Tid bits from Greg

I've decided to temporarily hijack the blog. As I write this Michelle is off on her tireless duties as a mother in putting our little two year old down for a nap. She's about the best mom a kid could ever ask for, and wife for that matter. She's looking forward to getting that little parasite out of her tummy and getting her energy back. We'll all looking forward to this last little stop on our way to being fully settled into Houston. At this point however we feel very fortunate that "baby-O" has not arrived yet. Luke is the only one finished with being sick right now, so a few more days of rest are welcomed for us all.

I mentioned that this was our last stop. That may sound funny, but I can explain. In September of 07 this opportunity came up so we gave it a try. By December the interviews were over and we were in. One evening in December we had the long talk of whether to leave the comfort of a good job, family, and many friends to explore other things. We agreed and then planned it all out. In 2008 we would move 3 times, live in 4 homes, buy a car, graduate, watch the Dodgers in the playoffs, say goodbye to all we knew, and start out together on something totally new. We planned baby-O's arrival down to the month. She is the last of many planned things, and certainly the best. To say the least, our plans have all gone just right. Sometimes I feel like I'm just waiting for something to blow up. So far everything as been exactly according to plan. Situations like this can make or break a family. We've made it though, and we look forward to just living and raising the family. I'd like to take a quick minute to publicly thank my wife for her support and willingness to go through all of this. I love you very much Michelle, and all that is good in my life comes from you. Thank you for the support. You're my one and only Valentine.

Work continues to go well. I am very blessed to have landed this job and look forward to getting after my real responsibilities after the baby comes. They have been letting me cruise through the first few weeks and get really settled in without loading too much on me. Once the baby is here though, as my boss put it, "the honeymoon is over". For my part, I just don't want to feel like I just got hit by a bus anymore (referring to my now 3 week illness). In case anyone was wondering, I work on the SAP system, which basically means I load data from many different sources in the company into usable areas for programs and reports. If that sounds confusing, then take it from my co-worker, "we keep track of Snickers bars". Apparently that is supposed to make everyone's head nod with understanding. It is a great first assignment and I figure I'll be on this one for the next several years. Naturally the largest public oil company has lots of data, so getting the hang of things will take a while.

The house is still largely empty, but we're prepared to wait as long as it takes to get all the fun things that we'd like. Our visitors in the next little while (you know who you are) might have to endure a little more floor time than they would otherwise prefer. On the other hand, we'll likely have a few surprises in store as well.

Take care everyone.

-G