Shell Family Fun

EMMA LOST A TOOTH!!!!

2009-04-14T12:59:00.003-05:00

Emma lost her 1st tooth this past week at school, and when I say lost it, she really lost it!!!! She was holding her backpack in her mouth by the strap and evidently it pulled the tooth out! They searched the floor and I've searched the backpack, and we can't find it!!! So.......we decided to just write the tooth fairy a letter. Emma was so upset thinking this was not going to work and she just knew the tooth fairy wasn't going to bring her any money. Can you imagine the surprise in her eyes when she looked under her pillow and found 5 Dollars!!!!!!! What joy!!!!!!

This is the copy of the letter she wrote. It says, "Tooth Fairy, I'm sorry I lost my tooth. Can you still give me money!!!"

Too Cute!

WHAT HAVE WE BEEN UP TO??????

2009-04-09T12:30:00.002-05:00

I know it's been a while since I posted, but life at our house has been really busy!!! There's just not much time for blogging.

I think I have gotten most all of the important things on here now! I'll try to do better with keeping this updated, but I can't make any promises!

Hope you enjoy! We sure did!

BRADY'S 1ST BIRTHDAY

2009-04-09T11:50:00.005-05:00

We celebrated Brady's 1st birthday this past weekend! I can't believe it's been 1 year since he was born! Time has really gone by fast!
Brady is growing and changing so much each day! He is such a sweet little boy!

Brady, on the day that we brought him home from the hospital!

DISNEY WORLD

2009-04-09T11:47:00.002-05:00

During Spring Break, we took a trip to Disney! All I can say is.....WONDERFUL!!!! This was the best vacation we have ever been on! It was very tiring, but we had a blast!!!! I'm already thinking about next year's trip!! Yes, we loved it so much we are going again!!!!

I have more pictures posted on my facebook page. If you want to see them, send me a friend request!

CHOCOLATE CREME OREO COOKIE

2009-04-09T11:42:00.002-05:00

As Brady's 1st birthday approached, I began to loosen up a little about what he could eat! I gave him a Great Value chocolate creme filled cookie (generic oreo) and as you can see from the pictures......HE LOVED IT!!! I don't feed them to him too often, but I do let him have one a couple of times a week. He also loves the plain butter cookies (what I call Bible School Cookies), and the good thing with them....they aren't messy!

BRADY'S 1ST HAIRCUT

2009-04-09T11:38:00.002-05:00

I know you are supposed to wait until after their 1st birthday for the 1st haircut, but I couldn't stand it any longer! Brady's hair was getting so long it was hanging over his ears and he looked like he needed a bow on the top, so we got it cut! Ms. Julie did a wonderful job! Jason was out of town, so Papa got to do the honors of holding him! Gotta love that Papa...he's such a good sport!

HIP HOP DIVA

2009-04-09T11:32:00.003-05:00

Brady's Baby Dedication

2009-04-09T11:26:00.002-05:00

On the last Sunday in February we had Brady's baby dedication! It was a joyous day to have our dearest family members worship with us. We committed ourselves to raising Brady in a Godly home, just as we did with Emma when she was born. Our prayer is that we can be Godly examples in the lives of our children!

VALENTINE GETAWAY

2009-04-09T11:22:00.003-05:00

Jason surprised me with weekend getaway to the beach for Valentine's day! We went with our dear friends and had a wonderful time! We shopped, ate, played cards and relaxed with NO kids!! I love my children, but it was very nice to have some time away from them.

I was so proud of my husband! It was a wonderful weekend!

FATHER/DAUGHTER DANCE

2009-04-09T11:19:00.003-05:00

Jason and Emma attended the 1st annual Father/Daughter dance at the school in early February. Emma enjoyed getting to dress up and go on a "date" with her daddy! They had the best time, and from what they said it was VERY crowded! Maybe they will do it again next year!

PEDICURE

2009-04-09T11:17:00.003-05:00

I took Emma for her 1st Pedicure on the day of the Father/Daughter dance! She wasn't sure about it to begin with, but by the end, she LOVED it! She wanted to bring the massage chair home with us!!

SNOW MOUNTAIN

2009-03-31T12:02:00.002-05:00

In late January we took a trip to Snow Mountain at Stone Mountain National Park in Georgia! It was lot's of fun! We had a blast tubing and once Emma realized it was ok for her to do it by herself, she had a great time too!

FINISHED PRODUCT

2009-03-31T11:58:00.003-05:00

These are our finished products from our trip to Groovy Gallery! Everything turned out WAY better than I had expected!! Can't wait for our next painting adventure!!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JASON!!!

2009-02-06T20:35:00.002-05:00

I want to wish my dear husband a very happy birthday! He is 33 years old today! I am so thankful to God for sending this wonderful man into my life! There is a contemporary Christian song that says, "When God made you, he must have been thinking about me"! That is so true with us! I just hope and pray that we are able to celebrate many more birthdays together!!

We love you, Jason!!!

EATING CRACKERS

2009-02-03T10:49:00.003-05:00

Our big boy has started feeding himself a few little things! He loves to eat crackers and cheerios! He enjoys watching Lucy as she waits below his highchair to see what she will get to eat next. It's too cute!

GROOVY GALLERY

2009-02-03T10:43:00.002-05:00

We went to Groovy Gallery a couple of weeks ago and had a blast. I had never been before, but had heard everyone talk about it. Well, now I am hooked!! I spent a fortune because Emma was having such a good time that she kept wanting to paint more and more! We had the place to ourselves! It was really nice. I have picked up our "masterpieces", but haven't made pictures of them yet. I'll post those later.

We did a plate with Brady's footprint! He wasn't real sure about this!
Mom and Emma painting together! What fun!!

Emma painting her 1st piece. She painted a horse, a hat and a vase! They turned out so cute! She was really excited!

FRIDAY'S FAVORITES

2009-01-23T11:00:00.002-05:00

Another blogger that I read has recently started doing Friday's Favorites, where she posts her 5 Favorite things from the week. I thought I would give it a try and see how it turns out. If you'd like, feel free to comment and post your 5 Favorite things from this past week or even blog about them on your blog! Hope you all had a great week and hope you have a great weekend!

1. GROOVY GALLERY - This was wonderful! Emma was out of school on Monday so she and I went and painted what I like to call "our masterpieces". We had such a great time! I will pick them up tomorrow, so look for more posts on that.

2. Wii Fit - I love my Wii Fit! I try to exercise with it daily, but sometimes that doesn't happen. It is fun and I'm actually motivated to do it!

3. Bible Study - Sunday nights session with Beth Moore was Great. Our study is Esther, It's tough Being a Woman. This week's topic is It's tough being a woman in A MEAN WORLD. We do live in a mean world and we do live around people who are just mean!! My goal is to make sure that I'm not the MEAN lady that everyone talks about!

4. Mom's Visit - My dad is out of town this week and so is my dear hubby, so my mom has spent the week with us. Of course, the week was busy, but it's always nice to have good company when Jason is gone.

5. Friends - We have enjoyed playing Rook with some of our dear friends over the past few weekends. It's becoming a regular weekend event. We love it! It gives us an opportunity for adult conversation and fun and the kids have an opportunity to play together as well!

(These are in random order, no order of importance)

2009-01-16T14:57:00.002-05:00

We have decided to take a family trip to Disney World during Spring Break of this year. We've had the trip booked for a while now, but had not told Emma for fear of her driving us absolutely crazy wanting to know how many days until we leave...you know kindof like "are we there yet?"

We finally decided to tell her yesterday. We bought her some new luggage and I made us a little something to countdown by. She is so excited knowing that some of our dearest friends will be going with us!!! I can't wait! I have been to Disney before, but it was year's ago. Jason has never been. It will be a good trip!!!

BABY IT'S COLD OUTSIDE

2009-01-16T14:39:00.003-05:00

Of all the nights to leave the house and go out for dinner, we chose last night, the COLDEST night that we've had thus far!!! The kids loved getting all bundled up! We had a good dinner and managed to stay warm!!!

TIRED!!!

2009-01-16T14:36:00.004-05:00

School absolutely wipes Emma out! There are many afternoons that she comes straight home from school and has to crash! Our sweet little animals always love to lay on or around her when she's napping! Aren't they sweet???

BLAH JANUARY

2009-01-14T17:35:00.002-05:00

There will probably not be many posts on here during January simply because it is such a blah month. There is no real reason to take pictures unless they are just of random things and usually those random things aren't worth sharing. My camera usually sits still from Christmas until Jason's Birthday (Feb. 6). But please keep checking because you never know when something real exciting might happen and I will get a chance to post.

PLUS, I have to admit I have a new obscession right now that is taking priority over my blogging.....FACEBOOK! I am addicted and stay on it as much as I can when I'm not tending to or playing with children. I have been in contact with so many people that I haven't even seen since High School, plus I get to keep up with things that are going on in the lives of all of my friends (close or not). It's really neat. If you have checked it out, I highly recommend it!

www.facebook.com

AM I CRAZY OR WHAT????

2009-01-14T17:29:00.002-05:00

OK, here goes.....yes, I was a runner in high school, but have not done much if any running since I graduated. I have been convinced by a dear friend of mine to run a 5K, yes a 5K. Now that sounds bad, but it is actually only 3.1 miles. I say ONLY because I know lot's of people who are running half and full marathons right now, so 3.1 miles doesn't seem that bad... Unless, you haven't ran in 10+ years. BUT, I know that I can do this and I am more determined than ever to train and accomplish this goal that I have set for myself. I think it will be fun, challenging and once finished very rewarding. I am hoping that I can even convince Jason to do this with me. What fun that would be! Wish me luck!!!! I'll keep you posted on my progress!

BRADY'S "LITTLE OLD MAN" PAJAMAS

2009-01-14T17:26:00.003-05:00

Jason's grandmother bought Brady the cutest little set of PJ's for Christmas. We call them his "little old man" pajamas. Isn't he such a cutie????? He really is a bundle of smiles and laughs 99% of the time. I look back now and wonder why it took us so long to decide to have this child. He is such a blessing to us!

IMAGINATION PLACE

2009-01-14T17:16:00.003-05:00

While the kids were out of school for Christmas holidays, Angela and I took the girls to the Imagination Place at the Cultural Arts Center in Gadsden. I had heard of this place before but never been. It was so neat. It is an indoor playland where the kids get to do "adult things". The day we went, we were the only people there for about 2 hours and the girls had a blast. There was a grocery store, bank, doctor's office, vet's office, grandma's house, construction zone, and even a small area for Brady to play!

Sommer, Emma and Chloe at the Construction Zone

Emma playing in the firesuit

Brady wasn't sure about the whole deal!

Emma and Chloe shopping and working at the grocery store!

Of course, no day is complete without a trip to the Golden Arches!!

CHRISTMAS O8

2009-01-14T17:09:00.002-05:00

We had a wonderful Christmas! It seems like all of December was spent traveling, eating, opening gifts, and just having a great time with friends and family! Santa was great to all of us! Can't wait to do it again next year!

(Pictures in the next 2 posts)

CHRISTMAS O8

2009-01-14T17:06:00.004-05:00

CHRISTMAS O8

2009-01-14T17:02:00.003-05:00

BRADY AND SANTA

2008-12-30T17:52:00.002-05:00

During all of the holiday events, we did manage to have Brady's picture taken with Santa! We chose to take the pictures ourselves because they charge you a fortune! In all of the pics, Brady's little tummy was shining so brightly, so thanks to Jason Faulkner for his editing abilities to pull down the shirt!

FINAL FINGER UPDATE

2008-12-30T17:50:00.001-05:00

Emma's nail has finally come off! The finger is officially on the way to being healed! Praise the Lord!!!

FINGER UPDATE

2008-12-17T17:33:00.002-05:00

Here are some update pictures of Emma's finger that she shut in the car door about a month ago! It is healing very well and looks so much better. I was a little anxious about how good it would look after it healed, but it is looking really good! She still wears a bandaid on it at all times, and says it still hurts on occasion! Once the nail falls off, I think we can drop the bandaids (hopefully)!

Shell Family Fun

2008-12-16T11:53:00.001-05:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

DEAR SANTA.....

2008-12-16T11:03:00.005-05:00

Here it is, our 1st official letter to Santa! Emma wrote every part of this letter, with my help in spelling the words! It took us a while to accomplish this, but once finished, she was thrilled!!

Just in case you can't read it, it says:

Dear Santa, I have been a good girl this year. Please bring me a little blue baby, and a play cash register, a Wii Video game, and a toy puppy that grows. Thank you very much. I will leave snacks for you and your reindeer. Emma Claire Shell

PTO CHRISTMAS PERFORMANCE

2008-12-16T10:33:00.005-05:00

Emma's class participated in the PTO Christmas Special last Tuesday night and they did a FANTASTIC job! The teachers and students put a lot of hard work and practice into this program and it was truely a delight to watch!! They sang some traditional Christmas music and then they sang a couple of songs that they have learned in school! Emma's WONDERFUL teacher, Mrs. Barclift! I can't say enough good things about this lady! She has helped us to have an awesome Kindergarten experience! I highly recommend her to any of you who have children headed to Kindergarten next year! She goes above and beyond the call of duty!!

Emma is so excited about her first performance at school! She is just beaming as she enters the room and spots her group of family who wouldn't have missed this occasion for anything in the world!
"JINGLE BELLS"

"HE SEES YOU WHEN YOU'RE SLEEPING"

TOO CUTE!!!

SANTA MAKES AN APPEARANCE

2008-12-16T10:28:00.002-05:00

Santa Claus made an appearance at our dance Christmas party last week! I was a little nervous about how Emma was going to respond to him this year. She has never been a fan of "the strange man who comes in our house while we are sleeping". Of course, she always likes the gifts that he brings, but wants no part of sitting, talking or being near him!

Our little girl is growing up though, and LOVES Santa this year!!! YEAH!!! She has already had 2 opportunities to sit and talk with him and hasn't been the least bit afraid! She can't wait for Brady to get a chance to sit with Santa! I guess we will be venturing out to a mall or some holiday event this weekend! More pictures later!

HIP HOP DANCING

2008-12-16T10:17:00.003-05:00

Last Monday night at dance, we were allowed to sit in the class and watch as our "little divas" performed their dances. They are in the process of learning 2 hip hop dances, and the girls are really doing an excellent job!

Emma has just the right attitude and just enough spunk in her to be a great hip hop dancer! We are so proud of her!

LOOK AT THAT FACE!!

2008-12-16T10:13:00.003-05:00

These pictures were just so cute that I had to post them! Brady has the biggest, brown eyes, and they look so cute with his ORANGE nose. He will only eat the orange vegetable baby foods, so for now we deal with an orange nose!

He is such a sweet baby boy!!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

2008-11-26T16:10:00.004-05:00

I have so much to be thankful for and these 3 are at the top of my list! God has blessed our family beyond anything that we could have ever asked for! Thanksgiving is a time to reflect on our lives and to give thanks for all that the Lord has done and for what He is going to do!! I thank the Lord daily for good health, good family and friends, and most importantly for His grace and mercy!We hope that you and your families have a very Happy Thanksgiving!!

TAKING A BREAK

2008-11-26T16:06:00.005-05:00

Emma has certainly enjoyed being out of school this week. We have been busy visiting with family that we haven't seen in a while, and catching up on playdates that we have missed out on since school started. Today, we had a casual morning at home, and Emma chose to get comfy and watch a few cartoons.

EMMA'S CHRISTMAS TREE

2008-11-26T15:59:00.005-05:00

One of the many projects that Emma and I wanted to accomplish this week while she was out of school was to get our Christmas decorations up. With all of the hustle and bustle of trying to visit with family and friends, we only managed to get Emma's tree decorated. In her mind, we are now ready for Christmas! She wanted her tree in the bonus room, so now she is a little concerned that Santa might not know where her tree is! I assured her that Santa knew EXACTLY where her tree was! I have enjoyed watching her rearrange the ornaments on her tree each time she looks at it!

This indeed is the MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR!!!

FALL

2008-11-10T13:14:00.002-05:00

I love Fall!!! The changing colors this year seem to be so vibrant! The scenery on the drive to Huntsville right now is just beautiful! I am totally amazed at how anyone could look outside right now and see all of the beauty that surrounds them, and still not believe in the God of this earth!

BEST SHOES IN THE WORLD

2008-11-10T11:34:00.003-05:00

SAUCONY ORIGINALS COURAGEOUS

Crazy Post, I know, but I just have to let you all know how I feel about these shoes!!

In my opinion, these are the ABSOLUTE BEST SHOES IN THE WORLD!!!

These are the only tennis shoes that I have worn for about the last 8 - 10 years.

I wore my last pair for 4 years and could not find this shoe at any stores between here and the Florida Coast. Destin even has a Saucony outlet, and they didn't have them. So I had given up hope on getting another pair. My others were completely worn out, with holes in the insoles and no sole left whatsoever.

FINALLY, I found them. I ordered this new pair from www.zappos.com. They are just as comfortable as I wanted them to be!

JASON HAS A NEW JOB!!!!

2008-11-10T11:28:00.002-05:00

PRAISE THE LORD! This is such an answered prayer for us!

Jason started his new job with Keystone Foods today! This has been a work in progress for several months now, and the wait is finally over. He will be the Director of Product Development for one of their accounts. We are so excited about this opportunity!

EMERGENCY ROOM TRIP

2008-11-10T11:11:00.002-05:00

After a casual and fun morning at The Christmas Village in Birmingham Friday, my afternoon turned into a complete panic!

As we are driving back, I get a phone call from Jason, "Get home as quick as you can. Emma has shut her finger in my car door and it's bad." "How bad?" I asked. "Just Hurry!"

I hear Emma in the background screaming histerically, and I can sense the fear in Jason's voice.

Of course, once I get home, he has calmed her down, and she WILL NOT let me look at her finger or touch it. He tries to tell me what it looks like in his most graphic way and we both feel she needs to have it checked out. After much coaxing and calming reassurance, we take her to MMCN Emergency room. My baby is absolutely scared to death at this point.

The doctor and staff at the ER were WONDERFUL!!! They took such great care of Emma and really helped to calm her anxieties about everything.

The ER doctor really wanted to go ahead and cut out her fingernail and do stitches, but he felt that would be way too traumatic for all of us, so he used steri-strips on the cut. The tip of her bone is also broken.

I didn't see her finger until we were at the hospital. I am so thankful that we went ahead and took her over there. She is very fortunate that she even has the tip of her finger right now.

We will follow up with Dr. Chupp this week to see what else needs to be done.

GO AUBURN!

2008-10-23T11:55:00.003-05:00

Yes, I know this may not be the best season that Auburn has ever had, but we are still pulling for them. Brady is ready to root them on to a victory tonight! Jason couldn't let football season go by without his baby boy having something Auburn to wear! I'm just glad it got cool enough for him to wear it before the season was over. Maybe he'll be their good luck charm tonight!!

Ha ha ha!

SUPER STAR STUDENT

2008-10-23T10:21:00.002-05:00

Emma received her second STAR STUDENT award this week for filling her card! I'm not sure what all they get stickers for but this is something that is very important to her. She gives us an update quite often by letting us know how many rows she has filled, and how many more stars she needs. Once her card is full she gets this award, and also gets to go to the TREASURE CHEST! How fun! Emma is doing great in school! We are so thankful for Mrs. Barclift. She has been wonderful for Emma and she makes learning so much fun!!!

CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP

2008-10-23T10:00:00.007-05:00

Several of my "blogger friends" are posting recipes to their blogs right now, so I thought I would join in the fun!!! I thought it was appropriate to post this recipe today because; 1. it is perfect soup weather outside, and 2. I am cooking it tonight for dinner so I have the recipe out!! Lisa Spence brought this wonderful soup to us when we came home from having Brady! My entire family LOVES it! If you are a soup lover, you should give it a try! Hope you enjoy!

Chicken Noodle Soup

1 Whole Chicken or several chicken breasts

12 oz can pet milk

2 cans broccoli cheese soup

1 stick butter

onion

1 Package wide egg noodles

salt and pepper

Boil chicken with salt and onion.

(I put chicken breasts in crock pot, cover with canned broth or water, onion, salt and pepper, and cook until tender).

Debone the chicken (or shred if using breasts), straining and reserving broth.

Put broth in stock pot, add chicken, 12 oz. pet milk, 2 cans broccoli cheese soup, a stick of butter, salt and pepper.

Add more water.

Bring to a boil, add one package of wide egg noodles and simmer until noodles are done.

6 MONTH UPDATE

2008-10-21T16:59:00.003-05:00

Brady is now a little over 6 months old! At his check-up, he weighed 18lbs. and 13 oz. and was 29 in. long! Yes, he is a big boy!!! As a matter of fact, they said he is the size of the average

10 1/2 month old!! He is growing and changing so much! He is just about to master sitting up by himself and he loves to walk in the walker! This little fellow is such a blessing to our family!

Emma absolutely adores him and he delights at the sight of her! Life doesn't get any better than this!!

2008-10-16T21:31:00.002-05:00

Jason and I went with our dear friends Jason and Angela Faulkner this past weekend to Huntsville for a night out with no children! We enjoyed a FABULOUS dinner at Micato Japanese Steakhouse and then we watched the movie Fireproof.
This is a WONDERFUL movie! We were all in tears! It is so touching! I highly recommend all married couples see this movie!

PUMPKIN CARVING

2008-10-16T21:27:00.002-05:00

After our trip to the pumpkin patch, Emma couldn't wait to get home for her daddy to carve our pumpkins! She had to get them carved that night! So, after dinner, we enjoyed carving pumpkins together! She helped by drawing the faces so Jason could cut them out. She also scooped most of the yucky stuff out of the pumpkins! We have been lighting them up at night for a week now, and I think we will probably be carving pumpkins again before Halloween. These are just about to collapse!

EMMA'S 1ST FIELD TRIP

2008-10-16T21:19:00.001-05:00

Emma and I have now been on our first "real school" field trip! Last week, half of the kindergarten classes ventured over to Tate Farms Pumpkin Patch! It was WONDERFUL! It was a cool and rainy day, but we didn't let that stop us from enjoying our trip. The kids (and parents) had a great time!! This place had so much for the kids to do! We were all absolutely exhausted at the end of the day! Emma is in a great class this year! The kids all behaved so well!

HOMECOMING 2008

2008-10-16T20:45:00.002-05:00

Even though "mini-me's" have been quite a disappointment to me, Emma is having a blast! They were in the Homecoming parade and Emma was thrilled to get to ride in the back of a truck on the main road. She was concerned about it at first, but once we reassured her that it was ok, and even what they wanted you to do, she was fine with it! The week ended with the ballgame on Friday night! Emma's little corsage was too cute! I didn't even know they made them that small!

PRECIOUS LITTLE ONE!

2008-10-16T20:34:00.002-05:00

I love taking pictures, so there are many days that I just play around with Brady and the camera! I think sometimes I get some really good shots. It helps so much that he is happy and cooperative! I love this little man!
The orange nose is because he will only eat the orange vegetable baby foods, so I guess he'll just have to have an orange tint to him for a while!

"UNCLE" KYLE VISITS

2008-09-18T10:58:00.014-05:00

Our dear friend, Kyle, stopped by for a visit this week while in town for business! It was so nice to see him. We had not seen him in over 2 years, but Jason keeps in touch with him almost on a daily basis. He was still living here when we had Emma, so she grew up with us calling him "Uncle Kyle". He has recently married so we are looking forward to the day that he has children of his own!!

LITTLE DIVAS HIP HOP

2008-09-18T10:58:00.011-05:00

Emma is taking the "Little Divas" Hip Hop Dance Class this year! She LOVES it! We contemplated tap/ballet, but after much discussion we decided to let her take this. She loves to dance and has such a spunky little attitude with it! They are dancing to songs from "Alvin and the Chipmunks". It's really cute!

BITER BISCUIT

2008-09-18T10:58:00.007-05:00

Brady has 2 teeth and is trying to cut more now! He will chew on anything that you give him or anything that he can get his hands on. I decided to try some of the biter biscuits to see how he would do with them. He THOROUGHLY enjoyed it, but would get mad at times when he just couldn't get it in the right spot! These things are super messy!

Oh so good!!!

MY MEN

2008-09-18T10:58:00.002-05:00

Jason occasionally escapes to the bonus room for what we call "man tv" time, a.k.a anything besides Disney Channel. He will often take Brady so that they can spend quality "man time" together. This has become a big joke in our house! I'm so thankful that I have a husband who is willing to spend time with his children!

GRANDPARENTS DAY

2008-09-11T10:29:00.002-05:00

Yesterday was Grandparents Day at Emma's school. Emma was so excited that her grandparents were able to come and visit with her at school. She had made some very cute things to give to each grandparent and they all received a "#1 Grandparent badge".

(pictured from left Pop, Mima, Nanna, Mimac, Mimi) My dad and Jason's Nonna were not able to be there because of work and sickness.

I am so thankful that Emma has such loving grandparents and that she still has great-grandparents around to enjoy!
God has blessed us with a wonderful family!!!

OPENING DAY OF DOVE SEASON

2008-09-06T19:01:00.002-05:00

Today was opening day of Dove Season! We spent the day at Angela's parents house! We had a wonderful lunch and then the men were off to hunt! The girls stayed back at the house and played and Brady slept! We had such a great time!!

DADDY AND HIS FUTURE HUNTERS!!

SOCCER SEASON BEGINS!!!

2008-09-06T18:54:00.002-05:00

Emma is playing soccer this year! Today was our first practice/game. The girls did really well! Emma was exhausted afterwards. Soccer will definitely be good exercise for her because they pretty much run for 1 hour straight! Jason is going to try and build her a soccer net so that we can work with her at home!

EMMA'S FAN CLUB

We were so excited for Emma's 1st soccer game! She was thrilled that her family and some friends came to watch!

Thanks everyone for joining us bright and early this morning! We appreciate your support!

1st FOOTBALL GAME

2008-09-06T18:47:00.004-05:00

Tonight was Emma's first night as a "Mini-me" cheerleader! She didn't have a uniform because they are on backorder, but hopefully they will be in before the season is over. I'll post more pictures in the uniform. She did a wonderful job even though she was extremely nervous!

This part of the game was fun for her, and she enjoyed the halftime show, but she DID NOT LIKE the screaming and shouting of the fans! I think she spent most of the game with her ears covered!!!

EMMA, KELSEY AND SOMMER
HELLO TO THE OPPOSING TEAM

We are so proud of our little girl!!

LABOR DAY WEEKEND

2008-09-04T17:00:00.002-05:00

We spent Labor Day weekend with my family at my aunt and uncle's house in Tennessee! We always enjoy getting to spend time with them whether it be at their house, here or on vacation at the beach!
We had a great time on this trip! I spent most of the day Saturday in bed with a sick headache, but felt much better on Sunday and was able to enjoy the rest of the trip. We ventured over to my cousins place on the lake on Sunday and had so much fun!
Emma had a blast riding Seth's 4-wheeler, and then swimming and riding jet ski's at the lake! She tried tubing behind the jet ski, but that scared her tremendously, even with me holding onto her!
Brady has a good time wherever he's at and with whatever he's doing! He is such an easy baby! He took his 1st boatride and his 1st swim in the lake!
We even convinced my mom to ride the jet ski!!! I think she actually enjoyed it!
We had such a great time and can't wait until we are able to get together with family again!

GROWING AND CHANGING SO FAST

2008-09-04T16:38:00.002-05:00

Brady sleeps so well! 99% of the time we don't even have to rock him, when he's sleepy, he falls asleep. TOO CUTE!
MY SWEET BABY BOY!!!
Jason is making this boy absolutely rotten... and he's loving every minute of it!!!

I'M BACK

2008-08-15T12:17:00.002-05:00

Hello everyone! I'm back to blogging! My baby girl started to school this week, so I have MUCH more time on may hands now. Jason is already asking me if I'm bored!!! I don't think I'll be bored considering Brady is growing and changing so fast! He'll be demanding more of my attention soon, but for now, I can use some time to blog and maybe even scrapbook!! I'm so excited!

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL

2008-08-15T12:02:00.005-05:00

My baby girl started to kindergarten yesterday! She and I both did very well, very few tears! As bad as I hate to say this, I think we were both ready for this day! She is very mature and is ready to get out from under mommy's wing! I know this will be a great experience for her.

One of our friends is her teacher so I think everything will work out just fine!

BEFORE SCHOOL

Emma was so thrilled to get to wear her new outfit on the 1st day of school! (she had been begging to wear it since the day I bought it, but I was afraid she would ruin it)

Emma picked out her "CAMP ROCK" backpack and snack box! She loves the Jonas Brothers!

I didn't argue, this shows her personality and I knew it would make her happy!

AT SCHOOL

After walking her into the school, she went right to her chair and sat down to color! I think she was a little nervous and didn't want to look at me for fear of crying, but we both held it together. I teared up a little as we were leaving the school!

AFTER SCHOOL

Emma was completely exhausted after school! It was all that Jason and I could do to keep her awake. The good thing was that I had everything done that I needed to do so I was able so spend all evening doing anything that she wanted. We played in the driveway, jumped on the trampoline, and then we all went for a bike ride/walk around the neighborhood! It was a nice evening of quality family time!

ICE SKATING

2008-08-15T11:53:00.003-05:00

Emma has been wanting to go ice skating for some time now! My mom and I took her on Saturday as fun day outing before the start of school!

SHE LOVED IT!

She skated briefly with the walker, but then was ready to go at it on her own! I was so proud of her! She did so good! Of course I had to skate with her. It wore me out! My ankles hurt for days afterwards, but it was well worth it! We had such a great time!

We will definitely do this again sometime!

BRADY AND EMMA

2008-08-15T11:47:00.003-05:00

Emma is beginning to really enjoy having her brother around! She plays with him and entertains him so much! Brady absolutely loves her! He just has to see her and he gives the biggest smile!

SWEET BOY

2008-08-15T11:41:00.003-05:00

Oh how we love our little boy! He is such a joy!

Brady now weighs 17 pounds and he is 26 in. long! He has 2 teeth!

He is a happy little boy and his eyes light up at the sight of his big sister!

FIRST FOOD

2008-08-15T11:37:00.003-05:00

Brady started eating baby food last week! We started off with green beans....BAD CHOICE! He doesn't like the green vegetables, but he LOVES the orange ones! We can't feed him fast enough!

FUTURE CHEERLEADER

2008-08-15T10:23:00.003-05:00

Emma attended the high school cheerleading clinic this summer! She was our little superstar!

She only wants to dance and cheer now! If music is on, she is dancing!

This fall she will be cheering with the Mini-me cheerleaders at the high school football games!

We are so excited!!

For those of you who know me, you know that this would not have been my choice of activity for my daughter. But when it comes to Emma, I don't make her choices! She can do whatever activity that she wants as long as it makes her happy!! If she is happy, then mommy is happy!

SUMMER BEACH TRIPS

2008-08-15T10:13:00.004-05:00

Our family loves the beach! We were able to take 2 trips to the beach this summer and we all had a blast! Emma thinks she is a mermaid and sometimes I believe it! She would live in the water at home or the beach if we would let her!

Brady enjoyed his time at the beach too! He was so content with whatever we did!

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY

2008-06-19T13:55:00.003-05:00

I am so blessed to be married to such a wonderful man! I always knew he was a great husband, but he is such a wonderful father to our children! I am thankful that he works so hard to allow me to stay at home with our kids!

We had a wonderful Father's Day! We spent the morning at church, then had a leisurely afternoon lunch and visit with Jason's dad and his family, and finally we enjoyed spending time with my dad and family at our house for dinner!

We are blessed to have both of our dad's in our lives! They are great father's and terrific granddads!

GOD'S BEAUTY

2008-06-19T13:45:00.003-05:00

These are actual pictures that we have taken in the late afternoons of the past few weeks!

I love the sky! I love to look at clouds and watch the sunset!

God's creation is such a magnificent thing! This is just a constant reminder to me of the awesome God that we serve!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY EMMA!

2008-06-19T10:38:00.005-05:00

Our Baby Girl, excuse me, Our Big Girl celebrated her 5th birthday in May!! I can't believe that she is 5 and will be starting Kindergarten in the fall! She will always be mommy's baby girl no matter how old she is!!

Emma wanted a swimming party this year so we waited until June and had a pool party at the rec. center! This was the best birthday party that we have had! She had such a great time and I think all of her friends enjoyed themselves too!

WOW! HE IS CHANGING SO FAST!

2008-06-19T10:30:00.003-05:00

Brady is growing and changing so fast! He is 11 weeks old this week and he is such a big boy!!

He weighed 12 lbs, 10 oz and was 24 in. long at his 2 month check-up. We had a few weeks that were really tough, but he is adjusted now and doing wonderful! We are still waiting for him to sleep through the night consistently! Ha Ha Ha!

We are so blessed to have our 2 healthy children! I thank God daily for letting us have these little ones!

POSTING MAY BE SLOW

2008-04-18T13:39:00.002-05:00

I will try my best to keep the blog updated, if only with pictures. My time on the computer is very limited right now, but one day soon, we will get adjusted to life with 2 and I will be more diligent in keeping things updated.

BRADY IS HERE!!!

2008-04-18T13:32:00.003-05:00

Brady is here! He is very healthy and such a good baby! Emma loves being a big sister and is such a big help to us. She doesn't quite like it though that she has to now share the attention, but I know she will soon adjust to that!

We are so blessed!

BRADY UPDATE!!

2008-02-20T21:50:00.003-05:00

Unless we go into labor before this, Brady will be born on Monday, March 31st at 7:15 a.m.

Hooray!!!!

JANUARY SNOW

2008-02-20T17:20:00.003-05:00

Yea!!! It finally snowed a little here in our area! This is the 1st real snow that Emma has seen (so sad since she is almost 5)!! She was recuperating from a horrible stomach virus, but we had to let her go out and at least run around for a little bit, considering this would probably be the only snow we see this year! She enjoyed it, but was still too weak to actually play outside in such cold weather!

WE ARE ALIVE!!!

2008-02-20T17:15:00.002-05:00

Hey everyone! I just wanted to let you know that we are alive and all is finally well at the Shell household!! We did some traveling through the Christmas holidays, and I'm just being lazy about posting those pictures so now I probably won't. Also, January came and brought all sorts of sickness to us, so we don't have many pictures to post from January! Hopefully we are all on the mend and now we are anxiouxly awaiting the arrival of Brady!!! I hope to be more on my toes about posting in the upcoming weeks, but I am growing larger and much more weary, so bear with me!!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

2007-12-10T10:53:00.000-05:00

WE WISH YOU ALL A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS AND THE HAPPIEST OF NEW YEARS IN 2008!!!

WE LOVE YOU ALL!!

OUR CHRISTMAS ANGEL!!!

IT'S BEGINNING TO LOOK A LOT LIKE CHRISTMAS!!

2007-12-10T10:47:00.001-05:00

I have had such a great time decorating our new house for Christmas this year! Emma has been lot's of help in decorating! She loves our tree's and the stockings for some reason are probably her favorite decoration! We have so far managed to keep the animals from tearing everything down!!!

I put this smaller tree in the foyer so that you could at least see from the road that we had decorated, plus it is a great tree to display all of Emma's ornaments that she made at school last year, plus the one's that we are collecting this year! These are the best ornaments of all!

We call this our "fun tree"!

2007-12-10T10:40:00.000-05:00

We ventured over to Stone Mountain again this year with the Glassco's for "A Stone Mountain Christmas". This is so much fun, especially for the girls, but it is getting to be so crowded that you spend most of your time waiting in line. We did have a great time though. We took time this year to ride the ducks....Mrs. Laura, this was sooo much fun!!!! We also rode the train around the mountain which stopped at some point and did a wonderful presentation of the Christmas story. Many times at secular holiday events, they don't bother to share the true meaning of Christmas. The girls visited with the snow angel, made cookies in Mrs. Claus's Kitchen, wrote letters to Santa, and made bags of food to leave out for Santa's reindeer. We enjoyed seeing the millions of beautiful lights that they had displayed. There were lot's of other things to do, but the girls were exhausted before we could finish.

BREAKFAST WITH SANTA

2007-12-10T10:20:00.000-05:00

We had breakfast with Santa a few weeks ago at Emma's school! Most of the children were thrilled to get to see Santa and tell him their Christmas wishes, but not our little Emma. She wanted nothing to do with him that day, nor any other time that we have seen him this season. We have even discussed having Santa leave her presents on the front porch because she doesn't like the idea of this "strange man' coming inside her house while she sleeps!!!
Emma's dear friend: Maddie, McKinley, and Macey Glassco

Now these girls are all about Santa!!
Emma was very excited that Macey came to breakfast! Macey is in kindergarten this year, but her mommy checked her in late so that she could take part in this special day!

OUR BABIES

2007-11-27T23:07:00.001-05:00

Emma is such an animal lover! We now have 2 cats and Lucy. The gray cat showed up at the house as we were moving in, and we just couldn't turn it away! He and Lucy have become pretty good friends. Poor Sassy still prefers to be left alone, so we just let her do her own thing. As far as the other 2, they are right under us all of the time!

THANKSGIVING IN TENNESSEE

2007-11-27T22:55:00.000-05:00

After celebrating Thanksgiving with Jason's family, we ventured to Tennessee for the Thanksgiving holidays! We had such a great weekend with my family! Emma was so excited to get to play with her cousin, Seth! We shopped, ate, played, and then ate some more! Even though it was soooo cold, we allowed the kids to play outside briefly each day! Emma had a blast climbing trees, rolling in the leaves, and of course riding horses. I have a feeling she is going to love having a brother around!
Oh yeah, we watched a couple of good football games too! WAAAARRRRRR EAGLE!!!!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

2007-11-27T22:28:00.000-05:00

WE HOPE YOU ALL HAD A WONDERFUL THANKSGIVING! WE HAVE SO MANY THINGS TO BE THANKFUL FOR: OUR FAMILIES, OUR BEAUTIFUL HEALTHY CHILDREN, OUR FRIENDS, GOOD HEALTH, GOOD JOBS, WARM HOMES AND THE LIST GOES ON! GOD HAS BLESSED ALL OF US BEYOND ANYTHING THAT WE DESERVE! I THANK GOD DAILY FOR ALL OF THE BLESSINGS IN MY LIFE!

FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO READ THIS, YOU ARE A FRIEND AND A BLESSING IN MY LIFE!

THANKSGIVING FEAST

2007-11-27T09:43:00.000-05:00

Emma's preschool class hosted a Thanksgiving Feast for all of the family to attend. Emma was so excited that someone other than mom would be able to attend with her. She was very glad to see her Daddy, Mimi, and Nanna! Mrs. Brooks and Mrs. Walls do such a wonderful job with these children. It was such a joy to watch them sing songs of Thanksgiving and to see how much they had learned about the very 1st Thanksgiving Feast! They were all so cute dressed up as Pilgrims and Indians!
They served turkey, muffins, nuts, popcorn, grapes, apples, raisins and juice in order to show the children what the 1st Thanksgiving Feast was like. Needless to say, we had to make a trip to Los Arcos following the feast!

IT'S A BOY!!!

2007-11-15T10:47:00.000-05:00

As most of you know, we had our ultrasound yesterday, and we are indeed having a little boy! If we don't change our minds between now and delivery, his name will be Brady Alexander!!

WELCOME HANNAH GRACE!!!

2007-11-15T10:39:00.000-05:00

CONGRATULATIONS ALAN AND SHERREE!!!

HANNAH GRACE IS JUST BEAUTIFUL!

Hannah Grace is the beautiful daughter of Alan and Sherree Trammell! She was born on October 9th, in Birmingham!

Emma, Mima, and Hannah Graace

Emma was tickled to death to get to see the new baby!
Emma, Mima, Hannah Grace and Big Brother Hudson
3 of Mima's Great-Grand Children

EMMA AND HUDSON

2007-11-15T10:34:00.001-05:00

Jason's cousin's family from Hawaii have been here for most of the year. We haven't had the opportunity to visit with them much, but when we do get together, Emma and Hudson have such a great time together! We can't wait until they are back closer so we can visit more often.

Emma and Hudson riding on one of Pop's horses!
Emma and Hudson playing construction zone!!!

SLEEPOVER

2007-11-15T10:22:00.001-05:00

Emma had the Glassco girls over a few weeks ago for a spend the night party! The girls had such a great time! Little girls are sooooo silly!!!! Mckinley ended up not spending the night, and it took Emma and Macy forever to go to sleep, but isn't that what sleepover's are all about???

EMMA AND MACEY
MCKINLEY AND LUCY

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

2007-11-11T11:17:00.000-05:00

Emma really enjoyed Halloween this year. She had several different costumes, but chose to be a vampire! We trick or treated at a few places and then came back home to see what was happening in our neighborhood. We had been told by our neighbor that this was the place to be on Halloween. If you saw from the pictures, he went all out in decorating, and by dark, he even had more things than that. The neighborhood was full of people, kids and adults. They were coming in by the truckloads!! It was absolutely wild!! Emma thought it was the coolest thing ever!!
They said that last year they handed out candy to over 400 kids, and I'm sure they probably did that or better this year! I will now know what to expect for the upcoming years!!

CONGRATULATIONS APRIL!!!

2007-11-11T11:02:00.000-05:00

One of my very best friends from High School, April Lusk, is getting married in November. I attended a shower for her a couple of weekends ago. It was so wonderful to see some of the girls that I haven't seen in a long while. We had the best time laughing and talking about things both from the past and present.

I am so excited for April! She has been so patient in trying to find the right man for her life. I believe that her patience has paid off and God has blessed her with the perfect man!!! She is soooo happy, and she just glows from the inside out!

What a wonderful day!!

Jessica Wylie, April Lusk, Melissa Shell, Jennifer Thomas

We were the best of friends through high school and college. We have all gone our separate ways since then, but it is always nice when we get a chance to be together!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ADDISON!!

2007-11-11T10:55:00.001-05:00

Addison is one of Emma's friends from preschool! She had a costume party for her birthday/Halloween! She is such a cute little girl and her parents are extremely sweet!
The party was so much fun! All of the kids had a great time!

Emma, Grace Ann, and Addison

SILLY GIRLS!!!
Emma got a set of vampire teeth from the goody back that she received at the party! She was so excited about this. She still wears them on occasion!

EMMA'S 1ST FIELD TRIP

2007-11-03T19:18:00.000-05:00

We went on a field trip with Emma's preschool a few weeks ago. They visited the city fire department, police department, mayor's office and a local branch of Regions Bank. The kids loved the fire and police departments, but the other two were not too interesting to them. I am so thankful that I get the opportunity to be with Emma during these special events.
Grace Ann and McKinley are 2 of Emma's closest friends. It is so neat that Grace Ann and Emma go to school together, because we are also neighbors. The 2 of them are almost inseparable!!! They are too cute!

HUNTER'S BAND DEBUT

2007-11-03T19:04:00.001-05:00

My nephew, Hunter(2nd from left), is in the Jr. High band this year at his school. His first performance was to march in the Homecoming Parade. We were all so excited to see him marching! Their band was/is REALLY GOOD! It was quite surprising considering that they all just started playing.

PUMPKIN PATCH VISIT

2007-10-29T13:36:00.000-05:00

We took a trip over to the Pumpkin Patch a couple of weekends ago. The weather was beautiful and we had a great day! There were tons of things to do: inflatable jumpers, face painting, bungee jumper, horseback rides, petting zoo, hay rides, and of course, the pumpkin patch! Emma had her first funnel cake and enjoyed it thoroughly!! We had so much fun, and Emma was exhausted at the end of the day!

HELLO EVERYONE!!

2007-10-23T10:30:00.000-05:00

Hey Everyone! Sorry for no posts lately, but we are in the process of moving into the house, and getting it ready (cleaning, painting, decorating, etc.). Things have been extremely crazy, but I have been taking pictures, so I will update as soon as I can!!! Keep checking back because I could update any day now!!! Love to all!!!!

OUR NEW HOUSE

2007-09-27T19:37:00.000-05:00

We closed on our house last Friday, but won't be moving in for another couple of weeks! We gave the people plenty of time to get out, plus we have to do some painting! (Emma wants a pink bedroom, not a blue one)!

Once we get in, I will post some more pictures, but this is a start!!!

HORSE LESSONS

2007-09-27T19:27:00.000-05:00

Emma has started taking horse lessons again here in town! She is loving being able to ride again! The lady giving her lessons says that she is really good, especially for a 4 year old! We are all excited about this!! I hope that she will continue to like riding horses! It is such a joy to watch her!