♥ 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!!!