Smiling in the Midst

Happy Labor Day peeps!!! I hope yours was much less stressful than ours! Pardon my disposition....The truth is, we had a great weekend together, we just have SO much going on!

Doc is taking a precalculus class right now, that thankfully is almost over! I say thankfully for everyone's sake! Doc HATES math, but is extremely curious about it and really wants to know all that there is to know about it. Insane, right?!?! That's my husband for ya! LOL He's very intelligent and very motivated to learn, so he chooses to torture himself with things like calculus that he knows will take over his life and make him miserable. However, his determination is remarkable, and like I've said from the day that I met this man, he can do ANYTHING that he sets his mind to. The Doc Henebry that I dated 6 and 1/2 years ago couldn't do Geometery without my help. The Doc Henebry I'm married to today is doing calculus like a champ! I'm so proud of him!! Only to God be the glory for this, and we are thankful for all that he is doing in our lives!

Doc and I found out on Friday that we have been denied orders to all three of the places that we had put in for. This was disappointing to say the least. None of the places that we put in for were places that we were jumping up and down about, and it wasn't the location we were excited about. It was an answer we were wanting. Where will we be moving in less than 2 months? Where will I be giving birth to this child at? What sort of work environment will my husband have? All important questions, still unanswered.

During the course of the last year, Doc and I have dealt with SO much crap with the Navy. At no fault of his own, doors seem to close more often than they open. Doors to things like the Officer's Package that he's wanted to put in for 2 years now, that no one seems to "have time" to help him with. Doors for Orders. Doors for Shore Duty, that though my husband has been very vocal that after 4 deployments he's ready for a break from the Fleet, he is still being told that wherever we are sent (regardless of the fact that it will be Shore Duty and Non-Deployable) he WILL be deploying. Infantry Corpsman are in extremely high demand right now, and regardless of the fact that we will be in a clinic, he is pretty much guaranteed to get plucked out of it and sent on one if not two deployments with an Infantry Battalion during our 2 year "break" of Shore Duty. And after that, it's right back to the Greenside for more deploying. Switching jobs in the Navy is not an option for Corpsman, because they need them too desperately right now.

We pray over this situation daily, and right now, we're feeling the hand of God lead us to other paths. Nothing in the world scares me more in this economy than NOT having a job. However, if God's Will for us is NOT this, then He will be faithful in making a way for us. We trust Him completely in this. To say that we are not scared would be a complete lie. Two adults. One beautiful almost 4 year old daughter. Baby on the way. 2 Kittens. All our responsibility to take care of. It's kind of one of those things where the saying "Feel the fear, and do it anyway!" comes into play. The fear is there, it just won't stop us from following God's Will for our lives.

We are considering many different options right now, from staying in the Navy, to getting out completely, to switching branches, and so on and so on and so on.....Will you pray with us? Pray that God make's a way for us. Pray that God makes it known to us and opens and shuts doors to show us his path. Pray that our daily bible reading will speak to us *LOUDLY* with God's instructions. And lastly, but certainly not leastly, please pray that neither of us lose our minds in the process! :)

I titled this post "Smiling in the Midst" because that's what I find myself doing daily. This situation can be so overwhelming sometimes, but God is SO much bigger than this, and he reminds me daily, in the most awesome ways! Like today, for example. We barbecued with all of our Ohana (our bible study group is called Ohana, which is Hawaiian for "family"....and they really are just that!) at the beach for a little boy's birthday party, and we felt so incredibly loved and supported by every single one of our friends there. We had dinner on Friday with other friends, and had such a blast playing Catchphrase and laughing. We went to the mall with Jordan this week and spent over an hour at Border's just reading books to her and laughing, and then went downstairs to Motherhood Maternity where my husband INSISTED on buying me a new outfit, just because. He showers me in affection during times like this because HE wants ME to feel secure. This is HIS career on the line, and all he can think about is his family. Now regardless of anything going on with the Navy, how could I not smile at that? He's incredible!

Here are a couple pictures from the last couple weeks! One of our beloved Pastor Rick and his wife Sue that just moved, and the other of the most stylish little lady in the world :) She insists on choosing her own clothes and accessories, and as you can see, she's pretty into it......:)