Spring Break 2009

Ande Reaux at 2 months

Spring yard work---I love our new fountain.

Sheet Rockin' KING!

Collin --15 !!

Now to the one who can do infinitely more than all we can ask or imagine according to the power that is working among us- Eph. 3:20

I just love Ephesians. Many of my favorite scriptures come from this book in the Bible. Faith, perserverance, "leaning on the promises of God"...... The older I get, the easier it is for me to LET GO AND LET GOD. I used to make such a mess of things before I would turn it over to God.

We are at peace with whatever will happen with Jerry's job and the outlook for the future. Thank you for continued thoughts and prayers. God is good.

Jerry was able to be off Tuesday-Friday this week and was very busy sheet rocking our garage. This has been a project we had wanted to conquer for about 2 years. And, conquer he did! I helped with cutting the odd pieces and even learned a thing or two about sheet rocking. No, I don't want to do it fulltime! Now comes the tape & floating, texturing and painting. Lots of stages to get this project down.

Collin and I have been off for a week for a very early Spring Break. Monday and Tuesday were amazingly BEE-autiful and then Wednesday through today have been cold, raining and very gray. I got alot of window cleaning, yard work, and outside projects completed for the first few days. I have discovered that here in Southeast Texas...mildew grows on EVERYTHING through the winter months. We invested in 3 gallons of chlorox and I "went to to town" spraying down things, rinsing things and windexing. Jerry came home from work that evening and said "sure smells clean out there :)".

We enjoyed lunch with my parents and sister & brother in law on Wednesday. It's been since Christmas that we were able to get together. Lunch was great with fried catfish at a local restaurant and mom made her wonderful chocolate cake with cooked frosting. Yum Yum

Collin turned 1-5 ....yes 15! on Saturday! He has read his driver's ed book and even completed 14 worksheets to prepare for his permit test. I'M his home instructor; and the teacher in me produced a workbook for him. (from his point of view...grumble, grumble....) But, he has learned quite a bit and I feel better about signing my name to a notarized document. I'm a dork about some things...and a stickler to rules. He had some friends over last night for pizza and major JUNK food. It's great to hear them having a good time!

Ande Reaux is now 2 months old. She's been to the vet for her first round of shots. She has grown SO MUCH! She went to the vet on March 6 and weighed 16 lbs. and on March 9 she weighed 20 lbs.!!!!!! The vet said she would be a big girl and we are believers!

Spring has Sprung!

Abby, my neice, will be married to Jason on June 12th. Yesterday, we spent the day taking engagement portraits in Houston. Hermann Park and Rice University proved to be the perfect locations and the weather couldn't have been better. Love ya Ab! A lunch break at Lil Pappasitos and a scoop of Ben & Jerry's topped off the day!

COUSINS! Aren't they cute? Jerry and I had our first date on Abby's 5th birthday! Time has just flown by.

Crazy kid---hard to believe he'll be 15 on March 14th and soon after get his D-R-i-V-i-N-g! permit. Oh my!

'Nough said. I think (and I know I'm biased) that he's a cutie. Collin's last soccer game is Tuesday evening. It's been a good season...not always winning...but a fun time. Jerry and I have enjoyed "learning the game". This next week is our Spring Break and it couldn't have come sooner. TAKS was March 3rd and the students usually "shut down" for the following days...it didn't help that they were eager for Spring Break. We have debated about getting out of town for a few days this week but haven't made a decision about when and where......

Ande Reaux Foster had her first vet visit on Friday. She weighs 16 lbs. and has become either a nascence (or playmate) to Dash and Nipper. She can now stay in the backyard full time and keep up with the "pack". The vet said she'll be a BIG GIRL by the size of her paws and her weight.

Job?

When God leads you to it....He'll bring you through it.

We don't know if the Houston position for Jerry will be a permanent thing. More "ifs"....... He's working in a position that is currently open..but isn't a posted position. The company doesn't know if they will refill the position. ...With all the lay-offs company wide; there are more "ifs" than make us comfortable.

It has been known to us that blessings come through great challenges.

Mardi Gras & Soccer

Collin "sporting" the white uniform. Go #8

Krista and Collin went to the Port Arthur Mardi Gras parade on Saturday evening. Beads, beads, beads! She was home from college for the weekend. She's on the countdown now......she'll graduate Texas State December 09.

It was a gorgeous Sunday yesterday. Jerry re-roofed our outdoor kitchen (thank you Hurricane IKE) and we broke in our new Weber grill after church.

Little Ande- our chocolate lab--has doubled in size since Feb. 9th. She is a fat, rolly polly little gal. Our other dogs are growing tired of her because all she wants to do now is play and nibble on them .

For any NASCAR fans out there.... Matt Kenseth #17 is the champ! He's the driver that we always root for and he won Daytona and the first Sprint race. How exciting! We'll be going to the races in Fort Worth the first weekend in April.

Allergy Testing

Collin had to endure 45 needles yesterday....another round of allergy testing. Thank goodness for the numbing cream they put on him about 1 hr. prior to testing. They slatthered (?) him up with the cream and wrapped his arm with saran wrap. He looked like a human sandwich! Results: Severely allergic to CATS and DUST. The doctor really suspected trees and grass, too. Here's a picture of him getting tested totally focused on his Ipod Touch. The nurse testing him is a huge Nascar fan so we had lots to talk about.

I LOVE our new fireplace mantel that Jerry rebuilt. We needed it to be wider and sturdier to handle a larger TV that we purchased. He added trim and it really dresses it up. We are so glad that he's handy with tools!

What's new with the Fosters?

Jerry's plant in Beaumont officially closed it's does on February 5th. His plant has been inoperable since Hurricane IKE.

He received a phone call on February 2nd to report to the Lyondell refinery in Houston on February 3rd. About 75 people from the Beaumont facility have been laid off. So, needless to say, we are very very blessed and give God thanks that he has a job; it's just 100+ miles away. We also are thankful that Jerry is able to stay at his parents during the week and come home on the weekends. He will be working several turnarounds this spring which will keep him very busy. We are in transition...a new phase of our lives.... please keep us in your thoughts as we face decisions.

Time flies............

We have officially become soccer parents. This is a shot of 1/2 time of Collin and team members. Go #8!
New addition to our family. Chocolate lab named ANDE (as in Ande's Creme de Menthes) I wanted to name her Mon Ami (French for "My Friend") I lost the name battle. Collin named her Ande. You can see Dash's reaction...."Hmmmmmmmmm?" Actually, Dash has become quite the nurterer; Nipper is having issues; like "why da heck did ya'll go and get that?" HA
Took a Sunday afternoon several weeks ago and drove to Gilchrist, Crystal Beach, Galveston....... Very emotional and overwhelming. Pictures do not do it justice. This is a picture of our friend's cabin site. We loved going to Lori and Bob's cabin. It is now beachfront.
This is a picture of a bay side cabin that we rented many summers....it's on Stingaree Marina Road. Jerry loved renting this place because he could launch his boat and put it "at the back door". He'd get up early and fish and come back to the cabin just in time for bacon and eggs! That was the life!
Fat little girl! Ande after a good meal of puppy chow. Collin is pretty happy about his Valentine's present. She's only 5 weeks old.