Winter WOWS!

So much has gone on since I last blogged. Time has just been passing us by. The one thing we heard so often after having a child has been, "enjoy it, because it goes by so fast". Now I know what they mean. The holidays were incredible! We drove to Atoka, Tennessee for Thanksgiving where Ben's mom's sisters all come together with all their children, and their children's children. All in all Ben's Aunt Susan and Uncle Danny host about 35 people in their home. This year Austyn was the youngest in tow, and everyone seemed to really enjoy having her there. Kasey Miller, Ben's cousin's wife, is pregnant this year. So next year we'll have another to add to the bunch, and Austyn will be walking, which I just can't even imagine! 

Sitting up for the first time on her own!

      Every day she is getting closer to becoming more mobile. She likes to be on her belly pushing off of her hands, but she still hasn't grasped the concept of getting her rear end in the air. I know it's just a matter of time, and pretty soon, I'll be back to blog of her first cruising escapade. I got to be honest and tell ya, I was getting a little worried knowing she wasn't getting around yet, but then my sweet husband reminded me in question, "Do you really want to be chasing her around the house yet?". I thought about it, and no... I really don't. =)

Christmas was a BLAST! The 10 hour drive to Galveston was well worth the time spent in the car with the two dogs, and us three Pittmans. I wish I had a picture of the circus act in motion. Haha. Games were played, lots of laughs shared, presents exchanged, wonderful meals prepared all by my fabulous mother, and memories were made that we'll never forget. It was Austyn's first Christmas and to say she did great on the vacation would be an understatement. She was INCREDIBLE! The long trip to and from Texas seemed to completely un-phase her. She slept well, ate even better, and was the perfect little Christmas angel in every picture captured!

Then soon after coming home, we rang in the new year with great friends Emily and Russ Allen. We attended their wedding back in October. 2011 has already brought good things our way. Ben's received a couple of bonuses at work for exceeding patient numbers. I began my job as a case manager with ICM, inc. Basically I work from home, but have to go out in the community a couple times a week to meet with my clients and make sure they are happy with services. School also started this past week, but with MLK holiday and today's snow day we only met twice. I could totally get used to that kind of schedule! =) We received around 6 inches of snow so far and its just beautiful!

With school starting back up, and this new job, it was obviously time for us to seek out reliable care for Austyn. It was pretty heart breaking for me to think about leaving her with total strangers. But miraculously, a daycare opened right across the street from Ben's office and the owner is one of his patients. Gotta be a God thing, right? We started childcare this week, and when I arrived to pick Austyn up on her first day, she was smooth passed out on the woman's chest, snoozing the day away. I guess she felt pretty comfortable there as well. That's a good sign. =) 

One more important thing that we incorporated into these past few months was getting Austyn dedicated at our church. It was a very special event! Keypoint is seriously a growing church. There were 8 other babies being dedicated that day, in our service, at the south campus alone. It'll be interesting to see how large the youth department expands to when she gets to that age. Our hope as parents is that she'll love going to church as much as we do and have a good understanding of why we go as a family. Keypoint has been an amazing addition to our marriage and we are learning and growing as individuals from attending and serving within the ministry. God has definitely been so good to us!

More to come in these cold, cold months! Stay well, everyone!