Texas Our Texas

I am writing this update from my mom's house in Stephenville. The kids and I have been in Texas for a week, but it feels like longer. We always pack a lot into our time here!

First the bad news: my grandmother's husband, Don, passed away yesterday. It wasn't unexpected but happened sooner than we thought it would. The kids and I will head to Lubbock tomorrow (Sunday) for the memorial service on Monday. My mom is with Grandma now and says she is doing okay. Please keep her in your prayers. We'll go out there for a couple of days, then come back here for a few days, then continue with our trip as scheduled.

Our communication with Jasen has been limited since we've been home. We were able to webcam with him while we were at my sister's in Houston, but since then, I haven't heard much. The promotion list for major was supposed to come out on July 5th, but Jasen hadn't heard anything when I got an email from him yesterday. With the promotion rate being over 90%, we feel quite certain Jasen's name was on the list, but I don't know that officially yet. We'll keep you posted. Oh, and he won't promote until sometime in the next fiscal year, which is Oct. '07 to Sept. '08. So he'll have awhile to wait. But at least we'll all know it's coming!

Again, our trip has been great. Our time in Houston was wonderful. It rained a lot while we were there, but that was okay; it kept things cool. We went to the aquarium while we were there and Grace had a traumatic encounter with a stingray she'll have to tell you about. We also went swimming, to a 4th of July parade, and lit our own fireworks. It's great to see Grace, Randall, and Reagan growing up and maturing. There were a lot less issues than I remembered last time we were there.

Yesterday, we met our friends Jennifer, Jason, Braden and Landry Karnes at Jen's mom's house to swim. It was Jennifer's birthday and Jason made a fabulous Italian cream cake. After swimming, we ate cake first, then came back to my mom's to eat Pizza Place. We visited for a long time while the kids played. Jen and Jason are very special to Jasen and me. It was good to spend time with them. Of course, there was one thing missing...

Grace and I are really missing Jasen right now. It's almost palpable for the two of us. I was hoping the change of scenery would do us some good, but for me, it's just highlighted that I miss him. Please say a special prayer for all of us. Because as much as we miss him, I know he's missing us, too, and he's in a place where there are no comforts of home to help.