A Year in the Life

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...

This is an older pic but it's one of my faves. My favorite daughter, E. Yesterday I posted Rules to Date my Son .  I'm sure some people didn't think it was very funny.  Was it meant to be satirical?  Yes.  Was it meant to be serious?  Yes.  Hopson said I was a little heavy on making my sons' girlfriends miserable.  (Note to self, 1x is plenty.  And, I'm not really going to be that mean, yeesh.)  I don't want or like to be mean.  It takes to much energy.  I like to be the happy me.  :)  See, I'm smiling...sorry, rabbit trail. We are living in an age where there are many who want to feminize men.  We want them to express their feelings.  We want them to be more nurturing.  Well, if a guy is already that way, great.  But if he's not naturally that way, don't try to force him to change.  (Hence Rule #6)  I don't expect the young ladies who date my sons to be more manly.  It's just sill...

One looks the same & the other looks very different... 21 years.  No bar crawl; no drinking games. (thank goodness)  Just a nice dinner and flowers for me. Last week Hopson & I celebrated our 21st anniversary.  Wow, 21 years.  That's a long time.  I've been married almost 1/2 of my life.  It's gotten to the point that it's hard to imagine myself as ever being single.  He's like that really comfy pair of broken in slippers.  Nice analogy I know.  :)  But it's true.  A great pair of slippers are warm and soft, and they just make you happy when  you get to put them on.  Hopson will wear his out in public.  They look like camo shoes, so it's easier to get away with wearing them. But, as any couple who has been married over 20 years will tell you, it's not all sunshine and roses.  Marriage is hard work.  It's two people who have been raised in different households coming together to blend tradit...

This weekend my younger two children are participating in a youth Discovery weekend at a church close to our home.  We have lots of friends that go there, so E & Henry will have a great time.  Harry is fishing with his grandfather & a friend, and Hop is still working.  Hopson & I should be childless for the weekend...but we're not.  We volunteered to keep seven 9th grade boys.  Most of whom we know & love.  Boys are easy.  Throw some food at them; let them run around & then unwind with shooting pool or watching tv & they're good.  I could do seven 9th grade girls, but I think the boys are easier.  Since we have three boys, we kinda know what to do a little better.  Plus, Elizabeth is not your typical girl.  She is very low maintenance thanks to her brothers, and that has spoiled us terribly. This morning while we were waiting for all the boys to finish showering & come down to eat breakfast, Hopson sh...

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...

How do you cram 20 years into 400 words or less?  How can it even come close to everything Hopson & I have experienced together?  In truth, it can't.  But, I'm going to give it 'the old college try'. I met Hopson at Auburn.  We were on a double date, with different people.  My life was about to change forever & he remembered my name.  It's funny what a difference it is when someone calls you by your name.  I will never forget that day.  Hopson was helping to build Fiji Island.  He was shirtless (which was not a bad sight); he smiled at me and said 'Hey Ashley, I'm Hopson'.  We talked for a bit & I went to visit my friends at the house.  May 7th my dad passed away & I was thrown into a funk.  I didn't a pretty good job hiding it, but I don't remember a lot from that summer.  Hopson says he called me to go on a date with him in June (I think), and claims I stood him up, but I don't remember it.  Then h...

On our way ...the smell of coconuts, the ocean breeze, the sun shining on your face, long walks, eating fresh seafood, people watching, or taking drive in a convertible, do I have the destination for you! Hopson likes for us to get away if we can for a few days each year or two.  Just us, no rugrats.  We love said rugrats, but sometimes mama & daddy just need to decompress.  He looks cute in a convertible! He booked us a few days in the Florida Keys.  When we left Thursday, it was cold and rainy.  When we landed in Miami, it was in the high 70's and sunny.  Thank you Lord for the sun!  I don't think I had seen it in almost two weeks.  I'm sorry, do I live in the pacific northwest or the deep south?  Right now I'm leaning toward the pacific northwest just with southern accents.  It's been a crazy wet winter. 17 miles on the odometer... We wound our way through the maze called the Miami airpo...

Yeah, he's pretty hot! God is so cool.  He always gives me something happy to think of on sad occasions.  Today is big Hopson's birthday.  Happy Birthday to Honey Daddy!  I love that man & sometimes he drives me crazy.  I guess that's how it is when you've been married for almost two decades.  :)  He hates for us to draw attention to him on his birthday; he would be happy to just let it pass with no fanfare, cake or gifts.  Whatever!  I need cake, it makes me happy.  He just wants to be in the woods, so I let him go. Today is also another special day.  It's my mother's angelversary.  She has been in heaven 15 years today.  3:31 pm is the exact time, just in case you're wondering.  I have been the matriarch of my family for 15 years.  I never wanted that role.  I still don't want it.  I would rather have my mom back, faults and all.  (except when my kiddos trash the house)  Ho...

This is posting is short & sweet and is about me having an epic fail.  Wow...wow, wow, wow. I decided I was going to be a nice wife & while Hopson was sitting at the computer doing some work I would swoop in & give him a kiss.  I know kids, it's gross, but hey how do you think you got here? Anyway...I go to give him a kiss and POW!  I get bonked in the head.  We headbutted each other.  Yeah, like I said...fail!  Please tell me I get at least a few sweet wife points for trying.  Some much for me being spontaneous.  They say, no good deed goes unpunished; I'm starting to believe them.  :)  We did better the second time after we stopped laughing & my head stopped hurting.  He got his peck on the lips & we had a good laugh at my expense. :) Celebrating Life & Successful Kisses! ~ashley   

I read quite a few things today.  All of the were much more thought provoking than anything I would write.  I wanted to share them with you.  There are four articles I want you to read.  Try not to cry with some of them, because if you can, you're a stronger person than I am. Story 1: A beautiful CaringBridge  posting by Bill Black, father to three beautiful children and husband to Laura, who passed away one month ago today.  The posting are his thoughts about his wife and his life since she passed away.  Beautifully written and moving.  Stories 2 and 3: Miracles happen everyday in every circumstance, even when someone has given into evil.  Everyone has heard about the shooting in Aurora by now, but what you may not have heard are some of the miracles that have happened because of it.  The first story is about a woman who was shot four times:  three times in the arm and once in the head....

Why doesn't my cleaning bucket look this cute? Oh yeah, because I actually use it.  :) You know, most of the time, moms and dads clean differently.  I am the kind of person who likes things scrubbed clean and put in their places.  I want whatever I'm cleaning to be shiny and smell wonderfully clean when I'm done.  I don't like to do the bare minimum, and I really don't like a dirty cluttered house. Hopson, on the other hand, is not to terribly concerned with cleanliness.  He will throw his stuff around & let it land where it may.  :/  This is very frustrating and drives me to distraction.  The children have adopted this mantra in life.  (Hence, Not Me has taken up residence.) At the lake this weekend, I stayed behind with the children to get the house cleaned and put back into order.  On the way home I found out an interesting fact:  Hopson only makes the beds and vacuums when he is left to complete the clea...

Today it was H...O...T.  Like 102 hot.  The only places you could feel any relief from the heat was in the water or inside the house.  Since we happen to be at the lake, 5/6 of the fam chose the water...Hop stayed in the house.  Lake water and a swollen face don't mix really well. Hopper is doing well.  He's a little swollen, and actually looks like Marlon Brandon in The Godfather.  Because we have so many boys in our house it's not really cool to use the booboo bunny we have, so instead we have booboo sticks.  More macho right?  (they are actually from the water bottles from the late 90's early 2000's that had the sticks you would freeze and then stick in the bottle to keep your drink cold.)  Hop had two stuck on his face different times during the day.  Yesterday we wrapped an ace bandage around his head to hold them on.  Too funny! Karen, Tom, Ryan, and Megan We had a great day today with Hopson's fraternity bro...

You know, marriage is an art. You have to practice to be any good. I'm being serious. It's the little things in marriage that fall through the cracks; especially flirting.  It's no wonder the divorce rate is so high.  We get comfortable with the status quo and aren't willing to shake things up a bit.  I remember how I felt when I first met Hopson.  Butterflies.  I wondered if he noticed me.  I wondered what he thought about me.  Was I cute to him?  Did he think I had a good personality?  I know for all you guys reading this you may be wondering if I'm telling the truth.  Let me clear it up for you...yes it's the truth. I am a fairly low maintenance kinda girl, but I like for Hopson to tell me I'm beautiful.  I really like flowers:  roses, tulips, Gerber daisies just in case a certain someone happens to be reading this & remembering that I am getting very little sleep & have been a ball of nerves these last few ...

Hopson snores.  And I mean he snores loudly!  When he takes the children hunting not one of them will sleep in the same room with him because you can hear him snoring throughout the entire house.  It's like a freight train.  He has horrible allergies, and I don't know if that is a contributing factor or what, but I've tried kicking him, getting him to roll over, getting him to take a melatonin to help him sleep, but nothing has worked.  It has led to many fitful or no nights of sleep.  I'm not happy if I have no sleep. Right now I'm writing this from my couch in our family room because I just couldn't take another minute of the sound.  It's not a bad place to sleep, but not nearly as comfy or warm as my bed.  He always tells me to kick him out, but I'm awake, so I might as well be productive... Hope is on the horizon!  A dentist who hunts at the same club where the fam hunts told Hopson about an appliance he ...

our first date When Hopson and I started dating, I thought I would be cute and tell him I was a cheap date.  Needless to say he eyeballed me and asked me exactly what I meant by that statement.  I informed him that I'm a cheap date because you don't have to worry about me racking up a huge tab at the bar.  My body has never tolerated alcohol well.  My ears can turn bright red; I get red blotches all over my face; and one drink can have me crawling on the floor.  Needless to say, I don't drink things that have alcohol in them. (unless I have some sort of wish to be sick the next day)  Plus, I'm crazy enough without adding to it. For our anniversary Sunday night we decided to go out to dinner at the spur of the moment.  The restaurant we wanted to go to was closed.  Because we didn't think to plan ahead, and didn't want to spend a lot of money on dinner we decided to go eat inexpensive Mexican.  As p...

  The term 'time flies' seems truer each year. Where do the days go? Today is my 18th wedding anniversary, which I know can't be possible because I still feel like I should be in high school. My wedding story is actually a very funny one. Hopson and I had decided that if we couldn't afford to invite everyone we knew to our wedding, we would invite no one. With him being a CPA, I think he secretly wanted this all along, but we both decided that going into debt over a wedding was not an option. I had to tell someone because I thought I was going to die if I didn't, but I needed someone very close-lipped. My brother, Cotton, was who I chose. Cotton was 14 1/2, just a little younger than Harry is now, and proved a worthy confidant. He did not breathe a word to anyone. That night, Hopson and I went to church and were married, by a very nervous preacher. He begged us to call our parents, because he didn't want any angry phone calls. We assured him our parents wou...