the big birthday countdown, one...ZERO!!!!!!

this kind of loses it's excitement when you skip the final day LOL.

E is for easy-going.

your entry INTO this world was a piece of cake...up until the last minutes...when you got stuck...and we were whisked off to an operating room. daddy said i looked like the exorcist at that point.

after some serious forcep action you arrived...looking pretty darn frightening yourself LOL.

you STILL have a teeny scar next to your eye...it's mostly noticeable when you're sick.

but ever SINCE that traumatic entrance, you've made life easy on your momma.

and i thank you for that.

"you is kind. you is smart. you is important."

and i love you dearly.

happy, happy eighteen dude. so excited to see what the years ahead have in store for you.

xoxo.

the big birthday countdown, TWO!!!!

so i wasn't quite sure yet what i was going to do for the LETTER E.

until...........

i started singing LITTLE BUNNY FOO FOO today. completely out of the blue. because that's what i do.
and austin...poor austin...couldn't get past the fact that this is NOT a happy little children's song.
so E is for EMPATHY.

empathy: being aware of and sharing another person's feelings, experiences, and emotions.

love you, you big softie. now, off to find a field mice and BOP it on the head. hee hee.

the big birthday countdown, THREE!!!

this was an easy one.
L is for LOVED.
there really aren't even words to say HOW MUCH YOU ARE LOVED. so instead i'm just going to post some pics of your sweet smiling face through the years.

so so very glad that God blessed us with you. you are such a great kid and we love you more than you love gundam. :)

the big birthday countdown, FOUR...

getting closer dude!

N is for NONSTICK.

this quality must come from your father. LOL. and it's a good quality to have. maybe it's a guy thing?

but you easily let things go. stuff that could potentially really bother you...you just let it roll off of you.

you're like teflon.

but that starts with a T. so instead, you're nonstick :)

the big birthday countdown, FIVE!

So we're moving on to the I in Austin.

I is for INCONSPICUOUS TAPPER.

what???????????

my poor children. i have influenced them in ways that go far beyond what most can see.

we play the punchbuggy game. you see a punchbuggy? you punch someone. really, we don't hit too hard. but i am an EXPERT punchbuggy finder and austin is usually riding in front with me and he takes a beating.

when i am alone & see a bug, i cannot help it. it MUST be acknowledged. so i punch myself. not really a punch. more of a tap. as in, i see it, i've acknowledged it, i'm moving on.

yesterday austin came home from school and said he saw soooooo many bugs and wished i'd been with him. i had to ask:

'austin, when you're alone...and you see one...what do you do? let's say you're walking into target and there's one in the parking lot?'

HE IS HIS MOTHER'S CHILD.

his answer: he does a quick inconspicuous tap. he can't help himself.

LOLOLOLOLOL.

pray for my kids ;)

the big birthday countdown, SEVEN! SIX!

the countdown continues (whether or not i actually blog or not...which didn't happen yesterday).
we're on to S.

S is for SPIELBERG fan :)
austin, you were one SERIOUS dinosaur lover! i think it may have even bordered on obsession at some point LOL. they were all you talked about, all you would draw, all you would play with, all you could THINK ABOUT.


you decided to take it upon yourself to write a letter to steven spielberg. i must say i'm quite impressed that you spelled his name correctly. i actually just googled it to check the spelling bc i wasn't sure if your letter was right or not. i shouldn't have doubted that eight year old you :)



sadly, mr. spielberg didn't call (um, maybe bc your mother filed the letter instead of sending it? oops).
**********

T is for THOUGHTFUL.
i love this about you.

i've watched as you have rushed ahead to open a door for someone (and no, it's not always because it's for some cute young girl...most of the time it's for some cute old lady :)

i've noticed when you've gone the extra mile to keep the boys busy if i've got a lot going on.

i've paid attention (whether you realize it or not) when you have bent over backwards to accomodate your bossy little sister ;)

i love that you care deeply about the people who are in your life. you share their joys and you carry their pain.

your thoughtfulness will take you far.


"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.” -- margaret mead

the big birthday countdown. NINE, EIGHT!!!

yeah, yeah...so i may have bitten off more than i can chew by trying to do this daily for ten days in a row. case in point...cramming in yesterday & today before the clock strikes twelve. i feel like cinderella. only without the fancy dress. and the castle. and the glass shoes. and the mice.

ohhhhh, thank GOD there are no talking mice. because that's the LAST thing i need today. (dear God, please don't let me have dreams of talking mice. i promise i'll try to be good).

okay, so back to austin.

R (for robert) was also for respectful.

A is a no-brainer. A is for ARTISTIC.

dude, i swear, from the time you were old enough to hold a crayon you've been drawing stuff that blows my mind. it's in your blood.

i love that your first 'real' job was at a sign shop...that's what your great grandfather did for a living. back before computers...and printers...probably back before dinosaurs. LOL.

as you continue to grow in your art skills, i continue to just be in AWE (oooh, look, another A). i mean, i can draw a cute cartoon bird. and maybe some puffy clouds. but YOU, my son, are quite the artist.

still laughing at the eye glasses lady who wanted you to get the protective coating on your new glasses...

eyeglass lady: 'son, you really should get it. it's just good to have for boys.'

me: 'he's an artist.'

eyeglass lady (looking at you): 'but what about when you play basketball?'

me: 'he's more likely to poke himself in the eye with a pencil.'

hee hee hee. i love that you KNOW this. and you OWN it. you aren't afraid to admit it. A is NOT for athlete. not that you didn't do soccer or t-ball...or even remember the diving class...that high dive was SCARY...but it just wasn't what YOU wanted to do.

and i LOVE that you are secure in that. and so i'll phase right into the next letter since i skipped yesterday.

U is for UNPHASED.

and you, son, are SO unphased by the things that bug most kids your age. thank you for that. it makes my life (and your dads) a little easier. LOL...everyone warned us about what it was going to be like to have teens in the house.

and maybe you are just UNUSUAL (ooooooh, see what i just did there?)...you ARE unusual...but it's in a good way :)

don't ever succomb to the pressure to be anyone but who YOU are.

because YOU, robert austin lee, are perfect just the way you are.

(now, go trim your fingernails).

hee hee.