About Ashley


         
My Story:
I was raised in a very small town in Wyoming. I have four brothers, and I am the middle child. I didn't get a sister until I was twelve years old. In high school, I did band and played the flute, the piccolo, and the trombone. I also did theater and dance, and I was an officer on the dance team in high school. I was also a lifeguard and a swim teacher.

When I graduated high school, I went to Western Wyoming Community College and majored in Musical Theater. I was on the dance and soccer teams also. While there, I worked as a seamstress and an office assistant. Between semesters, I worked at the same mining company my father has worked at my entire life. I was a Dissolver Operator, which meant I was in charge of a dozen 20-foot-tall, 15-foot-wide, boiling pots of stickiness.

I then served a mission in the Canary Islands. My mission had the lowest baptisms in any mission in the world, and it got shut down while I was there. It was a very different experience from other missions, but it was the experience I needed to learn and grow. I LOVE my mission and plan on taking my family back there someday.

Less than a week after coming home, I packed my car and headed to BYU. The first guy I met there was Jason, but it took us until the end of the semester to go on our first date even though we were friends long before then. We got engaged four months later, and we were married four months after that. We were married a year almost to the day after I came home from my mission. Jason's the best thing that's ever happened to me.

I graduated from BYU with my Bachelor's Degree when I was in my second trimester of pregnancy with Seth. We had Seth one year and two months after we were married, and we had Kailand two years and three months after Seth. We bought a house right after Kai was born and found out that my back won't handle another pregnancy. We started looking into adoption and got overwhelming answer to prayer that we needed to become foster parents. S is our first placement, and it looks like we will be adopting her! We are so very excited. I would love to adopt her and another little one at the same time. It would give them such a solid, wonderful bond in life. S is about to turn 3 and is 18 months younger than Kai.

Somewhere in all this craziness, I stumbled upon a career in proofreading novels! I did it from home and only took books when it was good for my schedule and family. It was such a great hobby. I loved doing it. I have taken a break since getting S in our home because my family will always come first, but once she is adopted and things settle down, I will probably jump back into this hobby.

We have been married for 8 years now, and I couldn't imagine life any other way. Our family is so close and loving. We do everything together. I can't wait to add to our family and the love we feel. Open adoption is such a blessing to everyone involved. We have an open relationship with a couple members of S's family, and I am so glad we do. I am anxious to be able to officially call it an open adoption!

Career:
I am lucky enough to be a stay-at-home mom. I love it. It's what I've always wanted to do, and my boys make it so worthwhile. Every time I see a light bulb turn on for them or see them discover anything new, I am filled with joy.

Education:
Bachelors of English in Linguistics with a minor in Linguistic Computing from Brigham Young University in 2008

Associates of Fine Arts in Musical Theater with an emphasis in Dance from Western Wyoming Community College in 2004

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