Summer Fun!

Well we are finally updating our blog after two months of summer fun! We've had all kinds of festivities and celebrations, and we can't wait to share with you some pictures of these memorable times! One of my favorite parts of summer is the after-dinner play time in our neighborhood. Caleb is eager every night to get out and play with the "boys and kids" in our cul-de-sac. He wears his dad's helmet (yes, it's a little big but not too much- he has a big head!!) and rides the neighbor's scooter around (with Dad's help) as proud as can be. He also loves to joke and play with "Buce" and "Sheda" (Bruce and Shelia) our neighbors who love Caleb like their own. They have been such a blessing the last two years!

Here's Dad and Caleb cruising around!

Austin was in a dear friend's wedding this May. Chad and Austin grew up together and have lots of good memories from middle and high school. He was in our wedding 8 years ago! Here we are after the wedding which was outside at Cheekwood in Nashville. It was fun getting dressed up!!

Caleb enjoyed his first boat ride on Old Hickory lake this month! He wasn't too sure of the water, but he really enjoyed the ride and watching his uncles fly through the air on the tube that was pulling behind us! We were invited over to the home of some life long friends of my parents who happen to live right on the lake. What a view!

For Father's Day, Austin drove down to Birmingham,AL to visit his dad and play golf. They had a great time catching up and enjoying a game of golf.

While Austin was with his dad, Caleb and I took a day trip to the Chattanooga Aquarium with a bunch our friends for "little" Austin's 3rd birthday. We loved seeing the otter, penguins, sea horses, sharks, and all the other amazing fish God created!! We had a blast! Caleb's favorite were the sharks!

Cheese!

Caleb and Emily eating lunch at the Aquarium and enjoying their shades they received as a party favor.

One of the highlights of the summer so far has been my brother Hunter's wedding! It's been a much anticipated and celebrated event over the last several months. We love him and his new bride, Leslie, so very much! Caleb was a proud ring bearer. Here he is all dressed up with his dad.

We weren't sure how he'd do walking down the aisle. Watch this video and find out what he did at the rehearsal! This is what he did at the wedding as well! We thought, "Surely not at the wedding. He'll be more shy and scared once he sees all the people." Oh, no! Caleb was rearing to go saying "Here I come, Hunter; I've got something for you!"It was precious!

Lastly, on Father's Day we enjoyed an afternoon in the sprinkler! Caleb had a blast. So far it's been a wonderful few months. Not only have we been making some memories, but God has been at work in our home. We are studying the book of Ephesians with our church body, and Austin and I are actually attempting to memorizing the entire book! At first I wasn't sure if I could do it, but I've been surprised at how when you take small chunks it's actually doable! It's been life changing already to meditate on this amazing book and internalize its truths. We would love for prayers from you asking God to help us perservere and truly know this book inside and out. Caleb seems to be "internalizing" the story of Daniel and the Lions Den. The past few months it's been his favorite book to read. It's been precious to see him grasp at such a young age the importance of praying to the only true God and how to trust God when we are afraid. We hope all is well with you and would love to hear what's going on in your lives.

Blessing and grace to you,

Nicole

If you'd like to see more pictures click here to see our photo gallery!

Great News!

The news is good.... There is no change in Caleb's vision in the last six months! It was amazing how well Caleb handled himself with the exam too. He was such a trooper and did everything that was asked of him. We were so proud of him; he is growing up so quickly.

For our next steps we will go back for another MRI in September and then back to the eye doctor in December. If everything is good with the MRI then there is a good chance he won't have to have another for a year... This is what we are hoping and praying for.
Thanks for your prayers today... God has given us another good report!

Austin & Nicole

Hello Friends...

Hello friends,

Just a short note to let you all know that tomorrow morning (Tuesday) we will be attending the eye doctor with Caleb. We would appreciate your prayers for the doctors to have wisdom as they look him over. From all signs we can see he is healthy and his vision is intact. We for sure know he can spot a Cheerio from about twenty feet or so. : )

At any rate we very much appreciate your prayers for Caleb... we are fully convinced that God has sustained our little guy this far and that He has wonderful plans for his life. I will shoot out a message tomorrow once we have teh findings of the doctors.

On an unrelated topic I wanted to share some good news with you. A friend of ours (Jonathan Morrow) recently launched a new website (www.thinkchristianly.org). This site is packed with resources to help Christians engage their culture while making a reasonable defense for the gospel. Jonathan is a very talented brother to have defending the faith, and I encourage you to check out his site and blog.

Austin & Nicole