So Far in Houston

We have been in Houston for almost 2 weeks now and we are having a wonderful time. I've hardly taken any pictures, but I thought I'd give a little update for anyone who is interested.

We've spent a lot of time looking at houses with our awesome realtor, Lauri Boyd. She knows everything there is to know about this area! It's crazy! She even knows all about future plans for each of these communities. It's been very helpful.

Jeff and I are SO excited that we will be moving into our very own house soon! We can't wait! Boy am I grateful for that wonderful man! He works so hard to provide for his family and I am completely spoiled because of it. We have seen so many beautiful houses in gorgeous communities. We would be lucky to have any one of them. Just about all of the neighborhoods we have looked at are very well kept with lots of big beautiful trees and plenty of green grass. Most of the houses here are made with brick, which makes them all look new, even the ones that are 20+ years old. We've seen almost 40 houses in about 6 or 7 communities and after all of that, we have chosen a favorite neighborhood and favorite house, but there are still a few houses that we want to take a look at. The neighborhood that we love is called WindRose. It is beautiful! And it is in a great school district, an awesome ward, and our favorite house is just around the corner from a park, the community pool, and the elementary school. I think we could be very very happy there, but we haven't made a decision just yet. We'll keep you posted.

In other news, Jeff has started his job at GE. So far, the company has treated him and us very well. Jeff can't be sure yet if his position is a good fit because he hasn't done much work. His first week was spent reading manuals and getting his computer set up, but he is already learning a lot and we are both really hoping that he loves his job once he really gets to work.

During Jeff's long days at work, Luke and I have spent a lot of time trying to keep busy in the Fisher's nice cool house, only occasionally venturing out into the hot, humid outdoors. I have been spending a lot of time compiling a very comprehensive list of all of the fun things to do in this area (parks, nature centers, museums, aquarium, zoo, fun centers, shows, etc.) and there is a LOT! I have 16 pages typed up thus far and I still have a ways to go before I'm done. For each activity, I have the address, phone number, website, hours of operation, prices, whether they are free or cost money, whether they are indoors or outdoors, and a brief description. It will be fabulous to be able to reference this list whenever we are looking for something to do for fun.

Also, Renita was out of town at a family reunion all this past week so I took over most of the dinner and dishes duties all week. It was certainly a change to go from cooking every 3rd day for our little family and running the dish washer maybe twice a week, to suddenly cooking every night and running the dishwasher just about every day. I actually kind of enjoyed it though and lucky for me, Greg suggested that Friday night be a leftover night and he took us all out to dinner on Saturday. It's Sunday and I have the night off again because Caitlin is cooking. And Renita just got home so I will now only be expected to cook every other night. I think I can handle that.

Luke has been doing very well here. He is the sweetest, funniest little boy. I have so much fun with him every day and he is always keeping us laughing. His personality is coming out more and more. He is such a little goofball. He fake smiles and fake laughs just to be silly all. the. time. His fake smile is a big grin, teeth apart, showing both bottom and top teeth, nose scrunched, eyes squinted, and usually head tilted back. It's pretty hilarious and when he adds the fake laugh to that face, it's even better. He also "intimidates" on command. He balls up his fists, flexes just about every muscle in his body, and grunts. His face usually turns a little red too.  It's hilarious. He's been doing it since he was really little, but now, whenever Jeff does it, he does it back and he's starting to do it when Jeff says, "Luke, intimidate!"

Luke isn't really walking yet. He has stood up all on his own and stood balanced for a long time. He can walk on his own for about 10-15 steps, but he seems to lose confidence after that. He moves really fast holding someone's hand so when he finally decides to let go, he'll probably already be running.

We get together with Ben, Caitlin, Bethany, and Becca for dinner on Sundays. We will be heading over there in a few minutes. Last week, they came to us and I cooked. Luke loves seeing his cousins. They are such cute and fun girls! I took a few pictures when they were here. Enjoy...

 Becca just climbed into the bathtub all on her own. And of course, Luke immediately wanted to join her.

 Luke: "I want that."

 Becca: "Okay you can hold it..."

 "...but only so I can drink it."

 Bethany decided to join the party.

Isn't she just the cutest girl??

We are really enjoying ourselves here. I feel so blessed with the direction our lives are taking. We are enjoying spending time with Jeff's family and getting to know one another better and we so appreciate them taking us in for a while, but we will be happy when we can be in our own home again, especially because it will be an exciting new house! And our favorite house so far is only 7 or 8 minutes away so I'm sure we won't even have a chance to miss them!