first day in the office....

Today Aaron stayed home with Everly in the morning and I (Shauna) got to go to the office. We're going to try to do this Tuesdays and Thursdays when we don't have volunteers. I'm going to be taking care of the Gathering's newsletter and other things we need produced, like our right now I'm making brochures for our counseling center, so I have plenty to keep me busy! Aaron has plenty too! He kept Everly up until 10:30 which wasn't so good cause she didn't end up taking a morning nap... and oh, she was very jittery for me! So, she is now waking up from a 2 1/2 hour nap and we got to run to the grocery. What a busy day! Tonight the girls are starting a Bible study and our neighbor is joining us as well as a couple girls Abbey has met. Praying for some good discussion and transformation as we renew our minds! Thanks for praying, too!

newest hair

This is for my mom, and Megan, and anyone else who might care! This is my choppiest haircut yet! Probably the worst one too because the short layers make my hair a fro without some serious work to make it calm down. hehe... Aaron helped me straighten it after my first wash and it took us less than 1/2 an hour!



here it is in a pony tail semi-straight. when it was curly it was much shorter and funnier! but if you know my hair, i don't have a lot! :)

Everly's first Christmas

We had quite the road trip holiday this year! We left for Indy on December 23 and got in around 1 a.m.! But before we left we opened our stocking gifts to each other at home.

One of Everly's favorite thing to do is play with the steering wheel in the car! It was hard to put her back in her seat after being on the road so long!

On Christmas morning we opened gifts at three places--first at my (Shauna) mom's house.
Here is Everly with her cousin Audrina, patiently awaiting gift opening!

Then we went to Aaron's parents where our last gift was a scavenger hunt to the garage where a white truck with a red bow was waiting! This was a gift from a man from our church-a company truck ready to find a new home. He and Aaron had discussed this option for the future as Old Blue is getting a little rougher, so it was a wonderful surprise!

I don't have too many pictures of the rest of Christmas day because we got a small camcorder for Christmas--so hopefully I will get some film on the blog soon! In the evening we went to my grandparents and spent the night there. My grandpa calls Everly his girl because she was born on his birthday, so they were very delighted to see her and us.


On Friday we drove to Louisville to see some friends who hadn't yet met Everly. Here is Everly and Sophia Stewart who are only weeks apart! Evelry just loves being with little ones!

Of course, we had to watch the Colts while we were up there, though the game wasn't too good. Here we are with my brother, Paul, all decked out, well... kinda.

This is Christmas dos with my family- here is my sister Stasia, her husband Ben, and my mom with the girls.

Although it didn't snow on Christmas, we found a pile left over at my grandparents and showed it to Everly. Little did we know we would be driving through a blizzard that night on our way to Bellflower, IL!

That was New Year's Eve and we stayed with our friends Jen and Joel Searby and their son Evan at Jen's parents house. It was so much fun to be with really good friends! The next day we also got to see a couple more friends who live in IL on our way to Branson, MO.


We met Aaron's family in Branson for three whole days. It was the off season, so it wasn't the typical Branson vacation! We went bowling and Everly didn't know what to think of the loud noise!

But she did like the truck ride there! She knew exactly what to do with the steering wheel! :)

We also went to eat at Lamberts where they throw rolls- something Aaron had wanted to do since college. The kids got balloons there and Everly just loved playing with hers. Here she is with Grandma Johnson :)

And we went for a hike--315 steps down and up this hill! Here is Benaiah with hiking stick in hand :) and Grandpa Johnson.
It was great to get outside and to break out our winter coats!

Most of the rest of the time we played Chinese Checkers and Sorry- some of Benaiah's favorites. The kiddos had fun playing together too--Everly especially liked Justin since they are close to the same size.

On our way home we drove through the backhills of Arkansas! and stopped in Jackson, MS to stay the night with our good friends the Viramontes. Isn't this a precious picture of Adam holding Everly? :)


Welp, we're off for a staff retreat today--we're going to be watching the video taped sessions from Catalyst-a leadership conference. Please pray we have good bonding and discussions. Jay Snapp, from Indian Creek, is here too. He is Aaron's intern for the semester, so please be praying for that relationship. Lastly, Aaron and I are going to work out a schedule where he comes home for a few hours three days a week so I can go into the office. While Evelry naps, he can still get work done here, so hopefully it will be good all around! Thanks for checking in with us!!!! Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and New Years, too-isn't the Lord good!