Florida

I am so sorry to have let this go so long without a post. I did not realize it has been over 2 months. I guess just in the excitement of having my husband back I forgot to keep this updated. We have had fun just being together again and going on dates.
Florida is wonderful. Absolutely beautiful country here. I love it and would not mind to stay forever here. There is water everywhere. Trees everywhere. The beaches are incredible. We went on day and the sand is white and surprisingly not hot, it was cold. The water is the most beautiful body of water I have ever seen in person...I used to think water like this was only possible after retouching a picture. But I can not attest to the beauty here. The most amazing part about Florida is the almost constant rainstorms. Ok so they are not constant but usually it will rain about every other day and being from AZ that is quite a feat and I am loving it.
This summer is probably one of the most bitter sweet ones of my life. It is amazing to be here in Florida and to be with Chase again, however, the countdown has started for returning to school, away from him. But I try not to dwell on the sad, otherwise I will miss out of so many other things I can do with my life.
We love you and hope you have a great day! Enjoy your summer and never take the ones you love for granted, you never know when your precious time with them will be up! Our love always -- Chase 'n Ashlee

Home, Sweet Home

So for the last four days I have been in Arizona with my family and it has been so fun. I feel so at home here, it almost feels like I never left home. It is fun to be in an environment where everyone loves you and knows you.
Even at church yesterday, it was so fun to see the people that I have not seen for several years. I loved saying hi and hearing how life was going for them.
While here, I have just been hanging out with my mom and enjoying the relaxation of no real responsibilities or deadlines. I am working on projects that I have been wanting to do for over a year, so it is so nice to finish all things that I want to do.
As far as the rest of the summer plans, I am just hanging out in AZ with my family until Chase is moved to Florida and I can officially live with him again, which will hopefully be by the end of the month.
We will keep you updated! Love you all -- Chase 'n Ashlee

Deeper Understanding of Trials

So I was going through my files today, deciding which ones to keep and which ones to delete. As I was doing this, I came across this story that I got form my Grandma Tew. I guess I decided to post it because I know in life many of us can feel like we are about to break at different times of our lives as we are faced with different trials. However, we just need to remember that it is for our profit and learning and the Lord only ever has our best interest at heart. These last few months I have reaffirmed to me that maybe what I need to do is pray for added strength to face my trials and afflictions as opposed to praying for them to end. Anyway, here is the story.

Malachi 3:3 says: “He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver.” This verse puzzled some women in a bible study and they wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of God. One of the women offered to find out the process of refining silver and get back to the group at their next Bible Study.
That week, the women called a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She didn’t mention anything about the reason for her interest beyond her curiosity about the process of refining silver.
As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest as to burn away all the impurities. The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot; then she thought again about the verse that says: “He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver.”
She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time. The man answered that yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. If the silver was left a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed.
The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silversmith, “How do you know when the silver is fully refined?” He smiled at her and answered, “Oh, that’s easy – when I see my image in it.”

If today you are feeling the heat of the fire, remember that God has his eye on you and will keep watching you until He sees His image in you. God will always be there for us, just pray to him and He will give you the strength you need.
We love you all and hope you have a fabulous weekend -- Chase 'n Ashlee

Visiting Chase

So I know it has been a while, however, life has been busy. I know I always say that and it probably gets old, but finals were here while I was packing and moving, while trying to decided what stuff would stay in Utah and what stuff we would be taking for the time we will be living together this summer. So life has been crazy.
Additionally, last minute, me and Chase decided that I would go and visit him immediately following my last final, which is tomorrow, and I should probably be studying for it or sleeping, but I am obviously doing neither.
So I will finish my final and go straight to the airport and then fly out to see Chase for a week, fly back into SLC and then head off to AZ to spend time with my parents until I can move to Florida with Chase.
As least those are the plans for now, but with the military things are ever changing. We love you all and are grateful for your support, love and prayers. We pray for you in return and hope for the best for you! We love you all -- Chase 'n Ashlee

Latest Update from the Army

So to give a little background so that everyone understands what is happening. Chase is currently in Alabama finishing the first 10 weeks of his advanced training. After those 10 weeks, he will be heading down to Florida to finish the last 30 weeks of his training. While he is in Alabama, I am not allowed to be there with him, but once he gets to Florida that is when I am allowed to join him again.
Last Monday, I got a call from Chase telling me that I would not be able to move out there until as late as August due to an over-booking of classes in Florida. This news was devastating to me because it has already been almost 2 months since I have seen him last. So I talked to my parents and we decided that I would stay with my parents because I do not have school or work to keep me in Utah this summer.
But then Tuesday, we found out that it was mainly a housing issue and since the married guys don't live in the barracks, we would still be able to go sooner, because they were giving married soldiers the priority, but they were not able to give us a time frame at that time. So that lifted my spirits slightly, but still sad that I would not get to see him as soon.
Thursday, I believe, but it may have been Wednesday, Chase found out that they were holding back all the female soldiers in Alabama and convert the female housing into male housing for the time being in Florida. So theoretically, Chase should be in Florida by the same time he originally was going to be in Florida. But since there is still some uncertainty, I am not allowed to go out there until after Chase is already out there and makes all the arrangements for me to follow.
So we are hoping to be together by the end of May, but there is still no guarantees, but that is our hope.
Chase graduates April 23 from his classes in Alabama and he has been told that he will be in Florida within 7 days of that, so by the 30th of April. Then we are hoping that within 2 weeks all the arrangements for me to move out there will be ready and he will get leave to fly out here and help me move the stuff out there for the summer. So that is the plan. Hopefully that will be the way it all pans out, but we are not sure and only time will tell, but we will keep you updated.
Love you all and thanks for reading! -- Chase 'n Ashlee

It's Fixed

The comments should be working now. I think you should be able to leave comments now, if not please let me know again so I can fix it! Love ya -- Chase 'n Ashlee

Comments

Within the last week it has come to my attention that people are unable to leave comments. I am not exactly sure why this is, but I fiddled around with the different settings and think I may have fixed that problem...if you would like to try, please feel free.
Also, through some emails that I received, I would like to clarify my position in my last blog. First, let me say that I hope I did not offend anyone with that post, that was not my intention. Also, I hope that no one thought I was judging people in that situation, because I understand why people feel that way, I was just trying to get out into words how I was feeling with the situation that I had witnessed.
The situation made me a little sad, it is true. However, I was not trying to criticize anyone or make anyone feel bad about having said those kinds of things or having felt that way before.
I apologize for not being able to adequately expressed my thoughts and feelings in such a way to help people understand what is truly being thought and said. I have never had a gift for languages or words, written or spoken. So I ask for your forgiveness and will try harder in the future to be more clear with those things that I am sharing.
Thanks for following and sharing your life with mine. I love you and hope that life is good for you! -- Chase 'n Ashlee