Happy Birthday to the most amazing Daddy and Husband!

Happy Birthday to my Dream Husband and the Best Dad in the World!

Here are just a few of the things I LOVE about my husband.

1. His lives his faith out everyday!


2. He gives his life away in ministry. He was in vocational ministry for 12 years and now continues to volunteer with ministries he is passionate about. I have never known anyone who invests in people more than my husband.


3. He buys me a pair of designer jeans with his birthday money every year! He claims it is the best thing he could spend his money on "the gift that keeps on giving:)


4. He challenges our family to live simply and counter culturally daily with our time, finances and choices.


5. He tells his kids he loves them and is proud of them every single day.


6. He is INTENTIONAL with all is relationships.


7. He is always affectionate with me.


8. He invests in our marriage and works at it all the time.


9. Every big date since we have been dating he shows up with a new dress, or takes me shopping so I feel great in a new dress on the date.


10. He is an unbelievably talented musician. His voice makes people weep.


11. He dreamed about being a college president when he was in 5th grade. He has the courage to pursue his dreams through his education and experiences. Now I just wish his PHD was done, and so does he:)


12. He loves passionately, not ever holding back.


13. You can not make Aaron say anything critical about someone. He finds the best in people.


14. He kisses his kids all the time.


15. He notices every new shirt, haircut, or decoration because he wants to make people feel special.


16. He always whistles and sings. . . .


17. He listens, supports and encourages me everyday. Almost every night he makes sure we get time in the hot tub to sit face to face and connect.


18. I know this man sounds to good to be true, that is what my brother and Dad thought when they first met him. . . they held out for 6 months. And now they would say he is the real thing!


19. He is one of the most talented speakers I have ever heard. The way he communicates his faith and convictions is truly an amazing gift from God.

Aaron I love you so much it hurts and you are by far the greatest gift God has ever given to me. On to the pictures. . . of my sweet husband!


He puts up with my crazy family, and never complains.
Here he is at his going party from YL with one of his best friends in the world talking about what a impact aaron had made in his life.

Here we are at our favorite vacation spot in the world.
Leading songs at a Special Needs YL camp.
The day our baby girl was placed in our arms forever.

First Base coach when he knows near nothing about baseball.

Making Lemonade out of Lemons

Okay it has snowed for the last 4 days and I am so sick of it I could scream. It is almost April and it is snowing. Then I had a brilliant idea. . . . we could take advantage of the cold weather and wear all of Lucia's cutest sweaters, hats and tights for the final time!!!! Now. . . that's making lemonade out LEMONS! So here is a cute sweater, hat and tights parade of pictures of the last 4 days! Have I mentioned how fun it is to dress a girl! I am writing in yellow to beg the SUN to come to Spokane! This is a picture from before we went to bed just incase you didn't believe me about the snow.

2 months ALREADY. . . the month of the "C's" - clapping, congestion, crawling & court!. . .

Highlights of month 2 with Lucia. . .


* She claps!


* She crawls everywhere!


* She babbles all the time!



* March Madness. . . she saw her first 2 big basketball games. . . Zags and Bucs. . The Long family way! She clapped and charmed everyone!


* She truly has fallen in love with her brothers. They fell in love with her the moment they saw her, but she now adores them too! Following them, grabbing their faces and just simply always happy to see them.

* She is trying to pull herself up. . . oh boy!

* She is the Star of Kindermusic with her buddy Isabelle and it might be her favorite 45 minutes of every week.

* She loves the bath now. . stay tuned for fun bath pics!

* She is starting to really listen to books. Instead of a wrestling match.

We love this smile!
She loves to try and walk holding hands.
Bursting with JOY!
Loving on my brothers!

Happy Bath time!

I get so many kisses from my Dad!
Crawling everywhere! The boys love to tell the story over and over again about the first time she crawled down to find them in their room by herself. They could not believe it. Neither could I when I couldn't find her!
My Grandma (Grand Mary) just moved back to Spokane to be near my parents. Lucia adores her already. Here she is trying to pull herself up to smile at her. She has been joining us for Sunday night family dinners it is so good to have her so close.

Lots of walks. When the sun comes out we are out the door on a walk. . with friends and in the neighborhood.
Re-adoption . . . it's official in WA state!
This is Lucia's new piggy face:)

Easter with bronchitis. What a good sport.

We love this baby girl so much. She is goofy, spicy, sweet, and makes us laugh and laugh. Our house is always filled with story-telling and she is adding many hysterical stories to the mix! We all can't imagine what life was like before Lucia. She is a McMurray and and we love every inch of her.

Lunch with Lucia!

First time in the sink after that meal.