Lake Weekend!!!

We went to the lake this past weekend with some good family friends. We were blessed to be able to use a families lake house and it was so fun! It really was a perfect weekend. All the kids got along and we had so much fun. I've known Katrina since we first moved here. I was able to join her play group and through church etc.. we've been friends ever since. Ellie is 9 months older than Carsen and Anna is 9 months younger. Their little boy Canon is such a cutie as well. Ellie and Carsen shared a bottom bunk together and all 3 girls shared a room. Ellie said the bunk beds were her favorite part. Mike and Simon enjoyed lots of adventures together like 4 wheelers, Rhino truck, ping pong, and a campfire with the big girls. I stayed at home quite a bit with Mary which was great with me. She enjoyed her sleep and is such a good traveler. It was such a nice break after a busy February!

Good times at the dinner table with 5 kids under 4!

Our attempt at a family picture

Simon and Katrina with their great kids!

Daddy and his 3 girls including Shadow.

Ellie and Carsen. Sweet girls and friends!

Love this picture

Sweet sisters on a hike to the top of a "mountain".

Anna and Carsen... sweet girls!

Daddy fell asleep a little early....

A yummy dinner at the Steak Shed. It is only open on Friday and Saturday nights from 6-9!

Mary at dinner... she loves all food!

rocking on the front porch

We had a fun campfire!

NBA All Star Game!

A great Valentine's Day Date!

We saw Wolf Blitzer from CNN!

Alicia Keys was the halftime entertainment along with Shakeira. I was not a fan of Shakeira!

The huge screen really is pretty amazing!

Usher was the pregame entertainment

Lebron James... my favorite basketball player. He is amazing and huge!

Life Lately....

Well, I have been bad about blogging lately cause if I don't have pictures I don't seem to post as much. I have pictures on Mike's computer and he is at church right now! I will have to post some more later with some very fun pictures! February, has been a very busy month and full of all kinds of crazy fun! Here's what we have been up to lately in no particular order:

It has been really cold here this winter as far as a Texas winter goes. I don't remember the last time we went to the park and so we've had to be creative with playing inside etc...I am so thankful for preschool or else we would all be getting a little stir crazy. Yesterday, Mike had the day off so we went to the Children's Museum of Dallas. Our sweet, Mimi got us a family membership which I know we will use all the time! The girls love it and it is manageable for me to take all 3 girls by myself. Our playgroup goes sometimes as well so it will be fun to go with friends on cold, winter days or blazing hot summer days!

We just had D-Town at Watermark which is our version of Disciple Now. It was so awesome and such a blessing to so many kids. It is the student ministry teams biggest event so many hours and hard work were invested into the weekend. There were 480 students and 120 leaders involved. It was A LOT of people and so much fun! Mike was the speaker and he came up with the theme which was " 5 Dangerous Prayers" from Psalm 51. He made the curriculum which went great with their being 5 sessions of either small group/large group time. The prayers were
Clean Me, Teach Me, Mold Me, Use Me, and Break Me.
The other staff did all the creative parts, music, videos, etc... They did such a good job and are so creative. The ideas they come up with are awesome. My favorite part was on Friday night during the first session. They rewrote the Black Eyed Peas Song "Tonight is going to be a good night". It was awesome and so loud in there. It for sure set the tone for the weekend. They went on to rewrite "Party in the USA" and a Taylor Swift song all about DTOWN.
I was able to host my small group girls who are in 11th grade. They are so much fun and so committed. I love their passion and faithfulness when we meet each Wednesday or for big events. Mike was with his 9th grade boys and they stayed up much later than we did. I don't know how he does it. He really has so much energy. He is speaking tonight to our Young Adults cause JP is sick.

Teeth or Ears? I'm sure most of you who have a little one have wondered what is wrong with them. Mary was really fussy today and not sleeping well. I couldn't tell which one it was and she didn't have a fever so I was really confused. I decided at 5:00 that I didn't want to risk a sleepless night so we went to the Dr. It was an ear infection and I am so glad I took her. The Dr. gave her some meds. and I'm sure she will be great soon!

Well, I am watching American Idol for the first time this season. We always have something on Tuesday night and I never get to watch. It seems pretty good so far. I hope we can keep up with it till the end. Have a great week!

Great State of Texas....

I love "Baby Bangs" post today on why she loves Texas. She described it so perfectly and for our friends and family from out of state I think it will give you a good taste of life in Texas. I know that Dallas is different than Houston, but what she writes describes our lives here. I've never seen such a different culture. It really is unique to Texas. Our students who are "preppy" wear wranglers and boots. Car Hart jackets are in style and these are not "redneck"people. However, you also feel the desire to dress up to go to a fancy mall or to dinner.

Mike wears boots often and looks pretty cute in them! He also got a "western/car hart" jacket from Watermark as a staff gift. It is amazing how we can live in this huge city and have all the conveniences, but at the same time drive an hour away and be on a ranch. I'm guessing soon we we might have to decide if we will be Aggies or Longhorns! ha! I think we will stay Jayhawks....

Adventures with Daddy....

Mike is such a fun, creative Daddy. He is the best at coming up with random/creative ideas that our girls love. Many, people told us when you have 3 kids you really have to tag team and divide them up for it to really work. We were learning the hard way that weekends were sometimes really difficult with the kids cause there is lots of down/unstructured time which is good for a little while, but our girls love need a plan! We now sit down every Thursday night to plan the weekend. I normally take the girls on Friday morning (Mike's day off) and we go do something together and let Mike rest, exercise, or do whatever he likes. I come home by noon and then we spend the rest of the day together. He takes E and A on Saturday mornings on some sort of adventure.

Last weekend they went to some horse ranch in Frisco that also hosts birthday parties. They loved it and got to jump in bounce houses, ride ponies, pet goats, and play on the playground. Anna is free so we only had to pay for Ellie which was $7. Another guy in our community group took his boys and said "it was the most fun he's ever had with his boys". Mike is quite the planner and always has a fun event for the girls on Saturday mornings. They also love to go to White Rock Lake to the dog park. I am so thankful to have a husband who loves me and loves our girls!

How will we respond?.....

The Future Leaders of Uganda from Watermark Community Church on Vimeo.

Our church has been opening my eyes to what the world is like in Uganda, Dallas, or Haiti in the last month. We support a certain ministry in Uganda and are building water wells, sponsoring children etc.. Our community group has been working through how we should respond. The main message I have gotten over the last month is that I need to think about what am I doing right now where I am at in life with my family, neighbors, friends, West Dallas etc..I am beyond blessed and am so thankful that my church cares for the rich and poor!

Check out www.watermarkworldwide.com

Anna's 3rd Birthday Party!

Anna turned 3 and her birthday finally came! The girls have been anticipating this day for months. They play birthday party all the time and Anna was so excited. I am soooo not the birthday party planner where everything is cute with lots of crafts. We had her party at a gymnastics place and it was awesome. They had 2 teachers who led the kids in games, trampoline, obstacle course, and lots of other fun activities. I only had to bring the cupcakes and drinks. It was so easy and low stress. It was so fun to see all the kids really enjoy themselves and for the parents to be able to talk with one another! I am so thankful for Anna and what an amazing little girl she is becoming each day. We also survived her being 2 which was quite a year full of discipline, potty-training, and all of those fun things that happen when you are 2 years old!

Anna with her good friend Grayson. I love his face!

Gretchen and I with Preston and Mary. They are one month apart.

Everyone loved the trampoline.

Anna loved the parachute!

Big sister loves to party!

Mary loves her Daddy!

Anna and Jack or (Jackman as she calls him)

Ellie and Anna with their good friend Carsen

All of the kids stretching listening to their teachers!

Little Anna.....

Anna turns 3 tomorrow and I wanted to post some pictures of her early days. I don't remember that much of her baby stage. Ellie was 18 months old when she was born and we moved to TX when she was 6 months old so there was A LOT going on. She has been the most tiny of the Shelton girls. She is still small, but very mighty! She weighed 15 lb. 15 oz. at year and 22 lbs. at 2 years old. I don't know what she will be at 3. She is one sweet little girl who makes us laugh all the time. We love you sweet Anna and I am so glad you are our little girl!

Anna 6 months old!

We used the double stroller all the time!

Daddy and the girls at a beach house in NC right before we moved to TX. Anna was 4 months.

Sweet sisters!

Anna always looked like such a doll baby cause she was so tiny. Ellie was about 20 months.

Anna at 2 months!

I can't forget...

Anna this morning was dressed in a night gown, shirt, and headband.

Mommy: Anna that is a pretty outfit.

Anna: I am a teacher

Mommy: What are you teaching today?

Anna: I am teaching kids new skills.

Mommy: Really, what kind of skills?

Anna: Pink skills and purple skills.

I have no idea where she learns these words, but I laugh often at her vocabulary these days.

Today, is her birthday party even though her birthday is on Monday. We are so excited to celebrate with her. I am a little worried as she keeps telling Ellie that she cannot come to her party and then Ellie cries. They are so kind to one another!

Superman and Ballerina....

We got new jammies for Christmas

Anna showing off Ellie's cape!

We have two little girls who are very different. Anna loves pink and purple. Ellie prefers blue. Anna loves anything princess and Ellie likes robots and superheroes. Some of their pretend play is pretty hilarious!

Big Girl....

Showing her new boots off!

Showing her "new" tooth!

Love that smile!

Ellie is 4 1/2 years old and is for sure becoming a big girl. I love having a 4 year old. She is independent in so many things, but still loves to be with mommy and daddy. These are some things about Ellie:

She loves playing with friends and going to preschool. She has always been this way. I never remember her ever crying when dropped off at the nursery or with friends.

She loves to ask questions as in all day! Her favorite one right now is to ask me "How old are you, mommy"? She knows the answer, but still asks it all the time. She also wants to know when she will be 15 or 6.

She loves to play outside with Anna doing all kinds of crazy things.

She takes gymnastics once a week and loves it so much.

She loves to have a babysitter and asks me frequently if a babysitter can come over.

She loves to sing and our favorite song right now is on the North Point church live cd.

Her favorite color is blue and anytime she draws something it has to be with blue.

She still loves Mary and entertains her a lot during the day.

She loves going on outings with just mom or dad. She really can tell when Anna and Mary are not with us. She tries to arrange it so they stay home.

She has super curly hair and gets lots of compliments on it.

She is still pretty small, but seems to be catching up with some kids. She wears 3T clothes.

Ellie is such a sweet, friendly little girl. She has a very calm personality and not much makes her upset. We love her so much!

Sweet Sisters....

Watermark 10 year Anniversary Party!

Watermark celebrated there 10 year anniversary last week. It was quite a party and so fun. There has been so much to celebrate over the past 10 years and it was neat to see videos etc.. from the early days in a hotel or school. It was kind of like the State Fair with corn dogs, cotton candy, sausage on a stick, funnel cakes, and lemonade! The girls enjoyed all the bounce houses and pony rides. It also happened to be a beautiful day for January!

Ellie loves pony rides

Anna and Daddy

Ellie and her friend Olivia going down the slide. A Cowboys slide on the day they lost!

Smiles..

All in one day...

Today, is one of those days that in a couple of years when you know I have a 7, 6, and 4 year old I will wonder how I got through some long days of toddlerhood! It all started out okay except E and A were just not listening very well. Mary was sleeping for a morning nap before we had to go to gymnastics for Ellie at 10. I think their bedroom door slammed a few times with sweet reminders from me to shut it quietly. I am so thankful that so far if Mary gets to sleep she can sleep through anything including two very loud children! We make it to gym and drop Ellie off. I take Anna and Mary to do a few errands. We pick Ellie up and they are asking to go to the park for a picnic. It is not quite warm enough yet so I tell them we will go home and do a picnic inside on a blanket. I'm thinking this day is not so bad. I think we will take early naps then head to the park cause it will be warm after naps. In the meantime there are lots of messes today. I think when we are stir crazy they tend to want to open every drawer or explore closets or change clothes for dress up. Anyways, we clean up and start nap time early. Anna always sleeps, but I wasn't thinking that an early nap might not work. We try for a good hour with much discipline occurring throughout the hour. Ellie cannot close her eye etc... Mary is sleeping away!! Eventually, I decide we will just wait on Mary to wake up. I put coats on the girls to outside and play with the dog etc... (a very good form of entertainment)! While I am nursing Mary they take off their shoes and socks to put them in our water filled sandbox. Does anyone want it?!! More discipline. We finally get to the park to meet my friend Katrina and we are there for 5 minutes and I look over to see Ellie peeing her pants. What? She hasn't had an accident in forever. She told me she couldn't hold it. Well, we have no change of clothes so I call Katrina to see if she's left. She's gone so I decide it will dry and Ellie is crying cause she doesn't want to go home. She proceeds to play just fine!
Anna is now climbing to the top of a very high play area. She decides to go down the slide on her tummy and falls really awkward on her face. I picture her front teeth laying on the ground, but thankfully she is okay just a bleeding lip. She shakes it off and does the slide many more times this day:)
Mike calls and asks how the day is going by a number of 1-10. I honestly say probably a 1. He's sweet and tells me to take a break when he gets home. He gives them baths etc.. and they are in bed by 6:30 P.M.. I'm now sitting on the couch thankful that the Lord's grace and mercies are new every morning. I know my attitude was not so great either in the midst of a stressful day. These little girls can wear me out, but they also teach me to serve with a loving heart. I'm looking forward to a new day tomorrow!

Mary 7 months stats...and more.

My baby is 7 months old! Wow! I can say it has gone by fast and somewhat slow as I have tried to enjoy each day with her. She is precious and such a joy. She's for sure the laid back third child. She follows her big sisters schedule and can sleep through pretty much anything which is a good thing cause you know our house can be kind of loud at times! I really think the transition to 3 was not to bad. The first two months was pretty tough cause she was so fragile and Ellie liked to sneak in and pick her up. However, now that they are used to her and she's on a schedule it has been really good. I know that we all try to plan out how far apart our kids are and there is no perfect plan except God's plan which for us was to have 3 kids under 4! I have no regrets and I'm soooo glad that E and A are 18 mos. apart and then we had nice 2 1/2 year break before Mary. Mike and I have been talking a lot lately about things being somewhat easier. 4 is a really nice age and sweet Ellie is thriving at 4. She's so active and pretty much done with the nap, but she doesn't have to have one which is nice. Anna is almost 3 and praise God we are kind of nearing the end of the terrible two's. There were lot of terrible moments during her 2nd year, but she is growing into a really funny, smart, and curious girl. She's so determined and is pretty much P.T. mainly cause she refuses to wear a diaper ever.
We had a funny moment yesterday as I was standing in line at Wal-Mart with E, A, and a cart full of groceries. Anna starts to pull down her pants right there in line and I thought "she is going to pee on the floor". I quickly grab her and tell Ellie to run. We ran right to the bathroom and she made it. The line was so long at the cashier that we got right back in line! She loves to pick out her own clothes ( a dress) if I allowed it everyday and insists on getting herself dressed. She's pretty good at it so it is saving me some time.
Anyways, back to sweet Mary. I took her to the doctor for her 7 month check-up. Here's what she is up to these days:
Weight: 14 lb. 1 oz. (10th %) She's quite a bit bigger than E and A at 7 months.
Height :25 1/2 inches. (25th%)

Likes:
Rolling over
Sisters love to make her laugh
Sleep- She wakes up at all different times in the morning, but normally gets a morning nap at home or in the car. She takes one really long afternoon nap and then goes to bed most nights by 7:00 P.M.. She would be really fussy if she didn't get a nap.
Baby food- She really prefers table food so I just mash up whatever we are having that night. She's had pasta, meat, green beans, rice, mashed potatoes, and she loves all fruit baby food.
Nursing- Still no bottle and I think we are month or so away from a sippy cup!
Daddy-She loves to be held by daddy and see him each day.
Car Seat- We did a trip to KS and she did so much better than in earlier months where she would have cried the entire time.

Dislikes:
Teething- She can be pretty fussy if her teeth are bothering her, but a dose of tylenol and teething tablets seem to work.
Cold- It has been so cold here lately and she will cry if she gets to cold at night or getting into the car.
She hates to be put down if she is hungry or when she first wakes up.

We love her so much and she is so much fun. She has yet to meet a stranger and has such a big smile!

A Texas Snow...

We've already had two different days of snow so far this year. The first which is the pictures above was about 1/4 inch and not a big deal. However, for two little girls it was a huge deal. We went outside in our jammies and ran around in it. If you look closely you can see Anna has a dress and tights on which happened to be the previous nights jammies cause mommy was to exhausted to do baths etc... Our second snowfall happened on Christmas Eve. It was so pretty and about an inch. It made for a crazy Christmas Eve as most people attended the 4:00 service at church. They had a 2, 4, 6, and 11 o'clock service, but it was to cold and icy to get out after 4. The entire worship center and a few overflow rooms were packed! We are hoping for more snow so maybe we can build a snowman.

Anna the ballerina....

Anna with her sweet teacher.

Check out her form!

Each girl got a rose at the end of their performance!

Anna had some stage fright and coped with her fingers in her mouth

stretching is always important

Anna finished a semester of "baby ballet" at our parks and rec center in December. She LOVED it and really enjoyed her class. All the girls were really sweet and she has the best teacher. Mrs. Horn is in her 70's and still wears the leotard and ballet shoes. She knows each girls name and really holds their attention. Anna loves to wear any ballet outfit and the shoes so I have to hide them most days! We can't wait till the class starts again in January.

Like to cook?

I have a friend whose sister is adopting from Ethiopia and made a cookbook to help raise funds. I know they would love to have them all sold so they can be one step closer to their babies! I'm sure all the recipes are great and we all need some new ideas! Go here to read more!

Join The Journey: Home

Each year our church studies the Bible together through something called "Join the Journey". It is a great way to study the Bible daily and you get an email each day with that days scripture! There is even an iphone app which I use often to look at throughout the day. I'm excited this year as we study the gospels. If you are looking for a yearly Bible plan check it out!

Join The Journey: Home