missin' you

It has been 11 days since my baby boo left. Only about 354 more days to go....

It has been real nice getting to talk to him about every other day. Hopefully the communication will be even better when he reaches his final destination in a few days. We hope to use the webcam so he can see the kids and so we can see him...

Tomorrow we will officially start school work. I will be making up a "schedule" to somewhat follow as we go through the year. I know life happens and things happen that make us stray off of the schedule but I like to have a guideline of what we need to accomplish each day....

So I better get off of here and get to work as there is much to be done while the kiddos are sleeping.

Much love to you all. And to baby boo: we miss you and are praying for you daily!!!

"Love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the Lord is your life." -Deut. 30:20

train up a child

Well it has been a little over a week since my baby boo left. We miss him so much. Little Anaya asks, "Daddy home mama...Daddy home?" whenever she sees his dirty army uniform (which has been in our laundry basket by the laundry room for several days now :) Can't seem to want to wash it just yet...)

We had a great time of swimming and doing school work yesterday. Swimming proves to be motivation to getting schoolwork done. I love that I can spend time with the kids after an hour or so of schoolwork. This gives me a chance to get to know them. I really want to know their hearts, their individuality, their personality and what's on their minds. I want to build a trusting relationship with them for they are growing so fast and will soon be having to make decisions on their own. I hope to train them up in the way they should go so that when they are old they will not depart from God's perfect will for their lives.

I hope to post more soon with pics...

Love,
MK

P.S. We miss you baby boo. Hope to talk to you soon.

My Strong Tower

What a day I had today... The main mission was to get cell phone fixed. Mission not accomplished. I failed to accomplish the mission after many attempts to do so... Which leads me to the topic that I want to talk about. It is about walking in the Spirit and not obeying the flesh especially when things don't go your way. I woke up "ready" for my day to begin. I was in the Word early this morning and wrote some scriptures on notecards to use throughout the day in the car and at home. Lord only knew that I would desperately need them and need Him today. I got the kids ready early today for church so that I could go to the Sprint store. We drove to what I thought was Sprint and ended up at Krispy Creme Donuts instead...(don't ask me how I did that...maybe the kids had some kind of influence in that decision!) So I finally find the Sprint store with a sign that says they are at another location. We live about 20 miles from the city and this location was on the other side of Fayetteville, another 20 miles away. So, to make a long story short I go to the other location after church and lunch and they are closed. I couldn't call them to find out their hours and so my desparate self drives there praying all the way that they would be open... Meanwhile, I have tired and cranky kids who like to get loud and scream and cry in the car. Baby does not like sleeping in his car seat or anywhere out of his comfortable bed. He was up most of the day and crying. I drive to a couple more stores tired and cranky myself, and get no help.
Well before I complain even more I will just say that these moments make me realize how desparate I am for God. At around 5 o'clock I began to fall apart. I was not thinking of walking in the Spirit but just thinking of myself and my circumstance. I took my eyes off of Jesus and thought only of the "storm" that I was in and I started sinking. I know I am an overcomer by the blood of the lamb, I am more than a conquerer, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. I forget though... And so through small and big trials in life I am realizing now that God is bigger than me and my problems. He knows better than me and is in control of my life. He is taking me through these hardships so that it will strengthen my faith and make me stronger. For He, and only He, can help me and deliver me. He is my Rock, my Strong Tower...

Lil' Philip and Kamelah at the pool

why we have laundry

Kamelah and I were talking early this morning.

I told her I had a lot of laundry to do and reminded her it was her laundry day.

She said, "Do you think if Adam and Eve hadn't of sinned we wouldn't have laundry?"

"Yes, Kamelah." I said with a smile on my face.

Hadn't thought of that. But she was right....

Will write more later about our busy, crazy, tiring Sunday and how God worked it all out!!

Love,

MK

The girls and I went to one of
Daddy's favorite places to eat tonight:

about lil' Phil

Lil' Phil is 8 weeks old today! He has been such a joyful addition to our family.

Here is more about lil' Phil:

-he has little hairs on his ears
-he cooed at two weeks old and smiled at four weeks
-he likes to be swaddled
-he is very cuddly
-he likes the football hold the best
-he looks at you and has a conversation sometimes
-he finally likes the swing
-he likes being outside
-he doesn't like getting a bath
-he doesn't care about sitting in a wet or dirty diaper
-he is sleeping 5 hours straight at night now!!

And he has three sisters who still adore him and love on him constantly...

We love you lil' Phil and are enjoying each day with you. Looking forward to many more.

renewing my mind

Day 2 of my husband, my lover, my best friend being gone...

I get a lot of questions like, "How do you do it?" and "I'm so sorry" from some who I talk to about him being deployed.

I want to answer those questions with a good answer, a spiritual answer that is hidden in my heart, yet it seems like it would take a long time to explain.

So let me explain it here...
Romans 12:1 says, "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is-his good, pleasing and perfect will."

I reminded myself today of this verse as I got up this morning. I accepted Christ Jesus at the age of 29, therefore sin has no power and authority in me. I can feel sad, depressed, angry or mad, but Jesus Christ overcame this for me (for everyone!) so that I can have instead joy and peace as I walk in the Spirit.

That is how I do it....that is how I am able to smile in pictures right before my man leaves. That is how I am able to carry on without him. That is how I am able to train my children up in Truth, that is how I can stay sane when the world is falling down around me. My life is hidden in Christ Jesus now. My old self is gone and the new is here. I can be a good mother because Christ lives in me. I can be a loving mother because Christ lives in me. I can raise my children to love God and love others because Christ lives in me. He died so that I might have life...I don't want to waste my life on the mundane. The petty stuff. You know what I'm talkin about... like what the Word calls temporary things.

I want to live for eternity each and every day. Every minute of the day. It is, after all, only what counts. What matters the most is love.. loving the Lord my God with all my heart. If I do that, loving others comes easy. He loves so I can love because His love dwells within me...


I know that I am a single parent right now for a whole year. It sucks. I would love for my man to be here.

But this separation is preparing me to be useful in God's kingdom while I'm here. I know his ways are higher than mine, his thoughts higher than my thoughts. I am glad they are because I have some messed up thoughts sometimes...

I'm learning to trust Him and lean not on my own understanding. The world will look and talk and make discouraging or unhelpful comments about my situation...but...

I want to stay strong in the Lord. He is here with me, he cares about me. I believe He exists and that His Word is true. I will renew my mind in His Truth for it is all I have to stand on. It has helped me in numerous situation and it will help me now.

After all, I do feel His peace, His joy, and His presence that the Word of God speaks about.

So that is how I am makin it. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. I can do this deployment and do it well in the Spirit. I have four beautiful children to raise for His glory.

I know He will be my helper. He is faithful. He will never leave me nor forsake me....

(Now does anybody know how I can make this answer somehow shorter?!)

A letter to daddy

Dear Daddy,

We love you and miss you. Last night we had to say goodbye to you. It will be a long time before we see you. It will seem like forever to us, but we will look forward to seeing you on our web cam and hearing your voice on the phone.

Today we had chicken noodle soup for breakfast. Kamelah wasn't feeling well so mommy made soup on the stove and we drank ginger ale.

When we were getting dressed, a neighbor dropped off this book. It is called, "I Miss You!" and it is a military kid's book about deployment.

We thank God for kind neighbors who care and understand.

At 11:00 we said goodbye to Grandma Mary and Grandad Phil. They will be back home on Friday with, they said "lots of junk mail" to look forward to.

Mommy took us to the library. Baby brother slept the whole time we were there.


Then she took us to the park and baby brother was still sleeping. It was hot outside but we still played on the playground and ate lunch under a shady tree.



We met a new friend at the park from our neighborhood and we hope she will play with us again.

We then went to Dairy Queen for some ice cream. Baby brother was still sleeping. He kept mommy up last night so he was tired...

We then went back home and mommy read us a story. Mommy had to work on the computer so we had quiet time for 30 minutes and then we got to play on the computer. We play on the American Girl website and PBS kids.

Then we got to watch a short video before dinner. We ate leftovers...chicken, macaroni and cheese, green beans, and sweet potatoes. We thought about you when we ate those sweet potatoes. We know how much you like them...we liked them too!!

Then we cleaned up and listened to Adventure in Odyessy on the radio. Mommy got lil' Phil ready and we headed outside for a walk. It was nice outside and getting dark. We miss walking with our neighbor and her dog. She is headed to Japan today.


After we got home we got ready for bed and mommy heated a soft pretzel in the microwave for us to eat. The phone rang a few times and mommy was hoping that was you. We prayed for you...we look forward to seeing you on the web cam soon.

Mommy read out of our devotion books and put us to bed. We will be helping a friend move tomorrow and going to one of mommy's friends for dinner. We will continue to pray for you.

We love you and miss you so much.

Love,
Kamelah, Zaria and Anaya