Holidays and Mantles.

It's either a bit early or a bit late to be posting holiday pictures but whatevs. 

My blog, my rules. 

So here's to: 

170 days 'til Christmas

 221 days 'til Valentines Day

 252 days 'til St. Patty's Day

CHRISTMAS

2012 Christmas Tree
Theme: Burlap

DIY Lighted Burlap Bow Tree Topper

Christmas Mantle
Everything thrifted minus the cross stocking holders, Noelle the elf, and the light up house (heirloom) 

"That Noelle is something else! She was sad that the snow melted and knew the girls would be too so she decided to hang lights from their ceiling and put lots of "unmeltable" snowflakes in there. Silly girl!"

Always sneaky! 

I almost forgot our Elf on a Shelf, Noelle, came for a visit!

VALENTINE'S DAY

Of course I didn't want to take down the Christmas decor but couldn't wait get the VDay mantle up so by mid-January I just combined the two. 

And of course we couldn't forget our "love mail" boxes.

Then along came March and that sneaky, messy Doogal the Leprechaun.

But hey, he did leave this nice green bucket of green goodies!

And now we're to the present. 

The "When it's not a holiday rustic mantle."

All pieces gifted or found at Goodwill.

Lighted weeds: Christmas lights + dead weeds from the neighbors yard. (Thanks neighbs!)

Clock: Goodwill $2

Jesus wooden sign: Family heirloom 

Painted Canvas behind weeds/clock: Goodwill $1

Empty Picture Frame: Goodwill $1

Cross: Gifted

Water damaged book: Goodwill ($.50) + rain 

Rusty Lantern: Back yard

Tall Blue Vase: Goodwill $2

Candle: Already had

Light: Gifted

Total for the "When it's not a holiday rustic mantle": $6.50

*Pats self on back.

Cheers to celebrating the holidays year 'round! 

What Valentine's Day is Really About.

I love Valentine's Day.

Almost as much as I love birthdays. 

So that's a lot. 

And I don't even have a Valentine. 

Not that I couldn't have one.. 

I mean they are practically causing a riot outside my door right now. 

Kidding. 

But really.

I love everything about Valentine's Day.

From the nasty chocolates to gourmet dinners.

February 14th is by far the most precious day of the year. 

But somewhere in the midst of all this lovin' you've got the Anti-Valentiners. 

The ones who have apparently missed the memo and dedicated February 14th to their sob stories.
Well I've got news for all you Anti-Valentiner sob story tellers: 

For real.
Nobody wants to hear it.
Nobody feels sorry for you.
Just shush.

Valentine's Day isn't about having a Prince Charming to celebrate with.
It's about love.
Celebrating love.
Showing love.
Being thankful that you are blessed enough to have someone to love.
If you'd stop complaining for 2 seconds and look around you'd see why I love Valentine's Day.

Being the procrastinator I am, it's obvious that I didn't do my Valentine shopping until last night.
A bunch of people all crowed around empty shelfs hoping to find that perfect gift.
But amongst all the craziness I witnessed what Valentine's Day is truly all about.
Love.

As I sat in my car trying to catching my breath from all the madness I saw a woman walking toward her car with a buggy full of groceries. As she neared the car I couldn't help but notice the 4 smiling faces staring at her, beaming with excitement. And I'm not talking the "Woohoo Mom bought food!" kinda smile. I'm talking an ear to ear, full of love, whole heart kinda smile. The boys faces lit up as she opened the door and they handed her a completely unexpected big bouquet of roses. My heart melted. The look on their faces said it all.

Valentine's Day isn't about the presents or a fancy dinner.
Or even an unexpected bouquet of roses.
It's about genuinely loving.
Loving with every piece of your heart.

So to all you Anti-Valentiners, I challenge you to look around today.
Notice all the love?
How can you hate Valentine's Day?!

TGIF: Babysitter Style

Friday's are suppose to be the best day of the week, right? TGIF!

So first off, I get up to this:

A nice messy kitchen where dinner dishes from last night and breakfast dishes from this morning are lingering around the sink, on the table, and thanks to my clumsiness eventually in the floor.

So, I start cleaning up...

The sink begins to fill with a mysterious pink water. 

Tried running the garbage disposal but surprise surprise it didn't work. 

The water just went from one side of the sink to the other. 

So being the "Handy Jill" that I am, I decided I would just take matters into my own hands. 

Got a big pan set it under the sink and began to unscrew the pipes.

And just when you think it couldn't get much better than this.

It did. 

The mysterious pink water starts spewing everywhere. 

Everywhere as in, all over me. In my face. On my clothes. In the floor. Etc.

And to top it all off, the mysterious pink water had some nice chunks in it..

Now that I was covered in chunky pink water, which happened to smell and look a lot like vomit, I was ready to see what was clogging up the sink.

Grease. WHO PUTS GREASE DOWN THE SINK? I'm not talking just a little dab either. I mean I wouldn't be surprised if McDonalds used our sink to empty their fryers.

And then I cleaned it up...  

NOT.
Actually, I've yet to clean it up, I'm sitting at the dirty kitchen table, smelling of vomit, writing this post.. 

So when you think Monday's are bad just remember that Friday's have the same potential! 

TGIF y'all!

P.S. I think I might change my profession to plumbing.

Princess

15 years ago today I was given a late Christmas present. 

A present that I still cherish to this very day. 

Ya see, most kids get puppies for Christmas..

Well, I must of been extra naughty nice in 1997 because Santa gave me a sister!

Princess,

You're loud and opinionated.

You speak your mind. 

You have to have the last word.

You have to look pretty at all times. 

But you're you. 

And I wouldn't have it any other way. 

I'm so blessed to be your sister. 

I am so proud of you. 

I will always always always be your #1 fan. 

(Even if Burk thinks he is...he's not.)

You were my first best friend. 

And always will be.

Happy 15th birthday.

I love you more than you could ever imagine.  

Guardian Angel: Cody Addition

This is one of those posts that everyone just dreads. 

I dread writing it.

You dread reading it.
But it seems like everyone's needing it right about now. 

***

To put it simply sometimes things just suck. 

And there's nothing we can do but try our darndest to make it not suck as bad. 

But in the end it still just sucks. 

It's been almost a year.
A whole year since we gathered to celebrate your life.
And I still feel like I should see you around town.
Or run into you at the store.
Or hear you say "Woah, Jeff Gordon" when I take the corner a little too sharp.
Or see you wearing those goofy diamond S earrings.

And I still feel like the summer we all spent together was yesterday.

Oh the trouble y'all got me into.

Still wondering why I agreed to play that game? 

Or why I ended up stranded in a the middle of a nasty pond fully clothed?
But it was the funnest summer.
Ever.

I think it helped me come out of my shell.
So I'm giving you credit. Well, you and Mrs. Davis of course.
But you my friend, showed me that being quiet is overrated.
So, thanks.
Thanks for letting me be a part of your life.
And most of all thanks for being you.


RIP Cody/MacDaddy/Stud.
I miss you.











To Carie, Mike, and Cory,

There are a list of things I could say.
But words are words.
Just know you're not alone.
We miss him too.


With all my love,
Ashlyn

Thankful.

Do you ever get that feeling? Ya know the one where you just want to step out of reality and push the pause button? Maybe even rewind a little. But then you're forced to realize that it's not possible. Not today. Not tomorrow. Not ever. Reality will always be reality and time will never stop. I'm feeling that today.

I just want to push pause. Take a minute to soak everything in. So much has changed these last few months. I can't say I like it. I can't say it wasn't for the better. I can't really say anything. I'm speechless. I guess I just haven't had a chance to process it all.

Sometimes life gets in the way. So much is happening all at once that everything becomes a blur. We look over the small things and push away the bad. We focus on the small picture and forget about the big. And eventually we become overwhelmed.
That's where I'm at. 

I've pushed everything away for so long that I'm overwhelmed. My newest reality isn't exactly how I pictured it. It's actually far from it. Like millions and millions of miles from it. I never thought I'd be one of those kids. But I am. And it's going to be okay. It may not be the picture I was painting in my mind but it's the picture God's had painted all along.

It's easy to get caught up in life and forget to just be thankful. When I started this post that's exactly where I was. So caught up in my own sob story that I wasn't even thankful. I was mad; sad. I even had the annoying "why me" outlook on everything. My heart just hurt.
I realized I was that person. The one with a chip on my shoulder. The one with a short fuse. The one who wanted to just skip out of town. That's were I was. And I was missing out.

Missing out on precious time that I will never get back. I'll only live in the same house as my siblings for so long. Hearing Sweet Boy say "Dashie" at the top of his lungs will be a thing of the past. We're getting older everyday. Just thinking about that makes me sad. A happy sad but sad. The point is life goes on. Whether we want it to or not. Life.Goes.On.

So stop and think. Are you thankful? Are you truly soaking in every moment?

I miss you: High School Addition

High School. 

The dreaded transition.

Leaving the top of one totem pole to start over at the bottom of another. 

The times when boys lose their cooties and girls become pretty.

When getting your license becomes your top priority. 

When finding the perfect dress for prom seemed impossible.

And then, in the blink of an eye, you're standing on the top of that totem pole.

You're a senior. 

The years that seemed to drag on for a lifetime feel like yesterday. 

But the year ahead feels like it will last forever. 

But just as the years before, summer fades to fall and the time begins to fly. 

And before you even have a chance to really soak it all in you're walking across the stage. 

Fact is: I miss high school. 

I know that it's ridiculous. But it's the truth.

I miss having to get up way too early to go sit in a classroom full of kids that I've known for years. I miss walking the halls with the people who knew me. I miss trying to hide my cell phone in Mr. Bos' class. I miss trying to discretely chew gum around Mrs. Davis. I miss whining to Reynolds. I miss having girl talk with Mrs. Sweet. I miss telling Mr. Smith that he was awesome. I miss making my famous sopapilla cheesecake for the best staff in the world. 

I miss telling Doug to shut up. 

I miss being able to see my best friend everyday. 

I miss having college with these guys. 

I miss telling Dylan to wake up and answer the professors questions.

I miss arguing with Scott about who was more awesome. (I mean clearly I was and still am) I miss sneaking into the band room to listen to Michael, Micah, and Brandon play music. 

I miss Taylor being my lunch buddy. My constant friend I know will always be there.

I miss stressing out over Beta with Cameron. 

(I seriously think he was the only one that kept me sane and it was all totally worth it in the end) 

I miss Joanie always singing way too loud. And A.Muss for liking Chil.li's. 

I miss Amber always being my math buddy. 

I miss Paige just because she was Paige and could always make me smile. 

I miss you even if I didn't mention your name specifically. I miss being the annoying one that always wanted to take way too many pictures at every.single.event. I miss it all.

These people, my classmates, were more than just some random kids. They were like an extended family. An extended family that was never really extended until a couple years ago. 

I miss you guys.

{Just an example of how I'm more awesome. I mean look at that}

Sending you all my love and best wishes. 

***

Dear Seniors of the future,

I know you've waited for this year forever. To finally be that class at the top of the totem pole. I know. I know people have been pounding it in your head that it will go by fast and blah blah blah. And I know you don't believe it. But trust me. It really does go by in the blink of an eye. More like in half a blink. I've been there. 9 months is a lifetime when you're little. But the older you get the quicker time flies. 9 months is now going to feel like 9 seconds rather than 9 years. I promise. Embrace it. Live up your senior year. You won't get it again. Ever. (Unless you fail. And if you fail, well, then I suggest you write a blog post about being a senior for the second time around and let me know how that goes for ya.)

Good luck.

In memory of Cody McMorris.

MacDaddy I bet you're getting a kick up there watching me be Jeff Gordan! But you know what? Just hush it! 

You will always be in our hearts. 

RIP.