Christmas in Michigan

So, it's been a while. School was a bit rough for me this semester and so I didn't really blog...at all. I did, however, read other peoples' blogs.


We traveled to Michigan to see family for Christmas. It was super fun and relaxing. Family really is a gift. My grandmother, who recently had a heart attack, was nearly back to normal. We rejoiced in God that she was able to spend another Christmas with us. It was pretty special. Here are some pics:
This is my mom's side of the family. They all smiled real big because I scolded them for never smiling in pictures.





See, here is proof that mom won't smile.






Josh was able to ice fish on my parents' pond. I was nervous he would fall through, but he didn't.




Josh on dad's snow mobile. My dad was trying to convince us that winter IS fun... although we know better :)


This picture is from my Aunt Shelly's place. Josh finally beat my dad in Ping Pong!!! It was hilarious!

Awwww.... we're so sweet.

Here is my dad's side of the family... but just the grandparents and cousins. Unfortunately, I had my camera on the wrong setting, so this is the only one that turned out ok.

By the time the 10 days were up, I still wished we had more time! Josh and I both felt refreshed after the trip.

Now that we are home, we are doing some winter cleaning. Our house is a mess!! But it will be worth it.

The most wonderful time of the year

This post is not about Christmas, but about Fall. It's the time of new beginnings for a lot of us who are students. Although classes are hard and new pressures arise, I love the energy of campus in the fall. Josh and I are particularly excited about meeting new students, but also about some changes in our own lives. More about that on another blog. . .

Family came to visit just before school kicked off. They are tons of fun. Favorite memory: playing dominoes and listening to my dad's reaction every time he scored. You would have had to been there!

We stayed near Table Rock lake, which was nice since the weather was over 100 degrees some days.

During the first week of school, the organization we are a part of always hosts a "free yard sale" for International Students. Since most of them come here with nothing but clothes, it's a great way to meet their physical needs. Here's some photos:

This is seriously one of my favorite events we do all year. It is sooooo fun to help students shop and watch them check things out. A lot of them ask why we do this, and so we explain that we just want to show God's love. That's it...no flyers are passed out, no emails are collected...just showing love. Love it! And God is always faithful to open doors for new friendships.

One last thing, on a perfect Saturday night, Josh and I went to the Razorback game (now that I'm a student, we get a deal on tickets :) )

We won big time! Josh and I both LOVE football season, so we are super pumped! I hope to post again soon with more updates. Hope you are enjoying this new season as much as we are.

Happy Anniversary

We had a pretty interesting trip this weekend. Let me give you the run down:

7:00 pm Friday night - Josh brings Ashley a cookie cake- it's her favorite. She's so excited.

9:00 pm Friday- Ash gives Josh his present - new Teva sandles, new waterbottle for bike, new nalgene. Josh confesses that he was unable to buy a present because V.S. was too scary for him. Not to mention one of the students from the ministry we are a part of was working that night and would have checked him out at the counter. The cookie cake was a sort of consolation gift.

10:00 pm Friday- Ashley goes to bed grumpy because we don't have an exact plan of what to do- Josh feels awful. We were going to go to Eureka, but changed our plan because we are going there in 2 weeks with Ash's parents.

7:00 am Saturday- Josh tries to go for a bike ride; Ashley gets mad because plans are not finalized. Josh doesn't ride; Ashley is still mad.

10:00 am Saturday - After spending time in the Word, Ashley feels better and is ready to embark on an adventure to Beaver Lake. Josh is up for it too. We decide to spend the day there and then stay at a hotel. All seems well.

12:00 pm Saturday - We pick up lunch and check in our hotel early. We notice that there is a family with screaming kids right beside our room. We hope it's not a bad omen...

2:00 pm Saturday- We arrive at Horseshoe bend, where we hear there is a beach. Let's just say that it isn't quite Destin...but it is still pretty:


2:30 pm Saturday - We decide to rent a boat, rather than lay on the crowded beach. The lady at the marina tells us that Horseshoe bend is the only marina without boat rentals. The closest place with rentals is 45 minutes away.
We decide to buy floaties from the marina - it's the next best thing to a boat.

3:05 pm Saturday- Josh loses the tip of the air compressor and it falls into the lake. Ashley blows up the floaties by mouth while Josh pays for the lost tip.

3:30 pm Saturday - We make it back to the beach, but decide to go to a place with less people...and more rocks:



Ashley is happy in the water:

3:35 pm - Josh loses his sun glasses in the lake while trying to get in the tube. Ashley gives him the larger floatie to make him feel better. He doesn't seem grateful :) No, he's just upset about the glasses. We start to relax.

4:30 pm - get out of water and smile at the camera despite the strange chain of events:

5:00 pm - Back at the hotel, we watch Spiderman, shower, then go out to eat. Delicious dinner makes the day seem better! Watching the movie was fun too.

9:00 pm- Josh texts a picture of his foot to his mom. He has had a bad blister since Monday that won't go away. She thinks we should go the ER. We decide to go early in the morning - we both get grumpy and get ready for bed. The neighbors (with loud kids) turn on their jacuzzi tub and we hear a loud, constant buzz. It goes away once they turn it off.

6:30 am Sunday - we wake up to go the ER. Dr. thinks its not too big of a deal, but gives Josh a new antibiotic (he was on one already from a previous Dr. visit). He tells us we will hear back if it is a staff infection.


10:30 am - back at home, we wonder "why did our weekend go so bad?" Our ideas: we didn't pray about it in advance, or we were both being selfish, or it's just coincidence. I'm thinking a combination of all 3.

After our Sunday naps, we both felt a lot better and were thankful that we could laugh about the weekend. Next time we will pray for God's blessing beforehand, try to think about the other's preferences, and not be so darn last minute! Any thoughts on why the weekend was so strange?

All in all, I (Ashley) am so thankful for Josh and our marriage. God has really grown us both over the last 2 years - for the better. God is showing us both how selfish we are - and by His grace, He is breaking us of it.

P.S. I realized that Josh is following the anniversary gift guide (sooo sweet!!). Last year he got me paper (a framed version of our wedding vows), and this year he planned to get me cotton. We're going to go shopping together to get that sometime soon :)

Hope you found this entertaining!

A few things...

I've tried some new recipes:


Finished a few projects:





Watched fireworks on Dickson after eating homemade icecream with fun friends:





Went to Eureka Springs with my Grandma:






p.s. : We had a GREAT time. She is such a blessing in my life. I hope that I can be as genuine, sweet, and funny as she is when I reach 72.


and...Visited the doctor:
I think I have a solution to the problem with my feet/ankles! I saw a podiatrist a couple of weeks ago and he told me that I have fallen arches, which is most likely causing my pain. I was thrilled to hear that there is a cause for my pain. He will probably make me some orthotics (fancy shoe inserts) to help keep my arch from falling when I walk. YAY!

A few updates:
Josh is working and trying to ride his bike whenever he can. He is also swimming quite a bit. I'm sorry I don't have much more to say about him. He eats a lot of crushed red pepper these days.

We are hoping to take a mini getaway next weekend for our anniversary. I'll blog about that later.



I wanted to share something with you that I've learned from Beth Moore (I just love her):

She challenges women to face their fears. We all have fear and can let it control us- giving Satan, rather than God, the victory.

For example, I fear an intruder will come in my home and do horrible things to me. However, have I ever thought through this fear? If an intruder comes, then what? I will hide. Then what? I may be hurt or killed. Then what? Well, if I'm killed, then I get to see God face to face!!!! If I'm hurt, I'll go to the hospital and recover. Then what? I'll go back to life again and get a weapon to protect myself. Then what? I'll be ok.

The question is...will we still love God even if our worse fear becomes reality? Or will we serve Him only if He keeps our fears from becoming reality? This hit me pretty hard, for I am so guilty of letting fear control me.

If an intruder comes to my home, will I loose faith because God didn't protect me? If Josh dies, will I be miserable forever and blame God? The choice is mine. If my biggest fear becomes reality, then God. That's it. Then God. God will sustain us! He promises it in His Word: "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." 2 Cor. 12:9b and "For the Lord will not cast off forever, but, though He cause grief, He will have compassion according to the abundance of His steadfast love; for He does not willingly afflict or grieve the children of men." Lamentations 3:31-33. (English Standard Version)

We don't have to let fear control us! As Esther said, "If I perish, then I perish." She faced the fear of death and moved past it, becoming a hall of famer in the Bible!

This is not my own wisdom, but I thought I would pass it on. It is from the Beth Moore study on Esther. I hope it is a blessing and causes you to face your fears.

Hope you're having a good summer!

Greetings

So, we've decided to start a blog! We chose the name Just Passing Through based on Psalm 103: 15-18:

"As for man, his days are like grass; he flourishes like a flower of the field; for the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more. But the steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him, and his righteousness to children's children, to those who keep his covenant and remember to do his commandments. "

Here is a not-so-brief update of our summer so far:

My dear friend Ashley Arce came to visit...what a blessing. She makes me laugh like no one else can! Josh and I enjoyed her visit and were reminded of what a blessing her and Derrek are in our lives. So glad to have their friendship! Here's a pic of Ash at the girls' house during our cooking party:

Since school got out, I (Ashley) have been traveling. I visited Louisiana and saw Heather, Aurelia, Rebecca, and Ava. Heather is a teacher now, and you won't find a better 4th grade teacher than her. She loves her job, and I'm so excited for her. Rebecca is real life mom, which is still hard to believe. She keeps Ava disciplined, on a routine, and loved. God has blessed her with great support of her family and friends, a great hubby, a darling daughter, and a new ministry with the cheer squad at NHS. Then I went with Aurelia to Waco to see her new house. I loved it!!! I'm so happy for her and Lyle. They are using their house as a ministry tool, which is awesome. They love to have people in their home. It was a blessing to meet their friends and see what God is up to in their lives.

Josh and I took a little get-a-way to the mountains of Arkansas. We interacted with hillbillies, enjoyed the scenery, did mindless activities, and reconnected. It was WONDERFUL! Favorite memories of this trip: watching a lightning storm from our cabin porch and the show Rivermonsters...

We also visited his grandparents in Kansas. His mom, brother, and us took a road trip to help them with their garden and see the sights and sounds of Russel, KS and the surrounding area. Highlights of the trip: Watching Shrek in 3-D at the Dream Theatre, listening to Grandpa give directions, and finding some awesome stuff at local garage sales! Here is us at the movie and a pic of the family:

The next weekend, Josh went to Louisiana to visit college buds, and I went to Michigan to visit family. We both were attacked by mosquitoes (the ones in Michigan are HUGE!), went fishing (Josh in the gulf, me in a pond), laughed a lot, and ate yummy food. Josh got to eat crawfish and I ate mom's home cooking. Not sure which is better. He got to meet Mark Craig's little twin boys-I'm jealous-and have guy time. He definitely needed it. I was spoiled like crazy.
Favorite memory of my trip: hanging with my mom and her sisters. They are hilarious and know how to have a good time...I love listening to their stories and watching them interact. Here's a pic of my my mom and her sisters and my grandma:

Now, we're home. We are trying to be intentional about investing in the students in our house. We are praying for more opportunities to show love to them and be available. I love being able to cook for people, and God has given lots of opportunities for that. Josh is always joking around with everyone in the house. Example: He yells out the guys names when he sees them and often uses broken English with them. HILARIOUS!!! He is great at breaking down walls with humor :)

Sorry this was so long. Hope you enjoyed the update.