Christmas & New Years...

Well, we survived Christmas without family. I will say...I made it through this holiday without crying!! Actually, didn't even really have time for it! On Christmas Eve, we went up to the church, for the Christmas Eve Service, then afterwards went to some friends house. They knew they would have people from a Romanian church coming by to sing some Christmas songs, so they invited us over for desserts, and fellowship. Well, I ended up enjoying the desserts a little too much, and was sick the rest of the night until right after 5am. Then gladly fell asleep, and stayed that way until almost 11am, just in time to get ready and be at our first Christmas Day stop at 11:30 to start the celebration. We enjoyed meeting new people, there were about 20 something all total. We ate, played bingo, watched some funny videos, and opened presents. The family that invited us over bought Jonathan and I gifts as well, which were not at all expected. We ended up staying there till just after 3pm. And then headed for a small drive out to find "gravity hill" which still remains a mystery to Jonathan and I as to why we can't seem to find it. Finally, we arrived home after a long search, and changed into some more comfy clothes, then headed to our next Christmas Day stop. The Kelley family is husband and wife, and six children, had invited us over for their traditional Christmas Dinner, a steak dinner. And although we had eaten sooo much earlier, we still ate, and became more than miserable. We then started to relax and the smaller kids went off to bed, and the remaining adults stayed up to play Clue, which I had never played before, and it clearly showed, but still had a good time. We stayed at their house and visited until about 10pm, and then decided we were EXHAUSTED, and headed home. Only to realize, it had been raining ALL DAY LONG, and along with our two dogs, we were dog-sitting our neighbors dog, so we had to bathe three dogs at 11pm at night, then GLADLY went to bed!!! Barely spoke to our parents long enough to wish them a Merry Christmas, and that was about it. But I hope everyone in the family had a good one, since I didn't even get to speak to siblings this year...but I'm sure it was well.

As for New Years, Jonathan and I have decided to start making our own family traditions, and so as long as we're in California, we are going to drive out to Pasadena and go to the Rose Bowl Parade on New Years Day...and we have a couple of people that are going to go with us this year, and we are really looking forward to it. Should be lots of fun!

On a side note, pray for me. I am going through this very weird phase were I stay up until about 2am, and wake up at 9am totally refreshed and cannot get cleaning off of my mind. I just seem to be in "spring cleaning" mode (in December), and clean all day long. Although, I know nothing is wrong with that...but it is driving me crazy, there are other things to do and I don't think my walls, and floors can take much more...lol. But it is making my mind seem to be on edge, and I can't seem to keep focus because I don't know quite whats going on. I was sick for a few days, but thankfully, am much much better!!!

Jonathan has been leading worship for "big" church for the past two weeks, and has been doing a GREAT job at it, but is excited to be getting back to Middle School. We are about to start painting the entire middle school room, and re-designing that, as well as starting our new curriculum in January. We have a True Love Waits program coming up in February, and a lock-in coming up soon...So when we were hoping things would slow down after the holidays, that was apparantly just a dream..lol. But we are extremely thankful things are going well.

Well, I think thats about it for now...just keep us in your prayers as usual. Finances are a little tough right now with all the holidays, and days off and such..but who isn't struggling in that area with things right now. We love and miss everyone, and hope things are going well!!!!

Guess I'll be talking to y'all NEXT YEAR!!!


Happy New Year!!

"yay, no KID injuries"

Saturday night was our last Christmas party!! YAY! We took our middle school kids up to the church and had a White Elephant Gift Exchange, and I must say...I was frightened..especially with that age group! But, they honestly surprised me!! The gifts were MUCH more clever than I would have expected, and the other kids seemed to be all around pleased with the results that they got to take home. After all the gifts were opened, we took them on the bus for about a 40minute drive to Rancho Cucamonga. There are a couple of streets in this one sub-division where they go all out on their Christmas decorations. Now when I say they go all out...I mean so much more than what your probably thinking. I have NEVER in my life, seen so many lights. It kind of reminded me of the newer Christmas movie called, Deck The Halls, Danny DeVito's house is like what we saw...ALL OVER THE PLACE!! Several were even selling hot cocoa, tamales, nachos, etc. (we joked and said it was to help pay for the electric bill, since they most likely tripled it this month). But it was gorgeous and fun, and the most important thing was the kids loved it and had an absolute blast! One of our greatest achievements at the end of the night is to always say, "yay, no injuries", and this time we got to say "yay, no KID injuries"....but yes...we did have two injuries, they did include our leader Sara (the one who takes all the pictures...) and..myself. You see, Sara and I got back to the bus before everyone else, and of course...we had a plan. We wanted to scare everyone since it was so dark. So we got in the back of the bus and her and I shared a seat (why we didn't split up with a completely empty bus is beyond me..but whatever). And she leaned forward and crouched down and I slumped backward....and we waited. Finally, some came on the bus, so we listened for them to get closer and closer to us..once they did I jumped up and started screaming, and Sara, expecting me to jump higher than I did, stood up and started screaming too...only my teeth and the back of her head....came together...I grabbed my mouth INSTANTLY and felt something....odd. And looked to Sara only to see her holding the back of her head. So we rushed up to the front of the bus to look in the mirror, since it was so dark, only to find out, somehow a good piece of my lip was now detached and dangling...not so pleasant, and it started to bleed and swell...but we couldn't do ANYTHING about it. So of course, I was just TICKLED PINK! Anyway, when we finally got to the church I pulled the extra piece of my lip, and my lip was fine, but now it is a lovely green color everyday trying to heal, and Sara's head had a little bump for a couple of hours, but all in all...we survived. LOL.

Tomorrow is Christmas Eve, Jonathan and I don't have any plans that I'm aware of. We had talked about maybe going and seeing a movie, but not sure that there is anything we haven't seen at the moment, so maybe we'll just go rent some classic Christmas movies and curl up and eat popcorn! Now, for Christmas Day we do have plans, so no need to worry. I'm hoping I can sleep in till its time to go to our friends house, and then I'll be so side-tracked I won't have time to think about what I would usually be doing....lol. And, we have decided one tradition we are going to start will be to go to the Rose Bowl Parade on New Years Day...so we are going to take some friends and drive there, its only a couple hours drive, so not a huge deal, and its only once a year!! We're pretty excited about it!!!

So, after that day in the park with the great pictures...Sara and I decided that we really really wanted Jonathan to come with us so that she could take some pictures of us. Jonathan and I had been talking about just having some others done, but just for fun..not for anything specific, so we went Saturday..and they turned out soooo good!!! WE LOVE THEM, so I decided I would, of course, post some up!

Well, I hope that everyone has a great Christmas!!! I honestly miss every single person I know thats not in California, so just give yourself a hug...its from me!

Love and Miss Y'all

Random, but fun...

OK, so one of our girl leaders for Middle School is in the process of graduating from College, and is doig a minor in Photography...and she comes over all the time to just chill at the house cause she loves our dogs, basically. So anyway...all the snow is on the mountains here..just about all of them..and so it was a BEAUTIFUL day yesterday when she came over and we randomly decided to go to the park with the dogs and take some pictures. Well, I wanted Jonathan to go with us..but Thursday is his day off and he really just likes to lay around and take naps..BUM! So just Sara and I went..and she took some GREAT pictures of me with the dogs, and some of just myself..but I thought I would share some on here..just cause I like them and they were soo good!!

SO...ENJOY!!!

The last one is my MOST FAVORITE!!! And I know I look like I'm glowing in some..but we thought it was kinda cool..thats just the way the light was hitting me...we didn't do ANYTHING TO THESE..it was just how she took them...AMAZING!

FINISHED WITH THE PARTIES!!

OK, so obviously everyone is always a little busier during the Christmas and New Years Holidays more than any other time of the year, so it wouldn't be out of place for me to say..."WE HAVE BEEN SOOO BUSY..." So, I thought I would just get that out of the way..It's been great being out here for Christmas as far as everything that is going on. The only new part is that this is my first time to be a staff wife during this season, and our first time as a married couple to go through all this...and especially in a LARGE church..It seems like every other night there are christmas parties for some group at the church or at a random restaurant going on, and us beign the newbies...we're not too sure which ones we really HAVE to go to, versus the ones that...lets just say, their being nice by inviting us to..lol. So we have had LOTS of food already to eat, and plenty of places to go, and concerts and plays to watch...and still planning our own special activites for our middle schoolers! So...after all that, you might be wondering "well then why are you sitting here typing this if your so dang busy..??" And my simple reply would be.."last one was last night..YEA!!" We do however, have our own christmas party with the middle schoolers on Saturday, but after that...DONE! I'm pretty excited actually...we are all meeting at the church to worship and have a white elephant themed christmas party...which should be interesting with that age group. Then, we are all loading up and going to this one specific area, that is supposed to be INSANE with Christmas decor, so we will get to get out of the buses and run around like crazy Indians for the duration of the evening, which oddly enough...excites me!

LOL, OH MY...so beyond all this craziness...things have been good. Jonathan and I are loving each other more and more with everyday, and getting closer to each other knowing we will be missing our families this Christmas. It was a little different last year, we had only been married about a month when Christmas hit, then 2 days after Christmas flew to Greece and stayed there till after New Years, so this year...we get to lay back, relax, and soak it all in..not too sure if thats what we wanted..but thats what we get!! We have been invited to spend Christmas day with a couple of families so we will gladly take them up on those offers, in an attempt to not have a minute to ourselves to realize that we're not with family...like I said.."ATTEMPT"!!

OH..almost forgot...Jonathan and I had our Christmas "family" portrait taken a couple of weeks ago by one of my friends, and we sent it to Leigh..knowing she would make it into a Christmas Card for us, and she did and both of them were amazing. We then realized..."crap...postage for all these we want to send out is going to add up...hmmm" so Jonathan took the liberty of emailing it to a couple of people, and we sent some out to family..but if you didn't get one...please don't be offended we thought of EVERYONE...just couldn't afford it for EVERYONE...but I am going to attach the one that we chose to send out to everyone so that y'all will get a chance to see our..family! And thanks, Leigh, for taking the time to make those for us...we did appreciate it and we love them!!!

And, last but not least...I hope that everyone has a Great, and happy Christmas!!! I wish I could see all y'all and hug your necks and celebrate this year with everyone...but...maybe next time!!!

Love and Miss Everyone!!

Vegas Pictures!!

OK, so I told you I would get the pictures up, and look it hasn't even been 2 hours!! Geesh, I'm improving already...LOL. OK, so I'm going to just give you one little tid bit of info on one of the pics, then I'll post them..The one that looks like the New York skyline..those are all actually connected and are all of the hotel that we stayed in..The one "tower" as they called it that we stayed in was the 4th building from the right...on the 36th floor..I think. It was unreal, the elevator ride from the instant the doors closed to open was exactly 17 seconds...UNREAL! The pics that look like your walking down a crowded street were actually all the famous eateries in New York and then they had the Dueling Piano's in one bar..but if you read the previous post, we were out by 11...and thats usually when those places open...But very cool, and a good time....ENJOY THE PICS!!!

Miss and Love EVERYONE!

Slacker...sorry!

OK, so I know its been quite a while since I last posted anything...I just honestly..haven't been in the mood. No excuses from me...just haven't had any desire to do blogging. Its not that things haven't been happening...just lazy I guess, and so I apologize.

So now for the updates. Jonathan and I had a great time in Vegas celebrating our one year anniversary. Its hard to believe that it has already been one year...guess its true what they say.."time really does fly by when your having fun!!" We had a dinner reservation at the Top of The World Restaurant in the Stratosphere hotel for 8pm. We had a hotel reservation in the New York New York Hotel and that alone was worth the trip there! But my truest happiest moment was, when I got my picture taken with The Michael Jackson impersonator...lol..I can't wait to show y'all the picture, it was so fun. Jonathan and I went to eat dinner that night and it was just...a little out of our price range, which we knew going into, but had decided to just have appetizers then head to sonic since we don't get to have that so much anymore..So anyway we were walking through the casino downstairs out to the lobby and there he was, I saw him..white jacket, black high water pants and all!!!! MY MOST FAVORITE ARTIST OF ALL TIME....MICHAEL JACKSON!!! I was so happy grinning ear to ear, even though he wasn't the real deal..you couldn't take my happiness away, and Jonathan just laughed at me thinking I was truly a goober, but whatever! Then we drove around for a little bit and found what we were looking for..Sonic, right across from the Palms Resort. So we got our food and decided we just wanted to take it back to our room, without a single thought left. Once we started walking into our hotel we realized what we looked like. Jonathan in a full out suit and tie, myself in a little black dress with a Jackie O style wool coat...and both of us with our hands full of SONIC....can you imagine..everyone there probably was dressed very similar but probably didn't come for sonic in Sin City...lol..so we had quite a chuckle over that thought alone. The funniest thought leaving the next day was that after we had our sonic we read our individual letters to each other that we had written about a year ago, and then went to bed...and it wasn't even 11:00PM YET!!! LOL....but all in all a good time!

As far as other updates go...the middle school group has been AMAZING..we are seeing tremendous results here. Pastor announced the other day to the congregation when Jonathan sang a song he wrote while he played the piano...he said "we are sooo greatful that Jonathan and Tonya are here..they have shown us that they are dedicated to this ministry and to God...providing almost a revival in the ministry..." I have never been more proud of my husband. He is working so hard, and listening to God...and through it all, its just nice every now and then to know that we're not the only ones seeing the results. Kids are making more and more decisions every sunday and wednesday night and powerful connections are being made, and relationships being built. We have amazing leaders that are dedicated as well and still know how to be the fun young adults for such a trying age..Sunday night we had what is called..Immanuel Lights, where all the community was invited and the mayor came out and different songs were sang, and our middle school choir that Jonathan has put together got up there and it honestly brought tears to mine and Jonathan's eyes...never..never have we been more proud to be such a part of something so spectacular for God's Kingdom, simply amazing to
know that He has had His hand on this and our kids, and our families this entire time!!!

As far as our thanksgiving went...well...not much to share, we all know that I am such a home body and we knew this was going to be a hard one..and I'm not even going to lie...it was harder than even I expected it to be. I cried pretty hard throughout the morning...and then went to some friends house to have dinner and all the food was good...but not home...not the family meals I'm used to..but then again..I know that this is what God has in store for us...and I know this probably won't be the only holiday away from family, and I am EXTREMELY blessed to have such good friends out here that were willing to open their home for us to share in their traditions with them. (but it really makes me wish that Christmas wasn't so close...that ones gonna be a killer for sure!)

After all that...please just continue to shower us with your prayers through the holiday season...Christmas will be hard on me, but it will also be hard on Jonathan (mainly because of me..lol) but we both need your prayers for that one...We love and Miss everyone!!! (when I say everyone I mean it...) and a quick shot out to my girls in Wisconsin...I miss your sassiness...and love you deeply!


Miss and Love Everyone!!!
(I'll post pics up very soon...I promise)