The Shurden Family

2011 in Review

2012-01-05T19:19:00.000-08:00

I was horrible at keeping up with the blog in 2011 so I'm doing the year in review. We had such fun things to do this year and I want the kids to have this blog to look back on one day and remember these days.

Rosalyn's school sings at the downtown Franklin festival, Dickens of a Christmas.

Rosalyn's class at their Christmas program

Christmas with my family. The kids with their new scooters. (Rosalyn's didn't make it in the pic.)

Knox enjoying his new shield.

Katie's 6th Birthday! It was a party full of fun games and prizes!

Nate and I at the pumpkin patch

The kids with their pumpkins

Trick or treating with good friends

Being silly with cousin Ethan

At the beach, we went to the arcade one night and the first game Rosalyn chose to play she won 1000 tickets. It was quite amazing!

Rosalyn's 8th Birthday! Movie at the downtown theater and ice cream from Sweet Cece's!

Katie starts Kindergarten! She homeschooled this year.

Rosalyn starts 2nd Grade. Not sure why this pic is so messed up. Her face is not really this discolored.

Knox beginning preschool at home!

The summer of the Cicadas. The worst bugs ever, besides spiders and roaches. They were horribly loud and would fly right at your face while you were walking outside. Thankful to not see them for another 13 years.

The kids and I made a trip to Jackson, MS to see our friends. Nate and Rosalyn have been friends since they were little babies. It's a sweet friendship. I love this family. The kids were able to attend VBS at First Pres which was great fun for them.

Katie with Sara Beth at the Children's Museum in Jackson

A fun retreat with the youth of our church. The girls loved tubing, riding boats, and swimming in the lake!

My grandmothers sisters live about 45 minutes from me so we were able to go to a surprise birthday party for 2 of them. I love my great-aunts! I wish my grandmother was still alive to have gone to the party with me.

Me and one of my best friends, Kortney, from Jackson. She visited us in Nashville for a day. I miss her!!

Kortney's boys and the girls

Oh finally....a fun trip to the beach in August with Nate's family.

Loving the ocean

Knox rode his first little train while on the beach vacation.

2011-05-26T19:25:00.001-07:00

Well, it's been a long time since I sat down to blog on here. It's not that we don't have anything going on to tell about. It's actually quite the opposite. This year has been a year of ups and downs, sadness and excitement, lots of fun times and lots of accomplishments from the kids. I am going to catch up from January but for now I will just start with what's happening these past 2 weeks.
Katie attended Mustard Seed Preschool and absolutely loved it. She made some really good friends and learned some great things. 2 weeks ago she graduated preschool and also had a spring program.

Katie's good friend, Laurel

Today, Rosalyn attended her schools awards day. What a special day it ended up being for her! She was awarded: First Grade Character Award "Sweet Spirit", All A Honor Roll, "Voracious Reading" (to those who love to read and are seen reading in their free time), Diligence Perservance and Effort, and a wonderful honor, Citizenship 2011 (She was the only one in the school who received this award). I wish I was prepared for her winning the Citizenship Award because the teacher who presented her with it said the most kind words about Rosalyn. I would have loved to have it on video. Here are a few pictures of her day.

This teacher will be Rosalyn's 2nd grade teacher and is the one who presented her with the citizenship award. They already have a sweet relationship so we're looking forward to next year!

Rosalyn with her 1st grade class

2011-01-10T20:48:00.000-08:00

My family was with us on Christmas Day and Nate's family came the Monday following Christmas. We had a great 2nd Christmas with them!

Pillow Pets were the girls favorite presents...I'm so glad they got these so I don't have to listen to the request each time we go shopping!

I love Knox's intense look here as he opens his present.

Knox favorite present was definitely his sword. He loves it!

Christmas Day

2011-01-10T20:35:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful White Tennessee Christmas this year. It was a very relaxing day. Here's some pictures to show the kids happiness on Christmas morning.

The girls loved their guitars my parents gave them. Knox looked at their guitars and ran upstairs and brought his down. They played all afternoon and sang several songs for us.

Christmas Programs

2011-01-10T20:22:00.000-08:00

Rosalyn was narrator in her Christmas Program. She also did great and had a confident voice as she spoke.

Katie was an angel in her preschool Christmas program. It was her first time to sing in a choir or in front of people but she did great. She was so happy to be up there.

Catch - Up : Thanksgiving Feasts

2011-01-10T20:02:00.001-08:00

Both girls had Thanksgiving Feasts at their schools. I thought they made precious little pilgrims!
We also had a great month of giving thanks to the Lord for all He has done for us. The bottom picture is our Thanksgiving tree!

Trick or Treat!

2010-12-14T13:45:00.000-08:00

We went trick or treating with 2 other families and had a great time.

Happy Snow Day

2010-12-13T14:02:00.001-08:00

It was a beautiful day yesterday as watched the snow fall. Today the schools are closed and we are enjoying a restful day at home!

Fun Trip to Jackson

2010-12-13T13:51:00.000-08:00

We were so thankful to get the chance to go back and visit friends in Jackson since Nate was asked to preach at FPC for a special service.

Knox and Katie love to hold hands while riding in the car...so sweet!

Us with our sweet friends, Brad and Carrie

The girls with Brad and Carrie's daughters

A Snake in the House!!

2010-12-13T13:38:00.000-08:00

I was about to start sweeping the dining room and looked behind some boxes (yes, still have lots of boxes of books in the house) and saw a snake moving behind it. I could tell that it was a baby one so I thankfully remained calm. I positioned Knox and Katie in the hallway in chairs to watch and be sure the snake didn't crawl anywhere. Nate came to the rescue 20 minutes later and killed it.

Horse Riding

2010-12-13T13:21:00.000-08:00

I was able to take the kids to a dear friends farm to ride a pony back in October. All 3 loved riding the pony and are ready to go back! We're hoping to do riding lessons in the spring, once it warms up here. They also had to help around the farm and do chores. They brushed the pony after riding it, fed all 3 horses and the pony, then fed the birds and chickens. Lots and lots of fun!!

Pumpkin Fest

2010-11-16T18:18:00.000-08:00

We enjoyed the Pumpkin Fest in Downtown Franklin a few weeks ago. It was a glorious fall day, full of fun and fellowship. Here's a cut picture in front of the largest pumpkin I think I've ever seen!

Deer

2010-11-02T20:34:00.000-07:00

This is what I love about the location of our house!

There is a family of 6 deer that we get to see almost daily in our backyard. One morning they were eating on Nate's overgrown tomato plants!

Katie's 5th Birthday

2010-10-31T20:18:00.000-07:00

Wow! It's hard to believe that Katie turned 5 years old on Oct. 4th. I love having fall parties for Katie and thinking of a cute fall craft to do but this year she chose to have a rainbow party. So I went with it. Here's some pictures of her fun day.

We made a rainbow using tissue paper...this craft ended up being too hard for 3-5 year olds but it was neat to watch them all work hard to do it!

We painted rainbows!

We had lots of fun opening presents!

Katie, We love you!

Trip to Monteagle/Sewanee

2010-10-18T07:11:00.000-07:00

We took a few days off while the weather is so nice, and the leaves are so pretty, to go to Monteagle, TN. We stayed with the Wilbur family at the Monteagle Sunday School Assembly, which is just perfect place to relax. It is such a beautiful place! We also drove to Chattanooga one day to visit the aquarium, since the kids had never been. What a great place Chattanooga is. So much to do! The only complaint we had was not being able to stay longer. We took so many pictures. I've posted just a few below. I may try to do another post later.

We had such a good time. We are so glad the Wilburs invited us!

I couldn't believe we got them to all sit still long enough to take this picture. It turned out so good. I'm glad we tried it.

Sophia came up with a really fun painting project for the kids to do. They had a great time painting their fall leaves and bookmarks. Rosalyn and Katie enjoyed every minute with their very good friend, Eleanor!

Here's a pictures of the girls as they walked to the bottom of "Morgan's Steep" to look out on the valley below. They are so cute!

We stayed at the "Happy Castle." It looks happy, doesn't it?

Mitchell Farms

2010-10-16T16:57:00.001-07:00

The kids and I went home to MS a few weeks back to see friends in Jackson and family in Mt. Olive and Laurel. It was a fun trip with lots of great memories. One of the things we did with my family was visit Mitchell Farms. It's a great place for kids to just enjoy the outdoors and life on the farm. They especially enjoyed the "corn pool." Here's a few pictures from our adventures there.

Katie's First Day of Preschool

2010-10-13T16:34:00.000-07:00

This has been a big year for our little Katie. Not only did she start soccer this year; she also started preschool! She is attending Mustard Seed Preschool at Christ Community Church in Franklin. She's doing so well and really enjoying her teachers and new friends. It has been such a warm and loving environment for her to grow in Christ and in knowledge of the world. Here's a picture of her on the morning of her first day. (I think the backpack is as big as she is!)

Katie's First Year of Soccer

2010-10-08T13:40:00.000-07:00

This is Katie's first year of soccer, and she's having a really great time. She's watched Rosalyn play for two years, so she was really prepared, knew just what to expect, and jumped right into action. She's scored in just about every game!

Scout

2010-09-28T18:56:00.000-07:00

One of our good friends here in Franklin, The Myers family, let us keep their sweet dog during a recent trip they took to visit family. The kids had such a blast. In fact, the kids could not wait to see Scout when we visited them recently for a Home Fellowship Group meeting. Here's a fun picture from our time w/ Scout.

Rosalyn's Birthday

2010-09-10T11:21:00.000-07:00

Rosalyn turned seven on September 3rd. We had a few friends over for a little party at the house. We did a fun little craft and ate way too much cake and ice cream. Needless to say, we had such a great time.

Rosalyn's First Day of First Grade

2010-09-05T14:58:00.000-07:00

As hard as it is to believe, Rosalyn started first grade last week. She looked so grown up headed off to school with her backpack and lunchbox. Though she still misses FPCJ, and all her dear friends from Jackson, this new school (Eagle's Nest Academy) has been so warm and accepting so far. She seems to have fallen into the new school really well and is making lots of new friends. We're so thankful to the Lord for how he is taking care of her.

This is Rosalyn right outside her classroom door, walking in for the first time!

This is her all dressed up to get into the car and ride to school for the first time!

Titans Preseason Game

2010-09-04T08:41:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago we attended the first home preseason game for the Tennessee Titans. It was a lot of fun, and the first professional football game the the girls ever attended. Here's a few pictures from our night at LP Field.

No More Pacifier!!!

2010-08-10T19:06:00.000-07:00

Yes, that's right! Knox doesn't have a paci anymore! We knew that it was past time to take it away but also wasn't up for the challenge of this. Knox would actually walk around or sleep with up to 3 pacis at one time. I say this was all God's timing because it has been way too simple. Last Wednesday Knox got a sore on his top lip. I think it may have been a carpet burn from all the jumping around and falling that he does. He didn't want the pacifier because it hurt him so much. So I said say bye, bye to paci and he did and they are gone. It takes him longer to go to sleep now but it's getting better. Each time he asks for it, I'll say no that paci was mean and give you a sore. And he'll move on and not ask for awhile. The other quite amazing thing is that he is almost saying sentences now. He repeats everything we say and talks nonstop in the car. It's so fun. Now on to challenge #2 soon...potty training. He's so ready but I'm not sure I am!

Knox's Catechism Answers

2010-08-04T09:16:00.000-07:00

Knox has been slowly working on his Catechism questions. He doesn't say alot of words yet and definitely not making sentences so this is hard but it's so cute to listen to. Here's Nate working with him one night.

Gymnastics

2010-07-29T19:58:00.000-07:00

The girls started going to gymnastics in April and have really gotten good at flips and cart wheels and so much more. Rosalyn can't just stand still anymore in the living room...she's always doing cart wheels!

Here's Knox...with his Titans shirt and paci! We sit upstairs and watch everyone.

Rosalyn on the bars

Rosalyn on the beams

Katie is in a room that where I can't watch what she does so I got a picture of her before class starts.

My New Hobby

2010-07-27T08:03:00.000-07:00

Since moving to TN I have made an attempt to really learn to sew. At First Presbyterian, I was involved in the Sew and Sow ministry and loved learning things there. I never went home and sewed anything though. I am so excited to show you some of the things that I have made. I am really enjoying it and hope to make lots of things!

This checkbook cover was the first thing I made and it was very easy. It took 30 minutes max and so I made several of them.

The other night I made these skirts and it took an hour and a half for the first one and an hour for the 2nd. Fun skirts!

You gotta have a silly pic sometime!

And here's my favorite...

I love these little scarfs. They're still a little big but so fun to wear!

This is the only outfit I've made for Knox. It is a 2T but way too big so I'll have to make an 18 month. I want to put an applique on it once I get it right!

The Franklin Bluegrass Festival

2010-07-24T19:43:00.001-07:00

We struck out this morning for downtown Franklin to enjoy some pickin' and a grinnin'. Franklin has an annual Bluegrass Festival every year. Nate and I had been before, back when we lived here the first time. It was always a good time. Even though it was a scorcher, we found some shade and grabbed drinks and snow cones to cool off. Here's a few shots from today.

Celebrating July 4th

2010-07-05T09:10:00.000-07:00

It was a fun night with the Faires and Myers, watching the fireworks display in Franklin. The kids had a blast--and so did the adults! Below is a picture of Bea, Oliver, Katie, Rosalyn, and Knox. Aren't they cute?

Arrington Vineyards

2010-07-04T20:39:00.001-07:00

We had a great time with some friends at Arrington Vineyards, which is a small grape vineyard and winery a few miles outside of Franklin. They had live jazz music with wide decks and open shady picnic spots to cool off and enjoy fellowship. Here's a few pictures from our time out there.

Signs of Life

2010-06-14T10:05:00.000-07:00

Nate decided that he would try his hand at a raised garden this year. It's been a lot of fun building the boxes, getting the soil, deciding what to plant, sowing the seed, watering, fertilizing, weeding, and leaving the growth to God. We are pleased to announce that we are now seeing the fruit of our labor! (Or should I say vegetables and herbs!).

Here's a few pictures.

A Surprise Visit

2010-06-13T19:17:00.000-07:00

We were blessed to spend some time this week with Nate's aunt Laura and his Grandmother. They were in Franklin visiting one of Anne's (Nate's Grandmother) old friends from Cleveland, MS, who had recently moved to the area. We are so glad they called to visit with us too!

Beach 2010 (Day 4)

2010-06-04T21:09:00.000-07:00

We're glad to report that Fort Morgan is still oil free. The same cannot be said for Perdido Key, Orange Beach, Pensacola, and many other places in AL and FL. As we were eating dinner tonight, we met folk from all over Orange Beach who have witnessed tar balls on the beach. We are thankful the oil has held off this long on Fort Morgan, but we know it won't be that way for long.

Today started off rough--bad weather in every direction. The wind was so bad that we witnessed tents and umbrellas take to flight all over the beach! It was quite a sight. Thankfully, after a rough start, it faired off quickly and turned into a beautiful day.

Beach 2010 (Day 3)

2010-06-03T04:31:00.000-07:00

Our beach trip continues. Though it started off rainy, with a spectacular lightening display, it ended up beautiful. A number of you have wondered if we've seen any oil. Well, we are glad to report that we are oil free so far. But if the news reports are right, it appears we may not be as fortunate in the days to come. They are forecasting oil to come ashore in our area late tonight or tomorrow. So... We'll see.

Until then, all is well on Fort Morgan!

Beach 2010 (Day 2)

2010-06-02T15:23:00.000-07:00

We enjoyed another good day on the beach. It was a special day for me, because it was my birthday! Everyone made it special for me. They took me out to eat and bought me a delicious "chocolate volcano cheesecake." It was some-kind-of rich!

Beach 2010 (Day 1)

2010-05-31T16:10:00.000-07:00

It was a good first day at the beach. The kids had a blast, and so did the parents! (That's always a plus!) Though the weather was supposed to be rainy, it faired off early this morning and turned out beautiful. And so far, no oil!

Hope you-all are having a great Memorial Day.

Hot New Wheels

2010-05-26T20:01:00.000-07:00

We decided not to take our old bikes with us when we moved to TN. So, one of the first orders of business was purchasing new bikes. Here's a picture of the kids sporting their new wheels!

BTW: They've really gotten good!

The Mill's Visit to Franklin

2010-05-25T05:12:00.000-07:00

We were recently blessed to have our good friends, Brad and Carrie Mills, visit us in Franklin. It was so fun! The only problem was that it was too short!

This is one of the very cute pictures of the kids as they played in the backyard.

It's Ice Cream Time

2010-05-24T18:08:00.000-07:00

As so many of you know, ice cream is one of the favorite past times of the Shurden family. We are enjoying the many good ice cream options in downtown Franklin. The pictures below are from one of our recent ice cream runs to Ben and Jerry's.

The Flood of 2010

2010-05-12T19:24:00.000-07:00

We want to thank so many of you for your calls and e-mails, and especially your prayers for us and our community. It's been a long couple of weeks with the flood, and I know many of you have been looking at the pictures on the news. It really is worse than it even looks, if that's even imaginable.

Our church here (Parish Pres.) has been actively sending out mission teams into local neighborhoods, to help people begin rebuilding. We are just at the beginning of a long recovery, so we ask that you would continue to pray for us.

Below are just a few of our many personal pictures of the flood. They are glimpses of Franklin, just off of the "5 points" intersection in downtown. It was quite a site.

Update

2010-03-22T11:46:00.001-07:00

I am finally sitting down to update the blog and let you all know what we're doing. We moved to Franklin, TN on March 1 and are still unloading a few boxes and organizing rooms. We left the kids at the grandparents the first week of March so that we could get some work done without them around. That was a huge help! The last post I did was one about selling our house and thankfully it sold! We closed on it on March 12. We love being here in Franklin. Nate has actually had the whole month off so that we could settle in without the pressures of work. The neighborhood we live in has a playground in walking distance from our home and great little trails in the woods. Our backyard is fenced but we can open the fence and play in a big open area. The kids have loved it! Nate spent Saturday preparing the yard for our vegetable garden and the girls and I went to Home Depot to pick out some flowers to plant in our little flower garden. The church members of Parish have been so kind to us. We've had some good fellowship with alot of them. The girls have made some new friends and Rosalyn is actually itching to find her "best" friend. They have really surprised me at how easily they go up to other children and start playing with them. We miss our friends in Jackson and FPC but we are really looking forward to getting into the ministry of Parish Presbyterian and thankful that God has sent us here. If any of you need our new address or phone numbers, just email me and let me know!

I don't know where the cord is to upload pictures to the computer but when I find it, I'll post some.

Selling Our House!

2010-01-28T17:51:00.000-08:00

Our house is now officially on the market. Please take a look at the pictures and write up below and make contact with us if you or someone you know is interested.

Classic English Tudor Style Home in Belhaven

Built in 1940
2100 Sq. Ft.
Price, $199,900

3 Spacious Bedrooms with large closets
2 Full Baths/Master Bath has Whirlpool tub with separate walk in shower, and expanded vanity with double sinks.

Living Room & Den w/ French Doors opening onto patio
Formal Dining Room

Fully Updated Kitchen w/ eat in. Granite counter tops, tile, new paint, stainless steel appliances.

Hardwood floors, new roof, new wood fence, new sewer line, newly landscaped front and back, lots of new updates throughout the house.

Contact us at cjshurden@yahoo.com or 601-842-4524 for an appointment.

A New Path

2010-01-26T10:04:00.000-08:00

I still have our fun Christmas pictures to post but I'm going to take time now to update you all on what the Lord is doing in our lives.

In the first 2 weeks of January for our family worship we all memorized the scripture Psalm 16:11..."You will make known to me the path of life. In Your presence is fullness of joy. In Your right hand are pleasures forever." The girls learned it quickly and said it regularly and we explained the meaning of it. How perfect of a verse it was for us. On January 11th, Nate accepted a new call to ministry in Franklin, TN. We had prayed and prayed for a few months to where God was leading us. We love First Presbyterian, Jackson and have made some wonderful friendships. The kids love it. So to uproot us all and move, in the middle of the school year, was a hard decision. But we know we made the right one. God has confirmed it in so many ways and has made it clear repeatedly. The girls are excited about the move and know several little kids in Franklin. We have had lots of tears shed and know the next few months will be hard but we trust in God to comfort us and take care of us. We will be moving the first of March. I am going to post the letter that we sent out to several of our friends that describes the job and our feelings. Please pray for us as we try to sale our house, pack, find a home in Franklin, and leave some really great friends and a wonderful church.

Friends,

It is with sadness and hopeful anticipation of God’s call that write to inform you that I will be stepping down from my position as Minister of Discipleship and Young Adults to accept a new call to ministry as the Assistant Minister for Church Planting at Parish Presbyterian Church in Franklin, TN.

This opportunity presented itself several months ago, and through much prayer and advice from many godly shepherds, the Lord began to slowly warm our heart in this direction. Christy and I now have a “fire in the belly” for this new role, and we look forward to serving Christ and His Church in middle Tennessee .

Our final day at First Presbyterian Church will be February 28, 2010. We will transition to Franklin , TN , during the month of March and will begin laboring at Parish Presbyterian Church on April 4, 2010 (Easter Sunday).

The six years we have been in Jackson and a part of First Presbyterian Church have been marked by deep joy and contentedness. The Lord has grown us, shaped us, credentialed us, and called us during these years, and we have absolutely no complaints or regrets. We express with the hymn writer, “Blessings all mine, with 10,000 beside.” Please know that we have chosen to accept this new call for no other reason than a strong sense of God’s leading. In accepting this call, we have experienced tremendous peace and confirmation, but at the same time, we fight back the pain and sadness of leaving. When you see us, you will more than likely see smiles on our faces and tears running down our cheeks. The reason for this is that Jackson and First Presbyterian Church have become home, and it is never easy leaving a place you love so much.

In the eight weeks we have left in Jackson , I look forward to speaking with many if not all of you personally. Thank you all for the ways you have cared for me and my family these years. We love you, and we will miss you. May God bless you all.

“You will make known to me the path of life; in your presence is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”—Psalm 16:11

Grace & Peace,
Nate, Christy, Rosalyn, Katie, and Knox.

A few from December

2010-01-10T20:37:00.000-08:00

Rosalyn had her school Christmas Party and it was so fun for me to attend. I love to see her interact with her sweet friends.

While I was busy in the kitchen baking one morning, Katie and Knox decided to pull the covers off her bed and all the toys off the shelf and make a huge mess. Katie was so proud of herself. She came in the kitchen and said "Mommy, come look what I did!" I thought it was something creative but instead this is what I walked in and saw. Well, atleast they had a good time and got along and I got the baking done!
I took so many pictures of the kids this year trying to get the perfect one for our Christmas card. I felt sorry for them for all the time it took. I thought I would share a few shots....

Kids Christmas

November

2010-01-08T08:00:00.000-08:00

Big News!!! Rosalyn lost her 1st tooth! All we heard about for weeks was how her tooth was about to fall out and how bad it hurt. She was so proud to lose her tooth and receive a visit from the tooth fairy!
I love to take fall pictures of the kids in the leaves. I went to one of my favorite trees at the Eudora Welty house, which is in our subdivision. Knox didn't want to smile in any of the pics I took but the girls did good.

September and October

2010-01-07T08:00:00.000-08:00

September was a fun month as Rosalyn turned 6 years old. I posted those pictures awhile back.
Knox ate his first popsicle and at first didn't like how cold it was but got the hang of it. They became a good snack on the hot summer days!

Katie learned her catechism questions for Sunday School and received her crown. She worked really hard to learn them and I was quite amazed how she had already learned alot just by listening to Rosalyn. We're so proud of our little Katie!

October started out with Katie's 4th Birthday! We had lots of fun partying for her.
Below is a picture of a family that we became really close to while Nate was in Seminary. They now live in Louisiana.The oldest daughter, Hannah, was born a few weeks before Rosalyn. They now have 4 kids. All 7 kids got along so well the day we visited with them. I wish we lived closer to them so we could always have playdates!

Rosalyn and Hannah

Some of our really good friends gave us tickets to the MSU game one weekend in October. We had the best time tailgating and watching the game. It was the girls first football game!

August

2010-01-06T12:40:00.000-08:00

Catch up time!! I am finally posting pictures from August til December. I feel as though so many important things have been missed but blogging just hasn't been on the top of my list for awhile.

August

The night before Kindergarten started for Rosalyn and preschool started for Katie, we did a supper and present time. I think they felt very special!

Katie opens her special preschool gift. It's the book Jeremy by Jan Karon. We read a chapter at a time of this book during preschool time for the first few days.
Rosalyn got her Kindergarten bag personalized. She was so excited!

The girls special first day of school supper...cheeseburgers, french fries, chips and dip, fruit...and of course chocolate cupcakes.

A little fun time with daddy

Katie doing her preschool work
Rosalyn on her way to school in her uniform. What a big girl!

Boston

2009-11-14T19:12:00.000-08:00

Nate and I were able to go to Boston Oct. 28 - Nov. 2 with Brad and Cindy Mercer. We had the most wonderful time and went at the most perfect season. The leaves were beautiful and the weather was perfect. (Besides the first afternoon we got there. It was raining and windy and we were all soaking wet. But it made great memories!) The Mercers rented a car while we were there so we drove all around Massachusetts. We stayed in Rockport and drove to Concord, Lexington, Stockbridge, Deerfield, and of course, Boston. We took so many pictures I decided to do let you look through a web album so you could enjoy them also!

Boston 2009

July

2009-10-24T19:46:00.000-07:00

Life seemed to slow down a bit in the month of July. And apparently I didn't take many pictures!

Science Museum (and my boot)
The girls have always loved going to the science museum but this was Knox first time to actually enjoy it. It was fun to see him watch the fish and look all around at everything.

These pictures are out of order...but in the one below you can tell Knox was a little skeptical of the fish but in the one above, he was full of excitement!

Here's the boot pic - When I had my wreck in May, I hurt my foot/ankle really bad. I thought it was a sprain so I didn't do anything about it besides keep it wrapped and medicate it. But as time got closer to go to Peru in June, I decided to do x-rays. The x-rays showed no broken bones which was great. I decided to not do anything else til after the missons trip. On our hiking trip in Peru, my foot got much worse and it was difficult to walk on. The week after I got back, I went to see an orthopedic surgeon and found out I had nerve damage to my ankle. I had to wear a boot for a month and take nerve repair medecine, which had bad side affects. But today, I am so thankful to say that it feels much better. I still can't wear high heels or flip flops, my 2 favorite kind of shoes, but that is fine. I'm off the medecine for now. I still feel discomfort in my foot but the doctor says that it could take several months to heal.

Knox had his First Haircut!
I was so sad to see his cute little curls cut but he was actually getting frustrated with his hair touching his ears. He did so good.

Fun at the Braves Game

2009-10-24T19:37:00.000-07:00

In June, we went to a MS Braves Baseball game and had a really fun time. It was Katie's first time to go and Rosalyn's second. My dad and step grandpa, Gene, went with us.

The Girls Ceiling

2009-10-17T19:01:00.000-07:00

Remember the "bubble" we had in the girls ceiling because of a major leak from the roof? That happened in the middle of May and it was mid June when we got it fixed. It was much worse than we had anticipated and took much longer to fix but we're thankful to say that the girls are happily sleeping under a new ceiling!

This is what we discovered when the first layer of the ceiling was removed....mold. And water was still dripping at this point and it was a month later!

Another picture of the mold

Several days later once those boards dried out, the rest of the ceiling was pulled down only to find more mold. The odor was so bad.

All the ceiling down. New boards are up.

I don't have a final picture of the ceiling and the girls are in bed sleeping right now so I can't go take a picture but it's complete now and looks great!

Katie is 4 years old!!

2009-10-17T13:06:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Katie's 4th Birthday on Oct. 4. She was so excited about turning 4 since Rosalyn had just had her birthday. We had a small party at our house where the kids painted pumpkins. Katie loves to paint so she loved the idea. I've really enjoyed my time with Katie since Rosalyn is in kindergarten. I've seen her grow and learn lots of new things. It's also sweet to see her play with Knox. There relationship is fun as she plays rough with him but then also sits and colors with him and plays cars. I'm so thankful for my sweet Katie!

Katie waiting for her friends to come over!

Knox and his friend, Jack, painted pumpkins with water!

Painting the pumpkins...they all did so good!

The party table prior to friends arriving

Katie's birthday cupcakes. This was the only picture I got of them.

Rosalyn and Katie. As you can tell, Rosalyn got a haircut! I went in thinking maybe an inch off but she decided at the last minute to go really short. I think she got about 8 - 9 inches cut!!

Opening the presents that Nana and Pops brought

My plan is to now start updating the blog regularly before the holidays begin and the year is over! It will go back to June til now but I want it to all be on here for the kids to look back on one day.

For you, Aunt Ellen

2009-09-05T19:04:00.000-07:00

My sister, Ellen, lives in Canada so she sent Rosalyn her presents early. Ellen called early Thursday morning and Rosalyn was on the phone with her as she opened them. Ellen - she loved the Bendaroos and has played with them alot. Perfect!

Rosalyn's 6th Birthday

2009-09-05T18:16:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Rosalyn's 6th birthday on Sept.3. I just can't believe that she is already 6. The moment she was born, she changed my life and I have loved every moment of getting to know her. She is definitely a first born in the way she "likes to lead" aka bossiness, she likes order and structure. But most of all she has a heart for God. I pray God has chosen to save her and will use her in many, many ways for His kingdom.

For her party, we went to Harry the Potter and painted pottery! She invited 8 friends and really had a great time.

Early morning gifts

Birthday Streamers!!

A wonderful present from Nana and Pops...a real vaccuum for
both girls to use! Love it!

The cupcakes are overpowering here but I

didn't get a great picture of them

Very intense little girls painting

Nate had to finish painting Rosalyn's giraffe because she was trying to be

very precise and the other girls had already finished their item.

Opening presents. I loved hearing the girls talk

about the gift they brought. So cute!

Peru Mission Trip

2009-08-26T07:57:00.000-07:00

One of the members on our trip to Peru put together a great slideshow of pictures from the trip. It does a good job of capturing the sense of the trip. Please click here to see the slide show.

Knox enjoying bubbles

2009-05-30T22:01:00.000-07:00

The other morning while Knox was suppose to be eating breakfast, Katie started blowing bubbles. This was Knox first time to play with them. He was so funny! Hope you enjoy the video....http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9YV_roCf1E.

A Month of Craziness...yet again

2009-05-30T21:12:00.000-07:00

I've been telling Nate that I'm ready for our life to be normal for a few days. We have had one of the hardest years with the kids being sick, loss of family members and friends, and then other thingsthat seem to happen at the worst of times.
One of those things occurred a week and a half before our beach trip. The kids and I were eating lunch in the kitchen and I knew we were about to have a bad storm in our area. As we were eating, the rains start and the hail and the wind. Nate calls and asks if our roof was leaking (this is a very normal occurrence b/c the roof is old) and I say no I can't believe it, there's no leaks. Not even 5 minutes later, I hear a loud rush of water in our house and I run room to room to figure out where it is and look in the girls room. There is water gushing out of the ceiling onto Rosalyn's bed and the floor. I get buckets, call Nate in a panic, and Rosalyn comes to the rescue with all the towels she can get. This is the "bubble" as the girls call it that is now on the girls ceiling. We've had much drama associated with this bubble but I won't get into all that.

Oh, and besides our roof being old, the other reason we have this leak is because a raccoon had gotten into our roof and ran around our attic one night. We thought the roofer had fixed the hole in the roof...but he did not!

Thankfully we are getting a new roof this week!!! We are excited even though the noise is really loud!

Another thing this month.....

Katie was diagnosed with Salmonella the day before we leave for the beach. I had called the doctor late Thursday night b/c of some things (too gross to mention on here) going on with her. He was immediately worried and said she may have to go into the hospital that night if she started throwing up and crying in pain for long lengths of time. She was having to go to the bathroom every hour that night so she ended up in bed with us. She had an 8:30 doctor appointment Friday morning. He started Katie on antibiotics that day and we monitored her and her fever. He said we could go on the trip as long as her fever stayed down. So on Saturday morning we left. She was sick til Wednesday but praise the Lord she was okay. Evidently she came into contact with raw meat as we were cooking. She didn't eat it or she would have been alot worse. I've always been cautious with raw meat but now even more so.

So we go to the beach and have fun and get back on Saturday night and on Monday night....

I went out grocery shopping b/c we literally had nothing to eat. As I was driving back home, I was going through an intersection and another car hit me. Yep. I had my first big wreck. I am fine, Nate's car isn't. We think it's totaled though the insurance company hasn't told us only the wrecker man did. I'm still sore and there's things I try to do around the house and realize I still can't but I'm praying to feel better soon.

So as we get a new roof this week we'll also be out looking for a new car.

Beach Trip 2009

2009-05-30T20:41:00.000-07:00

We had a great time at Rosemary Beach again this year with Nate's family. Here are a few pictures of our fun times!

Katie giving Knox a wagon ride through Rosemary

Rosalyn with Cousin Marty -- eating at the Red Bar!

Knox allowed one wave to come to him and I was able to capture the moment. The water was really cold this day!

Rosalyn loved the ocean and sand this year more than ever.

Katie loved the sand. She prefered the pool over the ocean. But still had a great time!

Knox liked the sand but only made it to the beach one day. The other days we tried to take him but the winds were too strong and sand blew all in his eyes.

Rosalyn working on a sand castle.

A pool for Knox so he wouldn't run away from me. Katie really liked to be in there with him!

Architectural Boat Tour Through Chicago

2009-05-13T07:06:00.000-07:00

We had a really good time floating through Chicago, taking in all the amazing architecture. On this particular tour, we cruised out to Lake Michigan and enjoyed panoramic views of the city. This was one of MY favorite things we did!

A Few Chicago Sites

2009-05-11T02:40:00.000-07:00

Since we do not live in a big city, Nate and I enjoyed taking in the huge buildings and the sites around the city. These are just a few of the million pictures Nate took as we walked around the city. I'm sure we'll post many more.

A Trip to Wrigley Field

2009-05-09T18:49:00.000-07:00

Nate and I attended the Gospel Coalition Conference in Chicago a few weeks back. It was the first time we had been together alone for more than 3 days since Rosalyn was born! It was a real treat.

We had the chance the stay a few extra days in the city after the conference. One of the highlights of the trip, especially for Nate, was visiting Wrigley Field, the home of the Chicago Cubs. Here's a few pictures from our time at the ballpark.

Nanna & Pops at Easter

2009-05-08T13:54:00.000-07:00

We finally downloaded a few remaining pictures from Easter, and we ran across this cute, funny one with Nanna and Pops. We just had to share.

Easter at the Shurden House

2009-04-17T12:10:00.000-07:00

Easter Parade and Egg Hunt at Laurel Park

2009-04-13T08:19:00.000-07:00

At Laurel Park in Belhaven last weekend, there was a wonderful Easter parade and egg hunt planned for the kids of Belhaven. This is the first year we participated, but we had a blast. Lots of our neighborhood friends were there, and we met lots of new friends too. We took so many pictures, but I've posted just a few below, so you can "re-live" the experience with us.

Spring Soccer

2009-04-11T19:22:00.000-07:00

We had another great soccer season with Rosalyn. She continues to grow as a player, both in terms of her understanding of the game and her enjoyment of it. Here's a few pictures from our spring season.

Happy Birthday Knox!!

2009-03-31T12:24:00.000-07:00

Knox turned one on February 21st. We had a simple birthday celebration for him this year. We were suppose to travel to Nate's parents and have a party but we thought it best to stay home with Knox being sick. Nevertheless, he enjoyed his breakfast and birthday cake!

Nate was so sweet to cook the birthday breakfast!

(In most of the pictures I took poor Knox had his finger in his ear!)

Special Birthday Boy!

First bites of cake...loved it!

It's hard to believe I have a 5, 3, and 1 year old now!

Breathing Treatments

2009-03-31T12:20:00.000-07:00

Here was sweet little Knox getting his breathing treatments due to having RSV.

A quick update and prayer request

2009-03-01T11:11:00.000-08:00

I would love to be able to sit here and post all the cute pictures of Knox on his first birthday and of the girls but this is just an update on our lives over the past few weeks.

On Feb. 11th, Knox went to the doctor with a runny green nose and deep cough. I thought it was just a bad cold but it was croup. The doctor put him on steroids and cough medecine. He seemed to be doing much better but still had a cough and congestion. (I unfortunately caught his bad cold and still have a cough and some congestion.) So a week later I took him back in, the 18th, and the congestion had settled into his lungs. He now had double ear infections, RSV, and bronchitis. Wow. To say that just blows me away. He was still in pretty good spirits. He wasn't eating well but hadn't been in a few weeks anyway. I would not have expected all this. The doctor told us the signs to look for before we send him to the hospital. So we began breathing treatments for 3 times a day for 5 days, plus antibiotics, pain medicine. This past Wednesday he went back to the doctor and he is all clear and looks good. Praise the Lord. He'll continue breathing treatments for a few more days. Rosalyn came down with sinuisitis but fortunately it was short lived and she's good now.

On Thursday, we got news that my grandmother, my mom's mom, had taken a turn for the worse. She was put on oxygen and was weak. I was able to go to the nursing home and be with her a few hours that day. On Saturday, the Lord took her home to be with Him. She died peacefully and we are so thankful for that. She was a dear sweet lady and the most wonderful grandmother to me. She was diagnosed with Alzheimer's about 4 years ago and had been in the nursing home for a year and half. We'll be having her funeral Monday night and Tuesday morning in Hazelhurst. Then we'll drive to Pulaski, TN to bury her Wednesday morning beside my grandfather. Please pray for my family as we go through this grief and as we travel.

YA Blog Post

2009-02-19T14:08:00.000-08:00

Just a little reflection on how God is using the current economic situation in America to expose sin. Thought y'all might want to see this.

BTW: Keep us in prayer. Little Knox is really sick, and we want him to be better for his birthday on Saturday. Right now it's not looking good. Thanks to all of you who have checked in on us!

Random Family Pictures

2009-02-17T18:30:00.000-08:00

A month or so ago we pulled out the camera for some after church pictures. We finally uploaded them today, and so we thought we'd post them. Hope you enjoy.

Knox's Smile

2009-02-14T11:39:00.000-08:00

We had a beautiful stretch of weather in Jackson last week. It felt just like spring! To celebrate we opened the doors and played outside from morning till night. (We're paying the price now. Our allergies are horrible!)

Anyway, Knox was acting so cute one afternoon when we were enjoying the sun and great temps. He looks so big in these pictures to me.

Cone Christmas

2009-01-30T19:30:00.000-08:00

What a fun time it is when Nana, Pops, and Ellen comes to our house! We had a great Christmas with them.

Thank you Nana, Pops, and Ellen for all the wonderful presents and helping to make Christmas special for us!

Christmas Morning

2009-01-30T19:24:00.000-08:00

I know this is way overdue but I have to go on and finish up on our Christmas pictures. On Christmas day, we have the early morning with just us and the kids and then my family, the Cones, come over mid morning for the rest of the day. This has been the tradition for a few years now and it's been great. Here's a few pics of the kids opening Christmas morning presents.

Nate got some really got pics of Knox. I wish I had time to post them all but here's atleast one.

This is one of my favorite pictures. It was a sweet moment.

I have now completed Christmas posts. I'm sure you are as glad as I am! I haven't even taken any pictures the month of January! Life is crazy...The kids have been sick almost nonstop it seems and last week Nate's grandfather passed away. Nate took on a new position at the church as Minister of Discipleship, as well as being Min. of Young Adults, and he has gotten much busier lately. Knox will be one in a few weeks so you'll be seeing bday pics soon!

The Big Green Egg!!!!

2009-01-06T21:13:00.000-08:00

(1st of 3 posts I did tonight so keep scrolling down!)

Several of Nate's friends got together and gave him a Green Egg for Christmas. He was so surprised and I was so excited for him! He had been looking at them on the internet and talking about it for several weeks. It was very hard for me to keep it a secret that he was getting one.

The egg in the box! (Please ignore the mess in the background.)

I meant to take pictures of us putting it together but I forgot. So this is it assembled.

The only mistake we made was putting the handle on upside down!

He's loving it!

So he got the egg on a Tuesday. That night he made a brisket. Wednesday night, Christmas Eve, he made a turkey. Christmas Day, a ham. And since then there's been a whole chicken and a boston butt! Wow! What a great gift! I'm already loving it!!

Mann Family Christmas

2009-01-06T20:46:00.000-08:00

On the Saturday before Christmas we celebrated with the Mann Family. This is Nate's mom's side of the family. It's usually a huge event with lots of food, presents, and games. Fortunately, the weather was warm this year and the kids were able to play outside for the day.

This was Knox first time playing with a big truck!

Cute pic of Drake!

Aunt Debera getting some Knox time

I know this is a strange picture but I just had to include it. Making sauerkraut balls for Christmas is a tradition in the Mann Family. The first Christmas that Nate and I were dating, I tasted one of these and greatly disliked them. I don't fully understand the love of these things, but they are a must for the Mann's.

Fun on the trampoline...I know, it's not safe for that many to be on at one time. I just didn't look very often. It made me nervous!

Almost all the little cousins - total of 15 I think

Katie and cousin Josie are crazy about makeup and jewelry right now. They were so cute playing together.

Katie painting her toes before the crowd came over

Gotta have that Wii time!

The Shurden Family Christmas

2009-01-06T20:08:00.000-08:00

The Shurden Christmas, with Nate's family, is always a big one and a very exciting time. We went to Laurel the Thursday before Christmas to celebrate with them. We had a great time!

A picture of all the grandkids - Rosalyn, Katie, and Knox with Ethan, their cousin they love!

Knox and Katie enjoying the first present brought out

Nate and Rosalyn hiding behind her presents!

Knox just loving crawling on all the presents. The kids started putting bows on his back. He loved his first Christmas!!

Ethan is so excited too!

Katie was very slow opening her presents this year. She wanted to be sure to look at each one.

Rosalyn relaxing afterwards

Knox is definitely into balls right now!

The 2 people that made Christmas fun and special again - Mom and Dad Shurden

Knox's excitement with a toy that makes music. He loves dancing!

Kids among the opened presents. (notice settlers of catan in the corner!!)

The girls big present was a doll house

Knox first time eating M&M's - thanks, Granny!

Fun in a bag and a box - the all time favorite things to play with, right??

Pathway Cookie Jars

2009-01-03T21:21:00.000-08:00

I'm back!! With the holidays being gone I'm hoping to get the blog up to date. I'll post all our Christmas pics soon but for now I'll show you all the activities leading up to the 25th!

We love hanging out with the Pathway Sunday School Class that Nate has gotten involved with. As a Christmas Project for their class they made Christmas Jars with cookie mix in them.

The assembly line

The completed jars

Knox getting spoiled by one of our friends

Christmas Baking!

2009-01-03T21:18:00.000-08:00

Every year we make Christmas cookies and give them to people. This year we had lots to make and we also made some tiger candy. What does Knox do while the girls and I bake? He was gated in the kitchen, which he was not happy about, and he made the biggest mess with his toys. If you click on the picture of him, you'll notice a cut under his eye. We're not completely sure what happened, but Rosalyn says she scratched him with her fingernail. It was a bad cut and even now, it looks like it may leave a scar.

Christmas Parties!

2009-01-03T21:16:00.000-08:00

We had a great Christmas season this year. It was so fun to go to all the parties with the kids and watch their enjoyment and excitement with Christmas time.

This is a craft party we went to and had a great time. I didn't get a final picture of the craft but the kids made Angel Placemats with their handprints and footprints.

Knox even got to play with all his little friends!

This was another party we went to. The girls decorated lots of cookies and got to play for awhile with some of their good friends.

Rosalyn with one of her sweet friends from church.

Our new camera

2009-01-03T20:59:00.000-08:00

Oh no!! One Saturday morning we were eating breakfast and Knox was being really cute so I go to get the camera to do a video and the camera is broken! So there goes our Saturday. We HAD to run to Best Buy and buy a new camera. Hopefully the pics will be better on the blog! Here are some of the first pics taken.

October and November Happenings

2008-11-26T12:46:00.000-08:00

We are still alive here at the Shurden house. I just haven't made time to update our blog in a VERY long time. I don't have time to upload any pictures right now but we have tons of cute ones to show off but I thought I'd update everyone on the kids.

Knox is now 9 months and is crawling everywhere! We only have 2 small steps in our house but he can get up and down those with no problem and loves to "run" away from me and get into no-no places! He totally understands no already. He'll look at me sometimes just to see if I'll say anything. And it's not a cute look, it's a "I know I shouldn't be doing this but I'm testing my mommy out" look. He is eating some table food now which is so much cheaper than baby food! He loves to make funny faces, do the coughing game, drop toys just to see you pick them up, and loves balls! He gives great big hugs, has deep belly laughs that make anybody around him smile. And just today he said his word "ma-ma"!! It may have been a one time thing at this point but it was precious.

Katie is 3 and her big achievement in October was getting potty trained!! She was so ready to learn so that made it tons more easy on me! She loves not having to wear diapers all day and is such a big girl now. I can't believe I have only 1 child in diapers now! I think that going through 3's is much harder than 2's. Katie has learned how to manipulate others, she's very sneaky at being bad, and she has lots of tantrums. I sure hope she's going through a phase and this will not be her permanant personality. At the same time though, she's loads of fun. She's learning alot of new things. She loves to play games, do puzzles, sing songs, and most of all she says some great prayers.

Rosalyn played soccer the month of October and loved, loved it! She was very timid at first but by the last game she was knocking girls over and wanting the ball all to herself. She did great! She is such a competitor. Since soccer is over, my long hallway has become the soccer field. Rosalyn is a very sweet , sensitive, compassionate little girl. Yet she is also very bossy and wants it her way. I guess that's just being the older child. She also just had the opportunity to sing in church with the children's choir and loved it.

Today we're packing and getting ready to go to our families for Thanksgiving. Rosalyn woke up with the pink eye and we've been to the doctor already this morning. Knox has been sick with a cold for over a week and is finally on antibiotics. Nate and I are still struggling with our colds but surely we'll get better soon. Through all the craziness of sickness and everyday life, we're so thankful for everything the Lord has given to us and has blessed us with. We hope you all have a great Thanksgiving.

Nate's Blogs

2008-11-14T11:36:00.000-08:00

I know we're really far behind on our blog. We have tons of pictures to post, and so much new news to share with all of you. I'm going to try, really try to update things soon.

In the meantime, I want to list a couple of links to Nate's blogs. He has been writing on the FPC blog and the YA blog recently. Check them out and often, since I think he's going to be writing on them pretty often.

Knox rolling

2008-10-19T23:13:00.000-07:00

I know... I'm way behind on blogging. Here's just a few pictures from the month so far!
Knox is trying really hard to crawl. He gets around by rolling all over the floor and by crawling backwards. I am not ready for a crawler and for him to get into the girls stuff but it is so fun to watch him learn new things.

While rolling around he ended up under the coffee table.

Monkey pajamas

2008-10-19T21:11:00.000-07:00

The girls got some monkey pajamas the other day and I thought they were so cute.

Happy 3rd Birthday Katie!!

2008-10-19T20:44:00.000-07:00

Our Katie Noel turned 3 on October 4th! We had a little party for her at our community park. She had a great time. We also got to enjoy Nana and Pops coming on Saturday.

Birthday Streamers!!

Swinging Fun

2008-09-30T20:13:00.000-07:00

We went to the park last week and Knox got to get in the swing for the first time! He loved it. He isn't sitting up by himself yet so he's still wabbly but he enjoyed it!

Rosalyn, Nate Smith, and Knox

Holding on tight...

Katie gets to push him! What a big help.

Soccer Time!

2008-09-30T20:10:00.000-07:00

We have begun a new phase of life in the Shurden family. Rosalyn is now playing soccer! I hear once you start sports and activities, there's no stopping. So we have practice on Thursdays and games on Monday nights. Rosalyn and Nate were able to get some practice time in while we were on the beach. These are some pictures taken from our balcony. (If you click on the pictures you can see them better.)

This is Rosalyn's first soccer game! It's pretty funny to watch 4 year olds play. She had several good kicks that night. We look forward to the rest of the games!

Surprise Beach Trip!

2008-09-25T19:19:00.000-07:00

Nate was suppose to go on a Mission Trip with First Pres on Sept. 13-20 to Bolivia. However, the trip was cancelled the night before he was suppose to leave because of civil uprise in Bolivia. So...we decided to get away as a family for a few days and go to The Beach Club in Gulf Shores. My sister, Ellen, was in town so she went along with us, which was a lot of fun.

This slideshow is of the first afternoon we got there. It was around 5:30 and I thought we would enjoy a nice walk on the beach before supper but before I knew it the girls had jumped in the water and were soaked. As you can tell, they weren't dressed for this but they had the best time! Hurricane Ike hit the week before and there was alot of beach erosion that left little "ponds" that the girls enjoyed playing in.

View Album

Get your own

Knox first time in the ocean!! He loved it!

I love, love, love these pictures of Knox.

The girls went to the playground one afternoon and had fun playing.

Funny Katie

2008-09-23T19:23:00.000-07:00

I was busy cooking supper one evening and Katie decided to get in Knox chair that was in the kitchen. She was pretending to be a baby and Rosalyn would bring her blankets and all sorts of toys to play with. It ended up being a huge mess but they had fun and I got supper cooked.

The dress that Rosalyn has on here was mine when I was a little girl. She loves to wear it almost daily and play in it. And poor Katie doesn't have on any clothes, which is pretty normal too.

Preschool Days

2008-09-23T19:21:00.000-07:00

I'm finally back to blogging!! September has been a busy month so I've got lots of pictures to show off but it may take some time. On Sept. 8th I started preschool with the girls. We decided very last minute not to put Rosalyn back in preschool like she was in last year. She loved going and it was great for her but she started asking to learn to read and do more so I decided to keep her home and work with her. It's a bigger commitment than I thought it would be but it's been fun. These are pictures from the first day.

The girls holding their name cards. I've tried making it as much like a preschool as possible.

Fun snack time - ice cream with pretzels and m&m's

Rosalyn's 5th Birthday Party

2008-09-06T20:22:00.000-07:00

Rosalyn had a Strawberry Shortcake Party and each child wore their favorite dress up clothes. She loves to dress up so I thought this was a great idea for her! At the party, the kids enjoyed playing "Put the jewel on Strawberry Shortcakes Crown", finding strawberries that were hidden in the den, playing in a castle, and running around like crazy kids!! Rosalyn decided about a week before the party that she was going to color strawberries and cut them out and decorate with them. So when you see coloring sheets on the wall, that's Rosalyn's doing! She is very creative.

Happy Birthday Rosalyn!!!

2008-09-06T19:17:00.000-07:00

It is so hard to believe that Rosalyn is 5 years old! What a special day it is to celebrate her life. She woke up to streamers in the doorway, which I do for the kids on their birthdays. Because her birthday was on a Wednesday, we waited to have her party til Friday. Nate and I took her out to Primos for lunch and she opened her presents there. (Unfortunately, I forgot the camera.) We got her a bible and a bean bag toss game. She was so proud to have a "big girl" bible!

Family Pizza Night

2008-09-01T12:24:00.000-07:00

Well it has been too long since I last posted. Perhaps a sign that we are way too busy! I'll catch you all up on a few things that we've been doing.
We had a family night a few weeks ago and decided to make some pizza. The girls love to get their aprons on and bake.

Belhaven Nights

2008-09-01T12:21:00.000-07:00

We had a great time at the Belhaven Nights a few weeks back. We live in the Belhaven community in Jackson and love to participate in the fun things they do in the neighborhood. There was space jumps, face painting, train, jewelry to make and so much more...

The train ride

Knox first train ride!

Katie and daddy

Knox and mommy

Random August Photos

2008-09-01T12:17:00.000-07:00

Rosalyn and Knox. He loves her to hold him!

The girls making salvation bracelets for daddy's upcoming mission trip to Bolivia!

Rosalyn cut up pieces of paper then got some baskets for her and Katie and pretended to be flower girls.

A Lazy Saturday Morning

2008-08-09T12:47:00.001-07:00

The Paci Fairy has come!

2008-07-22T12:04:00.000-07:00

On Sunday night, the 13th, the paci fairy came to our house for Katie's pacifiers. The fairy would be taking her paci to another little boy or girl that needed it. This was a very big deal for us because Katie was very attached to her pacifiers. After supper, Katie began decorating her envelope -- excited and happy about it.

Then came time to put her paci in the envelope...not so excited about it. We had to pry it out of her fingers. Then came the uncontrollable screaming (screeching more like it) and crying and gasping for air. Boy was it dramatic. Monkey seemed to help a little bit.... We walked down to the mailbox and put the envelope in there for the paci fairy. (Screaming begins again.)

She got in bed by 8:30, crying and screaming still. I was catering to her because I knew this was hard for her. She asked for "Mr. Steve's music", which is the "Hide 'em in My Heart" CD's. This is usually not allowed for bedtime but I was at the point of whatever she wanted she could get. And then while still crying, she says "Pray me, mommy, pray me." I then started crying of course. I prayed with her, she laid down, and finally went to sleep around 10:30...with no paci. What a night. This is what Katie woke up and found outside.

She was very excited about the jewelry, small doodle pro, and money that the paci fairy left in exchange for her paci.

I write this one week later. Katie has done great without the paci! There's only been a few times that she has asked for it but it's been when she's really tired. I'm so proud of her!

All 3 together

2008-07-22T11:57:00.000-07:00

We always have a hard time getting all 3 kids to smile and look at the camera at the same time. They all looked precious last Sunday morning so I had to get them all posed. This is the best I got...

July 4th

2008-07-19T13:46:00.000-07:00

The kids and I went out to Twin Lakes to visit with our friends, Tuan and Paula, on July 4th morning. We went to the parade that the counselors put together for the campers and then we had lots of playtime!

Knox new friend, Aubrey Sue! She's precious!

Ethan's Party

2008-07-19T13:30:00.000-07:00

On June 30th, Nate's nephew, Ethan, turned 8 years old. We were able to go to his party and celebrate with him. The party began with all of us going to see the new Wall-E movie and then going to Granny's house for loads of fun on the water slide, in the sprinkler, and visiting with family! This was the first time that Nate's aunts and uncles had met Knox so it was a special time.

And then we end the night by playing Ethan's new Wii!!

Knox Smiles Big!

2008-07-19T13:06:00.000-07:00

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