Back to life, back to reality

I feel like suggesting a new addition to the Chinese Calendar. Instead of the year of the dog or the goat, how about the year of sickness? Well, at least that's what it's been like at our house since Chaplain deployed. Even now I am nursing (in the RN sense) a boy whom I believe may have the flu (wish I'd made him get that vaccine NOW). Not that my kids were pictures of health before hubby left, but the volume of illnesses has definitely increased since then. We were blessed that the Lord gave us an illness-free R&R...Oh yeah, except for a raging ear infection in our son's right ear :) I have been through the gamut of emotions over this sickness thing. And with just over 4 months to go in this deployment, I have come to settle on this emotion: acceptance. I am a clean freak -- I LOVE a clean house. So my kids' illnesses are not due to my lack of housekeeping skills. My children do not have any major medical diagnoses like heart disease or diabetes that could explain their frequent illnesses. So what is happening here is out of my control. They are my number one ministry priority this deployment. I have been blessed by God to have other ministry outlets these past 7 months, including piano and a ladies Bible study. But much of my hands on "work" has been caring for them. I mention this in my blog not to complain, but to report that sick kids during deployment seems to be a VERY common thing for the spouse left behind. Is it REALLY that kids are sicker with a parent gone, or is it just that the load of caregiving seems overly heavy for one parent? Or perhaps these kids were destined to be sick like this with or without Daddy/Mommy at home? I don't know for sure. Many of my friends have experienced the same or similar situations as ours. My explanation of it stems from a sense that Satan doubles and triples his attacks on families who are serving God faithfully (whether Chaplain or not). What better opportunity would he have to tear apart a family for good than when they are geographically apart, each struggling in their own way? The following is an excerpt from an article in our local paper, The Fayetteville Observer, published today. It is SO good at expressing the thoughts in my heart regarding being mom to a boy-son. I just had to share :) Home Front: As little boys grow, so do mom's fears by Sonya Sparks Murdock When you are a mom of two little boys, certain things are inevitable, such as scraped knees and pockets full of dirt. Boys catch frogs and pull tails off lizards; it's just what they do. They burp their ABCs at the dinner table - the louder, the better. Boys collect rocks and give them scientific names, like "fossilized dinosaur poop." We mothers of the male species get nervous when our homes are quiet, a sure sign that mischief is imminent. In my house of boys, the cushions are never on the sofa, but on the floor instead, where they serve as forts and castle walls. Likewise for the pretty pillows that I bought to match the sofa; apparently, the boys took the term "throw pillows" literally. In fact, if you are a woman whose living room does not look like a war zone, then you are not a woman whose children are of the male gender. Because, in a house with boys, the living room floor is always strewn with dismembered action figures and random plastic body parts. Poor Darth Vader doesn't stand a chance against the Force that is known as Boy. It must be genetic instinct for boys to turn ordinary household items into weapons of destruction. Sticks become guns; long sticks make perfect light sabers. That innocent TV remote secretly emits high-powered shrink rays. Even the dinner table becomes a battlefield for sword fights with butter knives. Lure of a uniform After extensive research (and by research I mean comparing notes with other moms at the playground) I have come to this finding: All boys play "war." My boys were destined to pretend to be soldiers, emulating their greatest hero, their dad (cont.) Unless you have one (a boy), you won't understand. Once you do, you'll never forget!! My husband is back with his guys, ministering, and feels he is exactly where he needs to be doing what he was called to do. The kids and I are back to our "routine" (a loose sense of the word needs to be applied here), exactly where we need to be doing what He has called us to do. For now...On the distant horizon is reunion. And already it smells sweet. For those of you doin' this thang ;) take heart. God is doing something mighty. For those of you considering this life, prayerfully seek him -- and then JUMP IN! Be sure to bring your tissues and Tylenol! :)

Blissssss....

I am writing to you from heaven. No, I haven't died. And I'm not literally writing from beyond the pearly gates. But this sure feels like heaven. We have made it past the half-way mark of this year-long deployment and around that time usually comes R&R!!! Woohooo! Prase.The.Lord! Chaplain arrived nearly 2 weeks ago and we have relished every second with him. (I know, I know, some of you are thinking "Why in the world are you on your blog when your man is HOME?!?! In my defense, he is having a little techno time getting his iTouch up to par for the next 5 months while our precious angels take a nap. This equates to Mommy blog time :)

My mind had rehearsed the scene of how our reunion would go, complete with 2 little dressed up kids and a Welcome Home poster. That's pretty much what happened except that we were about 10 minutes late to the airport so there was no dramatic "Here comes the plane!!!" moment. Oh, well. It was lovely enough, and we did not leave disappointed. Jordan wanted to observe her Dad from a short distance while Dylan ran to him and jumped into his arms immediately. It was an awesome moment and is filed in our memory bank for all time.

My husband and I decided to spend about a week at home before we went off for a romantic rendezvous, allowing him time to adjust to a new time zone and giving the kids alot of one on one attention. Then he and I spent a couple of nights at this place http://www.groveparkinn.com/Leisure/

And WOW, was it beautiful.

With Dylan's birthday being the day after he leaves, Daddy wanted to make sure his boy had something grand to remember him buy. So...

...what better to buy than A NEW TRUCK! Yes, he is in love with it :)

And as for our littlest angel, she has quickly figured out who to go to for comfort. Tim and I were both concerned that she might not remember him and we have prayed for a sweet reunion. Looks like He answered! The Lord has provided us with unseasonably warm and gorgeous weather which our family has been enjoying very much. What a blessed time God has given us and what a lovely gift R&R has proven to be! Thank you, Heavenly Father!

Blog-iversary

New Year's Eve marked my 3 year blog-iversary. It is such a treasure to me to be able to go back and trace the Lord's hand throughout my family's adventures! Thank you God for the way you have led us through the past and the way you now carry us into the future. You are the one who exists outside the confines of time, yet you gently and lovingly guide us through each year. Rishon Va-Acharon. Alpha and Omega.

Our favorite soldier celebrated his holidays in a land where Christ is neither recognized nor celebrated. But don't think for a minute he didn't make the most of it! He started working the day of Thanksgiving to put up several Christmas trees, including one in his own tent. It was complete with lights and a manger scene. If life is 10% what happens to us and 90% what we make of it...Chaplain had a GREAT Christmas. I am so proud of him for his mental resolve and determination to keep the message of hope alive. I love you, babe.

The kids and I made several trips throughout November/December. Thanksgiving had us treking across half the country to the land of Arkansas. We stayed with Tim's parents and visted our old church in Cabot, AR. On the way there and back we spent some time with my parents as well. It was a great trip, but put nearly 2,000 miles on Katy the Acadia!

After we returned home, Christmas festivities went into full swing and we decorated our home as well, although it was a scaled down version of what we would have put up had Santa been home! :) It was enough to help us feel festive and keep our mind on Christ. Dylan participated in his first Christmas programs, one at preschool and one at ChapelNext, both of which were adorable! Jordan just soaked everything in, from the lights to the music to the goodies! She did pretty good with the Christmas tree, only occasionally taking off ornaments to play with them. Fortunately her mom had the brains to put the non-breakable ones on the bottom! :)

Shortly before Christmas we headed back to Alabama. We were able to see Tim's parents and grandmother in Winfield as well as stay with my parents and see my extended family. Considering the precious one we were without this holiday season, what a wonderful Christmas the Lord made for us! The weather was cold and crisp, perfect for celebrating the season. And God gave us a beautiful and glorioius gift on Christmas morn - we awoke to the serenity of falling snow! It fell for much of the morning and accumulations were around 4-6 inches! What a beautiful sight, so peaceful and tranquil and quiet. Elohim, you are glorious and so good to us your children! I pray this is a Christmas we won't soon forget, especially for my 4 year old. I pray this is one he remembers for the rest of his life. The Christmas that God sustained us without our daddy and sent us snow for his Son's birthday party!

After Christmas, we made a trip up to Ohio to see my dad's extended family. Oh what fun that was! The snow adventure continued as we made our way up through Tennessee, Kentucky, and into Ohio. There was snow on the ground the entire trip there! We stayed in a little cabin right on Lake Erie and Dylan got to sleep in a bunkbed for the first time. The kids had a wonderful time with their cousins and great-grandparents. The biggest delight of all was watching Dylan interact with my 99 year-old great-grandmother in such a loving and caring way. It was as if they were kindred spirits!

And now the new year is upon us - 2011. We are anticipating big things this year -- our boy will turn 5 and Daddy will be coming home. Plus, who knows what other surprises the Lord will bless us with?!? God's blessings to all of you, friends and family!

When your heart feels hurried...

I couldn't have written anything better myself than what author Holly Gerth wrote in this devotional. Hope it ministers to you this holiday season. Merry Christmas, frinds!

When your heart feels hurried...
'Tis the season to be busy.
There are gifts to buy, meals to make, trips to take, decorations to be hung, songs to be sung, places to go, people to see…
It's December 1st and I'm already tired. Anyone else?
I read the words... Be still and know that I am God. Psalm 46:10
But how can I be still when there's so much going on?
Of course, the first answer is to simplify my life.
Yet the kind of stillness God is talking about isn't just about my circumstances. It's about being still on the inside.
I have stilled and quieted my soul; like a weaned child with its mother. Psalm 131:2 What is a weaned child like? One that has learned to stop asking for more, more, more and instead simply rests in the arms of love, love, love.
My hurry and stress come from that want of more. I want to do more, be more, pack more in to these few short days. Then it seems God whispers to my heart, "Enough. You are enough. You have enough. In the middle of the busy, make a quiet place inside and stay with me. My love is what you really need."
I settle, quiet down, breathe a sigh of relief. The miracle of Christmas?
God came for us so we could come to Him. Even (especially) in the busy, broken, chaos of our lives.
'Tis the season to be still.
--by Holley Gerth

Bold Bright Wishes Christmas

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Time marches on

So much has transpired since my last post...namely TIME! Hallelujah for that one! We are one week shy of the 4 month mark. Now for those of you who are not math-savvy, that is 1/3 of the way through our year, or 33.33%! Ohhhh yeah!

October was full of autumn events like a pumpkin patch trip, trunk-or-treating, and a fire station trip. The weekend of Halloween this crazy mamma did a trunk-or-treat on Friday night, trick-or-treating on Saturday night, followed by another trunk-or-treat on Sunday after church. Whaaaa?!?!? What was I thinking?! Needless to say I was taaaarrred and never so excited to see a Monday in my whole life! I have got some work to do with my four year old, though, for next year. He quickly lost interest in collecting candy at each of our outings and instead opted to put himself whole heartedly to the task of being "in character" as Bibleman. What is that about??

Oh, and baby boy, Mamma needs more chocolate next year.

Veteran's Day weekend I had the great opportunity to spend several days with 1300 lovely ladies ( 42 of which I know alot better than I did before!) in Dallas, TX at the PWOC conference. So many great workshops were offered each day along with incredible worship session (led by none other than Kari Jobe!) and inspiring messages (by the talented Priscilla Shirer). It was such a refreshing and spiritually renewing time with the Lord for me. It could not have come at better time for me in this deployment. It was so nice to be there in all of that atmosphere and sense God's presence in a might way. It is amazing what the Lord can speak when we have the chance to break away from the day to day clutter and noise of life! And I rediscovered the joy of getting up when I wanted to and having the time to do my hair AND my make-up...in the same day! Oh. so. marvelous. Many thanks to Mom and Dad for covering the babysitting duties while I partook of this soul-nurturing event.

As a side note, for those of you out there just beginning in this Army life or thinking about "jumping in", I have to say that the top two things that have blessed me the most are living on post and becoming a part of PWOC. If you have an opportunity to do one or both, please take the chance. The people you will meet and the sense of community that you will gain on post are priceless. The ladies at PWOC provide an almost instant connection, since nearly everyone is in the same military "boat". You will have something in common with everyone there. Okay, informercial over!

My kids continue to do well, despite living day to day with Daddy on another continent. We just came through a rough time behaviorally with my son. God is no doubt teaching him things as well through this time of separation. My prayer is that God uses this to give my son a larger world-view...that God is more than just our God here in America...that He has a presence in places very, very far away...and that He reigns supreme over all nations and tongues. I also pray that God uses this to give my son a deeper faith even at his young age. As a child of a deployed servicemember, my son is having to trust God with things many kids never will. What an opportunity for the Lord to do a mighty work in his little life! And my daughter? She's just plain CUTE and smitten with her daddy! She thinks the Skype sound is Daddy's personal ringtone...and she LOVES to kiss his picture on her nightstand. I'm praying that he will stay a vivid image in her mind throughout this year. So far, he is.

And in that place of dust and mountains across the globe, the Lord is faithfully keeping my husband safe and secure. His ministry is active and his contacts are frequent. His travel is also quite frequent... which makes for one nervous yet prayed-up wife! He has been traveling at least once a week (by convoy) to different regions to see all of his solders and offer them his religious support. We have had casualties. Not within our battalion, but with in our brigade. Heartbreaking nonetheless. So far we have lost 2 brave warriors. Precious souls to the King of kings. As I sat breathless at one of the memorial services, I couldn't help but breathe a prayer that God would give our chaplains a bountiful harvest of souls, that none of these lives taken in battle would be taken by THE enemy. I am so proud of the job that my husband is doing and so thankful that he is "at home in his element".

And now, the holidays are upon us, which will no doubt make time fly even faster. I am going to try to figure out the mystery of savoring each moment and this time with my kids while still trying to speed up the clock to February! Speaking of math, that sounds like an equation for NASA!

Savoring the season

It is the start of the fall season. The air is crisp and clean. Gone is the swelter of summer; here, for a while, is the air which feels neutral on the skin. This weather is what I imagine it like in heaven -- simple, clear, non-distracting. I love watching the seasons change. While I know God does NOT change, the way He cares for us and reaches out to us changes like seasons throughout the course of our life -- as we grow and mature. To me it seems that God likes variety, creativity, and fresh starts. Each and every winter somehow feels familiar yet new. Only a loving Creator like ours can accomplish this four times a year, each year. As I write this I am sitting in the comfort of the swing in my parent's backyard. The air is light, the breeze gentle, the sounds delightful -- birds in the trees singing their praises, squirrels in the branches busy preparing for winter, the soft rustling of leaves overhead, the faint ringing of the wind chimes. Occasionally the wind gusts for a brief moment, and with it comes the most heavenly smell of flowers. Such a sweet, fresh, beautiful scent. Unmistakably God. Unmistakably YAHWEH BOREY (LORD creator).