Thankful...

"Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise: 

be thankful unto Him, and bless His name." 

Psalm 100:4

I've been TAGGED!!

My cousin Karen tagged me in this photo tag which requires you to post the sixth picture in the sixth folder on your computer! So here is my sixth picture...

This is the kitchen in our new home in Dunnalong Manor here in Ireland! And, since I was wanting to show you our new house anyway, here is another picture of the outside...

I love our home! God is so good in providing such a lovely house in such a quiet neighborhood. Our neighbors are really nice and we are just a short walk from the river and from my wonderful in-laws. It is a blessing!

*

So, now I need to tag five people to do this too so I think I will choose...Mindy, Missy, Ben, Matt, and Freedom's Call! Have fun! Here are the rules:

*Go to your sixth picture folder then pick your sixth picture.

*Pray that you remember the details.

*Post it on your blog.

*Tag 5 others, leave a comment to let them know they've been tagged!

Summer Update: Our Honeymoon

After our beautiful wedding, we headed off into the darkness in this old car that David had managed to secure for our get-away car. It was beautiful (there is a picture of it in the wedding slideshow in the previous post) and it even matched the color of our wedding! However, it didn't really like driving down the road so we barely made it back to the owner's place where our real car was parked! Phew! The owners of the car also worked with the newspaper so they took some pictures of us and we found ourselves in the paper a few days later! So that was our first adventure as a married couple. Now...on with the honeymoon!

Our first honeymoon destination was the beautiful city of Duluth, Minnesota, on the shores of Lake Superior--one of the Great Lakes. What a stunning city!

We enjoyed time on the beach, leisurely strolls on the boardwalks around the lake,...

A boat ride tour of Duluth harbor (very interesting!)...

...Spotting a pirates ship! Ahoy matey!

Enjoying the gorgeous view out our hotel window, 

Basking in God's breath-taking creation, 

meeting a few challenges...can you say "ouchy thigh muscles"?

But it was worth it! 

Split Rock Lighthouse

More to come!...

Summer Update: Our Honeymoon continued...

After spending a few days in Duluth, we headed up the North Shore drive and found ourselves exploring Tettegouche State Park. Look...there's a handsome hiker now!

I thought this tree's root system was incredible--twisted and tough little tree. Bravely clinging to life and defying all the elements trying to erode it away. Go little tree, go!

This little squirrel almost scared me to death while I was waiting in the stillness of the forest alone. We had found a camera lying on the path and the pictures on it revealed the faces of some hikers we had passed a ways back so David ran to catch them. I stayed alone and took pictures of berries (see following picture) when all of a sudden, above my head, this little guy burst out in an explosion of psychotic crazyness.  I don't know what his issue was but I managed to get a picture of him after he settled down a little. He looks cute there but I am still a little spooked by him...even in the picture!

Then we reached the thundering falls and cooled our travel weary feet in the fresh flowing waters...ahhhhhh!

Isn't almost fairy-like?

A nice girl took our picture in front of the falls. 

After that adventure, we ventured on North and found ourselves at Lutsen Ski Resort where we stayed for our last two days of our honeymoon. It was spectacular! A highlight was riding on the mountain tram to the top cafe and looking out over the vastness of Lake Superior. Wow!

So that concludes our first adventure as husband and wife. One down, a lifetime more to go! Woo hoo!!

Wedding Day

I posted this before, but in keeping with my little journal of summer update events, here it is again! A beautiful slideshow of the wedding pictures. 

(If you want to see the pictures one by one, just go to the controls in the bottom right hand corner and click on the gallery icon.) 

Summer Update: Wedding day!

Sunday, August 3rd, 2008...

...a day that I will remember forever and ever! I woke up and immediately knew that this was a day that would change my life forever. I couldn't believe how calm I was! Soon after a good breakfast and chatting with all my dear bridesmaids (who were in the process of getting their hair done) I was off with Annika (my niece) to the salon to get myself all dolled up! Such fun! 

Annika was my personal attendant and she was such a huge blessing to me. She took all these pictures of me at the salon. She is such a dear. I love her so much!

All done! 

And now for the dress! Isn't it lovely? I felt like a princess wearing it! This dress was also worn by my sister Mindy. It was pretty fitting that we wore the same dress on our wedding days since most of our lives we have been wearing each other's clothes and when we were little my mom would dress us up like twins! It was special wearing this dress, which is destined to become a family heirloom I think! I wonder who will wear it next?

"I will rejoice greatly in the LORD, My soul will exult in my God; For He has clothes me with garments of salvation, He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness, As a bridegroom decks himself with a garland, And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels." 

(Isaiah 61:10)

Summer Update: Bluegrass Festival!

Okay...this is something that we (as a family) look forward to and plan for all year long! 

The Lake Itasca Family Bluegrass Festival! 

We love hosting it and this year had an even more significant appeal because David and I decided to get married on the last day of the festival, and on the same grounds there. Crazy plan...I know...but definitely an event we will never forget!

Here are some 1500-2000 people enjoying some great gospel bluegrass in my beautiful homeland of northern Minnesota.

This family, the Johnson Family, sang so beautifully, you would have thought that angels had descended! We were so privileged to also have them sing at our wedding. It was lovely...I wish you could have heard them! Oh wait! You can hear them if you jump over to my brother Matt's blog and check out his YouTube video of these guys. Thanks Matt!

David and his brother and sister also sang at the festival. You should have seen the huge crowd that gathered in the showcase stage when they started. They were massively popular! I couldn't even squeeze into the back to catch a look at my own future husband (imagine that!) so I finally had to sneak into a side door!

And in the midst of it all, we were planning a wedding! David caught a picture of me sewing one of the bridesmaid dress belts on one of our many trips back and forth to the festival site. It was a crazy busy time, but it just seemed fitting for us to get married in the midst of all the music. It was what brought us together and something that we both love so much. 

Summer Update: Wedding Rehearsal!

The day arrived for the wedding rehearsal and excitement was in the air! It really made the reality of our upcoming wedding start to sink in for me! It sort of seemed like a dream before that. The day was filled with lots of work and planning...

My wonderful dad (and I mean WONDERFUL!!) built us these stairs for in front of the stage (he also built the stage!) so we could walk up to the head table in style. Isn't he great!?

Okay, time to practice walking up the "isle". We didn't have the chairs set up yet so we had to use our imaginations a little. Paul (David's brother) and Mindy (my sister) show us how it's done. 

I believe the guys are having a discussion on where they should stand.

Waiting for his bride...

After the rehearsal, my Mom and Dad surprised us by treating everyone to an amazing dinner at the Douglas Lodge in Lake Itasca State Park. It was perfect and the lake was beautiful that evening! Thank you Mom and Dad! 

(Isn't my husband handsome!? Wow!)