leaving on a jet plane

Our dearest friends departed early this morning for Atlanta, indefinitely. We've know it was coming for a while but I guess we were in denial that this day would really come. James and Mike have been best friends for almost 12 years now and it was heartbreaking to watch my beloved hug his friend turned brother goodbye last night. They have been a support to us and our "Mordecai" friends. They are never slow to speak truth and always willing to love. They opened their home to us and welcomed us anytime. Generously shared food, clothes, tools , cars, games and faith. Words cannot describe our sadness today. The bright side is that we love the south and can't wait to visit. The boys were so funny to watch as the nerds in them came out during their "very last game ever" of Settlers of Catan. We are our own version of Friends, which we used to watch religiously with them. I was searching and couldn't find a picture of all 6 but here is one from our wedding. I prayed for true friends for years. Friends that were more than friends. Friends to walk through life together with. I truely hope you find the friends you have prayed for.

The moment you've all been waiting for

I have been working on this a while. It was supposed to have music to it but it disappeared in the loading process. Hope you enjoy.
12.29.2007
The Tonggs

my new favorite past time

Seriously you should try it. I think I'm getting carpal tunnel from the controller.

Petition for Patty

PattyB! is still technically a "temporary" employee. None of us know why exactly but we are glad she's here. She is a ray of sunshine, controls the gushers supply and has a steady BINGO group on Wednesday nights (she's 20 not 70). So wont you join me in the petition for Patty?
1. Amanda
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My Crazy week...

I work Sunday through Thursday so that's where I'll begin. Alarm at 6am in the car by 6:55. 2200 people, 4 services, 5 teams and 1 training to lead then a blessed nap. That's my Sunday.
My brother and sister in law and niece are visiting from Hawaii so we spent Monday and Tuesday working our paid jobs then working at home to turn our dump into a blissful retreat (aka...finally unpacking ALL of our boxes 3 months after we moved in)
Wednesday is when the family arrived and I was too excited all day to truely focus on work, however I managed to get a lot of work done, thank God for laptops. We had dinner with our cousin who had a 2nd baby in January. I tried to capture some fun family moments but the babies are all getting so big this is all I could get of them. Abby is playing the piano and Caron is "sharing" with Trinity. Kids are funny, share really means "give it to me now". Today is Thursday, my Friday, I have to prep for Sunday, meet with some people and then of course LOST is tonight. We have a weekly dinner date and LOST watching party. Friday is girls day. We are taking the babies to Gymboree for a playdate while the boys wander in Best buy. Saturday we have a family lunch then wedding that night. The boys decided they wanted to go "shoot things" at Uncle Tom's ranch so they are heading up early Saturday morning while the women prepare lunch. You'd think we were living in the 1800's. Well that's about it. Just thought I'd get you up to speed. There's been lots of exciting things but I had a camera malfunction so this is all you get.

Chicken and God

I'm not a huge fan of fast food. Let's face it most of it is just crap. A few years ago I watched the infamous "Supersize me" and well it's had a lasting effect on me ever since. There is one thing I will ALWAYS stop for. Chicken. Not just any chicken though, Chick-fil-A chicken. Or as my good friend Kim and I kindly refer to it as simply "chicken". We eat it at least 2x a week, sometimes 2x a day if I'm lucky. I may be a little bias as I did work there and enjoyed every minute of it. Besides eating a lot, and I mean A LOT of good chicken, I learned so much in my short time with the company but mostly grace. God showed His mercy and grace in abundance. I firmly believe that God was preparing me for my current journey through my job at the good ol' CFA. Somehow I even managed to find a way to merge both chicken and my new job into an event once a month. I met some fun friends and slowly God shaped me into the person I am today. I was so broken when I came to work there I really had no where to go but up. God brought an amazing family to model true love, compassion, humor and to slowly help build my confidence and character. I got to travel and work hard and share God with so many. There were many angels there and I am so grateful for each one. What better place could one work than where the corporate mission statement is "To glorify God by being good stewards of all that has been entrusted to us. To have a positive influence on all who come in contact with Chick-fil-A". Maybe that should be our own personal mission statements.