Babies Everywhere...

Rosalyn has never been too much of a girly girl when it came to dolls. No matter how hard we tried it seemed other things intersted her more. Well, everything just changed. Early last week, She pranced into the living room and announced that she was "having a baby," and she had one of her baby dolls tucked under her shirt (if you look at the picture closely, you'll see the little feet poking out from under her shirt). About five minutes later she "had the baby" in her bedroom and brought her out for the world to see! Needless to say, it was a momentous occasion.

What could you do? We smiled...

Drama Queen

If there's one drama queen in our family, it's Rosalyn. That's up for debate of course, because each of the ladies in the Shurden household have a way of making a whole lot out of, well, nothing... It makes for a pretty exciting time.

But if anyone is is able to bring a dramatic flare to all of life, Rosalyn is the girl. Here's a few poses from one of her latest "performances." Break a leg!

Insight

This last Sunday night we hosted "Insight" at our house. For those of you who don't know, Insight is one of the many youth programs at FPC Jackson. It is a fun time of food, fun, singing, Bible teaching, and fellowship for all the youth of the church and many in the community.

We're learning what it takes to pull off these big events. This is the second 40+ gathering we've had, and so far so good. Before we moved, we weren't in a situation where we could host a good number of folk. Now that we've moved to a little bigger place, the doors are open wide. It's a lot of fun (and a lot of work!), but we're so happy to have the room to do it.

Play Time

Here's two recent pictures of Nate and I playing on our living room floor with Katie. What fun we have!

Vacation: It Can't Get Here Fast Enough

We're so ready for vacation! Usually we go sometime near the end of May or the first of June, but since Nate had ordination exams, we've had to put it off. Now, we're aiming for the end of August. But that doesn't mean we're not already preparing! Rosalyn is here sporting her new beach hat. You can't see it, but it has a little hole in the back for her pony tail. She's pretty excited about that!

Blueberry Cobbler...Yum!

It was so nice to be able to enjoy a Friday night at home together as a family. It seems like we've been running ninety-to-nothing of late, and our time around the dinner table has been very rare indeed. So, after a very enjoyable Taco Salad (if I do say so myself!), we dug into a fresh, homemade blueberry cobbler. Maybe it's just me, but it sure seems like Katie approved!

Funny Girl

Katie is in a big time dress up phase. She particularly likes clothes that either I or Nate wear. In the picture below, she's sporting Nate's Titans hat and shoes. The toothbrush, however, is hers (thank the Lord!)

Sleep Tight...

Some very sweet folk at FPC gave us a "gently used" bedroom suit that we're using in our guest room. The girls have enjoyed the two single beds that came with the suit, spending hours playing house and "sleeping." Here's a cute pick of them "waking up" from some good (pretend!) rest.

Learning to Swim

It's a big summer at our house. Rosalyn is taking her first set of swimming lessons with our good friend Amy Morgan. It's been fun see her take to the water like a fish, and to see her learn how to hold her breath, float on her back, jump in from the side, etc. She's not quite "swimming" yet, but it won't be long at this rate.

And you know what's funny? Our little Katie thinks she can swim now too, since "Big Sis" can. In the bathtub tonight, she was kicking and paddling. Too cute!

Fun With Granny & Papa

One of the blessings of sticking around Jackson after seminary is being close to family. The girls love their grandparents, and it's always a good time when we get to spend time together. Here's a cute picture with Granny & Papa.

Sittin' Pretty

A cute pick of Nana and Katie enjoying the day on our new front porch

RTS Graduation

We've been in seminary at RTS Jackson for the last four years, where Nate has been working on his Master of Divinity degree. As almost any seminary graduate will tell you, seminary is a "best of times, worst of times" experience. It is a wonderful-difficult season, where trusting God for daily needs is not just a neat Biblical idea but a reality. It's this lesson the Lord has been teaching us, even though we've been very slow to learn it! As Nate and I look back over our time at seminary, with all its joys and sorrows, we believe this is the most important lesson of all.

One of the great things about seminary is the friends you make and the memories you share together. This is a picture of all the MDiv graduates at RTS Jackson this year.

1716 Myrtle Street

This is our new house! We moved in on May 8th. We are still trying to unpack boxes, but it's looking more like a home each day. We have a guest bedroom now, so if anyone wants to come visit us, we'd love to see you!

Last Day of Work for Christy

I have been keeping little Nate for almost 3 years and the time has come to an end. (My last day was actually the end of April but I'm finally blogging about it.) I began keeping him when he was 5 weeks old. He and Rosalyn have become the best of friends. We are sad to see the time end but the good news is that we'll still see him and he and Rosalyn will still play together. His parents were in seminary just like us and now his dad will be a pastor at First Pres with Nate. Oh, and now he has a beautiful little sister, Ava! I hope her and Katie will become great friends too!

Moving!

We moved just over two weeks ago into our new home in Belhaven, just around the corner from First Pres. But before we did, we lived in a gigantic sea of boxes at our townhome in Clinton, MS, for weeks! As you know, moving is never easy, but the girls were able to find creative ways to get by. Boxes were (and still are, since we're still unpacking) some of their favorite "toys" during the move. Doesn't take much to entertain these silly girls!

Up & Running Again

Hey everyone! So sorry we haven't been able to post new pictures or updates to our blog in a while. As many of you know, we bought a house two weeks ago at the same time Nate was graduating from seminary. So, we've been in transition, and one of the things we lost for a while was the internet. Well, we're finally back up and running, and I will plan to post more regularly again.

To the right is a picture of the girls at Nate's cousin's wedding a couple of weeks back.

Just Katie

Nate and I are always so amazed at how different our girls are! They are their own girls, and all of you who know them well can vouch for it. I was uploading a few new pics, and I ran across these cute poses from Katie, who is (by the way) 19 months today!

We All Scream For Ice Cream

Ice cream is one our family's favorite desserts, and as you probably know, it always tastes better in the spring and summer. This evening after supper we whipped (no pun intended!) by our favorite ice cream place for a cool treat.




How sweet it is!

A Spring Picnic (Just Us Girls!)

Spring time is among my favorite times of the year. On top of bringing back so many childhood memories, the weather is just too nice to be inside all the time! Even when we're inside, our windows are open, so we can enjoy the temperatures and hear the birds sing their spring-time songs.

The other day we picked up some Chick-fil-A and spread a blanket on the ground for a picnic. The girls had such fun (and so did I). What could be better on a day like that?!

More Mynelle Garden Pictures