NEWS FROM RHEANNA!

Thanks to all of you that sent such nice,

sweet notes to Adam and Rheanna for their anniversary.  Ryann got her dad an ice cream cake to celebrate so as Rhe knows he was happy with that!!!

The info for the blog is pretty much from Rhe with her latest news..sometimes I paraphrase and get the info out to you.  Today I am just going to post exactly what Rheanna said...I think it is truly from her heart and I want you all to know we could not be prouder of her.

This week we had a 9/11 ceremony where we had a moment of silence for those who had died fighting in oef/oif. I thought about our friend and ROTC classmate, Forrest Ewens who gave his life in Afghanistan at the beginning of OEF. I have met so many wonderful Afghan people whom are truly appreciative of the help the Soldiers are trying to give them. No matter how anyone feels about politics and the war, the undeniable thing I have learned being here is that the Afghan people

( at least the ones i've met) have huge hearts and they have hopes and dreams for their children like we do. A glaring example of this is that our office has an Afghan janitor named Abdul. He lives in Kabul and rides his bike through the crazy downtown traffic to work on our base. He works extremely hard everyday to clean our office. He always has a smile on his face and beams when he talks about his wife, twin 9 month old daughters, and 5 year old son. I try to speak a few words in Dari to him every morning. Luckily he speaks better english than my Dari. I know about 5-10 words. Out of the blue one day he brought me a scarf and some bracelets. He told me they were from his wife. He told me she wanted me to have a gift because I was  over here away from my baby to try to help them. I don't try to pretend that my job is actually helping the Afghan people. I'm just a lawyer doing lawyer stuff. However, I do see Soldiers leave the safety of our base every day to risk their lives to train the Afghan police and army. For people like Abdul and his wife, our presence here has helped his family. Or at the very least, they appreciate us for trying to help them. Again, this is not supposed to be about politics but rather about international human bonding. I couldn't help but feel bad accepting a gift from his family when I know he works so hard for every dime that they have. Also, recently Abdul's wife had to go to the hospital for an infection. So, many of you have asked my mom and Georgia if you could send me something. If you so send me something, please send baby toys or clothes (9 month old girl twins) or something for their 5 year old son. If you can think of anything unique to send for Abdul and his wife, that would be wonderful too. No pressure here. I am only throwing this out there because I'd rather you send them something instead of me.

 This week, I am thankful for Soldiers like Forrest and Adam's friend Luke Wullenwaber for paying the ultimate sacrifice for our country and for people like Abdul who has hope that one day his kids can live without the fear of the Taliban in Afghanistan.

Waking up...always happy!

Mongolian class...smaller than usual as they had a training many students had to attend

Ryann and Moose on Sept 10

Looking for Moose..always

Send those emails...

Just a reminder that Adam and Rheanna will be celebrating their 2nd wedding anniversary on Tuesday Sept. 10.  I know there is nothing that would make Rheanna happier if she heard from all of you.  Please send her your anniversary best wishes.  I saw for 2nd anniversary the recommended gift is cotton, so  see how creative you can be in your wishes.  Her email address again is

feltonrj@gmail.com

Thanks again for all the support of the blog...will send news out on Rheanna later this week. 

Wedding Day 9/10/11 McCall Idaho

Moose the babysitter

First attempt with sippy cup

Ryann is enjoying food!

NEWS FROM RHEANNA

SEPTEMBER 4 NEWS FROM RHEANNA!

It is always so good to hear from Rheanna and what she is doing.  Face Time has been wonderful for her and Adam and we hope this blog helps you in staying in touch with her also.  Always know emails, letters, notes are so important to her.  Just her knowing we are all thinking of her means so much and helps her get through her days.

She told us the highlight of her week was she was able to watch an Afghan soldier's trial at an Afghan Army installation.  The soldier was accused of stealing ammunition from the Afghan Army.  The legal system she says is much different than ours and that the judge did most of the questioning.  The soldier declined a defense counsel and she said he essentially confessed to the crime.  His sentence was 10 years in confinement as they take theft of weapon/ammo very serious.

Rheanna has been getting a 30 minute deep tissue massage every Friday morning for $10...she says it is great and wonders what the cost would be here in the states...She also has been telling me about the great shopping and how the little Afghan girls are very "suave" with their selling techniques.  She says it just breaks your heart hearing their stories...hard not to get too involved.  

Her good friends Kelly and Courtney are approaching their due dates, so she is excited for them....she asks all of us for our positive thoughts and prayers for healthy babies..more friends for Ryann

Rheanna continues to miss Ryann, Adam and of course Moose and is so excited to hear all about their day happenings....or in Moose's world, what trouble he got into...no really he has been so good..especially to Ryann Faith!

Kris and Steve left their assignment on Monday and Craig and I arrived Monday after noon...we all are busy reporting for duty!!  They had a great time with Ryann and we could not believe how much she changed in the 2 weeks we were gone.  She had her 6 month check up yesterday  14lbs, 10 oz...happy, healthy and in perfect condition...all went well until those darn shots, but she was tough just like her mommy.

I think I have the comment section figured out...so if you would like to add a comment at the end of the blog I am sure Rheanna would enjoy it...if you have problem yet leaving one let me know...I think I have it tho...

Have a great week everyone and pass it on to someone you talk to this week that we have many soldiers serving for us all over the world and to take a moment to think of their hardships being away from family.  Thanks Rheanna for all that you do!

Watching the Afghan soldier trial

Game night!

With the Afghan Attorney General

Date night with his girl!

Grandpa Steve

Grandma Kris

At the Dr, office...no idea what is to happen!

The day after the shots!  So much better

PICTURES FROM RHEANNA

Rheanna sent some pics this morning so I wanted to share them before the next post.  She looks great and of course she has pictures of her shopping.  Only she would be the one who could find good shopping in Kabul.  Hope you enjoy the pics!

Buying from local girls

They wanted her hat

posing for picture

Traffic jam in Kabul

FINGERS CROSSED........

We received the best news on Monday, as Rheanna has a 90% chance of coming home in Janurary or February.  Would that not be the best news of the decade???!!!!  So everyone keep positive thoughts that this will happen.  It would be so great if she was home for Ryann's first birthday.

Her news this week, besides maybe coming home early was that her office was invited to the top Afghan general's office at the Ministry of Defense.  They had lunch and tea while he talked about the history of Afghanistan.  The lunch she said was authentic Afghan cuisine.  It was a great experience for her.  This pretty much marks one month there for her.

Kris and Steve have had a wonderful time with Ryann and Kris has her eating baby food which she loves.  We had a great time in NYC and will head back to Colorado on Monday when Kris and Steve leave.

Thanks for all of the wonderful comments and warm thoughts about Rheanna.  Adam has the week of Sept 2nd off which he is looking forward to.  Their 2nd wedding anniversary is Sept 10, never did they think they would be this many miles apart on that day!  If you do not have Rheanna's email address it is,

feltonrj@gmail.com

I Love Moose

I Love my Daddy's hat

I try to do my morning stretches every day!

Christmas came early to Rheanna..packages from  Ryann and Kris

Kris sent Rheanna duvet!

Grandma Kris is in Charge!

Craig and I are on leave while Kris and Steve have taken over grand baby sitting.  We are off to New York City now(having a fab time) and then to Idaho.

Rheanna after opening boxes from home!

Rheanna has sent some pics which I  have shared.  She is still teaching the Mongolians English and started taking Dari classes. Dari is the dialect of language the Afghans speak here. She also started crossfit and can barely walk up the stairs to her  room, we doubt that tho as fit as she is.  She is staying busy at work too, but misses her family every second.

Ryann loves sitting up1

AND NOW RHEANNA IS A TEACHER....

Rheanna is keeping busy working her 12 hour days, working out and reading in her off time.  She is teaching English to Mongolian soldiers two times a week.  We are looking for some teaching aides such as flash cards to help her out...if any of you have other ideas just pass them on.  She looks forward to Fridays as there is an Afghan bazaar that comes on post and they serve steak off the grill.  The base has a "spa" so she is hoping to get a pedicure..I am sure some of you are thinking, a spa????

When I asked Rhe is she had anything to share, she just said she missed Adam, Ryann and Moose every second of every day.  We are able to Face Time and email pics every day which hopefully helps.

Ryann's big news is she can sit up all by herself now.  She loves stacking and unstacking toys and listens to Raffi every day.  Rheanna's best friend Kelly, gave Rheanna a teddy bear that she could record a message to Ryann Faith on, so, every morning after Ryann gets dressed she sits with her bear and listens to her mommy's voice telling her how much she is loved.  She is crazy for that bear and gets so excited when she hears Rhe's voice.  Then she kisses Rheanna's pic and puts a kiss in her kiss box, which counts down the days until she comes home.  

Adam is very busy with work and taking care of Ryann.  Tonight his school has a carnival so we will drop Ryann off to spend the evening with dad.  

Thank you to everyone for their thoughts and prayers for Rheanna , Adam, and Ryann