Catching-up

First, happy 2nd birthday Duke!


Second, we had a great Thanksgiving celebrating at my parents place in Corvallis. Both my sisters and their families were there and some of my parents friends. I worked a little bit Thursday, but we still got to enjoy lots of fun with our nephews and niece. On Friday we went to the Corvallis Christmas parade and Christmas tree lighting.

Jaden being super cute as always:


All of us at the parade:
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Bedtime stories with Grandma J:


We are having the worship team over for a holiday dinner next Saturday. We know how much time and energy they give and wanted a chance to say thanks. So, our time this weekend and probably this week will be spent getting ready for that. Yesterday we got our Christmas tree and put up the lights. So many fun events planned for the next few weeks and we can't wait to enjoy them all!

Thanksgiving

I went around and said why I was thankful for each of my students yesterday (I know totally cheesy), and then they wanted to say why they were thankful for me...such sweethearts! I love teaching!

Happenings

We have been busy as usual. This last weekend we went up to Portland and saw Paul's brother's place, then headed out to Gresham to see some friends and their two day old baby girl, and finished our time in Gresham with a surprise birthday party for Paul's dad's 50th birthday.

Church continues to go very well. We went to dinner at a family’s house this last Monday and had a great time getting to know them better. The pastor and his family are always very encouraging and supportive.

This week is National Young Readers Week. We are celebrating it in many different ways, but one thing we did yesterday was host celebrity readers (aka: parents!). My class had so much fun getting the room ready, laying out a red carpet, setting up a reception and escorting each reader in. I can't wait to do it again next year!

I have today off from school thanks to Veterans Day. I can't really upload pictures very easily from our desktop computer, but I will try to put a few up when Paul gets home with the laptop tonight.

Side note = everyone always talks about how fall is their favorite season. With all the pretty colors, warm fuzzy clothes, and warm drinks who wouldn't like fall?! But I just have to say that when it pours for hours and you leave for work in the dark and return home from work in the dark it is hard to love fall sometimes.

Advent Conspiracy

Our church is starting this session on Advent Conspiracy. We watched this promo video this last Sunday, and I thought it was moving and inspiring. I am really looking forward to seeing where it goes.

Fire

We had a fun weekend celebrating Paul's B-Day. On Friday night we went up to Tualitin, shopped at REI for a bit and then had dinner at Claim Jumper. On Saturday some of his family came down to celebrate. For Paul's birthday we got a fire pit for our back yard. Paul said he wanted to roast marshmallows for his birthday cake. I felt bad that he wouldn't have candles to blow out or anything that resembled a cake, so I made a pre-s'more cake. On Sunday we had a nice lunch with some of my family and then celebrated a bit with our bible study group. Happy birthday my love!

Today

Happy 26th birthday, Paul!

Yeeha!

Paul and I continue to pack in as much as we can into each day...I wonder if that will ever stop :)

Saturday was suppose to be a day that we would go get a coffee, maybe run a few errands and do some work around the house. Well, instead on our way to coffee I thought it might be a good time to pick Paul's bike up from Peak, so we headed over to Corvallis. Then we saw the farmers market going on so stopped at that before getting his bike. Then I went up and saw a friend in Salem for a few hours before we decided to go up with some coworkers of mine to the PBR (bull-riding).




We have started a bible study/community group at our place on Sunday nights. Paul and I continue to enjoy our time at our new church home and have enjoyed meeting lots of nice people. We have had 13 people each week at our study, which is perfect for our house.

Paul's birthday is this Sunday. We have plans to go to dinner with some friends Friday night and Paul's family is coming down Saturday.

Oh, and I have Friday off! I am so excited to have a day off; feeling like some canvas painting is in order!

All things Corvallis

We got to enjoy some of our favorite things Corvallis has to offer yesterday:

Every good thing starts with some coffee...



and then some shopping at the...



and finishing with some football...

My Favorite Things

Teaching this year has been going really well. Knowing from June that I would be teaching a blend and younger students allowed for me to pray a lot for my patients and ability to meet the challenge. My class of students have been gems, yes I am busy planning for 1st graders and 2nd graders, but having such sweet students totally makes it seem like not much. I keep meaning to take a pic of my classroom to post, but in the rush of things in the mornings always seem to forget the camera. Some day soon!

My first favorite thing: hanging out with friends! Paul and I feel like we have driven all of Oregon this weekend. Friday night we drove up to his families house for a family dinner because one of his uncles was visiting from back east. Saturday, we drove to Lincoln City to celebrate a friends 30 birthday. It was so gorgeous over there, one of the best days I have seen at the coast weather wise. Then we drove back to Salem to spend the evening with almost all of my college roommates (all minus Holly, Laura and Sarah). One couple has 1 1/2 year old twins and another has twins on the way! It was so much fun!

My second favorite thing right now: books! Last weekend Paul was at a men's retreat, so I went with my parents camping. It was such a relaxing weekend, and I read an entire book! What a great way to spend a few hours outside! I also went to the annual book extravaganza at Grass Roots book store in Corvallis. This is where teachers get together and hear/learn about new children's literature. Some highlights:

Change of Plans

Well, Paul had really wanted to go backpacking over Labor Day weekend. We did this over Memorial Day weekend and had a really fun/relaxing time. We even made plans to meet up with Brock and his family on Sunday. But as the weekend got closer and closer it became very apparent that rain was going to change our plans. So, we made last minute reservations at Eagle Crest in Central Oregon and headed over there for a relaxing weekend. Our third wedding anniversary is this coming Wednesday so we coupled getting away this weekend with our anniversary celebration.

We found a very cute town house and took full advantage of the tennis courts, pools/hot tubes, jogging paths, restaurants, and Bend that is like only 30 minutes away. On our drive home we stopped just outside of Sisters and did a hike to 8000ft. It was a great way to spend the weekend before school!

BBQ's

In the last two weeks I think we have been to 4 bbq's. It has been awesome meeting so many new people and eating such great food. Three have been with the church that Paul is now working for and one was a neighborhood party. We actually met a really nice couple about our age with two children and who are believers that live near us. We are planning on hanging out with them soon!

Paul did one of his favorite things, biked 100 miles. He rode with a friend in the Alpine Century a couple Saturday's ago. Most running and biking and triathlon events are on Sunday's, and now that he is working Sunday's we are limited to things happening on Saturday's, but that is ok.


School starts very soon. Teachers are to be back Monday and students come back the following Tuesday, however I have already been going in some the last couple of weeks. We had been storing all my classroom stuff in our garage over the summer, so I have returned it all and am in the process of organizing. I am excited for a new year, and I think I am ready for the new challenge of teaching younger students and teaching a blend.

Oh, and I wanted to start sharing some recipes. Paul and I love to cook, and we especially love to cook from scratch when we have time. So we will be posting some of our creations, but I am too tired right now to write one out; stay tuned!

Our trip: take 3 I think :)

Ok...see if this works. If not I will try another way...sorry!

Click here to view these pictures larger

Pictures

We have been so slow uploading all our photos from our trip back east. Here are just a few and I will get more up there soon!

Click here to view these pictures larger

Changes

Paul and I will be married for 3 years in September. Our first married year was spent in a one bedroom apartment in Corvallis while we both finished up school. Paul graduated that spring, but I had one more term before getting my degree, so we knew that we needed to stay local. We prayed a lot about the direction Paul should go with a career choice. He worked very hard and landed a job with Jeld-Wen right after graduating. Although the downturn in the economy has hit their company hard, the Lord has continued to make it a wonderful place to work for Paul and we are blessed that things have remained steady for his position.

I was finishing up my final term of student teaching in Albany with hopes of maybe continuing to teach there for my first few years out of school. We really felt that the Lord had us in Albany and opened the door for my first teaching job that will continue into this year.

We bought out first home here in Albany last year knowing that we would probably be living here for a few more years. Growing up in Corvallis I never thought I would be living in Albany, however the more we get to know the town the more we have realized just how much outreach the Lord could do through us here. As one couple put it "it is very humbling to live in Albany".

We have been attending NW Hills Community Church in Corvallis ever since we were married. Paul started attending as soon as he went down there for school. It has been a great place for him and us to grow closer to the Lord, and has provided us with many encouraging relationships. However, we have realized that our community now is Albany and have been toying with the idea of looking for a church home in Albany.

About three months ago Paul was approached by a church in Albany who was looking for a Worship Leader. We have been casually looking into the prospect of him doing this part time on top of his job with Jeld-Wen. Through many visits with the Pastor, church and Elders, and much prayer Paul has decided to take on this roll starting this Sunday.

We are excited about this new adventure, but are a bit apprehensive about Paul working 1.5 jobs. Please keep us in your prayers as we transition to a new church and as Paul transitions to working more hours. Thanks, and we will keep you posted!

Fair

We got back from our trip back east on Tuesday and we have lots of pics and stories to share about our amazing time, but before then I wanted to post some cute pictures of my nephews at the fair. My mom and I braved the 100+ degree weather and took them to the Benton County Fair yesterday. We had a great time and it is always so fun to spend time with those two guys. Jaden is now 14 months and Garrett is 3 1/2.

Love is in the Air

Here are some photos of a wedding we went to this last weekend up in Ellensburg, WA. Paul's good friend Geoff married Michelle in a beautiful (and hot) outdoor wedding. We went up with a few other friends on Friday and enjoyed time with friends and the Anderson family. It was great to be apart of their special day.





We are leaving tonight for Washington, D.C.! We are so excited to see some of Paul's family and to visit the sites. I have been working quite a lot at my second job (I guess you could call it). It is nice to have something to keep me busy, but it seems as if things have gotten a bit too busy, so this vacation comes at a good time.

I love the summer and this hot weather. We haven't installed AC yet so we are surviving with ceiling fans and trips to the pool, but I love it! Blessings.

13.1

We ran our first half marathon this last weekend (13.1 miles)! Although this isn't Paul's longest race (he ran the full Portland Marathon almost two years ago), it was my first and longest race. Sunriver hosted a huge sports festival this last weekend and we just did the half marathon. We felt strong and really enjoyed the course, and are talking about doing it again next year (who knows, perhaps the full 26.2? Probably not :) )

So that we didn't have to drive a long distance on race day and so that we could get acclimated to the climate a bit we camped near Sisters for the weekend. We had great weather, great company and a great time!

Phew...

Today was my last day with the students this year. This year has gone by crazy fast and as I was walking the halls super early this morning my mind ran back to memories of the first week of school. Doesn't seem like that long ago! And....I have a contract for next year. With state revenue down all schools (or state agencies for that matter) have to make cuts. Unfortunately that means that several first year teachers were put on lay-off, but I was very blessed to be given a contract for next year!

We have been working very hard getting things all wrapped up before summer, but before that we were able to spend a very relaxing and adventurous weekend backpacking out of Roseburg. We went over Memorial weekend and couldn't have asked for better weather or weekend! We hiked a total of 12 miles and found very nice spots to camp each night.



Spring and summer are my favorite seasons and it is nice to have the summers more open to enjoy the activities that come with that season. We are running a half marathon the end of June, have some weddings we hope to attend in July and August, and are going back to Washington, D.C. to see some of Paul's family and the sites the end of July.

Thank you for checking in and continuing to keep us in your prayers!

Loss

As I was sitting at my desk this morning a mom of one of my students came into the classroom. I could tell that something wasn't right, but said what always comes out of my mouth when someone approaches me "how are you?". As she continued to say not well, I realized how stupid that comment was. As she proceeded to tell me that her husband, the father of one of my student, passed away this weekend I couldn't believe she was standing there in front of me experiencing the deepest loss imaginable. As a public educator it is hard to find appropriate times to express and share the love of Jesus and the hope that comes with a relationship with him. I have felt burdened by this restriction before, but it was brought to the surface during this time when I am listening to this woman share about how this is affecting her daughter. As she finished explaining all that she could, all I could think of was to hug this woman and so I did (only after asking for permission). I spent every minute I could after that praying for this family and would ask for you to do the same.

Spring Break

Although it hasn't been that much of a break with working in Corvallis, house projects and car repairs, the change of pace has been nice.

Paul and I enjoyed a very relaxing weekend up in Portland. We stayed on the river front at the Avalon. On Saturday we went to OMSI, did some shopping downtown & in the Pearl, ran 4 miles on the river front (beautiful!), and enjoyed a really nice dinner downtown. On Sunday we went to Solid Rock church and stopped at the new outlet stores on our way back home. It was nice to have the time together and get away for a couple of days.



We are having family at our place for Easter and I am having a hard time coming up with something for dinner. I could do a roast or something like that, but since I will be the one fixing and don't eat meat I thought about going meatless, but want to still keep it American. (Some how fixing Indian or some other cultures food doesn't seem right for that day.) So if you have great vegetarian recipes for an Easter dinner pass them our way!

Yippee!

* That it is Friday

* That it is sunny outside

* That I(Ashley) for sure have my job for the rest of this year

* That Duke is actually using the new dog bed we bought for him (hey, we don't have kids, so we get excited about that kind of thing)

* That we signed up to help with the Relay for Life and for the Half Marathon in Bend the end of June

* That we have wonderful family and friends

* For so many things, thanks be to God!

Fun in the snow!

We went down to the Bend area this weekend for some sweet skiing, hot tubbing and relaxing.

Good Times and Pics as Promised!

Last week I made a couple of trips up to Portland to celebrate a friends wedding. We went out for a bachelorette party on Tuesday night and then the wedding was on Friday night. We had a great time! It is always so wonderful to see friends and family up there. We spent some more time with Paul's family before coming back early Sunday morning so that I could work back in Corvallis.


We bought a new car (well used, but new to us). It is another, but newer jetta. We weren't really in the place to buy our dream car and Paul already knows quite a bit about fixing jetta's so we kept it simple and stayed with what we knew.

One of the great things about winter is skiing season! We have only been able to go a couple times so far this winter, but have another trip planned to Bend and Mt. Bachelor in two weekends.

With all the cuts the state has to make there were a couple of weeks where my job was up in the air. It still isn't for sure, but it looks like I will be ok for the rest of this year! It is hard because in these instances they go solely on seniority and since this is my first year I am pretty much at the bottom. If you get a chance keep praying for us and our jobs during this time. Thanks!

Oh...and Duke started training classes this last Monday! Now if we could train the fur to stop coming out! :)

Trusting

The last week has had its ups and downs. Last weekend was very busy, but very fun with lots of time with friends and family. Our friends Laura, Sam and her brother spent the night Friday-Saturday, had some more friends over for games and dinner Saturday night and then went up to Portland to celebrate my nephew's third birthday at the Children's Museum.



The week went by fast as students didn't have school on Friday, but we teachers got an awesome day of catching up and planning. Thursday was a more difficult day, but we can still see how the Lord has blessed us through it. Paul was in a car accident on his way to work on the back highway roads to Stayton. Such a blessing that he and the other drivers were all ok, but the car was determined to be a total loss. A couple other downer events happened on Thursday that we shouldn't speak publicly about, but are keeping us faithful in praying and trusting the lord.


A couple of teachers are going to Cabo during Spring Break; I think I want to join them!

Paul's brother is in India for a while so we had a Hynes family dinner before he left...