HAPPY BIRTHDAY KATIE!!!!!

this is joe speaking here, i felt like i needed to get on here and write a few things about katie. she is the most amazing wife and mother. it is always fun to watch her teach claire and she does an amazing job. she always talks about how she is "my child" because she is always into things and constantly putting herself in danger. but she gets all of her smarts and charm from katie. katie has been so great with her especially since i have been so busy lately and sometimes don't see her for almost 24 hours at time on some nights. she is amazing with the young women in the ward and always has the best ideas to keep things fun for them. i always admire how strong of a testimony she has and the compassion that is in her heart. my dad always told me that i should marry up.... i guess he knew me pretty well and knew that i would need to marry up to give me a shot at exaltation. well it took some trickery on my part, but eventually i katie consented to date and eventually marry me.... i obeyed my father and definitely married up. i don't even think my dad could have predicted for me to do as well as i did. one of the things i love most about katie is her 8 different smiles. my favorite one is the one when she is truly laughing and she squints her eyes (she hates this one but it's my favorite). i constantly try and make her laugh so i can see that laugh cause it brightens my day and makes all my worries go away. but what i love most about katie is that she has such a strong testimony and is always helping me get better so that we can stand together for all eternity.... that concept just excites me to know that i will have one of Heavenly Father's choicest daughters at my side.... I love you katie and i hope that you have an amazing Birthday!!!!

lovelies

i reeeeeeally love hanging out with these ladies twice a week. maybe because they remind me of the good times i had in high school. part of it is because they love, love, claire. some of its because they tell me they love having us for leaders all the time. maybe its because they have the typical high school drama with boys, and it makes me smile that boys are usually the biggest thing they have to worry about right now. its definitely because although i'm only 22, i sometimes feel really old being a leader, and i stay young with them around. but i really love nights like last night. we made some collages of their future weddings and then went over to Abella Bridal where they put on some dresses. they were naturally shy at first, and worried about how they looked, but i thought they all looked so cute. and eventually all warmed up to the camera, and had a pretty fun time. these young women are all so special and i love watching them as their testimonies grow. a couple months ago there was a lesson that really touched some of the girls, and one made a comment she later shared with everyone she knows on facebook.

Sis. Daniels: "What can we do to be closer to God? Ashlee, are you raising your hand?"
Me: "No, but I can say something if you want I guess."
Sis. Daniels: "Okay, please say something(:"
Me: "I think that you have to start with the little things you do. You have to start listening to good music, and you have to stop hanging out with people who are going to influence you to do things that you probably shouldn't be doing. You have to actually start listening in Seminary, and not just be the kid in the back of the class that falls asleep every day. Because it's the little things that count. If you start listening to better music then that can put you into a better mood. Hanging out with people who aren't going to pressure you to do wrong can prevent you from making the wrong choices. If you listen in Seminary then it can lead to you wanting to read your scriptures every night. The little things can lead to a huge difference in your life. I think that's how you can strengthen your relationship with God. You have to want to be like Him. You have to listen during church and you have to do whatever you need to do to feel closer to Him. Uh... so that's what I think you can do to be closer to God..."

pretty sure i don't remember making comments on the fly like that when i was 15. guess thats what makes these girls so special. and i love them!

what a weekend

missed this little girl.... for a night. joe and i went away for a night and stayed here. it was awesome and we felt like we were really far away. lindsay stayed with claire and we are so grateful! shes the bestest. claire was happy and healthy when we returned. sunday wasn't stressful, and jill came down and hung out with us. we skyped with sarah and laura, and went to a great cultural fireside about china and haiti.

the best was yesterday. miss sassy pants thinks she knows more than us, and decided to hang out behind the blinds again. joe asked "claire, can you come out from behind there?" she peeked out, looked him square in the eye and said, clear as a bell and matter-of-factly, "um, no." and went back to what she was doing. i started laughing so hard i cried. i need to be more stern, but who can discipline that face?

a case of cabin fever and gold

pretty sure that claire is as sick of this yucky weather as i am. we don't leave the house much when joe has the car most of the day. she spends time gazing out the window each day, and no, we don't go play. i don't like being cold. i really kind of hate it. i do give in on the sunny days, but those are not so frequent. spring, we cannot wait for you!
see? i have to have a blanket. constantly. i am sure a snuggie would be my best friend.

yes, i know. she should not be playing behind the blinds. i'm perfectly aware. the girl just wants to CLIMB! and the love sack is right underneath it to catch her, should the agile cat fall. and yes, that is snow outside. i am trying to convince joe we should move to arizona. no snow there!

speaking of joe..... today is his GOLDEN birthday! he is 25 on the 25th- so he is super ultra special today! so. 25 things about joe.

1. he makes really good breakfast and steak.

2. he has the funniest laugh.

3. he is all guy- but a total softy.

4. he can make claire laugh more than anyone. and me.

5. he's a daredevil, and i hate it, so he respects that.

6. joe is a the most protective husband and father. so watch out.

7. joe would totally be willing to go on "what not to wear". not that he is a horrible dresser, but thinks getting a ton of new clothes would be great.

8. he works harder than i could i ever ask for.

9. hes pretty photogenic. (not photo-electric). which i think is awesome.

10. he really likes to help people. he really understands the joy you get from serving others.

11. joe tells me i'm beautiful everyday. even when i KNOW i look less than desirable.

12. he's honest.

13. he is dependable. as in, he doesn't flake out, and gets things done. i appreciate that.

14. he talks on the phone more than i do. ha.

15. he's good lookin'. pretty sure i've made an ex-girlfriend jealous because i snatched him up.

16. i think that joe could live in an igloo and be fine. he's pretty tough. and he just doesn't like the heat.

17. he has the best dreams. like when dreams in spanish. he doesn't speak spanish.

18. he is extremely thoughtful. more so than i sometimes give him credit for.

19. he is patient. he puts up with a lot.

20. he probably knows more about wedding dresses than you do. not his choice, but he deals with it.

21. he's a jack of all trades- a mechanic, an athlete, a student, a physical therapist, a custodian, a dad, a husband, a cook, and my best friend.

22. he likes dancing. he has a special dance for claire. and we are always dancing in the kitchen.

23. he has a southern accent when he talks to his grandfather. he "lost" it on his mission, but it makes an appearance every so often.

24. very few things can make him really mad. he is really even tempered.

25. joe is a rock in the church. he has a testimony that can't be shaken. and i appreciate that more than anything.

LOVE YOU BABE!

yikes.

i may or may not have been craving cherry pie last night at around 930....

and i may or may not have devoured half of it by 11:00 pm, by myself. and finished it for breakfast. anyone see something wrong with that?

miss fishy face

not sure where this face came from, but she thinks its pretty funny. we do, too.

what a yucky morning. really. still in our pjs, can't seem to get moving. snow. but little monkey's face make it all better.

happy day

we were a little lame yesterday with v-day. we did enjoy sleeping in, steaks, and some olympics. claire was surprisingly un-monsterish considering the night before, and actually napped for quite a while at church. we have no pictures, because pictures we cannot take until we get a new memory card. sigh. we did a little skype action and claire performed her latest tricks: sliding down her slide, jumping (and getting air!), and blowing kisses. we reminisced about how three years ago today (yesterday) we decided to start dating.

sorry this was lame- perhaps we will get a new memory card this week?

oh. my.

just glancing through some old posts and pictures. oh. my. goodness. am i really ready to get THAT 'uge again? my sister has this awful picture of my bare belly on her cell that she so lovingly likes to pull out and ask if i'm ready for. all the time. pretty sure this picture doesn't do it justice. i was a whale. and i already feel like a whale again.

not. good.

all i want to wear is joe's sweatpants and a sweatshirt. ugh.

little princess

when did my baby become a little girl? i cannot figure out when she grew up! i feel like she became a little girl overnight. shes starting to repeat things we say, and is learning 'tricks'. she can blow kisses, tell stories, and point out ears, noses, and bellybuttons. i totally love it, but i just can't figure out where the time went.

showing off the curls for grandma! we loooooove them. hope she will appreciate them.

say hello

famous baby-face {and moi} on p. 9 of february ensign. pretty sure she looks like a boy and you can't tell its me. ah, well. still fun. fun for the g-pas. so sad that i forget how bald she really was! here's to hoping little nugget comes out with some hair.

thoughts:

anyone else think its funny that the picture is in line with all the non- photos?

glad we weren't the one getting our picture taken in a font. i HATE being wet, and posing for a photo while wet would have been a nightmare.

still 100% sure that the girl that bought a poofy wedding dress the other day does NOT look like the Savior. not symbolic, not a representation, there was absolutely NOTHING similar about it.

happy sabbath.