last day as a teenager!

although i consider turning 18 to be an official "adult", eighteen and nineteen still have the word "teen" in them. after tonight, i'm going to be out of those "teen" years. it's a weird feeling---knowing that i'm going to be 20. i plan to bring in the new year---and my birthday---with some of my favorite people at Chelsea's house. one of my favorite traditions i have to say :)

christmas was great! i love the one tradition that my family has---christmas eve with my dad's cousins that live in augusta. we all get together, eat too much, and laugh until our sides hurt (and then some)! this year, we had it at my parents' house (which hasn't happened in a while), and it was great. i love them (and the crazy games my mom makes us play).

on monday, the day after christmas, chelsea and kayla helped me take down all my decorations. it was really quite sad. my house was so pretty with all my stuff up, but i know it had to go. i was leaving wednesday for ski retreat, so i had to do it on my last day off this week. we went over to my friend ryan's house and burned it. it smelled great while burning but awful afterwards. the s'mores made it a little better though :)

tuesday, i had lunch with my old d-group---chelsea, caroline, and mrs. connie---three of the greatest people in my life. we went to Manuel's Bread Cafe over the river in north augusta. it is this cute little french place, and i fell in love. i will for sure be back.

wednesday, i woke up feeling awful and almost didn't make it on ski retreat. but, i sucked it up and got to the church before they left. ski retreat was great. it really was. minus lots of schedule changes/lodging changes/only a few slopes being opened, it really was an awesome time. one of the moms that went told me that she never saw me stressed once---what a huge compliment! it was crazy having to fix a bunch of things in four-ish hours on the way up there---things that i had been working for almost two months to have just right when we got there. clearly it didn't happen, but i didn't freak (like i've been known to do) and got the job done.

i had such a good time with these students. i so love doing life with them. i rode most of the way up there in a bus with all boys and all the way home with them. they sang to me every day---songs like "my girl" and "you are my sunshine". sweet boys :) the girls were great too! they made great game partners, and i enjoyed my conversation with them.

our group picture this morning. 

love this crew. 

hope everyone has a blessed new year! my first big event of 2012 will be passion! 

When I Was 12...

...it was 2004. Some important events happened that year, like...

-George W. got reelected as president (I'll always have a mini-crush on W).
-Friends ended (what a great show).
-Ronald Reagan passed away.
-Google introduces gmail.
-WWII Memorial in D.C. was opened to the public (this thing is great).
-The great state of Georgia approved a new flag.
-I met two of the godliest people I've ever known.

And I got to see both of them this week.

My old youth pastor, Matt, came to WBC at the end of the summer of 2004. He was my youth pastor from 7th grade through the end of 10th grade. He taught me in so many different ways, he was there for me when I needed someone to talk to, and he spoke a lot of spiritual encouragement into my life. The other day, he was on the phone with my boss Grant, and he said, "Tell Ashton I love her. She's a great kid." Seriously made my day.

Well, Matt was really close with Pops who passed away last Wednesday. His funeral was on Sunday, and Matt spoke at it. He did a great job, and while it was hard for me to watch him get choked up, it was encouraging to see someone I really respect show their emotions fully. After the funeral, I got to talk to Matt for a few minutes and get a good Matt hug. As unexpected as it was, it was great to see him.

Today, I had lunch with Bethany. Bethany was the intern when I was in seventh grade. Right now, I am how old she was when she was the intern. So weird to me. Bethany was the person that I always wanted to be like, and even though I didn't officially set out trying to be like her (and we're really different in many ways), I feel like the older I've gotten, the more like Bethany I have become. It was so great to catch up with her, talk about life, and be encouraged by the person who helped me "get it". If I can grow up to be just a fourth of the woman that Bethany is, I'll feel accomplished and successful.

I'll end with a verse that I really like, that was introduced to me at Pops' funeral on Sunday.

My times are in Your hand; deliver me from the hand of my enemies and from those who persecute me. Psalm 31:15

Third Annual Tacky Sweater Party.

Every Christmas, my friends from high school all get together for a tacky sweater party. We exchange gifts (we usually do Secret Santa but this year we did White Elephant and it was a huge success), we eat lots of good food, and we just spend time together. I'm so beyond thankful for these friends, and I'm so glad that even two years after we graduated (which really does blow my mind a bit), we can all hang out and enjoy being with each other.

My good friend/brother/old boss Drew let me borrow his camera for the night, and I'm so glad he did. (I now have the itch to get a good camera!) I used my photo props, and we had a BLAST taking some funny (and good) pictures! There were so many good ones, and here are a few (okay a lot) of them :)

my favorite set of cousins

this one makes me laugh a lot :)

i so love this one 

kissy lips and a mustache....or a hickey and an unibrow

my favorite GT football player! 

my favorite Mercer VP of adpi! 

The best gift from the night

So, I have this book about WWII in my living room. 

It was the item of the evening that everyone "picked on". 

Addison read a few excerpts for us. 

I love my friends. 

Most of the ladies 

Best one of the guys

my favorite picture of the evening! 

Twas a great night to get in the Christmas spirit! Merry Christmas, friends! 

#teampops

One of the greatest men I've ever had the privilege of knowing went to be with Jesus yesterday.

Alva Stephens, known as "Pops" to almost everyone, ended his battle with pancreatic cancer and finally saw his Savior. Pops has been like a "grandpa" in a way to the whole youth group. He lived every single day for his Maker. He never once missed an opportunity to share the Gospel or what the Lord was teaching him with the people around him. Even in his last days, he was teaching all of us something about the Lord.

I guess I first met Pops when I came into the youth group. I'm not completely sure. But, I do know that over the years, he was always there, smiling and encouraging every single one of us in the youth group. Every time he spoke, he taught. He was a teacher, a servant, a friend, an encourager.

Pops got diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in September. I got to see him in early October, and I'm so thankful that I did. After his passing last night, I checked out twitter to see what people were saying about Pops. Back in October, his son-in-law (who is a local youth pastor) got t-shirts made that say "#teampops" on the front. Everyone has been using that as a hashtag on twitter, so I searched it. I saw so many awesome things. I remembered that Pops sent me a facebook message a few years ago, and I had to go and find it again. It was so encouraging.

This man literally impacted THOUSANDS of lives. He was such a huge blessing in SO many lives, and I'm so grateful that I knew him. And I'm glad we can all know that it was all for the glory of the Lord that he went home yesterday afternoon.

augusta, i love you.

Inspired by my friend Hannah's post about her love for Athens/Athens Church, I decided to write a post about how much I love Augusta.

Wait, what? Is that what I really just wrote?

Yes. Yes it is. I love Augusta. I really do. I've come to realize that more and more over the past year or two. Especially this semester. I love Augusta.

Augusta is one of those places that is great to raise a family. It's not a college town by any means, and at times, I do wish I lived in a place like Athens or Auburn. But, Augusta really is a great town. Even though there are many times when we say, "What are we going to do tonight?" and get super stumped and end up staying at someone's house, I do love this place.

I love that I can drive down the road and see many of my parents' friends' businesses. I love that there are so many "Moms and Pops" type stores yet there's still two Targets, super Walmarts, a mall, etc. I love how I can go to Starbucks with someone and see five people I know. I've gotten to the point now where I wonder who I'm going to see at places, not try to avoid them (although there are those people I do try and avoid). I love how when planning events everyone involved uses their connections to get a discount on food or balloons or whatever. I love how everyone knows someone who knows Lady Antebellum. I love how I can see teachers from high school or parents of friends from high school driving down the road and it isn't awkward to wave at them. I love Augusta.

I know, I know, it has it flaws. Like the fact that it's downtown is awful. Or the fact that the area around the Augusta National is not near as pretty as the Augusta National itself. Or the fact that it can be really boring at times.

But overall, the pros so outweigh the cons. I love Augusta, and I'm so glad that my parents chose to move here back in the 90s. Augusta, thanks for being my city. I so love you.

in less than 72 hours...

...I will be FREE! my last final is at 3:30 on Thursday, and I am counting down the hours till Christmas break officially begins for me.

Until then, I'll be studying and working and ignoring the fact that my house looks like a major wreck, that I have barely any food in my fridge, and that my hand is cramping from the 250+ notecards I've made in the past 36 hours. Seriously, if I have to make another notecard to study, I might just scream!

If you have a few spare minutes (if you're in college like me, you may not have too many of those over the next few days) please send up a few prayers for me to finish the semester strong! I'm so ready to be done, but I need to do well on these finals!

A few of my favorite pins to end this post...

How cool is this?!

via

Fill-in-the-Blank-Friday!

Today, I'm linking up with Lauren at the little things we do for Fill-in-the-Blank-Friday!

1.   The holiday season is     one of my absolute favorite seasons of the year! I love winter and Christmas and New Year's and everything else that happens during this time. Now that I'm in college, I especially love that I can hang out with all my friends that come home during the break   .

2.   Snow makes me   excited when we do have it...which is rarely ever. It is one of those weird things though that I don't really know how to handle...haha      .

3.  The best comfort food to eat when it's cold out is    chili. Hands down. My momma makes some of the best chili in the world, and I love when it's cold enough to start making the chili    .

4. Winter is the best time for    catching up with old friends, enjoying family traditions, and spending extra time with loved ones   .

5.  I can hardly wait for   our Third Annual Tacky Sweater Christmas Party! I so love my friends from high school, and I can't wait for this year's party! I'm really excited to, because it's the first real "party" I'm throwing at MY house :)  .

6.  When it comes to holiday gifts I prefer to    buy and receive? I'm not sure that's how I'm supposed to really answer, but I do love both. I love it when I get a gift for someone that I KNOW they will love, and I love it when I get a gift from someone that knows I'll love it .

7.  If I were to rate my excitement about the holiday season on a scale from 1-10, I would say I am at about a    9, maybe a 10. Seriously. This is the first year I've been THIS excited about Christmas (partially due to the fact that I have my own house to decorate...) but I'm just so loving Christmastime this year. Also, my birthday is in less than a month! YAY! Yeah, I'm definitely a 10 :)  .

cousins.

I have lots of cousins, especially the second and third kind. I'm the only grandchild on my dad's side, but there are a BUNCH of second and third cousins on his side. They are the people I've known forever, and even if I don't agree with them on some things, they're still family and I still love them.

My dad's dad (Paw-Paw) had lots of siblings. I only really knew one of his brothers (Uncle Jack). Uncle Jack had eight kids (and until his wife got pregnant with child number six, they lived in a 3 bedroom, 1 bathroom house...SERIOUSLY). Uncle Jack's second daughter, Emily (who is one of the prettiest women in the whole world) lives in Augusta. She and her husband, Lanier, have three kids: Dessa, Will, and Meg.

Dessa, Will, and Meg are those cousins that I grew up with. They are all older than me, and ever since I was little, I've been affectionately known as "Squirt" to all of them. We spend every Christmas Eve with them (except for the year that Dessa was pregnant with her first child and we spent the night before Christmas Eve together). We always play stupid games together, yet we have a lot of fun together. They're the people that have seen me grow up, and I'm really glad they're apart of my life.

Graduation wouldn't have been the same without these two!

Dessa, me, and Will

Anyway, to the point of this post. Meg (who I surprisingly don't have a picture recent picture of) opened her own "business". She makes scarves and necklaces so far, and they are fabulous! Catherine Morgan Designs is the name of her business, and she's also selling things at The Augusta Market downtown this Saturday. If you're in the area, check her out. If not and you see something you want, let me know!

Happiest of Fridays to you all!

[The] Santa Claus[e].

I never believed in Santa. Never. My parents always told me he wasn't real, and to my knowledge, I never ruined another child's belief in Santa. But, I don't plan on telling my kids about Santa one bit. My cousin posted his on Facebook the other day, and I couldn't agree more. "I love the Christmas season, but it drives me insane to hear parents talk about what "Santa" is getting for their kids.... So, we celebrate the Savior's Birth by lying to our children. And by making material goods the focus of the celebration. Hmm..... How is that the Christmas spirit?"


Now, I'm all for some gifts, and I'm all for celebrating Christmas the ENTIRE month of December. But, my cousin is right. Material things aren't the reason why we, as Christians, celebrate, and lying to your kids about Santa is not the greatest way to celebrate the birth of Christ. 


I don't like Santa stuff. I just don't. It's tacky to me, and it takes away from the meaning of Christmas to me. However, my FAVORITE Christmas movie ever is The Santa Clause. Seriously. I love it. Maybe because of Tim Allen's great sense of humor? I don't know why, it's just that I absolutely love it. I have it on VHS, but who really uses a VHS player anymore? So, it's coming on ABC Family tonight, and I am SO excited!

What's your favorite Christmas movie?