Happy Holidays to all --

We have so many things to be thankful for this year: a healthy, sweet and growing family and a safe and successful move to a new state and into a new home. While each year seems to be busier than the last, and we couldn't imagine the next being any busier, we may have topped them all in 1999!

As most of you know, early this year we made a big decision - to move from Cincinnati to Texas. The decision was not an easy one, but we wanted to be closer to more family. After a lot of discussion and consideration, we decided to move to Austin, primarily because of its closeness to Victoria, where almost all of Laurie's family lives.

We started the move in March, by travelling to Texas for a week and a half to visit and to see if it "felt right". The trip was about half job interviews and house shopping and about half visiting family in Victoria. We celebrated Mary's first birthday early on that trip, with lots of aunts, uncles, cousins and great-grandparents. Chris accepted a software developer position at BMC Software, and we put our house up for sale in April. Chris started the new job at the beginning of May, while Laurie and the kids stayed to pack up the house and hope that a buyer would come along soon. Two weeks later, Chris came back to help Laurie and the kids (and Coco, our cat) move down. We waited until June for that buyer to finally come along. We dearly miss the family, great friends and Cincinnati-style chili we left behind in Ohio.

For our first six months here, we lived in a nice, but small, two-bedroom apartment, while our new house was being built. The apartment was so close to Chris' office that he rode his bike to work. To prevent stir-craziness in that little apartment, we got out and explored often. Laurie quickly scouted out the essentials, such as doctors, dentists and Bed Bath & Beyond. We also enjoyed many more visits to Victoria. Grandpa John (or Pam-Pa, as Mary calls him) and Grandma Cathy have a gorgeous backyard, which the kids love to explore.

After what seemed like a hundred delays, our house was finally ready in the third week of November. We can honestly say that it was well worth the wait - we love it! We still have a lot of settling in to do, but we're starting to feel more like residents and less like visitors. (Speaking of visitors, consider this your invitation to come and stay with us!)

Jonathan turned four in September - we had a big dinosaur party at his cousin's in Victoria. We are continuously surprised at what a big boy he's becoming. He attends a wonderful preschool three days a week, and gymnastics one day a week. He's doing well and having a blast in both programs. He still loves to play with his wooden trainset, his blocks and his dinosaurs, although his favorite play is with Mary. He's a great big brother, helping us with her and playing with her. For a while there they didn't always get along too well, but lately the fun far outweighs the fights.

Mary is now 20 months old and hasn't slowed down since she began walking at 11 months. She is a very active little girl. Only she's not so little - she is following in her big brother's footsteps on the growth charts. She loves being outdoors, whether playing in the dirt that we currently call our backyard or going for a stroll. Her favorite things to play with (aside from whatever Jonathan has at the moment) are balls, rubber duckies, and the doll she has slept with from the beginning, her pink 'Da-doll'.

Chris really likes his new job at BMC. It differs from his job at AT&T more than he would have guessed, but is better in just about every way. Laurie is busy with, well, all of the above! She is thankful every day that she can stay home to raise the children and keep our beautiful home. And we both like Austin a lot - it's a really nice place. The best part, however, has been the family members and old friends with whom we've been reconnected.

This Christmas, we are looking forward to flying back 'home' to Ohio to be with Chris' family in Dayton. We'll be with his dad and stepmom, and the the Virginia Graysons will be there, too. And since we won't have to shovel it or drive to work in it, we're hoping for snow!

We wish you a safe and joyous holiday and the best for the new year ahead!

Love,

The Grayson Family -- Chris, Laurie, Jonathan and Mary