Eli's Ordination

On July 15th, Eli was ordained in the church of the Nazarene. This is something he has been working towards for 4 years + his 4 years of college. I am so incredibly proud of him! The service was held at our home church, which was so special. We had a dinner beforehand with friends and family. We have such incredibly supportive and loving people in our lives, and I know Eli was so happy to have them all there that day. The day ended up being rather emotional for the two of us...for other reasons, so neither of us look overly happy in the pictures during the ceremony, but we truly were honored to be a part of something so special. I am such a proud wife. Eli has invested in his ministry at the church and been such an incredible youth pastor, mentor, and godly role model for everyone he's come into contact with. I just know that God has even more amazing plans for him and his ministry and I'm excited that I get to be his tag along and watch it all unfold. 

Love this family!!

I love this next picture...so much. 

Kansas Waterfall

A couple weeks ago we found a fun new place to play and explore. A waterfall in Kansas is hard to come by, so it was such a fun suprise to find one only a few minutes from our house! Eli came with us on our first time visit...I'm so glad he was there! It turned out to be something I wouldn't have been able to do on my own with 3 kids! The kids climed around and played and swam in the water for a couple hours...they loved it! We had a picnic lunch at the lake before we took the little walk to the waterfall. 

Watermelon + cute kids makes for some of the best summer photos! :) 

These two were so brave... I, on the other hand, was a nervous wreck the entire time they were climbing. Shortly after this photo I sent Eli in after them! 

They loved the waterfall, but equally as much they loved the little stream that flowed down below it. It had a pretty decent current, which Cole and Charly loved! Sawyer was pretty cautious the whole time. He spent the day throwing all sorts of rocks into the water. 

Right before we headed home, I asked them if they wanted to climb up one more time. I asked Sawyer if he wanted to go up...he wasn't so sure at first. I kept telling him that "he could do it cause he was so brave". He decided he did want to go, so my sweet husband carried him up the whole way. I think Sawyer loved it, cause most of the time I saw him smiling! When he got down and as we were walking back to our car he kept saying "I so brave, right Ashley?! I went all the way to the top like Tole (Cole) and Charly!" So adorable. 

Such a great day with some of my most favorite people! We will definitely be visiting this spot again! 

#aevacation2013 {Florida}

Eli and I celebrated our fifth wedding anniversary on August 2nd this year. My sweet husband decided to plan a little getaway for us to celebrate! We used my aunt and uncle's condo in Orlando and spent a week enjoying Florida. It was ah-mazing! We didn't do anything extraordinary while we were there...we didn't go to all the theme parks or have special activities planned for every hour of every day...and it was PERFECT. We went to Sea World one day...did some shopping...went to IKEA (3 times)...spent several days at the beach...went jetskiing in the ocean...enjoyed an Atlanta Braves baseball game...slept in every morning...and just enjoyed time together...just us. It was so so perfect and so needed! 

Here are the ipone pics that we took...if you follow me and Eli on instagram you have seen some of these, but there are several others too! 

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