February Musings

 This little life of mine here in middle Tennessee is moving all over the place. Okay, so the word moving is etched in my brain this year. ETCHED! It's been a year of moving. Moving us here, moving Jen and Serg into their new place, moving into my sister's house for a bit, moving Boo and Grady to their new place, moving back into this house, moving my dad in his new place, moving our stuff to and from storage, moving our stuff from the camper to the house and now back to the camper, just moving, so. much. moving! And it's not done yet.

 T and I are in the midst of a pretty big build/remodel. After looking at more than enough homes in town, we finalized that we ARE indeed staying put in our home, which led to how to make this sweet place suitable for us, which led to more conversations than I can count with the words "build and remodel" smattered in, which led to us meeting our son's friend who became our fabulous contractor, which led to all new flat work around the house and a new garage/shop, which led to remodeling the house here in the next 8 weeks, which led to this here post. 

Why you ask?  Cause as I sit in the sunroom that is either very cold or very hot but won't be, mind you, once this amazing room is torn down and redone, I'm looking outside at the snow on the ground pondering how much we have left to do before we say, "We are settled".  Oh those words... soon, just not super de duper soon. 

This is the garage and patio cover build. Both are coming along nicely. We can't wait to hang out outside this year with the family. Lots of bbqs to come! 

Miss Valerie! We facetime Bec, Brock and Miss Valerie often. Sweet girl!  This is her cute dino from Gma and Gpa this Valentine's Day. We miss them greatly and can't wait to meet little man soon!

This is me on the regular sending photos to T. "What about this?" Home Depot and Amazon love us right now. 😁

This picture↑ and this picture↓ are some of our favorite moments since we moved to Tennessee! And our Why. 💜

And this here... the JOY that fills our heart to see our son help build a place we call home with his own two hands. See, this one here, he's been good with his hands since he was a toddler, building something or fixing something and always smiling in the middle of it all. For a few years, Gabe and Sarahh asked, when are you moving here?  Are you moving here? When are you coming to Tennessee? And now that's it's a reality, and were finally here, to see our son as an integral part of what most likely will be our very last home- ever, WOW. Talk about big emotions. I may start singing Circle of Life. 

Like Grandfather, Like Father, Like Son. enough said. 💗

The Nashville Zoo and cousin time! We had a blast. If you come through the area, definitely worth seeing. 

These two pickles just make me laugh. Memaw and Poppa, that's us. 

Our first Tennessee Valentine's! Who would have thought 36 years after this man of mine proposed to me that we'd be taking a picture in our home in Tennessee. Not me! Yet here we are. T has said many times, The mind of man plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps. Amen to that one. 

 

I have pictures of T teaching our own kiddos how to cook. He's patient and quite good in the kitchen. Here he is with our grandson doing the same thing. 💓

A new wine bar opened up in our town square called Hemispheres. We just discovered it! Super cool premise. They rotate wines to different hemispheres quarterly. This quarter was the Northern Hemisphere and next is the Southern. These kinds of finds make a town your town. A place to go and be. We took Cribbage and shared a glass of wine together away from the mess back in our home. Ahhhh. a moment of reprieve. 

And here is the photo that started this here post today. I'm working on little man's half-blanket, using a basket for an ottoman since ours is in storage, dreaming about what will be. 

Soon. 

We Are Home!

Just opened my laptop to work a bit on a few things and decided to hop over here for a quick update. HA! I realized I never posted after the alpacas!

Well, guess what? We made it back to Tennessee safe and sound. It was a busy travel week after the alpaca farm. So now that we're here, what's happening? I should say, what DID happen? 

SOO MUCH!

We lived in a sweet RV park for a few weeks figuring out what's next. We went to the Dominican Republic with my sister and her husband to celebrate her 60th and our 35th anniversary. That was awesome for sure. We moved in with my sister for a short bit, then back on our property in our 5th wheel for another short bit and then into our home with Boo and Grady for a short bit. They found a home they love so now it's just T and I. T's sports car got totaled. The drivers here are scary. And then there was traveling to WA to pick up our new car and getting covid while there. That was fun.😏 After we drove it home, it was Christmas and then the new year! 2025 was a welcome number. Last year had lots more life, and lots more emotion than these few words care to share. 

So moving forward...  Hello 2025! 

We are settling into our new Murfreesboro community. We have a while to go before it feels permanent but were moving that way. Having so many of our children, grands and extended family sure helps. We miss the ones not here, but God has them where they are, for now. 

So what does this year 2025 have to say for itself?

Let's see, we found a church that we are exploring. Waiting a bit longer before we commit to making it our home church, but the teaching is solid, the Spirit of Lord is present in and through the pastor and the people of the church, and folk are saying hello - actually stopping to get to know us. Welcome to the south! Three biggies for me. 

We have a plan for our home which is very good news. After searching tirelessly for another house, not finding anything that checked all our boxes, we truly felt settled in our hearts with our home here as our Tennessee forever home. We love the neighborhood and the yard. Especially the yard! We love the location.  And by golly, we are so done moving. Now to make the actual home something we love instead of something Gramma from the 1980's loved! The bones are good! We are changing things like where the laundry room will be, which wall should come down, all the flooring throughout, etc. So far we have completed things that don't make me feel the warm fuzzies but have been all too necessary. We have a new roof, heater/ac unit, all the hardscape from the driveway to the patio, trees came down, that kind of stuff. The projects that had to happen and before the rest of the remodel. This probably gives you a clear understanding of what we've been doing since we landed in Tennessee last September. I forget how busy we've been, all this planning until I type it on paper.  The big decision was building a garage so we can use the current garage as living space. That began in December. We have a great contractor. He happens to be a friend with our son so that's been fun too. Gabe is involved with the build when he can be, and it's been so wonderful to watch him in his element. Our son has always been good with his hands and now all these years later to see him use his gifting on our home, wow! We're hopeful all of this will be done by summer if not before. Stay tuned for pictures and progress!

2025 also holds more travel in our camper, hopefully mountain biking for T, and the very best of all- a new grandson! I'll be heading to Washington sometime in April to be with Bec, Brock and Valerie for a short while. Can't wait to snuggle with the newest babe! 

For me, well, I am excited to say I will be starting a garden for reals this year and raising chickens. I have so much to learn. I'm scouring the internet, calling people, reading books and have a gardener resource here locally which is my green-thumb brother-in-law Dave. I do hope I can make this happen. 

We are searching for all of the normal things still- favorite restaurants, places to have coffee, doctors, shopping. I am happy to say I don't have to use Maps all the time anymore. HUGE accomplishment for this directionally challenged individual. This part of moving, finding all your favorite haunts, is the part that makes a community become MY community. And this part takes time. A long time really. We became members of a winery here that gorgeous! That's a start. I secretly dream of opening a coffee house and am always on the lookout for a location. Now to find investors!

We are still on a health journey. I am not naive to think I can throw caution to the wind and stay cancer free. So, this month, January 2025, T and I are on a reset. Way too much goodness last fall and my clothes are showing it. Back to the discipline of choosing wisely what to put into our bodies each day. I have continued to purge all the crazy chemical laden products in our home.  We bought a whole house water filter that will be installed with the remodel, and I threw away all my Tupperware storage containers. Let me say, it is not cheap going to glass! That's taking a minute. 

And a bit closer to home, T has been a good sport with losing cycling like he had in Colorado. We are prayerful that God will show us how to include this again in his rhythm of life. And for me, walking the trails was more connected to my heart than I ever realized. The trail system was literally right out our back door. So that's been a huge heart hurt for both of us. And not seeing our friends and community group left a gap that has yet to be filled. I know and believe God fills in the gaps and holes, it just takes time.

So that's all for now. I'll keep writing and filling all y'all in all of our happenings. (How's that for my southern talk) It's not been peaches and creme moving this time around. We're older, we had built our forever home in Colorado and did I mention, we're older. Oy, that has made a big difference this time. We do see God in each step. We do see His goodness and plan unfolding. We do trust Him for his provision, even with friends. He is a good, good Father and said he will never leave us or forsake us. Amen to this. It's so true. 

That's my Reality Check,

Thanks for listening,                                                                                                                               Tina aka Tuna Jones💖

Show Me the Water

If we could be in the water, we were in the water. I love swimming. Like REALLY love it. When we moved to Colorado its the thing I missed the most about my time outside. We had a pool growing up and we had a pool when our children were littles. It's not a thing where we lived in Colorado. More of a hot tub climate. After Mom's service, T and I stayed in town for a few more days enjoying family and waiting for our belongings to arrive from Colorado. I am so grateful for the few moments in the pool with everyone. After Mom's service we went to Rob and Jo's community pool to relax and cool off then one day all the cousins went back to swim some more. We  also had the joy of celebrating the 4th of July at the Johnson's home - in the pool. Not only do I love water, but it was also CRAZY hot the week we were in Tennessee. Now my home search includes a pool. 😀 Or at least the space to build one! 

Yay Team Pool!

Celebrating Momma

Momma loved flowers

My Red Bird tattoo

Aunt Carolyn

All things Momma

Me and Momma

Aunt Pat and Uncle Walty- Mom's brother

My siblings and dad

My playmates and cousins growing up in Kentucky

 Still can't believe she's gone or that I'm writing a post talking about this moment in time. It's when I scroll through pictures on my phone, or memories pop up on Facebook, or I see people who are a huge part of mom's life that it all comes crashing in again. I've heard songs or people saying, just one more day, that's all I ask and then suddenly you're living it out, and you GET what that means. Oh goodness do I.

Before this day, life was moving so fast. So much happening at one time it has been hard to process it all still.

Selling the home we built together

Traveling to see Grands

Momma in hospital

Daughter in hospital twice

Momma dies, working on her memorial service with my sister

Figuring out Dad and how to help him

Traveling for a sweet baby dedication

Daughter slowly healing, finding help and hope 💖

Packing, and then packing some more

Saying goodbyes

T's Truck in need of serious repair- fixed finally

Physically moving

Buying Bad Mamma Jamma truck and a 5th wheel

Driving some more

Trying to catch our breath....

And here I am, sitting still finally able to write about Mom's celebration. 

It was a beautiful day. A hot day but beautiful. Dad was able to share sweet memories which was so lovely to hear, my siblings and I all shared our heart, Pastor Jack spoke, Darrell sang, we all cried, prayed, and celebrated Mom. 

Her favorite bird is a cardinal or "red bird" as she called it. We had the cutest little red birds in all the flower arrangements and placed around the room. A sweet nod to mom. I actually got a tattoo of one just above my ankle. We had so much yummy southern food for the reception luncheon that followed and of course sweet tea. It was A-mazing seeing so many of my cousins too. I didn't get all the pictures I had hoped for but a spattering here and there. 

I really miss Momma. I miss my healthy sparkly mom. She loved life and loved her people. I know one day I get to see her again in Heaven, but for now that doesn't help much. Truth. I'd like to see her now feeling great and enjoying life. So yes, I'd like one more day. 

I love you Momma. You're dearly missed. 

Thanks for listening,

Tuna Jones

Across the Midwest We Go

T and I said our first goodbye to our friends James and Michele and started off towards Kansas. Our first stop was with our friends Scott and Debbie of which I apparently did not get a picture of! Sorry Northways! We woke up in the middle of the night to some loud booms. I asked T if that was thunder and then we heard it again. You've got to be kidding me! We had nothing covered in the truck or trailer. We woke up early and got back on the road for Murfreesboro with a trailer and truck full of wet. Just wet. Boxes, a big rug, tools... wet. We figured the wind would dry most of it out but we were so wrong. Why, you ask? Well, it rained even more! By the time we pulled into Murfreesboro, we had to unload everything and spread it out on the Walkers garage floor. I am still hesitant my large family room rug survived. 

Evidence of how much it rained across the Midwest. 

Still raining.😒

We made it! Everyone was super happy. 

Let the drying begin.

 This blog is called Reality Check. Here's mine- You can plan all you want. Sometimes life happens. Take it as it comes, breathe and move on.

Thanks for listening,

Tuna Jones