Grandaddy

I've been thinking about him a lot lately. Anyone that knew him knows how greatly he is missed and how incredible of a human being he was. You were such a fighter...right down till that night of August 9th when we were all gathered around you and you left us to be with Jesus. That moment I will hold in my heart forever. It was simply bittersweet. There is not a day where I don't think of him. Nights are the hardest. I love you grandaddy and I know you will be there with Uncle Mike on June 18th because neither one of ya'll would miss it for the world. With all my heart...

Oh the life of a coach

Man it has been a crazy crazy busy last couple of days. Thursday, we had a JV track meet at Alief Elsik (a.k.a. Ghetto USA) and we took home second place overall which they girls were really happy about. Friday night I actually had a night off after preparing my students for TAKS all day but I had to go to bed early because I had to be at the school by 5:30 in the morning for the Seven Lakes Varsity Relays Saturday. This was the quickest varsity track meet I had ever been to...not that I'm complaining! We were outta there by 2 which meant I had time to get to my girls' LVS volleyball tournament. I drove over the Faith West just in time for the end of thier first game which they won! YAY! It was all uphill from there! They won the next two games (the last one was point for point...talk about stress!) to move into the championship bracket. Unfortunately, they lost the first game to come out with third place in the tournament which is the best they have ever done! I was sooo proud of them! They did an amazing job and have come so far since the beginning of the season! I LOVE these girls!

After all that in the past 3 days, I decided today was going to be my relazing day where I do absolutely nothing but lay in bed and do some laundry and pack...BBUUUTTTTT Jake called and we decided to meet up in Cypress! YAY! You know I would give up my chill day in a heartbeat to spend some much needed time with this boy :D We started at Target and got our bathroom accessories for the apartment (all on sale!) and pillows for our bed...they are crazy comfortable! I'm really excited to see how everything look together! Then we went and ate at Five Guys Burgers and Fries. OH MY GOD! This place was amazing...hands down the best hamburger I've ever had. Or a close second to In-N-Out burger in Vegas. Then we went by Home Depot and picked out paint colors for our living room and bedroom in the apartment. We went with a taupe color in the bedroom and one wall in the living room a dull red which we think will tie in the red from the kitchen dishes and look really good with the leather couches and animal print accents. After all of our errands, we relaxed a little by going to see a movie. I say relaxed but that's definately not what was in store all due to the fact that we went and saw Shutter Island. That movie is freaking nuts! It was sooo good! Every 5 minutes, Jake and I were looking at each other like "WTF?!?!"...it was really confusing until the very end when everything ties together. We definately recommend it! It was absolutely gorgeous today and we were blessed enough to have some down time together. It's hard on days like these not to look up and thank God repeatedly for EVERYTHING!

Jake will be doing a lot of driving here in the next couple of days having to go back and forth between Houston and College Station so please keep him in your prayers. I don't like when he drives that much especially really late at night or really early in the morning. He has his first Breeders Greeters shift Monday morning at 6 and I know he is really excited about it! He has been looking forward to this for a really long time. But he also has RV practice tonight and Monday night which is why he is having to drive back and forth. He is doing great things for a lot of people and I could not be more proud of him. Everyday, he gives me another reason to love him more. :D

God Bless,
A

Lockdown, Illness, & Hairstyles

Yesterday morning between 1st period (which is my athletics period) and 2nd (my conference period), our prinicipal calmly asked us to lock our doors because we were now in lockdown mode. I didn't have any kids at the time which was good so I needed up next door in Jill's classroom so I wouldn't be alone. I'm not gonna lie, if you knew what had been going on at this school, that was definately a scary situation. It lasted for a good 15-20 minutes...we still don't know why we went on lockdown. Just another day at the Creek.

I started feeling under the weather during track but I made it through practice and then went to pick up my veil so I could go to Mary's and do a trial run with my hair before my bridals. It turns out my headpiece has just gotten in THAT day! WOO HOO! Talk about things falling right into place. So I found the PERFECt picture of what I wanted to do with my hair and Mary did an amazing job and recreating it! She cried like 3 times once we put the headpiece and veil on! It was incredible! I would post a picture but Jake cannot see so ya'll will just have to wait till June 18th! :D I got home with a horrible headache and went to bed with a fever. Wonderful...like I could miss another day of school. I'm trying to save up my sick/personal days for just in case I need them closer to the wedding. Like I am going to have to take a day off the week before Spring Break to paint my apartment walls before we move in that weekend! Wow speaking of, we definately need to pick out paint colors. I needed up feeling okay this morning so now I'm at work freezing my butt off. Please tell me if this makes any sense...my room is like 198987872 degrees below zero and Jill's room (RIGHT NEXT TO MINE) is burning up. the logic?!? there is none. So we are in dire need to switch rooms but neither of us wanna actually move the stuff. Maybe next year?!

I'm missing Jake like crazy these past couple of days...it's been a while since we've gone this long without spending some quality time together. I just can't wait until It's June and I can wake up to his gorgeous face every single morning for the rest of my life! I think the best thing that I miss is his laugh...he has like 5 of them but the one that I absolutely fell in love with is the laugh when he is REALLY laughing hard and he has this ear-to-ear grin and he can't breathe because that vein on his forehead starts popping out. That laugh is definately contagious because you can't be around it and not at least smile. I miss him. I love you beluga! Hopefully we will see each other here in the next week or so.

TAKS in t-minus 6 days! WHOOP!

God Bless,
A

Snow Day?!

ha I WISH! Katy ISD closes for nothing. I wish it was snowing here like it is in College Station. Unfortunately it's just a REALLY cold rain. It was a relazing day in terms of school because I didn't have to do anything because today was the day I handed all of my class periods over to the counselors to do their course selection for next year. But tomorrow it's back to TAKS review...7 days and counting. Jake made an overnight trip to San Antonio last night for a RV event this morning which went well. I was worried about him driving back in the weather (ice on the roads) but he made it back to college station just in time for the snow. :D
Aunt Cheryl called me last night to let me know she and Uncle Larry want to throw Jake and I a couples crawfish/shrimp boil-shower! :D So verryyyy excited! Going to work on a guest list!

Please keep my cousin Megan and her husband Eric in your prayers...they have recently come to a rough spot and I know that God will get them through it. Pray God shines His glory and His goodness in their direction.

God Bless,
Jake & Ash

Less than 4 months!

Jake did a great job on our first post! :D I will probably be doing most of the blogging but he will come on occassionaly and take part. We are now less than 4 months away and could not be more anxious! There is still lots of planning to do but we are surrounded by amazing people that are willing to help out at the drop of a hat. Right now, our main concern is pinpointing the exact house we are looking to build in July once we get back from the honeymoon. We already decided on the neighborhood. It's called Aliana and it is absolutely gorgeous! The area is perfect for us. It's right between Katy and Sugar Land. It's a brand new subdivision with great amenities and of course right now is the perfect time to buy. Check out the website!
http://www.alianahouston.com
Jake will be pretty busy come March because he is on the Breeders Greeters Committee for the HLSR. Uncle Mike and Grandad would be so proud of him! :D He has about 7 shifts he will be working and he will be able to be around all the livestock which he REALLY enjoys. But the best part is that he gets into all the shows for free with one guest (which is me obviously) so I'm crazy pumped that we get to see everyone we want! He has been volunteering out at a ranch in College Station in his spare time helping feed, clean, and train the horses. They even told him that if he trains one of them, they will give it to him as his own when we are ready to house a horse...which is perfect because they are building an equestrian center in Aliana! He has to drive down to Houston most weekends for wedding or family stuff which takes it toll but we both knew it was going to difficult trying to do all of this while he was still in school but it has only made us ten times stronger!
I've been pretty busy with club volleyball and track and of course school. We have TAKS next week so that will release some of the stress...hopefully. Jake got me a full spa day for Valentines which I'm thinking is going to need to be used here in the next week or two. I have my Bridals in March 17 and then a private tasting for our food on the 18th which I am super excited about! All within the past like 4 days, I have been notified of about 4 showers for us here within the next 3 months. I am very excited about that because I was kind of nervous about having any at all! We just finalized our registries at Macy's, Bed Bath and Beyond, and Z Gallerie yesterday so feel free to check them out!

I will attempt to update daily! :D

God Bless,
Jake & Ash

Our first post!!!!

Here we are, 117 days until the big day. And, as expected the time has flown by so fast these past few months. This past month or so has been one to remember for us. We finally found an awesome apartment that we are so excited about moving into and having a place to call our own! I really cannot explain the way I have come to feel in the past year. I have known since I met Ashley that I was with a woman that made me feel like I was where God wanted me. I use to always wonder what people felt when they said they were with their soulmate and they felt their love grow stronger every day. I did not truly think that it was possible to have a relationship that would make your heart literally hurt for someone else. I did not ever experience a love like this with another person until almost four years ago when I met Ashley. I am still searching for the words to give my feelings and love for Ashley justice. I can honestly say that there is not a day that goes by that I do not fall in love all over again with Ashley. Every day I am not with her I miss her more and every day I am with her I feel the powerful love we share. 117 days left until I have a dream come true and I marry my true love!!!