Wedding Memories- My Girl

My sweet Becca. So many fun times and conversations that led up to her wedding. Also some super loooong conversations through the years, let me just add, saying she was NEVER EVER going to get married. Bec would tease T and I about being in our basement forever. And here she is, married a month already. Oh Bec. 😊

This moment was the evening Brock proposed to our girl. FaceTime is such a great tool! We had the joy of sharing this special time with both of them. 

Christmas rolled around and the whole family was finally together. Becca patiently waited to look for her dress until all her sisters were together. I anticipated this moment for years. And I was not disappointed. We were treated beautifully and she said YES to the Dress!

All the sisters and one sweet grand baby. And if you're wondering, oh yes we did have chocolate and champagne celebrating this BIG day!

Throughout the planning season, I helped Becca plan from afar. I was overjoyed at the times I could be there in person talking, planning and shopping together. Nothing can replace this moment in time with my girl.

We went in for a beautiful shower in March and her daddy got to join in the fun. The countdown was getting closer!

Finally the week was here and we were all together finishing up those last minute touches. I can not express enough the joy of being together after months of planning.

                   What would a wedding week be without a personal shower! Ooo-la-la. 

Can you tell how much her daddy loves her? 

                     
                            Rehearsal time is approaching. The anticipation is getting bigger!

And then it happen. Just like that. June 15th, 2019 she became Mrs. Rebecca Killinger. We are so happy for these two. We know that we know Brock is the only one for our girl. He adores her.

These two. 💕

Sisters, Sisters

  Then there's the Fab 6.  I loved seeing all of theses amazing women supporting and loving on our girl during this time. Becca is loved by so many and that made this day even more memorable.

And off they went! Two beautiful people sharing their life together. 

I love you Becca Joy!

Wedding Moments ~ Grandparents

I've been pondering Becca and Brock's wedding all week. I want to put down in words some of the moments I see in my mind. Moments that still make my heart happy and my eyes tear. 

I am so very grateful for these four people. For months, MONTHS, I worried if they could all come. Now, I'm not a worrier by nature. I get concerned, but not worried. This however had me worried. I SOOO wanted them all here. I didn't grow up with grandparents and for my children to have BOTH sets at their wedding, what a treasure!

T's parents moved in May and Bert is living with dementia so the impact of these two things was an unknown. Charmaine is full of spunk and was determined to be at her granddaughter's wedding! Another side-note in their story... Bert doesn't fly. Like ever! So here we were, told they bought tickets to come to Washington and I just kept saying -we shall see if he gets on that plane! Not only did he get on the plane, he did awesome!  We could not have had them here if not for T's brother, amazing wife and our nephews. I am so grateful.

My parents came in from Idaho. My dad has had some health issues recently that could have stopped him in his tracks. I held my breath until the last moment and waited. I needed them there. The wedding is on their anniversary, they had to come!  I was so very excited when they said they were coming and Mom texted me she had her dress all picked out!

Becca and Brock had an anniversary dance as a part of their reception. It was a great way to honor our parents and the beauty of marriage. The shortest time married left the floor first, all the way to the longest. These four were on the floor the until the end. Dancing their hearts out! My folks celebrating their 56th anniversary that very day and T's folks celebrating 62 years. Bert loved it! What am I saying, we all loved it! And these four.. they enjoy each other! I will always, always remember this moment in my mind. The joy of them dancing with the love of their life and then each other. I am so grateful.

Marriage is a beautiful covenant. One that none of them take lightly. It isn't always easy but so worth the years of love, work, and devotion.

In sickness and in health, 'til death do us part.

Thank you Mom and Dad.
Thank you Bert and Charmaine.

Intentional Parenting- Being his Bride

I woke up this morning feeling awful. Actually I woke up last night feeling awful. Joints hurting, arm asleep, knees aching, all around struggling to get comfortable. I rolled out of bed- like literally, rolled out of bed-and slowly crept my way into our bathroom. I dug around for Advil, swallowed two, inched my way back to our bed, rubbed Deep Blue on my feet and elbow, and attempted to find sleep. That's a long explanation of how my night went. Guess what! Morning wasn't any better. I crawled up on the couch, coffee in hand and waited for my body to decide it was ready for the day. It was not a pretty beginning and I can say, I did NOT look that lovely either.
What does all this have to do with "Being his Bride"? SOOO much.
After a few hours of feeling like a truck rolled over me, I was strong enough to get going. Crazy energetic? No. However! I knew I looked like Harriet House Hag, as I lovingly call her. So while my man went on a mountain bike ride, I washed my hair, put on some make-up and sprayed on some of his favorite perfume. I am still in my way comfy clothes, but the rest of me is saying "Hey Baby, you matter."
Being his bride starts when you're dating your man. Staying his bride doesn't end after years of marriage or little ones runnin' around. Actually it's even more important than ever. I remember  having Littles under feet and watching the clock. As it approached time for him to roll home, I kicked it into high gear. I tried my darnedest to look nice for him. I may have been a wreck all day but you bet I strived to welcome each day the man I chose the best way I could. He already knew my days were full. I didn't need to "look the part" for him to know that. Guess what ladies? So are his! And many times he is around women all day that look good. When that Ah-Ha hit me, I knew what to do. So for years, as often as I possibly can, I treat him to a bride that cares as much now about how I look for him as I did when we were dating.  I do not get all fancied out each day, in case you're wondering. That's not my style. It might be sweats and a t-shirt, but there will be a little makeup on, hair styled and a warm hello when he walks in the door. And definitely a kiss. 💕
I love my husband. And I love being his bride. Why not let him know it?

Haven of Rest

Today marks the beginning to an end of a very long season for T and I. Five years to be exact.  It was 5 years ago we were in cruise mode, enjoying life and watching our children become adults. It was 5 years ago we were thinking about our next season of life and what was next. We were living life. Two college graduations, one wedding right around the corner, and a daughter loving high school. Little did we know what was coming.

Little did we know my husband would go through a job change that led our family to move to Washington for two years. Little did we know we would live in four places in those two years. Yes, four. If you only knew how much we LOVE moving. Wink. Wink. Little did we know I would return to Colorado and T would commute for almost a year from Washington to Colorado. Little did we know we wouldn't ever return to the home we thought was forever. We were living life, walking out each day and hoping for what we couldn't see.

But God knew. Isn't it a good thing we don't always have the whole story? I would have dug my heals in and said,"Are you kidding me!"

So here we are, better for the journey.  We've had 5 years of adventures... and tears. Not all things God-planned are easy. That's where we leaned in and trust God. Sometimes the leaning in was more like falling over. Exhausted, emotionally spent, did I mention exhausted?

We aren't afraid of adventure and wouldn't ya know, neither are our children. They've seen what trusting our Lord looks like and lived like. Let me just say, when you move 4 times in two years, if God isn't in it, its only chaos. Moving is just hard, tiresome, and sometimes ugly. Throw me in the mix and you get tears. I just cried. and cried.  What can I say? No way around that one.

So here we are. February 2018. Five years later and we're finally able to see the end of this season. We've been living with the bare minimum for about two years. Most of our things are in a box in storage or for simplicity sake, sold. Not that its been awful. It hasn't. Just not completely settled. 

T and I prayed and wrestled with the big question "What's next?" oh, for about a year now. He was moving back to Colorado and we could either move back into our home orrrr... well we didn't know the OR. I check real estate often and decided to take a drive by a home for sale last March. I just "happened" upon a few lots in an area we love, love, love that were for sale while I was out looking. I pulled over, got the flyer on the lots, called T in Washington and said, "You've got to see these!"  Isn't that just like God to take us on a diversion sometimes to show us what he really has planned all along?  When T flew home to Colorado for a few days I drove him to see them. We walked the lots, we talked, we prayed, we did all the homework we always do before making a decision and now almost a year later are building our forever home.

I am so happy. and content.

We didn't know if this would actually happen. We've had some pretty big hiccups along the way.

More prayer. More time.

When we started this journey I truly believe God reminded me of a word He gave me years ago. We had built a house in California and I told T as we stood in the empty, dirt back yard, "This, this right here (as I pointed out a large section) This is my Haven of Rest. It's going to be beautiful; full of roses and flowers that vine. A sweet resting place."And so he created that for me. Sweet man. He's been creating things for me ever since. We didn't live there but a year and half. I was creating a Haven of Rest for someone else. Another one of God's plans. But this time...this time it's for me. I shared this word with my daughter and she had the sweetest gift made for me last year as we started this long season with Lot 3.   So each time T and I thought the project was not gonna work out or another obstacle came in front of us, I had this beautiful sign to remind me - God gives us rest. This season won't last forever and I WILL be able to exhale.

Today I exhale.

Psalm16:6 The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance.

Reality Check: What is happening in your life that is making you hold your breath? Are you ready to exhale? Oh -I don't know how long you'll be walking this one out but you gotta know, God is good even when its hard. Hang in there and don't forget the leanin' in part. 

Thanks for Listening,
Tuna Jones

A Little Catching Up

Or a lot of catching up...

Writing dropped off my radar in 2016. I've been doing some soul searching and trying to figure out why. I think I have a couple ideas... working, lots of travel with volleyball, selling a home, moving, buying a home, a new job, my husband flying back and forth to Colorado, and a new grand-baby. That's most of it. I think some of it could have been my heart being sad and wounded from some hard things I had to process while I was in Washington. When I write, I'm quite vulnerable. I say it like it is and that's part of the joy of writing. I started this little o' blog to create memories for my children. I don't scrapbook. I tried it. I even tried to like it.  I can't stand cutting paper or placing stickers on a page, so these years of posts, one after the other will be the scrapbooks for my family.

I think I'm ready to write again. And I am hoping my amazing man will jump in once in a while. He has been sharing some fabulous insights with me and I keep saying, "Write them down, please!"
Hey, maybe we will actually write that book we've talked about together or maybe you'll just have to pull up a chair for some coffee and have a sweet on-on-one chat with us.

So, before I begin writing all about 2017 I need to share memories from 2016. Just pictures and a few words. My children will thank me later.

January started off with T making a trip to Israel. He loved his time there!

 We're gonna be grandparents!!! Definitely a highlight to 2016!

 Prom 2016

We lived in Washington but Lina flew to Colorado for prom. This prom with her dear friends in Colorado was so special. It was really the last thing that gave us the green light to move back to Colorado.

 

 The two men of the family.

 LPC Volleyball! Go Purple!

My favorite spot in the summer. I love the quiet serenity of Round Lake in Camas. Always made my heart glad.

 I had fun with a photo shoot of my girls in July before the move. 

 These two are dear friends. So glad Maddie is in our life! One of the great things about our move to Washington.

 Lina and Abby! Two crazy longtime friends who love heels and fashion but can have a great time being silly.

 Senior year! 

Knee surgery right before we moved.

 My sweet girl. Loved going down to California for some time with my Boo!

 

 Becca and T did their first ever Father-Daughter cycling event together. 

 T rode in some great places in 2016. Bend is always a highlight with his old Roseville riding buddies as well as Hood River. 

This was one of those rides that had a surprise in store. Snow in October! Maybe this was the first clue that Oregon was going to get a lot more snow in 2016.

   These four. My heartbeat and joy. 

Once in a blue moon I'll join T when he rides. I found a quiet spot one afternoon while T rode in Hood River. Perfect view and a quiet place to hear from Jesus.

 Seattle! Time for some volleyball and taking in the sights. 

I adore this man. He is my knight in shining armor. He makes my heart jump every time I see him. He brings me peace in the midst of the storm. Truly God's greatest gift to me.

I'm back in the classroom full time! I have twenty great second graders. I LOVE my job!

These two. Girlfriend time and laughing most of it. 

Here is our beautiful grand-daughter! 

 Meet Rylann Grace

Sisters, Sisters. 🎵

Cousin time in So Cal this fall.

 One big selfie for Thanksgiving 2016!

Christmas 2016 Tree Cutting with friends. SO. Much. Fun!

 Family time!

 Here I am! Grandma Happy and my sweet grand-daughter. I knew this day would come but sometimes it still feels surreal. She is such a fabulous addition to life.

And that's 2016! You're all caught up now. After how much time it took me to get this ONE post done, I feel like I should say Happy New Year! It's only February 11th. Who's counting?

Happy New Year!