Boating

I'm not sure if it was summer or Facebook, but my blog has been deader than the dog days. I admit, there were several weekends that were either too hot or too rainy to do anything interesting. The main event of the fall season was J's football team, with games every Saturday for a couple of months. Unfortunately, they didn't meet with much on-field success, but J mostly had fun and is thinking of doing it again next year. In the meantime, he, L, and R have been taking swim lessons.

Work has been interesting, but I am cautious about what I post for fear of discussing sensitive business. I will say that I am working on two very interesting projects, one a direct response to the events that occurred in the Gulf of Mexico over the summer. The idea is to be prepared to respond to any future blowout. The other I hope to be able to talk about in a few months. Generally, however, I'll say that I feel like I've got my feet under me, understand the company culture, and feel like a contributing member of my team.

Last weekend, we went to Huntsville State Park. The park contains a 210 acre lake surrounded by heavy woods and a few gentle hills, a couple thousand acres in all. Okay, hills only in the East Texas sense of the word, but there is some change in elevation, at least. The woods, however, are quite thick, some of them virgin hardwoods, along with mature second growth hardwoods and pines, and there are quite a few hiking and biking trails that wind through them. We did a hike of about 1.5 miles--about all RJ and LM could handle--then rented canoes for an hour and paddled around part of the lake. It had rained in the morning, but had dried out and was maybe 55-60 degrees and moderately breezy, with a mix of clouds and sun, perfect for light jackets. All in all, it was a good time, and a place I would go back to. I would rate it as one of the nicer places I have been in Texas.

On Sunday, the children had their Primary program in church and performed their parts well. This morning at breakfast, L asked me, "Why does it say, When God was on the earth, he promised he would sin? That's bad, sinning; why did he say that?" I realized she was referring to the song from the yesterday's program, which says:

When Christ was on the earth,
He promised he would send
The Holy Ghost to comfort us,
Our true, eternal friend.

She seemed relieved at my explanation.