I love spring.  The flowers are blooming; everything is turning green except for my car which is yellow from the pollen.  We are finally emerging from the never ending winter we have had.  I feel like I've been inside the movie Groundhog Day.  There is a part in the movie when Bill Murray's character says "I'll give you a winter prediction:  it's going to be cold, it's going to be grey, and it's going to last you for the rest of your life.", yeah I was there.  By the way, the next big scene is him kidnapping Puxatony Phil.  Classic.

But, winter be gone!  Welcome spring!!!  This past Saturday was our inaugural Art in The Hills.  Ask me how nervous I was.  I don't think Cindy, who came up with AITH, was nervous, she looked cool as a cucumber.  The same goes for Debra, who was in charge of our entertainment & Gina, who was in charge of hospitality.  Not me though, I just knew I would forget something important, or do or say something stupid.  I am proud to report that everything went swimmingly!  We had 46 very talented artists and artisans set-up to sell their pieces.  I loved walking around talking to them; learning their stories; and asking them about their artwork.  Talented people!  Some of us like to dabble in art & then there are some that can take your breath away with their paintings.  I had fun this Saturday! 


We were so blessed to have TONS of teenagers helping us the day of AITH.  They were everywhere & were willing to do anything.  These days when you hear so much negative surrounding teenagers, it is nice to be around good kids.  We also had some very talented middle and high schoolers entertaining us all day.  Go check out the pics if you don't believe me.


All in all, I would mark the first Art in The Hills as a huge success!  If you didn't make it this year, we are going to be doing it again next year, so don't miss out!!!  Thank you Vestavia Hills for supporting this new venture of the Beautification Board, we couldn't do it without you.  A special thank you to Mayor Zaragoza & our city manager, Jeff Downes, who helped us get off the ground!


We are already planning for next year & can't wait to make it even better!
I love my hometown,
~ashley


   

This is a posting I'm bringing over from my personal blog that I wrote.  It is about the snow from January 28, 2014.

That should be the new motto of my state & city.  I stand in utter amazement this morning as I read about all the acts of kindness.  Is there anything more humbling than being served by someone? 

There have been pleas on FaceBook to rescue elderly grandparents, children, stranded motorists.  Churches opened their doors; neighbors opened their doors; businesses packed people in.  There were friends who abandoned their cars to start walking home last night, and stopped to rest at restaurants that were slammed with customers.  You know what they did?  They became servers!  How great is that?  (Kim & Jason)  Have hands, will serve.

This morning an alert went out that there was a good Samaritan that didn't make it home last night & he was not responding to calls or texts.  He is also diabetic.  Oh yeah, and it dropped down to 17 degrees last night.  SCARY!  You know what a group of people did?  They formed a search party. (Steve, Shelia, Mike, Marc, John & the W's)  Thank you Lord that I live in a community that cares.  They found him thankfully, alive.  They helped emergency responders carry him up a ravine and he is now in a local hospital.  Have hands, will serve.

Teachers...mother hens.  Reading books, giving snuggles, reading goodnight books.  Keeping middle school and high school kids entertained, safe and warm.  Many of them have children of their own that they couldn't be with because they couldn't leave their classroom kiddos.  From the bottom of this momma's heart, thank you.  (Connie, Carla, Jessica, Mark, Jennifer, Sally, Melinda...just to name a few)

To all the guys with 4 wheel drive trucks helping others, you rock!  (Hopson, Steve, Mike to name a few)  Have 4WD, will serve.

There are days I'm glad I can multitask.  I may not be out in the ice & snow, but if  you need help I can hook you up with someone who can rescue you.  I can give you a warm safe place to stay & a hot home-cooked meal or two or three.  It reminds me of 1 Corinthians 12:11-20.  It doesn't matter how small you think your role is, it makes a difference.  God gets all the glory anyway, so who am I to say my small part isn't important?  Have hands, will serve.

To all of you out there who have hands & have served.  You are my heros!  I love being a southerner.

Celebrating Life & the love of servants,
~ashley