Pictures!

Here is a family pic of us before we went shopping at the RoundRock outlets. There is a perfect amount of room to photo shop Amber in right in front between mom and dad. Except I don't know how to do that...Anyways, we had lots of fun! Lots of good shops.
This is a pic from our day at the Capitol. We had lots of fun there too. We had a great tour guide and learned a lot about the Capitol.
This was taken while we were at Book People. The bumper sticker says "Keep Austin Reading." Aus really liked that.
And here is one of his favorite parts of the trip! Austin LOVES this building. Its the Frost Bank Tower in downtown Austin. It is a pretty impressive tower.
Me and Amy after Night at the Museum 2. I liked the stars :)

A good get - away...

Last week was a vacation for the family (minus Amber, who was working hard in CT)

We packed up and headed to Austin, TX. We visited there and also Wimberely, Gruene, Smithville... it was fun!

The sight of: downtown Austin, the beautiful Driskell hotel, our state Capitol, Austin visiting Frost Bank, Night at the Museum 2 (funnier than I thought it was gonna be... ), Book People (one of our new favorite bookstores), Austin's freebirds hat atop his head (most days at least..) lots of crossword puzzles, the house that Hope Floats was filmed at (http://www.smithvilletx.org/hopefloats.html), the sight of my sweetheart when I arrived home...

The taste of: yummy mac and cheese from Threadgills, chocolate orange gelato from Whole Foods (to die for... oh my goodness!), delightful french fries from Pocket's Grill, a yummy starbucks banana chocolate vivanno, a salsa burger from the Gristmill, Blue Bell ice cream from the Old Mill Store at Wimberely, diet coke.

The feel of: excitement because Amy is home, crowding 5 people in one hotel room, heat... lots and lots of heat!, anxiety as I hear Amy and Berna talk about Truett, fear as a lady collapses at Pocket's Grill, missing Amber and David, wishing they could have both been with us, excitement each morning as I open that day's letter from David


A great trip. A great family. So grateful.
Pictures to come!

sick of being sick

I woke up Monday night, feeling awful... a pounding headache and very sore throat. I was frustrated because I've already had strep throat TWICE this year... I woke up, showered, even wore a skirt to work, in an attempt to feel better... but it just wasn't happening. My throat was still on fire, and I was chilled.... chilled like I don't remember ever being chilled before.

I finally left work and managed to score a late doctor's appointment. I absolutely despise getting the throat swab thing, but oh well.. I did that and a flu test but both came back negative. My doctor sent me home with no diagnosis (except a really high fever) but with an antibiotic.

I was house/dog sitting at my parent's so I decided to crash there... my sweet David came over and took such good care of me. I am so grateful for him. He even brought me a rose. I'm sick/nasty/scary-looking in my pj's and the man brings me a rose... too sweet. He wrote this prayer for me later... "In your infinite grace heal my Ashley's weak body and fortify it, and prepare us both for the good work that you set aside for us..." ... so grateful for this man.

I'm back at work today...not sure if I should be... but oh well..
We'll try.

Psalm 13:5-6

"But I trust in your unfailing love;
my heart rejoices in your salvation.

I will sing to the Lord,
for He has been good to me."

He has a plan, an incredible one.
All will be well.

Ugh

Decisions are monumentally hard.
I am a horrible decision - maker.

I've decided to go to grad school. I got a scholarship and I've decided to go. I struggled long and hard with this. And even now, I wonder every day if I have made the right decision.

Going to school means leaving David, leaving family, leaving home, leaving friends.

I have lots of forces in my life and several of the main ones, parents included, are saying to me: stay here. it's what is right. Other influential forces are saying: No! Go!

I know in reality that neither of these sides/forces should make my decision, but it is hard to not hear them... it is hard to not wonder if God has put these people in my life and he is now speaking through them.

So many people say you have to get up and move, and go away from home, and leave... and grow. Honestly, I get frustrated with this. I dont think a person has to move away from home to grow up. I think that is not truth. People grow in different ways. I grew when I lost a friend to suicide. I grew when my daddy had cancer. And these things happened right here... at home.. Yes, some people move away to grow up... but that isn' t the case for everyone.

People say: do it even though it is hard. But part of me wonders if I am just doing it because it is hard... because i feel like people expect me to do something that is 'hard to do' and 'monumental.' But then i think...well, it would be hard to up and move to Africa next week... that doesn't mean i should do it. I shouldn't do something just because its hard and i think i have to do something 'hard.'

On the other hand... i think i will always wonder what would have happened had i gone...
But then my friend... always being the devil's adovcate, says: if you go,won't you always wonder what would happen if you had stayed?

I need to get myself away from these voices. I need to submit myself to Him and asks what he wants of me... but the hard, honest truth... is that i lack the faith that he will give me a straight answer. and if im not praying with faith behind my prayer, will i get an answer?

I think I know that I will go. It will be hard, and I will learn from it.

Things I can hold to: I have a God who is in control. I have a sweet and wonderful man walking by my side. I have a wonderfully supportive family.

Home

Tuesday was my daddy's birthday, and Monday marked the 30th anniversary of my parent's wedding.

I am so grateful for my family... for my parents and all they taught us... for my siblings and all the fun and companionship they have brought throughout my life.


Most people don't want to be at home... they would rather be out with friends. Not me. I would rather be with the family. We have so much fun together. I couldn't ask for a more incredible home. God blesses lots of people in lots of ways... but this is one way He has blessed me.


I love you fam.

Here is a pic (not great thanks to the lame self timer... ) from daddy's birthday. Amy is there in spirit.

















Here are some other pics from things recently.


David and I got free tickets to the Media Preview party at the Musuem for the Terra Cotta Warrior exhbit. Here we are in our terra cotta masks.

A great night!

And here is a pic from an Astros game recently. We attempted to have a triple date, but 2 of the significant others couldnt make it. At least we had 2/3s! We had a great time!!

Granny

My grandma would have been 89 years old yesterday.

I loved my grandma dearly. I always felt we had a special connection.

When I was really little, she would rock me to sleep in her big blue chair. She would chase me out of the kitchen when I went into to grab a pickle... no matter where she was in the house, she could hear her fridge open as we dove into it for one last pickle...

Her kitchen was HER spot... it wasn't big enough for anybody but her. If you got permission to
be in her kitchen, it was quite the privilege.

My favorite nook in her house was behind her big blue chair. A bookshelf, her chair, and an end table would form the perfect little spot behind her chair... and the bookshelf was full of great books, books we read over and over again, books we came to love.

I remember her room... Her closet held about every single color of high heel shoe. Every color imaginable! Being a little girl, looking in and seeing yellow, orange, and purple shoes... oh! It was very exciting.

I remember going to church with grandma. She had so many friends. I loved to meet her friends in her sunday school class. I came to love Hattie Belle and Lois Gray. I loved how social she was. I loved how important her friends were to her. I love to sit next to her in church and hear her sing... at the top of her lungs, loud, and not always on key (perhaps I got my lack of musical ability passed on from her...) but I know without a doubt that her singing was a sweet sound in His ear.

I remember the room that us girls would sleep in.. it used to be my mom's room. I remember the picture on the wall of Jesus walking up to the door and knocking... I loved this picture. I told her I loved it and I wanted it. I loved how the plants around the door formed the shape of a heart, and so this door symbolized the door to our heart. I loved how there was no doorknob on this door.... that it stood as a reminder that He would stand and knock, but that we had a responsibility to answer His call. Years later, when grandma had passed and we were going through her house, we took the picture off the wall, and my name was there. She had planned to give it to me all along.

I remember how grandma would talk so loudly... she told us that we should come up with a sign to do in public to let her know that she needed to talk a little more quietly. But then when we did this sign.... instead of lowering her volume, she would just explain it to the salesperson or waitress who was helping us, thereby completing negating the need or purpose of the secret sign in the first place!!!

I remember a trip to Blockbuster to rent a movie...everyone went in but us; we stayed in the car to chat. And we talked about boys, and I loved that we could talk about boys.

I remember her sleeping in my room when Austin was born. I remember she laid certain clothes out that she would wear to the hospital (a Glorieta sweatshirt and a pair of jeans... ). I remember waking up and those clothes being gone, knowing my sweet brother was on the way....

I remember a trip to Salado when we shared a hotel room... and she got very sick.

I remember a trip to spend the night with her in the hospital. I remember not being able to sleep that night at the hospital. Her breathing was so deep and so heavy and so slow. There was just enough time in between each breath to wonder if it had been her last. It never was her last... at least not that night...

I remember making a special trip up to the hospital to look her in the eyes, and tell her how much I loved her.... to be sure that she was sure of my love for her.