Unexpected Changes

This fall will be the first time in 14 years that I will not be at McGavock Elementary. All three of my children have attended there and for the past three years I have been on staff as the secretary/bookkeeper. I assummed I would stay there at my neighborhood school for the next 20 or so years, but I was wrong in my assumptions.

The MNPS superintendent decided to "Fresh Start" several schools that were not progressing academically. Now, McGavock has been progressing very well, thank you very much. So well that our Principal is moving to Napier Elementary School, and I am going with her.

I am very sad to be leaving McGavock. Over the years it has become home and the staff and teachers are part of our extended family. I am sure that the move from my neighborhood school to an inter-city school is the right one for me at this time. It will be an adventure and calling that will definitely stretch me and all of the team that is signing up to be part of Team Napier. However, it is a very bittersweet time as well.

Someone asked me the other day if I was happy about the move. After thinking about it I don't think "happy" is the right word. I am excited, scared, energized and content, but it makes my heart ache to leave my McGavock family and my neighborhood cocoon.

Please pray as we go through this time of transition and ask the Lord to cover everyone effected with peace and vision for the future. And don't forget to volunteer at a school, wherever you may live.

Father's Day

It's a wonderful testimony to my dear husband that when he asked them what he could do to be a better father their only response was that they would like to hang out with him more. As Katie put it, even if we aren't doing the same thing it just feels better when we are all in the same room.

The down side is that we got so busy that I missed speaking with my dad. Hopefully I will catch up with him this afternoon. I love my Daddy!

Melinda Knott's update on John

Dear Friends,
God is good 24/7. As most of you know, John was to come home this week. When I arrived at the hospital this morning, we were told that today was the day! I was not ready. Our home was not yet set up with the necessary furnishings for him to recuperate in our living room. I was frantic! But, we accepted the situation knowing that God would help us find a way and provide the necessary help.

We were packing up. The bandages were changed and the new wound vacs that insurance would cover at home were in place and we had spoken with the home health care folks. As the wound care nurse was putting away her supplies and cleaning up, social services came in (12:00 noon) and said that Blue Cross Blue Shield had approved John for in-patient rehab services at Skyline Medical Center! We were both pleasantly surprised. This was something that John felt he needed from the very beginning.

When we arrived (5:20 p.m. you know, hospital time) he was admitted and given a thorough evaluation by the doctor in charge of rehab services. We were told that everyone would put their heads together and come up with a plan to get John up and going again. The doctor said that he would be at Skyline a week and a half to two weeks. He has his first session tomorrow morning at 9:00 a.m. and will have 3 hours of rehab each day. They will also train me on helping him get up and down and moving from the bed to a chair. He is not to try to get up on his own, mainly because of balance problems. We are so relieved. We feel that this will give John a much better chance at a full recovery. If you want to drop him a card, he is in room 206. Again thank you for all or your prayers in his behalf.

Sincerely,
Melinda
John and Melinda Knott

John Knott Update

Good News! John had successful heart surgery last week, and is actually scheduled to go home from the hospital tomorrow. Hurray!

Broken Window

Well, all those years of telling the kids to not play ball in the house apparently didn't quite sink in. Nicholas spent the night at a friend's house last night and he broke a window while, you guessed it, they were playing ball in the house. No one was hurt, other than being really scared. (As well they should have been!)

Nick apologized and they were gracious with him, but the fact is they still had to spend time and money to replace the window. (Nicholas now owes them several hours of yardwork.)

And this is not a characteristic limited to boys. Katie learned this lesson the hard way, too. The one time she played around with the boys at home she knocked over a glass vase which broke into a million or so pieces.

Let me repeat it again for all of you, "DO NOT PLAY BALL IN THE HOUSE."

Summer Kaffeklatsch

Are you looking for a social outlet for the summer? Starting this week I am going to host a Tuesday morning Kaffeeklatsch. Basically that means around 10 am I am going to be sitting down to enjoy a fresh cup of coffee and maybe a baked good. Anyone is welcome to come and enjoy some downtime with me. I can't make any guarentees that the house will be picked up or that I will be out of my jammies, but I will guarentee that the coffee will be hot and fresh.

Ya'll come!

Update on John Knott (6.7.09)

The latest news is that John is being moved to Centennial Hospital today (Sunday) and they will be doing surgery to remove the tumor in his heart tomorrow afternoon. The Doctors are hopeful that things will go well. They told the family that there was a 95% chance of success. Obviously it is still a very serious situation, but the reports are currently more encouraging than before.

Please continue to pray.

Please Pray for John Knott

One of our teachers at McGavock Elementary is in serious medical condition and needs your prayer. I've posted the information below that was sent to me by a friend of the family. This started Wednesday.

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(Wednesday afternoon)

Melinda has asked me to email you regarding John, her husband. He collapsed today at the YMCA and was taken by ambulance to Summit Hospital where he is in surgery right now. He had lost feeling in his legs and was in much pain. they discovered he had blood clots in his heart and they had traveled south to perhaps his abdomen and definitely to his legs. They have cleaned out one leg and they are still working on him. Their son has been called in from the Persian Gulf to come home. So far the reports have been good (they have been calling Melinda every hour with an update). We are very thankful about that. Please pray. Thank you very much! Susan
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(Thursday morning)

I wanted to send an update on John. He had over a 5 hour surgery and it is very major. Apparently John has a tumor(nonmalignant) growing in his heart. A large piece fell from his heart and cut off the circulation to his legs. The doctor was able to restore circulation to his legs. The doctor stated that he is doing as well as could be expected but has a long way to go. They had to cut his legs to account for the swelling. Also, they do not know how much of the tumor may be in other organs like kidneys, spleen and intestines.


The good news is that he can wiggle his toes and he knows people. The other news is that once he is stable, the tumor in his heart has to be dealt with. The doctor put it this way: "We are in a long game and we are still in the middle of the first inning and the score is tied."


I will try to update you when I get other news. The prayer for tonight is that there are no complications to his surgery today and also the tumor does not damage any other organs (eg. the doctor gave was his stomach hurting which would mean immediate surgery to look at his intestines.). Tomorrow they are doing an echocardiogram and calling in a cardiologist.


He has been given 3 pints of blood when we left and the doctor was sure that he would need more tonight. Pray that Melinda gets some rest. it will be a very long journey for the two of them.


Their son should be here tomorrow night or early Friday morning. He was able to talk with his dad before the surgery.

Ahhhh....

I finally finished up the inventory at work today so I am officially on summer break. Right now David and I are sitting on the loveseat enjoying brownies and coffee. Tomorrow I don't plan to do anything, even make the bed (if I get out of it...)

Any Advice?

I am starting a checklist of things that Katie (or anyone) should know before they live on their own. The goal is to make sure everything has been checked off by the time she is ready to move out (whenever that may be.)

What do you wish you would have known, or was the best thing you learned?
What skills do you think are the most important to know?

I'll pull everything into a single document and post it when it's finished.

Thanks!