Time Together

This Thanksgiving was the first in many years that all of my side of the family were together for the entire weekend. We had lots of fun hanging out and doing whatever we wanted "together" for a few days. Jeff and dad spent a lot of their time hunting. Jim did a little bit of everything, including washing lots of cars..LOL. The three women talked, ate, napped and chased kids oh yea, and shopped. The kids did what they do best. Play and ask a thousand questions. But no matter what we were doing, we all enjoyed ourselves and had a great weekend. We ended the weekend enjoying a great service at my parent's church in Blountstown. It meant a lot to my dad and mom that we were all able to be with them in service. And as always as we went on our separate ways; we all left with the comfort of knowing that all is well and we will be toghether again very soon.

Fall Festival Fun

Once again, I had the opportunity to help coordinate the Fall Festival at the church. It was a lot of fun and I went all out costume and all to make sure it was a great time for the kids. Alana surpised us all when she signed up to do "Karokee." And she rocked the place out. We were so proud of her and she really had a great time.

Of course, no matter what you set up at any event, face painting is always a hit. By the end of the night, Alana had both cheeks painted as well as her entire forehead. She just loves to get her face painted.

Pumpkin Patch Kid

It's been a while since i've posted anything, but a lot has happened in the past few weeks. The most noticeable change is the color of the leaves on the trees and the wonderful fall colors that we are beginning to see. The store isles have been filled with pumpkins, fall decorations, candy, candy and more candy. And one of our most favorite things has returned to Tallahassee, the Pumpkin Patch. One of the local churches here in Tallahasse hosts a Pumpkin Patch every year. We've already been twice. Alana loves it. Today, she got her face painted, painted a pumkin, jumped in the bounce house, rode a pony and of course, ate ice cream. Me and Jim enjoyed watching her and just hanging out together. We had some great conversation as she stayed busy with the many activities.

What Language Does a Horse Speak?

Alana's favorite outing is going to Books A Million. It is literally 1 block from our house. If we ever ask if there is something that she wants to do, the answer is always "go to the beach" or "Go to Books a Million." I don't know who she gets the Books A Million thing from, but it's her thing, so we are nurturing it as long as possible.

This past Saturday, we asked Alana if there was anything that she would like to do..Jumping up and down she yelled, "Yes, go to the bookstore." So off to the bookstore we went. She told me that she really wanted a new book to read. I took her directly to the children's section and picked out a few books for her to choose from. She didn't want to choose from any of the books that I had pulled off of the shelf. When I asked her what she wanted she said, "I want a fat book to read." I said, "Baby you can't read the really fat books, they are too hard." She responded, "I know but you can." So I get it, she really wanted to pick out a book that would occupy both of our time, for a very long time. Not something that I could read in just five minutes. We picked out two books. The first book, which we are currently reading is, Black Beauty. The next book we will read is White Fang. Alana is very excited about her new books. I told her that we would read Black Beuty and then watch the movie together. She can not wait!!

Once we got home, she immediately asked to read the new book. We got to the fourth chapter. She sat right beside me on the couch as I read to her, and somehow little Gigi, our chiwawa, managed to wedged herself between the two of us. You would have thought she was reading right along with us. She probably would have been offended had she known the book was about a horse and not a dog, LOL. Alana was so darn cute. She would wait until I read about three or four sentences and she would raise her hand and wait patiently for me to finish and let her ask a question. I was shocked, because her questions were very good and a couple were about what would happen later on in the story, which told me that she was really taking it all in. After about the 5th question, I have to admit, I was getting a little irritated and was just ready to get on with it. I said, "Okay, why don't you try to listen really hard and maybe asked less questions." Alana did just as I asked and I was able to read all of chapter 3 before she raised her hand again. I asked, "Do you have a question," and as seriously as you can imagine she said, "Tell me mom, does this horse speak english or "Neigh?"

An Awesome Day at St. George Island

My family shared an amazing day at St. George Island yesterday. The three of us spent the day together playing in the sand, swimming, laughing and cutting up to no end. We jumped waves together and laughed at eachother as we got smashed by the waves. Alana and I let the waves overtake us..there were times that we were competely submerged. I could not believe how free spirited Alana was with the waves. She was a little unsure of it at first, but once she got the hang of it, there was no stopping her.

I love this kind of day. The beach is my family's place to just let go. I believe every family should have a place that they can go and "Let Go."

More than Words Could Say

I constantly post things about Alana or things that we've done as a family. But tonight, I've enjoyed one thing that I love doing best..I enjoyed a coffee from Starbucks with my husband. He's gotten me hooked on it. It's one of those special things that we do. I usually say somehting like: "mmm..I could sure drink one of those frappucino's from Starbucks." and enough said, Jim grabs his keys, puts his baseball cap on and out the door we go. Tonight, we were actually on our way to WalMart to buy Alana a toy, something she earned for her good behavior over the past few weeks. We've been working really hard with her on her manners, and she deserved a reward. And, I don't know, I deserved a Java Chip Frappucinno just for being me...lol. But back to Jim..I never say enough about him. He's my bestfriend. We talk many times throughout the day and it never gets old. He's been a huge sustainer in my life. He keeps me grounded and reminds me to just "chill out" sometimes. Those of you who know me best, know that just letting go isn't the easiest thing for me. But with Jim, it's easy to just let go in his arms and enjoy the sweet and special moments that we have together. I love him beyond words and I'm thankful that he's mine as long as we live. Whether we're drinking our favorite coffee from Starbucks or just chillin' it's always good.

My Thoughts Toward God

Heavenly Father,
You have given me all that I have and all that I have is yours. You are my Savior, Redeemer and very Best Friend. I am thankful for the mercy and grace that you extend to me and that I can rest in your arms. As a wife, mother and friend to others...I rely on you to give me wisdom each and everyday. My desires is to be used whenever and however you choose. From a sinner with a repentant heart, thank you for being my Savior.

Love,
Your Servant Shannan

Family Fun

One of our favorite things to do as a family is hang out on the weekends at the pool. Whether it's the first thing we do when we wake up or the way we wind down for the day, it's a great way for our family to enjoy eachother. Alana loves to show us her tricks that she comes up with, which I must say is quite entertaining. One of the funniest things she does is when she challenges Jim. She'll say, "Hey dad, I bet you can't do a twist in the air like me." and then of course, Jim proves to her that he can. I just sit back and laugh.

Cookies, Anyone?

Alana is our little Chef. She's had the opportunity to spend time with Her Mamaw, Mrs. Teresa Hightower, her Grandmother, and her Granda all of whom cook up a feast when she's with them. They have all inspired her. She gets so excited when I mention baking something with her. She loves to watch the Food Network channel and she knows all of the Chef's by name.

Alana Starts Kindergarten

Summer break has finally come to an end, and our family is beginning a new chapter in our lives. Our precious Alana started Kindergarten on August 24th and this past week has been a whirlwind of emotions as we've hit a new Milestone for our family.

It seems like just yesterday Jim and I were celebrating Alana's arrival. The past 5 years have just flown by and we've had the best time. She was so excited about starting Kindergarten. When we arrived at the school she could hardly contain herself. The packed hallway didn't seem to intimidate her at all and the overwhelming crowd of kids and parents didn't phase her either. She had to go to the music room before going to class. The music room is where all of the Kindergartener's meet and then they walk together to their classroom. As she waited in the music room, she smiled for pictures and kept waving at me. She really felt proud and like a Big Girl.



Talk about breaking my heart, Alana got extremely upset once it was time for me to actually leave her at school. When the teacher told the parents to go ahead and make their way to the door, I looked back and Alana was crying and reaching her arms out for me as though she needed me to rescue her. Tears streamed down my face as I walked out of the room. I waited for a few minutes because each class came out in a line and walked to their new classroom. I felt sure that Alana would be fine by that time, but I was wrong. These pictures capture the true emotion of that moment.

A sweet teacher felt so bad for her, once she realized that Alana was so upset she walked in the classroom and hugged her and tried to make her feel comfortable. Now that's the kind of person I want working with my child. Mrs. Johnson went over and beyond. When Alana got home I asked her if it helped and she said, "Yes mom, it really did help me. She told me everything was going to be fine." I've heard mix reviews from people about the Kindergarten experience and thought I knew exactly how our's would go. But afterall, I was completely shocked by all of the emotions, but it was a good thing for me becasue it showed me the power of love and that no matter how big Alana gets, she will ALWAYS need her mommy's love.

STRESSED???

It's Saturday and 100 degrees outside. I have numerous things that I need to accomplish plus we want some family time today since Alana's been away for a week. We have one car being looked at by Legacy Toyota that must be picked up, Birthday gifts to buy and a party later today. Not to mention, we just waited on Alana for 30 minutes to pull her tooth that she insisted must come out WITHOUT mommy or daddy's help. Good news....the tooth is out, but here is the rundown of the rest of our day. It is now 2:00 and this all began around 11:00 am.

We walk to the car trying to convince Alana that her gum will eventually quit bleeding and that it's not a crisis. We get in the car to leave and go pick up the other car that's in the shop...(I'm sure you see where this is going). What happens? The CAR WON'T START. I let out a long sigh....Jim says, "Great"....and Alana says...."Oh no, how are we going to get to Riley's Party?" All I have to say is, WE WILL BE AT THAT PARTY...if I could only get Alana to understand that.

The good news is, Riley's party isn't for another 5 hours, that just happens to be the only thing on Alana's mind and Jim seems to think that we just have a dead battery....and a friend is on his way to help us out. THANK GOD FOR FRIENDS. So, if you're stressed, let me remind you that we all have stressful situations that arise, but somehow we must find the humor in it.

In trying to do just that, I decided it would be funny to take a picture of Jim working on the car and Alana beside him showing us her snaggle tooth mouth. Just a little something to help documents todays progession of events. But what do you know...I pull out my camera and the batteries are DEAD!!! So no pictures, just your imagination of what our family looks like today. By the way, here are a few things that Alana had to say during course of events.

SOMEHOW EVERYTHING RELATED TO RILEY"S B-DAY PARTY!

"Mom, I have to pull this tooth before Riley's party."

"Oh no, I hope this tooth doesn't fall out at Riley's party."

"Yay..... I pulled it, now I can show everyone at Riley's party."

Then the car won't start......

"Mom, how are we going to get to Riley's Party?"

"Mom, is Daddy going to be done before Riley's Party?"

"Man, I sure do hope we still get to go to Riley's Party."

"Is dad back yet? 'Cause we have to go get Riley a present."

"Mom, can I have some icecream now since we may not go to Riley's pary."

What's the point in all of this? I will NEVER tell her in the morning about a party that's schedule for evening. LIVE AND LEARN!

Family Tradition

My family has a tradition of celebrating good news or special occasions with a "Seafood and Crab Boil." We had great reason to celebrate this past weekend. Birthdays, Father's Day and my Grandmother being healed of Stage 4 Cancer were all the reasons for this most recent celebration..and I think the pictures say it all.

We had Crab Legs

Fresh Corn on the Cob

New Potatos
Fried Shrimp

Boiled Shrimp

Homemade Ice Cream and seven layered chocolate cake... need I say more?

Man....I didn't get a picture of the corn or homemade Ice Cream...Oh, well if you want to see that just go to my sister's blog..ha! ha!

Slip'n Slide

Abbie, Trever and Alana were so excited on Saturday when Grandpa, Jeff and Uncle Jim set up their Slip'n Slide. We covered it in soap and went crazy. I watched for about thirty minutes and ended up getting so HOT that I was either going to pass out or get wet. We'll just say the latter of the two sounded more attractive to me, so Slip'n and Slide'n I went, clothes and all. The kids went crazy...we raced, they slid thru my legs and covered me in bubbles...they know who the FUN ONE is...Ha! Ha!