Hi there again readers… Today, I am going to share with you the Christmas letter (And picture) that we shared with our friends and family.
Note: If you are one of our friends and/or family members and did not receive a hard copy in the mail, my apologies… but when one is working for “God Dollars” as opposed to world dollars, postage gets expensive… FAST 🙂
We hope you enjoy the recap of our “Crazy-awesome” year. The copy dude at Staples was intrigued (yes, apparently they read your letters when you have them copied. Awkward.)
Thank you all SO much for your support you have shown us during this crazy-awesome God-filled year. As always, let me know how I can pray for you– and if you would like to share this with your friends, go ahead and spread the message for His glory!
*******
Greetings and Holiday Blessings!
   Anybody else out there have a crazy-awesome year? I say “crazy-awesome” because at some points over the last 12 months it has been pretty crazy, other times pretty awesome and sometimes both. I am going to try and be “brief” in this letter (I know, that’s a first… alert the media) but I will explain how you can find out more about our little Knobloch family below. Ready?
At last writing, I think Brandon was getting ready to leave for Drill Sergeant School. Well, in case you didn’t get the memo, he did great. He graduated at the very beginning of April, which was awesome. I flew out to celebrate this huge accomplishment and as we drove back, our transmission randomly died in Paducah, Kentucky. After 3 days in Paducah waiting for a new, shiny (expensive?) transmission, we made it back home. Crazy.
We returned to Kansas and had about one month to prepare to move to Georgia. I married off one of my best friends (love you Kally!), then the following morning Brandon and packed up and started our trek to the deep south. Crazy. While I was sad to leave a great job at Heartland Works, as well as the Midwest, we were excited for the new adventure that God was taking us on. Awesome!
Brandon started his duties as a drill sergeant in June. It’s an intense job and I get to hear some pretty crazy stories about the “bad life decisions” of some of the trainees. My favorite quote (so far) is “REALLY PRIVATE? REALLY? YOU ARE GOING TO RUIN YOUR ARMY CAREER FOR A BOWL OF APPLE JACKS?!?” It’s kind of a long story, but you can shoot me an email or give me a call for the whole tale. J Being a drill sergeant (and drill sergeant’s wife) can be a little challenging because the hours are crazy when in cycle, but the growth we have experienced as a couple has be awesome. Oh, and God has been pretty awesome through it all too!
Oh, I almost forgot! We welcomed a new member into our family in May… WHOA, take it easy… don’t get all crazy and go mail us booties and blankets. You can, however, send us rawhide bones and squeaky toys for our baby dog Sweet Justus. He is a rescue puppy and is pretty awesome. Hilarious really. He only weighs 12 pounds (he’s 10 months old) but has the personality the size of an elephant. We aren’t really sure what kind of dog he is—rumor has it, his mama was a Papillion, but as for the daddy?? He has HUGE ears and is really smart. During my solo time this summer, I taught him how to sit, stay, fetch, roll over, high five, pound it (with his nose), dance and walk. With him around, we never fail to be entertained. Awesome huh?
Moving on: this summer as I was pondering my purpose in God’s plan in Georgia, I got involved with Christ Community Church. Again, it’s a crazy-awesome story that won’t fit on one page, but long story short, I started working as SERVE intern. I have been with that team since July and have LOVED every minute of it—I have learned so much and continue to revel in God’s awesomeness. Never knew I was called to ministry til my boss Kelli asked me that in July. Talk about light bulb moment! Answering God’s call to ministry has been crazy awesome.
You might also remember during last year’s letter, I was getting ready to start working on my Masters of Arts in Christian Leadership. Crazy right? On December 2 (yes, this year) I finished it. A two-year program in 310 days. Awesome. And praise the Lord for no more research papers!!
So now what? Great question. Brandon and I continue ministering to people here in the Deep South through out lives and jobs. I hope to maybe get Justus certified as a social therapy dog in the new few months. I had the chance to go back to KS to see my family during Thanksgiving and God allowed me to lead my Dad to Christ! Hallelujah! That was beyond awesome. (To see the whole story, check out my latest endeavor that God has called me to: writing, specifically on my blog.  Notice the enclosed card. Tell your friends. Help us share God’s message. Please and thank you. It’s precious!)
Oh dang… I’m already at the bottom of the page! Time to smoosh the final thoughts from the last year: Brandon took up a hobby of brewing his own beer, I am Family Readiness Group Leader for our company in the army, neither one of like grits or sweet tea (we tried,) we love our house, we celebrated one year of marriage on October 2nd (one year down, somewhere between 49-74 to go!), the enclosed picture was our Halloween costume, and we miss you all! WHEW!  Please call, Facebook or email us. Oh, and keep up with us on our blog. You might laugh, you might cry, you might rejoice… but you will see that we worship a God who loves us and is crazy-awesome, in more ways than one.
For His Glory
Brandon, Sharita & Sweet JustusÂ
“Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.” ~Romans 12:12
