Halloween 2007

What a great Halloween party! This year we celebrated at Gary & Debbie’s new house. Gary and John helped Chloe and Katelynn carve jack-o-lanterns. This was an experience! The costumes were great— some were scary, others were fun. We filled our tummies with hot dogs, Frito pie, and lots of cookies, cakes, and candy…and there was a LOT of candy! Debbie and Cynthia filled bags of candy and a ghost piñata for the little ones. The piñata had to weigh 50 pounds! It was the heaviest one we ever had! It was so heavy; it broke on the second hit! Candy and kiddos scattered everywhere! We had two hay rides: one “dry” for the little ones, and the other wet! John, Josh, Gary & Fred were busy for two days filling over 500 water balloons! We had a great time! Fortunately, I pulled the trailer this year so I came off the trail dry!

Fall in Boothbay, Maine

Mark went to Boothbay, Maine for a sea trial of a gearbox he designed for a tug boat! He e-mailed these pictures to share. The first is a picture of the tug boat, "Pati Moran" tied to the dock at the shipyard; the second is of the river at East Boothbay. The flamboyant colors of the leaves are magnificent and the water is the deepest blue. The succulent lobster in Maine is like no other. The small buoys in the water around the boats are attached to lobster traps. Mark says Boothbay is a beautiful town -established in 1764- and a great vacation destination! (I hope that was a hint!)

What A Blessing!

Joshua received his seven-month sobriety chip today! Mark and I celebrated the occasion with Joshua by taking him to dinner. We are so very proud of him! (Josh wanted to share this accomplishment with Jeremy!) Josh carved this jack-o-lantern with his pocket knife. The side view has his and Kayla's initials: "J -n- K"

Dallas Cowboy Quilt

Mark and I made this quilt for Jeremy (finished just last weekend) and shipped it to him today. He asked for a soft blanket and even picked out the fleece (Army print). He loves the Dallas Cowboys and does not know this is what we used for the backing on the quilt. I even personalized it with a message that reads, "To My Son- Jeremy Lester, With Love- Momma, 2007".

Jeremy's Mailing Address In Iraq

GREAT NEWS!! I just received a mailing address for Jeremy in Iraq! This is not a permanent address, but is good till October 31, 2007. Neither packages nor post will be forwarded to the troops after this date. It takes 10-14 days to receive mail in Iraq. I hope to have another mailing address for him before this one expires and will notify everyone through the blog. For security reasons, I cannot publish his mailing address on the blog; however, if you e-mail me (shows@consolidated.net) , I will share it with you. Jeremy called me this morning (his evening) (nine-hours ahead of CST); he seemed to be in good spirits, but misses everyone terribly. (This picture made me realized we have the same eyes.)

FYI: To mail a letter or post card, the cost of standard postage is the same as here in the USA- $.42. The post offices have 2 box sizes for care packages to our troops for $9, up to 70 lbs. This is a great value! You would be amazed at what we can stuff in a box!

First Wedding Anniversary

This is a picture of Jeremy & Brittni in Lufkin in July 2007. This is one of our favorite pictures of them. Jeremy & Brittni were married October 9, 2006 just over one month after his return from Iraq. What a handsome couple! We love both our son and daughter-in-law and wish them many happy years together. We are so proud of Jeremy & Brittni!

Below is an actual picture from their wedding day.