party party

I don't really do New Year's Resolutions. I just don't. I've tried it, but I inevitably forget them and it just doesn't ever stick in my brain. I have my own version of resolution making. Rather than coming up with a list of things I don't like about myself, I have one thing that kind of encompasses a major thing I want to work on. Like one year, my thing was charity. Charity encompasses a whole ton of qualities but that was my word for the year. 2013 and 2014 my word was 'thoughtful.' (Sometimes, if it is something I need a lot of help with, it can last two years :) )

I'm not a naturally thoughtful person. Lots of times, after something happens or after I leave someone's house I will think "Dang! I should have done _____" Like, I should have done her dishes or I should have sent that text. I should have brought a meal or I should have complimented her. I almost always think of these things after the fact, when it does me absolutely no good. I have to consciously think about being thoughtful. I wish it came naturally but it just doesn't. I admire that quality in so many of the women I know, my sister-in-laws (all 3 of them) are particularly good at this, they are all incredibly thoughtful women.

I am receiving quite the education on thoughtfulness!

I have been blown away by all of the incredible people who have reached out in one way or another and helped us during this difficult time. I am constantly amazed by all the ways people bless my life. I wish I was a tenth as thoughtful as my friends are!

(I'm NOT telling you this so that you tell me in the comments that I am thoughtful. I would close the comments down but apparently that makes the husband annoyed. I'm telling you that this is something I'm working on, I'm not begging for compliments. So don't.) 

This Monday some of my friends are throwing me a party. If I think of it like it's a party, I'm so so so excited and I just can't wait. There are going to be 3 delicious food trucks and a bounce house and it's going to be a blast. I'm excited to meet some people who I have chatted with on Facebook or have reached out to family members but that I haven't met yet. I LOVE parties and although it's probably going to be a bit hot, I'm so excited!

If I think of it like it's a fundraiser, and that Waffle Crush, Mustache Pretzels (pretzels ... in the shape of mustaches - can you think of anything more adorable?!) and AZ SnoShack are donating some of their proceeds to me, and that there is a silent auction and all of these incredibly generous people have donated all kinds of good and services and those proceeds are going to our family - it's just too much. I start to get all kinds of anxiety and my stomach starts to hurt and I just want to cancel the whole thing. After hearing about the auction, I actually did call my friend and ask her not to do it. It's too much, I didn't want people to donate their time and hard earned money - it was just too much. She talked me down off the ledge and promised me she wouldn't let anyone give anything too crazy. (Just for the record, the money that people are donating to us is going into a separate account, only to be used for medical expenses. Anything that is left when this crazy ride is over is going to be donated. I am actually being extremely careful about the money because I think it would feel so incredible to be able to pay it forward and donate it to others in need. It makes me so so so happy to think about that.) But if I think or hear the word 'fundraiser' it makes my stomach churn.

So I'm not thinking of it that way! I want these awesome trucks to sell out - I want the night to be so successful and so worth their time and effort! I hope to see some of you there, even if you don't know me, I'd love to meet you. I can't wait to see old friends and new friends, and to eat all this yummy food!! Pretzels and waffles for dinner, shaved ice for a nice cool treat. Love it! Can't wait to party this Monday!

Also, I have had a few people tell me that they thought we were selling shirts at this shin-dig. My friends are selling the car decals and the Team Ashley bracelets on Monday but the shirts were an online order thing. So if you were hoping to get a shirt but didn't order before we closed the campaign, let me know. We will have a sign up sheet on Monday and if we get enough people who are interested, we will start another campaign. We need at least 100 shirts to be ordered in order for them to get made, and that is a lot more shirts (156 were already ordered, yay!!! I couldn't believe it!! I LOVE the shirt idea!!) so I'm not sure if that is possible but if we get enough interest then we'll try and fill another one.

If I haven't told you recently, just in case you were wondering, I think you are pretty awesome. Thanks for checking in on me and for praying for us. We are feeling the love! xoxoxoxo