Almost a month has gone by since I last wrote!  I am sorry and hope you are still checking from time to time and haven't given up hope that I will ever write again.

Heather is still doing really well at work, getting acquainted with the other girls and with the way they do things in that office.  She has gotten paid twice and she finally got back her deposit from her apartment there in Salt Lake.  She had almost decided that it wasn't coming, but it finally did and it was more than she expected so it was a happy day.  Her money was getting really thin.

Jer got his plane!  He put it together and he found a nice big open field to practice in.  We took it out and he flew it that day and it was tricky to control so after doing a couple of loops (which he didn't mean to do) it crashed nose first.  We were done that day.  We went to the remote control store and got some repair parts and he tried out maneuvering the controls on a video of his plane.  What a great idea!  It was the same controller he has.

So the next week we took it out and he was able to get it up and flying and it made circles around the field, and then a larger circle and then it crashed into a tree.  He finally realized that because he was on the "beginner" setting there was not enough movement in the rudder to get it to turn a tighter circle and come closer.  It was so far out we could hardly see it.  And it's a pretty big plane!  So now it was up in a 60 foot tree.  Pretty discouraging.  But we remembered our wonderful tree cutting guys that took care of our dead pine trees last month.  So Dad called George and he came out and looked at it and said, sure, he could get it down.  Yay!!  He came out and climbed the tree and sailed it down to Dad.  He and his friend were disappointed that Dad didn't have his controller so they could see it fly, but the battery was dead anyway.  Now it is repaired again and ready to fly!  Dad will take it off of the beginner setting and have more control.  It's a learning process.  I'm glad Dad isn't discouraged and ready to give up.  Have to just learn the controls, their limits and abilities, and then he can have fun with it.  He would like to get into building planes at some point.  He used to have fun doing that when he was younger.  This one is styrofoam, but you can build them out of balsa wood.  I guess you can even build them out of styrofoam, too, if you buy blocks of it.

And I got a bowling ball and bag to go with my bowling shoes!  Isn't that the prettiest bowling ball you've ever seen?  It's purple and blue with sparkles!!  And it fits my hand.  And I still haven't broken through to 100+ more than twice yet.  But I will!!  One of my teammates and I went to a center near Kingwood and practiced.  Tuesday is $2/game day so I will go again this Tuesday and see if I can apply some techniques a couple of the ladies on the league were showing me this past week.  I am so grateful that everyone is so encouraging and kind, not being angry or upset at my lack of ability.  Everyone is happy when someone does something good.  Everyone cheers for everyone making such a comfortable atmosphere.  I couldn't be in a better league.  This is my cousin Cynthia's league in Conroe.  She lives in Conroe and that's why the league bowls there.  The center is old and could use some improvements, but they are also very friendly so that's better than being at a modern one that is impersonal.

And Cynthia's son got married last month.  It was a beautiful wedding in the patio of a very nice restaurant in Houston.

This is Seth Wilson and his new wife Stephanie.  They met online and everyone says they are perfect for each other.  They were able to get together often to actually become friends first and then decide if they wanted to be married.

                                        Her dress was gorgeous!  The bridesmaids are her sisters.

These are Tom and Cynthia, Seth's parents, Stephanie and Seth and then Gloria, my first cousin and Seth's grandmother.  She is married to Juan, Amy and Claude's second son.  I always admired Gloria because she was so pretty and knew how to dress and keep a nice house.  And yet she is very practical and down to earth.  And she has a cute sense of humor.  We go out to lunch after bowling every week and it's fun to visit with her and the others.

This is Carol, one of the bowlers, and her husband.  I sat at this table with several bowlers and it was great to get to know them better.  It was a very elegant dinner served after the wedding.  They were ever so gracious to include me.

In other news, Dad finally got the swing set up!!!  I know, it has been 30 some years that we have had it.  Always in the box, always meaning to set it up in THIS house.  No, maybe then THIS house.  Now we are in the 5th house since buying it and you are all grown up.  I am sad that you didn't get the chance to enjoy it when you were little as we meant to happen when we bought it, but now you can please bring your children to swing in it.  We always meant it to hang from a patio arbor but never quite got the arbor built.  Now it's in a frame that works just fine.

                                           
                                                           The swing finally built!

Now it's finally hung in a frame.  We like to sit out in the back in the evenings when the weather is pleasant as it is now.  This is the perfect time of year here!

Da has about given up wanting to read since she knows she will be going to Oman in January, but I wrote her some personal stories about her little girl and herself so she would be interested in reading them.  She liked them so I will have to write some more to keep her going.  The more English she knows when she leaves the better, I think.  She will be mingling with the other company wives and wanting to do things with them.  At least that's how I imagine it.

And lastly, Erin has given us a happy thing to anticipate.  She says she will visit us between Christmas and New Years!  We are really excited to see her again.

That's about all the news from here. We love you and your children with all our hearts and appreciate hearing what you are doing and how you are doing. We pray for you always, for your safety and your happiness.