The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

Everything seems to be happening at once right now, but it also feels like nothing is happening at all. We are getting close to the big move and my mind AND schedule is packed with things to do. I'm not afraid to say that I'm getting scared and nervous about the move. And I know I'm not the only one to feel like this. I mean it's HAWAII! That's so exciting on so many levels, yet when I stop to think about the fact that its an island, in the middle of the ocean, thousands of miles away from the people I know and love, I can't help but be worried. Things got real after the movers picked up our first load of stuff, the "necessities". The kids are starting to feel the pinch of moving and the reality of it all too. And its not easy for them because Virginia is all they've ever known. Oh, don't know date for a going away party yet (some people have asked me about this), and we won't be leaving for sure until after Thanksgiving.

In all this mess, we've celebrated Tay's 6th birthday. It was a wonderful time of celebrating her life with our friends. Tay had so much fun, got some cool gifts, and basically just enjoyed being spoiled. :) The kids have learned to swim front stroke and back stroke and are moving along in their swim lessons to the next level. I'm so proud of how hard they've worked to get this far. It hasn't been easy for them (or me), especially since they both don't tolerate the cold well. Their wetsuits have evolved from simply swim suit with a wetsuit over, to swim suit, compression clothing, AND wetsuit. It's quite funny watching them put on all this gear, just to go to the YMCA to swim in an indoor pool.

We still don't have plane tickets yet, the final movers come on Black Friday (3 days sooner than I was expecting), Jon comes home in 1 WEEK!, and Tay will be having surgery on Monday, October 29. So much is going on! But I know everyone is wondering about Tay's surgery. So here's the details, or at least what I know. First off, I won't know what time until tomorrow (Friday). She is having surgery to fix her urinary reflux which she has had for a few years now. The surgery is pretty safe, but like most surgeries, the danger comes from the anesthesia. She will be put completely under, and they will reposition her ureter so that the urine no longer relfuxes back into her kidneys (thats the danger of reflux, kidney infection). Our choices were to either rush and do the surgery here in Virginia at the CHKD, with doctors we know, or wait until we get to Hawaii and do it there, with doctors we don't know, at Trippler Army Hospital. So we decided (we as in me, because Jon isn't here to help make these decisions) that it was best to do it here. In fact, I don't even know if Jon knows about the surgery yet. I emailed him, but haven't gotten a response yet. :(

Amara is having a hard time dealing with the move. She has been having some hard days and showing some behaviors that I'd hoped were gone for good. But I can't blame her for not dealing well with the move. It's hard on me too. She is going overboard when told she can't do certain things, she's over-reacting to small annoyances, and she is in general having a rough few weeks. I know that some friends have started to see these behaviors and because they've never experience the "old" Amara, they don't know quite what to do. And for those who have helped me handle this lately, thank you. And yes, she is emotional, yes she is freaking out to something you think is simple, but she can't help it. Talk to me, I'm willing to explain what's going on.

So with all of this happening, we're not sure of our plans anymore. We wanted to go to Florida to see our family and take the kids to Disney World before we move to Hawaii. At this point in time, we don't know if that will happen. I don't know what the recovery time is for this operation. I do know that after 3 weeks, we have to return to have her stint removed. I'm stressed out. I'm in over my head. I'm scared and anxious. I have too much to do.

But I'm thankful that we have a job in the military. I'm thankful that we get this amazing opportunity to go live in Hawaii and make that our mission field for a few years. I'm thankful for amazing doctors and nurses who will be caring for my baby. I'm thankful that Jon will be home soon! I'm thankful for my friends, who see me struggling and in over my head, and their willingness to help me out in any way they can and care for me.

Well that's been our lives lately. It's not pretty, and it's not simple. So yes, think twice before you ask me how I'm doing, because I suffer from harsh honesty and it may happen when you speak to me.

--Mya

A Month In Pictures

Well as usual, the past month has been crazy. So instead of trying to recall every detail, I thought some pictures might be better. :) Between being sick, having Sciatic problems, migraines, ending Summer Break and starting school, it has been a whirlwind. We got to have several beach days at my friend Pam's beach, we went to the Portsmouth Children's Museum with our best friends, we took a crazy trip to Washington DC with my best friend Katie and her girls, and we had a good start to school. All in all, its been a pretty good Summer. Enjoy!

Amara lost her 2 front teeth!

Busch Gardens with Friends

beach day

smores on the beach!

Yeah! Smores!! in a thunder storm...on the beach. :)

beach day with Katie and her girls

blonde again!

the girls are burying Tay in the sand

tailgating the CNU football game with our new church

Georgetown Cupcakes in DC. YUM!

DC trip. not the best, but it ended fun.

movie in the park. We saw Hook!

Children's Museum

Amara and Cylie on the GIANT chair

dancing iron shavings...fun!

Tay's face (see her glasses?)

the kids' bodies. they LOVED this!

Tay couldn't believe how big the chair was!!

Matt and Amara- DC

Tay and Katie- DC

Amara and Katie- DC

DC

DC

rainbow at the Sculpture Garden fountain

horseback riding

Tay picked the biggest horse out there, and of course was the smallest rider

Amara got to ride a REAL Mustang!

DC

DC

Katie and Ari

Letting Out A Little Crazy

One great thing I can do (well maybe it isn't great, it depends on who you are and how you look at it) is compartmentalize. I can usually keep all of my feelings under control and show what I want and deal with things when I'm ready. Well dealing with the move to Hawaii is one of those things that I've tucked away into a neat little box until I'm ready to handle it. And even then, I let it out in tiny pieces. The past two days have been nutty and today I'm dealing with a little bit of the move stuff, so I'm gonna let a little crazy out.

Thats what I do, store up all that crazy and then let it out in little spurts at random moments. yep. fun.

Yesterday my speaker on my iPhone called the quits. I can hear it when I use speaker phone or my headset, but besides that, its kaput. :( So now I get to be one of those annoying people who walk around in crowds talking at the top of their lungs on the speaker phone and annoying the tar out of anyone within ear shot. yeah! Oh and I can upgrade in November or pay $169 to get a refurbished phone now. But thats not all! I came home yesterday to a big hole in the pantry floor that my puppy put there! Yeah, you heard right. My dog ATE the floor. I don't mean she dug a hole in the floor, or tore apart part of the linoleum, she ate the linoleum, she ate the sub-floor and she pulled out insulation. She is really super sweet, but good gosh I'm ready for this puppy-tearing-everything-to-shreds stage to be over!

Today I was determined to have a better day. I got up ready to mow the forest my lawn has become and headed out to do that before it got too hot. Only to discover that the lawn mower STILL doesn't work right! 4 months and my lawn mower has yet to work right more than twice. Arrgghhh!! So I spent the morning on the phone with the insurance company about the floor, customer service about the lawn mower, and filing paperwork for our move to Hawaii. And because my phone's speaker doesn't work right, it was quite the challenge to get that much done. Oh yeah, and I did 4 loads of laundry and had a play date with some friends. :)

It really is a good thing I can compartmentalize like I do. Because if I didn't, I think I would really go crazy from all of this mess. I'm very grateful for my wonderful friends who come over and listen to me bellyache about my problems and help me with yard work even though I didn't ask. But in all the stress and mess, I'm at peace. God has a plan for our family. I know this because Satan is trying so hard to stop us and tear us down. I'm really excited for this transition in our life, even though its taking us away from loved ones. This journey is worth all the obstacles we're facing. You know you're doing something right, when everything is going wrong (or against you at least). So while I sit on my couch crying and silently freaking out over the hole in the floor, the move, and the thought of "what else could go wrong", I'm remembering that there is a plan, there always has been and that God is in control of it all. Feeling peace while you're crying and not necessarily feeling happy or sad. yep. I'm having a crazy moment!

Let the crazy out people! 

Love you guys..... ;)
Mya

The Shooting in Aurora, CO

It hasn't even been a week since the terrible shooting in Aurora, CO, and addressing this in a post is not something I would normally do, but I feel like its something I need to do. Since the shooting, I've seen and heard things from people, mainly friends on social media sites, that has made me angry and I feel like I need to address some of those things. I know that a lot of what I'm going to say may be controversial. While I do appreciate comments, thoughts, ideas, or corrections,  I'm not looking to have an all out battle here on the blog. Everyone has the right to their opinion, and this is simply my opinion.

First things first, I've heard/seen people make light of the situation. For instance, someone posted on Facebook "I want to go see Dark Knight, but I don't want to get shot". That's not funny. It never will be funny. What happened was a terrible thing that was not planned out on a large scale to assault several movie theaters many states away. By saying things like this, you are making the deaths of those people less important. I had someone say to me that maybe thats how that person deals with their emotions (by making jokes). Well I have this to say about that, I don't always deal well with things either, I occasionally make the bad joke at the worse possible time, BUT I always go back and apologize when I figure out how wrong I was. I also try to keep statements like that to a small group of friends who understands when I make mistakes like that. I don't go and post it all over social media sites. Be careful about what you say on social media sites!

Secondly, I've seen a lot of talk about either calling for stricter gun control or the other side which is calling for more people to become licensed to carry a weapon. My thoughts on this...well thats difficult. I appreciate gun control. I don't think that just anyone should be able to get a gun and I definitely don't think it should be easy to get a gun. I also think that people should be allowed to carry guns. BUT, I agree with one person's statement that if several people in the theatre had had guns, then when the police came in, it would have been hard for them to tell who the good guys are and who the bad guys are. I'm not saying that people shouldn't carry guns to protect themselves. I'm saying that not everyone should carry guns.

Third, and this is the one that gets asked every time something terrible happens, "Where was God?" or "Why would a good God, let bad things like this happen?". Well let me start with the fact that God is perfect and He knew what was going to happen before the world was made. This is a sinful world and there are many sinful people living in it. God has given everyone free will, and that means that when people make decisions to do things like this, because of their free will, God isn't going to stop it, but He did know this man was going to make this decision. Many times before, I've sat and tried to make sense of the senseless crimes that happen in our country and others. And what I've discovered, and really should have realized much sooner, is that you can't hold non-believers to the same standards that you hold believers. While the world may have good morals and rules that they follow, they aren't the same things that govern the believer. And thats where the difference lies. And this is something I have to remind myself of all the time. When divorce, cheating, fathers/husbands leaving their families, shootings, bombings, and all the other crazy stuff doesn't make sense, I have to remind myself that they aren't following the same rules. This may not make sense to others, but it makes sense to me.

What happened in Aurora was a terrible thing. I have family that lives there, friends who have lived there, and it rocked my world when I heard about this. I am very thankful that no one I know was there that night. But 12 people were killed that night and many others injured, and that just can't be ignored. I was in tears as I read about it on Friday morning, and just like that happened there, it could very well have happened, or could happen, anywhere. If you don't know where you would spend eternity, I would love to talk with you. I personally know where I will go when I die, and I hope you do too. Life is far too short to not think about eternal things. Please continue praying for the families who have lost loved ones and for those still in hospitals recovering. I leave you with this final thought. As you form your opinion on this man, if you are a believer, think about these verses:

"But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?" -Matthew 5:44-46

With Love,
Mya
-Praying for Aurora

The Cat's Out Of The Bag!

Okay, so I promised that I would share our BIG NEWS soon and I am. I've waited this long because I wanted to be 101% sure before I told the world, and I wanted to tell those closest to us first. After 10 years, the Navy in it's infinite wisdom has finally decided to move us. We have had times where we hated Virginia and everyone in it. We have had wonderful times with friends. We've had laughing and crying, we've shared our kid's births, birthdays, Christmas's, Easters, Thanksgivings, joys, sorrows, pain and heartache, and almost 1/3 of Jon and my lives, our children's entire lives, and basically our whole marriage here in Virginia. With all it's flaws, we have come to call Virginia "home".

We've seen so many friends come and go and made lasting relationships here. But that is all coming to a close. After years of trying to get a new duty assignment, we finally have one. In November (we detach from the Enterprise in November, but won't have an exact date for leaving until we book our flights), we will be moving to the BEAUTIFUL island of Hawaii!! To say that we are excited is an understatement. We are so excited and happy to be going to such a wonderful place and feel completely blessed that our 2nd duty station is somewhere so wonderful. But our joys are muddled with feelings of sadness. We will miss our friends here in Virginia dearly. We are very sad to be leaving those friends who are truly family to us and our church home. We MIGHT be here for Thanksgiving, but will be spending Christmas in Hawaii because Jon has to report no later than December 19.

This is a big move for anyone, but with it being our first "real" military move, it's especially big for us. Please keep us in your prayers. Pray for my sanity. Pray that I am able to complete all the arrangements for the move in a timely manner and without complications (because I will be the one planning the move since Jon is deployed basically until we move). Pray that God gives me strength to be there emotionally for the kids as they deal with leaving the only home they've ever known. Pray that the kids stay as excited as they are now. Pray that the move would be smooth and speedy. And please pray that we can settle into our new home in Hawaii, make friends, and find a good church home there.

When we came up for orders once again this year, knowing that the Enterprise was being decommissioned, I knew we would move. But I never dreamed it would be off of the continental United States, to a place totally surrounded by water, where my only way to reach my friends and family back on the "mainland" would be through Skype, phones, or Airplanes. Reality is still slowly setting in for me and I'm not afraid to say that I am having a hard time with it all. We ARE excited, and we KNOW how blessed we are to be going to such a wonderful place. But we are still sad to leave those we love and the life we have known up until now.

We love you all!
Mya, Jon, Amara, and Tayani