A Christmas Tag

What is your one favorite dish to see on the table at Christmas dinner? Grandma's Mashed Potatoes!


Do you have a Nativity scene or a creche? How many pieces does it have? Nativity Scene and lots of precious moment pieces :)
What is your favorite Christmas movie? Christmas Vacation or any of the Santa Clause Movies with Tim Allen
If you and your family could spend this Christmas in another country, where would you go? Germany :)

Does your grandmother usually knit you something for Christmas, or does she give you something different -- say, a Wii? They give us something different but nothing like a Wii, clothes and board games! MY FAVORITE!

Have you ever gone out of the house wearing a reindeer headband? What about a Santa hat? In Elementary School  :)
Do you usually make or buy your Christmas gifts? A little of both

When do you set up your Christmas decorations? When do you take them down? Sadly it depends on when we are all home and can find time...
What kind of activities does your church usually have at Christmas? Children's mass, Christmas Pagent, Decorating the Offices, & More :)
Did you ever believe in Santa Claus as a child? Yup I did

Which of the Gospels gives your favorite account of the Christmas story? It really depends on how perceptive I am!

Have you ever acted in a Christmas pageant? What part did you play? Nope =]

Do you buy Christmas presents for your pets? Yes :) Lilly has her own stocking and we wrap her presents because she loves tearing them open :)
What is your favorite Christmas tradition? Christmas Mass, Going to Grandma and grandpas after-dinner, presents family time, then coming home with the 5 of us, put on our pj's and open presents from each other :)

Innocent-Taylor Swift

Here's how it works:




1. Put your iTunes, Windows Media Player, etc. on shuffle.

2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.

3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER HOW SILLY IT SOUNDS.

4. Tag 20 friends.

5. Everyone tagged has to do the same thing.

6. Have Fun!



Here are the questions:



IF SOMEONE SAYS ‘ARE YOU OKAY’ YOU SAY?

American Honey-Tyler Ward Cover
WHAT WOULD BEST DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONALITY?

Feel the Light-Britt Nicole

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOURSELF?

"(Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear" by Elvis Presley*blushes furiously*

WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL?

Uncharted-Sara Barellies
HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY?

Your Grace Oh God-Jessie Manibusen
WHAT IS YOUR LIFE’S PURPOSE?

Imagine-Glee Version
WHAT’S YOUR MOTTO?

Say It Again-Marie Digby


WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?

"(You're the) Devil in Disguise"OMG!!! I'm not even kidding!!!! This is what came up! 0_0

WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?
Brave-Nicole Nordman
WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN?

Mary's Song-Taylor Swift

WHAT IS 2+2?

Legacy- Sanctus Real
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND?

Bohemian Rapsody-Glee Version

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PERSON YOU LIKE?

Endless Love-Glee
Well the person i "like" is Jesus and he is endless love :)
WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?

Move-Mercy Me
WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?

Not Ashamed-Jeremy Camp
WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE?

Walk on the Water-Britt Nicole
WHAT WILL YOU DO AT YOUR WEDDING?

Dont Stop Believin'-Glee Version
WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?

God Of Wonders-Third Day

WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST?

Love Like Crazy- Lee Brice
WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST FEAR?

Dancin' With Myself-Glee hahahahaha
WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET?

Bad Romance-Lady Gaga hahaha
WHAT DO YOU WANT RIGHT NOW?

Grace Like Rain-Todd Agnew
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?

Unrestrained-Jeremy Camp


WHAT’S THE WORST THING THAT COULD HAPPEN?
Love Bug-Jonas Brothers
WHAT IS THE ONE THING YOU REGRET?
The Way- Jeremy Camp lol makes no sense!
WHAT MAKES YOU LAUGH?

Love Song-Sara Barellies
WHAT MAKES YOU CRY?

Never Alone-Lady Antebellem
WILL YOU EVER GET MARRIED?

Christ Reigns haha :)
WHAT SCARES YOU THE MOST?

If I Die Young-The Band Perry
DOES ANYONE LIKE YOU?

Safe-Britt Nicole
IF YOU COULD GO BACK IN TIME, WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE?

Kaleidoscope Heart


WHAT HURTS RIGHT NOW?

Stand in the Rain-Superchick

WHAT WILL YOU NAME THIS NOTE?

Innocent-Taylor Swift

Man I need to UPDATE!!! :)

Hello Everyone! Life is CRAZY and I definately need to update you all since I did leave you at a little cliff hanger there!

Okay so Counseling...... started and I have had 2 appt since and I absolutely love my counselor! She is wonderful! There is a long road ahead with recent issues as well as my built up past, you if you could still pray for me that would be amazing!

Im on Christmas BREAK!! :) Woohooo!!! :) Off to Mass tomorrow, Grandma and Grandpa's and then home to open presents :) I am so excited to spend time with my family!! :) What's your favorite Christmas tradition?!

Sorry for the short post but I will leave you with some pictures as well as a youtube link to my new favorite song that is amazing!
God Bless,
Ashley

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oaO73cx4pn4

Must Read!

Please read this story and watch the amazing video!!! :)
God Bless and Merry Christmas,
Ashley

While at the mall a couple of years ago, my then four year old nephew, Spencer, saw kids lined up to see Santa Claus. Having been taught as a toddler that Christmas is the holiday that Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus, he asked his mom, "where's the line to see Jesus"? My sister mentioned this to my dad, who immediately became inspired and jotted words down to a song in just a few minutes. After putting music to the words, and doing a quick recording at home, he received a great response from friends. He sent the song off to Nashville without much response, except for a Christian song writer who suggested adding a bridge at the end of the first chorus. My dad then asked if I wanted to record the song to see what we could do with it. I listened to the song, made a few changes to the words to make it flow better, and we headed to Shock City Studios. It was at the studio where Chris, owner and producer, rewrote the 2nd verse and part of the chorus... with goosebumps and emotions high, we were all hopeful and felt like we had something special. The demo was recorded in just under 2 hours and sent off again to Nashville... still no response. Then 2 weeks before Christmas last year, my cousins Greg and Robbie decided to do a video to see what we could accomplish on YouTube. The first day we had 3000 hits and it soared from there. We received e-mails, phone calls, Facebook messages from people all over asking for the music, CD's, iTunes, anything... we had nothin'. After a couple of meetings with Chris following the amazing response, we got serious. We headed back into the studio this past spring... this time with guitars, drums, bass, pianos, choirs... the real deal.... and here we are today. Getting iTunes set up, a website put together, and loving that thousands upon thousands of Christians have come together... remembering the true meaning of Christmas. Out of the mouths of babes come profound truths that many adults can not understand. Hopefully Spencer's observation will cause people all over to reflect on the love of Jesus, and that one day we will all stand in line to see Him. We are most thankful to our Heavenly Father to have this chance to share our music with you. Merry Christmas everyone.




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OExXItDyWEY

Senior Pictures

Thank you to Chris Lommel! He did an amazing job! :)

Silence

Hey All!

So this weekend I had lots of time for silence.....for me that can be either a good or a bad thing. This time it wasnt all that good at all. Let me back track....

Soooo you all know how I publicly stated on this blog that i needed to set up my first counseling appt right? Well we FINALLY did. The counselor at my church was leaving and a new girl was coming in so there was a little adjustment period. So during this silent time this weekend all i could think about was having to spill my guts, to a counselor, which means reliving all that happened in those really bad months. Lovely right? No. In my heart I know that going to counseling is going to be good for me, especially to have a Christian/Catholic counselor, but my mind just wants to ignore it all and push it deeper and further away like it didnt happen. So I am pleading with God to help me get through this....
Will you please pray for me?? My apointment is on Tuesday of this week...
Thank you so much and May God Bless You :)
Ashley

Walkin' In A Winter Wonderland...On Thanksgiving?! :)

Hey All! :) Greeting from the 0 degree's here in MN! :) Thanksgiving is always something that we can never really know how the weather is going to treat us! So this year, Mother Nature treated us to lovely Winter Storm Advisories, as well as ice, cold winds and SNOW! Off to Grandma & Grandpa's today :) I cannot wait for yummy food, warmth, family and love :) Makes me soo happy!
Plus crazy as it is this is my last Thanksgiving living at home!! AHHH! :)
I will leave you with some pictures from our Winter Wonderland..... The Star, Lilly our Adorable 3 Year old black lab :)
God Bless,
Ashley

My Car = FROZEN

One Frame of my Glasses was fogged up!

Walkin IN a Winter Puppy Land :)

The Pain that Plagues Me..

Sorry i have been gone...life is insane.... between working 2 jobs, school, youth ministry internship, church events, family, friends, babysitting & senior year, im surprised i havent gone insane yet! :)

But tonight I feel that i need to release something to all of you, as a release for myself & my way of asking for help, making this post something that my readers can hold me accountable for-dont worry I will explain...

This blog is meant to coninside with the blog i had written a few months ago.... If you havent read it yet please read it first, it will help things make more sense. Click here to go to the page.

For a good month or so I thought I had defeated the battle within myself... like I was able to deal with the demons that followed me, and I could do it all by myself. No talking about it, No counseling, i just felt it was done and I would be fine. Time heals our wounds right? Now I look back and think...man im an idiot..
Lately I have been having dreams about "him", with him trying to contact me, and going after me. For a few nights I would wake up in tears and was/still am so afraid. Also when i was skyping with an AMAZING guy friend of mine who had no idea about the situation and saw that "he" was online and wanted to make it a 3 way chat & i flipped out at him.... Fighting tears I just repeated.."Alex no i cant, please dont, just dont, just dont." It all came flooding back and he had absolutely no idea what was going on with me and was super worried. Alex felt horrible and i ened up spilling my guts to him about the situation...he was completely taken back and felt horrible that it was something i had to deal with.

During that time and for the rest of the night I was quiet and really withdrawn... my mind just kept replaying all the events that took place over and over in my head. Thats when everything started to spin out of control, I felt like it was my fault & I didnt know what to do. Its like i was back to square one.

Now i have realized that no matter how much the pain hurts, how much failure i feel for not being able to handle this myself, no matter how embarrassed I am.... I need to make my first counseling appt...ASAP...

Please keep me in your prayers as I do this and I need to be held to it. Its hard for me to say all of this but hey, this is my outlet, and I want to thank all of my readers for their support & please keep it up.

God and I have been drifting off and on, but he is the rock i need to cling to and I know that. I just need the will and dicipline. Please keep me in your prayers about that too...

God Bless,
Ashley

Motivation

Hello All,

Sooo I have decided to let my blog followers and reader in on a little aspect of my life.

Ever since I was younger I have always had a negative self image of myself and never thought I was pretty or skinny like "All the other girls". That statement has haunted me my whole life and I have decided to change that.
Since the end of June I have been training with my wonderful trainer Nicky :) She has taught me lots and continues to teach me more and more every time we meet.

Currently its hard for me to stay motivated to work out or do my exercises. I have been struggling with that and wanting my results faster and sooner. Ugh it really sucks to feel the way I do... Soooo im asking for you're prayers as I get back on track with my work outs etc.... The picture of the book I posted at the top is one wonderful book! I just bought it today along with a new food journal and its amazing :)

Hope all is well,
Ashley

The Return...

Hello All!!!
I am saddened to have to write this blog but I feel that is it nessecary for people to be aware so we can all pray, there is strength in numbers!
"When two or more are gathered, there I am, in the midst of them."

On Wednesday my mom recieved some very sad news, a wonderful friend of her's and a wonderful family friend to my dad, brothers and myself had her breast cancer return. Jill had survived breast cancer over 9 years ago, and remained cancer free until the 9th year anniversary of No Cancer. (The whole story is posted on her caringbridge page which i encourage you to read and keep updated on) It seems that the cancer is back, and worse than before.... :( Our hearts are heavy for Jill, her Husband John and two young girls Keaton and Avery....

Posted on my facebook:
For all of you who are praying for Jill and her speedy recovery due to her breast cancer returning, I urge you to visit her caringbridge page to stay up to date on all that is happening :) Kind words in the guestbook on her page are appreciated too :) Thank you all for you're prayers and keep them coming! :)


Psalm 103:...3-4

Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits- who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion.
 
Friends please keep Jill in you're prayers, there is strength in numbers.
May God Bless and Keep you,
Ashley

https://www.caringbridge.org/visit/jillamundson/createorsignin  Jill's Caringbridge link, just need to sign in and you are in.

Senior Year Update!

Hey all!

I know I have been semi-MIA lately and I apologize! I thought it was about time to update you all on my life, as crazy as it may seem!

So where do I start???

-Senior year has been going great, still coming to terms with my last year of high school! Crazy I know!
-I am doing pretty good in all of my classes, I do still come to a time where i dont want to do anything.... hello senioritis! haha :)
-I run and work out quite often lately-which is a big milestone for me! woohoo! :)
-I am loving my internship with my youth minister at church! Its fabulous! She has also been contracting and is officially having the baby soon, so i have been able to fill in for her as the "fill-in" youth minister! :)

-I have been accepted to Saint Mary's University in Winona :)



-I absolutely love St. Mary's and was able to stop back again to see it with students and it so peaceful! The staff, students and admissions people are sooo wonderful and nice! I can totally picture myself there, I am praying about it still but I feel it is the school for me :) :) I am so excited!
-Homecoming week was fantastic! I loved every min of it and had such a blast! :)

-I made Pop Group at school which is a group of singers who perform together :) I am so happy!
-Life has been good! A few stumbles along the way, but im getting through it, and should be starting counseling soon which is a good thing that i definately need.

Hope all is well with you all!
God Bless,
Ashley

Saint Mary's University

Hey all!!

So much to update you on but how to find the time!? :) Here is a little update for you....
in September I was accepted to Saint Mary's University In Winona, MN :)  This school has proven itself perfect for me, from the beautiful campus, wonderful/genuine/sweet staff, peaceful environment, Youth Ministry Degree & more :) I absolutely am in love with it!
I think i have found my home :) Still praying about it though!

So mom and I stopped to see it again yesterday after my apt in WI so here are some pictures :)

God Bless,
Ashley