It's Been a Minute!

Oh boy, where to begin?

It's true my life has been turned upside down in the last couple months. It's hard to keep you updated with Chris' job, and confidentiality with foster care. Now that a few things have changed, I'm going to do the best I can to fill you in on all things Crazy B!

We recently had 2 children come stay with us. They were great in the beginning. We've always set out to take in all God sends us, and to not ask any questions. We learned a valuable lesson with these girls... What we can and can't handle! Times have changed since we last did foster care, and now we have Jaisalyn to think about. She is and will always be the most important part of the equation. Chris has been away with work, and it left me to take care of 3 small children alone. We had some good times, but the bad began to overrun the good, and it got increasingly difficult to give the adequate time and attention all 3 needed. The girls have moved on, and we are deciding together how we want to move on with care.

Chris has come and gone, gone and come! He loves his new job, and it keeps him super busy. We have already been in NC for a whole year. We miss our family, and our working out our long term plans for retiring closer to home. Everyday it changes though. We dream of traveling overseas to Germany or Italy, and one day settling down closer to home... ie the other side of the US!


There's not really a lot going on with us; we're just try to embrace every minute we get together. That's the important part these days. We are going on a family vacay this weekend, and couldn't be more excited... it's the first in a longgggg time! I'm also planning on making a trip to SC to see some good friends who are about to PCS. As always we are in the works for a trip to WA, we'll see how that goes!

Sorry it's not very entertaining, or exciting for that matter... just a small update! Hopefully, I can be back to my witty self soon, and be able to discuss more details.... safety first y'all!!! <3

Love always,

Queen B

Jais and Daddy opening Daddy's presents!

and of course trying them on!!!

Thirty is the NEW Twenty!

Saying goodbye to an era.... I guess you could say is bittersweet. I had some really great things happen, such as my daughter Jaisalyn and getting to explore the US with my amaze balls hubby. I also had some really horrible things happen like 4 miscarriages, the loss of Ilee, and a failed adoption. I lost relationships, but gained relationships. We moved, moved, and moved again. Looking towards 30 has been scary. I NEVER wanted to get there. Something about being in my 20's will forever make you feel young. Then you meet new people and they are early 20's, and you begin to see no matter what that big 3-0 is coming.

Celebrating 3-0... I'm extremely blessed to have such an amazing husband. He really went above and beyond to give me the best LAST week of my 20's. Along with that, I have met the greatest friend, who really helped us celebrate the week properly. I'm so thankful we have met her and her little family. A week of events, shots, and non-stop laughs brought us to the bid D-day! Saturday the 17th, I turned the elusive 3-0! Nothing happened! I didn't shrivel up and die, my hips didn't give out, and my boobs weren't looking any further South then normal. However, I spent a great day celebrating with some great people! Thank you if you are reading this for helping me get through what I thought was going to be a hard day!

Birthdays! I guess the big ones... 21, 25, 30, 40, 50... etc... make us reflect on what we have accomplished in life, and in that; what we think we should have accomplished by then. What did I think I would have by 30... KIDS! 5-7 at least!!!! Well theoretically I had that and more through foster care, but I've always wanted to have a child of my own. One that is half Chris and half me (scary I know)! It's funny how things work out; Chris and I try to reason, understand, and come to terms with the fact that there will be NO Crashlies walking the earth... Your welcome!! God has blessed us in 2 beautiful ways: Illee and Jaisalyn. He has also given us a purpose for our future, and we believe that is to help the world's orphans... well at least the ones in NC!

So, there we have it.... am I disappointed I'm 30 now... No! Strangely, I'm great! I'm looking forward to the 30's all they have to offer. I'm glad to say my 20's are in the rear view, and I will not be thinking about them again!

Good riddance! 30 is the new 20!!
Queen B

The two-headed monster

Aka Toddlers!!!!! They are so needy, whiney, and angry! One day she's content and happy and can do everything herself, and the next she can't do anything! Everything is NOOOO, and MINE! How do we parents handle these terrible years???

Into everything!!!! Honestly, turn your head for 2 seconds and they are like superhero fast... what gives? I couldn't be that fast if you paid me! If there's a button consider it pushed, I'm not talking figuratively.... LITERALLY.... I go to switch the laundry and discover that some little finger has pushed all the buttons, and the washer did not rinse and spin!!! The dishwasher is also another prime target, it's always running for no reason at all. Just yesterday I set up the crockpot with some chicken and went to check on it 45 minutes later to discover it had MAGICALLY been turned off!!!!

Seriously, if I had one pinky nail of all that sneakiness, mischievousness, and pure speed... I could rule the world... seriously!!!!

The best part, in my humble opinion, is when Jai looks right at me while she's doing something she's not supposed to. I catch her 80% of the time just because I feel her beady eyes staring me down... wondering if she's going to get caught. Daring to see which end of the beehive she's poked; then just like that a halo appears and she has the sweetest little smile. "Hi mommy" Are you kidding me? I could rob banks with that skill!!!!!

Don't get me wrong this stage has its benefits, everything, and I mean EVERYTHING she says is soooo cute...(minus the before mentioned no and mine) She's learning and doing things so fast, and its mind blowing how smart she is sometimes. She is sweet as pie, Chris has taught her how to say "Mommy's pretty!" awe!!! I know he's a peach!! She's my best friend, and I'm lucky enough to spend everyday ALL day with her, and her shenanigans!!!

Before I leave you for the day I will leave you with one last wonderful story... Never, I mean NEVER leave them unsupervised with the potty. We usually have the bathroom door shut, but somehow this day it was not. We are busily rushing around trying to get out of the house to head to the children's museum 2 hours away, and Jai with all her glory is ready to go! Every I step the floor is wet... "Chris why is the floor wet?" He had no idea... huh? ok? let's go! Chris grabs Jai only to discover that she is in fact soaking wet as well as her brand new Elsa doll. She needed a bath (in the potty) before we could leave!!!! Yummy! Lesson learned... bathroom door stays shut!


Hope you all have a blessed day,
Queen B

Arrrggg

Jais and her bestie Millie

Daddy and Jais milking cows

Chocolate covered kisses 💋💋💋💋

Nine years of fertility treatments, a dozen foster kids, a failed adoption, and the loss of a child definitely had us broken. We had just PCS'ed to Ft Jackson, SC where Chris was going to be a Drill Sergeant. Before we even got there I had been in contact with a Private Adoption Agency; had submitted our application and had a date for our first home study. Things were slow at first, I went back to school at Regency Beauty Institute, and worked part time at Ulta; while Chris stayed busy working 100+ hour work weeks. After our second home study, we learned about our miracle baby!!!

Our agency, as well as many others, branch out and work with agencies all over the US. They had a lawyer in Charleston, SC that had a pregnant mother she was having difficulty placing. She asked for other's portfolio's if anyone was interested. Mind you, we had been working on a portfolio for months!!!! It told our entire story, and was very pretty! This lawyer wanted 2 pages MAX, and that was supposed to be enough to convince this woman we were the family for her little one! I got the email in the middle of school, and immediately headed home to work on this tiny portfolio. We got it done, and I was able to overnight it to Charleston that day. The next day, while driving back from school, the lawyer called to tell me the Biological mom had picked US!!!!!

I was ecstatic, scared, overwhelmed, and any other crazy thing you would think someone would be feeling in that moment!! I immediately called Chris and told him the fantastic news. We were hesitant to tell our family until we had more info. Jaisalyn's mom wanted to meet us, and since she was 7 months pregnant it was pretty urgent! We were able to drive up and meet her for dinner, where we spent hours talking and crying with her. I brought her the portfolio I had been working on for her to keep. She was so sincere in wanting the best for her baby. The meeting went well, and other than waiting for Jais to be born, we had another tiny problem..... $$$$$$$$

I don't want money to take over this because what God did for us in this situation was truly a miracle. We had 2 months to raise the money to cover all the lawyer, court, guardian ad litem, hospital, and Biological mother fees. We were looking at upwards of $20,000. Hard to swallow at first, but already it was a blessing.... the agency we were working with before required a $10,000 agency fee; we no longer had to pay that going through the lawyer. Looking at that number in the face was scary, but we had the best lawyer in the world, and I believe God put her there to help us.

We hit the ground running, I quit school and went to work full time, and we were running fund raisers like crazy. We started a website, sold magnets, bracelets, baked goods, tshirts, and our church even did a car wash! Each time the lawyer asked us for money, we miraculously had it to give!!! We applied for every grant out there, but with the timing of our adoption, we were not eligible for any! Our family majorly stepped up and were sending us donations. It was seriously a miracle. We obviously did it, and to this day I could not tell you where every last dollar came from..... but I'm so very grateful!

Jaisalyn was born via C-section a week early on October 12th, 2012 at 8:15am. She was so beautiful and we were lucky to be there for all of her first moments. Her Biological Grandmother was there and so kind to us. She held Jais and prayed over her, as well as us! Jaisalyn was really sick in the beginning, and we weren't able to touch her with our skin for the first whole week of her life. When we finally did though, it was amazing. We "kangarooed" her lol! (It's when you lay her naked skin on your bare chest, so you can each feel each other's heart beats.)

We had to wait 2 days for her Biological mom to sign the paper work, since she had a C-section. The case worker came to get us to tell us whether or not she had signed, and we were a mess with nerves. We left to go call our family and deliver the news, meanwhile all the NICU nurses were freaking out since they saw me crying, and then we didn't come back!!! When we got back we had a huge celebration, and these nurses we had just met 2 days prior were crying with us. They were so happy for us. That was the most joyous occasion, and I'm so glad we spent it with those nurses!

Our little Chocolate Chip is still keeping it interesting!!! She is the light of our lives, and I honestly believe that Ilee picked her for us in Heaven. Jaisalyn saved our lives, and I pray we can instill in her how important she is and will always be!!!

That's all I got for now!

6 months

1 year

Pee Pee in the dipey!!

I am sooooo over potty training! Chris is over it... Jaisalyn is over it... These crazy B's are over it!!!!!! It's so hard to understand what goes on in a little 2 year olds head! She knows what to do, and does it 75% of the time, but only if you initiate it. So the girl can't say Mom I have to pee, or etc... It's too the point where this girl is going to be 18 and still in pampers!

Ok, ok, so I'm exaggerating ALOT!! She knows enough now to tell us after she went... some may say progress. This girl here says FRUSTRATING!! But nevertheless, we will get there eventually. Hopefully before we get more little ones. At least that's my plan anyways. HA! Pray for us!

Was potty training the bane of anyone else's existence? I know we can't be alone. Having a toddler is rough. You have to be on them like glue! Jaisalyn's thing is buttons! If she see a button she push a button. It doesn't matter how many times you tell her no... today, yesterday, or everyday before.... this girl is gonna push that button. Do you know what she does after??? While you are sitting there watching??? You just told her NO for the umpteenth time..... she turns around with those pearly whites, those big ol' eyes and smiles!!! Really?!?!? Gahhhh! I need to make a recording and start playing it. I'm soooo tired of saying Jaisalyn "No mam" all day long!

While there is all the frustrations of a toddler; I feel like we can't leave it on that note... NAP TIME!!! My toddler still loves and needs her nap. The girl can sleep! I am so very thankful for nap time each and every day! I seriously look forward to it. You probably know just what it's like.... always wished for a little helper, and now they won't keep their little hands out of anything. Those 2 hours of pure bliss where I can take out the laundry and push the buttons and be done in 1 minute. Where I can fold all the clothes 1 time, and be done with out little hands folding too! It's cute the first few times, but then girl... it needs to get done! Come on!!

They are also in this everything is fascinating phase, and constantly learning. I love that. Chris loooooves that! He gets so excited... Babe she did this.... like I don't spend all day with her.... yep! Their cute!! Chris has taught Jaisalyn how to say "Merica! Everyone likes to ask, " Awwwww, where is she from?" and Chris in all his glory beams with pride when Jaisalyn yells 'Merica... seriously with authority!

Well I've done gone off in left field rambling.... More for later I guess!

Queen B

2015... I'm going to do it all!!!

Every year like others, I make a mile long list of all the many ideas and goals to help better myself and our family. This year is no different in that I have at least 30 goals for the big 'ol 15!!! One of which is this blog. Everyone who knows us knows we have a crazy little life!!! UNDERSTATEMENT.... the first of many  probably! Any who, I've decided going forward I'm going to start documenting this hectic life of ours; in the hopes to help someone else! (Hopefully)

If you are new to The Crazy B's let me introduce us: I'm Ashlie, I will be 30 on the 17th! Gahh we could start there, and I could tell you that I never in my wildest dreams thought I would ever be 30, but I'm going to spare y'all the boo hoos and move on to my Lover Chris. He is my best friend and my hero! He's been through a lot of heavy stuff with me, and through it all he sticks around (still can't figure it out!) He's 32 and in the Army. We are stationed at Ft. Bragg, and will be here for a few years. Two years ago in October, we grew our family when we adopted our little hellion.... PRINCESS!!!! She's the perfect little addition to our crazy group. Her name is Jaisalyn and she keeps us on our toes daily! I will definitely dive more into details on how we got here, but for day 1, I think we are off to a good start.

Back to goals, One of my goals is to better me, Ashlie! I want to loose weight... who doesn't? My goal for this year is to lose 2 lbs a week at 52 weeks a year for a total of 104 lbs! It may seem like a lot, but I will still not be down to my goal weight even at that point. I have gained over 160 lbs in the 9 years we did fertility treatments. (Again more for another day) Our treatments were unsuccessful and it left me with this LARGE sense of FAILURE, and a body I hate and don't recognize. I did this to myself, and had no baby to show for it. It's not about all that though, I want to be happy more than anything! I want to be a good role model for our daughter, and I always want her to ask me to go out and do something crazy with her knowing that I will be game.... Nothing holding me down!!! So, here I sit day 1 of my workout completed, and although I finished... I found myself in a heap on our bedroom floor bawling my eyes out. My husband fresh out of the shower and in his under roos found me and tried to console me. In that moment, my pity party, I decided I'm going to talk about this!!!! Hence, a blog is born!!!!!!!!!!

If I didn't bore y'all too much, I hope you will come back for more!

Love to all,
Ashlie, Queen of  The Crazy B's