OK, so I apparently stink at putting updates on here ever since the move. Sorry about that! We normally grab pictures off Katy's camera via a dock that attaches to her PC for some of these things and during the move, a clip inside broke away from the motherboard and now a necessary cooling feature for her video card cannot work. There are other ways to get the data, so I've resorted to that this afternoon/evening to get some pics uploaded to you today. These are both very special, as I'm sure you can tell.
One is of the three of us just outside the front door of our palatial, top-notch townhome (or at least it SHOULD be for what we're paying). The other is to give everyone an idea of just how much Zac's hair has grown in the past several weeks. Apparently the Texas sun has helped a lot.
On to other updates. We're enjoying a long holiday weekend, as Katy begins her new job on Tuesday. Now, figuring out the logistics of getting all of us up and out the door, Zac off to his new daycare and Katy off to her new work, without knowing how long it'll all take, will be fun (despite what Katy thinks). Hopefully we'll figure it out fairly quickly.
My job is going fairly well. It's more responsibility than I had expected, but with that comes a great opportunity to stretch and improve my own management skills, and I'm enjoying that part of the process. I feel it's going well so far, but ask me in 6 months how I feel about it because by then, I hope to be much more comfortable in my understanding of our business and the practices we have in place.
This morning we visited a new church, Crestview Baptist, which was a better fit than what we tried last week, to be sure. We believe it's now down to this church and Crossroads Fellowship over in Odessa. Pray with us that God will lead us to the one He has in store. Another very exciting thing happened this morning, depending on how you look at it. Sometimes it's easier for Katy to just take Zac in the shower with her, rather than give him a bath the night before. We try not to disrupt his sleep patterns too much and it works out this way occasionally.
So this morning I handed him to her in the shower and removed his diaper, which appeared very dry and empty (key word there) and to my surprise, he was not so clean on the back side. I alerted Katy to this and very shortly after a very audible "plop" could be heard hitting the bathtub, followed soon by another "plop". After I composed myself, I managed to grab some wipes and a fresh diaper (as I had already thrown the other away) and clean up the tub area so they could continue their shower...after Zac first decided to start his own "shower". Yes, it was quite the morning, but at least we laughed quite a bit about it (albeit likely only because Katy wasn't hit directly by the, well, poop. Happy Sunday everyone!
Just a quick note...Katy, Zac and Nell arrived late Thursday night, Friday morning at about 3:15 a.m. It was a long night for all, and I know most of us didn't get much more than 2 hours of sleep or so. My boss was kind enough to give me a short day Friday after I had to work a short day Thursday when the movers arrived, and we celebrated Katy's 51st birthday with dinner at On The Border. Why 51? It's a long story related to some confusion at Sears several weeks back. Why On The Border? Because of course, where else do you go for Mexican food in West Texas? (he says with tongue very much planted in cheek)
I had people lined up to embarrass Katy with a song, but she declined dessert and I couldn't find the person who'd agreed to get people together for it, so we had to skip it. That's OK, though, because she enjoyed her birthday dinner and we enjoyed the evening together.
Nell left Midland this morning at 9:40, or was supposed to, on her flight back to Omaha. What a huge help she was to Katy these past several weeks, helping her pack and then driving down with her so she'd have extra assistance when I couldn't help out. We're very, very thankful for such a good mom and mom-in-law. Pics to be added soon! We need to download a pic of us in front of the townhouse here in Midland that Nell took for us yesterday, so I'll get that in before long.
Wanted to share this pic with everyone. Katy sent it along the other day after Nell decided to see how well Zac fit into the personal carrier, whatever it's called, that we had but hadn't used yet.
As you can see, I purposely picked the one shot where Zac looks the best...unfortunately for Nell it's the one where she's the least photogenic. Sorry about that, Nell! For everyone else, enjoy!
I hope everyone enjoyed the last video posted on Tuesday. I can tell you one thing; being down here away from Katy and Zac has not been a fun experience for me, but those videos and pictures she sends me really make a difference. Also, I get to talk to him every night on the phone, which is fun. Last night he decided to talk to me a bit, and the previous night he laughed once on the phone, so that just makes my day! On an ideal day, I get to talk to Katy, Zac and Claire and that helps my day feel complete.
So the title of this post was about the rain here. I'm beginning to question the honesty of all the people down here who told me we never get rain in this part of West Texas. I've been here barely two weeks and we've had rain on at least 5 or 6 days, several times with quite a bit of rain. It's been raining since early morning at least, and continues to rain solidly. Remember that picture Katy took that we posted previously showing the flooding in the streets? Yeah, today it's worse because it's been continual. With no sewer system to speak of, it doesn't take much rain to create flooding, so on my way home from running errands this morning, I went through several patches of water at least 6 inches deep. I think I know now why so many people here drive big 4x4 trucks. In Nebraska, we love our SUVs and trucks, but here, it's truck, truck, truck all the way. Being in a car at a stop light makes you feel very small.
Look at this great video Katy took tonight after Zac had eaten his cereal. He's holding on to the washcloth she is pulling on, truthfully kind of the way a dog will hold onto a towel in its mouth if you pull on it, just without the growls. :)
Two pics for you tonight. Katy just e-mailed me some pics she took last Friday night when we got a huge thunderstorm here in Midland...the place that never gets rain. Since they don't have a sewer system here, the rain just pools and floods the roads. Being in a car instead of a truck or SUV in this is pretty tough since the water is so high. Maybe that's why so many people here drive huge trucks.
The second pic is of Zac, taken either last night or tonight as Katy had finished feeding him before bed. As you can see, he had decided the TV was much more important than anything else. Ah, just like his Dad!
Well, Katy and I are now in two separate cities. She flew back to Omaha this afternoon and arrived safely this evening. Still unsure of our absolute timetable, but the sooner we can get the house packed up and her back down here, the happier we will both be.
On the job front, Katy did indeed get that job I mentioned in Monday's update with West Texas Gas. We're both very excited about this opportunity. Additionally, we feel we have found a good daycare for Zac, and simply need to get the application completed and back to them so he can join up when she begins her new job. She has flexibility in her start date, and may not begin until after Labor Day.
I just wrapped up my second day on the new job and am more convinced than ever that this is the right next step for me. It's a great opportunity and God has just put so many things in place that it's all very satisfying. Once Katy and Zac are down here for good, all I'll be missing is Claire. :) And when the furniture is here, I'm sure the place we're renting will feel a bit more like home. Every day brings a bit more comfort and moving forward gets a little easier.
A quick note here, folks, to give an update on things. I know many are probably wondering how everything is going with the move to Midland. We've been just swamped with stuff to do and buy. Oh, the buying. If you've ever had to move someplace without all of your stuff, think of the little things you have to buy that you need. Like a broom and dustpan, trash bags, a place to sit, soaps, toilet paper, etc. I could go on for awhile. When we bought a bunch of things Friday at the Wal-Mart here, we had a FULL shopping cart. I don't mind shopping, but looking at all that money going for things we already have on hand back in Omaha was tough. :)
Trying our best to get settled in a bit. Katy had a GREAT interview this morning with West Texas Gas Co. and is in the middle of one right now with Accountemps. She has another scheduled for tomorrow with a trucking company. I think she's going to get the one with the gas company. She had a great feeling about it, as did I, and it feels like a great fit. The office is about 7 minutes from our townhouse. In fact, most everything is within a 10-minute drive. Even my job over in Odessa will take 15, maybe 20 minutes to get to in the morning.
We have to register the car today, which isn't cheap for new Texas residents, but it has to be done. We'll do my Jeep next month after we complete the move. Katy flies back to Omaha Wednesday afternoon and then we're still looking at Labor Day for the move down here. I'll try to get pics here and there posted. Sorry so many delays lately!
OK, so I apparently stink at putting updates on here ever since the move. Sorry about that! We normally grab pictures off Katy's camera via a dock that attaches to her PC for some of these things and during the move, a clip inside broke away from the motherboard and now a necessary cooling feature for her video card cannot work. There are other ways to get the data, so I've resorted to that this afternoon/evening to get some pics uploaded to you today. These are both very special, as I'm sure you can tell.
the Texas sun has helped a lot.
