Catching up again!!!

So, I'd really like to be better at this blogging thing. I just don't have the time that I want to have... Many things have happened since December 24th. On December 25th we acquired a dog! People laugh when I say "acquired," but it is true. We really did acquire him. He showed up at my parents house with a coon dog. The coon dog had a gold plated tag on and had an owner looking desperately for this dog worth $6000!! Our newly acquired dog was a stray with a puppy collar still on. The neighbors had seen him wandering for about 3 months! I don't know how you could let this wander!!!

:) That's Kodiak - better known as Kodi. He was our Christmas present! We looked for lost dog signs for about a week and found nothing. We think it was meant to be. Now he is an inside outside dog. We think he definitely has some border collie in him, but he's big, so maybe some lab or golden retriever. He is about 1 year old now. He is so sweet though and very gentle. We have since discovered he is not fond of bald men. He gets pretty bent out of shape. He's just great for us!

We have also spent a little time out at Halsell Hill. My grandmother continues to fight ovarian cancer. We have had some wonderful visits though. My grandfather and she continue to work as a team to make it through each day along with the family's help on the weekends. These are a few pictures from a recent visit:

Grandmother and Ashley

Grandmother and Aunt Sue

Ross also has a new job. He is working for Encompass Home Health. The Lord has been merciful and sweet to us in so many ways. Ross is loving his new job. He is still in the orientation phase, but is liking visiting with one patient at a time and having some time in his car. There is much more responsibility in home health, but Ross is up for the challenge!

I am still at Cook Children's. I am enjoying my job so much and looking foward to when a Child Life Specialist position opens up. God has blessed us so much with jobs and family. We are so thankful for all that He provides.

We are being discipled by a wonderful couple that leads our small group and have been reading Sacred Marriage with them. It has been a sweet journey. We finish up next week. The Lord has truly engrained in us that marriage is not about us but ALL about Him! It has been beautiful and fresh. I am also reading Sacred Influence with a dear sister from afar. It has been a blessing. I strongly recommend Gary Thomas' books. They are chalked full of great teachings of the Lord.

We love you all and pray that the Lord is sweetly blessing each of you as Valentine's Day approaches!

Here are a few more pics of our Kodi!

The Holidays!!!

Merry Christmas EVE to everyone! Ross and I have been enjoying a few days of what we like to call "normal" life. :) I finished my internship last Friday. I will return to Cook today for my first day back to pack bags for the kiddos. Ross works half the day tomorrow :(, and we both work on Friday. We got to spend Sunday and yesterday out at Halsell Hill with my grandmother and papa. Grandmother is struggling with ovarian cancer. It was a great treat to get to be with them twice in one week after not seeing them for a while. :) We spent Thanksgiving here with Jill (our dear friend), my parents, my Granny, and Michael and Mattie Mae. We had a wonderful time. :) Here are a few updated pictures:

Our photographer was amazing!!! :) (her car is in the background) :)

Michael and Mattie LOVE Granny!!!!

Michael and Mattie Mae with Turkey Pumpkins!!! :)

We pray that each of you is blessed by the celebration of our Savior's birth! May you know His deep and tender love for you this Christmas. May you feel Him warm in your soul! We love you!!!

4 More Weeks

I am getting close to being done with my internship. I start a 4 week count down on Monday. I am in a trauma rotation currently. It has been incredibly overwhelming with an intense amount of visual stimuli. I'm back to having a difficult time sleeping and recovering from the things I see each day. I am learning a lot though - mostly that I have the most amazing husband. He does such a great job getting life accomplished for us in the midst of craziness. I love Ross' heart. He is such a server. The Lord has taught me so much about His character through Ross - especially during this time. God is so good to use marriage to sanctify us. We are ready for this season to come to a halt, but God is good to sustain and grow us. God is good - all the time.

Halloween with Michael and Maddie Mae

I had the priviledge of spending Halloween with Michael, Maddie Mae and Jill. We took the kids and one of Michael's friends, Alex, trick-or-treating on Friday night. The week before, Michael and Maddie hung out with Ross and me and they helped carve our pumpkin. Michael did the entire design (so cute!) and Maddie pushed out all the shapes. We had a great time! They are precious!

Dancing Naked

This is the title of a book by Mary Rogers. She is a Texas writer that used to write for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. It features stories that she has written about are about the lives, struggles and joys of North Texans. It is a tear jerker for sure, but real and alive. She says that if you can't "dance naked" then it's not worth telling your story - in other words - disclose your whole heart, mind and soul. :)

This is something I love about life - the redemption and struggles to get there. It is truly beautiful and EVERYONE goes through it. Everyone has a story! Check out Mary Rogers story on her website!
http://www.maryrussellrogers.com/

ENJOY!!! :)

Getting Settled In

We are finally getting settled in to our house and our schedule. The last few weeks have been really difficult for sleep for us. Lots of schedule changes. I get up at 5am to get on a 6:15am train and Ross gets up at 5:50 when he works. I was getting an average of 4 hours and Ross was sleeping very lightly. I finally checked into some natural sleep aids this week and I've slept like a baby the last few nights. Praise Jesus!!! I was getting so frustrated! We are all happy when I've had sleep! We'll try to post some different pictures of the house. We've had a blast decorating and really making it feel like home! We love our neighborhood. We live about 10 houses down from some of our best friends in the whole world, Elyse and Craig Hons! It's a nice, cozy neighborhood with lots of trees. We'd love to have you come visit us. I am including a few photos from my birthday. I recently celebrated my 26th birthday! Holy Cow, I'm old! Not as old as my hubby though! He had his 32nd birthday this July. He looks pretty sexy, though! :)

Looking good together!

Good Friends! :)

More pictures to come soon! ;) Much love!

Let's catch up!

Love :)
Our beautiful new home!
One year later.
Our precious nieces, Alaina and Adria, and our handsome nephew, Gabriel!
A Lake Tahoe View!

Well it's been a while since Ross and I have caught up and updated everyone. We were married 1 year in August! :) We went back to Tahoe where we honeymooned, but we spent the weekend before in Vegas. We moved in to a new home the last weekend of August.

Ashley started an internship in Dallas for Child Life on September 15th. Once I finish, I will officially be a Child Life Specialist. I will take a certification test in May (2009), but I am able to start in a Child Life position before that. I am riding the train to Dallas every morning at 6am. I am following the PICC/IV team and outpatient radiology for my first rotation. My second rotation will be Trauma. I am learning a lot! I work at Cook Children's every Saturday. Ross is working at Baylor here in Fort Worth (Southwest and Downtown). He is working 48 hours a week also. We are very busy and tired!!! :) We can't wait for this season to be completed, but the Lord is teaching us COMPLETE dependence on Him for every moment of our days. Ross is an amazing husband! He is helping out a ton around the house, and he makes terrific lunches! I'm blessed to have such a loving husband.

We are part of a wonderful church, Christ Fellowship, here in Fort Worth. Our desire is to share life intimately in homes with one another and to love God deeply. It is a beautiful picture of the church and we are blessed by our family there. We are grateful to live close to my family who live in Weatherford and my grandmother that lives here in Fort Worth. My other grandparents live about 2 hours away in Baird. Ross family is in Juneau, Alaska. Bonnie and Shawn and our twin nieces and nephew are precious and taking one day at a time. Ross' brother, Russell, keeps us updated with the recent bear sitings. Ross' parents are also taking one day at a time and being wonderful grandparents! We try to meet up with them each August in Lake Tahoe.

That's about it for now. We will work hard to keep this updated! Thanks for checking in on on us!