Justin's Trip to Colorado

Justin recently went to Boulder, Colorado for work for two and a half weeks and left me here in Beaumont all by my lonesome :( But it was a good opportunity for him and of course he had a great time enjoying the beautiful mountainous scenery. He went hiking in Chautaugua Park and got to attend the A&M vs Colorado football game. He also got to experience the presence of snow everywhere! I am so jealous! Sorry I don't have any pictures. You know how guys are :)

While he was gone, I started reverting back to my former days of singleness by eating cereal for supper and wearing the same clothes two days in a row haha. Fortunately I got to have some fun as well. My friend Kendall was also alone when her husband went out of town for a few days so we got to have a sleepover! - just like the good ole days when we were roomies... but this time we had Samson (her dog) to protect us.
I drove to Round Rock for a weekend to see my parents and my friends Andrea and Candace. It had been over 2 years since I had seen Candace and her 4 year old son, Tre. To Tre I said "I haven't seen you since you were 2 years old!" and he responded with "Oh. I've missed you!" So cute and sweet!

Candace's Sons Tre (4 yrs) and Kendrick (9 mo)

It was also a good time for my coworker Wanette and I to make care packages for soldiers in time for Christmas! The Dollar General and Target had everything we needed: stockings, santa hat, candles, candy, lip gloss, etc. We sent boxes to a group of weather forecasters in Afgahanistan, a National Guard unit in Iraq and a group of female Marines in Afghanistan. I had previously sent a box to the female Marines about a month ago and recently got a long letter back from one of the girls. She wrote that she was also a newly wed married for about 6 months. I was thinking about how much I missed Justin but how fortunate I was that I could expect him home in just a couple of weeks. I couldn't imagine how this girl must be coping being away from her new husband for perhaps a year or more. I realized just how much of a sacrifice she was making for my freedom and I really wanted her to know how much I appreciate her. In her box I also added a copy of "The Star of Bethlehem" dvd - a documentary investigating what the Star actually was - the lining up of three planets at a precise moment in history for God's glory. It also proves other signs that happened in the sky at certain points in the Bible - it is so interesting and will leave you in awe of our God. "The heavens declare the Glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands." Ps 119

Wanette filling her box with love

Closing the box is the hardest part

Justin is home now in time for Thanksgiving and we cannot wait to start decorating for Christmas! And hopefully I will get on the ball soon enough this year to actually send out Christmas cards...

Wakeboarding Weekend

This past weekend my sister, Emily, and her husband, Luke, came on a visit to Southeast Texas and we were able to take them to Sam Rayburn Lake for the weekend.

We were totally thrilled to see them and best of all Luke owns a wakeboard that he brought with him. We went out early afternoon on saturday expecting it to be bright and sunny but unfortunately it was overcast and quite chilly much of the day.

Our hott driver :)

Luke was pretty much the only one in the bunch who really knew what they were doing. He used to be on the A&M wakeboarding team (who knew A&M had a wakeboarding team??)
It's hard to tell in this pic but he caught at least a foot of air
Here is me yelling at Emily to hurry and take a picture before I eat it!
This was really funny, Justin couldn't get his feet out of the wakeboard boots so Luke had to jump in the water to help him and they struggled with the board for at least 5 minutes!
At one point Luke was skiing and all of a sudden the boat abruptly stopped and me and Emily flew toward the front of the boat *ouch* we look back at Luke and he is standing in knee-deep water! I think we got a little too close to the shore.
Toward the end of the day, Luke fell on his left side really hard while skiing and busted his eardrum! He didn't know it was perforated at first and he put swimear drops in his ear - big mistake! The pain was excruciating. poor guy!

Overall it was a very fun trip and I am glad they got to experience staying at the lakehouse. They kept commenting on how EVERYTHING IS SO OLD! An owner of an antique shop would have a hayday looking at all the "junk" at the house haha

Got a Reply

I got a letter back from my soldier! She said it was a great morale booster for all the soldiers so that made me happy. The box was shared with the whole group she is stationed with so I guess I should send more things that can be shared in the next box. I didn't think to provide my email address but my coworker Wanette did and her soldier sent pictures of his unit and the surrounding country.

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!