 6:8 NKJV)

This is the verse that popped up on my verse of the day app. Quite fitting since it always reminds me of my man and it is his 29th bday today!!!!! I am so blessed to have such a humble, strong, noble, hilarious, amazing husband that chooses to walk with and follow after the Lord. And as you will see in this random collaboration of photos, Reagan and the twins are equally blessed.

commentary on her date with daddy.

the past few days.

hot cocoa dates at home. runs with daddy. gutter removal.  loving dark nails.  reading all the time.  auntie annie comes to visit.  twin baby dolls from auntie annie named "sally" & "john" by reagan.  romney/ryan shipment.  apple, onion, sauerkraut pork chops for dinner.  

psalm 40 is my jam this week.

¹ I waited patiently for the Lord to help me,
    and he turned to me and heard my cry.
² He lifted me out of the pit of despair,
    out of the mud and the mire.
He set my feet on solid ground
    and steadied me as I walked along.
³ He has given me a new song to sing,
    a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see what he has done and be amazed.
    They will put their trust in the Lord.

⁴ Oh, the joys of those who trust the Lord,
    who have no confidence in the proud
    or in those who worship idols.
⁵ O Lord my God, you have performed many wonders for us.
    Your plans for us are too numerous to list.
    You have no equal.
If I tried to recite all your wonderful deeds,
    I would never come to the end of them.

frame wall tutorial

Frame walls are a great way to fill a large empty space on a budget. Most of my frames are handmedowns, garage sale finds, from goodwill or target clearance. The key to a good wall is beautiful, meaningful photos/artwork and careful placement. About a month ago, I created a frame wall in our new home.

I wanted to include this clock so I had Jose hang it first.  I had no real thought process in where I put it.  I prefer things off centered so I picked a random, low spot.

Then I just started positioning frames around the clock.  Hanging went quickly because of the below "toothpaste" method :)

I had all frames in a pile on the table and chose them one at a time based on color, size, and who was in the photo.

I squeezed a big dollop of toothpaste over the hanging area (make sure it's a very nice sized dollop)

Then I pressed the frame firmly against wall so I could see where JD should hammer in the nail.  While JD hammered I chose the next photo.  We had it finished in one nap.

The end product.  I guess it's a good thing that there is some room for my wall "to grow."

practicing.

Reagan loving on Brekken Bradford, born not even 3 weeks ago.  She calls him "brekky" and reminds us about 6 times a day that baby brekky had a poopy diaper (after seeing him getting changed at hospital).  He is a sweet blessing in all of our lives.

What are you up to this weekend?  I want to lounge around the house with my family and actually finish a whole cup of coffee in the morning.  I also want to find a burger joint in this huge city that even remotely compares to the fine establishments of "Dell's" (Grand Forks, ND) or "Ray's" (Reading, MI).  I don't think it will happen.

a weekend in the great lake state.

Sweet times with my el ladies.


An amazing brother that hung out with me 24/7 and introduced me to the best chicken wings ever. Ever. Ever.


2 mamas and 3 babies.


The twins!!!! @20wks.


An incredible wedding.


Mr. & Mrs. Carson & Ellen McLean!


Literally everyone was dancing. But we had just discovered the dessert bar.


From the cider mill down the road...too good to be true.


They joined the band. Berlucchi weddings are on par with Dunham weddings....reason number 188 to have a big family!!!


My favorite wedding dress of all time on one of my favorite people of all time.


Missed this lady too much but so thankful for a quick trip to Mich and too many people I love that are way too far away.

reagan long legs.

This photo was taken at the apple orchard last week but cz just sent it to me today. For some reason when I look at it my heart aches. Maybe because she's growing up like a weed. Or maybe because we have shared the sweetest times since jd started his new job. Don't worry daddy, she misses you like crazy and never stops saying "daddy high" when we swing since I can't quite get her as high as you do.

mexico with my man.

 Mexico seems like months ago.  Not in a bad way.  Life is just going fast again.  Yesterday, JD started his new career and we are all settled into our beautiful home that I love!!!  I finally uploaded these pics and needed to share them because I can't forget the sweet week we had.  As you can see, we rarely stood up, and ate the most amazing food ever.  If you need an all inclusive recommendation, PLEASE email me.  Thank you to my AMAZING soul mate who planned every inch of it and worked his tail off so we could go.  I love you, JD.

 Missing out on these was harder than expected.  Every drink made from fresh juices...no mixes.  Amazing.

 The staff was in love with my husband.  They cheered when he walked in for breakfast and lunch.  We are still not quite sure how this attachment began. I think it's because my husband treats people with genuine kindness and makes them laugh with his dry humor (and bad Spanish).  Easy to fall in love with.

 He also rents out cabanas for his wife.  I never spent so much time in the shade as I did on this vacay.  Pregnancy changes my normal 12 hour laying out routine.  

 cerveza y cohiba

 the most amazing lamb i have ever tasted.

followed Jean Dunham tradition and got up at 6 to watch the sunrise.  gorgeous, and makes your last day last longer :)