Christmas is Coming Soon

 Jonathan took me to the North Pole!  Well, Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge really.  We had fun looking around with no kids. 

 We even had a meal by the fire.  It was excellent food!

 Regan ran in her first 5K.  It was a cold rainy morning, but they all did great in the Jingle Bell run!

 Santa was there, too.  He was supposed to be in a Santa chase after the race, but they decided it was to rainy, so he just talked to all the kids.

 Emily and Regan crossing the finish line together.  Fun memories.

 Lauren was there cheering on Auntie Em.  We needed some hot chocolate afterward.

 We got home and found that they were setting up for a parade.  The start line was just on the other side of our house.  The kids had so much fun watching and got tons of candy just standing in the driveway.

 

 We celebrated Christmas with Marsha and Judy.  The kids had so much fun having them over and opening presents. 

 As you can see, Lauren and Katherine are right there when someone is opening a gift.  They don't want to miss anything.

 Benjamin got a Hot Wheels Track and has had a blast with it.  He even has his sisters intrigued :)

 Grandkids with Mamaw and Papaw

 We went to Columbia, Tennessee, to visit Granddad and Mammy.  I never knew this street was right down the street from where I grew up.  So cool.

 Hanging out at in the living room watching Granddad's big screen tv...lots of Christmas movies, Hallmark shows, singing-offs, and Disney Channel.

 Little Bit decided that this was the best spot to sit because she could get her back scratched.  Smart Girl :)

Granddad and Regan also got to celebrate their birthday together!  Regan missed Granddad's birthday by 7 minutes.  They technically get to celebrate on the same day when we are overseas because of the time difference :) 

50 Reasons Why I Love Jonathan David Sheddan

50. I love the way you look at me.  It's as if you are falling in love with me for the very first time.
49. I love to see you play with the kids.
48. The way you laugh during movies.  It is so much fun to watch them with you.
47. Your passion for God and for following Him.
46. The way you randomly sing broadway musicals to me in public.
45. The way you make everyone around you laugh.
44. That you make our bed every morning so that it looks nice the next time I walk into the room.
43. I love that you are an incredible cook and are passing those skills down to some little chefs in the house.
42. I love your honesty.
41. I love that you let me kid you about being "a foreigner"
40. I love to hear you reading stories to the kids.
39. I love that I can just look at you and you know exactly what I am thinking.
38. I love your random thoughts that leads to random stories.  There is never a dull moment.
37. Your never ending support.  How you help with the house, the kids, and whatever it is to lessen stress in our life.
36. For the way your brain thinks so differently than mine, so that you can explain things in a completely new way to our kids when it comes to things like Math.
35. For how good you are about always telling me how much you love me and for writing special notes to me.  It is not my strong suit, so my list is not nearly as clever as something you would have done. :)
34. For all the wonderful adventures we have shared together.
33. For your knowledge of the Word and how you can find whatever it is I am looking for in a matter of seconds...or at least it seems that way.
32. For always getting back up at night to find the one annoying little light that is keeping me awake at night....hence earning myself the name "warrior women and the curse of the non-dark" compliments of my sweetie
31. How you call me "Sweetie"
30. How you let me drive everywhere. I like that.
29. I love that you used to work at Kohl's and can fold a shirt like it came out of a package!  It's quite a talent.
28. How you do "Helicopter and Hummingbird" with the two little girls.  It won't be long until they are too big.
27. How you teach our son to be a gentleman.
26. I love to hear you tell me about all the grand places you will take me some day.  It's fun to dream with you.
25. I love watching NCIS with you every week.  We don't watch many things, but I sure do enjoy that one.
24. How you help me get the kids in bed at night.
23. How you help me start each school day but either teaching the first class while I drop off two kids at school or other way around.
22. For giving me the umbrella when it's raining.
21. For modeling a strong marriage for our kids.
20. For the way you talk to recordings and people on tv who can't hear a word you say.
19. For letting me "steal" your new phone so much the past 6 months, to the point that the kids come to me first if they are looking for it :)
18. For surprises.  I like surprises.
17. I love all the little jokes that you tell that you think are so funny, but makes me smile anyways.
16. I love that you radiate heat. It helps with the electric bill in the winter when you let me warm my hands up on your arm.
15. I love to hear you talk to kids about all the places you've lived and quote your RA motto.
14. I love the dimple on your chin when you smile.
13. When you laugh so loud that it startles everyone.
12. For the way you brag on me to others and lift me up.
11. I love to hear you sing.
10. For your heart and the way I see you serve others.
9. For the way you get so nervous before you speak in public and always do great.
8. I love how you are SO detail oriented....you really should take up editing as a side job. ;)
7. I love that you love shopping. I enjoy having someone to shop/window shop with.
6. For your mad comparison grocery shopping skills. I don't have the patience to figure out all the places to go and what to buy where. I'm sure you have saved us lots of money.
5. I love that you cry at Field of Dreams and that you let me tease you about liking Julia Roberts movies :)
4. For playing basketball with the kids.
3. For putting God first in your life and teaching your family to do the same.
2. Even though we got married at one of the busiest times of years, you always make Dec 15 a special day.
1. I love that I am your first and only girlfriend. I look forward to many many more years together. Happy 12th Anniversary! I love you!

December...here we go :)

December had a great start!  The kids got to go to the movies with Emily and Mamaw and Papaw.  They saw Frozen while Jonathan and I went on a date.  Woohoo!  Everyone was happy and had so much fun!

 Regan had her 10th birthday party.  It's hard to believe that she is ten!  Well, almost.  She had an American Girl birthday and all her friends brought their dolls to the party with them. 

 One happy girl to finally get some boots!  She is already a size 9 in shoes!

 This was our last minute cookie cake.  We had ordered an American Girl Cake topper with that was personalized and had Caroline on it (the doll she really wants to get), but it did not come in on time.  We had a tracking number and saw that it got to Knoxville on Tuesday but got on a truck to Virginia before heading back to Knoxville on Saturday. So Friday we ran down to the mall and ordered a snowman! I think it turned out pretty cute. 

 Happy Birthday to you...

 We also got to be in town for one of my favorite nights of the year.  It was the Night of Worship, an hour of Christmas songs and singing.  I loved every minute!

 Our good friends, Marsh and Judy, came to pick up Regan one day to teach her how to paint with oil paints.  Her painting looked great!

 We traveled to South Carolina to celebrate Christmas with Grandmommy.

 pure excitement :)

 wearing her new scarf

 showing off his new shirt

 so happy to get a gymnastics shirt

 a new picture frame

 Grandmommy got her straw dispenser

 We drove through a park and saw tons of lights.

 Half way through we stopped to do some of the activities, including a train ride to see more lights.

 Just waiting for the train to go.

 I got to share a seat with Little Bit

 All the kids got to try to climb to the top of this rock wall.  Lauren did not get much higher than this.  All the other kids did a great job, too, but only ONE made it all the way to the top to ring the bell....

 ...Katherine!!!  Way to go!

 We roasted marshmallows.

We spent some time with Grandmommy and her new dog as well.  The kids enjoyed throwing a ball for her to fetch.  She was great at fetching but not always so good about bringing it back to you! :)

Thanksgiving 2013

We are thankful for so many things this year!  We were able to spend Thanksgiving week with family and friends.  We started our trip in Columbia with Granddad and Mammy, a trip to Mississippi, back to Tennessee, to Atlanta to spend a few days with Aunt Kim, then to Uncle Mikey and Aunt Shelby, back to Knoxville to spend time with Grandmommy and Mamaw and Papaw and Auntie Em, and some time with best friends. 
The kids helped start the tree at Granddad's house.  They were really excited!

While in Atlanta with Aunt Kim and the cousins, we went panning for gold and panning for gems. 

Yes, these are my twelve year old nephews!  I guess I got the short genes in the family ;)

Brett, Ashley, and Josh before we left

Lauren and her cousin Paige

Michael and Shelby (and baby Ryan)

Justin, Caleb, Tyler, Peyton, and Paige

We left Atlanta a day early because they were calling for snow.  I really can't believe we got snow the day before Thanksgiving!  It was the one thing on the kids "to do in America" list that I thought they would not get.  All I can say is that I had four super excited and happy kiddos.  They all wanted to make their own snowman.

Lauren's snowman was a bit smaller than the others but super cute :)

I just love how their personalities show up in their snowmen.

Yes, we got to play some, too!

Regan and Grandmommy spent the afternoon making cookies.

That evening we all went to the Fantasy of Trees to watch Kayla dance.

We all see who won the fight over who got to hold the baby....well, she won at first.  Papaw actually held her the most. 

Kayla did a great job dancing!  

Good friends!!

Bryan and Lauren (and Daniel photo bombing in the background) :)

We enjoyed Thanksgiving lunch, watched the parade and dog show. Then the next day we had a cookout with all of the relatives on Jonathan's side of the family.

 Jonathan took three of the kids out in the cold to watch the lighting of the Christmas tree downtown.

 Regan got a special treat going to Spirited Art to have a painting class.

Here is the final products of our class!  It was a fun, fun day!