Trick or Treat

I am finally posting halloween pics of the girls! Rosalyn was a princess and Katie was a fairy. They loved putting the glitter makeup on their face and sticker earrings on. They had the best time trick or treating this year!

It's a BOY!!!!

We found out a few weeks ago that we are expecting a baby boy! We are so excited! When I first told Rosalyn that she would have a brother she was not happy because "boys touch bugs". I told her we'd have to teach this one to not touch them. She was just fine with that and has been excited about the thought of a baby brother. Katie doesn't seem to understand but points to my belly when we ask her where's the baby? Both the girls are at really fun stages right now and I think they'll do great with the baby. We're now praying that the rest of the pregnancy goes well and that we'll have a healthy boy come March 9th!

Daddy & Katie Time

One of the things I look forward to the most is spending time with my girls. There is nothing like coming home, walking through the door, and hearing "Daddy" being yelled from various corners of our home. The other night Katie and I spent some time reading through a couple of her favorite books while Christy grabbed the camera and snapped a few pictures.

The Whole Family

Just before we left for the night, Granny snapped a quick one of the whole family with the bright lights of the fair in the background.

Mississippi State Fair

We had a great time at the MS State Fair this year! The girls rode tons of rides, had a blast at the petting zoo, ate some delicious food, and enjoyed a thrilling performance at the circus. We look forward to it every year. It's just a shame it only comes once a year!

Pumpkin Picking

As a special event to do with our family for Katie's birthday, we went to the Ag Museum for Family Pumpkin Picking! We enjoyed a hayride, a haystack maze, and picking just the right pumpkin to bring home!

Katie's Birthday

Here's a few fun pictures of Katie's big birthday. It was fun to have Granny, Papa, Nanny, and Pops visit and celebrate with us. Believe it or not, she's two years old! My how time flies...!

Riding Horses

We were out at Twin Lakes earlier this month for the annual FPC Labor Day Picnic. It's always a fun time with friends and a great way to meet new folk. As always, they had a lot of fun things for the kids to do. Here's two pictures of Rosalyn and Katie riding horses.

Pigtails

Too cute...

A Most Precious Gift

Our very good friends, Ned & Barb Currie, gave us the most precious gift after church this evening--a watercolor painting of our house! Isn't it beautiful? We've been humbled by Ned and Barb's many expressions of love and generosity to us. We're blessed to call them friends.

Still More Beach Pictures

More Beach Pictures

Beach Trip 2007

Every year we escape to the beach for a few days, and it is always a great time for us to enjoy one another, recharge, and get perspective for the rest of the year. This year was no different. Over the next few days I'll be posting more pics from our trip.

Here's two pics to get us started...

Rosalyn's 4th Birthday!

Birthdays in the Shurden household are like Jewish weddings in at least two ways: they cost a lot and they last forever. For instance, Rosalyn's birthday was yesterday, Sept. 3rd, but we've been celebrating for a solid week. Her first party (that's right; there's more than one) was at the beach during our vacation. Papa, Granny, Andrea, and Ethan joined us for the fun as we painted sea shells, pinned (or didn't) the tail on the donkey, opened gifts, and ate lots of cake and ice cream. Her second party was yesterday with Pops and Nana where we went fishing, rode our new bike, and ate lots of our favorite kind of cake, ice cream cake! Now really, can you get too much of a good thing? We're partying like there's no tomorrow!

Here's a variety of pictures from both parties...

Ordination

On August 19th, during the evening service at FPC Jackson, Nate was properly ordained (as they say) as a minister of the gospel in the Presbyterian Church in America. It was a wonderful service filled with many sweet memories. Bill Smith, father of Jeremy Smith, preached the ordination service. Ligon Duncan gave the charge to the congregation and Derek Thomas gave the charge to the ministers. Other men who played a role on the commission and in the service were Bebo Elkin, Guy Waters, Brad Mercer, Calvin Smith, and David Cleland.

We are thankful that many of our family and friends were able to join us and much of the corporate body at FPC Jackson. We missed all of you who couldn't be here, especially our friends from Franklin. All of you have been so important to us, and we miss you deeply. We have not forgot that it was you who first encouraged us to take this step, and it has been your loving care of us that has kept us going. We hope to see all of you soon!

Again, thanks to all of you who have prayed for us and supported us through the last four years. We're very thankful for the grace of God that has been our foundation every step of the way. Keep praying, as Nate begins his work at FPC. If initial impressions are any guide, this will be a busy season of ministry...!