I love the show Jon and Kate plus eight. If you have not seen this show you need to Tivo it for sure! I was first introduced to the Gosselin family back when I lived in Clinton, NJ. They were on a one-hour special on TLC and I remember really admiring them. 1)They are Believers. 2)They trust(ed) in God and didn't practice reduction with the sextuplets. 3)They are transparent people and committed, organized, and loving parents. Seriously, they are a great family. To top it off they live in central PA - one of my favorite places in the world!! I was so excited to hear that that one-hour special was such a hit that they were going to turn it into a reality show. It now airs every Monday night. Can you imagine having twins and sextuplets? Yikes! They do such a great job with what God has given them... It just encourages me to do the best with what God has chosen to give me.:-)

It is so weird for me to experience Spring-like weather in Feb. Back on the EC I used to ache for some green and it wouldn't show until late April or even into May. Here wildflowers are blooming and the trees are too. It is very pretty and we are supposed to get into the 70's this week. While I enjoyed the snow, I was always ready for it to end after about 6 weeks or so of it. For those of you still freezing in your neck of the woods - my heart goes out to you and I will try to send some CA sunshine your way!

Cheer ended officially on Friday and I am so, so, so glad to be done. I have had cheer practice at least two nights every week since July. Combine that with Young Life one night a week, and then the games, and you get the idea. I was one busy girl! Now I plan on using my free evenings to exercise and enjoy my family and friends. This beautiful weather and having people to exercise with really makes me want to make an effort to get healthy!!

Work has been really, really slow. The slowest since I was hired, in fact. Booooring! And that's really abnormal because the life of a social worker is usually fairly full... Hopefully it will pick up again soon.

Hannah and I booked our trip to NYC. I invited Jasmin to go but she declined. Weird - but actually it is for the best as she would want to do the touristy stuff and we wouldn't. We are going over Memorial Day weekend. It will be back in that area exactly one year from the day I left. Crazy, huh? Needless to say I am super excited about the trip. I am using it as my motivation to drop some pounds too. We are planning on going to our fave Italian restaurant, lots of shows, spots we always wanted to visit but didn't (Magnolia Bakery for instance), and perhaps some museums. On May 26 I will be in PA for half a day and hope to see some of my PBU friends then as well, which will be nice. :-)

Two of my friends got engaged this last week and I found out that two other friends are pregnant - each with twins. I also was invited to be a bridesmaid which is always an honor. Five times a bridesmaid - someday the bride!!!

My prayer life has been very dry for a while and I am trying to work my way out of it. I am also open to any quiet time ideas. I need something new and fresh to help rejuvenate my walk. It is like Spring I guess. I am in a period of my life where I need to make some big decisions (when to move to the EC and a job and house there) and really need his strength (to stay on track to getting healthy) and need His patience (for my future which I hope involves changing my name to wife and mommy). I feel like I am in a waiting room of sorts and I hate that feeling of existing versus living. So, yeah, I'm sure God is up to something - he always is and it is always GOOD. I just get in His way some (OK a lot) of the time.

I was send this today - you might want to check it out. Scary yet good to know.

http://www.familywatchdog.us/

I got my tax refund. Yay! It was very hard as seeing it in my bank account made me want to spend it on all kinds of fun things (and to be honest I did put some aside for NYC) but instead I sent it off immediately to pay off a credit card. Easy come, easy go. But, that was the wisest financial decision and I am proud of myself. My goal is to be debt free by 30 (minus my car payment) and I should be able to reach that - unless I move again...lol Maybe the company will pay to move me? But those darn security deposits get me every time for housing. I wish I had thousands just sitting in my savings. OK, maybe I need to change it to 31.:-)

I just counted that Jasmin has 3 1/2 weeks before she goes to Mexico with Young Life. She will be going to help change a family's life by building a house with the YL team there, but I have a feeling her life will be changed more. I know that Jesus can really use this week to touch lives and I am looking forward to what is in store for her. She/we are raising money for the trip and she, obviously, does not have the money. Why her parents won't pay is beyond me (maybe she didn't even ask them - who knows) but we are out to find people who are willing to donate. If you are willing, please let me know.

We went to San Diego this weekend and had a good time (her parents paid for the entire thing). That was my frist time on Express Jet and it was fabulous. And San Diego has a little commuter terminal so we didn't even have to fight the big crowds. Saturday we flew in and had dinner at Red Lobster. It was Jasmin's first time there and she was immediately hooked on the amazing garlic and cheese biscuits.:-) Yum! Sunday we went to Sea World (the polar bear was my favorite part) and that night went to the gaslamp district. We visited Old Town yesterday morning and flew home yesterday afternoon. The flight down was 45 mins and back was 54 mins. Amazing! Sure beats a 6 hour car drive!

I saw my niece yesterday evening and she said, "Ash" for the first time. She is so cute!!!

Dear Husband,

I don’t know your name, where you are, or what you are doing at this very moment…but I know that I love you. I know that I can’t wait to marry you and be your wife and the mother of your children. I know that I am so excited to serve the Lord together with you. I know that I look forward to using our marriage and family as an example of Christ and His love. I am anticipating how God will use you in my life and better teach me how to love Him and you, our kids, and others more sacrificially and vice versa. I also foresee many adventures, laughs, meaningful conversations, special moments, etc.

Today is Valentine’s Day. I don’t know how many more Valentine’s Days I have to go through without having you by my side. God in His perfect timing has it all planned out. In the meantime I am praying for you, thinking of you, and hoping that you are on His path and kept safe.

Happy Valentine’s Day.

Love your future wife,

ashley

Tomorrow is Valentine's Day...or as I like to call it, Single Awareness Day. Seriously, this holiday does get on my nerves a bit. Not so much that I don't have someone special to celebrate it with, but that it is a huge marketing ploy (I guess just like every other holiday is turning out to be). I also have an issue on how it promotes romantic love so much. While romantic love does have its place, I wish Valentine's Day could reinforce real, genuine, self-sacrificing love. This is the love that I strive for, but clearly need to work on... This is love that is life changing and not self serving. This is the love that Christ has for us. This is the love that goes the deepest. Sure, romatic love can be a part of that...but tomorrow that is the type of love that I am going to be celebrating - and thankful for. It will also serve as a reminder of how I can try to best love others.

The weather here has been beautiful. I was thinking back to Valentine's Day last year and how (if I remember right) I was snowed in for the day. We have had weather in the 60's and the 70's...although the fog has been really bad in the mornings for the last three days. Yesterday the freeway was closed in both directions due to a car pile-up (there was zero visibility) in Kingsburg. Praise the Lord I did not get on at that time as I had already decided to stay home until it cleared. I am thankful that my work is concerned about my safety too and allows me to come in late when needed!

This weekend Jasmin and I are flying down to San Diego. We will be going to Sea World and I'm sure Old Town and the ocean as well. I am looking forward to it - and praying for patience at the same time. If you have been talking with me you know what I mean!!!

This is officially my last week of cheer. I am soooo excited! If the basketball team goes to playoffs we will have to go but that's OK. Our last practice was last night so we now only have games to worry about. Tonight is senior night and the girls are looking forward to that. I think I will even be watching my niece tonight so it will be fun to have her with me.

Today is Hannah's 30th bday...Happy Birthday Hannah! My 30th is less then 6 months away. Crazy, I tell you. But that is a whole different blog.

I watch the Today show every morning (and love it) and yesterday, being Super Tuesday, the show was heavily centered on politics. Barack Obama (of course) came up and they were talking about how many young voters are supporting Obama because he is young, fresh, exciting, different, etc. However, they were also stating how many people are voting for him but when asked why they supported him (basically asking them to give examples from his political career or his personal history) they could not. It scares me that these people are so easily swayed by charisma and good looks. Now anyone who knows me knows I am on the Huckabee train, but this was a good reminder for me that I also needed to well equip myself on the politicians I choose to support. While there never will be politicians I agree with 100%, it is very important to me that I not choose a candidate blindly just because he is a conservative Christian, but rather because his (or her!) history, objectives, and plans for the future most closely follow what I want for our country. It just kills me that women are voting for Hillary simply because she is female, for example. Are the voters really that ignorant to make such a naive choice? Anyway, this article came my way today, and I was not aware that Obama was a strong supporter of Obdinga who is responsible for the persecution of Christians and many senseless murders.

http://www.thestar.com/News/World/article/290390

After researching this a bit I also saw some very heated debates over Obama and Israel and how he equally supports Israel and Palestine?? Hmmm… I think I have that to learn about and research next.

In any case, whomever you support, I hope that your decision is well researched and that you go vote after careful consideration and much prayer. I am so thankful to live in the country where we do!!