My husband is the best...

Do you remember those Espirit bags growing up?










I always wanted one growing up - and was given one by a friend of mine... it was used, but I LOVED it and used it every day! I felt SO COOL!!!

Well, leave it to my husband to make me feel "cool" again... I have been talking about wanting a Juicy purse for a while and have looked at them online, but just could not justify spending the money on myself. Well, my WONDERFUL hubby decided I was worth it and HE was gonna spend the money (that I wouldn't spend on myself) and bought me a Juicy purse for my birthday! :)



















Yes, I know it isn't my birthday yet - but that's the other funny part...

Fred had the kids make cards for the presents that he bought so the kids could each give me one and I think he showed them what they were... because as Colton got in the car last night after school here's what I heard:
Colton: "Mommy! We made your birthday card for your present!
Chayse: "Colton! You can't tell!"
Colton: "Yes I can - you're not the boss!" (VERY common statement at our house)
Chayse: "No you can't! Dad said so!"
Colton: "Yes I can, Chayse! Mommy we got you a sweatshirt..." things went silent as he got "the look" from Daddy. :)

Fred didn't trust Colton to not tell any of the other presents AND Fred has never been a good one to keep surprises from me ;) so he let me open all of them last night!
All I can say is - the man did GOOD! :)

A lost tooth...

Well, my big boy did it! :)
He lost his first tooth on December 26th (a little earlier than I had expected).
His mother had to help him remove the tooth
because his other tooth was coming in behind it
and it wasn't coming in at the right angle
but nonetheless...
his first tooth is officially gone
and a big boy tooth is following it! :)

I'm not your typical mom...

Okay - confession time... when I had just Chayse I used to listen to all the "kiddie songs" for her. So she was always singing stuff from Kids Praise, Veggie Tales, etc...

Maybe I'm just too _ _ _ (I refuse to say it... but old) now and I just want to listen to "my stuff". So my kids are CONSTANTLY listening to praise & worship with me in the car, at home, whatever. If you're in the truck with me - we're usually watching (and singing along very loudly) the 5th Service DVD or a Hillsong United DVD...

And then here's what you get (but I LOVE it)...



In case you can't understand him - here's what he's saying:

"Jesus, we're living for your name. Never be ashamed of you. Woah-oh
Our praise and all we are today. Take, take, take it all. Take, take, take it all."

Just so you know - this video is just of Connor (because I can still effectively bribe him with a piece of gum)... but Colton sings this song so well and plays the "air guitar" with it - but refuses to be captured on video (so far). But when I catch him - I'll show you that too!

Isn't God good? I love him!

My son is the funniest ever...

I think my son misses being home with me (after having 2 weeks home for Christmas break)... here was our conversation this morning:

Colton: Mommy, are you going to pick me up from school today?
Mommy: Yes, Mommy will be at work today and so I'll pick you up from school.
Colton: Are you going to have lunch there too?
Mommy: Yes.... why?
Colton: Will you pick me up at lunch? I'll give you a dollar...
Mommy: ...jaw on the floor... laughing my BUTT off!!

I am a good Mommy... I did reassure him that he could make it through the whole day of school and I would pick him up after naptime and he walked away happy.

But man - that dollar could have bought me a desperately needed Diet Coke this morning.... hhhmmmm! :)

It has been WAAAAAYYYY too long...

All I can say is - I'm sorry!
My camera, my phone - both filled with a bunch of amazing pictures for some really fun posts... but - they are still there... in my camera and in my phone (hopefully to be posted on here soon).

My problem is two-fold:
1. It was Christmas break and I had kiddos home to wrap presents for, play new games with, feed 4-5 times a day and over all just have fun with them while on break.
2. I have been having wi-fi problems with my computer lately - if I could just post from my phone I'd be GOLDEN... but not yet.

Sooooo.... here's a quick "recap" of the last three weeks of "The Life and Times of the Shirley Family"

• Kids on 2 week break for Christmas - LOTS of playing outside
• Fred took the 2 weeks of vacation as well... had some fun dates! :)
• Christmas - fun, but low-key this year (YEAH!!!)
• Colton lost his first tooth on the 26th (more pictures to come) - I actually pushed it out, but in my defense, his tooth was pushing underneath and causing him pain.
• Connor has a new friend - his "shobel" (shovel). Everything he did outside for the last two weeks involved dragging that shovel EVERYWHERE!!!
• Fred and I went to see Claret (Nyk & Jen Olson's band) at a club downtown (GREAT show and fun to see them perform again) but I got carded for the first time!!! (okay - I got carded once before, but just for an "18 and up" place - this was so I could wear a bracelet all night that said "ok to drink") Kinda wierd... :)
• Very pleased with the presents the kids got (I helped pick a lot of them out) and the boys got matching pirate ships (which Fred thought I was nuts for buying) but having two of them has been a HUGE lifesaver! :)
• Really been praying about some stuff for the future lately (like I really haven't before) and I'm excited for what God has in store for us!

Anyway - I hope you had a great Christmas and New Year's...

All our love... The Shirley's