Moving in to Houston and Adventures in Austin 

Mom and I have settled into a routine in Houston. We were able to find a fully furnished apartment less than 10 minutes from the hospital. The location has been so convenient for the multiple weekly check-ins, and having our own space has allowed us both to work on projects while we are preparing for Autumn's arrival. Mom has been busy working on reports for work and the final paperwork for moving out of her house back in Ohio while I've been trying to finish sewing 25 reusable diapers with snaps before she arrives. My friend Judith (who made all of her diapers for her son) has inspired/taught me how to make them and I am working hard to finish them before baby Autumn arrives-...more to come with diaper updates... I've been able to add all the snaps and will start sewing today (I hope)

We are very close to a beautiful park in the museum district of Houston and started taking walks in the evenings. The park is full of families going to the zoo and even has a theater with free events during the evenings. We checked our a modern adaptation of Much Ado About Nothing last week. The actors were excellent and we were close enough to the stage to get periodic waves of air conditioning when the breeze blew the right way.  We look forward to checking out more plays that are offered during this free outdoor summer series... maybe even an Elton John/Billy Joel tribute band when Dad comes next week.

Last week, we were even able to travel a bit. (Probably our last big trip because we are getting closer to go time). We drove 3 hours to Austin and stayed the night with my great friend Kristen. She introduced us to Dominion - and mom was very impressive with her gaming skills winning the first game. We met up with my cousin Daly at one of his favorite coffee spots in Austin - it was great to hear about his first year of college and the fantastic music scene in Austin. Mom got the chance to experience an amazing black bean avocado taco at a food truck and even has started to like Kombucha (there's an excellent Austin brand - Budha's Brew). It was a nice break in the middle of the week to get out of the humidity and busyness of Houston.

Now that the weekend has arrived, Mom and I have caught up on grocery shopping (Saturday farmer's market is very nice here). We've visited St. Paul's Methodist church (only about 10 minutes from our place) twice now. The services are beautiful and the choir is fantastic. We both thought Grandma would have loved the organist - who makes great use of the massive pipes especially during the last verse of the hymns. I'm glad Autumn is getting exposed to some traditional organ music before she's born... Grandma would definitely be proud. The oppressive Houston heat and humidity has chilled out a bit with a rain system that passed through Saturday night and we are preparing for the upcoming week - full of appointments and some very welcome visitors (Andre and Dad will be here this weekend)