Abracadashby's

Oct. 2011 GC Highlights!

2011-11-02T14:07:00.001-07:00

O Be Wise

2011-10-28T07:37:00.001-07:00

"May I suggest six ways in which we can serve both wisely and well?

First, focus on people and principles—not on programs. One of the most important things we do through the gospel of Jesus Christ is to build people. Properly serving others requires effort to understand them as individuals—their personalities, their strengths, their concerns, their hopes and dreams—so that the correct help and support can be provided. Frankly, it’s much easier to just manage programs than it is to understand and truly serve people. The primary purpose of Church leadership meetings should be to discuss how to minister to people. Most routine information and coordination can now be handled through phone calls, e-mails, or regular mail so that agendas for council meetings and presidency meetings can focus on needs of the people.Our goal should always be to use the programs of the Church as a means to lift, encourage, assist, teach, love, and perfect people. “Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God” (D&C 18:10). Programs are tools. Their management and staffing must not take priority over the needs of the people they are designed to bless and to serve.

Second, be innovative. As we work to magnify our callings, we should seek the inspiration of the Spirit to solve problems in ways that will best help the people we serve. We have handbooks of instruction, and their guidelines should be followed. But within that framework are substantial opportunities to think, to be creative, and to make use of individual talents. The instruction to magnify our callings is not a command to embellish and complicate them. To innovate does not necessarily mean to expand; very often it means to simplify."

Read full text at lds.org or listen to the clip below.

Lesson ideas

- What efforts have you put forth to understand those you serve "as individuals—their personalities, their strengths, their concerns, their hopes and dreams?"

- How have you organized meetings and organized programs that focus on ministering to people?"

- What leaders, presidencies, programs are doing a good job of focusing on people? Specifically, what are they doing and what are they achieving?

Eden LeShay Ashby

2011-05-23T21:25:00.000-07:00

THE BOYS ARE NOT ON SALE!!!

2010-12-21T06:52:00.001-08:00

Lisa and I went to our ultrasound appointment yesterday and found out that baby number four will be..... another girl. We're excited. Here is a photo.

Are the boys on sale?

2010-10-27T20:32:00.000-07:00

So our kids have been talking... A few months ago Kerisa was talking with Lisa and she said, "Mom do you think next time we have a baby that the boys are on sale? A couple weeks ago Amber made the following comment, "Our family is boring. We need another baby." Well our family should get a little bigger in May of next year. Lisa is expecting number four! Who knows, when we find out the gender in December, the boys may be on sale.

Oct. 2010 General Conference Review!

2010-10-11T08:10:00.001-07:00

1. Who made the following comment, “I have struggled to find an adequate way to tell you how loved of God you are and how grateful we on this stand are for you. I am trying to be voice for the very angels of heaven in thanking you for every good thing you have ever done, for every kind word you have ever said, for every sacrifice you have ever made in extending to someone—to anyone—the beauty and blessings of the gospel of Jesus Christ.”
2. Fill in the blank from Sis. Wixom’s talk, “The _______ will teach our children if we do not, and children are capable of learning all the world will teach them at a very young age. What we want them to know five years from now needs to be part of our ____________ with them today.”
3. What talk from President Benson was referenced twice by two different speakers in conference? Who were the speakers?
4. Who made the following comments about teaching, “we should not focus so much on our performance as on how we help others learn and live the gospel,” “No class is so large that we cannot pray for inspiration regarding how to reach each student.”
5. What were Elder Christofferson’s five elements of a consecrated life?
6. Pres. Uchtdorf made the following comment in his remarks of things that matter most, “There is more to life than increasing its speed.” Who made that statement? What four key relationships did Pres. Uchtdorf mention? What did Pres. Uchtdorf speak on in priesthood session?
7. Elder Andersen entitled his talk, “Never Leave Him.” What two words did he mention signal danger ahead?
8. Who said, “With even your strongest faith, God will not always reward you immediately according to your desires. Rather, God will respond with what in His eternal plan is best for you, when it will yield the greatest advantage. Be thankful that sometimes God lets you struggle for a long time before that answer comes. That causes your faith to increase and your character to grow.”
9. What two examples of safety did Elder Kearon in his talk on sin? What was the counsel given to avoid suffering in these two areas?
10. In Pres. Eyring’s priesthood session talk, what did President Kimball do when he went to visit his father?
11. What are the three Rs of choice from Pres. Monson? What did Pres. Monson devote his Sunday address to?
12. Pres. Packer said, “History demonstrates over and over again that moral standards cannot be changed by _______ and cannot be changed by _________.” He also said, “If one is obedient, the _______ can show how to break a habit and even erase an addiction.”
13. What were the two lines of communication Elder Oaks discussed?
14. What did Elder Perry do 25 years ago in his general conference address?
15. Who made the following comment, “all gospel teachings and activities are centered on coming unto Christ by receiving the Holy Ghost in our lives.”
16. Elder Lawrence discussed courageous parenting. What were some of the examples he mentioned?
17. Who made the following comment near the end of general conference? “Brothers and sisters, may we all be aware of the artificial flies being presented to us by the counterfeit fisher of men, Lucifer. May we have the wisdom and spiritual insight to discern and refuse his many dangerous offerings.”

Summer squeeze

2010-09-07T21:45:00.000-07:00

As the days get shorter and mornings and evenings get colder, we've been trying to squeeze every last drop out of summer.

Last weekend we went our our first Daddy-daughter backpacking trip. We went up to Cecret Lake at the top of Little Cottonwood canyon. We caught salamanders, saw some deer, ate marshmallows and had a great time camping.

In August we went down to BYU Education Week and saw our friends the Turleys. They took us to a great waterfall and then we went by the Provo temple.

We hiked up to Donut Falls in Big Cottonwood canyon with our good friends the Andereggs. This is a great little waterfall.

Our stake was invited to participate in the Days of '47 youth parade. Our primary marched in the parade with a float as part of the event.

Summer update

2010-07-16T06:53:00.000-07:00

Here is a visual update of what's been happening this summer.

This week was Paul McCartney. The man is almost 70 yet he played for three hours!!! It was an amazing show... complete with pyrotechnics. He played "Get Back," "Let me roll it," "I've got a feeling," and several new songs like "Sing the Changes."

Here is a clip of "I've just seen a face."

We went on a family camp out to Ophir and on the way home we went out to the Great Salt Lake. The girls loved playing in the salt water.

Went up to Lake Blanche with our good friends the Harpers. The trailhead is about 25 minutes from home.

Backpacking with the YM up Provo canyon. Big Springs is beautiful.

After meetings we drove out to the Draper temple and walked around the Oquirrh Mtn. temple. We love doing this as a family.

For Memorial Day we went down to Paragonah for all the festivities. We ended up going camping with the Hulet family at Yankee reservoir and the girls loved fishing.

8 years, 8 gifts

2010-05-17T06:40:00.000-07:00

Well it's been eight great years since our marriage May 16, 2002! We didn't really celebrate much yesterday because things were pretty busy but we managed to watch this a few times.

General Conference Quiz

2010-04-08T12:39:00.000-07:00

Back in the days when I used to teach seminary I would usually do a quiz after each General Conference of the church. I've continued to do this over the years and it has helped cement certain points in my mind. Here are a few questions. GOOD LUCK!!!

1. What did Sister Beck say was the single most important skill that can be acquired in this life?

2. Who said this, “Patience means to abide in faith, knowing that sometimes it is in the waiting rather than in the receiving that we grow the most.”

3. How did Elder Bednar say we should bear testimony of gospel truths to our children? He said, “Some parents might be apprehensive about such an unstructured approach to home evening. But the best family home evenings are not necessarily the product of preprepared, purchased, or downloaded packets of outlines and visual aids.”

4. Elder Cook said, “If we want to have the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, we must find time to _______ ______, ponder, pray, and live so we are worthy to receive and act upon His promptings.”

5. Who said the following, “The greatest missionary work we will ever do will be in our homes. Our homes, quorums, and classes are part of the mission field. Our children and grandchildren are our most important investigators.”

6. When they were young, what did Elder Perry and his siblings have in the kitchen when they came home from school?

7. What did Elder Schwitzer discuss? He said, “Many blessings in life are missed because worldly judgment was applied to what was really a spiritual decision.”

8. What historical figure did Elder Christofferson discuss in his talk? To what did he attribute the growing spiritual illiteracy in the world?

9. “True love must include the idea of ___________.” Who said it, and what did he talk about?

10. What was Elder Andersen’s counsel? What specific instruction did he give to single mothers and then to fathers?

11. What words did President Monson say mean more to him than all others in Christendom?

How did you do? Want the answers? Click HERE

HAPPY EASTER!!!

2010-04-01T11:04:00.001-07:00

The girls

2010-02-08T07:02:00.000-08:00

Here are a few pics of the girls.

Here We Are Together in 2009

2009-12-07T21:04:00.000-08:00

Here We Are Together In 2009
Primary Children’s Songbook, p. 261
Words: Traditional
Music: Old tune

Here we are together, together, together;
Oh, here we are together in 2009.
There’s Daddy and Mommy, Amber, Kerisa and Briley;
Oh, here we are together in 2009.

In January we went sledding and the girls enjoyed coloring;
Mom was 28 in February and there was a Daddy-daughter date.
March 5 brought us Briley and Grandma P came from Tucson;
Oh, here we are together in 2009.

In April we blessed Briley and Mommy read Twilight;
May took us to Vegas where we saw rays and sharks.
In June we partied in Lakeside with all of the Ashbys;
Oh, here we are together in 2009.

July was for hiking and trips to Paragonah and Idaho;
Dad talked about Google and Mom and girls did the zoo.
August brought a pioneer trek, Colorado, and a garden;
Oh, here we are together in 2009.

September saw Amber in Kindergarten and Kerisa in pre-school;
October there were witches and Mom played with her symphony.
In November Briley eats at the table and Dad reaches 30;
Oh, here we are together in 2009.

December is for being thankful, and giving, and serving;
So as we end this song we send our best out to you.
We’re so glad we know you and thank the Lord for your friendship;
May God bless you and keep you beyond 2009.

Free books at Deseret Book

2009-11-18T06:47:00.000-08:00

My uncle just sent this to me so I thought I'd pass it along. Deseret Book can be a bit pricey but here are eight books you can download for free!

Link: http://deseretbook.com/free

Halloween 2009

2009-11-02T07:17:00.000-08:00

Halloween was great this year. All the girls decided to be witches. We had several Halloween parties and now there is plenty of candy for the parents.... no wait, it's for the kids.

Lifting Burdens

2009-10-22T10:45:00.000-07:00

What's new

2009-09-08T07:50:00.000-07:00

Here are a few family updates.

1. Amber started school. She has just finished her first week in kindergarten. After the first day Lisa asked her how things went and she said, "it was awesome!"

2. Felix visit. Aunt Shelly and Jamie and Brittnie came to SLC!. We had a blast together and saw Steve Nelson play on Saturday night at Thanksgiving Point.

3. Hidden Falls. Spent some time up Big Cottonwood on Labor Day. We played around several waterfalls and enjoyed being outside.

Amber's talent

2009-08-24T21:56:00.001-07:00

Amber loves to help out with Briley.... and she is very good at making her laugh.

Newest Member of our Family

2009-08-23T21:20:00.000-07:00

Well.... the day has come that we are finally pet owners. Devin has been really great about this little purchase the girls made on their own. We found this little Netherland Dwarf bunny and lovingly named her "Thumper". After two weeks she has come to know the place and it looks like she is enjoying herself now. If you have never bathed a rabbit... it is quite an experience. She has been a fun pet to have. Here is a video of the girls with Thumper.

A bunch of little stuff...

2009-08-23T21:05:00.000-07:00

Okay.. so there is no real way to catch up with all the summer stuff. We are just now starting to see the end of our travels this summer. We have had a BLAST... but to recap... here are some pictures for your enjoyment.In order... 1. We took the girls to see the new Oquirrh Mountain Temple after the dedication. 2. The Nelson family and us at Sundance on a beautiful evening hike. 3. Briley with a flower we picked hiking with the crew from the next picture. 4. Mom and me day with the kids up at Silver Lake.

Colorado hike

2009-08-23T20:58:00.000-07:00

Here is what Lisa let me do for a week this summer!

Ashby Hike 2009

Summer Fun

2009-07-21T14:09:00.000-07:00

We have had an incredible summer so far. We have been on several trips and family vacations that have been wonderful. We are also exploring the world around us. We have tried to go on some hikes this summer to places we have never been. We found a new place we LOVE. It is Cecret Lake. The hike was BEAUTIFUL!

Family Reunion in Lakeside AZ

2009-06-30T06:43:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pictures of our family reunion in AZ. It was great to see family and all seven nieces and nephews. We were even able to see old friends in Flagstaff and drive through our alma mater NAU.

Here we are at the Institute building at NAU where we met. We were gospel doctrine teachers together back in 2001.

Here are all the cousins, or tusins as Kerisa would say. When we drove home Kerisa kept saying, "where my tusins?"

Dad, Amber, Briley on the hammock.

Our first canoe trip as a family. The girls really loved it and we even saw a crane.

Kerisa can't quite pick up rocks to throw in the lake with her life jacket. It was funny to watch her try.

Spent an afternoon in Greer and Grandpa brought cucumbers that the kids made into boats. This is a great use for unwanted garden produce.

Here is the entire crew in Greer, AZ.

Amber and Kerisa both had their first experiences with crawdads. They both picked one or two up. We always used to catch crawdads in creeks growing up so it was fun to do this with the next generation. No.... the crawdad didn't die as a result of Kerisa throwing him.

The Girl's

2009-06-10T20:42:00.000-07:00

So- here are the most recent pictures of our lovely girls. I took these today. We wanted to give a little update into each of their lives.

Briley- 3 months old. She is a great sleeper. She goes about seven hours at night -YEAH! and she is a big smiler. We love her big eyes and she is just starting to laugh when we tickle her or she gets excited. We couldn't imagine life without her!

Kerisa- 2 and a half. She has become our little sassy one. Her attitude is strengthening but when she is happy- she is the funnest kid to be around. There isn't anything she can't say these days and she loves to sing "Muffin Man" and "Pocka Roses" (Ring Around the Rosies). She dances and sings and loves all things "girly". She loves swimming and playing with Amber. Her favorite movie is BALTO and she has come up with names for the whole family from the movie.

Amber- 5 years old. She is such a big helper and she is growing up so fast. She finished swiming lessons, loves to dance, sing and recently ice skate. She helps a lot with the garden and likes arts and crafts. She is another mother to Briley and plays very well with Kerisa. She starts Kindergarden in the fall and can't wait to go to school.

Anyway- that is our three lovely girls. We are so happy to have them all and together they are quite a team!

Amber is 5!

2009-06-09T06:48:00.000-07:00

Amber turned 5 on June 3. We had a party in the backyard with her friends. Amber wanted a rice krispy cake so here is how it turned out. Happy Birthday!

Here is Kerisa trying to fly the kite. We love Sugar House park.

Memorial weekend in Vegas

2009-05-27T06:57:00.000-07:00

Here are a few memories from our trip to visit Grandpa and Grandma Bell in Las Vegas. We really had a fun trip and it was good to be with family.

1. Shark aquarium at Mandalay Bay

This place was awesome. We saw all sorts of animals including sharks and fish, sawfish, giant rays, sea turtles, piranhas, moon jellies, eels, a golden crocodile, and even a komodo dragon.

2. The Strip

The girls loved M&M world and Kerisa kept saying, "I want chocolate!" We found out that it was $12 a pound so we decided we'd go get some at the grocery store. The girls also loved the rainforest cafe in MGM grand. We even saw a few lions.

3. Family

We spent time with family as well. It was good to see Grandpa and Grandma, Steven and Emily, and Great Grandma Nana. Mt. Charleston was beautiful and the girls enjoyed the outdoors.

4. Driving

After our trip was over, this is who we saw in the driver's seat ready to take us home.

Mormon Channel

2009-05-19T10:47:00.000-07:00

Check this out! It's the Church’s new 24-hour-a-day audio station!

Link: http://radio.lds.org/mc/eng/

Photos by Mom

2009-05-12T20:57:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pics of the girls taken by the family photographer... Mom.

Happy Mother's Day

2009-05-08T10:07:00.000-07:00

Larry Page commencement address

2009-05-07T10:36:00.000-07:00

I just came across this video. It's Larry Page, co-founder of Google, giving the commencement speech at the University of Michigan. It's great!

Link: http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/05/larry-pages-university-of-michigan.html

Briley's Blessing Day

2009-04-12T20:36:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter to everyone. Today was a special day in our family. Not only was it Easter (and a beautiful warm day at that) but we had the opportunity to bless Briley in church today. We had some wonderful family come share that with us, and for those of you who could not make it... we know you were thinking of us and thank you for that. We took some fun pictures out in the backyard. I just love looking at our family with three little girls now and all so beautiful. Anyway- just wanted to share our Easter Sunday with you.

C.S. Lewis and Frederic Farrar online!

2009-04-10T10:50:00.001-07:00

For all of you out there that enjoy C.S. Lewis and Frederic Farrar this post is for you. I'm sure many of you know that you can browse books online with Google Book Search, but you can't really download or copy the information. Well, someone put the following books online! Yes!

The Screwtape Letters

Mere Christianity

by C.S. Lewis

The Life of Christ

by Frederic W. Farrar

Hurrah for the internet.... and Google!

Sibling Love

2009-03-23T06:45:00.000-07:00

Here is Kerisa trying to take care of Briley. She repeats, "It's ok Briley" over and over again. Then, later in the video she says, "Eyes opened Amber!" This is their favorite thing, when Briley is awake. We hope Briley survives her sisters.

Purpose of Temples

2009-03-12T08:54:00.000-07:00

I know I shouldn't post something above our new little girl but here it goes. This is a video that discusses the purpose of temples. Be sure to check out the New Era Messages and Mormon Ads! Feel free to forward and post!

Link: Temples

Welcoming Briley...

2009-03-10T15:05:00.000-07:00

Hello Family and Friends,

We wanted to take a moment and share with you the newest member of our family. On Thursday, March 5, 2009 Briley Noelle Ashby was born. The delivery went very smoothly and Briley and Lisa are as healthy and strong as ever.
After her birth, the doctor told us that we needed to get Briley signed up for gymnastics lessons as soon as we could. He explained she was active enough during pregnancy that she tied two knots in her umbilical cord. Out of the thousands of babies the doctor had delivered he had never seen two knots before. Usually, a knot results in a still birth because the blood, nourishment and oxygen supply is cut off to the baby. We feel so fortunate there was not a single problem or even sign of fetal distress with Briley. We truly count her a miracle in our lives.
Briley still has her days and nights a little confused, but she is a very easy going little girl and is absolutely adored by her two older sisters. (perhaps a little too much)
We hope all is well with you. We couldn’t be happier to share our good news.
Love,
Devin, Lisa, Amber and Kerisa Ashby

P.S. Here is her birth announcement and two more pictures. Enjoy!

BRILEY IS HERE!!!

2009-03-05T20:00:00.000-08:00

Briley made it! She was born March 5, 2009 at 1:22 pm. She weighs 8 pds., is 19 inches long and is healthy and strong. She literally came out sucking her fingers so we're sure she won't have any problems eating. She is really mellow and calm. Our doctor recommended we get her into some gymnastics classes soon as she had two knots in her umbilical cord! We feel so fortunate to have another girl join the family. Lisa is doing great!

Create

2009-02-26T14:53:00.001-08:00

This is a great new video from a talk given by President Dieter F. Uchtdorf.

Yes, it's on Youtube... Click here.

LDS Media Talk

2009-02-21T06:01:00.001-08:00

Here's a quick post. I had a training the other day and we dicussed successful blogging and I came across this site. It's a good one for parents and just about anyone interested in using technology to help strengthen families.

Link: LDS Media Talk

I love Google!

2009-02-17T20:58:00.000-08:00

This pretty much sums it up. Recently I've been using Google Alerts to find stuff on the web about my ancestors. The other day I received an email in response to an alert I created for Thomas Davenport, my third great grandfather. The email contained the following link to a blog on Utah pottery. This guy is blogging about my ancestors!! About a week prior to this I received another email with a link to some digital collections at SUU and here I found a picture of Thomas Davenport that I had never seen before. Alerts aren't just for genealogy, you can create an alert on anything you want. Google has also allowed me to build RADR Genealogy (see Good Links) and dump loads of content in it for free. It comes with a great search feature, video, audio, photos, calendars, documents, spreadsheets, etc. I also love Chrome and now that Gmail has an offline feature things keep getting better and better. One more time... I love Google!

You GROW Girl...

2009-02-03T20:02:00.000-08:00

So- everyone has really wanted to see a picture of "the tummy" and so... here it is. We are at 36 weeks and are very excited to have Briley come. Devin suspects she will come some time in February, but if I had to pick I want March. So- we will see. So- for all those interested... here is Lisa 29 lbs. bigger.

lds.org resources

2009-01-28T06:43:00.000-08:00

Some of you I'm sure already know about this, but for those of you that don't here are a few little known resources on lds.org. Scroll to the bottom for instructions on how to download content.

1. The following link is the church's new media player. You can watch all sorts of videos as well as see General Conference Highlights, my personal favorite. You can also watch the new video On the Lord's Errand: The Life of President Thomas S. Monson put out by the church. It's fantastic. Another video I had not seen was The Good Samaritan.

Link: Media Player

2. This site has really helped our kids. Go here and click on a book of scripture and then you can download for free all the scripture stories. Then, you can drag them and burn them to a cd. We've made several for our girls and they listen to them each night when they go to bed. Amber listens to them throughout the day. It's great! You can do the same thing with the videos.

Link: Scripture Stories

3. Here you can do all sorts of things for little kids. You can print coloring pages, color online, play games, listen to stories. There is plenty for the family here.

Link: The Friend

4. This is the church's new site geared to the youth. You can download free songs, watch videos, get ringtones, widgets, etc. Go to the resources tab and click scripture mastery interactive and play the scripture mastery game. It's awesome.

Link: A Brand New Year

How to download content, i.e. general conference video/audio:

1. Find the file you want to download

2. Then right click on the movie/audio icon

3. Click "Save Link As" and save it to your desktop or wherever you want

Snow and Coloring

2009-01-24T20:50:00.000-08:00

Here is a quick message about the family. We went tubing together and took these photos. Amber loves to run and jump on the sled face-first.

Kerisa is trying to decide if she is having a good time.

Amber and Kerisa are spending more and more time together these days. They love coloring and listening to scripture stories.

Christmas Break

2008-12-30T13:22:00.000-08:00

Here are a few memories of Christmas break. We had a great time with the Prodromides who drove all the way up from Tucson to hang out in the snow. They even joined us in our Christmas musical program at a local rest home.

Amber loved tubing in the snow and building an icicle castle with Dad.

We all acted out the manger scene. Amber was a good Mary, Kerisa was a shepherd, and Lisa was a wise-woman. Ashley is the angel, Michelle a shepherd, and Nathan a stable animal. We went out to eat as a family as well.

Kerisa also had a birthday. She is now two.

Merry Christmas to One and All!

2008-12-23T12:44:00.001-08:00

This year has brought a lot of wonderful blessings to our family. Let us give you a brief rundown of the events. DEVIN was called to serve as Bishop of our ward in April. It was a surprise to all of us at the age of 28, but he does wonderfully and the blessings are remarkable! He is still working at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building and loves his job in indexing and family history. He has had many opportunities to travel, present at conferences, and be on the first Spanish podcast at DEARMyrtle. In his free time he has compiled a family website dedicated to family genealogy and continues to be the rock of our family and the best husband and dad ever. LISA has continued her preschool this year and has really enjoyed having that time with Amber. Lisa had a lot of "firsts" this year… She went waterskiing this summer, is attending her first book club, went to a new place (New York City with Devin for an eight day vacation- just the two of us!) and officially drives a minivan. AMBER is 4 ½ now and is as outgoing and energetic as ever. She loves to read, play outside, and play dress up with her sister. She is excited to start school next year and is so helpful when she makes her bed and helps with the dishes. She loves to sing and dance and is as girly as they come. KERISA is almost 2 and is the cutest red headed-green eyed girl ever. She has a contagious little personality and makes us laugh all the time. We didn't really believe the whole "red hair, anger streak" thing, but we believe it now! Kerisa loves to play with her big sister and is very motherly towards her dolls and stuffed animals. Her favorite past time is singing and playing the piano. She is almost fully potty trained and we couldn't even imagine life without her. OTHER NEWS- We are so blessed to be expecting our third little girl. She is due 5 March 2009 and we are naming her Briley. We couldn't be happier to have another girl and we are all looking forward to her arrival. WISHES- We wish you all the very best in the years to come. As we look toward to a new year, much of the world lives in fear and uncertainty, but we are thankful for the gift of our Savior- Jesus Christ- the Prince of Peace. May each of you know of our deepest love and gratitude for you and your family.

With Love,

Devin, Lisa, Amber, Kerisa and Briley

Last few weeks...

2008-12-01T21:51:00.001-08:00

Here are a few pictures from the last few weeks...

1. Halloween in Tucson
2. Kerisa loves slides
3. Fun with Granny Annie
4. Amber loves it when she finds a praying mantis
5. Cutting down our christmas tree in Idaho

It's A Girl....

2008-11-02T18:29:00.000-08:00

We just found out we are having our third little girl. She is due 5 March 2009 and we are naming her Briley. The ultrasound showed a very healthy and active little girl. (That sounds like a true Ashby to me...) We are very excited to have a third girl. We know what to do with them and hey- we think we have pretty cute little girls!

The girls

2008-10-16T06:57:00.000-07:00

Here are some recent pictures of the girls:

1. This is Amber and Kerisa dancing
2. Kerisa likes to say "cheese" when her picture is taken
3. Amber on a hike
4. These two girls are constantly eating apples off our tree. We find them all over the house!

Messin' with Texas

2008-09-20T10:23:00.000-07:00

This is Devin at his latest geneological conference in Texas. He has been traveling a little more and looks forward to helping people become familiar with familysearch indexing and how to best work on their personal family histories. At this particular conference the last night they had a nice dinner with everyone from the conference. Devin and his companion were asked to come. I don't think anyone, including Devin could imagine they would be the life of the party. They had a man there singing spanish/mariachi music. Devin was mouthing the words along with him and he noticed. He called Devin up and they sang several songs together. Everyone loved "the white kid from Utah singing the spanish songs." It just goes to show you never know just how you will be an influence for good and liven things up. Way to go Devin!!
(I don't have a picture of the singing- but I sure wish I did)

How does your garden grow???

2008-09-20T10:06:00.000-07:00

Lots of people have been wondering about our little garden this year. I have to admit we did a lot better than last year- but we have learned new things we will change next year. There is something awesome about working your own land, planting, cultivating and watching it all grow. Then- there is something so much sweeter about eating food you grew. We love it!! Here is a little bit of what we picked one afternoon.

Washington DC and New York

2008-08-21T10:15:00.000-07:00

So... after six years of marriage we were able to go on a big trip! Grandma came to watch the girls while we spent a week back east. We loved every minute of it!

Highlights include:

* Statue of Liberty
* Central Park
* Brooklyn Bridge
* White House
* Arlington Cemetery

The great outdoors!

2008-07-17T06:53:00.000-07:00

We've been spending some time outdoors this summer... it's been good to be out!

Amber's fourth birthday!!!

2008-07-16T15:19:00.001-07:00

June 3 2008:

Happy 4th Birthday Amber!!!

Kerisa falling asleep

2008-06-13T21:14:00.000-07:00

A true Ashby..... falling asleep.

New photos

2008-06-11T12:27:00.000-07:00

These are some new photos from Lisa. Mom is such a great photographer!

Sisters on a bench

2008-05-12T09:40:00.000-07:00

We sure love our little girls. This was taken at a recent family gathering.

Kerisa is walking...

2008-04-24T21:50:00.001-07:00

Kerisa has finally done it! She has left the couch, left the walls, said goodbye to helping hands. She is walking on her own.

Happy Easter!!!

2008-04-24T21:27:00.000-07:00

The latest with Amber

2008-04-19T06:00:00.000-07:00

Here is what's happening with Amber. We recently went to Disney Princesses on Ice and she talks about this nonstop. The other night we went to a friends house where Amber had a sweet ride in a truck...

The latest on Kerisa

2008-04-19T05:51:00.000-07:00

Here are some of the latest pictures of Kerisa.
We are potty-training and eating!

2008-04-18T21:02:00.001-07:00

Abracadashby's

2008-04-18T20:41:00.000-07:00

Hello! We have finally joined the world of BLOGGING! You may be wondering about the name. Well- there is a little girl we know named Payton. She couldn't really say "Devin Ashby" so it came out ABRACADASHBY. There you go!

Enjoy!

Devin, Lisa, Amber and Kerisa