Best Weekend Ever!

Best weekend ever! Have you seen the t-shirt? Great way to describe Easter weekend. 

What a wonderful weekend it was! Not just what we did, but it was also a 3 day weekend, which of course is awesome! On Friday I had a ton of kids at the house, my back was hurting and so we just hung out at the house and played. I did resurrection bread with the girls (which they loved). So much fun to make and a great tool to help them understand the tomb. :)

Acts of Love was on Saturday. My back was feeling a lot better by Saturday, which I was SO thankful for. Unfortunately when I woke up Saturday morning, I couldn't turn my head left due to a massive knot in my neck. UGH! So of course all day Saturday I was hurting and kept hearing "I'm not an ambi-turner. I can't turn left!" everywhere I went. And if you don't know what thats from, its from Zoolander. Funny movie, go watch it! Anyways, back on track. Acts of Love was amazing! This is a program that our church does every year where we hand out boxes of food to people in need. The boxes will feed a family of 4 for 1 week. We usually buy this boxes, but this year, our middle school and high school students actually put the boxes together. We gave out all 1600 boxes that we had. There were so many people volunteering to help and pouring out love on these people. It was fantastic! The girls were so good for me on Saturday too. They were back in childcare ALL DAY and didn't fuss or complain once! So afterwards I took them to Rita's for a special treat. :) Then we all went to bed early because we had to get up super early for Easter services the next day.

EPIC practicing (more pics soon!)

So Easter came early for us this year (not the physical date, but the time). We were up and at church at 6:30am on Sunday. Although the girls were tired, they did great and didn't cry at me and give me a hard time. I was so thankful that they behaved and were happy all day. On Easter we debuted our EPIC choir. :D Now, I'm not usually one to say I love choirs, but I definitely liked our choir and they added so much to our services. Thank you everyone who participated! Services went really well. 

By 3rd service (or 2nd service depending on how you look at it), well the 11:00 service, we were all exhausted, physically and mentally, and for me emotionally. My neck had loosened up some so I could turn my head a little bit, which I was grateful for. But everything from the past month just caught up with me. The first two services went great, no problems at all. But for me, the last service, I was under attack. I had some headphone issues and it distracted me and then add in all my emotional stuff and being tired, and I couldn't concentrate on what I needed to. Which actually wasn't playing or the music, but on God. By the time we got off stage, I was a mess. I love my friends who are so supportive of me and encouraging. They did their best to lift my spirits and love on me. And in the end, it was all just a reminder to me that nothing I do on that stage matters all that much. Do I want to play the right notes and not mess up? Of course! But in the end, God is the one who is working in the service, not me. And nothing I do, playing well, playing badly, messing up, whatever, can stop what God is doing. It's not about me, its about God. So I ended Sunday by going home and taking a long nap, then the girls and I washed the car and played outside. I'd say it was a GREAT weekend.

Friends: I love you all!

<3 Mya

PS: videos of the choir to come soon. I have to get them uploaded and will try to have them up later today/tomorrow.

Joy in Pain

So for those that have been wondering, no, I didn't do something to my back and pull a muscle or something stupid like that (because we all know that I'm perfectly capable of doing stupid things and getting very hurt). I have a misalignment in my back along with scoliosis which flares up sometimes for no reason and can last for days or even weeks. So yea, pain, yes, debilitating, not yet.

Because of this, I haven't been able to do what I REALLY needed to do around the house. Like dishes, cleaning, mopping, or do the things that I wanted and still also needed to do, like practice music for Sunday's Easter service (which I am slightly freakin out about because this is the first Easter I have ever played!) or play with the kids. But sometimes you just have to work through the pain. : / So I cleaned the house today, practiced for an hour, and still need to do the dishes (boo!) but will do them tonight. I have been very stressed out because of the amount of stuff going on the past few weeks. Sooo much stuff, its just crazy. After this weekend, I think it will slow down a little bit (a very little bit).

Whats on the schedule for this weekend? Tomorrow I get to babysit 4 kids all day (don't get me wrong, I love kids and these are great kids, but with my back hurting, I kinda wish I wasn't), then tomorrow night I can hopefully go and relax with friends at Steve and Katie's for some fun and hang time. :D Saturday we have Acts of Love at LBC. This is a great event that we've done before where we give away boxes of food to families/individuals in need. The only catch is that they have to come here some NFL players speak (sooo hard, right?!). I usually volunteer back with the kids, but this year I will be helping hand out the boxes (yeah!) (and please pray for my back, I don't wanna kill myself). I'm really excited to help with this and just get to bless some people. Sunday, of course, is Easter. Because its Easter, we are running extra services, so that means we gotta be at church extra early. So I'm hoping that the kids get up and are cooperative so that we can get to church on time (6:45am) with minimal fighting. We will be playing basically 3 services, so hopefully my back and shoulder can take it. Please be praying for me this weekend.

But regardless of how I am feeling physically, I am SO excited about this weekend! It's going to be awesome! It's going to be a great weekend of celebrating our Risen King! The girls have been talking about Easter (and not just candies and bunnies- side note: we don't do the Easter bunny, Tooth Fairy, or Santa Clause) for weeks now. Amara understands the significance of it, and Tay is getting there. :) Heres hoping that everyone has a wonderful Easter weekend and that you get the opportunity to celebrate the true reason for Easter, Jesus Christ, the risen Savior.

<3 to all!

EPIC...

I spent Friday afternoon/evening and most of Saturday catering a wedding. No, I don't do it myself, I work for a guy who owns a catering business (and we are hitting catering season). It was nice to get out and away from the kids for awhile, even if I was working. My friend's husband was kind enough to watch my kiddos while I went and worked so that I wouldn't have to pay for a sitter. Thankfully the kids behaved and didn't give him too hard of a time. So I was on my feet for 2 days and by Saturday night, I was tired!

Sunday of course was busy as usual, but I love Sundays. :) I am so blessed to be able to lead worship in Genesis every week. I love it and its so much fun! We also had our last EPIC choir practice for Easter Sunday (yes, thats the name I've given our "Mock Rock Choir" is EPIC because thats what they are!). It was fantastic! The band with the choir was an amazing sound. I never thought that I'd like the sound of a choir with a rock type band, but somehow, it totally works for us and that makes me excited! ((picture removed for Katie's sake.))

I also got to help my dear friend Kari out on Sunday. She choreographed a dance for our student choir to the song "Shine" by Pillar. I helped her with some ideas and stuff and then helped her show the kids the dance. She did an awesome job and it was great seeing her step up and lead these kids. (video at the bottom)

So...of course a great end to another crazy busy weekend. I am SO excited for this week. It's a busy week of course, but it ends with EASTER! Easter is like the biggest holiday for us. Easter (or better, what happened on Easter) is the reason we as christians have hope. Easter is when Jesus defeated death and rose from the grave. Because of that we can truly say that we serve a LIVING God. A God that STILL answers prayers and can hear us.

Preparing our Hearts

As many of you know, our church is building a new sanctuary. A giant, massive place that we will be able to fit everyone in, instead of having two services. This week they had the Early Commitment dinners for the new building campaign (to help raise the money to pay for the building). I was able to go on Monday night to this and sit and enjoy a great dinner, adult conversation, and hear about whats going to be happening and tour the new sanctuary (which I actually have already done). So what was so special about this night that I'm writing about it? Well I'll tell you, but first I have to give you some background.

Ever since they started the new building, I've been kind of having a mini (and sometimes not so mini) freak out about the whole thing. Whats to freak out about right? Well I'm getting ready to be very honest here, so here goes. I was freaking out about the band and where my place would be in all this. Sounds pretty shallow I know. Trust me. But really it was some of the same things that others were having a hard time with. Like, what kind of music would we do when we go into the new building, would Genesis (our contemporary service) still be around and if so, in what aspect, would there be a choir and orchestra, would they even still need the Genesis band? So when I started flipping out, thats when I started praying. And let me tell you, God has been doing a LOT of work on my heart and preparing me for this transition. First thing I got hit with was it doesn't matter what kind of music we're doing, as long as I'm doing what God has called me to and doing it with a joyful, worshipful spirit. This took some time for me to really accept and embrace. I was scared! I'd never played with a choir or orchestra (well not bass anyways) and I didn't think I'd like it or enjoy it. I was contemplating quitting the band or going to a new church even! WOAH, right?! So yea, I'm past that now. I'm okay with whatever happens. We can play whatever music, with a choir and orchestra, or whatever! I know that I will still be here playing bass in whatever capacity is needed because this is where God has called me.

So the big question I keep getting asked by people is, "What happens to Genesis?" and "What happens to the band?". Well, I don't have all the answers people. But I will say that Genesis will be done. What's the point of having a giant worship center and still running an overflow service when its not needed? Because thats what Genesis was always meant as. An overflow service that we started out of necessity. As far as the band goes, I don't know. I don't know what will happen to the band, but I do know that all the band members will still be there and still be playing in whatever capacity we are needed.

Okay, so now that I've given that background, I can tell you the really exciting part! The exciting thing that happened on Monday night, is that after all the freaking out I've done over the new sanctuary, I got to actually encourage and help calm the nerves of this great couple on Monday night! Some of you are thinking, whats so special about that? Well, despite what MANY people think, one of my spiritual gifts (and this always surprises me too) is encouragement. Yea I know, I'm the super negative, depressing and brutally honest person, but yea, apparently I'm a great encourager. lol. So this older couple, that has been faithful in coming to Genesis, and LOVES it asked me what would happen to Genesis and the band once the new sanctuary is open. So I told them exactly what I just told you above. I got to share with them my personal struggles with all this and how God has softened my heart, shown me how prideful and shallow I've been, and change me. I got to tell them that I'm okay with the change. No, it's not going to be the same as Genesis, and it probably will never be like that again, BUT it'll be BETTER! I got to tell them that I'm actually excited to move into the new sanctuary and that yes, it will be hard the first month or so, but it will be amazing. We will all be in there as a family! This all being said, God used me in such an awesome way Monday night. Nothing I said or did was of my own accord, it was ALL God.

It really is amazing how God prepares you for things and uses our inabilities and weaknesses to help others. I am blown away constantly with how He chooses to use me. And this is just one example, there are so many more. And this experience I hope blessed that couple, but more than that, me being able to help them and talk to them was really a HUGE blessing to ME! So if you go to Genesis and have been thinking about or worried about whats going to happen, all I can say is pray. Pray that God softens your heart. This transition is bigger than me or you and only God can change your heart to a heart of worship and acceptance of what is going to happen.

Breathe...

This weekend was great! Saturday was a day of total relaxation. I let the house go, didn't clean up, just spent time with the kids watching movies and enjoying the last day of "vacation". Those that know us well, know that we don't do that, basically ever! So it was really good to just relax. I feel like it was a day of filling up. Kind of like how camels drink tons of water before going on a long desert journey so that they are filled up and can go without for a long time. That was this weekend for us. As I look ahead at the coming weeks, I see a very busy schedule, as usual, but a good busy. This weekend I got to sit and read my bible a lot, spend time resting, enjoying my kids and basically just breathing in God's restoring spirit and filling up for the coming weeks.

Sunday was a great day of worship (as usual) with the amazing people at LBC. :) I love getting to go and lead worship, it blesses me so much more than you could know. When you're doing what God has called you to do, its not work, its joy! So after spending the morning worshiping I got to play singer and join the Mock Rock Choir as they practiced for Easter. WOW! I am blown away by the passion these folks have. Because I'm usually on stage leading, I rarely get to sit and listen to everyone worshiping or spend time myself just sitting, singing and worshiping. So getting to do that with the Mock Choir was a lot of fun. To see that many people step up for that kind of commitment is amazing (especially considering its a holiday). You could tell that they wanted to be there. When we were done, I was just smiling and my heart was so filled! I am so excited for Easter and for everyone to hear it. Sunday ended with another night of worship at the evening service. Sometimes Youth Challenge is there, and when they are, wow. You can see how broken they are and that brokenness comes out in their worship. I love our night service folks. Sometimes it feels like a chore to come back at night, but it is ALWAYS worth it.

With that being said...I leave you with this video. I love this song and how it speaks to my heart.

And one other. This is an old one, its just a fun song and I love the chorus, its so simple (and totally not my usual style of music, lol). "Breathe deep, breathe deep the breath of God, Breathe deep, breathe deep the breath of God."

The End Is Near!

Well, of Spring Break anyways. The girls and I have had so much fun this week! We've gotten to go to the playground, ride bikes, sleep in, and we got to go with some good friends out to The Children's Museum of Richmond. So much fun, I just don't want it all to end! Having both kids home this week wasn't nearly as hard as I was thinking it would be. Which makes me hopeful for next year's homeschooling adventure. :) I am so blessed to have 2 beautiful girls and a loving husband.

I also got some AMAZING, FANTASTICALLY EXCITING news from my best friends Katie and Steve. They got approved to start their adoption process! This is so exciting, and it thrills me so much! I can't believe that they will soon have 1 or more beautiful children of their own (that I get to keep during the days while they are at work!). Theres just been so much going on this week its really hard to put it all into words.

Finally, I just HAVE to say something about the government and the budget. It is a shame that for 6months we've been operating the country without an approved budget plan. It's also very sad that they are using the military as a bargaining chip to get their stuff approved. With that being said, yes, if we have a government shutdown tonight, we are one of the thousands of families that will be in financial trouble. Like most military families, we live paycheck to paycheck, with no savings account to speak of. So there may be bills that don't get paid, or things we own that have to get sold. But I'm not worried! I trust that God will provide and care for our family. My faith is being tested and I will not fail. Don't get me wrong, it sucks that this is happening, and I am concerned about whats going on, but that doesn't mean that I'm worried. Somehow, someway, my family will be fed, clothed and have a place to sleep and thats all that matters.

"Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds. For you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing." - James 1:2-4

"Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble" - Matthew 6:31-34

<3 Mya

Spring Break!

Aahh.... Spring Break is a wonderful thing. The kids get to sleep in late, stay up late, and just play play play to their hearts content. So far its been a great week of rest, play, and getting things done. Mostly, the weather has been gorgeous so far. And I can't help but sit back and thank God for the sunshine and warm (ish) weather.

Every year for Spring Break I try to do one big or special type thing with the girls. Last year, we went with a bunch of friends to the DC zoo. This year, we are going to Richmond to the Children's Museum there. We've heard that its fantastic and are so excited to go tomorrow. I also do lots of crafts or planting (well lots for us anyways) with the girls. They've already painted jewelry boxes and today we are "planting" our sensitive plants. If you don't know what that is, then you're missing out on some entertainment. These plants are so much fun! They look like little ferns and when you touch them, they shrivel, but after a few minutes, they perk back up and are fine again. You can have hours and hours of playing with these things, and best of all, you can pick them up for $1 at Target. :) Hope everyone else is enjoying their Spring Break as much as we are!

whirlwind weekend

What a weekend it's been! Actually, not just the weekend, but the entire week last week was just jam packed. Fun but busy, thats my life. Saturday the girls and I went out to the annual CF Great Strides walk at Va Beach to support our friend Sinje (who has CF). It was a great time. On Friday night, I thought that everything was going to end up cancelled because it was a 50% chance of rain. BUT, Saturday came with actual sunshine and blue skies! We walked 3 miles along the beach and had fun talking and laughing. It was a great time for a great cause. 

As soon as we left Va Beach, we headed back to Hampton to change shirts and head over to the 3rd and final block party. I was a little concerned, because it wasn't as sunny on this side as it was in Va Beach. But, the rain held off for a while and we got everything set up. We had TONS of volunteers, which was great! Everything was going great until about 5pm when the wind moved in with the cold and then the skies opened up and poured freezing rain/sleet on us! While it sleeted on us, we scrambled to pack up all the inflatables, food stuff, tables and tents, it was a crazy mad dash kind of thing. And of course, as soon as it was all packed and started getting put back in the trailers, the rain stopped! But fun nonetheless. :) We went home from there, and the kids and I were all asleep by 8:30, which if you know me, is WAY early!

Sunday I got up very early (for me that is) so I could be at church to play. The first Sunday of every month I play in the main sanctuary, and they practice at 7am. Sooo....we were still late, even after me rushing and waking up early, etc. Oh well, thats life when you have 2 kids. After a long morning of leading worship, I took the girls out to lunch. We went to Chili's and the girls ate everything they got! They never do that, so they were rewarded with Chocolate Lava Cake. Yum! With full bellies, we headed home to spend the first Sunday afternoon/evening we've had off doing absolutely nothing! Aahhh....I miss doing nothing! But I definitely felt like I should've done SOMETHING, but I didn't. I didn't catch up on housework, or do the dishes like I should have. We just relaxed and watched movies until bedtime. And something I've learned in the past is that sometimes, you just need to tell yourself that the dishes and housework can wait while you take some time for yourself and your family. So no, I don't feel bad, I feel relaxed, and now that its Monday morning, I'm catching up on all those things I should've done yesterday (minus time to go to the park and enjoy this beautiful day!).


Enjoy the sunny warm day today!


Love <3 <3

Everyday Art

Last night I got to go out with some amazing friends. We went out to celebrate our friend Kari's birthday. We thought it would be a lot of fun to go to Color Me Mine and paint pottery. And it was! We had such a blast painting and talking and messing around, it was a great time to just be ourselves and release some tensions into our paintings. Of course not everything came out perfect, but it was fun doing it and thats what matters!

While we were painting our hearts out, my girls were home with Steve. :) Amara loves Steve,  A LOT, they both do. Steve and Katie are like second parents to them and I love that they love my kids so much. Anyways, I digress. They asked Steve a few weeks ago if he would come over and have a tea party with them. So last night thats exactly what happened. (I don't have pictures, unless Steve took some, but wish I did!) They had tea, played Mario Party and just enjoyed time together. Thanks Steve! Amara even asked where he was when she woke up this morning, lol. 

All in all it was a fantastic night. I'm so glad that we got to go out and relax together and take some time for ourselves. This definitely needs to happen more often! 

Love to all! <3 <3