The world of public education- Austin is in Kindergarten!

I think a lot of people still have this blog on their blogroll even though I started a new website over a year ago. You can find my new blog here. I've been posting a lot lately about our oldest son starting Kindergarten in the public school system. You should check it out!

Feel free to add my new blog to your feed reader or blogroll. www.thegouldlife.blogspot.com

We will miss you, Crawford Family!

We have been friends with the Crawfords for many years. Joseph went to Union University with Matt, and I became good friends with Brandy when we all moved up to Louisville back in 2005. Their oldest daughter, Violet, is the same age as Austin, and they also have a one and a half year old daughter, Camille. We have been privileged to spend some extra time with their family lately and I have included a lengthy slideshow of recent pictures. The Crawfords are moving away in about a week, so we were very grateful to have some good times with them before they go. We will miss you, Crawford family!

Snow

Frozen Trees

I hope you liked my demonstration last post because here is another one. In this video, you will get to see the effects of an ice storm on some trees in our complex. Austin makes a short appearance at the end.

A Quiet Morning

After two days of excitement with Jason, Lacey, Adam and Neil, our house is strangely quiet this morning. The Adkins' power is back on, so they went home, and Adam and Neil found other accommodations last night. It was fun having friends over for a few days, but now it is time for things to get back to normal.

The snow and ice haven't melted yet, and it is snowing again this morning. In light of that, I have posted a few pictures and a video from a few days ago. The video will give you a little demonstration of the kind of snow that we have on the ground.

Snow and Sleepovers

Several of our friends are without power this week because of the ice and snow storm, so the Adkins and Adam and Neil stayed with us last night. It was like a big sleepover around here. Jason and Lacey slept on an air mattress in Austin's room. Adam and Neil each had a couch. Joseph worked all night, so Austin slept with me. We had pizza and brownies and watched the latest episode of LOST. The Adkins let us stay with them a few months ago when our power was out due to Hurricane Ike, so it was the least we could do to invite them into our home this time. Below are some pictures of our time of fellowship yesterday. Lacey and Jason are expecting their baby in the next few weeks. She is due February 17th.

I have also uploaded a video of Austin playing in the snow.

My Dear Friend Lacey

This is my dear friend Lacey, a fellow seminary wife, Auburndale Baptist Church member and soon-to-be mother. Lacey and her husband Jason and I all went to UT Martin together. Since Jason and Lacey came to Louisville for seminary, Lacey and I have become very good friends. I am so excited to meet their little girl next month. Her name will be Riley.

Jason and Lacey came over to watch football and eat pizza the other night. We made yummy chocolate chunk cookies too.

The Best Part About the Zoo...

...is watching a construction crew destroy the old polar bear exhibit to make way for a new one.

Henry's Ark

We found an animal farm called Henry's Ark in Prospect, KY. They have lots of chickens and normal farm animals along with a few exotic ones, like a zebra, camels and llamas. Best of all, it is free! I will tell you that it only took us about 20 minutes to walk through, so don't plan on making a day out of it.

Church Cookout

Auburndale Baptist Church had a community cookout last week, and it was a great success. We had just as many visitors as we did members, most of whom live across the street from the church.

Between the playground, the jumpee and a football game, I think everyone had a great time.

No Electricity

We are currently staying with friends since Hurricane Ike swept through Louisville with a big wind storm. Power has currently been out for a day and a half and could be out for up to a week. As I have been informed, about 75% of Louisville has been affected by this outage. We have suffered no injury or material damage, other than a little bit of spoiled food. It may be awhile until I post again, but Austin's birthday is next week and we will definitely have pictures to post then.

Our Day Trip to Starlight, Indiana

Last weekend, we took Austin to pick grapes at Huber's Farm in Starlight, Indiana. It is a neat place out in the country where you can pick your own produce, hang out on a farm and eat some good old fashioned home cooked food. It is not a very far drive from Louisville and makes a great day trip. Check out the links for more information about the two farms in Starlight. I've been told they are owned by brothers.

www.joehubers.com

www.huberwinery.com

Extreme Room Makeover, Part II

A few months ago, I posted pictures of Austin's room after I deep cleaned and rearranged furniture. Well, I have finally tackled our bedroom, which was a BIG project. Since we live in a small apartment with limited storage, our bedroom is an out-of-sight place where extra things tend to collect. I am proud to say that since it looks so nice now, I no longer feel embarrassed about company taking a peek of our bedroom.

Austin Around Town

I'd like to point out several things about this picture. FIRST of all, notice the Belle of Louisville in the background. Austin had his first walk at the Riverfront with some of our friends from church. SECONDLY, Austin is drinking out of a toddler cup that has a straw... such a big boy. THIRDLY, check out those cool shades. He calls them his "eyes" and loves to wear them.

Today, I took Austin to feed the ducks at Brown Park. He absolutely loved them... He loved them so much that he wanted to catch one... He wanted to catch one so badly that I had to remove him from the park for his safety and the safety of the ducks. See the video below for a hilarious video of Austin chasing a duck. I would have taken more pictures, but it was all I could do to keep Austin from actually catching one.

"Chasing a Duck at Brown Park"

Brag about Yard Sale Finds

I finally had a good yard sale day. Here is what I got for $22:

A big floor rug for Austin to play cars on (with a race track and stores/buildings) ($1)
A new pair of Stride Rite tennis shoes size 7 ($1)
Clothes: 1 plaid shirt, 2 pairs shortalls, two pairs shorts ,1 pair overalls, 3 nice sweaters and a hat, heavy winter vest (everything is name brand): ($10.75 for all)
6 nice peg puzzles: ($10)


TODDLER BED UPDATE: Last night was a little more difficult. Austin took a late nap yesterday, so he was not really tired at bedtime (my mistake). As a result, he got up about a dozen times and either started playing or tried to close his door (maybe he thought I wouldn't hear if he closed the door). When Joseph woke up at 9:00 we decided to let Austin stay up for a little while. He finally went to sleep at 10:00 and slept until 8:00. I'm finding that he goes right to sleep when he is tired, so I'll have to tire him out really good before bedtime.

Summer Cleaning

Since I have finished my job at the bank and will have almost 15 extra hours at my disposal per week, I have become motivated to systematically clean our apartment, room by room. I worked on Austin's room today. Here are some pictures for those of you who are interested in seeing our world. Up till now, I had been trying to block the window to keep Austin away from it. However, that seems to be impossible now that he can climb and wiggle behind things. If I can only keep him from picking paint off the window sill, I'm sure he will enjoy the view.

Austin wanted to get in on the action as well. He likes to "sweep." However, you'd better watch out or you might get whacked with the end of the broom.

Choo Choo Trains

When Jane was in town, we took Austin to the seminary for a walk and he played trains at the Rec. Center. Listen to this video to hear him make choo choo sounds.

Tiger Exhibit

We were able to see this tiger up close and personal before the zoo got too crowded. The video below probably won't be very interesting to most of you, but I thought my sister Megan would enjoy it. It is just a little commentary from me about the tiger and an unsuccessful attempt to get Austin to make a tiger noise. He was just too tired to play along.

Splash Park Video

Austin and I took my sister Jane to the Louisville zoo's splash park this morning. This was the first time that Austin really got into playing with the fountains. In the past, he was a little nervous. He really enjoyed it this time. Enjoy the video of him trying to grab hold of one of the fountains of water. He is starting to say a few words lately, and I noticed when I listened to the video that it sounds like, "This is a bath." Have a listen for yourself.

Earthquake!

You may have heard about the 5.2 magnitude earthquake that hit the Midwest this morning. Well, we felt it firsthand. It shook our apartment and our bed with me in it! As I was startled awake, it took me a few seconds to realize what was going on. Then it was over. I turned on the TV and the news anchors were frantically trying to gather information as they had been shaken in the studio as well. I had never experienced an earthquake before, and it was a very strange feeling. However, we are all safe and the news people are not reporting any major damage. What a way to say, "Good Morning America!"