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The Call

Ashley Longnecker / April 15, 2015

March 23, 2015. I spent the whole day cleaning and staging each room so that I could get some amazing pictures of our home. The kids were so helpful in picking up their toys and making everything look in tip-top shape. We scrubbed off all the crayon marks on the walls and dusted all the doors and frames. We cleaned all the windows and got some really amazing pictures taken. It took me from 9am until 3:30 to get every room clean, staged and photographed. I was so motivated that day. I remember having an extra pep to my step and just thinking how fun that was to see my house for what it truly can be (when there aren’t little people making creative memories all over the place). I remember praying over the rooms that day. Praying for the next family who has this house that they would love it as much as we do and that their family would be blessed in their new home.

Behold, the Beast! Meet Beebop - Our Trusty F350

Ashley Longnecker / April 02, 2015

We have a “car guy.” His name is Reb Croft from RC Motor Company and we’ve ALWAYS bought our cars form him. If you’re in the Knoxville area and looking for a car/truck/suv, go visit him. You’ll be glad you did. He knows his stuff and he can look for whatever you need.

After much research about hauling 5th wheels, we decided on an F350 dually with a 7.3 powerstroke diesel engine. We told Reb, and he got right to work. He knew exactly what we wanted. Leather seats, relatively low miles with 40/20/40 seats up front and a bench seat in the back. He looked....and looked....and looked. It’s crazy hard to find the specific truck that had all the things we were looking for. We’ve never had to be so specific in our search for a vehicle before.

Finally, we found one and it looked amazing. I got my hopes up, Reb flew all the way to Michigan to check it out and drive it back if he thought it was what we wanted. But then I got the call. No good. Reb saw lots of rust in the bed and several other things that just made him uneasy about the purchase. We told him if he didn’t think it was the right one, then we trusted him. He flew back to Knoxville without the truck. I was pretty upset, but we knew the perfect truck was out there just waiting to be found.

After several more false starts and dashed hopes, I found what looked to be the perfect match on Craigslist. It was a beauty! Man, she was dark grey, long bed, running lights, leather in great shape and to top it off, she had a chip! Oh, that glorious chip. Now, I don’t know much of anything about cars but...I know we get ridiculous gas mileage with this chip. I like it.

I had Reb call the guy to see if his asking price was solid and to feel him out and make sure he wasn’t going to murder us if we came to look at the truck. Jon ended up calling him after Reb did and we set up a time to drive to Memphis to check out the beautiful beast.

The trip

The weekend came for us to drive to Memphis and go check out this beautiful truck. We planned to drive there Saturday, spend the night in a hotel, meet the guy with the truck Sunday morning and hopefully drive it home that day. Well.... let’s talk about that, shall we.

The Thursday before we were supposed to leave, Knoxville was covered in ice and snow. Schools had been out for the entire week and the roads were horrible. We called the guy again to see how the roads were in Memphis and they were fine there. So, we decided that if we could get out of our driveway that Saturday morning that we would go on with the trip.

Confessions of a Foodaholic

Ashley Longnecker / March 25, 2015

I have big problems. I wake up and think about food, I get done eating and think about what I am going to eat next. I go to bed thinking about food. I have been known to ‘sneak’ food. I’ve planned outings around food. I celebrate with food. I get depressed and I fix it with food. I am happy so I eat food. I’m sad, so I eat food. 

This is an ongoing struggle for me. It’s real, and it’s painful. Painful in my pants, and also painful in my heart. I hate that I cannot get control over this issue. I try to make healthy meals and then one thought of chocolate and it breaks my whole healthy eating routine. I know it’s a self control issue, but I also believe it’s something bigger. What, I still don’t know but it’s real and it really sucks. 

Last March Jonathan and I started eating really well. We cut out sugar and grains. We did a cleanse for 21 days. We even did Whole30 for the month of August. Then life happened. Celebrations happened. Holidays happened. And for one reason after another, sugar crept its way back into our lives. Last year I had done so good (in my opinion) and was down 30 pounds. Now, I’m almost back to where I started last year and it’s becoming harder and harder to deal with it. I want to eat good. I want to get a good exercise in everyday. I want to cut out sugar and dairy and grains again. I felt AMAZING the month of August last year. But those first 2 weeks on Whole30 were a $(%)!! 

I guess I’m just admitting this on here so I can be held accountable. I need accountablity. I need to get this under control. Most importantly I need to be comfortable to be outside with my kids and not worry about if my pants will split when I sit down! I would love to drop 2 pant sizes (preferably 4, but let’s start with 2) and be able to run with my kids for longer than 3 minutes :) 

So there you have it. My goals. My heart. If only you knew how hard this is for me to admit. If only you knew the tears I’ve cried. If only you knew the thoughts that go through my head about this. If only you knew how utterly ashamed I am that this is such an issue. 

As I am writing this, tears streaming, I am in a parking lot because I knew that if I went to Panera Bread to write, I would have to buy that Chocolate Chip Cookie and if I was eating a chocolate chip cookie while typing this then there had to be a coke to wash it down. (Yes, it’s that bad)

There you have it. The struggle is real. And now, I am headed home because Jonathan took the kids to church and I am going to go get my yoga pants on and I am going to go for a LONG walk, and then a bike ride, and then maybe I’ll jump rope.

Here’s to new beginnings...again.

So Fresh And So Clean?

Ashley Longnecker / March 17, 2015

It’s no secret that I like things clean. I love newly washed sheets on the bed, floors that my feet don’t stick to, bathrooms that don’t smell like pee, all the toys in their place and a sparkling kitchen sink.

But you know what else I love? Spending time with my family. Being outside with the kids on when it's nice.  And relaxing in the evenings with my husband who has been busy working all day. 

I could spend all my time freaking out about the crumbs on the floor or the dishes piled next to the sink. I could spend all my time cleaning up toys after the kids are done playing with them. I could run around huffing and puffing about the mess and the noise level, but you know what? One day I'm going to miss all of it when my kids are grown and gone. 

And years from now when I'm sitting alone in my clean, quiet house what will I be thinking? That I should have cleaned the house more? I doubt it. What I hope is that I can remember all the fun times we had. I hope that I will have so many memories of pillow forts, stepping on legos, impromptu dances and general craziness that I get lost for hours.

Yes, kids are messy but you know what? Life is just too short. We have a measly 18 years with our children before they’re grown and out on their own. Stop worrying about the crumbs. Stop worrying about the laundry. Stop asking the kids to be quiet. Just roll with it and enjoy it. It will be over in the blink of an eye and you'll miss it. I know I will.

Good iPad Games for Your Older Kids: Part 2

Jonathan Longnecker / March 10, 2015

We're back with more iPad games for your kids that aren't stupid, "free" or crammed with in-app purchases and ads. They also look and feel like someone actually cared when making them. In other words - these are good, solid games that are worth paying for. 

This time I wanted to focus on games for the older kids in your family. Don't worry! I'll let you know if there's stuff like language or violence that you may want to watch out for. Looking for games for your younger kids? Check out Part 1.