Yep, it's been a while since we updated....busy, busy, busy! We've had ups and downs...who hasn't...lately!

We are excited for Josh and Mel on acquiring their new home! Awesome! It is beautiful on the outside but I sure don't know what it looks like on the inside -- hint-hint! I think they're pretty happy where they are. Josh is all the time bragging about their beautiful weather in Colorado. Maybe we'll get up there one day.

Then we got news that instead of an 15-month tour in Afghanistan Jeremy would be coming home in March....3 months earlier. We just welcomed him home on the 3rd of this month. He looks great! And he's on his way here to spend the weekend with us.

Abby and Zac came to see us at the beginning of the month and we surprised them with a snow storm...3.5 inches of snow! They threw snowballs at each other. They were so cute! We sent our Bandy home with them in anticipation of some good news about our jobs.........

We had been getting hints that we were about to become managers of our own property. Our supervisor even called to say that we were going to Fayetteville for a interview of sorts. We packed most of our things up, sent Bandy to Abby's and waited..... This week our supervisor called to say that they had given the managers in question a second chance. We were very bummed to say the least. This is something that we have been waiting for, for 16 months! We told our children that that's it....We're finished with this company and that we are going to move on. But, alas, we are not. We are going to stick it out for a little bit longer. HI Abby! Love you!

We know we are blessed far beyond what we should ever be blessed for. We thank God in Heaven every day for our children, each other, our parents, our health and everything else in between.

Take care all!
Ronald and Trina Bunch

Go here
Need I say more?

He LOVES bubble wrap!

....when it's in your favor, that is. Nothing's better than seeing gas prices at $1.25 at the new Murphy's Express station. Then we hear that Conoco not far from it was selling their gas for $1.19. Next thing we know Murphy's Express went down to $1.17. This went on all day and by the time it was all said and done, Murphy's Express had their gas lowered to $1.09. We didn't get any of the cheap gas. We would have had to have waited in line for a while and the traffic was being directed into the gas stations. That's pretty awesome to me. We did purchase our gas for $1.27. I'm not upset. It sure beats $3.95 a month or two ago.

What is ya'lls gas prices around the country?

Take care, everyone!
Trina

Some of you have asked about what to send to Jeremy and others overseas. I came across a really neat site that you can pick a solder to send care packages to. The soldier that is participating has writen a list of things that they would like to recieve in a care package.

Please do not feel obligated to send Jeremy anything personally. I'm not saying he has enough but with grandparents, brother and sister, aunts and uncles and the many church members that are helping, he is going to be overloaded with boxes....and feeling blessed! So, if anyone wants to send another soldier a care package for the holidays, please feel free and write Jeremy a note that you helped someone who is in the same circumstance as he is. He would feel just as blessed as if he had received the package as the one that acutally got it. I hope this makes sense!

Below is a list of items that I have come across in my research of this question. I'm sure there are more things that are better suited than what I have listed.
Baby wipes
Beef jerky
Candy and gum
Kool-aid mixes with sugar inlcuded
Small games
Magazines –popular mechanics, popular science, field and stream, cars, etc.
Chap stick
Blank greeting cards
Trail mix
Protein bars
Tuna pouches with crackers
Wool socks for warmth
Pictures of yourselves
Beanie Babies – to give to local kids

One word of advice, make sure the name that you pick is still on the wish list as they get moved around every so often.

If you would like to send Jeremy a card, please send me your email address as I'm not sure that I should publicly post it. :)

Oh, here's the website....
Any Soldier

Take care!
Ronald and Trina Bunch in the great state of Arkansas!

p.s. Thanks, Tonya, for the advice which reminds me of something I forgot to add. You can get free boxes at the Post Office that are "flat rate" boxes. It costs about $11 for the shipping but they get it within a week or two. As Tonya noted, for the holidays, it might take a little longer than expected.

Can anyone recommend a good contact lens website to purchase from?
Thanks in advance!
Trina