This was the last time we saw Kyle as a single man. He is so great with kids.

Yesterday we went ice blocking with some friends from dental school. It was pretty fun. It was nice to see the other wives again.
For those who don't know what ice blocking is, which I didn't before I met the Albistons, you take a tub of water and freeze it with a rope in it. Then, Wa-la, you have your very own block of ice to careen down your chosen hill. We were at some park in Yukon, I didn't know what it is called. There is this huge hill there that is used for sledding in the snow. Well, it is perfect for ice blocking also.







Valina brought snow cones. The kids really enjoyed that. Especially Asher. (Yes, I am including him with the kids.) He worked at a snow cone stand in high school and developed a passion for a really good snow cone.

Almost right after we first arrived Caylee lost another tooth. We have to leave the window open so the tooth fairy can come in.


I was surprised at how much Caylee loved riding the ice. She spent nearly all her time on the slope. She even missed dinner because she did not want to stop. We let her grab something before we left though.

Traipsing up that hill lugging a block of ice was not easy work. I did it for one of the other girls right before I took this picture and it was hard.


Here are the guys just hanging out. Asher and his friends have gotten pretty close. They have spent a lot of time together for the last four years. I know that Asher will miss them.

Sery found a stray block of ice. Yummy!




This was neat. Someone brought a kite and let the kids play with it. They all took turns holding the string. This kite was much easier to fly than the one that we tried at the church.





Bethany couldn't slide down on ice so she used her bottom instead.




I was trying to get a picture of Asher and the girls but I couldn't get the girls to stay still at the same time. I thought this was a nice view from the mountain.





Someone had an idea to get a picture of all the mommies with babies because we all had at least one. Then we decided to get a picture of the guys. And then a picture of the kids.

It was funny because while the ladies were lined up the guys were lined up on the other side with cameras. Then we traded. Then the parents were lined up taking picture of the children.


I don't think I got a very good picture of the children. Hopefully someone else did and will email it out.

Yesterday was a great day. I worked really hard to go out my way to please Asher. He did not have any idea of what I was doing, but things were very pleasant around our house. We did not have anything to do yesterday morning so the girls and I cleaned our house until it was spic and span. Asher even helped because he did not know what I was doing for him. I think the biggest change was that I did not nag him about anything and I was nice even when he got extremely frustrated because Macy peed on his side of the bed, again.

I know it sounds from my writings that the atmosphere around my house has been very hostile lately. That is not so. I have just noticed that Asher and I have gotten a bit terse when we have gotten frustrated with each other lately. That worries me whenever that happens because of my previous relationships before Asher. It seemed like with almost every one that it was always better in the beginning before we had ever had any real arguments. The level of respect desinigrated because of how we talked to each other. (Relationships are not usually real mature in high school.) From those experiences I learned that protecting the level of respect and friendship is vital to a relationship.


I think as women we don't realize or we forget how much power in the atmosphere of our relationship. We are natural responders to our husbands. That is how God made us. They initiate and we respond. That is how God made us. So when our husbands are feeling a bit grumpy it seems innate to react back to them. It is truly amazing to see how fast a husband will turn around and start acting in a Godly fashion if he sees his wife doing it first.

This is a good principle for husbands who are already saved, too. (1 Peter 3:1+2) Wives, in the same way be submissive to your husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives.

Last night Asher and I had an argument. It was not a horrible argument. I was just a small one where I wanted to address an issue and he did want to choose that moment to talk about it. I was fuming mad. I was saying things like, "I am sick and tired of this," and "I deserve better than this" to myself.

I am reading a book on prayer right now. Since the girls were in bed and that is the time that I read or do other things to relax, I opened up my book. The book is about praying the attributes of God to become closer to Him. As I turned to the current chapter I saw it was entitled, "Awesome God." I am not sure what it was but those words struck conviction in my heart. Suddenly, God spoke to me. "You spend a lot of time trying to fix Asher's faults but not too much trying to fix your own." It was clear and very accurate.

Asher is a sweet guy. My favorite things about him is that he is funny, hard working, snugly, loves his girls, loyal, passionate, desires God's will for his life, patient with me and full of wisdom. Those are some great qualities. Yes, Asher is not perfect(despite what I thought when we first married). He is human just like anyone else and he has faults. I can be really hard on him sometimes. I don't give him much fudge room. He knows the things he needs to fix and he is sincerely working on them.

One of the things that I love about him is that he hardly ever mentions my faults. Trust me, I have plenty. But to hear him talk you wouldn't ever think much about them.

I know that one of the best ways to help Asher is to be the best wife I can be. If he sees me doing everything I can to please him he will be inspired to do the same for me. I would much rather inspire my husband into certain behaviors rather than try to nag him into those behaviors. I think it is time to change my mode of operation. Well, I am off to clean the kitchen. It pleases Asher when it is sparkly. =)