May

Life has been SO busy! I think MAY is always a busy month. So....at the beginning of the month I had the Miss Sevier pageant. This being my second year doing it I thought that it would be so much easier, but it was just as stressful as last year. It was a busy week with 12 young ladies from Sevier County. As much WORK as it is....I LOVE DOING IT! The girls are a lot of fun to be around and I am glad that I can contribute my time to our community. It is very rewarding. THANK YOU to all of you that helped me and came to watch! The theme this year was "Pure Country" and THAT it was...in the PUREST sense! It will be fun to work with the girls who are in the royalty this year! Good Luck, Ashley with Miss Richfield!

Heston has started t-ball! That has been a lot of fun! His team is the Lugnuts...there could not be a better name for a group of 5 and 6 year old boys! Rob is also coaching Heston's team.

Last week Heston graduated from one of his preschools and then had another preschool graduation this week. I can't believe he is going to be in Kindergarten. He had such a great experience going to preschool and had such wonderful teachers.

Gillyin and Heston also had a dance recital this week. It is always fun to watch them dance. Our battery died in our camera...so unprepared! It is taking SO long to get the videos downloaded...I give up!

I think that is about it for now, but there is still a week and a half left in the month and we will have Rob's grandma's 90th b-day party, Gilly's last week of 1st grade, and then we are leaving for Lake Powell on the 30th!

Happy Mothers Day!

I got this WONDERFUL e-mail today from my Grandma! Thought I would share with all you WONERFUL MOMS!

Before I was a Mom, I never tripped over toys or forgot words to a lullaby. I didn't worry whether or not my plants were poisonous. I never thought about immunizations. Before I was a Mom, I had never been puked on. Pooped on. Chewed on. Peed on. I had complete control of my mind and my thoughts. I slept all night. Before I was a Mom, I never held down a screaming child so doctors could do tests. Or give shots. I never looked into teary eyes and cried. I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin. I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep. Before I was a Mom, I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't want to put her down. I never felt my heart break into a million pieces when I couldn't stop the hurt.! I never knew that something so small could affect my life so much. I never knew that I could love someone so much. I never knew I would love being a Mom. Before I was a Mom, I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside my body.. I didn't know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby. I didn't know that bond between a mother and her child. I didn't know that something so small could make me feel so important and happy. Before I was a Mom, I had never gotten up in the middle of the night every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay. I had never known the warmth, the joy, the love, the heartache, the wonderment or the satisfaction of being a Mom. I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much, before I was a Mom . Send this to someone who you think is an awesome Mom. May you always be overwhelmed by the Grace of God rather than by the cares of life

Are we CrAzY yet?

I would never have imagined 3 1/2 months ago that adding just one more to our family would turn my world upside down! Since Griffyn has been born time has certainly FLOWN! I cannot believe that she is almost 4 months and that it is MAY!!! Seriously people...can anyone tell me what happened to Feb., March, and April? I find that my day has just started and then it is over. Constantly RUNNING! I used to think that my wonderful aunt, who I adore, was the SPACIEST woman ever!I now know that she was and is just a MOTHER! Just about EVERY day I think I have lost my mind...and as soon as I find it, well, I loose it again! What has happened? It really is amazing to me...LIFE! I have been trying to make an effort to really pay attention to the things my kids say and do that I want to remember. We are DEFINITELY done having children and I feel at peace with that, but I am cherishing the little things so much more now. I truly do know now that one day I am going to turn around and Gillyin will be getting married, Heston will be serving a mission,Fisher will be graduating from high school and Griffyn will be asking to borrow the car. And I will WONDER where the years went. I know my DEAR husband gets sick of me saying every night...I AM EXHAUSTED...because it is now the JOKE of our life. But I am! I never would have thought 10 years ago that my life would be the way it is today, but I am BLESSED a million times over for how my life has turned out so far. I need to take a step back every once in a while and realize that.I am lucky to have a wonderful husband and 4 wonderful children and a life so CRAZY! Don't get me wrong there are days I think of packing my bags and running away, but I never follow through with it :)! So I will swim through the laundry piles, trudge my way through the crumbs, and pull my hair out over gum stuck to every thing I own! I will continue to complain, cry, and on occasion SCREAM, but I am pretty SURE that more joy will come from all of that than anything else! I will continue to drink my diet coke and continuously pray to get me through the day...and that is FINE with me!

For those of you that read this whole post...Thanks for your patients...and for those of you that know me best...you know that I scream a little more than on occasion!