Moving Away from Home

This is a little memo to my heart and for you my friends... in just a few short moments, my homemade daughter will be leaving. 

 She is flying across the country, far far from the only home she has know.  She is happy.  We are happy too, as she will be going to make her home with her husband.  Her husband has been in the Middle East (Qatar) serving for the past 6 months in the Air Force.  They got married in May, he flew out a week later. She has been waiting home at with us; to which we are most thankful.  

We love our girl.  My heart is torn because of this love.  She is so much like me that I feel like I am losing a bit of myself in her leaving.  We have been inseparable until now.  Not that we aren't both individuals, but our hearts were firmly sewn, so carefully over the years, together.

 Perhaps it was homeschooling her from the beginning, or perhaps it was because children came so very hard to me.  Maybe it was because her name means consecrated to God, because she was a miracle.  We trusted God from the moment we found out that the miracle of "her" had happened.  We dedicated her back to Him from us first hearing that we were to have a daughter.  It was about trust then and I am learning that is still true today.

December 17th she will be leaving home.  I find myself holding her tight at each time I can manage.  I hold her extra tight, even my eyes are squeezed tight, so tight that little droplets find their way out and drip down this Mama's cheeks, making wet spots on wherever they happen to land.  

We adore her Beloved.  He is ours too.  But for now they will be in a far away land.  Too far for holding tight and too far for stitches holding hearts together-side by side anyway.

  She is a woman.  It happens so fast and kind of sneaks up on you. I got a glimpse of it back in the garden, as she slipped gracefully toward the altar on the arm of her handsome Papa.  The Holy Spirit whispered, "You need to let her fly."  I knew He was right, but just didn't know when that moment would be right.  Then I knew.

I am a very blessed Mama.  As I say it I am crying.  God allowed me to raise not only a beautiful 21 year old daughter, but a kindred spirit.  I will miss her something awful.  It will be hard, but God's grace will help us all through this transition.  My beautiful girl will set up house on an Air Force base with the man God's hand picked for her.  They will begin their journey He intended from them, before He ever even gave her to me.  

Love is good.  But love hurts.  Trust is good, but trust stretches us in ways sometimes we never imagine.  

When she leaves she will know she is loved. She knows how proud we are of her and how she has chose to live her life honoring the One we love.  She will know we are grateful for having her as ours and that whether near or far, she is always to be ours and very very loved.  

Life changes and God walks us through it.

A Few Wedding Photos

As I didn't take one picture the day of my daughter's wedding

 (wish I did now, but not sure how I could have worked that ;-)

  I will link you to her blog and you can see some of the pictures a few of our family and friends managed to capture.

 Click on the words "The Wedding" and get a taste of our celebration...

The Wedding!

And the Bride Wore White

This is the picture taken in the dressing room the night we found THE DRESS. The bride to be is holding up said dress, as it was a tad larger than needed at that moment.

This dress is a tale unto itself that will have to wait.

Dropping in to fill you in...

no pictures yet.

The wedding was beautiful.  

The weather ordered straight from heaven. 

 The bride beamed all day, we never knew she could smile that much. 

The groom was handsome and eager for his girl to become his wife.

Everything was perfect and I am amazed at how in a few short months we managed to put together such an amazing celebration of love, in the form of a wedding.  Two young adults who waited for the one..

two who never dated, but served God and expected that in due time the one would come.

and her Mama and Papa smiled big too.

We had a wonderful day, a day that seemed like it was so far off, but in reality came so very quickly.

We are so happy for them and thankful for the fact that God blessed our daughter so greatly in her JoJo 

 (and with his family).  This mama snapped a few shots the evening of the rehearsal, but the rest will come from our friends the photographers, as this mama just didn't have camera time that day.

However, we are exhausted. 

 I think it is emotional exhaustion, I find myself crying at odd moments.  Sometimes happy and blessed get mixed with sad.  Our parenting days went by so fast and Saturday we took our hands off our daughter and allowed her to fly on her own. 

 I am a mother after all, and letting go was a big thing to this small heart.

As she stepped out onto the balcony to make her way down the stairs to her groom, it dawned on me how much this tiny platform to the garden was like a nest and how bird-like she had become in these past few months.  She was ready to fly.  I am not sure I was ready, nor her father, but God said it was time.

I am not sure I am doing justice to my mother's heart.  We know we haven't lost a daughter, but instead have gained a son, but still the ache beats strong in my heart and mind. 

My daughter is beautiful. 

We spent years training her in the way she was to go and this day she was ready to go.

  She is a woman and now a wife.

She is filled with love and joy unspeakable (as is her Knight).

 How quickly time goes by and how quickly you arrive at release time.  

Taking some time to rest and reflect. 

 Gathering up my heart and placing it into Jesus' hands.

  Asking God to help me and my Knight with this transition in our home (and hearts). 

Believing He has good things coming.

I do think my girl was the prettiest bride ever...pictures to come.

-

*these picture are pre-alteration (or pre-altar, hee-hee) 

 Snapped in the tiny dressing room.

 Stop by in a wee bit and you will get real photos of the gorgeous bride!

Engaged ;-) and Waiting on God

Last April JoJo came home for 10 days.  We took a zillion pictures. 
Way back then in April 2011, I never expected that my courting daughter 

would be having a spring wedding this year.

We are excited and can't believe how much God cares about wedding details.

But that shouldn't surprise us because we live knowing that He loves us, that He desires relationship...

REAL-a-tion-ship with us. 

 In order to have a relationship you need to have fellowship with one another.

He keeps showing me how faithful He is.  Every time worry pops up, He instead replaces it with a touch from Him.  My sleep has been deep and good, no more waking up in the middle of the night stuck thinking about whether we need salt and pepper on 25 tables or not.  (really)

to the faithful God is faithful...

to those who honor Him, He honors.

how true, HOW TRUE!

Courtship to ENGAGEMENT!

Yup, back in this picture these two were just courting. 

 JoJo called and asked my Knight if he could court our daughter last February 20th.

This February 20th, while my beautiful daughter was out visiting JoJo

 (with his mum and two little sisters), he asked her to marry him.

(back up...

he called my Knight the week before and asked permission to ask our baby to marry him.)

AND

she said yes, through her tears.

Wedding is set for May 26th...this year. 

 A few weeks and we will be having our first WEDDING!!

crazy, yeah we know...

JoJo is serving in the Air Force and will be deployed in June.  

A beautiful hand picked ring by my future son-in-love.

  Golden, sparkly and perfect for the Princess!

*picture taken by the Princess.

Where AM I?

Sorry to have disappeared for so long, but

Things got rather crazy at our place:

got a new dog!  

Her name is Ruby...her owner died, she ended up in the pound.  

The owner's best friend retrieved her

(but he already has 3 big dogs)...so he thought to bless us...

we had a visit for 10 days from our oldest daughter's courtin' fellow

(who is in the Air Force stationed now in Washington State)

we had a major snowstorm that left us without power for 8 days

we left for holiday whilest the lights were still out in the homestead

we ventured to Maryland for a week

-a free vacation due to a previous vacation where we had been vandilized 

and then given a week anywhere for a *real* vacation

we missed our oldest terribly, she had exams and couldn't join us.

thankfully I just got texting ability and

we were able to write love notes back and forth to each other daily

we are currently unpacking and cleaning up the trees

we lost during the freak natural disaster that struck our state

this is the second time this year that we left for a holiday

while we were totally powerless (not liking this new trend at all!)

Hope to have time to share more...

how are things in your end of the world?

Walk with Us in the Woods

 

We walked,

we took 300 some pictures...

mostly of my piratey girl and her guy.  JoJo was given a week leave from the Air Force

and we decided it was time that we introduced him to our favorite little piece (or peace) 

of Heaven here on earth.

Any time in the woods is always a good time in my book.  

Unfortunately at the end of the trip our little Princess Mercy took a stumble

and got a pretty big gash across the bridge of her nose to the very edge of her eye.

It didn't need stitches, but boy was it a close call. 

Weeks later and we still have a pretty big mark, slowly it is fading.

It has rained so much over the past few weeks

that we haven't had any woods time. 

I am feeling the need to get outside and enjoy another spring time stroll through the forest. I find it helps to center my heart and bring me back to a place of great peace within my soul, after all of life's commitments and busyness.  

I wonder why that is?

My Girl and her Guy-Courtship

When my girl was 15 she made a vow with God;

later she came to her Papa and I telling us of how she vowed with the Lord

to wait for the one He had made for her. 

Over the years her focus has been on pursuing God.  

She served Him with her life, foregoing the the route of most young girls,

Christian and not;  

our girl  never dated. 

She never even had eyes for anyone.

  She gave God her heart and trusted that He would one day meet all her heart's desires.  

As she served Him with her gifts and talents, very near to her was a boy who was doing the same.  JoJo has somewhat of the same story- vowing with God and then serving Him with his life.  In the midst of their vows they bumped elbows in their service to Him.  Over the past few months they realized that maybe there was something more.  

In February JoJo called my Knight to discuss his heart. 

My Knight listened and gave him some guidelines.  

We will revisit, over the course of their courtship, JoJo's intentions.  

Normally courtship is not longer than a year,

as by this time enough time has gone by to realize whether marriage is to be the direction or not.

Also realizing that much time together opens up both of their lives

for crossing lines that God never intended non-married couples to cross-

which leads to confusion and sin.

However, as no courtship is totally black and white 

and we are allowing for the fact that JoJo is currently serving our Country in the Air Force. 

We are looking at a longer time of courtship, but realizing too that most of this time will be not face to face.  

I can't say that I've read any books on dating versus courtship, but I know our church's youth Pastor has preaching on the dangers of dating for many years.  Personally, I think as you give your life to Christ, and as you submit more and more of who you are to Him, that He leads you on roads of righteousness for His Name's sake.  Courtship is one of these roads.

Am I proud of my girl?  Absolutely.  Am I praying for her, absolutely!  As I know that there will be great temptations for both of them along this road.  But I trust that she will continue to put God first and that she will be sensitive to His Presence within the courtship.  I also think JoJo is a young man of integrity and honor, and I know he will be doing the same, not wanting to tarnish my girl in any way.  

Where did this all begin? 

Well, I think it began when my girl was born and I asked God what He wanted her to be named.  The name He laid on our hearts meant, "Consecrated to God." 

From the beginning we asked Him to guide her steps and to help her to lead a life that would glorify Him.  Since she was a wee lass we talked about the *one* God had for her.  We talked about the world's ways versus God's way. We talked of how dating is like tasting to see if something perhaps might be the flavour that appeals to you, but how it is fleeting and not focused on allowing Him to lead. 

We talked about divorce and the solemnity of vows spoken in marriage.  

We talked about how long forever is in marriage

...until death do you part.  

Prayer has covered her from the moment we knew she was discovered within my womb. 

Prayer has paved the way for God to move in her life. 

How thankful I am to see how He is working it all out.  

It is my joy to share our lives here 

...my hope is that we can inspire you to seek Him and to see His goodness and grace in your lives too.

 

ps- the tattoo is washable and put on by one of my littles.

Lookout William and Kate

...Looks like love is in the air!

To Be Loved and Adored ...or

subtitled:

(our courtship with JoJo)

Anticipating his arrival...

waiting with great joy after a long separation.
*Our JoJo is currently serving in the Air Force*

Knowing that love will come to our door

and walk itself straight into our hearts.