Here are Chase and Krystle at their rehearsal the night before the big day! The dinner was at Maggiano's in Nashville. It was a really special night. The food was unbelievable, the slide-show was tear- jerking, and the letters/gifts that Chase and Krystle gave their parents were outstanding. They honored their parents in such a lovely way for everyone present. What a beautiful night of remembrance.  

And the wedding day could not have been better! It was a gorgeous day! Perfect weather and the venue for the wedding was amazing. Caleb and Annelise had a great time- we were so proud of them! And they looked so grown up- so handsome and beautiful- we couldn't believe they were ours! ;)

Here they are with KG and Mr. Jim.

What a blessing these babies are to me and what a sweet day I will never forget.

Cousin Adam is holding his almost 1 year old, Jonah' who is Adam's clone. He is the most adorable baby - I just want to eat him!!

I loved the background of this old brick building in Nashville. Krystle looked absolutely beautiful on her special day.
Chase and Krystle- your wedding was so much fun- you did an outstanding job on all the details and my favorite part was your heart behind the big day, which was your true desire to unite yourself under the headship of our Jesus and to create a marriage that will be a beacon of light for all those your path cross. We love you.

and lastly- Uncle Chase bought Caleb a Lego set for the big day- Caleb had a blast building it with cousin Adam who is a big kid at heart! ;)

Here we are at my Dad's 60th. We started the celebrating at Ma's house for lunch. We gave him a special collage book of old and new pictures and letters from family and friends. Then we sat in the den and read him our letters. I loved telling my dad things I'd never told him before and listening to others share their deep love for Dad as well. Dad kept saying he wasn't suppose to be around to hear these things being said- (meaning they should be told at his funeral). But what good is that? We wanted Dad to know how we felt about him, and it was so good to set aside time to tell him.

Here Mom is sharing her letter. It was beautiful- reminiscent of her days of dating Dad to all the years in between-good and hard. It was a blessing to hear her love for her Knight in shining armor.

Afterwards, we took Dad bowling! Grayson had a blast!!!

One thing you can always count on Dad for is a good laugh. When you need a "pick-me-up," call my dad. He is the best at making others feel better, taking life a little less seriously, and finding the good and the funny in everything. I love you, Dad.

And lastly, we surprised my dad with a party at the house! About 50 dear friends and family came to celebrate. It was really endearing to see so many come out-even his cousin from Atlanta! What a gift!

And this cake was delicious!- caramel cake--yum, yum!

I wish we had gotten a group picture around Dad- the house was full with friends and family! I think my favorite part was sitting around with several at the end and hearing my Uncle and some others tell old stories of them together growing up- Caleb sat in there and laughed so hard. It was a memorable night.

Here is a picture of Stan and myself. He shared some stories as well. What a gift he and the Ezell family have been to my dad and to our family for so many years.

Dad, we love you and wish you many more- for our sake!

Much love, Nicole

Spring

We wanted to give you an update on where our status is with Caleb since we last wrote. During the last month as we have waited on second opinions and we have prayed for what to do. We have not had peace about moving forward with treatment. We knew there was a coming endocrinologist appointment and we wanted to wait for those results before making any decisions.

This week we saw the Endocrinologist - these tests were mostly encouraging. We continue to be blessed by the fact that Caleb is showing no signs of puberty and in this most recent visit his growth "velocity" (rate of change) has slowed down a bit - this is a welcome thing if you have been following this blog for a while now.  The Endocrine picture of Caleb is mostly healthy - he does still have elevated growth hormone levels but the rate of their elevation does not appear to be changing - which means that picture is mostly stable.

We are scheduled to visit with ophthalmology next week to get his vision checked out. We don't have any indications that there will be troubles with this visit, but we have learned to be cautiously optimistic with these things - because you never know.  We would love very much to have your prayers for wisdom as we make these decisions, and for a good report from the eye doctor.

Nicole and I have prayed over this for the past few weeks and we have sought to find an answer that we can say we have peace with. We have come to grips with the reality that we may end up in chemo treatment, and we have grieved this reality. Even though we have come to grips with this reality we do not have peace that this is the direction we are to move forward in today. Our paths have crossed with several folks who have shared their experience and spoken to our situation. These meetings were not by chance and we believe they have helped us get to the place where we can wait in peace.

Waiting is hard, and not really fun. I am at heart an impatient man - but God is teaching me that there can be peace in waiting for his timing and provision, even if the circumstances are scary. We recognize that even the smartest among us have finite knowledge and that life is very short. We have been blessed with this day, we have been blessed with this child and today we celebrate good news from his Endocrine visit and we hope for good news next week with his eye doctor. We love you all and will keep you posted as we have information to share.
Thank you for your prayers and concerns, Austin.

Nicole's Family Update

We have had an extremely busy Spring, but feel so blessed that the activities have been such sweet, memorable family events. We have celebrated Austin's brother Chase and his fiance Krystle in their wedding, my dad's 60th birthday, my brother Will T. and his fiance's showers for their wedding this month, and of course birthdays, Easter, and baby/graduation showers along with a weekend with our dear friends from Kentucky and from London! It's been a whirlwind, but really really special!
This picture is taken from the front of our house one day during our home-school time. We were finding the signs of Spring in our new yard! We took pictures and created paper books where the kids wrote about the things they observed. We are absolutely loving our yard this Spring! We have seen 6 turkeys, a ground hog, a turtle, deer, beautiful blue jays and red birds and many amazing insects to name a few! The kids are loving it!

Austin borrowed Will T. and Kayla's four wheeler to do some yard work this Spring- the yard has been a huge project. The kids along with our their dear friends Austin and Sarah Beth enjoyed several good rides around the yard. The sight and smell of the four wheeler took me back to the many rides I had growing up at the farm- what a sweet memories!

Here we are enjoying our dear friends from Kentucky. It was so fun to see Jack and Bennett and their new baby sister, Ella. We love you, Moore family!!

And it was such a gift to see my dear friend Meghan and her husband Chris for an afternoon and evening. They came in from London-we hadn't seen them since their wedding last June in London. I treasured every moment. The kids loved Mr. Chris and had a blast playing with the noise putty here in this picture below! ;)

We will have to mail you some, Chris!

In March I hosted a bridal luncheon for Krystle. I enjoyed getting out all of my fine china and organizing a very girly occasion for Krystle. We had some yummy food including ham and rolls, chicken salad, my mother's famous tea punch, and a baked Alaska cake, Pampered Chef style! Here we are taking a family picture with Krystle -Aunt Janie is next to me, Krystle, Kathy, and Debbie who is a life-long friend who we consider an Aunt!

Annelise had a good time helping Aunt Krystle open her gifts.

I also enjoyed getting to know Krystle's family and friends whom I had never met.

Austin took Chase, their cousin Adam, and a friend to our farm for a weekend away before the wedding. They shared a memorable time together of hiking, shooting guns, eating yummy food, and sitting around the campfire. Austin said he had a really great time.

Adam- you are a goof-ball!

Here are Chase and Krystle at their rehearsal the night before the big day! The dinner was at Maggiano's in Nashville. It was a really special night. The food was unbelievable, the slide-show was tear- jerking, and the letters/gifts that Chase and Krystle gave their parents were outstanding. They honored their parents in such a lovely way for everyone present. What a beautiful night of remembrance.  

And the wedding day could not have been better! It was a gorgeous day! Perfect weather and the venue for the wedding was amazing. Caleb and Annelise had a great time- we were so proud of them! And they looked so grown up- so handsome and beautiful- we couldn't believe they were ours! ;)

Here they are with KG and Mr. Jim.

What a blessing these babies are to me and what a sweet day I will never forget.

Cousin Adam is holding his almost 1 year old, Jonah' who is Adam's clone. He is the most adorable baby - I just want to eat him!!

Krystle looked absolutely beautiful on her special day.

I loved the background of this old brick building in Nashville.
Chase and Krystle- your wedding was so much fun- you did an outstanding job on all the details and my favorite part was your heart behind the big day, which was your true desire to unite yourself under the headship of our Jesus and to create a marriage that will be a beacon of light for all those your path cross. We love you.

and lastly- Uncle Chase bought Caleb a lego set for the big day- Caleb had a blast building it with cousin Adam who is a big kid at heart! ;)

Here we are at my Dad's 60th. We started the celebrating at Ma's house for lunch. We gave him a special collage book of old and new pictures and letters from family and friends. Then we sat in the den and read him our letters. I loved telling my dad things I'd never told him before and listening to others share their deep love for Dad as well. Dad kept saying he wasn't suppose to be around to hear these things being said- (meaning they should be told at his funeral). But what good is that? We wanted Dad to know how we felt about him, and it was so good to set aside time to tell him.

Here Mom is sharing her letter. It was beautiful- reminiscent of her days of dating Dad to all the years in between-good and hard. It was a blessing to hear her love for her Knight in shining armor.

Afterwards, we took Dad bowling! Grayson had a blast!!!

One thing you can always count on Dad for is a good laugh. When you need a "pick-me-up," call my dad. He is the best at making others feel better, taking life a little less seriously, and finding the good and the funny in everything. I love you, Dad.

And lastly, we surprised my dad with a party at the house! About 50 dear friends and family came to celebrate. It was really endearing to see so many come out-even his cousin from Atlanta! What a gift!

And this cake was delicious!- caramel cake--yum, yum!

I wish we had gotten a group picture around Dad- these pictures don't capture the wonderful night it was. I think my favorite part was sitting around with several at the end and hearing my Uncle and some others tell old stories of them together growing up- Caleb sat in there and laughed so hard. It was a memorable night.

Here is a picture of Stan and myself. He shared some stories as well. What a gift he and the Ezell family have been to my dad and to our family for so many years.

Dad, we love you and wish you many more- for our sake!

Well, we will keep you posted as we meet with the Opthamologist soon and as well celebrate Will T's big day as well.
Much love, Nicole

MRI Results & Update

Well, circumstantially, the last two days didn’t go as we had all hoped and prayed. Caleb had an unusually difficult time coming out of the anesthesia this time. The doctors told us they had to increase the meds due to some movement he was having and this was the reason for the delay; however, it was still emotional to spend an entire hour and a half trying to wake Caleb up and get him to a state where we could leave the hospital. There were a few moments of fear and holding back the tears as we and the nurse did everything we could to wake him with little response. We were really relieved when all was ok.

 

And today we went to Oncology and received news that Caleb’s tumor unfortunately did indeed grow just slightly since his last MRI in November. We spent the next hour listening to all the details of the risks of waiting and all the details of the risks of treatment. It was intense and difficult to hear, yet by the grace of God I felt covered. In the last 48 hours and the hours leading up I have truly experienced rest in my soul. I am disappointed and sad (and I might even cry hard in my pillow tonight), but I know that this day has been ordained by my good, perfect, and loving God and somehow He is working it out for Caleb’s good, for my good, and maybe for someone else’s good. I read Psalm 139 this morning on the way to Nashville and felt it was so timely:

 

God knows me, Caleb, and you and is familiar with all our ways (vs.1 and 3); He discerns our every move (vs.2-3) and his right hand will guide us and hold us fast (vs.9-10). He created us and knit us together (vs.13) and we are so wonderfully made (vs.14).  All our days are ordained for us (vs.16).

 

It feels so good to know I can trust Him and that He is in control no matter what. My spirit can rest in the everlasting arms of the Father; I can still have joy in this world full of trouble because my Jesus has overcome this world! Isn’t it grand to trust!

 

I always go back to a song…singing is my way of reminding myself the promises of God  and setting my eyes on Him instead of my circumstances. The song that so many times comes to mind is this:

 

Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus,
Just to take Him at His Word;
Just to rest upon His promise,
And to know, “Thus sayeth the Lord!”
Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Him!
How I’ve proved Him o’er and o’er;
Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus!
Oh, for grace to trust Him more!
I’m so glad I learned to trust Thee,
Precious Jesus, Savior, Friend;
And I know that Thou art with me,
Wilt be with me to the end.

 

May you join me today in trusting our big God for whatever hard things we all are facing today and tomorrow- for he can do immeasurably more than all we can ask or imagine. And we will soon be with Him for all of eternity.

 

Throughout this six year journey God has continually encouraged and lifted our spirits through so many of you that are reading these posts. Many of you we know, but there are countless others that even though we don’t have personal friendships you have nonetheless reached out with encouragement and prayer on our behalf.

 

A few weeks ago we received a package from an anonymous mother full of fun items for the kids and a special note of encouragement. Thank you to this unknown person, and thank you to each of you for walking with us and being tangible expressions of Christ’s love.

 

We will keep you posted on the upcoming decisions to be made and would humbly ask again for prayers for wisdom and guidance.

Thank you dearly. 

Austin & Nicole

 

Caleb's MRI

Hi friends... just a quick note to remind you that we will be heading into another MRI with Caleb on Tuesday morning starting at 8:00 am. We would love your prayers for peace, safety and healing. We will find out results Wednesday morning and will keep you posted.

Thank you!
Austin & Nicole

Birthday and Update

Caleb has just turned 7! We can't believe it! We had a fun-filled weekend full of celebrations. We had a friend party at the gym where Caleb and Annelise take gymnastics. They had a blast on the rope swing, foam pit, trampolines, and obstacle courses. We also had a Henderson family gathering and a Tenpenny one at Ma's. Caleb got to enjoy many of his favorite desserts and foods- fried chicken, macaroni and cheese, Famous Dave's BBQ, chocolate cupcakes, key lime pie, mint chocolate chip ice cream (Purity of course!), and Ma's chocolate trifle. Wow! (not all at once!) What a treat-filled weekend!
We wanted to let you know that Caleb's next MRI is April 2nd with results the next day on the 3rd. That's in less than 2 weeks. We will be having another look at the tumor before making a final decision on treatment at this time. We can't thank you enough for joining us in this step of faith. We would love prayers for the following:

-for the tumor to have not grown in size since his last scan in November.

--a miracle!! That our child might be unscathed! “Abba, Father, all things are possible for You.” (Mark 14:36)

-for unity

-for God’s will (Mark 14:36)

-for peace that passes all understanding would guard our hearts in Christ Jesus         (Phil. 4:7)

-that He would sustain us moment by moment (Isaiah 46:4)

-wisdom – that as we are faced with decisions that we would hear a voice behind us saying, “This is the way, walk in it.” (Isaiah 30: 21)

-for growth- that we might rejoice in our sufferings which produces perseverance, character, hope – (Rom. 5:3-4)

–that our faith may be proved genuine and result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. (1 Peter 1:7)

getting a hug from Daddy - Caleb of course got more fun legos- his favorite! He also got a science kit that I know he will love and his very own Nintendo DS! He also got some great gift cards and money that he can't wait to spend. He (and Annelise) are loving all his toys.

and another hug from KG and Jim

Annelise even got a few presents as well! and a hug from Uncle Chase!

Here are the kids at gymnastics. Each of these guys and gals mean so much to us. It was fun to see them having a ball!!

make a wish!

And here we are at Ma's for birthday- it was Kayla's birthday too! and Annelise and I got to go to her 1st wedding shower at Harpeth Hills the same day. The count down is on- May will be here before we know it!
Thank you to all who made Caleb's birthday so special.