Thursday, December 16, 2010

Time really does fly by....

Wow!  Where did this year go?  I always get really excited when the end of the year is approaching, it is so exciting and somewhat scary.  When a year comes to an end, I find myself reflecting upon the year and thinking, "wow, time flies". I cannot believe in a few short weeks it will be 2011.

The following are things that really stick out in my mind when I reflect upon 2010:

  • Ava learned to use the potty
  • Chris started a new job
  • I completed the first half of my doctorate program
  • Anna Beth was placed in the gifted and talented program at school
  • Maddie learned to write a letter "M"
  • Sam grew up ( I mean really, he is big now)
  • We got a new patio at our house
  • We lived happily ever after
We are very blessed.  God has been more than faithful to the Austin family this year.  It is so exciting to see where we have been and anticipate where we will be going.  So much happens in a year....


And on a much lighter note, we had a cookie cake for dessert tonight.  Can you guess who brought that home???

Saturday, November 27, 2010

Gobbling and Shopping

Happy Gobble Day, a few days late.  We had one of the best Thanksgivings ever, basically because I did not have to cook at all!  Yeah for me!  The Black Friday shopping was really fun.  Chris, Ness and I headed out at 10 o'clock Thursday and arrived home around 10 o'clock Friday morning.  We racked up lots of great deals.  I am not convinced I will do it next year.  Everyone that knows me knows that sleep is a necessity or I turn into a monster.

Vanessa and I spent today cooking.  We made homemade tomato soup, Check out the recipe here.  It is awesome.  We also made homemade sourdough croutons using a traditional recipe.  It seems absurd, but I have been wanting to make homemade tomato soup for months.  It was well worth the wait!

Life is crazy busy and I don't have time to blog, but I am going to make an effort to do better.  Tomorrow we are going to attempt a craft project, if it proves successful, I will share.

Have a blessed Sunday....

Sunday, October 3, 2010

In Retrospect


I feel compelled to write a post about our weekend. Not because anyone will care to read it, but because I want to remember……. remember what we did and most importantly how it made me feel. Chris and I spent the weekend volunteering at RAM, it stands for Remote Area Medical. The program travels around the world providing FREE medical and dental care for patients that are uninsured or underinsured. The program is contingent upon volunteers. The doctors, nurses, etc are all volunteers. Chris and I were assigned to the Registration Tables. The folks had been standing outside for hours waiting for their turn. They were given a number and the numbers were called a few at a time. The patients proceeded to the Registration table where we asked them questions to complete their paperwork. It was an emotionally overwhelming job. Chris and I sat beside each other with patients on the other side of the table. Many of them shared stories about their situation and what brought them to this point in their lives. Many of the patients were elderly. I will never forget the elderly man that reminded me of my Papaw Sanders. He needed dental work. He was cold and his hands were shaking, as he took several minutes to sign his name. When all the registration was complete we headed out. There was a fall festival taking place in Grundy. We hung out there for a while and headed back to our room.
 I will never again take for granted the opportunity to go to the doctor or dentist.
At the conclusion of this weekend, I am so thankful for so many things. I am thankful for my wonderful husband………watching him with the patients, listening so sincerely and taking on their problems made me so humbled. I am thankful for our health. Finally, I am thankful for the gift of life. I want to spend as much time as possible doing things that really make a difference in this world.

Friday, September 3, 2010

Surprise…. Surprise


Yesterday was one of those days that keeps you smiling until you go to bed!! Several weeks ago, some of Chris' co-workers contacted me about having him a SURPRISE Birthday Party. I am not a secret keeper, especially when it comes to secrets and Chris. He knows more about me than he will ever want to know. I am an open book! Keeping the secret was hard, really hard! I could not wait until the day was here so I wouldn't have to keep the secret any longer.
Yesterday was the day. They decorated his office and hosted a luau in honor of his 40th Birthday. Yep, that's right, 40th.
They bought him a gift basket filled with all the things he loves and the very best part was a gift for me. I am not sure what I did to deserve a gift, but I was so appreciative. I love gifts!! Chris was very humbled and grateful. He is blessed to work with such thoughtful people. I felt overwhelmed as I drove home, just pondering our lives and our blessings.
I am thankful God lead Chris to Buchanan County and I am excited to see what else he has in store for us.

Sunday, August 29, 2010

A crazy little thing called Love




A little lesson on love during Sunday School really made me ponder the concept of "love". Our society has a corrupt view of love. We know there are many different facets to love. We love our children in a different way than we love our neighbors. We really overuse the word love, "I love ice cream". I mean really, do you love ice cream? I was thinking about things I love and this is what I came up with:
Please note this is not a list of everything or everyone I love. Just off the top of my head.
I love:
  1. My husband
  2. My kiddos
  3. Living in a safe place
  4. The smell of fall in the air
  5. Dessert
  6. Being pregnant
  7. Working with a purpose
  8. To teach and train ( totally in my element in front of a room of adults sharing information and facilitating conversation)
  9. Finishing a project
  10. Making decisions that I know will have a positive influence
  11. The clearance rack
  12. School (I will forever be a student)
  13. Honest people
  14. Time with my husband (I used to take that for granted)

  15. This crazy and blessed life we lead


    What does love feel like? What do you think? How do you describe the feeling of love? Is it that warm fuzzy feeling inside? Or when something takes your breath away? Leave me a comment.

Saturday, August 28, 2010

What was supposed to be a Lazy Day



We had no intentions of being productive today.


The goal was to be lazy. My goal anyways, Chris always does something productive.


I took the girls to the library. They checked out a few books. Then we met Chris for Lunch.


On our way to lunch, a plane landed on the four lane. Really! No joke! The pilot is a good friend of ours, we are thankful he was okay!


The remainder of our day is going to include fresh veggies on the new grill and


A campfire, with s'mores of course. Happy Weekend!!


Monday, August 23, 2010

Road Trip





We really love to go away for the weekend. We don't get the opportunity very often because we always end up having some kind of obligation. But when we get the chance, we hit the road!!



I have learned from Chris that packing is really not a big deal. I used to make a list and pack as I checked off the list. Not anymore!! I just open up a big duffle bag and I start throwing stuff in. His philosophy is that you can buy or do without anything for a few days. This time I thought I forgot the hairbrush but luckily, it was in the bottom of the bag. Thanks to Ava, she packed lots of random objects that I found once we arrived.



We stayed at a really kid-friendly hotel with a pool and waterslide. They also had a "marshmallow"! Maddie calls those mushrooms that spill water, "marshmallows" and I love it!!



Our primary destination was the aquarium. On our way into Gatlinburg, we stopped at a book store. I bought, "Curious George visits the Aquarium". I read it to the kids on the road several times. It was so awesome! It was like "practicing what you preach"! I encourage our teachers to relate experiences to literature, but how many times do I really do it for my own children. That's not important, right? What matters is that I did it this time. The kids listened so intently, I felt like supermom. I think Chris thought he was married to supermom too! I could tell by the little smile on his face, as I was reading (he thought I didn't see it).



And so, as a reward for being supermom (you know, facilitating a literacy experience), Chris played putt putt with the kiddos while I shopped at the outlet mall. I got an awesome shirt at J Crew and a Coach purse. I am in love with the purse, but it is black. I am not sure if it is appropriate to carry it before Labor Day? I guess I will ponder for a few more weeks or maybe I will break the rules and carry it tomorrow.



The kids loved the aquarium. Actually, the parents loved it too! It was fun! If only every day was the weekend!

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Extreme Oreos



There are lots of little reasons I love Chris Austin.




Tonight I was reminded of one of the reasons. After dinner, Chris announced that he had to take a quick trip to the grocery store. He proceeded to get shoes on Maddie and Ava and off they went. They returned an hour later with 6 boxes of oreos. Yes, six! I wondered what the lady at the register thought, maybe something like "What is his wife going to think about this!!" Not the traditional oreos (that would be boring), but instead these new oreos with peanut butter, fudge covering and other additional calorie items.


Nay and I often laugh about this "extreme" tendency that Chris has on occasion. One box would not do….. six boxes are sufficient.


I forgot to mention that we devoured an entire box.

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

We Were so in Love….

The conversation went something like this:

Chris:    "Do you remember when we used to be so in love and sleep upside down in the bed?"

Me:    "no" (very confused)

Chris:    "oh"

The conversation ended and we both went back to our normal nighttime routine, baths, lunches, homework, and on and on.

Then before bed the same conversation continued-

Me:    "Could we talk about that sleeping upside down in the bed thing again?"

Chris:    "sure"

Me:    "Why did we sleep upside down in the bed?"

Chris:    "I think we were pretending to be on vacation"

(I did not think sleeping with my head at the wrong end of the bed was something you ordinarily do on vacation, hmmm….)

Me:    "oh, well"

Chris:    "I think you were pregnant with Maddie"

Me:    "What does love have to do with sleeping upside down in the bed?"

Chris:    "Everything"

Me:    "Are we still in love?"

Chris:    "yep"

I dozed off thanking God for my blessings, including love and humor. That is what makes the world go around, right?

Funny conversations are in order around our home place J    

Friday, August 13, 2010

Picnic and “Pedal” Boats



Chris, Maddie, Ava and I spent yesterday at the Breaks Interstate Park!


It is a beautiful park in the heart of Southwest Virginia.


We attended a picnic with some folks from Chris' new job.


We also rode "pedal" boats. The girls loved it!!


They squealed with delight and sang every song they could remember as Chris pedaled us along.


What a fun day!!


P.S Anna Beth and Sam started the new school year, we didn't forget them!

Monday, August 9, 2010

Why do you Walk?





Friday night our family participated in the Buchanan County Relay for Life.


I must say it was AWESOME!!


I took lots of pictures, but this one takes all.


Chris was a contestant in the "Womanless" Beauty Pageant.


It was funny, really funny!!


It raised lots of money for a really good cause.


We walked because cancer is terrible. Everyone is affected in some way by this terrible disease.

Monday, February 22, 2010

Princess Maddie is Three
Our sweet princess requested a "princess" party. She dressed in her new shirt, hairbow and pink tutu.


The party favors.....

Nay Nay and I made a birthday cake, not by choice, but it turned out cute.

The party table


Happy Birthday Madelyn Lee Austin!! We Love You!