Patrick Luadzers

I just wanted to let everyone know that Pat left for Iraq yesterday. He will be stationed in Tikrit and is a Multiple Launch Rocket Systems Specialist. He will be stationed at Camp Speicher. I got to go spend a few days with him after Casey and Marie's party and we had a wonderful time. I am attaching a few pictures of Pat in his uniform ~ hope you enjoy. You all take care and keep Pat in your prayers. He will be there for a year.

I also have a couple of pictures from the reception for Marie and Casey. I added those, too.

Love ya all, Sally and Randy

Greetings from Arizona

As of 1 p.m. today in Las Vegas, Casey and Marie are getting hitched. They decided to get married in Vegas with no family since Marie's parents are in Germany. We are very happy for them. She is really a nice young lady and we like her very much. She heads back to Germany around the 5th of April. Casey goes back to Germany on May 18th for a teaching job. After that, I don't think the plans have been made.

Saturday, we are having a small reception for them at our house here in Buckeye. Mom, Skip, and Sally are coming down. Kevin, Andra, & Kendall will be out here as well plus some old friends of ours here in the Phoenix area. That's all the news from this area. Love to all, Carolyn Lee

From Leipzig

Hello all,

I am glad that Auntie Carol shamed a few of us into writing more in the blog...good stuff. I am currently enjoying the nice weather in Leipzig and sweating the fact that I fly back to the states in about 43 days. Mixed feelings all around. I am definitely excited about seeing my friends, family and homeland, and the prospect of eating some REAL mexican food make me just about explode with excitement, but I have to leave someone special behind. Maybe just temporarily, but who knows.

Nothing new to report and no new pictures. Keep the posts coming. I am off to the Bierbörse tonight - sort of like a beer festival. It is taking place at the monument for the Battle of Nations which was fought here in 1813. On the winning side..Germany, Austria, etc., on the losing side France (Napoleon) and Saxony, which is where Leipzig is located. SO...we have a monument commemorating the winning of a battle located in a land that was one of the losers. I feel that it is a little humorous. At any rate, the monument was erected in 1913 and represents a typical Imperial German style and sensibility. Yeah.

Have a great weekend!

Casey

Hello from Germany

Hello Alexander-Jordan Clan. I certainly hope everyone is having a nice spring. In Leipzig the sun is not so sure if she (feminine in German) wants to come out yet. We'll have one nice day of weather and then rain/snow or whatever. Make me wonder if Global Warming really exists (he he). Anyway, I am finishing up my second PhD year here in Leipzig and am probably going to continue back in Tucson in August. I am having one of those Graduate School.."what the hell am I doing all this for" phases. Oh, well...this too shall pass. Along with what I am doing for the Uni, I am working on a side project developing tests for business English. So far I have been developing scripts for listening comprehension tests and writing instructions for the writing portion of the exams. All that along with the occasional translation project. All in all, I have enough to keep me busy.

German Winters are pretty depressing, and this one was particularly hard on me. Being from the desert and seeing the sun almost 300 days a year has that effect on me. Things are turning around, however, and I look forward to rinding my bicycle to the lake and possibly getting some sun....who knows.

I have a blog of my own on Blogger called "Ruminations of a Desert Rat," unfortunately I haven't updated it since October. I have no real excuse for it, I just find it hard to blog. I guess that is why I have never kept a journal.

(By the way the picture is me in Prague...neat town)

Anyway, enjoy the spring and hope to read something from you all soon.

til then

Casey