T Shirts...

Last year a precious nephew, Drew Treat, and a bunch of his ex-Marine buddies honored Tyler's memory with a climbing trip dedicated to him. They created a special patch in his memory that we have given out to so many people! Ron and I got to go to VA to the SEAL team 4 group and give them all a Tyler patch, we got to send a bunch of them to Afghanistan to the team, we gave them to some of Tyler's friends here, some cousins, we gave them along with our thanks to local officials and a few weeks ago we got to meet one of Tyler's friends from BUDS, Brad Beard, he flew up from Houston and drove in from Knoxville one day to spend time at Tyler's grave! One special friend! Ron and I really enjoyed meeting him, we gave him a patch as well. Brad told another friend of Tyler's about the trip and the patch, Marcus Nalley, he's in Indiana. Marcus got in touch with us and told us about his friendship with Tyler. They all speak so highly of our son! Marcus said at his wedding last year they had special memorial cards of Tyler on the reception tables with info on how to give to the SEAL Foundation instead of wedding favors. Another great friend. What a special thing to do for our boy! I sent him a patch!! Marcus is now working on making T Shirts to sell at ball games to raise awareness of the SEAL Foundation and how to give money to help families of fallen SEALS. The front of those shirts is the Tyler patch design! WOW On the back is the info on where to send donations to the SEAL Foundation!! Thank you Lord for Your continued use of our precious Tyler for good things!! Let me know if you want a T Shirt and I'll get you the ordering info!! HOOYAH Tyler Woodle!! God be with the families and friends of SEAL Team 6! Thank you for what you did for the USA! HOOYAH Team 6!!

the DASH...

"I read of a man who stood to speak, at the funeral of a friend.
He referred to the dates on her tombstone, from the beginning to the end.
He noted that first came the date of her birth
and spoke the following date with tears,
but he said what mattered most was
the DASH between those years."
(linda ellis)
I love this poem! Tyler would have loved it as well, he truly lived his life well in the DASH! I hope that we all can say that our lives count, especially in the DASH!! God be with you dear friends!

Oh how I miss my boy!!

God is so very gracious to us, He holds us when we cry. He rejoices with us when we rejoice. He lets us choose and still loves us. He walks with us, whispers in our hearts, encourages us, lifts us, teaches us, blesses us. He is our all in all....and yet when our heart breaks He feels our hurts as well.. He says stay strong, keep looking up, it will all be ok when we get to Heaven...and yet we have to live on here until that day. Our only hope is in Him, He promises and He does not break any promises.. He says stay strong, hold on to faith, keep moving forward.....with....
CHEERFUL COURAGE!! This is the courage that does not come from ourselves, but from our relationship with our Lord Jesus, God's only Son!! Oh how I miss my Tyler!! God knows how much, because He too missed His Son when He came to earth to live and die for us! He knows, and that is why He is the only comfort for the hurting!! Lamentations 3:22-26 "because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed for His compassions never fail they are new every morning. Great is Your faithfulness I say to myself, the Lord is my portion therefore I will wait for Him. The Lord is good to those whose hope is in Him to the one who seeks Him. It is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord" ....new every morning, I have found this to be so very true..... Hooyah Tyler Woodle! your mom loves you

HOOYAH!

GREAT WORK TEAM 6!! TYLER WOULD BE SO PROUD AND SO ARE WE! HOOYAH TO TYLER'S BUDS!! GOD BLESS YOU ALL AND KEEP YOU SAFE, WE STILL PRAY EACH DAY AT 6:00 PM FOR OUR SEALS AND ALL OUR TROUPS!!

I Love You Forever...

I'll love you forever,
I'll like you for always,
Forever and ever my little boy you'll be...
love, mom

For today...

from the words of Job, the man who lost the most and yet loved God...
paraphrase mine, as I understand his words...

Job 42:1-5
God, I know You can do all things and that any plan You have made can't be changed by anyone but You. God You ask me, "Who do you think you are, Kathi to question my plans without any knowledge?" I admit that I worry about and speak of things that I do not understand, things of God that are much higher than I can ever understand here on earth. God said, "Listen to Me now and I will speak truth to you, Kathi do you understand My great love for you and trust Me?" Lord in my life I have always heard about You and Your great love and sacrifice for me, I came to know You as my Lord and Savior years ago but now, this past year, I have seen You with my own eyes." I am sorry for doubting You.

This passage really spoke to me and I hope it will speak to you if you have questions.
Job lost so much more than I ever have and he lost it all in one day! Yet He never turned away from God, questions, yes he had those, pain and grief, yes he had those, doubts, maybe, but He never turned from God! If you struggle in life with hard things right now, God really is with you and He is for you. His love is real and His plans are hard to understand sometimes. Ask Him to help you walk through whatever it is, He will. He will never leave you or forsake you!!

Motto to live by...

Motto to live by...

Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and screaming, "WOO HOO, what a ride!!"

I believe this was truly Tyler's motto for life! He lived it!
My question is, Do we really live this life God gave us? or do we just get by? This year has been one that I have struggled with how and why to live in many ways. Heart broken I limp through life. Recently God has convicted me that life is a GIFT only from Him and that this gift was meant to be enjoyed and most of all lived for Him. Really living, is not living recklessly or without true convictions or purpose. That is a wasted life, a life that does not honor the gift or the Giver! A joyfilled life is what I desire!
From now on I may be limping, but I will enjoy it and live my life with a smile on my face, knowing that this pleases God the most. Life is too short as it is. If today you're limping through life, choose to limp with a smile, laugh at yourself and enjoy God's great gift of life.
When I get to Heaven and see my precious son, Tyler,
I will, as I believe he did,
say, "WOO HOO, what a ride!"
Thank you Jesus!!

part 3 braggin..

I have lost many friends during my time in the SEAL Teams and Tyler ranks with the best of them. I am deeply sorry for the Woddle family and those who were close to Tyler. If the family has set up a memorial fund other than the NSW Foundation ( I have donated to this one already) that is taking funds, I would be honored to contribute. If there is anything that I may do for the family please do not hesitate to ask.

Tyler will be missed by this SEAL and countless others.

a note from Kathi...
This man represents what a Navy SEAL is! Strong, kind and compassionate! Thank you so much for the gift of this testimony about our Tyler! HOOYAH!

part 2 of braggin

Tyler was a complete animal in HellWeek and did very well. One funny story about him in HellWeek was that he was always falling asleep when it was time to eat. It was our job to keep them awake during our shift (Midnight-0800) and we had many ways of doing this. I remember grabbing a large apple from the food line and having Tyler and another sleepy student bite into the apple at the same time and hold it there without taking a full bite. He had the whole class rolling over with laughter when he would doze off and drag the other student around with his nodding off. The funniest part was that he was chuckling in his sleep when he was dozing to the floor with the apple in his mouth. Almost completely mad with lack of sleep and he was still laughing! Amazing!

I made it a point to attend his graduation and witness him getting his Trident. I believe his folks were there and I'm sure that I met them. To be honest, I was dissapointed to find that he was going to the East Coast teams because that meant I would not have the chance to work with him in the future.

Just bragging on my boy!!

this email was sent to us last year about 3 weeks after Tyler went to be with the Lord. (1 of 3 parts)
My name is Rob Smith and I was one of Tyler's instructors during SEAL training. I put him through the First Phase of training to include HellWeek. I found out about the accident while in a different course of instruction and was shocked at the news when it was delivered in the morning meeting. Every one of the instructors was in complete silence when the question was asked, "Did you know him...?". We all did. I see hundreds of canidates every class that show up to try their luck at the program and it is fairly rare that an instructor gets to know a student as well as I got to know Tyler. From day 1, I took an interest in him and in a way took him under my wing. He was a bit older than the other students and had a better handle on what we were doing in regard to forging warriors and forming certain attitudes. He was always known as the guy that would go out of his way to help other students when they needed it.

Think on this.....

Only two defining forces have offered to die for you.
Jesus Christ and the American soldier.
The first for your soul, the second for your freedom!
Thank you to both!

HOOYAH Tyler Woodle! I love you and miss you! Save a place for me! Mom

Kari Jobe: You Are For Me

This sweet girl reminds me so much of our sweet Jerica! She looks like her and even sings like her!! Hope you enjoy it as much as I do!!
And the words are so very beautiful and really touch my heart!!

Casting Crowns #6 Glorious Day (Living He Loved Me)

HOOYAH TYLER WOODLE

Tyler's gift

Have you ever been to a movie, or read a book or to some special event, one that you were enjoying so very much that you did not want it to end? You sat there trying to enjoy it but knowing in the back of your mind that it would soon be over and you dreaded it even before it happened? I've been there!
When I think of my Tyler, and realize that tomorrow will be a landmark in his homegoing. He will be gone from us a full year. I really never thought that I would be able to get through one whole year without my son, but God has carried me all the way.

....Back to the movie or the wonderful whatever that we so enjoy... Imagine with me what Tyler is enjoying! This year has been long and hard for those of us who loved him and miss him so much, yet for Tyler it is only seconds since he came into the presence of Jesus Christ! The wonder of it all is so very amazing, the experience of worship consumes his very being. He does not think of how long it will last, trying to enjoy each moment, dreading the end. He is enjoying this wonderful experience without end, without fear of missing a moment of it. It is his forever gift from his Savior Jesus Christ. This gift was promised to him as a little boy, he did not earn it and he could not loose it. He is enjoying the most costly gift of all, eternity with our Lord. This gift was given to him February 16,2010 and he will enjoy it forever! However our lives here must go on.. we enjoy some of this life, the parts we do not want to end (like the movie,etc.) and then there are the hard parts..I understand more fully now how much this gift of eternal life means to me...this life will end some day..but life with Jesus will go on forever...til then, I choose to enjoy what I can, endure what I must and do the work I'm given to do until He calls me home...Tyler is not just at peace or at rest as some say, he is enjoying life a whole new way!! We will see Tyler again and that's a promise from our Savior!! Until then, he is enjoying every moment and we are living in the light of eternity to come! Looking upward to Heaven, come soon Lord Jesus!

A New Year...

2011.......this is the first year in 27 years that I begin a year without my son, Tyler. God has blessed me so very much through the years since I met my dear husband Ron. He gave me Ron as my soul mate, my husband, my love. He gave me a little girl, Sumer, to love and to be taught how to love by. She was sweet, loving and always happy. He gave me a baby boy, Tyler. So sweet, kind, loving and full of fun. He gave me a baby girl, Jerica. A true little princess, gentle, funny and quietly adventurous. Then He gave me Himself, as my Savior. Through the years and many trials He has been my constant teacher, my comfort, my friend, my Lord. Through my family He has taught me much about life and love. He uses them still, and even though my Tyler is with Him now, Tyler lived life in such a way that his presence still amazes me. thank You Lord for these precious gifts. I look forward to this new year with my family and with You beside me. If Tyler cannot be with us I am learning to trust that through Your great love and wisdom, the best place he can be is with You. Happy New Year!!