Pictures for My Husband

I had a friend send me this picture today. Boy, do I love seeing this handsome face. I love hearing from him each day. Saturday we got on the web cam and had a good time talking to the girls. It seems to be the best way to communicate with Faith. she won't talk to him on the phone, but she has a great time goofing off and playing with him on the web cam. I think she likes seeing his face and his reactions. It fits her interactive learning style!

We have had a rough week at home with sickness. Karis began it with a fever that turned into a nasty cough and congestion. Necia got it Tuesday and now Faith has it this sunday. I had a little on Saturday, but never the fever. I am thanking the Lord for that. Faith can have a hard time going to school, so when Karis had a day off because she was sick, it was a battle to get her into the van and off to school. I felt like I had a workout after we were through. Really, kindergarten is not that big of a deal, but having Faith obey and not control things by her attitude is, and this is one I had to follow through on. Can I tell you, that I hate it!!!!!! I ended up crying, calling the school to let them know so they would greet her with love and warn her teacher. The person who drove her to school called and said she was happy and smiling a block from our house. Wouldn't you know it!!! Although, I must admit that it was quite the relief. I just wish she didn't have to give me so much grief. ( I literally had to sit on her to buckle her seat belt, so she wouldn't jump out of her seat.) The above image(I am not quite sure why I can't put it down here) is her after school. A friend sent it to me. Encouraging me to stick to my guns and remain consistent, and that Faith will be ok.

Those times are sure reminders that Faith is under the care of the Lord, and that I cannot be the one to change a heart. I am sooooo, trying to learn to rely on his strength and wisdom. After such an emotional event, I am used to talking it through with Jon, but he is not here, so I have been talking it out with the Lord. He is so precious to continue to find ways to remind us that he is ever present. I pray that Faith, with her little sweet anxious heart, will learn that too!

Karis and Necia love dressing up and take the opportunity whenever they can. My neighborhood friend makes and sells these beautiful bows for girls and I took the girls over to choose some. Necia had already chosen some at a bow party the other day, so it was Karis and Faith. Faith, not being the dress up girl but definitely a very thoughtful child was trying to pick some out for her friends (Kasey, Kylie, Josie, Morgan, Quincy....). Then there is Karis. She is such a girlie girl. She picks out the prettiest ones, and of course she picks out what I lovingly call the "hat" bows. It is the bows you can only find in the south. They put these bows on these sweet little girls and they are so big it looks like they are wearing a hat. No joke! I will take a picture and post it on the blog for all to see. Karis even ran home and brought back some of her own cash so she could by some more. I went from having about four pretty bow to having about 16 in a matter of two days. Ahh the world of girls.

Well, I will say goodnight , and sorry for the spelling errors if any. I can't get the spell check to work so I am couting on me (scary). Farewell for now.

Deployment Reflections

Two months of the 15 without Jon have passed. We are surviving, and going beyond that to doing just plane great. I hate living without Jon, but I his absence we are doing all right. Karis came home sick today, and it breaks my heart. She is always so sweet, so it was heartbreaking to hear that they were trying to find me today. Although no messages were left, so I need to check and see what number they were trying to call. I won't be sending Faith to school tomorrow. I don't think she will make it on the bus without Karis, I should probably try, but since it is Friday, I am sure we will manage. Necia had a great day at school today. The teacher asked me if I would consider putting her in one more day, because they enjoy her so much. I am not ready. One day is plenty for me. I would miss her like crazy if it were more. I am grateful for our sweet little girls. There are definitely days where they drive me crazy, and days where I am so tired and want to escape, but I wouldn't trade them for anything. I pray the Lord will continue to give me strength for each day, and the wisdom to know when I need to take a break.
I love hearing from Jon each day. He makes sure to take the time to connect with me each day. I am grateful that Jon still makes me feel like I am a priority and that I am worth the effort. He is still the best man I know!

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Summer is Over.... Here is What Happened

The girls are growing so big and enjoyed their time this summer.

It is hard to believe that the summer has ended for us. School Started on Monday and we now have two children in school. Faith had a very difficult first day(which broke my heart I was weeping all the way down the hall after I had the teachers assistant pry her off of me), but we seem to have made it past the initial fears. I am truly praising the Lord.

The recap of the summer goes something like this.

MAY 10

Jon left for Ranger School in hopes of finishing the first tiem through due to the 20 day field time (which is the training for Iraq) in Aug. and the deployment in November. We moved on with life here in Louisiana, and finished up school, celebrated Karis's 7th birthday, had a couple of very dear friends visit(thank you Shauna and Jana for the great visits) and then headed out west to friends and family.

June 13

We headed to Washington for a summer of fun. I immediately breathed a sigh of relief. After over a month with Jon gone and only hearing from him once I was tired. I had a chance to join a few dear friends on a prayer tryst, with a surprise that the speaker was a dear friend and mentor Margaret. I am grateful for the time, although it was cut short due to my Grandma being very ill. She got hit with an illness that sapped all of her energy and her physical abilities. She literally was sleeping all day and could only get around with the help of a walker or a person. So strange, because she is a rock. Even at 80 years old she gets around with the best of them. I love her dearly and quickly made my way to Prineville when I realized how bad off she was. I am grateful to the Lord for the precious time I had with her and am glad now to know that recovery is going very well.

I also had the chance to spend time with my mom. sister and brothers family while I was there. It is always good to hang out with them.

I had a great 35th birthday celebration on 07/07/07. My dearest friend Lori made sure I was loved and celebrated by friends, as did my Mom and Dad Knoedler and the girls. By this time I knew that Jon had made it through 2 phases of Ranger school and was off to the swamps of Florida for his last phase.

We also had a great time the following week at the Cabin in Lapine, more time with Grandma and a day with Cassie (my sister). The week ended with a great day at Kah-nee-tah with Dad, Brenda, my brother and his wife Amanda and some of my nieces and nephews.

July18

I left for Louisiana to hopefully go see Jon graduate from Ranger school in Georgia. I organized the home and prepared for the phone call. The girls stayed behind and had a great time with Jim and Nancy. Karis enjoyed horse camp and Faith outdid herself at sports camp.

July 24

Jon finished Ranger school. Praise the Lord!! I drove out to Ft. Benning Georgia to spend time with him before graduation, and then on July 27 he graduated after a long race of endurance and courage. Way to go Ranger Knoedler!! I had great time staying with a friend and her husband, Bev and Stan Arnold. They were very hospitable and very flexible with my very Jon focused schedule. It was sooo good to see my dear friend who had just left Fort Polk in May. She is another one of God's friend/mentor gifts to me.

August 16

Today I am enjoying a crazy thunderstorm, and sitting down to write. My girls are at home after a great day at school. Necia had a great nap and is in a great mood, and we are off to a meeting tonight. We miss Jon as he is out in the field, but we know it won't be the length of his last outing, nor will it be even close to the upcoming 15 month deployment. Our family is not complete without him, but we manage due entirely to the grace of God. He meets all our needs!

Life without Jon

Knoedlers Minus One.......

Well Jon has been gone for a month now and should be gone for one more. I am hoping that is the case, because that means he will have successfully finished Ranger school. I have received a few postcards and he seems to be doing well. He had one scare with the Land Navigation but passed it and will continue on. Being a Chaplain creates a little disadvantage because they do very little soldier training, so he counted on other soldiers to get him ready.
We are doing well here. We celebrated Karis's 7th birthday. Our good friend Jana came to visit from Austin with her daughter's so we had very good friends to celebrate with. We also have some retired friends that come to our Chapel and they helped celebrate as well. We call them the Grandma's and Grandpa's. We are thankful that God has created "family " for the girls to fill in since we are away from our family now.
We have had lots of fun playing in the pool on these very hot days. We just finished out a week of VBS. The girls had loads of fun and now know about 6 new precious songs. I love to hear them sing.
Wednesday we leave for Oregon. We are really looking forward to seeing friends and family. I am looking forward to having more adult conversation. All of my friends that live near me have all moved away. So unless my sweet friend Anna comes down to visit me, I get child conversation all day.

Ok friends, be ready to talk!!!

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