So here is the latest...

By way of background CES moved 60 people last year, which can cost about 50k to do, this year they are aiming to move around 20, so think of a funnel...right now it looks like they really want a Spanish speaker for the Houston spot, something they are trying to focus on more down there, which is totally understandable, so they are leaning in another direction, which may be a good thing, all my work would have been in the inner loop, Southeast side of Houston, and we would have lived in the Northwest side, so I might have seen my wife and kids sometime, maybe. I was told on friday that there is another spot I am being considered for in Texas, but some other "dominos" have to fall first, there are no retirements in Dallas, San Antonio and maybe 1 in Austin (lots of guys are postponing retirement since their 401k all took some serious hits) or some people may be going to BYUI or BYU, but I do know that David Shumway one of the Coordinators in Dallas fell of a ladder and broke his back, he served in my mission and is a great Christlike man so I really can't hope they move him for that reason, but if they decided to move him so that they could cut down on his movement I wouldn't complain too much...so right now the chance of any move this year is about 4/10. So we are hopeful and waiting, but proceding normally until we hear otherwise, right now its really economics, so I suggest we all blame Obama, and mention what I just explained to you to no one, please keep praying, it availeth much, and we will see. Were not too worried, it will happen, it's now just a question of when not if. Love you all, sean

Houston?

Well,
There is a CES spot opening up in Houston. Sean got an e-mail this morning from CES saying that there was an opening in Houston and that if anyone was interested, to apply for that spot. So Sean called his friend in the church office building and was wondering if he had even been considered for the spot. His friend said that "yes, he was being considered for the spot, but Sean doesn't know Spanish and the assignment would cover 2 English stakes and 2 Spanish stakes." I don't know if Sean not knowing Spanish will disqualify him, but I know that he would like to move back to Texas and be closer to family and home.

If you are so inclined, any prayers in this regard would be appreciated. I know that what is best for our family will happen. God has always watched out for our family and blessed us and I know that he will continue to do so.

We should find out in the next couple of weeks what decisions have been made.

Love you all,
Connie

Not much happening here

It has been a while since we posted. It is because it seems nothing new is happening here. It is winter, it is cold, nobody wants to go outside and we are all a little stir crazy. We had an inversion here for several weeks (that is where a pocket of cold air gets trapped in a mountian basin under warmer air flowing over top of it) and all the smog and fog and polution gets trapped in the cold air. Erin and Isaac get a cough every time it happen, so they have been coughing for the last few weeks. Enough of that. We will get storms and clean out the air and life will be good again.

It is official. We have a teenager. Jacob turns 13 today. I can't believe it has been 13 years since he was born. Time sure does fly.

Connie

It's a GIRL! (probably)

We went to the doctor today and have some ultrasound pictures for you.  We also found out that we are probably (90%) having another girl.  This is great news for us since it means that we won't have a lot of new expenditures (i.e. we already have clothes, toys, etc. for a girl).  The only bad news is we'll probably (99%) struggle to come up with a name we like.

GAO Summer Internship

I got a call from the GAO a few weeks ago. They informed me that a very competitive debate had eliminated me from the internship. There were only 2 slots and I was their 3rd pick. This morning, GAO called me and informed me that a 3rd slot had opened unexpectedly and they invited me to participate in the internship.

This summer should be very interesting considering Laura will be having a baby sometime in June and the internship will likely be around the same time. We haven't had much time to discuss the ramifications of this news but I suppose it is still pretty good. If the internship goes well it could mean an offer of a permanent position with the GAO in Dallas. Let's not get our hopes up but this has potential to be a very good opportunity.

*Update:  My start date will be 6 July 2010.

Shopping cart cover

I'm sure everyone has seen the shopping cart covers for small children that are so popular with mothers nowadays. I have been wanting one since Dante rides in the cart and they aren't usually very clean. My mom offered to make one for me, and I took her up on the offer. After looking at JoAnn's (fabric store), she found a patter with a cute doggie pattern for a shopping cart cover. She changed a few things: added fuzzy faux fur to the ears (instead of just contrasting fabric) and added iris color to the eyes (instead of just white and black eyes). I love the way it turned out. I love the pockets, too. It has two pockets on the inside where Dante sits (one on each side) and three pockets on the back on the part that hang over into the cart.

Dante with a bottle

Dante has been able to hold his own bottle for a while. Sometimes he decides that he is done and he roles over and goes off to play. About a month ago, I noticed him doing something a little different. Instead of leaving the bottle behind, he would take it with him. By holding the nipple in his mouth! It was so cute, I had to get a picture of it.

Happy Dante

It's so hard to get Dante to smile for the camera. When we pull a camera out he is way more interested in the cool "toy". So, I'm always excited when I get a picture with a real smile. You wouldn't believe how many pictures we took to get one of him smiling for our Christmas photo.

Dante in his suit

Dante in his suit... We absolutely love his suit. My mom bought him a suit from Babies-R-Us. We hadn't seen any there before, so we think they only carry them for Christmas time. She took us back a few weeks ago and bought the next two sizes in the brown version so that when he outgrows the "9 month" suit he will have more suits to wear. Now we just need to get him more ties! He only has the purple one.