Aunt Brooke and Uncle Aus(h)tin

Sorry for my brief absence in my blogging.  I was up in CT on Friday and down to Auburn on Tuesday, so it has been a crazy week.  I wanted to dedicate this blog to two very special people in our lives.  It is sort of a long story so I will cut out what isn't important and leave what is.

I met Brooke (then Perrin) when I was a Dean of Students at UK.  She was in charge of the governing council of the sororities.  As a result, we worked a lot together.  Very early on she would come to me more than anyone else for professional advice.  I would like to think it was because of my classic good looks and southern charm my openness to help all at UK, but it was probably just because I was around.  Well after a while we became pretty close.  She knew I was married and had one kid, knew that I had another on the way, but there was no connection with them yet.  Then one day in March or April, (my) Brooke was in Lexington - she was still living in Louisville at the time- and she hadn't felt the baby (which would be Caroline) move in a while.  After I found out she was going to the hospital, I rushed over there to meet her.  Problem was Baby Reagan needed someone to watch her, so I grabbed the first person I saw in the office and said  "Brooke (UK Brooke) you re coming with me."  Since those words, Brooke has been right there with us through it all. 

Brooke started coming over to hang out with my Brooke. At the time it wasn't a great relationship because the Brooke's were in two very different places in their lives.  But soon Brooke started watching Reagan.....then she started watching Reagan and Caroline....then she started coming over to watch a weekly show...then she started coming over for no reason at all.  It got to the point where she no longer came over to see me, didn't really even acknowledge my presence.  She would come over, the girls would scream and go crazy for her, and her and my Brooke would have a good time together. 

Then one summer she starts telling us about this trip to Africa she was going to take to get some field work as a nurse.  Brooke (mine) and I were pissed about this.  She was going to place that had armed guards.  We were furious that she would go, risk her life, and risk our go to babysitter.  She kept saying she was going with some dude, but we weren't hearing it.  We were seriously upset and I told her if she was my child I would forbid her from going...seriously said that.  That is when we started hearing about this guy named Aus(h)tin (Caroline calls him Aus(h)tin for some reason).  I first thought of him, as any father does about his daughters boyfriend, I was very skeptical.  Brooke had become a big part of our lives and more importantly in my kids lives, I didn't want some dude coming in and ruining that for Reagan and Caroline.  I must say, Aus(h)tin took to my girls like a duck to water.  It has now gotten to the point where my girls no longer go crazy just for Brooke when she gets here, they want to know where Aus(h)tin is.  It has sort of come full circle and now Brooke and I are back to being friends... :)

Baylor Grace was about to arrive and it was Brooke that watched the girls while we were at the hospital.  A few weeks laters we went down to Gulf Shores two summers ago and Brooke, Aus(h)tin and his family were going to be there.  They welcomed all of us in with open arms and the love in Aus(h)tins family is evident.  He has a sister that immediately took to the girls, and even a high school aged brother who was great with the girls.  Most boys that age are punks or couldn't care less about kids, but not Carson.   We knew we needed God Parents for Baylor Grace and Brooke was the obvious choice.  She loves my girls as if they were her own, she is a nurse, and without being dramatic- she would give her life for those girls.  As a parent it gives you so much comfort to know you can trust someone outside of your blood in that fashion, with your kids.  Especially when your family lives in different cities.  The jury was still sort of out about Aus(h)tin though, should he be Baylor's God Father?  When you see Aus(h)tin read to the girls, they climb all over them, he plays the angry pirate with them, you can see how much he loves them too.  The choice became pretty clear to us. 

A year later it was time for them to get married Brooke and Aus(h)tin bypassed members of their own family so that Reagan and Caroline could be their flower girls.  Aus(h)tin asked me to be in his wedding as well.  We needed a place to stay and again, Aus(h)tin's family took us in. They had met us once before but you would think we were friends forever.  When the amazing week was over, my Brooke was almost in tears because she enjoyed being around them so much and wondered when we would see them again.  Aus(h)tin has an amazing family and we know that Brooke, who we love, is in good hands over there.  

So this blog is dedicated to Brooke and Aus(h)tin.  They have given us so much, including another part of our family, Callie (a once babysitter now family member to us.  Caroline LOVES Callie, she is the first person Caroline wants to invite to her parties). We trust our girls 100% with them and having a doctor and a nurse around is always comforting.  Most conversations end with a sincere "love you guys," and when Brooke and Aus(h)tin are around, you can see in their eyes how much they love my girls.  Thats really all I could ever hope for.  Without a doubt in my mind, they know our girls better than anyone.  I know someday Brooke and Aus(h)tin will have kids of their own, and I can see our girls babysitting their kids.  I also know that they will make excellent parents because I can see the way they are with my kids.  You are hard pressed to find better people than Brooke and Aus(h)tin, and this Thanksgiving and every other day, Brooke and I are thankful for them.