Happy New Year

My vacation in Oklahoma is just about to come to a close, but I am definitely not done with my visiting yet :)

New years was a good night, first I was at my sister's husband's friend's place, but I ended up leaving there for my own personal reasons... and things were resolved the next day. But I ended up going to my cousin's family's new years gathering, and ended up having a very good night. We reminisced about our loved ones who have passed away, especially about my aunt Terri who died just under 3 years ago. There were tears, but there was much family love floating through the air.
We also played games and couldn't even finish them because we couldn't shut our mouths. We were just having so much fun, and I wouldn't have traded it for the world.

I know that the decision I made to leave the first place I had been was the right decision...even though I knew I would have to leave my sister, and felt awful about that part...but my morals and values were being violated, and I had to make a choice.

One thing I learned during this holiday is that we cannot try to make everyone in our lives happy- because no matter what choices we make, someone will always disapprove. The important thing is that we protect our faith...protect our loved ones...protect ourselves... To some, it may seem confusing, but to me, it makes perfect sense. Our faith holds everything together...without it, things seem absolutely impossible...but with it, we can be sure that everything will be alright.

I am thankful for the strength God gives me every day. It may be easy to say no to strangers, a little less easy to say no to our friends, and extremely uneasy to say no to our families. Each experience teaches us its own lesson, and each experience makes us a little bit stronger.

I hope that everyone has a happy new start to a happy new year. I wish all of you the best.

Love,

Ashley