Happy 2010!

It's New Year's Eve! It's that time to reflect on the past year and look forward to the future. Around this time each year I think of Psalm 23:6 "Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life." I guess this is my prayer for 2010 that throughout the year I'll remember that verse in the good times and in the trials. Even when I turn 30 (in less than a month!) After all I have so many blessing in my life, and great friends and family to share things with. Here are just a few things that are to come in 2010.... 1. Kerrie & Jerry are having a baby 2. I turn 30 3. We're taking a cruise 4. Mom and Dad's 30th wedding anniversary 5. Did I mention that Kerrie & Jerry are having a baby? 6. to be continued ... I'll "try" to keep you up to date with the RACK ROOM CREW. Happy New Years Eve, Ashley

Merry Christmas

Well, I can't believe that Christmas Day is tomorrow. We have had our annual trip to Lake View and Dad, Mom, Kerrie, Jerry, and I are all back and in our Christmas PJ'S. Actually only the girls are in the festive PJ's! Mom is just about finished with the cooking and all the gifts are wrapped and under the tree. I was thinking about the wonderful memories I have of celebrating Christmas and relating that to the children that I know and love. I hope and pray for all the children out there, and that you have a warm, safe, fun and Christ filled Christmas. I saw a church sign this week as I was out and about that said..." Mary wrapped the 1st Christmas gift!" I am so thankful for that gift. The gift of Jesus Christ. It's taken me 29 years to really understand the meaning of Christmas, and I sometimes wonder if I really get it even now. I sit here tonight typing this and wishing and hoping the very merriest Christmas to all and to all a good night!

Love,

Ashley

Labor Day Weekend

Our Labor Day weekend started as most weekends do around the RackRoom. Rick and I met Cathy and Jerry for supper, Cathy had decided that we would eat at her house instead of going out which was a nice change. As we were eating a car pulled in the driveway. To my surprise it was Kerrie & Jerry, I knew they were coming home for the long weekend, but was not expecting them till around midday on Saturday.

Saturday started early for us since we stayed up till around 2:00 am talking, even though I talk to her at least once a day on the phone it just not the same as sitting down face to face. We went to visit Mema & Papa. Then back home so they could visit some of their friends while I cleaned house, washed clothes that I was going to do on Friday night before they arrived on Saturday. Rick and I had planned on going to the hot dog supper at church while they were with their friends. The singing Chaplains were singing so we stayed for the singing. This is a group of four local pastors that are a part of the Spartanburg County Sheriff's Office. http://www.spartanburgso.org/chaplains.html .

We stayed up way to late on Saturday night again, talking and laughing about a lot of the funny things the girls did as they were growing up, somethings that I didn't know about came up in the conversations.

On Sunday Ashley & Kerrie were cooking lunch, (now my girls have a hard time with anything that happens in a kitchen.) They were making Scalloped Potatoes from a box, Ashley uses a glass baking dish on the stove top, well it exploded just as they both turned away from the stove. Glass went everywhere, no one was cut or burnt. I vacuumed glass up for the next few days. They said their lunch was great after they cleaned the mess up and started a new box of potatoes this time in the microwave.

Sunday night we went to Amanda's church for the 5th night singing. Eric & Kristi, Amanda & Les, Uncle Dick , Aunt Lou, Tommy, Cathy, Kerrie, Jerry, Rick, & all the Babies were there. We had a great time.

Monday the gang came to our house for lunch, we enjoyed everyone coming to the RackRoom. I realized while all the babies were here that the house is not baby proof anymore, but we managed just fine with 5 kids under 5.

I think this post catches me up with what we have been doing here at the RackRoom.

Love to All

Mother's Day

Well, I always say that I am going to do better about updating the blog, but this time I'm not going to say it. No way, I'm not promising that that this blog is ever going to be up to date. In fact I'm going to say the extreme opposite......I'm going to venture out and say that it might be a couple of months before mom or myself actually upload another post. I guess what really happens is we get too busy! So, for the moment enjoy the new post and pictures and check back with us once in a while to see if we have actually updated the blog or not! This picture was taken on Mother's Day. I thought it was a pretty good picture. I tried really hard to find something that matched mama's outfit. By the way that's hard to do sometimes considering my mother is a size 2 and I'm just now back in a size 12. I'm returning from the size 14-16 world for the past few years! That's the good part, but the bad part has been that for the last few weeks every time I plan on an outfit, it falls off my body. Yes, this is a good problem, actually great for a girl who loves to shop and still lives at home with mom & dad! (Ha ha) Then it happened..........I was uploading the Mother's Day picture to the blog and I realized that I myself had committed a fashion faux pas. I wore the the same outfit on Mother's Day 2007 & 2008! How could this have happened? After all I'm a very fashion conscious person. What was I thinking? I guess I wasn't, so for pure proof and laughter here's the picture from Mother's Day 2007 . I do enjoy the hat!!! It was a nice addition, and this way you can tell the skirt and shirt combo was a little more snug in 07 than 08. I even matched the same shoes with the outfit! Now readers I have so many shoes it's unbelievable. Now, why would I wear the same pair with the same outfit on two consecutative Mother's Days? Oh well, I guess the point of this post has been I'll talk to you around Father's Day and I'm signing off to go make sure I don't wear the same outfit for that occasion! Oh My:o

Yours in fashion crisis,

~Ashley On a seperate but equal note.......... I have included a picture of Kerrie on this post. I did so because she came down for a wedding over the Memorial Day weekend and we grabed a few pictures with her and Mom because we knew that she wouldn't make it back down for a little while anyway. I can say that sense her move to Bristol TN things have been different to say the least. We have both done pretty good about calling and staying in touch. It seems that every couple of months we go up or they come down to vist for a weekend. We took off and visited her at the end of March, then they came down for the wedding a few weekends ago, and if I were a betting woman I'd say mom, mema, and I will be visiting sometime in July before our beach trip. Anyway, Kerrie if your reading and laughing at this rambling "WE LOVE YA" Here is the yearly visit with Mema on Mother's Day! This is one of my all time favorite pictures of us. We always take her a gift, usually a flower or something for the yard, and just sit a chat for a while. Mother's Day was a great day again this year! Love Ya Mema.

Looking Ahead

This Mornings Devotion "Forgetting what is past..... I press on toward the goal." It's an old saying but still appropriate as we commence another New Year: "Today is the first day of the rest of your life." For better or worse, last year is gone forever even though many of its effects will live on forever, we can't go back and do what we should or could have done. And we can't undo those things we regret having done any more than we can un-ring a bell. But the good news is that, if we are so inclined or determined, we can put the past behind us and accept the New Year as a new opportunity to grow emotionally and spiritually, to serve God and our fellow man, and to achieve something worthwhile that will last for time and eternity. I am encouraged because I know God has a purpose for your life and mine this year- something to live for that is bigger than we are, that makes life worth living. We serve God by serving people and sometimes this task, because of the great needs people have, can seem overwhelming. However, God has a part for every one of us and if we play our part and work together, we can get God's work done and we can each make a difference in somebody's life and therein help make our world a better place in which to live. Let's work together this year to do God's work and share His love and good news with more of our fellow countrymen than ever before. With God's help and a willing spirit we can each have a very fruitful and productive year. And remember, as Henry Van Dyke put it: "What you posses in the world will be found at the day of your death to belong to someone else. But what you are will be yours forever. My Prayer today I am available, Please make me usable and use me this year to be a part of what you are doing in the world today, the privilege for which I am truly thankful. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. In Jesus Name Amen As I sit and think of what will , should and could happen in the next 364 days, I am amazed that God already knows what will happen, and if we would do as He tells us. Our goals and resloutions should be a snap to complete. Love