THEY KILL ME!

*Disclaimer-- Deep down I know these are characters and not real people. However, at this point, they are real to me. I know, I am a loser.

Meredith and Derek- You kill me! I love them so much. My sister did a great post about unfulfilled love and I these characters do a great job of leaving me wanting more. I mean the elevator scene when she says, "Our Look". I love it. They so need to be together. They were so cute admitting they aren't over each other. What is your prediction regarding these two? I think that Meredith will start moving on with George at the same time Derek becomes available. Oh, this show! I love it too much! I have got to have some payoff regarding them soon.

Desperate Housewives was great last night. For the past 2 weeks there has been the big twist at the end. It has reminded of me of last season and the way things work together. I t was good. Things I like: Gabrielle getting a conscious and Bree with problems. Things that worry me are Tom and Lynette. I might see an affair coming for one or both of them. It is complicated for sure.

Extreme Home Makeover - LOVE it! That little girl was something else! I love the fact they kept randomly breaking into song. It was funny. I love people with spunk.

Any thoughts or predictions?

Carley is 2 weeks old today. We took her for her big check up. She was definitely the cutest and loudest kid in the lobby. 

It is 3:00 a.m. Why am I the only one up? 

Dear God, Please help my parents to figure the diaper change out faster. They are killing me.  

The Best Things About Maternity Leave

I am now officially on maternity leave. Here are my favorite things about it so far:

1- It is 3:15 and I am still in pjs.
2- I am all caught up on Days of Our Lives.
3- Since Carley is up for a feeding in the middle of the night I have fallen back in love with "Who's the Boss?" It is on at 3:30 am on Nick at Night if you are interested.
4- No alarm clocks
5- A common misconception is that maternity leave is paid. This is normally not true. The law requires your employer to hold the job for you and not punish you, but they do not have to pay you your salary. Luckily I had enough "free days" to take off without being docked. At least Frenship only docks people $50.00 a day, other districts dock you your pay which is much more than that.
6- Disability insurance- I have filed Disability and I am getting reimbursed for the days I am not getting docked for...in other words, I am beating the system! :) LOVE IT!
7- Longer than 20 minutes for lunch.
8- Playing with Carley, feeding Carley, staring at Carley.

Carley is awesome. I can't believe she will be 2 weeks old tomorrow. I will post some new pictures soon! I love this kid!

Is Jesus really my best friend?

Last night I watched the premier of the show "The Book of Daniel". Lubbock news stations had all this controversy and hype about the show before it aired, so my mom, Carley, and I decided to watch it to see what we thought. The show is okay. Not the best show ever, I am not hooked, I wasn't offended, I wasn't really overcome by any emotion, it was just a TV show to me. I think it is risky whenever the entertainment industry tries to take on religion in any way. The main character is a priest who is addicted to Vicodin, his wife is an alcoholic, one son is gay, one is straight and having sex with a minor, and his daughter is arrested for selling drugs. The church secretary is a lesbian. Lots of things that we don't necessarily see at church on Sundays.

Two things stood out to me about the show.
1) Christianity is available to all. What we do with it, how we let it impact us, and our commitment level is up to us. God is there. He is available. The church should never claim to be perfect. The show does almost too good of a job at exemplifying the openness of the Lord. I am confident He does not approve of everything the show portrays, but I do believe that Christ died for all and that we all have the option of choosing to follow.

2) Jesus is priest Daniel's best friend. Jesus appears as a real character in the flesh. They laugh. They talk. Jesus listens. Daniel listens. Jesus warns Daniel about temptations. He encourages him during hard times. He is present in Daniel's life. Jesus is Daniel's best friend.

I have not been faithful lately at viewing Jesus as my friend, yet alone my best friend. There are so many different aspects of Jesus. The best friend is one of my favorites and I have not been pursuing that lately. He has been more of a quick IM buddy, or an old friend from long ago that I have been updating on my life, but not my best friend. Not the one who you share everything with and find joy in the relationship. There was a time when I really viewed Jesus as riding along in my passenger seat in the car or sitting across the table from me at a coffee shop. Now he seems long distance to me. I know that he is not the one who has distanced our relationship. I know he has not moved. I have put my priorities in the wrong order and let that relationship slip.

So the random show, "The Book of Daniel" definitely is not a religious blessing to me, but isn't it amazing how God can use little things to remind you about Him. Spend some time catching up with your best friend today.

I have to brag on Cody...

For those of you in cyber land who know my husband, you have no doubt how great a dad he already is and how lucky Carley is to have him. He is just so sweet and gentle. One of the biggest things to give me peace in my journey into motherhood is that I have Cody as her father and my partner. He is so AWESOME already.

I have to tell you one thing he did that blew me away in the hospital. Cody sent us flowers. He sent me an absolutely gorgeous bouquet of lilies and roses to the hospital. The flowers were beautiful and such a surprise. After surgery a girl does not necessarily feel like a beauty queen, but those flowers made me feel so special. It was so sweet.

The sweetest part of all was that he sent Carley a long stem red rose as well. He told her that he wanted her first rose to be from her Daddy so she knew how special she was. Even as I type this is makes me cry. He is so sweet to her. Last night was their first night a part. He went to the fire station and she did not sleep good. She is so used to falling asleep on his chest or being rocked and sung to by him. I could tell she missed him. I cannot tell you how great of a father he already is and how lucky Carley is to be his daughter.

I attached some pictures of the flowers so you could see how lucky we Nelson girls are.

Cody wanted the first rose she ever received to be from her Daddy. Man, is she a lucky girl or what? 

Cody sent me a beautiful bouquet and Carley a single rose. Between the sweetness of it all and my hormones, I couldn't stop crying.  

Full head of dark hair! It is so cute. She is just precious! Here I am holding her in the hallway for the first time on my way to the room. LOOK AT HER! 

What can I say? I love her so much and feel so blessed! 

Proud Daddy. She looks just life him. Beatiful blue eyes, full lips, cute nose. He is on cloud 9000! 

In the OR right after my C Section. Less than 3 minutes old. 

Carley Alyssa Nelson

She is here. She is amazing. No words can describe how blessed we feel. She arrived on Wed. December 28th at 2:54 pm. 8lbs 10 oz. 21 inches. Can you imagine if she would have stayed in until 40 weeks? She would have been well into the 10 lb side! She is perfect! Healthy, sweet, loving, and cute as can be.

Cody and I are doing well. We got home from the hospital on late Saturday afternoon. Best New Years Eve of my life! :) I have never been so tired before, so this will be a short post. Thanks for your prayers. Please keep them coming as she adjusts to this new world. We have taken over 200 pictures of her in 3 1/2 days so more will come. Here are a few so you can meet her.

We love you all.
Ashley, Cody, and Carley

Wow

We are leaving for the hospital in less than an hour. Wow. Last night was the last night for it just to be Cody and me. Today we become parents. There are really no words to describe what I feeling. You guys know how high strung I am so you know there are a million words and thoughts running through my mind. Mostly I feel blessed, excited, humbled, and anxious, but I have such a peace that it is all going to be okay. Plus, I am ready to get this girl out!

So....say prayers for us. I'll blog more when I get back from the hospital. Carley Alyssa Nelson is on her way!!!!!!!!

Updates

I have nothing exciting worth an entire blog entry, so here are some random updates and things that make me excited.

• A week from today Carley comes. I still cannot believe it. 7 days. I must say that pregnancy has become flat miserable except for the precious baby that I am doing this for. I now sleep in the recliner, pee every hour and a half, and have the worst indigestion. I am not complaining, I am incredibly blessed. I am just so thankful the end is in sight.
• Tomorrow is my last day of work until mid to end of February! Yeah for Christmas vacation! Christmas vacation is just as exciting as an adult in schools as it is for kids. One more alarm clock morning!
• Matt and Sally from the Biggest Loser are dating according to People Magazine. They look really cute. I love random stuff like that.
• Also, I miss the updates from my friends at Wisteria Lane, Seattle Grace Hospital, and from an island between Australia and America. How long must I wait to find out if Walt was messaging his dad, if Andrew is going to stick it to Bree, and if Dr. McDreamy is going to leave his wife?
• Cody bought me a large tub of miniature powder sugar donuts to eat on this week. I love unhealthy breakfasts. They soothe my soul.
• Jason on Laguna Beach is friends with Paris Hilton? That is too weird for me. Those crazy teenagers.
• For the first time in well over a year, I can't complete the People Magazine crossword puzzle. What is up with that? I am a pop culture champ. I feel so unknowledgeable. I'll never get my own talk show now.
• There is a great E True Hollywood Story out there on the Kids From Dawson's Creek. It is must see TV.
• I cannot wait for my family to open the gifts I got them for Christmas. Don't you love this time of year? By the way, Alyssa, I know who everyone has as their secret gifts! :)

Sorry this one is so random. Then again, that is why you read my blog! :)

Happy Wednesday!

Happy Birthday, Dad - the luckiest winner of free stuff

Today is my Dad's birthday! Nobody loves their birthday as much as my dad so I definitely wanted to dedicate a blog to him today! He is the funniest, sweetest, most generous and patient dad on the planet. He is just something else.

One of the things that is the funniest and quirkiest things about my dad is his luck. He is truly the luckiest guy I know. It is so exciting to me when free stuff happens. In a world of bills, credit cards, bankruptcy, budgets, insurance, deductibles, and debt I like it when good people get stuff for free. Our friend Brice won a huge gift card the other day at work, Cody came home with a Walmart gift card from work, and our friend Mike and my dad are always on the radio winning prizes. Well, my dad is the king of randomly winning free stuff. I have a really funny, but long, story about how at a Cotton Kings game he won a round trip for two to Playa Del Carmen that ended up getting all 4 of us a free round trip the next year. 6 free trips to an awesome resort in Cancun! He is on the radio all the time winning random stuff.

Yesterday was no exception. He won a Christmas CD then he got entered in the big drawing for the big 12 Days of Christmas package. Later that day we won the big prize which included gift cards to Dillards, Lujanns, Cinemark Movies, the drive in, Ralphs Records and Tapes, House of Flowers, Copper Caboose, 6 month free gym membership and personal trainer, bookstores, and Village Hairstyles. It totals over $500.00! That guy! I am telling you, he is so lucky!

Happy Birthday, Dad. I hope you have many more years of winning random free stuff!

Two Weeks Notice

Well, mark your calendars. The hospital is booked. I am having a C-Section on Wednesday, December 28th and noon. (or so) We have less than 2 weeks. I absolutely can not believe it. We are so excited, but truly going through a wide spectrum of emotions. We are nervous, anxious, thrilled, giddy, and in complete shock. I am 36 1/2 weeks now so we went from becoming parents in 4 weeks to becoming parents in less than 2. We are trying to take advantage of every last minute of it being the two of us. Eating out, movies, and naps are things we are trying to work in as much as possible. I am just ready to stop wearing her and start holding her. Pregnancy is an amazing blessing, but she is clearly running out of room and sleep and life in general are becoming more and more uncomfortable. These yucks of pregnancy make me more and more ready for her to come. I can't wait to hold her!

So, please keep us in your prayers and be thinking of us. The end is in sight.

On a side note, we aren't sending out Christmas cards this year. We will send baby announcements/New Year's letters after she gets here. I have LOVED receiving your cards and putting your beautiful faces on my fridge. Don't think I forgot you. Our Christmas present is just coming 3 days late so we want to have pictures to show you!

Less than 13 days....crazy!

wrapping it all up

I am a little nostalgic today. It seems like the end of lots of things are upon the Nelson household. Today I want to give a little shout out to things that are coming to a close or have ended this month.

• Girl's Bible Study- Every Monday night 9 of the most wonderful girls in the world have blessed me with thoughts, prayer, discussion, and laughter. Our Monday nights have been great. We read a book that really challenged me on some stuff called Creative Counterpart. Some chapters were better than others, but the time with my friends was wonderful every single week. Last week was our last one. It was such a blessing.
• Child Birth Classes- Cody and I have been doing 5 weeks of child birth classes and this week is our last. It has been a really neat (and scary) experience. We have learned a lot about what to do, what not to do, how to care for our little one, and what to expect when she comes. The best part is they taught Cody how to give me really effective back rubs! Plus it has been a really special time for Cody and me.
• End of the Fall semester- Next week will be one of the very busiest for me. The end of the semester means semester grades, credits, schedule changes for the fall, and all sorts of school fun. I can not believe the school year is half over. It has been a really good year and I am so blessed by my job. Plus I won't be back after the holidays because I will be on maternity leave, so I am about to go on a long hiatus.
• The Deavers- This year we have been been blessed by a really amazing couple joining our class at church. Brian and Melissa are awesome and we have loved having them become part of our church family. They are moving to Austin soon to start Pharmacy school and get new jobs, a new place to live, and a new church family. They are a really special couple and we are going to miss them so much. (It's not too late to change your mind!!!)
• End of just the two of us - Cody and I have had a really great fall together. We went on lots of dates to football games, movies, dinner, and just spent a lot of time together. It has been a really good time in our marriage. If Carley hasn't arrived on her own by the last week of Dec. My doctor scheduled a C Section and we are going to get her into this world! I can not begin to tell you how excited we are. She will be here in just a little over 2 weeks! But, it is the end of just Cody and me. I am so blessed to be a wife and my prayer is that we always prioritize our marriage. Here is to Coco- the best hubby in the world.

Last night was our class Christmas party. I had such a wonderful time. GREAT friend, GREAT food, and GREAT fellowship. Things like that always remind me why God set up the church. He knew we needed the body of Christ to be physical in our lives at times. He knew I would need hugs, laughter, tears, and the feeling of not being in the world alone. The support of our class is really amazing. I look forward to the new things the Spring will bring, new bible studies, new life lessons in parenting, a new semester at work, new friends, and a new baby.

What a blessed time times of transition are....

The paparazzi loves me

I try not to do too many blogs about pregnancy. Some people find it boring to talk about family stuff and I try to keep the public happy. However, I got some pictures developed today and one fact really stood out to me.....Everyone should get their picture made with someone who is 35 weeks pregnant. It is so good for your self esteem. Everyone in these pictures, aside from the large pregnant gal, looks so good. Therefore, I have decided to make a profit off of my bovine-esque condition. If you would like for me to be in your holiday picture so you can look really good, send me an email or post here and I will send you the information for sitting fees. Here are my good looking friends and family.-- Moo, Ashley


In this picture, you can almost hear the zipper screaming for mercy. "UNZIP ME, PLEASE". This is what we call zipper pilates. A zipper being stretched to the max.










This picture is actually being solicited by pregnancy magazines everywhere. The lovely blonde on the left (my sister) is the poster child for healthy pregnancy looks. Here she is at almost 20 weeks looking energetic, healthy, and fit. The blob on the right is the example of swelling, stretch marks, and pregnancy acne. Clearly, you want to be the one on the left.








My husband is a hottie no matter what the picture. However, in this picture he looks like the winning contestant on "The Biggest Loser".





Here is the lovely lawyer. She could use this as some political add on how she cares about people in all shapes and sizes. I am the compassion cliche' that could secure her mayoral nomination.

Lastly, this picture has nothing to do with me, but how cute are my parents and my niece. She loves their dog Daisy so much. I just had to throw it in.