Our family....

.....on an amazing day!

What we've been up to....

Planning....baking....decorating for.....





....a wedding!

Introducing Mr and Mrs Anthony Fender

The wedding was held at Rachael's sister's house. Everything was beautiful. Everyone worked so hard to make their special day a dream, and it honestly was. I can't wait to see all of the pictures from the wedding, I know they will be amazing! 

We were blessed with an amazing sunset during the reception. Lightening lit up the hills around us, giving a beautiful light show to end our evening. Couldn't have been more beautiful!

Catching up....Yet again!

Long Beach, Washington

Good morning! I know, it's been far too long between posts again. I have a good reason, I promise! :)

We've been extremely busy with "life"...rounding out our school year, counting hours and recording grades, forecasting for fall classes at the community college for two of our 3 left at home, testing (state requirement), planting a garden, saying goodbye to a dear part of our family on this farm, planning a wedding for our son and his beautiful bride and celebrating that bride with a couple of bridal showers. Life has been non stop for weeks!



For Mother's Day, my husband surprised me with a trip to the Washington Coast. He knows me SO well! I had secretly wanted to spend a day at he ocean, but didn't dare mention it...Wade has been working so many long hours and has only had one day off a week most weeks. A trip to the beach would have been a full day away from home...but I really wanted to get my toes in the sand and the ocean!


The weather was beautiful! Sunshine and not too cold, but very windy...perfect kite flying weather, if we'd remembered to grab the kites. I was one happy mama, getting to put my toes in the sand and that beautiful ocean water. There is just something soothing about the ocean...taking a little bit of the stress of life away with each wave.

Brandon, Alyssa & Dylan

Before we headed down to the sand, we walked the boardwalk. It was a nice walk with the kids...we missed Anthony and Rachael...maybe next time. :) 

Alyssa, Mama, Brandon & Dylan

I could have spent days at the ocean, but the few hours we did spend were wonderfully refreshing. I was one happy mama!  

                                     

Thankful for Friday...and another daughter!

We've had an eventful week here at Tanglewood Hills! Our oldest son is home on leave and has brought some excitement to our lives. This week, he asked his girlfriend Rachael to marry him! He took her on a hike to a beautiful water fall and on bended knee, popped the question. I had NO idea we'd raised such a romantic young man...this picture makes me tear up every time I look at it.

They had friends along with them on the hike that captured the moment, I am SO glad they were there. The pictures are amazing!

The big day will be sooner than any of us expected due to Anthony's deployment. Thankfully, Rachael's sister is helping to plan the event and the wedding will be at her beautiful home. It's going to be a busy couple of months for our families!

So, for this "Thankful Friday" my list is LONG...but can be summed up with a few words...

I am thankful for the blessing of watching our first born become a husband, for his girl to become a wife and forever join our family as our DAUGHTER! We LOVE Rachael and couldn't have picked a better fit for our son. She completes him. I've prayed for his future wife since the day he was born...it's awesome to finally see the answer to those prayers.

OK, so that was more like a paragraph, but you get the point. :)

Crazy kids...

Alyssa, Brandon, Dylan and our Marine, Anthony

Am I the only one that struggles to get all of her kids looking at the camera at the same time, ready for the picture? The only one of my kids that fully cooperated with our traditional Easter morning picture was Anthony. There was a glare on the glass of the picture frame, but at least he held the same expression. :)

This Easter, with Anthony gone, we decided to include him in our "traditional photo" and use his boot camp picture. He is always in our thoughts and prayers and on Easter Sunday, he was a constant on my mind. It's never easy being away from my kids, but this deployment is a tough one on my heart. I know he is in God's hands though...for that I am thankful! There is NO better place to be!

Easter Day was a busy, but blessed one! We had a wonderful service at church, then rushed home to make a salad and go to my hubby's parents house for the family dinner. It was a relaxed visit and we enjoyed hearing stories from Wade's grandmother about her family (her grandparents and parents). Always a favorite of mine....hearing about the lives of family members that lived their lives and died before us. So much to learn from how they lived, I often miss my grandparents for that reason...all of the untold stories that we missed hearing.

I pray you and your families had a wonderful Easter weekend together!

Thankful for Friday!

How did it get to be Friday again so soon!? This week is our spring break...a much needed break from the normal routine of school, driving and anything that looks like our regular routine. We all needed it, but it has not lasted nearly long enough. I think part of that is due to our weather. Can you believe we've actually seen snow this week!? Nothing that stuck here, but just a few miles up the road from us they had snow accumulating yesterday morning. We've seen heavy rains, hail, wind, snow and the occasional sun break just to tease us. Nothing like we had hoped for...but the break was still enjoyed!

So, for my list of what I'm thankful for this week....

• Down time. It's something I rarely afford myself, but it was something I truly needed right now. So much of our lives has changed in the past few months and I have not given myself time to just "adjust" to any of it...just in "Get'r dun" mode as usual. 
• Time to relax and read a good book....or two. :) I haven't done that in YEARS! My daughter got me reading "The Hunger Games" and while I usually avoid the "trends" that seem to come around in literature and movies, this one is really good! I couldn't put down the first book and I'm halfway through the second. 
• Time with my kids...they've kind of come and gone all week doing this and that, but we've gotten a bit of time to just "be" rather than working on school and such. Shopping with Alyssa yesterday was a fun outing and something that we rarely get to do. I am not a fan of "shopping" but the errands we ran yesterday were more fun because she was with me. :) 
• Time alone...a RARE thing indeed. One day this week I actually had a few hours here at home with NO ONE ELSE HERE!!!  I left the house completely silent...no radio, TV or anything. Snuggled into my chair with my book while my bread was rising and just enjoyed the quiet time. 
• Signs of life in my greenhouse. It's been a tough start to our spring here, our weather has not cooperated at all! I am seeing small signs that spring is actually going to make it's appearance here though...in the small starts in the greenhouse. I've got two kinds of lettuce, bok choy, onions, chives and spinach starting to grow. I LOVE this time of year for that...new growth, new green and new life after a long winter!
• Long talks with dear friends. I was blessed to be able to sit and just chat with a couple of friends this week that both live miles and states away. Such a blessing and such an encouragement when I truly needed it the most! 
• Breaks in our "winter....er spring" weather, we've had a few moments here and there where the sun came out and warmed us for a short period of time. We soaked it up while it was here, as brief as it was. Praying for more! 

This is the first of many holiday weekends that we will be missing our boy, Anthony, as he serves our country. It will be tough, gathering with family and friends for Easter and not have him here to share it with us. I have to remind myself WHY we will gather together. Sure, it's fun to reconnect with family and friends, but first and foremost it is because of our Risen Savior!

I hope you all have time with loved ones and enjoy a wonderfully tasty meal together, some fun time and make some memories.

I also hope and pray that you take time to remember what Easter is truly about....a man, God's own son, who came and lived among us. That man hung on a cross for OUR sins, paid the ultimate price for OUR sins! On the third day, He rose from the grave and lives forever more! 

Honestly, that is and should be TOP of my "thankful" list...not just this week, but every week. None of this trivial "stuff" matters in light of eternity!

He is RISEN....HE IS RISEN INDEED!

Thankful for Friday!!

This morning I have to admit I am struggling....struggling to be very thankful. SO much is weighing heavy on my heart and mind, but I KNOW that I am blessed beyond measure. Sometimes it is SO hard to get past the frustrations and struggles in my mind, that is why posting a list of what I'm thankful for on Fridays is such a good way to end my week.

So, here goes.....

• I am thankful for my hard working husband and all he does for our family. Never complains, just digs in and get done what needs doing. Such a blessing to our family, and always a source of strength when I'm struggling!
• My kids, each and every one of them brings sunshine and love to my days. We have our struggles, but they are each a blessing! 
• Time last night with our oldest son, Anthony. Dinner and chatting about details of his deployment as he knows them right now. I cherish every chance we get to have with him, knowing they are few and far between. 
• So thankful that I held it together last night, tears threatened all night long....knowing he will soon be leaving us. I knew if I let the tears fall then, they might not stop...not how I want to have my son leave. We are SO very proud of him and his willingness to serve, even if it is hard to watch him leave. 
• I'm also thankful for Rachael, my son's girlfriend, she is just what Anthony needs. When he talks to her, looks at her or even talks about her, you can just see how much he loves her. He wants to much to be the man she needs...much like his father in that regard. :) 
• Also very thankful for the 6 little chicks we have in the brood cage in the barn. They are doing great, even the hunchback one (did I tell you all about that one...I'll have to go back and look) is standing upright and the kids can't tell what one it was now. Yay! 
• The birds singing this AM outside our windows. It is pouring down rain, our yard is flooded, but the birds are still singing....a bit of a lesson in that for me, perhaps? 
• Dear friends who love and support me during tough times. You all mean so much to me, and do so much to help get me through. Also very thankful for your prayers for Anthony....and for me.
• Last but not least....my Heavenly Father who knows all, sees all, and provides for all! Right now is SO hard for me, getting ready to send off my oldest son to a war zone. I KNOW that God is bigger than any bomb, enemy or danger he may face. I KNOW that God goes before him, guiding his EVERY step! I can rest in that...sometimes moment by moment. 

God is good....ALL THE TIME! I am so blessed...even if there are struggles in my day. Staying focused on the blessings helps get through the struggles. :)