A Few New Pics

So far so good with Clark. We've had two pretty good nights with him as he takes after his parents and enjoys his sleep. You can see that Audrey is reverting a little with her "fier" (pacifier).

Clark Austin

Clark Austin is finally here, a whole 11 days late, weighing in at 7lbs. 14oz and 19.5 inches long. Mom and baby are doing great. We are constantly amazed by how much the Lord has blessed our family and continues to bless us with the addition of this sweet little boy. Audrey was quite smitten with him offering lots of kisses and constantly requesting to hold him. Thank you for all of your prayers. Please come visit.

More Snow Pics

What an Easter to remember! We woke up to about 5 inches of snow on the ground, had an egg hunt in the snow, and built a snowman. Our church was supposed to meet at the Bell County Civic center with another sister church (a combination of four services), but there wasn't any power. So we went to our church and sat in the foyer watching the sermon on TV. God truly didn't want us to ever forget this truly remarkable day.

It's Beginning to Look alot like.... April 7?

Since we've been here in Temple, there has been some very strange weather. It started with August when the average temperature was 101 degrees (and our downstairs air conditioning going out), then in January we had the 4 day ice storm (when you would have thought the world was ending by people's reactions) and now it's snowing here today in April.

Aunt Sarah introduced Audrey to snowing about 3 months ago by throwing any objects up in the air and shouting "It's Snowing!" Thanks for that by the way. She actually did it this morning with the peanuts in the package for our camera. However when she woke up from her nap, she got to real snow. Here's some pictures from today. Please don't get used to 2 blog updates in one day. It's just what happens when you just sit around waiting for a baby to arrive.

New Camera

We took the plunge and bought a new camera, so we can have some provide our readers with more pictures of Audrey and our son (if he ever decides to come out). Here's a couple new pics with it. Nothing spectacular but some new material. Though we have only had it for 2 days, a dSLR camera makes all the difference in the world for taking pictures of kids.

No hitting!

Cute quick story...we walked up to Hollywood Video today and Audrey as always was captivated by the tvs. When we were leaving they were showing a Casino Royale preview with a fistfight and Audrey shook her finger at the tv and said, "No hitting! You hear me? No hitting! Hands to self!"

Sunday Lunch on the Lawn

After we came back from church, we decided to eat outside since it's been perfect weather here. Audrey has been really cute when we come home from church by begging us for "church again, church again," and desperately trying to open the door to leave.

A Confused Audrey

With all the talk about a new baby, I think Audrey is getting a bit confused.

Hallelujah

Today after we got back from church, we looked at the slideshow that we made for Audrey's birthday while listening to some music. For those of you who don't know "All Creatures of our God and King, No. 2" by David Crowder Band is the first song Audrey ever heard and just really sums up the emotions that we felt at her birth(and still do feel!) Anyway, multiple times in the song the word Hallelujah comes up and Audrey started to sing it. She would pretty much just get the "lujah" part on each one, but it was one of the sweetest sounds Shannon and I had ever heard (I'm sure the Lord loved it too) We are so grateful for the precious gift of this little girl.

It's been awhile

Sorry for the delay on updates. It's been pretty busy around here with the due date of our son next week. Here's some random pics for those who need their Audrey fix. She's done some pretty cute stuff like wiping away Shannon's tears and saying it's okay mommy. FYI Shannon is just ready to be finished with the pregnancy and wasn't crying about anything that I did.

dress up clothes

Little A got an awesome present from Amber, Ryan and Colin--dress up shoes, earrings and a tiara!

Veteran Cruiser

We finally got the pictures from our Caribbean cruise with my family in January. Instead of exchanging gifts for Christmas this year, we all went on a cruise. Hopefully it will become a tradition. Audrey is quite a sailor with three cruises under her belt now. Being somewhat isolated from family here makes you appreciate them even more, so it was a great to spend so much time with them. I guess one of the things that you realize as you get older is how important family is.

Birthday Party

Audrey had a wonderful 2nd Birthday party. She really appreciated all of her guests and her presents. I think we ended up totally approximately 52 people. Shannon made a Beaumont meal with red beans and rice and shrimp etouffee for everyone. Again, we really appreciate everyone driving in. You truly made her day special and she loved being the center of attention. One of the really special pics here is Audrey with three sets of her great grandparents: the Bales, Shannons, and Morrisons (the Edgars couldn't make it because Grandpa broke his ankle-we hope you get well soon).

Future Colleague

Audrey looks like a future colleague with an affinity for glasses. Throughout the years, Shannon has asked me to choose between her and glasses many times. Glasses always win. Looks like it'll be that way for Audrey too.

Aye, Aye, Aye Audrey!

or however you spell that! This is what we say when Audrey spills or makes a mess, and she has now started saying it preemptively. When you hear her say that, grab a towel. This morning she had not even been awake three hours when she had said it six times. She had, 1) spilled my tall glass of orange juice, 2) pulled the leftover birthday cake off the counter, 3) had an accident, 4) pulled some soot out of the fireplace, 5) (while I was cleaning the ashes) unfolded my newly folded laundry with soot-hands, and 6) had another accident.

To her credit she actually asked for a nap today (a relatively recent phenomenon). I think she knew I was sick of her!

The Most Amazing Two Years

Jennifer, I know you've been waiting up for this emotional post all night. So here it goes, today is Audrey's second birthday. Shannon and I can't believe how these past two years have flown by and changed our lives so much for the better. Audrey has brought so much joy and happiness into our home. Literally every night we lay in bed and think of the cute things she did that day. As we've looked back on pictures of even just last year at this time, we are amazed by how much she's grown. After I married my beautiful bride, I honestly thought my heart was full but with Audrey and our new son I sometimes think my heart will burst with the amount of love I have for my family (cheesy I know, but just like my dad always said "you'll never know how I feel until you have kids of your own"). I wish somehow my words could do some justice for the joy Audrey has brought us, but I don't think they could even scratch the surface of it. Well here's some pictures of Audrey at the Funland and of her with her birthday cake.