my word for this next year...

INVOLVED

-more involved in my faith
-more involved with family and friends (not in a know everything way, but in a more connecting way)
-more involved with my community
-more involved with my talents
-more involved with my political beliefs and taking a stand
-more involved with discovering new talents
-ash

found!

paul and i love to go through all our stuff over the years to see if we still want it or if it means anything to us. paul had a few boxes he brought out. he went through one and when he opened the other it was my stuff i hadn't seen in years. as i went through old emails i printed from college days, i saw this on the side of the box. it was drawn for me by my cousin charles. it brought back floods of memories from camping, trips to tennessee, late night talks, and sleepovers when they would visit. those boys have a very special place in my heart and i think about them each and everyday. i wish we didn't have miles between us, but i think that makes us closer. thank you charles!

-ash

Holiday Festivities

Paul and his mom felt this season needed a bit more spirit. They worked so hard making their dreams a reality, and I could not be more proud of them.
They used our Department 56 villages and trains to create a beautiful Christmas city, had Mrs Claus kitchen, Santa's office with a list of naughty or nice, a large nativity, a fireplace with cookies, candy cane lane, the reindeer barn, Mr & Mrs Snowman, Christmas tree forest and facts about Christmas around the world.
I can't believe how hard they worked to put this together. They had a lot of late nights, and long days, but they did a great job. They opened up in Ogden (next to a delicious pizza place) and helped the Christmas spirit spread. 
The past couple of weeks have been really hard. We had hoped to celebrate this new year with a baby on the way (miscarried after doing our first round of IVF), and also they weren't as busy as they hoped, but they listened to the spirit, and opened themselves up to what Heavenly Father wanted them to do. Take down was hard, and it was hard to end it without the answers we had been praying for. We will continue to trust in the Lord, and know answers will come.
-ash