Happy Valentine's Day!

I hope you all have a lovely Valentine's Day showered with love and blessings!

Here is a sweet little video that I came across today to get you all warm and fuzzy!
Enjoy the cuteness...

XOXO

-Ash

Coffee Date

If we were having coffee I would ask, "How are you? Tell me about your week..."

I would want to know all about your plans for Valentine's Day and what your day has been like.

I would probably tell you about shopping with my friend for bridesmaid dresses and how I am so happy and excited for her.

I would definitely tell you about how mischievous and crazy my sweet little puppy is and how he tests my patience every single day.

I would give you an update on some major life changes that are in the works that I can't quite share over the internet.

I would be very excited to tell you that I am getting back into photography. A friend of mine and very talented photographer let me shadow her during her Valentine's sessions on Saturday and it was a blast! I actually got some pretty good shots of my own.

That same night my parents and baby sisters finally came home from out of town and our whole family met for dinner. It was super fun.. I always miss them when they're away.

I would ask you if you have been watching American Idol and if you have we could laugh about how great Nicki Minaj is on the show. I'd probably call you ladybug, lambchop and sunflower a dozen times before we finished our coffee.

I would tell you about being at Southside {church} yesterday and how great their music is and how it pulled at my heart strings! I would also tell you about how much I love Pastor Jerry and appreciated him taking our family to eat the greatest mexican food I have ever tasted!

I would let you know that I'm struggling in a couple of areas and ask you to pray for me.
I'd then ask what I can pray for you about.

Then, I'd probably apologize for talking so much... 

 So, what would you tell me if we were getting coffee?... 
Let me know in the comments below, and what I can pray for you about. 
Or you can email me at ashleannepotter@gmail.com








Linking up with Alissa from Rags to Stitches. Click here to go directly to her post.

XOXO

-Ashle' 

Maxi Love

I love maxi skirts. So far I have two and they are by far one of the most comfy things to just throw on but still look polished and put together.

I wanted to show you the latest addition to my maxi collection. Mine is from the LOFT my favorite store!

 

It's great because you can easily change the look... 

I threw on a red infinity scarf to change up the look & match my sweet Jackers.

You can get the same maxi skirt from the LOFT here.

Have a happy Thursday!

I AM ENOUGH

A few days ago, Little Miss Momma inspired me to write an "I Am" statement about myself.
You can read her post here.

I wasn't going to do it at first...
because I felt like maybe people would think I was tooting my own horn and I really hate doing that.
She said that it would be good for you. After doing it, I have to agree. It was a good exercise for the soul. All girls have days where they feel insecure in how they look or who they are.
When I am having one of those days I will look at my "I Am" statement and remember who I really am.
I will remember who I am on the inside. That's where it counts, anyway.

Enjoy...
After publishing, I realized I said, "I plant to adopt.." I AM silly. 

Try it! You won't be sorry. Love yourself, beautiful ladies!

5 Things I Have Learned Since Becoming A Wife

In lieu of Valentine's Day I got to thinking about my marriage, and I came up with a list of 5 things that I have learned since becoming a wife. Trust me, (or ask my husband) I am no expert on marriage and I am certainly not the greatest wife around. I have so many shortcomings and so many things that I am constantly convicted of and trying to improve on. Despite any of this, I have made a list. My list is about 5 things that I have learned (not mastered) since becoming a wife. My prayer is that this list will serve as an encouragement or a reminder to those who are planning to become a wife or those who have been married for awhile. It seems like the longer I'm married the harder it is to practice these 5 things. 

Here goes... 

1. My marriage is not all that I imagined during my engagement. 

You may be engaged right now and think, "Bummer! I really have everything so perfectly imagined in my head, it would be so nice if it turned out that way!" 

Don't get me wrong, a few things are exactly like I imagined them to be.

But, for the most part... its real life. I am not living in a fairytale. 

Sometimes, we wake up cranky.

Sometimes, I don't want to cook dinner. 

Sometimes, my husband does things that are really annoying. 

Sometimes, I don't want to snuggle.

Sometimes, I need my space.

I didn't think about any of those things during our engagement. I only thought about the romantic dinners and the movie nights. I thought about long walks and holding hands. I thought about the vacations and the deep discussions that we would have. I thought about finally waking up to the one I love every morning.

Occasionally, we have romantic dinners and snuggle up on the couch. All the time,  I love him with all that I have. I just wish I wouldn't have expected some unrealistic and weird fantasy of perfection. Our marriage is a real one. It's beautiful and messy and busy all at the same time.

2. I am not a perfect wife. 

I truly expected to be some domestic goddess when I was preparing to be a wife. I would think about how every day when my husband came home I would make sure that dinner was ready and that everything was clean and in order. I thought I would never get behind on laundry and never would I forget to go to the grocery store. I also thought that I would stick to the cleaning list I made. 

You know those cleaning lists on Pinterest that schedule cleaning assignments for different days...

Yeah, I really thought I would stick to that list. 

Boy, was I crazy. I am in no form or fashion anywhere close to being June Cleaver. I am Ashle'.

I am messy, forgetful, and at times a little irresponsible. If you walked in my apartment right now, you wouldn't report me to hoarders.However, you would find dog toys everywhere and a couple of dishes in the sink. You would also find me in sweat pants and in a ponytail. 

Which is not at all the kind of wife I thought I would be.

3. My husband is not a perfect husband. 

Yikes. This one really stinks. My husband is fantastic, he really is. 

He loves me unconditionally, he surprises me. I could truly brag on him all day long. 

But

Sometimes, he disappoints me. 

Occasionally, he doesn't want to talk. 

Rarely, he is in a bad mood. 

All the time, he is human.

He makes mistakes. 

If you're getting married soon... remember that your husband will still be a human.

There is no magic wand that waves over him once you say, "I do".

He will hurt your feelings, he will say stupid things. Practice forgiveness, because you're going to need it. 

4. I have to watch my mouth. 

It is so important that I respect my husband. I can build him up or tear him down with words so easily. Unfortunately, I really have a mouth on me. I am way too quick to tell my husband exactly what I think or how I feel about something. So many fights in the earlier days of our marriage could have been avoided if I would have just shut up! I am doing better in this area, thankfully. I have learned to be patient and filter a sentence before I speak it. Sometimes, the words get away from me. I am a work in progress. Lately, I have been learning a lot more about the power of the tongue. Most of the verses that I have learned have been in Psalms and Proverbs.

 Here are a few : 

Psalm 19:14 

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer.

Proverbs 18:21 

Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit.

Proverbs 15:4 

A wholesome tongue is a tree of life, But perverseness in it breaks the spirit. 

 And, my personal favorite... 

Proverbs 21:23 

Whoever guards his mouth and tongue keeps his soul from troubles. 

If I could go back, I would have memorized these during my engagement. Write them down and learn them if you're preparing to be a wife. Scripture can influence your marriage in a super positive way.

5. Never forget who comes first.

My relationship with God should always be my first priority. If I let my husband move to that number one place in my life, things get ugly real quick. I have to make my time with The Lord a sacred, personal time of growth in my own heart. Every time I pray I ask God to give the wisdom and strength to keep Him number one in my life. I don't hide that struggle from God and I couldn't even if I wanted to. 

Zack and I keep God first in our marriage and in our home by praying not only individually but together. I love hearing my husband pray. It gives me a glimpse into his heart and what he is feeling. There is truly nothing greater than the spiritual bond between us.  We also share scripture and quotes that speak to us and in our current circumstance. Doing so brings us so much closer together.

I hope you enjoyed reading those 5 things and that you can implement them into your own marriage. I could probably make a longer list, but those were the things that came to mind first. What are some things that you have learned in your own marriage or relationship that you would add to my list? Let me know in the comments section! As always, feel free to email me personally at ashleannepotter@gmail.com

 

Jack

Hello lovelies,

I just wanted to take a moment today and introduce you to the newest member of our family!

Jack is our adorable 10 week old miniature dachshund!

So far, life has been very different since he has joined our family.

We even ended up putting him up for sale and then got him back.

That was a traumatic day for me!

 I really did want to keep him but he was just becoming so challenging to train! 

Thankfully, the new owners decided he was too challenging for them and now Jack is our little boy 
 for good!

Any suggestions on potty training and teething advice is more than welcome!!!

Enjoy some pics of our sweet little boy that will make you go, "awww"!

Only God

Sisters,

I know it has been such a long while since I have posted on this blog.
I have truly wanted to several times but haven't been able to find the right words...

I can honestly say that I have been severely challenged in the last two months on literally everything that I have written previously on this blog. I have been challenged with forgiveness, trusting in God, believing His promises and staying faithful in prayer and reading His Word. Only recently have I begun to feel like my head is above water again and I can now think clearly and am beginning to have some peace about the recent events in my life.
I personally do not think it is appropriate to go into detail about what has recently happened in my life, however it is no secret to most of you about what has recently happened at the church. I can honestly say that I have never experienced greater hurt or confusion ever before and we will just leave it at that.
That being said, I want to remind you girls that trials inevitably enter our lives. I feel like before when I wrote to you girls I was telling you the truth about every topic we talked about. Truth that I believed - and still do. However, I didn't have much (if any) real life experience to back it up. Now, I can honestly say from experience that when those trials come you will have the opportunity to experience God like never before. When my little world first began to shake I couldn't figure out what God was doing and I didn't know what to do or where to go or who to talk to. I literally felt like I could not function properly. My head constantly hurt and my heart raced. I was ALWAYS on the verge of tears and most days when I could get alone I couldn't stop crying. I felt like I had no control over my emotions.

For the first time in my life, I had nowhere to turn but to God.

No human person could fix it, only God.
Only God could make sense of the trial I was going through.
Only God could give me peace.
Only God could put me on the path to forgiveness.
Only God.

Girls, don't wait for your world to fall apart before turning to God. Give Him EVERYTHING. 
Give Him the mornings that don't go as planned. Give Him the mistakes that you have made. Give Him the bad grade that you made on your last test. Give Him that relationship that you are trying to restore. Give Him the car you need, but can't afford. Give Him the job that you would love to have.
Give it ALL to Him EVERY SINGLE DAY of your life.

I really wish I had been in the habit of giving it all to Him when I entered this trial. Maybe then it would have been easier, maybe I would have immediately realized that God is in control. That He holds it all. God knew before the foundation of this world where I would be today - living in uncertainty and trusting Him day by day. I have never had to fully rely on God until this season of my life and it has been so awesome. Some days are harder than others, but mostly I am just sitting in awe that He has provided for us not only financially but emotionally and spiritually. He has drawn my husband and I so much closer together. He has brought me so much closer to my parents and sisters as well.

He has made this mess into something so beautiful and amazing. At the end of my life I won't wish to trade this trial for something more fun. I'll know that this was our moment.
The moment where God started writing our story, where He made a way for us to be a part of something big and amazing all for His kingdom.
We are in a time of transition and waiting and during this time God is preparing us for what is ahead.
More trials surely await, but bring it on because God makes all things beautiful in His time and works it all together for our good.