Rest assured, Ashley is safe, and hopefully at this time of night she's sound asleep as her little one dances and tumbles about in her belly, avoiding her bladder and letting her rest.
So, anyway, back to my singing voice. It really is pretty awful. I'll belt the tunes out along with Steven Curtis Chapman at the top of my lungs, but only in the company of people who already love me. I tell you all this because I've popped in to do a little singing. You won't have to actually listen, though, cuz I'm here to sing Ashley's praises for a bit. I'll even post some random pictures that have nothing to do with my post. I know it's more fun to see pics that break up the dreaded paragraphs of a blog. :-)
Here's me and my hubs, Larry, at Garden of The Gods in Colorado Springs.
I've been kicking these things around in my head for a while now, since I realized that on her birthday I was in a car driving through Oklahoma and didn't even give her a card--some friend! But really, it's more like things that pop into my head on a daily or semi-daily basis, and I wanted to share them.
In a nutshell, the woman amazes me. She loves her kids, her husband, and her job. Those things may seem simple, but these days you don't always see someone who has all three. :-)
Ashley takes every success of SheShe Made to heart, as well as any shortcomings. I mean, she puts her heart and soul into each piece, and our customers are so important to her. She stresses out regularly about need-by dates, and birthday party dates for special clothes, and finding perfect fabrics and colors, you name it.
Ok, this pic of Gianna isn't totally random. It is an example of the latest labor of love to choose perfect fabric combos!
You don't see this side of Ashley because she just wants to meet the needs of every person who wants to have something special for their child, grandchild, niece, nephew, or whichever special child is in the lives of our customers. She knows so many of our customers by name, by face, by child's name--you name it. She has a database going on in that head of hers and I have NO IDEA how she remembers it all, but she does! It's because each and every one of our customers is so important to her.
Ok, these pics are fitting because this is called Balancing Rock. And those are my kids holding it up. See, I'm about to talk about balance...
Ashley is constantly trying to balance her work and family life, and she does a great job of it, though like most moms, she worries she does not do enough. It has been such a joy for me to see Ava growing into the sweet, funny, and precocious little lady that she is! Ashley does such a great job of making special time with Ava each day; I actually envy this.
As Judd grows bigger, Ashley grows...well, uh...bigger too, but that's not where I'm going with this. :-) She is slowing down, but she is determined to work as much as her preggers body will allow. Though I regularly encourage her to nap, I don't think she does it much...
Lots of times as I sit at my serger or sewing machine, I think about how blessed I am with having this job, having the opportunity to be creative, and being able to walk side by side with a woman who trusts me to share in her vision and dreams. I'm blessed to do what I do and who I do it for, but mostly by who I do it with.
It all comes back to God, as most all things do. His plans are amazing, and some day I'll pop in and tell you the really amazing story about how I came to work with Ashley, which led us to partner in SheShe Made--something I would never have forseen.
But for now, I'll pop out. I just wanted to let you all, and Ashley, know how very blessed and grateful I am to have her as a friend and business partner.
