Merry Christmas & Aggie Babies

Hope that you've all had a great Christmas! To read about ours, go to www.sarahshalley.blogspot.com.

Just wanted to let everyone know that Jen & Paul Cameron's little boy, Cooper was born last week. Check their facebook pages for pics. I am assuming that Coop was born on the 20th of December, but I haven't received any exact info. He is early so pray that he continues to grow strong while in the NICU and that he is able to go home soon.

Also, Jen & Dale Tourtelotte's little boy, Andrew was born on the 13th of December. He too is early but made it home in time for Christmas. You can check their facebook pages for pics too.

Both of these daddy's are in the military. Pray for the mens' safety while away from home and that the Jens remain strong mommies. We love you!

Sarah

Tech Still Classless

Tech never ceases to amaze me. This is a shirt that one of their students is selling for the upcoming A&M vs. Tech football game. For those of you who can't see the image, it is a picture of a football player, Michael Vick, hanging Rev.

Vick 'em

Chad-O in Town

Hello all...

I hope everyone is doing well ... I am writing because Chad and I will
be coming down to Texas at the beginning of October and his mom will
be having a party at their house on Sunday, Oct 7 at 1pm... i was
promised bbq and margaritas...

Mrs. O says you are welcome to come on saturday and stay over, or stay
over on sunday night if you need to...

We would of course LOVE to see you ALL but understand that may not be
possible...

If you could email me back by Oct 1st and let me know if you'll be
able to come or not, so Chad's mom can have a head count...

and PLEASE pass this on to anyone you don't see on the list that you
think it should go to... i think i have most of everyone's email
addresses but just in case im missing someone i wouldn't want them to
not get invited....

hope to hear from you all and see you all SOON!!

- The Future Mrs. ChadO : )

Sad News

I got some very sad news this morning from Jacob. I thought everyone should know.

Sad News

Sara got back from Jamaica last week. We had so much fun. We wish all of you could have been there. We set up a website with all of the pictures on them. You can see them at:

http://www.jbknowledge.com/jonathansara/wedding/

Good news form Jen & Paul Cameron:

Hi! I hope that you're all doing well. I got an email from Jenn today and thought that I would share the wonderful news. Take care of yourselves....I love ya'll!

EMail from Jenn:
Hey everybody...No, I am not prego, but we are gettin' the h--- outta Del Rio. I am sorrythat we have fallen of off the face of the earth lately, but life has beensuper hectic. Paul's entire Air Force career was determined last night,Drop Night.

Drop Night, is the one night at the end of pilot training where each pilotfinds out what plane they will be flying, which ultimately determines theirmissions, and what base they will be stationed at next. The instructors getup in front of everyone and tell stories and make fun of all of the stupidthings that the pilot's did during piliot training and everyone begins totap the kegs. It is the best party of the year.

So, I guess you are wondering what we got!...Well, we are moving to Fairfield, California to fly the KC-10 at Travis AFB. Each pilot had to rank the 18 planes and bases according to theirpreference. They of course try to give each pilot one of their top choices,but it all depends on how each pilot is ranked in the class. I am so proudof how hard Paul has worked this past year and yesterday we found out thathe was ranked 1st out of all of the active duty pilot's and 2nd out of allof the pilots. It is a huge accomplishment for him, especially since theone Guard/Reserve pilot that is ranked ahead of him came into training withover 1400 flying hours and Paul came in with only 44 hours. Needless tosay, Paul got his first choice of plane and base. When they announced it,all of the pilots were so excited for Paul...they all ran up and piled ontop of him. I started to cry happy tears...I was so excited!

Fairfield is in Nothern California, only 30 min from Sacramento, 1.5 hrsfrom San Francisco, 1.5 hrs from camping, 2 hrs from Lake Tahoe, close toNapa Valley, 1.5 hrs from the beach and 3 hrs from Las Vegas. Ya'll willhave to come visit! We will probably leave within the next 6-8 wks and wewill be in Cali for 3-4 years. Paul will only be deployed 3-4 months out ofeach year and then just fly weekly missions every so often.Okay, I will quit bragging about my hubby and how proud I am of him. I amjust thrilled that we will be moving some place that has a mall!Love always, Jenn

???

Ok, so i was under the impression Chad had left land and was
underwater, until he called me this morning around 6:30. He may be on
land for another day, or he may be leaving shortly, either way, if you
were thinking of emaling him, now is a good time. Even after he gets
off land he will be able to check his emails for another few days
until they go on silence again.

Just wanted to let you all know... but generally he is safe and sound!

sorry...hope you enjoy my regular blog posting

Now I just have to figure a way to get it to the other blog! Uggh.

Lent Lily, Blue Roman Hyacinth, 'Golden Harvest', Spider Web

Busy days yesterday and today, but I know you all might enjoy some pictures from the farm. We have released the next botanical print in our series of drawings by Ann Swan. Be sure to check them out at www.southernbulbs.com.

It was a foggy morning yesterday morning with a lot of dew on the ground, and the water made for some really great pictures. This first one below is a crocus we have blooming in the field.

This Lent lily is keeping a strong stalk even when loaded down with water.

Our blue Roman hyacinths continue to shoot up bloom stalks. The whites are nearly almost done now.

Lent lilies (Narcissus pseudonarcissus) often make nice drifts of traditional daffodil color and form.

The light behind this Narcissus casts some nice shadows on the tepals.

This spider decided to make a web in some of our white rain lilies (Zephyranthes candida).




Fischer and this daffodil both look to the sun for some warmth.

Chad Update 02.21.07

hello again!

i hope everyone is doing well... i just thought id updated everyone
with the little, but new information i have...

so chad left tokyo about 2 weeks ago... but ended up in another city
in japan for a few days this week while they were fixing some things.

he sounds good... though he says he's ready to come home.

at this point i believe he will be home somewhere around 6-11 days
before his birthday... so a little later than originally scheduled.

other than that, he will have email for the next few days on the boat
- i'm sure he would love to hear from you all... and will most likely
be at port again around the 18th or so of march for a few days...

not much new, but i thought i'd let you know.

Stefanie!

Chad Update 02.04.07

Hi Again -

I just wanted to let everyone know that Chad is safely on land,
probably for the remainder of this week. I spoke to him on the phone
a couple times and i know he will call again.

He sounds good... other than he says he's ready to come home... but
he's always looking at the bright side of things... they got into port
in time to watch the superbowl so they're having a party and i think
they'll have some fun which is good.

While he's at port, he will also be checking his regular gmail account
so if you wanted to send him anything there, it might be faster than
through the navy... but again that will be just till the end of the
week... then back to the navy email. I'm sure he'd love to hear from
anyone who's not me... lol i send MANY emails every day... someone
else would probably be a welcomed change.

Anyway, not too much news... but if you have any questions you can
always email me!

I hope everyone is having a great weekend... and enjoying Superbowl
Sunday! I know Chad would much prefer to be watching it with you guys
than where he is!

Love to all...
Stefanie

Chad Update : 01.30.07

Hi Guys -

Well i have received a few emails from Chad in the last couple of
days. it sounds like he is doing well... he is definitely working his
butt off to the point where i'm not sure he sleeps... but he tells me
things are as good as they can be down there.... so i guess that's the
best we can ask for.

He says some of the higher ranking officers have noticed that he has
been working hard which is really important so that's good too.

I had planned to meet there boat in the next week or so, but their
route was changed and that will no longer be possible.

in a few days i believe they will be on land however, so he may have
more time to email and i am hoping to get a phone call when he gets a
chance.

sadly, due to the change in schedule they will be arrived in the
middle of april, about 2 weeks later than originally planned.

that's all i've got for now, i will keep everyone posted when i hear
more... and as always, feel free to email me if you have any
questions!!

i hope everyone is doing well!
Love,
Stefanie : )

Troop Care Packages

Hi! Hope that everything is going well. I need your help with something, please! My sister is involved in Student Council at her high school. They are wanting to put together care packages for troops in Iraq or elsewhere. I thought it would be so cool if they could be sent to someone we know! How do we go about doing this? What do you want or need? What are the restrictions? Any advice? Can you provide details and a shipping address? THANK YOU so much. I really support this project and hope that you all can be the fine, Aggie men to receive such a wonderful gift. Let me know what you know. Love ya'll!

Sarah Shalley
www.sarahshalley.photoreflect.com

Wedding pictures will be up soon (we hope) at www.capturedbylyns.photoreflect.com

Update on Sean

Here's an update on Sean....

He is currently on the aircraft carrier USS Eisenhower. He is just on the carrier temporarily (about a month total...1 or 2 more weeks to go) as a liason officer. He likes being on the carrier, as it is bigger and therefore a lot more accommodating than the Anzio (a cruiser), and also he really enjoys the work he is doing. However, he will be happy to get back to the Anzio when that time comes, as he has all his "stuff" there (he could only take what he could carry with him on the helicopter ride over to the Ike) and it just feels a little more like home. His Anzio email is forwarded to his email account on the carrier, so that address is good no matter where he is. Also, I found out yesterday that his deployment got extended 3 weeks :( It is part of President Bush's plan to increase the troops...He wants 2 carriers (therefore 2 strike groups) in the Persian Gulf at all times now. Sooo, he'll get home at the end of May rather than the beginning of May. That makes the deployment almost 8 months instead of 7. It's a bummer, but not as bad as it could be so I'm thankful for that! Plus, Sean sounds pretty positive about it--they are doing a great job and making progress in the war on terror, so that makes it worth it. Hopefully we'll get to see everyone shortly after he returns...I know he'll be ready to see all of you! In the meantime, send him an email and let him know what's going on in your life...I'm sure he'd love to hear from everyone! (And of course I would, too!)

I'll continue to live with my parents here in TX until I move back to Virginia, which will probably be around the beginning of May. Let me know if you're ever passing through the thriving metropolis of San Saba, TX ... A visit would be greatly appreciated, as it gets a little boring here at times! My cell phone number is 757-412-9618. Take care, and I hope to see yall soon!

Love,

Shayna

Chad Update #2

Hello again...

i just thought i'd let everyone know, i got an email from Chad... he
is out on the sub but will probably be able to read his emails for the
next couple of days yet.

he is very busy, working hard trying to qualify for a bunch of
different positions. he's making some friends and learning who to
steer clear of he says.

so i think he's enjoying himself as much as he can... and i know he
misses all of you guys.

i don't know when i will hear from him again but i will let you know.

I hope life is good for everyone down in Texas. And as always, feel
free to email me at any time if there is anything i can help you with.

~Stefanie

Chad Update

So the first update i have on Chad is that he was in Japan for the
last week - doing some work and having some fun... he did get to take
a trip to Tokyo and see some sites and i got to talk to him on the
phone a few times.

as of now however, i believe the sub has left or will be doing so VERY
soon. He will check his emails as soon as he can, the sub has to
surface in order for them to do that.

as far as i could tell he was doing well and working hard! I probably
won't here from him for 3 or 4 weeks but i will post an update as soon
as i do.

Hope everyone had a great new year and i wish everyone all the best for 2007!

Love,
Stefanie