Trista Laborn's Blog, page 18

Deployment Stories: A Father and Son’s Love

When I married my husband, I didn’t know what I was getting into. Long work hours, frequent deployments and the Communication is not only long-distance, it is often less intimate and unreliable, especially with today’s technology, communication is not constant.

My last deployment was very challenging. We had 4 kids at that time and my little one was only 9 mo old when her dad deployed for almost 7 mo. We had no family near by… The only family I’d been my church family. My church at that time was my second home. My friends from church were more than friends to me, they were like family. They made me feel loved, they made my kids feel loved.

During this deployment it wasn’t easy dealing with my oldest. He knew his daddy was gone but it affected him the most. All the kids slept in my bed for a first few weeks. I was and still am working from home that kept me busy too. My husband even missed our anniversary and three of the kid’s birthdays. One thing that definitely helped my son with coping was him being able to talk to his dad alone. We would do small 5 minute sections when my husband would call or when we were able to Skype. I believe him having time alone with the kids it helped a lot. My daughter was only 9 months old when my husband left for deployment. My biggest fear was her not remembering and knowing her dad when he got back. But thankfully she didn’t even seem to notice he was gone.

Another way to help cope is to have a count down. We filled a jar for each child with Hershey kisses. Every day they would be allowed to eat one. It meant a kiss from daddy and they loved it. I also would try to do a fun day for them. I could not always do it every week like I intended, but we managed to at least once a month.

We also would hang out with a special family from church. They opened their doors and hearts to us. My kids got really close to them and to this date they are very important to us. Having a friend to vent to help a lot. Keeping in touch with family and cheering every moment, even when you can not see the light at the end of the tunnel, it helps so much. Loving your kids, family and friends helped me through that deployment.

 

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Rockin Jump San Diego

Jump, Play, Jump, burn calories, jump, rock climb, jump, laugh, jump and have a good time!

This was pretty much, describes our time at Rockin Jump San Diego. The Kids had a blast. I’m so happy I took a video along with me to capture our fun memories! Before you get to the video let me share with you a little bit about what Rockin Jump is.

Rockin Jump is a trampoline park inside and its a place where you can rock climb, play trampoline dodge ball, basketball or just trampoline. What I LOVE about this place is that they have a section for toddlers which my youngest daughter loved! You also get to wear cool lookin socks as well, You will see in the video! There’s something for EVERYONE there, even my husband, who was there just watching my youngest daughter, sitting in the massage chair… YES! I said, Massage Chair! He was having a BLAST and so was the kids and I jumping all over the place, laughing and having fun!

From the website… “We’re people like you who want to exercise, but also like to have fun. Lots of fun. So instead of stair climbers and weight machines, we decided to create a place where you can soar in open jump arenas, dive into pools of soft foam cubes, play trampoline dodgeball, do flips and somersaults. We also wanted a new alternative for birthday parties and family gatherings, where quality food and private party rooms were guaranteed, and our kids could safely play while we socialized with other parents.

At ROCKIN’ JUMP you get the exercise you need and lots of laughs along the way. It was the vision of two families back in 2010 and quickly became one of Towson’s most popular recreation and fitness destinations. We are open daily and offer special activities of all kinds. There’s even a gourmet café where you can refresh yourself with comfort food, drinks, healthy snacks and barista coffees.

Everything about us is dedicated to JumpSafe. Clean. Fun.™”

They had yummy food, tons of activities and we were only there an hour and it went by so fast! That’s what happens when you’re having fun. Below check out the video of all the fun we had!

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P059: How to have a thriving marriage pt.2

I’ve been married now for 10 years and sometimes, I feel like I should know the ins and outs of my husband. I should be completing his sentences by now, but the truth is, being in a military marriage, you can still not know a thing about your husband, because of so many deployments, long work hours and the stress of life, can put a strain on a marriage and trying to get to know your husband is the last thing on your mind.

Megyan from Marriage 365, teaches and shows us how to have a thriving marriage 365 days of year, with tools, advice and stories, she shares on what that looks like and a walk through, through the word of God.

-She shares how Marriage 365 got started

If we could do it ourselves, then we wouldn’t need God. -Meygan @Marriage365
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Meygan shares a webinar she and her husband puts on every month for couples called: “Naked Conversations”

Their next one is February 14th- This months topic: “5 Love Languages”

From the day you “I Do”, you have to be on guard and fighting for your marriage. -Meygan…
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-Fighting for your marriage, spiritually, emotionally and mentally

-Meygan and her husband Casey offers online premarital course, designed for seriously dating, engaged and newlywed couples

-The idea behind Marriage365, You are marriage 365 days (366) a year, there is no vacation from being married, sometimes couples go into marriage not being intentional.

– Put time, treasure (money) and invest in your marriage.

-Marriage365 goal is to lower the divorce rate

-They want to see marriages thrive and not just survive!

Fire doesn’t kill the marriage, ice does. -Meygan @Marriage365
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-Shares tools on how to fight for your marriage

-Shares tools on how to serve your husband, “Even if he’s checked out”

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Don’t assume what your spouse needs, ask! -Meygan @Marriage365
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-Shares the update on her own marriage

– (Something to consider… Renew your vows (after 10 years of marriage, it is much richer then day 1…)

-She turns it around and asks me questions!

-Pray for your marriage (God does miracles when you pray!)

-Pray about your sex life (Pray for good sex in your marriage)

Pray about your sex life (Pray for good sex in your marriage) -Meygan @marriage365
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To connect and find out more about Marriage365…

Website

Facebook

Instagram

 

 

 

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Women of Faith: An Amazing Joyful Journey Movie

Have you ever heard of the Women of faith conference? Women of Faith began in 1996, designed specifically to encourage women. Once it began in 1996, they started one every year after that until 2015, which is their last farewell tour event.

From the website…God LOVES us all. . . because He created so many of us and each one is unique. All of this wonderful diversity means we hold a variety of views. At Women of Faith, we focus on what unites us. We want to offer grace to one another. We’re here to laugh with you, cry with you, and walk beside you on your faith journey. If you have a relationship with God, we want to encourage you to deepen it. If you’re not in that place right now, we’d like to introduce you to Someone who loves you more than you know. You may choose to know Him better through His Son Jesus (we hope you will) but it’s your decision. We will love you either way. Some of our speakers are Bible teachers who share truths they’ve found in the Scriptures. Some share their own unvarnished faith stories with courage and transparency. If something you hear at Women of Faith makes you think, pray, discuss, and dig into the Bible to examine what you believe and why you believe it, we’ve fulfilled our purpose. The bottom line is this: God loves us. All of us. And He wants us to love each other.

I am looking forward to seeing this AMAZING movie! I haven’t had the opportunity to attend and ALWAYS hear great things about this event. I was sad to see that this will be a farewell tour, Since I haven’t had the opportunity to attend a women of faith conference, I’m thankful at the same time to see the movie of their final tour.

If you would like to experience Women of Faith for yourself,they will be releasing “Women of Faith: An Amazing Joyful Journey” movie in theaters February 18th, celebrating 20 years worth of experience along their journey!

I will be making this a Girls Night out with a few friends of mine. A few of them actually went to a Women of Faith conference and always shares her experience with the event. I will be in the San Diego, CA area, if you are not anywhere near me, no worries! You can check out other areas here.

Check out the official Women of Faith “Loved” farewell tour website… Facebook, Instagram and for more videos about the event, check out their YouTube page.

And if you are still thinking about it, Here is 5 reasons to Miss the Women of Faith Movie from their blog on the Women of Faith website.

Disclaimer: I DID NOT receive any monetary compensation in order to post about the “Women of Faith: An Amazing Joyful Journey” movie. I did, however, receive complimentary passes in order to share with my readers. Opinions in this review are 100% my own and not influenced in any way.

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Deployment Stories: You can fix it

Being part of the military, You can experience a lot of deployments, if not deployments then, your spouse may be working, long work hours, trying to meet deadlines and going on frequent moves. All this, can add stress to our marriages, but most damaging is the emotional distance that results from living separate lives at time. The Communication is not only long-distance, it is often less intimate, strained, and unreliable, especially with today’s technology, communication is not so reliable.

Which is why I love to share different stories from spouses that have experienced deployments or being away from their spouses for long periods of time, can read these stories and gain encouragement at the same time and feel inspired to tackle this ugly monster called: Deployment.

I am a mom of 2 boys that share a bathroom. Right after my husband was deployed, of course the shower knob breaks and they didn’t tell me for 2 weeks. So my 2 boys were taking cold showers, the whole time. Once I found out it was broke, I called a few friends that were suppose to come help me but never really had the time. After 2 more weeks of, now, sharing my bathroom I decided I would be the plumber.

I YouTubed what was wrong, looked at the shower knob and popped off the little plastic thing in the center of the shower knob and their in the center was a litter screw that came loose. All I did was tighten it back up and BAM! It was fixed! My boys took cold showers for 2 weeks, all over a little screw, that could have been fixed earlier. I’d been avoiding, even looking at it because I just knew it was going to be a huge plumbing bill. It just goes to show, the power of a military wife. We can get through anything or do anything once we put our minds to it.

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Spice up his appetite

I was watching the Steve Harvey show where he talked about “Getting the spice back in the marriage.” It was pretty funny. During that time, my husband and I came from a 5 Love Language class and I decided to combine the two in my post: “Spice up his appetite.”

When talking about the 5 Love Languages Gary Chapman’s book identifies five primary ways we express love. He then establishes how much our relationships can benefit when we’re able to understand and speak all these languages fluently. You can take the test here and find out what’s your love language. My husband and I have taken this class YEARS ago and when we first heard about it, we practiced it and it has turned our marriage around.

 

 

I now how what “speaks” to him, even though, the way I’m showing how much I love him is hard for me, I do it because I LOVE him. In the bible the scripture: Proverbs 5:19 “Let her be as the loving hind and pleasant doe [tender, gentle, attractive]—let her bosom satisfy you at all times, and always be intoxicated with her love.”

I LOVE this scripture because the word, INTOXICATED stood out to me. The meaning of the word is: To be drunk, to lose control. Her husband is so drunk with her love. How can we as wives do that? We have to speak our spouse love language and practice it daily.

The 5 Love Language are: Words of Affirmation (To be verbally acknowledged) Quality Time (To enjoy your spouse undivided attention) Receiving Gifts (To be given tokens of love) Acts of Service (To have your spouse do tasks or their “Honey Dew lists” for them) Physical Touch (To be in contact via the body, Non Sexual).

I know my husband’s Love Language is Acts of Service (I know crazy right!) He LOVES it when I make the bed, take the trash out, cook dinner, wash dishes, do laundry, make sure the kids are ready for school, make his breakfast and kids in the morning. When I do these things I’m SHOWING him that I LOVE him, (sometimes I can’t complete tasks because he’s always interrupting me!).

So in me having the desire to “Spice up his appetite” I can do these tasks, (practicing his love language!) with JUST his t-shirt and high-heels and then…We’ll be playing reindeer games all day!
Also, my husband loves it when I show an interest in the bills, I talk in a sexy voice. He LOVES this. It speaks to his language and I’m also getting quality time (which is my secondary love language).
Lastly, my husband loves to be welcomed, when he comes home. I make the time to be there when he gets home and after the kids have welcomed him, I will show him a proper welcome in the bedroom.

Just to give you an idea of how to: “Spice up his appetite” in a language he will receive!

Studies have shown that the least common love language is “Receiving Gifts” I thought on wedding anniversaries, birthday’s, valentine’s day, we spend so much money on gifts, thinking he will LOVE this but we’re not even close to speaking our spouse’s language.

I love to receive gifts but spending time with my husband tops that 100% ALL THE TIME. My love language is Words of affirmation, I love for my husband to tell me how proud he is of me. It just does something to me. He could tell me, a certain pair of shorts or jeans is sexy to him, when I wear it and for me it’s like he gave me a million dollars! I know…crazy right?! but it speaks volumes to me.

I pray that this will give you an idea of how to Spice up your valentine’s, I wanted to try something different. What are your plans this valentine’s day…which is this weekend! (So fast!)

Morning family devotions #JesusTodayKids #FlyBy

An up close and personal look at my time with the Lord. The devotional book I have and LOVE is Jesus Calling! AMAZING! This book has strengthen my faith, helps me with my time with the Lord. It gives such a simple devotion that helps me as a busy mom of three children.

 

 

I LOVE that there’s a children’s version of Jesus calling, called: Jesus Today, Devotion for kids. In addition to me starting a bible study with my children, having a morning routine of family devotions, is something I am striving to do for our family. I won’t be perfect at it, but I know being intentional about having a morning devotion with my children will make a difference.

This book, gives very simple and powerful devotions. In this photo, the kids and I were up and ready for school and had time to sit down, do a family devotional together. Before starting my day works for me, showing my kids, that starting their day with God, talking to Him and reading His word, helps and they have a reference, when they get older, I know they will remember this time together and how sweet it is.

 

The book is Set up in the same format as Jesus calling. It’s written in a way, as if Jesus Himself is talking to you and at the end of the devotion, there is scripture for you to look up and try. The devotion for kids, the scripture is written out. 

From the website: “Jesus is the Friend who is always with you. Jesus Today: Devotions for Kids will pour this powerful truth into your children’s hearts as they learn that He knows everything about them and loves them more than they can imagine. Each devotion is based on Scripture and is written as though Jesus is speaking directly to you, assuring that He is in control, that He is good, and that an amazing future awaits all who put their hope in Him. Adapted from the ECPA 2013 Christian Book of the Year-winner Jesus Today, this devotional has the same themes as the adult version, as well as written-out scriptures. It is a great choice for families to read and discuss during devotional time together.”

Check out below for more information about Jesus Today: Devotion for kids…

Official Website 
Facebook 
Twitter 
Pinterest 
Google+ 
Instagram 

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How to have a thriving marriage

I LOVE this episode of “How to have a thriving marriage?” I’ve been married for 10 years and sometimes feel like I should know my husband by now, and especially being part of a military marriage going through many deployments and going through frequent moves, add stress to marriages, and at times, feel like you don’t know your spouse at all but most damaging is the emotional distance that results from living separate lives. Communication is not only long-distance, it is often less intimate, strained, and unreliable.

This is why I’m so thankful to have meant 2 experts, Casey and Meygan both are martial coaches that have personally experience the ups and downs of marriage (Growing up in homes that between both sets of their parents, there are 11 marriages and 8 of them have ended in divorce, having HUGE debt, getting laid off, losing their home, living with their parents, to having a special needs son, to almost repeating the same pattern as their parents growing up) and now are thriving and helping other couples do the same. They share: “We love being married and love anything and everything about marriage. We want to help people be successful in their marriage in the good and bad seasons. Marriage takes intentionality to be successful and both people must be purposeful 365 days a year (in this case 366 days a year).”

Marriage takes intentionality to be successful and both people must be purposeful 365 days a year!
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Steps to having a thriving marriage:

Start dating each other (Not dinner and a movie…Get to know each other again!)
Read “Good” marital books
Get mentors who have been married much longer than you and learn from them
Educate yourself on your spouse
Allow God to help you in your marriage
Pray together (It creates an intimacy between you and your spouse)

In marriage, if you can do it on your own then why do you need Jesus? #adrivenwife
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Lots of communication early and often in love
Always make time for date night (Rule: Don’t talk about kids and money)
Both should submit to God and each other
Allowing God to change our husbands (Its God’s job to change the hearts)

Allow God to be God in your marriage. #adrivenwife
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10 Success scriptures for entrepreneurs in 2016

In 2015, my word was “Purpose Driven” NOW, I’m “Thriving” in the areas, God has blessed me with and I cannot wait to see what He as for me in 2016. This year, I’ve made goals, that literally scared me, but I know I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Philippians 4:13). 

I want to share with you scriptures that really blessed my socks off, helped me to get through some tough times and motivated me to finish what God has called me to do. Sharing these scriptures also helps me to share through the scriptures the success, He has brought me through. Coming back to this, knowing this will increase my faith every time, because If he done it before, He will do it again!

Psalm 138:8-

” The lord will fulfill His purpose for me, your love, O Lord, endures forever do not abandon the works of your hands.”

Psalm 32:7-

“You are my hiding place, you will protect me from trouble.”

Jeremiah 29:12-

“Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me and I will listen to you”

Psalm 139:16-

“All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.”

Matthew 11:28-

” Come to me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest.”

Jeremiah 29:13-

“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”

Isaiah 26:3-

“You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because He trusts in you.”

Proverbs 3:9-10-

“Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the first fruits of all your crops, then your barns will filled to overflowing and your vats will brim over with new wine.”

Proverbs 1:33-

“but whoever listens to me will live in safety and be at ease, without fear of harm.”

Psalm 34:4-

“I sought the Lord and he answered me, He delivered me from all my fears.”

These are just some of the scriptures in the word of God that shows how you can be successful as an entrepreneur, partnering with God in your business. Even as you read these scriptures these are also promises He makes to us as His children. You can mediate on these scriptures during hard times, in between times, or everyday as you are walking through life to help you along the way in your Journey as an entrepreneur.

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7 tips on saving money and living on one income

I wanted to share some money saving tips not only to help myself but I want to share these tips with you guys. My husband is in the military and I  stay home with the kids, we have been living off of one income for over ten years now, I didn’t always have the tools I’m about to show you know, it was through A LOT of trial and errors and i am here to give you the tried and true tips that I’m doing now to become debt FREE!

 

 

My husband and I combine have about $20,000 dollars in debt, mostly me with student loans and my husband has 2 credit cards maxed out. One credit card by the way, he used to buy our wedding rings. I guess it was a good spend? What do you think?

Any who… These tips I’m sharing has blessed us to the MAX on saving money with 3 children and living on one income. Plus supporting an entrepreneurs dream of not only working from home but to work from home and not have to find a job outside of the home.

 

I’ve learned to cook from scratch

I’m not a professional chef, I’ve burned A LOT of food and even foods that my kids and husband were like: “Don’t ever make that again!” I had to learn again by trial and error. I’ve learned that my top food staples I keep in my pantry are Rolled oats, flour, sugar, potatoes, rice, dry beans, etc. My top store is COSTCO. Buying in bulk has saved us TONS of money.

 

Shop clearance & Use coupons for clothing

I know this line, should be thrift stores, but I’ve found that I can never find clothing form my kids sizes. So, I get A lot of coupons in the mail, online and even signing on to the mailing list of certain stores, I get a lot of savings of 30%, 40%, 50% to even 70% off.

 

Use hand-me-downs

I have boy and girl twins AND a toddler, so I always get people blessing me with all kinds of clothes for my kids. Sometimes even when you put it out there that you are looking for kids clothes of a certain size, there’s always someone wanting to get rid of their clothes. When my youngest child was born, a mom had a HUGE box filled with cloth diapers, clothes from 0 to 2T, coats and shoes all for $100, I couldn’t say no to this deal, I grab it and my child was set and even better she had cloth diapers and I was looking to get into trying it out for my child.

 

Learn your way around clippers and cute hairstyles

When my husband is home from work, mostly during the weekends he cuts my sons hair and does AMAZING job. I mostly do the girls hair and I’m not a stylists at all either so, there were MANY days I was on YouTube for HOURS looking at hair tutorials to do my daughters hair and I’m still learning.

 

Limit eating out (even fast food)

Even while you are out and about in the area you live in, try to bring snacks with you, eat a big meal before leaving. I’ve done this many times on purpose because I knew at the time I wouldn’t be able to make it.

D.I.Y. household repairs and anything you can to save money

Anytime my husband goes on deployment I’ve ad to D.I.Y. a flat tire on a HUGE and LONG truck and a few other things around the house, which include sewing clothes. I’ve had to sew a few things to keep the wear.

Look for opportunities for residual income

This means not just wit MLM companies or direct selling. You can create things and sell it. Those things you create can even bless your family. Such as sewing. Sometimes you can make hats, scrafs, gloves, etc. To not only sell but less clothes money you have to buy. Another example is bath and body products. I handmake butters and hair oils for my family, we rarely buy any hair moisturizer, hair oils, body butters etc. I make all of that and its something everyone in my family uses.

Here is also a BONUS tip, I LOVE to share bonuses. In my area, there is also a ministry called: The bread ministry and everyday they give out bread and sweets to the military community and it has blessed my socks off. I rarely buy bread because I get so much from this AMAZING ministry. I thank God every time I’m able to get some. It has helped our family so much.

Another money saving tip, is again in my area at the USO, they have a community dinner where different resteranuts will sponsor a day, which is every tuesday and they provide a meal for the military families. Many nights where I’ve saved grocery money, also this was a great opportunity for the kids and I to meet other military families and enjoy food.

What are some of your money saving tips?

 

 

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