Tis the Season

Mood:  exhausted...happy




I had no idea it had been SOOOOOOOOOO long since I blogged.  Unacceptable.  


So without further ado, here's what's been going on in my life.


I'm still loving my job teaching preschool.  It's so fun!  Of course there are mornings (often) that I wake up and just want to pull the covers up for a few more hours...but that feeling is generally gone by the time morning snack rolls around.  I've been fighting colds (nothing major) and allergies since Iowa can't decide whether to be unseasonably warm or cold and just keeps walking the line between the two.  Those days, it usually takes a bit longer to remember that I'm not only lucky to have a job...but that I really do like it.  A lot.


The husband has just accepted a new job.  He's still working in IT...but not in the same capacity.  He'll finally be getting paid what he's worth (at least to the company...he's priceless to me!) and there is the opportunity for growth and career development which was severely lacking at his current position.  


We've been keeping quite busy as the holiday season came upon us.  Working, baking, grocery shopping (it feels like we go all the time!), sleeping, and spending time with the son.  We've had him since Wednesday night...and I couldn't love it more.  Spending this much time with him has to be the thing that I'm most thankful for this Thanksgiving.


Beyond that...we're navigating married life with a lot of laughs, some tears, and a very thankful attitude.  Yesterday we had a skype session with my parents so they could talk to (and see) Malcolm.  It was wonderful.  We knew Malcolm wouldn't understand what was happening...and that he wouldn't have the attention span to talk like we did...but it was still fantastic.  To not only talk to my parents...but see them laugh and smile and watch their movements.  


It's really the very small things in my life right now that are making me incredibly happy.  I can't describe the feeling of getting hugs and kisses from my students, or hearing Malcolm get excited at mastering identifying objects with Daddy and I.  Being able to physically see my parents as we caught up on each other's lives was something that seems so very insignificant...but when you're half a country away...it means nothing less than bliss.  My last blog was about doing things daily to make me happy...and it's a practice I still maintain.


This blog is more about learning to live simply...in bliss and acknowledge those blessings I already have.  As the holiday season goes into full swing...I'm feeling incredibly blessed, lucky, and beyond happy to be living the life I am.  I hope you are able to feel the same!

Family Matters

Mood:   blessed




Over the weekend I may or may not have (I did) welcomed Jeff into married life by doing the embarrassing wife thing:  matching outfits.


Let's clear some things up.  We didn't wear ONE matching shirt.  We wore (age appropriate) shirts depicting our love for the Chicago Bulls (Malcolm has obvs inherited this love).  


Mine was totally a girl shirt.  Jeff's was the shirt I got him for his birthday (customized with his fav number and his last name) and Malcolm wore one that Jeff got him last year.

Okay so you can't see us all (and our shirts) in this pic....but it's hard to take a family photo with an iphone and one arm with a squirming 2.5 year old.

That's not the point of this post though.

Tonight at dinner Jeff's (and now my) nephew mentioned how he wasn't going to have kids.  Ever.  Or at least until he was financially stable.  Jeff and I said we totally encouraged the plan...but life doesn't often care about the plans you make.

I was NOT going to date anyone with a child, or that lived over 50 miles away from me.  A month later I started talking to the husband.  Both a father...and somebody who lived way farther than I thought I was willing to travel.  I didn't want to marry a father because I knew I was ready to commit and I didn't want to have to say goodbye to 2 people I fell in love with.

Before our first date, Jeff and I agreed to not discuss "big things" until 6 months into dating.

We said "I do" on our 6 month anniversary.

And exactly 2 weeks later we woke up in bed, with his son and the awesome bulldog.  He chatted with us for a bit before standing up and announcing, very seriously, that "he has a butt."  

We all laughed for a good 5 minutes of this new found important declaration...and as I laughed and stayed in bed I felt....

well...

there was an immense happiness that I wasn't sure I would ever feel.  Honestly.  Did I see myself getting married?  Yes.  Did I see myself with a partner this perfect for me?  No.  Did I see myself in some kind of family environment?  Yes.  Did I see myself as a mother instantly? No.  Did I know I had a maternal instinct?  I'm not sure....

The point here is...

the whole weekend all I could think about was how lucky and blessed Jeff and Malcolm (and Yoda) I are to have each other.  And to love each other.

It's in this incredibly simplistic gratitude that I write.  I not only have my (CB) family, but I have my new (Lutjen/Lilland) family...and Malcolm (and Yoda....technically Lilland's).  

I write because quite honestly...as grateful as I am to have been raised by my parents with my brother and sister....I am constantly amazed every single second how fortunate I am to have a second family...and a family of my own.

The little things....a boy announcing (with a spank) a part of his anatomy...can without a shadow of a doubt be the most wonderful things about life.  These smiles, laughs, and (rarely) tears make living not only worthwhile...but enjoyable.  

I look forward to waking up next to Jeff and his back...or his smile...or him telling me he's leaving for work.  And while we plan (....life interrupts these....) on another child one day, for now, I'm beyond content with this amazing family I've managed to find.  And become a part of.

I am blessed beyond what I could have ever imagined.  

I hope that you have a family that reminds you that you are blessed....or that you find one someday...or if you're as lucky as I have been....that you have both. 

Hello, My Name is....

Current Mood:  blissfully happy...and exhausted

...Ashley....and here goes...

If you followed me here from my old blog, thank you.

If you randomly found this blog and decided to read it, again, thank you.  

I've been blogging on and off for about 2 years.  Only the last year has been with any consistency or regularity and I have to say that it has been truly humbling to watch my words impact change in myself and others.  

So here's a little about  me if you haven't read my blogs before:

I write about things that I do everyday.  Like pretty much every other blogger.  I'm not a food blogger.  I have very few crafting tips, and I certainly am not a major fashion blogger.  I love make-up but am sadly NOT an expert, and I honestly blog for personal fulfillment.  

My last blog was a challenge to myself to see how often I could do "nice" things for myself.  Once said thing had been done, I would blog about it...sometimes adding photographic evidence of me being nice to me.

The philosophy behind the blog is simple.  For a lot of us right now, life is hard.  We're facing massive economic uncertainty, a war torn world, injustice, intolerance, and a myriad of personal struggles.  With all of this on our hearts on a daily basis, how do we go about finding some peace?  How do we live in joy?  How can we manage to smile knowing there are teenagers dying over being bullied?  There are people who have never tasted clean water.  There are children for whom an education is quite literally only in their dreams.  

We start small.  We acknowledge we live in an uncomfortable world.  We don't forget the faces, the names, the stories...but we also don't forget to live our own lives.  

What feels like a life-time ago I worked in long-term care.  I once held the hand of a dying resident.  She took her last breath while I was in the room with her.  I remember crying to my mother, and telling her how hard the process had been for me.  I become so obsessed with her dying that the next few days all I could think was "why bother?"  Everything seemed so insignificant compared to the weight of life.  And I remember my mother telling me that the best testament to a life lost, is a life well lived.

A few months later I started my "nice" things blog.  Things sucked.  Life will end one day.  And I needed a reminder that just because the previous two statements are true doesn't mean that I can't be happy.  And that I can't live a good life.  In fact, if anything, it means that I NEED to live a good life.  A happy life.  A life full of living simply, loving, learning, and being open to opportunities as they come.

Which brings me to this new blog.

8 months into writing my blog about taking chances, allowing myself to live, and taking good care of myself I met the man to whom I am now married.  Granted, it's only been 8 days of marriage, but they've been some incredibly amazing days (it doesn't hurt that 5 of them were spent in the Caribbean...).

It seemed fitting to me that with a new man (men really...he comes with a son!!!!), a new name, and a new location...a new blog was in order.  

I have no idea what this blog will be.  A little bit of food.  A little bit of crafting.  A little bit of fashion and make-up.  A little bit of thought.  But mostly, this blog will chronicle my journey into married life.  Into motherhood (I'm learning as I go).  This blog is a blog about loving my life, the people in it, the simple things, and the lessons life teaches you if you are open to learning.

My last blog was a lesson in humility, and I have no doubt that this one will be the same.  But I don't want to limit this blog into one category or niche.  It's a blog about life...aren't they all? 

It's a blog about my life.  

Welcome.  And enjoy!

And as my photographic evidence of doing nice things, a little preview from the honeymoon!