Holiday weekend

Ok this is my second time to type this post because the first one didn't post or save... Curse you technology!!! 

Our thanksgiving was good, I hope you all had a great thanksgiving as well. We started the "weekend" off at my dads Wednesday night, Denise made some chicken chili, it was great! I really lucked out because she had also made some peanut butter balls, my fave!!! 

After we left dads we headed to Memaw and Pawpaws, dogs in tow. Memaw told me how tired she was when we got there, so we didn't stay up too late. Thursday morning Chance got up early to watch the deer and I slept in, Memaw and pawpaw are used to getting up early for dyalisis so they were up at 4:30. When I finally got up at 8:30 Memaw was still in bed (she went back to bed after she made pawpaw breakfast) I made sure she was just sleeping, since it was not like her so still be in bed so late in the morning. When I saw that she was just sleeping I let her sleep some more. We (mom, Martha and I) started cooking, we started the turkey, made the dressing and prepped everything else! The meal was wonderful and Memaw didn't have to do a thing. After we ate and visited and Chance did some evening deer watching we headed home! 

It was time to meet the girls and head to Springfield for some shopping!! We go every year for Black Friday, we go for 2 days and get most of our Christmas shopping done, I got some pretty good deals and got in some much needed girl time! I'm so blessed to have them as friends! 

I'm home now, I kinda missed my hubby, ;-) he was very productive while I was gone. He worked Friday and today, and even cleaned the house. Oh and he shot a deer, his first buck I the season! So proud of my guy!! Below is a picture! 

Have a blessed week friends and as we enter this Christmas season remember Jesus is the real reason for the season! 

Ashley 

Give Thanks

Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever, his faithfulness continues through all generations. Psalm 100

This is what the message was on tonight at church.  We sang praises to The Lord and we went around the room and said what we were thankful for. Of course by the time the microphone got to me I'd been crying listening to everyone else's thankfulness and I was a blubbering mess, I'm not even sure what I said but this is what I meant to say: 

I'm thankful that our God is a forgiving God, I've spent the last couple of months being ungreatful and dwelling on one thing that we don't have and I've been totally ignoring everything we do have. We are so blessed, blessed beyond measure! I wake up every morning in a comfy bed, in my warm house, next to my amazing husband. I get up and take a hot shower, fix my hair and put on makeup, I choose what clothes out of my closet to wear and then I choose which shoes I have that will match. I have breakfast from food in my pantry, fridge, or freezer. I get into my car which starts right up and drive to my job. Then I come home again to my warm house, eat dinner with my amazing husband, go to bed and do it all over again. Yes I am blessed beyond measure. I'm so thankful for my husband, my family, my church family, my friends. I'm greatful and thankful that our church has welcomed us with open arms and accepted us. I'm so thankful that we've become so close, I'm thankful they've welcomed us into their lives and allowed us to be part of their children's lives. I'm thankful for our sr high class, they are all blessings to me, each and everyone of them. 

It seems like life gets the best of us sometimes, we have this function or that event, this thing or that. We forget to stop and really enjoy life and all that God has given to and blessed us with. This thanksgiving and Christmas I'm going to try to remember all the great things we have in our lives and try not to dwell on what we don't have, we will have them one day, God has promised us that. 

Have a wonderful thanksgiving friends, and try to remember and say aloud everything you are thankful for. 

Ashley 

Things not to say to your infertile friend

Number 1: "Don't worry it will happen one day." - Um no... Chances are it will not just happen one day, while we appreciate your optimism, this particular line does nothing to comfort or make us feel better. 

Number 2: "Just stop thinking about it, if you stress it won't happen." - As all my friends that struggle with fertility issues know, stress and "thinking" about it have nothing to do with conceiving in our case. 

Number 3: "Well try this... Or maybe you should try that." -Just fill in the blanks we've heard it all. No I'm sorry but that too will not work. When you've tried everything, including placing embroys in your uterus, it seems pretty hopeless. So while we appreciate your trying to help with advice and know you mean well please keep these comments to yourself. 

Number 4: "I understand"- I had a friend use this comparison, "it's like losing a parent, unless you've been there you have no idea what I'm going through"  while we do appreciate your sympathy and love that you want to comfort us,  unless you've actually gone through fertility issues, no you don't fully understand. 

Number 5: "Well I have a freind who knows a couple, who did IVF or adoption, and they got pregnant after that naturally"- Again we appreciate your optimism and enthusiasm that this too could be our story, chances are it will not. Don't get me wrong here I fully believe that God can and does work miracles, but this is not the norm. 

If you are one of the chosen ones that is able to carry a child within you remember this, your infertile friends would give their right arm to be in your position. So please don't complain about your pregnancy in front of them, don't point out things that you can or cannot do because you're pregnant. Chances are they already know all these things because if they're anything like me they spent a lot of time learning about pregnancy dos and don'ts, and what to expect when your expecting.

Just be mindful of what you say, be supportive, but also try to see it from our perspective. 

Ashely