Drum roll please…

It’s been some time since I’ve updated my blog. But oh, what exciting things have happened in that time!!

I’ve been crazy busy working which is a good thing. It keeps me out of trouble. ;)  lol

I’ve been spending time with the family, which is always nice.

I’ve been making Christmas presents like there was no tomorrow.

Annnnd, I’ve been anxiously planning a wedding! Which brings me to the next point…

I went and got engaged!

 

I’m so, so, sooo excited and happy. Despite all the planning there is still yet to do, the date can’t come fast enough. I’m so glad I can be sealed to my best friend and someone I love so much for time and all eternity. None of this “til death do we part” stuff. I like forever better. :) 

I’m so grateful for all that Cody is. He’s wonderful for me, and Heavenly Father knew that. He still knows it on a daily basis. Somehow all the things that I have a tough time with…all my weaknesses….are strengths of Cody’s, and he constantly helps me to better myself and reach for my potential. He’s a perfect match for me, and I’m so grateful for that. :)

So, moral of the story…..if you don’t hear from me frequently for the next couple months it could be one of two reasons…

1) I’m busy planning a wedding and don’t hardly have a clue what I’m doing lol

OR

2) My head is in the clouds and my feet are off the ground, still contemplating how I came to be so gosh darn lucky. :)

 

Mar 2010

Food for thought

“What if you woke up this morning with only the things that you thanked God for last night?”

What if that were the case? In that simple statement alone, is a great lesson of gratitude and blessings. Do we thank our Heavenly Father for the things that mean the most to us? And if we do thank our Father in Heaven  for the things that we enjoy, what’s really important to us?

If we lived in a world where that was the case and we only had the things that we had thanked God for the night before would we have a abundance of goodness in our lives? Or would our lives be empty of all the good things we enjoy every day?

Every time I get down on my knees, I’m going to ask myself that question:

“What if I woke up this morning with only the things that I thanked God for last night?”

The ending of a chapter

In the story of my life, I am reaching the end of a chapter. In the last chapter the character of our story experienced the real world. What it feels like to be grown up and responsible. To have a job to pay the bills. She experienced the thing the world calls “college life” and she saw what the world likes to call “cool” when really it’s just a bunch of individuals insecure with who they really are. Our character learned about peer pressure and standing alone when you have no other choice. With that, she also made her share of mistakes, but through those, learned that improvement starts with a moment. It’s never too late to improve yourself or change your actions. There’s always something you can do even when you think you have no other choices (that doesn’t mean they are always appealing…). She learned about friends. What it feels like to be betrayed as well as what it feels like to have the friends that stick by you through thick and thin no matter what everyone else says. She learned about love. And the past. That rarely does the past define every aspect of the future. That some things take work but are worth all the effort. And the things that take effort are the things that are worth it in the long run. Nothing good comes easy. She’s learned that everyone has their own story. That good things in life come to everyone in their own due time. That despite all the bad in the world and disappointments in life, love happens. She also knows that another chapter is just beginning. She’s experienced heartache and sadness, loneliness and emptiness, but she’s also experienced laughs and smiles, friendships and love. Life is worth it. Never give up. The darkness of the night only means the sun is in the process of rising.   

Older and wiser too!

Happy birthday to my bud!! Little does he know it yet, he’s just like I was at his age...scarily so!! Haha, but I love him. He’s  growing up so fast and he’s smarter than ever. He has handwriting that puts the rest of us to shame, and such an excitement to take on challenges and fill his brain with smarts and knowledge. He’s got a huge and tender heart. It’s what makes him him. Love you, bud!!

 

 

Steps in the right direction

 

I wanted to send a congrats out to my little sis for her choice in being baptized last month!! (I know, I’m slow….) It was such a dear and special occasion and I am very proud of her and how much she’s growing up. Love you!!

Adventures with a boy

Wednesday, Cody surprised me by taking me for a hike up to the pillars and having a picnic while watching the sunset. So much fun!! He also knows my love for taking pictures, so the camera came too. Here are just a few select pictures from our adventure:

Typical me…

Our shadows!!

 

The beautiful lilies!

 

Haha, we made it to the top :)

 

The pillars themselves…

I love the lighting and the trees in this picture…

 

And finally the sunset!!

Lizard Butte

When I was home over Spring Break Skyler and I decided to go on a hike with our dear friend, Emily.

The beautiful view.

  

Skyler was being a climber.

 

You know, it’s good to have wonderful friends :)

 

Lizard Butte where we hiked

 

After our hike we went to the duck pond!!

 

And played on the slide and the swings. So much fun!

A space to make my own

My first place of my own!! Well..not my OWN because I have a roommate…but my first apartment with my own rent and everything!! Pretty exciting! To spruce it up a bit and make it a little more cheery, this is what I did to my room.

Note: These pictures are a month or so old…so a few things have changed…

1) I have more pictures on my wall. Lots more.

2) My personal art gallery (courtesy of Hailey) has expanded significantly.

3) The flowers that my wonderful boy surprised me with have now gone the same direction that all flowers go when they expire from this world.

4) You see that beautiful fish tank on the shelf? Well, it’s currently unoccupied at the moment. The uh….previous tenants of the tank uh…took up rent in the toilet bowl…

The Touch of the Master’s Hand

When I was younger, I memorized my favorite poem, and I would like to share it’s message…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Twas battered and scarred, and the auctioneer
thought it scarcely worth his while to waste much time on the old violin, but held it up with a smile;

"What am I bidden, good folks," he cried,
"Who'll start the bidding for me?"

"A dollar, a dollar"; then two!"

"Only two? Two dollars, and who'll make it three? Three dollars, once; three
dollars twice; going for three.."

But no, from the room, far back, a
gray-haired man came forward and picked up the bow; Then, wiping the dust
from the old violin, and tightening the loosened strings, he played a melody pure and sweet, as sweet as a caroling angel sings.
The music ceased, and the auctioneer, with a voice that was quiet and low, said; "What am I bid for the old violin?" And he held it up with the bow.
“A thousand dollars, and who'll make it two? Two thousand! And who'll make
it three? Three thousand, once, three thousand, twice, and going and
gone," said he.

The people cheered, but some of them cried, "We do not
quite understand what changed its worth." Swift came the reply: "The touch
of a master's hand."
And many a man with life out of tune, and battered and scarred with sin,
Is auctioned cheap to the thoughtless crowd, much like the old violin,

A mess of pottage, a glass of wine; a game - and he travels on. He is going once, and going twice, He's going and almost gone.

But the Master comes, and the foolish crowd never can quite understand the worth of a soul
and the change that's wrought by the touch of the Master's hand.

Myra Brooks Welch

A Savior of love

“And now, after the many testimonies which have been given of him, this is the testimony, last of all, which we give of him: That he lives!” D&C 76:22

Happy Easter! :)

When you take away the festivities of the holiday, everything is re-centered.  For me, it was a plain day. The same as any other Sunday, but it reminded me that Christ’s love and sacrifice is something that should be celebrated in our hearts every day.

I know without a doubt that my Savior has loved me from the beginning. I know he loves me now. He was born in the most humble of circumstances, and lived a mortal life, more glorious than any other that’s ever graced the earth. He had friends and he had great enemies. As the scriptures say, “he went about doing good.” He took all the sins of the world upon himself, willingly. He suffered uncomprehensible pain for me. Yet, I know without a doubt, he would do it again. For me. I know he died, but I know he lives!

I sometimes wish I could have been present to witness his miracles. The blind he healed, and the hearts he mended. I wish I could have seen the lives he raised from the dead and the lame he helped walk. But when I look at my own life I realize I have witnessed all those miracles over and over again. He’s opened my eyes when I was blind. He’s healed my soul from heartache and pain. He’s helped me take steps that I never could have taken without his help, and he’s restored my life from a spiritual “death” of flaws and unperfection. He’s worked his miracles on me.

I love my Savior and his unyielding love. He offers it so willingly, and he extends it so freely. Even in my greatest moments, I will never be fully deserving of His sacrifice for me, but I hope someday I can fall at his feet and know I’ve given my life to   him. 

 

 

**Disclaimer- Beautiful artwork is the work of Greg Olsen. :)

Better than I

“I thought I did what’s right. I thought I had the answers. I thought I chose the surest road, but that road brought me here. So I put up a fight and told you how to help me, now just when I have given up, the truth is coming clear.

“You know better than I. You know the way. I’ve let go the need to know why, for you know better than I.

“If this has been a test I cannot see the reason, but maybe knowing I don’t know is part of getting through. I try to do what’s best and faith has made it easy to see the best thing I can do is put my trust in you.

“For you know better than I. You know the way. I’ve let go the need to know why, for you know better than I.

“I saw one cloud and thought it was the sky. I saw a bird and thought that I could follow. But it was you who taught that bird to fly. If I let you reach me, will you teach me?

“For you know better than I. You know the way. I’ve let go the need to know why. I’ll take what answers you supply. You know better than I.”

I know I don’t always show it the best way, or handle things with the same grace that the Queen of England would, but I love and appreciate him on a daily basis. He’s a truly wonderful being I have been blessed with in my life.

Taking silly pictures in Walmart

…Next time won’t you sing with me

Check out our ABC’s day!!

View Full Album

A-Airplanes

B-Boggle

C- Chicken, corn, and cherries

D- Dance

E- Equestrienne races

F- Fake fight scenes

G- Gum blowing contest

H- Hairdos

I- Invention (of a human mouth feeder lol)

J- Juggle

K- Kool-aid…popsicles

L- Light…a candle

M- Monkeys

N- Notes

O- Octagon

P- peel...carrots

Q- Question

R- Rescue

S- Spaghetti

Everyone can smile!

There’s nothing better than having your lunch smile at you! 

**No oranges were hurt in the production of this entertainment. :)

 

Mine and Hailey’s oranges are friends!

Breathe In Me

“I have walked in darkness for a season. I have walked and drifted from your reach. But something’s changed, I cant explain the reason and I know without a doubt this is where I want to be, so I come with no pretention. Seeking your redemption.

“Take this hand, it’s all I have to offer. Take these hands and lead me home again. Make me equal to the love that you have given me. Everything I am and all I ever hope to be, I lay before you and I implore you, breathe in me. I so desperately need, breathe in me.

“Breath of life, Holy One who made me, change my heart and make my spirit whole. With new life I pray that you will wake me how I need your light to reignite the embers in my soul. I am empty, I am weary. How I plead for you to hear me.

“Take this hand, it’s all I have to offer. Take these hands and lead me home again. Make me equal to the love that you have given me. Everything I am and all I ever hope to be, I lay before you and I implore you, breathe in me. I so desperately need, breathe in me. I so desperately need, breathe in me.”

Hellos and goodbyes

You know when someone says something that sticks in your head and changes you in the smallest of ways?

Over the course of the last couple semesters at school, I’ve gotten to know and become friends with an exchange student from Korea. He’s older than most your average freshman, but he is such a neat person. This last week, it came time for him to leave and go back home. It was a sad occasion, knowing I would probably never see him again in my mortal life. We had all said our goodbyes the night before he was supposed to leave, seeing as how none of us saw him very often because of his intense studying schedule.

About an hour before he was supposed to leave Pocatello for good, I was walking through a part of campus that I rarely went through, and I saw him sitting on one of the couches, reflecting.

“Jake!” I greeted him with a hug and a smile.

“Aww, Ashley!” He responded back with a smile and as much sincerity as is humanly possible. “Happy coincidence that we meet again.”

I was in a hurry to get to my next destination, but those words have wrung in my ears and in my mind ever since. “Happy coincidence that we meet again.”

Take from it what you may, but never take anyone for granted. Lives are so delicately intertwined for a reason. A happy coincidence, indeed. Just one of the many, many blessings that make life so worth it.

Words of wisdom

Today at lunch, I broke my fortune cookie open, expecting to have some enlightening words or wisdom, and this is how it looked…

…No fortune.

Well, quite frankly, I felt gypped! 

And then I thought about it…what kind of fortune was NO fortune?!  …A true one. :) There are always choices to be made, always a way to change the path you’re on. Never give up on what’s not yet written, it only means you have the opportunity to be amazing.  And if you find yourself with an empty cookie…just smile and remember how blessed you are.

Sometimes the angels are right in front of us,

living lives exactly as our own.

My poor little Ebby…played dress up with my bored, little sister! :)

Miracles

When I was a child I held a dying baby bird in my hands. It had fallen from the nest and been injured by a cat then quietly left to die. Sometimes the unfairness of nature makes no sense to a child, and while that scared and injured baby bird was certain for death I could hardly bare to let it die alone. Wrapped in small towels to keep it warm, I held it to my chest hoping that my heart beat would be enough to let it know it was in peaceful company. It’s large eyes blinked at me. It's scared eyes pleaded to me. It’s small lungs struggled with each fainting breath. “Why?” I wondered. “Why to such innocence?”

It knew what was coming. All present knew. It close its eyes and nestled closer to my breast ‘till all was still.

In my small childish hands I held the fragile breath of life. Even the small act of death was a miracle. In the silence that bound the two worlds together, I buried the small soul under a tree. “Birds liked trees,” I thought. A mourning mother and I sat, honoring the small grave—her with a song, so simple, yet full of so much. Me, with questions and wonder.

Years  have passed, but that childish curiosity of such a simple miracle still  wonders and grows.  No matter how many times you witness the slipping away of a life, some explanations continue to stay one step ahead of you.

So if you ever see the small birds around me and you hear the  songs they sing to my soul, and you wonder why. The answer is simple. One day I was a child, and sometimes the unfairness of life allows us to witness miracles.

My hansom

 

Even when he’s sleeping, he’s so hansom. :)

Bombs away!

You should have seen the look in Porter’s eyes when I came home and he saw the HUGE automatic Nerf guns waiting in the back seat.

Cody knew someone that was getting rid of them, so he immediately claimed them to give to Porter. Oh, the fun we had with them when we were back home!  

 

 

It’s just as big as she is!

Haha, he’s been hit!

 

Who said breakfast can’t be fun?

So maybe, growing up, you’re always told not to play with your food. Well…Hailey and I were being artistic…

Pirate with a patch waffle…

 

Happy waffle!

 

Angry waffle!

 

Unibrow waffle!

Confused waffle…

Surprised waffle!

Unsuspecting beauty

Ask anyone that drives with me. My nonstop comments of “Oo, those colors comment each other so well.” “I love how the shadows are so intense and sharp against each other on that mountain!” “That would make an awesome picture. That would be so fun to paint!”

My eye is always constantly searching for the perfect scene to paint or the superb object to photograph. Lucky for me, upon this mountain ridge catching my eye and attention, Cody was kind enough to grab the camera and snap some images for me to maybe play with later. However, I really like the first one with the old wooden fence…So cool!

Best roommate ever

 

For Valentine’s day, my wonderful roommate heart attacked me and left me flowers.  Love her to death!

Thanks, Kenna!