Austiosos

My mom says that I don't write enough positive about this little man. I'm so sorry...I really do love and adore you. He's started really enjoying drawing and writing notes. I absolutely cherish these notes. I love it how he spells everything phonetically. It brings me so much joy! How boring it is going to be when he can spell everything correctly. The other day, he got it in his head that he was going to write people at school a "letter." These are generally pictures of the person in which the "letter" is addressed with Austin and some sort of written note about the person. He did one for Miss Rachl (his 1st grade teacher), Miss Carin (his class aid), Mr. Dan (the other 1st grade teacher), Miss Emily (his kindergarten teacher), Miss Kristena (the other kindergarten teacher), Miss Lexie (the music teacher), and Miss Desira (the art teacher). *Notice the phonetically correct name spelling. He worked on them all evening, but didn't finish. He was up at 5:30 the next morning to finish. He was so excited. He put them in a plastic sack on which he wrote "Entheos teechr envelops." He delivered them and was so happy!

He also writes books. On the front cover, he writes "written and illustrated by Austin." He wrote my mom a book for her birthday about a dragon that lives in a cave and eats bats. The baby dragon is born and breathes fire on a horse. Then, the dragon eats the horse for dinner. He was so proud of his book. It is so fun to see him really enjoy drawing because it really isn't something in which he's taken interest in the past. He also LOVES Lego's, anything Star Wars, riding his Razor (scooter) like a maniac, and his Kinex. He is really enjoying Tae Kwon Do, and he actually won a listening game last week. I know...I was shocked! He's getting much better at concentrating rather than giving into the distraction of other kids in the class.

He's a good kid who really does try (most of the time). Last Sunday, he was trying so hard to be good during Sharing Time. He opened his Book of Mormon and read four pages of Alma. He kept coming to tell me what he had read. I don't know how much he actually understood, or if he really read all four pages, but he did read verses on each page.

He has so many amazing qualities! I marvel at his abilities and his thoughts. We have some very interesting, thought-provoking discussions. He is growing so fast, and it is sad to see him lose some of his innocence. But, it is incredible to watch that little brain operate! He is so loving, and so happy! When Austin was born, I worked with a man that always "dedicated" a song to each of his children when they are born. I kind of liked this idea because I've always felt like my dad kind of "unofficially" dedicated "In My Life" by the Beatles to his kids. When Austin was a couple months old, I heard "Your Song" by Elton John and I just cried (kind of corny, I know, I blame it on the hormone imbalance). Every time I hear it, I think of Austin. I love you, Bud.

It's a little bit funny this feeling inside

I'm not one of those who can easily hide

I don't have much money but boy if I did

I'd buy a big house where we both could live

If I was a sculptor, but then again, no

Or a man who makes potions in a travelling show

I know it's not much but it's the best I can do

My gift is my song and this one's for you

And you can tell everybody this is your song

It may be quite simple but now that it's done

I hope you don't mind

I hope you don't mind that I put down in words

How wonderful life is while you're in the world

I sat on the roof and kicked off the moss

Well a few of the verses well they've got me quite cross

But the sun's been quite kind while I wrote this song

It's for people like you that keep it turned on

So excuse me forgetting but these things I do

You see I've forgotten if they're green or they're blue

Anyway the thing is what I really mean

Yours are the sweetest eyes I've ever seen

I hope you don't mind

I hope you don't mind that I put down in words

How wonderful life is while you're in the world

Thanks so much for the pictures, Jen. I can't say how much I love what you do! You have such a talent for capturing the perfect moments!