Our New Puppy Mac!

This is a front view of our buddy Mac.

Austin and Mac are already the best of friends!

This is Mac most of the time...so calm and sweet!

He loves to chew on his toys!




This was right after we got him...Austin was SO proud.

So I promised pictures of our new puppy, and here they are! He is a four month old lab/boxer/maybe hound/maybe mastiff mix. He weighs about 35 lbs. right now and they think he may be as large as 80 when all is said and done (they really have no idea though). He is the most laid back dog in the whole world, sleeping or resting about 90% of his day. He is already crate trained and rarely has an accident in the house. We are so grateful to Pawfect Match Rescue for fostering him until he could become a part of our family! We hope you all get to meet him soon!

It's been awhile...

Austin at Myrtle Beach.

Austin and some of his friends on his new trampoline!

Austin opening presents from us on his actual birthday!

Austin's PA birthday party.

Austin picking tomatoes in our garden

(we had banana peppers, mint & tomatoes survive this year!)

For anyone who checks this on a semi-regular basis, I am sorry that it has taken so long to write another blog. We had a major computer issue that put our good computer out of working order for 2 months! Way too long to be without, but now we are up and running again and life is good! :) The pictures above are some of the cutest and most recent ones taken.

Since my last post, Austin turned 3, is potty trained, and has given up his pacifier (nuk) for good! Jason and I have definitely had some trying times through it, but we've prevailed. Austin had two birthday parties this year; the first one was the first weekend in August up in PA and the second was the third weekend in August here in NC. Both had a "Cars" theme, and of course, he got way too many presents! It's so nice that he has friends his own age down here that he can invite to a party and see on a regular basis. The potty training began soon after a trip to Myrtle Beach with my grandparents (mid-September), and went very smoothly. We have an accident here or there still, but in general, he did much better than I thought he would do. The nuk was a much bigger ordeal than potty training. He cried himself to sleep a few nights and even though it has been 6 days now, he still asks for it when he is tired.

Our biggest news as of recent is that we are adding on to our family! Not with another baby yet, but with an adorable mutt that Austin has named Mac. He is a 4 month old lab, boxer, hound mix (although this is all speculation). He is the calmest puppy and doesn't seem to have a care in the world (which is good since Austin will be his brother). Mac joins us this Saturday, and we promise to put up pictures!

That's pretty much it from our end. We have traveled a lot this fall (Myrtle Beach with my grandparents, then again with my parents, Wilmington and Mt. Airy with Jason's parents), so we haven't been around Fuquay much on the weekends, but it has been great visiting with everyone. One thing I wanted to update everyone on is that I am not watching the little boy from the previous post. His mom ended up finding a job that was during the night shift, so we are still trying to get by, but know that God has a plan for us. Right now I am looking into getting my teaching certificate (which would only take about 5 classes), so keep us in your prayers as our lives may drastically change again.

Spring Time Pictures

So I am on my mom's computer and found some great pictures of Austin from January-April. They are a bit dated, but I thought they were too cute not to share! I hope you enjoy!

I just think this is the most adorable picture!

Austin and his cousins, Peter, Than, and Mags.

Austin and his best friend from PA, Jack.

Could he be any more relaxed right now?

Austin was such a good helper with the snow this year! Unfortunately for him, he won't be seeing much of that anymore.

Here he is as a "cooker" (Austin's word for chef), creating his lunch one day.

What's going on...

I thought this first blog would be a great time to update you all on what's going on in our lives down here in Fuquay. Jason loves his job with Davis, and is continuing to work pretty long days (leaving at 5:50 am and coming home at 6 pm is fairly normal). Most days the temperature is over 90 degrees, so he definitely has had to get used to the heat. Being a forman also means that he has a lot of responsibility for his Mexican crew. He has had to learn quite a bit of Spanish (because no one is teaching "pitchfork" in high school), and occasionally has to deal with a worker who's gotten a little too big for his britches, but overall, he says that he likes most of the men that he works with.

I also have finally "figured out" what I'm going to do with myself (at least for a little while). I was blessed to have a couple who just moved to Fuquay call and ask if I was still watching kids. After quite a few phone conversations we finally met and sometime in August/September I am going to begin to watch their little boy, Shane. Austin already seems to like him, and with Shane turning 2 in September, I think he'll make a great playmate for Austin. I am also working for a neighbor/friend who owns an advertising agency. This is an amazing opportunity right now because I can work when I want to (from my house), and I get paid a nice commission for it. To learn more about the agency, you can go to www.gwadagency.com I am also still selling Mary Kay, and looking at the possibility of teaching a dance class or two come the fall as well. I think that this should keep me busy for at least a little while!

As for Austin (the one I know you all care about!), he is growing up so fast! I can't believe that this upcoming weekend we will be celebrating his 3rd birthday, although he doesn't officially turn three until the 11th. He is so smart (often too smart for his own good), and knows his birthday, his alphabet, his numbers up to about 15 in English and 10 in Spanish. Because he has spent most of his younger years with adults, he also talks like he's a 40 year old man, saying things like, "It was nice seeing you guys" and "Thank you, have a nice day." He is however getting much more interaction with kids his own age down here. The stay at home moms in the neighborhood have started a playgroup on Thursday (which is great for both of us), and there are 4 other kids his age to play with.

Finally, we have started going to a local baptist church down here. I know it's cliche to move to the south and become a baptist, but your choices really are limited down here. There are two local methodist churches (neither of which struck a chord with us), one presby, and even the catholics only have one here! We really do like the church though. Jason and I like the format of the service (a mix of traditional and contemporary), we like the conservative values that they preach, and the people are extremely welcoming and friendly. I just finished helping with VBS, and it was such an amazing opportunity. Every evening (because their VBS started at 6:30) the senior pastor, his wife, and others made a free meal for all of the volunteers and their family, then we headed off to our different areas. Jason helped one night, and we both found it to be a great way to meet more people with children in the church!

I'm sorry this first post was SO long, but I wanted to make sure that from now on I hopefully don't have to backtrack on what we've been doing. Until next time (I'll use one of Austin's favorite Veggie Tales quotes he says) "God made you special and He loves you very much."

We are SO far behind the times...

So I decided to create a family blog for Jason, Austin and I so no matter where our family and friends are, they can keep track of our lives. This will more or less be the test blog, so more will come later! Love you all!