All in the Family

Welcome to hero awards-- second edition.  In the last post you met my grandparents.  NOW you get to meet the people I lived with for 18 years, aka most of my life.  You ready for this?

Introducing... my family!!!  Dad, Mom, and my brother Timothy.  I would not be as talented, fantastic, and spectacular if it weren't for my wonderful parents and patience-producing little brother.  :)

Ok... so the brother isn't in this picture, but we'll get to him later.  These are my parents.  Married for nearly 24 years.  Isn't my little mama so precious?  I think so.  Let me say this woman has so much patience.  For the most part she's pretty easy going and she's a great mom.  She never really buys anything for herself.  It is rare, and when I say rare I mean sometimes a decade, that she buys herself new clothes.  Growing up, she drove my brother and I everywhere we needed to go.  She got up every morning and packed my lunch if I so desired and drove me to school-- just because I despised riding the school bus.  She dropped off and picked me up from every girl scout meeting, every after school rehearsal, every sleepover... she and dad were at every soccer game.  Ok.  Pause.  I know what you're thinking.  "Ashley?  Soccer? Hahahaha."  Yeah, I was in elementary school and it was very short lived.  Haha, I laugh to myself just thinking about those days.  But anywho... moving right along!

If I had to choose one picture to describe my dad, it would be one of this sort.  I'm sure you're asking yourself what on earth this is.  My dad is founder and director of Iron Boy Enterprises.  My family started to run powerlifting competitions my freshman year of high school.  The picture is an Iron Boy event this past summer, and it's actually one of a smaller scale.  My dad has become very successful in the powerlifting sport world because of the exceptional meets he puts on.  I tell you this to convey why I look up to Dad so much.  He had a dream and went for it.  He has such a strong presence making him a good leader.  He's a hard worker and may be one of the most persistent people I know.  He was always the voice of reason when I was growing up.  You see, I have this habit of not really living up to my potential.  Most of it is laziness.  Dad pushed me to be better than I was.  I used to get so irritated at all the "lecturing" but now I'm thankful for it and know it was just because he loves me and wants me to be successful.  And if I could pick one phrase of his that will remain with me for life, it's this-- "Be a leader."  Those are words he's told me time and time again, and it's only been in the last few years that I've realized what it means.

This is my little brother Timothy/Tim/Timmy/Timbo/ TP/T-Payne.  Choose your nickname.  I never call him the same thing twice.  :)   He's 16 now and a junior in high school.  This is crrrrrazy to me!  We're about 6 years apart and I've always felt like I was so much older.  Nope.  Not anymore.  Especially now that he's taller than me.  Bless his heart, we thought he'd inherited too many of Mom's genes and be short.  To our surprise, he's surpassed my height.  Go team for that.  So he and I never really got along when we were younger.  Sometimes we still get into it but we've gotten so much better since I left for college.  I've found recently that he and I have very similar senses of humor.  You know we had such a fun time cracking Michael Jackson jokes... the day after same night he died.  I love my little brother.  I love driving around listening to loud music with him, playing guitar hero with him, and most of all laughing with him.

There you have it... 3 more of my heroes.  I will close with a joke from the infamous T-Payne.

What did Michael Jackson say to the guy giving him CPR?
"Just beat it!"

Hahahaha.  You love it.  I know you do.

"I can be your hero, baby." Thank you, Enrique.

I suppose most of you already know my life, but for those who don't or would like to know me better, I will post some get-to-know-me blogs.  Maybe I'll write about some more of my obsessions, or maybe pet peeves.  I'm thinking I will start out by writing a series of blogs about my heroes-- people who have impacted my life and helped me become the person I am today.  Sound good to you?

And our first hero award goes to my grandparents... Grandma and Pop.  If there's one thing to know about me, know this-- I spent every summer from age 8 to 20 with them in Alabama.   Yes, I'm from North Carolina and yes, that's approximately 8-9 hours from home.  I'm not what you would call the homesick type.  I wholeheartedly believe my grandparents are the reason I'm a Christian.  I wrote a note on facebook about Pop one time.  I'm just going to copy any paste a lot of that here--

Anyone who had the privilege of meeting my Pop, knew what a special man he was. He was definitely a man of kindness, love, patience, strength, and most importantly, a man of God. He and my grandmother, Martha, spent around 30 years in the mission field teaching the gospel. Pop gave up a very lucrative job of taking pictures for the government so he could preach the word of God. He and Grandma made so many sacrifices and are some the most selfless people I’ve ever known. My Pop was a good man, an amazing personal worker, and one who genuinely cared about the souls of others. There is no telling how many lives he touched while here on earth.

On August 9, 2007 my grandfather, Charles Franklin Payne, passed away.  I do take comfort in the fact he’s no longer in pain and most surely has a place in Heaven.  He and Grandma would have been married for 50 years on December 15th. I hope and pray that I can find a good man like Pop and have a loving marriage like theirs someday. I am so thankful for the example they have set for me.

I count the time spent with Grandma and Pop one of the greatest blessings of my life.  Over the years I’ve grown to respect my grandparents more and more and realize just how many sacrifices they’ve made to live a life of God. I have no doubt in my mind they are the sole reason I learned the gospel and the reason I am who I am today.

Our family historian, my great-aunt Margie, urged Pop to write a book about his life for his family to treasure. While going through some of his stuff, we found a spiral notebook with one written page:

“On March 23, 1933 Charles Franklin Payne made his entrance into the world. This day to me is no doubt the most important day I have experienced thus far. It is not likely that I will see another day of such momentous importance. As I tried to think of any accomplishments in life, as the world views success, I could not think of any; certainly not wealth, popularity, or fame. Since death is a part of life, I must then conclude that this day can surpass the day of one’s birth, if one loves God and is faithful to Him. Death is the means of transforming one from the mortal to the immortal. 

Hopefully the pages found in this book can be of some insight to my children, grandchildren, and generations to come. I would never have undertaken such a task as this, had it not been for the encouragement and insistence of some of my family members. I would encourage my descendents to visit some of the places I have lived to gain further perspective of where you came from."



The part I put in italics is my favorite thing he wrote on that page.   Is that not one of the most insightful things you've ever read?   I think one of the reasons he was such an amazing man was because he didn’t realize how wonderful he was. He didn’t see the accomplishments he made and was never prideful or boastful. 


Let's take a moment to talk about Grandma now.  She is a fighter.  And I mean that in every sense of the word.  First of all, she raised 4 boys.  I think that's an accomplishment all it's own.  She lived the life of a preacher's wife, which I've never done, but know is not an easy job.  They lived in 5 different states before Pop retired-- lots of moving.  Grandma has had diabetes for most of her adult life, she's had toes removed, back surgery, breast cancer, colon cancer, knee and shoulder replacements, and has been confined to a wheelchair for nearly 9 years now.  Just so you know, that's an abbreviated list of her ailments.  And dontcha know that she still goes out to shop, still makes it to most church services every week, and still travels all the way to NC to see her grandbabies.  What an astounding woman.  She has always been the ultimate example of what a Christian woman should be.  


I'm so so so so thankful to have such wonderful grandparents, on both sides.  And now you have a bit more insight into my life and 2 of the great heroes God has placed in it. :) 

this was a fun time

Emily gave me a blog award... because I'm such an excellent blog reader.  Look at me go.  P.S. if you  find yourself with an extra 3 minutes on your hands and actually want to read all 2 of my blogs on Vox, the last site I was on, here you go.

According to the rules I'm supposed to list 5 obsessions and then give the award to 5 others.  Well listen... I'm gonna cheat and not give out any awards because I only read about 2 blogs.  And of course they both have been awarded already.  I may come back later with a surprise post and give out blog awards!  Never can tell.  I'm sneaky like that.

Obsession #1: the color red.  By the way, is this not a gorgeous picture?  I think so, too.  I like all things red.  Red shoes, red dresses, red shirts, red apparel in general is my fave.  I've heard many a time that wearing red boosts confidence.  I find this to be true.  I also think that everyone not only needs a little black dress, but a little red dress in addition.  I'm not sure when my obsession of all things red began, but it's been around long enough for me to accumulate all red luggage, a red computer, red ipod and red purse.  I'm sure that doesn't even encompass the amount of red things I own.  My blog template on Vox was red.  You better believe this one will be too as soon as I figure out how to do it.  I think I would even paint Trooper red if I ever got the chance.  No lie.  Trooper is my SUVish vehicle that is missing a fender and sounds like a school bus.  That's a story for another day though.

Obsession #2: The Beatles.  They're my favorite band and I don't care if you judge me for it.  We have videos of me at age 3 singing along with my one of Dad's Beatles records.  I saw Paul McCartney in concert when I was 6, and even though I was about to die of bronchitis or something that weekend, I thought seeing Paul (my favorite and in my opinion the cutest Beatle) was the best thing ever.  I want to see him in concert again before he gets too old to play or dies or something.  Not to mention, he's the only Beatle still alive that's worth seeing.  At age 14 I had a yellow submarine themed party.  Again, don't judge me, especially for a party theme having to do with a song that had to be written while under the influence.  At my party, I wore a tye-dye shirt and John Lennon sunglasses.  Don't tell me I wasn't the most hip teenager... ever.  I used to have a poster in my room of the picture on the left.  My poster was way cooler though because someone photoshopped those umbrellas to be different colors.  Loved it.  Annnnnd, "I Want To Hold Your Hand" is basically the cutest song ever and I can't wait to be in love and hold hands with someone again!  Lame?  Maybe so.  I don't care.  :)

Obsession #3:  Sushi.  It's one of my favorite things to eat.  I love sushi.  More specifically, any sushi served at Sakura in Jackson, TN.  I had my first taste 3 years ago and it's been an obsession ever since.  I just love it.  I've even become a somewhat of sushi snob.   If the sushi isn't absolutely amazing, aka if it doesn't meet up to Sakura standards, then I don't even want it.  I went all summer without excellent sushi.  I definitely couldn't wait to get back to school and make the pilgrimage to Jackson with some besties to eat the best sushi this side of Heaven.  Actually, I went there and ate last night.  Let's be honest, I'd eat it every single night if I could.

Obsession #4:  Coloring.  Yes I'm on the verge of 23 and yes I still love to color.  For an even broader obsession-- school art supplies in general.  I get so excited when Walmart has 24 packs of Crayola crayons for 25 cents.   When Crayola colored pencils and Crayola markers (big and small) are on sale for $1, I can't contain myself.  But yeah, I love to color.  You can put a coloring book and pack of crayons (preferably the Crayola Crayons 96 Count) in front of me and I'll be entertained for hours.  No joke.  It's also a stress reliever for me.  I relax when I color.  This masterpiece to the left is one I colored and hung on the fridge in Priv 103 last semester.  I know all 4 guys who lived there appreciated Disney-Princess-Ariel on their fridge.

Obsession #5: Food Network's Extreme Cake Challenge.  Let me tell you how I stop in my tracks anytime I see this show on TV.  I have to watch it... probably because I want to be the people on that show.  I want to make extreme cakes!!  Just go with it and let me have my irrational dream.  I imagine if I ever DID make an extreme cake, it might make it on this blog, but not the Food Network.  Haha.
Look at that cake though!!  1) It doesn't even look like a cake.  2) It's like 2342 feet tall.  Ok.. that was a lie.  I don't know how tall it really is.  But it's tall.
3) Sam I am with his green eggs and ham?!?!  Amazing theme.  A classic.  I love this cake.  I love this show.

Hello Blogspot. Let's be BFF.

Alright.  Here we go.  I always have great intentions of actually writing in these things.  And this is the third blogging site I've joined in my lifetime.  Obviously I'm not great at keeping up with it.  Maybe this time things will be different.  Maaaaaybe.  Don't get your hopes up yet.

I'm Ashley.  Some call me AP.   I love writing and have decided to enter the bloggy blog world again--  all thanks to the amazing stylings of Christine and  Emily.  Their blogs will most definitely put mine to shame.  Read them.  And if you think their blogs are awesome, you should hang out with them in real life.  

I must go now.  Eating sushi tonight with the aforementioned and some other really great girls.  Okbye.