Wednesday, November 11, 2009

TRUST... Life is good in Coronado!

"'For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,' declares the Lord. 'As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.'" Isaiah 55:8-9

I have been doing a lot of soul searching lately. For those of you who don't know, we have been given spoken orders to stay in Coronado for another three years or so. If you are not familiar with Navy life, spoken orders mean that we will most likely be staying here, but it is not definite until we have written orders, and even then things could change. Sounds like a fun way to live doesn't it?

If you know me very well, you know that I am a planner and I have a hard time living with the lack of plans the Navy seems to offer. You also know that my heart is constantly yearning to be back on the east coast. I have loved our time in Coronado, but have felt a sense of sadness being so far from our families. We really thought that we would be moving back to Jacksonville this fall.

When Matt got the department head slate showing that we were slated for Coronado, our hearts dropped. Matt and I both went through days of questioning, feeling depressed, working with people to get it changed, and asking everyone for prayers that it would be changed, but God seems to have a different plan for us. That's where the TRUST comes in. This is where I am asked to fully rely on my Heavenly Father to supply all of my needs. This is where I am forced to TRUST that His ways are better than mine. This is where I am TRUSTING that God is keeping us in Coronado for a very special reason.

I thought I had found peace in all of this, but I am still struggling. I have had a pretty negative attitude about California and have really had to pray that God would change my heart. I started feeling very convicted about my attitude and was reminded that by complaining about life on the west coast, I was complaining about what God has chosen for me. I have been blessed far beyond anything I could have asked for or even imagined and I am complaining about having to live in "paradise"!

I can't really explain how I feel, but its something in my gut that tells me that this just doesn't feel right. I am praying that God will help me to get over this feeling and look at all of the reasons why I do absolutely love life in Coronado! We have a wonderful church family. I am part of a very special woman's Bible Study. These women are some of my very best friends. The boys are in a wonderful school. We have a fabulous beach lifestyle, not to mention the amazing weather. We have a cute little house in a wonderful location. I could go on and on, but I just miss my family!

As I said before, I know that God is keeping us here for a very special reason and something tells me it has to do with some relationships that God has given us with some friends. We are praying that he will use us to accomplish His will no matter what that looks like. Or, maybe He is just teaching me to TRUST that His ways are always better than mine! You would think that I would have learned that by now! I never would have chosen this crazy Navy life, but this is what God chose for me and it has been good. He continues to teach me so much and bless us more each day.

So, there you have it. I am growing and struggling and learning, but most importantly I am TRUSTING!!! Life truly is good in Coronado! If you don't believe me, come out for a visit!

Sunday, November 8, 2009

Look Who Is Three Months Old Today!

Look at that big smile! Ellie Kate was in such a sweet little mood while I was taking pictures this morning.
She has just learned that she can grab her dress or doll or whatever is near and put it in her mouth. This makes it a little harder to keep her clothes dry and to try to take pictures!
We are having such a good time with this little girl. She is still sleeping well at night and her naps are starting to become more regular. She is cooing at us more and more, especially when we are reading books. She loves when anyone talks to her. She is already very social. Tummy time only lasts for a few minutes with her, because she pushes up on her arms and rolls over or lays her head down and sucks on her hand. Her favorite spot is in her Bubmbo chair, where she sits up and watches her brothers. She has been staying up for longer periods of time between naps, so we have all enjoyed having more time to play with her. Looking cozy after her bath. One of my friends made her this sweet hooded towel.

Sick Days

Now that it is a little cooler around here and everyone is in school, we have started getting sick again! It always seems to start with Zach's allergies and then turns into a cough. Zach missed school all last week. We stayed home from Bible Study on Friday, due to lingering coughs and runny noses. So, the boys decided to have "pajama day" and stay in their PJs all day. We pulled out their little tents and tunnel. They had a great time playing together. They even let Ellie Kate join them for a little while!

Andy pulled out just about every puzzle he could find.Zach was acting silly after being stuck at home for so many days... he decided to try out the Bumbo chair!Ellie Kate enjoyed all of the excitement in the house. Her brothers were quite energetic and entertaining to watch! We stayed at home this weekend. The boys seem to be doing a lot better. They don't look too sick to me!

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Finally Up-to-Date!

I spent the free moments of my day catching up on this blog. Unfortunately I have sick kids, but thankfully they all took really good naps today! I think there are eight or nine new posts... just keep scrolling down. This is my first set of updates since Ellie Kate was born! I am going to try to stay current...Ha! Just like my scrapbooks! Life is busy with three kids! Enjoy!

Happy Halloween!

We had a really fun Halloween. Since it was Saturday, we started the day with a little College Game Day and ate some Monkey Bread. I love this picture. It looks like Ellie Kate is terrified that we are letting Zach hold her!
Then we headed out to the front yard to carve our pumpkins.
Here I am sketching out the designs for my pumpkin carving - perfectionist husband.
Here are the completed designs. You will see that each pumpkin coordinates with each child's costume. Andy came up with the idea of putting a bow on Ellie Kate's pumpkin, which led to the bow on her costume.
This little pumpkin fell asleep before we even got her outside!
Dash Incredible and Spiderman AKA Andy and Zach. They begged to have costumes with masks and then they didn't even want to wear the masks... of course! See the coordinating pumpkins!
Our friends came over to take pictures before our big night of trick-or-treating.
We met up with some other friends to trick-or-treat at the shops downtown.
Then we made our way over to our church for the Fall Festival.
We finally got a few pictures of Ellie Kate awake.
Our three kids at the end of the night.