Old Family Movie-Jordan's Birthday Lunch

This movie is just driving to Red Robin to celebrate Jordan's birthday with the kids-some of the car ride there and then at the restaurant.

Where DO Babies Come From?!

I have always told myself that I would be prepared for when my kids asked me the big question-that being, "Where do babies come from?" Yes, I had it all planned out...be open, be honest, listen carefully to their questions, etc.

So I was not at all prepared for Luke to bust out THE question while driving home the other day. I always thought this would come at least a year or two down the road. This was it! This was my chance to start my open and honest relationship with my son that would pave the way for all the tougher questions into his teen years! It all started with this question! Whatever you do, Shannon, don't blow it!!!

I blew it. Here is what came out of my mouth, pretty much word-for-word, "Well...Ummm...Ask your father when he gets home."

What?! Did I REALLY just say that? No, I couldn't have. I have been planning out in my mind for so long what I would say and it wasn't THAT. It was like working on a huge speech to perform on stage and then getting up in front of everyone and saying, "Um, actually, someone else is going to give the speech!" and then running off the stage!

Luckily for me, I also saw that day that Luke is smart enough to think of intuitive answers to match his caliber of questions.

So, while I was grimacing at my response in the front seat and replaying my response over again, I heard his voice say, "Oh, I know where they come from!"

"You...do?!" I said. I couldn't believe that I was about to be salvaged at this point. Had I already taught this lesson to my son without realizing it?

"Yes!" he said. "Jesus rolls the babies up into little balls and brings them down from the clouds and puts them into their mommy's tummy."

"Luke," I said with a smile spreading across my face, "that is exactly right."

Ava's Dance Class

Ava had her first day of dance class and loved it. I think the other moms didn't know what to think of me though because I was taking a lot of pictures and filming her nonstop, just because I knew how excited she was!

We went to the hair salon...for dolls?!

For Christmas we went to the American Girl doll store at the Mall of America. My niece brought her doll so she could get her doll's ears pierced at the salon?! I offered to do it for her for free with a nail and hammer...she refused my generous offer.

But here are some photos of our lunch with Ava's American Girl Bitty Baby, my niece, Raegan, sister-in-law, Mary and my mom (where the dolls were served lunch too!) and at the doll hair salon!

Happy Birthday Ava!

Ava's birthday was on the 27th of December, so we celebrated it with her after we got back from Minneapolis (where we celebrated it the first time with the family). We took her to Red Robin and had the waiters sing to her.

I can't believe she is 3 (going on 13). Honestly, Jordan and I don't know where she got the diva attitude, but I can't help but think it is kind of cute...at least for now.

Jordan the Handyman

Since we have been married, I occasionally give Jordan a hard time about not being too handy around the house, though I do have to admit that he is slowly improving and learning his way around.

Last week, however, he earned extra handyman points because he successfully installed our new microwave only after a few setbacks!

I took a picture to momorialize the occasion.

Ava's Primary Primary Class

Today was Ava's first day of Primary! She was so excited because this meant that she is now a "big girl"! She loved it, and even said she doesn't want to go back to Nursery.

Miss Independent

I learned at an early age to learn not to need other people in my life.

I see myself going through some of the most difficult things I have faced in my life where my gut was telling me that I needed help from other people in order to make it through and then my next thoughts were those reassuring myself that I could handle it, that I could deal with it on my own-and that I HAD to deal with it on my own.

I think it was just a means of survival for me. Self reliance in every part of my life meant safety because I could predict the outcome.

...that was until about a year ago.

Jordan and I have been married for about 6 years, and just within the past year, I realized I still had so many barriers up, still unwilling to let him in because I was afraid. But then I found myself asking, "What is so wrong with needing someone in your life, Shannon?" After all, it didn't mean that I could take care of myself, that I was weak or even that I wasn't my own person. I just realized that needing someone in this sense meant relying on them to help me through times when I needed support, when I needed someone just to get me through the times when I was too tired, worn out, sad, etc. to do it on my own. It was needing someone to help me raise my children and to balance me.

After I realized this, I realized that needing someone means being humble and allowing someone else to show you that you can become more than you imagined. Isn't that one reason why we need Christ? We are given commandments, some of which we cannot obey solely through our own faculties, and He know that. That is why we are told He can make more of us than we can alone. In this sense, we are to NEED or rely on Him.

And that is why, in a sense, I need Jordan in my life. I rely on him for certain things, and i love him all the more for being there for me during those times when he is there for me.

So, thank you, Jordan. I love you.