Happy 2nd Birthday Emily

2 years ago on Thursday, August 23rd, in a room filled with love, Jeff, Mom, and LeeAnn watched as Emily Kate made her grand entrance into this big world. She was so tiny (6lbs, 6oz) and was the most beautiful little girl I had ever seen. When we arrived home on Friday afternoon, the house was full of family. Preston, Mom, Barrett, LeeAnn, Elliott, and Abigail all greeted us and couldn't wait to get their chance to hold sweet Emily. It was one of the most precious times in our lives. A time that I will never forget. 

The first year was very rocky, but with the help of some medicine and prayers, we all made it through just fine! This second year has been such a whirlwind. I'm learning more and more how fast time flies when you are having fun! We have spent this year doing so many fun and wonderful things, but I think one of my favorite things has been hearing Emily sing. She loves music, but has just recently started singing Jesus Loves Me. It just melts our hearts every time she sings it. I have also enjoyed seeing the nurturing side come out of her. She loves her baby dolls so much. She loves to rock them and change their diapers, feed them, and push them around in her stroller. She loves her Bubby so much and loves to say "I love YOU!" over and over. 

Emily Kate Shands, I hope you know how special you are to our family and everyone that knows you. You are such a blessing to us and we look forward to every minute we get to spend with you! 

Happy Birthday Sweetie!

Catching Up

So, it's been a while since I last posted! I knew I wouldn't be good at this!
A lot has been going on in our house lately though. Preston just finished up his first year of playing Tball and did really good. I will have to say that the first game made us a little nervous that Preston wouldn't enjoy it, but after that, he acted like he had been doing it since he was born. He still had to be told to run fast, but watching my little boy run with that huge red helmet made me the proudest Mom out there. We ended the year at a pool party at the coaches house and each of the boys were given a metal and some goodies. We are actually thinking about signing him up for soccer in the fall. I don't really care for soccer, but love watching Preston interact with other kids.
Speaking of other kids, Preston and Emily are going to be able to go to Preschool in the fall! YAY! I am so excited about this opportunity and Jeff said that every time they drive by the school, Preston gets excited and says he can't wait to go. As you know, Preston is quiet just like his Daddy and has really become painfully shy. We are hoping that this will help him lose a little bit of that. Not that we want to change his personality because we love him just the way he is, but because we honestly just want him to make friends and enjoy being around others! Emily is our little social butterfly, but I know she will really benefit from it too. I'm sure I'll have tons of pictures from their first day that I'll post!
After substitute teaching for a semester, Jeff has realized that he has a strong passion for teaching in a school. He decided he would like to pursue this desire and has begun the process for getting a license to teach. He took the first Praxis exam and passed with flying colors. Then came the specialty Praxis. He loves history and decided that would what he would like to teach. Jeff was told by lots of people not to be disappointed if he failed the first time or even second time, but to keep trying. They said the history exam was very hard, but Jeff decided to press on and take it. Well, after MANY hours of prayer by many wonderful friends and family, we got the results. JEFF PASSED! The first time!! We felt like that was an answer from God that this is what Jeff needs to do. It seems like from the minute we got the results (May 26th), we have hit the ground running full speed ahead. There is so much to do and it seems like so little time to do it. Jeff enrolled in a program through Belhaven College. He started class last week and will have his license by the end of September. He will have class every Tuesday night for the next 18 months or so. The program is setup that he will have his Masters in teaching in about 18 months. Oh, how we long for that day to get here! It seems like such a big sacrifice to give up every Tuesday night, but we know it will be so worth it! I am so proud of him!!
I guess that is all for now. I'll try to figure out how to upload pictures and be more consistent in blogging so next time it's not so long!

Highpoint Church

After Jeff resigned from Trinity Baptist, we felt it was still our church home until one Sunday in April. We both walked in and felt God telling us that our time there was over. We have lots of friends there and it was a hard decision for us, but we also know that when God tells us both something so clearly, we better do it!
Growing up in the ministry my whole life and then marrying a minister, deciding what church to attend was easy- where Dad and Jeff had a job! Searching for a church was something we dreaded so much. We wanted to make sure that it was going to be a place where we could be feed spiritually and we want our kids to grow up fully knowing the love and sacrifice of God. We had a long list (in our heads) of churches to visit. Some small, some large. Highpoint was first on our list so one Sunday in May, we took the plunge and we LOVED it! We both got in the car and talked about how it was everything we were wanting. In the middle of us talking about it, Preston interrupted us and said "God will never leave me". Well, that pretty much solidified our decision to stay at Highpoint. It has been a complete blessing to talk to Preston about what he is learning at church and to answer those millions of questions that he asks us about Jesus not to mention all the friendships he has developed. Yes, our shy little Preston actually talks in the classroom after we leave! We feel that God is going to use Highpoint to change our city in ways we can only imagine!

In October, we started attending a small group with 4 other couples. It was an instant match and we love them like they are our family! We have since added 2 more couples (and a babysitter :) :)) and look forward to that time every week.

That being said, we joined the church last night! Highpoint believes that in order to become a member of the church, you need to go through a class learning about the vision, direction, and beliefs of the church. We were fortunate enough to be able to have 2 of the staff members come to our small group last night and lead us through that class. YAY!! It just feels so right and we are so blessed to be a part of such a God fearing church!

Here We Go...

So I've decided to give this a shot. With having so many family members that live away from us, I thought this would be a good way for us to stay in touch and show off our "babies". I will try my hardest to keep this updated.