check this out

A great friend of mine from TN is a middle school counselor & has an great blog. She is truly an amazing person. If you have a chance.....check out one of her recent stories/posts.....

Goodbye Knoxville

We moved to Knoxville in March of 2003. I was pregnant, due in July, with my second child and had an almost 2 year old little girl, Olivia, at the time. We drove cross country in our '89 Ford Tempo, over 1000 miles, which broke down only once in Kentucky, where I had trouble understanding the local, (Elvis look-alike), tow-truck driver. John had to translate for me.....which I found funny.....I'm more of the linguist type!

We moved into an apartment off of Ball Camp Byington road in the Forest Ridge complex. John's job consisted of a 1 year appointment to Oak Ridge National Lab Metals and Ceramics division. Our first son, Oscar, was born in our bedroom of that apartment. Our first out-of-hospital delivery was incredible....we both agreed we'd never go back. John's appointment was renewed for another year at which time we decided to search for our first home. After wearing out our realtor we found a quaint little cape-cod with an awesome back yard with only trees behind us. With no money down, a non-permanent job, and 2 children, we bought it and moved in on June 1, 2004. (Credit was much more easily obtained in 'those days'!) It became our dwelling place for the next 4 1/2 years.

We had a baby in that home before we had even lived in it for a year. Vianne was born in the living room near the fireplace.....what a warm and beautiful birth. In May of 2005, John was hired on as a permanent employee of the lab. Olivia started preschool at Montessori International School. That fall, soon after Vianne turned 7 months old we found out we were expecting baby #4. Gabrielle was born upstairs, in our bedroom at the time, in the middle of the day....our littlest baby was the toughest delivery....she was born 'sunny side up!'

That fall Olivia started Kindergarten at the same school. I (we) decided in January of that school year (2007) that I was going to homeschool the following year. Our first year homeschooling was wonderful. Even better than I had ever imagined. The day after Christmas 2007 John & I went out for a 'date', I took a pregnancy test, and found out what I already knew in my heart.....we were expecting baby #5! We decided that night that our next vehicle purchase would be a suburban...we would need space for 5 children in 5 car seats!

In March of 2008, better opportunities presented themselves for employment for John, and after receiving 2 offers from 2 different companies we decided that the best move would be for us to go to Charlotte, NC where John would work for EPRI (Electric Power Research Institute). He started his job in May of 2008. In June we decided to build a new home in a neighborhood.....(slow markets can work to your advantage in this case!). In late July we put our house on the market. August came and Levin was born in our downstairs bedroom, in the middle of the night.....my midwife said I was a quiet laborer. The Lord knew just what I needed for his birth....peace & quiet in the stillness of the night.

At the end of Sept, beginning of October, my Grandmother Stacy passed away, we sold our house, and Levin was baptised, all within one weekend. Today we closed on our house. It is officially not ours anymore. We met the nice family this morning & I'm very excited for them. I hope they will enjoy turning this house into a home as much as we have.

As we approach this Thanksgiving tomorrow, I have so. many. things. to be thankful for. I'm overwhelmed thinking of them all. God has been so good to us, and so good to me. I want to thank all the friends I've made here for making my/our time here so wonderful....you know who you are. You will be missed......tremendously. I've learned so much and will carry all these lessons with me to our next dwelling place in North Carolina. Thank you, thank you, thank you. I love you, I love you, I love you.

To All of YOU: "May the Lord bless you and protect you. May the Lord smile upon you and be gracious to you. May the Lord who you His favor and give you His peace." - Numbers 6:24-26.

God Bless,

Jen

Our Last Sunday Mass at All Saints

When I walked into our church this morning & saw Fr. Michael, I told him this was our last Sunday mass before we move. Tears welled up in my eyes as I told him. He gave me a hug & gathered all 7 of us close to him & said, let's pray. He spontaneously prayed such a beautiful prayer for us & our family with his arms wrapped around us.....by the end of his prayer I was crying. I'm sure going to miss him, and I'm definitely going to miss All Saints and all the friends we've made through this incredible church. Fr. Augustine said mass that morning & at the end he asked if 'the Shingledecker Family' is present. We raised our hands & shyly semi-stood up.....he asked us to come to the altar.....he told us not to be shy & come up onto the stairs. He told the congregation that we are leaving & we'll be missed....I was so sad & crying. Then he asked the congregation to raise their hands to send us off with a blessing. Whoa. How very special. Nearly a thousand people raising their hand to bless us!? Wow. Little Gabrielle provided a little comic relief for us and the church as she squirmed out of John's arms & fell (harmlessly) down one carpeted stair....it made me laugh (she was fine!) The people of All Saints are awesome......and the priests.....they are ONE OF A KIND. Thank you Fr. Augustine, and Fr. Michael for being who you are, and doing what you do. Words cannot express how much I (& we, my family) love you!

I signed this petition......

and hope you will too...... Fight FOCA

Aprons, Aprons, and more Aprons!

I love to sew. And I love to sew aprons. A friend of mine 'commissioned' me to make her & her 5 girls each an apron. She went out & purchased the fabric at one of my favorite fabric shops, Gina's Bernina Sewing Center, and I sewed them together! When did I find the time to do this???.....well I actually shouldn't have agreed to make them in the first place, because I really didn't have the time....but I told her I would, and after my husband coached me to not feel bad about my decision & just move forward.....I did. So, we skipped homeschooling for a couple weeks (yes, a couple weeks) so I could make them. The kids had a blast playing outside in the leaves & 70 degree weather, so I didn't feel so bad. It's one of my reasons for homeschooling....so that the kids can enjoy taking advantage of days like that....hopefully they will someday look back & remember a happy childhood. I also commited myself, since Levin's birth and since the sale of our home, to attending daily mass with my children......and if that's the only thing that I do with them all day, I will have accomplished a lot in my book. "Glory to God in the Highest" gets sung a lot in our home now, the kids like to 'pretend' mass at home. Even little Gabrielle will sing His praises (;

So, here are the much anticipated pics of the aprons:

For the first 4 aprons I used patterns from the book "A is for Apron".

The "Lorelei" for Anastasia:

The "Waldorf" for Olivia or Gabrielle (yes, 2 of my children have the same name as 2 of hers!):

The "Carnival" for Olivia or Gabrielle:

The "Mango Tango" for Andreanna:

And the next two are from the a Simplicity pattern #4286 view A. I decided after making this style that I really really like it.......

This is a size 8 for Maria:

This is a size 7 for Jacklynn and I think this one is my favorite. It's a beautiful blue gingham-type background w/tiny strawberries.....and red tiny gingham trim, and adorable ruffles!

While I was sewing, this is what was happening in the front yard, FUN! More FUN!

Backyard lunch picnic:

Okay, so after making all those aprons, Olivia wanted to make one for her baby doll Isabella. Olivia & I made this for her baby on our Thursday night craft nite together. Isabella's twin brother Henry doesn't have one yet, we have to come up with a more 'boyish' style. She did a great job! And I cannot sign off without including a pic of baby Levin with one of his big sisters! love this pic.

Ciao for now,

Jennifer J. S.