We love you Austin!

Dearest Friends and Family,

As I sit and write this, I find myself somewhat at a loss for words.  This past Saturday I was awakened to some tragic news.  A very special young man, who I consider a younger brother, was taken from this life by a horrific car accident while he was studying abroad in New Zealand.  His name is Austin Brashears, and I am hoping that you can help me to help his family bring him home to California and lay him to rest.  While the total cost is unknown, we do know that it will be very expensive and very emotional.  There are currently several different ways to donate and I'm hoping that each of you can find it in your heart to help this amazing family bring their son home.

Even if you aren't able to donate monetarily, please add the Brashears Family (and the families of the other two students killed) to your prayers, because every little bit helps...

Several Articles about Austin and the accident:

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/brashears-353921-family-zealand.html
http://www.bu.edu/buniverse/view/?v=IGyYt11J
http://dailyfreepress.com/2012/05/14/eng-junior-austin-brashears-had-passion-for-alternative-energy-adventure/
http://www.hbindependent.com/news/tn-hbi-0517-brashears-20120514,0,6950206.story

How to Donate (some are located in the Huntington Beach, CA area):

• Cash or Checks (made out to "McFadden Ward") can be sent to Jim & Chrysa Holdaway, 6832 Red Coach Dr, Huntington Beach, CA 92647
• Paypal - https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=96J5GWBDT57Y6
• T-Shirts (still in progress, if you want to be updated just let me know, or join the Facebook Event linked below)
• Roman Cucina Restaurant, 1773 Newport Blvd, Costa Mesa, 92627. (949) 645-5550. Mon 5/21 5pm-Close, mention Austin and they will donate 15% of your bill.
• Hot Off The Grill, Bolsa Chica & Heil, Wed 5/16 2pm-11pm, bring a piece of paper that says "We love you Austin!" and they will donate 100% of the proceeds to the Brashears.
• FCC vs Goldenwest Improv Show, Stages Theater in Fullerton, Thurs 5/17 10pm, 100% of profits will be donated to the family.
• Get your haircut with Ashley Rydbeck, friend of Austin, message her at (714) 249-8119, she will donate 100% to the cause.
• Buy Velata: https://chocelata.velata.us/Velata/Buy?partyId=86483374, I'm donating 100% of my commission to the family.
  
• Buy Scentsy: https://tiffanydawn.scentsy.us/Scentsy/Buy?partyId=86483080, again, 100% of my commission from these sales will be donated to the family.
• More fundraising efforts are starting up every day, if you want to keep up please join the Facebook Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/395270007184306/
  

 

A Note from the Brashears:

We’d like to thank all of you for your love and support during this difficult time. We are truly grateful for everything that you have done. Austin always had a way of bringing people together; banding together like you all have is truly a fitting tribute. Your generosity has been touching.

The process of bringing Austin home from half way across the world has been confusing and complicated, and it’s still unclear exactly what the costs will be. We’ve received such a great outpouring of support from so many sources, and, while the expenses are still uncertain, we’d like you all to know that we plan to use any funds received in addition to the costs of bringing Austin home and laying him to rest to setup a scholarship in his honor to support other motivated students who share Austin’s love for club sports.

Thank you again for all your support, your love and your prayers.

Memorial Info:

In the tradition of the surf culture, a paddle-out will be held in Austin’s honor at 7:00pm on Friday, May 25th at Tower 2 at Huntington City Beach. All are welcome to bring a board, swim out, or participate from the shore.

Austin’s memorial service will be held on Saturday, May 26th at 11:00am at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints at 5402 Heil Avenue, in Huntington Beach, California. A luncheon will be held immediately afterward, and all are encouraged to stay a while, enjoy some good food and share memories of Austin. We will also be putting together a memory book, and we invite each of you to bring your favorite picture of yourself with Austin and to come prepared to share your thoughts and memories of him.

Thank you so much in advance for all your love, prayers, and support!  Austin was an amazing young man and will truly be missed.


Warmest Wishes,
Tiffany

Oh, the Twists and Turns of Life...

So, it has been a VERY long time since I've posted.  And I feel really bad, but honestly... there has been a TON of stuff going on.  I'm going to take just a moment from the crazy and let you in on part of it...


We're moving.

That's right.  At the end of the month.  It was completely unexpected, and we were very torn, but we know in our hearts that this is what our Father in Heaven has planned for us.

TJ was offered a job out of the blue by his old boss and, after praying about it, we decided to accept.  He needs TJ as soon as possible, which means we will be packing up over the next couple weeks, saying our "See ya later"s, and making the trek back to Idaho.  Our families are very excited to have us close by again, and we are excited to be close to them too.

We know it will be hard to leave all of the new friends we have made here in Williston, because we love them all SO much.  But we also know that our relationships don't have to end after the move, which is what keeps us going.  We have been so thankful for all the things that we've learned while living here, and all the wonderful people who have come into our lives.  But now it's time to move on to the next chapter, learn new things, and meet more wonderful people.

Until next post... (who knows when that will be, hopefully soon, haha)

Warmest Wishes,
Tiffany

Baby Boy!

Ok, so we all know I'm a horrible blogger.  Some day I will be better, and the fact that I've been writing in this thing so "often" the last while or so has given me hope that I can eventually get to at least a post a week, ultimate goal: a post a DAY !!  Whew...  Aren't you just super excited!  Haha

Anyway, here are the long awaited ultrasound pics of the fetal survey... confirmation: it is most definitely a BOY!

We have a few others, including some more 3D shots (which TJ says make him look really weird), which I won't bore you with.

But I will let you know what we have decided to name the little guy:

Thomas Jeremy Thornton

 

We plan on calling him Tommy, and actually have already started.  It is so much more fun using his name than calling him "baby".

I have a bunch of recently tried recipes to review and projects that I plan on sharing (I've been a busy momma... can you say nesting early?), so stay tuned!  I am hoping that by letting you guys know what to look for it will help me get on here to post, we'll see how it goes.

Until next time... 

Warmest Wishes,
Tiffany