Ten Year Anniversary

Ten years ago today Josh and I got married. It's crazy to think of where our lives have taken us since then. I don't think we could've predicted much of it haha!

How it started:

How it's going:

A lot can happen in ten years, good and bad. Sometimes it feels like we go through hell, sometimes it feels like we're stuck, and sometimes we step back and see the good times and the magic.

The hard:
- Stillbirth
- Unemployment
- Mental health struggles
- Kidney stones
- Infertility
- Financial strain
- Suicide attempt
- Seizure
- Worker's comp fights
- Hospital visits (& bills)

The good:

- Visiting Harry Potter World

- Seeing Wicked
- College graduation

- Having twins
- Seeing the Grand Canyon

- Visiting each other's families

- Family snuggles

- The every day smiles and laughter
- Being there for each other when it's hard

- Being married to my best friend

Our lives have been a lot sometimes, but there is no one I would rather be with through all of it than Josh. He picks me up when I'm down, he laughs at my stupid jokes (usually ;) and makes me laugh, he nerds out with me, he is warm and compassionate, he is smart and talented, and he is my person.

And in honor of our tenth anniversary, I picked a couple songs to share some lyrics from ♥

"You and I
Happy ending and a tragedy combined
But we both can't live without it and we tried
We should take our own advice

Don't give up
There's a mountain in the middle of the road
It'll take a little longer to get home
Baby all we've got is time

You can't help when your stomach sinks
See your life happen in a flash
In your head it could be so real
That you almost feel the crash
The panic is temporary
But I'll be permanent
So when it hits, don't forget
As scary as it gets
It's just turbulence"

- Turbulence, Pink


"Can't count the years on one hand
That we've been together
I need the other one to hold you
Make you feel, make you feel better
It's not a walk in the park
To love each other
But when our fingers interlock
Can't deny, can't deny you're worth it

Cause after all this time, I'm still into you

I should be over all the butterflies
But I'm into you
And baby even on our worst nights
I'm into you
Let 'em wonder how we got this far
Cause I don't really need to wonder at all
Yeah after all this time
I'm still into you"

- Still Into You, Paramore



I love you with my whole heart Josh, and I'm never gonna stop. ♥

Love,

Ashley

Roth Christmas Letter 2022

 ♦  Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays  ♦

This year was another hard one for our family, but there has been lots of good still. In the spring we had a family reunion with Ashley's family and got to see everyone together there for the first time in a while. In the fall we went to Disney World and Universal Studios in Orlando with Josh's family, which was so fun for the twins and fulfilled our wish of going back to Harry Potter World since our honeymoon there almost 10 years ago. It was an amazing trip and we are so grateful! Over the year we were also able to visit nearby family and be visited by traveling family, all of which we have loved.

Josh is still working for an Amazon delivery company, though his work situation was complicated when he injured his knee on the job in March. Since then we have been dealing with worker's comp and trying to take care of hi knee, which is all still a work in progress. In the meantime he's been doing what work he still can, though his knee causes him a lot of pain. We are finally planning for him to have surgery to hopefully fix it in January, and are optimistic that that will improve Josh's quality of life. Aside from all of that, Josh loves to spend time playing games online with his siblings and friends, snuggling with the twins, and watching shows with Ash.

Ashley took on some extra work this year and works full-time across a handful of jobs. Most of them are various computer-related work-from-home jobs, but she also started working at a gymnastics facility across the street - just a few minutes walking distance! She works at the front desk which is kind of her ideal type of job, and loves her boss and her workplace. She also gets to take the twins to gymnastics classes sometimes while she is working, which they have been loving. Aside from work, Ashley loves to spend time rewatching her favorite TV shows, playing games online with her siblings, listening to the twins' antics, and accidentally falling asleep watching shows with Josh.

The twins started a French immersion program at their elementary school this year. We wondered how they would do being thrown into half of their school day being in a different language, but they are loving it and thriving. We're so impressed with how much they have learned already!

Jacob loves video games and Legos, and especially loves to play with others. His favorite color is rainbow, he loves hearts, and is still the *biggest* lover of cute things of anyone we know. Most of all, he loves penguins - and we even got to feed penguins at the aquarium for their birthday! He is super curious about the world, and has also gained a lot of physical confidence doing gymnastics. Jacob has also grown arguably even more attached to Mama this year.

Lauren loves all kinds of play, and enjoys playing with others or independently. Her favorite color is pink and she loves unicorns, cats, and most of all "uni-kitties". Lauren also loves doing art and writing notes for people, even just around the house. She is the silliest kid we know and loves giving and receiving "loves" (hugs, etc). She loves school and has also loved doing gymnastics along with Jacob. Lauren especially loves snuggling with Daddy and is still a total Daddy's Girl.

As always we're grateful for the love we feel from friends and family. We're especially grateful for the love and comfort we find in Christ. We love you all dearly, and wish you the best year available to you. ♥

Roth Family Christmas Letter 2021

♦ Happy New Year ♦

I meant to get this done as a Christmas letter but I didn't have the mental energy until now, so let's just call it a New Year letter! 2021 was one heck of a year. It was another particularly rough year for our family, but there was definitely good in there too. Here is the big stuff.

As most of you know, we were going through fertility treatments including IUI and IVF that ultimately led to a dead end, and we eventually decided this year to close that part of our journey. It was a heartbreaking decision, but one we feel comfortable with. We remain grateful beyond words for having the twins before facing infertility as well as for the incredible love and support that we experienced.

We have also had a number of big medical events this year. The biggest was Josh having a seizure. It was of course a big ordeal and I'm so grateful that we were around family at the time. He is back on seizure meds now and things seem to be going fine, so hopefully that remains the case! He also had a particularly bad kidney stone that resulted in multiple emergency room visits as well as surgery.

In our more daily lives our trials range from mental health struggles to financial strain to parenting and general life stuff. Now let's move on to the good stuff!

Josh got a new job this year doing Amazon delivery. It's very physical and sometimes that really manifests (knees for sure), but it's been a good job so far. it's straightforward and he gets to do his thing as long as the work gets done. He also built a new computer from scratch for the first time. Ashley got a new at-home job as a web rater. It's more intensive than her other at-home work, but it's been a great addition. She also stepped down from being a moderator for the Utah Chapter of Mormon Women for Ethical Government for now.

Lauren and Jacob started Kindergarten this year, and they are crushing it. They are thriving academically and socially, they have made lots of friends, and their favorite part of school is the bus ride. I put them in the same class for now, because I can't imagine them being apart, but maybe that will change over the years.

Lauren loves unicorns, pink, purple, turquoise, and anything sparkly. She is a friend to everyone and is a natural leader in that she is not afraid to direct people when playing games and things - sometimes that translates to bossy when she's coming on especially strong, but I hope she never loses that spark.

Jacob loves red, orange, and yellow because those are "lava colors", and also rainbow. He is also obsessed with penguins as well as anything cute - I don't think I've met someone who loves cute things more than he does. He is so sweet and always tries to cheer people up, and is as curious about the world as ever.

We've felt so much love and support in our lives this year. We are especially grateful for the love and comfort we find in Christ. We love you all dearly, and wish you the best year available to you. ♥

Baby Blessings

On Sunday we finally took the twins to church to be blessed. We didn't invite all the extended family we each have in the area, because we didn't want to make it into a huge event (plus our apartment can only hold so many people afterwards!). People in the ward were so excited to see them, and I have to say, I sure am proud to be their mother!

The twins are wearing our old blessing outfits. <3

Josh and the twins with Josh's grandparents.

The twins got so loved on!

And after church and getting fed, some cuddles before nap time. :)

It was a really special experience to hear my husband blessing our sweet babies. There are few things sweeter. <3