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Yesterday was the day after Thanksgiving, which means, it is time to decorate for Christmas Yay!! So we put on the Christmas music, pulled the decorations out of storage, and got to work. Lucas wasn't so sure about meeting the Nutcracker but he loves laying under the tree and looking up at all the lights. I just realized I have no pictures of Jeremy putting up his ornaments =( But we do have video of him helping Luke put his first ornament on the tree! Some of our favorite ornaments: And being a PartyLite consultant, I have plenty of new decorations to fill the apartment with! Another new item for this year is the new stockings we picked up. Only Tonksy had a stocking in previous years but this year we have a Daddy stocking, Momma stocking, and a little penguin stocking for Lucas! We dont have a fireplace so we got a bit creative with our placement of stockings but I think its cute. I really enjoyed making our little space look festive.
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With two close families, we celebrated two Thanksgivings this year! Our first Thanksgiving was on Sunday with my side of the family. We had a full house, full of good food, laughter, family, and babies! We were very honored to have Hayley's little brother Deaglan with us for dinner. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera and haven't gotten the pictures from my mother that she took yet...sad day. Our second Thanksgiving, started with a cozy morning home watching the parade together! Lucas loved the music, dancing, big floats, and then took a nice nap =D Lucas always loves being with family! He really enjoyed getting to know Uncle Bill, Aunt Mary, Nick and Zach better. He also loved time with his Gramma D, Papa, and uncles. After a great dinner we noticed some deer outside and ventured out to get a better look! We even got a glimpse of a male deer with some stunning antlers! And of course what Holiday is complete without a cute family photo =) Happy Thanksgiving!
For the month of November, I decided to write a status on facebook everyday saying what I am thankful for. Here is a collection of all of them: Day 1: Today I am thankful for my beautiful marriage and amazing husband! He truly is my other half, and not a day goes by that I don't feel incredibly blessed to be married to him.
Day 3 & 4: I am thankful for my parents (both by birth and by marriage). My Mom and Dad (Kevin & Lisa) have not only loved us and taken care of us but they have gone out of their way to make sure they spend quality time with each of us. No parents are perfect but mine tried their absolute hardest, and I know that if I ever need anything at all, they are always there for me. They have the biggest hearts and would give their entire life fortune just to make sure their kids were provided for. My Mother-in-Law and Father-in-law (Paul & Donna) Have taken me in and adopted me as part of their family. They truly treat me like their own daughter and are always willing to help me out. I am forever grateful to them for raising such an amazing man to be my husband and I can honestly say that I am so blessed to have married into such a loving family. One last thing: Both sets of parents have provided a beautiful example of marriage as a christian, and how to make it work for 25+ years. Thank you! We are so blessed! Day 5: Today I am thankful for God's Grace and not needing to earn my way into Heaven. I just finished a 5 week review course for the NCLEX and somehow scored worse on the exiting exam than the entrance exam *smacks head* *deep sigh* Thankfully the things that truly matter in life like my salvation, is not something I have to take a test to achieve. Thank you Lord for the amazing gift of your son.
Day 7:Today I am thankful for how easy going my son is! Last night I put him in his crib, while he was still awake and after watching me for a bit from his crib and talking to me, he just snuggled in and once I turned off the light he went right to sleep. I love that my child loves sleep!
Day 9: Today I am thankful for my best friend Caitlin, she is always there for me when I need her and is not only a faithful friend but a wonderful Christian woman and the godmother of my son. Today she also hosted a PartyLite party for me. I am so grateful for her friendship! Day 11: Today I am thankful for our troops and veterans! When you have a hard day at work just be grateful that you get to go home at the end of the day and be with your family. You might work long hours and hard shifts but you still get to sleep in your bed at night with your spouse beside you and your kids down the hall, and know that you are safe! I know we all take that for granted but those things would not be possible without our military, and they don't even get paid or respected nearly as much as they should. Thank you to all the service men/women I have known and those who served in my family whom I never had the privilege of meeting.(This Dad is about to be deployed and is having to say goodbye to his newborn baby girl. Sacrifices like this are made every day, and may we be reminded, that our FREEDOM comes with a cost, and our soldiers and their families are paying it. To the American Soldier....THANK YOU.)
Day 13: Today I am thankful for our church family. When Jeremy and I joined Calvary Bible, we were looking for a community of married couples and Christian friends. But what we found was really a family of people! We are so grateful for their friendship!! http://www.calvarybible.com Day 15: Today I am thankful for some family time with my husband and my son! I love our family and friends but it is really nice to have a night home just the three of us sometimes and just lounge around in our PJs playing card games.
Day 19: Today I am really thankful for modern medicine and a doctor (and practice) who not only listens to my concerns but really treats us like they would their own family. I walked into my appointment today and the nurse picked up Lucas and showed him off to everyone like he was her own, she didnt want to give him back lol. http://www.longspeakfamilypractice.com/ Day 21: Today I am thankful for something that brings tears to my eyes and is a long story but if you need faith in humanity you should read this...about a year ago our dog Tonks, became very sick with a dog version of Lupus and after days of being in and out of the vet, numerous tests, and IV fluids, she was getting more and more sick right in front of my eyes. It got so bad that she stopped eating and drinking and even with a syringe I couldn't get her to swallow anything. When she got to the point that she was so lethargic she couldn't lift her head, we rushed her to the ER vet. They basically told us that without immediate IV fluids and medications she wouldn't make it long. The worst part was that we had no money to give her these things and couldn't get approved for any credit to get her help. I was so upset that we were going to take our dog home and basically watch her die that night, that I was vomiting in the bathroom. At this point my best friend Caitlin showed up, and said that she thought her parents still had a care card that we may be able to use, and before I knew it they showed up, paid for everything and told us not to stress about it because we were church family. We still planned to pay them back but at Christmas they gave us the gift of telling us not to worry about the payment and that it had been taken care of. I cried, and honestly every time I think about this I hold back tears. I can not thank them enough for their generosity and love and will never think about giving the same way again. Jeremy and I will never forget last November and hope that some day we can help someone else as much as they helped us!
Day 23: Today I am thankful for my cousins. On my father's side I have Charlene, Nikki, Kyle, Kymberlie, Brenda, and Gus. Unfortunately I cant say I was real close to any of them growing up because we were in different states, but now thanks to FB, I have gotten to know each of them a lot better, and I am very grateful for that! They are a fun bunch of crazy family members! On my Mother's side I have Nick, and Anna. These two were almost older siblings to me growing up. I have countless memories of Anna and I making jewelry, roller skating, and swimming together in the summer. Luckily we never got into too much trouble but we did manage to burn my hand with hot glue and leave out beads that my sister shoved up her nose, haha. My cousin Nick should be celebrating his birthday today (November 23rd) but was taken from us far too soon. I remember sitting at his feet as he would play the same songs over and over on his guitar, or playing with his star trek figurines with him because if he thought they were cool, I thought they were cool! I miss him so much, but I am grateful that he is now at peace.
Day 25: Today I am thankful for a very special aunt, the only aunt I call my Auntie, has been through so much but I know she is strong! I love her so very much and I am very glad she is not only my aunt but my godmother as well
Day 27: Today I am thankful for God's physical healing...having gone through three surgeries; one that nearly killed me, one on my heart, and a c-section that turned into a horrible infection...I am so glad that I have healed from them and even though I have a few new scars, some nerve and a little memory glitch...overall I am healed and have no awful long term side effects! I am so very thankful for this because there were times when I felt I would never feel "normal" again. I am also thankful for his ongoing emotional, spiritual, and mental healing from this incidents, as it is not easy to go from despair to normalcy again. God is Good, ALL the time!
Day 29: Today I am thankful but also sad. Three years ago yesterday, the world lost a bright, silly, and fun woman who died way too soon! She suffered from a mental illness that ultimately ended up being too much and she sadly ended her life. I do not blame her for her decision, had I developed the illness she did I am not sure I would have been much better off. So today I am thankful for not only having had the privilege of knowing the greatKate Sims, but also for my own mental health, the health of my family members, and for the extraordinary mental health care workers out there who do a job far more challenging that I ever could!
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All about meHi my name is Ashley! I am a Christian, a wife, a mom and an RN. My husband, Jeremy, is the best, most supportive, and loving guy I could ever ask for. We have an adorable, fun loving, son named Lucas, a sweet, and cuddly daughter named Lydia, and a King Charles Cavalier named Tonks. Archives
March 2017
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