Austin Comes to College Station!

Many of you know my love for my nephew. In fact, if you've had a conversation with me, I've probably slipped a story (or five) in about how cute he is. Well, since we're moving and all, Jon and I wanted some one-on-one time with this sweet boy. And boy did we spend time with him. He came up the Thursday before Easter and stayed with us through Saturday. Our time together was P.A.C.K.E.D. So packed, in fact, that I only managed to get pictures of our first night together. But don't you worry! They're good ones!

Our church puts on an event before Easter called "Easter Eggstravaganza." It's a way that we're able to reach out to the community around us. Needless to say, there were SEVERAL children, bouncy houses, an egg hunt, and pizza. Austin had a blast!

Here's Austin with Uncle Jon

Can you tell he loves his uncle??

Austin had never seen cascarone eggs. He loved

them. This is probably my favorite picture

of him. You can tell he's totally enjoying himself.

Pure delight:

My sister, Aimee, had warned me that he might not know how to do an egg hunt. The week before, he had participated in an egg hunt and paused between each egg he collected to check out what was inside. Obviously he didn't get a lot of eggs at said "hunt." I was totally prepared to scurry him along, but it was not needed. He ran around that field, grabbing eggs like his life depended on it. I'd show you pictures, but the speed at which he hunted eggs made all of them blurry. Instead, here's a picture of the "after."

My other favorite: "CANDY!"

You'll be happy to know he ate his candy AFTER

his basket was full. And yes, his egg basket is

Mickey Mouse's head. So cute!

The evening ended with a concert by Ross King. He has an awesome kids' CD called "Words That Rhyme With Orange." If you have children and you don't have this CD, click here and buy several copies. It's super cute and fun and won't drive you nuts while listening to it with your child. Anyways, to get in our silly moods, we took this fabulous picture.

Finally, after four times of, "Make a silly face!"

You're welcome.

I wish that I could have captured the amount of questions he asked in a picture. Here are a few of my favorite conversations:

Austin: Will you take off my socks, Britty?

Me: I sure will! (socks come off...)

Austin: What'd you take my socks off for?

Me: Because you asked me to.

Austin: Oh.

Austin: What's that car driving for?

Me: I don't know, Austin.

Austin: Why don't you know?

Me: Well, because I'm not in the car with them. But we're going to an egg hunt!

Austin: What are we going to an egg hunt for?

Me: ....

After getting off the phone with a friend...

Austin: What did she say, Britty?

Me: She said she can't meet us for lunch, but we can go over to play later.

Austin: What are we going to go over to play for?

Me: Well, because it'll be fun. But we'll wait until after you've taken your nap.

Austin: What do I have to take a nap for?

You get the idea. Let's just say I was stretched to my capacity as far as creative answers go! My favorite memory by far was when he would wake up from his nap and call over the monitor, "Hello?! Is anyone out there? Hello?! Come and get me!!"

All this to say, we had a great time with Austin, full of memories and laughter. Jon and I were grateful for an extended amount of time with him. Thanks, Aimee and Luke, for letting us have him for a few days!

Drum roll, please!

We're moving to BOSTON!

After much prayer, research, and prayer (we've been doing that a lot lately!), we've decided to make the move to Boston! Jon will be attending Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary to get his Master of Divinity degree, with a focus in missions. We are very excited!

The big move will take place this summer. We'll be in Greece May 22-July 1, then we'll begin a 5-day stretch of driving/visiting friends and family along the east coast July 11-17.

Good times are ahead!

Neti Pot

You know that feeling of not being able to breathe, coupled with a pounding headache? Oh, well that's me today. JOY.

If it weren't for this guy right here, I'd REALLY have sinus pressure.

Dear Neti Pot,

Thank you for clearing my sinus passages for a short while. See you in a few hours.

Love,

Me

Goin' To the Chapel!

Well, Spring Break has come and gone, along with Easter. We are on the "home-stretch," as we like to call it. Where has all the time gone?!

I know I still have one more big reveal (and no, we're not pregnant!), but I needed to pause in the middle of our updates to give a special shout-out to my sweet friend, Jordan, who USED to be Jordan Hackney, but is NOW Jordan Whitlach! Yes, over Spring Break, my best friend from college got married and this post is dedicated to her.

Jordan and I actually met our freshman year of college in good 'ole COMM 101. Noticed I said "met" not "became friends." Sad, I know. In fact, the strong memory I have of Jordan our freshman year was her coming to class with a berry blast smoothie from the REC. I, however, did NOT have a berry blast smoothie (I don't know the official name, but you get the idea!). Thus, I longingly looked at her yummy smoothie wishing I had one, too!

Fast-forward to our sophomore year of college. We found ourselves in another COMM class, but this time we became friends. We began studying together, she taught me the art of writing "decorative" notes (Jordan, do you remember those?!), and we became fast friends. We were both looking to change our lifestyles and living arrangements and our friendship provided the accountability and companionship we so desired. Our sophomore year was full of late-night trips to the REC, sushi and brownie bites, and capture-the-flag. At the end of our sophomore year, we signed a lease on a house with Stephanie and so began our years of living together.

The next two years of college were full of late night talks, trips to Chicken Express for their sweet tea, and lots and lots of laughter. It was at the end of our junior year that I met my future husband, Jon (funny story on that...). Our relationship grew over my and Jordan's last year of college and I will always cherish the friendship that she and Jon also developed over that year.

Our senior year came and went before we knew it. Jordan was headed to Arizona for an internship with the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl, and I was headed to San Antonio to work with Community Bible Church. Jon and I were engaged in November and I spent the next several months planning for our wedding. Jordan was in our wedding in August and I will always treasure her being there on our special day!

(Photo by Marks Moore)

Fast-forward to last June. I get a phone call from Jordan, in which she tells me about this guy, Chris, she has started dating and wants to know how I knew Jon was "the one." Now, this was strange for several reasons, the most shocking of which being that Jordan was a self-proclaimed "independent lady" with marriage far-off in her future (or so she thought). I will always cherish that conversation, because I could hear in her voice her excitement and nervousness over the possibility of marriage. So sweet!

Well, now fast-forward to October. Jordan called me and I could tell by her voice that something had happened. She was ENGAGED! And they were getting married March 19. And she wanted me to be a bridesmaid. WOO! The next few months passed by quickly and before I knew it, I was in Arizona for the purpose of witnessing Jordan and Chris' marriage begin. It was such a surreal and special time, and one I will treasure for several reasons.


Jordan, I am so excited for you as you begin your journey with Chris as husband and wife. The Lord uses marriage in so many ways to refine and shape us into being better image-bearers of our Savior. I pray that your marriage is Christ-centered, full of joy, and rewarding beyond what you ever imagined. I love you!

(Photo by Caroline Fontenot)