My baby started school! TEAR...

I can't believe the day has come for SCHOOL!  I can remember the day Hale was born, which seems like yesterday (cliche, yes, but so true). I know today he's not starting school-school, just Pre-K, but it's all the same to me.  I'm sending him on his way, so grown-up, to preschool with a teacher, and a classroom, and lunch, and recess, and music, and chapel. Hale keeps telling me how excited he is to go to school... "like you Mommy", he says. Yes, I know, I'm still in school at 26, and no, I'm not going to med-school, or going to be a lawyer, or anything fancy like that. I'll be a Nurse, a dream come true!  Sorry for the detour, Hale is the subject here! WOW, is pretty much all I can say.  I try really hard to savor each moment that I get to spend with my little man, because I know I can't keep him from getting older, and he'll be graduating high school before I know it. This is tough.  I know he's just about 4, but where have those four years gone?

Emotions and thoughts overtake me often... and I can't help but ponder several questions: Have I done enough? Have I been there enough? Have I held him enough? Have I told him I loved him enough? This is what goes through my mind, but I need to focus on if Hale has seen Jesus enough in me! I obsessively pray for him, that he know Jesus at an early age, that he do well in school, that he will make wise decisions, that he respect himself and others, and many many other things!  Besides God, and my husband, he has brought so much joy, happiness, hope, and love in my life!  I tear up often when he smiles, when he laughs, when he discovers something new, and when he just needs his mommy! He makes my heart melt!

Thank you Lord for a healthy, smart, and loving little man!

Ashley 

Bathroom Re-vamp

I've been wanting to redo our guest bathroom for a long time now, but hadn't made the time, or rather haven't had the time.  With the help of my handy-of-a-man husband, we pretty much sealed the deal on decorating and totally redoing the bathroom. I debated for a while what style I wanted to bring out.  I love many different styles of decor, and I went back and forth on modern with splashes of color, or vintage chic (which I absolutely love), and I decided on more modern, clean lines with and orangish red, and aqua.  I love the color combo, and it really came together.  Plus I got to use my awesome fabric I found at IKEA in Dallas a few weeks back.  It only cost me $3 for probably two yards of fabric!  

Here is the proof:

BEFORE:

It's hard to tell, but the walls were a darker green and the cabinets were a medium natural wood.

 In Progress...

I sanded and painted all the cabinets white, and we painted the walls a medium grey.  We went with a medium grey because the colors we decided to accent with were brighter and I thought it would look better than a lighter grey.

Here is the finished product, and the fabric on the canvas was from IKEA! I think the fabric was the deal breaker when I was debating on the two styles for this room. 

It was a lot of fun, and we did most of it in two days!!  We need to put our new pulls on the drawers/doors (the screws that came with them weren't long enough), and we need to put silicone around the sink and baseboards.  I think we want to put small crown molding too?  

What do you think??

Ashley

Bright Lights, Big City

Well, Dallas is known for many things; off the top of my head: The Cowboys, BBQ, Dealy Plaza, and probably many others that you all could name quicker than I. Our girl's weekend did not consist of any of that, but we still embraced what the city had to offer!

We trucked (or carred) the infamous 5 hour journey from NWA at 10AM, so we still got our beauty rest so we could party hard when we reached our destination.  I enjoyed every minute of our drive there, and it seemed to fly by... it may be a different story from my awesome friend's, Teresa,  perspective, since she had to drive. :)  Snacks, music, and great conversation, hopefully helped ease the dread of sitting and driving the open road for so long.  Anyway... let's skip ahead, and get to the exciting stuff!

Friday:  Her trusty GARMIN lead us straight to the hotel we were staying at. We checked in and headed up to the room to settle in for a few minutes before we decided what we were going to do that night. Shopping was the ultimate choice so we headed out to the outlet mall in Allen. We shopped, and shopped, and shopped some more. Grabbed a snow cone halfway through to recharge, and we were off again. Enjoyed every minute of it, and snagged some great deals! Oh, and of course we had to get some chocolate treats for dessert from the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory! YUM! Our stomachs began to rumble for some real food, and we decided to indulge in the infamous Chuy's Mexican restaurant.  I ordered fish tacos that were beyond amazing!!!  I was so full halfway through, but I couldn't let those tasty treats go to waste, so, yes, I finished them!  Don't judge!  Teresa ordered beef fajitas; they looked great, but didn't taste so great!  The chips and cheese dip were pretty good too, so she didn't starve.  :)  After dinner we headed back to the hotel to rest for the next fun-filled day!

Saturday: 8:00 came pretty quickly that morning, but we were well rested.  While Teresa got ready, I went down to the lobby cafe and ordered me a healthy start English muffin sandwich which had egg whites with spinach and Havarti cheese!  It hit the spot. I know what you're thinking... and no, I didn't get my lovely friend anything, because she doesn't eat breakfast.  Well, I guess I ordered an OJ, so I got her something. Anyway, we ventured out to the Bishop Art District, as recommended by my friend Cyndi, and it was lovely.  It was very eclectic and very interesting!  Tillman's Roadhouse was on the menu for lunch!  It was so good! Perfect, rather! My lunch included a fresh pineapple lemonade to drink, charred tomato basil soup, and a grilled cheese on sourdough bread!  Scrumptious!  It sounds simple, but it was very gourmet! Teresa had a smoked turkey sandwich with bacon and avacado!  To die for, right?  It was so fresh! We also enjoyed some melt-in-your-mouth kettle chips!  Next time we venture to Dallas, I'm making a special trip there! mmmm-mmmmm!!!  We made our way back to hotel, and decided to go to the dinner theater.  Not like the Dixie Stampede, more of a movie theater and restaurant combined!  Awesome!  I couldn't believe it, but whoever came up with the idea, is a genius in my books!!  We watched the Campaign with Will Ferrell!  Oh my gosh... it was pee-in-your-pants FUNNY!!!  I can't think of the last movie I laughed that hard! Overall it was a great experience!  NWA should definitely look into this establishment!  I would definitely be there more often than I should! Next, we went back to the hotel to "rest" for the night, and decided we needed some cheesecake for dessert!  Can you guess where we made a run to?  Yes, you guessed it, Cheesecake Factory!  This was a first for me, and we just ordered an $8 piece of heaven and took it back to our hotel to indulge!  On our way back to the hotel we had to stop at starbucks!  Who eats cheesecake without coffee?  Um, no one! Oh, and Teresa made fun of me for ordering 3 drinks!  Let me explain.  I just wanted regular coffee, not all the fancy frappucino and such, and then I thought I needed some milk to help offset the sweetness of the cheesecake, and then decided I wanted a very small white chocolate mocha (my favorite), and I'm pretty sure I thoroughly confused our clerk! :)  Great end to a perfect day! :)  Oh, and we went to downtown Plano earlier that day before the movie theater and walked around for about an hour.  It was fun, and we ordered some salted caramel gelato (another first for me). TASTY!!  It's always sounded good, but I guess I wasn't every presented with the opportunity... that's all!

Sunday: 8AM came even quicker this morning!!  IKEA was on the agenda today, and then we would head out!  I didn't realize how big a store IKEA was until we were done.  We were exhausted, and I could have used a nap!  We were in there for probably two hours.... it seemed like it was never ending!  I'm not complaining, and I loved the store, don't get me wrong, but WOW!  We found a few items to purchase to finish out our weekend getaway!  Next, the open road! Since Teresa drove down to Dallas, I guess it was my turn to drive home!  It was part of her evil plan from the beginning!

Here are a few pictures...

 On our way...

 Chuy's: Fish Tacos

 Inside Tillman's Roadhouse!

 Charred Tomato Soup with Grilled Cheese on Sourdough

 We're dorks!

 Driving through the city!

 self explanatory.

 By the train in Plano.

 It was windy!

 IKEA 'super-store'

I had a BLAST, and can't wait to go back and experience some other things that we didn't get to!

Thanks for bearing with me through all our shinanagins.

-Ashley

Our "FAIR" adventure.

Ok, so you all know the annual Benton County Fair that comes around, and boy howdy has it gone downhill, or at least from what I remember. Nonetheless, Hale enjoyed it.  I can say that the foot long corndog, cotton candy, and "fresh" squeezed-sugar loaded lemonade that we inhaled was pretty scrumptious, if I do say so myself!  Between the rickity rides, and the outrageous prices, we thouroughly enjoyed ourselves.  Tricked you, huh?  Well, I enjoyed watching Hale go on the tea cups, Flinstone train, and the soft-punch kiddie toy maze complete with slide! My favorite part was seeing Hale's eyes light up when he popped two out of three balloons and won a fake, felt $100 bill!  He was proud of that thing! 

Here are few of the pictures I captured of our time together! We really did have fun... not to mention we got to see tons of farm animals!! 

It starts...

It's been a very long journey to get where I am today with school. And, if you haven't heard yet, and I'm sure you have, I was accepted into the accelerated Nursing program at NWACC this past Monday! By accelerated, I mean, I start Tuesday!  It's definitely been a roller coaster ride.  Last year I wasn't accepted into the program, but knew I had to continue in my pursuit to fulfill the dream of mine, that sort of taunted me.  I'm not sure how this year was any different than last, but God has a plan, and he's got me where He wants me NOW!
So here is how it went down... and bear with me.
Sunday night was restless for me, as you can probably imagine, since one phone call the next morning would rock my world!  I rolled out of bed at exactly 5:47AM, which for me, really wasn't that early.  Anyway, I stumbled to the bathroom just as I always do, and felt mixed emotions about the day progressing, which was inevitable, of course. I fixed my morning coffee as I always do, 2 tbsps. cream with one cancer-causing sweet n' low. I was trying to prepare my body for a "normal" day, whatever that means, but couldn't quite get jiving. My eyes peered out the back door at the trees and the birds as I waited for my Keurig to finish my express cup of joe.  The couch was calling my name, so I plopped down, and took a few sips of my coffee.  Then I took my phone and opened my ESV app, and said a short prayer for contentment in the outcome of my school. I didn't want to think too much about it.  When I looked at my bible app again, these two verses were in my screen view: "Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you" (1 Peter 5: 6-7). And, if you read verse 5 it says "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble." Honestly, I was prideful last year when I applied for the program, expecting to get in. I knew I had to have faith that he was going to place me where He wanted to in His timing, not mine.  I wanted it so bad last year, but these past 365 days, God has humbled me, and prepared me for what is to come this year! 

I then thanked God for His reveal and His glory in this situation!  I then grabbed our ancient Toshiba PC (I'm not bitter that I don't have a MAC, well maybe just a little), and logged into NWACC just to see if my financial aid had been posted, which is another story for another day.  It had.  But,  for some reason I felt the need to look at my grades for this past semester, and low and behold one of my grades was posted incorrectly.  My grades were crucial at this point in the game.  The instructors posted them Friday, but I already knew what they were without a doubt. So, I was literally FREAKING OUT!!!  I didn't know what to do.  This one point could make or break my chance of getting into Nursing school.  So, I got Hale around quickly, threw some clothes on, made myself presentable, and shot out the door to head up to the school!  I like to figure out these kinds of problems in person, not on the phone.  While we were in the car, I was crying my eyes out, because I was soooo upset, that I had lost my chance to achieve my dream, again.  Hale, being the sweetheart that he is, tells me to not be upset, that he loves me, and that he doesn't want me to cry. On the twenty minute ride there I managed to get my act together, and give the situation up to God!  I talked to Student records, they couldn't do anything but give me the instructor's contact info.  I called, no luck.  I went by her office, no luck.  I emailed her, no luck.  So, I went to the Health Professions office to see what they could do, and of course, the Nursing department secretary was in a meeting.  I took the Nursing director's card, and left out, hoping to hear something SOON! I decided to go ahead and take Hale to Meghan's so that he could play with his friends, plus I had already made plans with a great friend. On the way to take Hale I decided to call the Nursing director, and got a hold of her, explained the situation, and informed her that I had tried to contact my instructor with no luck.  She was going to find out for me and see if she could contact my instructor on her personal phone.  I headed to Teresa's house, with a little more hope then earlier, to hang out, eat pizza, and watch a movie!  We talked  a bit, and sure enough I got a phone call.  It was the Nursing director, and I received two GREAT pieces of news!  First, indeed I did make an A in the class, and I MADE IT INTO THE NURSING PROGRAM!   I started crying with joy!  I was shocked, and felt like I was in a dream.  In a way I still feel that way, but we'll see when next week roles around.  Thank you Teresa for being there to watch me cry and share in that special moment in my life! 

I know this is a long story... but I feel like this particular stage in my life is a milestone, and i would like to remember it one day, and how it happened! 

Until next time...which might be after I graduate next August.
Thank you for your prayers and encouragement!  You all are AWESOME!

Ashley

Prayer, Love, & Chaos!

So, as many of you know, I am in a pivotal semester of college.  I've been playing the professional student for a while now, and I've been serious about this degree business (or the becoming a Nurse part) for a while now.  I am currently enrolled in 13 hours, of which I just finished three today, with an A! I am eager to learn my remaining three grades for this repeat semester.  Sounds negative, but it is not.  I am not a failure in my classes, just didn't get A's the first go-round. Anyway... I'll know my grades next week, and hear about the Nursing program on May 21st!  It can't come soon enough!  Rejection is always on the back of my mind, because of what happened last year.  That's another story for another day (cliche', but so true).   I am humbly stating this next sentence...  If all things go as planned, I will be starting the Nursing program on May 29th; which is a short time frame to prepare for classes after I find out.  Another option that I applied for is the Fall semester at NWACC which starts in August, and I won't know about that program until mid-June.  God has a plan, and I'm optimistic, and filled with grace in this situation. 

Time has flown by because of everything that has been going on. Everyday is filled with something different, challenging, and fun, thank the Lord, because I honestly don't know what I would do, except worry about the above mentioned situation! 

In the midst of all the chaos, I want to brag on my AMAZING husband that has put up with this tired, hateful, short attituded person.  He's been so helpful and patient.  I know I haven't thanked him enough for all he's done to be flexible with his schedule to do a little more for me while I've been consumed with school-school-school!  I know the next two years will be hectic, but fast, and I know he'll be there to cheer me on, and help in any way possible!  He's been a life saver!  I love him so much!  I'm so blessed!

Here's a few pictures of my #1 fans!

Eventful Weekend!!

So... I've been missing in action, and there is an explanation!  School has sort of consumed me the past couple months, and I've pushed other things (people) that are important to me on the back-burner.  Sorry to those of you who are a part of the above described. It seems as if my dream of being a Nurse has superceded what really matters (Jesus, family, and all the other special people in my life), but I know this season in my life will move on quickly. This go around, in attempting to get into Nursing school, has kept me focused, and not on the prize of "getting in", but rather being mindful of what God has planned for me, and in his timing.  For that, I am grateful.  My flesh is so weak, oh Lord! 

Good Friday:  Awesome church service and worship at the Metro.  I'm always so ashamed of myself because of my flesh, but look to the cross, and know that it's FINISHED.  PAID FOR. GOD'S WRATH HAS BEEN APPEASED.   It's such a beautiful, holy, and perfect picture of love, sacrifice, and grace!  Words aren't enough to describe what took place that day on the cross! 

Easter Sunday: Look past the bunnies and candy, and focus on the picture of life that was painted that day!  HE IS RISEN!

Here is the fluff what the world thinks about Easter... yup, easter eggs, bunnies, and candy...

With that said... I've managed to squeeze in a few outings that I've been longing to take part in.  My wonderful friend, Teresa and her sister-in-law Shawna, invited me and Hale to Crystal Bridges!  Although I thoroughly enjoyed it, I want to go back without my curious and talkative three year old.  He was very good, but got restless towards the end.  We'll make a double date out of it next time!  It was sooo beautiful, and the art and history was mind blowing!  I can't wait to go again.  We finished our trip off with a much needed lunch break to Panera Bread where we inhaled our soup, sandwiches, salads, and bakery goods!!  Scrumptious! It was perfect!  Thanks girls for your patience and fun! 
Here are a few pictures....

The End...

Ashley

Growth

A few weeks ago we, as a church, were called to write what Metro means to us, individually.  I'm a very private person, and don't wear my emotions on my sleve at all, but I can say when writing this blurp of inspiration, I broke down in tears. I know that I became a follower of Jesus when I was twelve years old, but had never been discipled by another more mature Christian to grow in my crawl with Jesus. I can remember the expectations rose, and I felt like I inherited a larger list of do's and dont's, that of which my strict mother made sure I adhered to.  Programs were implemented (the Roman's road, and the FAITH program), which lead to shallow Christianity of strangers I came in contact with, and not a deep meaningful relationship with Jesus Christ, which I was subject to as well.  It wasn't until about 5 years ago that I really started to grow spiritually and really understood God's grace and sovereignty. 


Here is what I sent as my short response to a HUGE part of my growth as a Christian:

At Metro Church I feel at home.  Truth is spoken and honesty resonates whenever I enter this place of worship.  It's not about the building, or the people, or me, but it's entirely about Jesus, and that reins supreme.  Since the beginning of the Metro, growth has been evident in our leadership as well as in me personally.  I grew up in church since I was eleven, and have never been challenged in my walk with Jesus to seek him and desire his will for my life.  Jesus has become more real to me, and His glory has been revealed to me in many ways through the ministries of Metro, on so many levels.  Jesus, Worship, Bible study, and Community have molded me over the past few years, and I give glory to God for the humble spirits and dedication of the people of Metro that invested in me, and have made Jesus famous! 

There is definitely room for MORE growth, of course, but this is it for now!


~Check out metronwa.com for more information... we are about to launch a new website soon, so look for a change.

Hale is not a baby anymore.

         Fast, is definitely an understatement when describing how my cute, cuddly, baby boy has turned into a still cute, but intelligent, young boy.  He turned three last November, but his demeanor and mind have matured even more just in the two short months from his last birthday.  I've been able to have a full conversation with him since he was barely two.  I don't know if I am bias, and I don't want to brag, but the wheels in his head are always turning with step-by-step processes and explanations to EVERYTHING. 

Hale-
You have brighten all of my days since the day we found out you were in my belly, even the bad days.  Challenges continue to arise in your mind, and you conquer some at this young of age.  I can see you thinking. You are so fun to be around, and you melt my heart every time you say, "Mom, can you do me a favor?... I love you!"  You catch on quickly to any word or action that Mommy and Daddy say or do, which keeps us on our toes.  

You already are so smart: you say your ABC's, you can spell your name, spell poop (he's a boy, and it was an easy word to teach him), count to 20, count to 10 in spanish, know most of your colors (blue, orange, pink, black, brown, green, and red), and can work my iPhone with ease.You are very polite, so sweet, and strong willed at times.  I won't say where you get that!  I can't hug you enough, or tell you how much you mean to me...


Before I know it you'll be all grown with a family of your own, but until then, I will cherish the time I have with you, and teach you as much as I can about life, Jesus' love, and how to be a real man (of course I'll leave all the NON-mushy gushy stuff to Heath).  


We love you Hale Fischer, and couldn't ask for a sweeter, happier baby boy! Ok, big boy, as you inform me!!

Uncertainties.

      Lately, I've been trying to consciously make myself aware of what I'm thinking about.   My thoughts, I know, are selfish, and I repent of that daily. 
I recently started reading the book "Desiring God", by John Piper (It was mentioned several times in sermons by my pastor, not naming any names).  The first ninety pages of the book have really opened my eyes to what digging deep in a relationship with God looks like, having the JOY of the Lord, and "tasting to see that the Lord is good" (Psalm 34:8).   He's not some genie in a bottle, and I/we should pray to Him even when good things in our lives are happening. I know that Joy is essential in my worship of our King, and not an option in my walk.

     Last year was a very trying year, and full of trials in the life of my family, yet Joy was overflowing from answered prayers, and realization of faith in Jesus.  Like I stated in the last post, I quite my job at the bank to pursue a career in the healthcare field.  I applied to the Nursing program really expecting to get in, but didn't.  My thoughts, and my pride took over my relationship with God. I thought I could do it on my own because I had the grades, and I knew the right people (so I thought).  I definitely got knocked on my tush, to say the least, and have dived deep in the Word that God laid out in front of us.  Why must we be so ignorant??  Why?

     Somehow, in prayer and submission to quit my job, we managed to pay our bills, bless those who have blessed us, and help those who needed help. God showed up, and with the submission and faith he's called us to have; He delivered.

I have such a strong passion for helping others, and I want to use that gift he's given me.

     Needless to say with all the uncertainties of school, work, money, and everything else, it panned out with trust, faith, and joy in what God has planned for our lives.  I look forward to the many more chapters I have to read in this inspiring book, and exploring the Bible for direction from God.

Prayers accepted,
Ashley

Finished Paint Project... 4 months later.

Ok, so here are a few pictures from my iPhone, which don't do the room justice at all. We had a lot of fun painting, and if you don't remember from last August (blog posted earlier), I scraped the popcorn ceiling from this room, and we painted it grey as well.  By the way, the scraping process took about three hours.  We borrowed this awesome black furniture from Heath's cousin, and it looks GREAT against these light grey walls.  I removed the trim back in August as well, and we painted them white.  I think it makes the room look very clean and put together.  I have few items to decorate the wall with and I think we are going to do some chalkboard paint somewhere.  I'm not sure where at this point.  So here are a few pictures, and I might add some more later from my real camera.

Enjoy, and I'll keep you posted on new and exciting things in the Stamps household.
-Ashley-

A New Year

OMG.  Ok, I never really use text lingo on a regular basis, but that is what happened to 2011. I can't believe it's gone, yet I praise God for the trials and triumphs that occured last year, 2011.  Some were epic, and some were epic FALLS.  Yike! 

In a nutshell, here are a few highlights:

• I quit my 9-5 job (cliche) at FSB after 4.5 years, making decent money.  That's hard to come by these days.
• I started working back at the Nursing home, which I worked before the bank. For about a 40% pay cut.  God led me to do so, and it's been a reward since, why I ever doubted I don't know.
• I felt as though I should quit my job expecting, by my own accord, to get into Nursing School.  This is the epic fall I talked about earlier. 
• We won an AWESOME trip to Mexico in October, which we have yet to plan.  God's guidance, yet again.
• I got into the LPN school that was back up for the RN program I didn't get into, but declined the offer.  I know, doesn't make sense right?  God's guidance, I pray everyday.
• In all of this God got the glory, and I got to spend a lot of time with my wonderful son, Hale, that God has so graciously bestowed upon Heath and I.  

I know, doesn't seem like much happened, but a lot did, and it flew by.  I'm sure since I'm older now, with a husband and a child this year will fly by as well.

May God bless this year ahead and we seek his guidance and grow our relationship with Him, daily.

I confess, I have several New Year's Resolutions, or whatever you want to call them.

Here they are:

• Lose 15 or so pounds.  I know everyone has these, but I'm going about it a different way than the past.
• Pray daily and make time for reading God's word, and studying.
• Make all A's this semester in my 4 classes.  
• Reapply to the RN program at NWACC, and get in.  3rd time's a charm!
• Go on our Mexico vacation that we won!  Woo Hoo
• Go to at least 3 Razorback football games.
• Be more patient with Heath and Hale.
• Send cards for B-days, and holidays to my family.
• Be more hospitable.

That's all that I can think of for now... until next time... look forward to my post about my room update that I posted about back in August.

God Bless ya'll!!
-Ashley-