Wedding Bells{30 Days, Day 18}

I went on my first date with my handsome husband on November 1, 1997.  It was a double date with my best friend, Ida.  She introduced me to Doug! We had a pretty fast courtship, but why wait forever when you know that he's the one for you?!  Doug asked me to marry him on December 16, 1997 in the middle of a Wendy's parking lot!  The only reason that it happened there was because I caught him digging through my pockets. We were on our way to a Christmas party for the photo lab I worked in and had to drop some keys off to a friend.  He was trying to sneak it into my pocket so that I would find it later.  I have a thing about privacy and was like, "Hey!!  What are you doing in my pocket?!"  He asked me to marry him and I said yes as I looked at the ring, closed the box and handed it back to him.  He said I could put it on and I told him to do it.  I was so nervous and excited and so very, very awkward.  I knew I had messed the moment up, but it really didn't matter to him.  He said he was going to do it at Christmas in front of his family but he couldn't wait any longer.  It was so fun to show everyone my ring and share the celebration together!

We were married on May 22, 1998

My Darling and I in Atlanta, Georgia

 My sister-in-law and dearest childhood friend.  Aren't they beautiful?

 Best Friends, New Friends and New Family

 The Reighard's, who are like my second family, Doug and I, his parents and grandparents.

My family was all the way in Wyoming and preparing for my youngest brother's graduation, so Jim and Sharon stepped in and it was so nice having Jim walk me down the aisle during the ring ceremony. Jim and Sharon really helped me get back on my feet and I will be forever grateful to them for it.  I had been through a tumultuous time from the moment I graduated high school.  I wasn't sure why I landed all the way in Alabama, but God knew and here we are 15 years later(and counting).  We've spent a handful of our anniversaries together because of training or deployments, but I wouldn't trade any of it because  it makes our time together so much sweeter.  People might say we're a little bit too mushy, or clingy, or that we don't give each other room to breathe...our "space" looks a lot different than theirs and we get plenty of room to breathe.  So much so that it is a blessing to breathe the same air when we're together.  Ha ha!  Treasure the moments, my friends!

Have a Beautiful Day~

Jhona O.

{I'm linking up with So, Funny Story...for the 30 Days of Me Challenge}

Looking Forward{30 Days, Day 17}

I'm so looking forward to my husband coming home.  Really, there is nothing better than that.  Seeing as how that isn't going to happen for a little while, I should look to something a little closer. Whenever my husband is away, I like to countdown by holidays or events that we have planned.  We've been so happy to have a week with my Dad and now we're spending time with our family in Idaho.   I'm also looking forward to visiting my dear friend, Kate, and her family in Texas soon.  I can't wait to see her and for our kids to get to spend time together again.  Also, Benny and Jack will be reunited!!  It's going to be fun to spend the Fourth of July with her parents, too.  They are such a nice family and we are blessed that they include us in their lives!  For the next couple of weeks there is zero communication with my sweet man, so it has been nice to have numerous adults to converse with!  I enjoy talking to my kids, but I think you know what I mean!  Keeping busy helps the time fly by.  I'm linking up with So, Funny Story...

Here are a few pictures from my Dad's visit:

 I took these two photos on the second day of the Black Forest Fire. 

 Thank God that the fire is 75% contained as I type this!

 A Western Scrub Jay that I caught as it took off.  

My Dad's been trying to get a photo of this bird but had no success!

 Kissing Camels

 My Beautiful Girl

 A European man with very, very nice shoes took this photo for us.

 He always finds a comfy place to rest his growing bones!

 Forever Funny

Along the Utah Highway

Lots of Love,

Jhona O.

My Dream House and OCD{30 Days, Days 15&16}

Well, we made it to the great state of Idaho!  I had a good week with my Dad and a nice road trip, too.  We saw a lot of antelope and so many pretty wildflowers along the way.  When we traveled to Idaho the last time we came through so much snow.  It was nice to see how spring had changed each state that we drove through.  Today, we went to a little country church and witnessed the baptism of one of our cousins and his wife.  It was such a special moment!  I was so happy to be able to spend a Sunday in church with my Grandma, too.  So many special blessings on this Father's Day!  I'm linking up with So, Funny Story...

Day 15,  Your Dream House:

As I was on the road for 14 hours yesterday, I didn't get to blog.  I should have scheduled it, but didn't!!  My dream home would be a stone cottage in the mountains, off the beaten path, with enough room to comfortably have our children and their families visit.  We would have a nice wrap around porch with seating and so many flowers hanging from the rails.  I want something pretty simple.  Have you ever seen The Holiday?  The English Cottage that Cameron Diaz's character goes to stay in is something similar to what I would love.

Day 16, Share Something You're OCD About:

Oh, man!  This is too easy.  I am so OCD about my car keys.  I triple check whether I have my car keys before I lock the door.  I take them out of the ignition, toss them in my purse, unbuckle my seat belt, check my purse to see if they are in there, step out of my van, look in my purse again, pull my keys out, hold them in my hands and then lock the door.  It is so ridiculous!  I don't know why in the world I just don't keep them in my hand the whole time.

Just for fun, here are some pictures from my trip so far:

This pretty Mallard Duck was sitting in my brother's front lawn this morning.  So much prettier than the cute little bunnies that hop around our lawn in Colorado!

Lots of Love,

Jhona O.

A Picture I Love{30 Days, Day 14}

Our prompt today was to post a picture that we love.  I take a lot of pictures.  A LOT.  A lady from church saw us standing around looking pretty and asked us if we would let her take our picture.  I hesitated, but said yes and am so glad that I did.  When I take the pictures, I am rarely in them!  Who doesn't love a good family photo?  I'm linking up with So, Funny Story...

I love this picture because my whole family is together and they are genuinely smiling!  It was taken a couple of years ago in Columbus, Georgia.

PS.  I really liked my haircut then.  Why do we mess with a good thing?!

Lots of Love,

Jhona O.

Say a Little Prayer for CO{30 Days, Day 13}

*In lieu of the 30 Day post today, I'm requesting your prayers today.  I suppose that I could give one of my life goals:  To be community minded and to give of myself however I can.  To not be so self-involved.*

Please keep praying.  There are so many homes lost and lives disrupted.  There are so many Firefighters, Air Force and Army,  First Responders, and volunteers working together to stop this Black Forest Fire and help those who are displaced.  The loss of your home is devastating and one that I can't imagine.  My Dad is visiting and we were going to Garden of the Gods to take a few pictures when we decided to stop and look at the smoke.  It was sad to see all that smoke, watch it change colors and knowing why.  It was something to see people speeding down the dirt roads with horse trailers towards the smoke. You couldn't help but breathe a prayer for them because you knew what they were going to do.  The way these communities pull together to help each other is so amazing.  We watched Apache helicopters fill their Bambi buckets and saw many planes up in the air going in and out of the smoke.  The highway was lined with cars on either side and people were sitting up high on structures to watch the smoke and the planes.  It is hard to look away from it once you see it and it left me with such a helpless feeling.  We can pray and donate.  We will certainly do our part and help our community however we can. 

Praying for Colorado~

Jhona O.

Belief{30 Days, Day 12}

I'm linking up over at So, Funny Story... and today we're sharing what we believe.  I don't have a lot of time this morning, but have written a lot about my faith, my God, and my Jesus in past posts.  I have struggled a lot with my faith and where to "put it".  I have learned that there is only One place to "put it" and that the rest are just buildings and men.  I put my faith in Jesus Christ and believe that, without him, I would have led myself to death so quickly.  Without my faith I would be so lost and damaged.  He has saved me time and time again.  My faith has helped me survive many circumstances and pulled me up and out of many dark relationships.  I find peace, hope, strength, and love in Jesus Christ.  I find order to the chaos that can be my brain and find that, with Jesus, I am free from the chaos that has been named manic depression in my life.  I have given you the link to the posts that are labeled with My Jesus, because in these posts you can find just what I believe if you want to read one or two of them.

MY JESUS

In other news, I heard from my sweetie pie last night for about two minutes.  It's better than not hearing from him at all.  He broke the screen on his phone the second day they were there and so texting is out which has been a real bummer because those short little "I love yous" that he could sneak in when he had a second can sure help the day move along a little nicer.  It's okay, though.  He'll be home before we know it!

Please say a prayer for the people who have lost their homes to the fire that's raging in the Black Forest of our state(Colorado).  Also, pray for all of the firemen, first responders, and volunteers.  The surrounding communities have been amazing as they help to shelter all of the people and their pets who have been evacuated.  We are affected by the smoke because a few of us have asthma in this house, but we are otherwise good and in no danger whatsoever.

Because of Him~

Jhona O.

Family Photos{30 Days, Day 11}

My Dad is visiting this week and we had a really nice day.  We picked him up from the airport and crowned these two the king and princess for the day:

Gracie taught him how to play Dutch Blitz and then we all joined in:

They spent a moment or two watching some episodes of Mr. Bean being the crazy man he is.  My Dad was laughing so hard!

Earlier in the day, Gracie found a beautiful feather at the park.  My Dad showed her how to turn it into a quill pen and then showed her how to use a drop of food coloring with a drop of water for ink.  She had fun with it and everyone got a little bit of a history lesson, too!  

These are the last pictures I took today and I'm sharing them with the lovely other ladies who are linking up at So, Funny Story...

Enjoying my Family~

Jhona O.