Thanksgiving 2014 Recap

We spent Thanksgiving at my parents home in Texas this Thanksgiving. It is always a fun time with plenty of good eats and lots of catching up since they live so far away. We split up the drive to their house by staying overnight at the L'auberge Casino Resort in Lake Charles. We had a lot of fun exploring the hotel and grounds and playing some slots. They also had a game room for Evan. He spent quite a bit of time there and loaded up on prizes.

Checking in!

Hotel "Beach"

Selfie in front of the water.

 

 

Enjoying the cozy fireplace.

While we were on our visit, a trip to "The Farm" was a must. The day was gorgeous and the temperature was in the low 70's. We did some target practice, checked out some baby calves, picked beans from the garden and repaired some down "hot shot" lines. What a great place to combine work and play!

Baby Calves...so cute!

Gorgeous, peaceful day!

Target Practice

Dad showing off his sharp shooter skills.

The farm is a great place for a driving lesson!

On our way to visit my parents my Uncle Matt passed away. I was so happy that his rosary was held while we were still in town and that I was able to attend. It was so great to see so many Aunts, Uncles and Cousins that I hadn't seen in such a long time. Godspeed Uncle Matt!

Joe and Matt

First Letter from Chad & Address

Chad has been at basic training for three weeks and yesterday we received our first letter from him.  Highlights from his letter:

** He loved his first plane ride.

**The first day of training they went through an obstacle course which he described as being very challenging. (His word, "Hell!")

**He is making friends and likes his drill sergeants. (They are all "cool.")

**The food is good.

**Sleep has been irregular, but he is dealing with it okay.

Here is his address if you would like to send him a note of encouragement. He will be there until mid-September:

Private, Maronge-Pustka, Chad

3rd Platoon

165 INFBDE

C Co, 2-39 REGT

10400 Hampton Parkway

Fort Jackson, SC 29207

Thank You to Our Village

Last night we attended Chad's High School graduation ceremony and it was such a thrill for us to see him walk across that stage. The ceremony was quite long as there were 352 graduates but in the end worth every minute. We are so proud of him as he reaches milestone after milestone.

All day long my mind was filled with all of the people who have helped him along the way as this was not a solo endeavor. When we first became foster parents of Chad when he was 2 1/2, we had no idea of the joys and challenges that would lie ahead. Through the years we have encountered so many loving and giving people. Many times I have been amazed at how people have been willing to go out of their way to help us and how many truly had Chad's best interests at heart. I remind him often of how blessed we are and how he must be surrounded by angels because of all of the miracles we have witnessed. 

My heart is filled with gratitude and love for you all. A special Thank You goes out to the following:

Family, Friends, Neighbors - who have always there for us in big ways and small ways,  over and over again.

 Case workers (especially Chad's OCS caseworker, Stephanie Gomez and his LWC caseworker, Fred Pape). Teachers, therapists, social workers and tutors at Broadmoor (especially his speech teacher Gayle Caillout, who worked with him for many years), ELearning, Evergreen and H.L. Bourgeois (especially Tammy Medlen who helped us out so many times).

Coaches (especially Andre Melum who taught him Karate and so much more for many years).

Parishioners at St. Matthews (especially those involved with the youth group: Mrs. Betty who welcomed us with open arms so many years ago, Mrs. Jennifer and Mrs. Becky who have watch Chad grow and who have been there for him over the years).

Summer camp staff at Bayou Black Gym (especially Mrs. Melissa): Chad participated in your program many years and even had the opportunity to "work" there as his first job.

All staff at Youth Challenge Program - You showed him what he was capable of achieving through focus, discipline and caring. Also, Wes Hill for being Chad's post residential mentor.

All the staff at Taco Bell: For giving him his first "real" job and always being supportive and flexible.

All the soldiers at the Army recruiting office who are helping him plan his future. He is scheduled to report for boot camp at Fort Jackson on July 1st.

It's all about the Sixth Graders!

Today was Evan's last day of 6th grade and he and his classmates are all moving on to junior high at a new school next year. Thus, today was going to be an extra special last day of school. He was excited this morning as he caught the bus because no work was going to be done and it was going to be "all about the sixth graders."

To start the day off, his class was treated to a doughnut breakfast. After that was the awards ceremony where students were acknowledged for all of their accomplishments during the past year. Lunch was boiled crawfish and pizza and the day was ending with a DJ and dance. Chad and I went to the awards ceremony and are so proud of our soon to be 7th grader!

Chad's Senior Ring Ceremony

Last night Chad's high school had their ring ceremony for all of the Juniors who are now becoming seniors. I thought that I had avoided all clothes drama by having boys, but even they have their moments. First, we had problems buttoning the top button on Chad's dress shirt. We had gotten it several months ago and I swear that his neck must have grown an inch since then. After the buttoning process, Todd helped Chad with his tie and he looked great. A few minutes later, we are in the car and Chad decides that the tie is too tight and takes it off. We are then pulling out of the driveway and he realizes that he forgot to put his belt on. Running right on schedule, we just decided to to with it and not go back for the belt. The dress code wasn't strict, so it all worked out.

The stage is set up so that each Junior's name is called and he/she then walks out on the stage and is presented his/her ring by the principal. To make it interesting, many of the students add their own personality to the walking out process. Some wave, some do a little dance, some pretend to fall, etc. My favorites were a male student who did a back flip and a female student that threw up a handful of glitter and walked under it as it fell. Chad was low key and did a cool hand signal.

After all of the students are presented with their rings, they all put them on at the same time and are declared "Seniors." Chad had a great time and said that it was one of the happiest moments of his life. We loved being there with you and watching you shine!

The stage

Family photo

The ring! (Chad chose to get his birthstone color.)

Chad making his entrance on stage to get his ring.

The proud senior!

Christmas 2012

Better Late than Never....they say. We had an awesome holiday season. Here are some photos...many thanks to Renee for letting me borrow the photos taken at Monique's!

 

This was actually taken mid December...me and my baby boy!

 Chad and I...blurry iPhone Xmas photo.

 Todd and Joan...Xmas eve.

 Todd's masterpiece...a traditional Lebanese raw Kibbee.

 Me and my boys!

 Joan and Todd!

 Todd and his siblings!

Chowing down...Mrs. Ann, Wanda and Joan.

Transitions

My blog posts have been few and far between this past year. My boys are getting older and like having more say over how much I "share" on the internet. Nonetheless, we can be found all over the place. So, if you want to catch up on what we are doing, you can use the following links:

Facebook pages:
Joan
Todd
Chad
Evan

If you want to see my photo albums, head over to Picasa.

If you want to see articles that I find interesting and want to share, follow me on Twitter.

We can talk books on GoodReads.

And if that isn't enough, I post more photos, quotes, drawings, etc on Tumblr.

Merry Christmas and Happy 2013 New Year!