It's Christmas Eve

As I sit and watch my favorite Christmas movie "Preacher's Wife", I am reminding myself to slow down and enjoy my family. Dudley says in the movie "Our time here on earth is precious" . He works hard to make Henry Biggs realize that. I wish all my friends a Merry Christmas. Enjoy the time you have with your family. God bless you...Dios les bendiga.

Melody

Vacation

We have been on vacation this week. We have gone nowhere. Actually that is not true, we have gone shopping many times. We went twice to the town center. It is so pretty there. The place is all lit up with Christmas lights. The thing I like the best is it doesn't matter how many people are there it doesn't seem crowded. Everything is outside and spread out. Some of the stores are high end but it is still very nice to go there. It has a Disney World feel.

Tonight we went to St. Augustine. It was lit up as well. It was a little disappointing because the Bridge of Lions was under construction. Jimmy got an ipod for Christmas. He plans to get rid of his big stereo system by buying a small set of speakers for the ipod and storing all his music on it. Technology is great. I also got my Christmas present early...a kitchen aid. I have been using it to make Christmas gifts. It does everything except remind me to grease the pan or add the oatmeal which can cause problems with my baking. All in all I really love it.

Briana turns 19 tomorrow. I can hardly believe it. She is so grown. She heads back to Argentina 2 weeks from Saturday. Her time at home has flown by.

We wish you all a Merry Christmas from the Tyson Clan.

Melody

Wow have we been busy

Since Briana has gotten home, we have been quite busy. Por su puesto, we have been shopping alot. We have put up our Christmas decorations inside and the lights outside. This week alone, we have already had two parties. There are two scheduled for today. We are only attending one.

Last night we picked up Andrea's Christmas present...a beagle. She is adorable and is named Nala. Daddy hasn't chosen the nickname yet. He always comes up with a good one. I will post pictures with stories later. Bella is being quite snobby, but that is not unsual.

Bella can't wait for Briana to get home

I just had to post this picture. It is so adorable. We pick Briana up Monday, 3 days from now. Does Bella look like she is ready?

My daughter, Krista

My daughter approaches schoolwork in a very unique way. Just look at the picture. She had to write an essay for English. She wrote about Lucie, great but when I looked at the instructions for the essay she was supposed to write about shopping. She had to research, outline etc. We pulled up the resource, she read everything and wrote the outline. For the first writte assignment, she only had to write the introduction. No problem, she already had the outline, she just had to put the meat on it. I left for the grocery store and told her to write the introduction. I came home and looked at it...it was about my dog lucie. I couldn't understand why she did all the research about shopping and then wrote about Lucie. Her reply was that she hates shopping, why would she want to write about something she hates. That's logical isn't it. It is but at some point she has to start coloring in the lines.

Today we talked to her science teacher and she refered to a paragraph she was supposed to write. For research, she was supposed to make a chart about the animals in Belize. Guess which animal was on the chart...not lucie this time, Sam, whose habitat our back yard. I can't figure out what is going on in her brain.

One positive, she had to answer the question: Where do the fossil fuels come from? She answered Noah's flood. In response to the question What is the impact of global warming on our earth she said "There is no such thing as global warming" I guess she hears and retains what she wants to. Daddy said she is smarter than her teacher.

Let's catch up

Life has been busy with ordinary things so I haven't taken the time to write here. This blog was designed to keep my daughter in Argentina posted of the everyday happenings in Jacksonville. I am not sure she has even read it. She hardly has the time to write me.

Today is the day after black Friday so I will tell of our Thanksgiving happenings. Wednesday night we watched Christmas Shoes. I cried through most of the movie. That movie always reminds me of what I have to be thankful for. I am very sad that Briana is far away, but at least I am fairly certain she will be here for Christmas. Typically, the family eats Thanksgiving dinner at the Villareals. This year my brother in law has been tearing down and expanding his house. Days before the dinner he was still tearing up things. The house is 100+ years and I didn't think my asthmatics could survive. I volunteered my house. That was Monday. This year it was only the Tysons and the Villareals with Fabby and Janell and the Grandparents. The Brantleys were added, Carnes then another set of Villareals. It ended up being very nice. It was alot of work though.

We always go shopping on Black Friday, at least the female parts of the Tysons and Villareals and Grandma. Grandma had to work so she didn't go. Andrea and I began our day at 5 am at the unlikely place of Pep Boys. They had oil on sale. 5 quarts and a filter for 10 bucks. I got 2 and Andrea got one. We also got $10 gift certificates, Jimmy was excited. Then we went to Kohls and to Orange Park Mall. Jimmy actually got off early and we ate and went to the Avenues. He has never been able to be part of the Black Friday festivities. We went to Target and the season 5 of 24 was only $15 so we bought it and have been watching it. That show is so intense.

Today I planned to stay in my pjs all day long and supervise the kids school work. Grandma decided she wanted to do the grandkids shopping today. So off to the Avenues we went again. Wow, I am tired of shopping.

We have one week until Briana gets home. I have alot to do this week. I want the semester of school done so we don't have to do any while she is home.

I am sure I will have alot to post about in the upcoming weeks. I hope I have the time to do it.

Lo siento

It has been a while since I posted. I am not sure if anyone reads this at all. I write this so my daughter in Argentina can keep up with my daily life. I have been writing extensively on her facebook so it has cut in on my blogging. I have become reacquainted with friends that have moved away, maybe they will read this.

Bro. Tyson (mi esposo) is now the teacher of the Spanish singles class. He is very excited. He was praying about it and so was the Spanish pastor. It will be a blessing and an opportunity for him to really learn his spanish.

Last weekend was Krista's birthday. We did the usual Tyson birthday outing. I helped her buy a camera she had been saving her money for. Tomorrow we are celebrating Andrea's 16th birthday. She has friends over now and they are practicing doing their hair for the big dressup tea party tomorrow. I will write all about it tomorrow.

Take care
Melody

The trip home

We left for the airport at 4 am this morning and landed in Jacksonville at 7:40 pm. Our bags were searched extinsively by the Colombian police. We were sent cheese and bollitas from people in the church to bring to families in the states. They poked holes in everything. We had a 3 hour layover in Bogota. We thought we would have plenty of time to eat and rest...that didn't happen. We waited an hour in the immigration line. It seemed that they kept placing people in line by the color of their skin. Light skin was not at the front of the line. It was incredible. Lines lines and more lines. After we go through the two checkpoints to get to the gates, we waited at the appropriate gate. The gate # changed. Jimmy and I were waiting with the bags while the others went out and ate. We went to the new gate and guess what, another check complete with scanner and metal detector. Needless to say, Jimmy and I didn't eat. My stomach was feeling a little queasy and since I've had the Montesuma's revenge once before, I was a little nervous.

Off to Miami. What a circus MIA is. You couldn't tell that you were in America. We still needed a translator. We had to get our bags and go throught customs and them go to the American Airline counter to get our boarding pass. Finding the correct American counter was almost impossible. We were successful. We made it to Jacksonville and really felt like we were home.

Once home we spent time pulling out the souviners and talking about our respective weeks. It is really good to be back in my comfort zone.

Melody

Monday-Wednesday in Cartegena

After I posted on Monday we went to Pie de la Popa. It is a catholic church at the top of a mountain. You can see the whole city. We got some very good photos. You also realize how much they need the Lord when you see the effects of Catholicism. Just look at all the gold in the walls. How much the people could have used the money spent on that to buy the necessities of life. The houses leading up to this church are so poor. This always amazes me.

Lemuel had his eye surgery on Tuesday and we have been helping him recuperate since then.

Wednesday night Rafa preached in church. Que Bendicione. That is our new phrase we are bringing home. Jimmy scratches the roof of his mouth and when he does, Pablito says "que bendicione" The sound system at the church always screeches. When Pablilto was teaching and it did it, he said "que bendicione" Last night Rafa must have said it a dozen times. Hence our new phrase. I can add it to "Caramba" which means "oh my word".

This has been a great trip. We have all gotten closer knit.

Que Bendicione
Melody

Cartegena Sat-Monday

The hotel we are staying in does have WiFi. They use a linksys router for the whole hotel. It wasn’t working Saturday and Sunday so as I sit and drink my café con leche,I will try to fill you in on the happenings of those days. It may be difficult because it seems like so long ago.

Saturday the ladies took Brittany and I shopping at Bovodos. It is a tourist area. The ladies wanted to buy us something. Brittany found a really nice purse. I wanted coasters so I found some. They also wanted to buy me a dress that looked Colombian. I found a nice one but the girls will probably have many comments to make about it. Lemuel is having eye surgery while we are here so he had an eye appointment, or at least he thought. He actually had no appointment. The guys sat at the doctors office, in the AC and worked on rewriting Jimmy’s sermon. He had it written in pencil and the lighting is bad on the pulpit and he knew he wouldn’t be able to see it. Fortunately the sermon for Thursday was written in ink. That sermon was also in a composition book which helped for all of them because the pulpit is small as well and the loose pages wouldn’t fly everywhere.

The messages have gone very well. I am really surprised at how much he has been able to communicate to the church. As usual Nicholas repeated the whole sermon back to him each night. He isn’t the only one that does this. There are guys that still talk about what he preached in 2003. The people here are really a blessing.

All the ladies of course ask about my children. I didn’t bring any pictures except for the ones I have in my computer. I showed them those. In those pictures is one of David at Briana’s graduation. Marta and Orlando (parents) got to see it. In Jimmy’s sermon, he mentioned that Briana was now in Argentina. He told the story of our trip to the airport and everyone crying. She came up to me after the service and told me she hadn’t seen David in 6 months and Harold is in Ivague which is 20 hours away. She cried as she told me. It was difficult for me not to cry as well.

Sunday morning, Lemuel preached at Vista Hermosa. Juan Rodriquez is the pastor there. They had 50 in attendance and he said they all went to the altar. Jimmy said revival broke out. Pablito taught the Sunday school class. He said it would only be 10 minutes, he taught an hour. He gave his testimony. There wasn’t many people there yet. They seem to drag in for 45 minutes. If that happened at Trinity, they wouldn’t make the sermon. Jimmy preached that evening. I think everyone had a singing group from their church that sang. One young man and girl sang “Who am I “ in English for Bro. Tyson.
At the end of the service we gave Tomas a motorcycle. It is a Suzuki and only had 2 km on it. People at the church gave money. He was so excited. That was a blessing.

I will close.
Melody

Friday in Cartegena

Friday in Cartegena

I was awake early again this morning. I got my internet password and made all my contacts. I ate breakfast and then waited, waited and waited. After much confusion, our plan was ironed out. We went to the centro (downtown). There was shopping available but we took many pictures. We were with Bairo from the Iglesia. He witnessed to two vendors we bought things from. These men got saved. A group of girls sat down and listened. Pablito started talking to them and with Bairo’s help, they prayed and accepted Christ. They talked to us for a while. They were from Baranquilla. It was quite enjoyable.

The service this evening was great. There were 266 in attendance. Jimmy preached well and the Spanish people said they could understand what he was saying. There were several that were saved. We ordained a pastor and a deacon. It was wonderful to get together with people we have met through the years.

It was a blessed day

Melody

Colombia day 2

Today is our second day in Colombia. I woke up at 6 am. As tired as I was I couldn’t sleep any longer. To begin with 6 is 7 Jacksonville time and this close to the equator, the son doesn’t gradually rise, it pops up. One minute it is dark and the next it is as bright as noon. It really wasn’t much different due to the light from the marquee shining through our window.

Jimmy and I went looking for a grocery store to buy water. I also needed a pair of sunglasses. We had 2200 pesos ( that sounds like more than it actually is ). I found a pair that I liked from a street vendor, but he didn’t have change. The guy next to him didn’t have change. One of the hotel employees took our 2000 peso and went to find change. He was gone 10 minutes and still didn’t have change. Finally the manager just handed us a 1000 peso. Jimmy is refusing to change money because the rate is 1800 to one dollar. Fortunately we have been able to use credit where we have needed to spend money, except for the sunglasses of course.

We spent the day (well into the night ) at Tulio’s house. He and his wife picked us up and cooked a great dinner for us. Actually several of the ladies in the church helped. It was a great time. I listened to a lot of Spanish. I don’t know if mine improved any but at least I am hearing it spoken.

Having a wonderful time in South America
Melody

We are safely in Colombia

It was nasty weather when we left Jacksonville. The flight was delayed a little but we left Miami on time and arrived in Cartegena on time. I am still shocked at the lack of problems we have had on this trip. It makes me a little nervous. Cartegena is the almost the same as I remember except it appears they are cleaning it up a little, there is a good bit of construction and there are more people.

We settled in and was picked up in our taxis. There are more taxis, they call them shoes because they look like shoes. To me they look like Dr. Seuss cars. I will post a picture so you can see what I mean. One of the icons of Cartegena has been the buses. They each are decorated uniquely. They ride around hollering out the window where they are going. Well, they are phasing out the buses, by 2009 there will be no more. Consequently, there are many more small cars on the road and more traffic. We went to church during rush hour and I a still surprised that I am alive.

It was wonderful to see our Christian friends at church last night. I love Cartegena.
Melody

I Think I am Finally Ready

The maletas are packed (that's suitcases for the gringos). My list for distributing the kids is written. Medical releases are signed. The girls have been instructed to act grown up and be very helpful, in other words, don't act like I'm here. Krista isn't quite where I wanted her in school. Today the science lesson was genetics and cloning. Math was graphing and coordinate planes. There was no was I could do either of those justice with everything I had to do and there was no way she was getting that on her own. She just have to be behind pace and catch up when I get back. She is at least a week ahead in two classes and she is not behind in science and math. We will survive.

We will be at the airport about 6:20 and will land in Miami 10ish. As I said before, I will relax when I get on the plane....maybe

Melody

Busy day

We are heading to Colombia on Wednesday. That would be 4 days away. I have a ton of things to do. Today one of the big things on my to do list was the yard. I got an early start. We have a border collie, Lucie. When I started the lawn mower, she kept nipping at my heels and legs. It took me a while to understand that she was doing her job, herding this load animal. She wanted to keep it in line.

Other than constant bickering between my two middle daughters things are moving right along.

I can relax when I get on the plan Wednesday morning.

Melody

Just another day in the Tysons Home

Today was another school day. It probably wouldn't be considered normal as it was very productive. Krista is actually finished with her week in 2 subjects and has moved ahead. This is quite an accomplishment. She had an oral test with her math teacher and she raved about her progress and said she has alot of poise on the phone. That's Krista, you never know what you are going to get. We had a wonderful conversation with Andrea's marine science teacher at 9:40 last night. She was behind and he fussed at her.

Today we all visited the dentist. They took a pound of plaque from her teeth. She doesn't brush her teeth. They gave her a timer so she will brush her teeth long enough. Joanna and Andrea had cavities. I guess we need to go more often.

As I type, Jimmy is practicing her Spanish verbs. fun fun.

Have a great day
Melody

Today we celebrated Vivians Birthday

Today we celebrated Vivians 17th birthday. Best of all we made verbal contact with Briana. Last night was the first contact we had from her. She has to purchase a card each month for internet. It's not very expensive, but it took her a couple of days to get it. It was really neat, she logged on at 2:01 and I logged on at 2:02. That had to be the Lord. Today she remembered to bring her headphones and we talked throught Skype. It is free. I was surprised at the quality. She was actually loud. Tonight was mission. It was a great service. 9 days and counting till Cartegena. I have so much to do but that is not unusual. I thought after Briana left I would begin getting caught up but I did not.

Have a blessed day

Melody

I have finally heard from Briana

Thursday all day, I was weepy. I couldn't answer the question "How are you" without crying. Not hearing from her made things worse. Janette was posting using her brother's email, so at least I knew they were there ok. She was having difficulties with the internet. Well today we made contact. She is fine. She has two Argentine roommates, one from Bolivia and one from Mexico. Janette is also her roommate. Intenet is amazing

Melody

Briana is off to Argentina

Yesterday we put Briana on plane to South America. She was flying from Orlando to Atlanta and then taking an all night flight to Buenos Aires. She will spend a year at Palabra de Vida. Hopefully she will return fluent in Spanish. It was a sad but very exciting event. We will miss her but thanks to the internet she won't be very far away. Her friend Janette was going with her which made leaving her a little easier. Jimmy rode back to Jacksonville with 7 crying women. In the midst of getting ready for all this, school started at the Tyson home, so all is busy.

Last Sunday before Briana leaves

This week has been very busy. Friday night we saw a great concert at the ball park. Mark Shultz. I think it was the best concert I have ever been to. He loves singing. We went with several of our spanish friends and Pablito. Krista loved the baseball game much better than the concert. She is quite obsessed with baseball. Today we had a party for Briana's at my Aunt Bettys house and tomorrow we will have a labor day get together at our house.

This is not the picture I wanted but I haven't learned how to delete the photo. I added the other just combine the best parts of the two in your head.

Melody

Sunday

Today was a somewhat normal Sunday. We are getting closer to Briana leaving and I am beginning to feel overwhelmed. Tonight we attended a going away party for Janette, she is also going to Argentina. I will post daily with pictures this week so you will all be able to see our progress. I guess I should say you'll see picture unless it gets real ugly and someone gets killed.

Melody

Computer woes

I have been having computer problems for I don't know how long. The problem with technical support is that it originates in India and often causes more problems than it solves unless you get the right Saheeb. More often than not I get the wrong Saheeb. The last incident involved sending me a second hard drive after I lost all data once again. I wiped out and reinstalled everything on my computer three times after receiving it, twice in one night. I am so sick at this point that I demanded a replacement as I have never had as many problems with a computer as this one. We have 5 computers in our house as our my kids homeschool online. Included in those is one very old one with a celery (celleron) processor, other than being slow it functions well. I have been promised by several layer of customer service, also in India, that I will receive another computer in 5-12 days. In the mean time I am bored and decide, what can it hurt to see if I can do anything with this computer. Voila, it is working. Now I haven't installed the Vista update and the only problem I had installing drivers was with the video card but all seems to be working well.

In addition to all this, we are trying to get Princesa Briana prepared for Argentina. This is quite a task. I am physically and emotionally drained but as always will survive.

School started in Casa de Tyson the 13th. Krista started middle school and is doing well so far. My little ones are growing up fast.

Hope all is well with you

Melody

Welcome to our home

This is my first attempt at blogging. Briana has just graduated and is heading to Word of Life in Argentina. It is a good time to provide a means of keeping our family posted. Bear with me as I get used to this, hopefully I will improve with each posting.

We work with the Spanish in our church. This is a picture at Christmas with our friend Lorenzo from Guatemala.



God Bless

Melody