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!