Happy Birthday Austin!!!

Today was Austin's 9th birthday and thanks to so many great people, it was a wonderful, unforgettable 

day.  Today was Sunday and since Austin can't go to church right now, the Primary from our Ward came to him.  They gathered on our front lawn and sang Happy Birthday to Austin. 

 They gave him a big card, balloons, cake, and lots of kind words.  Austin thought this was really cool and couldn't believe that all the kids came. 

 I was watching the kids faces as they looked at Austin holding court on the front porch.  A lot of them didn't know what to say and seemed a little nervous of Austin (I heard one kid say "Can he talk?"). 

 Austin may not look outwardly sick at first glance so they probably were wondering what all the to do was about. 

 In any case as Austin started talking to them, they seemed to loosen up and decide he wasn't going to bite them.  I really want to thank those that came.  It was only a few minutes to all of them, but it put a big smile on Austin's face and he won't soon forget it.

Nothing better than friends and cake!

We have a tradition in our family that the kids get to help design and make their birthday cake.  For his 9th birthday Austin picked a Halo cake.  Now I don't pretend to get it, but this kid loves a game called Halo Wars.   He wanted a battle scene with the Lego set that he picked out and put together.  We set the battle on an alien planet with rocks and slime.  We invited some close friends over to help us sing and blow out the candles before we cut into the battle.  It was delicious!

9th Birthday Cake--designed by Austin, made by Mom

9 years old!

Last week I put out a request on Facebook for people to send Austin birthday cards in the mail.  You see, Austin (as most kids) thinks it's the coolest thing to pick up the snail mail.  He loves to get it because he is hoping that maybe something will be for him.  So I thought, how fun would it be to get lots of cards addressed to him!

With all his loot

 I thought we would get a few responses, mostly from family and people that are close to Austin, so imagine my surprise to collect 100+ birthday cards and packages from friends, family, and many that we don't even know.

Dixie's Lifeflight team sent a card and this shirt

Austin insisted on staying up to open and read every last card

So thank you to all you wonderful people out there that made Austin's birthday so special.  There is no way to express how grateful we are for all the love and support from people across the country.  Many that we know and love, but many that don't know Austin have heard his story.  Austin has already touched many lives for good.  Kevin and I have talked about this a lot lately, that though we wish we did not have to take this journey with leukemia, we are grateful to see good things come as a result.  In a day and age where people are so concerned about material things, making money and running over anyone in their path; it is refreshing to have so many people reach outside of themselves to help someone in need.  We hope to be able to use this generosity to help others as well as Austin.  For now we will just say thank you.