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

Road Trip - Ohio/Florida

Two weeks on the road visiting Ohio and Florida is enough to make us miss home! And boy did we miss home. Although we loved our trip and visiting with friends and family, we were ready to be back home with our puppy and our "family" here.

Ohio was a lot of fun. We had a rocky start with driving at night, in the rain, and Amara getting car sick. But we made it safely and apparently at a good time because while we were there, Florida was getting hit with storms. My friends wedding was beautiful and I really enjoyed spending time with her and her new husband. The kids enjoyed playing with their friend after so many years apart. I got to take their wedding pictures and it was so much fun! I love taking pictures and thoroughly enjoyed taking them for such a special occasion in her life. :) We also got to visit the Cincinnati Zoo while we were there. It was HUGE! We had fun seeing the animals and the kids even got to touch a real tortoise (that they were letting walk around the zoo freely).

After Ohio, we started our journey to Florida. It was a 16 hour drive, and we drove straight through. We made great time and were blessed with good weather and great traffic (aside from one incident in KY that got us stuck for an hour). Florida was amazing! I am a beach girl at heart and LOVE the warm weather (even Florida-warm).

We got to see both sides of the family and catch up with everyone. The kids got to really spend some time with their Aunts and Uncles and we also got to go to Legoland and do some fishing. :D Legoland was so much fun! It's definitely something everyone should do with their kids. The kids got to ride roller coasters (even Tay!). It was a great time seeing our family. Between fishing, Legoland, swimming, eating, playing, eating, and spending time together, we had a very full week there. But I am so thankful for the time we had and that we were able to see ALL of our family and not just some of them.

The journey home is always bittersweet. While we were ready to leave and be back in our own beds, it was sad to leave everyone, especially not knowing when we will be able to come back. The drive back was good, although it always feels way too long (especially when you're tired!). But we made it back safely and without any excitement. ;) The girls and I have been resting up from vacation and getting unpacked this past week.

I am so thankful to everyone who helped take care of things back here so that we could go on our long vacation. It was a wonderful blessing to be able to spend so much time with friends and family and be so stress free. I really needed the time to recharge and de-stress and I couldn't have done it without help. I know that everyone is looking for a post about the news I hinted at on Facebook. Well, I can't really share with everyone yet, but I appreciate all the prayers and thoughts. I hope to be able to share news very soon. But know this, that we are all in good health and safe. I will post some pictures from our vacation soon, but I haven't had time to upload them yet.

Love to all!
Mya