The Ashley Fam: 2009

So much can happen in three months! I can't believe that 2009 is already a third of the way over. Well, first and foremost, there is a new member of the family since the last post. Peyton Elise Boyer made her debut on February 26th. Big brother Noah and big sister Aly are so cute with her! She is so very cute and already has so much hair! It might even be curly like her big sis. It is hard to believe how fast the kids are growing up. When the older kids hold Peyton (which is unbelievably adorable), you can really see how big they've gotten. Noah is already 9, and Aly will be starting kindergarten in the fall. Time really does fly.

I just read Jon's first blog and was inspired to get back to posting. Lots of things to think and meditate on. So, I'll start with the one that is freshest in my mind. I recently joined Facebook and got back in contact with classmates from high school. It has been 20 years since I graduated! We will be celebrating with a reunion in July. It is interesting to remember where I came from and how much I have grown over the past 2 decades. It really does seem like a lifetime ago. St. Maries--the town itself--no longer feels like home; it does feels nostalgic, though. I feel like a visitor when I go back, and that's not a bad thing. Spending time with family in St. Maries feels like home, but it is the people that feel like home not the place. It wouldn't matter where my family was. Even though the house my parents live in now is not the one I grew up in, it always feels like coming home. Any house they live in would feel like home because they are there.

The town of St. Maries itself really hasn't changed all that much. Things come and go, people come and go, but the town has remained pretty much as it was 20 years ago. That is my perception, anyway...probably because it feels nostalgic, and I love that it feels that way. It's like recapturing a piece of yourself that you hadn't tapped into for a while. What a wonderful thing to reconnect with the past, to remember where you started, and to roll on with the continuing adventure that is life.

2008 came and went so quickly! And, it was a busy year: a career change for Dennis; a couple of family reunions; some family moving away; new babies in the family and another one on the way; a wonderful play, Steel Magnolias, for Patty; more fun with home improvements; camping; days at the lake; a road trip to Unity Village; another road trip to West Edmonton Mall for the girls; and many days spent with family and friends!!! This collage of picture was to go out in a Christmas letter, but the time got away from me as it has a tendancy to do. Please enjoy looking back at some of the images from Dennis and my 2008! Have a wonderful New Year full of love and happiness!!!

Dennis & Patty at Unity Village in May