One set for another

So I am beginning to feel that we have traded one set of struggles for another. However, I do not want to complain about how God has completely answered our prayers and completely is taking care of us! We are so thrilled with life over the last several weeks and so grateful to God! Matthew's birthday was this past week and when asked what he wanted, he said nothing. He was so happy with life, that there was nothing that could add to his joy! How great is that??!!?? Have you ever been so thrilled and so blessed that there was nothing you wanted?

We are truly excited about Matthew's promotion and the opportunities that are now before him in his career. We are more than ecstatic in the fact that he will no longer be recruiting. For me, the reality of what this means has started to set in. Matthew will be gone for a minimum of 6 months. So aside from having to struggle for money (which is a huge issue) single mom anyone? I am a bit overwhelmed by the thought of taking care of L for 6 months on my own. However, God has already started preparing me for this one. While Matthew was at home for 6 weeks with the broken foot, i had to be the sole caregiver. So I already have a taste of it and it is not awful. Just a little tiring.

God is already providing for this time without Matthew as well. We have the option to move back to Central Jersey, yes where we just moved her from in January. We would be near lots of family and our very very good friends Tom and Rebecca who have 2 boys 3 and 1/2 weeks younger than L. We could also save 500 bucks a month by going up there. If we stay in South Jersey, we have one of the most amazing church families you could ever desire! Love...they have it! Grace...they have it! Support...they have it! Servants....they are! So we would be just fine here too! We could be here and give back to our wonderful church family. God has also provided 3 homes for L and I to stay in while we visit Matthew in Quantico. Friends we've made over the seasons of our lives are living in the DC/Quantico area. They have all offered a room and they live right by where Matthew will be training. So how else could we be more blessed while having Matthew away for 6 months? Thank you God for your guidance and thank you for your blessings! Thank you for helping me adjust to the big changes we are about to experience!

THe next big thing I think about is our next duty station. We are very excited about the possibility of moving to Japan. Then I think of the moving...the flight with a baby to Japan, not having my household stuff for several months, living so far away, etc. But I think I will leave this one to God as well and get through the next 9 months first! You see, there are already blessings about moving to Japan. My brother will be stationed there as of Nov. 2 so we would be there together, we would be closer to Matthew's mom who lives in Australia, and the weather is so much warmer there than Jersey! So should I be overwhelmed by the changes or list the blessings. I think I will continue to list the blessings!

Water

Crying it out, part 2

So I never had to actually have L cry it out. You see, we cried it out one night and then she was sick. She had a cough, runny nose, stuffy nose, and couldn't sleep. She only slept for about a 1/2 hour to an hour at a time because she could not breathe. So we had a rough couple of weeks with little sleep. Between taking care of Matthew and Lexi, I was running on low. But of course we made it through as we always do. The first night that she was feeling all better, she slept on her own. She slept for 6 hours the first night and several nights after that. Then she started sleeping for up to 7 hours at at time. So she is sleeping! We are beyond 3 hours at a time and she did it on her own. We are a happy house. With Matthew's recovery going well, Lexi sleeping AND Matthew getting a huge promotion, what does this mama do with all her joy? Share with others of course. What joy do you have in your life right now?



We have new pics on our family page.

http://web.mac.com/collinsmt/Site/Lexi/Lexi.html

Go to 'Lexi 10' to see the beautiful baby.

Big News, NO MORE RECRUITING!

We are ready to share our great big news! Matthew has been selected to become a Warrant Officer in the United States Marine Corps. He will soon be considered an officer with the privileges and responsibility that come with that. This is a huge promotion for him. The most exciting part is that he will no longer be a recruiter as of Jan. 22, 2009. We will no longer have him working 6 days per week from 6:30 am until 8, 9, 10 or 11 p.m. He will be gone for about 6 months for officers' school. But we will be able to go and visit him and he might be able to visit us.

We are so excited about this amazing opportunity. This is such a wonderful gift from God. He has heard our cries over the last 9 months and pulled us out of recruiting duty. We are coming out of this with a stronger marriage and more love and respect for one another. Also, this is such a fabulous step for Matthew's career.

By God's grace, we will be a successful Marine Corps family. We will continue to love and honor God. We are so grateful for the new job and the big promotion!!!!

Awesome God

We will soon be sharing awesome ways God has blessed our lives! Just so excited how God works things out!

Praying

What are you praying today?