Dear ANNA . . .

I promise to post pictures of my "1 year old Austin" in the next few days. I just wanted to build the anticipation and excitement among my readers (ha! because there are SO many and all).

PS- Is it appropriate that I am blogging just to you?? Am I breaking blog etiquette?? Oh well!

21 days until our great adventure . . . yippee!

Meet Chance . . .

my little brother:


Actually, most people reading our blog know Chance or at least know of him. I figured you might want to see him! He is SEVEN years old (so hard to believe) and as you can see he is turning out to be quite the little baseball player (which makes big brother Scott a very happy camper.) Last year he made the all-star team as a six-year-old playing with mostly seven-year-olds!! In case you can't tell, I am a little bit proud of him! When he's not playing baseball, he still keeps my dad & Sunny quite busy with basketball, cub scouts, birthday parties, Guitar Hero, swimming . . . oh, and he manages to fit school in there somewhere. He's a busy little boy.

Seriously, how great are these pictures?!

Anyway, It occured to me this week that I don't blog enough about my WHOLE family, so I'm going to do better at including those that we don't get to see as much. God has totally blessed me with the most amazing family, and Chance is a huge part of that blessing. We only wish we could watch him play more than we get to! We love you buddy! Hit me a homerun!!

My Face Lift!

Well, I am just so tickled by my new face lift!!! Isn't it so fun??? My very dear, incredibly creative friend (who is the one responsible for me having a blog at ALL) gave me a blog makeover. Thanks, Anna!!! Didn't she do a fabulous job??!! I am trying to convince her into doing blog designs as a side business, and I think I almost have her convinced. I will keep everyone posted on that front in case you, too, would like a fresh new look for your blog.

PS- I even have a signature . . .

so fun!

A very Happy Easter

We had the most wonderful Easter weekend. We are finding that it is so fun to just hang out at home! And, the Easter Bunny came to visit our house for the first time in a while, bringing Austin some Easter treats. We weren't sure what the old bunny would bring a (nearly) one-year-old, but we found out he knew what he was doing . . .

. . . a new fuzzy ducky to cuddle, The Story of Easter book, a bathing suit and some plastic eggs with no candy inside! Austin enjoyed walking around with the eggs and banging them together, while screaming, of course.

Such a spirited little thing. We thank God for this precious, precious child! Hope your Easter was as bright and blessed as ours.

Lions and Tigers and Gold Eagles . . . ????

This past weekend we stayed in a "cabin" in the Ocala National Forest. Well, the cabin was actually a double-wide trailer that had been completed gutted and was just beautiful inside!! who knew??!!! It is owned by Carmen's boss, who so graciously let us stay there for the weekend. The group consisted of Carmen, Charlie, Jackson, Scott, Austin and me, and our dear friends Ryan and Lisa Barthelemy. Lisa is expecting their first baby and we couldn't be more excited for them! Congrats friends!! Oh, and then Nay Nay joined us on Saturday night -- we were so excited that she was able to stop by! Especially the kiddies . . .

So, we spent lots of time outside and the boys had a BLAST doing all the outdoorsy things boys do!! There was some 4-wheeling, some playing in the leaves and dirt, and we even had a bon fire and made s'mores! Although, I didn't know what to do with myself having nothing to do! A good problem to have.

While Austin was napping on Saturday, I stayed at the house with him while the rest of the group went to see "critters" in the forest. They came back raving about all the things they saw . . . let's see if I can remember everything . . . 2 bears, an antelope, a zebra, a wildebeest, some coyotes, and even a "gold" eagle (which was actually supposed to be a "bald" eagle, but who can keep that straight, right Lisa??!!!!) Evidently the bald eagle was carrying 13 arrows in one talon (representing the 13 colonies???) and an olive branch in the other. Their story was just a little far-fetched, don't you think? In all actuality, they saw NOTHING, not even a grasshopper! Ha! Oh well, it was a nice try.

All in all, it was a great weekend.

"Kind of wobbly, ain't he?"

He's wobbly, but he's definitely getting a hold of this walking thing. And, boy, isn't everything exciting in the walking world???? . . . phew! He's definitely keeping us on our toes. So, here is some footage of our walking boy!

As you'll see, he loves his shaggy dog -- along with any other type of soft stuffed animal. He is such a nuzzler, he just cuddles and cuddles with all his furry friends! I love it, but Roxy is not so thrilled. I hope he stays that way for a long, long time.





We bought the black mat for some extra cushion around the rug in case he falls, since we have a hard tile floor. Yet, every time he does fall, he manages to find some tile to land on . . . or the table . . . poor thing. What can you do?

A Big Night At The Boyd House

Tonight was a very exciting time for us as Austin took his FIRST THREE STEPS all by himself!!!! I was so excited I screamed . . . which of course, scared him and made him fall! After the initial shock (mine), and scare (his), we were able to convince him to try again and fortunately, even got it on tape! He is just one week shy of his ten month birthday and we couldn't be more proud (or more obnoxious) parents!!!!

And to make the night even more exciting, we noticed his top teeth have just broken through! He just started breaking in the bottom two a week or so ago and now he's got all four making their grand appearance. We are just watching in awe as he seems to be growing into a little boy overnight! It's just getting better and better. Fun stuff!!

In other news, we spent the weekend in Pcola visiting old friends and family. It was so nice to be home and get some cool weather for a change. We traveled home to see a concert that we have had tickets to for months and in typical Michelle style . . . I left the tickets sitting at home . . . yes, that would be in Tampa!! This is only the third time I have had ticket mishaps over the past few years! Fortunately, my dad was able to get some some replacement tickets and lucky for us, they were better than the seats we had in the first place! One day I'll get it together . . . maybe!!!

Fun at the park with the Hancy fellas

At the Fish House

And, we got to spend some very special time with Austin's

Great Granddaddy Barney and Peggy.

Four generations of Burks