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Young woman on the beach looking at the sea

April 2, 2017 800 × 533 Young woman on the beach looking at the sea

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Hey Y’all!

It’s me, Ashley!

I’m a wife, mother (adoptive mama, foster mama, + bio mama), Kidney transplant warrior, advocate for special needs kiddos, speech pathologist, and chaser of all things LOVELY.

I love sharing bits of my life with you through this little blog. I live in Virginia with my husband and two kiddos. God has saved me, changed me, given me purpose and hope. God is good, all the time, and I can’t help but express my gratitude for His immense love and grace through my writing.

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wife & mama • kidney transplant warrior • champion of all special needs • advocate for foster care & adoption • chaser of all things lovely

Back at it 🧦 Sock matching for days 😆

Back at it 🧦
Sock matching for days 😆

New Year's Eve power-play for the win 🤜💥🤛

New Year's Eve power-play for the win 🤜💥🤛

Packing it all away today 🎄 I'm usually the per

Packing it all away today 🎄
I'm usually the person who keeps Christmas cheer going until February, but over the years I've been craving more and more simplicity and I'm ready to continue purging and holding on to only those things that bring value and meaning to our home and family. Wish me luck, because I'm a straight up hoarder most days 😆

Today was a good day 🎄

Today was a good day 🎄

"Every year Emmanuel continues to mean something d

"Every year Emmanuel continues to mean something different. Not that He changes, but that we do. Life peels back more layers and we're left standing raw until they heal. But God coming down into this gritty, dusty land of the dying makes every difference in our hope for living."
- @emilypfreeman

A little Christmas Eve nurf war. no big deal 🎄

A little Christmas Eve nurf war.
no big deal 🎄

Happy 3rd Kidney-versary @kelsynicole93 Kidney do

Happy 3rd Kidney-versary @kelsynicole93
Kidney donor & life saver & friend 💕
I'm so grateful for you!

Posting this again because I feel it coming 😬
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Maybe I'll ease into it this time....
but probably not. Surprise rage cleaning is always best for the rest of the people in this house - I'm sure of it 😏😆 there's research out there somewhere ✌

🤶🎄🎅Waiting for Christmas day like....

🤶🎄🎅Waiting for Christmas day like....

Perfect day to snuggle up and read some Beezus and

Perfect day to snuggle up and read some Beezus and Ramona.
Or fall asleep to avoid reading 😏

#Repost @tanyaweekes
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If this doesn't sum up 2020
I don't know what does 🤣

At this rate 2021 might look like:
Quarantine cold weather
Quarantine hot weather
Quarantine hurricane season
Quarantine cold weather again.

When you're determined to keep Christmas decor min

When you're determined to keep Christmas decor minimal this year and get rid of excess, but..... you love them all and can't part with anything yet 😆😬
I'll try again next year 🌲🏫🌲🏠🌲

Holiday Bow Sensory Bin 🤩🎄
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There are bows that have been sitting in my Christmas gift wrap tub for years. Most are crushed and sad looking, others are just not a color I ever reach for when wrapping. I tossed in a few new bows with amazing texture and fun shimmery patterns to elevate the sad, squashed ones 😆
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Tomorrow I'll change things up by adding in some pretty ribbons for them to lace through the loops in the bows🧵 Next week I'm going to do fresh cranberries and water sensory play 🥰
What are you putting in your sensory bins this month? I'm always open to fresh Ideas!

Your body will thank you! Apparently it's somethin

Your body will thank you! Apparently it's something our organs kinda need 🤷🏼‍♀️ just speaking from experience as a person with 3 kidneys who has to set alarm reminders, otherwise I'd drink 0 water a day 😫
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#kidneytransplant
#transplantlife

Anyone else have a kiddo who seems to really strug

Anyone else have a kiddo who seems to really struggle with focusing? And if it's something novel or challenging then it feels like pulling teeth to get a simple assignment finished? One of the best pieces of knowledge my son's Occupational Therapist told me years ago was this:
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Sometimes it isn't that a child won't,
it's that a child can't.
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I try to see every scenario through this lense now. Maybe he seems to be ignoring me, hyperfocused on the tear in his shirt sleave, laying his head down, asking for another snack.... anything to avoid doing the work. But what if it isn't that he won't focus, but that he can't? The music in the background might be too loud or his sensory system might need some help regulating before he can be productive and focused, so let's do some heavy lifting or swinging and give those muscles and joints some action.
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👉 One of the problems we run into most frequently is that the page he's looking at is simply too visually stimulating! His eyes don't know what to focus on first. Our solution for this is incredibly simple: take 2 pieces of plain white paper (no pattern and no color minimizes visual overload) and use them to narrow the visual field to one task at a time. My almost 6 year old actually recognizes how much this helps him focus and is starting to arrange the paper on his own to reduce visual clutter 🙌

Life is complicated and busy. I tend to worry over

Life is complicated and busy. I tend to worry over all of it and become obsessed with getting things perfect, as if the fate of the world and everyone in it rests solely on my shoulders.
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Whenever my self-importance begins to take center stage [which is often] I find it necessary to remind myself of my place in all of this. I look to the vastness of God's creation and am reminded that nature is only one small glimpse for us of who God is. I am just small potatoes, and grateful for it. What a relief that I'm not in charge and God doesn't ask me to fix it all. He truly is protector from all sides; shielding me from the things in my future that he did not plan for me to take on [like all the world's problems], and guarding me from the mistakes in my past that seek to harm me. He has promised to carry the heavy burden of 'perfection' so I don't have to. What a relief, thank you God.
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"You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me.
Psalm 139:5 ESV
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Weary doesn't begin to scratch the surface of how

Weary doesn't begin to scratch the surface of how many of us are feeling these days, but don't lose hope - light is coming to rescue us from the darkness, turning our weary sighs into rejoicing.
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"Because of God’s tender mercy, the morning light from heaven is about to break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, and to guide us to the path of peace.”
Luke 1:78‭-‬79 (nlt)

We needed this. My heart needed this. Our marriage

We needed this.
My heart needed this.
Our marriage needed this.
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Back in October we had a hiking & camping trip planned for our 10yr anniversary but I became very sick, so instead of an outdoor adventure we ended up having a hospital adventure 😝 We had to cancel our trip, of course, but have since still been craving time to connect with each other and nature. Thank you to friends and family who cared for our kiddos so we could hide away for a few days and heal a little more 🤍

forest, for rest 🌲🌳✌

forest, for rest 🌲🌳✌

I'm so desperate for advent this year I could cry.

I'm so desperate for advent this year I could cry. If you need me I'll be in a pattern of quiet rest until Christmas morning - breath seized, eyes unblinking, holding space for hope and joy and peace... waiting for the Savior to light everything up.
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We don't actually have to wait for a specific day to have the benefits of God's light in our lives, but if this year has taken a toll on you like mine has then it seems like the darkness has been relentless and my faith has been lacking.
▪︎Where is my light?
▪︎Is there anything to be hopeful about?
▪︎My joy has abandoned me.
▪︎I just want a day where I wake up and feel normal.
▪︎Am I valuable?
▪︎I want to enjoy my children and spouse.
▪︎I'm desperate for motivation.
▪︎What is my purpose?
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If you need light in your life, sit down today and carve out the space for it in December. Be ruthless. Slash your to-do list. Alter your calendar. Say no to that invitation. Make space for a season of advent, where you can wait and hope and invite Jesus to come. If you need God's light but can't find it, it's because there's no room left in your life for it. Make space and fill that space with quiet rest, ready to hear from God. He won't disappoint, and you're not alone; I'm making space as well, because I'm desperate for more of God and less of the world.
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"The one who is the true light,
who gives light to everyone,
was coming into the world."
- John 1:9 -
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