May musings

I'm amazed at how fast time is going. Matt leaves for deployment in just over a month... not looking forward to that but I know that God will take care of us while we are apart.

School is out for the season... way before I was ready! Emily was way past ready. She did very well overall in first grade and is reading so well now. She won awards for reading and writing in the last awards ceremony. We just signed up for the summer reading program and I'm hoping to see a love for reading grow. The week before school ended, Emily performed in "Billy the Kid: The Ballet." Gotta love New Mexico! This was a very unusual ballet, but I was amazed at how well Emily is dancing now. Just in one semester, she has gone from watching others and losing her focus, to knowing each step and getting bothered that her cowboy hat fell off. Still, she has not decided if she wants to continue with ballet or try gymnastics. We will see come this fall.

Christian is growing like a weed. I constantly get surprised comments when people find out he has not yet turned 3. His birthday is just a week away and we have a Cars party planned. He is all boy and loves cars, monster trucks, squashing bugs... you name it. He is also very animated and I'm wondering if volume control will ever happen!

Grandma also came to visit this month. We had a great, relaxing week watching the kids play in the pool, cooking out and celebrating my birthday with three cakes. Pat (Grandma) had a cake made of flowers delivered to my door. Emily and Grandma made a cake at 6:30 in the morning but left out a key ingredient (still made a great trifle, though). Matt decided to try his hand and created a very tasty cake that did not want to stay together. I definitely will not forget this birthday!

Springtime Happenings

On Monday, we went sledding.... on sand dunes instead of snow hills at White Sands, NM. The kids really enjoyed playing in the sand, which Christian kept calling snow. He much prefers sliding down the sand dunes as there is no snow to the face on the way down. Christian even went down the dunes without a sled (see picture) and had at least a full cup of sand in his pants when I took them off at home! How weird to be basking in the sun with our feet in beautiful white sand without any water in sight. Still, it was very beautiful even without the ocean.

We have wonderful news to share... Emily was baptized this Easter Sunday. She has been asking about baptism since she accepted Jesus into her heart two years ago. She announced into the microphone that she was getting baptized because "I love God" and then her daddy dunked her under. Matt said she fought going down (made me think of how we resist God's work in our lives when it's a little scary). When she came back up out of the water, Christian starting laughing loudly from excitement. Emily called out, "It's not funny, Christian." Everyone had to stifle giggles at that one. After church, we had friends over for Easter dinner. I'm glad to report I did not burn anything (except for a few of the rolls). It was a wonderful Easter celebration... most definitely the best so far for me. Praise God!

In March, we headed to Florida for Spring Break. We met up with my sister and her family for a 5 day Disney World adventure. We were all exhausted by the end of the week, but had a wonderful time. Our big advice is to hit all the rides at night when everyone else is lined up for the parade and fireworks. We were able to ride attractions 2-3 times in a row with no lines. Very nice! Emily and Christian loved having their cousin Levi with them on vacation and we all agree that a family trip to the beach will be a must in a year or two.

While in Florida we also spent some quality time with Grandma and some friends in West Palm. Christian loved "playing" with Grandma's cat and was undeterred even after multiple scratches and warnings. Graycat was very patient, but could only take so much of a two year old pulling his tail.

The summer is already filling up for us. Matt will be leaving at the end of the month for a 3 week deployment training. Emily has a dance recital the same weekend in May that I will be attending a women's retreat (a little late of course... can't miss Billy the Kid... the ballet... really no joke). Christian will be turning 3 in June and is already requesting a Mario Brothers birthday party. He is playing Mario Kart on Wii while I am writing this and just won first place in one of the races. He definitely takes after his daddy with his love for video games.

Facebook, Fostering & Deployment

I must tell you why I'm not keeping up the blog as much... the Boyds have discovered Facebook. If you don't have a Facebook page, you should sign up today. Many family and friends pestered me for months to sign up... I resisted. When I finally caved in, I discovered why everyone has been talking about it. I have reconnected with friends from my elementary school days in Mississippi, high school pals and friends across the globe that we have met during our years of ministry in the Church of God and military. I've even prayed through the live chat.... how awesome! I'm thinking we need a new acronym or word for this.... maybe IP (instant prayer) or pratting (hee hee). How encouraging to catch up with friends, here about their lives and share prayers and scriptures over the miles instantly.

The Boyd household has been busy over the past month. This week, Matt is working nights for a training exercise and we will be heading to El Paso Friday for an overnight Praise team retreat. We will return Saturday evening in time for Matt to get his sermon ready for Sunday.

We have also received official news that Matt will be deploying in July for six months to Afghanistan. He is excited about the opportunity to minister and encourage the troops. Matt will be traveling to different posts/bases to minister to multiple branches of the military. The kids and I are trying to prepare for six months without him. I can see that it will not be easy. It seems that it will be hardest on Emily. She cried Monday night when Matt was not here to tuck her in. Bedtime has always been special daddy/daughter time for them. Very sweet.

Even though it will be hard, I know we will make it through the time. We plan to visit Tennessee for a few weeks before school starts and then again for Christmas. I'm also expecting family to visit us during the time and know that school and other activities will keep us busy.

We have big news for which we would love all of you to pray. We have started the application process for foster parenting. I have always wanted to foster/adopt so I am super excited about the opportunity. I've learned a lot about the process from some dear friends here and I'm surprised at so many myths that I believed. We will be able to read each case (and pray heavily) before making any decisions. We can also choose to do short term care for children who just need a place to stay for a few days or weeks. However, my heart's desire is to give a permanent home to a child in need if it is God's will. Whatever happens, I feel blessed to be able to minister in this new way and will trust God no matter the outcome.

Now the kid news... Christian is really testing his boundaries lately. He has decided nap time is not necessary and we are constantly taking toys and books away from him and putting him back in the bed. He has also started waking up at night (sometimes up to 4 times). Thankfully, I just have to tuck him back in but I would love for this action to stop :).

I have noticed that Emily seems to get school-itis after Christmas break. During kindergarten and now this year in January and February, she doesn't "love" it as much. I'm thinking it is because the school work is getting more challenging and she really is a homebody. Fortunately she seems to be getting "better" now that the sun is shining and we are seeing 80 degree weather.

Can you believe it? It's only February and it's 80 degrees here. If we were still in Alaska, I'd be shoveling snow (speaking of snow: the the sledding pics were taken in January in the NM mountains). I do enjoy getting to break out my sandals already, but I am not looking for what is expected to be an even hotter/dryer desert summer. Speaking of sandals... I am now wearing two shoes. The cast and walking boot are gone. For the first week, my foot felt was pretty weak and not flexible. Now I am almost walking without a limp and have even dared to wear a favorite pair of wedges (but only to church for a couple of hours).

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

Well, I've waited way to long to post... again. Happy New Year, everyone. We've had an eventful holiday season with many Air Force parties, a ballet recital, music program, and a trip to Tennessee.

This was the first time in a long time that we were home alone on Christmas morning. It was so nice to have the kids wake us up and gather around the tree together. Matt had his favorite movie, "A Christmas Story" playing in the background as we watched the kids tear into their presents. We then ate a very traditional lunch of Christmas pizza (hee hee). Later we joined our friends the Westfalls for a Christmas dinner and chatted over tea and chocolate cake while the kids played.

The next morning, I took on the airport alone with two kids and a broken foot. With much prayer and many helpful strangers, it went a lot easier than I was expecting. The kids did better traveling this trip than ever before. We had a great visit with the family in Tennessee. Memo & Papa loved the time with the grandkids, and the kids loved the attention. It was so nice to see all of our extended family and catch up. It's still hard to believe how much some of my younger cousins and second cousins have grown...

My sister, Cheryl, took Emily to the English Tea Room on our last day there. They had a lovely time with tea and scones. Next trip, all the girls plan on going together while the boys stay home to fish or something. The trip back went well, but we were all exhausted. I kept nodding off on the drive home while Matt was talking to me. Sorry, honey! I'm still not caught up on sleep and have been taking naps during the day when I can.

To her dismay, Emily returned to school today. We've been working on her science fair project together... learning about the colors and patterns of butterflies. She picked a very interesting topic all on her own. The projects are due next Tuesday, the same day I get my cast off. Praise God!

Broken Foot

Yesterday, I tried to jump up to catch the phone, tripped over a Barbie doll and broke my foot. Thankfully it is not a severe break, but due to where it is located I can not put pressure on the foot and must use crutches for 2-3 months. I've been so busy lately that I've not had time to update the blog. Now I will not have that problem :). I will be learning to slow down the hard way.

Matt is takng two days off to stay with me. He cooked yummy lemon pepper chicken for me tonight. We'll be picking up his mom tomorrow from the airport who will be staying with us for Thanksgiving. What a blessing to have two people to take care of me. The kids have also been pitching in, getting me drinks, bringing me my crutches, hopping on my bad leg... Well that is not really helping but Christian was trying to love on me.

In other Boyd news, Emily was chosen as Terrific kid of the month in her class. We were all very shocked and proud. She's come a long way from throwing a chair last year. She's doing great in school work and behavior.

I've started potty training Christian. I'm not sure if I'll be able to continue in light of my injury, but he has been showing a little progress in the area. He has been having some problems at his toddler school program. Just like his big sister, Christian does not like to nap at school and we've been having to pick him up early. Even though he's misbehaving at naptime, his teachers still think he is adorable. Christian is quite a charmer.

Balloons & A Busted Mouth

Matt had a minister's meeting to attend in Albuquerque this past weekend and we decided to join him to see the International Balloon Festival. While Matt was in his meeting on Friday, I spent the afternoon with the kids at the zoo along with our friends the Fishers. Our second visit to the Albuquerque Zoo (the first visit included the peacock incident-check old posts) went much smoother. We had no attacks from peacocks or any other animals. The polar bears and seals put on quite a show. It was a lot of fun.

On Saturday, we awoke to see over 100 balloons in the sky outside our hotel. The pictures did not turn out the greatest, but you can see the balloons behind us as little dots :). I did not realize how cool this festival really is before seeing it in person. Each balloon is operated by FAA licensed pilots and it is said to be the most photographed sporting event. Interesting.

Unfortunately, it rained for the rest of the weekend while we were there. We did not get to see the fireworks or the night show when the balloons are all light up. To make Saturday even more yucky, Christian tripped over my foot while running towards one of the hotel luggage carts. He hit the cart edge hard with his mouth. We thought we would have to take him to the ER, but the bleeding stopped after about 10 minutes and I could not find any gashes needing stitched. The swelling is just now getting better after 4 days. We did visit the dentist today to find out his two front teeth got jammed up in his gums. If it starts to abscess, he may have to have some teeth pulled. Please pray that his mouth heals and this will not have to happen. I would hate for him to be without some of his teeth until the adult ones grow in years to come. He's quite a trooper and has been handling the injury quite well. He even enjoyed the dentist visit, praise God! You can see his lip swollen in the picture. His gums are what had us the most concerned, as they seem to swallow up his teeth in the beginning. Thankfully, the swelling is almost all gone now.

On the note of prayer, we would also like you to keep our Uncle Foster (Pete) Teachout and family in your prayers. Hospice has been called in to care for him. Please pray for our Aunt Betty and Uncle Pete and their wonderful children. They are an amazing, loving family that has blessed us dearly.

Transformers

The Transformers 2 movie has been filming on our base this past week. Many of the extras in the Transformers film are from the base and community. The movie crew also allowed the base to view Bumblebee (one of the transformers) and many of the cars from the movie on Monday. Emily was not that impressed with the whole thing (as you can tell from her expression), but Christian was in awe. The transformer itself is even larger in person than in the picture. It was really cool.

As far as transformations, we are very proud of Emily's progress at school. She is learning to control her temper and loves first grade. While she still gets warnings occasionally for interrupting or not listening to instructions, her behavior overall is much improved. Academically, she is doing great. She is getting excited about reading and writing. I know I have many more challenges to face in the area of behavior (I am doing my best not to think about the teen years right now), but I am great encouraged. I know God has heard and answered my prayer of over five years.

On the subject of prayer, we were saddened to learn of a death in our family this past week. Please pray for our nephew's family as they grieve the loss of a precious child.