Life in the Harrison Home

Look Who's ONE!!!

2008-10-18T14:26:00.001-04:00

9 Months

2008-07-26T22:04:00.011-04:00

Wow! It is crazy to think that our little pumpkin is already 9 months old. Just today I told Ashley how crazy it is to watch her play and move all around when just a few shorts months ago she was this little baby that I could just lay on the couch. It has been so much fun to watch her learn and explore and get so excited of her own new accomplishments.

She is still a little peanut, weighing in at 18lbs. 12 oz. and measuring 27.5 inches long. For her lack of size she makes up for it in her huge personality and energy.

Lately Ella...

...has been working on her little motor skills by trying to eat little bits of table foods. She still has yet to cut a tooth.

...has joined the world of big girl carseats.

...has picked up her speed of crawling and now is quite the pro of cruising around furniture.

...enjoys walking behind her walking toys and looks at us with a big grin as she does it. She is SO proud of herself:)

...is eating lots and sleeping lots! I think we may be in a growth spurt.

...enjoys playing peek-a-boo, pat-a-cake, and giggles uncontrolable when we act like we are going to get her.

I know I'm repeating myself but it has been so cool to watch her learn new things. She occasionally will wave hi and bye and has even gotten good at giving kisses. We've been working with her to try to say Mama and Dada a lot lately but she hasn't done it yet. Today she actually made the "da" sound so at least we are getting somewhere. She is absolutely precious and lights up every day for us!

Taking a bath with cousin Trent after a fun evening at the park. Such modest children covering themselves up:)

First trip to the zoo!

This was awesome! A polar bear just a couple feet above our heads.

Ella and Tessa playing together. They are only 2 days apart from each other.

First time in her big girl carseat!

Ashley's brother and his family just gave us a couple of their big baby items to borrow. We are so excited to use them! I'm hoping it will get us out exercising more:)

Ella and Valor were going for a ride together while Ash tested out the jogging stroller.

Testing out the baby backpack.

The following is a little video Ash put together of Ella "doing her thing" around the house lately.

9 months from Ashley Harrison on Vimeo.

Naptime

2008-07-20T23:31:00.002-04:00

naptime from Ashley Harrison on Vimeo.
If you want to see the High Def version click this link and let it load.

Swinging!

2008-07-11T14:27:00.004-04:00

I...keep...on crawling...

2008-06-29T09:30:00.001-04:00

Here's a short video I put together of Ella's journey to crawling.

crawling from Ashley Harrison on Vimeo.

Father's Day 2008

2008-06-16T11:34:00.005-04:00

We hope all you father's out there had a great day yesterday! We had fun hanging out with family, celebrating Ash's first Father's day and ended the day with Tiger's great shot on the 18th! (That ones for you Ash!)

Ella, Poem and Valor entertaining us with their awesome piano skills!

Poem and Valor lovin on Ella on our ride to church!

Pictures

2008-06-10T14:06:00.005-04:00

We're finally getting around to posting some pictures that Sean took while we were up north. Thank you Sean! The pictures turned out great!

Happy Memorial Day

2008-05-26T20:04:00.005-04:00

Never did we think a laundry basket could be so fun! Who needs to spend money on expensive play centers?

We hope you had a good Memorial weekend!

Crawling

2008-05-21T11:03:00.007-04:00

Ok, so it's been a while. As you can see in the pictures below, Ella is officially crawling. She's all over the place. No longer can we put her down and leave the room. If we do, she'll just follow us.

Each day Ella seems to discover a new part of the house. The other day Kelly was on the computer and Ella was playing on the floor behind her. The next thing Kelly knows the lamp on the desk started moving towards wall. Ella had crawled under the desk and was pulling the power cord.

6 months

2008-05-02T09:15:00.010-04:00

Ella is on the move these days. That girl never stops. I'd say she's got her daddy's energy cause I sure don't have that much. She has mastered the art of the army crawl and can get pretty much anywhere she wants. Our dog is no longer safe. If Ella spots her she is off to get her. She gets on her hands and knees and rocks alot. We know she is just days away from crawling. Yikes!

Lately we have enjoyed her kisses:) She will grab our face and plant a big one on our cheeks. Mouth opened wide and trying to blow zerberts:) (Not sure I spelled that right!)

Just in the past couple days when we go in to her room to get her out of her crib she is waiting for us with her bumper pulled down and peeking for us between the slats of her crib. It is precious!

A couple weekends ago Ella and I took a little girls weekend trip to Indiana for a baby shower with a girlfriend and her daughter. This past weekend we were off again on another girls weekend away. We joined both of my sister-in-laws and my niece and headed down to Ohio for a Lupus fundraiser tea that Ashley's cousin puts on each year. The fundraiser tea was absolutley amazing and we had a great time visiting with family.

A Beautiful Day

2008-04-26T10:51:00.008-04:00

We enjoyed the beautiful spring day here yesterday. Lucky for me it was my birthday and I was able to enjoy the whole day with Ashley and Ella. Ashley took the day off and surprised me with a manicure and pedicure. While I was off being pampered he took Ella to the duck pond for the first time. Have I mentioned that it was a beautiful day??

Enjoying the tulips in our backyard!

The duck pond!

We got Ella a new bath tub this weekend so she could sit up and play...and she loved it. One of our nicknames for her is Nosey Rosey. All she wants to do is see everything that is happening and laying down that is hard to do.

In the afternoon we took Ella for her 6 month check-up. All went well. For those that might be interested here are her stats...Weight - 15lbs. 15oz. Length - 25 and 1/4 inches short:)

This time I was prepared for the shots and loaded Ella up on the Tylenol ahead of time!

ELLAphant

2008-04-21T08:48:00.001-04:00

ELLAphant from Ashley Harrison on Vimeo.

Go Michigan!

2008-04-11T14:06:00.004-04:00

Thanks Uncle Matt for my Michigan hoodie!

Play Time

2008-03-29T20:37:00.001-04:00

Easter Bunny

2008-03-25T19:01:00.012-04:00

Ella visited the Easter Bunny for the first time and did great! The kids in front of us weren't too sure about the Easter Bunny. Ella just rolled with it smiling the entire time.

We had Easter dinner at Ash's parents. Ella and her buddy Brooklyn enjoyed their first Easter together.

Here's some random pics of Ella playing around the house.

Wedding & NYC

2008-03-16T19:39:00.008-04:00

This past weekend Ashley stood up in a friends wedding. It was a good excuse to get out of MI and see a part of the country none of us have seen, NJ and NYC.

Ella was great! She slept a majority of the car ride there, did great at the wedding and enjoyed NYC from a carrier. The car ride home was a different story. She probably had enough of being in a car seat.

All in all it was a great weekend!
Ash, Kel & Ella

Roll That Stone Away

2008-03-08T14:44:00.006-05:00

Like most fathers, I brag how advanced Ella is. She can coo, drool and suck her toes with the best of them. Advanced as she is, Ella has struggled with rolling over.

She's rolled over a handful of times. Most of the time it involved coaching, watching game tape and practice (perfect practice...right Josh).

This past week, unannounced to us she...well just watch this video.

Ash

Cereal!

2008-03-05T07:03:00.004-05:00

Ella is now eating cereal and LOVES it!! She is quite the helper too...always willing to help guide the spoon to her mouth.

Four Months and Flying

2008-02-20T23:09:00.010-05:00

Our baby girl is four months old! I took her for her four month check-up today. All is well...she is a healthy, growing little peanut. She weighed in at 12 lbs. 13 oz. and measured 24 inches long. She is staying right in the 25-50% range. She had to get another dose of shots today which is no fun but I think she handled it well. I was a proud mommy. She only cried for a bit and seemed to be feeling good afterwards...that is until 8pm hit and the tears started. Everytime her legs moved she would scream. We could tell they were hurting her so bad. Ash and I could hardly stand it. A little Tylenol and a feeding and she is sleeping wonderfully right now. I can only hope her little legs don't wake her up in the middle of the night.

Today while getting a bath she discovered that she can get her left big toe into her mouth and with every chance today it was in there.

This past week marked a milestone for Ella. She traveled on an airplane for the first time. Ash had to go to Phoenix for a business trip so Ella and I tagged along. I wasn't about to let him head to warm weather and leave us here to freeze:) Ella did great on the plane ride. Luckily she slept almost the whole way there and back. Her ears never seemed to bother her so I was very thankful.

Phoenix was a very cool place to visit. Ash and I were amazed by the mountains and cactus! While there we were so happy to be able to hang out with some friends of ours and their parents who live in Arizona. They were a blessing to us! They were so gracious to hang out with Ella and I so we didn't go stir crazy in the hotel. I think the highlight of Ash's trip was playing golf...at what he says was the most amazing golf course he ever has played on.

Here's to hoping this horrible cold weather goes away very soon!!!

New Pics!

2008-02-10T23:26:00.000-05:00

Ella is growing and getting "cooler" everyday. She has been a blast lately! Here are some new pics to enjoy!

Wearing jeans for the first time...

Hanging with Sören...

Loving her activity center...

Just being precious...

And then being cool!

Ella's First Giggles

2008-01-29T19:49:00.000-05:00

3 Months Old

2008-01-21T20:35:00.000-05:00

Our little pumkin is 3 months old! It really seems so crazy how quickly time is goingby. She amazes us daily with new little tricks and cuteness. Just tonight after getting a bath she did a loud belly laugh that just tickled us so much. She has become full of coos and smiles that just make us melt.

We don't go back to the doctor's till she's 4 months old but according to our scale we think she's around 12 pounds. She still is our little petite girl but is managing to get some wonderful chubby rolls.

We love to hear her "talk" to her little animals that hang from her carseat and also the little toys hanging from her play gym. She has discovered her hands and loves to suck on them. She has even begun to grab ahold of her little toys. She really wants to sit up and works so hard at it daily. She has her mommy and daddy's skill of sleeping (but takes forever to wake up) and is a great eater...and lets us know when she is hungry!

She is such a sweet little blessing to our family!

New Hat

2008-01-17T18:11:00.000-05:00

Thank you Aunt Amy for my new winter hat. It's real warm!
Ella

Good Fellas

2008-01-15T14:14:00.000-05:00

The first picture was taken just three short years ago. Pictured left to right is Keith, Brett, Dave and myself.

A lot can happen in three years!!!
-Keith met and married his wife Natalie. They just had a beautiful baby girl this past year. Keith grew a beard and moved to Tennessee.
-Brett was reunited with Erica, who he's known since the 5th grade, and they got married. They live just north of the Upper Peninsula and are active members at RCoC.
-Dave, who was married at the time of the first picture, gave up disco dancing (come on...look at that shirt!!!). Dave is part owner of a successful web site.
-Me, who was married at the time of the first picture, also had a beautiful baby girl this past year. I've also had three employers in this time period.

Oh yeah, and all of us have put on a "few" pounds!

I was fortunate enough to work with Brett and Keith for about a year. Every day we'd eat our lunch as we complained about our jobs. Since then we've all moved on. Me to printing, Brett to outside sales and Keith to a red neck (just kidding - he's a General Contractor building some amazing subdivisions).

Dave, my cousin, has been my BFF well before that phrase ever existed. When I was 3 years old I was informed he and his family were moving to Texas. Upon hearing the news I charged down to their house (it was next door) and gave my aunt and uncle a piece of my mind. Fortunately for me, they returned when we were in high school. Dave and I were roommates at Rochester College.

It's fun looking back, telling stories of years past and realizing how silly we all were...ok still are.
Ash

CC:M launch

2008-01-12T19:16:00.000-05:00

Here's a video I did for Christ Church: Macomb.

Holiday Recap

2008-01-03T20:14:00.000-05:00

Now that the Holiday's are over we finally have a second to catch our breath and post some pictures. It all started with a family party, Christmas with Kelly's family and then my family, Ella's favorite QB going 16-0, Ella's first New Years Eve and ended with a downed tree. It was a great Holiday season and we were truly blessed to have family and friends near by.

Ella is getting bigger, more responsive and of course more beautiful each day. Just last night she laughed for the first time. I was changing her and she let out a glorious giggle. Kelly who was in the other room heard it as well. She quickly grabbed the camera to document such a momentous occasion but Ella didn't feel like cooperating.

We pray all of you have a good start to 2008.
Ash, Kel & Ella

Merry Christmas

2007-12-25T00:56:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas from our blog to yours! We received our favorite present earlier this year.
Ash, Kel and Ella

Happy 30th Shan!

2007-12-16T13:56:00.001-05:00

Happy 30th birthday to the best sister, a great wife, a wonderful mom and a very special teacher!

The 100,000 Club

2007-12-03T22:03:00.000-05:00

It's been a big couple days in the Harrison home. First we FINALLY paid off the Escape after almost 7 years.

And then yesterday it rolled over 100,000 miles! I got the Escape with only 7 miles on it. So its pretty cool to think we've put practically every mile on it.
Now, instead of carrying a bike it carries a carseat, a stroller and a pack-n-play. At one point it was a sort of Sport Utility Vehicle. Now, its just a glorified station wagon.
However we've enjoyed the Escape and now that its paid off we're hoping it runs for at least another 100,000!!!

And for those who could care less...here are some cute pictures of Ella in her green cow outfit.

One Month

2007-11-25T21:44:00.000-05:00

Ella is actually a little over 5 weeks old now. She is doing great and we are just loving her SO much! Since the day she was born we have been able to notice changes in her everyday. Yes, it is so crazy to think how quickly she is growing and changing. Just like everyone says...it will fly by. We are enjoying every step of it and trying to soak in everything she does.

In the past couple days she has begun cooing. She is such a quiet little baby that when she begins cooing we have to be so quiet to catch it. She loves noise and movement. She loves the car ride except for when the car stops she lets us know that she would like to continue going. She is totally cool with my obsessive vacuuming and enjoys Ashley's guitar playing.

One thing I didn't know about parenting that has taken me by surprise is the amount of laundry I would be doing. Seriously, how can such a little person require so much laundry?? And now that she has begun to poo through everything it has picked up even more. BUT I'm more than happy to do it!

Early last week we took her for her one month doctor visit. She is a healthy little peanut! She weighed in at 8lbs. 1oz. and measured 20 and 3/4 inches long. She was put in the 25% for weight, length and head circumference.

The holidays are just that much more fun now having this precious little life here with us. Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!

Love,
Kelly

Wide Eyed, Nap, Bath

2007-11-18T09:31:00.001-05:00

Fan, Passie and Crystal Vase

2007-11-14T07:43:00.000-05:00

Recently, Ella has been focusing in more on objects. Her favorite thing to look at is our ceiling fans. For some reason she finds them extremely funny!

New passie!

Ok, this one takes some explaining. First off she isn't in as much pain as she looks. She was actually sleeping. My grandma was honored at a Rochester College dinner for my grandfather and her's giving to the school. A philanthropy award in their names will be given out each year. This was the first year of the award so they suprised my grandma with a crystal vase. I then proceeded to put Ella in the vase.

First Halloween

2007-11-01T22:13:00.000-04:00

Here's some pictures from Ella's first Halloween and some other random photo's. Enjoy the many faces of Ella. We love em!

Back to Life...Back to Reality

2007-10-29T20:37:00.000-04:00

Today was my first day back to work after being off for over a week. I was dreading this day. Kelly and Ella came and took me out to lunch. So it wasn't as bad as it could have been.

I really enjoyed being at home with my girls. Being in our pajamas all day was getting fun! I can see how adjusting to life with a baby could be difficult. Ella made it some what easy.

The week off was great! We slept when Ella allowed us. By midweek we even ventured out a couple times. Here we are visiting a favorite...Yates Cider Mill for some cider and donuts! Apparently, the rest of the country doesn't "do" cider mills like we do here. It must be a cool weather thing.

We also introduced Ella to Chili's. A place she's already frequented in momma's belly a few times.

So as the song says its back to life and back to reality...time to change a dirty diaper!
Ash

The Cadillac of Changing Tables

2007-10-25T09:51:00.000-04:00

My brother is an amazing guy! He's a great husband/father. He just ran his third marathon (just barely missing out on qualifying for the Boston Marathon). AND he's a really talented carpenter.

He told Kelly and I he wanted to make something for Ella's room. We really needed a changing table so we found one we liked and he just delivered it the other night. And of course...it's pretty amazing!

Here's a picture of the table we gave Andy drawings for.
Ash

Ella's First Days

2007-10-23T11:58:00.000-04:00

Welcome Home Harrison Family...Welcome Home

2007-10-21T10:59:00.000-04:00

Saturday after the doctors did their final checks on Ella we were released to go home. It was a great stay in the hospital - if there is such a thing - but we were ready to get home. So we packed everything up and headed home.

One of our favorite shows, Extreme Home Makeover, always ends with Ty welcoming the family home just like the title of the blog. At one point yesterday I got super cheesy and broke the line out.

My mom put this sign out front. She's done this for all eight grandkids.

Here's a slice of Ella's room.

We ended up watching a lot of football and baseball...as you can see from Ella's expression she's happy Michigan won.

She's slightly confused here!

Ella has been awesome. She slept so good Saturday night. It must be a genetic thing. We have 500 pictures to go through and 3 hours of tape to edit...it'll be fun to see the moments we captured.

Welcome home Harrison family...welcome home!
Ash, Kel and Ella

Ella's First Night

2007-10-19T16:26:00.000-04:00

Wow...the last 36 hours have been nothing short of amazing! They don't call this the "miracle of birth" for nothing. It amazes me that people can go through this experience and not acknowledge our almighty God!!!

Last night after the family left we had a visit from Sean, Tessa and Sören - Ella's BFF (best friend forever). Sören is exactly one week older than Ella. We're excited to have friends that have a daughter so close to us.

After they left it was just us...the Harrison family. Ella had a little midnight snack and we all called it a night.

Ella did great!!! She slept pretty much all night except for a couple wimpers at 3am and 5am. Both times she made a noise I jumped out of bed to rescue her. I would hate for my daughter to cry! She slept with me for a couple hours and then momma got her turn. This is SO much fun!

Friday has been a day filled with visitors. We truly appreciate the love and prayers we've been shown.
Ash, Kel and Ella

Showered With Blessings

2007-10-18T22:30:00.000-04:00

It's been a long day that started with contractions for Kelly at 4:30am. We arrived at the hospital at about 8am. Finally got into a delivery room around 9:30am. Kelly began pushing at 5:56pm and 16 minutes later Ella Ryan Harrison was safely in our arms.

Stats:
-6 lbs. 11oz.
-20 inches long
-Blonde hair
-Blue eyes
-and some awesome cheeks

Thank you so much for your love and prayers.

Ashley, Kelly and Ella

One Week

2007-10-14T15:46:00.000-04:00

Monday will mark a week till our due date. We are ready for our little girl to make her arrival!

39 Week Belly

The room is ready, the bags are packed and we made it through our birthing class this weekend. We officially feel ready to bring her home.

Ash & Kel

Log Ride

2007-10-05T16:07:00.001-04:00

Here's a short funny video of my buddy Darren and one of his friends mountain biking. Darren is the first rider. Enjoy!
Ash

Our Photo Shoot

2007-09-30T21:52:00.000-04:00

Here are some pictures taken in the Harrison Photo Studio this weekend.

Thanks to a borrowed camera, borrowed backdrop and construction light we were able to capture some fun memories from week 37!
Ash and Kel

Shoes

2007-09-26T22:44:00.000-04:00

Nesting

2007-09-23T21:18:00.000-04:00

I am in full nesting mode right now. We have hit the less than 30 day mark and I have really begun to feel the crunch. Maybe reading online and hearing it out of my doctor's mouth that if I begin to go into labor they will let me deliver has something to do with it. Or maybe it's because the Braxton Hick's seem to be coming more often or the fact that the baby's movements have become so large because she is getting so big and running out of room. Or maybe it's the doctor's appointments that are every week now. Whatever it is...I'm nesting! I found myself scrubbing our bathrooms on Friday night and feeling like EVERY corner of our house needs to be cleaned. I reorganized the linen closet to make room for the baby stuff, cleaned out the cabinet under the bathroom sink, have plans to steam clean every stitch of carpet in our house. Yes folks...I'M NESTING!

36 week belly shot!

I know the arrival of our little baby is approaching because Ashley and I's conversations are ALWAYS about this baby. What will she look like? Hair? No hair? Blonde or Brown? What will the day be like when she decides to make her arrival? Will she come early? Late? On her actual due date? We are so full of wonder right now. We are ready to see her and have her in our arms.

Life has been busy lately. Sara (a pregnant co-worker) and I have been taking a pregnant mom's water aerobics class. We go twice a week and absolutely love it! I can't say it's a pretty site though...a pool full of pregnant women straddling noodles:) But it sure feels good to be in water and feel weightless for an hour. Definitely something I can see myself doing with every pregnancy. I read in a book lately that when you are pregnant you will notice every pregnant person and feel like everyone is pregnant around you. I'm not kidding...EVERYONE is. It's awesome to have a co-worker to talk to all day long about pregnancy and everything related to it. It's been great to catch up with Linzi, a friend from youth group at church, who is due 3 days before me. Tessa is due 11 days before me and Katie is due just 3 months after me. Everytime I turn around someone else is pregnant. I feel like I'm part of a baby boom right now.

Linzi, Katie and I at Linzi's sweet baby shower!

Katie, Tess and I at my church shower!

Well the due date will be here in 4 weeks! Pretty much I could have a baby anytime between now and then. We are really praying that it's not after that :) I've got lots of baby clothes and blankets and sheets to start washing and hospital bags to pack. We just don't know when she will make her arrival! Until then I will keep working and swimming and NESTING!

Ashley and I at our church baby shower! We left that day feeling so loved and blessed by our church family!

The aunts to be and I! I am sitting in the rocking chair that Ashley's grandma gave us at our church baby shower. I love it!

-Kelly

Project Demo

2007-09-14T07:04:00.000-04:00

Random Pictures

2007-09-06T19:32:00.000-04:00

The perks of being pregnant...

Our attempt of a last family picture with just Kingston...didn't go so well!

33 week belly shot

Fun times with an old friend! (Vanessa we hope you are feeling better :))

-Ash & Kel

Next Month

2007-09-04T10:42:00.001-04:00

This past weekend Kelly and I had the realization that we are going to have a baby next month...next month!!! The time is really flying by.

Our little daughter is definitely a wiggle worm. We were enjoying what could be our last lazy weekend on the couch when she decided to check out things underneath Kelly's ribs. When I asked Kelly what it felt like she punched me in the ribs a couple times! We ended up walking around the mall as a way to get her out of there.

The baby's room is almost done! All that is left is getting paint on the fine wood work Kelly's dad did.

And since no one likes a post without a picture...here's a random picture from a Tiger's game we went to a couple weeks back.

God Bless!
Ash

60 Days!

2007-08-23T21:08:00.000-04:00

It's hard to believe that our due date is in 60 days!! We've got exactly two months left to prepare ourselves to be parents. Crazy! Things are continuing to go well though and moving forward. I'm still feeling really good and enjoying the pregnancy (even in this 90 degree weather). It still amazes me that there is human life inside of me. She constantly reminds me though by trying to stick her head through my belly and creating a visible little bump on my stomach. Ashley and I enjoy seeing her move all around inside my belly and continue to be impressed by how much she moves and how much we can actually see her moving around. It's got to be getting a little cramped in there.

We are in full swing of getting the baby nursery together. Paint is on the walls and my dad is hard at work doing some wood work to the room, putting in a new closet and hanging some much needed new doors. We are so excited to see the room finished and ready for our baby girl. It is really beginning to feel real and seems to be creeping up on us quickly. For now Ashley and I will continue to prepare our home for this new addition and take every opportunity we get to share in the last couple months of it just being the two of us in our family.

We continue to appreciate all the support and prayers from our family and friends!

Kelly

Breaking in a New Rider

2007-08-16T20:09:00.000-04:00

A couple weeks back Dave Ut and I took our worship minister out mountain biking. Below are some pictures of the highs and lows of the ride...

Here's Chris enjoying his first taste of singletrack

Chris, standing on the highest point in Macomb County!

Chris enjoying another aspect of mountain biking...the first ride of the year pukes

All in all Chris did a great job riding! He says he'll be back...I hope so!
Ash

A View for Two

2007-08-11T19:18:00.000-04:00

Kingston (our dog) was kind enough to share her favorite spot in the house with baby Trent!

CC:M build

2007-08-05T14:38:00.000-04:00

If you have 10min to kill, check out this video I made with Josh. It's about a church we are going to be a part of.

Ash

Champions

2007-07-31T18:36:00.001-04:00

We just finished up the softball season and our team won the league. Thank you so much to Gresham's Snow Removal for the sponsorship!

This team has been playing together for four years. The faces have changed but we've always managed to have fun and win!

Not pictured are Paul Bobo and the Graves brothers. They are huge parts of the team but couldn't be there for the final game.

What I loved about this team was the flexibility of just about everyone. Guys had to miss games for injuries, babies, work, and travel. If our thirdbaseman was missing I could plug a couple guys there.

It was a fun season!

Ash

Yo-Yo Ma

2007-07-26T12:01:00.000-04:00

Here's my favorite pic of my pregnant wife!

The baby is listening to Yo-Yo Ma...kind of ironic don't you think!!!

Ash

To The Least of These

2007-07-24T13:29:00.000-04:00

This past weekend while in downtown Chicago with some friends, a homeless man approached us asking for a penny. I had my back to him and didn't even turn around. I had probably $1.25 worth of change in my pocket.

I didn't give it much thought until Monday evening on the way home from work. A Shawn McDonald song called "A Little More" painted a similar situation. Just like me, Shawn ignored the homeless man's request.

This has bothered me over the past couple days.

In the book of Matthew he writes:
37 -40"Then those 'sheep' are going to say, 'Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry and feed you, thirsty and give you a drink? And when did we ever see you sick or in prison and come to you?' Then the King will say, 'I'm telling the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me—you did it to me.'

I pray that if this situation plays out in your life that you make the right decision and give the man a penny.
Ash

July 2, 2007

2007-07-07T16:28:00.000-04:00

Ashley's mom has a tradition of taking a picture of him before leaving for his first day at a job. There's the picture of him before starting his first day of his first job at Kruse and Muer and a picture of him before starting his first "real" job after graduating college. I can't say I've held on to the tradition because Ashley has had a few jobs since but July 2 was different. I felt the need to get up early with him on July 2 and make sure to get that picture of him starting his new and hopefully last job! Not only does July 2 mark Ashley's birthday but it now marks his first day starting at Utley Brothers. A family printing business that his grandfather started back in 1945.

I am very proud of him and know that he is proud to be working at the family business.

Kelly

Another Fun Day!

2007-06-20T13:00:00.000-04:00

Here's a video of us finding out the sex of the baby.

Ash

God is a Tiger's Fan!

2007-06-13T08:34:00.000-04:00

Tuesday night, Tiger pitcher Justin Verlander threw a no-hitter against the Milwaukee Brewers. For those of you who don't like or pay attention to baseball no-hitters don't happen very often. In fact the last no-hitter by a Tiger was in 1984 and the last no-hitter thrown in Detroit was 1952.

This morning on the radio they described his pitching as nasty, filthy, dirty and many other adjectives. In the 9th inning with his adrenaline pumping Justin threw 102 mph. A caller into one of the stations said he was at the World Series games and this was more exciting. It was!

I tuned into the game in the 3rd inning in the car. I was coming home from Northville so I got to hear a lot of the game in the car. They never really said he had a no-hitter going. It's a superstitious thing. But I kind of figured out something special was happening. So when I got home I ran inside and turned the TV on to catch the final 3 innings.

In the 9th inning I was pacing the rooming. Jumping up and down. Standing in strange places in living room. Why? No idea, but I couldn't sit still. It was so exciting!

So how do I know God is a Tiger's fan? Not because Verlander threw a no hitter but because after the game was over and during the post game interviews our power went out. Unbelievable!!! It was a fun night though.
Ash

Isn't she so cute?

2007-06-07T11:53:00.000-04:00

We've already fallen in love with this little girl!

I'm thinking she may have her daddy's little facial features and her mommy's big hands.

-Kelly

And the Winner is...

2007-06-06T08:38:00.000-04:00

...a girl!!!

We were so surprised. Between my family and Kelly's there is only one grandchild that is a girl. So we just assumed it was going to be a boy.

We captured our reaction on camera and its pretty cool. Kelly has this stunned look on her face and I can't stop laughing. It's really funny!

We are most excited and now the fun part starts, getting her room ready. I asked Kelly's dad, who is a carpenter, if he knew how to decorate for a girl. He said he wasn't sure how to add lace to wood.

I'm sure we'll have more on this later!
Ash

Baby Poll

2007-05-22T15:55:00.001-04:00

In a little over a week we'll find out the sex of our baby. What do you think it is???

We'll fill you in when we know!
Ash and Kel

What A Week

2007-05-15T00:22:00.000-04:00

For the past couple days I've had some serious pain coming from my mouth. The pain was coming from the back of my mouth so I could have been anything from a cavity to wisdom teeth.

I was able to see a dentist (Dr. Eva Goriee - who is great and I would highly recommend) at the last minute. I met her at her office at 6:30 Monday night. She started with all the necessary tests and x-rays.

It took her about 10 minutes to get through all the things wrong with my teeth, haha! The pressing matter was a severe need of a root canal. So she started in on the drilling. Two and a half hours later she was done and I felt like a car just drove through my mouth.

So as I'm getting ready to leave Dr. Eva asks me when can I come to back. Friday was the only day available...so that is when I'll be getting all four wisdom teeth yanked!

Please pray for my mouth to heal and pray Kelly as she deals with me!
Ash

Friday Night Lights - April

2007-05-01T13:29:00.000-04:00

Here's a link to the the video from the last Friday Night Lights.

Friday Night Lights - April

The next FNL is coming up this Friday May 4th at 7:30. If you don't have plans and you want to get your praise on please join us!
Ash

Great Weekend!

2007-04-15T21:24:00.000-04:00

This weekend our friend Reg from Colorado flew in to speak at our young adults retreat. We started the weekend out with a mountain bike ride on Friday. My brother came out of retirement for the ride and joined Darren, Reg and myself.

The retreat was held at this awesome camp not to far from church, Echo Grove Camp. The weekend was filled with some intense talks from Reg, awesome worship and a lot of community.

For me, the weekend hit its peak on Saturday night during worship. Neil, Theresa and Aaron did such a great job bringing us to the Lords throne room. I was at times speechless, at times crying and at times screaming. The Holy Spirit was definitely in the room.

Reg's focus for the weekend was living a counter-cultural life. One so different from the world around us people can't help but want to know what we are all about.

By the end of the retreat I was physically and emotionally spent but was on such a spiritual high!
God Bless,
Ash and Kel

Spring is here...at least for a day

2007-04-01T16:43:00.000-04:00

Spring is here for the moment. It was almost 70 degrees yesterday. In a couple days it's going to be back down in the 30's...ugh!

I took the opportunity yesterday to go out for a ride on the new bike.

********************

Today is the Tiger's first game. My predictions for the upcoming season are:
-90+ wins
-Jeremy Bonderman wins close to 20 games
-Tigers win the AL Central
-And of course the World Series

********************

Baby Harrison is growing and growing fast! It's 3-1/2 inches long!!! We'll hear the heart beat in a couple weeks. Please keep us all in your prayers.

Ash

An Answer To Prayer

2007-03-23T20:27:00.000-04:00

After a year, God has answered our prayer. We are thrilled to announce that we are expecting a baby in October!

Please keep us in your prayers as we are still in the early stages of the pregnancy. We've looked forward to sharing this news with all of you.

Love,
Ash and Kelly

Friday Night Lights

2007-03-13T17:58:00.000-04:00

Last Friday we put on a praise & worship time at the church. Here's a short video I put together for it.

Friday Night Lights.

Thanks to Sean for hosting this video on his site.
Ash

Employee Discount

2007-03-04T07:47:00.000-05:00

An employee discount is usually reserved for employees (obviously) or friends of employees. In Detroit everyone is trying to get the employee discount on their next car. For someone as cheap as me I'll take a discount when ever I can get.

For over a year now Brett O. and I have been spending out Friday lunches at a Wendy's near our work. I knew it was getting to be repetitive when the counter girl knew what I wanted.

At first we were just trying to get a smile out of a couple over work and under appreciated fast food employees. Then at Christmas the manager gave us a free meal. Now when we show up each Friday the manager gives us the employee discounts. So my value meal is half off now!!!

It doesn't make sense. I'd come back every Friday without the discount. I guess it pays to be nice!
Ash

Global Warming...

2007-02-20T19:02:00.000-05:00

...who's for it???

Usually at this point in the winter I've had just about enough. Jackets, gloves, hats, scarves, galoshes (my dad wears them) - I'm done!

I'm sure if global warming really happened it wouldn't be a good thing. If it meant warmer winters I'm all for it.
Ash

A Waiting Game

2007-02-17T11:36:00.000-05:00

You are looking at my new bike!!! I just got it Friday. It's a Cannondale F4 - like anyone cares.

You might be asking why did I get a new bike in the middle of the winter. Well let me tell you a little story...

Back in October I spent an entire weekend plus a couple more days putting a wood floor in my boss's house. He paid me that weekend and I immediately ordered this bike.

Four and half months later it showed up on our door step. In a world where we can get whatever we want right then this was difficult for me to wait. It was totally out of my hands.

I would love to make a correlation between me and great men/women of the bible who had great patients but I won't.

I'm just really excited!!! Now all we need is some warmer weather.
Ash

Arms of Love

2007-01-25T11:50:00.000-05:00

When do you feel closest to God?

I usually feel the closest when I worship. It doesn't matter if I'm in my car singing along with a P&W CD, in corporate worship or at home playing my guitar. That is when I feel most connected. That is when tears come to my eyes. That is when I feel awe struck.

How about you? Is is time spent in silence, praying, journaling, helping others???
Ash

Myth Busted!

2007-01-17T11:14:00.000-05:00

On a recent episode of MythBusters, the crew tried to beat a motion-detector alarm. They tried all sorts of crazy things to beat the alarm. Nothing worked until they tried a simple white bed sheet. That's right, a bed sheet. They held the sheet up high over their heads.

Last night Kelly and I were at my parent’s house for dinner. They just got an alarm system set up in their house. Motion detectors were put in all over the house. They had the day to test it out. So of course I wanted to set it off.

Kelly reminded me about Mythbusters. So I went and got a white bed sheet to test it out myself. My mom set the alarm and I got in place. I walked through the entire room without the motion detector sensing me.

I dropped the sheet when I got to the other side of the room and the alarm went off. Myth busted!!!

It was a fun little experiment.
Ash

Happy New Year

2007-01-02T09:53:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year!!!

Can you believe it's 2007??? I hope everyone has a good start to the year.

If you have a couple minutes check out Shannon and Elliot's site. I put a video together for them from they day Trent was born and Elliot posted it to their site.

It's 18 minutes long so get comfy.

Enjoy!
Ash

Merry Christmas!

2006-12-26T11:31:00.000-05:00

My favorite present arrived just in time for Christmas! Saturday, December 23 Trent Elliot made his way into our lives at 7:34 p.m. And I must say he is BEAUTIFUL! He weighed 7 lbs. 4 oz. and was 20.5 inches long. He has a head full of gorgeous blonde hair and is the most laid back, sweetest little baby. I just can't seem to get enough of him!!!

We hope you all had a Merry Christmas!
Uncle Ash and Aunt Kelly

The Stockman's

2006-12-15T18:14:00.000-05:00

Most of you may know Sean, Tessa and Emerson are in Africa right now. They are visiting one of our missionary family's, the Manry's. I got a call from Sean saying they made it safely to Africa. Something about this made me mad.

Not the fact that Sean isn't working for three weeks or that they are in a cool place. It's the fact that he has better cell coverage in Africa then I do here, in the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. That's right, his work cell phone is an internation phone. He called his boss to tell him he had cell coverage and his boss told him to he could call family and friends.

So I'm sitting at work and I get a call from Sean. It first of all blew me away that I was talking to Sean and he was literally an ocean away. Secondly it blew my mind he had cell coverage.

Let's rewind a couple months back when I decided to buy a new cell phone on eBay. My current phone was working just fine but I wanted a new, cooler phone. The phone I had would drop the occasional call but most of the time I had coverage. Well this new fansy phone is horrible.

The new phone does look cool but I've dropped more calls with it than all the phones I've had before combined.

I work in Southfield. I would consider that a major suburb of Detroit. For some reason I have horrible coverage in Southfield.

A mile from my house I have a zone where I drop calls...A MILE FROM MY HOUSE!!!

I hope you can sense the frustration.

So, I hope the Stock's have a good rest of their trip. I hope my doesn't going on dropping call. I hope you all have a good Christmas and New Year!
Ash

16 more days...

2006-12-11T11:10:00.000-05:00

No, I'm not counting down the days till Christmas. Just counting the days till my little nephew should be making his appearance!!! It is crazy to think that in a few weeks (or less or more) my sister will have a child and my family will be blessed with the first baby in the family! As you can guess we are just a little excited. Unfortunately for my sister the time has come that everytime she calls I answer with "are you in labor?". I know that's going to get annoying but I'm just an excited aunt. It really hit me last night that the time is here... my dad called me wanting to know if I had heard from Shannon because he couldn't get a hold of her all day. He was concerned something happened and he hadn't been contacted, I think. I have a feeling that is the first of many phone calls we will all be making in the next few weeks.
If you haven't seen Shannon lately she is the cutest little pregnant woman! Here's a picture of Kingston loving on her belly.

Please keep her and Elliot and the baby in your prayers. Pray that her labor and delivery is very routine and the baby is healthy.

I hope I get a precious little nephew for Christmas this year!!

Kelly

Tales From BLACK FRIDAY

2006-11-25T23:16:00.000-05:00

Most people that read this blog know the one thing Kelly and I can do well is sleep. If we have nothing planned on a Saturday we could easily sleep until noon. So for us to get up early on a vacation day you know it has to be for a special event.

On Black Friday, Kelly and I decided we needed to wait in line at WalMart for a new TV. The store was opening up at 5am and we figured in order to get the TV we should show up by 4:30am. When we pulled into the parking lot we were greeted by a few more people then we anticipated. Here's a picture of our view as we stood in line.

By the time we got to where the TV's were they were gone. Big suprise!

Our back-up plan was a different TV at a different store. We drove there and they weren't open until 8am. We had to kill 2 and a half hours so we went to Ram's Horn for breakfast.

My mom, sister and grandma stopped in to have breakfast before their day of shopping.

We waited in line at the electronic store for about an hour until they opened. When the doors opened it was crazy, not WalMart crazy but crazy. A group of guys were on the hunt for the same TV so I led the pack to what I thought was the TV. We were standing around the supposed TV for a couple minutes when Kelly comes up, looks at the tag and lets us know we are standing around the wrong TV. That was kind of like the whole not asking for directions thing.

When we got up to the sales desk there were people everywhere. It seemed like everyones mood soured too. Kelly and I just smiled and laughed at the whole experience. The manager must have noticed because he gave us $100 off our TV! We couldn't think of any other reason why he'd give us a discount off an already discounted item besides our attitude.

It was one of the strangest days of our lives. We both decided we won't be doing it again!

Has anyone else experienced Black Friday? If so, please share...
Ash

Professor Jack

2006-11-22T11:30:00.000-05:00

If you have a minute please go check out Josh's recent post. Very well said!

http://joshgraves.blogspot.com/

Ash

Fall Fun

2006-11-07T19:23:00.000-05:00

This weekend I spent what seemed like the majority of it raking leaves. Our backyard has two huge trees and a couple smaller ones...perfect for TPing right Graves, Lindsey's and Corders.

One of the trees is a maple tree that dropped some of the biggest leaves I've ever seen. Before I started raking you couldn't see our yard. It was completely covered with leaves.

I used our leaf blower to gather all the leaves into three piles. Each pile was at least three feet tall and ten feet in diameter. Lots of leaves!

After I got them all organized it hit me...I've got to dispose of them somehow. Bagging would take to long. As would the leaf blower that seconds as a mulcher.

So I did what any man would do, burn them in my wheel barrel.

After burning leaves for about two hours we barely made a dent in one of the piles. So we were on to plan two.

I would like to thank our neighbor Bob who gave me the great idea of running the lawn mower over the leaves. I questioned how you run a mower over such large piles of leaves but he assured me it'd work. So basically I was like a hungry, hungry hippo with my lawn mower.

Like magic the piles shrunk relatively fast. Kelly came through with the mulcher and cleaned up the tiny bits of leaves that remained. What we thought was going to be the longest afternoon of lawn work turned out to be a well spent beautiful fall day.
Ash

Fair Weather Fans

2006-10-30T13:47:00.000-05:00

This past weekend I did something I've never done before...left a sporting event early. Leading up to Saturday I stayed at games no matter the score. My team could be up or down by a ton and I'd stay.

Saturday Kelly and I went to the Michigan vs. Northwestern game with Bull and Emily. The weather was horrible! Mid 30's, very windy and a mix of rain and sleet. That's not a very good combination. We bundled up as much as we thought we needed but it wasn't even close to being good enough.

We lasted until 7 minutes left in the FIRST HALF. We enjoyed the rest of the game and some ribs from Damon's Grill.
Ash

Thank You Tigers!

2006-10-27T23:40:00.000-04:00

The Cardinals just ended the Tigers series in the 5th game of the World Series. The Card's played sound baseball throughout the Series. The Tigers did not!

BUT I'm not going to take a negative angle when reflecting on the season. I'd like to thank the Tigers...

Thank you for the numerous walk-off game winning homeruns.

Thank you for gum time.

Thank you for reviving what was a dead baseball city.

Thank you reuniting friendships.

Thank you for tightening others.

Thank you for the "call" of the game winning homerun against the A's. (Every time I heard that call I got the chills)

Thank you for a LONG, LONG season.

Thank you!!!
Ash

Crash

2006-10-26T22:40:00.000-04:00

I've officially taken the nickname of "Crash" from Darren!

Tonight he and I went for a ride at Addison Oaks. I had two of the most violent crashes I've ever had on a bike. When I was younger I crashed all the time. Tonight it was different.

The first crash I lost control going around a tight corner and spilled. I landed hard on my right knee and then my head. Luckily I was wearing a helmet because I got my bell rang pretty good.

The second crash was right at the end of the ride. There's a halved log bridge (if you can imagine that) that is about 15 feet long. I just cleared the bridge but was slightly out of control and went off a drop off. I didn't pull my front tire up and my back tire decided it wanted to be in front. In other words I did an endo. The middle of my back landed on a stump.

Darren later apoligized for not being a good friend. When I asked why, he said he didn't have the camera ready!

Here's what my knee looked like after the ride.

Foreign Substance

2006-10-23T15:56:00.000-04:00

Sunday night Kenny Rodgers pitched a gem of a game. He allowed only 2 hits in 8 innings. However, Cardinal hitters noticed the pitches were doing funny things and thanks to High Definition television everyone saw why. He had a "foreign substance" on his pitching hand.

What is a "foreign substance"? In this case I'm thinking it was pine tar. It could be anything. I've heard of a pitcher using Preparation H...gross!!!

What does a "foreign substance" do to a pitch? It makes a curve ball curve more. It makes a cut fast ball have more cut to it. It basically amplifies the spin on the ball.

Why do this? I don't know. Maybe he thought he needed an edge up on the batters.

What's crazy is after he washed his hands in between innings he was more dominant.

This pitching performance is something legends are made of. A 41 year old pitcher throwing a 2 hitter in the World Series. No one is talking about the gem. They are talking about the "foreign substance."

It's just too bad.
Ash

Can You Say the World Series???

2006-10-14T22:14:00.000-04:00

OH MY GOODNESS...THE TIGERS ARE GOING TO THE WORLD SERIES!!!

They just swept the Oakland A's. Magglio Ordonez (my Tiger...just kidding) hit a walk-off homerun in the bottom of the 9th. Talk about a way to end a series!

They'll play either the Mets or the Cardinals starting next Saturday. I'm honestly still in shock! More to come when my brain can fully comprehend what is happening.

GO TIGERS!!!
Ash

The Bull's and the Tigers

2006-10-09T22:12:00.000-04:00

This past weekend a couple things happened that a lot of people didn't think would happen. First, James Bull got married. We went down to Nashville and had a great time - pictures to follow soon.

The second thing people didn't think would happen was OUR Detroit Tigers beat the HATED New York Yankees. They didn't just beat the Yankees...they dominated them. When you looked at the Yankees lineup it was actually very scary on paper. It was all-star after all-star. The old saying "Good pitching always beats good hitting" was evident. Kenny Rogers and Jeremy Bonderman pitched the games of their careers. They made that all-star lineup look pretty bad!

Kelly and I were able to see just about all of the both games this weekend. We were actually an hour late for the reception because I had to stay and watch the end of the game.

The celebration was AWESOME!!! After hugging and jumping up and down they carried the "skipper" Jim Leyland off the field. Usually a team goes back in to the lockerroom and goes crazy with bottle of champagne. Not OUR Detroit Tigers. The team, armed with a bottle of champagne in each hand, came back out and celebrated with the fans. HOW COOL IS THAT???

Next up are the Oakland Athetics in the American League Champion Series. Someone please pinch me...I can't believe this is still going on. And sorry Elliot - the Piston's pre-season will have to be forced to the back page for just a couple more weeks!!!

Ash

I'm An Apple Man Now!!!

2006-10-01T22:27:00.000-04:00

For the longest time I made fun of "Apple People." I always thought they thought they were better. We even called the computers "Crapples."

This past Sunday we were at Rochester College's Fall Festival. They had a drawing for a bunch of stuff. One of the top prizes was an Apple iMac computer. We'll I won it!!!
Here's a picture of it.

When they called my name I lost control of my body and ran up there like a wild man!!!

Here's a shot of it on our new desk.

Look how skinny it is! The entire computer is in the monitor. Oh my goodness it's awesome!

Off to put my Apple sticker on the car...
Ash

Mountain Men...Well Maybe Not

2006-09-28T22:03:00.000-04:00

I recently picked up an old hobby - mountain biking. When I was in high school and college I rode a lot. I rode with my cousin, my brother and a bunch of his friends.

Mountain biking is a great way to exercise while seeing some beautiful parts of this state. This past weekend Sean, Darren and I went for a ride. The camera didn't get the best pictures but here's what we got from our ride at Stony Creek.

This next picture needs a little explanation. Darren was climbing up a hill when his tire got stuck in a rut and fell over. Sean coming up behind him hit Darren in the back. Sean bent his rim on Darren's back. Let me repeat that - Sean bent his rim on Darren's back. I got this shot just after the collision.

Ash

Legends of the FALL!!!

2006-09-25T09:56:00.000-04:00

Yesterday our Detroit Tigers clinched a playoff birth!!! Every year for as long as I can remember I always talked them up at the beginning of the season - just like I did this spring. In the back of my mind I never thought they were going to be good. This year they are!!!

They still lead their Division by 1 1/2 games over the Twins with a week left in the regular season. If they win the Division they'll play Oakland at home in the first round. If the Twins over take them this week the Tiger's will start the playoffs against New York in New York.

I'm going to the first home game of the playoffs. I'm slightly excited about that! A full report from that game will come.

Ash

Oh My Gosh...it's Paul Baloche

2006-09-13T12:07:00.000-04:00

This past Monday night Kelly and I were able to worship with Paul Baloche. It was a great night of worship. Paul has written many worship songs you probably know including "Open the Eye of my Heart Lord" and "Above All."

It was especially cool because Chris Lindsay and I have been watching a DVD series by Paul, teaching us a bunch of stuff on the guitar. I've never had any formal guitar training, so the DVD has been great for me.

The concert was on Sept 11th and there was a lady in the audience who's husband died because he went to save other peoples lives. The husband was an FBI agent who had worked late the night before Sept 11th so he didn't have to go in the next day. After seeing what happened on TV, he left and went to the towers. Having only a cheap, paper-thin mask he saved many lives. Two and a half years later the smoke, sut and everything else he breathed in killed him.

It's amazing to think of all the families affected by what happened on Sept 11th. Fathers, mothers, sons and daughters...lost. It's just amazing!

I have a friend (who shall remain nameless) who heard on the radio some of the phone calls from inside the tower to their loved ones. It brought him to tears.

I serve a God who is present even in the midst of something as bad as Sept 11th. The devil may have control of some cowards who fly a plane into a building. My God is a God of compassion, a God of Grace, a God of LOVE!!!
Ash

An Evening With Ernie

2006-09-09T22:26:00.000-04:00

Tonight Kelly and I went to a fundraiser for the Church of Christ Care Center. The key note speaker was Ernie Harwell. He's what you'd call a local legend.

Here's a little background on Ernie. He was the Tiger's broadcaster for 42 years. He was the first broadcaster voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Over the 42 years working for the Tigers he missed 2 days of work. And most importantly he's a Christian.

Ernie is also a direct link to my dad's dad, Papa. Papa LOVED the Tigers. He watched every game on TV but would turn the volume down and listen to Ernie's broadcast. So when I hear Ernie's voice I think of my Papa.

As we were checking in tonight I noticed Ernie standing just a little ways away by himself. So I went and introduced myself to him. I got a brief moment to talk to him. Just hearing his voice was amazing!

When he got up to talk he told a lot of great old baseball stories. He also told a story of a turtle on a fence post. He said you know the turtle didn't get on the fence post by himself. He used that analogy to show he got where he was today with God's help.

It was so cool to hear the voice of the Tigers and my Papa talking about his love for our God. I could have listened to his stories all night!!!
Ash

WANTED: DEAD OR ALIVE

2006-09-05T22:33:00.000-04:00

This weekend we went up north with some friends. Good golf and great sunsets.

We didn't get home until late Monday night and came home to a little surprise. We had been TP'd.

Even our grill even got TP'd.

The TPers did a really good job! Three of our neighbors commented on how beautiful it was. One of them even asked if it was our anniversary.

As good of a job as the TPers did they broke a couple simple rules of TPing:

Don't get caught at Meijer by one of our co-workers
Don't go to work trying to play like nothing happened
And most importantly don't leave incriminating evidence at the crime scene

Paybacks are coming!!!

The boys of Fall???

2006-08-31T12:19:00.000-04:00

I posted an entry back in March before the Tiger's season started with my predictions on the coming season. I was thinking they'd win 85-88 games. As of today they've won 83 games and there is an entire month left.

They've had the best record in all of baseball for pretty much all year. There has been some lineup changes but for the most part its remained the same team. Justin Verlander (rookie) has been UNREAL!!! One of the best pitchers in the league.

Last night Craig Monroe hit a game winning homerun in the 9th inning at Yankee Stadium. I was slightly excited! The Tigers have been playing some ugly baseball of late but I really think that homerun could be a sign of things to come. I'm excited to watch playoff baseball and have my team participate.

More to come on this when they clinch a playoff birth!
Ash

A Brief Encounter

2006-08-28T10:21:00.000-04:00

This weekend Kelly and a couple friends held a garage sale. The sale started at 8am and when I showed up around 11am Kelly had made a grand total of $1.

My favorite part of the garage sale was the people watching. The large majority of the patrons were gray haired ladies trying to "dicker" with us for our junk.

At one point in the day a car pulled up that I haven't been able to stop thinking about. A Mexican family got out. The family consisted of a father and mother (both very young), a sister and then 2 of the most adorable girls. I sat back and just observed the family as they shopped through our "junk."

The mother, who again was very young, just ate up Kelly's old clothes. I remember buying Kelly a couple of the dresses the girl bought. The look on her face was priceless. She couldn't wait to get "dolled" up and put one of the dresses on.

The father spoke broken English. I was trying to communicate with him. I remember about 2 minutes of Spanish from a couple classes in high school. I was trying to ask him about his adorable daughters. Stephanie (I'm guessing 2 years old) and Britney (baby in a car seat) were their names.

Emerson was being her typical welcoming self. She was making friends with Stephanie. You have one girl who can't speak or understand English and the other girl whose go-to word is "HI!" It was really cute watching the two interact.

After the shopping was done the family pilled back into their car. Before they pulled away, Stephanie who had been sucking on a frozen fruit stick brought one over for Emme.

Here's what I got out of the short shopping trip:

I have a lot of "junk" in my life. Not just tangle items but stuff I deem important and really are not.
One man's trash is another man's treasure is so true. I wish I could adequately describe the mom's excitement when purchasing Kelly's old clothes.
That little girl taught me more about giving when you really don't have anything, then years of bible class and sermons ever did.

I thank God for moments like these. These moments are always around but I'm just too blind or dumb to see them. I pray I can take what I've seen and learn from it.
Ash

Dr. Todd

2006-08-16T14:36:00.000-04:00

Earlier this week I received a very random call. It was a call asking if I could driving someone to Home Depot. As soon as I heard who it was asking for the ride, I said yes.

The person needing the ride was Dr. Todd. I've gone to church with him just about my entire life and I was in a couple of his classes at Rochester College. He's one of the most interesting people I know.

The reason why he needed a ride to Home Depot and couldn't drive himself is because he is visually impared. He can make out objects and see shadows but not enought to drive. When you approach him you always have to announce who you are.

What is amazing is how this man who hasn't let this "handicap" stop his life. I mean, when I get a cold I'm done for.

What's amazing is how he was blinded and how he lived his life after.

Dr. Todd was a Cobra Helicopter pilot during the Vietnam War. A 50 caliber (very large gun) shot and hit his helicopter. His co-pilot guided them back to base. If it wasn't for the co-pilot they would have crashed into the jungle and Dr. Todd would have been dead.

For the next 5 or so years he spent his life in and out of hospitals and doctors offices. A particular doctor in New York City helped him get back what little sight he has now. As he was re-cuperating or as he called it "being a professional patient" he heard John Kerry on TV. John Kerry, pre-snowboarding and ketchup days, just got back from Vietnam and was speaking out against the war. He was saying that all the soldiers returing from Vientnam drug addicts and other bad things.

Dr. Todd didn't agree. So he called CBS and told them he wanted to refute what Kerry was saying. Eventually he talked his way on air. For the next little while Dr. Todd traveled around as an advicate for the returning soldiers and POW's.

While this was going on someone at the White House heard about Dr. Todd. They tracked him down and hired him to write speaches for President Nixon. I'm not sure how long he worked there but he had NOTHING to do with Watergate - so he says! (just kidding Dr. Todd)

After working for the President, Dr. Todd attended the University of Michigan and got his law degree. Remember he is blind.

After he got his law degree he started teaching law at Rochester College. He's been there ever since.

So you may be asking yourself, what does a blind guy need at Home Depot? He needed some supplies for a carpentry project. Yep, that is right a carpentry project. He's a highly skilled capenter. He's even built a gazebo in his backyard.

This guy is unreal!!!

I truly enjoyed my time spent with Dr. Todd. He's someone who hasn't let ANYTHING stop him from living his life. He's an inspiration to me and many others!!!

Ash

Sweet 16

2006-08-09T22:10:00.000-04:00

This past weekend was the Sweet 16 softball tournament. It's an annual tournament that is always a lot of fun. Below are a couple pictures from the day.

We tried to fit the entire team under this tiny tree. It didn't work.

The infamous orange hat once again made its return! Bull looks good in it!!!

Look the tools behind me.

Our ladies enjoyed the sun!

I can't think of a better way to end a day of softball then a hot tub and sombrero.

Quick Update!!!

2006-07-24T21:51:00.000-04:00

We've been keeping quite busy since the last post! Here's just a few things that have been taking place in our lives lately...

Ashley turned 28 years old on July 2nd. He got to enjoy his day celebrating with some friends at a cook-out at our house.

We enjoyed a big fireworks show at a local park with a bunch of friends.

My Granny (great-grandma) passed away. My mom, sister and I took a quick 2 day, 1 night trip to Kentucky to be there for the funeral.

Two days after I got back from Kentucky I went to work for the last time at MAP. I have been working there for the last 5 years and decided it was time for a change. They threw me a wonderful luncheon my last day.

The next morning I got on an airplane with my sister and headed to Florida for my cousins wedding.

After returning from Florida I took the next week off!!!! I stayed home and got some much needed housework done and some much needed sleep.

Saturday I ran in my second race. A five mile trail run at Canturbury Village. After the race we headed to Detroit and enjoyed a Tigers game with Dan and Katie.

To top it off...I enjoyed my first day at my new job at our church and then we went and helped our friends move into their first home.

That's all I have for now but check back in later. Softball is coming to an end for the year with the Sweet Sixteen and we will find out shortly whether we will be getting a neice or nephew in December :)

Ethan and Pele

2006-06-22T20:43:00.000-04:00

I'd like to introduce you to my nephew Ethan.

"E" is a ball of energy who is always on the go. Even when he's still his mouth is still going.

He never ceases making me laugh!

He and my sister came over for a BBQ and he brought his soccer ball. So he, Sean and I kicked the ball around.

Sean, trying to "bend it like Beckam," accidently hit Ethan in the stomach. Just take a closer look at the picture and you can see the marks from the soccer ball.

After we extruded the ball from Ethan's stomach we were able to laugh about it.

Memorial Day Weekend Project

2006-06-09T21:40:00.000-04:00

We spent our Memorial Day weekend expanding out patio. Here's some pictures of our adventures.

We started late Friday night. The original patio was 8'x14'. Our plan was to take the old patio tiles out, expand the size of the patio and place all new tiles.

We were EXTREMELY blessed by friends and family. Darren and Mandy offered up their services, we borrowed Zach's truck, Shannon and Elliot stopped by and we put Elliot to work.

Sean and Tessa stopped by to bring us some Gatorade. So we put them to work too!

The supplies: 51 patio tiles (91 lbs each) and 46 bags of base (50 lbs each). Add up those lbs and that's 6,941 lbs that we moved in 2 trips.

It was "Africa" hot the entire weekend. We sweated a lot!

We rented a tamper for a couple hours. It made what the loose dirt, hard and compacted. Once I figured out how to use the machine this went smoothly.

Laying the tiles was a lot of work. We tried to level each tile. Most are solid but a few still have a wobble to them. Too late now!

Finished product!!!

Since we last blogged...

2006-06-02T14:42:00.000-04:00

1. The Tigers have the best record in all of baseball
2. A couple different friends have had babies
3. We installed a new patio during Africa-like heat

More to come later!
Ash

P.S. GO TIGERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mercy Me...

2006-05-01T21:18:00.000-04:00

Had some big songs a couple years ago. I thought of them Thursday night.

It was our first night of softball and for the past couple years we've been playing in the "D" league. We've done pretty good there. We've had the best record the past two seasons and won the playoffs two years ago. So the league decided to move us up to the "C" league.

I added a couple strong players to the team so I wasn't worried about jumping up to "C." Well what I found out was the "C" league has some hitters. We played a double header against the defending league champs.

All the way through the line-up this team could hit. The following senerio seemed to happen often: basehit, basehit, basehit, homerun.

Our welcome to the "C" league was two mercies with a combinded score of 45-12.

Yes, it was very humbling!

Ash

PST Max

2006-04-21T21:34:00.000-04:00

I'd like to introduce you to one of my obsessions...

Softball!!!

This is my teams new bat. It's a Worth PST Max. I just got it in the mail today and I'm looking forward to use tomorrow at batting practice.

Yes, I said batting practice. Our season starts next week and this is our last chance for some BP.

One thing you've got to know about me is once I get into something...I really get into it. I don't just dabble in things, I immurse myself in it. Softball is no different. I play/manage two teams. I've been thinking about this season shortly after last season ended.

The Thursday night league, sponsored by Gresham's Snow Removal, is a collection of guys from church. We play in a city leauge in Rochester.

The Saturday night league is the Church league. This is a fun league because we get to see a lot of friends from other churches. We are combining two of our church's teams. Jason Graves, Brad Bellemy, Justin Robinson and Steve Stimpson are joining our team from our rival team. The Red Sox are unfortunately disbanning.

Josh Graves and Rich Koch are just a couple of the new additions to the teams. I'm excited about both of them playing. Josh and I have been friends since we were in elementary school and we were actually baptized on the same day. Rich is relatively new to the church and I think it'll be a good opportunity for him to get to know more people from the church.

I'll keep you posted as the season goes on.

Play Ball!!!

Ash