the pleasantries of life

i love my valentine

2012-02-14T20:43:00.003-06:00

so i made him this.....

i'll explain more later - i was in portland last week :D

gotta share

2012-01-26T16:15:00.001-06:00

I've been loving me some time with Pinterest...

What's that you say?

Pinterest.

It's this magical new thing that makes time fly by.

Since it's warm outside today {40 degrees} i wanted to share something I am SUPER excited to make.... now I just need popsicle molds!!

Aren't they pretty?

And - they're easy.

1. cut up fruit

2. place in popsicle molds.

3. poor in preferred juice {apple, pineapple, orange, lemon, mango - have fun with it!}

4. place in freezer!

you're welcome ; )

people

2012-01-25T12:58:00.003-06:00

I think most of you that read this blog know about most of the people I talk about on here...

But just in case not - I wanted to take some time to write about some pretty special people in my life.... I'm going to start with {Dan and} the people who I can't remember life without. I don't want to make it too long of a post - so we're sticking with the folks who I met years and years ago :) Then we'll fast forward to the college and current years :)

There's husband Dan - I think most of you know him.....

He's my husband, co-worker, confidant, special someone and probably the most amazing person I've met. Why? He has helped to mold me into who I am today. I know I did a lot of growing {thanks to family and friends} before we met - but I also came into our relationship with a lot of baggage. I like to think that, unbeknown to him at the time, I am one of the reasons God had him follow the college path of Psychology. {well - the Sociology/Criminal Justice I can't claim.... thank goodness} ;) He's funny, cute, quirky and a person that I am so very honored to spend the rest of my days with. He knows how crazy I am and loves me anyway. He accepts my wide range of emotions - even though I don't think he understands them at all ;)

And now..... "let's start at the very beginning..... that's a very goo place to start....."

My family....

November 11th, 1985 I was blessed to be born into this family. Mom {Nancy} Dad {Mark} and older sister {Kirsten}. They've seen me through {9+} broken bones, bad hair and break ups. Even when Dan and I were crazy enough to date, get engaged and married in a period of 6 months and 11 days - they were always there for me. The raised me in a fabulously supportive home that truly has given me a solid foundation for a marriage and {hopefully} a family someday.

and another picture - just because it's awesome....

You must also meet Grandma and Grandpa....

These are my dad's parents - they also have been pivotal in my upbringing. They have ALWAYS been there for me {and the rest of their grandkids} without fail. I have them to thank for numerous childhood vacations {South Dakota x2, St Louis, Branson, Mackinaw Island, San Diego, Disney Land, over 13 Tucson vacations, and more that I am probably now forgetting, not because they weren't great, but because I only got 3 hours of sleep last night} as well as demonstrating a God-centered marriage, life and walk with the Lord. They pray everyday for all of their kids, grandkids and their friends; they are also well-known for striking up spunky conversations with the stranger next to them. Everyone that meets them feels loved. They have created a lasting legacy of love, care for all and a never-ending giving spirit. I am so thankful to have them in my life and pray that someday a child of ours could be held by them. I love you both so very much.

My first, life-long friend - Amy....

I can't remember life without Amy. We met about 24 years ago and since have shared Christmases, Birthdays, Gymnastics {meets, practice, bad leotards, you name it} together. Amy is my sister. We may not look alike, have the same parents or share the same blood - but we are sisters. It's also been amazing to seen the various paths life has brought us on. No matter the phase, season to time in our lives - something has always been the same. It never ceases to surprise me when we chat on the phone, text, whatever and we both have the same 'ah-ha' moment - even about random things like quilting ;) She is one that I know will be in my life forever - and I am so excited to share so many more similarities with her - and hopefully - someday - our little bambinos can be singing "Feliz Navidad" together for many years to come ;) Amy kind of became a friend by default {thanks to our mothers} but is a sister and best friend by choice, by want and by love :)

**Side note - I'm still trying to find a certain picture of us from kidhood :) **

Then - in kindergarten - came Andrea.....

Sorry love - had to post this one.... You're just too cute!

Anyways - Andrea and I met in Kindergarten/first grade when we both went to Madison Elementary School. Fun fact - we were both the 'ring leaders' in our kindergarten carnival/circus! {She was in PM kindergarten, I was in AM} Anyways - from the get go - I wanted nothing more than to be her friend. Back in the day - Andrea wore what was called an FM system - she had a hearing aid in each ear with cords that went down to a hip-pack she wore so she could hear the teacher. I thought this was awesome - so, one day, I shoved playdough in my ears, connected it with string and finished it off with the yarn ending in my own hip-pack and went to school. Needless to say it didn't go over too well. BUT - luckily - she erased this from her memory {doesn't remember it at all} and we've been best friends ever since :) She is the reason I know and love Sign Language and the reason we have Moses and Maizy :) I can't even begin to express how much I love our time together {we try to plan a girl's weekend once a year - going to eat at the Melting Pot and then a musical} I wish we lived closer - but know that whenever I need her - she'd be there :)

In the near future I'll post more about more of the amazing people in my life that I oftentimes chat about on here :)

Vote for Maizy!

2012-01-13T14:18:00.001-06:00

Hey all!!!

Pleeeeease take a moment {maybe even each day??} and vote for me, Maizy:

if I win - my super awesome bro and I get three days of free play and stay together at an awesome doggie hotel, plus - our humans get to go eat lots of yummy meat for free and bring us home the left-overs!! {I even heard mom say that they get to drive somewhere nice and sleep there while we are gone!}

You can vote every day until mid-end February!! So get your vote on - Moses and I would greatly appreciate it!!!

Love,

Maizy : )

Imperfect

2012-01-13T00:18:00.001-06:00

old year

2012-01-03T23:52:00.001-06:00

last year had mixed reviews.

I've had many say it was the best of their lives and many say it was the worst.

Work-wise, it was a great year - we had a lot of amazing weddings, met a ton of amazing people which created for a lot of amazing adventures : )

Personally - it was rough. Not a year I would choose to do over again.

If you've read my blog previously, you'll know what I'm talking about. If not - maybe tune in to a post I wrote back in September about Christmas.

Thanksgiving went well - but Christmas was much harder. I guess it was far enough away from the miscarriage that I was able to appear 'okay' enough to not concern anyone.

But the truth is - I wasn't.

For the sake of not going into too many details - I just want everyone who reads this to know that anyone you know that has had a miscarriage never just "gets over" it. Especially their first Christmas not being pregnant. Their due date. Mother's Day.

And even though it may feel awkward for you to ask how someone is doing - it's far for painful for the ones going through the situation to feel uncared for.

So please.

Just ask.

And if it's you who's dealing with the grief - please don't hesitate to write or call - it's never something you should have to go through alone.

This Christmas also marked what would have been sweet Jairus Hintz's first birthday. And on Sunday, Jairus' daddy, Mark, spoke at our church about grief and what the last 12 months have been like for Meg, Mark and their kiddos.

Meg has been such a blessing to me in these last few months since the miscarriage. She is the strongest woman I have ever met. Her faith has been tested in the hottest of fires, darkest of corners and dreariest of days; yet she still believes in a God who loves us and in our deepest, darkest places He weeps with us, because He knows the pain of the ultimate sacrifice. He knows the pain of loosing a son - He did this so that we might live.

Pain sucks. Emotional. Physical. Spiritual. Mental.

We all know someone who is dealing with some form of pain. And please - for their sake. Ask them how they're really doing. Not in a 'passing by' sort of way. In a true, meaningful way. Just know that even if it may be awkward for you - know it's even harder on them if you don't ask. Even if it's 5 years after the fact.

This year? I trusting that we can handle it - whatever it may bring. Here's to 2012 - a year where Dan and I celebrate five years of marriage : )

Thanksgiving-full

2011-12-01T20:34:00.003-06:00

One week ago today I found myself full - and dangling my toes in a hot tub : )

The day started off great - my momma came in town the night before and helped me with final prep the night before. We woke up early {okay, early or me, 7:30} and Dan got some good shut eye until a bit later : )

We started on some more prep and then I finally looked at my phone - I 'randomly found out that' my life-long-friend/brother, Tyler was just hanging out for the day - so of course, I had to have him over.

It was such a blessing. The night before, I was up until about 2am - around 12:30/1ish I started a project making chargers for each place setting {they are the thing that go under the plates - not quite place-mats} I made 8 large ones for each adult and 1 smaller one for Layton. I was about done with the final one and I realized that we only have 7 adults. At that point, I prayed that we would have an 8th guest with us the next day. I had this great thought or vision of a person who was along for Thanksgiving and I thought it would be such a blessing to have him join us.

Low and behold - it was Tyler : )

And he was such a blessing - he always is : ) He even picked up a pound of mushrooms for me and wouldn't let me pay him back : )

Here are my favorite things about Thanksgiving this year:
Nearly EVERYTHING was organic : ) And it tasted soooooo good - and I am not just saying that because I helped make some of it!
The only mishap was that Martha said the Turkey breast would only take 1 1/2 hours - but it took 3..... Martha.....
Oh - when I say Martha - I mean Stewart. I picked out our recipes on her site : )
My mom, Aylana, Judy and I went crazy Black Friday shopping - after the hot tub, we rinsed, got ready and left. First Kohl's {where the long was literally 5x longer this year and the check out took over an hour} then Old Navy, Target, Macy's, Bare Escentuals, TJMaxx and a few stops to Caribou in between : )
I was awake for 41 straight hours {with about 20 mins of shut eye} and only running on 5 hours of sleep from Wednesday - but it was amazing and worth it : )

It was great.

But hard.

Yet okay.

Most days I'm pretty okay - and I was prepared for some heartache over the long weekend. I was also surprised at how many pregnant women were out shopping in the wee hours of the morning!

But overall - life is going well. It's slowing down a bit even. I can hardly believe we only have 2 weddings left in 2011 - then 2 in January - then a break!

Until then - we're praying for more weddings. Bookings are coming on a bit more slowly this year - but we trust that God will provide.

Finally, Dan is having Lasik tomorrow at 1 - he's excited - I am nervous {and not wanting to watch.....} I am sure it will be fine though : ) He is super ready to not use contacts : )

I hope and pray all of you had a refreshing Thanksgiving weekend - I hope to hear from you soon!

thirsty thursday....

2011-11-17T23:58:00.002-06:00

i never really participated in the 'typical' thirsty thursday......

but today......

breakfast?

caribou.

lunch?

soup.

dinner?

bubble tea.

It was pretty great.

But not because it's Thursday.

Not because I had liquids for most of my meals today {okay I did have a tortilla with beans, meat and lettuce for dinner}

But it was just a great day.

This morning was fun - but I'll talk about that later. For now - it's a secret.

But then at noon I got to hang out with Meg. Meg is amazing. Not only because she just had a birthday too - but for so many more reasons than that. You should check out her blog.

She has been a wonderful support for me these past few months. Meg has been through far more than I can fathom - and her trust in God, His goodness and His plan never ceases to amaze me.

I typically keep up with Meg through her blog, so it was very refreshing to just sit and chat with her. It was such a blessing to be able to ask her questions that have weighed pretty heavy on my heart - especially since the miscarriage.

One reason why I chose to put my story out there for people to read is because I just never want anyone to feel alone going through a miscarriage. We aren't built to deal with this on our own {at least I certainly am not} - so I hope to be there for women as others have been for me.

Like Meg has been.

Words cannot begin to express my heart for what their family has been through these last 10 months - especially after our own loss in August - and just knowing that she is strong enough to go through what she has and be there for other women without question - amazes me.

After spending good time with Meg, I headed off to meet Jordan. Jordan is a woman from Hope that I have the pleasure of meeting with : ) This was our first time hanging out - and I am certainly excited to get to know her more.

This is a way I can feel so refreshed - yeah the Caribou, soup and Bubble Tea was great - but it's having women like Meg in my life that helps renew my soul and see God more clearly when I can't think straight. It's having others there to dialogue with and process whatever comes at us in life - which also makes the valleys easier to navigate.

It's the many women who pour into my life and help me see Christ in new ways; which draws me closer to Him, other women and allowing me to be a better wife and someday: mother.

It's thirst-quenching time with people, like today, that continually reminds me how good God is - even when this valley feels deeper than the one before it.

getting back to life....

2011-11-13T21:58:00.010-06:00

well - it certainly was an amazing week last week : )

Monday I worked hard to get the house in order, emails written and food ready so that I could go away for a much needed 50 hour-long vacation : )

It started on Tuesday with a celebratory birthday lunch with Andrea P. at Benihana - something we have apparently made a tradition out of
: ) After which, she brought me to her house where Kim B. picked me up {with sweet, 15month old Lilli - who got to meet Samson, Andrea's miniature Goldendoodle - she LOVES him} and we headed out for Wisconsin Dells - all thanks to my beloved in-laws - Randy and MJ {Momma Judy} : ) Thanks to their timeshare - we got to be at Christmas Mountain for 41 glorious hours : )

We got there around 5, checked in and had dinner - after unpacking and admiring the amazingness that was our place to stay - it was about about time for bed. Well - Lilli's bedtime that is : )

As for Kim and I? It wasn't even close to bed time. We stayed up until the wee hours of the morning chatting about anything and everything. Even though we went to bed late and woke up early, my heart hasn't felt such release in months.

If you've been reading my blog, you'll know these last few months have not been easy. In so many ways - they have been good - great weddings, lots of work and lots of work. Emphasis on the lots of work.

We are just approaching our slow{er} time. Many people think that - oh - our jobs are a piece of cake in the winter - that we have nothing to do but sit on our hands. Which - might be the case for a week or two in March - but really - most of the winter is still full of meetings, meetings, and believe it or not - engagement sessions : )

But luckily - things do slow down considering that we don't have a wedding {or two!} each weekend.

But unfortunately - it makes for more time for me to think about what these last few months have brought and what these next few months won't bring - like a baby. Sometimes the emotional pain of it all hurts so much I can feel it. Like, a literal ache that just doesn't go away.

Oftentimes it just gets worse when I realize that it will be awhile until we actually start trying to get pregnant - I mean, I know we'd survive if I was 9 months pregnant in the middle of August - but wouldn't it just be nicer to be 9 months pregnant in the winter? Yes - for so many reasons....

It can literally hurt when I think back to what that week was like for me. I have recently been unpacking things about that week and what it was like - even though I was blessed with amazing friends who showed up at our house to just check in and sit with me - I still felt so alone. I just wanted my husband. All to myself - but there were weddings to process, emails to write, his homework to be done and Layton needed a buddy that week too.

But - in talking with Kim I realized - that as alone as I felt then - I continued to feel alone in September and parts of October. I had work as an excuse - more so as a coverup, to not think about what happened or talk about it much. I thought talking about it would cause too much pain - but really - it caused more because it left me feeling more alone. Not that I didn't have people I could talk to - because I do - but I also just didn't know what to say.

What do you say after a miscarriage? "I'm doing okay" or "Fine" are typical responses. And although there were days I really was doing "fine" there were plenty of other days that I was not fine. I want to still be pregnant. I still want to have a baby in March. But I can't. Not this March.

Talking with Kim was more than therapeutic; it was revitalizing, {minus the not going to bed until after 3am part!} it was purifying, it made me feel like I wasn't alone.

I so very much needed to stay up until after 3am chatting with Kim. I very much needed to go to the pool with Kim and Lilli on Wednesday and just play with Lilli - I have a lot of loves in life - and two of them are babies/kiddos and water. Put the two together - wonderful : )

So - I came home Thursday feeling very enriched {albeit very tired} and within 2 hours, my mom, daddy, sister and NIECE showed up at my house! I knew they were coming - minus Roman {our niece}. Kirsten had me convinced she wasn't bringing her - so much to the point I once cried telling Dan how desperately I wanted Kirst to bring her! I was SO thrilled to see her!

That night while Dan was out waaaay late at a guys game night, the Dumke 4 plus Roman went to Wok in the Park here in SLP and I got birthday meal #2 : ) And when the quartet of singers came out to sing happy birthday to me - well - let's just say I had to work REALLY hard not to cry - seriously - they are fabulous singers!! It was beautiful! They even harmonized!! Topped off by the fact that they brought me amazing homemade vanilla bean ice cream : ) Oh - then we went home and watched White Christmas : ) {which I had just watched with Kim the night before in the Dells - oh - and it was snowing in the Dells while we were there - and I mean SNOWING! like.... 10+ inches!}

Friday we headed down to Rochester, Kirsten had an interview for seminary and then we went out to eat for birthday meal #3 at HuHot in Rochester - where I got a fabulous slice of cheesecake : )

We came back to the cities, saw grandpa Gordie and I was just so tired we opted for a few craft brew beers from the Four Firkins in SLP, 2 rotisserie chickens, yummy side dishes and bread from Lunds back at our house : ) It was wonderful : )

Saturday was also amazing - I met Andrea P. at Zion Lutheran Church in Mpls where Rachel's Holiday Boutique was having their yearly fair, benefiting the Michelle Project : ) It was really fun seeing all the amazing artists and their crafts there!

Then we headed down to Lilydale, MN to Chef's Abode where we took a 3 hour long cupcake class where we learned how to decorate cupcakes with fondant and other such fun decorating tips! We walked away with nearly 2 dozen cupcakes between us and we each were giving a cupcake book! So fun!

Then we went to Andrea's neighbors house where was hosting her annual Merry Meander - she had her beautiful Victorian home filled with art vendors! It was fabulous! Mary greeted me with a big BIG hug : ) I loved it. I am a hugger : ) I love hugs : )

The night concluded with dinner with Andrea and Jared at Pizza Luce in St Paul {Birthday dinner #4? This time with some free Tiramisu!} THEN Andrea was able to bring me to see her work! She had to deliver a bunch of Pampered Chef items for the girls at her work - so I got to help her drop it all off : ) I even got to see a teeny tiny baby that didn't even weigh a whole kilogram! I think they said at birth it was a 1/2 a kilo!

Finally, the night ended with a big bonfire with the Porters, Satterlies, Medinas and Dmac at Como Park : ) Oh and don't forget, Moses, Maizy and Samson were there too : )

It was a wonderful birthday week : ) Thank you so very much everyone that made it possible : ) My life is so richly blessed because of you all!

Love,
k : )

100th post

2011-11-04T15:57:00.010-05:00

and of course - it's going to be about herniated discs...

have you ever had one? I have - as in - I do - as in - yeah.

Right now : (

Not too fun - but luckily I have been blessed with a husband who so desperately loves to hike, bike and be merry outdoors that he is doing his darndest to make sure I will be able to do those things with him until we are 90+ years old. And he also makes sure that I have to bend over as little as possible.

It's rather sweet - but also rather frustrating that I can hardly stand today without it hurting. It actually has been doing much better since I stopped working out two weeks ago - and then, this morning, while I was simply folding the clothes upstairs - Hernie decided to speak his mind.....

Apparently Hernie doesn't like to be bothered - or irritated - and Hernie especially does NOT like to fold clothes.

So here I lay - while Dan, Randy, Judy an Layton are on a walk - icing Hernie - trying to quite his pestery little voice - and rest up for an awesome wedding tomorrow : )

We only have 6 more weddings until our 3 month break {starting in February} It's hard to believe how fast time has flown! This year has been full of ups and downs - it has been fast and yet slow; and with having a miscarriage in August - I didn't know when I would feel 'normal' again.

But I am getting there. And I believe I will continue to. There are still milestones to cross that will be an extra reminder of the fact that I am not pregnant any longer - but God is good. And although I have felt more alone at times this fall then I have ever felt before - I still know and trust that God has great things in store for us - yet this year, next year and 20 years from now.

It's been hard trust that at times - but through it all, I've had some truly amazing people in my life - speaking truth to me, praying for us, hugging me - I know that no matter how alone I feel - God is still here. He is still good - and even when it's hard to feel that from Him, He's blessed me with those amazing people to show me that in obvious ways.

So to all of you - the amazing people in my life - a simple thanks just isn't enough. Just know that I pray I can be there for you for years to come; whether you're my newest friend - or oldest friend, you live around the corner - or across the country - your support means more to me than you know.

I love you all - and wish you were all here so I could hug you : ) a million times : ) because you know I love hugs : )

in memoriam

2011-10-07T19:22:00.004-05:00

After we lost baby B in August, Dan offered an idea.

A way to remember baby B

So - he suggested a necklace - and thanks to him {and my parents who also helped fund the necklace} I now have a beautiful topaz neclace

You may have noticed that I don't typically wear more than a simple necklace {a gift from Andrea M for being her bridesmaid} and my engagement/wedding rings. I don't wear a lot a 'bling' so this is quite special.

I also don't were ton of blue - but for some reason - this one just sang to me. It was this necklace in topaz, amethyst or peridot. But again, the topaz was for me - also making it special

I feel very honored to wear such a beautiful necklace - as a reminder of our own precious little B and as a gift from Danny and my parents. I am honored that they have gifted me in such away. Their support, prayers, love and words have been essential for me in this time.

I look forward to someday sharing this necklace with a little girl of my own - whether she is from us, born of another or married into our crazy-wonderful family.

Thanks Danny, momma and daddy for much a wonderful gift - I love you all more than you will ever know.

Love,
k

wonderful, yet woesome, weekend

2011-10-03T20:38:00.006-05:00

big cheer for great weather? heck yes...

it was a very up and down weekend for me - but at least there was good weather.

this weekend marked the first and last of a few things....

last?

last double wedding weekend of the year

first?

this the was first benchmark.

milestone.

moment that I was really looking forward to when I was still pregnant.

I would have been 15 weeks today.

I was excited for the point that I would have maybe started to show.

It was suppose to be extra exciting because Amy K came to town for a friend from high school's wedding and I was SOOOO looking forward to showing her the little bump.

It was suppose to be the weekend that at weddings people may have actually noticed and could tell that there was a little baby B growing in there.

But. It wasn't.

Thankfully it was some other kinds of wonderful. We had two amazing weddings this weekend. They were both wonderfully unique and intimate - and both of them had Andrea and Jared at them : ) Thanks Andrea for more great referrals : )

Friday the ceremony had around 30 attendees in the beautiful chapel at the College of St Kate's. This was followed by a intimate dinner at Buca then on to dancing and lots of food at the Bayview Event Center in Excelsior.

Saturday we started at 9am with a set of identical triplets : ) Jessie, the bride - was in Andrea {of Andrea and Jared's} wedding and now we had the joy of photographing Jessie and Jerry's wedding : ) I have always been fascinated by multiples and Jessie has been so sweet answering my curiosities over the past 3 or so years of getting to know her : ) And let me tell you - these girls are amazing - as is their family. They also had a smaller, more intimate wedding with about 60 people followed by mimosas, brunch, golfing, pictures and a very high class casino night with stunning high and low top tables with black jack, poker, etc.

It was also hard this weekend because there were {what appeared to be} more than average number of pregnant women in attendance. I have a feeling I may notice these things more now than ever - it's like when you get engaged - you notice other women's rings more than ever.

Finally - I found out Friday via voice mail between ceremony and reception that I did not get the coaching job.

And still - God is good.

piggy pills

2011-09-28T11:34:00.004-05:00

Some of you may have read my previous post about 'being a cow' - well - if by the title, you guessed it - now - I'm taking piggy pills {porcine thyroid hormone supplement pills {thyroid support pills derived from that of a pig}

Thanks to Anita's suggestion I got a bottle and started them two days ago!

I'll let you know how it goes : )

On another note - on Monday I had an interview with the head Varsity and JV coach of the Burnsville Blazettes!! It was a great to hear more about the team and just chat dance! For the past few months I have been dreaming up a few visions for various dances that I would just love to be a part of! {from a coaching standpoint!}

They have another meeting Friday - so I won't hear until the weekend is up - but either way - I just love having dance on the brain ; )

I'm hoping to continue to get pieces of my life back in order - last week - I went to the eye doctor. This week, piggy pills. Next week, dentist. Coming soon - chiropractor.

When everything happened in August - everything kind of came to a halt. Well - it had too - because work couldn't come to a halt. Work had to go on - we had two weddings that weekend, and the next, then a 14 hour day, then 2 weddings....... All of my time was consumed by work, recovery and more and more work.

It was hard to find the time to actually process what was going on and even find 10 mins alone with Dan. Between having Layton stay with us the week it all went down and all the work we hsd to do {plus Dan started MBS school again that very next week} We just didn't even have time together.

We were able to to get away for a night over the Sept 11th weekend - we had a wedding in Two Harbors on the 9th, so we drove up the night before and camped : ) It was nice to just hike, walk and talk about everything BUT work : ) Rare moments people.....

All the while - weddings have continued to happen - and we are now in the home stretch! Last weekend we had off and went to Winona, this weekend we have two weddings and then is just one each weekend for October, 2 in November, 2 in December and 2 in January : )

Well - I have seemingly endless blog posting and survey taking to get to - have a great day all,

Love,
Karin

friends say the darndest things....

2011-09-14T20:51:00.014-05:00

{If you haven't read my previous post - I would recommend that before this one...}

Most of the time - friends say good things.

Other times - without even knowing it - they say things that really strike a {not so great} chord.

BUT - let's start with the positive - since my last post I have received an over-whelming response from it. I feel so blessed that 1- people cared to read my seemingly endless thoughts and 2 - that people felt impacted by what was written - male, female, young, old, parent, not a parent and especially wanting to be a parent. I received many a messages from other women who have dealt with a miscarriage {or two, three or four} and others who are struggling/have struggled with infertility. Each message brought me tears, heartache and yet, SO much joy in hearing the trust each on had in God's plan for their future and family. In reading these dozen+ messages I have had to continually recite to myself the verse from the book of Romans that was in my previous post:
“…we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance, perseverance character, and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit.” {Romans 5:3-5}

The "...suffering produces perseverance" part has probably been the hardest for me. Right now - for me - what does perseverance look like? To the outside world, perseverance might be moving on, letting go, trusting it will all be okay..... Smiling. {which is a huge chunk of what you have to do when you own a business that is in its busiest season of weddings and potential client meetings}

But internally, what does perseverance look like - for me - in this stage? In 2 Timothy, Paul calls for Timothy's continued perseverance in a troubled world. In the 2nd chapter, 1st verse Paul mentions to "be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus."

This particularly got me thinking about the word grace which brought me to when God said to Paul in 2 Corinthians "My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness" {12:9} Grace is sufficiency - grace is letting God be enough. It's God's 'enoughness' in this world. When we are suffering - we are in need. We have a void that desires and yearns to be filled. This void can be filled by a variety of things- say, trying again for another baby.

Although getting another positive test that resulted in full-term baby would bring joy - it could also halt the process of producing perseverance through suffering, character through perseverance and in the end, hope.

So in this time of suffering - to allow it to produce perseverance, character and hope, this void can only be filled by God's 'enoughness'. By letting His word soak in and by letting go of the burdens of the day.

But I am human..... and that can make this hard.....

And Facebook doesn't always help....

Ahhh Facebook.... Since having a miscarriage I have become far more cognizant of others "status updates" about their pregnancies. I would guess that a good 30ish friends of mine on Facebook are pregnant {or recently had a baby} Which feels like the entire world when that is "all you see" for updates.

One thing in particular that has challenged my thoughts and emotions is when status updates contain complaints about being pregnant - about various aches, pains and the 'misfortunes' {as one called it} of being pregnant. I would trade those aches and pains from being kicked in the spine for being pregnant - in a heartbeat. No hesitations. At least they get to feel that.

I hope I am not sounding spiteful - I truly don't intend to sound that way - I am just being open about what's happening these days. It just hurts to see people grumble about something I was hoping to be in the midst of and suddenly found myself without.

BUT - that is why I need grace - to gain perseverance through this to produce character and hope.

I would just like to encourage every mother and father out there to be extra thankful for your children/future child tonight - because there are many women and men who yearn to be grateful for theirs.

Love,
Karin

What Christmas means to me….

2011-09-06T21:02:00.003-05:00

In 109 days it will be Christmas – and usually by this time of year I catch myself singing cheerful Christmas songs. This time around – Christmas means something different to me.

Christmas this year I was supposed to find myself 27 weeks pregnant. But instead of actually being able to plan and get excited for what was to come – we find ourselves reflecting on our thoughts, expectations and outlook on life.

For just over 2 ½ years we having been trusting in God’s timing for bringing us a family so when July came and we found out we were pregnant – we were pretty excited : ) So when mid/end-August came and we found ourselves sitting in the midwife’s exam room being handed a 1980’s style pamphlet about coping with your miscarriage – we were a bit thrown for a loop.

What do you do when you feel like you’ve been hit by a truck – emotionally, physically and spiritually – when you find yourself swinging from feeling 100% sad and also mad to 100% trusting and “okay” with whatever God’s plan will be – when all you want to do is sit around feeling sad but realize that there are 20+ unread messages in your inbox that need your attention now, the house is a messy now and your 4 ½ year old nephew who is staying with you is taking all Dan’s time and focus away from his work during the busiest time of year for us?

Everyone deals with losing a dream like this differently. I know that as the months roll on and as March comes but a baby doesn’t, I will still feel bouts of ups and downs. But one thing I do know is that Christmas will be different this year.

Why? I was so looking forward to getting baby themed gifts and looking reeeeally pregnant and experiencing just a smidge of what Mary felt during my favorite season. But instead of celebrating the impending birth of our first little peanut I’ll be consumed by the fact that I’m not.

Every year for as long as I can remember we’ve gone to church on Christmas Eve and at the end, we light a candle and sing Silent Night – by memory. Many people know the words as well – but not often do I stop and think about any of the words we recite both in song and in word at Christmas truly stand for; it has – over my lifetime – become very rehearsed. And that is what, I believe, has happened within me over the past few years. I have gone through the motions, said the ‘right’ things, trusting it will just all work out.

But have I really been trusting? Or just saying so? I’d like to think that I really have been – but the last three+ weeks since losing our little peanut has made me realize maybe I haven’t really been. Not that me trusting more in God’s great plan for us would have stopped us from miscarrying; but, nonetheless, it has stopped me in my tracks.

So, where do I go from here? Obviously there could be a variety of scientific reasons why we miscarried. But to me – it’s more than just that. More than science. More than just having ‘faith’ that it will all be ‘okay’. It’s KNOWING that we have a God who loves us and wants what best for us. A God who will only give us as much as we can handle. A God who shows us through Paul that “…we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance, perseverance character, and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit.” {Romans 5:3-5} A God who said to Paul “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." {2 Corinthians 12:9} After he begged for God to take away his sufferings. A God who sent His only son to die for us.

Not only will Christmas be different to me this year because I won’t be 27 weeks pregnant, but because I have experienced the thought, the slight dream, the vision of what it might be like to actually have a baby in my arms and then, it was taken away, but because God actually HAD a son – whom He sent to die – by choice. Just so we might be saved.

Christmas will forever be a stunning reminder to me of what true love-lost feels like; just a glimpse into the heart of God. He went in knowing how painful it was going to be – and did so anyways.

So….. To the hopeful someday – when we hold a little one of our own, a D+K: may each day between now and then be a reminder of the physical and emotion pain we went through and how small in comparison it is to the love that God has shown us through the cross – and not just a rehearsed, memorized walk through life.

And to our little peanut – we may not have known of you for long – but the type and amount of joy and excitement that you brought us in those weeks was more than I knew possible. I love you – and miss you every day.

so how have i been?

2011-07-01T11:12:00.000-05:00

i've been good. thanks for asking.

It's been just over two weeks since I started taking my Standard Process supliments for my hypothyroidism. {what in the world am I talking about? don't know? no worries - just read this first}

Speaking of which.... I need to go take another dose - I'll be right back...

Okay - where were we... yes - the pills! How has it been going??? GREAT.

Thanks for checking in! Have a great day!

No just kidding - I'll tell you more - because if you're still reading my odd dialogue with myself and my laptop you may actually want to know more than just 'great'

The biggest change I have noticed is the one I have been hoping and praying for - MORE ENERGY! Although I am sure there is still room for improvement {because I still don't want to even try to run a marathon} I certainly have been doing better : ) My motivation to get off my butt and get out of bed in the morning has certainly improved!

In the past two weeks I have made dinner nearly every night {we've had 9 engagement sessions in 2 weeks - we've been busy okay?} and I have made two rounds of the most amazing whole wheat cream cheese filled rhubarb {and sometimes strawberry!} muffins.... oh my mouth waters just typing that! I've made cookies and lemon bars and done more laundry and dishes than usual. That may all sound like simple house-hold every-day stuff - but THAT's the stuff that was hard for me!
{whole wheat cream cheese filled strawberry rhubarb muffins... email me at theberdals@gmail.com if you want the recipe!}

So hallelujah!

I also feel revitalized by the fact that I got the BEST hair cut and color I've ever had on Sunday too!

The best part about this haircut is that one of the guys in our small group did it for me - cut - color - bangs - everything! This is really the best - AND was a fraction of the cost. If you know me - you know I love good deals! If you don't know me - well, now you do! {Hi - I'm Karin, send me and email and introduce your self. That way I don't feel like I'm going crazy talking to my lappy-laptopolis all day...}

Whew!

I should get going! We have our 100th - yes ONE HUNDREDTH wedding today: )

Love to you all,
Kb : )

i love devine intervention....

2011-06-27T08:17:00.001-05:00

yesterday - was a very unique day for me.

we slept in {which is common for Sundays - considering we are totally warn out from weddings the night before} and did a few things around the house and wrote some emails.

wait.

that doesn't sound any different.

then, just after 1pm I left to get a hair cut! Before heading up to Brooklyn Park I stopped at the Caribou Coffee near our house

{again, also not out of the norm}

But this time.... it was....

I waited in the car a bit extra because I had texted/called Leanna and Ash to see if they wanted Caribou {that's who I was going to see for the haircut!} It was really busy at this Caribou {also unique for an early Sunday afternoon}. So I semi-anxiously waited in line. You see, I didn't want to be late for me haircut!

The lady {later to be announced as Sue} started making small talk with me about reusable mugs and punch cards. Then, when she went to order and pay - she sorta, stuck around..... and paid for my drink. She kindly said... "I just want you to know that Jesus love you - and you too!" {She said the second part to the darling cashier girl}.

At this point, being quite tired and rather emotional {considering it's day 3 - aka - emo day of my period} I got really teary eyed and told her how much she just blessed my day!

So continued to talk as we waited for our beverages and as we were finishing up our conversation she looked at me so kindly and said "I just have to say this, I just really feel led to. God has always wanted a daughter like you."

There have been few words to touch my heart as much as those. That is the sweetest thing I have ever been told.

Not just because this stranger told me.

But that is how God feels. About each one of us.

My heart is overwhelmed just thinking about that. We are each so wonderfully and perfectly made.

And God has always wanted a daughter, just like YOU.

Just let that sink in. God knew I'd need that today - and forever.

So tuck that away in your back pocket. Remember it. Cherish it, and call on that thought especially when you need an extra warm heart hug on days of feeling cloudy and sad.

God has always wanted a child just like YOU

Oh, and I got a hair cut - and it is wonderful : )

Love,
Karin : )

i am a cow today...

2011-06-16T09:37:00.023-05:00

at least considering the pills i just took....

You see a few weeks back many of my questions and concerns were answered. I too - just like my female biological counterparts {aka - momma and sister Kirsten - and grandma Carol too} was diagnosed with hypothyroidism.

So - what is thing I'm now living with, where did it come from and how do I get rid of it? Pretty basic questions one might think when they find out anything new that's 'hapnin' in their body.... I'd love to share with you those answers and fill you in on what is different about how I'm treating my case vs. what most others do {because of what a functional medicine Dr would do vs. most MDs do}

But stay close, because the good stuff comes at the end ; ) {also - bare with me as I do my best to site all resources of information....Since I've been done with college for 3 years now, my means of 'citing' things might not be 'A+' worthy} ; )

Anyways - what are some possible symptoms {and what do I live with?}
Feeling tired, weak and/or depressed {check}
Dry skin/brittle nails
Not being able to stand the cold {check}
Constipation
Memory problems or having trouble thinking clearly {check check and super check!}
Heavy/irregular menstrual period {might be TMI - but check}

Now - what IS hypothyroidism?

"Hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid) is a condition in which your thyroid gland doesn't produce enough of certain important hormones. " -Mayo Clinic Staff from the MayoClinic.com website.

{Karin here again} just as recommended - every year since about age 18 I have gone to the 'lady doctor' for my yearly check up - each time getting a clean bill of health {yeay!}

Over the past 6 years I have seen 4 different ladies - all of whom have seen on my health records that my mom {biological} and her mom {also biological} have hypothyroidism. I have asked {each one} if I was 'at risk' for developing the same condition, since it can be linked genetically. Each time, each Dr would just give me the once over look and often times chuckle a bit and tell me not to worry - especially about having hyPO {vs. hypERthyroidism} - all they were doing was looking at my body type and not me.

Fast forward a few years and I find myself at a highly recommended chiropractor {thanks Leanna!!} because of a few spinal concerns {recent cuddle-time-gone-wrong incident with Moses}. All I was really looking for was a few adjustments to get my back on track. But when Dr Jeff looked at the paperwork {my family history} and asked a few questions of my daily life - he said I should get my thyroid levels tested. And just like that - here I am - diagnosed.

So - where did this all come from?

I know I've mentioned the possibility of a genetic link but that's not always the case.

"There are two fairly common causes of hypothyroidism. The first is a result of previous (or currently ongoing) inflammation of the thyroid gland, which leaves a large percentage of the cells of the thyroid damaged (or dead) and incapable of producing sufficient hormone. The most common cause of thyroid gland failure is called autoimmune thyroiditis (also called Hashimoto's thyroiditis), a form of thyroid inflammation caused by the patient's own immune system." as stated by James Norman, MD, FACS, FACE on EndocrineWeb.com

I was also tested for the most common cause behind hypothyroidism {the autoimmune disease form aka - Hashimoto's} but my tested showed - that's not my case. **Side Factoid** Dr James Norman also wrote in the article that as many as 10% of women in America have 'some degree of thyroid hormone deficiency.'

So - how do I get rid of this?

Most people who have already been diagnosed with hypothyroidism by an MD {say an Ob/Gyn, family practice Dr, whomever} are traditionally placed on Levothyroxine {aka - Synthroid}. Reading more and more about the experiences people have/had with Levothyroxine just even more made me not desire that as an option. And if there is an alternative {which there is - stay tuned} why wouldn't you choose a more natural alternative.... Especially with all these {possible} side effects of Synthroid:
tremor
nervousness
insomnia
excessive sweating
hair loss
chest pain
and irregular/rapid heart beat {to name a few}

My option? Dr Jeff+Standard Process. Standard Process provides whole foods supplements for a variety of needs {along with whole food vitamins as well! Learn more about why we should use whole food supplements on their web page}.

So, today - day 1 - I am officially a cow.... Meaning - for the next 60 days I will be benefiting from the thyroxine of a bovine. It might sound weird - but I'd rather go this route than taking in chemicals and artificial thyroid replacement and experiencing hair loss, chest pain and excessive sweating. The only side affects I hope to see are getting my engery back! {and a few other things too} ; )

Here are the goods!

That's all I've got for now. You know I'm not great at updating often - but I will do my best to do better over this next 60 day period {which is also a plus - only 60 days of these pills vs. a potential lifetime on synthroid!}

Toodaloo!
~Kb : )

being a photographer

2011-06-07T19:47:00.010-05:00

is the most rewarding job I've ever had. It's so neat to take pictures at weddings, of families, babies, high-school graduates, etc and then to see things such as having people use them as their profile pictures, send out invites with them on - and more! I LOVE seeing our work being used - it warms my heart and continually reminds me of how good God is!!

At the end of May I photographed the Hintz Family. Meg and Mark go to our church, Hope Community Church in Minneapolis. Last December, Meg and Mark lost their third child, Jairus. He was stillborn at 35 weeks. Just three days after Christmas. Once I heard their heart-breaking news, I knew that I wanted to gift them with a photo shoot.

Prior to heading out for the shoot I was doing the dishes and thinking of poses I could do, ways I could shoot and good subjects to talk about with Emma and Hazen. Then a song came on the radio called "Blessings" by Laura Story..... and I lost it. I just broke down - just like I did the Sunday after Jairus went home to heaven when Pastor Steve preached on Grief. You can watch the sermon here. I would highly encourage anyone who has ever dealt with grief {all of us} is currently dealing with grief {many of us} or think they may someday deal with grief {all of us}. That Sunday, {just days after Jairus passed} Dan and I sat right behind Meg and Mark at church and I cried, the entire time. I have never in my life felt that much emotion in one hour. Really. I have been through my own trials - but my heart has never hurt like it did that day. Just typing this brings pain in my heart and tears to my eyes. I knew that family pictures would not be the first thing on Meg's mind, but I knew then, that someday I would love to do that for them.

Approaching that day, Meg and I chatted about incorporating Jairus into the photoshoot. So Meg brought along a few items that belong to Jairus – a bear, blanket and hat. We wanted to incorporate those into some of their pictures. As well as the beautiful locket Meg wears around her neck.

The last five months for the Hintz family has been documented through a blog that Meg updates. I encourage you to read their story and find strength and hope in her words.

http://hintzclan.blogspot.com/2011_02_01_archive.html

You can see some of the pictures in a more recent post of hers, but I thought I'd share a few too:

Hot-Wet-Dog

2011-05-31T20:33:00.004-05:00

These past few weeks have been very busy for us - I did get out to CA to visit new baby Roman : ) and we have also really gotten into the wedding mode once again!

So far we've had weddings in St Paul {University Club}, then Duluth/Floodwood, Minneapolis {Edinburgh}, Shoreview, Minnetonka {Carlson Towers/Rotunda}, the Landmark Center and the Walker Art Center!! May was a great wedding month! However, we have yet to have it NOT rain on one of our wedding days!!! But we haven't let that stop us in having fun or getting some great shots : ) Check our our Facebook page for pictures!!

This past weekend {Memorial Day weekend} we had the weddings at the Landmark and the Walker Art Center {two different weddings} It was an AMAZING weekend! Made even easier by the fact that my parents took Moses and Maizy. We are SO grateful for you two!!!

On Monday we met up with my parents in Lake City to get the dogs and have a grill out - it was so perfect : ) We had great weather - a bit humid but the warm summer breeze was wonderful : )

The drive home was pretty quick and peaceful - the dogs slept and Dan watched his lecture and I just drove : )

I caught myself really enjoying my time driving through the hills between Redwing and Hampton. I drove in silence. No music. No conversation. Just the warm sun on my legs and the oddly wonderful smell of hot-wet-dog. I am sure most people are disgusted by that smell - but when you are as in love with your pooches as we are/I am and you have been away from them for 4 days.... and that smell was music to my nose : ) Gosh I love those dogs....

April Showers bring May..... COLD?

2011-05-04T22:43:00.004-05:00

Well - April really did bring something amazing..... a BABY!!! Kirsten had a beautiful baby girl! Her name is Roman Malia Worzala Dumke and she is a beauty! Don't you agree!!

I am super excited to go visit Miss Roman Monday the 9th through Friday the 13th : ) It will be great to see Kirst and be a support for her - and of course to hold, squeeze {but not too hard!}, love, change, bathe, and take pictures of Roman!!!! I CAN'T WAIT!!!!

I also wanted to mention something new in my life - well - not super super new - but starting just this spring I have had the joy and pleasure of meet 2x a month with Jill, a wife o our Pastor Cor at church. Jill is my new mentor : ) It has been so great to meet and share in life with her. I love the wisdom she shares with me and being able to see her awesome parenting skills is just inspiring!

We had our first wedding of the summer wedding season on Aprl 30th - it was WONDERFUL! Just another great sign that this is going to be a GREAT year!!

Stay tuned for updates and pictures of Miss Baby Roman!!!

it's almost been two months....

2011-04-21T23:47:00.006-05:00

March nearly felt as though it never happened..... here's why:
First week of March happenings - 5 meetings {2 that were 2 1/2+ hrs long}, a few church events, 2 photoshoots and small group, plus work, dogs - you know, life!
Second week of March happenings - taxes meeting{s!} small group, more meetings, photoshoot, my first Wild Hockey game, the passing of Grandma Carol, hanging out for 2 days with my love and dear dear friend Andrea : ) Dan's family in town
Third week of March happenings - I {Karin} get severe bronchitis, as a result of coughing so much and so hard, cracking/stress fracturing multiple ribs, family in town from California {Kirsten and John - who we also did maternity pictures with! http://www.facebook.com/media/set/fbx/?set=a.10150116046974902.284027.7221789901}, Australia, and friends from all over the country as well to celebrate the life of Grandma Carol, plus 2 photoshoots and a client meeting in the midst of it
Fourth week of March happenings - Karin still sick with bronchitis, Dan now has a bad sinus infection.... {Karin's dad Mark has bad strep - but luckily Kirsten and the baby didn't catch anything while we all stayed at our house in the week prior!} Week is 'busy' recovering and finailzing LOTS of things before trip - plus finishing up details for a new job opening with DnK Photography - a Videographer! Yup - we now offer videography!
Last week of March happenings - 7+ meetings, 3 photoshoots, emails pouring in about our videographer job posting - Karin STILL in recovery from bronchitis and cooking and dehydrating 9 meals for our vacation/road trip!

Then it was April!!!!!

We left on our trip early April and headed for Matagorda Island State Park in Texas - just outside of Port O'Connor, Tx on the Gulf Coast! We only stayed one night.... well - check out the album of pictures online.... you'll see why!
Then we drove overnight to Tucson and stayed with my dad's parents, Grandpa Paul and Grandma Marilyn for 8 or 9 days. We ate at AMAZING restaurants, saw some amazing views, I got to catch up with my dear roommate from college and wonderful close friend of mine, Rachel H and of course, G&G and I went to the GRAND opening of the third CostCo in Tucson on April 14th : ) We also got to celebrate Grandpa's 82nd birthday : ) It.was.wonderful. : ) We stayed in Sedona for two nights before driving home through beautiful Colorado.

We were welcomed home by.... none other than...... SNOW.

Thank you Minnesnowta : )

Oh - here are the pictures:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/fbx/?set=a.10100733147772920.3202272.13921177&l=5c1b99acbf

That's all for now folks!

Love you all,
KB
{and Dan and Moses and Maizy!}

quick update

2011-02-28T20:30:00.002-06:00

It's been ahiwle, and I alwasy say that, but I have since I have been to Portland, OR, watched the PACKERS WIN the Super Bowl and do my best to support my family as we watch Grandma Carol go through the final stages of her life.

If you would like to read more on how she's doing, you can see the Caring Bridge website I manage for her.

I was just sitting here thinking.....

2011-01-25T00:03:00.003-06:00

that I should write a blog post - thinking that I did just a week or so ago....

Nope - fatally wrong! The last time I wrote it was a month and 17 days ago.... Sheesh!

Well, believe it or not, mid-December through now has been really busy! We were a bit slow to book weddings in November - but then, come December we had a potential couple meeting frenzy! Which is great! But, we quickly realized that meeting that many couples right before the Holidays isn't always the best time. Don't get me wrong, we prayed for PCMs - and God totally answered, but 90% of the couples we met with {1+months ago} are still decided.... So thanks God for answering prayer AND teaching us some patience all in one!!! ; )

Some related news - we had a booking rush this week! Since last Friday, we have had SIX couples decide to book us as their photographers! {none of whom met us in December, these are all very recent meetings!} So that is awesome!

Last night at church we had another blogLIVE event - it was awesome : ) I have shared my blog posts with you, on our Women at Hope blog. I will post soon my follow up blog post.... But I do have to share my nervousness in sharing this with you. It is me sharing my heart, past, and bad choices - which felt much easier just sharing it with women from church. But this is a different crowd. One thing I have realized though is that I shouldn't be ashamed of the choices I have made in life. If anything, I need to take what I have learned, apply it to my future and use my past to help others. No I don't have an extreme 'drugs, sex and rock 'n roll' testimony, but I do have continual feelings that I should be perfect - after all, I am a pastor's daughter, a previous Miss Winona and a 'retired' Sunday school teacher - and a person who is/has been all those roles MUST be perfect to have been/be there - right? Fully wrong. So, in the next few weeks, when I share my 'blog post update' please bare with me and read it with grace : )

ANYWAYS!

The real Real REAL big news????

THE PACKERS ARE GOING TO THE SUPER BOWL!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AHHHH!!! I can hardly believe it!! I am SO STINKIN' EXCITED! Better yet? I will be in Portland OR visiting Amy K {and Tyler will be there too!!!!} We are going to have a BLAST!! {Dan will be in Philly visiting Dave and Lorna!}

Whew! I should go to bed......
Love you all,
KB : )

Another month.....

2010-12-08T12:04:00.005-06:00

You know.... When we decided to do just weddings full time I was super excited to have some downtime in November through April...... but so far, November was crazy busy and so has December!

Here is a list of things that have happened since November 5th {last post}

Dan finished processing our San Fran pictures {not from the wedding, but other times while we were out there} - you can see them here: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=3119432&id=13921177&l=016503a207

I found out I'm going to be an AUNTIE!!!! {Kirsten is having a BABY!}
I turned 25..... geeze I'm old ; ) I have the BEST day! a quick meeting with a previous wedding client now friend, lunch at Brasa with my Daddy, scrapbooking with Momma, happy hour at Crave with Dad, Mom and Dan then late night happy hour at ChinoLatino! mmmm.... food : )
We had a marvelous Thanksgiving with both sides of our families, getting to even see Kirst and John, and Aylana!
Aylana {Dan's sister} and I went CrAzY black Friday shopping.... got some great deals! {midnight at Old Navy, 3am at Kohl's, 4am {4:14 for us!} at Target, 8am at Burlington Coat Factory followed by a quick swing into a consignment shop across the street from BCF while Dan finished up at Micro Center!} WHEW!
I also got to celebrate my birthday a week or so late with my great friend Andrea P at Benihana!! again.... mmmm... food!
On December 1st we were SUPPOSE to be on a plane to Bogota Colombia - BUT they have had bad rains and flooding..... so no go tripo : (
BUT we did get to take my parents and Dan's parents to Christmas in Christ's Chapel at Gustavus Adolphus College in St Peter - bad day for driving {Dec 3rd - lots of snow!} but the food, music and of course, company was amazing!
And we did get to stay in Winona for a few days that weekend.... first time in 3 1/2 months! Way too long of a wait if you ask me!
Oh, finally, yesterday we taught Moses and Maizy a new trick - watch it here!!:http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/video/video.php?v=10100385271963830&comments

Anyways - that is a quick update.... thanks for reading!

Love to you all,
KB : )

2010-11-05T11:58:00.002-05:00

I decided not to title this post..... becuase it's been forever... I know. Since the last post, we have had 7 weddings, over 10 engagements sessions, lots of client meeting and a handful of family sessions. One of those weddings was Kirsten's {my sister} in California!! We had a blast : ) Check out the pictures!!!

Since then, we have come back to a busy life of processing wedding pictures, Dan working VERY hard on his MBA school work and trying to get some more weddings booked in 2011.

We have been a tad stressed because we aren't booking up 2011 as quickly as we did 2010. But we do trust that God will provide - he always does!!

Other than that - oh yea - Dan broke his foot the last Tuesday in September. It still isn't 100% and we leave for Colombia on December 1st for 2 weeks. {yes, Colombia the country!!!} So prayers for a full recovery by then would be wonderful : )

We love you all : )

Raising the Bar 2

2010-09-23T21:16:00.004-05:00

I just realized I hadn't updated on what actually I wrote for the raising the bar blog at church - I wanted to share this with everyone - and I want you to know that everything I blogged about {below} has progressed, for the better - leaps and bounds : )

I called it: Blame it on the hormones.....

Middle school is an awkward and crucial time for everyone…. Girls are taller than boys and everyone is a bit snarky: that's right – blame it on the hormones. It's the time when the easiest way to not let people see who you really are is to focus your attention on someone else.

I know this post isn't supposed to be a life story or synopsis of my life – but it is the starting block of the next and oldest 'bar' in my life that needs to be raised….

In 7^th and 8^th grade I transferred to the public Montessori school in my hometown with my childhood best friend, Britt. We were connected at the hip. Class size: 8 – yup, 8. Then, after 7^th grade – her family moved to Kansas – I returned back to that Montessori classroom without her. This should have gone just fine, until a boy in the class decided to make me be the center of attention in the most hurtful way…. "Did your mom ever tell you how ugly you are?" "If you ever die from your zits – I guess then I would come to your funeral – to laugh!" {cough cough} "ugly" Day in, day out until my tears became too apparent for my mom to resist inquiring. BIG mistake…. You know telling the teacher only makes things worse….

Jumping forward now a bit: August 25^th, 2010 – the initial Women of Hope "raising the bar" night. I felt really honored to be there. When Naty challenged us to think about/pray about how we can 'raise the bar' next, I started a laundry list of items that I could and should work on. But none of them really resonated well for THE next one. So I continued to listen to her talk, I made my announcement about Panera bread, chatted with some amazing women and headed out to my car – knowing I have a lot to pray about for what should be next, thinking about each item on my list. Then, about 5 miles from home, I reached up to scratch the newest, reddest, bumpiest addition to my face. And it hit me….

Over the years I have tried everything: the strongest prescription medication from the dermatologist, topical, oral and medicinal creams, washes, 'acne fighting' systems, full-body detoxes, gluten free, wheat free, dairy free, and even egg free diets, to no avail.

All of this was supposed to cure my acne-prone skin: but really I did this to 'cure' my self esteem. I lost most of the self esteem I did have when I was in 8^th grade, gaining a few minuscule pieces back, up until I met my husband. He was only the 2^nd person I ever told about what happened in 8^th grade – giving him part of the burden that neither of us realized was so big.

After realizing what I should do next to 'raise the bar' of course some "excuses" came to mind….. "Well – even if I REALLY give this one over to God this time, it doesn't mean He will fix it – because it might really be a wheat/gluten allergy and I just need to be much more strict on my diet". Instantly I KNEW this was an attack on my thoughts to make me under estimate God's awesome power.

Please know – I do trust that God CAN heal, He CAN cure – not just skin, but what lies deep within. He's done this in me before, and He WILL do it again. Because He is THAT good.

BUT – that doesn't mean I don't doubt – so that is prayer request numero uno. Fully, truly and whole-heartedly believe.

But what really do I need? It isn't going to change me to have beautifully clear skin. It is the internal self confidence make-over that I need. I need to believe that I am worth talking to and worthy of being called a friend by others – that people don't just pity me.

The evening at Hope and my experiences that followed raised questions for me, and I am attempting to sort through them. For example – I struggle with the issue of whether or not to wear makeup. I have been told by leaders, friends and family alike that we {women} "shouldn't need to ever wear make-up". You see, Dan {my husband} and I are wedding photographers. Since we work from home, I hardly ever wear makeup unless we go to a client meeting, photo-shoot or wedding day event. Is that wrong? I guess I feel as though NOT wearing makeup can look rather unprofessional – so maybe makeup should just be for meetings, weddings and special events? If so – is that wrong? Is it really that bad that wearing makeup makes me feel 'prettier' and more professional around clients? I guess any answers, thoughts, prayers would be REALLY welcome. {Especially verses that others have found helpful in this/or any similar situation}

So what's my plan then? What is my next step in raising this deep-seated, hurtful part of my past to a new level?

Step one: Prayer. I guess initially I wasn't quite sure the 'steps' I should take to work on this – so prayer is usually a pretty good first step : ) There was one that I was really thankful to see God answering right away. I wrote this entire blog post the same night of our women's meeting – up until 'Step one'. Since then I have just tried to do my best to consciously pray about the thoughts that I have of myself going into social settings: primarily client meetings. Right now we are in the middle of booking season for 2011 – so we have at least 2 potential client meetings a week. This past week it has been great to see God answer prayer in reassuring me that who I am is who He made me to be – and that has given me SO much more confidence going into meetings and being at weddings.

Step two: Makeup? Yes – this one really got to me. Last week after the meeting as I was crying over writing this post I was really struggling with the notion: "to wear, or not to wear – that is the question!" Then, the next day I met with the always lovely Kelsey A and I was able to share all this with her. Being as amazing as she is, she made the wonderful point of: are you wearing the make up – or is it wearing you? Meaning, is it all about the make up? Or is it a tool that I use to help present myself in a way that is professional – as she stated, like wearing nice{r} clothes. I certainly wouldn't wear sweatpants to a client meeting! Oh Kelsey – I am so thankful God brought us together!

Step three: The women's blog. So – how does this fit into my plan of raising the bar? I have just begun to tackle the new use of prayer in this area and I have come to a place of having a healthy relationship with makeup; but believe me – I am certainly still a work in progress with step one! What do I 'need' out of the blog? I would love any feedback from anyone who has walked through the process of dealing with 'perpetually' bad skin and/or self-confidence. One way that I would love to see this blog utilized is not only a place to pray for each other – but a place where we can connect with women who have walked similar paths. I want to talk to YOU {common} – you know who you are ; ) . Maybe you are in the same place I am now – or maybe you were there ten years ago! I just really love connecting with women and I think that this would be a great opportunity to find new ways to grow.

Thank you for your prayers and for reading this insanely long post…. If we ever meet – you'll realize that can translate into talking for me too : ) But that's a story for another day! ; )

Raising the Bar

2010-08-31T22:00:00.003-05:00

Soon here I will be posting about 'raising the bar' I wanted to first give a little context to this...

Last Wednesday I attend a meeting of Women at Hope Community Church {where we attend}. Naty {the small group and woman's ministry associate} lead us through her vision of seeing the women at Hope grow to our fullest potential - by continually raising the bar in our relationship with God.

"Think of it like pole vaulting" she discussed, "they train and train to continually raise the bar the vault over" That became our challenge from her as to how we can do this. It could be specifically related to the church {starting/leading a small group, helping with nursery - whatever!} physical {purity - of mind, body or even your living situation} biblically {reading your bible more} emotionally, etc.

I wasn't instantly compelled by any one challenge that came to mind right away. And that 'journey' is what I will be posting about later..... I just wanted to give a heads up!

Love to you all,
~KB

3 years..... and a day

2010-08-19T22:03:00.004-05:00

Well - 3 years ago today, Dan and I were in Southwest Harbor, Maine on our honeymoon. I believe at about this time we were enjoying some champagne and watching the video from our wedding - 'yesterday' : )

It was so fun being in SW Harbor - it is such a neat little place! I would highly recommend going there someday : )

Anyways - yesterday we casually woke up, missed phone calls from my grandparents {sorry!} and drove to 2 different libraries in hopes of finding free passes to the MN Zoo.... to no avail... HOWEVER, I did find tickets for $6 on craigslist.com! We were even able to pick them up that day! So we got out the door quickly to give the dogs some exercise, came back, showered, got ready and left for the tickets and the Zoo! I was so excited because I haven't been there since I was 1 1/2 years old - meaning, I have never been there before! ; )

My favorite things to see were probably the 8 or so miniature sea otters that were all curled/huddled in a ball together playing, but then stopped to take potty breaks where they each, one by one went poo and pee in the same spot.... weird huh?! I also liked leopard and tigers : ) Sooo pretty.

To be honest, I am kind of disapointed that the MN Zoo doesn't have elephants, giraffe, gorillas, koalas, more unique monkeys, kangaroos, awesome raptors/eagels/birds of prey and such. I do understand that having the animals they do, they can all survive outside in a MN winter {the Amur tiger is from Russia, the snow monkies, the leopard, bison and such} but it would be cool to see some of those other things.

I really want to go the the Milwaukee Zoo now and the Shedd Aquarium..... Someday.....

Well - we only have 11 more weddings left this year! Two are this weekend! It is amazing to me how FAST this summer has gone - I can hardly believe it! All I can keep thinking is how before I know it I am going to be dancing at my own child's wedding! AH! This just helps keep me grounded in remembering to appreciate each day that much more - and Thank God for it : )

Love to you all,
~KB : )

Hodge-podging it

2010-08-13T21:51:00.003-05:00

This is a totally a random post - but I thought I'd share it...

We rented some videos from the Library and the dogs decided that they would make one of them their own.... as in, destroy it. Luckily, they decided to save the bar codes and labels - so I found a new cover, sized it up in photoshop, cut it out and taped the barcodes and labels on the new cover. Finally, I put it in a new case! Ha! You could hardly tell! I thought that was fun {Luckily they didn't destroy the DVD!!}

I wanted to share that Andrea M had her Cochlear Implant surgery yesterday {Thursday, August 12th} and it went well : ) Praise God for that!! Prayer that she can heal quickly and well - also that when the time come for her CI to be 'turned on' that it would work {that day is about 2 weeks away}.

I know I said this before, but, it is crazy how fast summer is going!!! I was finishing up my time working with Stevie tonight and mentioned something to his mom about the "August Schedule" and she said - "Karin, it is August!" Oh geeze..... I mean, I know it is - we've been showing up to meetings and wedding,s but not really realizing it was August! Crazy! I mean, in 5 days, Dan and I will celebrate our 3 year anniversary! It came up SO fast!

3 years certainly do fly by, and in a very scary way, every year will go by even faster! I am scared, but so excited for everything God has in store for us : )

Love to all,
KB : )

Minnesota Summer

2010-07-27T12:46:00.003-05:00

GOES BY SO FAST!

So what have we been up to since June 7th?

Weddings, weddings, weddings!! Plus, Dan did get to go canoeing in the Boundary Waters with Steven [I stayed at home alone for the first time!} Dan had Maizy, I had Moses.... my sweet little buddy : ) I even got to take him out for some ice cream : )

I also got to go celebrate Andrea J for her bachelorette party in the Wisconsin Dells!! SO fun : ) We had a BLAST!!!!

Not long after it was the 4th of July weekend and we drove to Winona, dropped off the dogs, and on the 3rd drove from there to Waukesha and had lunch and ice cream - no wait, CUSTARD with Dan's friend Jon and Melody his wife.

After that we headed to Alpine Valley to catch the Dave Matthews Band concert {for free! thanks Aylana and Matt!!} After the concert was over we drove through the night back home to Winona where early on the 4th we left to bring Dan to Red Wing where he met up with Jared for a 2 day kayaking trip down the Canon River. I drove back to Winona where my parents and I laid low during the rains! Luckily Dan and Jared didn't have ANY rain!

That week busily turned into us coming BACK to Winona for Andrea and Josh's wedding on July 10th!! {We got in town on the 8th} We had SO much fun making our own bouquets, at the rehearsal and dinner and then the day of - it was AMAZING! Such a beautiful setting! Check out their pictures on our DnK Facebook Page!! Dan did an amazing job! Thank you for letting us be part of your amazing day!

Following Andrea and Josh's wedding we had a week filled with fun! One baby session, one senior session, 2 engagement sessions and 3 client meetings!!! WHEW!

Since then we had a wedding up in the St Cloud Area with a huge storm that passed through, one wedding at the Minnesota History Center {amazing!} and a beautiful wedding at Northwestern College folowed by reception at Highland Park. That same night, we had a going away party for James and Elizabeth and the next morning {yesterday!} we packed them up for their move to Madison!!

I hope to stay better caught up - but we're still alive and booking it!

Oh! Also, we have started a new small group that meets at our house on Wednesday nights for married or engaged couples : ) We are having SO much fun and we love our new group!

A few prayer requests:
For Aylana
For booking some more winter weddings
New opportunities in photography.

Well - I'm off for now -

Love to you all,
~Karin : )

Little, simple things : )

2010-06-07T19:53:00.005-05:00

Simple things in life make me happy...
hugs from the dogs
kisses from my husband
yogurt
bagels
clean socks

but today - I got to experience some other little, simple things that are delightful. Let me share:

If you haven't been to our house yet - I will have to explain that our back yard is fenced in, but to get from the side door to the fence you go down the side steps and walk about 5 feet. No big deal - for humans - but for dogs, those 5 feet can mean one easy distraction and they are off running. So we always have to walk them back there by their collars. But this morning, I thought I'd let Moses try it on his own {he has had some success in the past with this} but this time, I noticed {right as he wen tout the door} a man on a bicycle going by.... One of Moses' biggest distractions..... So calmly I said "Moses, just go to the backyard please" after pausing a second, he glanced at me, wagged his tail and happily pranced to the backyard : ) WHAT A GOOD BOY MOSES!!!!

Also today....

I ran some errands today, ending at Costco {my favorite place!} and as I was loading my purchases into the wagon I shut the back end then promptly heard: "Don't forget the dog food!" I turned to see a nice, late 40's man reach down and grab this 40lbs bag of dog food and put it in the car for me!! Then he even proceeded to take my cart for me!! What a nice man!! I felt so blessed by his small act of kindness : )

So now you share - have you experienced a random act of kindness recently? If not, I hope your heart was warmed by this story - and pass on the favor. I look forward to my next opportunity to help make someones day a tad bit better : )

Hopefully I'll get to report back soon!

Have a wonderfully blessed Monday night,

Love,
~Karin : )

Planning, cleaning, processing - oh my!

2010-06-04T11:11:00.002-05:00

That's about what these past few weeks have entailed!

Planning: Andrea's bachelorette party is coming up soon - so I've had fun with Rachel R and Britta H getting the details panned out for that : ) I am SOOOO excited for a girl's weekend!!!

Cleaning! cleaning the house, the yard and everything in between : ) We finished out garden on Memorial Day, and fixed up the perimeter of the yard. And since Dan is doing so much processing, I have to honor to pick up more ; ) But I really don't mind it!

Processing - Dan is a rockstar at processing pictures! He already has one of our two weddings from last weekend done and in the mail!! And he does an amazing job at it too!

I feel so blessed to have such an amazingly talented husband : )

Introversion???

2010-05-24T13:23:00.002-05:00

As in - am I introverting??? I know that isn't a word - but let me explain....

For most of my life, I have thought of myself as an extrovert; I love being around people, I thrive on social situations, I'm a talker : ) Those of you who know me would agree : )

However - last week, I had 3 separate meetings/encounters with people {newerish to my life} and all 3 made comments about me being an introvert.....

So what is it about me, in those situations that made people perceive me as such??

My husband thinks I am learning how to talk less and listen more..... But does that make me an introvert??

Summer has Sprung!

2010-05-17T21:30:00.003-05:00

So - I know it isn't officially summer yet - but summer has sprung - in spring!!! How beautiful is it here? I mean - high 70s and the 80s for over a week? 80s and rain next week?? Now that's some summer has sprung rain : )

We had a wonderful weekend with photographing the Anoka Technical College graduation then Jen and Joe's wedding on Saturday {BEAUTIFUL day!} and then Sunday we got to do an engagement session {WITH a dog!!!} and had a great small group : )

Today I got to spend all day with Laura {a previous wedding client and now best friend of mine} while Dan went canoeing with Laura's husband, Dan on the Minnesota River. We went to Costco, PeiWei Southdale and Great Harvest : ) Then I brought her home {she had a meeting before Dan and Dan got done} and got to see Kim - also from small group.

I also picked up more paper to finish our wedding scrapbook - FINALLY! I started it and finished 70ish% of it 2 or 3 months after our wedding - it has been sitting that way ever since!

Now, I am not a huge "shopper" - so today was unique : ) It is about a once every 2 months sort of thing {minus groceries} I bought a new shirt at Express {$15!!!} and I got 50% off an awesome pair of shoes at Macy's!!! {they were are steal of a deal!} The bonus is that the shirt and shoes match like no other : ) So I actually look like I know how to dress!

This week will be a fun one - we already had one engagement session, our day of fun with the Stewarts, tomorrow I get to hang out with Karen {at the SSC office while she changes hers} then a potential client meeting, Wednesday I have a family photoshoot and I get to meet with my new 'mentee' from church, Thursday {hopefully} a maternity photoshoot with Kim & Ryan {from small group} along with dinner and then the Porters Thursday night hang out : ) Friday is Amy K's going away party and Saturday - another wedding!!! Plus processing numerous photosessions worth of pictures : )

It's going to be a great week!!!

How are you doing??? Let me know - I'd love to hear : )

Love,
K : )

Andrea - my SMS/BFF

2010-05-12T22:30:00.004-05:00

For those of you who know me pretty well, you have at least heard me talk about Andrea.

But if you haven't - let me tell you our story....

We first met early on in elementary school - just ask sometime how I made her cry - if only she knew I did what I did because I thought she was the coolest girl at school.

I really did.

I wanted to be her - just like her...

We became good friends, went to each others birthday parties, hung out at each others homes and went to church together. We stayed in touch through confirmation in middle school {I went to a different middle school for 7th and 8th grade}. Right before freshman year of high school, my mom took Andrea and I shopping in La Crosse for back to school clothes. We bought a matching set out outfits - same pants {same size too} and matching shirts. Then, as I joined the ranks in high school - I became her shadow - as in, her friends became my friends.

I would have been lost without her. Truly I would have - I honestly wouldn't be where I am today if Andrea wouldn't have brought me in like she did in 9th grade. Thank you Jesus for Andrea.

Throughout high school we didn't play the same sports, we weren't in the same clubs {until senior year} but she saw me through everything. We went to the fall and winter dances with the same group, she came to Florida with my parents and I to watch my sister perform in the parade at Disney and once I joined choir - we had that. Along with our small group at Pleasant Valley church.

Then, we graduated. When Andrea told me she was going to SCSU {where I was planning on gong} I was ecstatic. You see, I love this girl SO much and I knew that going to college with her would be wonderful. Even though I transfered to the U of M midway sophomore year - even though I missed her terribly, I still can't get enough of her.

We are very similar - and very different. But one thing that will always tie us together is something she taught me early on - sign language.

You see - at 14 months old Andrea contracted meningitis - causing her to loose much of her hearing. So through that, I was able to learn sign language from her and by watching her interpreters in class at the wonderful Madison Elementary School. When we would sit in class doing homework, {primarily in 6th grade} we would sign to each other - even from across the classroom. {Mr. Nelson knew - but never interrupted}

So why do I bring this up?? I have seen Andrea deal with her hearing loss as long as I can remember knowing her - through being teased, standing up for her, crying with her, going to hearing appointments with her and praying with her.

Now she is at a turning point. She has gotten to a place in her life where she may need to consider getting a Cochlear Implant {CI}. It's a huge decision. Please - where you are, just pray with us over her that she will have guidance, clarity and peace from God knowing that whatever choice she makes, it is good, right and He is with her.

After reading all this wonderful stuff about her - you may want to hear more - she just started a new blog - so you can follow her journey at: http://cochlearimplantforandrea.blogspot.com/

Andi - I love you. Thank you for everything you have done for me. I don't think you will ever fully know how much you have helped me become who I am today - even from miles away.

I love you and goodnight,
~K : )

Cars cars cars....

2010-05-09T22:03:00.002-05:00

So - Randy and Judy made it safely home and have their car back!!

We never did find the key that was lost in the golf course - but we did find the spare key in the house. So we got the car and order new keys : )

Then Friday we had another busy day that ended with a wonderful evening of chili, cornbread and Wii with Karen and Chris!! We had a wonderful time together - they even brought dessert!!

Saturday was a great day for a wedding - it was Tim and Marla's big day!! We knew we'd click with them right off the bat - which we always love. It always makes the day that much more special for us when we feel like we really connect with the couple : )

Tim and Marla are amazing people - with amazing families - one thing I really loved was that while T&M were dating, they had t-shirts that said "Tim's girlfriend" and "Marla's boyfriend" - then when Tim asked Marla to marry him, he already had "Tim's fiancee" and "Marla's fiancee" shirts ready. So, for their wedding, during the dance, all their relatives came out with crazy outfits, including t-shirts that state their relation to either one of them - there were hilarious ones like "Marla's Parent's Favorite Child" {her brother} "Marla's craziest cousin" and so forth : )

Today was a beautiful day - we got to see our small group and have dinner with my parents - we went to Joe's Garage in Minneapolis. This was only our second time there - but we loved it just as much the second time around.

So Happy Mother's Day Mom, Grandma Marilyn and Grandma Carol - I love you all and you're wonderful!!

The cars are against us....

2010-05-05T21:12:00.003-05:00

Yes.... yes they are.... Let me explain:

Today started out as a quite normal day - with the addition that Dan had a real estate photo shoot down in Eagan at 8:15am and then I had a kid photoshoot at 11am. Since Dan's would take awhile and was further away so Dan took the Saab {our nicer car} and I was going to take the Saturn.

I was getting ready to leave and spoke with Suzanne {the mom of the kiddos I was going to photograph} and we chose to reschedule - it was a cold day to take summery pictures of 2 kids under 3!!! So I was about to dry my hair when I got a phone call; it was Dan, "Um, yah..... we have a problem..... so I was walking through the golf course" {SIDE NOTE: he was taking pictures in and old golf course that is being turned into suburbia land, the lot pictures so people could choose theirs lots} continue...."and I seem to have dropped the keys somewhere in the golf course" MIND YOU this golf course is 100 acres....

Okay, no problem - right?? Kinda frustrating because very UNlikely that we would find them - and it stinks because the Saab keys cost $300 to replace! But I would just go down with the spare key and pick him up.....

One slight problem - NO SPARE KEY TO BE FOUND.......... Nowhere.....

So I head down to Eagan to pick Dan up. While on my way Dan called Saab to find out what it would cost to get new keys if we didn't find either of them.... They said - a whopping $1,500!!!!! So we walked for 2 hours through the golf course to no avail and head back home to spend some time with Dan's parents and Layton. {At Randy's new job he works Monday-Tuesday, then Thursday-Saturday - so Wednesdays off} So they came to the cities to do some shopping for their new house then to our house for some lunch then Costco. Afterwards - we left for an engagement shoot.

{Mind you - we are still one car short because our Saab is stuck in Eagan with no key to open it....}

So on our way home after our engagement shoot we got a phone call from Judy "We're stranded...."

THE CARS ARE AGAINST US!!!!

Luckily they had only made it to Woodbury and Dan dropped my off at home, drove out to Woodbury and about now they are probably at the airport getting them a rental car so they can go home and Randy can make it to work tomorrow.

Why didn't I go with Dan?? The Saturn is a small, rickety old car that only fits 4 - Dan+Randy+Judy+Layton{and car seat}=4 Plus they have a huge cooler full of Costco food plus the other Costco food and more....

Again.... the cars are against us..... PLEASE pray that we find at LEAST one of our keys. God has been SO good about finding {specifically Dan's} keys in the past and we trust that God is SO capable of returning them again. Please pray - we need at least one key so that we don't have to pay $1,500 JUST to be able to use our car again.

Thank you for the prayers - and always please feel free to pass your prayer requests on to us too - I'd/we'd love to pray for you {kberdal@gmail.com}

Love,
Karin

We're back! {and delayed...}

2010-04-28T23:29:00.002-05:00

Go figure - but it always takes me awhile to update... {I will add about our trip and what we did soon.... hopefully!} for now, look at these pictures on Dan's Facebook

Since returning I think I have written at least 150 emails and called more people/places than I can imagine!! But all for wonderful reasons - WEDDINGS!!

We had a wedding last Friday - where oddly enough I met two people from Winona who work at the reception hall we photographed in! That was neat : )

Once we got home we got to see our small group {yeay!}, Chris and Karen, our "Thursday Night" gang {hang out time at the Porters} and I got to hang out with Stacy W : )

This week so far we have enjoyed actaully having the house be in one piece, getting caught up on laundry and meeting with new potential clients!

I got to go out to dinner at Buca with Stacy W on Tuesday to celebrate her last few days being here in Minneapolis before she heads out for Guatemala! Prayers that her flight is safe and she feels at home there early on. Today I got to meet up with Liz A - Miss City of Lakes about preparing for Miss MN and then I went down to her work {at the Mall of America} and I ran in to Amber F - my RA freshman year at SCSU!! Oh it was so exciting to see her again! I hope we get to hang out soon : )

We have Stacy M's and Brenton's wedding on Saturday - I am SO SO SO excited for this one!! Stacy has a near and dear place in my heart and I feel SO blessed to be part of their big day!!

Today while at the MoA I picked up Wii Fit PLUS thanks to the influence it had on us at Grandma and Grandpa's in Tucson. See - we already own the Wii Fit board - but they just came out with a new game disk. I have watched and laughed pretty hard while Dan has flapped his arms like a bird, thrown snowballs and balanced on a big ball while juggling : ) The Wii truly is an amazing game console!!

Well - I am off to make a goofball of myself : ) Let's see - should I be a chicken, a circus performer or a tightrope walker??? Who knows...

G'night all

Love,
Karin : )

Checking in!

2010-04-15T00:37:00.002-05:00

Yup!! We are alive : ) Vacation is going great! Tomorrow we are off to Estes Park, CO!

I just quick wanted to mention a blog I follow - it is a friend of mine from college - Moriah - she is soon excepting her first baby boy and has a great blog! Every week she does a great contest - check it out HERE!!!

Good luck - have fun!

Winter to spring!!

2010-03-30T13:23:00.003-05:00

I was excited for the extra time I would have this spring - not working at Lovaas - but here I am - not writing anything since our Florida vacation! Here are some quick notes as to what has happened:
I helped direct the Miss West Metro/City of Lakes pageant again! {http://www.facebook.com/#!/album.php?aid=2868396&id=13947098} and we got to do their portraits! {http://www.facebook.com/#!/album.php?aid=154931&id=7221789901}

Dan and I each got to celebrate with Chris and Karen at their bachelor/ette parties. Dan got to practice his paintball skills and I got to go salsa dancing for the first time!!

I started my own Pampered Chef business, had 4 parties and recruited a new consultant!!

I got the pleasure of doing my first maternity session {http://www.dnkphotography.com/wedding-photographers-and-portraits-blog/2010/03/22/moriahs-minneapolis-maternity-pictures/}

We have had a lot of client meetings and some really fun engagement sessions!! {http://www.dnkphotography.com/wedding-photographers-and-portraits-blog/2010/03/23/steve-and-jenni-engagement-session-ne-minneapolis-and-main-street-theater/}

We are hoping to make a trip down to Colorado/Utah/Tucson again - just waiting to hear back from our CPA to hear what the damage is ; ) We hope to leave Thursday for the big trip!!!

We have also enjoyed the wonderful weather God has blessed us with this March!! We have gotten to ride the motorcycle a few times and Dan is actually out on a ride right now with our friend Dan - so I had some time alone to just sit and write : )

OH! We also got to celebrate the marriage of Chris and Karen!!! It was SO much fun to be there are attendants and not as photographers. Dan was in the wedding and I was Karen's personal attendant - so I stayed pretty busy! Their wedding was just on March 27th - Sunday was pretty much a 'recovery' day for me!!! I was tired!! We were so busy with wedding details all day Thursday and Friday plus Saturday - but it was amazing!!!!

So - what else is new? We just finished up a 14 month sermon series on 1 Corinthians at church - Pastor Steve really hit it home wit some topics. I look forward to see would God is going to use this in the near and further future to help me grow and continue to see areas that I can improve in.

I have also had the joy of meeting with a woman from church as her mentor. We had a few times to just meet, get to know each other and chat - no we are going to do bible studies together. I am really excited for what this will bring - and for the chance for God to use me in writing these studies : )

Well - I am off to do some cleaning - and enjoy this wonderful weather!!

~Karin : )

Florida Trip 2010!

2010-02-14T10:40:00.002-06:00

As many of you know, we were blessed to take a trip with Dan's parents and our nephew Layton. We had a blast - here are some notes from along the way! Sorry - some of them get kind of wordy! Oh - also, when you read R, J and L - it means, Randy, Judy and Layton : ) ENJOY!

Sunday, February 7^th2010

Well – really this blog should start on February 6^th – but we’ll just include that here – you see, we were in {the} Milwaukee {area} on the 5^th and 6^th for a wedding {Dan’s childhood best friend}. He wedding was wonderful and the reception site was beautiful! At about 10:30 {pm} after we had eaten, danced and watched some great pictures from Jon and Melody’s life so far we had to leave for the cities. Our flight for Florida left at 7am on Sunday {today}. We made the drive, which went really fast {thank goodness!} and arrived at Chris’ house around 2:30am. Then we drove us to the airport where we waited until around 5:30 to get checked in {we didn’t sleep though…..}.

We were pretty excited to get in to the airport and get some breakfast {Einstein Bagels tasted great!} and then by the time we got to our gate is was about time to board the plane. Our first flight was just under 2 hours – Dan was out like a light before the plane took off and slept till we landed – I wish I could sleep that well on a plane!!!

Our second flight out of Charlotte didn’t give us much time for a layover, just enough to get off our first plane, get a wonderful Jamba Juice and get back on. This time I got the window since I don’t’ sleep as much ; ) We were just about to descend to Florida when Dan woke up and asked, “Have we taken off yet??” : ) Pretty cute huh : )

It was really fun to watch us fly in to Fort Lauderdale – we flew out over the ocean and then circled around just to fly back on land. Boy it sure was beautiful!

Let’s speed this day up a bit…. We landed, got our rental car and headed to eat and get groceries. Shortly after we started driving Dan noticed that our first rental car was making some noise, so he brought it back and got a new one.

While he did that, we the rest of us went grocery shopping, once Dan caught up with us at CostCo, we made a quick stop at Whole Foods and then headed down to Marathon. About 40 miles outside of Marathon, the hot air BLASTED on in the car. We couldn’t get it to turn off – and if we rolled the windows down it blasted even harder. This air was so hot, when I was holding a sheet of paper in front of the vent and my fingers were burning!!

We called the company {and thankfully made it safely to the resort} and around 10:30 that night, we got our THIRD rental car…. Hopefully this one will last all week!

{Mind you – we still haven’t gotten to sleep yet…..}

Once we got our third car, we finally got upstairs and went to bed!!! We were awake for over 36 hours!! {okay, with 3 hours of sleeping for Dan and a sporadic 1 ½ hours for me!} But we were ready for bed!!

Monday, February 8^th, 2010

Today we obviously slept in – I think we got about 11 hours of sleep! We woke up, had a late late breakfast and took Layton to Bahia Honda State Park {Randy and Judy have a timeshare meeting}. We stayed there until 2:30/3 ish until Layton requested to go back, so instead of hanging out with us, Randy and Judy took him back and we stayed at the beach to explore : )

For this trip we decided that each couple would be responsible for 2 meals – so while at CostCo we purchased a big 4 pack of ground turkey – so we were in for a lot of turkey meals this week! Tonight we had sloppy joes….. mmmm mmmm they were good!!! Layton made sure everyone was thanked for making dinner “mmm, nice cooking {insert name}”

Dinner ended up being rather late, so we didn’t do much after dinner!

Tuesday, February 9^th, 2010

We slept in a bit late{r} again, but it felt good! We had every intention to wake up for the sunrise, but we decided that we needed more sleep! We knew we were going kayaking today, so I certainly welcomed the extra sleep! So after casually waking up and eating breakfast, we got our lunches packed and headed to Big Pine Key. We got to the kayak rental and after many directions from a local, Randy and Judy found it too : )

Once we got our kayak and got everything in and ready, we headed out to the windy, open waters. We had to cross the windiest part of our trip first and after having a couple of waves crashed into their boat, Randy and Judy decided to head back. We crossed to the other side and realized that they kayaked away back to the cars with the lunches!! So we crossed back over the windy part and got our lunches : )

Again we set out to cross the windy section {which wasn’t as bad this time} and started the process of circling No Name Key. On our trip around they gave us a guide that recommended certain things to watch for. We saw two spotted rays, lots of birds and fish – one of the more interesting things was the very last part of our trip…..

We knew we were coming up on a sunken lobster boat which was suppose to be a nice place to snorkel. We could tell it was because there were 5 or 6 boats parked there too! As we approached the area closer we could see that there were LOTS of birds perched on the sitting boats – and no snorkelers! As we get even closer we see that these boats are COVERED in bird remains – and I mean lots! Then we start to notice how abandoned all of these boats look. They appear as though no one has touched them in months! It was dead silent and just darn right creepy! The big kicker at the end was that the last two boats we the most creepy, one was halfway sunken and the other {just as dirty as the rest} had 2 big black flags on it – one on each side…..

Needless to say we were too creeped out to stop and snorkel so we headed across the way back to the rental docks. Once we got back we asked what in the world was going on with those boats. They lady explained that they are called “spoungers” - they live in their boats and travel around South Florida/The Keys. The parks their boats {in dedicated areas} live there and then eventually come on shore for a few months to live. We happened to pass by when they were on shore!

After our 4 hour kayak adventure we headed to the infamous “No Name Pub” where we were going to have ‘The Best Key Lime Pie’ – best part about it {other than how amazing it was!!} was that they weren’t one of those places that just self-declares that they have the best slice, we actually read about it in a national travel magazine. They did have the best smelling pizza, unfortunately we knew that we had to make dinner shortly, so we couldn’t indulge ourselves that much!

We made our way back to the resort and got dinner ready – Turkey Burgers!!! They turned out really nicely – we also had a lot of fun hanging out outside with Layton as he was finding it really fun to have us chase him to ‘the lobster’ : of those wooden/painted cut out thing you stand behind and put your face through – he enjoyed it {as in, laughed hysterically} when we would go behind and make silly faces. Especially when I’d close my eyes and get ‘surprised awake’ by a big ‘lobster kiss’ from Dan {or Layton!}. We had a grand old time : )

After our yummy turkey burgers with avocado spread we chatted for a bit then went to bed! We were tired!

Wednesday, February 10^th, 2010

Today was Key West day!! I have heard so many people talk about Key West that I was just so ready to get down there and see what the hype was about ; )

We took one car this time – usually we have been taking two cars everywhere to be able to adjust to the schedule of an almost three year old. The drive went well and once we got in town we stopped at a beautiful beach!!!! We had a great lunch {Turkey sandwiches and avocado spread – see a theme for this trip??} and relaxed on the beach a bit. Once we were ready, we packed up and walked back to the car. On our way back to the car a man selling woven hats/baskets offered Layton a woven bird. He was pretty happy about that!

Dan and I dropped R, J and L off near the trolley station. We then went on a hunt for parking. After opting not to pay 22 to park for 6 hours in a lot, we found a meter parking spot on the street at a much better rate of $1.50 : ) We found some really neat wine for my parents {no grapes used, just Florida fruits!} we walked around the very elegant part of Key West. We saw some amazing homes, walked through a neat garden and wound up at some really cool Coast Guard ships! We didn’t have time to do the tour {our meter was almost out} but the ships were just SO big!

We got back to our car and decided to spend the next hour or so before meeting R, J and L for dinner at the State Park there {Fort Taylor??} Now THIS is what Florida/The Keys was suppose to be in my mind! The beaches were perfect, the sand was white and the palm trees were plentiful. Only downfall was that the wind was blowing upwards of 25ish miles per hour!! Whew! But we did find the perfect spot to watch the sunset that night : ) So we knew we’d be back after dinner.

We had planned on meeting/eating at ‘Sloppy Joes’ {recommended by a lady at the resort} but it was a pretty loud pub, so R, J and L found a place called the ‘Cheeseburger’ I had coconut shrimp for the first time – OH it was amazing! When the waitress said it was the best coconut shrimp on the island – she wasn’t lying!

After dinner we headed back to the state park and enjoyed lots of wind and a nice sunset : ) The drive home went well and Dan and I headed down to the hot tub where we met some really fun couples from Michigan and one from St Paul. They were very generous people and we also learned more about the ups and downs of being ‘BlueGreen’ time share holders. It was a great night : )

Thursday, February 11^th, 2010

Today we woke up at a more normal time and got ready for a relaxing day at Bahia Honda State Park {pronounced Buy-a-Honda, I wonder if anyone sponsored that island??} ; ) Judy and I did a lot of relaxing/sitting/talking while the boys played. After we had all eaten, we went on a walking adventure. We saw some pretty neat vistas, and had lots of fun along the way – especially Layton’s ‘babblings’ on the way back while he was on Dan’s shoulders : )

After this, R, J and L headed home to get dinner ready while Dan and I went to the end of the island to watch the sunset – is was a very pretty one! The colors lasted a long time! On our way back we swung by the grocery store an then on home to eat some wonderful ‘turkey bullets’ with a sweet potatoes/apple/cranberry dish – it was SO GOOD! I need that recipe from her……

Once dinner ended and Layton was in bed, we playe two round of Sequence – R&J won both ; ) Then it was off to upstairs to pack and sleep – we’re heading out of Marathon tomorrow morning!

Friday, February 12^th, 2010

We woke up, got ready, packed, ate and said our goodbyes. We headed up towards Key Largo and took our time, wanting to find unique places to take pictures.

We were hoping to go snorkeling but were we wanted to go {out of John Pennencamp State Park} was cancelled due to weather. So we took the long route up towards Miami via Crocodile Lake, we had to pay $1 for their ‘toll’ but I guess it was a more interesting view than just driving on the interstate.

Quick side note – we ventured off the ‘tollway’ and found a completely gated city….. Our GPS could find the restaurants, gas stations and golf course in it, but we couldn’t get in! You had to live there to get in there! We thought that was weird….

So now we were back on the mainland and started the process of trying to figure out our lodging for the night. We had originally booked a place to stay, but when we got there, it wasn’t the kind of place we felt would be worth paying our $200 per night to stay at… so that is why we were housing hunting. The long of the short of it – after way to long of a time period of talking about it, we decided to bunk with R, J and L at their 2 bedroom resort in Miami Beach/Surfside. It was a GORGEOUS place to stay!

It took awhile to get there, not just because of rush hour traffic but also the largest boat show I/we have ever seen! I wouldn’t be surprised if there was enough money there in just boats to eliminate our national debt!! There were boats that looked like business offices on water, boats – okay yachts with a helicopter and landing pad on it, boats that could hold multiple motorcycles, speedboats or multiple jet skis! Whew!

Once we arrived we immediately went out took pictures of the waves – they were getting pretty big! {we were right on the ocean!} Dan got some pretty amazing shots – and I was on the lookout for any waves that got too close to his tennis shoes : )

Shortly after he was done we bolted inside because it started to sprinkle, right when we got in the doors – it poured! Before it did though, we did get to see some pretty awesome lightning bolts!

Apparently the storm caused a few accidents and delayed R, J and L’s arrival by a bit – but they made it!!! We had our taco dinner with yummy muffins for dessert; after which we watched the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics – it was wonderful!! So sad to hear that a young man from Georgia {the country} passed away this morning, our prayers go out to his friends, family and fellow competitors; prayers also that the rest of the Winter Games will be safe for all who participate.

Saturday, February 13^th, 2010

Our last day in Florida! This morning I was woken up by a loud cry – Layton’s. You see, our double room suite had ne room with a king bed {where R&J stayed} and another room with 2 double beds – which we shared with Layton. It was 6:30 in the morning, so I went over, picked him up and he came and slept with us for the next hour and a half. Although I didn’t really sleep at all in that time, I did really enjoy being his cuddle buddy : ) Lately I have been thinking that I would prefer waiting another 3 years to have a child, but after snuggling up with Layton, I was reminded of how much I would love a kiddo – whenever : ) If they come now, what a blessing, if we don’t have kids for another 3 years, what a blessing that time will be together. But I did enjoy all this time with Layton, he is such a sweet, charming little boy whom we love and adore being around : )

Anyways, check out was at 10am, we left around 9:30 to get down to John Pennencamp State Park for snorkeling at noon. We made it, and although the captain of the boat that took us out said that weather was such tat he wouldn’t pay anyone to take him out there – it wasn’t bad at all : ) We got out there, and although it was cold, we had a wonderful time. I couldn’t stay in a long as Dan could, my jaw kept locking up around the snorkel, and then it was in pretty severe pain – I was surprised since it had been almost 3 weeks since my surgery, but my mouth was open for two straight hours – very wide!

After snorkeling we drove off to Everglades National Park to fulfill one of our final goals for this trip – seeing alligators in their natural habitat. We went to the Royal Palm trail where we saw over a dozen different kinds of birds and fish along with probably 30 different alligators! Apparently I got a bit to close with our camera for one of the gator’s comfort – so he growled at me and ran away – trampling over other gators on the way! At least he had enough self control not to attack!! Whew!

And yet again after this venture we found ourselves figuring out what to do for housing tonight. SO – to save you from all the boring details, we ended up rooming with R, J and L again! Thanks guys!

Sunday, February 14^th, 2010

So here we are, at the airport. We were up early again, we had an 8 am flight and got up at 5… earlier than we needed to but better than being late! We flew from Fort Lauderdale to Philadelphia where we now wait for our flight to Mpls – only a 3 hour layover!! We are just excited to get home and go get the doggies!!! Thanks Mom and Dad for watching them! We hope you had fun!!!

February!

2010-02-02T13:45:00.002-06:00

Well - here we are two days into February.... I thought I was in the clear with my teeth, but last night after dinner with Andrea and Jared at the new CRAVE restaurant in St Louis Park, my lower right side began throbbing even more.... I didn't think it would be a dry socket at this point - once we got home that was confirmed a few hours later when I noticed my bite had changed. My back/right/lower molar had shifted. OUCH! It was pretty painful most of the night, but once I got another med in me, that helped a bunch. I was able to sleep pretty well through the night and woke up with just dull pain. We called the dentist and I am going to go in this afternoon for a quick check up to make sure it isn't anything too serious. Hopefully it will be okay!

Today we are working to make a packing list for Florida/the wedding this weekend : ) It is going to be really nice to go to a wedding and just be observers!

Then we're off to Florida! Whoot whoot!

Day 7 comes to a close.....

2010-01-31T23:24:00.002-06:00

Yep - it's late - but here it finally is - day 7... of what?? Of getting my wisdom teeth taken out :) I am nearly to 100% recovery - I'd say about 90% there :)

I still have the occasional pains in my lower right side - but the remaining Vicodin that I have left do help with that. Since the 'throw up' incident I have only been taking 1/2 a Vicodin at a time, which worked, but I think/Dan told me that I probably built up an immunity to it - so tonight I took a whole one - hopefully it dulls the pain enough to sleep!

I am getting pretty tired now after getting that one in me - so we'll see if I can actually type something worth reading!!!

I just checked in on my mother-in-law's blog {see: http://judy-layton2007.blogspot.com/} and it is always fun and amusing to read the things Layton says and does :) If you have a chance, read the most recent entry - Cow E. is a special stuffed animal in Layton's life :)

These week will be filled with cleaning {me} and processing pictures {Dan}. We/he wants to get done with all of that before we leave.

On Thursday we head to Winona, stay there one night - then head to Waukesha on Friday morning for Jon Bowman's wedding!!! {The dogs get to stay behind with mom and dad!!} The wedding is on Saturday - but we'll be leaving the dance around 9/10 ish to drive back to the cities that night!! Our flight to Florida leaves at 7am on Sunday morning out of MPLS! We're excited - but prayers for safe driving would be greatly appreciated :)

Also - I wanted to thank everyone that was praying for me during and after my wisdom tooth extraction. It was really neat and SUCH a blessing to so vibrantly see God answer prayer during that time. Especially that first night of sleep. It was a challenging evening due to the throwing up, but thanks to your prayers, I slept SO well that night!! God is good!!!

Anyways - I am starting to feel loopy/tired from the meds - so hopefully the pain-relieving part of it will kick in soon and I can go to bed!

Have a GREAT week all!

Love,
~K :)

Hellloooo Chipmunk!

2010-01-25T19:12:00.003-06:00

Hey all : )

Well - just over 24 overs ago I got 3 of my 4 wisdom teeth pulled.... not too fun, but I made it through!!

I first wanted to thank you all for your support, prayers, calls and texts : ) The next big hurdle we need to jump is NOT getting dry sockets. When my dentist called last night he reassured me that they took as many precautions as they could to avoid them. My holes were apparently quite big/deep/huge that they had to put some artificial bone graft to fill it. They ended up having extra from the lower right - so they used the leftovers for both of the top teeth!! Also, he said that often times dentists/oral surgeons don't sew shut the top wholes - but he did, so that should help too!

The big bummer/thing that could/could have potentially cause/d dry sockets for me was that I threw up on two separate occasions {a total of 5 times}. This was a big deal for me because I haven't thrown up in 15 years!!! LITERALLY!!!! I didn't really know what to do, but my awesome nurse Dan did a great job : )

He has been so great through all this, I really appreciate him : ) What a great nurse he is!!

Yesterday was also an interesting experience because I didn't get fully sedated, but I did get the nitrous!! That was a unique experience!! I went through a variety of 'phases' - ones where I thought I was watching a movie - which was a very 'out of body' experience!! I wish I could remember more : )

Last night I actually slept really well! Once the Vicodin was out of my system I took some Advil and minus some tossing and turning, I slept quite well! {all things considered!!} I slept nearly sitting up, which - WOW! I could get used to that! My sinuses were SO clear when I woke up!!!

Anyways - I am off to put some more hot/cold packs on my huge chipmunk cheeks!!

I am just looking forward to when I can chew - first item on the menu - CHIPOTLE!!!! {AND!!! with a gift card!}

Have a great night!

~Karin : )

Day 3??

2010-01-23T17:55:00.003-06:00

Well - it's the weekend, so can it really be considered day 3??

Anyways - it doesn't really matter now does it.

So - 2/3 days in - any report? It will be tough at times, no doubt about it. But hopefully we'll learn some tactics early on that will assist in our ability to work together as a team and be productive!

Next week will be odd/different/no too fun because I get my wisdom teeth out on Monday : ( I am not too thrilled, especially because I don't get to go under - that would have cost an extra $700.... there are much better things I could think to do with $700 other than going under for 'comfort purposes' Prayer for Monday would be greatly appreciated. Prayers that anxiety would be low and recovery would be quick would be fabulous!

No wedding today - it's kind of nice to have a break : ) Next Saturday we have Sarah and Matt's wedding, then on February 6th we are in Milwaukee for Dan's good friend Jon's wedding! I am excited to 'just go' to a wedding! It will be fun to dance and relax. But we do have to leave Milwaukee around 9ish because we have to drive back to Mpls for our flight that leaves at 7am on the 7th {that Sunday} for Florida. Whew! A long drive late at night - but it will be worth it!! I am excited to be warm!!

Anyways - I should go do some fun Saturday task like the laundry....

Have a great weekend!

~K : )

Day one!

2010-01-21T17:19:00.003-06:00

Well folks - here we are - day of of me being FULLY self employed! It hasn't really set in yet, but I am excited - really tired today, but other than that - great! I am excited to see what life is like being at home but like my grandma advised, both Dan and I need to have outlets. I think I will enjoy spending more time with friends and doing some PCA hours - Dan gets to start soccer again in February! Indoors thank goodness : ) I am not sure how many of the same guys will be playing in the winter as did in the fall - but I m excited to watch him play!

Well, this is just going to be a short one, but we'll keep you posted on what life is like, how weddings are going and more : ) I just need to go writeblog posts for DnK now!

: )

January Update!!!

2010-01-11T12:07:00.002-06:00

Hey all!

It's been awhile - but boy has the time flown by! Here are some things that have happened around here recently:

For Christmas we went to Winona for Christmas Eve and then barely made it out of town {because of the weather} on Christmas Day to see Dan's family in Augusta! Whew! But we made it!

Then we came back home for a short work week {for me!} then we had a wedding on New Years Eve! It was very fun! Our bride and groom are super fun people that were great to spend NYEve with : )

Then on New Years Day we had my longest running friend Amy and her boyfriend Brandon over for lunch and some fun rounds of playing with the Wii : ) Literally as Amy and Brandon were leaving, our wonderful friends Chris and Karen rang the door bell at the other door! Timing of all that was quite humorous!

We spent the rest of NYDay with Chris and Karen, playing many round of Wii Bowling - and then we moved on to dinner {at Tuttle's - a diner/bowling alley - very good food!!} and bowling! Our goal was to see if anyone broke my Wii bowling score of 165 in regular bowling..... But unfortunately no one did ; ) I think my real bowling high score was right around 60..... I am not the best bowler!! In real life!}

Then on January 2nd we had a wonderful wedding in Owatonna, MN and we drove right back up to the cities afterward because we had another wedding on Sunday that weekend! It sure was busy!

Last week was a busy week too with Dan doing a lot of picture processing and us getting ready for a wedding on the 9th and the Wedding Fair on the 10th! We had another busy weekend! Also very fun though!

Two other big happenings came about last week - well, we got to hang out with our good friends, Dan and Laura {whom we met because they we wedding clients of ours last June! and now in our small group at church!} but I also submitted my two week notice at the Lovaas Institute. It was a very hard decision to make, but we are going to have a VERY busy year with DnK and we are now ready to be 100% small business owners : )

Finally, I wanted to introduce you all to a company called Medi-Share. Medi-Share is kind of like health insurance, but not technically insurance. I will write more about them later, but for now - if you are curious - feel free to check out their website:
www.Medi-Share.com

This is what we are now participating in as small business owners!! We are very excited and we would love to spread the good word!

For now - I am off to an appointment - Have a great week!

~Karin : )

The new book update

2009-12-14T23:20:00.003-06:00

So, 1/2 month ago {yes..... practically 14 days ago.... seriously December! You're going by fast!} I wrote about book 'The Love Dare' that I bought/got. I have started it - it is good. But just as I am not good at all at 'blogging' each day, I haven't been reading '1 day' per day. Even still, I have been appreciating what the book is teaching me.

You see - I tend to be a competitive person, most notably, with myself. This became a really harsh reality to me when I started reading the book and the first day was about patience. My form of being competitive deeply involves loosing my patience with myself and the person I am playing with {or whatever the situation may entail} So, this was a good study for me. Instead of just taking the one day to try and 'fix' my patience issues, I purposefully decided to take a week. It was a good choice because had I just taken one day, I don't think that I would have really taken the time to fully see numerous areas where I am truly impatient and how that affects the situation immediately around me {namely Dan}

SO - in the past 14 or so days I really do feel like I have grown more than in a typical 14-day period - so that is good! I am excited to keep reading it.

Let's see, what else is happening these days? We are enjoying some down time from the busy summer, but not for to long considering that next week is the week of Christmas {already!} then it is the last week of December - and we have a wedding on New Years Eve!! We are really excited about that : ) They are fabulously fun people, and we feel honored to spend our New Years with them! Then we have weddings on January 2nd, 3rd, 9th, 16th, 30th and then February 6th! Whew! Then on the 7th we fly out to Fort Lauderdale Florida to spend 4 or 5 days in the Keys with Dan's parents and then a few days in the Everglades together : ) We're pretty excited!!! What a great way to top off a busy busy January!

Well, I should get to bed!

Love to you all,
~K : )

A new book!

2009-12-01T19:51:00.002-06:00

Last Christmas Dan's Dad partially paid us for some CostCo groceries with two $10 Borders gift cards. Dan used his right away, I just used mine today. I decided to purchase the book, "The Love Dare" from the creators/church that made the movie 'Fireproof' It is a 40 day challenge for married couples. I am going to start tomorrow - we'll see how it goes!

November went by real fast! We had 3 weddings - which ALL had beautiful weather and we are just SO thrilled with how the pictures turned out!

We got our new album a week or so back, and we will be getting our other album tomorrow!

January 10th {a Sunday} we will be vendors at 'The Bridal Party' a wedding/bridal expo put on by Minneapolis/St. Paul Magazine Weddings. We are really excited for what is in store there!

In more recent news, we had a long Thanksgiving break.... Wednesday I spen shopping for food and making the greenbean casserole and blueberry pie for the Mayo side fo the family Thanksgiving. I thought I royally messed it up and didn't want to bring a failure pie for my first year bringing one, so I woke up at 6am the next morning and made another and started the GBCasserole in the Slow Cooker... {which by the way, the first pie I made was fabulous - according to Dan and my parents and the other pie that I ended up bringing to eh Mayo Thanksgiving was AWFUL.... really....} Thanksgiving day we celebrated Thanksgiving last Thursday first with my mom and dad and mom's parents at Perkins down in Bloomington. From there all four of us {the dogs, Dan and I} went to Durand for the Mayo Turkey Bowl and dinner : ) Right after we had pie we found that Moses/Maizy chewed through a bottle of Pamprin {Tylenol} and ate anywhere from 10-20 pills..... So after consulting with an ER vet in Eau Claire via phone, we drove home and did so more research and brought them in to the Animal ER at midnight. We didn't know how ate the meds and it was too late to induce vomiting, so we had to treat them both. Meaning, the spen the rest of the night/early morning at the ER vet. We picked them up at 7:30am and brought them to our regular vet where they continued the IV treatments until 6pm. We picked them up and thankfully were able to bring them home!!

In that mean time {Friday during the day} mom and I went to CostCo, Trader Joes {new one in Minnetonka!!} and Victoria's Secret - with me not fully realizing it was "THE" day after Thanksgiving..... but - I got some amazing deals at Victoria's Secret. As you may or may not know/remember the dogs ate two of my {pretty new} bras on my birthday - so I went to replace those. I had a coupon, plus the bras were buy one get one 50% off and I got a free tote with a free body spray, a lip gloss and perfume in it!! OH! AND I got 8 big bottles of VS lotion - ALL for $79! It was all worth over $230 retail! Pretty exciting : ) And the lotions will make for good little extra Christmas presents for people! While mom and I did that, the boys {Dan and Dad} continued/finished painting the kitchen : ) What nice husbands we have! We did take a break to go to the Thai/Asian cuisine restaurant just up Texas - It was pretty good!

Anyways, back to the dogs..... At 6 ish we brought them home after I was totally freaked out when I walked into the appointment room to find two HUGE siringes! Luckily it was to just extract the meds from the IV bag to squirt over their foods. But we had to do feedings every six hours, so midnight that night, then again at 6am, then noon, then 6pm, then midnight again, 6am, noon, 6pm, then we were done on Sunday evening - whew!

All that being said - it was a VERY draining weekend, not much of a break. I am still exhausted!

I am off to finish laundry, vacuum and clean our room/upstairs too : )

Have a great night! I pray you all had wonderful Thanksgivings!

The Crazy House

2009-11-12T21:41:00.002-06:00

I love my babies - as in, my dogs..... but oh my-lanta - they are CrAzY!!!

Yesterday was my birthday. I have 4 meetings yesterday (3 for Lovaas and 1 client meeting) and after the client meeting D and I went to the Roseville mall looked at Sleep Number beds (we didn't buy one, by the way, more to come on that issue). Then we went to Buca di Beppos for dinner. As we walked in Dan said the reservation was under his name and the hostess said, "Dan table of nine?" I went, "WHAT?" I was only expecting table for two and them out popped 7 of our very good friends : ) Dan surprised me!!! What a lucky gal I am : ) We had a FABULOUS time at Buca - what a great birthday dinner!

Anyways - back to the crazies - we got home late and I walk in the living room to find a LARGE pile of doggy-torn objects ranging from 3 different pairs of my shoes to the manual that came with our new camera!!! Oh - but luckily they spared us the Spanish manual and ate the English one ; )

Yup - they're crazy, but we love them!!!

Tonight I just got back from dinner with Amy K who surprised me with TYLER!!! As in, Amy brought Ty with her : ) I was bummed that we couldn't make it to Ty's surprise birthday last Friday, so I was very surprise and excited to have Ty come to dinner with Amy and I tonight : )

What I GREAT birthday : ) I liked turning 24 : )

Good Morning!!!

2009-11-09T11:19:00.001-06:00

This morning we woke up to Moses jumping up on the bed and diving - in the most literal form of the word when 'diving into a bed - between Dan and I. Maizy was jumping up on the bed to, and it was funny Moses did that - almost to say, "MY spot, right here, right NOW!"

They are so funny......

What? November??

2009-11-05T23:02:00.001-06:00

Apparently I am turning 24 next week....

I know I still haven't written about our trip, but we got back, it took us 12 hours to get home and then barely three days later we left for Waukesha - for the LAST time... Yup, Randy and Judy sold their house!!!

So, out of 16 days, we were only home for 4 of them..... we are all still recovering....

More later?!!?!?!

Maybe not till I am 24.....

We're Home!

2009-10-27T23:07:00.000-05:00

It's been awhile..... But we just got back from a road trip out to South Dakota : )

I'll write more about our trip later!

For now - we're off to bed!!

~K : )

Lyrics

2009-10-14T21:28:00.001-05:00

I am a big fan of music. Of songs. Of lyrics. Of melodies. Of harmonies.

With all the driving I do I get to listen to a lot of radio. I mainly (90% of the time) I listen to 98.5 KTIS, a station run by Northwestern College. The other 10% of the time I listen to a variety of Cities 97, KLOVE and KS95. Lately I have been hearing a song on KS95 that I absolutely love! Surprisingly it is a song by Uncle Kracker. It is super cute though - and it really makes me smile when I hear it : ) I am not trying to be cheesy since the song is called 'Smile', but it makes me happy and think of Dan : )

Here is the chorus:

You make me smile like the sun
Fall out of bed, sing like bird
Dizzy in my head, spin like a record
Crazy on a Sunday night
You make me dance like a fool
Forget how to breathe
Shine like gold, buzz like a bee
Just the thought of you can drive me wild
Ohh, you make me smile

So cute right? I think this would be a super cute song for a first dance at a wedding. I know it is a bit fast, but I always think it's neat when people do fun, faster'ish' songs than the traditional : )

Anyways - life has been good around here. We're hoping to get Maizy into a beginner dog training class. We really want her to be able to socialize well with other dogs like Moses. We also think that it would be good to have structure for her and also, jus to have some alone time every week for the three of us - with out Moses. Not that we don't like him, it's just that it probably would be good for us to establish time with just her : ) Also to make us have homework to train her.

This weekend we get to see Dan's parents and Layton - I am SUPER excited : ) and I get to give Layton a haircut!!! How cute!! They are driving up to Augusta on Thursday, then Randy has an interview at the Eau Claire Mission. Prayers that God would open doors where he wants them to go and close doors where they aren't. After the interview they'll drive to see us, spend the night and Saturday we'll have some time together in the morning before we have a wedding and they head out when we do.

Next week we have vacation time - mmm, mmm! I am exited! We were planning on going to Tennessee/Kentucky - but we have a bit less time than we thought - so we might stay more local - we'll see!

For now - I am off to bed!!!

Nighty Nite!

~K : )

It's been awhile...

2009-10-06T00:15:00.002-05:00

So, when I started this blog (at the same time as my detox) I was hoping to be able to write in it every day..... Obviously I haven't because it has almost been a month since my last entry. I kept telling myself I would catch up, fill in info for the days I had missed. You see, a part of me feels, desires, well, wants to be a perfectionist. I wanted to fill in something for each day just to prove something. But what? In the past I was a much more competitive person, and that is something that I have been working on. Often times when something gets difficult or if I was 'losing' something, I would just give up or be done. But in reality, writing in this blog every day doesn't really matter.

I do want to document important (and even minor things) that happen in our lives, so hopefully I can, but this past month has been SO busy.... here is a little recap:
Every Saturday since September 5th we have traveled outside of the metro area. We've been to Red Wing, MN, McGregor, MN, Cedar Falls, Iowa, Winona, MN and this past Saturday we ended our 5-weekend in a row travels in Wausau, WI! It was BUSY!

On top of that, we have been getting used to our new puppy Maizy!!! That whoel situation has been a whirl-win because we were told she was spayed, but she wasn't and went in heat. So Moses wouldn't leave her alone and we couldn't take her to the dog park! When we were in Winona the 25th-28th she got spayed, but now she's been recouping so we've been working around the clock to keep them from playing rough, running around and wrestling! Oh, and also keeping her from not licking her stitches!

Also, I started my new schedule at Lovaas and I am working more hours, plus it is wedding booking season and we have had numerous client meetings! We already have 22 or so weddings for next year!!! This time last year I think we had 2 for the upcoming year!!! WHEW! Praise God for filling up!

I also heard back from Lovaas about the SBT position - I was not chosen (out of 13 applicants! Which is a lot for us!), but I know God has other/awesome things planned : )

So what's ahead???? More open weekends?? Not quite yet.... We have plenty of engagement pictures scheduled, meetings ahead and weddings still this month! Our weddings are in the cities (only two more this month!) and then after those two we'll be taking a vacation to Kentucky/Tennessee with Jon and the pups! Come November we have three weddings - so that will pick up again!

Finally, prayers for a few things... I really would love to be motivated to read my Bible more. I was hoping to study Proverbs this month. One chapter a day, 31 chapters in Proverbs. I really should just start now right? So yep, prayers for that motivation. Also, for Aylana, my sister (as she plans her wedding!), and that we could stay healthy!!

Love, hugs and blessings to all,

~Karin : )

All the 9s..........

2009-09-09T23:16:00.001-05:00

I read a quick article on CNN.com about today - as in 09-09-09.... it's pretty exciting in China apparently, thousands of couples got married today!! Literally, thousands (well over 16k!)

It didn't phase me until I got to work and wrote the date... eh - cool, 09-09-09. I guess it will mean more to me when it's 11-11-11 - maybe we can try to have a kid that day!! It would be neat to share a birthday with our (first?!) child, an what a cooler day!! I mean if SOME kid has to be born at 11:11(am/pm?!) on 11-11-11, why not ours?! ; )

For this new schedule for work I have only/all meetings on Wednesdays - which is nice in it's own way - it just splits up the week a bit!

Well - I am tired, I really need to not go to bed this late - ah!

~K : )

New Schedules!!

2009-09-08T21:09:00.000-05:00

Today marked (my) first day with our new schedule for Lovaas. It is always nice to mix up your routine a bit - I am also excited to get going with my new family!!!

Also, I am working on the rest of the paperwork for my application for the Senior Behavior Therapist position. I am excited to see what God has planned for this - no matter what the result!

There was only a slight confusion with my new schedule, but all in all, everything worked out okay today!

After my last shift, I drove to Bloomington to watch Dan's soccer game! I enjoy these games, and this time we brought Moses. Last week Maizy came with me and she did a wonderful job - the one peep she made was watching a pair of dogs play across the street. Moses on the other had would NOT stop whining!! BUT that was why we brought him - we want to work on his patience/ability to just sit and be content.

We'll see how THAT goes.....

Labor Day Painting!

2009-09-07T22:58:00.001-05:00

This morning I woke up and left for work in Savage. I only had to work 9-noon, so I got to come home to a house full of fun!!

After a quick hello to the puppies, we left for lunch. We ate at our typical spot - PeiWei! Dan tried the 'blazing Asian noodles' - boy did they SMELL hot! He said they were the 2nd hottest thing he has ever eaten!

After that we went to visit Grandma Carol - and Grandpa Gordie was there too! We had a good time chatting with the two of them. My favorite comment of the day was when grandma saw (my) dad - who was wearing a nice blue/Jamaican shirt - and she said (something to the extent of) "Oh my what a shirt, let's see how it looks with these (her sunglasses) off;..... oh, it looks better with these on." She's fun!

After our visit, we all went to Home Depot and bought stuff to heighten the fencing so Maizy can't jump over it (she has done that twice now in less than 24 hours). We got home and mom and I prepped the lower part of the kitchen walls for painting while the boys started to put the fencing up.

It was nice to have some time just with mom : ) We ust go to sit, paint and talk. What a great Labor Day!

Once it was time to stop, we all enjoyed sloppy joes and chips, then mom and dad headed home!

WHEW! Good day!

Super duper Sunday!

2009-09-06T21:41:00.000-05:00

Well - I think today was our last day of Sunday morning service!

We are now going to be switching to the NEW Sunday evening service!! We are very excited! (for a couple of reasons.....) We will get to sleep in, we get to be apart of the new service and we'll miss fewer services!!!

Today after church we went home, cleaned (I feel like I am always typing that word....) and then we had some fun with the doggies, and went of to bible study and then took engagement pictures with our good friends Chris and Karen!! We had a lot of fun : )

My parents arrived tonight and are going to be around until tomorrow evening - we're looking forward to our labor day!

~Karin : )

yet another Saturday wedding!!

2009-09-05T23:31:00.001-05:00

We had a wedding today down at Treasure Island Resort/Casino. It was not what D and I initially thought it would be - mainly because we had no idea that there was a whole other side of the Casino! There is something called 'Paradise Cove' which by the marina. It was such a beautiful day to be photographing a wedding!! We got to spend a good chunk of our time with them outside - that was so very nice!

We are grateful for our friends who helps us out so wonderfully with the doggies - they appreciate it took!! Thanks Amy K!!! (and C&K ; )

Well, short, but off to bed, we are tired!!

~K : )

One Week!

2009-09-04T22:30:00.003-05:00

Well folks, one week ago today we adopted Maizy!!! We have been enjoying our time with her : ) Dan brought her to the Pamered Pooch Playground earlier this week, but she didn't pass because she mounted too much..... But luckily, Amy K is coming over tomorrow to let them out and make sure they are fed!!! Kudos to her, we really appreciate it!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANDREA J!!!!! I can't believe we've known each other this long, I can't wait to actually celebrate your birthday with you someday... miss you!

I got to observe another session at my new house! Next week I start my own shifts, I am really excited - I tend to be a hands on learner, so it will be nice to just get in there and start running her programs!!!

We have a wedding in Red Wing, MN tomorrow - at Treasure Island Resort and Casino!! It's going to be a busy few weekendsL
5th - Red Wing
12th - McGregor
19th - Iowa
26th - Winona (plus senior pictures, family portrait, baby shoot and more!!!)
Oct 3rd - Wasau, Wisconsin
then two weekends in the cities - after that, we go to Tenessee/Kentucky!! Woohoo!!!

I am certainly ready for bed after this facemask!

Take Care!

~Karin : )

What a wonderful day!

2009-09-03T22:00:00.000-05:00

The weather has been marvelous lately!!! We got to go to Jared and Andrea's tonight for a bar-b-cue - we didn't get to go to many this summer, so it was fun to see all/many of our friends again, and to have a another friend, Nicole, meet everyone too : )

Today at work my supervisors videotaped part of my session; I am kinda anxious to get everything in for the whole process to begin!

At my shift in Minnetonka this morning I brought Dan's XBox with a 'Lego Indiana Jones' he loved it!! It was fun to watch him play the game!!!

Again, early to bed, early to rise!

K : )

Wacky Wednesday!

2009-09-02T20:38:00.001-05:00

It was great to meet my new little girl - I am so very excited to have a girl to work with!!!

Today was yet another long day of processing pictures (for Dan) and work for me. After being gone most of the day, we had a client meeting for a June wedding - it is always to fun to meet with potential clients : ) Especially ones who like Humane Society dogs as much as we do - we even have a puppy friend in common!

It has been a crazy week, but it is going fast!!!

~K

She's home!!!!

2009-09-01T21:29:00.000-05:00

We are really excited to have Maizy with us : ) We think she is going to be a good fit for our little family!! This morning I woke up early and took her on a walk. I want to try and do some stuff with her alone since I am gone more.

On the walk I learned how into squirrels she is!!! Oh man - we'll have to work on that!!!! It tested my patience a bit, but I think we'll survive!

Today at work inquired a bit more about applying to be a 'Senior Behavior Therapist' They are now accepting applicants, an I think I am/wil be one of them! We'll see how it goes; whatever God has -planned I know will be fun!

Tonight we had Dan's 2nd Hope CC 'futbol' game. I didn't get to go last week, but it was fun to hang out and chat with some of the wives/girlfriends/fiancees of the boys who were playing. I also brought Maizy with me to that - she was SUCH a good girl!!! Moses would have whined MUCH more than she did!!

Off to bed! Another early start tomorrow - I start at my new house!!!

~Karin : )

Introducing.....

2009-08-31T22:32:00.000-05:00

MAIZY!!!!!

Well, I got up early, showered and tried to look all nice because I was starting my NEW house today!!!! But it turns out the girl I was suppose to observe was having car issues : ( I was bummed, but that means that I had more time to clean (again) and prepare for the coming home of Maizy!!

I also had a big CostCo run for my parents along with errands to the pet store for a collar for Maizy! We got some last night, but we decided we wanted to check out PetSmart because we thought we would check and see if they have nice, reflective collars instead.

So then we were off to Winona!!! First stop, mom and dad's to deliver the CostCo wonderfulness : ) Then the 4 of us (Dan, dad, Moses and I) left for the Winona Area Humane Society to go get Maizy! It was fun to see her again, she seemed excited to see us and Moses, but my heart just BROKE when Maizy's playmate (at the WAHS) was crying SO hard : ( Oh I just tear up thinking out her sad little cry : ( She knew Maizy was leaving her, and we just can't handle 3 dogs - 2 is enough.... but I certainly would have taken her if we could manage it!

We left shortly after, because Dan wanted to stop just north of Lake City at a cool-looking beach he saw on our way down. We grabbed some dinner (making 3 different stops to find one that had good, gluten-free soup!) and drove up to Lake City. The place he saw was really nice!!! We plan to stop there again!

Moses and Maizy had fun (trying to) wrestle in the car on the way home.... it was interesting...

But we got them home and they wrestled themselves tired!!! There was one little 'snippety' issue, but we understand they have to work things out!!

Off to bed! Work again at 8am!

~K : )

Sleep-deprived....

2009-08-30T20:46:00.001-05:00

Today was fun, but long and, well.... long....

We got to bed way late/early?! (around 1 am - we went to bed almost right after we got home too!) and woke up early to go and take pictures of Sarah and Dave's Korean ceremony/gift opening. We had a lot of fun hanging out with the two of them and they awesome friends - but man we're tired!

Once we got home from more pictures, we cleaned, cleaned cleaned!!! We had our small group over this evening, so we really felt the need to make the house look somewhat decent. It was also kinda nice not having the dog(gies!) running around, but we're so excited to bring them home!!!!

After small group Dan and Laura stayed for a bit (and came early : ) We had a great time chatting with them and getting to know them better. (We photographed their wedding back in June!! We feel so blessed to stay connected with them!) It is also neat becuase outside of school, Laura works with adults who have special needs, particularily a girl with autism. Needless to say we had a lot to talk about!!

Well, they just left, and we have a zest of energy to go to Target quick and look at stuff for the new puppy tomorrow. Then we'll come home and GO TO BED! Yeah it is still early, but we are going to bed!!!! I work at 8am tomorrow!!!

Out,

k

Weddings, Weddings, Weddings!!

2009-08-29T23:50:00.000-05:00

Today was another fabulous wedding day : ) We were with Sarah and Dave for right around 14 hours!!! I won't be writing much, we're real tired and we have another round of pictures tomorrow morning at 9:30 : ) We get to watch/photography their Korean ceremony and gift opening! We're excited!!!

Puppies!!!

2009-08-28T23:09:00.001-05:00

Well, today was a life-changing day - as in, we adopted another puppy!!!

Yesterday, we found a picture of a dog (Tulip) on the Winona Area Humane Society webpage. We think that we is one of Moses' litter-mates!!! So after work today, we drove down to Winona to meet 'Tulip' !!!! She and Moses got along very nicely : ) So after 2 hours of watching them play and asking Aditi (the dog coordinator/trainer) questions, we decided to adopt her!!! We are waiting to pick her up until Monday though, we have a big wedding tomorrow!!! So Moses is staying with my parents this weekend... we'll miss him, and we're really excited to have her home with us!!!!

That's is for now!!

K : )

Thirsty Thursday!

2009-08-27T23:57:00.001-05:00

haha - although that was something I never took part in during college - today I drank an obscene amount of water - so that is how I came up with the title - clever - huh?

This morning for work my two little Minnetonka boys were playing SO SO SO SO SO well together, (their) mom and I agreed they deserved a SUPER treat - so we went to a 'splash pad'!!!! So fun!

Upon arriving home from work - there on our kitchen floor we discussed the idea of a permanent playmate for Moses...... which led me to finding Tulip - Moses' presumed sister (actual sister) she is at the Winona Area Humane Society (just like MoMo) so we are gong to meet her tomorrow after my work : ) We won't take her home/pick her up for keeps until Monday, but we are SO excited to meet her - as long as they get along, she's ours!!! (pending a name change too ; )

I think MoMo is ready for a friend - I have a feeling she'll be perfect : )

Peace out home fries ; )

~K : )

Mid-week already?

2009-08-26T19:33:00.001-05:00

Feels like a Tuesday today - then again, it should! Yesterday was 'my Monday'!!!

This morning I got to meet with a Bride for her June wedding - what a cool job I/we have : )

Then after yet another awesome meeting in Minnetonka, I headed home to by hubby-bunches-of-oats and we had a yummy tummy lunch : ) mmmm.... rice, black beans, corn, re-fried beans, peppers, onions, lettuce....... yummmy......

Shortly after lunch, we went and picked up Cooji, Moses' "girlfriend" ; ) They are such good pals : ) But he is always so sad to see her go (and sad the next day....) But he sure did have fun!

After that went to Costco and got new shurbs for our front yard!!!! Come check it out - they look good!!! (maybe I'll take a picture sometime?!)

Tonight we are just going to watch Star Ward Episode VI - we're really into this movie watching this week I guess???

Well - I am off to make an omlet for us - eggs, spinach, onions, peppers..... mmmmm..... and a bit of cheese on Danny's half : )

Have a great night!!!

~K : )

Busy Tuesdays!

2009-08-25T23:50:00.001-05:00

It was another long busy day of work, but today the new BTT was at my shift at my Savage house - I really like her!! It's also fun to have someone else there too!!!

We got to take AA to the mall today!!! That was fun! He got to play on a arcade race car!!!

Tonight it was just more wedding stuff - things tend to get complicated when two couples are vying to get their contract in first to hold their date - it always stinks for the couple who doesn't get to 'hire' us - but first come/first serve is the route we have to take!

I am off to bed... just tired!!! Only a meeting tomorrow though - that is exciting!!!

~K : )

Looks like someone's got a case of the Mondays....

2009-08-24T22:17:00.000-05:00

Oh Mondays!!!

Monday = weekend for us : ) so more and more cleaning - YES our house was THAT bad..... I think I did 4 loads of landry and Dan did 2 rounds of dishes?! Yea, that bad!

Today Kirst came back to pack up her stuff and head west! I think by now she has forged one river and maybe contracted Cholera? {that one is for all of you Oregon Trail fans out there!} No really, they just drove to Wilmar to see G&G Dumke - Luckies!!!!

Karen also stopped by today for some good K&K time : ) I am so excited to be a part of their big day!! At Joel and Rachel's wedding she asked me to be her personal attendant - what a huge honor!! I am so very excited!!!! We got to talk a bit about weddings - but then {fiancee} Chris arrived, shortly after Dan came home all bloody, bruised and dirty from a intense mountain biking expereince. We got the grill going and had chicken and bison (not mixed, but each couple got one bison burger and one chicken breast to share) and lots of corn and asparagus!! YUM! I didn't eat the corn.... :(

Shortly after, Dmac arrived and after a short 'happy-fest' with Moses, he too had dinner : )

Dan and I called it a night while they all went to celebrate a friends birthday. We had a lot of work to do anyways!

Off to my 'Monday' tomorrow!

~K : )

Small group!!

2009-08-23T20:35:00.001-05:00

YEAY! Today we got to go to small group again - finally!!!

We also went to church, came home, walked Moses, clean clean cleaned and then off to small group! It was so nice to see everyone and meet the newest addition to our group - Baby Kenny!!!! I can't believe he is almost a month!!!!

August has flown by - but fall is going to be AWESOME - I can just feel it in my bones : )

Well - back to more cleaning!!!! {and then we are going to watch 'Hancock' with Will Smith!}

~K : )

Wedding #2! (for the weekend.... : )

2009-08-22T23:58:00.001-05:00

DAN AND GINA!!!!!!!!!!!

What a fun weekend for pictures!!! Today we got to photograph Dan and Gina's wedding - {my Dan} and {the groom} Dan lived together for 2 years in college, so yet another wedding with friends!

We started off the day photographing Gina with her 3 sisters/bridesmaids picking out their flowers at the farmer's market by Mill City Museum! How fun! (and a bit chilly!!! wait, what?! chilly - August?! Oh yea, we live in Minnesota... moving on!)

Then we went home, got ready and met them at Christ Presbyterian Church in Edina. We made it there (early!) but then I wasn't sure if I turned off my straightener and Dan wanted to grab the extra back-ups from last night's wedding - so Dan ran home (since we were only 5 mins away from home!)

WHAT A BEAUTIFUL CHURCH!! I would love to photograph there again : ) Such great lighting, what a pretty day!!! Everything went well, we saw lots of college friends and they had a nice, casual reception at a park nearby the church - how perfect : )

I will never forget the speech Gina's {twin} sister/MoH gave - she is absolutely hysterical! I wish I had it on video!!!

Oh yeah - Gina is a twin, Dan is a triplet!!! Multiple multiples?! Only time will tell....

I'm out - church in just a few hours!

~K : )

Another Wedding Weekend!!!!!

2009-08-21T23:29:00.000-05:00

Whew!!!! Exhausted!

Today we had Joel and Rachel's wedding - what a great day!!! They had great weather, great people attending and great food ; ) mmmmmm...... Salmon.......

There ceremony was at Bethlehem Baptist in downtown Mpls - we also headed to Stone Arch Bridge area for pictures before the ceremony - a favorite place of ours for pictures!

After their wonderful ceremony, we headed to Como Park/Zoo/Conservatory for their reception. It was such a beautiful setting!! So elegant, so Joel and Rachel - just perfect!!! (Dan lived in the same house with Joel for a year in college - and I have certainly enjoyed getting to know them better!)

They had a fabulous jazz band, {again} great food and so much fun!! If you wanted to get them to kiss, you had to SHOW them how to kiss - LOVE it! (Dan and I even got to be an example!)

Well - I am pooped - and we have to be up at 7am for a wedding tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!!!!

zzzzzZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzZZZZZZZZz

oh - good night!

~K : )

Thursday?!?!

2009-08-20T14:40:00.000-05:00

Seeing as though the week was SO short - I can hardly believe it's Thursday already!! We have a busy weekend ahead of us, more client meetings and lots of emails to catch up on!!!

I had a great time (as always!) in Minnetonka today : ) I feel so blessed to be a part of the team on that house!

I know these are all such short posts lately, but we have a lot to do for our weddings!!!!

Peace out, {hahaha}
~K

Back into the swing of things...

2009-08-19T16:11:00.002-05:00

Here we are, back into life! All geared up and ready for work, I had a meeting today which is typically followed by a shift at my house in Savage - 15 minutes into my drive (which was not a fun one because it was raining SO hard) I got a call from Dan saying that I/we were in the middle of a Tornado warning! My shift was canceled and I got to go home to be with my boys : )

Thanks be to God that we were not struck by the worst of the storm. Prayers for families of South Minneapolis that were hit by the tornado.

But, here I am back at home, ready for the evening - let's call it a short post today folks!!

Out -

~K : )

2 years!!!

2009-08-18T22:04:00.002-05:00

So today is our two year anniversary! We decided to head home today, on our way we stopped at Split Rock Light House. We got there at the right time because on the 15th of August (just 3 days ago) they open the island that typically houses migrating birds. So, we ventured out there (after Dan's brave attempt to teach me how to skip rocks) and Dan carried me via piggy-back to the island (there is knee deep water). I appreciated him carrying me through : )

We sat out on the rocks for a bit, Dan took some nice pictures and we headed back towards our car. From there we drove to Gooseberry Falls - where the main conversation on our way there was about - "what IS a gooseberry?" ........ we never did find out!

We had a good drive home. Most of the way we played the quick Monopoly - I rolled and just told Dan what he got ; )

Once we were home, Dan blessed me with the gift of unpacking/sorting/cleaning everything : ) It was just what I needed after this camping trip : )

Here's to two FABULOUS years : )

~K

Day two: Monday

2009-08-17T16:36:00.000-05:00

We woke up early early again to watch the sun rise. It was pretty : ) (Dan posted pictures on our DnK Blog)

Anyways - back to the day - we got back from the sunrise, had a hot breakfast (Dan had oatmeal, I had my 'Mighty Tasty Hot Breakfast' we each got to have berries on our breakfast....mmmmm.....)

We then decided to stay at Tettegouche another night. So we got another campsite (number 4). Once it was time for us to move, we decided to just carry the ten down the road - it was pretty hilarious!

We then decided to go to Carlton Peak once we had our new site reserved. HOW COOL! I felt like I was in a different world! All those birch trees?! Pretty awesome : ) After that we decided to head back to Tettegouche, but we stopped first for katsup - a must have for our Bison burgers tonight ; )

After we got the katsup, we stopped at Caribou Falls. Dan was pretty stoked for this walk. We got a little sidetracked as he was taking pictures by the stream that is down from the falls. So we decided to do some 'off-roading' and continue to walk up river, following a seemingly old path.... This turned out to be a minor disaster.... you see, we were trying SO hard to keep our shoes dry - they were the only pair of tennies I own, and Dan's other pair were already soaking from the day before (mine had already dried out!). So we didn't want to walk in the creek, but once we were scaling the side of a mountain/hill that was falling out beneath us, we decided it was time. Luckily, I realized I had my handy-dandy 'crocs' with me - so my tennies didn't had to drown ; )

Once we got to the falls, we realized that is was worth it.... only if we had time to swim in the pool a the bottom of it!! No one was down there but us (and Moses) - it would have been great to swim, but the off-roading took extra time and we had to get back to our campsite to move it!

We got back moved the tent WHOLE and then we were tired, wet, hungry, but we certainly had a feeling of accomplishment from the day. After our yummy Bison burgers, we went to the spot where Momo swam before and let him swim more - as well as Danny taking some pictures.

After than, Dan and Momo were frozen, so we made apple cinnamon tea, played Monopoly and went to bed : ) mmmm...... Oh - and we froze both nights - it got down to 50.... and we didn't bring a blankly.....

The little/big trip - day one

2009-08-16T16:19:00.001-05:00

We got up at 4am and left for the Duluth area - EARLY...... whew.... We got up to our first campsite - staying at Tettegouche State Park. However, the people staying at site 11 (our site for the night) didn't leave the site until around 3.... so, being that it was 9am, we thought we would do some hiking...

So we hiked and hiked - in the rain and in the sun : ) We stopped by a nice place (that Dan thought was 'Shovel Point') to take Moses swimming. That was fun!! Before we knew it, it was 3is/4ish and we got to set up our camp site! The day before we decided to spend the money I had saved up (as a surprise) on a new tent : ) This made me very happy because I could stand up in it and bring an air mattress : ) Hey, don't get me wrong, I don't mind camping, but it is more fun when your back and neck isn't sore from the hard ground!! ; )

That night we had yummy chicken breasts, corn on the cob and spent the night playing travel/speed Monopoly (thank you Karen!!!) I must say, we're a bit addicted now!

In Remembrance Of Grandpa Ed

2009-08-15T16:21:00.000-05:00

Today we got up and drove to Thorp for Grandpa Ed's memorial service. I was bittersweet to say the least.

Grandpa Ed passed away on July 25th (I believe) so we were prepped for this day - somewhat.

We got to look through many old pictures (and some newer ones too) that other relatives had and many from GE's personal stash. He probably had 5-10 copies of EVERY picture... no joke! It may sounds incredibly overwhelming (which it probably was for the ones who collected it all) but it was nice because then no one had to fight over who got what pictures!

There was a short service at the Thorp Funeral home and then we all went to the cemetary where his ashes were buried. Oh - back to the service, it was so nice to hear Randy speak about his father. I pray that someone there was touched by the words he shared.

The burial part of it was pretty surreal - I haven't been to a funeral since my great-uncle passed. That was awhile ago. Lucky for us, we had nice clouds - and for a brief moment, the sun did shine upon us... kinda like out of a movie - again, making it oh the more surreal.

After the burial we walked over to Millie's grave site. Millie was born in 1952 - she passed away not long after birth. I believe she was born 2 years after Randy? I can't quite remember....

As we were walking back to the car was when it hit me - I still have all four of my grandparents. For being a 24 year-old, that is pretty rare. What a blessing; but potentially making it all the more difficult to say goodbye. At this point is when I really started crying (I had gotten choked up many times before this....). I don't want to think about what that will be like when it really hits home - but my amazing husband reminded me of the AMAZINGLY UNIQUE legacy my Grandpa Paul and Grandma Marilyn especially have left me (and the other 7 grandchildren). As Judy has said, every person they (Paul and Marilyn) meet has a better day because of meeting them. They make EVERY PERSON they speak to feel important to them - because they ARE. They have the MOST caring hearts I have ever known.

Beyond this, I cannot even being to express what they mean to me. I know I am awful at correspondence, (which they are fabulous at) but I pray with my whole heart that they truly know how much they have impacted my life - and many others. Someday, when they get to meet Jesus, the angels will rejoice to have them home. Gosh heaven is lucky. I also pray that we can keep them here a bit longer. There are SO many people on this earth that could learn from their lives. I pray they can touch thousands more. I pray they can see their great-grandchildren someday - I pray my children would be that blessed to even be held by them, have a picture with them, to be read to by them; to BE like them.

(playing catchup!) FRIDAY!

2009-08-14T15:55:00.000-05:00

(yes, I will be talking in the past, I am back-writing....)

Today I worked, and once I got home was able to spend time with the Berdal clan again : )

It was yet another hot day, so we played outside with Layton's newest toy - a parking garage/ramp thing that most 2 year old boys would adore : ) We tried to make it be a big special thing from Dan and I - and that was later trumped by the amazing adventure that took place outside....

We brought it out to play with it in the shade. I decided to do some gardening - wait, no, I mean, weed pulling... I am not to be mistaken for a gardener! ; ) Inevitably, once I pulled out the hose to do some watering after I weeded a lot - Layton was VERY interested in intrigued. What came to pass was about an hour of water fun in our backyard - we still have the mud hole to prove it! It was SO hilarious..... I am excited to process all of the pictures and post some for your enjoyment : )

After the mudfest was over, R, J & L left to go get Aylana in Eau Claire for the memorial tomorrow. We have a relaxing night preparing for our big camping trip : )

Babies, Toddlers and Dogs

2009-08-13T22:01:00.002-05:00

Well - today was a day for the kids (include four-legged ones).

This morning, I had a stellar session in Minnetonka - I always enjoy working with that kid : )

This afternoon was filled many fun things. We went for a walk and Layton got to play at the little water park/water splash funness near our home. When we was cooled off from the water, he requested to play on the playground - I will upload a picture of him wearing Dan's t-shirt.... priceless : )

Layton got up the courage to go down most of the slides - then we decided to allow me to go down the "big orange" with him. The "big orange" is, well, big and orange! It is probably 20ish feet high!!! It is a swirly/twirly slide and once he had the mental strength to do it on his own - we could hardly get him to stop!!

It is so very sweet to see how enamored he is with Daniel : ) I think he would spend every waking minute by Dan's side if he could. You can tell Layton really is yearning for that figure in his little life. They have such a sweet connection; it's so very precious!

Later today we had a photo session with one of our September weddings. We took pictures of their (almost) 9 month old baby girl Ena (pronounced N-ah, like the letter N, then the sound ah - such a cool unique name!) She is just precious!! Check out our DnK blog mid/late next week for pictures of her : )

Then we were off to meet R&J at CostCo so we could get them checked out. Time for bed! I work at 8am tomorrow morning!

~K : )

Hot hot sun!

2009-08-12T21:13:00.002-05:00

Today was yet another hot hot day! I am SO thankful the entire summer has not been like this! I am one who does not appreciate the humidity! Dry heat is preferred here!!!

Today I just had one shift at my new house in Savage. It went well!! Which was great : ) This morning we got a lot done for DnK work and got our car (the saabby Saab) It has had a lot of 'mis-fire' issues this summer - but it never mis-fires for them when we bring it in! Kind of frustrating! Prayers that it would get figured out sooner than later!

Also - we are trying to figure out what to do this weekend! I have one shift Friday morning (that ends at 11am) then we have a client meeting at noon. From there on till Wednesday morning we are 'off'!!! We get to have a mini-vacay : ) We were planning on doing a North Shore State Park Tour (yup - all the way up to Grand Marais!) But it looks as though it might/could/should thunderstorm all weekend - and into Tuesday!.... so we don't know what we are doing : (

Randy and Judy (Dan's parents) got here this evening. Randy has a showing/meeting at the Union Gospel Mission in St Paul. Hopefully he can find out more about potential employment there! Prayers that would go well and God's will would be shown.

On Saturday the Berdal clan will head out to Thorp (Wisconsin) for Grandpa Ed's memorial service. It will be nice to see that side of the family, but unfortunate for the circumstances as to why we are meeting.

Finally, it look as though there is not extra work to be done at the office (to pick up more hours so we can still get health insurance) and my only other secure option is to add another house and work for Lovaas 27 hours a week. Not that I can't work that much, but fall is my busy time of year with a largely elevated amount of emails (new inquries) and setting up potential client meetings, new engagement sessions and more! So, it's a tough decision. Prayers that we will be lead to do the right thing : )

Well - the clan is back from their walk. I started out with them, but then Kirst called and the back tire on the bike blew out so I had to run home, run back and find them (I didn't have the keys for their car, it was parking ours in) run home, move the cars, put the bike rack on and go get her : ) They got back from their fun at the park a bit ago - so I am going to go join them!

Have a great night!

~Karin : )

Busy days!

2009-08-11T23:54:00.000-05:00

Tuesdays are my busy days - up early to work at 8, get home at 6:30/:45... But I do usually have an extra 15 min or so to meet Dan at Willow Creek Park to just chat, walk and hang out : ) It is always nice to have that break!

After I got home tonight we went off to the Green Mill in Uptown to meet Karen and Chris for pizza (not for me ; ) It is always SO much fun to hang out with them : ) I love those two so much, I couldn't be more excited for two people to get married!!!!!!! They are so stinkin' perfect for each other. Prayers for them that they will find the right house and not get to overwhelmed by the massive amount of homes for sale right now. Also, for God's continued guidance and strength as they are in this time of being engaged to be MARRIED!!!! : )

I forgot to mention yesterday that we received a big package in the mail with lots of new pictures for our 8x10 album : ) That was really exciting to put that together!! We also had a print in there for Andrea (high school Andrea) - she ordered one from us for her brother Dan as a wedding gift! They are getting married this weekend - we feel so honored to be part of a gift like that : )

We wrapped up tonight with watching some more of 'How I Met Your Mother' : ) Always great.

Now, of course, we have stayed up too late..... luckily I don't work in the morning tomorrow!!!

~K : )

Monday Monday Monday!

2009-08-10T09:00:00.002-05:00

Well - Mondays are our 'day of rest' - especially this month! WHEW!!! We had such an awesome weekend of weddings - but today we're pooped!

Today we are probably going to go on a couple of walks, go through pictures and then we have a client meeting this afternoon!!! We are meeting with a couple that I have been communicating with since Dec '08/Jan!!! So this has been a long time coming!

I am not going to write much - because I am tired and we're off to have fun : ) I would, however, lke to ask for continued prayers that God's plan for my work at Lovaas would be obvious to us. As I stated before, as of now, I am too low on hours to be covered under their health benefits plan. I am still talking with the office about what could happen. I'll keep you posted.

Have a great Monday!

wedding day two!

2009-08-09T23:04:00.002-05:00

WHEW! Well - we had two weekends in a row of multiple weddings - now a break and then another weekend of a double wedding!! This time the weddings will be in Fri and Sat.

Anyways - today went well - we got to photograph a reception for a couple who was married in Scotland in July! SO cool they got to do that! They had AMAZING food catered by D'Amico Catering - we had an organic green salad with raspberries, strawberries and big blackberries! Also, fire-grilled (then chilled) veggies (asparagus, big sliced carrots, peppers and more) along with ratatouille on rice, amazing green beans and carved turkey..... MMMmmmm.....

Then today we had a little bit of time left (of good sun) so we went to "Hidden Lake" (we don't know the name, it's just hard to find/no signage, so we call it 'Hidden Lake') and took Moses swimming!! That was the most swimming he's done yet! Dan jumped in and swam with him - it really freaked him out! Dan has scratches all down his chest/stomach to prove it!

Then we came home and watched Star Wars Episode V - Empire Strikes Back. Neither of us could remember what happens/d so it was fun/kept us on the edge of our futon : )

Off to bed - I tired - that seems to be a theme lately?!

~K : )

wedding day one (for the weekend!)

2009-08-08T23:37:00.000-05:00

Here we are - back from Lindsay and Nick's wedding! It was a nice day - a bit humid, but in all - a wonderful day!

We felt really blessed to be apart of their special day. We got to photograph a fabulous church, beautiful people and have a ton of fun doing it!!

We continue to learn a lot from each wedding; whether it be more about lighting, assertiveness (when need be) or ways to make kids smile and look : ) But no matter what happens - we really always do have fun at our weddings!

Lindsay and Nick's wedding took place in Young America with there reception in Chaska at a gold course (where I left my new water bottle....) We were able to get a variety of neat pictures - which was great! It helped they were easy to take pictures of ; )

Anyways - another wedding tomorrow, then next weekend we have 'off' and are headed to Granpd Ed's memorial and then up to the North Shore!

Time to get some ZZzzzs.......

~K : )

two in a day?!

2009-08-07T21:50:00.003-05:00

Yea - I am going to post again. Something I want to use this blog for too is to document daily happenings since I am bad at writing in a diary : )

This afternoon I had my 3rd facial!! After talking with Kassie about how things have been with adding in everything (but I didn't add wheat) she said that she agrees that I shouldn't add wheat back as well as dairy - SO I am going to be dairy free now too!! Tonight I had my first scoop of rice milk ice cream with wheat/dairy free 'Newman O's' - it was good! I enjoyed it : ) I wn't always be eating processed stuff like that, but it's nice every once and awhile : )

Something I really did want to document was that we took a fun walk with Moses today (before my facial) and it was nice out (a bit humid) but a nice warm breeze, a tiny bit of sun and a very energetic dog and husband. I just want to remember standing there on top of that hill in Oak Hill Park watching Dan barrel down the hill and across two soccer fields - eventually Moses followed. He goes from 0-fullspeed almost instantly and with his whole heart chases Dan. He is such a happy dog. My heart was filled with so much joy watching the two most important boys in my life playfully chase each other - I never want to forget that : )

As I sit here now, writing this, Moses is whining... Usually he whines when he needs to go potty of wants to play tug of war. But this time - Dan knew it was something different - Moses wanted a hug. So there they are, sitting, hugging and cuddling. I love the friendship that these two have. It's so precious, real and fun - I love those two SO MUCH!

Have a great night : ) We have an out of town wedding tomorrow!!

~K : )

details details details!

2009-08-07T13:05:00.001-05:00

Well - it's a rainy rainy day today! However, we need it - so it's no biggie!! We we just saying how we should get better at looking at the weather ahead of time because yesterday was nice (we could have ben outside) and today would have ben a better day to spend 7 hours + on our website! Oh well : )

We decided to change a lot on it yesterday - which is so fun! We are just about finished with our 'about us' section - finally! Now I think all we want to do is add a few pictures to the 'portraits' section and we're good!!!

I am super excited to go in today around 4:30 go get my 3rd of 4 facials from Kassie : ) everything is working out so nicely from this detox - I am excited to continue eating in my 'new' ways!

I am a little anxious this afternoon because I received my fall schedule for Lovaas and it looks as though I may be under the amount of hours needed to be covered for health/dental insurance. Don't get me wrong, I am not just working at Lovaas for the purpose of health insurance, but because we own our own business - it is a huge perk. I guess I would just love prayers for guidance in this situation - and not to freak out.

Well - back to DnK work!

~Karin : )

The day of the web....

2009-08-06T21:34:00.003-05:00

Yesterday Kirst had two friends arrive who are in town for a wedding this weekend - it has been fun getting to know them and have them around! This morning I had the yearning to make french toast (even tough I didn't eat any!) so luckily I had Heather and Kylie here to help Dan and Kirst eat them! I really love cooking and baking and feeding people - there is just something some pleasing about it!! (even when you can't/don't eat the outcome : )

I had one shift today at my Minnetonka house - he was a rockstar today!! I love working with that boy - great family, great kid! He has only been in the program since last (early) October really - and he has come SO far! I am super excited to see him continue to progress!!

Then, this afternoon we sent much time - okay all the rest of the day even up until now working on the DnK Photography website!!! Seriously - check it out! New music made by one of our good friends (Matt Damico!), our most current work, and a great new home screen Dan put together! Whew! Go Team! It was a long process - but SO satisfying!

Going through all of these photographs makes me realize we, apart from God, can do nothing. I mean - 4 years ago I would have never even DREAMED that I would be a co-owner/co-photographer of a professional photography company!! (Let alone being married to the man of my dreams AND working with him, while owning a house and a dog!) GOD IS SO GOOD! geeze... it's crazy folks, it really is crazy! I am so excited to see where God continues to take us - children? staying in Minnesota? moving? adopting? Who knows??

This past weekend we had the two weddings at Northwestern College - we are so happy with how everything went both days! The weather was awesome, the people were fabulous and everything went SO well! Here are our favorites from both days (in a Facebook album on our DnK Photography Fan Page):
Matt and Becca: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Minneapolis-MN/DnK-Photography/7221789901#/album.php?aid=96546&id=7221789901&ref=mf
Tracy and Anna: (I will post this soon - they are still uploading!)

Also - feel free to check out the newly updated website: www.DnKPhotography.com

Well - we're going to watch and episode of the "Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" super excited : ) haha

Love to all - have a great night!

~Karin : )

Wacky Wierdo Wednesday

2009-08-05T19:01:00.003-05:00

Ha - so maybe I am not all that creative with the whole "new title" thing... I'll try to work on that ; )

Yesterday I was really looking forward to this morning because I don't work until noon on Wednesdays (well, this summer at least) but that was the one day of the week that Dan was always working!!! SO - I was excited because we could sleep in together!! (I work Tues, Thurs, Fri mornings @8 ish) BUT I was rudely awaken by something.... not the dog, not a garbage truck (that's tomorrow!) a lot of cramps and other unpleasant things.... seriously - I just wanted to sleep in until maybe 8:30 - but no....

Anyways - so I worked during our meeting in Minnetonka and then had a shift in Savage right after that. The Savage house is my new house. It is (and will continue to be) a good learning experience. I have never (in my life) been swung at, bit, scratched and screamed at so much. It takes a lot of patience, diligence, strength (mental and physical) and prayers to get through these shifts sometimes, but I keep turning my thoughts turn to Matthew 18:1-5 where the disciples ask Jesus who is the greatest (person) in heaven. Jesus proceeds to simply tell them "children". God's heart is so soft towards his children - of course - all children, but especially the young, weak and unable to yet care for themselves. This verse continues to humble me and break me down. Even when I am being stared at with this most angry, evil, upset face I have ever seen from a child, I need to continually remind myself of God's love for his young children.

I would love prayers for continued strength in my sessions when his behaviors are tough. I have learned SO much from working with the children I have through Lovaas. I know God put me in this job to teach me how to be a better parent. (SOME day!)

Well - Dan and I are about to embark on a grand adventure - taking our self-portraits photo-booth style!!! We have this 'photo-booth' that we set up at weddings - so we thought it would be fun to set it up in our living room and take pictures of us (and Moses!) for our website : ) OH BOY it's gonna be fun!!! Seriously : ) We're going to try to get Moses to wear my sun glasses again : )

I should go help him set up! Thanks for checking in - I really don't know who reads this frequently, but I want to extend my thanks and gratitude for allowing me to talk and vent about the things going on in life. We really appreciate all the prayers - may God bless your life as you are blessing ours. Please send us any prayer requests that you may have! (TheBerdals@gmail.com)

In Him,

~Karin
(and Dan - as always : )

Tuesday Tuesday Tuesday....

2009-08-04T22:55:00.001-05:00

I thought now that I am done with the detox I would have better titles for my blog posts : )

So - Tuesdays!!! Tuesdays are my Mondays.... (Since I don't work for Lovaas on Mondays!) Tuesdays are long days for me - so I don't get much DnK work or house work done - so that is frustrating. BUT Dan now promised me that (so I can focused better on our clients/potential clients) that he will take FULL responsibility for the dishes and laundry.... hehe : ) I'll keep you posted on how that goes ; )

I really am thankful for my job with Lovaas - it is so amazing to be able to work halftime and get fabulous health/dental insurance! We are very blessed.

I really don't have much to write today other than I got to enjoy a 15 minute break with hubby Dan at Willow Creek park where he brought me lunch between shifts!! How nice is he!!!

But - I am off to bed... :p tired!!!

~K : )