Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

Looking back at an awesome year of transition, learning and growing and looking forward to a year full of laughter, friendship and new experiences!

2009 here I come...

What day is it?

What is today? I thought it was Saturday but I was sadly mistaken.

So I have been MIA for the past five days and there is a good reason! It's because of two very important things...Family & YEC!

I had an amazing time spending Christmas in North Carolina with my family. It was the first time I had stepped foot in my parents house since last Christmas which is ridiculous and I am determined 2009 will go differently. I got to see my 6 year old niece, Summer who is sooo tall. I swear she is going to be a model. She has super long legs and may be taller than me by the time she's 10...not really but maybe, ha!

I got to spend time with my Mom and Dad, having some home cooked meals and some awesome conversations. My brother and I got to do a little childhood cleaning on my old room.

Yes I said old.

I decided to turn my old room into my niece's new room. It makes more sense and she loves the idea. She also loves the idea of playing with all my stuff, haha. We'll work on that.

For the past three days I have been in MACON, GA with some great friends putting on a little thing called Georgia YEC- Youth Evangelism Conference. It has been three days of fun, music, the word of God, hard work, lack of sleep, laughing hysterically, magic, merch, coffee, and hundreds of people giving their lives to Christ.

We had three awesome bands...Leeland, Hawk Nelson and Fee. We had one mind boggling illusionist...Brock Gill(you are my favorite gypsy). We had some unbelievable BMX/Motorcross action...Brad Bennett & the Real Encounter team. And we had one amazing speaker...Landon Dowden.

I was the PPM this year...the Performance Personnel Manager...long title, awesome job, tired legs. My job consisted of taking care of the bands, speakers, illusionist(which is an everyday occurrence) and the athletes. I made sure they were on stage when they needed to be. Made sure they had all supplies needed to put on a great performance. Made sure they had rooms, food, transportation, and for the FEE band, I made sure they had someone to pick on >You are welcome guys<

It was a great three days and they went by way too fast. Not enough time to catch up with everyone. Not enough time to give all the hugs necessary to tide me over till Conclave. Not enough time to completely take it all in. Not enough time to annoy Aaron. Oh well, counting down days till the next event!

Oh and one more...we totally say the singer of ONE DAY NIGHT >insert loud, obnoxious, 13 year old girl scream here<

I even got a picture!

haha...nice pose Jason! You ROCK!

Lucky...Bang Bang

My niece got a fun new toy for Christmas that we seriously played with all day! His name is Lucky and he is the most well behaved puppy I've ever met:)

Check out his tricks...

Playing Santa

I am totally playing Santa Claus right now! Just placed the gifts around the tree and shared a delightful plate of cookies with my brother. Yum!

My niece is going to be so excited in the morning! Can't wait to see her face:)

I love being an adult!

Done flying!

I have decided never to fly again!

Let me explain why so you don't think I am just boycotting airlines for some dumb reason.

Last night, I had a 7:34 PM flight booked from Atlanta, GA to Newport News, VA. Everything was going great...I made it to the airport an hour and a half early without sitting in traffic for hours, got to catch up with my friend Shane and his new puppy Cooper, I had time to grab a little snack of cashews and a coke to tide me over till I landed and I even had time to jump rope a little around the terminal before grabbing my book bag to board! Sounds great huh?

Well at 7:05 PM, it all changed. The Delta lady came over the intercom and said we would begin boarding in just a minute and I was so excited that my flight was on time. Let's just say I was only excited for about a minute because the lady came back on the intercom and said "Due to maintenance issues, your flight has been canceled." No exaggeration, she said those exact words. I mean one minute we were boarding, the next minute I was seriously angry. I'm not even going to lie, there were several non-Christian words floating around in my head.

With a few tears in my eyes, I headed to the service counter in hopes of catching another flight that evening...that was a dumb thought. I arrived at Delta service counter along with about 200 other angry people who were trying to do the same things as me. This is where my long airport experience started.

Three hours and few cuss words later, I canceled my flight all together and made my way down to the baggage area to get my bag back so I could drive to NC...that was a dumb thought too. Let's just say, I am now in North Carolina(after an 8 hour drive) and my bag, well it's still missing...MIA.

Yep, I have no extra clothes, no toothbrush, no make-up and no gifts for my parents. Merry Christmas to everyone!

On the bright side, I am home! I haven't been here in a year and it feels great. The Christmas tree is lite, there is sweet tea in the fridge, fudge on the counter and my family all sitting around watching TV.

Who needs luggage when you got all that, right:) Although brushing my teeth would be awesome, haha!

I'll let you know if I ever see my luggage again! I'm praying I do and would love it if you would pary too.

Hooking in hockey

So, I went to my very first Thrashers game last night which was also my first hockey game! Two words...absolutely amazing! Why has this sport not come across my radar yet.

I loved every second of it!

* The intoxicated screaming fans.
* The delicious pecans.
* The fights that broke out among the players and the way they crushed each other up against the wall.
* The Thrasher head that hung from the ceiling and blew flames out of his mouth whenever we scored.

Everything about it was fun. I'm pretty sure I am obsessed with the sport now and you better believe I will be attending more games this season...after I brush up on my hockey knowledge.

Does anyone know what hooking means in hockey? And does that make him a hooker, haha!

I have a lot to learn:)

Afro Angel

Homemade cookie dough, homemade icing, original decorating skills and three great friends equal an awesome night!

These are the delicious cookies Allie, Katie and I made!

Notice the afro angel which was by far, my favorite:)

Buddy the Elf

Favorite Christmas movie... ELF!

I know, it's not a classic but still, it's my favorite.

I can pretty much quote the whole movie for you and because I can, I have decided to dedicate this blog to my favorite Buddy the Elf quotes:)


* First we'll make snow angels for a two hours, then we'll go ice skating, then we'll eat a whole roll of Tollhouse Cookiedough as fast as we can, and then we'll snuggle.

* Buddy the Elf! What's your favorite color?

* What's a Christmas Gram? I want one!

* I'm a cotton-headed ninny-muggins.

* Francisco! That's fun to say!

* Puffin: Hey Buddy wanna pick some snowberries?
Buddy: Not now Arctic Puffin!

* The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear.

What's your favorite Buddy the Elf quote?

My Pale List

I recently re-watched the movie "Bucket List" and it got me to thinking...What do I want to do before I die. I feel as if my list would be three miles long if I wrote out everything I wanted to do before I died so I have decided to make a 2009 list...All the things I hope to accomplish in 2009! I call it 'My Pale List.'

Twenty things to get done and only a year to make it happen! Sheesh, this is going to be fun:)

1. Take a trip to Haiti and see the adorable babies at the Hands and Feet orphanage.
2. Read the Bible cover to cover
3. Throw a "Party with a Purpose" event in Atlanta.
4. Go to the Carolina/Duke game...this one might be impossible!
5. Turn in my red shirt and find a good guy to date.
6. Lead someone to Christ, actually lead a few.
7. Get Jill, Judy and Heather to paint their nails black...this will be fun
8. Record another song
9. Run a mile without feeling like I'm going to hyperventilate.
10. Go to the gun range and shoot a gun for the first time
11. Add a blue streak in my hair just because.
12. Teach baby Aiden to say Aunt Shannon
13. Learn how to properly cook my Mom's chicken casserole.
14. Fly to New York and go to a Broadway show
15. Embrace confrontation and tell a few people exactly how I feel.
16. Get another tattoo
17. Eat at Imperial Fez
18. Learn to like coffee
19. Flip a skateboard without breaking my neck.
20. Get caught in a tornado..wait I did that in 2008, haha

What do you hope to accomplish in 2009?

Sharing isn't easy

I think I have a hard time sharing!

No really, I'm being serious!

Sharing my clothes
Sharing my projects
Sharing my friends
Sharing my chocolate
Sharing the guys I date...I definitely have a hard time with this one, but hey you're not suppose to share guys right? Well you would think so but apparently it happens...Believe me!

I have a hard time with all of those.

But the main one right now is sharing my friends! You know, the whole friend groups combining and hanging out without you. I'm not mad about it, I just get a little >insert good word for jealous here<.

Lately, I have been extremely busy(on purpose and totally my fault) and I haven't had a lot of time to just hang out with people. I feel like I'm missing out on the fun but mostly I'm missing out on building those relationships.

I wonder if I am being selfish in feeling this way or I wonder if it's normal. Surely I'm not the only one!

Does anyone else ever feel like this?

No eye

No eye has seen, no ear has heard,
and no mind has imagined
what God has prepared
for those who love him.

1 Corinthians 2:9 (New Living Translation)

Counting down

On the 1st day of Christmas my true love gave to me...

A Partridge in a Pear Tree
The partridge in a pear tree is Jesus the Christ, the Son of God, whose birthday we celebrate on December 25, the first day of Christmas. In the song, Christ is symbolically presented as a mother partridge that feigns injury to decoy predators from her helpless nestlings, recalling the expression of Christ's sadness over the fate of Jerusalem: "Jerusalem! Jerusalem! How often would I have sheltered you under my wings, as a hen does her chicks, but you would not have it so . . . ." (Luke 13:34)

On the 2nd day of Christmas my true love gave to me...

Two Turtle Doves
The Old and New Testaments, which together bear witness to God's self-revelation in history and the creation of a people to tell the Story of God to the world.

On the 3rd day of Christmas my true love gave to me...

Three French Hens
The Three Theological Virtues: 1) Faith, 2) Hope, and 3) Love (1 Corinthians 13:13)

On the 4th day of Christmas my true love gave to me...

Four Calling Birds
The Four Gospels: 1) Matthew, 2) Mark, 3) Luke, and 4) John, which proclaim the Good News of God's reconciliation of the world to Himself in Jesus Christ.

On the 5th day of Christmas my true love gave to me...

Five Gold Rings
The first Five Books of the Old Testament, known as the Torah or the Pentateuch: 1) Genesis, 2) Exodus, 3) Leviticus, 4) Numbers, and 5) Deuteronomy, which gives the history of humanity's sinful failure and God's response of grace in the creation of a people to be a light to the world.

On the 6th day of Christmas my true love gave to me...

Six Geese A-laying
The six days of creation that confesses God as Creator and Sustainer of the world (Genesis 1).

On the 7th day of Christmas my true love gave to me...

Seven Swans A-swimming
The seven gifts of the Holy Spirit: 1) prophecy, 2) ministry, 3) teaching, 4) exhortation, 5) giving, 6) leading, and 7) compassion (Romans 12:6-8; cf. 1 Corinthians 12:8-11)

On the 8th day of Christmas my true love gave to me...

Eight Maids A-milking
The eight Beatitudes: 1) Blessed are the poor in spirit, 2) those who mourn, 3) the meek, 4) those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, 5) the merciful, 6) the pure in heart, 7) the peacemakers, 8) those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake. (Matthew 5:3-10)

On the 9th day of Christmas my true love gave to me...

Nine Ladies Dancing
The nine Fruit of the Holy Spirit: 1) love, 2) joy, 3) peace, 4) patience, 5) kindness,
6) generosity, 7) faithfulness, 8) gentleness, and 9) self-control. (Galatians 5:22)

On the 10th day of Christmas my true love gave to me...

Ten Lords A-leaping
The ten commandments: 1) You shall have no other gods before me; 2) Do not make an idol; 3) Do not take God's name in vain; 4) Remember the Sabbath Day; 5) Honor your father and mother; 6) Do not murder; 7) Do not commit adultery; 8) Do not steal; 9) Do not bear false witness; 10) Do not covet. (Exodus 20:1-17)

On the 11th day of Christmas my true love gave to me...

Eleven Pipers Piping
The eleven Faithful Apostles: 1) Simon Peter, 2) Andrew, 3) James, 4) John, 5) Philip, 6) Bartholomew, 7) Matthew, 8) Thomas, 9) James bar Alphaeus, 10) Simon the Zealot, 11) Judas bar James. (Luke 6:14-16). The list does not include the twelfth disciple, Judas Iscariot who betrayed Jesus to the religious leaders and the Romans.

On the 12th day of Christmas my true love gave to me...

Twelve Drummers Drumming
The twelve points of doctrine in the Apostles' Creed: 1) I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth. 2) I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord. 3) He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. 4) He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into hell [the grave]. 5) On the third day he rose again. He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father. 6) He will come again to judge the living and the dead. 7) I believe in the Holy Spirit, 8) the holy catholic Church, 9) the communion of saints, 10) the forgiveness of sins, 11) the resurrection of the body, 12) and life everlasting.

The real 12 days of Christmas

Did you know that the 12 days of Christmas aren't the 12 days before Christmas but actually the 12 days after Christmas. I learn something new every day!

The Twelve Days of Christmas is probably the most misunderstood part of the church year among Christians who are not part of liturgical church traditions. Contrary to much popular belief, these are not the twelve days before Christmas, but in most of the Western Church are the twelve days from Christmas until the beginning of Epiphany (January 6th; the 12 days count from December 25th until January 5th). In some traditions, the first day of Christmas begins on the evening of December 25th with the following day considered the Fhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifirst Day of Christmas (December 26th). In these traditions, the twelve days begin December 26 and include Epiphany on January 6.

Read it all for yourself...The 12 Days of Christmas

Question please

Here's a dumb question that I seriously don't know the answer to...

Does the 12 days of Christmas count down to Christmas Eve or Christmas Day?

...I really need to know!

The tree of Christmas Present

Have you ever seen a Christmas Tree made of laptops...

...NO?

Well let me fix that for you...

The Communication Department at the North American Mission Board made this creation to represent the present day way of communicating!

Pretty creative huh?

A birthday perfect for a princess!

I've been meaning to write about this for two weeks and I refuse to wait any longer!!!

November 29 was my friend Emily's birthday. We had a party with a princess theme, mixed with games, five year old style! It was like stepping back into childhood...

We played pin the tail on the donkey, stomp the balloons(I don't know how to explain this game), there was a Princess castle pinata and of course, a delicious ice cream cake!

I still have dreams about that yummy cake, haha!

Emily was so thrilled with the party and all the love that was put in to her birthday. I wish all of you could have seen the smile on her face...well actually I'll show you!


Love you Emily! You truly are a princess:)

Christmas card envy

Christmas card envy... yep I have it!

Where's my card??

So far almost everyone around me has at least gotten one...even my co-workers!

I want to open my mailbox, browse through the mail and come across a festive little envelope with my name on it. That's not too much to ask, is it? >insert cute little smile here<

So friends, loved ones, acquaintances, can you help ease my bitter soul? haha

Alarm clock malfunction

My alarm clock decided not to go off this morning which made me two hours late for work.

I HATE being late and even more, I hate being unreliable which is how I might this morning. There's just something about walking in late and feeling like you have let down your superiors even if the situation was out of your control...By out of control I mean, it would take an act of God for me to wake up without some sort of loud buzzing noise to shake me from my deep sleep!

Luckily I have two amazing bosses that give me grace for things like that...well grace and some cut downs throughout the day, haha! I deserved them I guess!

Anyway, I have set two alarms for tomorrow morning in hopes of not repeating today!

He was injured, injured bad

So my parents and brother came into town Friday afternoon, hence the reason I was MIA for the past two days...I was having some serious family bonding time. We've had a great time exploring the city, doing a little Christmas shopping, eating at some of the ATL favorites and just hanging out since we barely get to do that anymore.

Now my family is from the country of North Carolina, so the city is a little overwhelming for them, except my dad! He pretty much loves all places...But since we are talking about my Pops, let me tell you a little story about what happened to Daddy on his first day visiting his daughter in the big city.

So, Daddy loves getting up to go get breakfast, especially when we're on vacation. He always gets up super early and sneaks out of the house before my Mom, Brock or I wake up. Actually he is usually done eating and back before we get up...yes we're lazy!

Anyway, yesterday Daddy ventured out and found a Waffle House just a few miles down from our condo. He had some breakfast, enjoyed some coffee and read his paper to catch up on current events. Well, as Daddy walked outside to leave, there was a handicapped ramp painted and a step that kind of blended in to the painted area so it wasn't visible when walking to the parking lot (I am horrible at relaying this story, but I'm going to try to tell it right). As Daddy stepped off the ramp, thinking he was stepping onto flat ground, he twisted his foot off the side of the step that "disappeared" into the painted ramp area. This caused Pops to fall and hit the concrete.

When he hit the ground, he hit his head causing his glasses to cut his nose. Take a look...


The Waffle House people took him to the Emergency Care place across the street, where the doctor glued(yes, glued) the cut back together and placed disappearing strips across his skin for the healing process. He said everyone was super nice and the Waffle House people told him to come get free breakfast every morning this week! How crazy is that? And they were serious...Brock and Daddy went back this morning and they both got a free meal. The Waffle House Staff greeted my Dad by name, haha! I think they might be a little scared of a lawsuit, which Daddy would never do!

Anyway, Daddy told me that his nose doesn't hurt, just itches a little. He is such a trooper, but we're gonna shoot for not getting hurt anymore the rest of the trip, haha:)

Munchkin Obsession

So lately I've had this weird obsession with 'The Wizard of Oz' munchkins...so much that I used Cha Cha for the first time to find out how many of them were still living! I can't explain why I want to know, I just do!

I watched a documentary two weeks ago about 4 of the remaining munchkins and it was so fascinating to hear about their lives since munchkin stardom. I would catch myself singing 'Follow the Yellow Brick Road' subconsciously while watching these munchkins, who are in their late 80s, dress in their old costumes and dance around.

I wonder what it would have been like to be a munchkin? To sing songs to Judy Garland and play this magical part of this amazing story that still brings joy to people today. Maybe that's why I'm so fascinated with them right now! Or maybe I just really love the term munchkin:)

What do you think? Does anyone else out there think these people are fascinating?

Welcome to Georgia

Today I did something I said I would never do...

I became a Georgian.



There it is...my new license! I will admit I am fond of the photo, ha! I did smudge the info since there are some crazy people in this world apparently.

Anyway, I know it sounds dumb to make such a big deal over it but I just never thought I would move out of North Carolina and actually stay. Getting a license to me says permanent. >insert Gasp here<

As I was leaving the DMV, the clerk said "Welcome to Georgia!" in a very excited voice. I seriously almost had a panic attack.

Now, I know what you're thinking...'Shannon, why did you do this?'and I wish I had an amazingly clever answer for you. Sadly, all I have to say for myself is 'I hope I really love this state because I just made a HUGE dedication to it!!

I need Africa! Do you?

So, if you are an avid follower of my blog...which you should be...then you probably remember the post from last week about Africa! (I'm sure the reference at the bottom of every post since then has left a photographic imprint in your mind, ha). Anyway today is the day to find out more about this awesome campaign and I'm so excited that you decided to stop back by! Once you have finished reading this blog please visit www.mochaclub.org to check out more!

Now, on to what you have been waiting for. Here is an article from Barrett who lives in Africa and is the leader of this awesome project! Read why he needs Africa...

I NEED AFRICA MORE THAN AFRICA NEEDS ME

When I think of Africa, the following images immediately come to mind: Starvation. AIDS. Child soldiers. Genocide. Sex slaves. Orphans. From there, my thoughts naturally turn to how I can help, how I can make a difference. “I am needed here,” I think. “They have so little, and I have so much.” It’s true, there are great tragedies playing out in Africa everyday. There is often a level of suffering here that is unimaginable until you have seen it, and even then it is difficult to believe. But what is even harder is reconciling the challenges that many Africans face with the joy I see in the people. It’s a joy that comes from somewhere I cannot fathom, not within the framework that has been my life to this day. [read more]



Has it captured your heart yet?

This is such an amazing and life changing project and my prayer is that you will desire to get involved, yearn to help out and crave to know as much as possible about Africa! Head over to mochaclub.org to find out more, find more blog posts and (if you love tee shirts as much as me) purchase a tee to help with spread the word!