Random....

Well, it seems like there has been alot going on this week, but I don't have any pictures that go together so I thought I would post some from the past couple of weeks. I will start with a funny story. Last night we met a youth family in downtown Raleigh at Mellow Mushroom Pizza. Yumm..... Ellie liked her pizza and the family was 30 minutes late due to rain etc... We began to think this could get interesting with our two kiddos trying to sit through dinner for a long time. We did all kinds of things to entertain Ellie. She had diet coke with cherry (Mike's idea), played with their kids, and looked at video games. We decided to go to Krispy Kreme after dinner since we were already downtown. She had part of a donut and enjoyed every bite. We get home and we put her to bed around 9:00 P.M. and she was not tired at all. We bring her downstairs and she finally got sleepy around 11:00 P.M.. We were more tired than her. We will never do that much sugar so close to bedtime. We felt like awful parents.
I am leaving on Saturday to go to my parents while Mike is at camp. He's really excited about camp in Florida. I'm so jealous. However, I know we will have fun at my parents house. They are having an early birthday party for Ellie. They ordered her a Dora cake and some Dora balloons. She is going to think it is the greatest thing ever.
These pictures are of Ellie outside in her baby pool. She seems to enjoy it more than the big pool. It has been so hot here this summer that it has been great. The other one is of Anna at church. She is laying beside her good friend Hannah. Hannah is one month older than Anna. You can tell that once again I have a tiny little girl! I'm thinking we could have 2 members of a gymnastics team in the near future! I hope you all have a good day!

Travel Times....

Well, I really don't have much to write today, but both girls are asleep so I thought I could come up with something. I was gone for a week to my parent's house and did the drive there by myself. Why I do these things I do not know? However, it is so worth it once I get there. My mom rode back with me to Raleigh. It was so helpful cause she could sit in the back seat and give Anna a bottle. We stopped halfway and stayed the night in a hotel. It was really fun. It was the first time I have done this with Ellie in a really long time. She thought it was great sleeping in the same room with us. She was in our bed some of the time cause she would not be quiet and I was afraid she'd wake up Anna. Eventually, around 11:30 P.M. she finally fell asleep in her crib. The next day was pretty good cause we only had about 4 hours to go. It was so helpful having my mom here with me cause Mike has been so busy with out "flip" house. We took Ellie to the movies again. We saw the Veggie Tales movie "Jonah". It was pretty good, but Happy Feet is still her favorite. My dad came on the 4th and they drove home on Friday. We ended up watching the neighbors fireworks and they were quite a show. I can't believe people spend that much money on fireworks, but it was a free show for us. Ellie really enjoyed them and was not scared. Anna was already asleep! Our crazy dog Jabez ran away that night and ended up in a nearby neighbor's house. I think maybe he is getting sick cause all he wants to do is lay in his crate and his fur is turning really strange colors. He is even driving Mike crazy.....
Our house is coming along. We have found excellent workers who have led us to new workers etc.... They work really hard and are doing some amazing work. Mike is even brushing up on his spanish and has been able to communicate with them which he said they love. They are now painting the walls, laying tile, putting in windows, etc.. When it is all finished I will post some pictures and you can see the transformation. It was truly way worse than an "Extreme makeover" home and Mike has done such a good job with being a contractor, house manager, etc...We have lived at Lowe's this week and have quickly decided in NC it is a much better store than Home Depot.
We will be home for one more week then we are off again. Mike is going to camp in Floida and I am going back to my parent's house. I decided I really did not want to stay here with 2 kids by myself for a week. I also do not sleep when I have to stay by myself. I wish I was going to camp, but it is just not going to work with the travel schedule etc...They are staying at a church overnight on the way to Florida and I really do not want to stay in a room with 20 girls and Anna.
I hope each of you continues to have a great summer. We have realized lately that in the midst of desiring an easy, relaxed summer that God is still in control. He has a plan and some of it requires hard work, chasing kids, traveling with kids, etc...Mike always reminds me everything is only for a season. Whatever season you are in it will be over with someday and you will realize "Jesus has plans to prosper you not harm you, give you hope, and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

Nana and Papa!

I decided at the last minute to bring the girls to Georgia to visit Nana and Papa. We left on Monday and of course the drive was not fun. However, once we get here it is always so great to relax and hang with the fam. i have gotten up with Anna every morning to feed her, but then I have gone back to sleep. It is such a rare event that I love it! I think I am really tired and it doesn't catch up with me till I get a chance to relax. I have taken a nap every afternoon when the girls have gone down for a nap. Ellie is loving seeing Nana and Papa. She can now say their names and recognizes them. We went swimming in their pool today. Ellie is slowly enjoying the water more, but we are not in the pool to long before she says "all done". We took Anna to the Target Portrait studio today and she did so great! I love this place cause you can get a whole package for $7.99. Ellie is not into pictures and hasn't been since her first birthday. She did like trying to make Anna smile. It is so great to have a helper with me when we do things like pictures etc..! Tomorrow, we are taking Ellie to see Happy Feet at the free kids movie. We'll see how it goes with both kids at the movies!
Mike has been busy this week with church work and working on our investment house. He has taken over the house and is now the project manager etc....a long story. However, I think he is secretly loving being like Armando from "Flip that house". I am really proud of him and he is doing a great job. He is picking out the paint, door knobs, cabinets, doors, etc....I am letting him handle all this while I am away this week. We've come a long ways in our 6 years! I hope everyone is having a great day.Blessings upon you all!

Mike's 28!

Well, today is a big day for Mikey! He is now 28 years old. It makes me feel a little better cause I will be turning 30 in 6 months. So instead of a card that he won't read I decided to do a little surprise blog for him. I know this may be a little long, but here goes 28 things I love about Mike in no particular order....Happy Birthday Babe!
1.)He loves me
2.)He loves Jesus
3.)He adores Ellie and Anna
4.) We met in the midwest as very young naive college students, but we've survived!
5.) He did college in 3 1/2 years and seminary in 2 1/2 with very little effort. Secretly, he is really smart and can get any job done.
6.)You have gotten so many free things it is not even funny.. to name a few: timeshare gifts, macbook pro, iphone, ipod hifi, airplane vouchers etc... very few people will put forth the effort will they?
7.) You let me pick the music on the ipod most the time which we mainly agree upon. Lately, we are addicted to Hillsong United (you should all check them out.)
8.)You have very strange things happen to you that you just laugh about and never even worry about them (ex: sea lice, staph infection, fake colon cancer ha ha)
9.) You have a very good pallet for food. I really do think we eat more than most couples.
10.) You love college basketball and somehow we end up in great cities for it!
11.) You challenge me daily to grow in my walk with Christ.
12.) There is no dream to small for you.
13.) You have a moonwalk company (enough said)
14.) You love to travel. We have been on some amazing trips together (many before children). Some of my favorites are: Disney, Breckenridge, OBX, Williamsburg/D.C.,Charleston, Hilton Head, The Cruise(ha ha)
15.) You are really good at student ministry and still have a desire for it.
16.) You are not afraid to work and figure out how to make money.
17.)You are growing and maturing daily. I really respect how you are making decisions a little more slowly now and desiring what's best for your family.
18.) You are a very loyal friend. You can keep in touch with almost anyone.
19.) You are very good at technology and put up with my lack of technological skills.
20.) You are compassionate and caring toward those who need help. You will try and find a way to help those in need.
21.)I can't wait to one day finally take a really cool anniversary trip with you without our babies.
22.) You are an amazing father who has really helped me transition into having two girls under two years old.
23.) You still want more children even after the past couple months of insanity and "you've even said I don't mind if they are girls"!
24.) We are laughing more today than we did 6 years ago I think. I have a lot of fun with you.
25.)You are really calm during stressful situations. I am thinking of when it is 2 a.m. and I'm telling you I think we need to go to the hospital so I can have Anna. I am dying in pain. Our bags are not packed and you ask me if you can take a shower? However, we made it to the hospital in 19 minutes from N. Raleigh to Cary.
26.) You love to research all kinds of things. You are really good at finding good cars, houses, etc... aka NACA! (inside joke)
27.) Your birthday gift is coming in one week. The anticipated IPhone. Will our world ever be the same?
28.) Happy Birthday Mike! I hope you've had a great day!
We love you,
Holly, Ellie and Anna
ps- these 2 pics I thought were a good image of Mike.

Pool Time???

Well, this morning I realized that it is almost July and we have yet to make it to the YMCA pool. We have been gone quite a bit in June and the weather last week was not good. Today, it is supposed to be 97 degrees. So after an hour or so of getting both kids ready we are in the car! I know that I cannot handle both kids so I check Anna into the YMCA playhouse(glorified childcare). I get there and Ellie is screaming cause she wants to go play in there with Anna. I'm thinking I did all this work to get us both in swimsuits, sunscreen, towels, extra clothes, toys etc... We are going to the pool. So we get there and Ellie is more interested in walking around the pool and maybe getting her feet in sometimes. We did this for about 30 minutes and went into the indoor toddler pool. She liked this much better which was encouraging and was actually kind of sad when it was time to go pick up Anna. We go into the family locker room to change clothes. I wouldn't have done this, but we had a few errands to do for awhile. I'm changing clothes and Ellie has her hand in the YMCA toilet. It is so gross cause there are on average probably 2,000 kids that go there everyday during the summer. She also almost throws my swimsuit in the toilet. We go to get Anna and once again Ellie is really upset about not getting to go into the playhouse. I decided next time I think I'll pay the $4 and go lay by the pool without the kids. She seems to like the indoor world more than outside these days. Anyways, I just had to laugh and share my time at the pool. We'll try it again sometime soon, but I might take Mike with me next time. The only good thing is that the pool induces an extremely long nap. Enjoy your day in the sun!

Father's Day.......

Well, this year Mike is the daddy to two girls! Wow! I have been kind of distracted lately from the blog world. I haven't been to motivated, but I figured Father's Day would be a good topic. We are doing well. We actually celebrated Father's Day on Friday night. Mike wanted to go see a movie and to dinner without the kids. We have quickly learned that to really enjoy ourselves at dinner or especially a movie that taking the girls would not be a good idea. We had a couple in our small group watch the girls. It worked out perfectly cause they have a 20 month old girl and a 6 week old girl. So they had 4 girls under two at their house. We have done this for them and it is not to bad! Ellie loved it. She loves her friend Cana. She actually was not to up for sleeping in her pack and play so they just kept her up till we got back at 10:30 P.M. We ended up staying there and talking to Jonathan and Kelly till midnight. Ellie was quite the night owl. She fell asleep on the way home, but ended up sleeping till 11 A.M. the next day! So we went to our favorite chinese place Pei Wei. It is PF Chang's fast food place. We love it. If you haven't been you should see if you have one in your city. We saw the movie "Ocean's Thirteen" after that and it was great. We both really liked it.
Yesterday, we went to a birthday party for a friend of ours from church. Her family cooked a feast. It was so good. We love these kind of parties. Ellie ended up getting kind of sick yesterday. She had a fever, runny nose, etc... last night so I stayed home from church this morning with the girls. I was motivated to clean so the downstairs actually looks great... the upstairs is a different story. Even more of an incentive to remind myself to look for a one-story house one day. Today, we are just relaxing at home. We are watching the US Open. It is one of our favorite things to do on a Sunday afternoon. I know we are strange, but it is pretty exciting. I got Mike a new Timex Ironman watch. He lost his a couple months ago and it was also from high school. It was time for a new watch! We put both girls down for a nap at the same time. We took a 2 hour nap. It was very nice. I think tonight we are going to go out for dinner near the mall somewhere. There is a new shopping area with a coldstone creamery there. (Mike's fave and Ellie likes to look at the water fountains!)
Anna is quite strong we have decided. She rolled over last Sunday. She's 4 1/2 months old. Ellie did not roll over till around 6 months and she is already loving her exersaucer! I am so glad she likes it as well. Anyways, we miss everyone. We hope both of our father's have a great day. We are very thankful to have such great dad's.

Anna Katherine

I am going to try and post every month what our sweet Anna is up to these days. It seems to be that I post more about what Ellie is doing probably because she is doing so much these days! I might be tearing up by the end of this, but I hope to print these off one day since I don't scrapbook!

Dear Anna,
You are now 4 months old. I cannot believe you are no longer our little tiny newborn who slept all the time. You are developing your own little personality. You love for people to talk to you and you love to smile back at them. Your sister is obsessed with you. She loves having a new playmate all the time with her at home. She loves to bring you toys or try to feed you a bottle. You put up with her trying to climb on you and poking your eye. I am very busy now taking care of you and Ellie. My favorite time though is when I put Ellie down for her nap and I hold you in my lap. I love to see you laugh and smile. Your dad normally spends time with you at night. Your eyes will follow him all across the room. We have a new routine of putting you and your sister to bed at night at the same time. Ellie loves to pray with you and say "Amen". You roll over on your side, suck your thumb, and watch your aquarium mobile. You are now sleeping from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m.! I don't know how we are so blessed, but you have loved to sleep from birth. We've been busy so far this summer with a trip to the beach and going to the pool as much as we can. You look so cute in your swimsuit and I know this time next year you will love the water! You weighed 11 lbs. 13 oz. at your 4 month appointment. You are 10 oz. bigger than your sister was at 4 months. However, it looks like you are going to be kind of small like Ellie. One day you will love being the small girl! We love you so much Anna. I can tell you are going to be an awesome girl one day who will shine brightly for Jesus. We picked your name as we pray that one day you will be like Anna from the Bible who loved to worship Jesus! I look forward to many more days of being your mommy. You are a special gift to us.

Summer Time.....

I think summer has arrived in Raleigh. It has been in the 90's the past couple of days which makes things interesting with 2 kids! We had a great day yesterday cause my play group met at a girl's neighborhood pool. It was such a great pool cause it had the little fountains for the kids to play in and there were parts where the water was only a foot deep. Ellie is obsessed with three things. Water, Anna, and Daddy are the highlight of her day. She is trying to play games with Anna. She takes her toys like the play phone and puts it up to her ear. She also loves to try and put a bottle in her mouth. She gives her hugs all the time and says "Ahhnnnaaa" in this russian like accent all the time! I've also started to notice that by the end of the day she really wants to see her daddy. She loves it when the garage door opens and she knows that daddy is about to walk in the door. Mike has been really busy this week. It seems like he's had something almost every night that he had to be at so I've been creative in trying to get out at night till bedtime.
I've also decided I no longer have a newborn. Anna is for sure becoming more like a 4 month old who can no longer be on our schedule. It is going to get interesting. I normally do all my errands, seeing friends, etc... in the morning. She is really fussy if she doesn't get her morning nap. Which means on most days we can go somewhere around lunch time, but have to be back by 2:00 because of Ellie's nap and then Anna also needs a nap at that time. It is great that I can put them down at the same time in the afternoon and at night now. It allows us to have a break and spend time together. I can just tell that I am going to now have to organize two kids schedules instead of Anna just sleeping in the car etc...A stay at home mom really is like a home/baby manager. It takes a lot of organization and energy that is for sure! Anyways, I hope you are all doing well. We miss you all!

More OBX Pictures!

Here are some more pictures from our week at the OBX. There are so many cool things to do there. I think our favorite was driving onto the beach. They have one section where you can drive your 4wd onto the beach. Mike was all about this of course and our goal was to see the wild horses. We've heard lots about them, but didn't know if we would actually see one. There were two out on the beach this day. It was amazing just seeing them roam on the beach. I also wanted to get one good family picture. We have yet to do this since Anna was born. The picture session lasted about 5 minutes cause then Anna had a "blowout" all over Mike. I think this was his first experience of having baby poo on him. Welcome to my world! It was a great week and we will always look back on the memories of having family out on the East Coast with us. Today, was church and it was awesome. Our pastor and worship were great today. A great way to start back into the "real world". Ellie cried for the first time today when we dropped her off. It was sad. She was fine though after about 5 minutes. I saw her playing on the floor with some of her little friends. Enjoy the pictures!

OBX!

Well, we returned from a great vacation on the Outer Banks. We stayed in Duck, NC. I think it is the one beach area that I could actually live at year round. It is so nice and we both love it. I am tired so I am going to only post these pictures for now. The girls did great, but today has been a different story. I think they liked all the constant attention, ice cream, Barney, pool, etc... so now it is back to reality. However, it is the first week long vacation we have taken in a long time. It was so awesome! We had a great time with Mimi and Granddaddy Shelton! Aunt Kathy and Uncle David made the trip even more great! It was so great to have everyone come East instead of us go West. The sun could not have shined more bright all week. A huge blessing cause it seems like many beach trips I have been on the weather has been horrible where all you do is sit inside most the time! God was so good to us and we both feel very refreshed and refocused for the busy summer months ahead of us! Have a great Sunday!

Am I that old??

So tonight we went to the mall to look for me a new swimsuit. I remind you the past two summers I have been pregnant so I have been really looking forward to not wearing my maternity gear! Mike and the girls go with me which could have ended in a disaster, but they all three did really well. We start at Dillard's and there were lots of cute ones, but I wanted to check some of the other department stores cause they are normally less expensive. We head to Belk and I find lots of cute ones. I think they were in the junior sizes cause I picked Large in almost all of them. I try them on and let's just say they were not to flattering and I felt like I was showing way to much. I was so annoyed. Mike was in shock cause yeah I have had two babies since 2005, but still I am not a Large ever in anything. So we try the XL on and they were not to much better. So we are wondering who besides a 14 yr. old skinny girl who has not gone through puberty can wear these pieces of fabric! We look at the misses (mom) swimsuits, but they are so momish and I am just not ready to wear a one piece with a skirt going around it!
We decided I would go back to Dillard's another time this week cause they do have the best selection and I really didn't look much there. We ended up just getting a cookie (Ellie's favorite thing about the mall) and left to go home and watch Idol!
Jordin did incredible. I was so frustrated that Blake was up there. He is creative, but I feel like many people in our church can sing better than him. I wish Melinda and Jordin could have battled it out. Did anyone notice the last song was written by Scott Kirpayne? Isn't he a Christian artist? Anyways, thanks for listening to my whining and maybe I will have to move up to the "mom" suits since I am almost 30! Have a great Wednesday!

OBX!

Well, it is one week till we go on vacation to the Outer Banks with all of Mike's family. We are so excited for them to come to the East Coast. We are renting this huge house at the Outer Banks. We are staying in a little town called Duck, NC. It is a great town! So we have been trying to prepare Ellie for her time at the beach. In this picture she was discovering sand and loving her new sand toys. We also have gotten her a lifejacket for the pool etc... She seems to be obsessed with water. We have to stop at every fountain at the mall. Anna just kind of goes along with whatever which is so great! In this picture she is asleep at the beach. She is so sweet. She is laughing all the time and she loves it when Ellie tickles her. Today, Mike suggested getting out the exersaucer to she see if she was big enough for it. She did pretty good in it. I think I am going to save it for awhile though cause I really want her to not get bored of it to quickly. Tonight, we went to CVS and bought 30 12 packs of coke products. They were having a huge sale......5 packs for $11. We mainly stocked up for youth group, but we are keeping some for us at home. It equaled 18 cents a can! The CVS people thought we were crazy cause you could only by 10 at a time. So Mike would go buy 10 drop them off in the car and then go back in for more. We did this at the Wake Forest CVS and the Rolesville CVS. The Shelton's are always up for a good deal. Tomorrow is church etc... I am excited as Journey is really growing and each week is really awesome. Ellie loves her teachers. We taught her to say "Paul"... he is one of her teachers that she thinks is pretty cool. I will be next door in Anna's room. I am in the nursery every week during the second service. It has been a good way to meet people and other mom's with babies. I still think Anna is the best though by far! Anyways, blessings upon you all!

Fun Times!

Well, I thought I'd tell you what we have been up to the past couple of weeks. Mike attended a conference in Atlanta so I decided to go away with my friend Kim for a few days. It was lots of fun! We went to Myrtle Beach and it was one crazy trip. We had four kids under three in her minivan. It was full with luggage, pack n plays, carseats, diaper bags, dvd player (Praise God!), and happy kids (ha ha)! So we get there at midnight on Sunday. It took us a little longer to pack the car, unload the car etc...The kids survived and we went to sleep that night excited for the next day. Well, it was of course crazy weather. It was a typical cold, windy east coast day. We tried the beach and it lasted for about 10 minutes. Even though it would take us 30 minutes to get anywhere. We had a double stroller, single stroller, and Anna in the Baby Bjorn carrier. It was so windy that all the kids cried because sand got in their eyes. We then tried the indoor pool which was a big hit! Ellie loved the water and wanted to get out of my arms so bad. It was then naptime which was great for Kim and I! It was a crazy couple of days, but really fun to get away with another mom of two! It was kind of empowering knowing that we could do all this by ourselves... although I'm not sure if I would want to do it again anytime soon. The last picture is of Ellie with her new play kitchen that Mimi got her! She loves it. She was so excited the night we got it for her she ended up playing with it till 10:00 that night. I am going to look for some play food this weekend at a neighborhood garage sale. Anyways, hope everyone is doing great! Post comments so I know someone is reading this blog!

blog errors

I know now that I am not to good at posting things... sorry for all the strange errors! I meant to do them all in order, but I messed up. I need Mike to do these technological things!

more pics!

Here are a few more after pictures. I love the improvement on the deck!

After Pictures!

Here are some pictures of the outside after the power wash, paint job, fixing boards, glass etc....It looks so much better!

Before pictures

Here are some pictures of the outside before the paint job. The deck especially needed work. Eventually the gazebo area will be a screened in area. They will also fix up the hot tub etc....There will also be a new front door. We love the plywood one that is on their now ha ha!

Flip That House!

Well, many of you know that we are currently trying to "flip a house". It is just north of Raleigh in Youngsville, NC. They have been working on it for about a month now and finally we are seeing some progress. The outside was a big mess and the inside well it is a total dump. However, it is in a great neighborhood and on 2 acres of land. I wanted to post some pictures of the outside. It got painted this week and looks so much better. We are going to add some black shutters soon. Mike is loving this project I think. He now watched "flip that house" on discovery home every night. Have a great Saturday! I may have to do a couple different entries cause blogger is so slow sometimes!

The Beach!

Well, I will be away for a few days. Mike is going to a conference in Atlanta with our children's ministry team. I really did not want to stay here by myself. My friend Kim's husband is also going away on business. We knew each other from seminary. I asked her if she and her kids wanted to go away for a few days. We are headed to Myrtle Beach tomorrow evening. Her minivan will be full with 4 kids in carseats under 3 years old. Doesn't this sound like fun? ha ha... Anyways, I am really looking forward to it. We are staying at one of our timeshare resorts. We'll see how Ellie likes the indoor pool and playing in the sand. I don't think the weather is going to be great, but there is plenty to do in Myrtle. Anyways, I hope everyone is has a good week!

Anna Katherine

Anna is 3 months old. Wow! She's already changed so much. She's a beautiful, sweet baby. We love her so much. However, I think she has totally captivated Ellie's heart. I think Ellie says "ANNA, ANNA" at least 70 times a day. She loves her little sis. So I thought I'd catch you all up on little Anna and why she has blessed us so much over the past 3 months. Here's a tribute to Anna Katherine Shelton
1.) We still love your name. Anna fits you so well. I have read about Anna in the Bible. We can only pray that you will also strive to be like Anna as you grow older.
2.) We love your sweet smile. It is so amazing how you began to smile just a month into this world. You now love to smile and laugh. You love it when we clap your hands together. You begin to laugh really loud sometimes.
3.) We love how you just go along with our crazy lives. You tend to just go with the flow. You don't mind your carseat these days which is a good thing!
4.) We call you one "low-maintenance" girl! When we brought you home that first night you only woke up once. We were able to just lay you back down in your crib and you would fall asleep. You are amazing. We did not give you a paci for 6 weeks and now you don't even want it. You love your little thumb. It is so sweet to see you in your crib sucking your thumb.
5.) You slept last night from 8:30 P.M. to 8:30 A.M. this morning. What else can I say? You are an angel who's allowing mom and dad to get some rest.
6.) So many ask who you look like? Then they realize you look just like Ellie. I know as you get a little older people are going to ask us if you are twins.
7.) I love how you stare at your daddy when he holds you.
8.) I love how you remind me to stop during my day and just treasure a few minutes with you as you will only be a baby for such a short time.
9.) I love how you let your sister annoy you. She loves to take your blanket, paci, poke your eye (ha ha), and be really loud while you are trying to sleep.
10.) I love your sweet little features. You also seem to be small like your sister.

I didn't know we could love someone so much in only 3 months. Anna truly is a gift from God. "Every good and perfect gift comes from above" James 1:7

Shower Time!

Well, it seems like Ellie is always dirty these days. She's quite the messy eater! Then, we've been playing outside more and more. So alot of days she needs two baths especially if we are going somewhere. She has really fine thin baby hair that gets so out of control. So today I thought how could I save time by getting myself ready and Ellie. So I decided to see if she would like to take a shower when I did. She loved it!
I did it in her bathroom where there is a shower curtian etc... I filled the tub and she just sat their playing with bath toys while I showered and then it was so quick to get her hair washed etc....I think this could become a regular thing! All mommies out there you should try this! Well, it is already Monday again and the weekend fun is over. However, tonight I am really excited for Mike. He is going to a Derek Webb concert in downtown Raleigh. Derek is a former bandmember of Caedmon's Call. He's going with two guys from our Journey Group. I think I may hang out with one of the girls from our group. They live in Wake Forest and her husband just graduated from the seminary. They just started attending Journey. They have a 19 month old girl and Kelly is due tomorrow actually with their second girl. I am really exctied to get to know them better. I think our girls could be great friends! The other really cool thing is that we were really good friends with Jonathon's brother and his wife all of seminary. Well, we are about to go burn some calories at the Y. It seems the closer to 30 we get the more difficult it is to keep the pounds off!
Ellie also wanted to say Happy Birthday "Papaw". We hope you have a great day!

Big Sister!

I finally got a cute picture of the girls a couple of days ago. It was first thing in the morning so they were both happy and clean! I can tell Ellie is enjoying her role of being the "Big Sister". She is really sweet to Anna. She says Anna constantly and says "uh-oh" when she starts to cry. Ellie is about to go the Dr. for a weight check. They want to see if she's gained any or enough since her last checkup. She's still 18lbs. We are hoping for 19lbs. today! Anyways, we are doing good. We went to the YMCA this morning. I'm finally starting to workout now that Anna is sleeping through the night. I am joining at training group next week at the Y for a race for the cure 5K in June. Have a good afternoon!

A Beautiful Day....

I've been thinking lately about how blessed we are to live here in North Carolina a place we love. The weather has been so nice and I've discovered so many great parks. God has been so good to us to relocate us here. We love our church, our kids, each other etc... God has shown us so much lately about how we want our kids to love being apart of the "Shelton Family"!
I read recently that children are not drawn to the evils of this world when their home is a place of love, excitement, and new activities. We were saying today that we want our home to be the place where our children want to have their friends over. We want to have crazy family nights, traditions etc... We are trying to start this even now, but it is a little hard when Ellie just wants to play with the ball. Hope you all have a great night! We are watching American Idol. Go Jordin! She's a former Kanakuk Kamper so we have to cheer for her. She's also incredible at 17!

Ellie's on youtube!

Here's a link of Ellie on youtube... Mike made a funny video while he was watching the kids.. enjoy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rceO0UUfiL8

Long Weekend.....

So I got home on Thursday night and realized there would not be much time to rest over the weekend....oh well is there ever with two kids and a husband in ministry! However, it has been a good, encouraging weekend. I went with some ladies from our church to a women's conference on Friday night at Providence Baptist. We attended there early on in seminary. It was excellent..... The speaker was awesome ..... I can't say the same about the music but that is a whole other story! Saturday, we had a youth leaders training at a church in Cary. It was good.... Ellie stayed at our house with a sitter. She loved it....having a 15 yr. old in charge of her! We got home and relaxed for a little while then had to go to Chapel Hill to UNC hospital to visit a girl from our church. We love Chapel Hill.......it is always fun to drive through campus and of course it makes Mike feel close to Roy Williams. Today, was filled with church etc.... It was a good day. Journey is really teaching us so much. We love going to church on Sunday morning. Ellie loves her little one year old class. It is so crazy to me that she is bringing home crafts each week. Although, I am pretty sure it is her teacher who is doing most of the work. I love dressing my girls up each week. I put a dress on each of them and of course a cute bow! I know in a few years they will complain about wearing these things so I am making them "girly" while I can. I am excited to be at home this week. The laundry is everywhere and I really need to just be home for a few days to catch up. I have been gone so much lately that it will be nice to get back on a schedule. Anna is doing awesome. She is amazing. She's sleeping so well and just goes with the flow. I guess they say most second babies tend to be be this way. I am not complaining at all. Well, I've been trying to post some pictures and blogger is being so slow. I'll try again tomorrow. Have a good Monday!

Home Again!

Thanks to all who prayed for us while we traveled to Illinois. Anna did so well. We are a little tired cause it was a rough couple of days. It was so nice though to be there to honor baby Alex. I have never been to a funeral for a baby. I saw his sweet pictures. He was buried at a church cemetary out in the country. It was so beautiful out there. It was such a peaceful morning. Sarah has continually said her comfort comes in knowing that he's in heaven. She has been so strong. Please, keep praying for her. She has a long road ahead of her. I know the verse that God will work all things together for good for those who love Him. I look forward to seeing this take place in Sarah's life.
Ellie is having a blast down in GA with my parents. I know they are having a blast as well. I am going to go pick her up sometime on Sunday. I'll probably stay for a few days before coming back up to NC. Oh the drive with two children!
Tonight, our friends the Martin's are coming down from Richmond. We are going to dinner with them and our friends the Gurney's ! We love seeing our old friends from seminary. It is always so much fun. Mike has been busy this week with church work etc.... He has a busy weekend with a student car wash, parent's meeting etc....He's doing such a good job. Anyways, I hope to have some new pictures up soon. Have a great day!

Prayer

My best friend Sarah from college experienced something this week that I cannot imagine going through ever. She was due to have her baby on April 15th. She went a little early and went into labor on April 4th. Sarah is so healthy and had a very great pregnancy. She was going to be a single mother. She accepted everything so well. She was so strong. She began to see how she could truly impact Alex's life. Sarah already has her Dental degree and is in Periodontal School at Univ. of St. Louis. So she ended up having a C-Section and her little boy Alex was born. Alex's little heart would not keep beating and he died shortly after being born. Mike and my family love Sarah so much. She's like our sister and my parents other daughter. We've walked through so many great and difficult times together. Her family is so wonderful. We went to Hilton Head, SC a few years back and enjoy them so much. They have been so awesome for Sarah through this journey. I am leaving tomorrow for Illinois to attend baby Alex's memorial. It will be on Monday morning. Please, pray for Sarah and her family. She already has been such a testimony for Christ by her perspective that Alex is in Heaven. Many of her doctors, friends, etc... have seen Christ shine brightly through her. I know that one day her story and Alex's life will impact many. It has already impacted me in a tremendous way. I am so thankful for my two girls. Anyways, please continue to pray for Sarah. I will return on Wednesday. Pray that Anna and I have a safe trip. Have a great Easter. Jesus truly is our hope.

First Easter Egg Hunt

Here are pictures from the Easter Egg Hunt that Ellie did with her playgroup. She loved it and so did the other children. Both Ellie and Anna are kind of sick. Elle has a stomach virus that is not very fun. Anna has only thrown up once, but she seems to be okay. I am very thankful that they don't have fever. We are kind of stuck at home now, but it is kind of nice. Have a great weekend!

Spring is here!

The more I live in North Carolina I remember why I love it. We have awesome weather. We are 2 hours from the beach and 3 hours from the Mountains. We recently took our middle school students to the beach for a retereat. It actually was cold during the time we were there, but it was still alot of fun. Mike got in the ocean with the boys. I think he forgets that he's 27 most of the time! Anna went with us and Ellie went to Georgia to stay with her Nana and Papa. She had a great time and didn't seem to miss us much. I went to pick her up and spent a few days there. The way home was crazy. I don't recommend traveling with two kids under two years old by yourself on a long trip. It ended up taking us 9 hours with all the stops to feed Anna, change diapers, eat lunch, etc......! Since, we've been back in Raleigh the weather has been awesome. Ellie now loves to play outside. She loves to go on walks and see all of the kids outside. It is fun to live in a neighborhood where people are outside all the time. The children here are always on their bikes or playing outside. Ellie loves to say "Hiiiiii" to them. I am also in a playgroup on Wednesday mornings. Most of the kids are around Ellie's age. We normally meet at someone's house. This week we decided to meet at a park and attempt an Easter Egg Hunt. Well, when Ellie stayed with my parents they taught her how to hunt the eggs. She loves doing it now. We always hide them in our family room and she loves to find them. She was a "pro" at the hunt! It really was quite amusing cause they all didn't really understand it. It didn't last to long so we ended up just playing at the park! Anna is doing great! She slept through the night this week for the first time. She slept almost 8 hours! It is nice to begin to have somewhat normal sleep again. She is smiling alot and enjoys her sister so much. Anyways, may you all have a blessed day!

Cute Girls!

Here are some recent pictures of Anna. You can see her sweet smile. The other one is at a track meet. Ellie loved saying "GO" to all the kids as they ran. She also loved playing on the high jump mat! We're off to the beach till Sunday. It is raining today so that kind of stinks, but I am sure middle school students won't mind. Have a great weekend!

Just the three of us!

Ellie is with my parents in Georgia for the week. We have a youth beach retreat this weekend and I knew it would be to difficult if we had both kids with us. She is having a good time being spoiled by Nana and Papa. She is a little sick so it is probably good that she is not near Anna. We are amazed at how easy it is just having one child who's only 6 weeks old. We miss Ellie like crazy, but it has been nice to get some rest. We've gotten some much needed rest etc.... It has also been fun to stay out past 8:00 p.m. or go to a restaurant and eat in peace! Anna is changing everyday. It has been good for us this week to be able to spend some one on one time with her. She's now smiling often. Her first smile happened about 2 weeks ago. She is also getting to wear something besides a sleeper. I've enjoyed getting to put Ellie's jeans etc... on her. She is also sleeping longer each night! I didn't think this was ever going to happen as she was on a 3 hour schedule that she really liked! Then a couple of nights ago we started putting her to bed at 9:30 and now she is sleeping till 3:30 A.M.. It is so nice to get 6 straight hours of sleep rather than 3 or 4.
March Madness started today. Mike is extremely excited. It is one of our most favorite times of year. Mike is really happy that KU and UNC are both number one seeds. He picked KU over UNC in the finals. We are having our friends the Gurney's over tonight to watch the games. They are our friends from seminary that still live here. We have watched many games with them over the past 4 years. We always look forward to hanging out with them. Jenn is due with her second baby in 6 days. Maybe, tonights excitement will lead her to labor! Anyways, hope everyone is doing well.

Ellie Moments!

Well, I went back through our photos and found these from before Anna was born. Ellie's world has really changed in the last couple of months. She has a new home, new sister, new church etc... She was the center of attention in Georgia. She had so much attention from us and her grandparents. I often feel so bad for not being able to read to her as much as I used to or play silly games with her. However, she loves her new sister. I can see it in her smiles and how she helps me with diaper changes etc.... She's still got us smiling everyday. One moment occurred last night at youth group. I take Ellie until we are done with the games and music. She begins to be a distraction once her dad's message begins. Our friend Jeff was leading worship and Ellie absolutely is in awe by the loud guitar, drums, and singing. She bobs her head and claps during the songs. It was such a reminder to me that even little 19 month old Ellie is praising God. It was a great moment for us. Anyways, these pictures are some of my favorites from this winter. One is at her first basketball game! She loved it so much... it might have been the "Cameron Crazies" at Duke more than the game. The other is her standing in a chair. She learned to climb up onto the chair. She loves to do this now all the time.. We are now working on "sitting" in the chair. Have a great day!

Pictures!

Here are some recent pictures of Ellie and Anna! Have a great Saturday!

Facing the Giants

On this past Friday, we had family night. We try to do this every other Friday. Then on the other Friday's we get a sitter so we can go without the kids! So this past Friday night we went to dinner and then rented a movie. The movie was called "Facing the Giants". It is a really cool movie made by a church actually in Georgia. We've heard alot about it and it was really good. It was a football movie about a Christian school team that goes on to win the state championship. They had to overcome many obstacles to win and they all began to rely on God for strength etc.... So that night we put Ellie to bed, but could not find her "paci".... we looked for awhile and still could not find it. So we decided it was a good time to break her of it.... We were nervous of course because she has always slept with it since she was a baby.... As she fussed for awhile I began to think back to the movie and how those students had to rely on God for many things. I began to pray that Ellie would calm down and be able to fall asleep without the pacifier. She did fall asleep about 30 minutes later. We were so proud of her. It's funny that we were so proud of her for not sleeping with a paci. I cannot imagine as she gets older how proud we will be of our girls when they accomplish things! I can see them now running around the track! HA!
Anyways, she has done great since then and is now "paci-free"! Anna has never wanted one and I am glad so I don't have to keep up with it etc.....! We are doing well this week. The weather has been beautiful. Today we went to North Hills and met Mike for lunch. It was a great day to be out. I had the joy of feeding Anna in the REI dressing room as Ellie is trying to escape the dressing room. It's always interesting with two kids under 18 months. I'm sure I'll never forget these days.

New Blog!

Well, I decided that I need a new project in my life. Mike is very technological and I've never been able to figure out how to do our website. I've seen many blogs and love keeping up with friends through them. So I thought this would be a good way for our family and friends to see our sweet girls and what's going on in our lives! I hope to do it somewhat frequently, but with two children to keep up with my internet time seems to be limited to when they are both asleep at the same time which is not to often except for at night!
We are loving being back in Raleigh. It feels like home since we spent three great years here during seminary. We are slowly getting to know people at church, but everyone has been great! Mike loves the guys he works with which is so nice. You can check out our church at www.takeajourney.org!
Ellie is now almost 19 months old and is so fun. She is enjoying being a big sister and is slowly learning about being "gentle" with sissy. The first week or so was pretty rough, but she's now just doing her own thing. Anna is now 3 weeks old. Wow! I can't imagine our lives without her. She is so sweet and cuddly. We are looking forward to getting regular sleep sometime soon! I think Anna looks like Ellie did as a baby. They have about the same hair color and their size is similar. Who knows though maybe Anna will outgrow her big sister! Ellie is still very tiny.....18 lbs. She's yet to make the growth chart. She's so cute though as she walks around. She holds her own though atleast that's what they say when she's in the nursery. Well, I hope to have more posts up soon and I'll try and take some pics of what we're up to these days in baby world!