A Year in the Life

This year has been CraZY!  Kids moving in, kids moving out, jobs, volunteering & just life, in general, has made this year fly.  We did take some time out this Christmas to go visit my brother & his family in Tampa.  Every time we go down there I have to remind myself that if Cotton wants to engage in high-risk behavior I will go & have fun & think about potential consequences later.  Cotton has a history of having us do dangerous activities. What are some of those you might ask?  Well, I'm glad you did.  Canoeing with alligators, hang-gliding, trapeze lessons, and paddleboarding (potentially with sharks).  The main thing missing from this list is skydiving.  We knew there was a high probability Cotton would book us all tandem jumps for Christmas.  I accepted it, because what am I supposed to do, let my kids go & me not?  I don't think so.  In the car, we were all in agreement Cotton was going to tell us w...

Each day I check my online news feed.  Each day I see some things that disturb me to no end.  Can I say there are some very bad people out there who are maiming and killing their children in the most horrendous ways?  I don't know if the parents are mentally ill or just tired of their kids, but reading these stories day after day is breaking my mommy's heart. I know there are some out there who have children because they want someone to love them.  I've heard someone say this before, so I'm not making it up.  Anyone who has children knows that your kids do show you love, but they also can be very irritating, a pain in the booty,  difficult.  Ask a mother of a toddler, or a child you are teaching to read, or a teenager.  Yeah, the struggle is real.  What I'm really wondering is, how do these parents think hurting or killing their children was an option when they became frustrated or tired of parenting.  With 4 kids, I've been there, b...

The happiest days are the days when babies come!    ~Melanie from Gone With the Wind Today is a happy day...well it really started yesterday.  Yesterday my parent's 7th grandchild was born.  My younger brother, Cotton, had his third child.  He's now in the big time.  It's interesting when you go from man on man to zone coverage.  You parents of 3+ kids know.  If there is silence, something bad is going down.  But I know that the happiest of days are the ones when babies are born. I was scrolling through my sister-in-laws pictures and loved seeing all of the ones of their older two with the new baby.  It made me think back to when all of my chicks were little.  I was fine until I saw one picture.  It is a picture that broke my heart.  I'm going to admit my selfishness upfront, right now.  It was a pic of her mom with the new baby.  I realized that it is a picture my mom and dad will never have.  An...

And Loving... I recently started a new job.  Yes, at my age it can be a little scary, but it's been great.  Before I go forward, a little back story first... ...For the last 4 1/2 years I have been a sub in my children's school system.  (if you are a mom, love kids, and need a great way to make a little spending money, I highly recommend it.)  I loved being a sub!  I was able to be like everyone's favorite aunt.  You know the one I'm talking about.  She the one who comes in and loves you for you.  She helps you get through the have to's so you can have a little fun while your mom's not around. The way a sub enters a classroom is SO important.  You have to be confident, because it's true the children can smell fear, but you also have to be available to the kids:  available to offer an ear, extra help, smiles, a few hugs, and maybe even a little discipline in a life-giving way. We would play 4 corners if everyone finished with thei...

Today is a happy day  It's Hopson's birthday.  He's 29...again.  He's off with Harry & Henry hunting in Clarksdale.  It's his birthday & I want him to do what he loves.  I think he would really love it if it were warm outside so he could sit on the porch at the lake during the gloaming .  It's his favorite time of day.  He would be drinking a beer & playing Rummikub with the fam.  There would be love, lots of laughter & me getting eaten by mosquitoes.  For his birthday I didn't spend any money.  It's one of the things he always wants.  Hopson works hard for our fam & he is the best builder, fixer, ski instructor (water & snow) & manliness passer oner around.  I did get a chuckle at his expense the other night.  He loves to brag about how he still gets carded.  We had a Costco date, and as we were checking out, the wine he was purchasing was scanned right over the bar-code reader &...

 A friend from grade school was going through old pictures and found a picture of the house I grew up in.  I have wonderful memories from that home.  We played football in the front yard, swam in the pool, built homecoming signs, and watched movies and the 1984 Olympics.  My parents let me invite the entire 8th grade over to swim the day we officially became 9th graders.  That house is filled with laughter.    My parents didn't care about your background.  They didn't care what kind of home you came from.  They wanted you to feel loved and accepted when you came over to our house.  It was a house that love built.  It's funny looking back.  You think that some kids have it all together just to find out they saw themselves as misfits.  I was always the one who felt like I was on the fringe.  Not cool, not as smart as I wanted to be, not a lot of things.  I wonder how many other kids felt & feel like that to...

There are so many who make these vows, and then quickly forget them when the difficulties of life hit the proverbial fan.  It's easy to love when the going is easy.  It's another when your slogging your way through life, marriage, and children.  I have been blessed to witness so many whose vows were a way of life.  They weren't words; they were actions. Today I went in to get my crazy hair cut and highlighted.  I'm sitting there with my hair pulled through a cap (I look like a lionfish), bleach smothered on my hair and cap, and a clear shower cap on top.  Yeah, it's a rockin' look.  We're all talking and I look over to see an older lady shuffling towards a chair get her hair washed. This is a common sight because there are women of all ages who come into the beauty shop.  It's what happened afterward that had me in tears.   As she is walking, I noticed she had a belt on and her husband, a younger woman along with the hairdresser hel...

Time, ugh.  I picked up E's senior pictures today  & then I started looking through pictures trying to find one of Elizabeth when she was little & found a bunch when all of mine were small.  I don't remember them growing so quickly.  I know didn't want them to grow up quite so fast & I think a small part of me has changed my mind.  There is a little piece that misses the crazy schedule and all the teaching moments ahead.  It seems they were all here & now most of them are gone.  It's funny because this is how I still see them, not how they are today.  I'll be ok...maybe the next time I see a screaming toddler, or a child that has projectile vomiting.  It has been a great ride so far & I will appreciate every second I see all my crazy kiddos no matter how old they are. Celebrating Life, ~ashley

dance /dans/ verb 1 . move rhythmically to music, typically following a set sequence of steps. "their cheeks were pressed together as they danced" synonyms: sway ,  trip ,  twirl ,  whirl ,  pirouette ,  gyrate ;  More 2 . (of a person) move in a quick and lively way. "Sheila danced in gaily" synonyms: caper ,  cavort ,  frisk ,  frolic ,  skip ,  prance ,  gambol ,  jig ;  More noun 1 . a series of movements that match the speed and rhythm of a piece of music. I grew up dancing.  There is something about telling a story through movement and music that is cathartic and beautiful.  The story is told from the dancer's finger tips to the end of their toes.  Dancing requires core strength, bursts of power and balance.  Like all g...

Hop's graduation from Auburn this May. First off, I know how weird this is.  I've posted two days in a row after not writing anything for almost a year.  All my coherent thoughts are finally surfacing after all this time. :) How my life has changed in 10 years!  10 years ago I was a crazy and stressed mom of 4 ages 5-12.  Fast forward to today & I'm still crazy, but I'm now a mom of 4 ages 15-22.  I don't know where those 10 years went, but they flew by.  While I was driving children places, teaching kids how to drive, cooking dinner, folding clothes, and monitoring homework, all my little chicks grew up.  I have always loved my children.  Duh, they're mine.  What I've really noticed over the last few years is that I like them, and I tell my children I like them.  At first they said:  "you have to we are your children", but that's an untrue statement.  I have to love them, but not like them.  I heard a mom say sh...

I know this is my third post this week.  And yes, I'm just as amazed as you are.  But something happened to me today & yes, it relates back to my Honduras trip. Each morning, someone would give a devotion/message/challenge.  One morning, one of the men challenged us to, just walk across the room.  He is reading a book by the same title & told us that for each person it would look different, but as believers we're called to share Christ.  If you are shy, walking across the room (WATR) may be you talking to someone you don't know.  It might be sharing your testimony or praying for someone you just met. WATR is recognizing the moments God has placed you in & using your life moment for His glory.  Well, today I had one.  Through a series of unimportant events, I ended up at the FedEx distribution center in Birmingham.  A box my company was shipping was going to a nonexistent address & I had to get it so it wouldn't end up bein...

(taken from the internet) You know, before kids I was fine.  Things were easy.  (I was thin.)  I could keep my house really clean.  I could keep up with laundry.  I could get a lot of work done in a day, and I didn't have my emotions leaking down my face on a daily basis. Did I cry at sad movies?  Yes, duh.  Steel Magnolias to 'ya, but crying at any other movie or at any other time for no apparent reason?  As if.  When I was little, I remember my mom taking us to see the Muppets take Manhattan .  At the end of the movie when Kermit & Miss. Piggy get married, my mom sat in her seat & cried.  I mean boo hoo'd.  We teased her unmercifully about it for years.  Who cries at a kid's movie?  Well, apparently, my apple didn't fall far from my mom's tree. It's gotten to the point where I can cry at the drop of a hat.  I don't mean to, I just do.  I can be in church singing a song; watching a movie...

I've had some really heartwarming mommy moments this last week.  One in particular I have to share. Now, I will admit that there are some songs we sing in church that I like better than others.  I like them all, but some just move my spirit.  I was in church with Elizabeth on my left & Henry on my right, and this song started to play.  It's one of my favorites!  My heart was so full, and then I looked out of my peripheral vision. My most fervent prayer is that my children would have encounters with the Living God.  I pray that He would touch them and they would know without a shadow of a doubt that He loves them and wants a relationship with them.  I pray that they will choose to follow Him all the days of their lives.  I know He is faithful, and has already given me answers to more prayers than I can count.   I look and my children are singing and worshiping and smiling.  How could my heart not be full?  How could my h...

There are days I really love the town I live in and at the same time really hate it.  Even though it's a midsize city, it can be like living in a small town.   Everyone knows your business.  And, everyone is willing to crawl all up in it and share it with everyone.  It can be a real big pain in the behind. Except for days like today.  It's today that I remember why I live here.  It's days like today when I cry because I live in a community that surrounds, loves, and takes care of its own.  (We will love you to death if you let us.)  I remember that I live in a place where we'll hit our knees for you in a heartbeat, bring you dinner (thankfully I didn't mix the tomatoes with anything else), clean your house, take your kids where you need them to be, and bug you to let us do more for you! Those of you who live here know what I'm talking about, and you're probably laughing and shaking your head.  It's a well oiled machine, and we run it lik...

It's May.  If you are a mom with multiple children at home, you know what that means.  It means it's crazy, and you don't know your name; your children's names; or really what day it is.  Most of my mom friends will tell you May is worse than December.  We all have to stick together to make it through to the last weeks of school, sports, dance, graduation etc.! Sports teams are starting to wrap up.  If you had rain outs during your season you very well could end up with 4 games in a week...because we all have time for that.  There are team parties, coach's & team mom gifts.  Don't forget teacher gifts, dance teacher gifts, bible study leader gifts, Sunday school teacher gifts...well, you get the idea.  If you have a graduating senior, hold on tight, because it's a world wind that everyone just expects you to know about.  Parties, gifts, gifts and parties, there's a little school thrown in too. Today, I sat down for 2 minutes and came ...

As all moms know, December is CrAzY!  Not only is there the regular schedule to keep up with, but you have added in the seasonal schedule: decorating, cooking, Christmas cards, gift buying & wrapping ~ to just name a few.  Christmas is supposed to be the most wonderful time of the year, but instead it turns into the most dreaded & miserable time of the year. Ask me how many people I've heard complain about their extended families & having to spend time with them.  Ask me how I felt last night at the Galleria.  You know what, I felt sad.  I saw unhappy people trying to find gifts for people they don't really like with money they probably don't have.  The whole season gets kicked off with Black Friday which has turned into something ugly & selfish.  I don't want to be that way at Christmas.  I want to feel the love of my family.  I want to laugh and make happy memories.  I want to lavish in the simplicity of the king wh...

Celebrating 50! The three brothers: Hopson, John & Will My in-laws, Peggy & Walter, have been married 50 years.  You know, that is an accomplishment.  It's actually hard to believe it's their golden anniversary, because they don't act like they are old enough to be married that long.  They don't behave act like they are senior citizens & every once in a while you see that little twinkle that has helped them be so spry. Fun with cousins For their anniversary, the family headed up to the beautiful mountains of Jonas Ridge, North Carolina.  Peggy grew up in Morganton about 30 minutes away, and it has been a favorite spot of theirs for a long time.  It is lush, green and the temperature was wonderful for the middle of July.  We had an adventurous time visiting with family we don't see very often.  It's just fun to see fam you don't get to see very often.  We went hiking.  The children went down a rock slide, swam in fre...