Adopt a Soldier

So my coworker Wanette is just awesome and I love her because she has such a big loving heart. For several years she has belonged to organizations that match you up with families living in rural poverty or soldiers and she sends them care packages full of goodies. She has kept in touch with some of the recipients for like 20 years! The organizations are boxproject.org and anysoldier.com

She was telling me about one of her soldiers yesterday and how in general they feel forgotten about so I decided to find a soldier to send a care package to. At anysoldier.com there is a list of soldiers with general info about each one and things that they are in need of. They usually ask for things like deodorant and febreeze because they don't get to wash their clothes very often. Also snack foods and reading materials are requested or just anything that reminds them of home.

The soldier I picked is Darcela Tucker. Her unit is from Anchorage, Alaska and they are stationed in Afghanistan until May 2010. They are very low on supplies right now so anything is appreciated.

Steps to filling a box:
First, try to find things around the house that you don't use or have extra quantity of. I found tons of things around the house such as toothbrushes and toothpaste that we get from going to the dentist. Ihad mini shampoos and conditioners from hotels so I threw that in there too along with single serve tea bags, hot chocolate and crystal light.

Next, add things that will bring a smile to their face or that they can have fun with. I thought about magazines, playing cards and silly little toys but after I put these snack foods in the box it was completely full. I will have to save those other ideas for the next box. At Christmas time, Wanette will pack christmas decorations and small presents and wrap every item in the box.

Last, write a sweet note about how much you appreciate your soldiers sacrifice and be sure to tell them about yourself and hopefully they will write back. I got a flat rate box and I think its ~ $12 to ship no matter how heavy it is. I was so excited about this! Let me know if you want to make a box with me!

Tornado in Beaumont?!

As if hurricanes weren't enough to worry about we are now having to worry about tornados causing damage in B-town. A tornado hit Kohl's shopping center at 2pm yesterday, skipped over Walmart and headed toward Parkdale Mall. It ripped the roof of Kohl's and Walmart, caused cars to flip over and hurled shopping carts through the sky! Lukily no one was severely injuried. Justin and I were at work on the other side of town at the time.

Meeting Baby Kyle

We were in Houston on Saturday for Tommy & Kelli's beautiful wedding. On the way home we stopped by my cousin Dan and his wife Katie's house for a short visit to meet the newest member of the Crockett Clan - Kyle Reed born May 29th (they picked out his name before realizing it could stand for Kyle Field & Reed Arena - he is born to be an aggie!)

Me holding baby Kyle and my cousin Dan. Kyle looks just like his daddy!
Kaitlyn, Chole & Kyle

Our New Boat!

We are officially owners of a 1999 Larson Ski Boat! Justin and his cousin Jonathan grew up skiing on Lake Sam Rayburn and since the family lakehouse has been passed down to them they have been dying to get a boat. Fortunately they found a lady who has been trying to find a good home for her boat. It's in excellent condition and she gave us a really good deal. We would love to have you come out to the lake with us!

Deal of the Day

Sorry I didn't post this earlier in the day but every Wednesday this summer is Wacky Wednesday at Arby's where they give away a freebie.
Here are the freebies scheduled for August:

8/5 - FREE regular roast beef sandwich with soft drink purchase

8/12 - FREE roast chicken club with soft drink purchase

8/19 - FREE fruitea with sandwich purchase

8/26 - FREE roast beef 'n cheddar with soft drink purchase

I went to local Arby's today and they couldn't figure out how to ring up a free sandwich so they just let me take the sandwich and didn't make me buy a drink! The manager said I was the only person who had requested a freebie. He apparently didn't remember me getting a freebie last month. You don't have to bring a coupon or anything.

First Anniversary Weekend Getway

We celebrated a wonderful year by first visiting our friends Josh and Christy who live in Boerne, TX. They recently bought a new house and we were their first guests. We went to Market Days in downtown Boerne where people sell stuff they make and took in some live music two nights in a row at the Tin Roof Steakhouse. I was amazed at how talented the local singers were - they could play any song you requested!

Cooling off with a yummy snow cone at Market Days

Josh & Christy

Then we stayed a couple of days in Fredericksburg, TX where we stayed at a really nice bed & breakfast called Angels Above the Creek Lodge. I highly recommend staying here - they bring your breakfast right to your room every morning. We visited the Nimits Museum, walked in the cute little shops up and down Main St., visited two wineries - Becker and Grape Creek, and of course ate lots of food. On our way back to Beaumont we met up with my sister Emily and her husband Luke in San Antonio.

Dinner at Rathskellar Steakhouse

We popped open some bubbly by the pool

Becker Winery

Grape Creek WineryWe went to this neat christian coffee house where Justin taught me how to play chessOf course it only took him about 5 minutes to beat me

At the coffee house we met this kid who is starting his freshman year soon at Texas A&M and so ofcourse we had to impart all of our aggie wisdom to him haha. This guy couldn't believe we have been out of college for 4 years -to him we were so grown up! crazy!

This Past Year in a Nutshell

July 12th marked Justin & I's first wedding anniversary. I feel so very blessed to have spent the best year of my life with such a sweet, fun and godly man! The past year went by so fast and was very eventful - I wish I had started a blog sooner to document it all in detail!

In a nutshell - we had to board up our windows and evacuate for 2 hurricanes - Gustav & Ike. For Ike, we stayed with Justin's cousin Stephan, his wife Tasha, and their two adorable daughters Skylar & Piper in Mansfield, TX. We left Beaumont at 11:00pm and arrived in Mansfield at 5:00am. There wasn't much traffic but it was very difficult to stay awake that last hour! Fortunately, our house survive without much damage.
In December, we visited Messina Hof Winery in Bryan, TX with Justin's cousin Jonathan and his wife Kathleen. It is a really nice place and we were able to spend some time in College Station and go to Santa's Wonderland. Our favorite wine from Messina Hof is called Beau Jolee - you must go to your local HEB and try it!
In January, I co-hosted a baby shower for my best friend Kendall and baby Adley who was born on March 25th. We attended our friends Josh & Christy's wedding on April 4th in Kyle, TX.
We became Members of Reformed Presbyterian Church and we also love to worship and fellowship at Lit Bible study at Brian & Kendall's house every Wednesday night.
Justin's Grandmother (Nana) officially gave her lakehouse on Sam Rayburn Lake to Justin & Jonathan. We are in the process of buying a ski boat to use on the lake. We love to go up to the lake and would love for you to come with us!

God has been good and we can't wait to see what He has in store for us in the years to come!

A New Blogger

Well, apparently blogging is the thing to do these days so here I am!

My friend Kendall has been trying to convince me to pick up a hobby with her such as scrapbooking. She is a wonderfully creative scrapbooker and loves it but to me it sounds more like a time-consuming and expensive chore. Now she has finally convinced me to start a blog which I will consider my online scrapbook! It only took me a couple of weeks to try to come up with a catchy title for my blog! haha