she has taught me to value education and to dream despite obstacles… she has sacrificed so much for her family… so many of her own dreams… but as long as I am alive.. her dreams will never die.

she is a saint.

how can you go to a reggae show and not let the rhythm and music just take over!! I love reggae music .. always have since I was a little girl. My mom started taking me to listen to her friends band play… it was then I became knowledgeable of reggae music and my love for Bob Marley and The Wailers began. I started to listen to other reggae greats such as Third World, Black Uhuru, Steel Pulse, Buju Banton, Morgan Heritge, Garnett Silk, Beres Hammond and many others… it was something we shared as a family… my mother, my brother and I… our mutual love for reggae music.. for the culture, the food and the West Indian people .. we have all been to Jamaica now and enjoyed all that there is to love about Jamaica.. the food. the music. the culture. the mountains. the rivers and the falls.

I was thrilled when Ziggy was coming back to St. Pete.. it had been sometime since I enjoyed a good reggae concert… and he never disappoints..  he put on a great show and seeing him on stage always makes me think of how it was his father, Reggae LEGEND Bob Marley who first led me to this love of Reggae music and all the joy that love has brought me throughout the years.  The wonderful people I have met and the people that have had lasting impact on my life… because of Bob.. who has left such a lasting impact on the world with the music that still continues to live through his family who continue the legacy ..   The Music lives on…

Well since the wedding was on a Friday.. the pastor had completely forgotten about it… most likely thinking it was going to be on Saturday and well .. he went fishing… literally!!! LOL

I had to come to the rescue and figure something out quick! I asked if there was a notary present and if we could get a to a computer to print out how the wedding ceremony should be legally performed and on we went… without the Pastor … but with a story for a lifetime! We had a blast that night and I was honored when Angela asked me to shoot their wedding…

as we met about the wedding and ideas… they began to talk of this classic camaro that her fiance and his father had rebuilt and asked if they could use it in the photos??? UMMMMM HECK YES!!!!! even though our initial plan of location didn’t work out… we found an empty garage and took some images until the security guards harassed us about being on the property… Uuuughhhh Mall cops!

I can’t wait til their fall wedding and guess what… it will contain ANOTHER rebuilt classic car!!!!!

Don’t worry Nanny… you will see your Joe again… sooner than later.. and my heart breaks to know so. 

Let’s just say.. I BELIEVE THAT DREAMS CAN COME TRUE…. and when those dreams belong to my kids… I am going to make sure I do WHATEVER it takes to make sure their hopes and dreams are realized!!! I am a dream believer…

So when my daughter was 15, she discovered a band on the internet.. They were from England… just starting their music career together as a group… very unknown to American mainstream music,  we both watched their first video on Youtube together  “All TIme Low” and as each member of the group appeared, we were both like “WHO are these guys!!!” she started to watch EVERY online video they had.. stalked their website and began to talk about them… EVERYDAY… EVERY HOUR… EVERY MINUTE… It was “Tom Parker” this… and “The Wanted” that….

so when her 16th birthday was coming up… I photoshopped a photo collage of Tom Parker from The Wanted and had it printed on her birthday cake..  made her a scrapbook of pictures of the guys and had a sweatshirt made that said… ” Mrs. Tom Parker”  for pretty much the entire year from August 2010 to August of 2011 … It’s was 99% of what she talked about,  how much she Looooved “The Wanted” and how she wished she could go to England to see them. Then one day I heard a scream come from the living room…  they were COMING TO AMERICA… FOR ONE NIGHT ONLY… and of all places … TO NEW YORK CITY!!! ( My favorite place on the planet ) … I knew at that moment I would take her to New York to see The Wanted… I bought the tickets to the concert that night when she went to bed… I had no plane tickets… no hotel… but I had the concert tickets and a little thing called a dream about to come true… the next day as Aiyana sat at the computer wishing she could go to NYC to see the boys,.. I whipped out the tickets and told her  ”WE ARE GOING!!!!!!”  It was awesome!!!!!!

And just 2 weeks later we were sitting on a plane on the way to make my daughter’s dream come true.. We arrived in New York City on a Sunday… the concert was on a Tuesday… what Aiyana did not know was .. I had already contacted the management company the night I bought the concert tickets and explained to them that I was flying my daughter to New York and it would be absolutely awesome if she could meet the guys and have a meet and greet. They responded immediately and set it all up… she had no idea she was going to meet the guys…. However that Sunday night in NYC.. she received a tweet that the boys were going to be at a specific location and wanted to meet their fans and that they would be selecting 5 fans to go on a private tour bus around New York City with a private acoustic concert!!!  She was ecstatic to FINALLY see the boys and meet the love of her life Tom Parker.  We mapped it out and set out in the morning to find the location, we stopped at Staples bought a poster board and markers and made a sign… something to the fact that they should pick us since we came from Florida to meet them!   We got there very early, no one else was there.  We wondered if we were in the right place, then about a half hour later some other girls showed up… we started to talk to them and they were from Florida too!!!! The crowd started to grow.. and so did Aiyana’s excitement and anticipation.. I was trying to prepare her for when they would arrive… but nothing can prepare you to meet your teen idol, and heart throb!!!

And as the bus pulled up… the crowd started to rush towards the bus and the guys,  including me with my camera, shooting the pictures as they were walking out of the bus.  Then I realized Aiyana was NO WHERE to be found… I looked around for her in the crowd and she had actually drawn back behind everyone  because she was a sobbing mess at this point. Siva, one of the guys in the band ( he is the beautiful model gorgeousness one)  saw her and walked right through everyone and towards her , he grabbed her face and wiped her tears.  It was absolutely a magical moment for me to see this moment actually come to fruition… ..and THERE HE WAS .. It was Tom Parker… walking right up to Aiyana .. and then the absolute most UNEXPECTED thing happened… He grabbed her in the tightest hug and kissed her … dead smack on the lips!!!! It was literally worth EVERY PENNY to get there… Every traveling headache… Every and anything it took me to get her there… That moment right there was ALL WORTH IT!!!!!!   But wait… It gets Better!!!!!

They began to select the 5 for the private tour bus. We both pulled out of the box for the “golden ticket” and pulled blank ones. We watched as the others in the crowd pulled the blanks… and then a scream would rise from the crowd when a ticket was pulled…. 1, then 2, then 3, then 4… and then I noticed everyone that had pulled tickets was pulling again… I told Aiyana to “maneuver” get back there and pull again… by this time it had become a frenzy as there was only one ticket left…. Aiyana punched her hand into the box and it was like the slow motion part of  a dramatic scene in a movie… SHE PULLED THE LAST TICKET!!!!!! and it sounded like this…. “Oooooooooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhh Myyyyyyyyyyyyy GAWWWWWWWWWDDDD!!!!!!!!

Here we were 2 days ago sitting in our house on Mary Sue Street and now here she is in the Greatest city in the world having the greatest experience of her life!!!!!! she boarded the bus for the private tour…. it was truly one of the greatest moment in my life for her…. I was so excited for her… and off they went… Aiyana with the biggest smile I had ever seen!

The next day was the concert and we got to go back and hang out with the guys prior to the show… and I got to take our new friends, the ones that were from Florida,  back there with us too… it was the best trip everrrrr….

Nevermind the fact that when we got home from New York… the images were electromagnetically shocked off the memory card and  I had to research and find a company that could recover the images from the disc when the mainframe is burnt… There is only one company in the world that does this and I am so grateful for them!!!!! They restored 80% of the images… and I am soooo glad we have those memories and they weren’t completely gone! )

Surprise trip to New York: $1300

Cost to repair disc to recover every image taken on trip: $400

meeting Tom Tom “for the first time”: PRICELESS!!!!

and it was worth EVERY PENNY!!!!!

Here are the images from a dream come true trip!!!!

BTW: we have been able to hang out with the guys in Orlando and Tampa.. and they pretty much love us!

watch?v=MQyHyfLp5NI&ob=av2e

So I am a worshipper…. I love Jesus… i am NOT ashamed to say so…. HE IS MY CONSTANT Friend, companion… the lover of my soul… He gives me peace when my heart wants to cry… and when my eyes do… I love Him… and I am sure some people think that is crazzzy… but I KNOW what I know to be true for me in my heart.. and the truth of the matter is Jesus Loves me.. this I KNOW … and I love Him and no matter how many time I may fail… He ALWAYS loves me.. and He will NEVER leave me or forsake me!!!!!!

When I was introduced to the music of Kim Walker, it was exactly what I longed for in a worship band… and that is COMPLETE SURRENDER in Worship!!!! Kim Walker and Jesus Culture are amazzzing!!! they are transforming the way people worship and reaching the hearts of the youth and THAT Is crucial in today’s day and age of EVERYTHING before God… our youth are being lost to a slew of multi-media time sucking and mindless activities… Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, video games…. I am not saying that they are all bad… but they are taking the forefront in our youths lives… Jesus Culture and Bethel Church are trying to raise up a generation of young worshippers… to continue to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ and reach their own peers… It’s a burden of my heart as I see my own teenagers walking away from the faith they were raised with.. or at least not putting time into it.. rather putting time towards everything but their faith walk.

I am going to share several links for songs from Jesus Culture and Kim Walker… take some time today to turn off the world around you and Give THANKS to the one who created the World!!!!

Oh How He Loves Us!!!! ( absolute awesomeness! )

I Surrender ( one of my personal FAVORITES!!!!)

Your Love Never fails ( Oh i looove this one too!!! )

You won’t relent ( this is an amazzzing Powerful song!!!!! )

All i need is you ( ok let’s just say they are alll my favorite!!!!! )

Holy

They will be performing in Tampa Bay on April 14th… I cannot wait.. If you want to go… here is the info…

A canoe and a lake and a willing bride!!!! I couldn’t be any more thrilled that she was all for it!!!!!

It’s funny how God works.. When you least expect it.. He is a rewarder to those who diligently seek HIM and I know that is what Justin was doing.. He was seeking after God’s heart.. and His will for his life .. and Justin allowed God to write his love story.. he didn’t rush into anything… he patiently waited for the helpmate that God created for him, and God brought him a wonderful women who geniunely loves the Lord and whose desire is to be the Godly wife she is called to be..

I am so excited to have been a part of this most God honoring wedding and the beginning of their life’s journey together.. I can’t wait to see all that the Lord has in store for them!

I am breaking this blog up into two parts .. cause there was just so much goodness to pack it all into one!  I absolutely Love that Christa took some time out of day to sit.. Rest in HIM and journal the thoughts and the mood of the day. It was lovely to see her Be still!

Justin sent Christa and gift.. and Christa had one to deliver back to him!

Justin and Christa wanted to pray together before the wedding instead of a first look and this was soooooo much better than a first look!!!!

There are truly no words for how awesome this wedding ceremony was… it became so much more powerful after the communion together.. Justin and Christa displayed their servanthood to eachother by washing of the feet.. and then we had a time of worship.. It was beautiful! Part 2 coming! stayed tuned for more!!!!!

It’s been almost 4 years since Maria Sue was tragically killed, and went to be with Jesus. Most of the Christian family who know and love Steven Curtis Chapman grieved right along with the family during this time. I know for myself I was particularly hurting with them… knowing how broken their hearts were for this precious child that they loved, and never wanted to say goodbye to so soon. I wanted to hug Mary Beth and cry with her.. that is how connected I felt to their pain. I cried. I prayed, I questioned why, just as I am sure they did in the days following Maria Sue’s death.. I was truly hurting for them and with them, and I thought what a tragic trial for this man and his family to go through.. this man who had brought so much encouragement to others through his music, his organization ShowHope , to help others with their own adoption love story … WHYYY would this happen to them?

Then I realized… we will never truly know all the reasons for such pain and tragedy in Life… and even in his most trying time in life.. a time when most people would crumble and quit… Steven began to do what comes best to him and write again.. write the stories of Hope.. of TRULY BELIEVING what he had been encouraging others with all these years.. That THERE IS MORE TO THIS LIFE… that we must BE STILL AND KNOW THAT HE IS GOD! That when we are hurting the MOST there are brothers and sisters in God’s family that will come alongside of us and CARRY US TO JESUS with prayers, and when we just can’t seem to go on HIS STRENGTH IS PERFECT and all we have to do is HOLD ON TO JESUS and HIS EYES are looking down on us with Love and compassion and He IS with us!!!

I encourage you to listen to the music of Steven Curtis Chapman.. if you are going through something .. If you need some encouragement.. If you need to know that He Sees you in your need.. and He Loves you right where you are!!!

This song is AMAZZING!!! I hope this is an encouragement to you today!

I don’t know who I am reaching with this blog today.. But my prayer is that it is reaching someone who needs to read these words, hear these songs, and feel HIS love all over you!!!

Enjoy the pictures from the Concert this weekend… I cried the ENTIRE time .. so I am pretty impressed they are in focus.. as I was taking pictures through tear filled eyes.

the first images are Josh Wilson and YOU HAVE TO WATCH THIS VIDEO!!! SOOOOO AWESOME!!!!! the coolest acoustic version of Amazing Grace everrrrrr!!!!

and the other images are of Andrew Peterson who is an AWESOME story teller and this is my FAVORITE song of his : Nothing to say

This is when Steven was singing Cinderella and talking about the loss of Maria Sue…

Follow them on Twitter:

Steven Curtis Chapman

Mary Beth Chapman

Andrew Peterson

Josh Wilson

Caleb Chapman Music

Show Hope Now

And a VERY SPECIAL THANKS to Dennis at The Joy FM for helping me get the tickets to the Saturday show in Lakeland at the Victory Church when I missed the concert I had tickets for on Friday night at Countryside Christian! THANK YOU DENNIS!!!!!

Steven’s Beautiful Family, Including Maria Sue on his lap : I do not own the rights to this image.. from google images copyright Tucker Photography

and as always.. I had my camera with me… and happen to see these worshippers.. I had to snap a few pictures of them.. I had no idea who they were.. didn’t even know they were twins as I photographed them from the back.. I waited til the end of the song and just slipped em my card and said.. “I took a few pics of you guys.. email me.. so I can email them to you”

One of the brothers did email me.. and I sent him the picture.. a few years later he emailed me again looking for that image and we started a friendship on Facebook.. I was delighted when he asked me to be his wedding photographer. and almost exactly 5 years later from the day I took the picture of him and his brother… I was blessed beyond measure to be a part of their GOD HONORING wedding… and isnt it cool that I snapped this image! I just LOOOOVE IT!

“How Great is Our God” indeed~

Top Image from March 1st, 2007

Bottom Image- 5 years later , Feb 18th, 2012