Bryan & Brittney Austin

Dear Mom and Dad,
What can I say? You are the best parents and I would not trade you for the world. You mean so much to me. I love you so much. I know that as a child I was not always easy to handle and pushed you to the very brink of insanity. That makes you even more amazing. You have withstood me over the years and all that is Brittney. You shared so much with me and somethings not too great to share. My sarcasm, my drama, my pain, my medical issues, my passions, my loves, my worries, my happiness, my peace, my joy, and my laughter. I could never ask for better parents. If it were not for you both, I would not be able to pursue my dreams and desires. You help me keep my head above the water that at times seem to be drowning me. You are always there for Darcy and I. I can talk with either one of you free from persecution. I share with you my deepest thoughts, worries, and hopes and dreams. Mom, we may not have been super close as I went through the teenage nightmare years. But you were great. You did not let me stray from what is good and right and you helped me through some of the toughest years of my life thus far. You are wonderful to talk to and you are such an amazing woman and mother, I can only hope to be as great as you are someday when I have children. There are false idols in this world that many would idolize. But I idolize you. Your strength, your beauty, your love that makes you, you. I love you so much and I love that you are my mother. Dad, we share a bond of humor and laughter that has kept me hopeful and optimistic for years. I apply your saying of "Don't worry, the poop will fall out," to my daily life and it has helped me through hard times. You show me strength and hope with your attitude and grace. You are a wonderful man and father and I love that you are my dad.
I realize that someday, you will not be here and that time is an ever creeping monster ready to snatch you from me someday. I will be lost without you both. I do not even know what to think that life would be like without you both. I cannot see a world without you both in it. The years have been so wonderful with you both. I love the love, passion, and devotion that you have put into your daughters and we are grateful. I cannot express in enough words how much I love you both and how grateful I am for all that you do and the life you have provided for me. It may taken me a few years, but I now see how wonderful you are. It is true what they say about not appreciating your parents when you are young. But now that I have grown and matured, I can say that I see now all that you have done for me, and I thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Thank you for being yourselves, and thank you for being my parents.

Brittney

So, I am not one to usually share these types of experiences but tonight was something so amazing that I have never felt before. I admit that due to the stresses of planning to go to school and leaving my love, family, home and dogs has not been an easy thing for me to do. I must admit I am not very strong when it comes to dealing with a hard situation when dealing with those I love and hold dear. I have never been good at losing those I love and still have a hard time dealing with these things. I have been badly depressed this past two weeks thinking through all that is about to happen and how it is such a big change and not an easy one either. I hate the thought of being away from Bryan so much. We have been inseparable ever since dating and the past almost 4 years of marriage may have had its rough patches but everyday I feel closer and more in love with such a wonderful man. Each night usually after making sure Bryan has food and I am back home I usual want to do something. Sew, clean, or homework. Nothing has been getting done this week at all. This evening seemed worse than others. The fact that someone has been saying things to Bryan behind my back about me and questioning my motives of going to school and that it is all a front to find someone else and get a divorce as soon as I go to school has not been a helpful fact with the crazy wave of sadness that has been following me lately and has seemed to make things worse for me today. I sleep a lot when I am depressed and after a cancelled hair appointment this evening, I went and slept for about three hours tonight. I am not one to do this in a regular evening and it is something I have not done since high school. I felt like poo when I woke up and kind of slothed around the house for another hour or two. I was laying in bed, watching a television show when it all over came me and I just started crying. Something I do not want to admit willingly. I do not like crying and it is one thing I feel is a weakness for me when I am vulnerable. I felt the sudden urge to get on my knees and pray. I cried out my prayers with tear filled eyes, admitting every fear out loud, expressing my concern for Bryan and I and how I feel that he is the one that I want to be with in this life and the next. I want to walk next to God in the next world with Bryan's hand in mine and feel that love for time and all eternity. Tears streamed down my face as I asked for the Lord's strength to help me and help ease my fears and help me to be strong enough to be away from my love, family, home, and dogs. (Cannot forget my pets, they are a big part of my life and the love I feel for them.) Also to give me strength to ignore the lies being said about me and that I had the strength to be the better person. As I sat there, on my knees, in fear for what is right for me to do and my concerns for Bryan and whether or not we can weather the storm about to happen, I had an amazing feeling of ease. I sat there for minutes just taking in the feeling that filled my body. The tears stopped, and all I could say was "Thank you, Lord." My fears have been placed to ease and I feel for the first time in a while that all is well and all is what it is meant to be. This was something too amazing not to share. I do not wish to offend any that may not feel that God is not real or religious out reach in a time of turmoil is foolish, but there is no denying what I felt this evening. He was with me, and still is. I can feel that even when I start to think about it all a sense of strength and love that could weather any storm. I know that the Lord is with me and watching over me and He cares for Bryan and I. I know that going to school is right and that I am meant to be a vet and be a loving and caring wife to a wonderful man. Bryan has supported me non stop for me to go to school and go after what I really want and need in my life. He has never once tried to hold be back and he has even thanked me for inspiration in finding out what he wanted to be and to go after his own dreams. So here we are. Living our dreams with love in our hearts and the Lord to watch over us and be with us through it all. I love my life, my loved ones, the things I have to cherish, that I even have all these things, and I love my Lord.

The above picture is my family, Campbell's. We are a small tight nit little family. My mom (in the white shirt) is the most amazing woman I have ever met and hope that I can be at least half the mother and woman that she is. My dad, in the dark blue shirt, is the funniest most loving man I have ever met. He loves my mom so much and is easy going. My mom and dad met while they were in college, got married, and waited about ten years before deciding to have my sister (the skinny one in the black tank top). Four years later I came along. Danny, my sister's husband (the one hugging on her), met my sister when they were in elementary school together and then found each other years later only to rekindle the love connection from younger years. Bryan, (red shirted guy I am hugging one) is my loving husband who I love spending time with. He is my monkey and I love him so much.



The above photo is Bryan and I with Darcy and Danny before going on the grueling overnight Narrows hike in Zions park. My sister and I are the best of sisters. I love my sister and how amazing of a woman she is. I have always loved hanging out with her. Danny and her are hoping to start another little family of their own soon and are trying to get pregnant. Exciting for all because my parents want grandchildren, I want to be an aunt (Rock On!), and my sister is ready to be a mommy.



The above picture is Bryan and I with his family, the Austins. There is Don, Bryan's dad (the man in the back), Jolee his mother (the woman sitting in pink), and Amber his sister (the one wearing a teal shirt with the black over wrap). We get to go do all sorts of things with the Austins and they are fun to hang out with. Jolee and Don were high school sweethearts who after getting married, tried and tried and got blessed Bryan and a short year after were blessed with Amber as well. They are good people and we enjoy getting to be a part of the family.

Bryan and I have been so lucky to be able to be a part of such great families and receive the amazing love that we do receive every day. We are so blessed to have such loving and caring people that surround us and people we can count on through thick and thin.

Dear KC Bolen,
I really must admit that the other night really hurt my feelings with what you said to me and how you treated our invite to come and hang out. We did not want to make a big deal and have some fun food, see the kids, and I really wanted to chat with Francie since I am concerned for her right now. I am afraid you are not treating her right and that is not okay. She is such a wonderful woman and great friend. I love her so much and have known her for so long. She cares so much for those around her that she puts others in front of her own happiness. I could hear it in her voice the other day on the phone that she is in distress mode and she is not her usual happy glowing self. I am afraid you are taking advantage of her and you definitely took advantage of us the other night. Bringing someone else over to our house that we did not know and did not know you were bringing really made us feel awkward. Also, then expecting us to feed this person too made me really uncomfortable. I did not really care so much that you brought someone, in fact he was rather nice and we did not have a problem with the person themself, it was the fact you did not tell us or call us before. And totally blind siding Francie with that as well, no cool in my book.
What you said to me hurt the most. As we sat there, just relaxing and hanging out, after all that we put up with you that night, you insult us with what Bryan and I feel is the right way to go about starting a family and telling me that I am wrong not to want to be a stay at home mom. I do not have a problem with stay at home moms at all. I feel that if you want to stay home with your children you should do what you want in what you feel is best. I myself do not feel this way. I was raised in a home that both my parents worked and my sister and I never once felt distant or neglected by our parents. We realize this was no easy task for them to do and realize that it takes a lot of work but this something that both of us feel very passionate about. I do not have the necessary personality to be a stay at home mom either. I am too stir crazy to stay at home and I want to be a veterinarian. My mother was able to do it and do it well, so what makes you think that you have the right to say that moms that do not stay at home are not good mothers. I do not think it is wise for Bryan and I to have children right now when our financial situation is not very stable and not only that once you have children, things change dramatically. We want to be a couple more before starting our family. We want children and we both want them now but do not feel it would be a responsible choice right now for us. We want to be able to provide for our children in everyway and we are not going to be pressured into children either. Why no one seems to respect that fact and just pushes for us to jump into children, I will never understand. Yeah, it is a sensitive subject for me because we really want children like right now but we are trying to be responsible in deciding when to have children.

Brittney

Double post. Sorry forgot to post yesterday.

Day 10: Songs you Listen to When you are Happy, Sad, Bored, Hyped, Mad

This one is a little hard considering the fact that I love so many different types of music. When I am happy I definitely listen to different up beat songs such as country songs Country Girl (Shake it for me) and Honey Bee right now. I do love the new songs that come out all the time but some classics are great too like Devil Went Down to Georgia and pretty much anything by Shania Twain. Been a fan of Shania Twain since I was little. When I am sad, more the slower, more depressing songs in a way which would seem to be the opposite of what someone who is sad would want to see but I kind of listen to music based on mood. I like different modern songs such as What do you Want and When Summer Comes Around or When it Rains or If I Die Young . When I am bored, I really listen to all music and no specific songs in particular and I love all sorts of music. Hyped there are only a few songs I listen to. Michael Jackson's Thriller is a big one for me and I love to dance around while listening to it and really get moving. When I am mad, music is not something I listen to. When I get mad, I am mad and I only think of what is making me mad usually.

Day 11: Another Picture of You and Your Friends

Well, I still have not been able to find any photos that I have of us with our friends. I am having issues finding them on my computer because I cannot remember what I saved them under. I will post them though as soon as I find them.

1. I love to sing and dance when no one is looking.
2. I love animals so much I have always wanted to be a veterinarian ever since I was little.
3. I have only broken one bone.
4. I have an artificial joint in my wrist.
5. I had my appendix out at 6 years old. I only cried one tear out of the whole hospital experience.
6. I am a movie fanatic. (Especially horror).
7. I could live off of ice cream, raspberries, and tomatoes the rest of my life.
8. I have three dogs, two cats, and would have more if my husband did not have the self control.
9. I drive a green (my favorite color) Ford 500
10. I have been married to my best friend for almost 4 years now and cannot wait to spend the rest of my life with him.
11. I love listening to good not very well known groups.
12. I enjoy hiking, camping, snowboarding, and fishing.
13. I have the best parents in the world and no one has even come close to comparing how great they are.
14. I love walking, hiking, and biking.
15. I have this reoccurring dream that I am a plate of spaghetti in an Italian restaurant.