#tbt Remembering God's Faithfulness

I recently got the timehop app on my phone. It pulls from facebook statues and pictures posted in past years on that same day each time. I have really loved seeing where I was on this very day 2 years ago, 5 years ago, etc. I have also found it very helpful in cultivating a heart of gratitude. There is something about looking at the past faithfulness of God that helps us trust in His future faithfulness.

As we get closer and closer to our due date, I cannot help but be a little fearful of what could go wrong. I am thankful right now my doctor seems to think Caleb is doing great currently and a vaginal birth is still a real possibility, and also I am thankful that I will be at one of the best hospitals that has a nationally recognized cardiology department in the event of anything really scary happening with my heart, but at the same time sometimes I hear this still small voice of fear creep in- "what if your aorta tears?"..."what if something happens to Caleb?"..."what if either Caleb or I doesn't live through this?. I am learning to quiet those voices of fear with the voice of Truth. I know I can trust God. He has been so faithful and so good to me in the past. How can I not trust Him for the future?


"The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies are new every morning; great is Thy faithfulness. 'The Lord is my portion,' says my soul, 'therefore I will hope in Him.' The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks him."

 Lamentations 3:22-25

Today and yesterday the timehop app brought up two pictures that reminded me so much of God's faithfulness in bringing Bryan into my life. I am so beyond thankful to call him my husband.

But two years ago, he was my new boyfriend (of about a month). We were living states and miles apart and so we would FaceTime every night. Here is one such occasion from two years ago (apparently today- which was a Tuesday then)

Back when B used to be in Bartlesville and when I was in the house I shared with Sarah P :)

This came up yesterday on the Timehop app- back to school flowers from 2 years ago sent to me by my amazing boyfriend. I had never had flowers sent to me before, and they made me feel extra special.  It was a great way to start the school year!

These were the flowers that started the 4 month journey that ended with the best question ever, "Will You Marry Me?"

Little did I know these flowers were the beginning of the Proposal. Bryan did such an amazing job planning this proposal for months. Our relationship went very fast- we met in June, were officially dating in July, he began the proposal in Aug but didn't officially ask me to marry him until Dec. I guess we like 6 month increments in this family: we dated for 6 months then got engaged, we were engaged for 6 months and then got married, we were married for 6 months and then found out we were expecting Caleb. Life has changed so much for both of us over the past two years, and I am so beyond thankful that God worked out His plan in His timing when it came to marriage. I wrote our whole proposal story on our wedding blog, but for those of you who haven't ever read it (and also just because I don't know how long our wedding blog will exist or if they take those down ever so often) I decided to repost the story below:

When it happened

Saturday, December 15, 2012

How we got engaged

I am so incredibly blessed by Bryan Paul Hughes. He was so careful in his planning of the engagement and wanted to do something special and he surely succeeded. It really starts on the first day of the school year during the last week of August. Bryan sent me flowers to school (my first ever!) and the card had a really sweet message telling me he would be praying for my first day and how excited he was for the year ahead. He signed it with love and 1 Corinthians 13:1. Later on that day he told me he was taking "the first step", and I wondered if that meant what I thought it meant (proposal?!).

                       the note that started it all was in these flowers :)

From then on, when ever we would see each other (every other weekend or so) he would deliver the next verse to me in some creative way- hid me notes in my prayer journal, in my house, on the dash of my car, programmed events in my phone to pop up, texted me under a romantic bridge at the river walk in Oklahoma City, etc. So in late November when he whispered, "1 Corinthians 13:12", I said, "Uh oh!" meaning this must be happening soon! I had a feeling he had talked to my Dad and he told me he would propose sometime during the year (meaning before January 1st). Bryan was so wonderful, but the first couple of weeks in December were really hard for me mentally (always wondering evertime we were together, "Is this the day?", but God taught me to trust and be patient and believe that Bryan was working on a great plan and to trust him. I think this is so analogous to our walk with Christ. At times we feel He has revealed something to us and yet He isn't coming through on His promise yet. We have to trust that God is Sovereign and good and always works according to His time table, which is so much better than ours. Although I dealt with some impatience, I knew Bryan had his reasons for waiting to propose. He wanted to make sure he had a job here in Houston before he asked for my hand and he wanted to ensure all of our immediate families could be there which are both things I greatly admire and respect. We prayed and God so graciously opened the door for him to get a job with his same company and he start December 1st! God blew us away in His provision of all things (Phil 4:19). I know I have struggled to believe that God would provide in various seasons of my life, and I also have learned that looking back at God's faithfulness always helps me to have faith in God's future grace; that He will continue to be faithful in all things because that is who He is.

So fast forward to December 13th, a Thursday night when my amazing roomate, Sarah insists on taking me out for a "girls dinner" to celebrate the semester of grad school ending. I reluctantly agreed, as I was thinking I needed to leave Saturday night open just in case Bryan wanted to you know, pop the question that night ;). Sarah said as a passing thought, "well we can invite Bryan too". So later on that evening Bryan came over and Sarah asked him to dinner with us to this nice Italian place called Brio at City Centre and when he agreed, I was actually disappointed because I thought that meant there was no way we were going to get engaged that weekend. Little did I know Bryan put Sarah up to the whole thing. I even added that we could go see the Hobbit which worked perfectly with their plan.

Saturday, December 15th comes along and Bryan comes to pick me up pretty early in the morning so we can go run in the "End of the World 5K" at my high school. It was our first race together and we had so much fun! Bryan graciously ran with me the whole way (until I gave him permission to sprint at the end).

after the race (notice one of my student's making a funny face in the background) haha

After the race we headed back to my place to get cleaned up and set out for the day. Bryan had Sarah inconspicuously choose my outfit for the evening. I suspected something may be up but then we she chose one outfit and after our roommate, Ashton came out in a dress changed her mind and said we should wear dresses and heels as an excuse to dress up I didn't argue. And when my other sweet friend, Katie, who was also going to dinner with us, called to ask me what I was wearing I just knew that we weren't getting engaged because if we were she wouldn't have to call to ask me what to wear (smart move Katie!). We went Christmas shopping over near Bryan's place and then got dressed later to meet Sarah and Katie at Brio. We enjoyed dinner and at one point Bryan disappeared for nearly 20 minutes (he went to the restroom). He was gone so long I asked Sarah and Katie if I should go check on him haha. But actually he was calling my mom and sister and making sure all the people were ready. When he came out he was quick to say let's go because we were going to be late for the 6 pm showing of the Hobbit (or so I thought). As we were walking from one end of City Centre (side note: we had our first official date at City Centre so Bryan had a purpose in picking this place) to the other Sarah and Katie started walking very quckly and I tried to pull Bryan ahead to catch up, but he was content walking slowly and pointing out any and everything there was to look at. He was like, "oh look at the snowflakes lit up...look at that store", etc. as he was trying to distract me from the line of people waiting!

close friends and siblings waiting!

me finally seeing everyone (notice the look of shock on my face)

Our friends and siblings were holding up an acronym that has become a sort of creed for our relationship. In text one day back at the beginning of August Bryan had said something like I want our relationship to always be able to be defined by "no pressure, lots of grace, lots of fun, adventures and smiles" to which we added truth later. So I said, "NPLOGLOFAST" in response and from then on we often say just parts to each other, like LOG (lots of grace) or T (truth), etc.

listening to the recitation of 1 Corinthians 13:1-12

    If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.
    Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
    Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.
    So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
  
(1 Corinthians 13 ESV)

Each of our family members and friends stated a verse of 1 Corinthians 13 from memory. As tears filled my eyes, I listened to God's definition of love being stated by the people I care so deeply about in this world. I didn't truly see everyone all at once; it wasn't until they said their verses when I was so happy and surprised to see those who were there especially those who drove far distances! (College Station, Oklahoma, Dallas and San Marcos). A few of my closest friends coulnd't be there, but Bryan had even thought of a way to include them by having them record themselves and send a video which he played on his Ipad (he was sneaky getting his Ipad to my parent's house and then my sister brought it) of my friends Meagan, Chrissy, Katey and Kirsten!

watching Katey say her verse

After everyone said their verse the reality of what was happening began to sink in. Bryan then looked at me and said the most amazing things (which I couldn't even remember moments later). However, my awesome man knows how much I love detail and even wrote down what he said so we would always have it to remember:

The Proposal

In the seven months that I have had the great honor and privilege to know you, I have never felt more happy, encouraged, loved, and cared for by any woman in my entire life.  When I think about the verses we just heard and how Paul described what love truly is, I can’t think of any other person who has ever demonstrated this verse more wonderfully then you have.

These past few months I have been challenged to follow our Savior more passionately, to love people more intentionally, to laugh at my mistakes instead of trip over them more quickly, to live each day with more joy, gratitude, laughter, peace, and most importantly missionaly, and finally I have made the best friend that I’ve ever had all because God brought you into my life.

I have loved you ever since I first saw you face to face.  I am ready to give everything that is within me and that I am to you.  I’m ready to lay down my life to serve you just like Jesus does for His church.  And I’m finally ready to do covenant WITH you for the rest of our lives.

Ashley Marie Hubble,

Will you marry me?

"Yes!"

I was so overjoyed and sooooooo excited and happy! I still cannot get over the amazing gift Bryan is and how God has been so incredibly good to provide above and beyond what I could ask or imagine (Ephesians 3:20).

sooooooooooo indescribaly happy!

the whole gang! thanks to Matt for taking the pictures!

"To God be the Glory" (hard to read, but stated on the cement)

    “Worthy are you, our Lord and God,
        to receive glory and honor and power,
    for you created all things,
        and by your will they existed and were created.”
(Revelation 4:11 ESV)

We are so thankful God has seen fit to join our lives! And we cannot wait to begin our life together!

After the amazing proposal, I was COMPLETELY shocked (again) when we showed up to my house and were greeted with probably around 40 of our friends to celebrate with us in a surprise engagement party!

many of the girls there

our amazing parents :)

We are so thankful for the amazing support we have had from our parents and siblings and friends and are so thankful to share in joy during this special time!
So, in summary, December 15, 2013 was a day I will remember for my whole life. Thanks babe, I love you so much and you did such an exceptional job!!!!!!!

the bling (for the girls out there who want to see) 

 So that's the story. How can I not trust God to continue to be faithful every step of the way? #tbt is a good time to remind ourselves to be thankful for the things God has done in the past- the doors He has shut, others that He has opened, both His Nos and His Yeses. We can be thankful for His guidance and protection- the pain and the provision. 

Caleb's Nursery and Other Preparations

July was quite the stressful month! My little sister, Kayla got married to the love of her life at the end of the month (her wedding was so much fun) and so there was a lot of celebrating and preparing for that. I also had some crazy ordeals with grad school that I won't go into here, but August 11th I turned in my last grad school assignment ever! After 4 tedious years of working on this Masters in Mathematics, it feels amazing to be finished...almost (I have a final oral exam scheduled for Sept 3rd- hopefully Caleb comes after that). All that to say, the last couple of weeks have been wonderful and a lot of fun preparing for his arrival without a lot of other things on my mind.

Thanks to a lot of help from my mom (Mimi) and inspiration from Pinterest and sweet friends, his Nursery is finally finished! It feels so good to have it done! For those of you who are curious, I'll post some pics and explain where I got things/how I made some things :)

The view from his door. The curtains were from Ikea (only $19.99 for the super long kind you can hang from above the window. And thanks for a great idea from my friend, Laura, they were really easy to make black out. I simply bought the black out material from Joann's (when it was on sale for 50% off) and then just sewed a simple line straight across the top of the curtain. The material is 55' wide and the curtains are too, so there was no need to cut horizontally, only length wise. Super easy and much cheaper than black out curtains. And I think it actually works better this way.

This is the door decorator I made for the hospital door- it is just a canvas (on sale from Hobby Lobby) painted. The verse at the bottom says "Every good and perfect gift comes from above" James 1:17 and the little circles are blank right now, but waiting for the time, date, height and weight of our little man once he makes his arrival.

This was the first craft I made for Caleb's room. I bought small canvases from Hobby Lobby (when they were on sale for 30% off), and I bought the wooden letters from Hobby Lobby as well. I actually had almost all of the letters from when I asked my bridesmaids to be in my wedding (I had taken a pic with each letter in "Will You Be My Bridesmaid" and then made a little collage- the only letter I had to buy was a C). I am always thankful when God provides in small ways like that. I got the fabric at Joann's. Putting them together was simple. After ironing the fabric, I just pulled it tightly around the canvas and used a staple gun to keep it in place. I painted the letter a mix of baby blue and another blue (I just did baby blue at first but then it was too light) and used hot glue to attach them. Since they are so light, I used pushed pins to hang them on the wall. They work perfectly. The stripes on the wall were really easy to do. Thankfully, I had a really talented friend (thank you Laura!) share with me her method and come over and help- the tutorial can be found here

The crib, rug and clock were all gifts from Mimi (she is just a tad bit excited). We did try to do things as economically as possible while still making it look cozy. The crib is a Graco (and wasn't super duper expensive- all cribs sold today have to pass the safety ratings), and the mattress is a Safety 1st Heavenly Dreams (rated very highly-I may be slightly obsessed with ratings- on Amazon and only $50). The rug was an awesome find from Ross (one at Baby's 1st furniture was 5 times the cost) and the clock was from Ross as well. The glider is a Best Chair from BuyBuy Baby (so thankful for those 20% off coupons!) 

Mimi also bought the mesh crib liner from BuyBuy baby and we bought the zipper sheet from Amazon. I read online at Lucie's List (an awesome recommendation for any new mom's out there who are trying to determine what to register for- thanks Katie!) that these sheets are awesome for middle of the night accidents. You don't have to take the mattress out, you just zip the top layer off and zip another sheet on it's place. I have a waterproof cover underneath.

I made the crib skirt for super cheap and I didn't even use my sewing machine for this project. I found a great youtube video here: No Sew Crib Skirt. I bought the material at Joann's (with a 40% off coupon), some iron on and sticky velcro and some iron hemming tape- pretty simple and I really like the way it came out :)

We opted out of buying the 200 gliding ottoman that came with the chair and looked around for a "cheaper" option for a while...We spent a little more than I wanted- we got this for $89 from Target, but I love the tufted buttons and that it opens for toy storage eventually AND we had gift cards so we didn't actually have to pay full price for this. Oh and, I think this is versatile and can go other places in our house besides a nursery one day so it can be used for years to come.

I cherish these blankets so much. The blue one was made bymy brother's sweet girlfriend, Ale and the quilt was made from our long time family friend, Ms. Denise. I love it- it is hard to see in the picture but it says his name, Caleb Paul Hughes

The cute little white table is from Big Lots and the precious lamp is yet another gift from Mimi from Target.

This hangs in between the curtains, above the window. I saw something like this at Baby's and Kid's 1st Furniture but thought I could make it for way cheaper. I just bought this wooden plaque from Hobby Lobby for like 6 bucks I think (and I got %40 off) and then I pained it with the same paint I used for Caleb's letters and used a white paint pen to write Jesus Loves Me.

This is the diaper changing station/dresser full of lots of fun things! We got this chest from Ikea for $249 (I think). It was definitely an adventure putting it together, but in the end, so worth it. We have a diaper genie on the left (for our disposable diapers and wipes) and a step trash can I got at Bed Bath and Beyond (20% off coupon + I found a gift card from our wedding) that is lined with a cloth diaper liner for when we start cloth diapers around 1 month old.

This is a lyric from one of my favorite worship songs of all time, In Christ Alone, that was painted by my sweet friend, Nicole.

Mirrors can be really expensive. Thankfully, I had this mirror (it used to be in our bedroom but when we moved it didn't really have a place to go) and I had originally gotten it at Kirklands for 12.99- a steal! I bought a 3 dollar can of white spray paint and there you have it- almost as good as new. The little gray containers I found at Marshalls Home Goods and the shelves were only $3 each from Ikea (did I mention, I love Ikea!). They didn't come in white though, so we just spray painted those as well. I decided they needed a little something extra so I made little pennant banners out of material and twine I already had. I think it added a lot. I was lazy so I didn't hem around each triangle. I just folded over the top and sewed to keep it on the twine.

I got these frames for 1.99 from Ikea and I had the blue scrapbook paper already. I just looked up online some cool font styles and tried to freehand them the best I could. The verse on the left is Jeremiah 1:5 and the one on the right is Psalm 19:14. On his closet door I hung a chalkboard sign I had made for Maternity pics.

The drawer on the left has pacifiers, nursing things and health/saftey/grooming goodies.The drawer on the right has hats, mittens, socks and burp cloths.

The drawer on the left has swaddling blankets and swaddle mes (summer infant) and the one on the right has cloth diapers (I haven't washed those yet)

The drawer on the left has the smallest clothes newborn and 0- 3 month (the ones I've already washed) s as well as little pants and sleepers. The drawer on the right has bath time goodies- washcloths and hooded towels.

The drawer on the left has bigger fluffy blankets and extra sheets and the one on the right is kind of misc. right now- extra cloth diapers, bottles, some toys, etc.   

The last wall. The little banner was made by sweet friends from Bible study who threw us a  shower. The lamp is actually 11 years old. I got it when I went to college, but just spray painted it blue and covered the lamp shade with some of the material I had left over from making his name. I got the frame on the left from Big Lots and the one on the right from Hobby Lobby . I also got the C (it's the cardboard kind) from Hobby Lobby and painted it. The cute little blue hat is from Bryan's parents.(Gigi and Poppy)

The maternity pictures were taken by my amazingly beautiful and talented friend, Madeline Mohr, you can find her blog here

I saw this idea on Pinterest.We got a cheap shelf from Target (like 25 bucks) and then to spice it up a little, I used some old cardboard that was lying around and a box cutter to cut it the exact dimensions of the back of each space between shelves. Then I covered it with some material and I actually used duct tape to hold it on the back haha. Easy. Peasy. But it adds a little.

His closet. The little C was made by one of my sweet students! He has clothes (thanks to so many generous friends and family) in there organized by size (Mimi bought him some dividers for his clothes to keep things organized). We have a lot of diapers, wipes and bigger items at top for now. I can't wait to use the baby carriers!

We got the hamper from Home Goods. And we have his diaper bag, the fisher price kick and play mat and a boppy waiting to be used.

We have been busy putting together stuff! We have the swing, Rock N Play, bouncy seat, two strollers- well one is the travel system stroller we can use when he is older, but it also works with his carseat and then some of my coworkers gave us the Key Fit Caddy which is super light weight and we can easily snap his carseat in and go. I sewed the carseat canopy using material I have had for years and velcro left over from the crib skirt. I used a combo of these two tutorials online:
http://m.blogher.com/easy-peasy-diy-car-seat-canopy-tutorial and http://rachelandnicholas.blogspot.com/2013/03/car-seat-canopy-tutorial-for-sewing.html?m=1. I am by no means an expert sewer. I can sew a straight line...sometimes that is even debatable, but it was good enough to get the job done. Bryan also set up Caleb's Pack N Play a couple nights ago. We are planning on having Caleb sleep in it in our room for the first few weeks when we are getting used to everything.

Little Nurse Thank You/Goody Bags- thank you Heather for the idea!

All packed and ready to go! I used this packing list online: http://workmanfamily.typepad.com/our_life/2010/09/whats-in-a-bag.html

 I can't believe sometime in the next 4 weeks we will actually get to meet our son! We see Dr. Adam again on Sat. to discuss C-section vs. vaginal delivery and scheduling, etc. I am praying he comes 2 weeks early. If he comes 2 weeks early his estimated weight will still be small enough that I think Dr. Adam will allow me to try giving birth vaginally.  If he is much bigger, she won't let me. Having this heart thing has not been fun, but I trust God has placed us with this doctor for a reason, and they are being extra careful for a reason, too. Dr. Adam is going to call my cardiologist and her cardiologist friend to ask about their recommendation as far as labor. I am hoping they give me the green light, but ultimately we are just praying somehow he comes out and we are both healthy.


I don't want to waste any season of life. God has been teaching me many things in this season of preparing, and one of them became clear to me a couple of weeks ago at Bible study. Our small group has been going through Hebrews for the last few months. The whole book can basically be summed up in three words: Jesus is better. Jesus is truly better. I longed for marriage (as many of you know) for so many years. I also longed to be a mother since I can remember. Longings are not bad or wrong they are part of being human, but no matter what God gives us, if He is not ultimate in life, we will quickly find ourselves looking to the next thing- preparing for the next thing-hoping for the next thing- the new car, the bigger house, the promotion, summer, the weekend, vacation, children, for a children to be in the next stage of life, etc. We all need something to look forward to for this is the concept of HOPE. What is life without hope? What are you hoping for? What do we spend our lives looking for? The older I get, and the more things God graciously gives me, the more I realize that truly HE IS THE GIFT. None but Jesus will satisfy. To look for= "to receive or accept the spoilings of one's good with joy". I want to look to Him to be my chief Joy Giver. I know this whole motherhood thing is going to be wonderful (everyone says it is) but I also know it is going to be challenging (everyone says it is). I want to embrace this season with joy as a gift from God.

In chapter 9 of Hebrews, the last verse says "so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who EAGERLY AWAIT Him". Without reference to sin because the first time He came He lived a perfect life, died the death we deserved and conquered sin and death by rising again. He was promised to come for centuries before He came, and He finally came- unexpectedly as a baby to a poor family. He has been promised to come again. Will I be ready? Will you? Am I preparing for His return as much as I am preparing for Caleb's arrival? Honestly, no. I don't think about it nearly enough. I think about what is seen- the here and now instead of the unseen so often. But the unseen is ETERNAL and the seen is temporary. I pray God will help me focus more on the reality of the everlasting unseen. Logically that makes so much more sense- I just have to tell my heart that it is true. It is better to fix our eyes on things above (Col 3, 2 Cor 4)


Heaven is For Real (great book- I don't know about the movie- Jesus can't be left out. Maybe leaving Him out of the movie makes it more "friendly" to others, but it's not really friendly nor is it loving if it's a lie. He alone is the way- John 14:6). But if heaven is for real, so is hell, and so many people in this world do not know Jesus. He alone is our righteousness. I don't know when He is coming (just like I don't know when Caleb is coming) but He is coming back for His own. Will we be prepared?