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):