One year later

We are so excited to be celebrating our one year wedding anniversary. It is hard to believe that a year has past since we said our vows to each other and became a family. We are grateful to God for guiding us to this point - it has been a really hard year. We didn't have many people tell us that the first year of marriage would be as hard as it's been, but since we've been married and talked to many married friends, we have found that we are not alone in our experience. We are still very much in process of learning to put away selfishness and instead put each other's needs before our own wants or perceived needs. There have been times in the past year when both of us would have been much happier to walk away from this commitment to God and to each other. But God kept us.... that is all I can say. You know, it's hard to be honest about your relationship with others especially when things aren't going so great. It's not very popular or comfortable to let others know you are struggling. Thankfully, we have some great friends and family who have walked with us and reminded us we are not alone. We still have rough moments but they are fewer and farther between. Thankfully, we have friends in our life who routinely ask us how we are doing. In a more positive light, through this year, we have had some really great times together. We are learning how to pray together and read God's Word together. We are learning how to work as "one" instead of 2 individual singles. We are learning how to be obedient to God as a family in serving and ministry. If you are reading this, please pray that God will continue to grow us in our love for Him and for each other.

We were so encouraged by the anniversary calls, text messages, and cards that so many of you gave to us. Thank you for standing by us and letting us know that you are praying for us and celebrating with us.

This is the powerpoint we showed at our wedding

David watching me walk down the aisle

Me and my Dad

My Grammy cried through the entire ceremony - she was so happy for us

Mr. and Mrs. Thomas David Ashworth Jr.

Finally...

David trying to be so trusting...

This was a major turning point in our relationship :-). I was so excited that David let me cut his hair last night. I have wanted to do it for a while but David has such a tight relationship with Ralph his barber that is was hard for him to let me cut his hair. But last night, when we went for dinner at his cousin Cindy and Al's house, David let Cindy walk me through cutting his hair. Cindy cuts her husband's and kids' hair. What is hilarious is that David prayed with and for me before I started that God would guide my hands - I know that God instructs us to give all our anxiety to Him but I thought this was too funny. He was so nervous! I would have loved to have my Faith (my sister the hairdresser) show me some tricks, but maybe when we are home for Christmas in PA she will. There were a couple "oops" spots , but overall, David thought I did a good job. I learned that it's not very reassuring the say "Oops" when you are standing behind someone with clippers in your hand - it's kind of like as a nurse, when doing a procedure of any kind on a patient, it's also not a good thing to say "oops" in the middle :-). I've included 2 pictures of the final result - pretty good for a first time, huh?

Our 850 square feet of home

We moved to our new apartment at the end of August and have just been able to get all settled. As many of you know, we were going to buy a house in May. We had a contract on the house, but the home inspection revealed foundation/structural damage, so we able to get out of the contract. We decided that with the baby coming and the fact that I will not be working for a few months once he arrives (and even then it will only be 1 day a week), it would be wiser for us to rent a cheaper apartment and save money for a larger down payment for a house in the future. We are so glad that we made that decision - we are always commenting to each other that we are so happy that we are living where we are living. David is just 2 minutes from work, so he comes home for lunch every day. I am just 10 minutes from both hospitals I work at as well.

I will say that I am so grateful that financially, David and I are pretty much on the same page. That is such a huge blessing because I know for many of my friends, that can be a big source of conflict in their relationships. We both are committed to giving faithfully to God and His work, living on less than we make, and staying debt free (except for a house in the future but even with that we hope to make extra mortgage payments and pay the house off early). I remember when I was in Bible college at BBC, one of the chapel speakers said "You can never outgive God." I also remember as a child having that truth modeled by my parents who always had so little but who always taught me that giving to God came first. He has always provided for them, and I have seen Him provide for us in so many ways. I am praying that when our little boy is born and things get more stretched financially, we will be model to him that we can never outgive God and that he will learn that God will always provide for us.

I hope you like the pictures of our apartment and enjoy seeing how God has provided us a place to live and to bring our baby home.

Our little boy

His sweet little face at 29 weeks gestation

We are expecting a little boy in November. We are getting things ready little by little - last week I had a baby shower given by the girls at work. They were so generous to us and gave us our stroller, car seat, and a pack n play. We were also given some clothes, onesies, diapers, baby wipes, lotion, baby bath, and lots of other little things like infant Tylenol and pacifiers. I've been able to pick some things up at consignment sales - I found $250 Pottery Barn Kids bedding for $35. We bought our crib and mattress from a friend for $75. We have been given 2 nursery lamps from a friend at church. I have also found some great deals on infant gowns and sleepers at consignment sales. We are using a dresser we already have for the changing table, and I bought the changing table pad the other day with a gift card that I had. Today, I just washed the clothes and blankets for him that are size 0-3 months. We have been very blessed, and we are thankful for the way God has provided for us so far.

Our crib and bedding and a dresser we are using as a changing table




Our stroller and carseat and friends Kim and Amy from work (the 2 girls I have chosen to be my labor nurses)


(When we registered, David picked out this car seat/stroller combo - he was very excited that the girls at work bought this for us)

Us

David and I have known each other for just 2 years now and so many changes have happened in those 2 years. We met online - yes, I know it is controversial and even scandalous :-) I don't think it's the route everyone should take but God used it in our lives. I know that in my mind when I think of someone meeting someone online, it conjures up thoughts of desparation on that person's part. I am certain that neither of us were desperate - we were both challenged into the idea by friends, and willingly went online and posted our profiles in hopes of getting to know some people that may or may not lead to something more. And it worked out great for us!

We actually starting emailing each other 2 years and 7 days ago (9/15/05 for those who struggle with the math). We talked on the phone for the first time 2 days after that. We met in person for the on October 15, 2005. He was somewhat more interested in me at that point than I was in him - I was thinking "This guy seems really nice - almost too nice - there must be a catch - there must be something wrong with him". Yup, I was totally skeptical. The reason we met as soon as we did was because I was flying from Phoenix where I was living and working at the time to Atlanta to see my friend Jenn for her birthday. David was living in Nashville. We had been talking on the phone for about a month, and we decided it would be fun to meet when I came to Atlanta. I told him the only way I would meet him is if he came to Jenn and Mike's because I didn't want to meet him alone. Whether you meet someone online or in church or at work, you still have to have discernment and be safe. David drove to Atlanta and Jenn and I met him at a Starbucks - I remember being much more impressed with him in person than I was in his pictures - not sure why. He had such a great smile and a really cute Southern accent. I played it extremely safe that weekend - David refers to the vibes he got from me as "the big freeze" . Thankfully, he was persistent and wasn't scared away by the protective walls I had hiding behind. After that weekend, I was more and more attracted to him and vice versa. We saw each other 3 weeks after that when he came to Phoenix for a long weekend. I met his family in early December and he came home to meet my family after Christmas.

Our relationship continued to grow, and we were engaged in April 14, 2006. I moved to Knoxville, TN in May 2006 to find a job and be closer to David while we were engaged. We were married on September 30, 2006. We currently live in Knoxville where David works for Sprint and I work as a labor and delivery nurse. Our biggest surprise came in early March when we found out we are having a baby on November 14 of this year. Whew! I need to take a breath even after typing that. It has been a crazy couple of years of change but God has really grown us in our love for Him and especially our love for each other.

Crossing into the World of Blogging

Wow - we have finally crossed over into the blogging world - I am always amazed and impressed with my friends like Jenn and Danielle who are so faithful to update their blogs, and I decided that I wanted to be able to update our family and friends on a consistent basis too. We have had a lot of changes in the past year so I will try to start from the beginning and work our way to where we are now. I really don't have much of a clue what I am doing, so please be patient with me :-).