What I've Been Up To

Hey Everybody!

I know it's been awhile. Let me catch you up on what I've been up to!

October was quite a crazy month. I flew home for my best guy friend's wedding. I got to see my bestest friend in the whole wide world! She has been my best friend for over 20 years. Can you believe she just had her second baby a few months ago??? She looks amazing! Love you Littlebeth!

This us us with our moms. I have greatly missed my Cortese family!

Here is a pic of Mom and dad I took while I was home in Oct.

Then there was this large blackout in my life. Otherwise known as SBTC Annual Meeting. Where I ran around like a crazy person for 3 or 4 days. While I was there I got to see some of my favorite people. My pastor from home and his family stopped by to take me to lunch. And David and BJ Lawson dropped by to hug my neck. Wish you could have seen the look on Mama BJ's face when she looked at my and said "Well you look like you're in charge" and I responded "Well I kinda am." It was priceless! Love you guys!

Then I went home for Thanksgiving. I finally got to meet my sweet nephew Noah!

Here is Noah and his Aunt Ashlee

He devoured this pickle. Okay, so he gummed it to death that like devouring right?

And with Christmas right around the corner, I have started attending my many Christmas parties. The first one was for the ladies at my work. We did a little Christmas shopping from a free trade co-op in the Dominican Republic. These are the cute earrings I bought!

We also made a craft project. Sheryl loved making her craft project....

More earrings...I didn't buy these, just wanted you to see what else they make.

Here is the table full of goodies!

Here is my finished craft project!

The girls hard at work: Tiffany, Randi, and Trina

The other girls: Gina, LeAnne. Sheryl, Amber, Amber's Mom Tari, Darla, and Andrea

Well, I have lots more pictures to share. Next up: the holiday decor in my apartment and pictures from my roommates bridal shower.

MIA

Yes I know, I'm sorry, please forgive me. I have been MIA for months now. I'm coming back, I promise. I have tons to fill you in on, tons about what God is doing in my life. I have been running around like a crazy person with no time to blog....forgive me. But while you are here, please be in prayer for me and those in my life. There is alot going on and prayer is the best thing I can ask for! See you soon! Lots of pictures to come!

Walking worthy of the calling- Ash

Prayers for Max

Dear Readers,

I come today asking you to pray for Max. I have dubbed him Max a Million. Max was born at 27 weeks. He is 2 lbs 1 oz. So far he is doing very very well, but I ask you to please keep him and his family in your prayers. His Aunt Whitney is a dear friend of mine. She has posted pictures and info about Max on her blog. See here to learn more about Max from his Aunt Whitney: http://http//glamlifehousewife.blogspot.com/

Green Chile

Green Chile. Do you even know what that is? Well let me educate you.

Definition: Green Chile is a long sort of skinny green pepper. Great you might think, but in the world do you do with them? I am so glad you asked.

What do I do with them?: First, you must have them roasted. Then you peel the skin off and slit them and take the seeds out. This part is important, if you don't take the skin off they will have a weird texture. If you don't take the seeds out they will burn your mouth. Then you take them and can use them in all sorts of ways. You can stuff them with cheese and then batter and fry them for Chile rellenoes. You can chop them and put them queso (I highly suggest this). You can put them on a cheese burger. You can pair them with potatoes and pork and make a stew. Or if your are my brother you can use them as hot dog toppings. Or if you are my dad you could use it as a pizza topping with pork sausage (please try this).

Wow, you must think I'm crazy. You see I grew up in green chile country. We put it on everything. Last week I was at a cookout and they had some green chile on a plate to put on your burger. I screamed "IS THIS GREEN CHILE???" I wasn't sure if I should jump for joy or cry. My parents buy a bushel each year and use it all year long. That stuff you buy in a can is an insult to the word green chile. It has no taste compared to the real stuff. I think I was in high school before I realized that you couldn't order a green chile cheese burger at every Sonic nationwide. Nope only in my state. It wasn't until college that I realized that most people didn't know what green chile was. For instance, I still remember how my college roommate looked at me when I first spoke the words green chile. She imagined moldy chili that you put on a frito pie.

Well ladies and gents it's green chile harvest time and I am far away from home, so I did the next best thing. I went to the green chile festival at Central Market. I mean come on, how could I miss it. The first thing I did was waltz over to the green chile section and pick up the package below. Oh they smell like heaven! I'm going to take these guys and put them in individual freezer bags. Then I will have them on hand when I need them.


Then I walked around and picked up some fresh fruit. The cook station has a sample of the jar below. Green chile stew mix. I'm putting this away for a cold rainy day. All you have to add is pork, beef, or chicken and potatoes. It made my nose run, therefore it was worthy of purchase.

Next I detoured into the vitamin section and picked up my multi-vitamins. Then I got lost in the cheese section. Oh the cheese section of Central Market. Have you ever seen so many types of cheese? Well look what I found...Monterrey Jack with Hatch green chile....oh yes...heavenly cheese. So I closed my eyes, didn't look at the price and placed it in my basket. I'm worth it I tell myself. (By the way I took some of this cheese and melted it on my left over crescent rolls from last night....OH MY WORD)

I highly encourage you to stop what you are doing, drive to the nearest Central Market and purchase these three items. If you don't have one near you but have a place that actually sells roasted green chile, be grateful and purchase some immediately. I lived 4 years in OK and they don't have it anywhere. I thought I might die. If you are in my home state and don't go to your nearest farm and purchase a bushel immediately, then SHAME ON YOU. For the rest of you, I apologize, you are missing out on something awesome. Next time you are in my home state I expect you to 1. go to Sonic and order a green chile cheese burger(think of me when you do!) or 2. go into a mexican food restaurant and order something on the menu with green chile. As for me, I am going to enjoy my little treasures and feel just a little bit like I'm at home!

6 Stones Mission Network

Last January I got wind of a new ministry that would be started by my church. I didn't know much about it or what it would even be called. At the time all it meant to me with a closed door in my life.

Now almost eight months later the 6 Stones Mission Network is in full force. 6 Stones is a 501c3/ non profit created with the intent of working with a coalition of churches, non-profit agencies and other entities to assist in meeting the needs of the people within our community. 6 Stones consists of many parts with a main goal. Serving the community and helping to show the love of God to others.

This last weekend 6 Stones handed out backpacks to 44 families. Calls continue to pour in from people asking if there are still backpacks to give away. There are.

6 Stones is something like a Mission Arlington. It is a place that people can go when they need help. When they need food or clothes. With the downturn of the economy we have seen a great need in our community. People are hungry and cannot provide basic needs for their family. 6 Stones aims to meet those needs.

6 Stones has also been involved in community revitalization. 6 Stones been involved in the revitalization of 15 homes. Homes that desperately need repair.

It has been amazing to watch how God is using this ministry in my community.

This Sunday the students from my church will not meet for regular Sunday School, instead they will team up with 6 Stones and go door to door collecting canned and nonperishable food items. I cannot wait to see how God uses my small group girls to meet the needs of those in their community.

For more information on 6 Stones you can go to www.6stones.org . They always post their current needs on the top left hand side of their website.

I encourage you to pray about what your part is in your community. If you are apart of my community maybe your part is to give, serve, or somehow else be apart of the 6 Stones Mission Network.

Flight 360

Let me introduce you to camp. We call it Flight 360. A couple of weeks ago I took the week off of work to spend 5 days sleeping on a bunk bed and hanging out with students 24/7. To you that might not sound like so much fun, but to me it was a blast!

Our theme for camp was "Surrender". Surrender, what does that mean to you? This is something I have thought alot about recently. What does it look like for me to surrender every single part of my life to the Lord and to allow Him to be Lord over it all!

Everything about camp was awesome (except for the fact that it was SOOO HOT!). Our speaker was Wes Hamilton and he brought the Word every night. Our band was Branch and they were just wonderful. I am so impressed by them and the way that they allow the Lord to speak through them while they lead others to worship. There is something about Branch and their humility that brings about true worship in students.

I saw God do some really wonderful things in my girls during camp. I saw God do some really awesome things in me. He has taught me so much about what surrender is and how He desires for that to play out in my life. Surrender is an every day moment by moment choice. It is taking every part of me and trusting it in the hands of God. It is saying yes to what God wants even before I know what it is. Surrender is letting go of my presuppositions and allowing God to write the story of my life. It is allowing God to take control and not trying to manipulate things so that they go the way I want them to. In my life surrender is waiting on God and being obedient to Him. God spoke during camp in so many ways and I cannot wait to see the journey that God takes me on!

Here are some of my pics from the week!

This is what happens when you give 200 9th graders glow sticks...don't you love it!

This is our camp look. Yeah we are so attractive! Greg's hair was SSSOOOO GROSS, but don't worry it's all gone now!

Some of my girls on the bus on the way home from camp!

Baptizing kids in the pool our last night of camp!

Crosses infront of the worship center. A reminder of what camp is about, being with the Lord and surrendering everything at the foot of the cross.

This is me, my co-care giver, and my girls. I am so grateful that God has given me these girls! They are awesome and I love seeing what God is doing in their lives!

Worship. Yeah it was awesome!

Love her!

Going out to wild and crazy rec. Go blue school!!!

And adorable Hudson. Yeah just chillin on the golf cart with his momma!

Extreme Home Makeover Judy Style

Well, a week has passed and I haven't posted this yet. I am sorry I have been at camp with the students from our church. Let me tell you about the pics below. Judy works at my office. She is pretty wonderful. She just moved into an apartment by herself. The girls and I at the office thought it would be fun to do our own version of Extreme Home Makeover. Here is what we did. We secretly talked behind Judy's back (the good kind where we were planning). We all got together last Saturday and brought all of the things we had brought from home. Gayla came armed with her sewing machine. We kicked Judy out for the day while we did our thing. When we were finished we call her and told her to come on home. It was a wonderful day of serving the Lord and loving on our friend.

The below pics show what we did!

Here is the before:

This might look like madness to you...but to us it was full of the treasures we used to decorate Judy's apartment.

Drum roll please......... The After!

Here she comes! Check it out!

Here is our crew (minus Julie).

We had so much fun helping Judy with her apartment. We love her so much and were overjoyed to help her make her apartment a home!