happy 15th birthday austin

wow. say it isn't so! i don't FEEL old enough to have a 15 year old. but alas, it's true.

austin was our first born and to say we were clueless in the beginning is an understatement. i still remember the night that, as a newborn, he cried sooooo much that we called the 24 hour prayer hotline @ christian broadcasting network asking for prayers for him (and i think more for us LOL). the older woman who talked to me and prayed with me was probably trying not to laugh at us but i'm sure she had a good chuckle when she hung up.

but once we got past the newborn stage, austin cut us some slack. he was SUCH an easy going toddler...then an easy going kid, and now an easy going young man. i hear the horror stories of other teens and i am so thankful that this has not been our experience...HIS experience. i realize it's premature to think that it's all going to be a piece of cake (mmmm...cake...that's later tonight). but so far, so good and i hope and pray that the kind, soft heart that he has now will carry him through the coming years.

from the time he could hold a pencil, he's been drawing. and continues to do so. it's in his genes. and each new drawing continues to amaze me.

austin, i pray that you continue to draw...that you continue to dream...that you continue to grow closer to God (and i pray that you would maybe be inspired at some point to keep a cleaner room).

i love you dude. here's to the next 15 years. xoxo, mom

THEN:

NOW:

beware the vampires

next time you're in new york city, you might want to pull your collar up a little higher around your neck.

hudson was talking to us the other night and said something about the

VAMPIRE STATE BUILDING.
of course, this is the same kid who, yesterday morning while eating breakfast, was explaining to aidan that God made us and that he used tape to put our fingernails and toenails on.

hee hee hee. i love this kid.

the HOMEBOYS

tomorrow is hudson & aidan's first day of preschool together.

here's hoping they have less attitude than they do in this photo LOL

say whaaaaaaaat??????

the scene:

the cable man has arrived to install the HD box to our TV. jennifer is trying to make sure that bobby doesn't forget to ask him a question about our dvd player hook-up. she reminds him...several times.

MARK: BOBBY, YOU'VE GOT A SECOND WIFE.

JENNIFER: I'M VERY GOOD @ BEING A SECOND WIFE. I WAS A SECOND WIFE TO LOTS OF MEN WHILE YOU WERE AWAY.

MARK: PARDON ME??????

NOT what she meant...but OH SO FUNNY!

introducing MAYA

after church today, uncle mark & aunt jennjer took the kids to the park while i went to the grocery store (feeding a family of ten requires some strategic couponing!).

when my cell phone rang, i could tell something was up when i heard mark's voice. my IMMEDIATE thought was that someone had gotten hurt during their outing. instead, he began to tell me about the dog that they just met at the park. a dog that was accompanied by an SPCA volunteer. a dog that was in need of a good home.

after lots of questions on my part, lots of begging on my children's part, and lots of assurance from mark that he'd help with the training, MAYA came 'home.'

she's already made herself at home and is behaving like she's been here forever. here's hoping the coming days are as easy of a transition as this evening was!

the crowes have landed

it's been a little crazy here and i haven't blogged in quite some time.

but this week, the big news is that the remaining crowes have arrived! they're already off and running (literally) as today is alexis' very first track meet! GO LEX!