Shurden Family Christmas

We just arrived back from a big time at the Shurden family Christmas in Laurel, MS. What a great, crazy time we had! We're looking forward to a nice little Christmas at our own house tomorrow morning with the Cone clan. It will be nice to start some traditions of our own!


Merry Christmas to all of you!

Holiday Baking

Each holiday we experiment a little in the kitchen. This year, so far, we've tried our hand at several new soups, some new appetizers, and a delicious new bread pudding recipe! Good eatin' at the Shurden house! Would've never made it without Rosalyn's help though. She's turning into a perfect little Betty Crocker!

Beautiful Fall Leaves

We had a beautiful fall this year. We were amazed at all the different colors of the leaves and how long it seemed to last. I let the girls play in a big pile of leaves and they had a blast! I just had to share the pics with you.

Cute Girls!

I love to match the girls whenever I can. I thought they looked adorable in these dresses. Katie didn't want her picture taken but we managed to get at least one of them together! Thanks Aunt Andrea for the dresses!!

Decorating the Tree

Rosalyn and Katie were really big helpers with decorating the tree! Katie preferred to take the ornaments off as soon as they were put on. It's been so fun to watch Rosalyn learn and understand about Christmas this year. What an exciting time!

Christmas Tree Fun

We had a lot of fun this year going to pick out our Christmas Tree. The girls enjoyed looking at all the big Christmas displays at the store. Here are a few pics of our time.

The Past 2 Weeks

I know it's been too long since we last wrote so I thought I'd catch you all up on the past 2 weeks of our life. I wish I could say our life has been slow and boring but it's been quite crazy for awhile. It seems like ever since Katie was born we've been exchanging colds. Once one of us gets better another person gets sick, if we're not all sick at the same time. It's been so unusual because Nate is never sick and this year he's had several colds and one trip to the doctor.
November has been really wild. Katie got her 1 year immunization shots the end of October. She got an upper respiratory infection with a deep cough 2 days later and was on antibiotics for a week. On Nov. 11, we noticed Katie getting a rash on her arm and hands. She had been in the wind and cold that morning so I just that she was wind chapped. She woke up crying at 4:30 am and when I looked at her face, the rash was all over it and her eyes swollen. I took off her pants and she had huge hives all over her. We took her downstairs and she began throwing up. We got really scared. We rushed her to the ER and the doctor told us it was a viral infection coming out through her skin. She should begin throwing up more and have a high temperature. Well, we waited for this to occur but nothing happened. By Sunday noon she was completely covered head to toe in hives but was in great spirits. I was giving her Benadryl and that would help the hives go down a little. I finally called my doctor and she told me it was a reaction to the MMR(measles, mumps, rebuella) immunization she had recieved. What a huge relief! I was imagining some of the worse things. She is all better now. Oh and she is now walking! It's been so fun to watch her learn and become more confident each day!
Okay, so we had taken Katie to the ER on a Saturday night and she had the rash til Wednesday. Meanwhile, Nate gets in his truck on Monday morning and the face of his CD player is on his seat. Someone had broken into his truck during the night. On Wednesday night, the robbers decided to come back and take the CD player. It is so frustrating. We have had several car break-ins occur while we've lived here. My car has been broken into twice. The seminary put up a gate around the townhomes, but apparently they haven't worked to well. I will be glad to move to someplace a little safer soon!
We're now packing and getting ready to visit family for Thanksgiving. It will be nice to see everyone and hopefully relax a little. The girls love to see there grandparents. And the good news is that no one is sick right now. How exciting! I hope you all have a great Thanksgiving and are able to thank God for the many, many blessings in your life!

Holiday Cookies

One of the best things about the holidays is the food we enjoy, especially the sweets! With a little help from Mom, Rosalyn whipped up a batch of sugar cookies that rivaled even her Aunt Andrea's prize-winning recipe. The cookies were in the shape of pumpkins with orange icing. A perfect treat for harvest time.

Trick Or Treat

All Hallows Eve was a lot of fun this year with the girls. Rosalyn enjoyed being the princess that she is, and Katie was a Titan's cheerleader, which is pretty close to being a princess, right? The Smith family joined us for the event, and together we enjoyed a night of fun and lots of candy. What else could a kid ask for?

More Shurden Family Reunion Pictures

We took so many pictures at the reunion this past weekend that one blog post simply wouldn't do. Here are some other, "fun with the whole family" shots. Enjoy!

Shurden Family Reunion

We had a great time at Twin Lakes this past weekend with the whole Shurden clan. Thankfully, the weather was wonderful, and we were able to spend most of our time outside. Fishing, canoeing, and disc golf were among our favorite outdoor activities. The kids loved the playground, especially the big slide and the swinging bridge. We're already looking forward to next year!

Titans Win!

The wait has been long, but we finally have something to cheer about. Against all odds, the Tennessee Titans pulled off their first win of the season, besting the Washington Redskins by three points.

The smiles say it all.

Science Museum

Nate was on Fall Break this week so we were able to do more things with him. On Friday, we went to the Science Museum. Rosalyn loves it there. There's lots of fish, turtles, and alligators that she just can't get enough of. It's so fun to watch her light up at everything she sees. This pic was taken on the Nature Trail Walk. It was a beautiful day!

Mississippi State Fair

We had such a great time at the State Fair this year. We were so excited to be able to go with Granny, Aunt Andrea, Ethan, Aunt Debera, and Cousin Marty. Rosalyn rode some rides that I couldn't believe she would even think of getting on. We also went to the circus that was there and both Rosalyn and Katie loved it! We've taken Rosalyn to the fair every year and it's been alot of fun to watch her grow to love the rides!

Katie is 1!!!

Katie had so much fun at her 1st birthday party. She loved eating her cake, playing with bubbles, and trying out her new bike! Nana and Pops, Granny, and Aunt Ellen were able to come and celebrate with us! What a special day!

Katie's Many Loves

Katie loves to sit in Rosalyn's toddler bed and play....

She loves to swing outside and feel the wind blow her hair....

To rock in her rocking chair....

And to push the bike.

This is one of her favorite faces to make...It's one that she learned at Pop's birthday party, which is where she also got the balloon that has become a fun, fun toy for her.

Nate's Busy Life

I'm going to take time today to let everyone know what Nate is doing. Some of you have emailed and asked so I thought I could take the spotlight off the girls for today and put it on Nate!

• Nate is currently in his 4th year of seminary and it's his last year! He's working on his Masters of Divinity with an emphasis in Counseling. He is the President of Student Body this year, against his better judgement.
• He is the Christian Education Intern at First Presbyterian Church in Jackson. He gets to teach Sunday School each week, every quarter with a new class, which he loves to do. On Wednesday nights, he leads a discipleship group through the book Peacemakers for Families. We've just started this last week but the group seems great and we're excited about it.
• As another part time job, Nate writes for an online magazine. He writes lots of book reviews and some cutural critiques. We'd love for you all to go to the site and check it out. It's www.reformation21.org and his latest book review is at http://www.reformation21.org/Shelf_Life/Shelf_Life/231/vobId__4111/. There's alot of wonderful men that write for this magazine.

So as you can tell, he is a busy man. But he really enjoys everything he does. Teaching, writing, and learning.....what better way to describe the things that Nate loves!

Cute Pics of Katie!!

Katie is 11 months old today!! She has gotten so big so fast. This morning she woke up with her first 2 teeth! We didn't think that they ever come in. She has been fussy for so long. Time has really gone by fast with the second child!

Visiting Great-Grandmother

I thought this pic was adorable. This is my (Christy's) grandmother who has Alzheimer's and does not talk at all. She is such a dear lady and I'm so thankful that my children have the chance to know her.

A Special Message

When we got home on Monday evening, our friends, Kurt and Marty had wrote this on our carport. Rosalyn was so excited.

Rosalyn is 3!!

Rosalyn celebrated her 3rd birthday yesterday! I can not believe she is already 3. She had a great time at her party. We invited a few friends and they all colored, fingerpainted, and had fun with a bubble machine.

Rosalyn coloring with sidewalk chalk


All the fingerpaint sheets hanging to dry


Rosalyn loving her cupcake!


Kids playing with bubbles


Rosalyn concentrating very hard on coloring

Aunt Andrea's Rabbits

Rosalyn and Katie have fallen in love with Nate's sisters rabbits, Gracie and Patches. Katie laughes so loud and they go up to her and give her little kisses. Rosalyn loves them and talks about them all the time.