News from San Diego...

Hey everyone! I know I am terrible at this blogging and keeping you all up dated! Everything in San Diego has been a little crazy lately! We recently had to rush the little man, Samson to the pet ER for swallowing a sewing need and thread. It was a very long night that started at 8 p.m. and ended after 4 a.m. the next day, that was when we left the hospital. Needless to say, Samson did not get to come home until 10:30 the next night. He had surgery to remove the needle and they also removed his spleen, just because it was abnormal. But he is alive and well and feeling much better!! Matthew and I are still a little sick though, just because of the pretty $2600 he cost us that night =)! But we love him!

I am so as most of you know we have finally found a church that we love and are finally making some non Navy friends, which is a major blessing!! The church is just starting and it is great to see the Lord bringing new people every Sunday! Matthew even plays the drums for the worship service! He loves it because he never gets to play. We live in a condo surrounded by babies so needless to say, he is loves being able to play at church!! We have also found a small group, which is good! Even though we still miss our small group from Charleston and nobody can replace that!!!

A couple of nights ago we went to a John Mayer concert. Matthew won tickets and we even got to go to a VIP show before the concert. It was a lot of fun! Something we both needed! Other than that, we have been trying to make our way around San Diego, but it seems like we think we have seen it all and then you find a new place. This place is too big! We have been going to the Zoo a lot! We have a great Zoo, and it is huge! If even in the San Diego area, the Zoo is a must stop! We have recently gone hiking and that was a lot of fun too! This weekend we are planning to do something really special for the whole weekend, we dont know yet. But I will post a blog after.

Matthew's homecoming!

God is Good isn't He! I am sure you can guess, Matthew's ship arrived home yesterday! He got in about 9:15 AM. It was such a crazy exciting day for us! Just to be together again! It really felt like he never left!! It was such a great experience seeing how they really do things. Watching the ship pull into port and all the time it takes just to make a ship that size stop. It was great just to watch all the families getting to see their loved ones, and every child I saw running to their mommy or daddy, I teared up! It was so great! And when I saw Matthew, it was a moment that I cant explain. Praise the Lord for bringing him home safely! Thanks for everyones prayers for him through all this! Also, thanks for your prayers for me! We love you all! I will have Matthew send you all a little update, so he can tell you more! For more pics. you can visit my myspace page. http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewAlbums&friendID=47048671

Just a little update!

Hey everyone! I figured it is time for an update! Our first deployment is finally almost finished! Matthew will be home as of June 3rd! But of course they have one more stop before they get back to San Diego! And lucky him, it is Hawaii! I am so happy because his birthday is on Tues, the 27th and he will get to enjoy it in Hawaii! He has really grown so much through all this, as well as I have! We have truly been blessed! We miss everyone terribly though! Cant wait to get back Charleston, even if it is just for a visit! I started my new job about a month ago and have been blessed by that as well! I love it and my boys are great! We have our moments, but what 4 and 10 year old doesnt! Nothing has really changed much since the last post. I have lost a total of 13.5 lbs. and still going strong! I received a package from all our great friends in Charleston, it was such a great great blessing! I loved it! Thanks everyone! I love and miss you all! I will be back for an update and pictures when Matthew gets home!

My journey of "singleness."

Ok... I know that I have not updated this thing in forever!!!! So much to say... First off as I am sure you all know, Matthew has been gone for about a month and a half and we have until June to go. I thought that I was going to freak out and be so sad and it would be the end of the world. Dont get me wrong I am still very sad he is not here with me. The Lord has changed me to a whole new independent woman. It is rather crazy. He is the only reason I have had strength through this. I have yet to find a job, but I have applied at literally 30 or so places... No joke. I had an interview the other day and I am just waiting for that to clear. I just have to meet with them one last time on Monday. It is for a Nanny job, full time and the pay is pretty darn good. So that is a blessing. Also I am starting on line classes to get my teaching degree and I start that in a couple of months. So I am going to be busy. I have not only changed my life without the man that I love. I have also changed my everyday living, I have decided to take upon myself a new journey called, "Weight loss!" It is NOT an easy one. My goal is to lose 30lbs and I have lost 8. Other than working out everyday, I am eating much healthier. For me that is a huge accomplishment!

Matthew is doing well. I am sure most of you have gotten some emails from him. He is still trying to get the hang of things. I suppose living on a ship with 6,000 other people cant be comfortable. When he first got to his ship he took an exam to get his next rank and he finds out how he did soon. So that will be a blessing if he gets it. He got very ill not too long after he got there, but is feeling much better! He has also decided to take on the, "Weight loss" journey. Even though he didnt need to. His first port was Japan and he said he had a blast. Today they pulled into Guam, where he will be scuba diving for the first time. So I am very excited that he gets to experience such awesome things. God has truly been good to him, keeping him safe so far.

On another note. I thought my world would crumble around me without him here. The Lord has been with us this whole time and made our marriage incredibly strong. It is kinda weird to have to be the husband and the wife while he is away, taking care of everything. Monday is our 2nd wedding anniversary and that sucks he wont be here to celebrate, but we are just so thankful for 2 wonderful years as "THE BENTONS." It is so crazy to think you can feel so close to someone without them being here everyday. Our marriage has matured so much and our love is just as deep now or even deeper as the day he left.

I miss you all dearly and really wish we could be there! We are so sad that we have missed celebrating the births of 2 beautiful babies and we'll miss celebrating Malia's birth as well! I am also terribly sad to not have small group on Friday nights. My Fridays are so boring now, it is sad. I pray for you all!
Love you guys!

Happy Valentines Day.

So it is only 10:48 here and the day has started out great. I got up at 6:30 to make orange chocolate chip pancakes, they were yummy. Then I sent Matthew off to golf. We all know that is one of his biggest passions! Then Madison, Samson and I sat down to watch some movies. We watched Hair Spray and the Notebook. I am so excited because we are going to go to this Mexican restaurant that we found in Old Town, where they make homemade tortillas. A nice simple day together. That is all that we want, before he leaves!

On another note, Matthew and I have praying and trying to figure out what I should go to school for. I have been debating for a long time between an obgyn/labor and delivery nurse and an elementary school teacher. Children are a big part of my life and passion. They always have been. I grew up in a Large family and helped raise 2 of my younger cousins and younger sister. I have worked with so many families babysitting and was a preschool teacher. I always knew that working with children would be a part of my calling. Anyway, so I have been going back and forth between the two for awhile... Well, the other day when Matthew and I got here, we were filling out some paper work and out of nowhere the lady was like, if you are ever interested in going to school, the Navy will pay up to a certain amount. I was like, "Oh, that is awesome." And then without me saying anything she said that the Navy has a new program for spouses that are interested in becoming a teacher. The program is called Spouse to Teacher and they pay for all the schooling. So that was an answer to prayer. So I am going to be going to school to be a teacher and I am so excited!

Matthew is in golf heaven right now. He found out there are a lot of awesome courses that he can play and not for very much money! He is getting ready to go back to work and says that he is looking forward to the challenges that are ahead of him, while he is out to sea. He is going to get to see so many awesome places and experience great things.

Our new journey.

We just recently moved to San Diego, CA. It is a new change, quite different from what we are used to. We both come from a little town in Illinois and to move to such a huge city, is a little scary but yet exciting. Matt is currently on leave and will be going back to work in just a short couple of weeks. The time we have had this last month has been precious, knowing we will no longer be together everyday or every few days. We are looking at this as if the glass is half full, not empty. We know this will be a growing experience, to bring us closer together and closer to Christ. We will be apart for 3 months and in that time we will not be celebrating together; our 2nd wedding anniversary, Easter and Matt's 24th Birthday. But we are looking forward to celebrating many anniversarys, birthdays and holidays after he is out of the Navy. While he is out to sea, I am going to working and going back to school!

We have yet to find a church home. We tried a church this last Sunday, it was pretty good, but we want to keep looking until we feel at home. That is going to be hard, because we know that nobody can replace our love for our home church, Seacoast. And not a soul can replace the best friends we have made along the way !! We miss you all!!!!