According to Plan

Lately, I've found myself saying, "Well, if everything was going according to the plan..." yada, yada, yada. According to the plan?! What plan? Or better yet whose plan? Oh, that's right, I'm putting myself in charge of everything. How incredibly selfish of me.

This life, even, my life, isn't about me. It's about God. What does God want me to do? Where does God want me to go? What does God want me to say? I need to remember this when I'm thinking everything is not going according to my plan. I need to realize that maybe it isn't going the way I planned it, but maybe it's going exactly how God planned it.

So, remember, if you're thinking everything is messing up and not going according to 'the plan', maybe you're right on track with God's plan; you just can't see it yet.

"For I know the plans I have made for you. Declares the LORD. To prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jer. 29:11

God's plan for you is so much greater than anything you could ever dream up!

♥ Ashley

Life

Sometimes life just wants to throw you a curve ball! But you know what I'm going to swing!! Take that!!

God is so good to us! Really to anyone who is reading this. You have the Internet? Then you're blessed! Did you have something to eat today? Then you're blessed. I sometimes forget that my basic needs are being met and get caught up worrying about other wants that I don't have. God has truly blessed each and everyone of us.

He sent me a reminder a couple weeks ago in the form of a bird, a red bird. Red birds always remind me of my dad, and when I see them I think God's sending me a little encouragement. :o)

♥ Ashley

Teacher Moment

So, right now I am Adasen's teacher for Sunday school. This is one of my absolute favorite things to do!! This quarter I just started having a memory verse for them to do, for the first time (they are 3). So, tonight during bath time Adasen was reading a book to Owen and I heard him say his memory verse!! It was soo great!!! I was such a proud Mommy, but mainly teacher since we have only practiced during class. :o). I love being a teacher, and a Mom I guess. ;o)

♥ Ashley

Open Road

I feel like we, as a family, are at a fork in the road only there are, like, 20 different directions we could take!! It's a bit overwhelming!

Zach lost is 'must money coming in' job in January and hasn't been able to find a job to replace that one since then. I started working as a waitress in April to fill in the money holes. I've actually liked going back to work, although it was a huge adjustment at first, for me and the boys.

It is so hard to see which way God is pulling us! Does He want me to work full time or does He want Zach to?( Does He want us to stay in KC or go somewhere else and start up there... I need to just take a deep breath and step back from all the decision making and try to think, what will bring God the most glory? I haven't truly done this yet and I need to.

Sometimes when the people around us seem to be backing up and not being as encouraging as in the past, it's more scary to make decisions. But as long as God is behind us and encouraging us in His way then everything will be fine; everything will be fine!

I need to keep reminding myself.

"For our present troubles are small and won't last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever!" 2 Cor. 4:17

♥ Ashley

Wow!

Oh, my goodness!! It's almost been a year since I posted on here! Well, since the last post we have welcomed baby number two into our lives, Owen Lee was born on May 26th, 2011. He was 3 weeks early and he still weighed in at 9 lbs. 4 oz. I am sooo glad they decided to induce me! He would have been one big chuck if he would have waited any longer. :o) Lee is after my dad and good thing b/c Owen definitely looks like a Vaughn. Adasen has always looked like a Kramar. :o)

Adasen is adjusting very well. While we were at the hospital he was kind of stand-offish and ignoring me at first but on the second day he finally wanted to hold Owen (which he said no to once he was coming at him). But he has wanted Owen to do everything with him at home and is always worried and asking me, "Where's Owen?" He is such a good big brother already.

One of my favorite things so far about baby number 2 is seeing him smile at Adasen. There is just pure innocence and love in his eyes for his big brother. I hope that bond lasts for their entire lives. And I absolutely LOVE the way Adasen talks to Owen. It's always in a high pitched tone and he always says the sweetest things. :o)

God has truely blessed Zach and me with another angel from Heaven. These moments are what make this ride, called life, completely worth while. Thank you God for all the blessing we could never deserve.

♥ Ashley

Well a year ago tonight I wasn't getting much sleep. I was so nervous/anxious about my Dad's surgery. October 26th turned out to be the saddest day of my life. I know it was my Dad's happiest day though, so that makes the ache a tiny bit better. Adasen has missed a year of my Dad. A year of his smile, his laugh, his hugs and kisses, and his singing. Adasen loves to sing and I just wish that my Dad could be around to see how much he loves to sing. My Dad used to have a singing each month at my Mom and Dad's home. He started doing it around the time I moved back and I would go each month because I completely missed my Dad being at church and hearing him sing. Those were some of my favorite times with him. He was singing with all his heart, to the Almighty God, as he sat there with his oxygen tank...I can't get that out of my head, and I never will. If my Dad were still alive he would still be having those singings and now Adasen would be singing along too instead of falling asleep. I just hope that when our praises go up to Heaven to God that everyone there can hear them as well, so my Dad can hear my little boy singing to God with all is might, in his own little language. :o) I really hope he can hear that.

Well, Zach and I decided that since October 26th was such a bad day last year that we wanted to share some good news this year...we're pregnant! Well, I'm pregnant but you get what I mean. :o) Baby O is due June 14th, 2011. We were able to hear his or her heartbeat today and see them wiggling around inside me. God has truely blessed us again. He has blessed us beyond what we could have ever imagined with Adasen, so I can only imagine what it will be like with two little angels running around. :o)

"The Lord gives, and the Lord taketh away. Blessed be the name of the Lord." Job 1:21b

♥ Ashley

It's been a couple of months since I've written on here. I feel like the last month went by so quickly! On September 11th we had a birthday party for five of my family members and on the way home my Grandma, Grandpa, Great-Grandma, and my Uncle were in a car accident. None of them were seriously injured, but my Grandmother did have to be life-flighted because she had bleeding on her brain. They decided to let it heal on its own since it didn't seem to be spreading. Adasen and I stayed for a week with my Great-Grandma, who lives 2 hours away and is 98-years-young because she was having trouble getting around. She was very sore and bruised all over. So my month was spent as a nurse. :o)

I just love how God chooses our paths for such an amazing purpose and we don't realize it until those times are over. I was so discouraged when I couldn't find a teaching job for this school year. I felt like I had wasted my time and effort by going to college and now I can't even find a job! But God has truely shown me different areas in my life and the lives of others that I am needed in. I always felt that I was doing the most good by being in the classroom and helping my students, but God has shown me that I can have an impact in other areas in my life. So thank you God for my unanswered prayers, because they were really answered but I didn't see until later. :o)