Love For Ashley

Ten years ago today Joey and I were at the hospital anxiously awaiting the arrival of our beautiful baby girl. At 4:49 pm our dimple cheeked little girl was born. Ashley's birth from the start was a struggle, it was the best and worst time of our life. However, if having Ashley without biliary atresia meant that we would not be her parents then we are glad that Ashley has biliary atresia. We would not trade these last ten years for anything in the world. It's amazing what these last ten years have brought us. Ashley has taught us strength, Ashley has taught us how to pray again, Ashley has given us hope, Ashley has taught us patience, Ashley has shown us what faith really is about and most of all Ashley has taught us that love conquers all. Here is a look at the last ten years Ashley at Birth Ashley's One Year Old Happy 2nd Birthday, Ashley Ashley on her first day of Preschool at age 3 Four Years Old Princess Ashley turns 5 Six Years old Seven Years old, Ashley gettin...

These last few days I have found myself reflecting on my life. One of the things I am very grateful for is the love my husband and children have for me. Actually, I think the correct word is humbled not grateful. Despite my faults, my mistakes, my weaknesses, etc. my husband and kids still love me. Sometimes I feel like I don't deserve their love but I am forever rejoicing in their love. I really hope that Joey, Brad and Ashley know how much I love them and how much my life is complete with them. Everyday I work to make them proud of me as they have made me proud of them. My husband is my best friend, and my children are my heart. Being lucky in love is what keeps me waking up every morning.

For dinner I made Tacos. Brad loves Tacos and Ashley loves Taco salad so I made some homemade Tacos. To warm the tortillas, I put them in the microwave with a wet paper towel over them. As I was preparing the tortilla's for the microwave, I laid them on the packaging they came in then placed the wet paper towel on top and put them in the microwave for a minute fifteen seconds. As the tortilla's were warming in the microwave, I prepared all the other condiments for the Taco's; lettuce, tomato, shredded cheese, etc. Then I started to smell something burning and Ashley was saying, "Mommy something smells bad." At first, I couldn't figure out what the smell was until I removed the tortilla's from the microwave....I forgot to remove the aluminum foil packaging from the bottom of the tortilla's. My kids were laughing their heads off, Brad especially thought it was funny. Yes, I laughed at myself too. Thankfully, I did not burn the house down or create fire i...

I mailed out lots of cookbooks this week. Below is a list of people that should be expecting their cookbooks in the mail soon. A. Huttula K. Gangwisch L. Narut C. Begey The Quickstad's B. Delauter E. Carr A. Costigan B. Born P. Induras K. Ballew D. Trytten M. King MJ King M. Harris J. Padilla S. Walker F. Balbuze C. McNeil The cookbooks for the gang at Our Savior Lutheran Church in Mobile, Alabama will receive their cookbooks through my mom, Ellyn. My mom will be receiving two big boxes full of cookbooks and she will have about 45 extra available for purchase. The crew at Centralite will receive their cookbooks from my sister, Renee, after she picks them up at my moms. All of these cookbooks were boxed up and shipped out to my mom's today. Those of you whose names are not listed above or are not part of the groups mentioned above will receive a phone call to make arrangements to deliver the cookbooks personally. Skip, your cookbooks are coming soon. I still need to find a box b...

A little corner of our very large neighborhood decided to host a two hour carnival and raise funds for Ashley's liver transplant. The carnival was very small, only a handful of neighborhood kids were present but these kids were all heart. Their goal was to raise $50 by charging a $3 admission to the carnival; they raised over $100. The carnival included a talent show, a cake walk, Foosball games, air hockey games, balloon fortune pop, bobbing for sours, a prize drawing every 10 minutes and fishing for toys. The children had a blast and the talent show was so cute. Here are some pictures. I have to thank the Horne Family for hosting the carnival, for putting it together and for totally surprising me with their generosity. Because of this carnival we now have another fundraiser in the works. Soon you will be able to see an Extreme Display of Musical Christmas Lights to benefit Ashley. Thanks to the Morey family on Cox Court. If you want more information about future Love for Ashley F...

Ashley attended her first National Dance Competition the week of July 5 through the 9th. What a crazy fun week of dancing. Ashley had a blast and really enjoyed every minute of the competition even when she wasn't on stage competing. Both of Ashley's Jazz routines did very well. Follow the Leader received a 1st Place Platinum and received 4th place overall in the Petite Small Group Division. Arrazando also received a Platinum and received 2nd place overall in the Junior Line Large Group Division. Both Arrazando and Follow the Leader was chosen to participant in the World Series of Dance which was held on the last night of the competition. Unfortunately, neither routine received a 1st, 2nd or 3rd place honor but they finished in the top six of each of there divisions. The dancers of Studio 5D Fifth Dimension Dance Company did a fabulous job. Their technique was superb, their stage presence was overwhelming and their love for dance was certainly apparent on stage. There were appr...

Guilty There are many things that I feel bad about but as a mom I feel extremely guilty about working while my kids are out of school for the summer. It pulls at my heart that Brad and Ashley spend most of the summer indoors while I work. What a long boring summer I have set in motion for my children. Cookbook Cookbooks are in the mail for most of you. You should be receiving them sometime next week if not sooner. If you live close by and want to make arrangements to pick up your cookbook send me an email to loveashley@loveforashley.com. Dance We are in the 4th day of Ashley's national dance competition with Hall of Fame . Ashley competed today and today's dance number received a fourth place overall and is headed to the Dance Showdown tomorrow night at 7 pm. Ashley dances again tomorrow afternoon so we will be at the dance competition all day tomorrow. I love to watch Ashley dance but dancing twice in one day makes for a very long day. Raise The best thing about worki...

My dad's cousin, Skip Spence, sent the story below to me via email. People are always asking Joey and I what has sustained during the almost 10 years of dealing with Ashley's health. What is the glue that holds us together? My answer is always God. But I love this explanation much better. This was written by Steve Oran. He is one of a fantastic pair of cardio-pulmonary rehab' workers at Harriman hospital. This is a pretty neat story and an interesting thing that few of us know. It's brief, so please read on. A couple of days ago I was running (I use that term very loosely) on my treadmill, watching a DVD sermon by Louie Giglio...and I was BLOWN AWAY! I want to share what I learned....but I fear not being able to convey it as well as I want. I will share anyway. He (Louie) was talking about how inconceivably BIG our God is...how He spoke the universe into being...how He breathes stars out of His mouth that are huge raging balls of fire...etc. etc. Then He went on to ...