The fall seems to be passing us by very quickly. Between a few family trips and some business travelling it seems like we have been out of pocket a bit so perhaps that has added to the pace.
We were fortunate enough to take two fun family outings in the past few weeks.
- We went on a weekend outing with the Tenpenny family. We had a blast with them travelling around from Crossville over to Fall Creek Falls and finally ending up in Orme, TN to hear Ma tell us stories of her youth. We really enjoyed this time with our family.
- We also had the chance to go to New York for a weekend. As many of you may know Nicole and I were hooked on the Grease television show back six months or so ago, and we promised each other we would go to New York to see the show this fall. We made good on the promise! This trip was one we will remember for the rest of our lives. It was our first experience in such a large city. We loved it but we think we will stay with Murfreesboro for now.
We just finished off Halloween... Caleb was a Giraffe, and even though I am partial he was quite cute. I don't think he understood very much of what was going on because at most of the houses he saw the open door as a chance to go inside and see what was happening. We had to pull him a way a few times with tears as he cried for "toyz N'er" which translates "toys... in there." He is a curious little fellow with little reservation in some situations.
Recently we visited the Gentry Farm with a few of our friends for a fun day. The kids had a blast playing with toys, seeing animals, taking a tractor ride and most of all playing with corn. I was amazed at how enthralled large numbers of kids can be with the simplest of items, corn. Overall this was a great day catching up with some friends we don't get to see as often as we might like and just generally relaxing. We are fortunate to have these folks in our lives.
A few have recently asked me how Caleb is doing... He is doing GREAT! He is growing faster than we can get new clothes for him it seems like, and every day his vocabulary gets larger. Nicole is doing an awesome job caring for and nurturing him, and I am amazed all the time to see them interact. He has no symptoms or complications from his tumor to date and we praise God for this blessing.
You may recall that we are all eating in some new ways over the past few months... less sugar, more grains, more greens and veggies, very little meat and dairy and generally speaking more "whole foods." This has been a tough transition for us, but God has been good to us and we are seeing positive results in our bodies and attitudes. We truly think this is the right course for our family, and we are intentionally working this direction... Nicole has worked very very hard to make new dishes and find new ways to make flavorful things for us to eat. It has been a tough process, but she has covered a huge amount of ground for us with the help of Ginny Harper and some other dear friends.
Well I think that is all for now... I posted a few new photo galleries here for you to catch a few pics of these recent events.
Sincerely,
Austin & Nicole
