Grace

Grace- Senior 2010

       Grace is a sweet, kind, and tender-hearted girl whom I got the privilege of getting know this fall while we shared a room at EXCEL.  She has a genuine love for those around her and loves to help others when in need.  Grace and her family were missionaries in Korea for several years and now live back in Texas. In the spring, she plans to attend college and work towards becoming a nurse. Grace, I pray that you keep seeking the face of our Heavenly Father and that He continues to do a marvelous work in your life! I know that God has already used you in several people's lives and I pray that He continues to do so. I love you so much!  Thanks for being an awesome friend and roommate! :-)

AshleyMarie

Laura McDonald

        Laura is an amazing 17yr old girl whom I met this fall at EXCEL. Her and I were on the same team  and our rooms were across the hall from each other. Laura has such a heart to learn and know more about our Heavenly Father. She was such an encouragement to me throughout the 8 weeks that we spent with each other. I can't wait to see what the big picture is that God has painted of her life.

 

AshleyMarie  

Holiday Mini Sessions

Hey Everyone!

I still have spots open for your family Christmas portraits. Call or email me soon and we will get your portraits done.

Thanks,
Ashley Marie

Holiday Mini Sessions

Holiday Mini Sessions

December 11, 13, and 14^th

$75

30 minutes

1 location

1-3 people for sibling sessions

1-5 people for family session

Each additional person $15

Make sure you contact me before December 10th, if you are interested!

903-946-3078 cell

ashley@ashleyhallphotography.com

Ashley Marie

See You again in Two Months!

Hey!!!

Just wanted to let ya'll know that I'm going to be gone for two months and won't be able to get online then. I will be attending EXCEL, a two month long girls discipleship program, in Dallas. My sisters Amanda and Whitney will be there as well. Whitney is going to be an assistant and Amanda will be a student like me. We will be learning life skills and will be growing in our walks with God. I know that Amanda and I will both miss our friends and family while we are gone! When I get back, I will tell ya'll all about it and show some of the photos that I will have taken.

Anyways....I've got to get up super early in the morning, so I must be going now. 

Oh girls...If you would like to write me, my address is:

Ashley Hall

1312 S Ervay St

Dallas TX 75215

I would love to receive a letter from you while I'm away. Hope ya'll have an amazing two months!!! 

Ashley Marie

Wade and Maria

Wade and Maria’s

Engagements

           It was such a great honor to be able to shoot Wade and Maria's engagements! I have known Wade for as long as I can remember. Maria, on the other hand, I have only known for a few years. Last December I told Wade that he needed to hurry up and propose to Maria so that I could take their engagement photos before I left for college. Well…after carrying around the ring for awhile, he decided that one night while they were at a fair in Longview, was the right moment to get down on one knee, in front of many people, and ask Maria to be his wife. Of course she said yes, as she had been waiting for him to ask her for a long time. J  I love watching the two of them together! They are one of the cutest couples that I have seen. When she looks at him, I can see the love in her eyes.  Oh…it just makes me smile! I love love soo very much!  Their wedding is set for March 2011. Thanks so much for allowing me to take part in this special occasion in ya'lls life! I pray that God blesses ya'll marriage greatly! 

Ashley Marie

Happenings in My Life since Graduation

Hey Hey!

WOW! Where to start? I guess we can start with Graduation. :-) 

On May 16th, our homeschool group had it's annual graduation. This year, we had 9 seniors from our group participate in our graduation. This year, First Baptist Church of Pittsburg was kind enough to let us hold our ceremony at their Church. One of the dads, Mr. Mike Schutt, was our guest speaker. Mr. Schutt has taught most of us Literature at least one year throughout Highschool. The many family and friends that attended our graduation, really showed me how much each and everyone of us are loved. I thank God for the people that He has put in my life. 

Back Row: Shane Calverly, Hannah Kingston, and Laura Seabourne
Left to Right: Clint Pegg, Ashley Hall, Jeffery Encino, Jenna Wilcox, Cheyenne Ballard, and Emily Schutt

I believe I had the largest family out of the graduates and I love everyone of them!
Back Row: Papa, Dad, Mom, Joshua, Rebekah,  and Amanda
Middle Row: Granny, Whitney, Rachel, Ashley(Me), Sarah, Courtney(cousin), and Aunt Toni
Front Row: John, and Colt(cousin)

Family Vacation:

This year, family went to Branson, MO for our vacation. When I had first heard that we were going to be going on a FAMILY VACATION, I was shocked because it had been literally years since we had taken one all together. Granny and Papa even came with us. We stayed at the Grand Country Inn on the main strip in Branson. Our days were filled with; comedy shows, shopping, swimming, watching tv, eating YUMMY food, a helicopter ride, meeting two American Idol stars, and tons more! 

My siblings and I with an American Idol star. :-)

Ft. Worth, Texas and Somerset, Pennsylvania: 

The Monday after we came home from vacation, I received a call saying that my best friend's dad had drowned in an accident while trying to save the little girl that they are planning on adopting. That was the hardest thing to ever have to go through. Mr. Richard/R, Diddy is one of my father figures. A few hours after the phone call, My mom and two of my sisters and I arrived at the hospital in Ft. Worth where Erika's mom was at. Along with my older sister Whitney, we stayed at the hospital until Mrs. Sandra was released, on Wednesday. After coming back to the Walker's house, I stayed with them till after the memorial service on Friday, here in Texas. (Friday evening and Saturday I taught a photography class with one of my friends, Amanda Mulder, who is a photographer in the Dallas area.) I joined them again in Pennsylvania on Sunday. Monday was the actual funeral and graveside. I can't find the words to describe the emotions that were present. But, I know that God has a plan for the Walker family and friends. I returned back home on Wednesday evening. Which left one day to rest and get ready to leave on my next trip. 

Erika, Andrew, Jeff Harris, Mrs. Sandra, and Alex Walker
Jeff is a professional bike racer and he is the man
that helped save the little girl and pull Mrs. Sandra out of the river.
God sent him to pull that last little bit. 

Bill Rice Ranch- Murfreesboro, Tennessee:

Two days after I got back from Pennsylvania, I left with my youth group for the Bill Rice Ranch in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. This year, we have doubled in size in the amount of people that we took to camp. Thank you God for giving us the opportunity to be a witness with more people. We had a rough time getting started on the road. But all in all, the trip up there was really good. Saturday night, we stayed at Franklin Road Baptist Church, which is about 5-10min from the Ranch. Sunday afternoon around 3ish, we loaded up in the buses to head over to camp. :-) Thankfully the line to checkin wasn't near as long as it was last year. But, the van that I was in, didn't have a/c that worked very well at all, so we were sweating up a storm. Throughout the week, we heard messages from Dr. Bill Rice III, Bro. John Goetch, and Bro. Matt Downs. The Lord worked in many ways through the speakers and camp councilors. Two of the guys from our group accepted Christ as the Lord and Savior. Praise Jesus!!! Neither our girls or guys did too great in the sports tournaments this year. But my cabin did win the Golden Broom award again, for having the cleanest cabin all week. :-) Good job girls!! I pray that God allows for the youth group to return to BRR next year and many years to come. 

Bethel Baptist Youth 2010

This Fall, I will be attending EXCEL for 8 weeks. September 20th-November 12th. I will share more about this in later. I will also post different photos from throughout the summer as well. But for now, I must head to bed so that I can get alot of my studying and packing done tomorrow. 

Have an incredible night and day tomorrow!

Ashley Marie

 

♥ Senior Pics 2010 by Jessica Shae ♥

The amazing Jessica Shae took my senior pics last week around town.  We had an amazing time starting off with a trip to Sonic, where many accents were used.  Jessica, thank you soo much for coming and doing my senior pics for me!  I absolutely LOVE them!  I had the hardest time deciding which ones I would use for my invitations because I loved them all so very much!  I can't wait till the next time we get together! Again, thank you so much! 

My Favorite!

 

Dr. PEPPER!! My 2nd favorite drink!

I love the way the paint is on the brick!

and just for fun...

Much Love,

♥ Ashley Marie ♥

My Family 2010

Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family: Whatever you want to call it, it's my family. 

 Back row: Rachel(11) and Sarah(7)...Middle row: Amanda(15), John(3), Mom, Dad, Whitney(18) and Joshua(8mo)...Front row: Me(Ashley)(17) and Beka(13).

The family. We were a strange little band of characters trudging through life sharing diseases and toothpaste, coveting one another's desserts, hiding shampoo, borrowing money, locking each other out of our rooms, inflicting pain and kissing to heal it in the same instant, loving, laughing, defending, and trying to figure out the common thread that bound us all together. 

Erma Bomdeck 

~Ashley Marie~

Easter

~Easter~

Most people think of these things when they hear the word Easter:

The Easter Bunny...

 is not a modern invention. The symbol originated with the pagan festival of Eastre. The goddess, Eastre, was worshipped by the Anglo-Saxons through her earthly symbol, the rabbit

Easter Eggs...

As with the Easter Bunny and the holiday itself, the Easter Egg predates the Christian holiday of Easter. The exchange of eggs in the springtime is a custom that was centuries old when Easter was first celebrated by Christians.

from the earliest times, the egg was a symbol of birth in most cultures. Eggs were often wrapped in gold leaf or, if you were a peasant, colored brightly by boiling them with the leaves or petals of certain flowers.

today, children hunt colored eggs and place them in Easter baskets along with the modern version of real Easter eggs -- those made of plastic or chocolate candy. 

and Candy Filled Baskets...

All of these are wonderful things, but they have nothing to do with the real meaning of Easter.  

A brief story of what Easter really means...

On what we call Good Friday, Jesus Christ was executed by crucifixion. His body was taken down from the cross, and buried in a cave.

The tomb was guarded and an enormous stone was put over the entrance, so that no-one could steal the body.

On the following Sunday, some women visited the grave and found that the stone had been moved, and that the tomb was empty.

Jesus himself was seen that day, and for days afterwards by many people. His followers realized that God had raised Jesus from the dead just as he had told His disciples in John 2:19 ( ¹⁹Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.) The temple that He is talking about, is His body. 

You can find the full account of the Easter story in:

John 19:38 - 20:21

Matthew 27:55 - 28:10
Mark 15:40 - 16:14
Luke 23:47 - 24:35

Think about it...

we should all take into consideration what Christ did for us on the cross that day when he payed the debt for our sins. But that's not when it really started. It started when an angel appeared to Mary and Joseph and then she had Jesus in a manger(barn) in Bethlehem. As a child, He got hurt and skinned his knees just like any other child. But, He was sinless, He didn't disobey his mom and dad, or get in a fight with another kid. He was/is perfect! 

As He started His ministry, He gathered 12 men to be His disciples. They dropped their work and followed Jesus. Christ's ministry lasted until that wonderful but heart wrenching day on Calvary. It breaks my heart to know that Christ died on the cross for my sins. But you know, He didn't die only for me, He also died for you.  He loves each and everyone of us so much that He died for us on the cross. All we have to do is take the FREE gift of Salvation that He offers us.  

Simple Steps to Salvation

Romans 3:23 "For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God."

*Realize that you are a sinner

Romans 6:23 "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life, through Jesus Christ our Lord."

*Understand that you deserve death for your sins.

*Accept the free gift of eternal life that Christ is offering you. 

Romans 10:13 "Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved!"

*Call out on God in the name of Jesus. 

Romans 10:9,10 "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus Christ, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him up from the dead, Thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." 

 *If you know that God is knocking on the door of your heart, PLEASE invite Him in to be with you forever! 

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask! Please be thinking about this as we head into Easter Sunday. 

Thanks for reading! Feel free to leave comments.  :)

Ashley <3

(Just so we're clear...I'm not bashing any of these things that I mentioned early on in the post, my family has always done Easter egg hunts, and gift baskets and things like that. I'm all for having a wonderful time as long as we remember the real reason Easter is a holiday.)

HE IS RISEN!!!