Rachel Beaton and Jacob Ashmore became Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Ashmore today. We had the privilege of being there with them for their special event. Congratulations to both of them.

Happy Anniversary To Us
7/19/03

I can't even believe that it has already been 3 years since that day. What a gift of God. I was reminded again on that day how God's plans are so much better than our plans. Growing up, I always planned that I would go to college, fall in the love the summer before my senior year, get engaged the Christmas of my senior year and get married right after graduation. This was my plan for my life. God knew better though and instead added in the awesome experience of Guam and all that came with it as well as meeting the true man of dreams and the one I knew without a doubt that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. I'm so glad God protected me from trying to make my original plan come true. Of course, there were several times along the way when I thought that maybe I would be the one who never got married - especially during the 2 1/2 years of patience required of me while I was sure Mike was the one I was to marry and he was sure he wasn't the one. He finally did come to his senses though, stopped playing hard to get, and realized what I had known all along - we were supposed to be together. After that, the whirlwind wedding plans from the other side of the ocean began to come together in a way only God could orchestrate. As you can see from the picture, we were able to have a large wedding party and enjoyed having many close friends make it to the wedding beyond the ones in the picture.

Now we are 3 years down the road and I'm just as thankful to be the one by his side. I look back on the memories we've created and look forward with anticipation to see what God has for us in the future. In the mean time I choose to be thankful for each day we are given together. He truly completes me in a way I never could have imagined when I was an independent single woman. I'll wrap this up before I start getting too sappy but suffice it to say that I love my husband and praise God for giving Mike to me and vice versa.

Grandpa Johnson & I

Well, I've been thinking about my Grandpa a lot since vacation. It was so great to spend time with him, but a hard reminder that there might not be very many times left. He has lost much of his eyesight and his health in general seems to be failing. I'm blessed in that I have all four of my grandparents alive right now. Grandpa was always special. He just had that knack with the grandkids. Every year for the past 33 or so years, my family has taken a week at the lake for vacation with several relatives, including Grandma and Grandpa Johnson. When my sisters and I were younger, Grandpa would come to each one of us individually at the lake and sneak us away to town for ice cream cones. Then he would tell each of us "Don't tell your sisters, but you are my favorite". This actually worked great for him for many years - we all thought we were his favorite and he got four ice cream cones each time. :) Then one day came the big fight in which one of the sisters broke out "Yeah, well I'm Grandpa's favorite"... and his secret was out. We've never let him live that down.

He used to also play softball with us in the backyard when we were really young. He would hit the ball and go around the bases, picking up a granddaughter at each base. Of course, we all loved it.

I have tons more memories of my Grandpa, but I won't fill up the whole page. I'm so thankful that the Lord gave me such a special Grandpa. My heart aches at the thought of being without him sometime soon, but at the same time, I know that he has a special day coming where with clear vision he'll see his God and his Saviour and hear "Well, done, thou good and faithful servant."

We're Back!!!

Yes, I actually made it through 8 days of no internet access. We were able to go up to Michigan to spend a week at the lake with my family. My grandparents on my Mom's side were there as well as my parents, all three of my sisters, two of my brother-in-laws, all six of my nephews and my one niece, my Aunt and Uncle and my cousin and her daughter. We had good times. I'm thankful for the time we could have together. It has been three years since were were last together and we partied like maniacs.

Mike and I also took a Wednesday trip down to see my grandparents on my Dad's side (whom I haven't seen in 4 years and Mike had never met). As an added blessing we were able to see my Uncle Phil (whom I haven't seen in 6 years) and his family. We also met my 3 year old cousin, Tyler, for the first time.

All in all - a good experience. Now we have a bunch of work to do to get caught up on all the Ebay stuff, but it was worth the time off.

I'll post pics soon. :)