A little trip to the BEACH

Chris had a meeting at the beach.  We decided to make a trip of it.  We had a great time!  This was our first trip with no swim diapers... that is like heaven.  All of the kids loved the beach and the pool. 

When we checked in to the hotel, we had chocolate covered strawberries and wine waiting in our room.  Wow!!  Chris must be a VIP :)  We don't drink wine, but the strawberries were great and by chance there were six of them... one for each of us.

We ate awesome seafood.

It was a great week!  Sad it is over, but excited to head home!

“My Big Girl Panties”


Monday morning began like any other. Chris kissed me goodbye and headed off to Grundy. I stayed in the warm bed wishing I could sleep in, but instead I got up and proceeded with the usual routine. Four kids up and ready, teeth brushed, backpacks packed and out the door. I dropped everyone off at their appointed locations and suddenly the day changed from ordinary to really unordinary.

I drove to the airport, by myself. Boarded a plane, by myself. And headed off to the big city. I have never flown alone. I have never been to the city alone. Surprisingly, I was not scared or concerned. I tried hard to look like an ordinary traveler amongst all those “professional” travelers with their ipads and cell phones. I am not sure I fit in, but I gave it my best shot. I got a cab and gave direction to my hotel. After I checked into my hotel, by myself, I went to my room and the thought suddenly occurred to me….. “I think I am really a big girl now”. I laughed out-loud and determined that I am perfectly capable and competent to wear “big girl panties” everyday, if I choose to.

And so in my mind, having a husband, kids, a job and a house did not cause me to cross the bridge into real adulthood, but this experience did. What an enlightenment!

Tomorrow is going to be another new experience. I am taking the train and metro to the airport. When my plane lands I will drive home. There I will assume my ordinary life, which I am quite fond of, but it doesn’t always require “big girl panties”.

Catching Up

We decided to change things up a little this year for Christmas!  So, we headed to Disney for the week!  The kids were super excited.  It was our first trip to Disney with everyone and I was nervous!  I worried about losing a kid or someone getting sick, but all in all it was great! 

Vanessa and her family also went, so we hung out together and ate lots of meals together. 

Prior to our trip, people asked us some pretty interesting questions, since we were going to be there on Christmas.  They said,
"What will you do about a Christmas tree?"
"What about Santa?"

We laughed!  Christmas is not about trees or presents.  It is about spending time with the people you love the most, and we did just that! 

I am humbled we were able to have the opportunity and I really did cherish the memories. 

And so, we headed home after Christmas and it has been snowing since.  The kids have not been back to school, but they don't mind.  We can't seem to get back into a routine and our house is a disaster. 

I am looking forward to 2011.  Last year was amazing and I can't imagine what this one will bring!

From our family to yours,  Happy New Year!!

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???

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....

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.

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 40^th Birthday. Yep, that's right, 40^th.
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.