July and August?

So what happened to July and August?

A teenager moved in for the summer. That should be a clue of where the time went! As many of you know, Gerald and I are respite foster parents. A young man we have known for 4 1/2 years through the foster program needed a place to stay until he started college. He stayed with us and we helped him get ready for college, got him to Freshman Orientation and moved him into his dorm. He is attending Sul Ross University in Alpine, Texas and is a defensive linebacker for the football team. Go Lobos!

"Packed up and ready for college"

His name is Earnest Jones and he and his siblings came to the area via Hurricane Katrina. Earnest has a great story to share and has been featured in numerous local news stories. Among other things he rescued a nine month pregnant lady and her little one from drowning that he spotted from the top floor of an apartment building. Once he got her to safety, he made sure the helicopters saw that she needed to be airlifted out. He survived his time at the Superdome and hitchhiked all the way to Oklahoma searching for the family he'd been separated from. Finally after 3 months of searching, he was re-united with his mom and siblings in San Antonio. All of this at the age of 14!

He attended Boerne High School and was a star football player and was also on the track team. He was co-captain of the football team, a member of the national honor society, a special olympic coach, homecoming king, and on and on. Unfortunately during the third district game his senior year he was hit and tore his ACL. He was out for the rest of the season. He had surgery last fall and went through 9 months of rehab. He worked hard all summer to get ready to play. His wish is to be picked up by a Division I college. After attending his second freshman practice, Earnest was bumped up to practice with the upper classmen. They have played 2 non-conference games thus far and he played almost the entire game each time. Presently he is #3 defensive player on the team stats with 13 tackles for 2 games! He is 6ft. 230 pounds and can squat 700 pounds!

He is well liked in the community and I can't go anywhere without someone coming up to me and asking how Earnest is doing. He is one of the finest young men you could ever meet. We are very proud of him and he was such a joy to have around. We have no doubts he will go far! So don't forget the name, Earnest Jones!

A few of our summer highlights:

-Teri, nephew David and Rich came for a visit. David and Rich did the Six Flags and Schlitterbahn thing, it was great fun!

Rich, Earnest and David

Rich, David, Teri and Me

-We were invited to tour the new Dallas Cowboy stadium and watched the Paul McCartney concert from a private suite!

-I attended a rug hooking workshop in Fredericksburg.

-The Junction boys came over for a luncheon, which they planned, shopped and prepared themselves.

Happy Belated and Upcoming Birthdays!

July: Rebecca and Samantha-our cutie pie niece's

August: Clint-our talented nephew in-law

Gary-Gerald's "older" brother

September: Ruben-brother in-law

Jimmy-our very smart nephew
Teri-sister in-law
Ricky-our football star nephew
Katie-our beautiful niece
Amy- sister in-law

Hope you all had and have wonderful birthdays!

Gaston's White River Resort

Gerald just got back from a pre-bid meeting in Bull Shoals, Arkansas. They will be bidding on some work that needs to be done on the dam. While there he discovered the Visitors Center in Bull Shoals is named after a James A. Gaston...no relation...we think...well, you never know...we should research the family tree. James also known as Jim Gaston owns a top rated fishing resort on the White River. Gerald took a side trip to check it out and was impressed with the resort. He got a kick out of finding out the resort was established in 1958, the same year he was born so of course he had to buy a hat and t-shirt that said "Gaston's White River Resort Est. 1958". He can't wait to get back to the White River area to do some trout fishing even if they don't get this job! :O)

If you like trout fishing check out their website: http://www.gastons.com/

"Tea-rrific"

Last week I posted my "mission impossible" to make a tea party hat...here is how it turned out:

I think it turned out half way decent...I had fun making it!

The food and tea were delicious and it was fun getting dressed up...all the ladies looked beautiful! Phyllis sure put together a wonderful tea party...I had a "tea-rrific" time!

Mission Impossible?

My mission...if I choose to accept it...is to transform all of this...

...into a victorian tea party hat by Monday! I will be attending a friend's tea party Monday morning and I want to make my own hat. I found a cute dress on the sale rack yesterday and the stuff to make the hat was half price at Michael's. So here is the outfit I will be wearing...

Wish me luck! I will post a picture of my finished hat, good or bad. This post will self destruct in 5 seconds...5...4...3...2...1... :O)

Happy Birthday!

June 5: Jan & JoAnne (my sisters)

June 9: Lizzy (our beautiful niece)

We hope you all had wonderful birthdays!

We love you!