Monument, Colorado...A Place Called Home

Here are some pictures of the house. Buying a home is different in Co. When you sign the closing papers the sellers and all the realtors are there too. One big party. You get your keys and it's yours! Very odd. To make it more real and still it doesn't feel real, I took the kids by and went in. We walked the house but still feel like we're walking into someone elses house. They left a few things for us that I didn't expect...some benches, flower pots, rugs. I did find out, if your reading this Ms. Toni, the growing season is very short here. I mean short. I am going to investigate hot lamps for my veggies. So here they are ...come see us and get a grand tour!

We Found a Home!

Here is our "new" home. We close on the 31st with hopes of moving in mid-February. It is a great place for our family. Its been an interesting journey to this place we call home. You can have the full story someday. Honestly, we are so thankful to be almost done, we aren't going to share much about the tough spots. God is good and our three plus months of wandering are complete. So glad it wasn't forty years in the desert! No Complaints here!!

My Man's got a New Bike!

Terrell got his new wheels this week. Check it out! Just as a reminder: The old bike got demolished on the highway in Wyoming. So sad! But today is a Happy Day!

Oh by the way... I got to pick the color!

Monument Weather

Here is to say to all you who wonder: It's not always cold.

Temperature today: 56*
Temperature tomorrow: 42* and possible snow

We're going to enjoy the warmth!

Exercise at the Y and then some

We had a great day today. Slept in, had breakfast as a family...big family breakfast: all 9 of us, lounged awhile, and then we took off to the Y for exercise. The YMCA organization in Colorado is very nice. http://www.ppymca.org/ The gym we joined will be open in April so we can use any other Y while waiting. Say that real fast three times. Ready GO! We worked out as a family. Did the treadmill, weights, swam, and I soaked in the spa. It felt so great to get back out there and do something physical. All right, I know what some of you are thinking..... moving on..... Now that we are getting settled, LOL, I made an eye appt., ortho consult, so all that's left is buying a home. Oh yeah, we're buying a home. We have an inspection on Monday. Hopefully this inspection goes better than the last one. After Monday I'll write more on home buying in Colorado. What an experience! It has been good to be with family. We can talk and chat and not be lonely. Joanna is getting the "Look". It's great to live vicariously through her pregnancy since my days of childbearing are over. Wait while I get a tissue. Ok, I'm back. So, overall this week has been great. We are going through adjustments as to be expected. We are also very excited about the potential company this spring. Come on out, we love visitors! Our biggest prayer request is that the Lord will lead us to a home church. Enjoy !

More on the new hair thing....

I am getting mixed reviews. The one question asked that I'll answer here is if Terrell likes it.

Yes! Terrell picked the color and loves the change.

I hope you all can adjust to the new look. It feels good to switch it up a little. Look out...a tatoo may be next! Just kidding!

Tobaggan Hill

New State, New Color

I decided it was time for a change. Now I'll know who really reads the blog! Any feedback... come one, let me here your comments.

Hello Monument...Good-Bye Fort Collins

We arrived safely, dropped off a load of our"stuff" into the Kurtz's garage and basement, went out and looked at houses, did school, watched Idol, watched Kadence try on my boots and broke bread together! Shoo! That's just day one. We will be here for sure, for sure on Saturday.

There's a chill in the air....BRRRR!

It is freezing here to say the least. Today it is down right cold! The wind is making it even colder. Low tonight is a whopping -2. Gabe had a snow day today. Can you believe it? A snow day! Monument got 4 inches of snow. We didn't get any here in Fort Collins.

SO here's the BIG NEWS for today: We did NOT purchase the Hacienda. It turns out that after the inspection there were two red flags. One was too big to overcome. It has Black Mold.

We are going to Monument in the morning to look at more homes and move in with Robby and Joanna. Yes, this will be our third temporary place to lay our heads. They have a great house and glad to have family to stay with. We are taking Charley girl to Eichhorn Kennels ( www.eichhornkennels.com )for the month. She is going into training. If you are looking for a Lab puppy and TF isn't having any, check out this website. Friday night we come home to Fort Collins to finish packing and get our family to it's permanent home, well at least permanent town!

That's it for tonight. Keep us in your prayers for the Adventure continues.

Apologia Science Rocks!

Check out our new microscope. We so desperately needed one for school. I am happy to say we found one on the Internet for a fair price. If you are in the market check out this website: http://microscope-depot.com/.

Apologia Science is the, underline THE, best science out there. We have used their program for many years and I only have KUDOS for Dr. Wile. Boo is in Physical Science and Becca is in Biology this year. The pictures are the girls performing two experiments. Elizabeth is dealing with sound and Becca is studying cells. Onion Epidermis to be precise. Enjoy!

To Buy or Not to Buy? That is the Question.

No decision yet. We thought we had one made but not so sure..... If you read this today, pray for us. We truly are seeking after God's best.

Sometimes in our walk with Christ, He takes us to a new level of listening and a new level of searching our hearts motives. Sometimes obstacles that look insurmountable come our way. I am reminded of Moses and the Israelites in the desert. They had so many challenges and obstacles that God had to move in; either in their heart (faith) or literally get rid of the obstacle facing them.

When God truly tells you to get up and move, in our case far away from all we knew, you listen. Of course there will be distractions and roadblocks along the way. Terrell and I have seen them before. The difference is this time we know it, we see it. This time we recognize it. This time we understand what prayer and waiting on the Lord can accomplish. God hasn't changed. His Spirit still directs. Isaiah 40:31 tells us "But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint."

Oh knowing Jesus and growing up in Him is good.

Reality Check: What do you need an answer to? Is it too small or too big for Jesus? No way! Quiet your heart and wait. Really wait. Let the Maker of all creation speak. He wants to but you have to sit down long enough to listen. So grab your Bible and a cup of coffee and spend time with your Lord.

Thanks for listening,
Tuna Jones

California's old friend.....

We took the kids to visit an old friend from California last night. Brent is one of our "Before marriage, college and career days" friend. He's one of those guys that you just can't help but to want as your friend. He's funny, creative, spontaneous, and charming. He is also a great host! It was great catching up. The kids had heard so many BRENT stories they were excited to finally meet him. It has been about 15 years since we saw him but it felt like yesterday. I wish I had my photo albums here in Colorado so you could see the "That was then, This is now" picture but I don't. Ok, so here is an interruption to the Blog: Brent emailed me pictures from 1988. You're gonna see that he still looks great and well, I've changed just a bit!

Brent if you're reading this.. Thank you! We love you!

Gabe's 1st Road Trip

Our son is living with Auntie and Uncle in Monument. It's been a great first week at school for him. He is real happy with the campus, classes, and the overall feel of the school. He told me he watched a storm roll in the other day. He even has a locker!! What a concept.

We miss him! It's Friday night and we asked him to drive home. He's stuck in traffic in Denver right now. This is his first road trip alone. We are glad he's doing this to get used to driving in the dark and long distances. We are also anxious to see him! Having him home for three months straight and then gone all at once is tough. I feel like this is another step in "growing up" and "indepenence".

We are going to celebrate! Dinner at Texas Roadhouse...7pm.

What's up?

Today I am digging in again with school. It's in broken pieces through out the day but we are pressing in. I have been reminded lately that "I can do all things, including home schooling, through Christ who strengthens me." It's easy to get discouraged when you're busy with life. It is also VERY easy to look to the public institutions for help instead of the Lord. I will say Colorado is partnering with HSers in a way that I am personally comfortable with choosing next year. Lina is begging to go to school so that will be in prayer this year too. We are also looking at classes at New Life for the kids to take. Options are good!

I went down to Monument with Gabe on Monday to get him enrolled in District 38. The school districts here are by number not name. He started yesterday. He has a full schedule of classes: Spanish 4, Physics, English 3, Stone Sculpture, Us History B, and Psychology. The CS area has what we know as ROP in CA. It is VOP or something close to it. He is still hoping to do a year of Fire Science classes off campus next year. It looks promising. He is staying with Robby and Joanna which is close to the school. The unfortunate part of school is the lack of parking. We took a truck down for him but he is not able to drive to school because he doesn't have a parking space. So... Gabe and the BIG Yellow Bus will become well acquainted. His auntie and uncle have offered to drive him at times so that's good too. Thank you Robby and Joanna!

The housing process is "moving" right along. So many little details to take care of. T is doing a lot of coordinating and I am do my part with other details of the move. I struggle with details. I'm trying, really I am. We have to pick doctors, dentists, eye doctors, ortho, phone company, trash company, ...AGHHHH!!! It took long enough to find a home. It'll be good to be settled.

Pray for us as we continue this Adventure! God has so much more in store for us than we even see so far. We are excited about His handy work and believe He is leading us every step. It's good.

Oh, my cough is sooo much better. I only get going in real cold, windy nights or if the house has a chill in it.

May the Lord bless and keep each of you this day.

Here's a picture of the "Hacienda"

Here are two pictures of the home; one front, one back. We intend to change the image from Spanish to Country Manor. See those bushes out front: Gone, I tell you, Gone! It snowed about 4 inches last night in Monument. I'll have more pictures at a later day....

Our Hacienda

We did it! We found a home and will be moving to Monument in 2 weeks. So glad this part is over. It's hard finding a home that works for now and for later. I really wanted a ranch home so T an I could be in it for a LLLLLLLLLLLOOOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGG time. Maybe even welcome our grandchildren in it. With a few changes to make it "The Country Manor", it'll be just perfect for us. The yard is a little more than half acre. The view from the kitchen window is of Pikes Peak. It's 7 minutes from my brother, sister(in law) and baby Kadence! Those three things will never change. The rest we can change as time and money permits. I am looking forward to waking up in the morning, grabbing my cup of coffee, and sitting down at the kitchen table to read the Word and think. Monument gets a lot of snow, more so than CS and we are VERY excited about that too. So come winter or summer, we can't wait to see you!