Showing posts with label Ashley. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ashley. Show all posts
Friday, September 02, 2011
Ashley in Africa
My little sister has just arrived in South Africa! She will be there for two months working for... you know what, it will be better if she tells you herself. She has a blog that she set up so we can keep up with her while she's gone. Check it out! I'm so proud of her and can't wait to hear more about her adventures. Read her blog HERE.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Happy Birthday to You
Today has been a momentous day for our country, with the inauguration of Barack Obama as our 44th President. But I'm not here to talk politics - no surprise there, to those of you that know I'd rather have my fingernails pulled off than discuss controversial topics. Nope, I'm here to celebrate another special occasion instead.
That girl is my beloved little sister, Ashley. This picture was taken on our wonderful trip to Italy this past summer. We got pretty darn good at the self-portrait - not a double chin in sight! Today is Ashley's 22nd birthday. I can hardly believe that...
Twenty-two years ago I was a three and a half year old, tottering into the hospital room on the maternity ward to see Mom with this new creature that was entering our family and sharing our lives. Dad showed me how if I put my finger in her palm, she'd curl her little hand up to hold on to me. In fact, the first thing I said to her was something along the lines of, "You've got a good grip!"
Nineteen through eleven years ago, to sleep we shared the bottom bunk of bunk beds, even though we each had our own room. I don't know why, except to be together was better than to be apart. We fought like rabid dogs and made up with little notes passed under doors.
Four years ago she stood by me while I wore a white dress and said my vows and forged a new family, and she's always loved Ben like he was her own brother.
Eight months ago we met each other halfway 'round the world and together we missed buses and saw the remnants of prior civilizations all across Italy.
Baby girl, I've loved you every second of these 22 years, even when I didn't like you very much. I won't pretend I understand you all the time, or assume that it hasn't been hard for you being the second one in line. But I do hope you understand that your gifts and talents aren't secondary to anyone, me included. They are uniquely and expressly yours, born out of your fierce personality and the passions God has sown in your heart: your sense of justice and service to those the world has left behind, like children and the elderly and the disabled, your loyalty and wit, your independence and your beauty. My birthday wish for you is that you wouldn't be afraid to love well and be loved well. I am excited for everything ahead for you this year, and I anticipate the great things you'll accomplish and the people you'll affect in your life. I love you, little elephant.
That girl is my beloved little sister, Ashley. This picture was taken on our wonderful trip to Italy this past summer. We got pretty darn good at the self-portrait - not a double chin in sight! Today is Ashley's 22nd birthday. I can hardly believe that...
Twenty-two years ago I was a three and a half year old, tottering into the hospital room on the maternity ward to see Mom with this new creature that was entering our family and sharing our lives. Dad showed me how if I put my finger in her palm, she'd curl her little hand up to hold on to me. In fact, the first thing I said to her was something along the lines of, "You've got a good grip!"
Nineteen through eleven years ago, to sleep we shared the bottom bunk of bunk beds, even though we each had our own room. I don't know why, except to be together was better than to be apart. We fought like rabid dogs and made up with little notes passed under doors.
Four years ago she stood by me while I wore a white dress and said my vows and forged a new family, and she's always loved Ben like he was her own brother.
Eight months ago we met each other halfway 'round the world and together we missed buses and saw the remnants of prior civilizations all across Italy.
Baby girl, I've loved you every second of these 22 years, even when I didn't like you very much. I won't pretend I understand you all the time, or assume that it hasn't been hard for you being the second one in line. But I do hope you understand that your gifts and talents aren't secondary to anyone, me included. They are uniquely and expressly yours, born out of your fierce personality and the passions God has sown in your heart: your sense of justice and service to those the world has left behind, like children and the elderly and the disabled, your loyalty and wit, your independence and your beauty. My birthday wish for you is that you wouldn't be afraid to love well and be loved well. I am excited for everything ahead for you this year, and I anticipate the great things you'll accomplish and the people you'll affect in your life. I love you, little elephant.
Friday, January 16, 2009
Two Scoops of Yum
Deep in America's heartland, there lies a magical place, from which comes forth the most wonderful concoction known to mankind. Keep your Pinkberry and your Coldstone; give me Braum's.
Braum's is a icecream and dairy company based out of Oklahoma, and is the only remaining major icecream company in the United States that owns the entire operation, from the dairy cows and the farms they live on to the manufacturing plants, to the retail stores where the icecream is sold. And I might be biased, seeing as how for the first half of my life Braum's produced all the milk I drank and the icecream I ate, but I will swear up and down that it is the best in the world. I'm quite the icecream connoisseur, so I should know.
To maintain their quality, Braum's only ships its products a certain distance away from the main headquarters in Oklahoma. This distance, sadly, does not encompass St. Louis, and certainly not Nashville. So when I come back within range - as I am now, at my grandparents' house in Wellington, Kansas - I have to take advantage of it!
Today we drove over to the local Braum's where I perused the different flavors behind the clear counter. I have some funny memories of the combinations my sister and I used to try. I mostly stuck to things in the vanilla/chocolate family, but Ashley... well, her bravery for pairing flavors is legendary. One scoop of orange sherbet and one scoop of peppermint? Yeah, she ate that.
The flavor perusing, for me, is really just a formality. When I only get the chance to eat this icecream maybe once a year, I go for the gold. The champion. My number one icecream of all time. Braum's Cookies & Cream. I can't even talk about it, because words fail to do it justice.
So the next time you're in Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas, or the western parts of Missouri and Arkansas, check to see if there's a Braum's nearby. You won't be disappointed.
Any other midwestern kids out there reading this who know and love Braums? Please share your favorite flavors in the comments!
Braum's is a icecream and dairy company based out of Oklahoma, and is the only remaining major icecream company in the United States that owns the entire operation, from the dairy cows and the farms they live on to the manufacturing plants, to the retail stores where the icecream is sold. And I might be biased, seeing as how for the first half of my life Braum's produced all the milk I drank and the icecream I ate, but I will swear up and down that it is the best in the world. I'm quite the icecream connoisseur, so I should know.
To maintain their quality, Braum's only ships its products a certain distance away from the main headquarters in Oklahoma. This distance, sadly, does not encompass St. Louis, and certainly not Nashville. So when I come back within range - as I am now, at my grandparents' house in Wellington, Kansas - I have to take advantage of it!
Today we drove over to the local Braum's where I perused the different flavors behind the clear counter. I have some funny memories of the combinations my sister and I used to try. I mostly stuck to things in the vanilla/chocolate family, but Ashley... well, her bravery for pairing flavors is legendary. One scoop of orange sherbet and one scoop of peppermint? Yeah, she ate that.
The flavor perusing, for me, is really just a formality. When I only get the chance to eat this icecream maybe once a year, I go for the gold. The champion. My number one icecream of all time. Braum's Cookies & Cream. I can't even talk about it, because words fail to do it justice.
So the next time you're in Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas, or the western parts of Missouri and Arkansas, check to see if there's a Braum's nearby. You won't be disappointed.
Any other midwestern kids out there reading this who know and love Braums? Please share your favorite flavors in the comments!
Sunday, January 04, 2009
The Christmas Letter (2008 Edition)
Okay, so I know it is past Christmas, but the annual Christmas letter is a good summary of everything that went down in our house this past year, so think of it more as a Year-End Report than a Christmas letter. Most of you who read this blog probably already got this in the mail, anyway, but humor me. It's late, I've done nothing the last few days except piddle with one scrapbook layout, take really long naps, and breeze through the first four Harry Potter books. I don't have any new material for you. So you'll take this recycled Christmas letter AND YOU'LL LIKE IT. Ahem. Where was I? Oh yes, the letter. Here we go!
***
Hello friends & family!
2008 has been a busy but blessed year in our little house here in Nashville. In an effort to inform you of all the fascinating stuff we’ve been up to, I created this original acrostic “poem” to describe all the best from our year. And they said my English major would never come in handy!
M is for Movies! We are still huge movie fans, as our ever-growing DVD collection can confirm. In 2008 we loved The Dark Knight, Iron Man, Be Kind Rewind, Once, Quantum of Solace, Wall-E, Get Smart, and many many more...
E is for Estes Park! This August was GMA’s final Music in the Rockies event in lovely EP, Colorado. I was there for about two weeks, and my parents and Ben came up for part of the time to celebrate my 25th birthday on 08-08-08.
R is for Running on Empty! We survived the Great Nashville Gas Shortage of Fall 2008. It was beyond weird... For days, no stations had gas, and people would wait in lines for hours to fill up their tanks. Crazy!
R is for Recreational Activities! Aside from everything else I’ve mentioned we’ve enjoyed watching our favorite shows, rooting for Orange Bowl-bound Oklahoma, scrapbooking (me), playing guitar and learning piano (Ben).
Y is for Yamaha! Ben is still working there and spent a good amount of the year travelling for them – LA, NYC, Phoenix, Vancouver, LA, LA, LA, Chicago, Atlanta, LA, LA, and San Diego. Also LA.
C is for Customs Authorities! This is who detained Ben for over an hour when he was re-entering the country from a trip to Vancouver. He had to be cleared by the feds before he was released... turns out they were looking for a different Ben James. Sca-ry!
H is for Horticulture! For the first time this spring I planted some flowers in our yard. Spoiler alert: they all died. To make room for said (now dead) flowers, I yanked up five ugly bushes, the act of which left me with chronic back pain for the past eight months. Yaaaaaaay. Thus ends my fleeting interest in gardening.
R is for Read My Blog! Shameless plug... I keep a blog which I update fairly often with my thoughts and funny things that happen in our lives. Come read along!
I is for Italy! I went to visit Ashley there after her semester abroad, and it was awesome. We went to Rome and the Amalfi Coast region.
S is for STL! We found time to get back home a few times this year, including an awesome 4th of July weekend. We scored tickets to the Cubs-Cards game downtown and had a hot but awesome time watching the Redbirds win!
T is for Twilight! The series of books and ensuing movies are my new obsession. Me and about 75% of other women I know. Hey, I had to have something to occupy me while Ben is out of town all the time!
M is for Music! We enjoyed lots of great concerts this year. Ben made his seventh annual trip to the Bonnaroo festival. We also enjoyed Sleeping at Last, Needtobreathe, Jason Mraz, Rufus Wainwright, She & Him, and more.
A is for Adventure! We took up kayaking this year, and it has been quite the challenge... our normal trips are just easy paddle trips, but for Ben’s birthday I took him (and my parents) white-water kayaking in Colorado. Definitely the craziest thing I’ve ever done!
S is for Scruffy! Our sweet pup is just as precious as ever. He totally owns us. And our couch.
We love you all so much! May the wonder of Christmas – Jesus, born to be our rescue, to satisfy God’s absolute justice, to display God’s infinite mercy – infuse your hearts with joy and every blessing of the season.
Love,
Ben & Amy James
***
Hello friends & family!
2008 has been a busy but blessed year in our little house here in Nashville. In an effort to inform you of all the fascinating stuff we’ve been up to, I created this original acrostic “poem” to describe all the best from our year. And they said my English major would never come in handy!
M is for Movies! We are still huge movie fans, as our ever-growing DVD collection can confirm. In 2008 we loved The Dark Knight, Iron Man, Be Kind Rewind, Once, Quantum of Solace, Wall-E, Get Smart, and many many more...
E is for Estes Park! This August was GMA’s final Music in the Rockies event in lovely EP, Colorado. I was there for about two weeks, and my parents and Ben came up for part of the time to celebrate my 25th birthday on 08-08-08.
R is for Running on Empty! We survived the Great Nashville Gas Shortage of Fall 2008. It was beyond weird... For days, no stations had gas, and people would wait in lines for hours to fill up their tanks. Crazy!
R is for Recreational Activities! Aside from everything else I’ve mentioned we’ve enjoyed watching our favorite shows, rooting for Orange Bowl-bound Oklahoma, scrapbooking (me), playing guitar and learning piano (Ben).
Y is for Yamaha! Ben is still working there and spent a good amount of the year travelling for them – LA, NYC, Phoenix, Vancouver, LA, LA, LA, Chicago, Atlanta, LA, LA, and San Diego. Also LA.
C is for Customs Authorities! This is who detained Ben for over an hour when he was re-entering the country from a trip to Vancouver. He had to be cleared by the feds before he was released... turns out they were looking for a different Ben James. Sca-ry!
H is for Horticulture! For the first time this spring I planted some flowers in our yard. Spoiler alert: they all died. To make room for said (now dead) flowers, I yanked up five ugly bushes, the act of which left me with chronic back pain for the past eight months. Yaaaaaaay. Thus ends my fleeting interest in gardening.
R is for Read My Blog! Shameless plug... I keep a blog which I update fairly often with my thoughts and funny things that happen in our lives. Come read along!
I is for Italy! I went to visit Ashley there after her semester abroad, and it was awesome. We went to Rome and the Amalfi Coast region.
S is for STL! We found time to get back home a few times this year, including an awesome 4th of July weekend. We scored tickets to the Cubs-Cards game downtown and had a hot but awesome time watching the Redbirds win!
T is for Twilight! The series of books and ensuing movies are my new obsession. Me and about 75% of other women I know. Hey, I had to have something to occupy me while Ben is out of town all the time!
M is for Music! We enjoyed lots of great concerts this year. Ben made his seventh annual trip to the Bonnaroo festival. We also enjoyed Sleeping at Last, Needtobreathe, Jason Mraz, Rufus Wainwright, She & Him, and more.
A is for Adventure! We took up kayaking this year, and it has been quite the challenge... our normal trips are just easy paddle trips, but for Ben’s birthday I took him (and my parents) white-water kayaking in Colorado. Definitely the craziest thing I’ve ever done!
S is for Scruffy! Our sweet pup is just as precious as ever. He totally owns us. And our couch.
We love you all so much! May the wonder of Christmas – Jesus, born to be our rescue, to satisfy God’s absolute justice, to display God’s infinite mercy – infuse your hearts with joy and every blessing of the season.
Love,
Ben & Amy James
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Ciao from Roma!
Ashley & I are in Rome right now, having some fun! So far we have seen the Colloseum, Roman Forum, Trevi Fountain, the basilica and Vatican museums, the Sistene Chapel, and the pope. For reals! I will blog a lot more when I get home but just wanted to throw up a couple quick pics of our travels!
Ash & Me at the Roman Forum 
My illegal pic of the Sistene Chapel.
Tomorrow we leave for the coast where we will visit Sorrento, Capri, and Pompeii. Ciao!
Ash & Me at the Roman Forum
Piazza Navonna at Sunset
Me at the Colloseum at night.
My illegal pic of the Sistene Chapel. Tomorrow we leave for the coast where we will visit Sorrento, Capri, and Pompeii. Ciao!
Friday, December 21, 2007
Home again, home again, jiggidy jig
Tomorrow Ben and I are headed home to St. Louis... yaaaaaaaaay! I am ecstatic about this, as I have not seen my family in many months. The last time I was in St. Louis was in September with Heather, and neither my parents nor Ben's were in town!
Here are a few things I am looking forward to doing...
Here are a few things I am looking forward to doing...
- Hanging out with Cara & talking about wedding stuff! Maybe while cross-stitching and watching X-Files, who knows?
- Ben gets to see Cody and Rob and they can have guitar talk and possible guitar shopping (this is their favorite thing to do together... seriously, they went guitar shopping the morning of our wedding).
- Seeing my grandpa
- Loving on my sister, who after the holidays is heading to Italy for a semester. Jealous!
- Houses full of doggies... Scruffy is coming home with us to stay at Ben's parents' house in the basement, to sniff noses through the gate at Monk and Zoe. And at my parents' house, along with Elmo and Ernie is my sister's dog Buckwheat. Crazy but delightful!
- Christmas Eve church service
- Christmas morning with my family around the tree
- Christmas day with Ben's family and nephew Logan
- Maybe possibly please oh please seeing some snow... it snowed there last weekend so maybe some has stuck around!
- French fries from Kriegers. Oh sweet sweetness.
- Re-watching LOST season 3.
- Playing Wii with my parents.
- Shopping at mom's scrapbooking store... I've been waiting!
- Eating whatever sort of delectable meat my dad has smoked.
- Giving presents... I love this part! I mean, don't get me wrong - I'm no saint, I love getting presents too. But I really love to pick out specific things for people and watching them open everything!
- Playing a real (albeit slightly out of tune) piano
I can't wait! Just one more day and we'll be on our way through "scenic" Southern Illinois, headed home to our families and friends and celebrating Christmas!
I hope wherever you are and whoever you're with that you are as excited for your Christmas plans as I am!
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