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.

Drumline LIVE!

We have the privilege of having an amazing theater here in Orange that produces great shows! They usually have New York shows (on a smaller scale) come and perform. We saw Drumline LIVE last night and it was amazing! It was produced by the gentleman that did the movie; DRUMLINE. This was right up Collin's alley. They had 8 acts with an intermission and the finale was the best! A drum-off. The stage was full of 55 of the best band members from Black Colleges & Universities. It's a shame we don't take advantage of going to the theater more often since it's "in our backyard". On our to do list............

Bummed Knee

I got a phone call from the athletic trainer on Monday during last period. Collin had his left knee iced down and the trainer was concerned about an injury to his knee. He was quite the trooper while she maneuvered it around. We had an appointment with an orthopedic dr. yesterday and THANK GOODNESS it's not his ACL. Whew! He has a bad contusion that will keep him on crutches for another week. He's pretty bummed about that.