Remembering the Reason for the Season

Since I have been home, I have been humbled a lot for many different reasons.

We got news that a 15 year old girl in our ward family has had an accident- she was without oxygen for 8-10 minutes and is currently in a coma, causing and continuing to have severe brain damage. She may not make it. And as I thought about that- I thought about how much heart ache their family must feel. I can't imagine losing one of my siblings right now and it just breaks my heart to know what they are going through right now. It's a sad time for them and our ward and all those who love Hailey, but this is where the gospel comes in for comfort. What a blessing it is to have the gospel in my life- to know the plan our Savior has for us- and it brings me so much peace and comfort in times like these. I am so grateful for His Atoning sacrifice for us so that we can all be together again one day. It is such a remarkable blessing for us to have. I have taken the time to focus on my family and how much I love them- I feel so blessed to have all my family at home together during this season. Not only that- but I am grateful for our health. I don't know what I would do without any of them-They are and will always be my best friends.

Please pray for Hailey Miller and her family as they go through this tough time.

It's always great to focus on others and feel the joy of doing it during this great holiday season. We had the opportunity to go to the Bishops Storehouse today and do service for a few hours with a bunch of people from our ward. We packed up lots of food and things to send out to those who are in need of them. We always have so much fun together when we go and give service. It always makes me want to be the better person that I know I can be. How grateful I am for opportunities like that to go and serve others.

I can't even begin to explain how awesome my Ward Family is too. Seriously, I don't think I could find any other ward that is as great as ours back in Alpharetta. I love coming home and feeling the sincere love they have for me. It is a great feeling. We are all so close, loving, and will drop anything to help one another. It's remarkable and I've seen the love and service given just during the past few days at home. I truly feel blessed to be part of such a great ward back at home. I got so lucky. They are a great family.

And of course, I feel overwhelmed and grateful for my Savior and the love He has for each and every one of us. Let us ALWAYS Remember the Reason for the Season- to celebrate the Saviors birth and to remember The Spirit of Christmas.

Hope everyone enjoys this Holiday Season wherever you are. I love you all and Merry Christmas!

Noteworthy

...ever heard of them?

If you attend BYU, then you have.

If you haven't, this is an amazing all girl A Cappella group that currently attends BYU.

And they are on this NBC reality show called The Sing Off!

It showed last night, will air tonight, and if they make it passed this round, they'll continue to tomorrow's show and hopefully the live finale on Monday!

So tune in and watch! It's seriously so amazing to hear all these different A Cappella groups sing!

And not to mention, it's so exciting that a group from my own school is on it! They have SO much talent. It's incredible!

Watch the show from last night here

If you just want to watch Noteworthy, they are on Chapter 4!

dear fall semester,

thanks for not being too hard on me these past few months.

also, thanks for helping me finish my finals fairly early.

you're a gem. now i get to go home and celebrate Christmas time :)

love, ashley kay

just a little excitement to share.

First Reason: I received an email yesterday afternoon saying that I am officially going to be a BC for EFY next summer in the Southeast! :)

A BC is a Building Counselor- basically I will be over around 8 counselors to support, guide and assist them with their duties.

So more duty, more responsibility, more fun.. I am so ready for this new and exciting adventure :)

Southeast has 3 sessions: The 2 in Georgia and 1 in St. Petersburg, Florida!

So far, I know my co-counselor from 2008, Andre, will also be a BC- so that'll be fun!

And even better- I'm going to have AMAZING Field Coordinators (THE BOSS)- Kaycie and Daniel!)

So you can say I'm kinda lucky and kinda, really excited. :)

Second Reason: Last day of classes are today. Which means, I'm done with this semester. I've finished 2 finals already and have 2 more! The end is in sight!

Which brings me to my Third Reason: I GO HOME ONE WEEK FROM TODAY :) No more freezing temperatures and snow for at least a few weeks! And yes, I was just home about 3 weeks ago, but I love going home for Christmas time! And I'm excited to see the family again!

Inspiration.

"Why we go through hardship is something that is necessary. Life wasn't meant to be easy, we all know that one."

-NieNie

Seriously, Stephanie Nielson is one of the most amazing and inspiring woman. I feel so selfish for how I complain about things that are so small and stupid. And here is this amazing woman who almost lost her life, her children, her husband, everything.

For those who don't know her story, she was in a plane crash with her husband in August 2008 and was in a coma for months. Over 80% of her body was burned badly and she has to go through many surgeries and physical therapy. She is going through much more than I could ever imagine, yet she remains grateful and positive. She has uplifted me and I'm sure many others who read her blog.

I've become so inspired and touched from her stories on her blog. I have so much to be grateful for.

My life, my health, my family, the gospel, my education, my friends, and the list can go on.

She truly is an amazing person and she has helped me focus on the important things in life.

Thanks NieNie.

Check out her blog. Click on the NieNie Dialouges button on the right side of my page.

"Be grateful and humble in your lives, for God truly is Good."

-Nie Nie

why didn't i think of this?

The Mall on a Saturday, especially during Christmas season- INSANE

The Grocery Store on a Saturday- ALWAYS INSANE

Drivers are dumb, people are dumb, I should remember that for next time.

Thanksgiving Checklist:

Surprise Mom by singing Happy Birthday in her room at 1 in the morning: Check.

Surprise Lexie in the morning: Check.

Surprise Cody and get attacked by Becker doing so: Check.

Learn a new game and get addicted to it: Check.

Getting to spend some time with The Holders: Check.

Having fun doing service at the Bishop Storehouse: Check.

Partake of delicious Mexican food at La Parilla: Check.

Going to see Blind Side, one of the greatest movies ever: Check.

Going to my "high school reunion" and being the only sober one there: Check.

Eating Dad's delicious fried Turkey: Check.

Getting to see my favorite girls: Check.

Spending Thanksgiving with the most important people in my life: Check.

Getting to see the cutest dog in the entire world: Check.

Was it worth the amount of debt I am currently in with my sister for my plane ticket home? Absolutely.

Will I ever do a surprise again? Perhaps. But not when it involves surprising my Mom. It was one of the hardest secrets to keep and having to hide my excitement was not an easy task.

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving break!

the perfect medicine.

My family.

Cal, Tay, and I decided a few weeks ago to surprise my family and fly home for a week for Thanksgiving.

Seriously, such a HUGE blessing for me.

Coming home for a week and getting away from Utah is just what I needed.

I love my family. They are so amazing!

I love family time. Just relaxing with all of them is good enough for me.

I love the South. There is nothing like it.

Hope everyone has a good Thanksgiving week! :)

boys, boys, boys

Being that's it's Thanksgiving time, I am focusing on the things I am grateful for in my life...and sometimes it's the things that I don't realize as much.

Now, don't be mislead by the title. These aren't just any boys- not the ones that we like to call difficult and frustrating.

These boys I'm referring to are my fabulous boy cousins that I have on my Mom's side of the family. My primos!

The boys definitely dominate in the family.

24 cousins. 9 girls. 15 boys.

*this is back in the day. not all the boys were born yet- 9 boys, 5 girls so far:

And let me tell you something- I absolutely love it! :)

I have the greatest cousins in the entire world- boys and girls.

But there is just something about those boys- I feel so blessed there are so many of them. I obviously see more of some than others, which makes me sad- but I still love them all so much! They are the sweetest, kindest, funniest, coolest guys I know and any girl will be lucky to be a part of their lives!

They are great and the cutest young men I have ever met! AND not to mention they are my favorite boys in the whole entire world! They will never break my heart, ever. I love when we get together with them, which now happens more often since I spend most of my year our West, we always have so much fun when we're together.

They always will know how to bring a smile to my face and make me laugh.

And they don't treat me different because I'm a girl.

They just love on me and I love on them. They are the greatest!

Sometimes I might be a little more loving, but they always get used to it.

So here's to you, you crazy Calvert boys. Thanks for being awesome. I love ya'll more than you know! :)

am I reading this correctly?

Walking out of the test center and look up on the screen to see my score:

5-5424: 95% "Way to go!"

Never in my 4 years at BYU have I ever seen this posted next to my ID number at the BYU Testing Center.

Me? I got a 95% Is this real life?

Yes, ladies and gentleman- today is the day that I actually got a 95% on my Stats test. And out of all my class... Stats? yes, I was in shock.

But I feel good.

So now everyone knows- I have never reached a 95% on any of my tests- at least in the testing center. It's whatever.

You could say today is the best day ever.

time to brag...

I figure it appropriate to brag about how wonderful my Mom is, especially today since it is her 50th Birthday!!! (it's okay Mom, you don't even look like you are 50) I feel so blessed that she is my mother and that I am able to be a part of this great family- I seriously couldn't ask for anything more. I have it good. And my Mom just rocks! Common nicknames used: Teen Face, Tuna, and Teen! I could name over 50 things that I love about my Mom and why she is so great...but I will just stick to a few!

So here is just a FEW reasons why I have a great Mom:

- She is an EXCELLENT cook! It is one of the things I miss the most while being out at school. She has the best recipes and makes the best food! One day I hope I can cook as good as she does!

-She likes to have fun with us. Like this instant: we were baking Christmas cookies last year, we were all on this sugar high so we just found everything to be funny. So she was up on the stool trying to get something, but she couldn't get it or even focus because we were all laughing too hard. And, you should hear her laugh- it's priceless.

-One of my personal favorite things about her: She likes to visit her college kids out in Utah when she gets the chance to! I know she'd come out more if she could! She really loves and cares for her children more than anything in the world!

-She is a good sun-bathing partner. It's nice to have someone to come along with you for some good sun time. She likes to get color and she'll always be the one to talk the entire time-she'll complain if we start listening to our ipods. sorry mom.

-She's the only daughter in her family with 5 brothers. She had to deal with all the torment and teasing growing up- so she's pretty tough. But she is a great daughter and sister to this fam.

-She likes to keep the house clean. And maybe sometimes she might spill or make messes, but she won't freak out about it- she'll laugh about it first and then clean it up. It's nice to have a clean and organizing mother, but she's not uptight about it all the time- maybe that's where I get my cleanliness and organization skills from.

-She loves and adores her family. If she had it her way- we'd all still be together, living in the same state, and in the same house. She only wants what is best for her family and always looks out for every single one of them. She never favors one over the other. She will drop everything and do anything for any of us. That's why she's the best Mom.

-She is a hard worker. Working a full time job, being primary president, and team mom- she keeps herself busy and occupied. But she'll manage to find times to squeeze in her 10 minute power naps on a day-to-day basis...she at least deserves that.

-She's a good friend. She is so nice and kind to everyone. No one ever talks negatively about her because she is a person who is easily loved. She cares for her friends and wants to know what is going on in their lives. I think that's where I get that attribute from-We are pretty alike when it comes to how well we treat our friends and how we will always do nice things for everyone. That's not a bad thing to have.

-She is a good wife. I'm so lucky to have been raised with such great parents. They have taught me everything I know; I wouldn't be the person I am today if it wasn't for them and their examples. Really, how did I get so lucky?

-She likes to stay active. She can't stand sitting and relaxing for long periods of time. She always wants to be doing something and likes to stay in shape.

And... she is still a babe even at 50 years old! :)

Happy Birthday Mom!

I'm so lucky to have you as my mom! You have helped me become the person I am today- I couldn't have gotten to this point without your help! You have always been there for me and will always sit and listen to me complain, cry, or even share my excitement with me.

You are the best! I wish I could be there to celebrate this special day with you! I miss you and hope you have a fabulous day! :)

Love you!

October Festivities!

October was a busy month for me!

With Visitors, Football Games, Vacations, Birthdays, Halloween and Goodbyes.. this month flew by so fast!!

So here's what's the latest:

-Reuniting with some of my favorite boys to celebrate Andre's Birthday:

-This cute little girl, Miss Peyton Reeve, was baptized!

-The Sant and the Nichol gang- all grown up now; first time we've been back together in a long time!

Going to Colorado for our cousin, Jordan's farewell!

We even got to see my Mom and Lexie in Denver, which was so great!

Our cutest little Lake Powell favorites came to Utah!

We celebrated Callie's 20th birthday!

And painted these cute plates!

Attended College Gameday in Provo!!

Went to a disappointing and cold BYU game.

And it was finally Halloween!! I went as Little Miss Muffet, and I ran into my 2 nerdy friends:

My boys and I:

Roomies plus Grace at our Stake Halloween Party:

And, as previously mentioned, I said bye to my cousin, Jordan:

and my best friend, Kate!

So it has been quite the month of October! It sure was busy! And now onto the month of November! I wonder what this month will bring!