Now for the middle of August 13th, 2011...

Once arrived at the church, everyone got dressed, and some dresses were glued, stitched, and taped to make fit right. By picture time, everyone looked pristine! Names (Left to Right): Naomi Zwonitzer; Allie Kasari; Rachel Zwonitzer; Tiffany Weathers; Alyssa Dortignac; Sarah Jantzen; Merrie Dortignac; Becky Dortignac; Rachel Kalebaugh; Mandy Booher; Joanna Dortignac; Kristi Simpson; Annie Dortignac; Kari Simpson (Bottom row L to R): Heidi Dortignac; Claire Kasari; Kaitlyn Wood; Charity Dortignac; Julia Wood; Kaylee Dortignac



We could see the guys as a big black mass moving from place to place taking pictures as I tried to catch a glimpse of Justin as we drove by the picture site. :) They all looked SHARP. *whistles* Names (Left to Right):Trevor Dortignac; Darrell Gramm; Caleb Naylor; Gabe Booher; Daniel Osborne; Tobin Kalebaugh; Will Dortignac; Justin Dortignac; Nathan Weathers; Chris Dortignac; Jack Dortignac; Mike Dortignac; Rick Dortignac; Tyler Kalebaugh; Michael Dortignac; Caleb Weathers




We had an amazing photographer that was very creative for such big groups. Best of all, she kept us entertained while standing in the beautiful weather shooting picture after picture and still getting a lot of great ones!













While everyone was looking mighty fine... nobody quite passed as the "cuteness factor"... which is where all our little people come in! And they did amazing with the ceremony, pictures and all the attention!

Let's start at the beginning of Saturday, August 13th, 2011...

Getting ready for the wedding!



Starting at 6 am, did the house take on a new smell... One of hairspray, nail polish, and make-up.





It was at this point that Dad decided to leave and go to a smell more his style- milking the cows. Yep, they still had to get milked, even though it was the day his oldest daughter was getting married.

Back in the house, breakfast done, did the smell of HSNPMU (HairSprayNailPolishMakeUp) increase to where there was a slight fog to walk through as girls ran from room to room stealing curling irons, hairspray, and bobby pins while there seemed to be a constant banging on the bathroom door.



I loved that chaos. (mainly because I just sat and got pampered)



With so many people to help, we were ready to head to the church early. So, why not have a snack? Maybe some ice cream?? Yes.



And now we're ready to go! Waiting on the van to take us all...

Justin & Becky's Wedding August 13th, 2011

The post you've all been waiting for, I'm sure! Joanna asked me if I'd like to post about our wedding and I said, sure! Our pictures arrived and there are a ton... so, we'll try to cover the wedding in a few separate posts. Overall, we had the BEST wedding ever. True story. If it weren't for all our family and friends that helped out and stood with us, supporting us in our next stage in life, it wouldn't've have happened. Period. Even if it means they ALL wanted to stand on stage... ;-) JK! We felt more than blessed to have them all behind us. This- introducing to you- Justin and Becky's wedding of the YEAR!

Back to School.

I woke up Tuesday morning to my phone vibrating under my pillow. This is the day that school begins. I climbed out of bed and began to get ready for my day. Nothing felt so very different, it was a warm morning, just like most of this summer. I could have simply been getting ready for work. Kicking past things on the floor I made my bed. I was excited. Excited about getting back into the regular schedule, excited about being up and home in the mornings, excited about the chance of Fall coming soon-ish, excited about what God was gonna do this year. The possibilities were limitless.

I'd spent quite some time thinking about how I was going to approach this school year. With teaching, finishing high school, and working it had become pretty hectic last year. But I was determined not to get stressed. Sitting down at the school table, the morning chores done, breakfast eaten and washed up, I bowed my head and gave the next few hours, the day, and the coming year to God. If anyone could make this go smoothly, it was Him.

So far we've been starting just about every morning outside at the picnic table. The air is still a little cooler and it's so beautiful out. Our day begins with prayer and a chapter of Proverbs. I think it's my favorite part of the morning. It gives us a fresh reminder of Who we belong to and Who we're living for. But not only is it a reminder, it's an inspiration to shine while doing it. After reading Proverbs we go inside to the school table. Every day focuses on a different subject and generally includes a cool field trip afterward. Maybe a trip to the library, an afternoon at the beach, or going to Disneyland. Does that count? =D  Everywhere we go, we're either learning, or putting something new into practice. Life is a school, one of the best kind.

Sometimes I'm tempted to wonder, couldn't I be doing something big somewhere? Wouldn't I rather travel the world? Aren't their lives I could be impacting right now? And then I'm ashamed to realize that I am where God has placed me. Having the opportunity to impact the lives of my siblings is amazingly huge! And California...well, it's the place to be. Maybe one day I'll travel. But I don't intend to set foot outside this place until God clearly directs me in that direction.

We're doing things a little different this year, but so far I like it. So we don't fill out our books so much, and we don't work over time. But we're learning new things, important things, and we're having fun. Each day I can't help but smile when I realize that God is totally blessing every moment. Things may go wrong but there's a reason, I know. And behind that reason, there's a blessing. Each day I wonder if this is the limit. Can it really get any better? And each day I am humbled by the increase of His love. It never stops.

Taking out the Trash and Tying up Loose Ends.

The wedding was great! The SoCal reception was pretty awesome too! Everybody has worked so hard to make all of this happen, we really feel that Justin and Becky should be filled with gratitude. They probably are. Well anyway, we are.  I know I've been putting up only a very small amount of pictures but I promised more of the wedding at least, and I DO plan to follow through on that. For now we have a few pictures of the SoCal reception scattered at random through this entry. See if you can spot all five of them!

 

Our family has been in recovery mode for the last few weeks with the exception of the week before the reception. We take about one task per day. Monday: sweep the floor. Tuesday: Clean the bathrooms. Wednesday: Make the beds. Thursday: Clean up the clutter. Friday: Make dinner. Saturday: Take a break. Sunday: Go to church. Monday: Start over.  Okay so it's not that bad, sometimes we sweep mop AND eat all in the same day. JUST kidding. We eat every day.

With all the wedding stuff going on many of our friends have been wondering -some even going so far as to ask or even assume- who's next. Some are sure that it will be Merrie while others stick their necks out pretty far by betting on Chris. A few think that Annie might be the runner-up and a very small amount of nut-cases reason among themselves that Jack might be the one. But I am here to let you know that:

Wait for it........

...wait...

NOBODY has made or is making any plans to tie the knot in the near future. 

I'm glad we have that settled. Thank you for your kind interest and concern in this matter. :)

Moving on to more important things... 

We are very happy to have the weather in the high 80's and low 90's after at least a week in the 100's. We feel as though we can breath without generating a constant stream of sweat. =D The beach has been our ever constant friend and we've really enjoyed making it out at least once a week. 

And now that all the important and less important information has been covered I leave you with this non-informative blog post that will not teach you anything new or make you think seriously about life. But if it caused you to smile even once, then it was successful. Smiling is good. It makes your face look prettier. Or...eh...handsomer.  So if you haven't smiled yet, Smile! There, now this blog post has caused you to accomplish at least one great thing. Thanks for reading. :)

Summer Days...

It's a little hard to believe that summer is almost gone. The vacation is coming to an end and it's time to get back to work. I was just working on making a list of things I need to do before this next school year starts, it's going to be a busy year. I'm a little surprised by the fact that I'm totally looking forward to it. Who would've thought? I must admit though, I love Autumn and everything that comes with it.

But, before we jump into autumn...I'm still enjoying the end of my summer. :) August has been a blast so far. There was Justin and Becky's wedding --of course-- which may very well have been the best wedding I've ever attended. What I think was even cooler was the week before the wedding: it was so much fun spending time with friends working to get everything ready, playing, -because playing is fun and fun is good- visiting, preparing meals, dancing, sitting around, milking cows, watching movies, doing irrigation. It was just an all-around, really good time.

Kalebaughs + Dortignacs (More pictures are coming. I promise.)

We got home at 10:37am on Monday morning after driving all night long. [Correction: After Dad drove all night long.] There were 11 of us in our van which had only 12 seats in it at the time. Needless to say, our day was wasted. Some of us are still recovering. (i.e. sleeping in, taking several naps throughout the day...) But it was a peaceful trip home and I'm thankful for that.

Tuesday we got to work trying to be normal people again. Some of us didn't get that far very quickly, however we are slowly, yet surely, getting back into the routine of things. Yesterday we got the yard work done, mostly, and today we cleaned out the orange tree.

Anybody want some oranges??

Anyway, we still have a few weeks left of this summer and they're sure to be good. I'm looking forward to them, whatever they may bring. :)

"...forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." - Philippians 3:13b-14

Beach Night is tomorrow!

As many of you know, our family has put an indefinite end to our bi-weekly Pizza Nights. Though we've missed them and all the fun that they bring we have also really been enjoying the freedom, expanse of family time, and the over-all change. Some of us feel like God is bringing a new season, with a slightly different type of ministry, to our lives and we're excited to see how that unfolds.

Anyway, my reason for bringing this up is: since we have canceled Pizza Nights, we have started up our summer Beach Nights again, and although we don't have a weekly "day" set, we still try to go at least once a week. Dad likes to look over the surf conditions for each week before setting the day, and he has been working harder to have that "day" set at least 3 days before we go. (I on the other hand, still tend to wait till the last minute before telling anyone.)

So, tomorrow afternoon, Thursday, July 28th at Doheny Beach. Come with a smile, a hot dog with a bun, a swim suit if you care to get wet, flip flops, a beach towel, a chair, a sweatshirt, and anything else you feel you may need. We would love to see you there!

If you have any questions, comments or concerns feel free to email the address on our contact page and we will get back to you A.S.A.P.