Matt and Johnni

Some catching up to do

2014-07-21T14:51:00.001-05:00

We have a lot of catching up I do on this blog, and since we want to be able to look back over the years and remember what we were up to...here are some photos over the last year or so.

Loula grew up.

We went to Arizona.

Asher turned one.

We spent time in Iowa.

September was busy. We went hiking with friends.

Loula too.

We went sledding down sand hills.

And we packed for Ft Rucker.

When the government shut down, we delayed our trip to Rucker. October was busy too!

We went to the Albuquerque balloon festival.

We practiced riding bikes.

Joella turned four.

We went to a pumpkin patch.

And finally we headed for Rucker. Road trips are always fun.

More coming on another day!

What this pack's been up to

2013-03-25T22:49:00.001-05:00

Yep, we're still here in El Paso. I can't believe we've been here over a year and a half.

Hi, I'm Loula, an Aussie pup, and I'm joining the pack in a few days.

I guess a lot has happened since we blogged last...! We're getting a new pup this weekend, so that should be interesting. Lots of little ones to keep track of! We're hoping to socialize her enough to the point that she will make a good therapy dog down the road. I have been working with Kaeda / going to classes with a friend from church, but I think she'll be a better "home" therapy dog. She's a bit nervous out and about, but is great with the kids at home We put her to work here often.

The kids are growing like crazy. Asher is standing up like a champ, and likes to play with anything that involves a ball or blocks. He seems to know what to do with a golf club and soccer ball. It's hilarious to watch him try and hit the ball and kick from the ground.

Hi, I'm cute

I like to figure out how things work. Can't wait to work in the garage with Daddy.

I pout from time to time,

but I'm pretty happy most of the time so the name fits ("happy").

Not sure why Mama dressed me in this order, but thought I'd show off my rolls.

I'm old and wear basketball shorts which make my parents laugh. Most of what I do makes them laugh.

We're excited about carrots!

We are goofy and we make each other laugh a LOT!!!

Joella is quite the little girl and has tons of personality as always. She is so sweet and compassionate, and shows lots of initiative when someone needs help. She wants to know everyone's name if we see them in the store or from a distance. She is very verbal, and I often overhear her basically sharing the gospel with her "buddies" (dolls, puppies, etc.). It's usually about Jesus and how he loves us and how he died for us, etc. "The word of the Lord, I am the way and the truth and the life, He loves you no matter what," etc. I can't believe how many concepts she has picked up stored in her little heart.

I have a hard time not making crazy faces. This is my parents' version of folding clothes. Asher's new pack-n-play turned into a giant laundry basket overnight.

I LOVE dolls. I didn't mean to wear a headband like her, but aren't we cute?

Again, a hard time with the "normal" faces...

Yep, still struggling.

There we go...kinda :)

Matt has been busy with work, but we're thrilled that he's not deployed right now. I have a few pics of him, but I'm not sure that he'd approve... One is of him sleeping with a doll wearing his oh so handy but really nerdy headlamp. The other is of him with a pink cape driving to a cabin a few hours away. I suppose I could have posted a pic of him feeding a deer - he was really excited about that.

We've all been pretty involved with our church, and have an awesome community here that has loved and challenged us. We're actually part of a new church plant, and are having our grand opening this Sunday. Even Joella pretends to go to church when she's playing and talks about how she's excited to be starting a new church. Pretty cool! It's been neat to work as a team to get it rolling, and we're excited to see how God will use it to change lives.

Well, I guess we'll post in another 6 months or so! :)

2 Kiddos

2012-09-12T18:22:00.000-05:00

Yep, it's been awhile. We love having two kiddos. We've been putting time into those little ones instead of online! here are a few pics. It's hard to get a good one of both of them! I have a new found respect for those special photographer friends of mine :)

Brand new!

My mom was LOTS of help when Asher came.

About a month-ish. Joella's great with him.

Today!

Pretty cute, don't you think? Love them!

Happy Family Day!!!

2012-07-01T22:21:00.000-05:00

Just as we've been blessed with another little one, we are ecstatic to celebrate Jay and Kels being blessed with three little ones today in Russia.

From the newest addition of our family to yours, HAPPY FAMILY DAY!!! We are so excited for you and can't wait to see and hear more about all your family adventures to come :)

He's here!

2012-06-28T15:13:00.001-05:00

Asher David was born yesterday. We did a home birth this time around and it was such an amazing experience for us! We're both healthy and doing great. He came out at 7 lbs, 8 oz and was 20" long.

We don't have too many photos yet, but here are a couple.

And Leah said, "Happy am I! For women have called me happy." So she called his name Asher.

-Genesis 30:13

We Grew

2012-06-17T01:13:00.000-05:00

No - we didn't forget how to blog! It's just slipped on the priority list a bit... A few pics:

Joella is always with her dog -- she's pretty much in charge of Kaeda these days - feeds her, gets her in and out of "her room" (aka cage), lets her inside / outside, gives her treats, and practices having her lay down, stay, come, go to her room, takes her for "walks" around the yard, etc. I'm impressed that the dog actually listens to her a lot of the time :) If she doesn't do it on her own, Joella just makes her do it anyway.

Needless to say it's been a bit hot here... the pool does wonders :)

Next up is Joella enjoying her mini bread loaves she helped make.

And we grew... We haven't been nearly as faithful with the "belly" shots this time around. The first is 31 weeks along and the second close to 37-ish. Matt was out in the field and/or "on duty" at work (kind of like a fireman where he had to sleep there but we could visit) pretty much the whole time in between. He was back for some of the weekends but we were starting to get a taste of the "deployment" feel again there for a bit. We're sure glad to have him around more now!

Now we're just finishing up a few things around the house / car projects before our little guy makes his way out. I think I'll be more patient this time around though since Joella went 42+ weeks :) I'm about 39 weeks along now, so we'll see!

Cowgirl

2012-04-13T18:55:00.004-05:00

This was our Easter cowgirl... :)

That's our backyard - it looks more lush than it actually is but the roses are really pretty right now.

That's all for now!

Hodge Podge Zoo Belly

2012-02-23T17:49:00.005-06:00

No real theme to this post... just some snapshots of what's been going on here the last month or so.

Trip to the zoo. She loved it, especially the spider monkeys :)

Joella with her new little weights. Look closely and you'll see our latest experiment with her two fingers. Trying to stop what we started two years ago by way of her sucking them. Should be interesting...

"Doing exercises." Not sure where she learned this one...

Getting ready to be a big sis.

Approx. 23 weeks along here. Hopefully this "photo session" doesn't make Joella think she gets to stand on the fireplace whenever she wants :)

Baby boy, watch out for that feisty little girl! He goes by name these days although Joella can't pronounce it correctly yet. She likes to talk to and pray for him and have him "talk back." She also likes to share food with him. We'll see if that lasts!

Hangin' with Daddy

2012-01-30T15:45:00.004-06:00

Not much new here really. Matt's still been working some long hours so Joella's especially excited to have him around more on the weekends.

Matt started flying fixed wing recently. He did his first solo a couple of weeks ago so that's kind of neat that technically he can fly helicopters and airplanes :) He still has quite a few instruction hours left to get to a point where he could fly our family anywhere, but it's still fun to think about! Joella loves pointing out any airplane or helicopter that we see and talking about daddy...

No major baby news -- it's definitely moving around in there. We're excited to find out boy/girl in a couple of weeks. If it's a girl, our house is going to have a LOT of drama, but if it's a boy -- well, we don't really know what to do with a boy yet. Either way, we're excited.

Baby Moses

2012-01-08T19:28:00.004-06:00

Grandpa and "Debbie Debbie" (aka Grandma Debbie) came to El Paso just after Christmas. They came to visit all of us, but mostly to hang out with Joella while Matt and I went to a conference in Colorado. I don't think she missed us much... sounds like they had a lot of fun.Joella LOVES reading her Bible. If she's bored, she'll most likely grab that and flip through until she finds her favorites. Samuel, the ouwie guy (could mean Goliath or the guy that the good Samaritan stops to help), Jesus on the cross or up up high in heaven, Noah, or a recent favorite, baby Moses.

For a while ALL she would talk about was baby Moses and she especially likes to get wrapped up like him or wrap a baby up like him. I guess it made her day when the monkey at the zoo looked like baby Moses too...

From the picture, you can tell that Joella's going to need some practice with that swaddling and holding before the next little baby joins our family. Yep - if you haven't heard, we're expecting this summer. Our best guess is early July (considering Joella went 42+ weeks). And no - its name most likely won't be Moses :)

Look What I Got!

2011-12-25T17:11:00.004-06:00

Look what Joella got for Christmas!

Just kidding... this was shortly after we got to El Paso. Just a long night in the ER and a night with a splint, but she was a champ. Too cute not to post... Joella swung her arm out of place jumping off a curb and got "nursemaid's elbow." The doc had to twist it around (looked horribly uncomfortable) and she was good to go in a couple days. We were thankful it wasn't anything more serious!

And a current one...

We hope you're all having a great Christmas. Love you and miss you!

Little Missy

2011-12-21T19:32:00.004-06:00

Well, I guess we haven't posted pictures of our little missy for a long time! We sold our big camera and got a smaller point and shoot. Turns out I use it a lot more (still not a lot).

Helping with the black beans.

Silly face - YUP, our floor usually looks like that. Kaeda's at Joey's feet like always.

Hanging out with Papa and Nana.

Twirling hair - watch out, it's either hers or yours!

Peace, ya'll!

p.s. Did anyone notice the obnoxiously bright coral color in Joella's room? It's actually pretty sweet. Even better, we found it in the garage when we bought the house!

Holiday Ball

2011-12-02T01:06:00.001-06:00

Johnni and I hadn't been to a military ball since I was in ROTC, but tonight I had my Battalion holiday ball. We dropped Joella off with some of our friends and went on a date of sorts.

Since we had a military ball every year in ROTC, tonight sorta reminded us of being back in college. Good times. Here's a photo from the last ball we went to in 2007. A lot has changed since then. Things like, you know, I had more hair back then.

When we looked in the mirror tonight before going out the door we felt a lot older. I guess a kid, a deployment, and almost 5 years will do that to you.

No news is good news...

2011-11-24T21:45:00.000-06:00

We are so far overdue for blogging...it just seems so overwhelming sometimes to think about all of the time we could put into keeping up this blog up to date. For today we're just going to do a quick post with a few photos -- hopefully we'll get back into blogging again pretty soon.

Here are a couple photos of our Thanksgiving. Johnni and I have really been enjoying our time here in El Paso. We feel like God is working on our hearts and changing our lives -- we are so thankful to have the friends that we have here and a family of believers in Christ who challenge and support us.

We had some of Joella's best friends over for lunch...it just so happens that their parents are some of our best friends here too! Here's Ittai, Joella, and Daniel before the feast.

We also got to catch up with Joella's grandparents back in Iowa. Sorry we didn't make the 24 hour drive back (ok, we're not that sorry!).

In other news....I've been working some really long hours lately at work, but hopefully that will slow down pretty soon. We bought a house down here, which is something Johnni and I thought would not happen for at least 10 years because of all of the moves we've had to do...but it felt right and we haven't regretted the decision yet -- ask us in a few years! We didn't realize how much we would appreciate the conveniences of a house after the 3 months of living in hotels.

That's all for now -- I don't want to get burned out after one post back!

Where in the world...?

2011-08-26T15:36:00.000-05:00

Am I the only one that watched Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego growing up? Loved that show...

Anyway, we've been on the move for awhile now. It's been great, but we're getting ready to settle for a bit. Just a few more weeks hopefully!

After a few weeks at Ft. Hood the "can't believe he's home" thoughts transitioned into a "new normal" as a family of three again. Of course the new normal included mastering our sneaky ninja skills past 9pm when Joey went to sleep. Everything and everyone piled into 1 room is a bit cluttered, but it's "fun" and works for now. Not many pictures on this post (more to come) but this one pretty much sums it up. Life in a suitcase, the best toys being things like daddy's belt and anything within reach in the hotel room... Living La Quinta style once again...
After catching up with friends from Alabama who were also at Ft. Hood this (Trisha and her girls), we loaded up for an awesome week in Canada with our great friends, Ben, Chelsa and their family (including Aubrey aka "Aubwee" of course). "mo aubwee, mo aubwee" first thing in the morning, right before/after naps, and before she went to sleep at night. Poor Sage got called Aubrey later on in our travels too! To say that Lyle & Deb (Chelsa's parents) were "welcoming" is a vast understatement. Deb watched the girls for us so we got some time to hang out, and by the end Joella was calling Lyle "bapa" (same word she uses for Grandpa or Papa).

This started off our round of amazing hosts. Some much needed time to get away and relax. We couldn't have asked for a better way to do it! Flights weren't the most fun, but Joey was super cute when she showed us how to yawn / fix her ears like Daddy taught her.

We had just a few days in Iowa. So nice to see the people we did, but we felt a bit rushed and didn't get to spend as much time with everyone as we would have liked to. We picked up Kaeda, a trailer full of stuff, packed Jane & Jerry's truck FULL, and started the journey south again. Matt got some golfing in, and we stopped by my family reunion where I learned that my cousins think I'm a "cool adult." Not sure where they get that idea, but a shout out to them regardless.

We got smart and stayed with friends both nights on our trip back to TX this time which made a WORLD of difference. I tease Amber that we owe them about a month's worth of rent by now, as many times as we've crashed at their place...

Seeya later, Iowa. How's it going, Oklahoma? I guess we're "home," Texas... We couldn't believe that Kyle and Kayle hosted us just one weekend after moving into their house. We were impressed! There house is now dog and baby proof - I guess we had the pleasure of breaking it in for them.

We were at Ft. Hood again for about a week and got to catch up with Rich and Ruthe and their kids. They are an amazing family that took us in the day they met us last year and did the same thing when we were back in town this time around. They are up to some awesome things! They are preparing to move to Papua New Guinea as missionaries where Rich will serve as a helicopter pilot flying Bible translators into different areas. We are praying that they raise the rest of their monthly support needed to send them before their deadline in the next few months.

We didn't get to see everyone we wanted at Ft. Hood. Before we knew it, everything we owned was once again packed up in the moving truck (most of which has been in boxes since we moved from AL a year and a half ago), then on the move again for El Paso.Thanks to that same cousin that agrees I'm kind of cool (Amanda), we met a pretty great church family right away. Within the past week week we have already joined a small group, been invited over for lots of dinners, gone camping in New Mexico, and gotten hooked up with a place to live. We have driven around the city a LOT. Even as direction-challenged as I am, I have a clue where we are most of the time if that tells you anything... Joella has been a trooper, but we are all ready for some down time and "normalcy" to our days. Just a few weeks and we'll be out of here I think. Until then I guess we'll enjoy the pool outside our room :)

So, we're not exactly world family travelers like B&C or B&K, but that's what we've been up to.

Where in the world is Carmen Sandiego...? I don't know, but we're in El Paso.

Hot Days

2011-07-15T13:45:00.006-05:00

Not much new to update really. Still here at Ft. Hood. Matt gets off at a decent time each day and Joella and I keep ourselves plenty busy until then. Everything takes a little longer since we walk outside and around the building every time we want to use the community kitchen or check on a load of laundry. Keep in mind we walk Joella pace, so it really does take awhile... :) Plus we oftentimes get sidetracked by the park on the way back.

There are lots of people in transition here and it seems like we came relatively prepared. Eating out every night would get old, so I'm thankful we planned ahead with simple things like a pan, cooking utensils, etc. so we can make dinner instead when we want. I felt a little guilty last night for any innocent laundry-doer that got a whiff of our homemade brownies. We keep that place smelling good...

Joella is getting her fair share of the pool too. We walk there a couple times a week (1 car for now so we don't go far). She's not a huge fan of swimming yet but really likes going "uP, dewnn, uP, dewnn" on the steps leading into the water.

We get to catch up with some friends this week which is exciting. Crazy that we haven't seen them for a year - it will be fun to see how much their kids have changed too.

Joella being Joella...

He's Home!

2011-06-30T21:51:00.001-05:00

Home as in - he's with us again! Matt traveled 26 hours or so on his way back. The update that made me laugh was his e-mail saying that he was finally out of the "stan" countries (he spent a LONG time in Kyrgyzstan after leaving Afghanistan). His flight got pushed out a day so we were here a little earlier than needed. It was nice to have all the packing and driving out of the way though so no bid deal. Bad news is that he already has to go back into work tomorrow. Weird, I know - right! Oh well. That's how it goes around here! Good thing for a long weekend :)

Below are a few shots from yesterday. There were about 150 soldiers returning and LOTS of little kids. The part that hit me was how many parents had to be away from their kids for the entire year. Bummer! The ceremony was short and sweet though and I'm glad we got to be there for it. If you can't tell, it's HOT...!

Right now we're hanging out hotel style and won't be settled for another couple of months at least. We're in the Ft. Hood / Killeen area in between some travel plans and our next move to Ft. Bliss / El Paso. Details details. What's important is that Matt's here!

Countdown Begins

2011-06-11T22:05:00.006-05:00

Well the countdown begins... or does it? Matt gets back (to Texas) in roughly two weeks but we don't have a definite date, so we can't actually count down :) We will be transitioning a lot over the rest of the summer. Two moves within a couple months and a LOT of driving... Blogging might take a back burner for now, but check back to see what we're up to. We have had a good year but can't wait to be our little family again!

This is really old, but I just found a picture of one of the few times we got to Skype with Matt. Christmas day and he had to go outside to use internet. You can tell it's freezing by the hat, and I remember seeing his breath the hold time. Poor guy!
My mom told me that today Joella saw a guy in ACU's in the grocery store and said "dada." I'll give her some credit though because I get confused myself sometimes. I have a hard time picking Matt out when I see a group of soldiers in their uniforms too, especially from a distance. Looking forward to having that "problem" soon!

In the meantime, some of Joella's favorite ways to help in the kitchen these days...

Pinching the skins off almonds

The newest favorite - washing dishes. She LOVES it.

Rainy Days

2011-05-26T12:22:00.005-05:00

Lately Joella's days consist of playing at the park, going on walks, sliding, or swinging (probably her favorite). Pretty much anything outside!

Good thing Grandma Debbie is willing to play outside in the rain!

Next rainy day that you need a good book to read, check out one of my new favorites, Half the Sky. It should be at most public libraries (returning my copy today in CF) and it's also available at World's Window.

p.s. Joella got to hear Matt's voice yesterday when he called. You can tell she gets excited about it. I can't wait for her to get to hang out with him again! It's going to be an entirely different family dynamic than we've known so far but it's going to be so much fun. Oh, and Matt's a captain now - woo hoo! It's pretty much based on time in service, but I can still be proud :) Sounds like he's learned a lot during his deployment and has really improved with his flying. Also, I wouldn't recommend sending any more boxes (he's moved again) & he'll be headed this way before you know it (not soon enough - still about a month out)! Hmm - long p.s. I guess!

Fair Trade Gnome!

2011-05-13T15:39:00.001-05:00

Yikes, I live with a colorful little gnome...

who loves her fair trade jacket from World's Window (awesome Christmas present -- THANKS!)

and also likes to play with her fair trade soccer ball (close call though - Kaeda might like it more)

doesn't get much cuter than that...

Although functionality wise I'd give it a 7/10.

Darn hood doesn't stay up very well.

But she loves it anyway because that means she gets to play outside!

Happy Fair Trade Day tomorrow, everyone!!!

Fair Trade means that the people who make what we buy are treated fairly. Fair Trade promotes environmentally-friendly production and organic farming.

If you want to see some more neat fair trade items and have never been to World’s Window in Cedar Falls, find me. I have a 15% off 1 item coupon just for you (limited supply)!

Plus, if you are free Saturday, check out The World's Window Facebook page for more details of what's going on including fair trade coffee & food samples and a drawing for a $25 gift certificate.

p.s. Hopefully you don't take this post as fair trade snobbish. I just recently learned about it and am doing what I can to make simple changes in my purchases going forward. Joella just happened to be showing 2 of them off at once :)

Gotta Love It

2011-05-07T21:27:00.002-05:00

She gets glasses

2011-04-28T09:56:00.003-05:00

Well, 3D glasses at least but now we know if she ever does need real glasses they'll look cuter than ever!

And a couple just for fun...

Yup - still has the "Joella factor" if she gets mad about something.

...a new creation: the OLD has GONE, the NEW has COME!

2011-04-24T20:56:00.000-05:00

~2 Corinthians 5:17 ~
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!

Pretty self-explanatory... Initially I thought I'd trim a few inches off since my hair was getting TOO LONG. Almost hazardous when it came to changing dirty diapers. No, it's not the "mom cut" - I figured I might as well donate most of it instead of letting half of it go to waste. Just hair - it'll grow! Even better, turns out I really like it!

Ok, not trying to turn a verse into something that it wasn't meant to be but God has totally flipped me around this year and showed how how blessed I am. I feel like a different person than the girl who started this deployment. Good changes I think -- Hopefully Matt recognizes this wifey when he gets home in a couple months!

p.s. for those of you who are wondering, I DID run this by Matt prior to the cut. Good news - he likes it too!

My trip to the ER - nicest staff ever

2011-04-21T12:22:00.002-05:00

I had some kind of weird stomach thing yesterday. Long story short, I couldn't stay ahead of it by pushing fluids & I got hives from whatever meds urgent care gave me. Ended up getting an IV in the ER last night so I'm mostly just taking it easy today...

Coolest part of the night was the staff. I have never been so impressed by an entire team of nurses / doctors in a hospital setting before. Unfortunately it took them 6 times to get my IV in, but guess who did it successfully? A RETIRED FLIGHT MEDIC! I personally thought that was pretty neat :) That's basically the reason for this post. They must have some well-trained guys in the military... (wink wink)

Drum Roll Please - Introducing...!

2011-04-12T20:48:00.003-05:00

Introducing Emerging Eden: Modern Inspiration for Wholesome Living!!! This is a joint blog one of my best friends, Chelsa (who I've mentioned often), and I are working on. A little about her...

Check our blog out to learn more about us and our goals for this blog. In short, it's a place for us to share info that we find as we learn about it. We know that a lot of our friends & family want to check our personal blog for pictures of the little ones, and not necessarily hear more about fair trade, organic food, or Norwex (although no promises that those topics won't come up again)!

Keep in mind that we are just getting things rolling, so there will be lots of changes to come. We figured why keep people waiting on us to get it "just right?" It's never going to be perfect -- always a work in progress (just like us) so read along as we figure things out :)