The Brother I Never Had

I remember being little and always wanting an older brother. I just thought it would be so cool to have a big brother who would look out for you and teach you all about life. I really always wanted one. Well, I have about the closest thing this only child could get to a brother. Drew and I truly treat each other like siblings. The other day I texted him about how I was grateful for him, and he texted me back saying he was grateful for our "siblingship" too. I decided I liked that--siblingship! 

Anyway, we have the best of both worlds, in my opinion. We each get an additional "sibling", have the relationships siblings can have, but we get to ship each other back when we get sick of each other! Just kidding...but really :) He's a great big brother, and when he got for real serious about Alli, I was excited for him. I kept thinking he was going to propose while I was in Australia, but fortunately for me, he didn't! About a month ago, Drew texted me to let me know he was proposing! Well, of course Alli said YES, and Saturday night, Graham and Casie threw an engagement party for them. 

Graham, Casie, Drew, and Alli. I so love the siblingship Drew, Casie, and I share. 

This one makes me laugh so much! 

(We were trying to explain to the lady taking the picture how to take the picture.)

Please note G in the background. Hahaha.

Umm, how stinkin cute are they?!?!

love. 

So, fun/random story about this sign. If you've been reading this blog for a while, you'll know that about a year ago, I found my biological cousin on facebook. Well, long story short, I added him and he accepted my friend request. That's about it. Last week, I saw that he got engaged, and that he and his fiance had a chalkboard sign with "she said yes" written on it that they took pictures with. So, I decided to make a chalkboard and write this on it. It ended up being a GREAT prop for pictures and conversation starter. So, dear cousin who I don't really know, all credit to you and your really cute engagement sign. I'll admit that his was cuter than mine, but my idea came to life in less than 24 hours. I'm assuming his idea was much more planned than mine or he has good female friends that help him out. Whatevs. Still cute. 

I've watched Drew date a few girls, and Alli seriously is the best fit for him out of all of them. She is a beautiful woman of the Lord, and she just goes with him perfectly! I cannot wait to see them tie the knot in March, and I especially cannot wait to see all the things that God does in and through them! 

Paw Paw

10 years ago today, my sweet Paw Paw, the world's greatest grandpa, left this earth. Even though I only had him here for 10 years, they were 10 wonderful years. I definitely didn't fully appreciate him until after he was gone--funny how that always manages to happen. But, I'm so grateful for the man that he was, the hard worker that he was, and the loving grandpa that he was, even if he showed his love in ways different than those around him. 

I'm the only grandchild on this side of the family, and I will one-thousand percent admit that I was completely spoiled from both my grandpa and grandma. My grandpa wasn't the softest man in the world, but I'm told I was one of the only things that made him smile. :) Let's just say we had a very special relationship, and I still miss him lots. 

I decided to take a walk down memory lane and look at pictures of Paw Paw and me from over the years. There were SO many of my parents that I wanted to post, but I figured if I did, that credit card of theirs that I have would probably be gone and I didn't want to risk that :)

This was one of the things I loved most about my grandpa. We'd ride that "tractor" for HOURS, with me on his lap. My grandparents lived on a huge farm, so he'd let me steer and I absolutely loved it!

Apparently white hats and black and khaki plaid were totally in fashion. 

Random fact about Ashton...I had red hair as a baby. No lie. 

Christmas 1995

I think this is the first time Paw Paw saw me.

Anybody else remember those awful velvet dresses that everyone loved? I can't believe my mom let me wear that in public. 

The bed-head hair started real early in life. 

So, I love this picture for a few reasons. I love how Paw Paw is looking at me, smiling, not at the camera. He has a great smile on his face, which was pretty uncommon. I also LOVE that Christmas sweatshirt I'm wearing. Can I please resurrect that thing and wear it at our Tacky Sweater Party this year? I might win tackiest sweater. Goodness, that thing is awful. 

I'm pretty positive this is the last picture we ever took. What a great man you were, Paw Paw, and I'm glad that your legacy lives on. 

recent favs. no shame.