Day 358 - Friday, December 24, 2010

Day 358 - Friday, December 24, 2010 – Because my dad’s wakefulness has gotten less and less each day, we decided to have a Christmas Eve brunch together, which is during his most alert time of the day. What a blessing it is to have my dad still with us and to surround my parents with love and goofiness on this memorable Christmas Eve.

Day 350 - Thursday, December 16, 2010

Day 350 - Thursday, December 16, 2010 – Jordyn's Concert Choir hosted a fabulous Christmas Concert, "The Many Moods of Christmas". Jordyn was the server for our table where she brought us water, punch, and coffee. Bailey, Bella, and Grandma joined me and the boys in the audience. We were all delighted with the desserts and The Little Drummer Boy & Carol of the Bells, among many other well-sung songs.

Day 322 - Thursday, November 18, 2010

Day 322 - Thursday, November 18, 2010 – Bailey was phenomenal as Leisl in Ann Arbor's Young People's Theater production of The Sound of Music at Mendelssohn Theater on the campus of the University of Michigan. She'll be famous one day.

Day 258 - Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Day 258 - Wednesday, September 15, 2010 – Shawn holds my dad's hand during pre-op. It serves a couple of purposes, one- to comfort my dad and let him know that we're here for him and two- to keep him from picking at the sticky dots all over his head, which will be used as coordinates during the surgery.

Day 257 - Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Day 257 - Tuesday, September 14, 2010 – My dad is scheduled for a very risky procedure tomorrow to take a biopsy of the tumor on his brain (which doubled in size in two weeks' time). So, we had a big dinner at my parents' house to wish him well.

Day 248 - Sunday, September 5, 2010

Day 248 - Sunday, September 5, 2010 – We gave Bella her birthday gift a little early. It was a super cool game called Story Cubes that Jordyn found at Little Monsters. The dice have pictures on them, and when you roll the dice, you tell a story using the pictures on the dice. Very fun.

Day 213 - Sunday, August 1, 2010

Day 213 - Sunday, August 1, 2010 – Ashton, Aunt Shawn would steal you if I let her! :)

Day 206 - Sunday, July 25, 2010

Day 206 - Sunday, July 25, 2010 - This year's annual Shellnut family reunion at Hazel Park's Green Acres was one of the best yet. Not only did all of Ben Shellnut's kids' families attend, but there was a Tim McGraw impersonator that performed for an hour to everyone's delight...especially cousin Curt.

Day 192 - Sunday, July 11, 2010

Day 192 - Sunday, July 11, 2010 - We went to watch Aaron's undefeated U9 travel baseball team play in a tournament play-off game today. Unfortunately, they lost (and I'm never allowed back at one of their games!), but it was a beautiful day and a lot of fun watching him play. Liam commented that he was very proud of Aaron for being such a good sport and losing with dignity. Now, that's a winner in my book.

Day 191 - Saturday, July 10, 2010

Day 191 - Saturday, July 10, 2010 - Today I hosted a Shellnut summer birthday gathering. Curt brought along his country CDs and turned the patio into a Texas two-stepping dance floor!

Day 157 - Sunday, June 6, 2010

Day 157 - Sunday, June 6, 2010 - Today we went to my cousin Mary Kraft's birthday party. The Wurlitzer jukebox that had been in my Aunt Margaret and Uncle Jerry's basement while I was growing up is now in her basement, and a whole new generation got to enjoy it. There were a lot of the same songs on it that I grew up with, like Hey, Jude and The Devil Went Down to Georgia. Total nostalgia.

Day 129 - Sunday, May 9, 2010

Day 129 - Sunday, May 9, 2010 - We celebrated Mother's Day at my sister's house this year. We celebrated our mom Bonnie by having the entire menu start with a "B". There was beouf bourguignon, butter noodles, broccoli, bread, berries, and bread pudding. It was delish!

Day 128 - Saturday, May 8, 2010

Day 128 - Saturday, May 8, 2010 - My niece, Bailey, (second from left) played Ado Annie in a production of Oklahoma. She is an amazing talent and a beautiful young woman.

Day 111 - Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Day 111 - Wednesday, April 21, 2010 – My sister has not only helped me tremendously with Ashton since day one, but she has been a Godsend in helping me prepare for Owen's birthday party coming up this weekend. Here we are making oodles and oodles of edible light sabers (chocolate dipped pretzel rods...red for Darth Vader and green for Yoda). I could not pull off this party with out her.

Day 96 - Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Day 96 - Tuesday, April 6, 2010 - Liam and Jacob devoured their shared plate of strawberries and whipped cream before I could snap a pic! Their mouths are stuffed with yummy goodness. Jake came out to spend the night at our house with Bella and my sister. Shawn has stayed with me the last two nights since Kevin is traveling for work. Just in case I go into labor in the middle of the night!!

Day 95 - Monday, April 5, 2010

Day 95 - Monday, April 5, 2010 - Shawn and my mom came over tonight to bring me dinner and to "pamper" me. I put them to work being creative and painting canvases for the nursery. The artwork turned out beautifully and the process was fun. Here is Owen telling Grandma to put some fish in her water.