Where has the week gone?

Well, that should pretty well sum up how things have been. I've managed to let more than a week slip by without a new post. I did mean to post something. But, between work, soccer and karate for the princess, many activities for the Church, and a few hours of sleep here and there, the time has just flown. By the time I get to the evenings, I'm usually too tired to do much surfing at all, much less trying to compose a blog post.
That said, it has definitely been living. As for the kids, the princess has had soccer games and started sparing with other students in her karate class this week. I think she's really getting into it. Last night, her school had a fundraiser play night at a nearby gymnastics hall. We dropped her off from 7p to 10p and she seemed to have a really good time, though she was exhausted as it put her way past her bedtime. Tonight, her cousin is staying over with us.
It's funny now with the kids sleeping. When the princess was the tornado's age, getting her to sleep before 9p was an accomplisment. Now, both of them are usually konked out by 8:30p at the latest. We keep them both pretty busy so they are good and tired. The boy outgrew his crib quite a while ago (I actually took it down and packed it away in the attic, until another one comes along). So, he's bee sleeping in the bottom bunk of the bunk bed that we bought several years back. The big step is that the princess has started sleeping on her own in the top bunk. She had been through a phase of sleeping with the wife and it looks like we're finally moving beyond that. If we can get the boy to sleep reliably through the night, I might actually move down stairs to my own bedroom again. Although, the wife and I have slept in separate beds for so long due to the kids, that niether one of us sleeps well now if we are in the same bed. I guess we'll have to learn to get used to each other.
Work has been busy. I'm moving to a new project at our Galleria office. The location is the worst drive for me and four the last four years, I've avoided an assignment there. But, I'm moving over to lead one of the biggest jobs our group has ever handled and I'll probably be coordinating nearly 15 people between our Houston and India office when things hit top speed. I've just spent the last year working on the most challenging job I've ever worked, and now I'm going to do it again. The past year has been a technical challenge, pushing my to the limits of my knowledge and problem solving skills. This next one won't have the level of technical challenge, but it will be a massive effort in terms of managing the team. In truth, I won't get to do much of the technical work this time as I will be too busy watching over the work of the others. The project is located in California, about 26 miles from the San Andreas fault, so making sure the plant won't fall apart during an earthquake will be a challenge for everyone.
As for Church, I've spent the last few Sunday's recomissioning to be a Lector and Eucharistic Minister again. My CCE class on Sunday mornings has been going well - I have a great group of kids and I'm really enjoying working with them. Our Parish has a lot of good support and training to help me and I've been attending the various classes that are offered. I expect that I will work my way to be fully certified as a catechist. With two kids now who will be needing the classes and probably more down the road, I expect I will be involved with this ministry for many years to come. Finally, today we held a discernment to select new members who will sever with me next year on our Parish Pastoral Council. We had the best turnout I've seen with 13 people showing up for five positions. Any of them would have been a good fit and it was a tough choice. We are going to need 7 more next year when my group's three year term comes to a close, so we strongly encouraged those who were not selected this time to return next year.
I'm sure I'm missing some things, but that gives a pretty good flavor for what I've been up to since my last check in.

WHEW!