This is Shannon's favorite team of all time! Raun and I got to take her to the Vandy vs. Florida game (she made fun of Raun the entire time!) for her birthday. Isn't she so beautiful? I miss her....

Thanks for the support

Our family greatly appreciates the support that has been offered to us through this time of Shannon leaving us. It was definitely a Thanksgiving that I will never forget. I miss her so incredibly much and it's hard to talk about her without crying. The night time is worse because I am able to think. I like the daylight because I can stay so busy that I can pretend everything is normal, even though it is not.

Here's the newspaper clipping about Shannon:
O'CONNOR, Shannon Lee, age 17, of Manchester, Tennessee, entered into Eternal Rest on Wednes-day, November 21, 2007 at the Vanderbilt Medical Center in Nashville. She was born on February 27, 1990 in Nashville, Tennessee and was a student at the Coffee County Central High School in Manchester. Shannon was a loving daughter, granddaughter and special friend to so many people. She enjoyed horses, all kinds of pets, but her family, friends and Vanderbilt foot-ball were especially impor-tant to her. She was a member of the New Union Baptist Church in Manches-ter. Shannon is survived by her parents, Ray and Patricia O'Connor of Manchester; maternal grandpar-ents, Bob and Betty Nettles of Manchester; paternal grandparents, John and Ruby O'Connor of Titusville, Florida; sisters, Bethany and Anna O'Connor of Man-chester; brother, David O'Connor of Manchester; aunts and uncles, John and Debbie O'Connor of Manchester; Janet and Doug Baker of LaPlace, Louisiana; Lee and Laura Nettles of Manchester; cousins, John O'Connor of Atlanta, Georgia; Megan and Raun Taylor of Ooltewah, Tennessee; Ashley and Josh Brumfeld of New Orleans, Louisiana; Amber Baker of Shreveport. Louisiana; Jakes Nettles, Ashley Nettles, Emily Nettles, Clint Pica and Holly Fowler, all of Manchester; and a host of friends and loved ones. The Family received friends at the Visitation on Friday evening, November 23, 2007 from 5 - 8:00 P.M. at the Central Funeral Home in Manchester, Tennessee. The Funeral service was conducted on Saturday afternoon, November 24, 2007 at 1:00 P.M. from the Chapel of Central Funeral Home with her grandfather, Bob Nettles Pastor Mike Owen and Brother Randy Robertson officiating. Burial followed at the Welker Cemetery in the New Union Community. CENTRAL FUNERAL HOME of Manchester in Charge of Arrangements. http://www.centralfuneralhome.com/

On a positive note, I was not able to see my little boy with autism the week I went to conference or last week because I felt I needed to go get the kids from Manchester. When I saw him yesterday, his mom told me that he wouldn't let her sing the entire time I was gone because he missed me. He hadn't been responding to many people while I was away and when I came back he had started to respond. She was so amazed at how music therapy works when nothing else seems to do so.

We're thinking about going to visit John this weekend in Atlanta. I am really wanting some good food and to see his new television! Our kids choir is singing this Sunday for the Hanging of the Green which begins Advent. We have a rehearsal Saturday, as well as the one tonight. It will be wonderful and I'm very excited!

Prayer Requests: Please pray for our entire family through this holiday season. It's definitely going to be tough because I just don't feel in the mood to celebrate this year. Pray for Aunt Patricia and Uncle Ray as they are constantly reminded of what is no longer there. Pray for us to remember she's in safe hands and pray for us to be able to use Shannon's story and legacy to make a difference in so many people's lives.

She's in heaven.....

My dearest cousin entered heaven the day before Thanksgiving. It was an extremely hard thing to see, but I am very glad that I was able to be there to tell her that I love her so very much. For anyone needing arrangement information, the visitation is tomorrow from 5-8, and the funeral is Saturday at 1 at Central Funeral Home. Thanks for the prayers and all.

Prayer for Shannon...

Please pray for my cousin and best friend, Shannon, as well as her family. She's in ICU and not doing so well. My heart has been broken and I'm not for sure how to deal with all of this. Please pray for a miracle....a wonderful, powerful, beautiful miracle. Please pray for strength and for love. Pray for peace and for God to wrap His ever-loving arms around us and hold us, especially Shannon. Pray for us to place this in God's hand and to know that it's God's will. Pray for acceptance and guidance...

Before I leave for conference....

These are the views from our house. The leaves were so breathtakingly beautiful this week, that I had to snap lots of pictures. I'm heading to Louisville, KY to learn the latest on music therapy. I'm very excited to hear the newest advancements and to hear where we stand in the medical field now. Pray for me in my travels!

I don't have my Mom's gardening thumb....

These are the pictures of my very own rose bush. It was planted this spring and I am very happy with how it has flourished. I think I may add a few more rose bushes. They are very hardy, I'm learning. I absolutely love gardening. I used to hate it when I was growing up because I hated to weed the flower bed, but now it's so much fun. Raun makes fun of me and says that I make flower beds only where the grass is growing....but I can't help it!

Our first freeze of the year!

So, we've finally hit our first freeze. It's been really cold in the morning, but not too bad during the day. It's struggled to get out of the low 60's, but I think it's supposed to warm up again soon. We've actually had the heater on at night...and the electric blanket! I love the cold weather!

My choir is singing for the first time on Sunday morning for both services. I'm a little nervous. They sang wonderful for the Pumpkin Patch, but there's gonna be lots more people on Sunday. I was so proud of my boy from Sudan...he sang both songs for the first time last night! I smiled the entire time and tried to make it look like I was wasn't looking at him so he'd keep singing. I love working with them. It's definitely a challenge, but it's fun.

We've hit the time of year where we're going to be incredibly busy. I love this time of year, since it's my favorite, but I miss my time that I get to spend at home. This weekend, my roommates from college are coming here and we're going to have our girl's weekend. We usually go on a big trip, but because of circumstances, we're going to do our big trip in the spring. I'm so excited. I have been blessed to still be such wonderful friends with them. I think we're going shopping, cooking some healthy meals, and of course, making coffee!

Then, on Tuesday, I leave for Louisville to attend the Music Therapy conference. I'm going with another college friend and staying with her family there. This will be a weird conference for both of us because this is the first time we haven't had to fly somewhere. I can actually bring back lots of instruments...which is good because I'm gonna have to! I love conferences because it is a great encouragement to continue what we're doing, as well as keeping us up-to-date on the newest practices and research. It's so great to be with so many music therapists from around the world. One year, I'll attend the music therapy conference in another country!

I return from conference on next Sunday....only to unpack, wash clothes, and catch up on all the work I missed. Then, it's repacking and heading to Atlanta on Wednesday to pick up my brother and head on to Florida for my grandparents 50th wedding anniversary. It'll be lots of fun, but definitely weird! It'll be our first Thanksgiving away from Tennessee in a long time. And we're not actually cooking the dinner....which yes, has it's benefits! No turkey sandwiches for weeks! I'm excited to see everyone, but I just know it's going to fly by. But when we return home, we're having our turkey Thanksgiving with Raun's family...so I guess I'm not completely home free from turkey sandwiches! But it's a good thing that I love turkey and mustard sandwiches!

That ends November and the next weekend is our kid's choir rehearsal for the Hanging of the Green and the beginning of Advent. I love this service. I'm thinking of using the West African drums during this service. It'll be so neat, if we can pull it off!

Following that, we're going to Dollywood and staying in Gatlinburg with one of our friends and their baby. We love hanging out with them because we have so much in common. I'm really excited to see the Christmas lights in Dollywood and to see all of the beautiful shows. There's nothing like being in the mountains at Christmas time. I absolutely love it! Well, there's nothing like being in the mountains period.

Then right before Christmas is our choir performance at church, which is awesome! They fill out the rest of the orchestra with strings and whatever other instruments we don't have playing already. I love playing for this. The choir is so beautiful and it's one of my favorite services.

That brings us to Christmas and who knows what else is to come during that week! I'll stay posted with pictures and all for sure.