Happy Father's Day

Jonathan celebrated his first Father's Day yesterday. It was a special day, because we dedicated the boys at church. Here are some pics below:

My friend Amanda took pictures for us! I don't know why we look so pensive, we had a wonderful time. The pastor shared what each name meant and the life verse that goes along with it. Jonah's name means declarer of joy and salvation (literally 'dove'). And his verse is one of my personal favorites from Acts 4:20, in which the disciples respond to those who are persecuting them by explaining that they "cannot help but speak of the things they had seen and heard." I think it is a very powerful witness about the majesty of Christ. I hope it rings true in the life of my little "declarer."And Zach's name means "humbled before God" - such a poigant reflection of what was going on in our lives right before we received news of the twins. The pastor noted that God can do mighty things with a man who is indeed humbled before Him. Zach is already shaping up to be quite strong, and I pray he remains pliable in the hands of his creator. His life verse comes from Psalm 25:14: "The friendship of the Lord is for those who fear him; and he makes known to them his covenant."

Along with Zach and Jonah, another family dedicated their youngest children as well. The Aune family has two sets of twins - yes, you read that right - TWO sets!!! Their youngest, Elijah and Sophia are in Zach and Jonah's class at church. Thanks Randy and Gloria for all your hardwork in putting the dedication together. We love our "tiny New Testaments" with the boys' names on them and the lovely certificates with calligraphy on them. They are beautiful reminders of the event. The dedication made Jonathan's first Father's Day very special!

And Jonathan, we love you Daddy and think you've been outstanding this past year. We can't wait to see what the next year brings for you as a Father!

And to all of the other Dads in our lives - Grandaddy and Papooh and Grandad - we can only say thank you for modeling what it is to be a godly, strong Father.

Love,
Zach and Jonah

Scrapbooking Credits: CathyK Designs kit "One Find Day" and frame by Ellie Lash "On the Move" kit.

We want a pitcher! Not a belly itcher!

Let's get it on. We have introduced sports to the boys, Zach has gravitated to golf and Jonah is partial to baseball. We will be experimenting with different sports in the coming months and hope to expose them to all of their options, while ultimately leaving the decision up to them. We are also waiting to see whether they are both left or right handed or a combination. If combination, this opens a separate can of worms altogether allowing them to pair up on either side (left-rt wide receivers, dual strikers, tennis doubles). Stay tuned.

Obssessed with Photoshop Actions

Because I'm not a particularly good photographer, I was syked to discover Photoshop actions - preprogrammed actions that you "play" in Photoshop that boost your photos, add or take away color, etc. You can find all sorts of actions. Some of my favorite websites that offer free actions include CoffeeShop Actions, the Pioneer Woman, and MCP. You can run them several times on the same photo or combine different actions for tons of different effects.

I took this photo of our good friends Craig and Amanda Williams at our block party. I thought it was a great shot of them, although the exposure and shadows were a bit off.

Here is my original pic:

This set is from the Pioneer Woman (which if you haven't already discovered her blog you have been missing out!!!!).

Here is her Ethereal Action:And her 70s Action:And her Vintage Action: The following actions are from Coffeeshop Actions - another great site with tons of freebie for photo correction and general photography insight:

Here is the Perfect Portrait Action : which whitens teeth/eyes and softens skin

While the Williams certainly don't need any help in these areas, some us *cough cough* do.

Here is the Coffeeshop Urban Action:

It is one of my favorites because it makes all photos took really cool and a little grungy. (I use it a lot on photos of the boys.)Here is the Coffeeshop Vivid Action:

I use this one a lot too because it sharpens, highlights, and boosts color. I used this action in most of my block party pictures because it was so bright outside that day and most of the photos had a lot of shadows. The last action comes from MCP Actions.

This is their free Pencil Sketch action, which is really cool!
Download some actions today and have some fun with your photos!

Block Party 2009

Every year, our church hosts a community-wide block party. The last two years my friend, Jess, has been the main organizer and mobilizes our whole church to action! Everything is free - food, music, games, prizes. Our student band played (Band 180) and did a great job! Also, a local band called Abandon played - really cool too. Great job everyone - take a load off this week and recoop from the heat!

Puffs

They really ARE magical.

They turn frowns into smiles They minimize cryingThey keep busy little hands occupied Now only if the can could magically refill itself!

Credits: Frame by MGL studio, 356 kit and Coffeeshop Actions, Vivid

The Cousins

The past few weeks we've been blessed for the twins to see all their cousins. First up, we went to NC and played with the little red-headed sweetie, Gwennie B -

- who's toes are equally as sweet!
Then we drove to Paris (Texas) because Jonathan had a work conference in Dallas. We got to see the newest cousin - baby Jude and the I-man.

{Baby Jude}

{Isaac gave the boys lots of hugs.}

And last of all, on our way home we swung by Tyler and ate at the best Mexican food restaurant in East Texas - Mercados - and had a great lunch with Caleb, Bethany, and Josh.

We had so much fun! We love all you guys!!!!!!!
Credits: Frame by Ellie Lash's On the Move Kit.

11 months

The countdown is on. The boys will be one-year-old in exactly one month! I'm typing as fast as I can right now to get this posted before the little boogers wake up. They are still doing great - sleeping through the night, taking two 2-hour naps a day, taking four bottles of formula, and three meals.

Their new favorite past times include puffs - these little Gerber snacks for babies that dissolve in their mouths. They go bonkers when they see the puffs container. And well, if you shake the cans so that they hear the puffs knocking around inside, well, then they turn into little rockets ready to shoot out of their high chairs. It is too funny. Sometimes I shake the can just to hear them squeal a few more times. Is that mean?

They also love to crawl and stand up. Zach has been mobile for a while and Jonah just started crawling and pulling himself up this week. Zach mastered the stairs and both of them can get down off the couch by sliding on their bellies. We have been amazed at how little you have to teach them - they just figured out on their own how to crawl and stand and slide around. They didn't see us doing any of those things. They just did them.

The boys are babbling like crazy - saying mama and dada. Sometimes we hear Zachy whispering to himself like he's telling himself a secret. Both are clapping and when they return your smile it melts the heart. Yesterday, I went into their room to get them up from their naps, and both boys were standing up in their cribs facing each other, just talking away to each other. I guess it is a sign of more things to come...