I still believe in fairy tales, and on sunny days pigtales are imperative.  I believe puddles are irresistable footbaths, and daffodils remind me of laughter (that's why it's my favorite flower)! 

My parents expected a boy, but I surprised them instead. They could not part with the name, Austin, so they tried to make it more feminine by replacing the "i" with an "e," but I like to think that Jane Austen had something to do with it.

I currently work as a Two's Teacher at St. Mary's Episcopal School in the mornings.  In the afternoons, I babysit Josie (who is the light of my life!), and in the evenings I am enrolled in Graduate School full-time.  I am pursuing a Masters in Counselor Education; however, this is my first semester, and my heart is saturated in wanderlust. 

I love kids, running, singing, painting, and learning new things, especially about the incredible Majesty of our Savior.

This past summer, I found a missions camp on a capricious Google search, and before I had time to really process my decision, I was working in Sautee-Nacoochee, Georgia with four other staff members, organizing 80-90 campers each week on construction projects.  I left home for 3 months with people I did not know, committed to an organization that I had never heard of... needless to say, God changed my life!  The depth of the relationships that were established, the tangible nature of the Holy Spirit, and the overwhelming physical fatigue composed a new song on my heart strings that I had never encountered.  God began a slow and painful process of unlocking sheckels of shame that were hidden in my heart.  I realized areas of myself that were still of the flesh, hardened pebbles that I had refused to surrender to the Creator.  God opened my eyes to these chains, and led me to the foot of the cross time and time again with campers.  Together as a community of believers, my staff, the campers, and I shared seeds to some of God's most rich and beautiful life.  Galatians 5:1 became manifested in our hearts.

It has been a challenge adjusting to life back in Richmond, VA.  I live in the city with 3 incredible roommates.  Life in the city is so different than life on the mission field in the middle of rural Georgia.  My emotions and heart are so thirsty, but the Lord is humbling me.  While camp this summer encouraged a closer relationship with Christ, this season demands more personal discipline and accountability.

I am not sure what to expect in January, but I am learning and re-learning the faithfulness of our Savior, and I cannot wait for the ways He is going to sculpt our hearts and pour through our hands!