Deck the Halls.

Christmas for our family is always so much fun. the magic of it all is so real and the beauty is evident. yes, we fight. no, it isn't just perfect. but, it is perfect..in it's own way. the ginger bread houses that we spend a ton of money on for only anna grace and i to take more than 15 minutes on. driving around for hours looking for Christmas lights. all of it is beautiful. magical.

here is the big, full of pictures, all in one Christmas season post...enjoy ;)




our fun started with a trip to see Santa. we walked into the mall going through macy's and saw where you could write letters to santa! it was lots of fun. then onto santa we went... i would have bet money {along with about anyone else in my family} that anna grace was going to scream her little head off as soon as we got within sight of jolly-ole-st.nick. fortunately, we were wrong. as soon as we went up to him andrew and anna grace ran up to him both saying what they wanted. andrew was precious. he saw Santa and was smitten. so smitten. he said "i wanna iron man" sweet santa just sat there nodding as andrew went on about how he wanted iron man! nothing else would do. then sweet little miss got her turn. what did she want? a princess? a pony? oh no. nothing but a unicorn pill0w pet. after the littles talked to santa the others went. it was overall good and we got a great picture. 'tis the season (:







our next fun adventure was christmas eve. christmas eve is spent with my dad's family. aunt mj, uncle scott, john, katy, uncle jimmy, mema, and papa. lots of fun! this year they all packed up and came to our house to celebrate! instead of stressing over fancy foods and unneeded things we just did a simple meal of sandwiches and things so it was virtually stress free! we set up the presents, ate, talked, prayed, celebrated many blessings throughout the year and then opened presents! it was a lot of fun. after everyone had went home we packed up the van and headed over to nana's house {my mom's mom} december 24 is my uncle johnny's birthday {mom's brother} we celebrated another year of life. had fun. ate chicken. made cookies for santa and had a ton of fun! once we got back home we opened all of the presents from our parents and tracked santa on go0gle earth! it was amazing. we headed to bed soon after so santa would be sure to come!










christmas day finally arrived! the day we had so patiently waited on since well december 26, 2009. yeah, we love christmas here. we got up at about 7:45 {yeah, we slept past 5am!} and headed to see what santa brought in our matching pj's. andrew's face was truly priceless. the joy that was all over his face all day brought JOY to all of us! we walked into our livingroom to find all the gifts santa had left for us! he did good this year ;) we spent a good hour and a half looking though everything santa had brought and then ate the traditional christmas breakfast with mema, papa, nana, bop bop, and the rest of our crew! it was great. then the big present from our parents was revealed. after my dad, jimmy, and papa worked all night on building it we finally were given our very own ping pong table! we live in the garage now... at about 11:30 we headed over to nana's house to see what Nana Claus had left for us! She did very well also! hayne got the kinect* which he had been begging for but we assured him everywhere was sold out. i got a new guitar which is simply beautiful and i am smitten. adam got the nook. andrew and anna grace are now the proud owners of tricycles! they LOVE them. they are red and pink and oh so cute (: the rest of christmas day was spent being lazy, eating too much, and being oh so thankful. the most important part was celebrating the birth of our savior. christmas is where it all begins. we strive to remember the REAL reason for the season. the presents are nice but God gave us the greatest gift of all...his SON!
{my picture uploading is again, haha, not cooperating...I will post more. I PROMISE!}
we had a blessed christmas season and continue to feel oh.so.blessed as we look around and realize how much God has given us. sorry this post took so long to get up. i have been enjoying being lazy and playing princesses and power rangers. forgive me, xoxo

Tomorrow is new year's eve and i can't wait for a new year. new start. new purpose. new year's are so wonderful!
wishing you and yours a safe and fun new years! i will post on Saturday or Sunday our "Year in Review!"

Christmas Day

Praying you are as blessed as we are and remember the true reason for the season this year. Hugs to all. A big, huge, photo filled post with everything festive that went on to come after Christmas!

xoxo,
Ashton

Merry Christmas...

This year we are so blessed. The past year has been filled with many ups and downs and a lot of adjusting. But overall so amazing.
This time last year we had a stocking hung but no one here to represent it. We had presents under the tree but no child to open them. We had a hole in our hearts as the holiday season had come and we had no precious child to hug and hold. There was a child in China who had no family. No presents. No love. and knew nothing about Jesus. This year the stocking is filled. The presents will soon be unwrapped. Our hearts are full. Jesus is so present. Family is such a big thing. Love...well we are all quite smitten with this little one.
But, there are so many families and children in this position this year. Some, for the LAST time. Some the first or second. Some don't know their child yet but love them so much. I know how that is. Please pray for these families. Spending a Christmas without your child/sibling is so hard. Please pray for all of the families that continue to wait for their sweet child. Pray God will let these children know they are loved.
Now there are children who have no families waiting for them. They are waiting. for hope. for love. for a home. Could you be that Christmas wish? Could you give a child the greatest gift in the entire world?! The love of a family? Please pray for the precious Orphan as they sit in an orphanage with no gifts on Christmas morning. No love. and No idea why people even celebrate. Pray that there will be a home for them next year. That this is their last year waiting.
I hope you all have a blessed Christmas Eve and that you feel as blessed as we do.
Have a happy day. Eat too much. Smile. Love. Be thankful. and
Remember the real Reason for the Season.

Snapshot Sunday : Picture taking

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As much as I would like to say I am just a wonderful big sister, carry my camera everywhere, and every waking moment is about Anna Grace and Andrew. I can't. I don't feel I should lie to you guys. I have been terrible about my camera, capturing pure moments in life, and even taking it in at that. Life is so busy. Constantly going and doing and never just sitting and taking in the beauty of life as it is right.now. I don't need fancy clothes, sweet backgrounds, beautiful, fake smiles, poses, or any of that stuff I so much want. I just need to capture the moment. hold it in my heart. So when I look back at these pictures I think of the beautiful moment not the moment where I was getting on to them for not looking at the camera or one of them was laying in the floor screaming. None of that matters. None of that is what I want to remember when I look back on their little lives. When they are grown or older than 4 and don't want to be snuggled and kissed and loved. That stuff won't be important. Sure, my pictures are lovely. They capture the pretty face. But do they capture the moment? Do they capture life or just the face?
I feel that all through this beautiful, happiest time of the year Christmas season I have failed in that aspect. I have taken about 10 pictures. I have about 0 on my computer. seriously.
So, my goal for this week is to take my lovely nikon all around with me. To the store. To the families house. To lunch. To the playground. To the rooms. To anywhere and everywhere possible. Seriously.
Tonight I was walking into my parents bedroom where they so sweetly were watching Toy Story 2. That is a favorite at the moment and the only movie they don't fight over about watching...Although Andrew does proclaim while waiving his arm "I watch fairy, Mama?" {yeah, he does...} Toy Story is a hit for both of them between Buzz Lightyear and Jessie these two are smitten.
I am too.
When I walked into the room the sight took my breath away...
I will let you see that for yourself...









this time last year, i dreamed of this...

this year, i have this. And it is the best feeling in the whole world.

Sunday Snapshot : Santa Claus

For the past 3 years Anna Grace has been home and went to see Santa she has SCREAMED. She has always hated him. Apparently something changed in that little mind of hers and she now loves him.

This year when we went to see Santa it was truly precious. Andrew and Anna Grace were both SO excited. They pretty much ran to Santa when they saw him. The look on Andrew's face was priceless. Such precious "firsts" for a 4 year old.

After Santa we walked around the mall and took a few more pictures before heading home. It was a great day filled with lots of fun! Especially for Andrew!

He is so excited about Christmas! He is slowly starting to grasp the fact about Santa and it not being his birthday...For about a month {we set our tree up November 1} he would sit in front of the tree and sing happy birthday to himself. It was so funny.

In a month he will have been home a YEAR! How is that possible? Time has truly flown. We feel so blessed to be the ones who get to love him everyday and take care of him. The ones who tuck him in and tell him he is loved, get to steal his kisses, and watch him grow. We are so blessed.

Elf on the Shelf

We have a beloved Elf, Elvin. He comes every year to see us. This tradition started last year and it is just so fun.

This year Elvin brought friends for us! He brought all of the kids an elf friend that we can play with, sleep with, take everywhere, and do whatever we want! It is SO special.

Andrew and Anna Grace are especially smitten with this whole idea. They get up every morning {elves in hand} searching for their sweet Elvin...

They write letters to us too! That is the favorite part for Adam and Hayne...seeing what Elvin has to say (:

Elvin and his friends have proved to be quite a sneaky too. They hide in baskets, in trees, in cabinets, and makes a mess while doing it all!! Sometimes you even find them upside down!

I have quite a lot to post about in the coming days of all of the Christmas fun we have been having including Gingerbread houses and seeing Santa Claus! All will soon follow ;)

Bieber Fever!

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My parents surprised me with tickets to go see the amazing Justin Bieber. I am in love with his songs and him as well (: So last night we went to his concert. I got to go with Caitlin and Lavaye and we had so much fun! Justin was amazing :). He came out into the crowd on a heart and stopped right over where we were standing and threw a guitar pick. (After lighting cell phones and digging all around the floor someone else got it:) He and Sean Kingston performed together and he did almost all of his songs. Unfortunately legitimate cameras were not allowed so these are from my phone. Have a happy Friday!

Why Hello

Hi everyone (: I would like to welcome you to beloved. This is a big change for me after four wonderful years at ashtonsmeimei. Things change. Lives change. Blogs change. This change was at first not very willingly. But I am in love now. I am excited to start a new blog. A new chapter and see where God leads me here.
Most of you might be wondering why this blog is named beloved...
The word beloved means to love, loved, to love or be loved by someone. That is what this blog is about. to love. and to be loved.
Not much left to say but,
welcome to beloved.
I think it is starting to feel like home...
slowly but surely...
home.