The Body of Christ

Just to give y'all an update, I've started serving again in Children's Ministry at church!!! And, I still LOVE IT! :)

It's been since before Madilyn was born that I was ministering to kids at church, and I thought that maybe my heart had shifted or something...but as soon as I started serving again I realized once again, "I was meant to do this!"

I received some great advice from Pastor Valerie (a sweet friend and mentor) who said, "Ashley, part of the reason you still feel far from home is that you're not being used in your giftings." You see, God made each of us with something to give. We all have our own unique talents and giftings that He's placed inside of us. We are all a part of the "Body of Christ." And, when each part is functioning at full-capacity, we give so much to others and we totally reflect the way that God intended His church to be to a lost and dying world. I always like to think, "If the ankle doesn't show up and do it's part, the toes can't do theirs because the toes aren't connected without the ankle." (And, in a wierd but true way, if you are the ankle, you'd better get to the spot God has for you...the toes are waiting! :) haha)

"Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ's body. We are many parts with one body, and we all belong to each other. In His grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you." Romans 12:4-6

It's amazing to me how much more "at home" I feel, even being thousands of miles from my friends, family and all that is familiar. God has given me the ability to reach kids, and I have a passion to see children saved and ministering to other kids with all the power of the Holy Spirit who is inside of them! But, I realize that this is because God put that desire inside of me.

What has God put in you? Use your talents for the glory of God and find yourself "at home," even if you're far away.

"For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who His children really are." Romans 8:19

Be who you are in Christ! The world needs you. And, creation is waiting...

Erie County Farms

Well, I have decided to start updating my family and friends on a few little special things about living in Erie, since most people won't be able to come visit while we are here. A major part of our lives in Erie is being thrifty or frugal...mostly because we are living off of student loans :) A great place we've found is called Erie County Farms, thanks to my sweet friend Megan.

Now, I know what you're thinking. It's what I was thinking, too, when I heard the name for the first time, but it's not a farmers market. It's actually inside an old grocery store...like an old Walmart or something. But the deals that come along with this crazy place are AMAZING! We go and get super fresh produce and meat in bulk packages! :) Who doesn't love a ton of meat?

I love Erie County Farms days because our freezer and our refrigerator are stocked FULL. And, there's something about having a full refrigerator and freezer that makes this mommy feel super blessed and provided for. (Thanks be to God for all of His provision!) Seriously, there is some good food at ECF. How good? So good that my 10 lb. bag of potatoes goes all month without sprouting and going bad. So good that my large bag of spinach is still crispy and fresh for 4 weeks...I rarely ever throw away produce from ECF. It's super fresh and delicious! Yummy!

Some of the deals we've found are:

10 lb. bag potatoes for $1.99.

3 lb. bag of onions .99

coffee creamer .99

big bag of baby carrots .99

hamburger meat $1.79 lb.

boneless skinless chicken breasts $1.19 lb.

Madilyn calls it "County Farm" and she wants to go there all of the time...probably because I give her "dum dums" because I want her to sit quietly while I navigate through the madness. It is literally basket-to-basket lines of people pushing and shoving through the aisles to get the best deals.

If you ever come and want to go, let me know. I only have the patience to go once a month...but I'll do it for you if you want to :)

Sunny Days

We have had the most gorgeous weather lately! It's been in the mid to upper 70's and lots of sunshine, and we are living it up!

We have had lots of zoo time and park time! Speaking of parks, we discovered such a beautiful park on the edge of town. It's called Picnicana Park, and it's in the Summit Township. It had beautiful trees, lots of fun playground equipment and even a little hill to hike down to a stream. It is absolutely gorgeous! We actually went there two days in a row because Madilyn said, "Mommy, that was my most favorite park in the whole world!" What mother wouldn't give in to that? :)

The first day we went with Pierce and Autumn and some other friends.

The next day we went to Picnicana with Olivia. The girls had fun throwing rocks into the stream. Pennsylvania has beautiful trees and I am continually amazed at all of God's creation. Colossians 1:17 "HE existed before anything else, and HE holds all creation together."

Also, our zoo time included Cameron today! It's his birthday, and we have enjoyed a nice family day together!

We even got to ride the train!

Madilyn rode the carousel and named her horse "Salty." She pet Salty and talked to him the whole time...very sweet.

Fall is such a fun time of year in Pennsylvania. I feel like we're finally getting adjusted to living here :)

Already October???

Man, time flies! I can't believe it's already the first day of October...and boy did it feel like it! Today was COLD with drizzly rain and wind. Yuck. The perfect day for another indoor activity. Thankfully, Stephanie called and invited us to go to the FREE kid's workshop at Home Depot. Apparently they offer these once or twice a month. The kids get a cute little orange apron with a new pin to put on their apron (they collect a new pin to add to their apron each time they attend). Today we got to make a rescue helicopter. Madilyn keeps calling it an airplane...but whatever. Close enough, right? :) So, we hammered, glued and put stickers on our helicopter.

Then, after we finished, the kids had refreshments. Gotta refuel after hard manual labor like building helicopters. I love these faces...patiently waiting for the yummy food! There were cookies and popcorn, but guess what they went for...

Popcorn!!! I think they loved their popcorn and lemonade just as much as they loved using hammers and glue. What do you think?

P.S. I'm pretty sure I enjoyed it even more than Madilyn. I can't get over how CUTE she looks in that apron!

Seasons Are a Changin'...

Well, as Autumn is upon us, we are finding all of our jackets and jeans and dusting them off so we can get outdoors. Something we've learning living in Erie, PA is that you don't stay inside if it's above 32 degrees outside. You just don't. Because there are plenty of days that will be BELOW freezing that we'll get lots of indoor activities in.

Madilyn found out what a tire swing is, thanks to her great friends Pierce and Autumn. This was definitely the high-light of that playdate! :)

Fall fun at the Erie Zoo! Madilyn loves to look in the "barn" and see the chickens inside!

In contradiction to everything I just said, we went to the Children's Museum this morning. My mom bought us a pass (thanks, Mom!) this year so we can go as often as we like. Normally this would be saved for a snowy day, but today was chilly, rainy and windy so we decided to pull out an indoor activity :)

Madilyn gives a fabulous puppet show.

She loves the grocery store, and she tells all the kids "Thank you for coming," when she is the cashier.

The princess found her castle.

Here the face painting station. She LOVES it! I think she loves it so much because she sees me doing makeup in the mornings. She's very creative!

But her all time favorite station at the Erie Children's Museum is the boats and ducks in the water. She can literally play in it for an hour. Loves it.

There are many more adventures for us this Fall as we change seasons and prepare for the Winter ahead. More pics soon...I promise! :)

Being Green and Saving Money!

Well, as those of you who know me already know, I'm not totally into "being green." I see the benefits of being responsible and good stewards of what God has given us, but I'm not overboard...but I DO LIKE SAVING MONEY!!! :)

This morning, we had a playdate at the park...

So, I skipped driving to the gym for a workout. Instead, I grabbed the stroller, my grocery list, a letter to mail, and a prescription to drop off and headed out for our playdate at the park. Whew! Honestly, though...it felt good to not spend extra gas on all of those things... and I got my workout in for the day! Yay! So we jogged 1.6 miles to the park to play and then walked to Walgreens, the post office and the grocery store before heading home (thankfully, they're within a few blocks of each other).

Madilyn brought Kitty of course. She had so much fun playing in the big tree tunnel with Olivia!

And, the swings were the hit of the day! Madilyn thought Kitty needed to swing, too. All in all, such a fun morning... and very productive! :)

Our big 3 year old!

Well, Madilyn is officially 3 years old!!! I absolutely cannot believe it, and I have cried a few times in the last couple of days because she's just growing up so fast! Three years old just seems so "kid-ish". She's not a baby and not even a toddler. She's a "pre-schooler." I'm so proud of her and the little lady she's becoming.

Some things I really love about this stage: She's learning to be a good friend. I see moments where she's starting to reach out to others when they're sad or if they don't want to play what she's playing. Granted, she's not perfect (as none of us are!), but she's such an amazing little girl. I'm overwhelmed by the destiny that God has planted in her little heart and the good things that are in her future! There is absolutely no better job than being a mom in my book (Hands Down!). What an honor!

She's really funny! Madilyn is starting to crack jokes and play with us like never before... and she's got a great sense of humor. And her laugher and her smile... they melt hearts (even in the grocery store we get stopped sometimes because people just love her little voice and the cuteness of the sparkle in her eyes and her smile, Oh her smile!). On a side note, a couple of days ago, I asked her what her favorite part of the day was. She said, "Playing with you, Mommy. That was my favorite!" Oh... melted me like butter.

She's got a sweet heart. She's tender. She's kind. She's loving... and she's starting to grasp the beginning of who God is and His plan for her. Oh, this excites me most of all! She has memorized her first memory verse: Genesis 1:1 "In the beginning, God created the Heavens and the Earth." She's really good at saying it and telling us about all the things God has made that are around us.

She's three, and I'm so excited to see what the future holds for her and for us! Madilyn's name means "prayerful" and "magnificent", and that's truly just the beginning of who she is. She's amazing, she's incredible, and I'm grateful for all the time we spend together! Wouldn't trade it for the world!

We took Madilyn to Build-A-Bear for her birthday, and she loved it! She picked out her "Madilyn Kitty" and got after it!

They told her to hold onto the kitty's heart, put it against her own heart and close her eyes and make a wish! She was VERY into it. :)

She got to give Kitty a bath before picking out her clothes.

Kitty ended up getting Sketchers Twinkle Toes shoes, just like Madilyn has.

She gave up her paci on her 3rd birthday in exchange for her new kitty. And, she did great and slept all night! As I type, she's sleeping without a paci, holding Kitty and taking a nap! She's getting the hang of growing up quite well, I think! :)