Frustrated

Why is it that every time you get refreshed in your walk the evil one tries to ruin it for you? This past weekend was such a refreshment and we all needed to get away but the minute we pulled back into this city we dreaded being here. We are very much ready to leave from this area but for some reason the Lord has us here. So on Monday my husband gets to work and finds out that the allegations that were made on him by the friend I mentioned in one of my previous blogs was going to be investigated some more. This is so frustrating for us because a few weeks ago they told us the investigation was done with. Anyways this situation is not a good one and we fear that some serious consequences will be taken out on my husband because we feel like no one is giving him a fair shot. Why do people do things and not realize that it affects families not just one person? Then last night my husband comes home after his midterm around 10:45ish because he walks home from school and is very upset because our flowers are all gone. I said, "WHAT???" I ran outside to find two of my three stargazer lilies completely gone. We planted these flowers in May and we were finally seeing them bloom. They were so pretty. One of the flowers was completely torn out and all that was left behind was roots and the bulbs from the flower. The other flower was cut off like if someone just took scissors to the plant to cut off my flower. Later as I walked back home from being at the neighbors to find out if they saw anything I saw one of the bulbs that never bloomed lying in the street. Thankfully the one that I have left still haven't bloomed yet so I think that is why the person/s never messed with it but why would someone do that. Do they not realize how hard we have worked at taking care of our garden? We don't do these things so we can have someone come and ruin what we worked for. My heart breaks because I feel overwhelmed. I am at peace about my husband's situation but when I think about it too much I become worried and then the flowers just topped the cake. Please pray for me and my heart and that I remember to try to be hopeful in all situations. I keep praying over myself that good things happen to those who love and serve the Lord and that no weapon formed against us shall prosper but I just feel frustrated right now. Thank you for the prayers that everyone of you say for our family. Hope you are having a better day than I am.

Aleida

The Lord blesses my socks all the time

This past weekend in Boston was more than I could ever hope for. Here is how our weekend got started. Well first of all, all week long I cleaned the house because who wants to come home to a dirty house? When when you have two living hurricanes named Isaiah and Nathanael who is able to keep their house clean? All week the days went like this...mommy cleans a room and moves to a new room which translates into ooh there is a new room for us to play in. So needless to say the house isn't exactly as clean as I would like it to be but it is decent. So on Friday I spent the morning packing for everybody and Alex worked a half day only to come home and pack things in the car for me. I will pack the luggage but he has to make the luggage fit. Haha. After everything was packed and we were all ready to go we left to have lunch at Ninety-Nine so we can be in the area of where we are supposed to meet the other two ladies going to Boston. We met up with them around 2:30 and got on the road. The trip down was pretty laid back and a fairly easy one until we got to this one toll and I went into the wrong lane and couldn't get to the lane I needed to be in but thankfully there was someone in this lane and he took my money and let me through. I went through an EZ pass lane instead of a cash lane. Well once I leave and began driving on this bridge I am trying to figure out where I am supposed to be but by this time the traffic was really busy because we were entering the heart of Boston. I nearly started having a heart attack when this nice car let me in his lane. He didn't so much let me in as much as I forced myself in that lane and to avoid hitting me he slowed down. North Easterners do not believe in letting you in so you have to force yourself in and that is the only way you will get in. I made it in the lane I was supposed to be in at the perfect time because as soon as I got in I was exiting at the place I was supposed to be at. Well we get to the street we are supposed to be at when I finally notice The Marriott (the hotel we are staying at) but can't figure where to park. (For those of you who don't know there is pretty much no where to park in Boston and in my personal opinion there is no need to have a vehicle unless you need to travel out of Boston.) I finally found this parking lot and Alex of course is frustrated with me because he sees a sign that says it is going to cost $8/hour to park in this garage but I didn't see it and went in anyway. I parked the car and was nearly sweating because I just felt a rush from the traffic. We get out of the car and decide to walk in to the hotel to find out where I need to go. The thing we didn't know is that this garage was attached to the hotel and when I asked them where to park he gave me two options. Option one was to park in the garage I was at and leave it there for $22/day or option two was to use the valet service the hotel offers for $30/day but I could come and go as I please with my vehicle. We chose option 1 because there was no way I was going to be driving in Boston. So it turned out to be a blessing in disguise. =) After checking into the hotel we return to the car to get the luggage and head for our room on the 11th floor. (I took pictures but I will have to post those later because I took those on a disposable camera.) After settling in we were ready to go figure out how I was going to get to the conference. The other ladies who were traveling with us decided to have dinner first and then we met up to go to the conference. We chose to use the T (the subway of Boston) to get there and Alex and the kids joined us to experience the T. Isaiah loved it and was so excited to see the train and actually ride it. We finally made it to the conference about 8:30ish so Alex and the boys waited in the bus station for us but the boys loved it because they were chasing each other around and they had a new area to play in. The conference was so neat but by the time it ended that first night I was ready to go to the hotel because I was tired. We find the T station to get back home but on the way home it was ridiculously crowded because a lot of women were on this and we were so crowded that when we got to our exit we were nearly trampled over. We made it home safely and finally around 12:30-1:00 am we all fell asleep.

Saturday

We wake up and start getting ready for the day only to hear the birthday boy singing to us. We picked him up and sang Happy Birthday to him. This is how the day went for him.

7:30 am Wake up and take a shower and wait for my brother to get showered and dressed. I want to see what the day has for me.

7:45 am Change clothes after getting drenched by my brother

8:00 am Head downstairs to eat Breakfast and Mrs. Marla gives me a birthday gift but I think my brother wants to use my gift.

8:30 am Say goodbye to mommy so she can go to her conference (Later I find out that Isaiah was devastated when I left and couldn't believe I had gone somewhere without him)

Aleida is speaking - During the time that I was gone for the first couple of sessions of the conference there was a speaker who was the actress of the weekend and she did this skit that basically summarized my life at the moment. I laughed at how this skit was the perfect description of what I was going through. The skit was basically about a woman who is losing her mind because of all the daily things she has going on in her life but the part the stuck out the most was when the woman in the skit remembered Isaiah 26:3. When this scripture was read I nearly wept because I needed to be reminded of this and it made me realize that I need to start memorizing more scriptures especially for those days that I feel like I am going to lose my mind. Isaiah 26:3 says You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you. How wonderful is that? He trusts me with my beautiful boys the same boys that I say are making me lose my mind. As long as I put my mind on him he will give me that peace I need. I was so convicted and my heart broke because I was and still am guilty of not always keeping my mind on him.

1:30 pm Mommy comes home to have lunch with me

2:30 pm Mommy leaves back to the conference

Aleida speaks again -- During this portion of the conference the same woman mentioned above does another skit on how the tongue can spread fires. James 3:5b-6 Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. This skit just basically showed how such words can just set fires to another's spirit. I nearly broke again because more so lately have I been one to lash out in anger or hurt. I have been so discouraged these past couple of months with all the trials that we have encountered that there have been days that I say something to someone I love and immediately know I shouldn't have said it because the words I said crushed the other. This was a harsh reality for me and I realized I just don't want to ever say something to the point where it makes my children feel like they can't accomplish something because of something I said to them.

3:00 pm Isaiah needs naps but I don't need one because it is my birthday

5:30 pm Mommy gets home and is finished with the conference so now it is all about me

6:30 pm We leave to find a restaurant to eat at but it was such a long walk around the city that I finally fell asleep

7:30 pm We finally chose a restaurant and now we wait for our food

8:30 pm We see a Baskin Robbins and have to buy me a cake to celebrate and then find the T so we can get home because it was too long of a walk

9:00 pm We eat ice cream cake and it is so yummy

9:45 pm We went swimming because the pool didn't close until 11:00 pm

10:20 pm I want to go to bed so mommy and I get out of the pool

10:30 pm We head to the room so we can get another shower

11:00 pm Get a second wind

12:00 am Finally fall asleep

1:30 am Fire alarms go off so I need to see what is going on

2:30 am Finally go to sleep but for real this time

Sunday

Sunday morning Alex and I decide to get up around 8:00am because we were so exhausted from the day before. We knew we didn't have much time to do a lot that we wanted to do so we got ready for the day and repacked all of our things and got them in the car. When we were checking out of the hotel we filed some complaints/suggestions for the hotel and they in return gave us complimentary breakfasts so we made our way back upstairs to the restaurant and had breakfast. After we were done eating we decided to get the boys changed so we can start our outing. We ultimately decided to catch the T and we exited near Boston Common Park and walked the Freedom Trail - The Path to Independence where we got to see the State House, the burial ground of Paul Revere, the building where the Boston Tea Party began, Faneuil Hall, the Paul Revere home, the Old North Church, and we ended at the USS Constitution. It was such a fun experience and the walk was free so that was music to our ears. When we finished touring the USS Constitution we made our way back over a bridge and found the closest T to get back to the hotel so we can get our car. We wanted to avoid being charged for another day so we made our way back with an hour to spare. We left Boston and headed home and we finally made it back last night around 6:30 pm. The entire time we were walking Alex and I just kept telling each other how grateful we were to have that day to spend together. There was so much more we wanted to do but with the lack of funds and time we decided we would have to try to make it again at a later time before we move away from the Northeastern area. Well I know this was a long post but I hope you are blessed by reading this. Hope you are having a great day.

Benavides Family

Boston

This week was very eventful to say the least but we are looking forward to the weekend. This weekend Aleida is going to be going to the Women of Faith Conference in Boston. The conference is tomorrow and Saturday but Nathanael's birthday falls on Saturday as well so we decided to make it a weekend in Boston. Yay! We are looking forward to spending time as a family so we can relax while Aleida gets refreshed. Please pray that everything will go smoothly and that we will hear what the Lord is trying to communicate with us this weekend. We can't believe this weekend is finally here because that means one more week before we hit the road to Texas. We also can't believe how fast a year has gone by. We remember heading to the hospital to have Nathanael and now the baby is a year! Hope you have a great weekend and we will let you know how our weekend goes.

Benavides family

Excitement

I am so excited about a lot of things. We are figuring out how to handle the teething with Nathanael. We didn't have to do this with Isaiah because he only got one tooth at a time and then at that he never complained about being in pain. It is funny to see how different these babies are. They look different although many people say they look alike. I don't think so but that is ok. They respond different and you can just see their different personalities. Isaiah is such a sweet boy who has so much love to give. He loves to give everyone hugs and kisses and is so sweet when he is ready to pray. He enjoys prayer times and holds hands and tries to keep his eyes closed the entire time but he doesn't want to miss when we are done so he can say Amen Jesus. That makes me excited to see that his heart is so innocent. Nathanael on the other hand is a loner and is very content playing by himself but when he wants someone around he snuggles up close to you and places his head gently on you while trying to get as close as possible. I love my boys.

I am also excited because although Alex has to work today he will have Monday off and he will be able to make an appointment with me. Also this weekend we are going to Boston because I am attending a Women of Faith conference but we are also celebrating Nathanael's birthday the same weekend so the whole family is coming. Once we get back I get to see a friend that I haven't seen in a year while she visits here (her family is from here and she lives in San Diego now). Then Alex has one more week of work and then on Friday, August 1st, we make our way to the good old state of Texas. Alex will be flying back on the 18th but I am going to stay about a month or so. Yay! I will be back just in time to see the fall come in. It is a beautiful time up here in the fall. Anyways I just thought I would share my exciting news!!!

Teething

This week has been so hard. Yesterday we were at the store when Nathanael screamed and wouldn't stop so we carried him thinking that was what he wanted only that didn't help. We went home shortly after to change diapers and that is when we saw it. About four or five teeth in his top gum are coming out at the same time. All you see are the little teeth indentions in his gum and my heart just broke for my baby. We gave him orajel and he seemed ok afterwards. Last night though it hit again so I stayed up most of the night to rock my baby and hold him till he fell asleep again. Now I have this screaming headache because I have not been getting much sleep. Please pray for us during this time. It must be so painful for him and I don't know what to do other than what I am doing to ease his pain.

Restless

Last night for some reason Alex and I could not sleep. We were tossing and turning all night. Please pray for me today to not lose it. I am really irritable right now and all I want to do is sleep but the kids do not want to be a sleep. Argh!

Oh we bought the kids bunk beds because they were on sale on Monday and we got Isaiah's portion set up in their room. I will try to upload a picture of the new kid's room soon. He enjoyed sleeping in it even though we still need to get a box spring and with the sides up because he is sleeping in what would be the top bunk so it is like he is in one giant crib. He was not that fond of that part but he enjoys having his own bed.

Bring out the bikes...

It is funny how one moment something can seem like it is just another thing you can complain about only to realize later it was a blessing in disguise. This past week on Tuesday I woke up and immediately knew it was going to be a bad day. I usually can tell what kind of day we are going to have by the sound of the babies when they wake up. We don't have a lot of bad days but there are days I know will be a challenge. However on Tuesday I knew it was going to be a bad day. So we woke up and got ready to go workout (for my daily walk around base). When we got home we got showered and ready for the day because after all it was payday and I needed groceries so I had errands to go and run. We take Alex to work after showers and drive off base and the minute I passed the gate I realized my registration sticker and pass to get back on base had expired the day before. I immediately went to pass and tag to get a new tag to get back on base only to be told that I couldn't get one because I had expired registration tags. I was so upset because as I mentioned before I needed groceries and because of that I removed the stroller from my trunk. I explained to the lady that there was no way I could walk with my babies without the stroller all the way to my house. It is about a mile and a half and I could walk it but it would be extremely difficult to carry Nathanael because he is so wiggly and to keep Isaiah holding my hand for that long just so he won't run in the street. She eventually gave me a day pass so I left and ran my errands and was able to return to base without any more problems. As soon as I got back on base and Wednesday came I knew I was unable to use my car until the sticker came so we waited. Well needless to say that on Thursday the tags did not come so we had to bring out the bikes in order to get around. Yesterday we rode the bikes for hours and we were convinced we would be paying for it today but we hardly feel any pain. Our arms are more sore than anything. Well we had so much fun yesterday that we decided to do it more often and we are going to try to use it as our main form of transportation if we are able to. We will just have to see how long we actually do it. Haha.

Aleida

P.S. The registration sticker came in yesterday finally late in the day. I guess the mailman had so much mail to deliver after having a day off. =)

New Day

Well today is a new day! Thank goodness for new days it is like we get a fresh start everyday and I am grateful for that. When I wrote my last post I wrote it with a very heavy heart but the great thing is when I gave my emotions to the Lord the next day He gave me peace. Yesterday I woke up in complete peace about everything which was great. Also potty training went a little easier yesterday. We had two successful attempts and one huge disaster attempt but overall it went good and Isaiah is starting to not feel like the potty is a timeout. I think that is why he was not wanting to use the potty but now he only wants to wear big boy underwear so he is actually making attempts. He will get it eventually. I just hope we can get it down within the next month before we get home so we don't get set back by the trip home. Other than that we are doing great and we are looking forward to a 4 day weekend with Alex this weekend. They are giving him tomorrow through Monday off so we are very happy. I pray you have a great day!

Aleida

June Update

Well the month of June has been a very challenging month to say the least. We are hoping that we can go through this next month without so much challenge. Let's see...what is new?

Well Alex finished another semester of school and had last week off from school as a break. He started the new term again today so he is staying busy with school. He only has 8 more classes to complete his Bachelors degree which will be exciting.

I have been struggling with staying positive up here. The Lord has been revealing a lot to me as far as who I allow in my heart regarding friendships. There is a lady up here that I was pretty close with and for whatever reason we are no longer friends which breaks my heart because I really enjoyed her company. The thing is that I know there is no way our friendship will be the same again because so many rumors and lies have been spread that no matter what happens things change. The Lord has shown me that even in this situation that I should still love her the way He loves me. Although there is a lot of hurt in this situation I am trying to keep her in prayer because I know she is going through a lot. Now I just pray that the Lord will heal my heart from all the hurt that I have been experiencing this month. I have been on a serious emotional roller coaster and I am ready to get off of this ride. I am trying to keep my eyes on what is really important.

Isaiah is still in the potty training business. Potty training has been so frustrating because there are days that he seems like he wants to learn how to use a potty and then there are days that he has no interest at all. It is like we are taking one step forward and two steps back. If anyone has any suggestions please tell me because I am losing my mind. Isaiah also moved into a booster this month. He meets the height requirement and he was ready to move out of his current car seat. He is getting so independent. He wants to sit himself in the car and close his own door. The only thing he lets us do is buckle him in. I just can't believe how big he is getting.

Nathanael amazes me everyday. I love him so much. I look at this tiny baby that doctors are concerned about because of his size and just smile because he just shows us daily that he is just as capable of accomplishing things other babies his age can do. He is currently weighing in at 16 pounds I think. This month he has started cruising the furniture and is starting to push his push toys around which leads us to believe he may be walking soon.

There are so many prayer requests that we have and we just wanted to thank those of you that do pray for us. We appreciate it very much.

Prayer Requests:
1. Pray that the Lord shows us what He is trying to have us learn. We were up for orders this past month and we just recently learned that instead of letting us get orders now we were going to be extended up here until the base shuts down. Well at least the department that Alex works for. So we are supposed to be up here until 12/09 now which breaks our heart because we were so sure the Lord was leading us elsewhere. We are just praying that we can learn what we need to learn and the Lord will open doors for us when it is the right time.

2. We have had many spiritual attacks within the last month and we ask that you keep us in prayer as far as us knowing what to say and what to do during this time. We have been tried so much lately that we are worn out and ready for this to end but we know these trials are also bringing us closer to not only God but to each other.

3. Please pray that potty training does not cause Alex and I to get so frustrated that we lose our minds. Also Nathanael is getting his first tooth in and he has been in so much pain that there are days we feel like we are going crazy with both of these things. Pray that we keep a level head at all times.

Thank you so much for everything you guys do for us. We treasure your friendship and we look forward to hearing updates on you and your family.

Benavides family