This Week In Pictures (11/22 - 11/28)

Another busy week for the Shields' family! With Thanksgiving this week, Aubrey was out of school for 3 of the 5 days and John was off work for 2 of the 5 days. A GOOD thing, but it always throws me off when they're home when they normally aren't. The "what day is it again?" kind of thing.) But that's okay...more helpers around the house is how I see it! :) Started the week off by going for a family walk after we got back from church. Took the girls to get their flu shots on base, started addressing Christmas cards and stuck to our nightly dinner menu to a T (I find that when I do this, we're more prepared and eat healthier meals and I LIKE this). Our family had Thanksgiving dinner with our friends, the Kynastons - which ended up being a great time and I'm so glad we could join them! I don't even NEED to mention the fact that all of our children had a blast there. Including the time I couldn't find Jocelyn. Things got quiet without her running around (okay, so I noticed the lack of noise when she wasn't in the room) and after Aubrey helped me search for her, she found her playing IN their washer and dryer!! I have to admit, that kind of surprised me as she's not as adventurous at home! (Side note: I can officially say that Jocelyn has successfully been potty trained except for nap and bedtime - which has been getting better with each passing week. For the past month or two, she has been proudly sporting the big girl underwear with little to no problem. We're now working on staying dry during the day accident free for 1 whole month for a big girl reward: a PINK Vtech Learning Laptop. We're SOOOO proud of how far she has come and that she's diaper free!) As with every year, I don't participate in the whole Black Friday shopping nightmare. HATE HATE HATE crowds! And I don't usually HATE. It's not my thing! Crowds and I aren't the best of friends, let's just put it that way. But I DO go to Costco on Black Friday and get their free annual cookbook being passed out on the way out of the store. 3 years in a row now...even last year when I was 9 months prego! Nothing apparently has stopped me. Friday I donated blood for the good cause of giving. What ended up being a quick and painless visit turned into PAIN in my arm right afterwards when I got home. A huge knot the size of a quarter was swelling next to the needle site and couldn't extend or touch my arm without it hurting! The next day the knot was gone but it started showing a humongous bruise and was like that for many days following. I'm glad I could help someone that may need my blood but I think I'm going to hold off on giving blood for awhile. And I usually donate a few times a year. I do have to admit that the pain and the bruising sort of scared me off! :/ Then on Saturday, the much awaited hair appointment finally happened and I like how it turned out! As a busy Mom, I ALWAYS look forward to a little "me" time! An update on our newly minted crawler - he's really REALLY fast now! And it's neat to see him crawl all over the place. Many warned me that once he started crawling like I had hoped, that I would get tired of it quickly. But I'm not in any way. I love watching him smile when he sees us excited for his progress and that he's getting places on his own! The only sad part about it is that my baby is growing up fast!!!! :( Well, I ended the week with a few things on my to-do list undone but I'll just move them over to next week. I'm sure that's not unheard of, right!?!? :) Now onto the pictures (which just happens to be my favorite part)...

{Our Sunday walk}

{Funny faces}

{He LOVES wipes!}

{Jocelyn has been BEGGING me for weeks to learn to write her letters. Time I get on that! But in the meantime, she's practicing quite nicely!}

{Our curtains amaze him for some reason. I'm thinking because they're shiny}

{Always curious to see what his sisters are up to}

{Seems so happy that he can go places}

{I love this one: Just woke up from naptime}

{I love this time of year and the many candles that we have set out smelling up the house nicely!}

{John caught me off guard "running" on the Wii. (Don't mind the "mess"...it's on my mentioned to-do list! I can't believe how fast toys and stuff accumulates!)

{So sweet!}

{She has fun on the Wii too}

{The kids on Thanksgiving morning}

{Our family at the Kynastons for Thanksgiving}

{I love this guy!}

{Not quite sure why I'm smiling here. Think it's just habit to smile at the camera! (Check out that bruise!!!)}

{They all LOVE Legos!}

{Homemade Nachos for Family Night}

{I love this one of them together}

{So happy!}

{My reward for going out in crazy Black Friday traffic}

{New hair cut/color - I had it matched to my original color. The way I like it!}

{Thanksgiving activities}

{Coloring is a serious job, you know?!?!}

{OLIVES! Can't be Thanksgiving without them!}

{And of course the shirt that I found at Target fits perfectly..."HERE COMES TROUBLE!"}

Thanksgiving 2009

{Our little turkeys on Thanksgiving morning}

Another year with lots to be thankful for! For each of my children and their individual personalities - they uniquely bring a sweet spirit to our home. For living my dream being a mother and a wife. For being able to stay at home with them and raise them up to be great and loving people - and because of this I have decided to put off school even longer. But I'm honestly fine with that because they need me to be the mother I am and want to be and not stressed taking classes. My time finishing my education can wait. My time with my children can't. I'm so thankful that I have that knowledge to know what is good for me and my family and that what works for us may not work for someone else - and that's okay! For my loving husband who works so I can stay home with our children and who supports our family and encourages us to reach for our goals. Who aspires for us to be happy. For our home and all the projects that have been completed with his time and hands. For seeing family this summer and making great memories with them. For the family we were unable to see due to geographical circumstances - but we love you guys & hope to see you real soon! For our health and happiness. For finding the joy in every day. For strengthening my mind and soul through the scriptures. For exercising as a family and individually - to show our children the importance of taking care of our bodies. For helping and serving others around us - even if it's just a smile to a stranger. For our amazing friends - and those friends that live close by that have become extended family. For those that serve our country with pride and loyalty. For those that serve in harms way by putting their safety on the line to protect us and our families. My list could seriously go on and on - especially for the little things I'm thankful for like doing kind deeds for people without them knowing, reading a good book, sipping hot chocolate on a cold day, donating blood and knowing I'm helping someone in need, my love for music, taking pictures, watching my children smile - we do have MUCH to be thankful for and we're grateful to have this time of year to reflect upon these things. We hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving and that you too can reflect on the things your thankful for. Much love to you all!

Look What I Can Do!

"I've been keeping my Mommy and Daddy guessing for awhile now...but guess what? Tonight being 4 days after turning 11 months old, I got up the nerve and surprised them by starting to CRAWL! They are so excited for me! :) Let's hope that continues as I get into stuff...(shhh!)"

We are SOOOO proud of our little guy putting into play all the practicing we've been doing to help him learn to crawl. That technique wasn't working too well though to be honest, so we sorta gave up - knowing that he would do it when HE wanted to! And boy did he prove us right! :)

Miss Virginia

Aubrey is an Alternate Representative in her school's Student Council and was able to meet Miss Virginia (Caressa Cameron) who happened to be the guest speaker at the Installation Ceremony. I was unable to join her in this exciting day so her friend's mother was able to take some pictures for me in my absence. As you can see, she was very excited to meet her!

Miss Virginia wrote on her program "Aubrey - Thanks for being a leader. Love, Miss VA '09"