It’s Monday morning! Oh how I HATE Mondays! How I LOVE weekends… lol

Jasmine has fit in really well with my family, in my household, and into American life. She is a good girl and is really, really, enjoying her time here. She is a very pretty girl and is teeny-tiny! A double zero! Must be rough. ;-) It has been a lot of fun to have her around, although I do admit that being an instant mom to a 17-year-old can be daunting at times. Tomorrow she will have been here for four weeks. Here are some funny, and poignant Jasmine-isms:

“You are going to a baby shower? Is that the baptism?”
“You eat chips with sandwiches? WEIRD!”
“I have never had peanut butter and chocolate together before.”
“People actually buy ice here? Why?”
“Everything is so big here! The streets are so wide, there are trucks everywhere, and everyone has big cars!”
“How do you pray?”
“People in America are all about drama!”
“What is root beer?”

VTR and cheer are continuing to keep me busy. KHS will go to playoffs so who knows how long football season will last. I am looking forward to basketball. It will be nice to watch a different sport and help the girls prepare for something different. I have enjoyed my job as a social worker and think that this is something I could do long term. It gets me out of the office and I like helping kids. It has been a good job so far and surprisingly fairly low stress.

I am painting the inside of my house, which I have really been looking forward to. I just got all of the dark wood painted and now I am going to paint each room one at a time as time allows. My goal is to be done by the holidays so my house will be all ready for all the different gatherings and celebrations. Yay!

I saw the movie “Elizabeth” over the weekend. It was decent and the costumes were beautiful. It must be so fun for those people to work on sets like those! I am looking forward to the holiday movies, which will be coming out soon. This is my favorite time of year for that and so many more reasons!

This goes without saying but I miss the East Coast. I have decided that if Kristin stays in D.C. for another year (past this summer) that I will be moving out to her area as soon as mid June. She is already aware of this and hopefully does not fill any pressure about staying if God leads her otherwise. If she does move then I will have to decide if I want to go anyway. Of course Kristin wouldn’t be the ONLY reason I would move but she would def be a big part of it as those of you who have made big moves before know, having a ready made friend (and she is one of my besties!) makes a world of difference. I want God’s will for her so of course if He leads her elsewhere I want her to go…and yet God still might want me to go there w/o her. So we’ll see…but I just thought I would share that with you as it looks like another big adventure is in store for me. My parents are aware of this and think it is the most ridiculous decision I can make, and as my mom says I am too old to do this again, but we have agreed to disagree. I know God brought me back here to CA. But what I don’t know is for how long. I still feel like the EC is my home and if I go out to D.C. even if for only a year at least when I lie on my deathbed I will feel like I tried, that I pursued all, or the majority, of my dreams. Kingsburg will always be here and I can always come back to it… That’s my thinking anyway.:-)

Gotta get back to work! Blessings to you today!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kY-FLauvL2Q

No, I didn't post this, or take this video, but nonetheless I am a proud cheer coach. If you are close you should come by and see us in action!

Well it looks like I am going to be a mom…to a German 17-year-old for nine months. Crazy, huh? Here’s how it came to be:

This summer as I read our weekly local newspaper each week I noticed that there was continual advertising for host families for foreign exchange students. It looked like they were pretty desperate, as there seemed to be no families stepping up to take these kids in. I thought about it and thought that it would be fun, but ultimately decided against it because I wanted my freedom and figured that these kids are coming over to live with families and that they wouldn’t want to come over and live with just me. So I brushed the idea off and that was that.

Then a couple of weeks ago I went over to my parents house for dinner and my mom showed me an article in the Kingsburg Recorder about Tammy. Tammy is a German girl who was placed with a family here but due to medical issues (of the family) she couldn’t stay there anymore. If another family didn’t step up to take her then she would have to move to a different school. I felt so bad for Tammy. I couldn’t imagine having to move to a different country and experience that cultural shock (even though she signed up for it) and then barely get used to the high school and then be pulled to another city and high school. So, I thought that this was God tapping me on the shoulder. I called the rep and told her my situation (single, very busy, never home, etc) but that if nobody else took her that I would. Well, another family did take her. So again I thought that that was that. I felt better with myself because at least I tried.

Soon after that I got a call from the rep again. She told me about Jasmin. Jasmin signed up to come over for the year but since nobody else wanted a student she has been sitting home waiting ever since. She watched all her friends in the program leave. Her visa is about to expire and this is pretty much her last chance to come over and do this. The rep asked me if I would be willing to look at her profile and consider taking Jasmin. I said I would and when I read about her I knew she would be a good fit. She is interested in cheerleading. She loves to do “girly” stuff. She is interested in going to church and youth group, etc. I called the rep and said I would take her but only if she went to KHS - as I live right by the school. (There had been some talk of Jasmin going to Fowler or Selma as KHS only wanted Tammy.) I prayed about it and basically figured that if I were meant to take her that KHS would let Jasmin in. Long story short they did…and Jasmin (to my complete surprise) is coming on Tuesday. This is all happening so fast!

Jasmin has written me a couple of times and seems to be really excited about coming here for the school year. She has never been to the States and wants the whole experience. I hope that you all will get to meet her and know her. Overall I am glad about this experience. It will teach me to be more selfless and help me to know more of what it is like to be a mother.

That is my big news of the week, other then seeing one of my BFF’s Kristin! I am so glad that she is in town – even if it is for a short bit. I miss her sooooo much!! We hadn’t seen each other for four months. That is the longest we had gone in three years. Sad!!

Anyway, I am off to clean my house. I am hoping to catch up on all of your blogs soon. Happy Sunday!

Hi All,

I am writing this from work. Sometimes we have super busy days. Sometimes we have super slow days. Today is definitely one of the slower days… But – it gives me time to write in my blog, right?:-)

My birthday was last Thursday and quite honestly it felt like any other day. I worked from 8-8:30 (as usual…see my last blog entry) and came home and did some things around my house and went to sleep by 10:30. Exciting. But, my family did have a nice dinner for me on Saturday. I got to choose the dinner and I selected chipotle tri-tip, rice pilaf, sourdough bread, corn, and salad. My grandma also made the best lemon dessert ever. It was a great time. For my birthday my parents (and I am chipping in too) are having all the dark wood in my house painted. I cannot wait to get that done!

I am doing well. Right now I am either sick or my allergies are acting up…I really can’t tell. It’s annoying but I can live with it. Last night was our first YL club and it was interesting. It was really difficult for me to not know any kids and I began to miss the YLWJ kids like crazy. I also ran YLWJ much differently then Kingsburg YL runs theirs (which doesn’t mean it was better or worse) so I have to readjust what YL club means to me. But, with time I will feel more and more comfortable. Overall I am happy to help because I know they (and the kids) really need it.

Sulli began walking this week. It’s fun to watch…!

I looked at my calendar and blocked out some dates when I will be visiting friends in Washington State and Northern VA. Now I just need to ask for the time off… I am really looking forward to jumping on a plane and going somewhere. These last four months have been the longest time in like three years when I haven’t been flying or extensively traveling somewhere. It’s so weird!

The weather is nice and cool(er) today. Yay!

Guess that’s all for now. All in all nothing really exciting going on here. I am going camping next weekend. That’s fun! And the cheerleaders are continually keeping me on my toes which is fun as well (most of the time.) :-) Come to our game tomorrow - we are performing!

Have a great day! I am going to get back to work…

Good Sunday morning! I have a few minutes before I need to start getting ready for church so hopefully I can update you on my life in the time allotted. I hope that you all are doing well!

First of all I want to mention how much I love reading your blogs – even if I only catch up on them about once or month (or more!) or so. I read all of your posts and leave a comment on every one so you know I was there. I’m sure that all of you have noticed this with me and I wanted to thank you for being patient. I love each of my friends so much and of course want to know everything about his or her life so I encourage you to keep up the good work so I can be nosey and know all about you.:-)

This reminds me – Alisha – I can’t leave comments on your blog???

Some of you have asked about work. It is going well but I still feel like I am a bit, or a lot, over my head. I have so much to learn about the foster family system, state laws, etc. Once I learn everything I do think that the job will be a good fit and that I will really like it. In the meantime I am just trying to not to screw it up. I get to get out of the office when I go do court, home, or supervised visits so that is nice and helps to break up the day. The staff seems really nice and I enjoy the office atmosphere a lot. I also love the mission of Valley Teen Ranch so I am very excited about working with such a wonderful organization. Overall I know this job will teach me a lot and even though the pay leaves much to be desired I feel very blessed and grateful for the position.

Now that I have a full-time job my life is very, very busy. Here is my schedule:

Monday work 8-5 coach cheer 6:30-8:30
Tuesday work 8-5 coach cheer 6:30-8:30
Wednesday work 8-5 young life 6:30-9:00
Thursday work 8-5 coach cheer 6:30-8:30
Friday work 8-5 coach cheer 6-9:30 (at games)

I am busy, busy, busy. I have only been at this schedule for a week but so far so good. We shall see how I feel about it in two months.;-) That being said I want to try really hard to have relaxing and fun weekends where I have as much time with friends and family as possible. I am hoping to go to Washington State over Veteran’s Day and go back East this fall as well. I will have to do it over the weekend (a long weekend) but that is better then nothing so I am ok with it.

I have been really aching for “home” (the East Coast still feels like home to me) lately. I have told myself I can’t make plans to move back until I have been here in CA for a year because I still need to be open to staying here if that’s what God wants me to do. If I could choose right now though I would move back – and move in with Kristin. Does that mean I regret moving here? No, not at all. I know for sure that God wanted me to move home. I am still committed to being obedient which is why I am here. I am just home-sick. I can’t really mention missing the EC because my parents get irritated with me and nobody else seems to understand or quite get it. Therefore I hardly talk about my life there anymore. I am still young and able to move which is why I am really considering moving back this summer. I don’t want years to go by and regret not taking this chance again. But of course we shall see what God says about it this next summer.

My birthday is on Thursday. Wow, 29. My last birthday/age ever! Hehehe I truly cannot believe I am getting this old. I’m sure I will blog on this as it begins to sink in later on this week…

Gotta run – my time is up! Enjoy your holiday weekend! I know I am!

I got a job and start tomorrow! Yay! I will be a social worker for the foster family agency division of Valley Teen Ranch. I am really excited - and nervous too.;-) I will let you know how it goes.

Holli was here for a little over a week. Here is what we did in her words:

california was a blast. i had so much fun and got to see and do some pretty cool things. the best part about it was getting to see ashley. i miss her when i don't get to see her that often. i was able to do everything i had wanted and so much more and am blessed to have been able to go. here is a brief recap of the events:

San Fran: Fisherman's wharf, pier 39, west coast clam chowder in a famous sourdough bread bowl and ghirardelli's ice cream. I also got to go to my first Oakland a's game and ride the bart around town. Ashley and I also went to the movies to see becoming jane and it sucked. So if you were thinking about seeing it, don't do it.

Sausalito: got to see a lot of crabs, had an awesome raspberry mocha (like you really care), and went to an awesome store where i was able to purchase a plethora of things.

Monterey: got to go to cannery lane to all of the shops, buy a smores apple that i did not eat, and have a steak and lobster dinner. I also got to go swimming in the pacific with sea otters which was pretty cool…absolutely freezing…but nonetheless pretty cool.

Fresno/Kingsburg: got to hang out with ashley's family and meet her little niece, go to the raisin capitol of the world, eat at in-and-out, go swimming when it was like 105 degrees out, eat at a really good Mexican restaurant, and get my picture taken with a Swedish horse and Viking.

Yosemite: had a blast camping out with ashley. we got to see two bears and a lot of other random wildlife. The views were incredible and it is seriously one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. I also got to climb rocks and hike to the bottom of the only waterfall in the park that wasn't dried out.

LA: got a pretty sweet VIP tour of Warner Brothers studios from ashley's cousin who is a VP there. She took us around on a golf cart and showed us the sets of three and a half men, cold case, and ER. It was cool to see how all of that was done. I also got to see the Hollywood sign, the Chinese theatre, and went shopping on Melrose.

Pasadena: got to stay with ashley's really cool aunt and went to the cheescake factory for the first time. I got to see where the rose bowl parade takes place and hang out in old town.

Anyway, I got to do a lot of great things and am very thankful that I was able to go.

I will try to post some pics soon. Fall is right around the corner. Crazy!

My friend Jocelyn wrote this in her blog today and I loved it so much I have to repost it here. Jocelyn is one of the most amazing people I know. She continues to teach me a lot even if we live across the country from each other. Here is an excerpt:

in my mind, males can be classified under 3 main categories: boys, guys and men. i will explain how i view each as best as i know how...

boys: these are males who think life is a game. or at least they live to play... most, if not all day. they splurge their monies (if they make any) on the latest toys and gadgets, trendy clothes, entertainment, food, drinks. they are often unruly and undisciplined with no consideration or regard for others, only themselves. you wonder if and when these individuals will ever grow up...and sadly, some never do. they tend to look for strong girls who can step in as a mother figure and take charge of their share of responsibility, keep their clothes clean, make their meals, etc. frankly, i find they are the reason why femnazis exist because though they're fun to pal around with, they make poor husbands and fathers. period. woe to the girl who fools around this this male and finds herself impregnated and alone.

guys: this second category is where I notice the vast majority of males past their teens fall into. Guys are good because they have matured to the point that they can and are willing to be considerate for women. But if you are a discerning girl you find that their motives are not selfless at all; guys have an agenda. That agenda might be conquering you. I have met loads of nice guys, however, they want to impress me so that I will somehow want them and therefore flatter them in return. Guys I meet are interested in girls primarily for their looks and how the girl will in turn make them look/feel. They are rather image-oriented. And thus, time tells all when you begin to realize the guy cares more about the image of having a girl that meets his perceived needs than he cares about you specifically. Guys like to date/ flirt with as many girls as possible, hoping they'll get a "catch". One a guy bags you (sexually or your attention) he tends to cool off simply because he's won. you were just a game for him and you gave in. Often guys want trophy wives... simply meaning that you provide some asset that makes him think he's better off (good looks, money, contacts, etc.). My dealings with guys have left me feeling devalued, used and manipulated. They can wear you down because what they offer initially has the appearance of genuine love/care/concern, but their words and actions can be shallow.

men: True men are modern day Boaz figures (check out the story of Ruth). They aren't flashy trying to get attention, they simply command notice by the fact that they are respectable people. Men are selfless, willing to put their life and concerns down for promoting the well-being of women that they wish to protect and provide for. Instead of simply asking women for help and walking away, they help regardless of what the woman looks like or whether she has consented because they live to meet other's needs. A true man is God-fearing, he sees and treats all women with equal concern and compassion. He is not "out to get a wife" because He knows his God will provide for his needs. A true man therefore rests assured in who he is and can simply live to his full potential uninhibited by the need to flaunt himself. He knows that charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting and he admires, respects and values women with character and holiness. You can trust a man's words because he means what he says in that he actively demonstrates his character to be true by how he treats you. A man refuses to play with womens' hearts or emotions for his own gain. Rather, he stands as their guardian and protector demonstrating true love and concern. Men leave a lasting impression on the hearts and minds of women because they stir true longings for a deeper love... a love which God Himself gives. A man will mirror Christ's love and all women commend him in his ways.

now, i am not foolish enough to insist that i can neatly fit every male into these three categories, but i will concede that in my life on occasion i have come across some of the most stellar men. their names are still on my heart to this day because of the impression they left on my life, as my dear loving brothers, i would want a husband that mirrored their own hearts. men are few and far between and people give me flak that i'm "too picky" or i "just need to settle". now i understand that many girls do cheapen themselves or make their priority their appearance rather than character because "that's what guys want". and i have to agree. that IS what GUYS want.

But I don't want to settle for a boy. Not even a guy. I want a man of God. I know it seems next to impossible, but with God ALL things ARE possible...if you just BELIEVE. And, honestly, if a man does not come for me that is ok because I am living not to get married, but I am giving my all for Jesus Christ. Giving your life over to God is a dangerous, adventurous thing because you plan to expect the unexpected. The Lord has been faithful and will be faithful to continue dealing with my heart and emotions.

...but when my day does come, I earnestly hope to be like the woman of character in Song of Solomon who was praised by the daughters of Jerusalem for her virtue as well as that of her husband. that would be my most precious wedding gift indeed... that God would be glorified by my earthly union. amen!

A little while ago I received a phone call that my great Aunt Fran passed away. Since Easter my family has lost my grandfather, my great uncle, and my great aunt - all semi-unexpectedly. It is weird to see the older generation of the family pass away. My parents and aunts and uncles are quickly becoming the matriarchs and patriarchs. It is a reminder that life moves quickly and is precious...

This is a forward I received. It is cheesy but I admit it did make me chuckle. A little Christian humor This is one of the best clean jokes I've seen in awhile! Jesus and Satan were having an on-going argument about who was better on the computer. They had been going at it for days, and frankly God was tired of hearing all the bickering. Finally fed up, God said, "THAT'S IT! I have had enough. I am going to set up a test that will run for two hours, and from those results, I will judge who does the better job." So Satan and Jesus sat down at the keyboards and typed away. They moused. They faxed. They e-mailed. They e-mailed with attachments. They downloaded. They did spreadsheets! They wrote reports. They created labels and cards. They created charts and graphs. They did some genealogy reports They did every job known to man. Jesus worked with heavenly efficiency and Satan was faster than hell. Then, ten minutes before their time was up, lightning suddenly flashed across the sky, thunder rolled, rain poured, and, of course, the power went off. Satan stared at his blank screen and screamed every curse word known in the underworld. Jesus just sighed. Finally the electricity came back on, and each of them restarted their computers. Satan started searching frantically, screaming: "It's gone! It's all GONE! "I lost everything when the power went out!" Meanwhile, Jesus quietly started printing out all of his files from the past two hours of work. Satan observed this and became irate. "Wait!" he screamed. "That's not fair! He cheated! How come he has all his work and I don't have any?" God just shrugged and said, "JESUS SAVES"

Hey Everyone!

Sorry I missed you on Monday and Tuesday. I was away at Cheer Camp. (Really!) It was a 48-hour cheer camp with a slumber party in between. I hope that the girls got a lot out of it and had a great time. I thought it was time well spent - for the most part. :-)

I am back and plan on spending today job hunting and running some errands. I hope that you have a great day as well!

<3, a.

Holli booked her tickets to come out and see me in just a couple of weeks! I am so excited.

When are you going to come and see me???

:-)

Wow...

This makes me tired just reading it!

www.duggarfamily.com

I was going through my old emails and found this. I think it is a great idea so I am passing it along...:-)


Hey, everyone!

I wanted to send a reminder to y’all about my friend’s website where you can go buy a care package for a soldier. Last time I emailed y’all, you had to go to ebay and search for the packages. Now he has his own website at istillcarepackages.com!! You can go to that website, make your purchase, and write a thank you note to the lucky soldier who gets your care package.

As I mentioned before, my friend is a Marine Reservist who spent a year in Iraq in 2004-2005 and definitely knows the effect that care packages have on overall morale over there. He makes no money from this – he just uses the money you provide to assemble and ship the packages you purchase. It is a labor of love and I’m proud of him for doing it.

Today is Aug 1. Can you believe it? Wow. In some ways this summer has flown by and in others it has dragged by. ..

I still don't have a job. I have stopped posting about it because it became too hard having to say what I was applying for and then reporting that I did not get it. So please don't feel out of the loop. When I do land a job I will let you know.:-)

I am tired and need sleep. Night all!

Blast from the past.

This is Amy and I at church camp in the 7th grade. So fun-nay!!!

I bought a mattress/box spring/and frame today. Now I just need to paint the headboard and then my spare room will be all finished. Who will come visit me?:-)

Quote of the day from my good friend Jerelyn, in summing up how cute the movie was that we saw tonight:

"You should have no reservations about seeing 'No Reservations!'"

It was definitely a chick flick and oh so good. Go out and see it with your best girl friends!

You know you live in a small town when you have this conversation with the clerk(unknown to me) at Longs...

"You are Ashley right?"

"Yes."

"Ashley Phelan?"

"Yes."

"And you go to the EV Free church right?"

"Yes, when I was much younger."

"Thought so."

This is Kingsburg, friends. Welcome to the twighlight zone. hehehe

I am soooo tired right now. I haven't been sleeping very soundly the past few nights and it is beginning to catch up with me. After this post I am going to bed.

What are some tricks that you have in order to ensure a good night's rest? I am willing to hear and try out lots of advice!

I chopped my hair off today. I have been wanting to donate to Locks of Love for a while now but every time I got close to doing it I got really nervous. I wasn't nervous about giving my hair to a wonderful organization but nervous about parting with my hair that took three years to grow out. My hair grows sooooo slowly and I LOVE having long hair. But, I told myself I just needed to do it. My hair will grow back and if I am that attached to my hair then I need to get rid of it. So I did. It is about to my chin. I am OK with it - it will just take some time getting used to I think. I'll try to post a pic soon...:-)

Night all!