Welcome to Mommy of Mayhem! My name is Tiffany Chacon and I’m so happy you found my blog.
I am a mama of two incredible little boys, Finn and Justus, and wife of my middle school sweetheart and [literally] the love of my life, Tyler. I am a writer, and most importantly, a follower of Jesus.
I don’t have a PhD in parenting, I’m not a theologian or a therapist – I’m not even a pastor’s wife. I’m just a wife and mama trying to be close to God and love my hubby and kiddos as best possible – and writing about it as I go along! I hope you’ll join me for the journey.
I grew up in the Miami/Ft. Lauderdale area in sunny South Florida with two incredible parents who raised me to know and love Jesus. My childhood was spent with family breakfast devotionals where we would read the Bible while eating too-sugary cereal. I grew up riding horses competitively and won several national championships in the Arabian show horse circuit. I have two younger brothers who could best be described as heartsy – and insane. Our home was part skate park, part paintball field, part show jumping arena, part parkour playground. Before you have dinner at my parents home, you should know that both of my brothers have been stitched up on their dining table. It’s truly a miracle that they made it into adulthood!
I began studying the Bible for myself when I was about 12 years old, and through the Scriptures and the help of some amazing women, I came to the realization that it wasn’t enough to just accept my parents’ faith – I needed my own salvation. I was baptized on June 12, 2001 – truly the best day of my life. Everything I am and everything I do is because of Jesus and His incredible love for me. I have experienced several “re-conversions” since that day – times when I’ve realized that I’ve strayed from God’s will and He’s graciously pointed me back to Him. I’m thankful for the men and women who have guided me closer to God, and I hope to be able to do the same for others.
I met my future husband, Tyler, when we were in 6th grade. His parents were the ministers of my home church for all of about 6 months before moving to San Diego. We sometimes joke that our relationship is as close as it gets to an arranged marriage because our parents voluntarily flew us back and forth across the country to see each other all throughout middle and high school. What [sane] parents do that?! But I’m so grateful that ours did. Almost twenty years and two kids later, it seems that they made the right decision.
My family by marriage has been such a blessing to me. They have been with me through some of my most painful moments – they are not just family, they are some of my closest friends. I am so blessed to have not one but TWO wonderful families surrounding Tyler and I and our boys as we go through life. It truly takes a village to raise children, and I am incredibly thankful for my little village.
Tyler and I attended the University of Florida (Go Gators!) and I graduated summa cum laude with my degree in Recreation, Parks & Tourism. I worked in my field for about 9 months before realizing I hated it! This sent me on an almost decade-long journeying that ultimately led me to my true “career” love: writing. I have my Masters of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from the University of Tampa.
One of the toughest trials in my life for the past 6 years has been a constant battle with my health. It’s something I’ll discuss frequently in my blog posts, so it’s worth mentioning here for context.
At the beginning of 2013, I started to have debilitating pain in my joints. At the time, I was a riding instructor at a local horse farm. I would get home from teaching lessons at the end of the day and literally crawl up the stairs to our apartment because I was in so much pain. I started to see an orthopedic doctor and then a sports medicine doctor, and when neither helped, I went to a rheumatologist, a chiropractor, an acupuncturist, a physical therapist… the list goes on. I got a knee brace, shoe insoles, a plethora of medications and side effects, and a myriad of injections in my joints. Instead of getting better, the pain only got worse.
With every new doctor, I would hope that this would be THE ONE. This would be the doctor who would know what was wrong with me. This would be the therapy to finally “fix” me. This medication would make it all go away. But it didn’t. I found the truth in this verse: “Hope deferred makes the heart sick” (Proverbs 13:12).
Three years into my journey with pain, I was consistently walking with a cane and taking several medications daily just to function. The pain kept me up at night—I spent a lot of nights crying on the bathroom floor, praying to God, feeling so alone and defeated. I was unable to work, barely able to go to church. There were days when I couldn’t even walk to the bathroom without help from my husband. To read more about how I found God even in the pain, visit here.
Since those days, I’ve found a lot of relief from my pain and have been able to manage my flare-ups, but it is something that affects my daily life – and especially my parenting. It’s something I’ll mention throughout this blog because it is such a required focus of mine. If you deal with chronic pain or health issues, please feel free to reach out to me so I can pray for you. You can visit my contact page, or email me at tiffany@mommyofmayhem.com
