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Augustine Christmas Letter 2008

Greetings from the Nathan and Carolyn Augustine family! We hope your family is happy and healthy, and that the Lord is carrying you through these trying times as he has cared for us. If our family had a theme this year it would be Ch-Ch-Ch-CHANGE!

Really early in 2008 we got a big surprise when we realized we were expecting baby number three! Evangeline Brooke Augustine joined our family July 2, almost two weeks after the due date we were given! We call her Evie (pronounced E-V). Zane, who just started talking in October, calls his baby sister Evie Cakes or Baby Cake.

Evie was due in mid-June and at the same time Nathan was presented with an exceptional opportunity to start a job at a new museum in Phoenix called The Musical Instrument Museum or just The MIM. The MIM is basically being funded through the Target Corporation, so Nathan has access to a good benefits system and a really good career growth opportunity. The museum is collecting at least one musical instrument from each country around the world. Since the museum is in the early stages of collecting these instruments, Nathan is responsible for shipping instruments from exotic places like Kazakhstan, North Korea, or China as part of his job. We are ever so grateful for this new direction in Nathan’s career but also recognize the great opportunity and quality of life we had in Wickenburg.

Evie was due and Nathan was offered the job and completed the interview process while he was on leave for Evie’s birth, so we found ourselves in a whirlwind of packing, finding a place to rent in Chandler, AZ, about 90 miles southeast of Wickenburg, and getting Veronica ready to go to school all in the space of about three weeks. Nathan’s parents thankfully came and helped us with these arduous tasks, and we had a tremendous amount of help from friends in Wickenburg, especially Kristy Hancock and her family, Kris Johnson, and Milena Smith. We could not have done it had it not been for these wonderful people. They helped us watch children during the birth, collected boxes and donated packing materials for the move, helped us pack, and helped us load our truck. We are too grateful for words for their selfless service to us. Then even as we were leaving, we were showered with gifts from our Wickenburg ward family and various friends and coworkers in Wickenburg. We were stunned and again very very thankful for this generosity and friendship.

Then while we were moving we decided that finding tenants for the Wickenburg house would be the prudent thing to do, so we proceeded with efforts in that direction, and discovered that while we had been out of the house for a few weeks the carpet had flooded and the roof had leaked behind the wall in the kitchen. We have been working with an insurance adjuster and local contractors and our wonderful tenants who are now good friends to rectify the issues with the house. That is a story much too long for this breezy Christmas note. But suffice it to say that one new carpet, brand new kitchen wall, and 2 replaced kitchen countertops later, it has consumed more than its fair share of our time and energies!

In Chandler we have focused on taking care of the issues with our house in Wickenburg, going to the local Desert Breeze park that has a splash pad (a fountain spray/play structure) to keep cool, and playing at the same park on the playground under its shaded sunscreen. We had the chance to attend the World Music festival at symphony hall. Veronica and Nathan saw gypsy rockers and Chinese world music, while Nathan and I went and attended a night of Celtic music where we watched in amazement as a 6-month pregnant celtic fiddle player danced and played for two hours almost continuously! And we have been going as a family once a week when we can to the evening story time program offered at the Chandler Sunset Library, which is just a few short blocks from our house. Zane was delayed a bit in his speech and we had some concerns about it so we had him tested by a speech pathologist. Just about that time Zane decided he was ready to go ahead and try to talk, so he wasn’t able to participate in the speech therapy program we had him tested for. Instead we are taking him to the library often and working more specifically on helping him develop his language skills.

Now Zane can identify all of the letters of the alphabet and the numbers from one to ten, so I jokingly tell people that he will probably be reading before he talks in complete sentences. I spend my days primarily taking care of small babies, doing laundry, changing diapers, talking on the phone, writing hubs (when I have time), yard sailing a bit, and dreaming about selling our house and moving into a big foreclosed home ;). Hey, I can dream, can’t I?

Gladly we spent Thanksgiving with family at a beautiful house in Santa Cruz California this year! Veronica and Nathan spent the better part of a day on a kayaking trip up a slough at Moss Landing with selected aunts, uncles, cousins, and even Grandma. They saw California sea otters, seals, sea lions, and lots of different wild birds. I took Zane and Evie with the other baby families (there are five new babies in the Augustine clan this year and three were in California for the trip) to the Redwoods just north of Santa Cruz for a picnic lunch and a stroller walk through the redwoods that day. Zane especially enjoyed pushing the B-O-B stroller and then the umbrella stroller, and was fascinated by the steam-powered train. On another day during this trip we went to lovely Natural Bridges State Park beach and played in the surf, built sandcastles, went tide pooling, and I, of course, took lots and lots of pictures. We visited a grove of trees near the State Beach where monarch butterflies stop on their winter migration. We saw hundreds if not thousands of monarchs in the wild. It was a sight to see! We really appreciated Nathan’s sister-in-law Kris Corbett for planning and organizing this wonderful family vacation. We had a lovely time. We even participated in a reader’s theater using the book Good Masters, Sweet Ladies, and enjoyed the performing talents of many participating cousins, aunts, uncles, etc.

So much has happened this year and I have only touched the high points. Veronica attended Camp Imagination and the Summer Science Spectacular as in previous years, had play dates and sleepovers with her friends, and then had to suddenly move away from all that was near and dear. It has been a challenging time but she has adapted in many ways and shown a lot of courage and maturity in helping with her younger siblings. But sometimes she is just really annoyed to have a little brother who demands her attention and idolizes her at the same time. Ah, to be a sibling, and an oldest sister at that! Zane has really enjoyed his experiences at the play park and made some new friends in Alex and Ariana Hancock. (Wherever we go we run into Hancocks!). He has adjusted beautifully to the routine of the nursery here in our ward, but it took a little bit of time. Evangeline is an alert and joyful baby. We are so pleased she has joined our family. I have especially enjoyed snuggling and loving her. So what will be in store for the Augustines in 2009? Time will tell, but we trust in the goodness of God and know we are surrounded by caring friends and loved ones. With that knowledge we know we can face what comes next!

My Jealous Toddler

I have proof positive that my son is jealous of his baby sister. Today I gave them both a bath, which I suppose is "some kind of small accomplishment." First I bathed my son. He loves to play in the tub and entertained himself with his tub toys for a good long time in my master bathroom's oversized bath. Then, because I am such a great mother, I dressed him completely, including pants, shirt, diaper, etc. Dressing a toddler like him can be especially challenging on days when he is being contrarian, which is almost every day, but I must confess that today was a more contrarian day than usual. So when I say it was some kind of small accomplishment that I gave him a bath, you have to picture him running away from me gleefully while I tease him into his clothes.

Next I bathed the almost 6-month old baby. She's easy to bathe, but I try to be hyper vigiliant as I should when I'm bathing her, which isn't so easy when toddler boy starts climbing on me and saying "my bathtub!" With baby squeaky clean I wrapped her up in a fluffy clean towel and proceeded to put her in a new clean diaper.

But I made a fatal error, which I vow never to repeat again. I didn't empty her water. So toddler boy, all dressed and ready to go, climbs into the baby's bathtub, bathwater and all, and sits in it, saying "my bathtub!" Until he got cold. Then he climbed out, his backside completely sopping wet, and I said to him "Get back in there! So I can get my camera!" He didn't comply.

Speed is Life

This photo totally took my by surprise. I had taken about 200 shots of my son for a montage (yeah, that's about how many it takes for me to get 6 or 8 shots I like, but I'm trying to develop my eye) and I saw this scene and had to take the snapshot. Then I played with it for a while introducing different colors, which wasn't too difficult since the photo setting was monochromatic already.

Yeahh! We Got Our New Camera!

Our New Camera: The Canon Powershot G10

We just ordered our new camera. And I'm so excited I did the chicken dance in the living room. Okay, not really, but I did an imaginary chicken dance. We decided to splurge and buy an SLR-like camera instead of a true point and shoot from the popular Canon powershot series of cameras. I've been tossing around the idea of starting a photography-only blog about my experiences with the new camera. I love photography but on Fotolia (See my small portfolio here) where I was submitting my photos and getting paid for some, but a lot of my shots were rejected on image quality, due to my old Cannon Powershot A95 being a digital dino.

We narrowed it down between the Canon Powershot G10 14.7MP Digital Camera with 5x Wide Angle Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and the Canon Powershot SX10IS 10MP Digital Camera with 20x Wide Angle Optical Image Stabilized Zoom.

In some ways I know we were comparing apples to oranges (or maybe even kumquats), but we both knew we wanted a really high-quality camera that would take great images without paying another few hundred dollars for the digital SLR price. My husband wanted the high level of digital image quality offered by the 14.7 MP of the G10, and I wanted to use the camera to learn all about ISO settings and aperture and such before delving into an even pricier true SLR camera purchase. We both liked the heftier feel of the SX10 and the lower price was also much more appealing, but ultimately the deciding factor was the megapixels, since at this level we figure the optical technology is very similar. Time will tell if we made the right choice. I also like the fact that the screen is a lot more durable than the flip screen on my old Canon A95, though my daughter V is chomping at the bit to get her hands on that camera for taking her own pictures on vacation next week.

About 8 months ago we looked into replacing our camera but life circumstances prevented the purchase then. I'm glad we waited because the camera we chose is a a lot more flexible than the lower-level Canon Powershot cameras we were looking at before. I can't wait to get started using my favorite subjects. Z of course will be my test subject for action shots, and V and EV will help me with my closeups!

Bruised, Broken, Torn for Us

Again is a day to remember our soldiers. Thank goodness for patriotic holidays like Veteran's Day, Flag Day, and Independence Day, or truthfully, they might be forgotten altogether. My family is replete with veterans, some who died protecting and serving without ever having the chance to raise their own families. Holding my precious babes in my arms and knowing they are mine drives home the complete and utter sacrifice of our country's soldiers.

To quote the timeless words of the hymn, Jesus of Nazareth...

Bruised, broken, torn for us
on Calvary's Hill.
Thy suffering born for us
Lives with us still.

Every day is Veteran's Day in a military family. I remember when my father, who enlisted in the Air Force to join in the Vietnam Conflict in 1971, saw his first official war. He had seen plenty of conflict and perhaps some bloodshed, and he worked a very dangerous job, dropping tanks out of the back of airplanes. He was the man who shoved them out the back door. One false move and he was going down with them. It was 1992 and my dad's tour of duty was close to an end, but not before he served in the first Iraq War. I was naive and in college and having been sheltered quite well hadn't had these very deep thoughts yet. And I was watching a movie, around Veteran's Day, with my bohemian boyfriend. And the movie depicted soldiers in a bomber in combat. All of a sudden I was freaking out and my boyfriend didn't know what was going on. I said "what if that's my dad?" I knew that was a Hollywood depiction of war, and I had this terrible awareness for the first time that my dad was facing grave danger when he left us.

With the Iraqi Conflict dragging on in its unpopularity, I hope everyone will remember their soldiers and say a prayer for them and their families, so that they might have the same joy I experience with my own children now.

Click Here to Read My Essay "Why I Stand For the American Flag"

Evangeline Announcement

At the Park

My camera has been on the outs for awhile. Here's a recent outdoor shot we took on a park excursion. EV was asleep when we got there but woke up when I moved her from the car. We brought Z's wooden trike, which he is much too big for. The park is a small pocket park in an "older" neighborhood (after all, what does OLD mean in suburban hell?). One thing I especially like about this park is the grass and the wide sidewalk that circles around the perimeter. There's a slight incline near the play equipment, and Z settled into a routine of going backwards down the hill on the trike. Daredevil!

In mid-October we attended a fall-themed school carnival at V's new school. It was hot as blazes and we were one of just a handful of families who attended this event. When V walked away from her bingo game with a pirate hat and prosthetic hand, pictured above, she was HOOKED on the idea of being a pirate for Halloween! We were going to dress Z like a parrot, and buy several feather boas to make the costume. Then reality set in and we decided that since Z just loves to copy his sister, that it would be fun if he could be a pirate too! V decided she was in charge and who could dispute a one-eyed pirate with a, um, frightening hook? She walked around saying "Ay me hearties, you're going to walk the plank" followed by much giggling.


Here's V and Evie (pronounced EE-V) on October 29, 2008. I thought it a fun coincidence that the coordinated in such a cute way there.

I've been assigned to lead the music at my church. It terrifies me. After 16 years of not playing an instrument, I am drawing on innate abilities that aren't so innate.

Leading the music isn't something that should terrify anyone, so I guess that feels sillier than the fact that I'm not too good at it. I do put my heart into it, but I have to confess that my level of enthusiasm isn't what it should be. Maybe I'm more afraid of the transparency of my commitment instead of my actual abilities.

Ahh. And then my husband is working at a Musical Instrument Museum. I suppose we had better start becoming passionate about all things musical.

I am Still a Woman

Yesterday I remembered something important—something lost in a sea of labels and responsibilities. Something I have long kept hidden in the deep back pockets of an apron. I am a woman.

My husband had left for New York City and I was wrangling my small children and feeling serenely effective as the single mom on the pew bench alone at worship. But something naggled at the back of my mind. A memory jarred by my independence and singleness. I am a woman!

What if, what if, what if...my husband never returns. What would I do? How would I care for my little ones? How would my life continue on? Surely I'd want companionship still. Life would not end.

Morbid? Perhaps. But I came to an unsettling conclusion. I've buried my identity as a woman deep inside my other identities as wife, daughter, mother, sister, and friend. But woman? I've always been afraid of that one. I used to be afraid to be sooo young and beautiful, but now I am just busy playing the role my life has evolved into. And I'm not so young any more. Beautiful. Maybe, but it's a beauty--a missing piece--I need to reclaim.