Earthquakes, Hurricanes, School....LIFE!

We're already well into September and I feel like I've been neglecting my blog. So here's a new post and hopefully I'll be more diligent in posting. So much has gone on over the past few weeks. We had an earthquake and a hurricane both in the same week (we did just fine. no major damage or anything), we bought a "new" car for Jon, and have had the normal busy-ness of life in general, and then this past weekend was Labor Day, so of course we had our annual get-together at our friend's house.


All in all its been a great few weeks. I also got fantastic news from my friend/neighbor that their baby boy, who was hospitalized at 2wks old because of a heart attack, is now back home! God is amazing! There were so many people praying for this baby. It truly was a miracle that he is even alive after all he has been through. There has been other good news that I'm not able to talk about right now, but I'll share later when I can.

School has been going....okay. We haven't been super consistent with it. Some of it has to do with the fact that it was still summertime, and some to do with the craziness of hurricane stuff (before and after), and some just shear laziness. But today is the first day back to school for public schools in the area, so marking the official beginning of fall, we are going to try and get back on track and get some consistency to our schooling. But Tayani loves school and Amara is growing to like it. She wants to go back to "regular" school, probably because her friends are going to school. I think once we are more into the school year she will enjoy it more.  But just because school is starting, doesn't mean things slow down. We still have lots going on.

Upcoming events/things are swim lessons for both kids starting next week, I've started going to a book club that my friends and I are doing (so far its fun), and then you have all the other stuff like church, work, catering, etc. Life as usual around here! Two more things before I go. One is we did family pictures this past weekend. And so far they look amazing! So happy with them and I can't wait to see the rest of the pictures when they are done being edited. I will share them at the end.

The second thing is for anyone in the Hampton Roads area. My best friends Steve and Katie are adopting and raising money for their adoption. This Saturday, September 10 from 7am-3pm they are having a HUGE yardsale to help fund their adoption. Fantastic deals, and best of all, no haggling! You name the price and take it home. Come out and support this great cause. They have a LOT of stuff and its all good quality. Kids clothes, adult clothes, furniture, household items, electronics, EVERYTHING. It's at 103 Galax St. in Hampton (Across from the Aberdeen Post Office). - okay, thats my plug for that. ;) I love my friends and really, truly, this is worth it. My family will be there helping out and the kids will be selling lemonade. :)

Have a great week everyone!

Perspective

Perspective. People play a big part in my/your perspective of things. Your past plays a big role too. How your family life was, your friends, school, church and of course all those involve people, not just experiences.

Over the past few months my perspective of my life has shifted. For the better of course. :) But I was thinking about this the other day and thought that it would be good to share my thoughts. If you've known me more than 3 years, then you probably know that I'm not a super positive person. In fact, my nickname was "Debbie Downer" for quite a while because all I could see was what was wrong with situations or what could potentially go wrong. I wasn't sympathetic towards other people's problems, and I wasn't very friendly. I would usually say the first thing that came into my head (which was NEVER a good thing) and usually ended up offending or upsetting someone. I just didn't care. I didn't care what people thought or said about me. I wasn't like this my whole life though. I'd grown bitter and apathetic from years of people talking bad about me to my face or behind my back and basically just being ugly to me (but thats not an excuse, don't get me wrong, I acted the way I did because I chose to, nobody "made" me that way).

Over the past few years I've gotten to become good friends with some really awesome people (you know who you are!). And thanks to them, and their honesty and loving and friendship, my perspective of people, the world, has changed. I've changed the way I see new people. I don't see new people as people who will just turn on me, stab me in the back and destroy my trust. They're just people. People who may need a friend or someone to say something nice to them. I've learned not to say everything that comes to mind. I've learned to hold my tongue (trust me, its a good thing). I don't necessarily lie to people when they ask me things (so don't start thinking I'm lying all the time!), but I'm not as blunt when I speak to people. I've learned to cushion my words if that makes any sense. Sometimes, not saying what comes to my head means not saying anything at all. A lot of times people take my silence as me being angry or upset. It's not. Silence for me means I'm being "nice" by not saying what I'm thinking. Trust me, if I'm angry or upset with you, you will know!

So with all this in mind, I've started to see problems and trials in my life as good things. Do I enjoy them? No, of course not! Who does?! But I've started to see them as growing and learning experiences. We've recently come out of a very long period of trial. We've had a very rough 6 months and its been very difficult. Not one big thing, but tons of small things over a long period. We've made it through these times and its made us a stronger family,  a stronger me, stronger friendships. :) I am so thankful that I have a God who loves and cares for me so much that even when I'm being stubborn and angry with Him, that He would still be waiting when I'm done acting like a 2yr old and come to my senses. Something else I've learned through the past few years is that when you ask God for things, be careful what you ask for! When you ask for patience with your kids, you may get more than you bargained for! Sometimes God gives you things in ways you don't expect. Like patience through dealing with your kids over and over and over again on the same issue. Patience through practice. Not exactly what you think when you sit and pray that God would give you patience. lol. I'm very thankful for my loving husband, kids, and friends who all show more patience with me than I deserve. I'm a slow learner sometimes, but the love, patience and kindness that they show is amazing to me. Thank you all!

Finally I'd like to end with a request for prayer for my friends/neighbors Brian and Jamie. Their almost 3wk old baby boy Caiden is in the Pediatric ICU (NICU) at the Children's Hospital here. The left side of his heart isn't working properly and because of this the right side of his heart is being overworked. They've run blood tests, hear catheters and an MRI. So far blood work is clean, heart cath didn't find anything and the MRI did show some spots/scars on a part of his brain which may be from blood clots. Please pray for them, for their baby boy, for their 3yr old daughter and that God's perfect will and timing in all of this. Thank you friends!

<3 to all!
Mya

First Day of School!

Today was our FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL! Yes, thats 6 days sooner than I had said. But the kids were SO excited that we just couldn't wait until next week! And let me tell you, it went GREAT! Amara had a little trouble getting back into doing math, but I'm the same way. I know that we'll get into the routine of things soon enough. Amara did her math and writing today. We didn't get to her Reading/Phonics work,  or Geography, but I think half of the planned stuff is pretty good for day 1. ;) Tay however did get everything done. She did her math (which is WAY too easy right now), writing, reading (she read her first story today!), and letter work.

Needless to say, I'm really happy at how well our first day went. It's quite a relief to get that first day out of the way and know that its all going to be okay. :) So here's a few pictures from our first day. We are heading out to Busch Gardens to enjoy the rest of Jon's vacation, so this is a short post. Thank you everyone for all the prayers about school and everything. I appreciate it very much.

<3 to all!

Jon and Amara doing math.

Tay's letter work. Tracing the letters on the Playdough mat.

Tay's letter work. Playdough mats! So fun.

Jon and Amara doing math.

Get Ready...Get Set...Homeschool!

Or something like that. :) I'm definitely getting ready (finally!). My head has been swimming with things that I have to prepare so that we can start school. And of course there's TONS of people who mean very well (I love all of you!) and keep telling me not to worry or stress about it. But, in reality, whats the likelihood that I won't stress out? Umm, none. Thankfully my wonderful husband is willing to give up part of his vacation time so that he can help me prepare....anything! In fact, he told me today, just to give him a list of what needs to be done and he'd do it. Thats great! Now if only I knew what needed to be done. Thats the real problem. So lets see, where I'm starting is this: getting my Notice of Intent to Homeschool done (which btw, what does your curriculum descriptions look like? not too sure about what I should or shouldn't put on that). That has to be sent in by August 15 (about a week away).

After that I have to look at all the curriculum and figure out how much of each subject we will be doing each day and for how many days. Oh yea, before that I have to figure out if we want to school 5 days a week or 4 or 3 or whatever. I also have to find out if there is a requirement on HOW many days we actually school (anyone know the answer to that one?). I need to set up our "school area" so that we have a place to work at and I need to go through the curriculum so I know how to use it before I start to teach it. Yep. I'm just a little overwhelmed by it all. Figuring it out though, and I WILL figure it out.

Just a little insight for those non-homeschoolers as to the things going on here right now. So if you think about it, say a prayer for my sanity and that I can get it all done soon so we can start school.

Hopefully this is the kids when we start!

Changes...

It's time to officially announce that I will not be taking over AWANAs in the fall. This makes me very sad, but after a lot of thinking and praying on the subject, I know that it is the best move for me and my family. I wanted so badly to be a part of AWANAs this year, but because of things going on at home, it wouldn't be a good idea. I am very sorry for any confusion this may have caused. But know that I am praying for all of you and the leader(s) God is raising up for the AWANA ministry. If you are at all interested in taking on a leadership role, let me know and I can definitely get you hooked up with the right people! Have a great year AWANA Leaders, Parents, and Students!

So other happenings in our household. Tay pulled her dresser down and nearly got crushed. Thankfully she is ok. Amara has had a stomach bug, but seems to be better now. Jon is getting ready to start his vacation, which is great! We won't be going anywhere like we had originally planned, but instead we'll have a stay-cation and maybe take a trip later on. And as for me, I've just been stressed out trying to figure out solutions to Amara's issues at church. But overall, its really been a wonderful time. We got to have a great night with my best friends the Day's without the kids. It was really nice to watch a movie and enjoy adult time. We were able to sit and talk and enjoy each other's company. I definitely needed that time and I'm soooo thankful that we have amazing friends like them! 

Sunday was the last Genesis service. As sad as I am to see this chapter of our lives close, I'm looking forward to new and amazing things that God is doing in the life of our church. Genesis has been a family to us. The people that we've shared that time with will always be close to us and we have learned so many things from that ministry. There was a time, not so long ago, that we couldn't stand the fact that we were "stuck in Virginia". Let me explain. When Jon got stationed here with the Navy, we couldn't find any good reason why we were in Va. We didn't like the state as a whole (the government) and we couldn't find any friends or a church home that we liked. The traffic frustrated us (wonderful I-64) and the Navy continually upset us with decisions that were made (like getting passed over for shore command so many times). The first time we went to Liberty, we liked the preaching (that was when Pastor Danny Forshee was here), but we couldn't get past how badly we were treated by the church members (no, I don't remember who they were, it was almost 10 yrs ago!). We actually left Liberty and went to other churches to try and find one that we liked. Well, long story short(er), we couldn't find anywhere else that was as good as Liberty's preaching, so we decided to go back and just deal with the people. I'd love to tell you that it was so much better when we went back, but it wasn't. But we did deal with it and I got involved in the band with Micah Watson (back when the night service was Ecotone). We got involved with the youth ministry and over the years we've been involved in several other ministries. Through each and every one of them, we have learned things. One of which being that God has placed us at Liberty for a reason! Do we LOVE Virginia like so many of our friends? No. But we've learned to like where God puts us, including Virginia. ;) We've learned to find joy in our hardships, to love people that we don't particularly like, to just shut up sometimes ;), and that even people who we don't spend a ton of time with can still be like family to us. We love our Genesis family and look forward to serving with all of you in other ways. :)

Well, thats really all the updating I have time for this morning. Have a wonderful week everyone!

<3 Mya

He's Baaaaaacckk...

So...as most of you know, Jon made it home a little over a week ago. YEEEEAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!! :D It's been a kind of crazy week readjusting to him being back. It always is. The girls are adjusting pretty well. They spent the first day of him home stuck to him like velcro! They sat, hung, climbed, and walked next to him the ENTIRE day. It was kinda funny to watch. lol.

It's been crazy hot here this past week! It was 100+ for a few days. So we've been spending a lot of days in the pool, at Water Country or at the Splash Park. The kids have definitely been enjoying it. We haven't tried to do it yet, but we might try to fry an egg on the sidewalk! The kids would probably have a lot of fun with it. So we'll see.

Last night I went on a boat for the first time in years. If you don't know, I don't like boats. Not because there's anything wrong with boats or the water, but because I get violently motion sick. I can't even ride as the passenger in a car without getting sick. So I took some new motion sick meds and actually did good! I didn't get sick. Well, not until a storm about hit us. It was kind of cool, watching the lightning on the water and to see the huge dark wall of rain. The storm didn't actually hit us (thankfully) but it did shake things up for us.

This week will be another busy one for us. We have some fun mornings at church and some nights up there as well. This week we are having Adventure Days for 2 days and Preschool Fun Day 1 day. Adventure Days are one of my favorite things all year. It is so much fun! The kids get to play fun, messy games and learn about God too. I have lots of fun playing with the kids and loving on them. So I'm looking forward to having some messy fun. :) We have a 2 band practices this week in preparation for the last Genesis service and the first service in the new worship center. There is so much hard work going into making this transition smooth and easy. Thank you everyone who has been working, preparing, training, getting trained, etc to make this possible.

On top of all the craziness of life, we have been dealing with behavior issues (again) with Amara. Her meds have been getting changed around by the doctors and she has been having big mood swings. She is also not enjoying her classes on Sunday mornings right now. Not sure why, but she has been defiant and refusing to go into large group and just causing issues all around. Please say a prayer for her and for us if you think about it. This aspect adds a lot of stress to our lives and makes even the simplest of things very difficult. Thank you!

Mya

PS- this was supposed to get posted a few days ago, but my power went out as I was finishing it. Oh well, better late than never!

Flattened.

So we thought that Jon was going to be home today. The girls were SUPER excited, asking constantly for the last few days and about every hour today. But that joy was quickly flattened. Thats the best word I can think of to describe the feeling. It's like someone stole the birthday cake from the party. Or another way to think of it is like you're skiing. You go down the slope, but run into a tree. It hurts, but you know you still have to finish going down the slope and that there IS an end down there. We did find out the reason for him not being home today. It had nothing to do with the ship changing schedules or anything, just a big miscommunication between Jon and I. But that doesn't make it easier on me or the girls. I kinda knew in my heart that it was too soon, that it just had to be a little farther off, but I didn't listen to my self and I got excited. Stupid me. I know better after all these years in the military that if it sounds too good to be true, then it definitely is! Well, theres nothing I can do about it.

On a sort of up side I did find out about the "Night Before" party. This is the big party they throw for all the family/friends who are going to be picking up the military person. It's obviously the "night before" they get back, so its all a very last minute sort of party. But I went to one before and it was fun. Well as much fun as you can have 8 1/2 months pregnant in the middle of the night! At least this time they put it at a reasonable hour! lol. The kids will have fun there I'm sure, so we will be going. Unfortunately, Jon won't get off the same time as everyone else, he'll probably get off the next day, so hopefully that doesn't depress the girls too much.

This has been a very hard deployment. And the fact that we have another one very soon doesn't help. We haven't told the kids about it yet, just in case it doesn't happen, which isn't likely. Thank you all for your prayers and support through these trying times. It really means the world to us. And we are happy that Jon/Daddy will be home SOON! Even if its a little later than we were expecting/hoping.

I'm Gettin' Sentimental

VBS week went GREAT! I am so blessed to have had such wonderful kids and fantastic helpers. It was a wonderful time and hopefully the kids learned something too. But I'm glad its over. I am recovering from the week (I was sick during VBS too) and trying to pull the house together before Jon gets back. WHICH, BTW, we are COUNTING DOWN THE DAYS! So that means we are super close to the end. YEEEEAAAHHHH!!!!! I'm very ready for him to be home.

As we are nearing the end of Jon's deployment, we are also nearing the end of our Genesis services. For those that have been here a long time, we used to have the Ecotone service at night, and then Genesis was created as a morning overflow plus night service. Its been so long now that we've had it! I've been reminiscing over people that have come and gone, things that we've done in the service, both good and bad, fun times and crazy antics. I have loved serving in Genesis and pray that God continues to use me in the new services as well, in whatever capacity He chooses. I'm sad to see Genesis go, but I know that its for the best. I'm nervous to be entering into the new format in the new sanctuary (as many of you probably are too). But I'm also very happy! I'm happy the church will be "whole" again. I'm also happy that we won't have to tear down and set up a stage and all the equipment every week! lol. I'm sad to think that some of the people I serve with right now every Sunday, that I may not see them every week because of scheduling changes. We have become like a family in Genesis, I don't think anyone would argue with that. We've helped each other through some very tough times, and been there to share joys with each other. I will truly miss this stage of life, but look forward happily to the future. Change and growing can be very hard. It can be hard to change and grow when you've become so used to how things are. But I'm ready for some stretching. ;)

With everything changing, I've been thinking a lot about the future and what it holds. I've been thinking about Jon's next deployment, and whether we will be moved after this next one or not. I've been thinking about houses, and longing for a new home, but trying to be content with what I have. I've been thinking about the Fall and homeschooling the girls for the first time. It's a scary and exciting thought. I'm ready for it, but at the same time I'm definitely not ready. Where will we be? What will we do? What if...? Those questions have been going through my head like crazy the past few weeks. But no matter what the future holds, no matter what questions I have in my head, there are a few things I know for sure. I know that God will take care of us. He will provide everything we NEED. I know that we will be a family, whether we move from here, whether Jon is deployed, whether we stay here or get a house, etc. We will be together. I know that I have friends who love me and whom I love dearly. I know that no matter where we go they will always be there for us. So I may not know what will happen in the next month, 6 months or year, but I do know that its taken care of and that I don't have to worry.

Love you all!
Mya

Joy

This week we are doing VBS at our church. I LOVE VBS! I really do. I've helped with it since I was a youth and absolutely love being able to have fun and teach kids about God. Just being silly and loving on them means so much to them and their families. I love investing in kids. They are funny and full of spirit and spunk. So innocent and ready to be molded and absorb all the info you toss on them. So yea, I'm having a blast! I will be posting pictures and hopefully some videos soon. :)

We got some GREAT news this week too. Jon will be home SOON! I can't share any dates publicly, yadda yadda yadda, blah blah blah, but he is coming home MUCH sooner than we expected and the girls and I are THRILLED!! I haven't told the girls yet that it will be a short lived joy because Jon is going to have to deploy again before Christmas for 6 months. :/ But we will deal with that when it actually gets here. Hey, its the Navy, and its the Enterprise, things change all the time and that ship breaks more than you could imagine. So theres a possibility that he won't have to leave, maybe.

While we wait for Jon to get home, I am frantically trying to get the house and storage unit cleaned up for his arrival. If you've seen my room (or pics of it) then you know what I'm talking about. But thanks to wonderful friends, I think I will actually be able to get it done before he gets back. :) Thank you Sasha, Steve and Russell! You guys are great!

Tuesday nights have become a wonderful release for me. If you don't know, Tuesday nights is 757 Worship. I'm not gonna pretend that its this amazing new concept or anything. But I am saying that Dalton gives a great message, and the band leads you to true worship. And another plus, its a place where I don't feel weird about being there because I'm an "old married couple with kids". There's childcare and I don't have to be "on" when I'm there. I'm not responsible for helping or leading in any way. I get to go and just enjoy myself and fill up on God's word and worship without leading worship. I love leading worship, I love helping out. And I may end up doing that with 757 Worship eventually. But right now, I'm enjoying just hanging out with people around my age, even if we aren't all in the same places in life. It's laid back and relaxed. So here's my plug, if you live in the 757, you're single, engaged, married, married with kids, 18+ (20's, 30's, 40's, 50's ++++), come out and enjoy yourself. Bring your kids to the childcare and enjoy worship and the word.

I am loving having a relaxed, fulfilling summer. Hope you all are too friends!
Blessings to all!
Mya

Random Catchings Up......

It's been too long since I've last blogged. Not that I haven't wanted to, or needed to, but I've just been busy. :/ Summer is officially here and me and the kids have been having lots of fun playing, staying up late, and swimming/playing in the water and going to Busch Gardens. I am totally LOVING all the extra time with my girls and not really having an agenda. There's so much to tell thats been going on....

First, we bought a charcoal grill and I grilled out for the first time by myself last week. Ok, so it wasn't THAT amazing. I grilled hotdogs and bratwurst. BUT, I also didn't burn anything down or catch anything on fire (except the coals of course, which are supposed to be on fire, lol). We went to Busch Gardens with friends for our first time this season. The kids had fun of course and we got lots of sun.

I spent a whole day cleaning the house earlier this week. I scrubbed the entire kitchen, top to bottom, cleaned out the refrigerator and cupboards and even mopped the floor. The same day, the girls and I took out all their toys and went through and organized them into the proper places and pulled toys that they don't want/play with anymore to sell or donate. AANNNDD.....I did like 5 loads of laundry that day. It was a very productive day and the house definitely needed it! Unfortunately the one place we didn't get to cleaning was my room. :( It is AWFUL. And the biggest mess in the entire apartment. Really, I just want it organized and cleaned up/out some before Jon gets back. It stresses me out and I know that him coming home to a mess stresses him out, and thats not how I want to start his being back (which is about a month away).

On another note, VBS is next week! AAHHH!! I nearly forgot how close it was! I've basically finished everything I needed to, except cutting out some stuff. But all the big stuff is done. I love VBS. I love the craziness of it all, the tiring but absolutely rewarding week it is. I get excited to think that I will get the chance to share Jesus with 20 kids that week. Many of which may have never stepped into a church before. So now that its only a few days off, it's exciting, but I'm also a little dreading it (I think most people get this way, because its just SOOOO much!!). VBS is always an amazing time of year. I remember going to a local church when I was little for VBS. It was some of my favorite times. Singing new songs, being silly, making crafts that I thought would last forever, and winning prizes (I won a watermelon once, lol). It is a great time of bonding with friends and leaders and a fun way to learn about God. So yea, I'm excited and ready!

Ok, so you heard me right earlier, Jon is expected to be back in about a MONTH! No, I don't have an exact date or even know whether a month is right still or not. Thats how the Navy rolls. You keep guessing until a few days before they're back. But, right now I'm looking at approx 1 month and that works for me. It's been a long deployment and I'm ready for my baby to be back for a while. :) Theres a lot to do to get ready for his return. I need to get our room cleaned up, put his side of the dresser back together, and get his car back from our friends to make sure its ready for him to drive back and forth to work. Theres also the preparations of getting the girls ready for his return. They're excited, but I'm not sure they know how hard its going to be adjusting to Daddy being back.

On top of all thats been going on, we are in the final stages of preparations to move into the new sanctuary here. The official date is August 7, 2011. Which isn't far off now! Its exciting and scary at the same time. We will have both worship services combined, which will be difficult for a lot of people to get used to. But it really will be awesome to get in there and finally be worshipping together as one body. Remember people, its not about the music, or the clothes you wear, its about God. So get over the fact that theres a choir and orchestra and that some people are wearing suits and ties. And on the other side, don't freak out that theres electric guitar solos, people wearing jeans and t-shirts and guys with mohawks. Its not about that stuff. Ok, I'll get down from my soap box now. ;)

We will be enjoying the rest of our week (pre-vbs) playing in water and having fun with friends. Missing my bestie while she is in Nairobi (Kenya) and praying that she and her brother have an amazing time there. Praying for VBS to go great, for the move into the new worship center to be smooth and easy, and for Jon's safe return. Before I forget, head over to my Scentsy website and order something to help Steve and Katie Day bring their baby/babies home! I am hosting a fundraiser for them until the end of June (only 1 week left!). https://myaperdun.scentsy.us/Buy?partyId=40620591

<3 to all!
Mya