HAPPY BIRTHDAY JASON!!!

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

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

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

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)

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

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!!!

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

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????

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

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

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

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

CHRISTMAS O8

BRADY AND SANTA

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

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

FINGER UPDATE

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

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

DEAR SANTA.....

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

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

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

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!!

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

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

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.