All together again

Joshua and I reached base this afternoon at 3:00 p.m. At about 3:30 the buses rolled in -- all 6 of them -- and the Marines started getting off. The hard part was trying to find Jon in a sea of Marines in desert camouflage. We did finally spot him and were reunited. Here are a few pictures.

We will be in touch with you all in the near future. Jon may start posting to his blog once again, so if you want to hear what he has to say, check out http://jarhedjon.blogspot.com/. I'll probably keep posting to my blog for a while. We will be having some gatherings to thank as many of you as possible in person for your amazing support this year.

Blessings.

Sheryl

At March AFB

At 11:45 California time Jon called to let us know that they had arrived at March AFB and would be leaving in about half an hour. We are going to meet him at Camp Pendleton around 3:00 this afternoon.

Joshua's fever has broken and he is feeling much better.

Thanks for your prayers.

Sheryl

The final leg of the trip

I was awaken at 3:02 this morning when the phone rang. Jon was calling from Bangor, Maine, where they had landed after two flights. He kept himself awake on the first leg of the flight and then slept 5 1/2 hours the second leg of the flight. He had a seat near the rear of the plane where there was extra leg-room, so he had been very comfortable. They were expecting to leave Maine around 4:30 (Calif. time) and so get the March as expected. It is so great to have him back over American soil.

Joshua came into my room at 7:00 this morning and said, "So, did I sleep through the night?" He had. :) His fever is down to 100, which is good and he feels better, but I'm still going to keep him home today.

All for now.

Sheryl

On his way home to a germ-filled house

I have received confirmation from the Family Readiness Officer at Camp Pendleton that Jarhedjon and "a few of his friends" are in the air on their way home. They anticipate landing at March Air Force Base in Riverside County, California, around 10:30 a.m. Thursday. Then, due to the size of the group coming home, it will take 4 to 5 hours for them to get down to Camp Pendleton. So Joshua and I should be able to meet Jon between 2:30 and 3:30 tomorrow.

The bummer is that Joshua got the bug that I had last week. He has had a fever all day, headache, body aches, runny nose, cough and has felt miserable. He dozed fitfully this afternoon and was so sad to miss Valentines Day at school.

You can pray that Jon doesn't get this bug next week. Thanks.

Sheryl

Final word on the duck and the geese

Jon and I were able to talk a couple times on the phone yesterday, which was so nice. He has access to the Internet, so is still e-mailing as well. Someone asked about the ducks -- really only one duck and a bunch of geese -- and so I asked Jon for an update. Here you go.

"As of the time I left the base with the duck pond, here is an update on the status of the winged creatures living off its abundance: there was one duck, a big white one named Aflack, generally in competition with fourteen geese (three adults, eleven almost adults that were goslings when I arrived in country back in February '06); There was also a blue heron that had begun frequenting the pond about three months ago, and now is observable there for a considerable portion of every day. They, at last report (none of the above), were NOT using the Goose House that had been prepared for them. I was hoping for some goslings at the end of January (based on the goslings this time last year), but these did not materialize--perhaps because the other eleven offspring have not yet left the family to seek their fortune. Probably a good thing, too, as I don't expect they'd be afforded similar protection anywhere else over here, and they were looking mighty healthy and edible to anyone with an eye for geese meat. I'll touch base with the folks over there periodically to see if any goslings materialize, or for news on whether Aflack is successful on the dating scene (he may be overbearing and a little aggressive, lacking in social graces, having only the geese to interact with--and we all know how tough that can be)."

Sheryl

Greetings from a new country

Jon is resting and had some time to write a note to you all.

Hello, Folks:

I am no longer in a country that starts with an "I," and though US Service personnel in this country still draw combat pay, it does not seem the same--I am not on duty. After a year of being one man deep, making a contribution, standing watch, perhaps even, in some small way, being a single point of failure--I've taken the duty belt off. Even a greater challenge faces me now--to re-engage with my family, acknowledge them and the changes that have taken place in them, to value their experiences over the last year. To have patience, understanding and discernment. To listen. To assume nothing.

Additionally, I'd like to personally thank everyone who's prayed for me and my family during this time; cared for us, given to us, encouraged us, and supported us. This task will be even tougher than the first, maybe. However, in many ways these tasks are similar. Both involve many unknowns. Both will demand persistence. In each case, I will wonder what, who, I missed in the process--and I will never know the answers. I have to learn to live with that.

Because of God's blessing and hand on my life, I can not only talk about this year, I can appreciate it. I can give Him thanks for all He's done, both in my life and in my family's life. For any part that you, reading this blog, have played in my life or my family's life over the last year, no matter how "small," it means a lot to me, and I thank you.

When I get back with my family shortly, there may be a period of "silence" while I reconnect with them. I hope y'all will respect that. Thanks.

Semper Fi,
Jarhedjon

Out of The Country

Jon is no longer in Iraq, which is a great relief for me. He won't be home for a few more days, but I am glad that he has a relatively safe place to sleep and eat. He did not get much sleep during his final days in Iraq. Please pray that he stays healthy and that this time of debriefing will be profitable.

I am starting to feel better from my cold and so far Joshua has not gotten sick, which is a huge answer to prayer. The Y Malawi meetings I participated in were productive and Joshua had an awesome time at his friend Griffin's bowling birthday party and the overnight with his friend Noah. I am so blessed by wonderful friends for myself and Joshua.

Thank you all.

Sheryl

Replacement arrived

I received this note from Jon last night. His count down for departure is now a matter of hours but his arrival home is still a matter of days.

"Well, my replacement got here at about 0100 last night, we got right to work, and he just went to bed (it's 0618 here). We have SO much still to cover, but simply will not be able to. I might lie down, but will need to be up at 0800 to get his account going, so I can begin to transfer data, accounts and permissions to his profile, not to mention distribution lists, etc... There is a limit to how well I'll be able to finish with so little time. Well, I feel like I've done the best with the time I had, and hopefully I'll be able to connect with him for a few more hours between noon and 1500 when I have to be somewhere else. I'm getting pretty fragged, but considering I'll have nothing to do but nothing for the next three days, it's probably worth pushing myself a little. Semper Fi, Jarhejon"

I had a good night's sleep -- 9 1/2 hours -- so hopefully after 5 days of this bug I am on the upward swing. This weekend I will be in meetings regarding our church's Malawi partnership. Joshua has a bowling birthday party and overnight with a friend, so he is excited. More updates to come.

Sheryl

Waiting for his replacement

Jon is down to his final days in country and his replacement still has not arrived. Jon has written a 40+ page SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) for his job, but he still needs time to meet with his replacement. Please pray that Jon will have some quality time with his replacement before he has to leave. Jon is packed and ready to go but not getting much sleep, so please pray that Jon doesn't get sick here at the end.

Speaking of sick, my cold has been a bummer. But I have cancelled or skipped the various meetings and things I was going to do this week, so am getting plenty of rest. I hope I will be healthy by the time Jon gets home. Please pray that Joshua doesn't get my cold. Thanks.

Sheryl

Home sick

I haven't been posting too much lately, but for those of you who are reading this blog regularly, I thought I'd let you know that I seem to be getting a cold. Saturday afternoon I could feel the beginnings of a sore throat. I had a rough night sleeping last night -- headache, sore throat -- and then Joshua had a nightmare. Today we are just going to stay home and rest. I'd appreciate your prayers that I get over this bug quick. Thanks.

Sheryl

Update from Home

This week has been very busy for me. I had many meetings at church and was very busy at school with PTA activities. But it's probably good for me to stay busy as I anticipate Jon's return.

Friday was the Jog-a-thon fundraiser for Joshua's school. The kids had a great time. The coordinator recruited Marines from Camp Pendelton to come and run with the kids during P.E. for the previous two weeks. The Marines returned on Friday to help the kids stretch before the jog-a-thon and then they jogged with the kids. It was great. The morning started out cold so Joshua was in a turtle neck, but got pretty warm by the time it was over. Joshua jogged 20 laps in the 15 minutes that they were jogging.

I had my final visit to my orthopedic doctor who was very pleased with the range of motion that I have gotten back. He said that he does not need to see me again and I should just keep doing my exercises and stretching out the elbow. Seven weeks from the accident and my elbow is probably about 75-80% back to normal. My ability to flex my arm is much better than the extension, but my physical therapist has given me good stretches for that, so I'll just keep working on it. Thank you all for your prayers and support these many weeks.

The count down is on and as you can imagine we are all VERY excited.

Sheryl