(We missed you last week. Not sorry. We were doing life).


Adam J. Reeker got a Snapchat. I can't believe it.
He used to sit, staring over my shoulder with the most puzzled look on his face in awe at how I could spend up to 20 minutes perfecting my filters and then replaying my snaps to just laugh at myself over and over again....

(He's joined the club).


Can you seriously believe it's almost Fall? We have had such an awesome start to September with so many wonderful things to share!

#Gratefulfor: 

• Josh and Janet Brammier's new baby boy: Astyn Robert (we paid them a visit in the vlog)
• Random date nights out and weekends we are able to reconnect (Thank you sweet little baby Jesus)
• Our family (we have a ton of birthday's coming up and just can't wait to celebrate)
• The Future Wolverton's (Our friends Jeff and Sarah are getting married this coming weekend! Adam attended Jeff's bach. party this past week and made him a special gift- also in the vlog). 
• Great relationships and new friends 

We finally picked out and installed our kitchen backsplash... and by we I mean Adam because let's face it, I am not to be trusted with a hammer or any kind of power tool.


(Video at the Bottom) 
The ideas swirled in our heads since we moved into our home.  Typically, you'd pick something from the builder and just have them install, but as we looked at the showroom, we didn't find much we were super impressed with.  At that time, we made the decision to just get a credit (you'd be surprised how small that credit actually is) and would pick out and install our own shortly thereafter.

I'll admit, I am impressed with the fact it only took us about 6-8 weeks to get it in, given all we've had going on. Adam's parents took a last minute trip to the coast so he had some time this week to complete the project at home.  (Poor guy, it seriously took quite a bit of effort).  However, it turned out amazingly and we are both so happy with the end result.

Our original intent was to stick with something very simple.  Grey or white subway tile with contrasting grout.

Option 1: Grey Subway Tile with white grout which would contrast with the countertops and pair nicely with the dark espresso stained cabinets.

Found at Home Depot

Inspiration - Idea Board

Option 2: White Subway Tile with grey grout.  Adam also did this in a home; however, they had white cabinets and it turned out beautifully! We did find though, that upon putting the white up against our quartz white and gray countertops, the white looked too stark and did not pair well with the countertops.

Idea Board

Also found at Home Depot

Option 3: Was what we ended up choosing and became the perfect combination for our kitchen.  It was more detailed than I originally anticipated what we'd go with, but it turned out beautifully!
If you're interested the brand is Framework - and it's the Polished Marble Mesh-Mounted Mosaic found at Home Depot.
You'll have to check out our vlog, as the photo below doesn't give it the dimension (or the justice) it deserves.

Another home project successfully completed by the handsome and oh-so-talented hubby!
This week's vlog includes our process in picking out the backsplash, as well as me playing one of the best rounds of golf of my life. (That's not saying much). :)

Hope you're having a solid Labor Day weekend!

Cheers to all you laborers.
- Us for Real

Football season is taken very seriously at the Reeker household.  From Big Red Overreaction, watching old highlight videos to epic game day, we bleed Scarlet and Cream here my friends.

As we welcome the first game this Saturday, I am mentally preparing for the beating my brain (and my ears) are going to take for the next 3-4 months (pending bowl game eligibility). While I am super jazzed to cozy up, grab some new gear and root on the Sker's with my closest family and friends.... (or by myself), I am here to support you football fans who may (or may not) wholly enjoy the touchdowns, analysis and your Uncle Bob screaming at the top of his lungs in hopes the coaches can hear him through the TV and run the right gosh darn play.... (will they ever learn?).

Nonetheless, I bring you my tips for Surviving Husker Football Season. (Links to a few food recipes and notable items from the video below!)


Check out my Pinterest Board with Game Day Approved Recipes 

• Jalapeno Chicken Soup *
• Chicken Tortilla *
• Cabbage and Blue Cheese Soup - (you'll have to pry this from his cold dead hands). 

*Similar to what Adam makes (he promises we will do a video on how to make this). 

Husker Tee Shop - Talk Herbie to Me: The Daily Tay on Etsy 


See you Sunday and GBR!
Us (for Real)

Last weekend marked the debut of our awesome bridesmaid speech at the wedding of Megan and Jason Dixon.  While I have put my speech and show choir days behind me, from time-to-time, I will bust out my inner stage-gal to showcase some love for a good cause.  This wedding was that cause.

A longtime friend of mine (Ash) got married to an amazing man and I was honored to be standing by her side.  What a blast. From the initial engagement (he surprised her with a trip to the Dominican and got down on one knee) to planning the bridal shower, late nights drinking wine and enjoying our friend Makayla's homemade flatbreads, to the wedding day, this was one for the books.

Typically (and I'm being totally transparent), I don't usually like weddings. But Megan and Jason's was one I truly enjoyed. What a solid couple. You could feel the love in the room.  Their band (yes, they had a live band) was epic and believe it or not, Mr. Reeker got out on the dance floor and taught this ol' broad how to pretzel.  (I have already told him we will be practicing some more...so much fun!)



Makayla, the Maid of Honor and I decided to commemorate these two with a song as our wedding toast/speech.  Jack and Diane by the John Cougar Mellencamp was the tune and we had such a blast creating this and putting on a show for the two love birds .... and their 200 friends and family.
Megan and Jason are avid hikers, love the outdoors, antiquing (they're both super creative), live music, GOOD music and craft beers.  Jason grew up a gymnast and went to the University of Iowa.  The song came together so easily and we could barely contain ourselves we were laughing so hard when practicing. A huge thanks to Adam for grabbing his iphone to film; later on, the videographer told us he'd be sending us a copy of the professionally cut version. He said he now had his background music for the entire video montage. hahah.


All-in-all a great weekend. I was definitely a pile come Sunday and needed some serious R&R. Nonetheless, it was an epic weekend I hope Megan and Jason never forget.

See you soon!
-Us for Real

I found creating my Top 5 Tips for Staying Organized has helped me keep a clear head (and home) and has been awfully beneficial as we moved into our first house.

The world is a crazy place.  I still don't know how parents manage to keep it all together.  I find myself in awe at my sister-in-law who has 5, yes FIVE, children and always manages to show up to family functions looking put together, happy and always as beautiful as can be (cheers to you, Tachelle).  I honestly feel like I can barely hold myself together some days and I only have to take care of myself... and Adam, though, let's face it, he takes plenty good care of me most days.

As we've transitioned into our new home, our lives are seemingly the same, just at a different address.  I found my head and my stuff strewn throughout the house and quickly realized I would need to setup some systems of organization or drive myself nuts for the remainder of the year if I failed to do so. Hence, I bring to you, My Top 5 Tips for Staying Organized.

Tip #1: Keep a planner- paper or electronic is awesome.

I recommend getting something that allows for you to see a snapshot of both your month and your week. Utilizing a planner for both work, business and personal keeps all of my scheduling and to-do's in front of me.
Google Keep is also a super easy to-do and task-master that has both a mobile and desktop site. Sticky notes no more!  Google Keep was a lifesaver as we were getting our home setup. Check out this super awesome video on how to utilize Google Keep.

Tip #2: Get your Day Ready the Night Before

Ever wake up late? End up having to rush out the door and feel like a hotmess the rest of the day because you forgot half of your stuff at home, didn't get in 10 minutes to read or journal your thoughts in the AM and are craving the protein bar you left on the counter? I have been there.

Tip #3: Setup Certain Areas in your Home for Key Items 

This includes your keys, bags, purses to your mail (incoming and outgoing).  Instead of just throwing things on the counter or in the junk drawer and then asking yourself, "Where in the heck did I put the..." you'll know exactly where you put them!

Tip #4: Take 5-10 Minutes to Tidy Up 

This is my secret to a happy home.  Take 5-10 minutes a night or in the AM to just tidy up.  You don't need to deep clean your toilets (save that for a rainy Saturday afternoon), but you can just pick up the little items you may have left out from the day.  I love taking a little bit of time before we head to bed to tidy up (even if it's just one or two rooms) and then calling it quits for the day.
Check out this awesome snapshot from Pinterest with a Schedule for Keeping your Home Tidy Year Round! 

Tip #5:  Get Some YOU Time

You may not think this helps you stay organized, but a clear mind equals a clear home, car, work, inbox... etc, etc. It can be something as indulgent as an hour massage a month to something as simple as 10-15 minutes a day to read or take a walk.  You have to take care of yourself.

I hope you enjoy! And if you don't, please let us know in the comments section below. We'd love to get your thoughts as we build this bad-boy out.

See you Sunday!
-Us (for Real)

Okay seriously August, go home, you're drunk.

This month has been a ham-sammich of greatness. I'm sitting in our office with nasal-drip, a nasty chest cold and enjoying the soothing smell of peppermint and lavender oils as they fill the air and (hopefully) clear my nasal passages.

My sincerest apologies for missing the vlog last week.  Typically, that's not my MO; however, that's the way the cookie crumbled. Good news is, we are trying something new on Us For Real and will have a blog up for you on Wednesday, yes, Wednesday. (be on the lookout) as well as some epic wedding footage next week from my bff Megan and Jason's wedding this past weekend.

What a blast.

All-in-all, it has been a solid month.  I think we both need a couple of serious days to recoop and chill (hello Labor Day weekend), but it's been worth it.  Jut know, there are good things in store for this little vlog... hang with us. If you stick around long enough this week and listen REALLY closely, you'll hear our infamous Uncle Tank tell one of his many tales... seriously, probably one of my top 5 favorite people in the entire world. :) We had a blast with he and his wife, "Teenie" a few weeks ago as we went out to dinner at one of our favorite and (now) local joints, Farmer Brown's Steakhouse.

And now, the most random vlog of your life. Get ready to smile. or judge us. or both. :)

Love you long time!
-us for real

Our first home has been a learning experience for both Adam and I.  We were blessed to have purchased a 'spec' home, which had the foundation poured and was framed when we signed the paperwork.  Given the land evaluations during this time in our area, this ended up being a major  blessing (walking in favor).

In early March, we had just toured a home that had the potential to be our first home.  It was a sure-fire fixer upper and would require a lot of Adam's time and attention, outside of his normal project-load for Renovations & Restorations. We had always said we wanted a certain layout, in a certain area for a certain price... if you're familiar with the market in the Omaha, NE area, you know this is a tall order, given the current state of things.  Homes go for over market-eval, with little upgrades and it is certainly a sellers market.  The inventory cannot keep up with the demand in the Heartland.

As we walked through this home for a second time, my hopes and dreams of a home in 2017 began to slowly die and I, began to grow hopeless.  I remember going to my car, as the sinking feeling of being in our tiny apartment for another 12 months began to set in.  Let's just say, I had a good, white-girl-ugly-cry that day.  God bless my husband for his never-ending faith and ability to always cheer me up, he hugged me and told me it was going to be okay.

.... oh child of little faith... it was going to be.  God had other plans in store for The Reeker's.

Later that evening (and without my knowledge) Adam was surfing the local MLS, as he typically did for flip homes and ran across a little listing northwest, in an area we always said we would love to be in. He sent it over to his mom and said, "This is our home."  That next morning, he asked me to drive by the area because he wanted to know what I thought of it.  I immediately thought Adam was sending me to scope out a new home for a Renovations & Restorations project and did my due diligence.  I marked the area, commented on the cute neighborhood, new construction and the benefits of being close to a school.  Later that evening, we spoke and Adam said, "I am glad you liked it.  We're going to look at the model tomorrow." .....

Wait. What?
Yep. The Lord cleared a path and we found a home in the area we wanted, with the layout we desired and for the price we spoke.

I say again, "oh me of little faith..." haha. I seriously did not believe our Lord could be so good. But, the man came through.

The next few weeks were a blur, we toured the model, signed the paperwork and had exactly 7 business days to pick out our finishes and submit to the builder.  For those that are interested, our builder was Regency Homes  we can give a further review of our experience with them in a later blog.  :) The neighborhood we would be calling home was not "builder exclusive"; however, Charleston Homes has the majority of the lots in "the hood".

We had a blast picking our items and often laughed after picking items out, hoping we would remember what we picked and that it would all come together okay in the end. (Needless to say, it did).

From there, we put our heads down and worked. Throughout the home building process, Adam and I took on new projects at worked, transitioned 3LE Team to a completely new partnership (so excite), took a vacation and celebrated 10 years together. HOLY LIFE LIVED BATMAN.

We were so blessed to be able to document the last 5 months of our lives; as quickly as they went by. Was it all sunshine and rainbows? Hell no. We had many real moments, moments of me losing control of my emotions and being a total girl, heated conversations and lots of late night conversations... but we made it through.

We're on week 4 in our home and it feels like home.  We both love being able to come home after long days and build our lives here.  We've already created so many memories in this home and cannot wait to create many, many more.

This vlog is a snapshot of the home building process from sticks, to walls, to home. We love you all and hope you enjoy!


See you,
Us (for Real)

The final box hath been upacked as I write this and we are happy and home. (I think I may have said that in our last post, but it still stands true).

Preparing to move ended up being a bit more emotional than I think we ever anticipated (well, for me at least. Adam states he had a couple of moments and then was completely over it before move day). Boxing up our belongings, giving away old furniture and even cleaning the bathtub brought on a host of emotions (#allthefeels) as we spent almost 10 years in that little space.  It still amazes me the room we have in this home and while it's no sprawling acreage, we laugh at how much we spend our time yelling, "WHAT!?" from the other room.

When people would ask how we felt about moving, I often found myself referencing the movie Mr. Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium.  This old Magical Store owner (played by Dustin Hoffman) is "departing" this big ball of mud and his store begins to mourn his loss.  Slowly losing it's magical capabilities.  There had been so much life and happiness lived within those walls and one the store realizes he will no longer be there, it begins to droop and grow dark.

Realizing our apartment was not a magical place; but it was a place we shared a lot of happiness and joy.  As we began taking down the photos and memories, the apartment seemed to grow more and more sad.  We even found things beginning to just "give up on themselves"... seriously, it was crazy. Our prayer is whoever signs the next lease, lives as much life there as we did.

The last few weeks have been nothing short of joyful and challenging.  We have loved every minute of being home owners.  Adam and I want to thank our families and friends for the constant support as we've transitioned and to my father-in-law for the extra help on move-in-day.

We are so blessed to have the people in our lives we do.  We cannot wait to create many more memories with them in our new home.

Enjoy this weeks vlog. We'll have more of the new digs and adventures coming very soon!

-Us for Real

We moved... seriously. It's great. We've been super busy, super blessed and super exhausted, but we are giving praise where praise is due and are loving every minute of it.

This is the VLOG before the VLOG (you know, the one where we get to show you a sneak peak of the new digs)? While we are still waiting on some of our furniture, we couldn't be more happy and at home than we are right now.






Enjoy and we will see you soon! (sorry for the quick update!)

-Us for Real

It's been over 2 weeks since I've hit the 30 mark and I couldn't be more proud of how I'm kicking off the 30th year on this big ball of mud.

She's coming right along!

Fam-bam: out for Father's Day with my Stepdad Nick

My heart

Hey, hey! Before I take off, Adam and I want to wish all of the fathers and dad's alike out there a Happy Father's Day.  We are blessed to have a few father figures in our lives and are especially thankful for them this year as we step into this new chapter of our lives. (warm fuzzies, hugs and all that jazz).

We welcomed the second half of our beach trip with raindrops on our noses and a cold chill in our bones.  Most days, it would be a let down that our warm and sunny days were overcast with clouds and rain. However, we welcomed the changing climate and took advantage of some much-deserved "adult naps" (seriously, the best) and did some of the more "touristy" things that took us to some spots we had not frequented before in Myrtle Beach.

We hit up a local dive for some raw oysters called, Rockefeller's Raw Bar and enjoyed some oysters with the most amazing homemade Worcestershire and cocktail sauce we've ever had (holy zing!) and some really delicious Fish & Chips that was breaded to perfection.

Midweek, Adam and I ventured over to central-Myrtle Beach and hit up Jimmy Buffet's "Landshark" restaurant for some drinks pre-Skywheel ride.  (yes, one of the most touristy) Things we've done on vacation. Our vlog has some footage of the 187ft Skywheel.

I wish we had captured all of the great moments with the family, as with five nieces and nephews, there were many.  We rounded out the week with more beach time and an infamous trip to Dick's Last Resort, where the servers berate you and serve you mediocre food (hello, Applebees!) Quite the experience.  Needless to say, our table gave our server a run for his money as he looked like none other than the Son of God with a Wis-cawn-sen accent. (Great time).

Additionally, we rounded out the vlog with a flashback from our first ever beach trip with our niece/nephew brood when they were just little babies. It's crazy to see how much they've grown! Almost enough to make my loins cry out for a bab..... haha, just kidding. Some day my friends, someday.


Enjoy the final installment from our trip! Look out for some home vlogs and move prep coming very soon!

See you!

-Us (for Real)

Sorry we missed you last week, we found ourselves with a drink in one hand, a book in the other and an unwillingness to come to the keyboard to blog-you-very-much.

Adam and I were able to take a quick break away from the hustle-and-bustle to enjoy a trip out to South Carolina with some of his family.  Our flight left early Friday am (7:30) and off we jetted to ATL for a quick layover and then into Myrtle Beach where we uber'd it to our condo and met the in-laws (Ashleigh's) and Adam's brother, his wife and their brood (5 of them... yep, 5 living, breathing little human beings).  We split a condo with the in-laws and the "zoo crew" had another a few doors down.




I have to admit, I failed to provide a lot of "commentary" as we vlogged; however, put together a quick recap of our first few days at the beach.  It was perfectly sunny the first few days and come Tuesday/Wednesday the clouds rolled in and temps dropped (seriously... to like upper 50's.. which is unheard of in the Carolina's this time of year).  Nonetheless, we made the best of it and enjoyed some great adult naps, shopping and a ton of food.

Standard Bloody Mary during our layover

Adam was often found boogie-boarding with our niece and nephews or burying the kids in the sand. I took a more leisurely approach and grabbed a book, sun tan lotion and laid out on the beach. (thank you, Jesus)


We grabbed dinner (twice) at The Flying Fish, which we would highly recommend. The most delicious crab legs, creamy shrimp and grits and (my fav) grilled salmon.  The Market Team was extremely entertaining and could often be found throwing fake and real fish at patrons as they walked by.  (Good show, everyone).

On Sunday, we ballsed up and decided to go parasailing, holy awesome.  It was so quiet and serene, despite Adam and I's best efforts to entertain ourselves 600ft in the air.  Highly recommended if you haven't... and for the love of pete, take a GoPro with you. I am super bummed we didn't catch any footage up that high.

Be on the lookout for Part II coming this week.  There was too much footage to put this into one giant vlog.  This week, it's go-time as we prep for the first walk-through of our home and start the countdown to closing (July 10th).  We are so excited!



See you!

-Us (for Real)

I would like to start this vlog by saying we (I) am getting the hang of this thing.  This Memorial Weekend was seriously a good weekend; the Mr. is finally winding down projects ahead of our vacation on Friday.

This was one of the most random/great weekends. While Adam was helping his parentals with their new home and finishing up estimates, I took advantage of the long weekend and did some prep (ie; major cleanup) in our apartment, played a round of golf with my parents (yes, my golf game is still lacking), hung out with my sister and nieces/nephews (holy heart warming) and enjoyed some random evenings with Adam and friends. Great conversation, lots of laughs and full hearts.

This week is going to fly.
Be on the lookout for a packing vlog and a plethora of vlogs from our trip to the East coast this next week.  We may be a little off schedule, but promise, we'll be sharing our adventures with you.


Hope you enjoyed your weekend!













-Us for Real
(but seriously).

Another week come and gone.
For seriousness though, we failed at vlogging this week.
Not because we don't love to do it, but because we're preparing for vacation in less than 2 weeks (yeah!) and closing on our house in 7 (boom).

In the spirit of consistency, we took you along to witness our night out at my (Ashleigh's) cousins grad party and along for today or "Sundee," as we often like to refer to it as.

Keep watching, as we'll have plenty of house updates coming and vlogs from our vacation adventures coming soon!




See you!
Us for Real

Oh snap! Look at us blogging mid-week.
We're not promising this becomes a normal thing, so don't expect it.... just like dessert after dinner (mom always said)... what you can expect is a new vlog/blog every Sunday from this duo.


I (Ashleigh) needed a little creative outlet this week, as lately it feels like I've been living in spreadsheets and training sessions #thatworkgrindtho
This last weekend, Adam and I did a little decompressing on Friday night and ventured out to Target #middleagewomenunite! and grabbed another PS3 remote, as Adam broke our last one and our first replacement gave up on it's life... we had been without Amazon Video and Netflix for over 3 months (holy first world problems).

So Friday was our night to shine.  We ventured out, grabbed a new remote, ran through Taco John's (not on my diet) and came home to relax and Netflix.

Sunday called for a recital for my niece, Capri which was the most adorable darn thing I have ever seen.  Her group went 3rd (out of seriously like 50 groups), so the whole fam lucked out in not having to sit through a bunch of dances with kids we didn't know.

All I have to say, is if you want a little light in your life, go watch a bunch of 3 and 4 year olds try to dance on a very large and intimidating stage to a super cute song in super cute costumes and give yourself a smile.  It was the cutest darn thing I have seen in a very long time.  Poor Capri was exhausted when she was done and was def deserving of a nap and ice cream. (you go, girl!) -- and no, I did not record it. Some things in life, I believe in just relishing in and enjoying the moment without having a camera in front of my face.

We then headed out to grab a drink with my step-dad, Nick who was baching it up for the weekend while my mom was off galavanting through the desert. At any rate, this is a longer vlog, but will give you a good laugh.


Enjoy and see you Sunday.

-Us for Real

Another week has come to an end.
We celebrated Mother's Day today with a little brunch action (vlog coming soon) and are getting ready to head out to watch my niece perform in her first dance recital (God love it).


For real though, we have (and I have said this in our last vlogs), we have been GRINDING lately. Our vlogs would be so lame throughout the week if we didn't stop to smell the roses every-once-in-awhile.  Truthfully, the weeks are about the same:

1. wake up
2. work
3. hustle
4. grind
5. eat
6. sleep
rinse and repeat 5x's


make it to Friday. Relax. Laugh. Praise God for another week.


For real. We're both looking forward to vacation coming up at the beginning of June. 9 days of beach and ocean (and yes, we'll take you with us).

But for now, we had quite the week last week and played a game I, (Ashleigh) used to play with my siblings when growing up: The Titanic Challenge.
We also took my parents out to the house for the first time, shot some footage the week following of the house (holy progress, batman) and shared a few laughs in between.


We hope this makes you laugh. or smile. or both.




Cheers to you and see you soon,
Us for Real

Before we began counting sheep on Friday evening, we took a break and ended up in stitches laughing at my antics (Ashleigh) and some of the events from the previous week.

While we are both managing and responsible for quite a bit in our day-to-day so it is nice to slow down and enjoy each others company when we have time.  I've been finding myself working to be more intentional with Adam's love languages (we talk about this in the vlog).  We're not perfect. I promise. Before we laid down Friday evening, we had a disagreement in the car on the way home from dinner.  What I love about our relationship is that we're able to be open and communicate with one another (even if it means delivering the hard-to-hear-truths).  I respect my husband so much for his ability to do this, yet always still have empathy and love me ... no matter how emotional I can be. :)

am i right ladies?


Sunday has been good. We've literally gotten off the couch to workout and eat.
It's been marvelous.





Cheers to May!

See you,
Us for Real

It's my fault (Ashleigh). It was a crazy ham-sammich week and this past week was nothing different. The Reekers are in #grindmode lately. Between running day-to-day projects in our day-gigs, #3LE and the home progress, we've been running.... laughing... but running, sometimes stopping to ugly cry (me), but still running.

And you know what?

It's totally worth it.

I wouldn't want to do this dead sprint to August with anyone else.

Countdown to vaca starts in May (we leave june 2nd).

Until then though, it's crab legs and Ronald Reagan. Yes sir.












-See you!
Us for Real

So, while shooting our vlog for the new house announcement, I (Ashleigh) got a little nostalgic and decided to do a sit down for this weeks post to share some of the good, funny and awkward memories from our little humble abode from the last 10 years.

Signing our final lease and going month-to-month has been a little surreal.  I am sure in the coming weeks things will begin to become even more surreal, but we are taking it all in stride.  Adam is conducting one of our first walk-through's with the builder on Monday before they begin hanging drywall.  From there, the pace will pick up and things will begin to come together... I'm still sitting here asking myself "leather or tweed" for a couch.

Lord help me.

Until then, we are just going to laugh and take it all in... while working our buns off to ensure we hit our goals this year.  We are excited to share the journey with you.








See you,
Us for Real

Adam here: It was an insane week last week. Ashleigh had hoped to have the vlog up on Sunday
 (as per our normal schedule), but we got swept up in the weekend and hit our pillows really early the last few nights after working our tails off.

We have been having so much fun the last few weeks, putting our heads down, getting after it, watching our first home be constructed and sharing many great moments together.  I am so excited to take on this next half of the year with my amazing wife.  While we ain't perfect and not every day is coming up roses, we love hard, work smart and are blessed to have one another.

I'll let the vlog speak for itself.









See you,
Us for Real

Alright my friends, we are getting into a groove on these posts and while we plan to post each Sunday, I (Ashleigh) failed to blog last week, therefore, I am making up for it, here.

I am blessed to be a part of a blended family: my mother (MP) remarried when I was a freshmen in college and my step-dad, Nick came to us with 5 of his own children, all of which are grown and around the age of my brother, sister and I.



Nick's kids are awesome and I couldn't ask for a better extended family.  I'll admit, when we were younger, we didn't really care about getting close with them (this is me speaking for myself)... I was at that age that I didn't need to force relationships and just wanted to be a 20-something.  What is interesting is now, those relationships have formed up pretty genuinely.  I look forward to spending time with each of them, as they are all great people.

The lovely & talented Laura (pictured right)

Nick's daughter-in-law, Laura is an amazing young lady who is a pro "boy mom" and has many talents, one of them being painting.  Laura and her hubby, Nick volunteer and give back their time to the community in many ways and she often holds painting classes to teach people how to paint! (Think Canvas and Cabernet) My step-sister, Caitlin said "What the hell, let's all get together for a girls night and do some painting!" It was such a fun night getting to socialize, laugh and then head over to a local-dive bar to sing some karaoke with my step-dad, Nick (the karaoke king).

I am grateful to have these women in my life; whether I see them every day or not.  They're all great women and wonderful mother's (yes, including my own mom).

Check out some of our pics from the evening! After completing this, I am pretty encouraged I could scrounge up an original "abstract" canvas for our home based on some of the techniques Laura taught.  Pablo Picasso, eat your heart out!

Ashley friggin owned her painting... so talented

Shelby may be my spirit animal... seriously. She loves wine more than I do

Me and my sister, "T"

Ending the night at Karaoke with my step-dad, Nick See you Sunday.  -Us for Real

Yep. That happened.
The last 3 weeks have been a crazy whirlwind of "are we, aren't we?"

"is this the house?" ... nope.

Oh, look! Here it is!

To say God is so good is a massive understatement at this point. HE IS THE MAN.
Just when we thought we were going to take on a crazy project-investment home... (and honestly, settle a bit), God was like, "wait, I got you... You think I made you work that hard and brought you this far for that? Nay. Nay, sweet children. Behold."

And behold we did.
Less than 24 hours after looking at what we thought was our home, He brought exactly what we've been speaking for the last 5 years right to our feet.  (Thank you Jesus!)

• Location - check
• New Construction - check
• Unfinished basement for Mr. Reeker to work his magic - check
• Open Concept - check
• Ranch - check
• Room for a dog (priorities) and kids - check 

While the house is still being built, we have had the opportunity to pick all of the finishings and will get to document the journey to our first home right here, with you! We are so excited and feeling super blessed!

I have to be honest, I haven't taken many pictures for the blog; however, we put together a vlog for those video lovers and have plenty of shots there! I promise to upload progress photos as building commences.



We can finally say, "we bought a home!"

-Us for Real

(Ashleigh here):

I'm playing some major catch up this weekend and quickly realized, we never blogged our Colorado trip! It's been an insane sprint since we got back (I promise we'll fill you in on all of the good stuff happening very soon!)

Adam and I packed our bags and headed to snowy Keystone, CO at the beginning of February to spend some time with a portion of my family and enjoyed skiing, the sites and each others company. Despite Adam not being able to ski, both he and I were truly surprised how much he was able to relax, enjoy himself and get in some good rest. - Adam has been sprinting for a good 12 months and hasn't had a getaway... so needless to say, this was much deserved. ;)

Enjoying our time in beautiful Keystone!

Me, Corley (my sister-in-law) and MP (my mom) at our BA Air'bnb in Keystone

We were blessed to spend time with my parents, my step-dad's daughters and hubby and my brother, Derrick and his wife, Corley flew out from NC to hang with the Midwesterners and "shred some nar"... (this is what the cool kids are saying)

Adam and I flew in a day early and hung out in Denver our first day.  Perfect weather, awesome customer-service upon check-in at our hotel (shoutout to Embassy Suites in Downtown Denver for the mad hookups!) and amazing food and naps. We were on a mission, RELAX. I honestly can say, every time we travel, we get better and better at it.  I love getting to travel with my best friend- he makes life so sweet.

From there, we met up with the family, grabbed some grub and headed out to the mountains for 3 days of skiing, hot tubbing and creating memories.  My mom picked out the sickest rental home up in Keystone, just minutes from the village. I am so appreciative of her organizational skills, she held it together for us this trip!

I'd recommend Keystone to anyone wanting a quick getaway. It's not a 'hoity-toity' ski area with good food, entertainment and isn't overcrowded (both in the village and on the slopes).  Check out some of the shots from our quick getaway and the VLOG we put together below.

Adam shredding some homemade crepes in the village

(Ashleigh):