Weekend in Jonesboro

We spent yesterday and today visiting several friends in Jonesboro. Yesterday afternoon was spent at the home of Michael and Ashleigh Givens, friends from college. We got to meet their adorable son John Mark, who Shelby nicknamed Johnny Mark all by herself. Travis and Annie Smith, more friends from college who now live in Georgia, were there as well. The adults visited and watched Shelby and John Mark play.

We spent the night with Ray and Meta Winters. Channing got to know Ray, Meta, and their children while interning at Southwest church of Christ back in college. Shelby loved their dog so much! She asked where Harley was as soon as she woke up this morning.

At church this morning we were able to visit with other people whom Channing go to know the summer he interned there. It is always so special for me to meet and visit people that he often talks of, people who are so special to him! It is a shame that we haven't been there for a visit in so long. We have to head up that way more often!

Everyone at Southwest thinks Shelby looks just like her daddy. I got a kick out of hearing Mary Jane Fagala, who attended my parents' church in Memphis when I was little, tell everybody that Shelby looked just like I did at that age. I think it's funny how often I hear people say she looks like me and then people say she looks just like her daddy. We just think she's the perfect mix of the two of us!

S-E-A-R-C-Y

Enjoy this video! This was done for Student Impact at Harding this fall.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMzmpXupUak

Cheeks

Shelby has her daddy's cheeks....

See what I mean?

Mommy's Little Helper

As I was making the beds today, Shelby wanted to help put the pillows on each bed. She was so excited and loved showing Daddy when he got home. She led him into our room and into hers and said, "See, Daddy?" each time.

So proud of herself!

Taking the picture messed up the pillows, so she had to fix them

Since there are only two pillows on her bed, it was a little easier

Mommy's Little Helper

Hallelujah!

Shelby slept the whole night through last night. She woke up at 6:45 this morning, but hey, at least her mommy and daddy got to sleep all night without her waking up.

That's what I've been most thankful for today, besides the fall decorations I put out yesterday (the first day of autumn)!

What are you thankful for today?

Shelby's First Slide Show

Shelby loves listening to praise and worship music. Tonight, while playing in the playroom with Daddy, Shelby said she wanted to listen to music. He put in a WOW Worship cd and the first song was "Our God Is An Awesome God." Shelby immediately started singing along, dancing around the room, and lifting her hands. What a blessing it was to watch her! I took some pictures and posted them as a slide show below.

May we all respond to Jesus the way our precious Shelby does!

Faith Like A Child

HUUUGE Elmo!

The rehearsal dinner last Friday night took place at this great place called Jillian's. Jillian's a not only a fabulous place to eat, but also a place with kinds of arcade games, pool tables, and bowling lanes. Kevin and Amber, along with their attendants, spent several hours after the rehearsal dinner festivities hanging out there. They all decided to put their tickets together and get something for Shelby and for the ring bearer. Shelby's prize was this stuffed Elmo doll.

When she saw it after the wedding on Saturday, she made her big "Oohhh" face, held her arms up, and said, "HUUUGE Elmo!!!"

I'd say the wedding party made an excellent choice!

Reunion with Old Friends

On the way home on Sunday, we met Travis and Annie Smith and their children in Holly Springs, Mississippi for supper. Travis and Annie are friends of ours from Harding and we haven't seen each other in about 7 years. Annie and I recently got back in touch, thanks to Facebook. It was so good to see them and meet their kids. Now that we know how to get in touch with each other, we look forward to more times together.

Flower Girl Debut

This past weekend we were in Lawrenceville, Georgia for Amber and Kevin's wedding and Shelby's debut as a flower girl. (For readers on my dad's side of the family, Amber is the granddaughter of Aunt JoAnn and Uncle Travis. Many of you know them.)

Friday morning, we left Tennessee with plenty of time to get to our hotel, clean up, and change for the wedding rehearsal at 5:30...at least we thought so. Just over 30 miles west of Birmingham, we were told that tornado warnings had been issued for the next 30 miles ahead. So that put a snag in our travel time. It rained on us most of the day and traffic was terrible! We did not make it to rehearsal and were even late to the rehearsal dinner. But, we made it safely and for that we are thankful. We counted 12 accidents during our drive on Friday.

Saturday morning we hung out with my parents and other family members at the hotel. The wedding was on the grounds of the Gwinnett Historic Courthouse and pictures were at 3:30. We hurried back to our hotel after Shelby's pictures were done so that Channing and I could get dressed for the wedding at 6.

Shelby did a great job as flower girl! Her daddy stayed with her right up until it was time to go down the aisle. She walked down saying, "Hi!" to everybody. Shelby did stand up at the front for a few minutes but that didn't last very long at all. She saw us seated on the third row and came to sit with us, which we were totally expecting. After the last prayer of the ceremony, the preacher said "Amen" and Shelby said "Amen" really loud in agreement. It was adorable!

I know some of you were praying for Shelby this past weekend. Thank you. Your prayers were answered. She did a great job!

Kanzelmeyer Wedding Pictures

Shelby showing off her bouquet

Waiting patiently for her next turn

More waiting...this time with Daddy

Shelby and Daddy smelling her bouquet

The Girls

Amber and her daddy walking down the aisle

Mommy and Shelby after the wedding

Amber and Shelby

Mr. and Mrs. Kevin Kanzelmeyer with Shelby and the ring bearer

Nona and Papa with Shelby

Shelby's Sense of Humor

The other night at supper, Shelby noticed the yellow, round part of her fork. She said, "Look, it's corn!" And then she stuck it in her mouth. I just had to get a camera and we had a little photo shoot. This is the funniest one of the many pictures I took.

Shelby is such a precious little girl with an amazing personality. I LOVE being at home with her every day!

It Isn't Any Trouble Just to S-M-I-L-E

Especially when you see this smiling face everyday...

Fun with Minnie Mouse

Shelby has recently discovered Mommy's little Minnie Mouse
stuffed animal. She loves Minnie and carries her everywhere, sometimes even to bed!

These pictures were taken early last week after Shelby's nap.

100 Things

I have seen this one some friends' blogs. I think the idea is to be tagged, but I thought I'd voluntarily do this. I won't tag anybody, but give it a try when you have some time on your hands. Since this blog is about our family, Channing and I decided to make this list about all of us. We came up with most of these together while driving to Texas a few weeks ago.

1. I was born and raised in Memphis.
2. I grew up being a huge Elvis fan.
3. I've been to Graceland twice.
4. My birthday is on St. Patrick's Day every year. (Yes, I actually get asked that!)
5. I lived in the same house while I was growing up. My parents moved almost 3 years ago, and it still feels weird not going back to that house on Meadowick.
   
6. I am the youngest of three children.
7. I'm left-handed.
8. I went to the same school all 13 years.
9. I played soccer, basketball, and volleyball while in elementary school.
   
10. I even was a cheerleader one year, believe it or not.
11. In the seventh grade I played volleyball.
12. The day of our team picture, I walked into a huge window in the gym that I thought was an open door.
13. Sometimes I'm quite klutzy...if that's the right word for it!
    
14. I've taken swimming lessons twice, but still am not a good swimmer.
15. I took piano lessons and hated it, but now I wish I had stuck with it.
16. I was a soprano in high school chorus, but there's no way I can sing that high now!
17. During my senior year of high school, I was a nun in The Sound of Music.
18. I was in two social clubs while at HU.
19. I had three nephews before I got married.
20. Now that I'm married, I have six nephews and six nieces.
21. One of my nieces is only two months younger than me.
22. I'm also a great-aunt...at least 10 times!
23. I love to read.
24. Mary Higgins Clark is one of my favorite authors.
25. I also enjoy books by Francine Rivers.
26. I did not enjoy reading Harry Potter.
    
27. In fact, I didn't even finish the first book!
    
28. I've always wanted to be a stay-at-home mom.
29. I love watching old movies.
30. Breakfast at Tiffany's is one of my favorites.
31. I am addicted to caffeine, especially coffee.
    
32. And to the blog world.
33. I love to play games.
34. Scrabble is one of my favorites.
35. The card game Nerts nearly gives me a heart attack.
36. Channing grew up in Texas.
37. He is one of six children.
38. He's 5th in the line-up.
39. He became an uncle at age 3.
    
40. When he was in the 9th grade, he moved to Alaska.
41. He was on the yearbook staff for 3 years in high school.
42. While in Alaska, he took painting lessons from Vernon Cross and Shane Lamb.
    
43. Channing painted three murals, by himself and with friends, in both Texas and Alaska.
    
44. After graduating from high school, he went on a solo camping trip to Katmai National Park.
45. It was a gift from an Alaskan airline.
46. He took a year off before going to college.
47. He had a job as a pharmacy tech and an EMT during that time.
48. He actually was a pre-med major as a college freshman.
49. He had three other majors after that.
    
50. The third one was Youth and Family Ministry.
51. His Bachelor's degree is in that.
    
52. He went on summer campaigns to Australia and Scotland.
53. He was a photographer for The Bison at HU.
54. He was a youth intern for two summers before graduating.
55. It makes him feel old that some of those teens have already graduated from college!
56. He spent his last semester of college in Greece.
57. One spring break, he and a buddy headed west to see the Grand Canyon.
58. They turned around and ended up camping in Smoky Mountain National Park.
59. He's been in at least 10 weddings as ring bearer, candlelighter, usher, groomsman, and best man.
60. He's driven across Canada twice. (North to South)
61. Channing is a LMT and LPC.
62. He enjoys challenging his wife and mother-in-law to Scrabble games.
63. Sometimes he even wins! :)
    
64. He has the Greek key tattooed on his left ring finger.
65. He loves camping.
66. He loves hiking.
67. He wants to go camping and hiking this fall.
68. He recently started his own counseling agency.
    
69. His wife thinks he's an amazing dad.
70. His daughter thinks so too.
71. Shelby was due July 15.
72. But she was born June 14.
    
73. She spent the first two weeks of life in NICU.
74. She had a head full of dark brown hair when she was born.
75. Now it's blonde.
76. She's already lived in two houses.
77. She slept better at 2 months than she does at 2 years.
78. She uses both hands a lot.
    
79. But seems to favor her right.
80. She got her first tooth at 10 months.
81. She waited until after her first birthday to get any more.
82. She loves to sing.
83. She lifts her hands when she sings praise and worship songs.
84. Her favorite song right now is Blessed Be Your Name.
85. She asks to hear it every time she gets in the car.
86. And sings along.
87. She loves Veggie Tales and The Backyardigans.
88. She loves going to the zoo.
89. She's already been 6 times.
90. Her favorite animal is a gorilla.
91. She loves pandas too.
92. She loves to be read to.
93. She looks at her books more than she plays with her toys.
94. She has 6 dolls.
95. She can recognize the letter W.
96. She squeals in delight when we pull into the Wal-Mart parking lot.
    
97. She loves pizza.
98. She even says, "Pizza! I love it!"
99. Her favorite colors are pink and purple.
100. Her favorite Bible stories are Jonah and Moses.
     

How's Justin Doing?

My family and I appreciate so much the continued prayers and concern that you have offered for Justin. He is in Fort Carson. He is receiving physical therapy and is healing well. Last week my sister, her husband, and their son got to go out to visit Justin. I know that time together as a family was a blessing to all four of them. It doesn't look like Justin will be returning to Iraq anytime soon. Of course, that might change. Please thank God for hearing our prayers and for the way He has kept Justin in the States so far. We would appreciate it if you would continue to pray that Justin stays here.

Prayer Request

Please pray for a dear friend of mine. She learned this week that her job is in jeopardy due to cutbacks within the company she works for. Please pray that she will not lose her job. Please pray that God will give her peace during this stressful and uncertain time. Thank you.

Flower Girl Dress

As I've mentioned before, Shelby will be a flower girl next weekend. Tonight was the second time we tried her dress on, this time with some new shoes Nona got her. We practiced walking down the hall to Daddy, carrying a basket. Today I checked out a book at the library about flower girls. We've already read it three times! The three of us are having fun getting ready for Amber and Kevin's wedding on the 15th!

Carpenter's Kids

Today was Shelby's first day at Carpenter's Kids. Carpenter's Kids is held on Tuesdays and Thursdays at College Church. The first day was actually Tuesday, but Shelby had a runny nose and cough that was bad enough to keep her home. She's much better now, so she got to go today. Daddy dropped her off, and he said she was so excited to be there! We went to Orientation last week, and Shelby met her teachers and some of her classmates. Two of her friends from Bible class at Downtown are in her class at Carpenter's Kids. When Mommy went to pick her up, Shelby's teacher said she did great and had a lot of fun.

Shelby is in a Tadpole class. She gets to have Bible lessons and play with her friends all morning! They serve lunch, so Shelby got to pick out a lunch bag at Wal-Mart a couple weeks ago. She picked a pink and green one with butterflies on it, by the way!

I think the morning wore her out. She slept most of the afternoon today!

Rainy Days

We having some rainy days around here. Yesterday afternoon, Shelby and I piled in my bed and read several books. Every time it thundered, I pulled the covers over our heads and screamed. She got a kick out of that, and seemed to really like holding the covers up, and crawling down to my feet. I took this picture right before Channing got home from work.

Labor Day Weekend

Shelby and I headed to Tennessee on Friday to spend the weekend with my parents and to see my friend Stacy and her family. The Wallace family lives in Michigan now, so I don't get to see this old friend very often. Whenever she comes to Tennessee, I try to be there as well.

Shelby had a great time with Nona and Papa. I found some of my old toys that Shelby had never played with before, as well as a set of Duplo blocks that Mom had for Morgan when he was little. Shelby loved my Little People Farm and the "moo" sound she heard every time the barn door opened or closed. We brought the blocks home with us. Shelby likes to dump them all out of the bucket and leave the room.

Saturday night Shelby and I went to see Stacy's family at her parents' house. There was quite a crew there and Shelby played with Stacy's son and niece while I visited with the adults. Well, Shelby followed Jacob and Anna around more than anything. Thanks to Stacy's husband, Alan, for keeping an eye on Shelby while Stacy and I talked on the porch.

Shelby went to Bible Hour at Park Avenue on Sunday. This was her first time. I was really glad that Jacob was in there too...a familiar face for Shelby. I hope she does such a great job next time, even though he won't be there!

Channing drove over after lunch on Sunday. I had originally planned to come home on Sunday, but Stacy talked me into staying. I asked Channing to come spend the rest of the long weekend with his two girls, and he couldn't resist! The Corder family at Park Avenue has hosted the Annual Hot Dog Feast every Labor Day weekend for as long as I can remember. We had a ball playing out at the Corder's, eating hot dogs and homemade ice cream, and visiting with friends. There were a couple other people from my old youth group visiting as well, so we had a little reunion. It was so good to see Jonathan and his sister Rachel again. Who knows, maybe we'll start a tradition.

Channing had a client to see back home on Monday, so he headed back before we did. Shelby and I went to my sister's house. We had lunch together and had a great time playing together. When we were ready to go, my car wouldn't start. I learned that the average life of a battery is five years. Thanks to my sweet brother-in-law for taking care of us! He took out the old battery and replaced it at Auto Zone in the hot afternoon sun.

We took a lot of pictures over the weekend. Enjoy many of them below!

Hot Dog Feast Pictures

Shelby and Mommy out at the Corder's house

Shelby loved running around, especially near the horses!

Stacy, me, and Shelby
(Shelby called Stacy "Mommy's friend")

Daddy helping Shelby play croquet

"I did it!"

Shelby loves to swing!

What a Pair!

Just two years apart, Jacob and Stacy make quite a pair. Shelby likes to follow Jacob around, calling his name. It's precious! He is very sweet with her. I think he'll make a great big brother one day.

Saturday night at the house

Jacob wanted Shelby to sit in his lap.
He liked taking the pictures, but I'm not so sure about her!

"Nice bow tie."

Looking at Let's Go to the Zoo

Little People Farm

I found an old Little People bus at Mom's house too.
Shelby liked to see how many animals could fit in there.

When the bus got full, she put the rest of the animals and other stuff in the silo.