Where did the month go?

I just logged in and noticed that it had been almost a month since I posted. For anyone that has ever been in the education field...you can empathize. Remember the few weeks that you have between Thanksgiving and Christmas break? The craziness, the projects due, added upon decorating at home, shopping, wrapping, family get togethers, etc...? I love this time of year..even though it sometimes makes me a t-total NUT. (Ask my family)

We had a great time the first weekend in December going to New Braunfels/ Gruene and San Marcos. We got to spend time with Krista and Brad and enjoyed going to "Sights and Sounds" in San Marcos. The weather was absolutely PERFECT for the weekend....clear skies and cool.

I took 41 girls to the Galleria in Houston for an Apparel Field Trip last Friday. It was a fun day, the weather was great, and everyone behaved. Always a good field trip when teenagers cooperate and cause you no grief. HA HA

This weekend we'll be going to the NCAA Basketball game at the Toyota Center. It's exciting as about 30 faculty/staff and family will be going. Should be a fun time. We'll be "rooting" on our Aggies!

I'm excited that my sister and her family from Florida will be here on Sunday. It's been such a long time since both sisters and families will celebrate Christmas with my parents.

Amazing! Happy 70th Anniversary to Mamao and Papao in DeRidder, LA TODAY!!!!! What a wonderful example of love, patience and committment.

Please pray for my Aunt Carol as she battles cancer.

Hooray for Me!

"The Little Cypress-Mauriceville Education Foundation, Inc. held its annual “Prize Patrol” on Wednesday, November 20, delivering over $14,000 worth of grants to teachers throughout the LCM District. Eight projects, covering everything from reading to robotics to environmental science, will be funded by the Foundation. Those receiving grants and their schools and projects are: Babs Foster and Beverly Fikes - LCMHS - Computerized Baby Simulators". from www.kogt.com
HOOORRAAAY! 3144.00 is what we got to purchase 5 baby simulators that will truly enhance our program in the Family Consumer Science Department.

Important Enough to be Displayed on the Fridge!!!

Okay--- I have obviously not boycotted WalMart. In fact, I have probably been there 5 times in the past two weeks. It's an impossible thing to do. So , I'm sucking it up and just dealing with the hassle.

I got this great email the other day that really inspired me. I don't have it right in front of me so I can't quote some of the really great stuff it said. But, the gist of it was "be happy about who you are and where you are in your life right now---physically, emotionally and socially"....wrinkles, bulges, cranky people, etc.... I liked it so much; it has become "fridge worthy". I will proudly display it on my refrigerator to remind me that I need to embrace the place of where I am in my life. Don't get me wrong; I love my family, like my job, & count my blessings. I am just having a hard time dealing with the things in our lives that we can't control. Jerry's job still hasn't made an announcement of starting the plant back up----it's been 3 months since Hurricane Ike! We are ever so thankful that he has his job; we just don't know what the future will hold. There are many people in this area that are being laid off....we are feeling the crunch of the economy. We can't control outcomes that are not within our realm. ---enough said-------

Boycott WalMart?

UGHHHHHH Okay, I am usually very optimistic about things....but, I just have to VENT. Somethings just get under my skin and begin to crawl...........! Don't you just hate it when you have to do your "big" grocery shopping after a long day of work, and it's dark, and it's raining? and when you get home....wet and tired....you realize that they didn't put all your groceries in a bag and in your buggy?????? UGH So, then you have to call Walmart and complain, and then go back to the store...in the dark, in the rain and wait back in line to complain and get your products that you have already paid for???????? If I could, I would boycott Walmart and punish them! (HA--I'm not really as crazy as I sound). But, geeeezzzzzz. Give a working girl a break!

Aggies & Homecoming

Greetings! Homecoming was last Friday night and the LCM Battlin' Bears finished at 0-7. Sad, sad season. Collin took Mallarie and they looked "cute as a bug". We left early, early Saturday a.m. to head to Kyle Field for the A&M/ OU game. Another sad, sad game. 66-21. However, any day in Aggieland is good. We met our cousin Randi Kay for lunch. Don't the cousins look cute in the picture together? A&M Class of 2011 and 2016. Have a wonderful FALL DAY !

The ghoul, Janis & John

HALLOWEEN: Collin had a good time dressing as a GHOUL and scaring trick or treaters at Oma & Opa's while Jerry and I dressed like a "dead celebrity" for our party...that was the theme. Collin was the official candy giver outer. I was JANIS JOPLIN (now you can see why I don't grow out my hair...ugh...not a pretty sight) and Jerry was JOHN CANDY ---aka security guard from the movie VACATION. Really, really funny. His shirt even says "Walley World". I'm in the picture with Charln....host of the party, otherwise known as ELVIS for the evening and Jerry is next to Patty---his boss at work; she was CHER. What a rebel...... she knows Cher isn't dead, but her husband dressed as Sonny Bono; so they were a pair :) We got a chance to have a late lunch Saturday at the brand spankin' new HOUSE OF BLUES in Houston. How awesome is that place? and, the food was good. They just opened their doors in October. Maybe sometime in the future we can go see a concert there. Willie Nelson was playing Saturday evening and we saw his crew unloading his busses. Another beautiful Sunday here and a great day to give thanks for our blessings. Smiles to all!

...Tis the season to dress up!

Jerry and I went to a Halloween Party last weekend and he was a PARROTHEAD (huge Jimmy Buffett fan) and I was CAMO GIRL (original, huh?) Today at school, Collin is a 12th MAN...GIG 'EM and I was a teacher attacked by a hem gauge in my forehead....kinda gross, huh? We have a party to attend this evening and we dress up again. MAN! We haven't done this many costumes in years. Lots of fun! Be safe and HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Just for fun!

I thought this picture was just too cute not to share. A cool 54 degrees this a.m.---loving this weather.

Happy Girlfriend's Day

It is good to be a woman:
1. We got off the Titanic first.
2. We can scare male bosses with the mysterious gynecological disorder excuses.
3. Taxis stop for us.
4. We don't look like a frog in a blender when dancing.
5. No fashion faux pas we make, could ever rival the Speedo.
6. We don't have to pass gas to amuse ourselves.
7. If we forget to shave, no one has to know.
8. We can congratulate our teammate without ever touching her rear end.
9. We never have to reach down every so often to make sure our privates are still there.
10. We have the ability to dress ourselves.
11. We can talk to the opposite sex without having to picture them naked.
12. If we marry someone 20 years younger, we are aware that we will l look like an idiot.
13. We will never regret piercing our ears.
14. There are times when chocolate really can solve all your problems.
1 5. We can make comments about how silly men are in their presence because they aren't listening anyway.

Remember to Pray

Please lift up of one of our cousin's spouses in prayer who was recently diagnosed with cancer. They have several difficult decisions and pray for them to have peace through this time.

Please lift up the communities that continue to "rebuild" after Hurricane IKE. Pray for resources and time to heal their emotional state and their longing to "just be able to go home". There are many adjustments to their family life---

"Forty Something" Friends

OH! How we love blue skies and temperatures in the 70's! We experienced a deluge of rain this week; but, the pay off of this weekend was well worth it! Time to buy pumpkins!

Date night Friday night! Jerry and I enjoyed going out with two other couples last night for a great meal, lots of stories, and laughs! We got home alittle after 11 for Collin to be sitting in the front room saying "Ya'll are late!". Hmmmmmmmm I see the role being reversed in a few short years and he's driving. HA

I received an email with this great quote this week and I just had to share.
Do something outside this weekend that makes every ounce of your soul SMILE :)
'Be who you are and say what you feel, because.....

Those that matter......don't mind, and

Those that mind......don't matter.'

To be 14....friends, screams and chainsaws!

No school today for kids...a teacher workday. So....since last night wasn't a "school night"; 5 teenagers wanted to go to the Haunted Hotel. "NOT I" said Mom. I drove the crew to the Haunted Hotel; waited for them and then they road go-carts (the event was at a sport's complex) and topped it off with a drink from Sonic. It was a great night for them...laughs, screams, stories, and fun times. What a care-free time in their lives. To top off my night when going to bed, Collin said "Mom, you're the best"! I need to remember and capsulate these times! These are good times......

Family Visits

We find ourselves blessed. Blessed that we can use our "off time" from work and visit our family. My parents returned to the lake from 5 months of RV'ing and we had lunch with them on Saturday. Always a good visit at the lake.... The weather was beautiful--needing only be about 10-15 degrees cooler to be perfect. I walked out to their boat house to see the roof damage from IKE with my dad and Collin; we had to walk on about every 3rd board. For me...that was a scarey feat. (get it....literal FEET). HA HA

We drove from the Lake to see Jerry's parents for a meal out to celebrate Marty"s birthday. A meal at Johnny Carino's is always great. Happy Birthday Marty...and many more!!!

We stayed in Baytown and attended church and saw smiling, happy faces! What a terrific church family. We received hugs and short visits with so many that we miss. Pray for the recovery of the area surrounding this church; the repair of buildings and the transition to a new schedules because of damage due to IKE.

Please pray for my friend's little boy; Kyler as he will have surgery on Nov. 4th at Texas Children's for a hernia.

Enjoy your Columbus Day....remember the song....Columbus sailed the ocean blue in 1492????

Adding a blog after 3 weeks? What's Up?

We hope this finds all our friends doing well. What's been going on with us? Hmmmmm I just completed the shortest 6 weeks in teaching ever! Only 17 days thanks to Gustav and Ike. Alittle hard to post grades when you've only seen your students about 8 times.... we are on block scheduling.

Jerry is still busy at his plant (as well as everyone else there) cleaning and assessing. The future of the plant is unknown; but, we know he is being taken care of and probably won't know start up date (if they start back up) for some time.

Collin is still golf lessoning and had a 100 in Biology this six weeks! WOW. He loves science. Our homecoming has been moved to Nov. 7 (from the end of Sept.) and we have homecoming parade and events that are upcoming. Our poor Bear football team just can't win a game :(

We enjoyed seeing the Foster family at a retirement dinner and a wedding shower this past weekend. It's been a while since we all had gotten to see each other. Mee Maw was always the "glue" to see that we stuck together (at least every now and then).

My parents returned to Livingston after being in COOL COLORADO since May. They have some damage on their dock/ boat house and limbs down. We plan on seeing them this weekend. My grandfather celebrated his 93rd b-day on Oct.2!

Keep Orange County in your prayers. There is still much repair and transition in this area. 1000's of people are now living their "new normal".

....On the Other Side of Hurricane IKE

September 11 - School cancelled; mandatory evacuation issued for Orange County at 6:15 a.m. Collin and Babs leave for Irving, TX; Jerry reports and stays with Storm Crew with the plant
September 12-13 - Hurricane IKE blows throw Galveston, Houston and the "dirty side" of the Hurricane is Jefferson and Orange County, TX
September 14 - Babs picks up generators in Arlington to deliver to family that stayed behind
September 15 - Collin and Babs head south with tons of other folks on I45 South. No gas available south of Centerville, TX. We head east on 190 to check out my parent's lake house on Lake Livingston. No home damage; dock and boat house damage. LOTS of pine tress down. No electrcity there. We stay with Oma and Opa in Baytown --thank goodness for cool weather and a generator :)
September 16 - Return home -- purchased groceries in Beaumont after waiting "our turn" to enter the store at HEB Plus. 8108 - HOME SWEET HOME "debris" in front yard; ELECTRICITY CABLE AND WATER ARE ON! Hooray. Jerry's outdoor kitchen lost it's roof and the pool is a mess--- absolutely no big deal! Praise God.
September 18-19 - Jerry gets to come home from Storm Duty. Couldn't be more tired. Dear friends from Bridge City stayed with us Thursday-Friday as they received several feet of water in their home. PRAY FOR BRIDGE CITY- a sister community of Orange. The surge affected the whole town! It is devastating! We live north of I10 in Orange and the flooding was south of I10. Visit www.kogt.com to see pictures.
I pray that God uses us as servants to help others in need. Our beaches are gone--the two beach houses that we loved to go to are now slabs. PRAY for strength, restoration, and perserverance during this time. I THANK GOD for our safe keeping, safe passage and the health and willingness to help others. I THANK GOD for family in the DFW area that fed us and entertained us during our evacuation.

Life is full of uncertainties

Rollercoaster. That's all I can say. You know, I don't remember there being so many hurricanes as a kid. In fact, I don't remember there being so many until just the past 5-10 years. I guess that in the real world of "grown-ups" you notice things more. HA
IKE the hurricane is nearing...IKE the hurricane is not.... Let's just put it this way; our bags are not unpacked from GUSTAV. Our lawn furniture and plants are still nestled closely to our back patio wall.
Jerry took on the job as Emerg. Response Coord. on 9/1. I would call that initiation by submersion! He has had about 15 conference calls with the state officials and national meterologists since 9/1---- planning ahead and predicting outcomes that noone really knows. At school, we are submitting "3 week" grades and we have only attended 8 days of class because of storms.
I'm going with the flow........ we learn that we just have to do what we can. Those that used to know me as a TYPE A personality.....well, I'm changing. I'm becoming more of the "whatever" personality :)
High school is agreeing with Collin and Krista will turn 22 tomorrow! Where is time going?????? I guess this only means that we're getting older, too. Like my dad says.....Old Age is a good thing; it's better than the alternative.
Please join us as prayer warriors against bad weather. I am always reminded of our many, many blessings. (to a tune....counting them one by one)!

On the other side...

We received some rain and wind gusts throughout the evening. Praise God that it isn't much to comment about. We go back to school/work on Thursday. I'm hoping that we won't have to make up the weather days as we were under a mandatory evacuation. Jerry is home for the day and is resting comfortably in his own bed...much better than an army cot in his office at work! We plan to leave our home "hurricane ready" until we see what Hanna, Ike and Josephine do. It appears we're free of worry from Hanna---we'll see about the other two. We have our lawn/pool items out of the way, etc.. We give God the praise and glory for His protection over us.

Hurricane Magnet?

Good evening all! What an eventful week.... Hurricane Gustav was lurking in the Caribbean all week which sent our family in overdrive. Evacuation preparations began around our house Thursday evening with the prediction of the storm entering the gulf and threatening the Louisiana coast/ Southeast Texas coast. We had to get the yard mowed short, put up outdoor furniture and pool items, etc. and then the indoor things of securing photo albums, etc.. Collin and I left Saturday afternoon for Lufkin where we stayed in a hotel that had several rooms blocked with Jerry's company. It was comforting to have a group of us there. HOWEVER, it certainly didn't take the place of having Jerry with us. Collin and I went to the Lufkin Zoo (I'm very impressed with how good it was!) and then bowling. He whipped his mom on that one. Jerry had to stay back and work and will be at the plant 24/7 this week. We are blessed to be back home now and are only expecting 30-40 mph winds with some rain here. Dodged that bullet!! Thanks to all for the thoughts and prayers during this time.

RAIN, BEACH & FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL

Can you tell by the look on his face? "OK, MOM---get the "first day of school" picture over with!" HA HA

1. RAIN RAIN RAIN all last week! It's finally starting to dry out ....and it appears that the Tropical Storm/ Hurricane that is in the Carribean will be in the Gulf by Saturday. UGHH

2. Jerry and I spent a wonderful day Saturday driving to the beach and grabbing a bite to eat by the water. Collin went with some buddies to Artesian Springs in Newton County and had a great time.

3. School started 8/25. Hooooooray???? Collin had an eventful first day. Our high school was on "lock down" from 10:15 - 3:40 as there was an armed robber in a nearby neighborhood--close to the schools. This robber was involved with a shooting the night before and as a precautionary measure...the schoools "locked down". Better to be safe than sorry. The suspect was apprehended about 2:30. Hopefully--Tuesday will be a "normal" day.

RIP Boo Boo

August 1998- August 2008
Boo Boo was our parakeet that we got as soon as we moved to Orange. About 5 days ago, he began losing his balance and fluttering around on the bottom of his birdcage. I "researched" online to find that parakeets usually only live 5-7 years. Boo Boo had longevity! 10 YEARS. He passed away on Thursday, Aug. 14th...my first day back at work. Although not the same feeling as losing a dog or cat, we were so used to him singing in the background of our sunroom. He'll be missed. Not something I wanted to do on the first day back at work.....bury my bird on my lunch hour! Take care---and, listen to the birds sing !

Back at W-O-R-K....S-C-H-O-O-L

Thursday was my first day back at work. I'm quite excited as my good friend is now my Principal. Although change is often uncomfortable at the workplace, it is a necessity. She is implementing alot of great ideas at the high school and is a "take charge" type of gal. I can already feel the "culture" of the campus change.

I've been busy arranging my classroom and typing up the "first of the year" handouts. It would be nice to email classroom procedures to my students and save the trees!

Collin will go to "fish camp" on Wednesday, get his schedule (although I already have it), find his classrooms, etc... It's a blessing (for me) to be on HIS campus and a curse (for him) to be on MY campus :) HA HA He'll find there are lots of perks for mom being "handy".

Krista and Amber will start their college classes on Monday, the 25th. Looks like they both will have a full load. Krista will do her "block" of education courses and is looking forward to graduating December 09.

Screws Gone

Krista and I talked this morning and she's feeling alittle groggy and sore...but the screws are out of her left hand. The surgery was short and easy and she'll have to wear a soft "cast" over her hand for the next few days.

Cool Shoes

Who says that teachers can't have cool shoes? I'm pretty darn proud of myself for finding these cool shoes at a exhibit both at convention last week in Dallas!

Removing the Screws

Krista will have a short procedure done in the a.m. to remove the screws in her left hand. When she was a sophomore in high school, she had a cheerleading accident ...breaking her hand. She had quite extensive surgery at the time and the dr. had to put in screws. They are giving her some trouble now so the dr. feels that it will be a noninvasive surgery to remove the screws. The procedure should only be about 15 minutes with no physical therapy, etc.. needed. Say a short prayer for her in the a.m. about 7:30.

Online School Clothes Shopping

Collin is not much of a shopper. AT ALL... As I have gotten "older"....my browsing days are fewer. My idea of a fun day of shopping is now browsing at outlet malls and finding a "jewel" in the rough at a resale shop! Jerry and I like to mall shop every now and then and especially like book stores. Anyway....Collin does his school shopping online. I pull up the screens on my laptop, he picks out the number of shirts/and-or shorts that I tell him and then we go on and do the same with his tennis shoes, etc.. We have gotten really lucky and 95% of the items we get FIT. Hooray. Thank goodness for Fed Ex, UPS, and DHL that delivered our clothes this year. Forget the crowds, the traffic, the gas prices! + no squabbling in the mall!

Conference and Storm

This week was spent at the FCS Conference in Dallas. Family Consumer Science is the new term of Home Economics. (we have to be politically correct in this everchanging world....) My little brain is on overload! There were 52 con-current sessions to choose from during "break out" sessions. I am teaching a new course this year called "Ready, Set, Teach!" The training was very informative and right now....I'm overprocessed with data! We had a good time meeting new friends and enjoying new places to eat dinner in the West End. We stayed at the Sheraton/ the old Adam's Mark Hotel. It is connected to the Plaza of Americas which is an amazing office building with food market/ ice skating rink. Our favorite stop was the Dallas Market downtown. We stopped on our way out and got fresh produce. It's a home ec. teacher's dream place to shop. Rows and rows of nothing but fresh fruits and vegetables. I know, I'm quirky. I'm planning on making pickles and pickled jalapenos today. The tomatoes are amazing! I picked up peaches for Jerry---his favorite.

My co-worker and I left Monday a.m. with Eduoardo (sp) coming into the Gulf Coast early Tuesday a.m. It appeared that the tropical storm would make landfall around Galveston. Needless to say...I think our area (Sabine Pass) is a storm magnet. I prayed continuously Monday evening that the storm wouldn't be a "bad one". And, it wasn't. We received some rain and wind...but nothing major! Jerry & Collin had to repair a section of our fence that had a tree limb on it. Our pool has some "trash in it"---pine needles, leaves, etc... But, this is absolutely no big deal. Today will be a "yard" day for me which I love to do. (I know...quirky....)

Monday, August 4th

For all of you that know what we have been through with Hurricane Rita, you know that this image "freaks me out". Please just pray that the wind will be minimal. It appears that the storm will be coming in around Galveston and will only be a Category 1. So.......it appears that it will be "light" in the Hurricane aspect. Jerry is on the "storm team" at work and will be there until the heavy rains leave. The news just ordered a mandatory evacuation for Cameron Parish in Southwestern Louisiana.

"Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of it's own". Matthew 6:34

Say What You Need To Say

John Mayer, 2008

Take all of your wasted honor

Every little past frustration

Take all of your so-called problems,

Better put 'em in quotations

Say what you need to say

Walking like a one man army

Fighting with the shadows in your head

Living out the same old moment

Knowing you'd be better off instead,

If you could only ...

Say what you need to say

Have no fear for giving in

Have no fear for giving over

You'd better know that in the end

Its better to say too much

Then never say what you need to say again

Even if your hands are shaking

And your faith is broken

Even as the eyes are closing

Do it with a heart wide open

Say what you need to say

John Mayer and Colbie Caillat put on a gggreeaat concert last night in the Woodlands. Even though the heat index was 100+; it was worth the "sweat". My fave song "Say What You Need to Say" was sung as an encore...of course. It's the song played at the end of the best movie ever..."Bucket List". That is a definite "must see"movie!

Let's pray the tropical storm away that is in the Gulf Of Mexico right now. It is moving west towards the southeastern coast of Texas. UGGGHHHHH Storm Storm Go AWAY!

May all have a peaceful night ..... God Bless

Football Program

It's almost the start of school and wanting to share our football program ad that we just submitted.

Friend Day

The task was accomplished! After trying to coordinate three ladies schedules to find a totally "free" day, a friend and I drove to see our special friend in Houston yesterday. She used to teach with us several years ago and has moved into a wonderful area, done a fabulous job decorating her home, and has married a man that truly "compliments" her. She truly "glowed" with happiness. It was a busy day of eating, shopping, visiting and splashing our feet in her pool. Good times!

Beach Day!

105 degrees heat index in Southeast Texas.........hmmmmmmmmmm.... let's go to the beach! Collin took a friend and it is pure torture to get them to "pose" for a picture...as you can tell....very impromptu shots. (smile) They were splashing each other with the paddles for the boat. We looked for shark's teeth and beach glass...that's "our thing" to do. The boys had a great time at the water slide after the beach. We are so glad that we are so close to the beach and it can be a perfect day trip.

Splish, Splash --Yum Yum

Yesterday was a terrific day for a swimming get together! Jerry's brother and family were in from Grapevine and it was a good afternoon to have the whole family and his parents, Krista and Amber over for swimming (splashing) and, of course, eating. Jerry grilled up some great sausage and chicken and we topped it off with dreamsicle ice cream and banana pudding. Our new little nephew (only 1 year) is quite the water bug and stayed in the pool most of the time with me.

Mamma Mia!

Yesterday was a perfect day for a movie. Rain, rain, rain. I got a chance to go to lunch, movie, and concluded with Starbucks with a few of my friends. We chose a movie that we probably couldn't drag our husbands to. Righto! I think there were two men in the theater. I just love musicals and it has been years since I enjoyed one. The added bonus was ABBA music! Nothing like awesome 70's, 80's music! Ladies, I highly suggest Mamma Mia!

Boo Boo

Boo Boo is our parakeet. We have had him for ten years. I often wonder how long parakeets live. Obviously, a very long time. He is especially fond of Jerry's music and bobs his head up and down when good ole rock and roll is playing. The older he gets, the less grooming he does and isn't crazy about trimming his beak. He is my alarm clock during the summer when I am off from teaching. As soon as the sun rises, he begins singing in the sunroom.

Straight Hair

Collin has beautiful, thick, and sometimes curly hair. The longer it gets...the more it curls. He has been wanting to grow his hair alittle longer. The longer it got, the more curl we saw. Today, he had a chemical straightener put on it and it actually took alot of the curl out. He was pleased. He had his high school physical at the doctor's this a.m. and was not happy to find out his needed another tetanus shot. That's how things go..... He convinced me that I needed to rent him a new game at Blockbusters after the doctor's visit because he used to always "get a prize" when he was younger. He won. Game rented.

Thought for the Day

"I came to realize that a life lived to help others is the only one that matters and that it is my duty, in return for the lavish life God has devolved upon me, to help others He has placed in my path. This is my highest and best use as a human. Faith is not believing that God can--it is knowing that God will". Ben Stein

"Out of Sorts"

Our two dogs...Dash and Nipper..are really having a hard time with Drew's death. They have been totally out of sorts the last few days. Every evening, we let them in our sun room (they are generally outside dogs) to lay in Jerry and my laps for "special time". They nap and are at peace. I'm sure they are grieving too. I find myself having a wave of emotion at really odd times for that old gal.

Let's Go Astros....or not

What a great day for a baseball game! Clear skies and a full Minute Maid Park---and, to get to play the "Cubbies" made it extra special. We are typically 'Stros fans, but when the Cubs or in town...the score can go either way and we're happy. And, in today's case, it definitely went "left" as the Cubs won 6-0. Collin brought his friend Mallory and we enjoyed the day in Houston. Jerry was the confused fan wearing an Astros shirt and sporting his Harry Carey cap :)

LyondellBasell Global Care Day

Okay, today was hotter than H E double hockey sticks! Jerry and I worked with about 100 other members of the Lyondell Beaumont facility and Beaumont Rotary Club members to clean up a little league field on the west side of Beaumont. We scraped paint, painted bleachers and dugouts and many helped weld, replace boards, etc... to insure that the little guys and gals have a better place to play next spring. It looked 100% better by lunchtime. With the temperature and the humidity ---the heat index was well over 100 degrees. We haven't figured out if the temperatures are just higher now or that we are getting older and we can't handle the heat as well....but it was H-O-T. We are certainly appreciative of our A/C! Cool thoughts to you and yours....................

"Drew"silla Foster 1991-2008

Today is a sad day at our home. Our faithful friend and loyal pet, DREWsilla, had to be laid to rest this morning. She lived a full life....even through Hurricane Rita (category 3-4) and Hurricane Humberto (category 1). She saw alot in her life, including the birth of Collin and the addition and passing of her friend - Weezer- a miniature daschund.

Jerry and I got married in May 1991 and we got DREW, a cute black lab puppy in January of 1992. She has been with us almost our entire marriage! We got her from one of Jerry's coworkers in Channelview when she was about 6 weeks old. You might ask why we named her Drewsilla. We were going to work the first morning we had her so we left her in our laundry room. We had a radio on for "noise" and blankets on the floor. When I returned home from school that day, I opened the door from the garage to the house and ......the laundry room was a MESS. I had folded CLEAN clothes on the top of the dryer, and don't ask me how.....but this 6 week old puppy had gotten them down off the dryer and well....... you can use your imagination to what the rest of the room looked like. She had chewed through the cord to the radio! We hadn't given her a name yet so Drewsilla stuck. Drusilla is one of Cinderella's stepsisters! Mischievious, sneakey..... Needless to say, after that day, Drew didn't live up to her name. She was a sweet, compassion, loving pet. In fact, when Collin was about 2, he loved to ride his tricycle up and down the long driveway while I mowed on the riding mower. Drew would pace back and forth ,up and down the driveway in between where I was mowing and where Collin was. Very protective. Krista and Amber loved "riding" on Drew when they were 4 and 5. Yep! She was around for lots of memories! She had one litter of pups in 1997. She had 4 black pups and 1 yellow pup. She, of course, was a great mom. She loved being used as a foot rest...as long as you rubbed her belly with your feet. She loved the water--and, for all her life, she had a "baby pool" to lay down in and cool off. Until about 18 months ago, we'd allow her to get in our pool and sit on the steps. Her eyes would light up. She was my pal when I watered my plants each evening; she couldn't wait to get hosed down with the cool water from the hose.

We all will miss her; but know that she's much happier where she is now without struggling.

Let her rest in peace...........

FRIENDS

Yesterday evening, we drove to Baytown (about 100 miles) away to attend a visitation for a wonderful Christian lady. She was the mother and grandmother of several of our dear friends. I knew when we arrived and saw the line-- out the door to the funeral home that this lady was being truly honored by her church and community friends. It was a tribute to her life, her family and her faith. I know she finds great peace and is rejoicing in heaven! It was great to see many, many of our friends from when we lived and worshiped in this area. In fact, we calculated that it had been TOO LONG (about 2 years) since we last saw many of our friends. Like I stated...too long. We all need to vow to cherish those that we can visit more often. I'm speaking to myself...it needs to be a priority.

4th of July Parade- Leakey TX

Cruising FUN to Cozumel and Progresso Mexico

Grandparents - 70 years of marriage December 2008

Collin playing golf in Concan, TX (Frio River Country )

Sisters together after a day of shopping!

6 weeks until High School

Well, as I looked at the calendar today; I realized that summer is zooming by, and the rest of the summer is filled with appointments (those that we procrastinated with at the beginning of the summer), workshops, golf lessons, make-up swim lessons that I give, and a week long conference in Dallas. Whew! I always knew that as we get older...time flies by at rocket speed. I am most amazed that Collin will begin high school this year! He's much more ready for this than MOM is. I know that God is preparing me for the inevitable separation. I use this time to count blessings...health, happiness and the shear joy of spending time with family and friends. I had the great opportunity to spend last Sunday with my two sisters and niece. My younger sister lives in Florida which makes "getting together" an irregular feat; so it was so nice for us all to be together. We also got to visit with our grandparents in Louisiana (they are 86 and 92!) A blessing. Vacation this summer? A super cruise with friends in June and an annual trip to the FRIO RIVER! Until next time..... SMILES