Merry Christmas from the Tysons

My husband put us on a tight budget for Christmas this year, therefore, I mailed out no Christmas cards. We gave cards to our friend here but I did want to share with those around the world that have impacted our lives. So I decided I would post a blog and send a link to all the friends. I write in this all year so you can keep up with us here and on facebook. A while back I upgraded my camera again so I still take millions of pictures.

2008 was a very difficult year for me. My oldest daughter decided to spend her first year out of high school in Argentina. Argentina is closer to Antarctica than it is to the United States. She was a long way from home and not very good about keeping in touch. She actually left in Sept 2007, but she was returning in December and all was kind of new. When she left in January, that was a different story. She left Saturday night and Sunday I had to leave the church service because I couldn't stop crying. She had a wonderful experience but it was tough on mom and consequently on the rest of the family. Briana returned a grown-up with a heart for serving the Lord. She will take classes at FCCJ in January and is applying to Flagler College. Right now she wants to major in Spanish and travel. She finally got her license and is driving, if you can believe it, a truck. Those of you that knew Bro. Miller, think of his green Mazda truck and there you have it. Andrea calls it the ghetto truck. But is runs and is reliable. She has been working in the middle school as a sub and hall monitor in the afternoon. She has a nanny job 2 days a week. It is great to see the Lord meet all her needs. She returned from Argentina with with $10 in her bank account and now she has more than she needs. I can hardly believe it was 20 years ago that we brought her home in a stocking on Christmas Eve. Pray for Briana as she makes those decisions that we all made at her age.Briana loaded and heading to the airport for Argentina

This is Briana when she returned from her year in Argentina.

Andrea turned 17 in October. She also got her license, BEFORE Briana. She has her own car, Esther, a 2000 Bonneville. She is still quite the tennis player. She played this year at Ed White. It was an experience to say the least. They don't play much tennis in the public schools, especially on the west side. She made all conference and went to state for the second year in a row. She was a blessing to the team and a testimony to the girls. One of the girls even came to church with her. She will be able to play at Trinity again this year, but her year at Ed White matured her and I think she is mentally a tougher tennis player. She began dual enrollment at FCCJ this year. She is only taking one high school class. She works 20 hours a week and plays tennis 15 hours a week. She still does well in school. She is working to go with the teens to Africa next May. They are going to work with the Aldermans, helping JJ get the camp going. We are very proud of Andrea.

Andrea and her team after she won the singles district title

Andrea working out at tennis camp.

Joanna is working diligently in school for the first year of her life. She has always been apathetic at best about school. This year she works independently and has all A's. She likes working with computers. She is taking a Web design class and is doing very well with it. Her sisters call her Hacker. She has been doing step aerobics and kick boxing. If any of you know her, you know that this is quite an improvement. She has never liked exercise but we have always encouraged her to stay active. She goes every week to class and has made friends with all the ladies. It is a great experience for her. She completed her discipleship requirements and will get to go skiing with the youth group next week, her first time.The girls doing their favorite thing, taking pictures with the dogs.

Krista is still Krista. She is also working better in school. She still struggles in some areas. She entered the youth group this year. She has jumped in with both feet. She loves it. She also earned the right to go on the ski trip. The discipleship was difficult this year, especially for her. It is a very good program and she has done well. This year her tennis game has improved. She will play her first real tennis season this year. She has grown 5 inches this year and is still growing. She gets taller but doesn't gain any weight. She has a border collie that she has taught to play basketball, soccer and tennis. He loves any sport with a ball. She practices her serve in the driveway and Lucy gets it for her. It is a little slobbery but Krista doesn't care. This dog was rescued by one of our friends that is a dog catcher. She had been in a kennel for about two weeks and had difficulty walking so I called her Loonis. We are so glad we have her and she has been a friend to Krista. Krista has gone through a few obsessions the last two years, the first being Pirates of the Carri bean, the latest is 24. Her dog is the continuous obsession.


Jimmy has preached in Spanish several times this year. He is doing well with his Spanish, me, not so well. Jimmy's favorite saying is People do what they want to do which is oh so true of my spanish. I have started subbing this year and it has been interesting. I have been working mostly with young children. Jimmy spent alot of the year rebuilding and 86 celica. It still has issues but he hopes to have it on the road soon. It was originally intended for Briana, but after seeing her driving skills, we decided she would never be able to drive a stick.

We send warmest wishes to all our friends. Have a very Merry Christmas.

Thanksgiving 2008

Thanksgiving began at the Tyson home as usual except for the fact that I had an awful cold. We got up casually, daddy lit a fire and we continued our family tradition. We gather and read verses from the Bible that remind us what to be thankful for. We each make a list of the things we are thankful for and share it with each other. This year we had a prayer time where each of us thanked the Lord for our blessings and prayed for those in our family that were in need.

To eat we all went to Hilliard to the Villareals house. There were many people there. We ate and fellowshipped and ate again. There was also a softball game, which I refrained from joining. I have had too many injuries.

We came home around 6:30. Jimmy had to go to work the next morning and Briana had plans for the rest of us. 11pm we headed down to St. Augustine. The outlets opened at midnight and we were going to be there. Two miles from 16, we came to a dead stop in the right hand lane. We didn't exit the highway for 45 more minutes. It was another 45 minutes until we were in the parking lot. I didn't realize how angry I would get at all the people that cheated and didn't wait. I am surprised I wasn't shot. The girls were excited about the bargains they got, especially at J Crew, me I was still mad. We left the Outlets at 3 am and made our way to the Avenues. From there we went to Target, then the Orange Park Mall. We got back home at 12 pm. I think I am nearly done with my shopping, if I can only recover from the lack of sleep. I still have the cold, but I am watching season 6 of 24 so I can see the season 7 movie that my brother in law saved for me on his big new television system.

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving.

There are now four teenagers in the Tyson home.

When my girls were young, I was often told to enjoy these days because it is oh so much harder when they are teenagers. While I do think those days went by quickly, I do not think they were the easiest. They were the busiest, most difficult days of my adult life. Little ones are demanding creatures and added to that is their daddy. They were great days that I wouldn't trade, but I don't want to go back to those days.

Teenagers are another breed that brings a new set of problems. For one thing, they develop opinions and they express them. I try to remind my kids that it is not what they say but how they say it but that takes a while to sink in. Then there is the selective hearing. They never seem to hear my instructions and often to my response to their negligence I receive the "I didn't hear you" response. The biggest issue now is the driving. I have two driving. This does make my life much easier, for example, I used to take them to tennis practice and have to stay or return. Sometimes they can play for up to 5 hours and still want to keep going. Now I can stay home and get things done. On the other hand, with the driving comes worrying on my part. The consensus of the members of my family is that they don't have to worry because I do it all for them. I do worry about them and driving. They are very responsible and have been taught to be a tough target but there are really crazy people out there.

One of the worst things about teenagers is that they are closer to being out of the house. I am not one of those moms that are counting down the days to my "freedom". I will miss my girls as they take their place in the adult world. They may stay close, but they may not. Regardless, their roles will change and I am sure I will adjust. Until then I will Love them while I can and remember that These are the best of times.

The Choices We Make

Our lives are all about the choices we make. Our daughters play tennis. In Florida, tennis is an all year sport. Tournaments happen on the weekends. To advance in tennis the conventional way, you play tournaments. Saturday is not always a problem for us, but Sunday is. The ministry in which God has placed us happens on Sunday. Consequently, the girls have never participated in a tournament. Currently, Andrea is the best tennis player in the house. She has been blessed greatly in spite of our choices which are not understood by most in the tennis world. She really wanted to play in the Deerwood Fall Classic which took place this weekend. We entered her. When the draw was posted, all the 18's matches were on Sunday except one, the one Andrea was in. This was a single elimination draw and we hoped she would pass the first round and maybe play a second on Saturday. It didn't appear that that would be the case. Andrea's opponent was, we thought, Russian. She was not seeded. We had no idea what she would be up against, but I was very concerned that she would only play one match. The second round was 11 am Sunday.

When we got to the match, Jimmy and I were talking to the girls father. What an amazing story. The girl, Anastasiya Kharchenko, is actually Unkranian. She is the number one player in the Ukraine and fifth in Europe. Her "father" Scott Paschal is a pastor in Palm Coast. He heads and organization called International Christian Tennis Association. He brings in kids from all over the world and teaches them tennis. Back to Ana, he rescued her. She played tennis in the Ukraine until her parents ran out of money and they arranged for her to come to the United States. She was given to coach that abused her and eventually left her in Juarez, Mexico. This is where missionaries from Scotts organization found her and brought her to him. He eventually adopted her. She has given her life to be a missionary to the tennis world. She is a great tennis player and will probably be seen in the pros soon.

When we told Scott that this was Andrea's first tournament, he was concerned about her. He wanted to make us understand that Ana was not what she would normally meet in tournaments. She was there as a missionary and to help the local tournament. We, unlike most people, have a different prospective. This, to us, was a blessing from God. Our hearts are with missionaries of all kinds. Scott has a unique plan to get the gospel to the Godless tennis arena. He has a website that tells it all christiantennis.net. It may be an opportunity for Andrea to use her talents for God. God blessed our decisions and when we decided to enter a tournament, through divine providence we met a wonderful group of people. What a blessing, she only played one match, but that match was profitable for more than tennis.

Krista

Krista aka Kwistamo will turn 13 on Monday. It is so hard to believe. For so long she has seemed so young, but this year has been a year of changes. For one, I think she grew about 5 inches, she is exactly the same height as me. She has quit talking like a child and now talks like a teenager. Speaking of teenager, she entered the youth group too. This was difficult for me when each of the girls started youth group. Krista has always been Krista, not quite like everyone else. She lives in her own little world, maybe she will let you in and maybe she won't. You can tell her something to do, tell her again, and again and she will still forget. She has great intentions but they often don't get fulfilled. On the other hand, Krista is very loving and has a servants heart, just ask Andrea. She loves dogs. We have four. Her personal pet, Lucie ( I call her Loonis, but that is another blog all together) is just like her. The dog lives in her own little world too. Krista loves sports and can play anything she wants to. She has taught her dog to play soccer, basketball and tennis. It is really incredible to watch. Krista spends much of her free time playing tennis. She is very good and will play her first year on the tennis team this spring.

Happy Birthday Kristamomo, my beautiful brown eyed, black haired, brown baby. I love you!!!!

Sarah Palin in Jacksonville

We saw Sarah Palin yesterday. It was a grand experience. We arrived at the Landing around 6:30. We stood in line until it began moving at 7. We went through airport style searches. Krista caused agitation at the checkpoint. She brought her ipod and DS to keep her entertained for the several hours we had to wait (this included and old phone of ours that no longer worked). They wanted all electronic devices turned on. Well, the old phone didn't turn on, and she neglected to turn on the DS and Ipod. The lady checking it was irritated and spoke to my oldest daughter. I had already gone through the line and my cell phone rang on the table, I was dealing with that and saw none of this exchange. Briana reacted in classic Briana form and proceeded to tell me that I needed to deal with my child and do it exactly like she thought it should be done. I reacted in the classic Melody form and ignored her.

We made it inside and found a great photo taking spot. At the beginning there was plenty of room but as the day went on it became very crowded. There should have been many places to exit as the area was round with steps leading out all around. As it turned out ours was the only area where the volunteers were keeping a space open for entrance and exit. As the crowds increased this became the only place to enter and exit. Paramedics, coffee fetchers, bathroom goers etc all passed by us. Every time they came by, we shifted and moved closer to the media pit beside us. Needless to say by the end of the day we were quite close.

I, normally, am not much for crowds and people, but on these types of days I resign myself to situation and enjoy it. The people you talk to in these situations will probably not be seen again, so it is easy to converse for me as there are no strings attached. Two of the ladies beside me were democrats, but clearly in our park politically. There were alot of young people there. One thing I thought was ironic was the presence of minorities. There were none with the exception of a fairly decent representation of the Asian community. I saw one sign in Spanish and one talking about the islanders coming across the ditch. I am not completely sure what this meant.

I was slightly distracted with photographs during the speech but here are some of the things I picked up. She spoke to our strong military crowd admonishing Obama's poor view of what our guys are actually doing in Iraq. Promised to support the troops as she has a son in those ranks. She addressed the gas situation by promising to support alternative methods of energy. Nuclear was very popular with that crowd. It gets such a bad rap, but she is for it and I heard no negative comments from the crowd. At least one of the other politicians mentioned it too. She is in support of drilling off shore, "according to what the state desires". I did like her reference to this being a state decision. She spoke of education, very similar to Bush's "no child left behind". She spoke of lowering our taxes and quoted my favorite president, Ronald Reagan. Actually I was very surprised at how often Reagan and his ideas were discussed favorably.

She is a lovely personable woman. I have issues with McCain but am impressed with his choice of Palin. The crowd was behind McCain as a hero. I so love these types of rallies. They are so American. When God Bless the USA was played hands were raised everywhere. The local NFL football coach led the pledge of allegiance followed by a beautiful rendition of the Star Spangled Banner. We only saw respect for the flag and our country. There is no place like the United States of America.

Grandpa's birthday again

Grandpa's Birthday 1

Whew!!!!!

I am relaxing after a very stressful week. Last week was Fay. If you don't know who she is, be glad. She was a quite pesky hurricane. It all began on Tuesday evening with the cancelling of school for two days. Nothing much happened on Wednesday, it was an ugly day but managable. We had alot of rain on Thursday, but storms are no big surprise to Floridians. As the day wore on the weather got progressively worse. Friday was horrible, rain and floods everywhere. Sysco even closed their doors. We were cooped up in the house for nearly 3 days. I finished 2 quilt tops. Saturday night I noticed my floor buckling. The next morning when I took something from my pantry, there was standing water on the shelves. Our ceiling was leaking during the storm but we didn't realize it was that bad. I was distressed.

To back up a little. Tuesday before all this happened I took my two oldest daughters to the driver's liscence office to get their liscences. Andrea passed and Briana didn't. We made an appointment for the next morning before all the cancellation. We drove out there and it was closed. It was raining but not too terribly bad, at least not worse than it was the day before when they took the first test. All we heard on the news was Fay, but on Wednesday it didn't look too bad.

Well, it is now Monday night. Briana finally made it back to the driver's liscence office and is now officially a liscenced driver. Her Aunt Robyn let her use her smaller car and she passed easily. I am glad that is over. Now for the warning....EVERYONE LOOK OUT.

A Tyson and Brantley day at the beach

Greatest Baseball Game Ever

What a baseball game

Last night was Family Fun night at the Suns ballpark. The post office was unveiling thier new "take me out to the ballgame" stamp. The postmaster threw out the first pitch. 88.1 was also sponsoring the Family Fun night, Mark Schultz was the special singer. We went last year and it was really good. But this year, the game was incredible. The first inning the Bears scored 3 runs and left 3 on base. I think everyone got a hit. The Suns scored 2 runs in the bottom of the inning. It went back and forth, but the Suns never got ahead. There was a really bad call on Ivan DeJesus junior. He was called out at the plate, it was clearly safe and blue called it out. He got mad about the call and threw his helmet. The umpire threw him out of the game. He was 4-4 and had a homerun. This was not good for the Suns, they were down 8-6. In the bottom of the 9th, the lead off batter got on base. The next batter hit a homerun. The score is now 8-8. The next batter is from Georgia. All the regular players had a song that they played when they came up to bat, his was "Don't Stop Beleiving". This batter watched strike three cross the plate the last at bat, so we all thought it was going to be extra innings. Unbeleivably, he hit a homerun and the Suns won the game. What was really ironic number of non Americans that were playing this all American sport. When the game ended 1/2 of the Bears team was hispanic. But the winning homeruns were hit by Americans.

Lets talk about the hispanics. There were 3 Venezuelans. The Bears had 2 and the Suns had 1. I didn't even know that Chavez let them play that sport, it being American and all. Puerto Rico, and Mexico were also represented. I don't know that I have ever heard of a Mexican baseball player either.

It was a really nice Family Night. I don't think I mentioned that ALL the family went.

Briana is home, safe and sound.

Friday was a very hectic day. Andrea and Krista wanted to go to the last day of tennis camp. So I planned out all the details. Well....Briana called at 8 am and said she was in Atlanta, but her flight was cancelled. She didn't know when she would get in, it could be as late as 2 pm. So I went to tennis camp with the girls and hung out waiting. She finally called, her flight would be in at 12. We left at 11 and made it to the airport at 12:15, her flight was listed as arriving at 12:23. Finally she was home, Hallelujah!!! We have had a wonderful time since then. We spent some time with the Tyson side of the family on Saturday. We went shopping today. I have finished washing all of Briana's clothes. She is very tired I can tell. She has been doing alot of sleeping.

I am thankful for God's protection of my daughter.

Summer Fun 2008

Looking Back at a great year.

I am sitting in a cafe across from Flagler College in St. Augustine, Fl. Andrea and Krista are at tennis camp. I have posted about that before, but that has been a wonderful experience. Briana has finished her course in Argentina. She is saying her goodbyes and will leave Buenos Aires this evening. It was so difficult for me that she was so far away and communication was not always the best. I am sure I will not know my daughter. She will have matured in many ways. I am glad she has had this experience but I am more excited that she is finally coming home.



Andrea has also matured. Her tennis game has reached new heights. She is playing so incredibly. She, mentally, has grown so much in her game. She is going to be unbeatable on the courts this year. She will also begin her dual enrollment courses next month.



Joanna finished school with great grades. She did much better staying on pace and finishing the course. We are proud of her, we think she will be our computer guru. This will be an assest to us I am sure. Joanna's tennis and fitness are improving by leaps and bounds this summer.



Krista entered the youth group this summer. She went to her first youth camp. Actually, she went with Joanna to her first. They have not been since junior camp when I went with them. This was their first time without me. She is also improving in tennis this summer.



As the kids have been busy and going many places, I am beginning to wonder if I will like retirement. Jimmy is very boring. This, I am sure, will make me very bored when I am not as consumed with the girls. I guess it is a good thing I have taken up quilting although I may need to get a job to support it.



Life moves on and things change but the security I find in Jesus Christ and my family stay the same. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. The dynamics of our family change but the fact that we are close and enjoy each others company doesn't. The times we spend together may not be as frequent, but still we have each other.

Please take time to view the slideshow I have posted.



Have a blessed summer

Oh My, What a Wonderful Week!!!!

We thought this week would be a disapointment. The girls helped paint Grandpa's house to pay for a week of tennis camp at University of Florida. Andrea went last year and had a great time. When we tried to sign them up, it was full. We had to find another camp and that we did, Flagler. The girls were sad. This week turned out to be the most incredible experience. The girls learned more this week than they ever had. UF camp was just playing pro sets. The Flagler camp was run by the coach of the tennis team at Flagler and they concentrated on technique. The videotaped their shots, critiqued them and gave them pointers. Andrea's shots improved tremendously. They hit for 2 1/2 hours straight. It was a much shorter time but much more productive. After tennis we went to the beach and pool at Grandma's. We also walked down George St. St. Augustine is such a cool place.

The girls bought the WII game rock band and have been spending every available minute playing it. It is really hilarious to watch. Andrea is the official drummer and Joanna is the singer and Krista plays the guitar. Joanna sings all the time in the car. Every song only has one note when she sings so it is ironic that she is the singer.

We are down to less than 2 weeks before Briana comes home. I haven't talked to her much lately due to the internet and both of us being very busy. Jimmy and Bro Tom have furiously been trying to get the car going. Hopefully it will be done.

The little girls ( I am going to have to quite calling them that because they are not little anymore) are going to camp tomorrow. We have been packing for that. They are so excited. They have never been to camp without me. They are 12 and 14 now, they should be okay. Andrea has been going to camp since she was 5. But she has always been grown up.

Happy Summer Days to all.

Summer Times

We have settled into a nice summer routine. We are busy, but very content. Monday, Wednesday and Friday we are at Boone Park in the mornings and sometimes on Monday night playing tennis. It is hot but very fun and we get a lot of exercise.

Our quilting is going quite nicely. All three girls are doing well. I think we can count this as school. We added a new worker, Amanda Aenis. I think she will fit in nicely. Briana is already talking about joining us when she gets home. Speaking of which, in about 15 minutes it will be 21 days until she gets home. We are soooooooo excited. I am sure she will come home with a list of things to do and we will oblige.

The girls will play their second match tomorrow night.

Have a wonderful, blessed summer!!!!

Quilting

A project I have always wanted to tackle was quilting. I used to sew quite a bit, but as the children got bigger, my personal space dwindled. I had no place to set my stuff up and leave it until the project was finished. Therefore, I didn't start projects. Last evening we bought most of the supplies for three quilts. One (after Andrea was finished making choice) large project and two small. I chose a 3 color log cabin for Andrea to do, she couldn't settle on 3 colors so....it is 7. She wanted something that is referred to as shabby chic, something I can't even pronounce properly. We actually started sewing on hers and it is coming together very nicely. Joanna and Krista's are just simple block patterns with dogs as the theme. The colors are very bright and lively. They did not go with me but are very satisfied with the choices I made.

Going to the fabric store is an adventure. Serious craftpersons tend to be kindred spirits and when you are not in a hurry, you can always find someone to trade stories with. There were several of us, so we were in the cutting line for a long time. The girls picked up a conversation with a lady that went through the line twice. She told her quilting story and was very excited to see young girls with a desire to learn the craft. Briana made a purse when she was younger, but the other girls have never sewed. It is high time I got about the business of teaching my girls a necessary skill.

Joanna, as I knew she would, fell quite nicely into the process. She loved it and I think she will be very good at it. Andrea actually sewed alot of her stuff. Other that her Mario Andretti moments, she did fairly well. This is great fellowship for all of us. The Hannahs and Grandma Maroletti are helping us. Grandma is very good at it and has made several quilts. I think we are making memories that will stay with the girls forever.

We have officially started summer

I know it has been a while since I have posted. We have been very busy after tennis season trying to get our schoolwork done. It is all complete and we have officially started our summer vacation. We have alot of tennis planned and a good bit of work to do on the house.

This week the girls are with their cousins and grandpa in Palatka. They are doing work on the lake house. My biggest fear is snakes. It has been a long time since I have been down there but what I remember the most are the water moccosins. Not only are there water moccasins, but there are copperheads and rattlesnakes. We won't even talk about the spiders and flying insects of the wasp family. Well.....I got a phone call yesterday. It wasn't about spiders or snakes but went something like this "Mom, I cut my foot". A little paniced they were but I got them settled down. It was all fine and dandy until grandpa woke up (he was taking a nap). He doesn't do well with these things. Cousin David was told not to go on the zip line into the lake and he did, the others followed with Andrea cutting her foot on something in the water. Now I am concerned about all the bacteria that can be found in the lake. Can you tell, I don't like the great outdoors much, well at least the great rural outdoors. The cousins endured their punishment and all was well, Andrea called and confirmed it.

I have been without children this week. It is nice to have quiet, but I am not quite sure of what to do with myself. Monday night we bought a window ac unit for our bedroom. It stays warmer than we want it at night. Maybe this will help our electric bill. Last night I went to our annual AWANA leader meeting and Jimmy and Ronnie installed the unit. It does keep the room cool.

Today we put the motor in Briana's car. It took some finesse but it is in there and before the rain came. If you can believe it, we got buckets of rain yesterday. It is very dark now and has been sprinkling for a little while, hopefully, after the motor is in we will have another deluge. We really need it.

I will mow the yard tomorrow. It is well overdue, but I ran over a root and tore the reinforcement bar off the front. Jimmy fixed it this morning. I also was pressure washing the house and burned a hole in the hose. That is replaced but it is at the lake with the kids so I can't finish that this week.

The girls had their first match with their USTA team las Friday. It was Krista's very first real match. She won, she was so excited. She was the only person on her team to win. Andrea won as well. Joanna played doubles with Krista, they did very well. Joanna has some great shots but needs to work on her consistency.

Briana returns home in 29 days. We have alot to do until then and hopefully there will be plenty to do after she gets here. I will keep all of you who read this posted.

God Bless

Fun Fun!!

Today was a pretty good day and I am aboute to go to youth group YIKES!!! I am going to get ready at 3:00. I am nervous but my sister Joanna said she would sit with me and that she would out with me. My cousin said the same thing to me. I don't know what it is like so I am probably not going to used to it. My sister is listening to music and the Mocerana is on and she wants me to do the dance with her. I am not doing that crazy dance. I have done it before it is really wierd. She is begging me to get off so I got to go. Bye.


Krista

Life never slows down

Sunday night at church was senior night. It is always a special time of celebration. I can hardly believe that one year ago Briana was graduating. She is in Buenos Aires finishing her courses in Spanish. She has finally decided to come home in July. I am so glad. She is currently sin papeles, without papers. The school neglected to take them to file their paperwork with the embassey, consequently they have no visa and have been illegal since November. I am not at all happy about this. All I can do is pray that she is safe.

We attended a banquet last night to honor the All Conference recipients. Andrea earned All Conference for tennis. She only lost 3 matches. She went to state and had a great season. We are putting together a team to compete in the local USTA junior association. Boone Park has two teams. It has been 3 years since we competed. We are looking forward to a great year.

The girls are finishing up their exams. We are so ready for summer. We have a busy one planned with lots of tennis.

It is raining again

And I am a little sad. When I was finally able to get online, Briana was online but didn't have long to be on. It seems that either the internet isn't working properly or she doesn't have long to talk. She had an asthma attack and her inhaler didn't work. She got other medication from the medico. It makes me sad that I can't help her. I guess that's what growing up is all about, learning how to take care of yourself. She really is doing that. I am proud of her, but I miss her tremendously. I do hope I get used to it, I have three more children to let go.

Another busy week

I fell a little strange today. We have been all pumped up for two weeks about going to the state tournament, and now it is all over. It was a very cool experience. We went last year to the class 1A final tournament. This year Andrea played at Ed White and went to the class 3A final tournament. She played in doubles and singles. We were very excited that she drew a bye. She was the only unseeded played to get a bye for the first round. The second round she played Andrea, pronounced like the spanish pronounce it. She was a great player and beat our Andrea. Our Andrea played well. She just doesn't get enough practice with that kind of hitting. They played their doubles match, which was fairly easy, and won. Today they played the semifinals doubles match. Andrea only had one unforced error, and they still lost. Her serve was awesome. We are very proud of her. We have got a lot to work on this summer. I love tennis.

47 sounds really old

I had another birthday yesterday. When I turned 40 I said I was not celebrating any more birthdays. My family won't let that happen. My husband had to work. The girls and I went to a baby shower in the morning. It was for a young lady that was very close to Briana. I am struggling with Briana being so far away. This shower was especially difficult. It reminded me that my baby has grown up, my others are rapidly growing up and it makes me very sad. I don't think I will be a very good empty nester, but that is for another blog. Back to my birthday. After the shower we went to the tennis courts. Andrea is training for the state championship. We got there at 12. When I went in my purse to get my phone to listen to the mp3 player, it wasn't there. I knew it was there and I didn't take it out, or at least I didn't remeber taking it out. I'm sort of ranting and raving about not having a phone, daddy couldn't reach me, I couldn't listen to music etc. I was frustrated that I was so stupid to once again go out without it. My daughter said "oh we answered it and I didn't put it back in your purse". Well at least I'm not getting so old that I forget where I put it. Now without my phone, my husband can't let me know when he is getting off to take me out for my birthday. Fortunately, my nephew was with me and had his phone. Well it wasn't that fortunate, it was very close to dead. We used it then turned it off. I did get hold of Jimmy when he was leaving work. The girls weren't ready to leave the courts but daddy was hungary. I got them a ride home and I rushed home. We went out for seafood (5 minutes from our house). When we were throught, he asked what I wanted to do. I said that I would like to go hang out at a bookstore or coffee shop. We don't get alot of solitude. He said, how about the library (also 5 min from our house). He had a lesson to prepare in spanish. There was one problem, the library was only open for about 1 hour and 20 minutes longer. It was okay, I was just expecting to spend a little more time away from home. We went by the house and got my computer and his books. I tried to talk to Briana on skype but the internet in South America was not working well. At least we did get past the Happy Birthday.
I was a little disappointed over the day. In my disappointment I thought of my missionary friends in other countries and how they may celebrate their birthday. In the busyness of their lives, they probably don't do much celebration either. Their daily grind is alot more than mine. Even with my girls growing up and one moving on, I still have a great relationship with them and we do have contact, just not like we used to. God's grace will get me through this and maybe I won't be so disappointed over little things.

What a week

I haven't posted in a while. I have been writing long emails to Briana in Argentina. This is a difficult time for her. She has just started her Bible classes...all in Spanish. Also, this is tennis season. Briana played tennis and enjoyed it. But most of all she has enjoyed cheering her younger sister in all her sport endeavors. We have always played spring sports, softball and now tennis. Last year, they both were on the same team. Andrea played and Briana was an alternate. The team won districts and went to the state tournament. That was very exciting. She has been a little sad because she has been missing all of the excitement this year so I have been trying to keep her posted.

Andrea is the singles and doubles champion for the district 3A-1 in Jacksonville, Florida. The tournament was not without its drama. Suffice it to say, Andrea was the stronger athlete this year. She has always been good at anything she does athletically, but she has lacked in conditioning. Not this year, she outlasted her opponent. She has also had mental issues that affected her game. She overcame them all and played some of the smartest tennis I have ever seen her play. I am so proud of her. She has had many major victories at the end of this season. We have made many wonderful friends on our new team. I hope they feel the same about us.

Grandma Tyson's 95th Birtday

Grandma Tysons hearing is gone, she is loosing her eyesight and sometimes she forgets, for just a moment, who you are, but she is still very sharp. I hope I am doing that well after living nearly a century. Kenny Chesney sings a song "Don't Blink". He talks about a man turning, I believe 101, and he gives the advice "Don't blink, it goes faster than you think". I will turn 47 next month and in close to half a century I feel the same way. It seems like just yesterday the only "children" we had were Dusty and Butch, our dogs. Those were simple days. It wasn't that long ago that Briana joined the family, now she is 19 and going to school in another continent. Andrea just turned 16, Joanna 14 and Krista, the baby, is 12. There are many days I just wish time would slow.

Speaking of Briana, we talked with her twice on Friday. We used the webcam on my computer and she was on with her friend who also has a webcam and we got to see each other. There was a little delay but it was still nice. While she was talking to Andrea I had a major mishap. I was frying eggrolls. When I finished, I was pouring the grease into a mason jar and the jar cracked sending grease down the front of my cabinets and all over my floor. This was a canning jar made to withstand high temperatures, but it still broke. What a mess to clean up. Needless to say when I sat down and looked into the camera, I was a sight to see.

These are busy times for the Tysons. Busy times don't bode well for slowing time down, it only makes things go faster.

Pete Sampras

I Saw Pete Sampras

I thought I was too tired to post...but I saw Pete Sampras. It was quite exciting. He played Todd Martin. Martin actually won the match, but that doesn't take anything away from the fact that I saw Pete Sampras play. Todd Martin is from Ponte Vedra. When we were returning from Mexico, he was on our flight from Atlanta. He stood out because he is so tall. He is 6'6". He actually had more aces than Sampras. He also had the most awesome service return. But....Sampras was cool. Of course his serve is incredible. He was playing the old school serve and volley...Conners and MacEnroe style but only for the first set. He lost that set and quit going to the net. He won the second set in a tie break. He is much better with the volley. It doesn't matter that he lost. He dropped completely out of tennis when he retired. He did other things which makes him a well rounded man. It also reminds us that there is more to life than tennis. With Pete Sampras' 43 million dollar earnings there can be much, much more to life.

It is Tuesday, and yes it stormed

It seems like we have severe weather every Tuesday. Today was no different. The problem is, Tuesday and Thursday are match days for Andrea. Monday nights she works out hard and is ready for the match the next day. Last week was Fletcher and this week was Mandarin. These are both difficult matches, and both had to be rescheduled. Fletcher was rescheduled for last Friday. Andrea's coach had to miss and for some reason, it was very devasting for her. She lost. The girl was much better than her, but mentally she wasn't even there. Today's match will be played next Wednesday, that doesn't make her happy at all.

The frequency of stormy weather has done damage. There is a huge limb that broke free from a tree. Instead of falling to the ground, it is hanging from another tree. It is quite high up and we are not sure what to do about it. Hopefully, the other trees will break the fall if it decides to come completely down. I would hate for it to kill one of the dogs or worse hurt the kids. There are several smaller branches that have fallen but no other major damage, yet.

Tonight we went out to eat at Moe's and shopped for Easter shoes. This weekend is time change...spring forward and loose an hour of sleep. Sunday is mission night. Next week the Spanish ministry is changing thier service times once again. I am sure that will be the topic of an entire blog. Then we have Easter. It seems it never slows down.

In like a lion

That is what they say about March, isn't it? But it is February. Every week of this month has had at least one day of severe weather which included tornado warnings. It has resulted in the rescheduling of 2 tennis matches and we are early in the season. The wind is howling, the rain is at torrential levels and our garbage cans are at the road. Today was garbage day. It is the girls job to put the cans to the road if their kitchen night falls on the night before garbage day. The one who has kitchen on garbage day brings the cans in. I try to let them do things on their own but that doesn't seem to work. Consequently the cans are at the road during this deluge and you know that the garbage men always leave some trash by the cans. Maybe they'll learn or maybe I am dreaming. The little dogs don't like to go outside to potty when the weather is like this. It is a task getting them to do what they are supposed to do.
The storm just passed and I instructed Krista to get the cans up. That was about as easy as pulling teeth with a pair of pliers. She did it with a nice pleasant attitude too. Teenagers...well almost.

Briana contacted us

I am so surprised to hear from her. She made it to Pichi. It was siesta time so she went to an internet cafe and emailed us. That is so sweet of her. I didn't expect that. She says it is "absolutely gorgeous" and that she loves it and I would love it too. It must not be too rural for her to enjoy it.

Andrea played Sandlewood HS today. She won. We thought she was going to melt down completely but she pulled it out. I think this is all so new to her that she is still adjusting. This girl was fairly good. Andrea was clearly the better tennis player. Her first serve was off. When this happens, it throws her whole game off. Her doubles match was much better. She relaxed and enjoyed the game and won easily. Her partner, Chelsea, was playing very well. The whole team won which makes them undefeated. Andrea is also undefeated.

We have completed day 2 of our car rebuild. You can see the pictures. The motor looks very different after today.

Car work day 2

Cars

Briana is the proud owner of a 1986 Toyota Celica. The motor is in pieces in my husband's workshop. Before she left for Argentina, she helped take it apart and clean it. Bro. Tom and Jimmy began putting it back together today. I think they 3 of the pistons are in. One has to go back to the machinist because he put it together backwards from the others. I will try to chronicle this for Briana because I am so sure she is sad that she is missing this. She is 25 hours by bus in the mountains. I hope all is well. I will post about that if she gives me any details. Needless to say there is no internet there.

Rebuilding Briana's car day 1

A Great Party

Today was a wonderful day

Today was an unusual Saturday. Well actually the unusualness started last night. Jimmy was on vacation so after the Bible Study we went to Starbucks. That's not really unusual, but we stayed out until midnight. Then we went to Walmart. We were fortunate to get out of there in one piece. That place is really crazy. Today we went on visitation just like we do every Saturday. Afterward we we to Puerta Plata. It is a Dominican restaurant. It was really nice. You could get anything you wanted to eat as long as it was frijoles, aroz, or pollo. It was cooked very well. After this we went to Boone Park and played tennis. This was the first time I have played in a long time. It wasn't anything strenuous but it was fun none the less. Jimmy, Krista and I played Canadian doubles. Krista has become quite the tennis player. Joanna has started back. It is more difficult for her because she is out of shape but she will get there. Maybe she can play on the Ed White tennis team next year.

We went to a concert. Our friend is in a band. It was very good. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it. It was very laid back and cozy. The music from both groups were written by the people in the group.

After the concert, the Brantleys and the Villareals came over for Joanna's belated birthday party. Her birthday was during the missions conference so we couldn't have it then. She wanted to have a family party. It was a lot of fun. We ended with all the aunts (except me, I do know my limits) and the girl cousins dancing to Shania Twain, Hannah Montanah and various artists. The only one missing was Briana. She is on her way to the Andes mountains. She is riding a bus for 25 hours.

This is a link to pictures of our day.http://s245.photobucket.com/albums/gg69/Melody_Tyson/?action=view&current=c626550e.pbw

My daughters are doing well

I just got off skype with my oldest, Briana. She is doing well. Today was her last day of camp. It has been busy for her but very productive. She spends her mornings in spanish class and her afternoons working in the kitchen at the camp. She is getting ready to head to the mountains. This is a little out of the box for her (as if this whole experience is not). She is not much of an outdoorswoman. This trip will involve mountain climbing and some very strenuous athletic activities. She will return to maybe a slower pace then jump right into classes, all in Spanish. This will be a challenge for her. She likes it so much down there that she is thinking about staying until December. It makes me so sad to think about it.

Andrea played her first full match with Ed White today. She played Englewood. She and the team won. I think she is quite the morale booster for that team. They only lost one match. The girls are very sweet. There are two spanish sisters that I converse with.

Krista and Joanna are driving Andrea crazy. She didn't even want them to go to the match today. I had to threaten them to not say a word at the match so as not to set Andrea off. I hope I can get them caught up in school. It is a task to keep Krista on task. She can't seem to follow instructions. I will have to make a whole post on her again one day.

Missions Conference 2008

This conference was a blessing. We were host family to the Brockells: Steve, Julia, Alec and Sophie. They are missionaries to the Dominican Republic. We requested them because we have many friends from the Dominican Republic. We hope to make a trip there. There were three Spanish speaking families. One, the Vernoys, were in Venezuela. They were in the jungles and had to leave thier home very quickly. The wife left all her kitchen stuff there. During our gift giving time, she received a new set of knives and pots and pans. Their daughter got a sewing machine. She sews to make money and had to sell her machine when she left. They are now going to Paraguay, which, by the way borders Argentina. There was a family from Peru there. The Aldermans were there also. A family with very cute children are going to Ethiopia. I always enjoy the missions conference

Spanish Woes

Tonight might not be the best night for blogging, especially if you want a cheerful one. Working with the Spanish is a trial for me. Their way of doing things is so not American. Actually from what I hear, America is the only place that acts like us. For instance, being on time. This is not an issue for them. Calendar, alarm clocks, day planners, PDAs, these words don't translate into spanish because they don't exist. Don't arrive early to anything unless you want to wait, and wait and wait. Planning, well that word isn't in the spanish language either. Now "winging it" is. You want to know the agenda for any event...that word doesn't translate either. I just thought of another word...worry, spanish people don't do that either. Mi esposo tells me that I chose the right group of people to work with, I can do all the worrying for them. This blog really is therapeutic. As I sit here listing all these difficulties, my daughter is in South America experiencing all this first hand. At least here they do have to conform somewhat. They are in America.

Finally my sister in argentina has emailed me back in witch i am happy for. but she never really tells me aboute whats going on up their or down their i don't know if it's up or down i can't remember anyways she never tells me whats going on so this time i told her to tell me in the next emil to all aboute argentina because i dont know what it's like becuase she won't tell me. hopfully her next email is long because that will mean that it's packed with all the information aboute argetina. i think that since she's down their she should at leaste tell us aboute the food. well she used to do that but she doesn't even do that anymore. i hope her internet is not always down hopfully so she can tell me all aboute argentina in her next email. i am sooo excided about her next email.

Back Issues

I have had aching back issues for a good portion of my adult life, well at least the part since having babies. At times, it is very painful. It is primarily in my neck and lower back and affects my arms and legs. I have had a cortison shot in my shoulder. That is no fun. I have made many visits to the chiropractor. I have always been a clutz and got hurt. When I was younger, I was quicker at stopping falls and preventing major disasters from my clutziness. When I did get hurt I recovered more quickly. As I have gotten older I have had more injuries. 2007 was the year of injuries for me. I even had a broken bone, pinky toe, but broken bone still. All that said, my back is in awful shape. Consequently, I had my first massage this week. It was Monday, today it is Thursday and I am so sore. I have two Icyhot patches on my back. I need to visit my chiropractor too. My massage therapist says it will get better. She could tell me like my chiropractor does....why did you wait so long. I guess if I didn't wait to get it taken care of it wouldn't be so difficult to make better. I do hope this improves the situation.

Tennis has started for Andrea. She is playing at Ed White. It is quite the diverse team unlike the undiverse team she used to play on. Of those that are trying out, there are 4 hispanics, 4 oriental, 1 black and 2 whites. I heard quite a bit of espanol on the court. They seem to be very nice young ladies and the coach seems pretty cool.

Tennis and more

I am not very much in a writing mood, but I need to keep up with this, I think I will be glad that I did. Yesterday we were busy celebrating the King. Today we ran errands and worked diligently on school. Andrea began tennis conditioning today. Tryouts are next week. While we were waiting for the coach, three girls were speaking Spanish. The team is mostly Spanish and orientals. All in all, it looks like a good year. The softball team was practicing next to the tennis court, they really looked pitiful. I think they need Krista. Hopefully I will be more creative the next time I write.

Changes

I began this blog when Briana left for Argentina. I wanted her to be able to keep up with daily life here, such that it is. I didn't want her to get too homesick. Well....she doesn't read it, I am not sure anyone actually does. When I was in Colombia, I posted a detailed report of our activities there. It has actually been good for me. I have never been much a journal person, but I am finding it kind of nice. Briana's leaving has been difficult for me, in addition to getting old. I am driving everyone crazy in my family. I am thankful that they are staying with me. In the midst of all this, the girls still at home have been working diligently at school so that at least is not a headache.

Wednesday, Andrea begins tennis. This is always a busy time of the year for us. She is making a change and playing at Ed White instead of Trinity. There are a lot of opportunities involved in this. It will be good for her to move out of her comfort zone a little bit. We pray that she will be a good testimony for this team and maybe some girls will come to church with her.

Krista has been dying to play on a sports team. The age difference would put her and Andrea at different schools and would really make scheduling tough. We decided to let her try another sport in the fall. We mentioned soccer. As with everything else, she jumped on this with both feet. She bought a soccer ball and has had Joanna and her father in the drive way playing with her. She thinks Joanna needs to be the goalie. She will be good at whatever she does.

Joanna has been outside playing soccer. Today thier dad was out there with them and they played fraction soccer. Joanna won. Maybe she will be able to play soccer too.

More than enough

It's not as if we aren't already croweded at 1149 Pecan Cove, now we have one more. Yesterday we were walking/running/rollerblading. The whole clan which consists of Mom, Dad, 3 kids and 4 dogs. As we were walking a puppy started following us looking for attention. She followed us home and stayed. We have tried walking her back to where we picked her up. She still comes back to us. She has stayed right by our back door. We haven't let her in the back yard with the other dogs. I did finally feed her this morning because I felt badly that she was with out food. Tomorrow our plan is to put up posters. The girls have taken pictures of her. She is a very good dog but I am certain she belongs to someone. I do hope we find a home for her because she is going to be a huge dog.

Briana is gone

She actually left on Saturday. I haven't been able to write about it until now. This time was much more difficult than the first. Not only is she going to be gone longer but we now know what it is like. She left in September with 200 lbs of luggage and a computer with skype ready to keep in touch. There was wireless available for only a few pesos a week. What we didn't know was how often it would be nonfunctional. We didn't know they would change how it was handled, going from an all user system to first come first serve, only allowing 15 people on at a time. There were those that found where the router was and would disconnect it dropping everyone online so they could hook up. I bought a phone card and sent the information via email, she couldn't get the information and didn't call. I sent all the information back with her, or so I thought, the pin number was not on it. She did call using someone else's phone to tell me this. She is having a difficult time. Things are quite unorganized. She doesn't have a room yet. She doesn't have a work assignment. She doesn't know what is going on yet. She is short on sleep. All in all, she is having a rough start consequently so am I. Let's keep her in our prayers that she will be comforted.

Melody

2008 is here

Another year has passed. I can't believe how fast the years fly by. 21 years ago this evening I was anticipating getting married the next day. I am thankful for the family God has blessed me with. Briana has had a great year in Argentina. She loves Palabra de Vida and has made many friends all with the same goal, serving the Lord and learning Spanish. Andrea is gearing up for tennis. This will be a different year as she will be playing at Ed White this year. Joanna has had a great year in school. She has become very independent. She is expressing an interest in computer science. Krista, well she is Krista , very much loving life, her dog and her family. We all have our goals for the year. Mine involve fitness. I have had four major injuries in 18 months. Three in the last 6 months. My sholder is still messed up. This has hindered my tennis play so I have to come up with another plan for fitness. Joanna and Krista will be working on keeping their room clean. Andrea's are tennis related. Of course, Briana wants to finish her course at PBB. For Jimmy and I working on our spanish is always a goal. He says I need to get in with both feet. Pray for me as Briana leaves on Saturday.

God Bless you in the New Year