Lagging and Tail Dragging

I can't believe it has been so long since my last posting. Yikes! So much has happened (you know, little things, fun things) that I don't know where to start. I guess I'll start with the fun time we had last weekend when for the first time in YEARS two of our girls and their families came to our place for a visit. What a BLAST!

Weekend Family Visit:

Left to right: Lee, Rachael, Madison, Shannon, Mason, Rebecca, Papaw Leo, and Zoe. Grandma (me) is behind the camera.

Shannon, Rebecca, and Madison came down from Jarrell (north of Austin). Madison is Rachael's oldest daughter but is finishing out the school year at her Aunt Becca's house. There is a LOT going on at home with her, a new house, a new sibling on the way, etc. and she was having a bit of a struggle at school. Sending her to Aunt Becca's house for a bit has been good for everyone; Shannon and Becca are enjoying her tremendously, Madison is thriving in a new and different environment, and Mom and Dad are able to get settled in to the new house and prepare for the coming of the new baby without worrying about Madison's schoolwork.

Lee, Rachael, Mason, and Zoe came in from Hardin (east of Liberty). Lee had never been to the house before, so that was a treat for us all. It was so good to see Mason again and he liked having the room to run around. I expect that he will not need to be "talked into" coming for a visit again. But the little star of the show, of course, was Zoe. At 10 months old, she is quite the little character. She has a bright and beautiful smile, and loves her extended family dearly. She and Papaw Leo have a particular bond, it seems. When everyone else is busy (like when we go shopping or when we went bowling), Papaw is the one we count on to keep little Zoe entertained. (Hmm...technically I think they keep each other entertained!) We had a WONDERFUL weekend together and I'm looking forward to more as the house gets further along in its completion.

Leo's Preparations for Work:

Now comes the bad news, the depressing news, the thing that weighs me down...Leo leaves again tomorrow. I find myself apologizing to him on a regular basis now. I only have to say one word for him to know what I mean, "clingy". Even when we are both busy in the house, I make regular trips to stand near him and talk with him a bit. When we are out and about, the poor thing isn't allowed to get very far away from me as I am holding his hand or linked through his arm at all times. And we BOTH have to be careful when talking about his departure as we both have a tendency to "tear up". Although this job of his is exactly what we needed as it is providing the funds for finishing the house, we also both hate being apart so much. We cannot WAIT until this is over!!!

My Work

Things are as busy for me right now as ever. Although I've reached the end of a long and drawn our project (whew!) I have a new stack on my plate that will keep me busy for a while. I am also negotiating the details on a position (Chief Marketing Officer) in a new company venture, Herries Engineering & Technical Services. As a start-up, we are at the point where I am putting in a lot of work and getting absolutely no pay for it. You might think that sounds crazy, but it is the way things like that work and believe it or not, I am THRILLED to be participating! My nights and weekends are filled with logos, resumes, business plans, brochures, business cards, website design, and more. My to-do list is growing, my checked-off items are lagging and my tail is dragging. However, I am having an incredible amount of FUN now and can't wait to see what the next adventure will be.