We Did It....We Got a Family Pic

Well, after two crying tantrums, one tummy ache and a log filled with spiders, we actually were able to get some pics with everyone!! We went up to shoot them in the woods and the cliffs overlooking the Missouri River out here at St.Albans. It was a beautiful evening and the leaves were in their peak before all of the wind and rain came through this past weekend.
It is really hard to get all 6 kids looking in the right direction and smiling at the same time, but I think we actually got a few that will be Christmas card worthy.
We are going to do our Harvest tradition today of carving our pumpkins, cooking the seeds, and then having a bonfire and cooking s'mores!!! This year we get to share that with dear friends!! Frost is on the pumpkins this morning and they are ripe for carving!!!! Happy Harvest!!! This has to be my favorite time of year! God is so awesome in the details of every season!!

Field Trip Day for Hannah

What a great day we had yesterday. The weather was perfect, as it has been for the last two weeks for our trip to Theis Farms Pumpkin Land. This is a great place for little ones to run around and play on all of the stuff they have made out of hay bales- castles, forts, mazes and more!!! They even have a little zipline. Hannah was very brave and adventurous and tried the zipline.


We also went on a hayride and walked through a Farmer's Market and bought some carmel corn and peanut brittle. Her class had a great time, and Hannah and Nathan crashed in the car on the way home. That is the telltale sign that it was a good time!!! I even managed to get a few pics of both of them smiling!

We are going to attempt a family picture sometime today. It is so hard to get everyone together with all of our sporting events and schoool activites on the weekends. We are going to a wedding today,so hopefully we can sneak in a pic with everyone dressed up.

Every day is a gift from the Lord. We should all remember this, because life is so short and can change in a heartbeat. Yesterday Mark went to a funeral of one of his client's 8 year old grandson. It was heartbreaking. It just makes you think about how quickly life can end. We all act as if we will live to be 85 years old, die in our nice warm beds and that we will not have to bury our children. Reality tells us something different. It just makes me think about how precious my husband and children are, and that every day with them is truly a gift from God. Not to dwell too long on this, but without the peace of the Lord that surpasses all understanding,it would be very easy to live your life in fear and not ever want to go anywhere or do anything. But, God does not want us to live that way. He wants us to live our life to the fullest for Him. Fear is not of God, it is of the enemy.
Is it well with my soul, even when it is not well with my circumstances? I pray that I never have to walk through that valley of losing a child, but I know that not only would Jesus be waiting for me on the other side of that valley, but that He would be carrying me through it as well. Is it well with your soul? I pray that whoever is reading this can know His peace and comfort no matter what your circumstances may be. O Praise Him!!!

Back to the Blog.........

Well, the last time I blogged, it was the last day of my pregnancy before Nathan was born.
It is now 7 months later..........wow!!!! Life moves fast! Since Nathan was born, here is a quick run down of "A Day in Our Life".....
Nathan was born on March 11th,the same day as Mark's birthday. He weighed 9.75 pounds and spent the first two days of his life in the NICU due to low glucose levels. He rebounded quickly and has continued to grow leaps and bounds. He currently weighs 19.4 pounds!!! He is also known as Nate the Great! He is such a sweet natured and happy baby. What a blessing he has been to our family. I can't imagine life without him!!!
We had a great summer with swim team, trips to Ohio and North Carolina, and a fun filled fourth of July complete with backyard fireworks and great friends.
Olivia started high school at Eureka High this past August and has adjusted very well to public school. She is very smart and has a kind and discerning heart. We still pray every day that she is confident in who she is in the Lord, as she is in a place that is filled with peers of all walks of life. Her grades are really good and she has made some new friends as well as keeping the ones that she has had for the last 5 years at Living Water Academy. She went to Homecoming with a group of those friends. She looked so pretty and grown up. We are so proud of her.
Caroline is in 6th grade now and just had her 12th birthday. She is growing into a beautiful young lady right before our eyes. She loves her teachers this year and is doing great in school. She is taking singing lessons again and is also doing volleyball at the YMCA this fall. She really likes the volleyball and is very good at it. She is proving to be quite an amazing writer, and loves to read us her new stories. She loves to make us all laugh.
Andrew is almost 9 and played baseball this fall.(Dad coached his team again) He is a really good hitter, but has really found his nitch in being catcher. He has also started taking Tai Kwon Do this fall. He absolutely loves that!! He has done really well in school so far this year and has been getting 100's on all of his spelling tests. He has made huge strides in math this year as well. We are so proud of him.
Elizabeth is now 6 years old and is in 1st grade. She loves her teacher and has turned out to be quite an excellent reader. She loves to play outside every day that she can riding her bike and playing with her sisters and brother and her neighborhood friends. She is a great big sister to Hannah and Nathan. She has started playing soccer this fall and is a little firecracker on the field. She is outgoing and fun loving and loves to perform for us and she always has a smile on her face.
Hannah is going to be 4 next month and has grown so much over the past year. She is learning to write her name and is awesome at coloring. She stays in the lines so well. We made the big transition from pull ups to underwear at night this past summer!!Yea!!! She loves school and her teachers and loves to play with her little friends from church and school. She loves her baby brother and is learning how to be a big sister to him. She is a passionate and lively little girl and always keeps us on our toes!She loves her books and will sit up in her room for hours reading them to herself. We love her so much.
And last but not least, Mark and I got away two weekends ago for my 42nd birthday. We went away just for the night to a bed and breakfast in Elsah, Illinois. We went apple picking the next morning and had a great time. We don't get away very often, and even just one night is a little treat.
So, that is a quick update on the last 7 months. Life is good and God is good all the time. We are so blessed and every day in our life is an adventure with these amazing children that God has given us. I will attempt to keep up with this blog and keep you all posted of what a day in the Thom family is like. God bless.
Kim