CLICK HERE FOR FREE BLOGGER TEMPLATES, LINK BUTTONS AND MORE! »

Sunday, February 13, 2011

Valentine's Weekend!

This weekend has been WONDERFUL!  Nothing too eventful going on...however, with Jason being gone all week with work and I was at work earlier and later than normal this week, it was nice to relax and just spend time together!

On Saturday we just relaxed...watched some romantic movies, caught up with some emails and some house work, and Jason made us a steak dinner!  It was yummy and perfect...however, he made me work for it by having to fan a towel under the smoke detector because they decided to start blaring...and he did not even burn anything...LOL!!!

Today we got up and went to church at Southland Christian Church..it was a great experience and we are definitely going again!!!  We have gone back and forth between Church of Christ and Christian churches recently...both have what we really want the only huge difference amongst the two is instruments/no instruments. We had waited until now to visit Southland mainly because it is HUGE!  In fact many people joke that it is Lexington's version of Six Flags over Jesus...which in return refers to Southeast Christian Church in Louisville which is not only HUGE but MASSIVE (escalators included)...good thing for us Southland is not that big!  It definitely made us nervous to made this trek to the church building this morning.  But as we are driving I am praying that God would relieve this nervousness and help us to know today if this was a place for us or not.  We had to park so far out that there were buses driving people up to the building!  We chose to hike it...exercise and worship all in one morning...can't beat that!!!  So when we got inside we were just as amazed at the size of the inside as we were on the outside!  Much to Jason's hesitation I got as pretty close to the front and I am so glad that I did!  The worship music was wonderful, the message was even better, and we both walked away LOVING it!!!  God definitely showed me that I was wrong!!!  Next we are going to go to the "newcomers" class so we can get familiar with everything.  Then hopefully we will get connected with a Life Group...which we feel is very important with a church this size!  We are bound a determined to get connected at this congregation!  Thank you for those of you who have been praying for us to find the church that suits us best!  Your prayers have worked and we can't thank you enough!

This week and weekend we will be preparing and planning for Jason's dad, Jerry to come for a visit!  We are so excited to see him!  We are praying this warm weather sticks around because he is not a huge fan of cold weather.  If I was from California I would not be a huge fan either...as it is...I am already tired of it!

To wrap up a wonderful and MUCH warmer weekend I made us customized chocolate shakes!

                               Jason's double chocolate gummy bear shake

                                    Ashley's double chocolate shake

Go love on someone special!
-Ashley

Saturday, February 5, 2011

There is Always Light at the End of....Errr...There is Always Spring at the End of Winter!

Well it has been a while and to be honest I am not going to make any excuses.  Jason and I have been fighting sickness after sickness, working, trying to get everything organized in our lives, and mounds of other things.  Needless to say it has been a long couple of months...but there is light at the end of the tunnel.

I am not sure about anyone else but it seems that the winter months seem to be the hardest!  Very little daylight, very cold temperatures, and for many the holidays only bring heartache, hurt, and sadness.  Well the holidays seemed to go pretty great for us this year...it was the after part that seemed to get to be the depressing point.  Having to take down the tree and all the decorations and for us...snow (which we got a lot of before Christmas too).  Snow, snow, and more snow!!!  Since November we have had snow on the ground at least once every week!  It has snowed so much I was beginning to think we lived in the white grass state and not the bluegrass state!  LOL!  Normally I do not complain about snow because I love it and I think it is so beautiful...however, this snow has worn out its welcome!  Not sure where this picture came from but it has been circulating amongst some of my friends and it basically sums up how many people are currently feeling.

Now that I have ranted about snow...I am finished...I promise!!!  For the last month during my prayer time I am focusing on staying positive!  Haha!  I know what you are thinking..."but you just whined and complained about snow!  How is that positive?"  Well I know...and I confess that staying positive all the time is hard...but I did not have to say that...you knew that.  But at the same time that makes my point!  During the winter it is the hardest to stay positive...at least in my opinion!  So I believe that is why God laid this on my heart...He knew that I could do this and so I am working hard at it!  Sometimes I have to close myself in a closet and scream, but after that I am fine (and no one knows about those moments anyways right?)  LOL!  Throughout the day I have my prayer time broke up...as I am in the shower or getting ready I spend time praying about the day in general and people that are on my heart and mind.  On my way to work I pray solely and completely for my students, my coworkers, my boss, the school in general, all the families I come in contact with, etc., during lunch I pray for specific people that I set aside for that time, and in the evenings I pray for whatever is on my heart again.  I know that seems complex but for me it works really well and leaves me knowing that I covered everything that I wanted to pray about throughout the day.  It is amazing...since I have put the positive spin on all my prayer times I have seen so many small prayers answered!  It helps me to remember and to know that God has and will answer with the big things as well.  

For those of you who have been asking and have been praying I wanted to give you a very small update on Mom.  She is going to be going to the neurosurgeon on Tuesday...we are praying for answers.  She has been making these almost hiccuping noises randomly...they are uncontrollable and Mom fully believes they are neural.  Her family doctor had her on an oxygen monitor on Tuesday night/Wednesday to monitor her oxygen levels (because sometimes with this hiccuping thing she stops breathing).  As far as Mom could tell her oxygen levels looked within the normal range...I guess she will find out more from the doctor soon.  Please continue to pray...that is the best thing we can do right now.

Some other people I have been praying for is my parent's ministers wife...Debbie...she is currently at Cancer Centers of America on Chicago.  It has been hard for them...our family as is rest of the church family are very close to them.  Also a coworker of mine has been out for a couple days...her husband is in the hospital and has been having several health issues.  This is a hard time of the year...but I believe this is when God is the closest to us...we just have to look next to us and take a moment to feel His loving arms wrapped around us. 

I have been working really hard at varying our menu here at home...trying lots of new recipes...some have been awesome...some not so good!  In the next couple weeks I hope to share some of the good ones with you.  I have also been working on some projects...turning some used stuff into new stuff by altering it in different ways.  Over the next couple weeks I promise to update you on all my ideas.  But for now I am getting off of here...I know this has been too long and my hubby is waiting for me to snuggle with him...and I am ready to get warm!  ;)

Finding something to be positive about today!

Ashley

Sunday, October 3, 2010

Cake Balls...YUMM-O!!!


At the potluck we went to today there was a very yummy dessert! I think someone called them cake balls...it basically consists of cake and icing made into a ball and then dipped into chocolate! SO EASY!!!! And the possibilities are limitless! I intend to try tons of different flavors as the holidays begin. Below is a link for a recipe to give you a better idea! Let me know what flavors you try! :-)

http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/cake-balls/Detail.aspx

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great evening! :-)

An Amazing Lord's Day...

Today has been a wonderful day! We woke up and decided to go to my Aunt Linda and Uncle Ben's church in Winchester, KY. Uncle Ben is the minister at Forest Grove Christian Church. I am so glad we made this spontaneous trip. The church was very welcoming and friendly before they even knew that I was the Great Niece of the minister, which says a whole lot about a church!!! In Jason's words, "That church has soul". It is refreshing to worship in a church with God's people that are truly caring and loving and welcoming.

Recently we had an experience that was not as great. For all of you "church-goers" out there...I urge you to make sure you go over and beyond to make sure your visitors feel welcome, it truly makes a difference. After visiting a church recently where we were welcomed by 1 person...yes I said 1, uno...this is NOT an exaggeration, we want something totally opposite of that!!!

Anyways, after worshiping at Forest Grove we had the privilege to go to my cousin's church for a potluck (Uncle Ben and Aunt Linda's daughter...Jan). It was such great food and the people were so welcoming! I also found a fellow coupon clipper!!! YAY! And Jason thought I was nuts...I am NOT the only one! Yay! :-)

We also got to stay at Uncle Ben and Aunt Linda's and visit for a long while...it was really nice to catch up! I had not really seen them since before I went to college minus seeing them at Grandpa's funeral. And then I did not get to really see them because Gpa was so popular that we had hundreds of people to talk to. Uncle Ben and Aunt Linda have 6 kids...5 girls and 1 boy!! They have about 20 grandkids (I think that is the most updated number). They are such a great example as to how Christians should live. I am just sorry that I have not more opportunities to visit with them in life like I had today.

I have to say that the events of today helped to make this weekend one of the best weekends I have had in a while!!! Jason and I ended it by enjoying a nice pot of homemade potato soup! It was delicious! I am so thankful for all of our family! God has truly blessed my life!!!

Saturday, October 2, 2010

The perfect Saturday with the love of my life...


Today was an amazing day spent with the love of my life! We had a lot of fun seeing another small glimpse of Kentucky. It was such a beautiful day...the weather was perfect! We traveled to Richmond, KY which was about a 30 minute drive and hiked a trail to what we thought would be Fort Boonesborough only to find out it was not...but we got some great pictures anyway!!! :-) Then we traveled down the road to find the real Fort!! :-) We got to the gate and realized we had to pay $8 a person to get in and Jason did not think it was worth it but I talked him into and I am so glad I did...and so is he! We had tons of fun learning some history of Daniel Boone and his family and friends. The Fort is a living historical place from April 1st to October 31st...so glad we caught it in time! We visited the gift shop and Jason found some prints of historical documents that he really liked so he got them and I got an inkwell and quill pen! I am excited to write with it!

As soon as we got back into Lexington I swear the temp dropped about 10-15 degrees! It got chili!!!! We went shopping at Hobby Lobby (my all-time favorite store!!!) Jason was a great sport! They had a lot of stuff 50% off so I got a few crosses to put on my cross wall! :-) Jason even picked a couple out that he liked.

Afterwards we were planned to go to Joe Bologna's, a local pizza place that is located in an old church but there was no where to park and it is in downtown Lexington so we voted on soup at Ol'Charlies...unfortunately it was awful but oh well! We ended the night out by picking up some necessary items at Target!

It was such a great day!!! Thank you for stopping by to see a glimpse into our crazy lives!!!

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

In My Arms

As I open this blog I wanted to let you know where my inspiration came for the title. It came from a song called In My Arms by Plumb that I hear on Air1 all the time. Here are the lyrics...it is very uplifting and I feel it speaks to me:

Plumb - In My Arms
From the album Blink

Plumb – In My Arms
From the album – Blink

Your baby blues
So full of wonder
Your curly cues
Your contagious smile
And as I watch
You start to grow up
All I can do
Is hold you tight
Knowing…

Chorus:
Clouds will rage and
Storms will race in
But you will be safe
In my arms
Rains will pour down
Waves will crash around
But you will be safe
In my arms

Storybooks
Are full of fairytales
Of Kings and Queens
And the bluest skies
But my heart is torn
Just in knowing
You'll someday see
The truth from lies
When the…

Chorus:

Bridge
Castles they might crumble
Dreams may not come true
But you are never all alone
Cause I will always
Always love you


This is a GREAT reminder...we are NEVER all alone!!!!