The Woman I Want to Be!

I saw this on a blog I occasionally stalk, and I loved it. The list of comparison is truly convicting and inspiring and just a great little tool for some self examination... this is the kind of example I want to be for sweet baby Maggie, and the wife I want to be for my AMAZING husband and the child I want to be for my perfect and loving Heavenly Father!

Flashback...

to July 3, 2009. Young(er) Robert watches young(er) Ashley walk down the aisle; they say "I DO!" and then they kiss and so far they have lived happily ever after!!!

Flash forward two years (present time) and they are in cool San Francisco celebrating two years of fabulous love and a baby girl on the way! So, please enjoy a few pics from our trip - we did!!


THE PAINTED LADIES


CRAZY LOMBARD STREET


COOL STAIRS AT COIT TOWER


ALCATRAZ!


ROBERT IS LOVING THE PRISON!


(and obviously i'm looking super cute!)




AUDIO TOUR


(this totally crazy insane guy) in front of this YUMMY burrito place!


YAY for our good friends, the MILLERS :) (came to visit from Modesto)


GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE!!

OK. There are a million more pics, but uploading them is getting annoying, haha. So, for now, adios!! Can't wait for my man to get home...!

Babies! Babies! Babies!

Currently, babies are popping up everywhere in my life except for the little one in my belly!

It all started in February with Caitie and Olive...I cannot believe she is already 6 months old and so so adorable and fun! Then, another Caiti - roommate from college - had her sweet little Hayley! Shortly after that one of my dearest friends from college Stephanie and her hilarious husband Nick, had baby Addison - who I am dying to meet! Then came the few boys: Kelsey with Declan and Carly with Tucker, what handsome little men! A past coworker and friend had her second little girl, Allie, up in Alaska. Now, my best CA friend, Nicci, has her little Bryndal Lane, and she is just so sweet and beautiful! I'm also waiting to hear from my friend and neighbor, Rebecca, and the arrival of her little one (who was due last week!). Then, my very own family grew with the addition of Jacob Timothy Wauhop to Tim and Joni! What a chubby cutie, 9lbs, 9oz and 22 inches long!! I cannot wait to see him at Christmas! And, I still have several more pregnant friends, ready to bring their bundles of joy into the world within the next 4 or 5 months! What an exciting time!!

Here is my new nephew!! Looking so handsome and big-cheeked with his hard working mommy!!

So, now, Robert and I are basically dying to meet our Maggie Grace! Seriously, she is just moving and rolling and dancing around inside of me 24/7 and I just want to see her face...and fingers and feet and nose and belly and everything! I want to hold her in my arms, and not in my belly anymore, haha! (not to mention, I could definitely go for a nap on my stomach!!) I'm making my way through this 32nd week, and praying for the next 7 or so to come quickly! What a blessing all these new lives are! God is so kind to bless so many we love with the gift of life, adding to our quivers and adding to our joy which is always full in Him!

"Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow. In the exercise of His will He brought us forth by the word of truth, so that we would be a kind of first fruits among His creatures." James 1:17-18

Valley of Vision

God the Source of All Good

The heavens declare thy glory,
The earth thy riches,
The universe is thy temple;
Thy presence fills immensity,
Yet thou hast of thy pleasure created life,
and communicated happiness;
Thou hast made me what I am, and given me
what I have;
In thee I live and move and have my being;
Thy providence has set the bounds of my habitation,
and wisely administers all my affairs.
I thank thee for thy riches to me in Jesus,
for the unclouded revelation of him in thy Word,
where I behold his Person, character, grace, glory,
humiliation, sufferings, death, and resurrection;
Give me to feel a need of his continual saviourhood,
and cry with Job, ‘I am vile’,
with Peter, ‘I perish’,
with the publican, ‘Be merciful to me, a sinner’.
Subdue in me the love of sin,
Let me know the need of renovation as well as
of forgiveness,
in order to serve and enjoy thee for ever.
I come to thee in the all-prevailing name of Jesus,
with nothing of my own to plead,
no works, no worthiness, no promises.
I am often straying,
often knowingly opposing thy authority,
often abusing thy goodness;
Much of my guilt arises from my religious privileges,
my low estimation of them,
my failure to use them to my advantage,
But I am not careless of thy favour or regardless of
thy glory;
Impress me deeply with a sense of thine
omnipresence, that thou art about my path,
my ways, my lying down, my end.

Vote!

So, if anyone reads this and has the time, please vote on which bag you think would make the better diaper bag for Baby Maggie!

The Hey Jute Stripe Tote - which is SO cute and girly (and affordable)!! My only concerns here is that it's really springy, and she will be a November baby, and it totally clashes with my stroller and car seat. But, I really do love it!



-OR-

Ambitious Lizard Embossed Tote (in Grey Blue) - love the neutral modern color, perfect size, and seems like really good quality. It's not adorable like the other option, but it's totally practical and just a beautiful bag in general!



Maybe I should just get both?! I mean it is my birthday next week!! Or, if you have another suggestion - a diaper bag you've loved or seen...I'd love to check it out!

What We've Been Up To...

O my! It has been quite some time since I last posted; but, I do think about it often. Life seems to be flying by. In the last month we've moved to Montrose (woot! woot! - such a blessing!), went on a anniversary trip/babymoon to San Fransisco (pictures and separate post to come, I promise), and all sorts of other work/high school ministry/seminary related things. And now we are about to venture off to Gloreitta, New Mexico for our high school summer camp and then a week after that, head home to the East Coast!! Living the good life :)

So, Montrose is this adorable little city that's sort of tucked away in some hills. It's so quiet and quaint and residential - so not North Hollywood where we just came from. And, although we loved our old location, the Lord has blessed us with so much extra space and amazing neighbors here in our Montrose apartment!

As far as high school camp, it's an insane, high-energy, total blast of a week with some of the greatest high schoolers around, and then like 600 other ones, too. This year there are going to be about 900 kids at CampRegeneration, hosted by Grace Church and our 180 youth group! There will be 12 teams (I think), and the competition is super fierce. This year it is Heroes vs. Villains, and I honestly have not seen girls go at each other like this, ever - it's so crazy...the sweetest little tiny high school girl is rolling around in the mud fighting over a blown up crocodile and then diving into a kiddie swimming pool and running around with a refrigerator box on her head - o camp! John MacArthur, Rick Holland, and Austin Duncan will be speaking, and it should be amazing! But, I've left out the best part! Me and this giant belly of mine will be riding on the bus...for 18 hours!!! So, honestly I'm not looking forward to that, because I know it will be uncomfortable and hard to sleep...but the Lord will give grace! Pray for me, please, if you think of it. Thankfully there are bathrooms on our bus!!

And then going home! O my goodness, I cannot wait to go home! We haven't been home since Christmas, so that's over 8 months! I haven't seen my mom once since I've been pregnant, so I'm really looking forward to spending time with her and the rest of the family! Also, I should be having 2 baby showers, one in NoVa and one in DE - so I'm very excited about that! Bring on all the cute baby gear!

Baby Maggie is getting so big and she's becoming more and more active, which is really fun! We hit 24 weeks/6 months this past Sunday! I cannot wait to meet her!! Getting fatter has been a little rough for me. I've always tended to be more self-conscious about my weight/appearance...and adding 12lbs so far to this little 5'1" frame has bummed me out at times. But, it really is like all belly so far, so that is kind of the Lord. And, it's humbling to remember that not only is my body not my own since it was bought with a price by Christ at my salvation, but it is also being used by Him to grow another life at this time! Also, I am just so thankful that she is healthy and growing right on track! Pregnancy is such a miracle...it's super weird and full of emotions, but God is such a Master Creator! It really is awesome! I can't wait to see her beautiful little face, and pinch her little fat rolls, and kiss her forehead, and all that good stuff! Ahhh!! Just 15 and a half more weeks!! Thank you Lord!

Ps. 72:18-19 - Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, who alone does wondrous things. Blessed be his glorious name forever; may the whole earth be filled with his glory!

Psalms 37

1 Do not fret because of evildoers,
Be not envious toward wrongdoers.
2 For they will wither quickly like the grass
And fade like the green herb.
3 Trust in the LORD and do good;
Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.
4 Delight yourself in the LORD;
And He will give you the desires of your heart.
5 Commit your way to the LORD,
Trust also in Him, and He will do it.
6 He will bring forth your righteousness as the light
And your judgment as the noonday.

7Rest in the LORD and wait patiently for Him;
Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way,
Because of the man who carries out wicked schemes.
8 Cease from anger and forsake wrath;
Do not fret; it leads only to evildoing.
9 For evildoers will be cut off,
But those who wait for the LORD, they will inherit the land.
10 Yet a little while and the wicked man will be no more;
And you will look carefully for his place and he will not be there.
11 But the humble will inherit the land
And will delight themselves in abundant prosperity.

12 The wicked plots against the righteous
And gnashes at him with his teeth.
13 The Lord laughs at him,
For He sees his day is coming.
14 The wicked have drawn the sword and bent their bow
To cast down the afflicted and the needy,
To slay those who are upright in conduct.
15 Their sword will enter their own heart,
And their bows will be broken.

16 Better is the little of the righteous
Than the abundance of many wicked.
17 For the arms of the wicked will be broken,
But the LORD sustains the righteous.
18 The LORD knows the days of the blameless,
And their inheritance will be forever.
19 They will not be ashamed in the time of evil,
And in the days of famine they will have abundance.
20 But the wicked will perish;
And the enemies of the LORD will be like the glory of the pastures,
They vanish—like smoke they vanish away.
21 The wicked borrows and does not pay back,
But the righteous is gracious and gives.
22 For those blessed by Him will inherit the land,
But those cursed by Him will be cut off.

23 The steps of a man are established by the LORD,
And He delights in his way.
24 When he falls, he will not be hurled headlong,
Because the LORD is the One who holds his hand.
25 I have been young and now I am old,
Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken
Or his descendants begging bread.
26 All day long he is gracious and lends,
And his descendants are a blessing.

27 Depart from evil and do good,
So you will abide forever.
28 For the LORD loves justice
And does not forsake His godly ones;
They are preserved forever,
But the descendants of the wicked will be cut off.
29 The righteous will inherit the land
And dwell in it forever.
30 The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom,
And his tongue speaks justice.
31 The law of his God is in his heart;
His steps do not slip.
32 The wicked spies upon the righteous
And seeks to kill him.
33 The LORD will not leave him in his hand
Or let him be condemned when he is judged.
34 Wait for the LORD and keep His way,
And He will exalt you to inherit the land;
When the wicked are cut off, you will see it.

35 I have seen a wicked, violent man
Spreading himself like a luxuriant tree in its native soil.
36 Then he passed away, and lo, he was no more;
I sought for him, but he could not be found.
37 Mark the blameless man, and behold the upright;
For the man of peace will have a posterity.
38 But transgressors will be altogether destroyed;
The posterity of the wicked will be cut off.
39 But the salvation of the righteous is from the LORD;
He is their strength in time of trouble.
40 The LORD helps them and delivers them;
He delivers them from the wicked and saves them,
Because they take refuge in Him.