It has been so long since I last blogged, but I thought I could at least upload some pics!!! These are from this summer!

20th Anniversary

May 11th Mark and I celebrated our 20th anniversary with a trip to Sandals in Jamaica!! We had a wonderful time. The water, the beach, the hotel, the food, the people we met, all were fantastic... however the best part was our candlelight dinner on the beach one night. It was so amazing to sit there taking in the most beautiful scene you can imagine with the one you love the most!! We are truly blessed and I can not believe that it has been 20 years since we got married!!! Here's a couple pics from our trip. We loved it so much, we booked another trip with the entire family to the Beaches Resort in the Turks and Caicos for next May!!!

Check out my do... and all that I can do!!

Nathan got his crazy hair cut today, and I am happy to say that the Rooster is back!!!
He sat in the chair like such a big boy!
He started walking right around his birthday on March 11th, and within 3 days was all done crawling. That's it- no more crawlers. Another "last" milestone for me to cry and smile about. He is growing up so fast. He is such a busy and curious little boy. Keeping the house baby proofed with 5 other kids has been quite the chore. I am always amazed at how many things he can get into in one day.
Mark shares his birthday with Nathan on March 11th, and this year it was bittersweet. Our black lab, Magic had to be put asleep unexpectedly that day due to a very aggressive and fast growing tumor. We saved the celebrations for the following day, because no one really felt like celebrating that evening. Magic was a really sweet dog, and we will miss him very much. Anyone who really knows me knows that I am not really a dog person, but Magic was a very special dog. It really made all of us stop and think how precious and short life is, and that at any moment we may be called home to be with our Lord. Even the dog? That was a hard question to answer to the kids, but I told them that I hope that dogs have a special place in heaven in the eyes of the Lord after they die. We may get a puppy to keep Sunny company some time next fall. He seems pretty lonely now that Magic is gone. And much calmer!!! That part I am glad about. But I can tell that Ivory misses his Ebony!!! (That's what we used to call them) They were buds.
Andrew has been enjoying his Taekwondo class and is now a yellow belt and can break a piece of wood in half with his foot! He is really good at it. He has also started baseball with dad coaching now for the 4th year. Let's go Sharks!! He has lost a lot of teeth this year, along with Elizabeth! We are keeping the tooth fairy very busy this year!
Hannah and I have been to the park a few times since the weather has gotten nicer-swinging has to be one of her most favorite things to do in the whole world!!! She is a good little mommy's helper with her little brother and loves him so much. She helps me keep a good eye on him as he is in to everything now!!
Olivia made the freshman soccer team for Eureka and so far they are 4-0!!! Go Wildcats! She scored the first goal of the season in their first game, and has since scored 2 more goals! She is doing so good and really seems to like her team and her coach.
Caroline made us so proud a few weeks ago when she decided that she wanted to get baptized. She was baptized when she was 7 years old, but she realized that when she did that, she did not fully understand what it meant to be fully surrendered to the Lord, and to have true repentance of her sins. She told us that she wanted to nail it down once and for all, and so we stood behind her in her decision to get baptized. She was so mature in this decision and we are so proud of her and rejoice in knowing that the Lord is continuing to grow her up in His ways. Thank you Jesus!!!!

Smiles, tears, crawling, walking, teeth, no teeth.....

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Hurray for spring!!!!!!!

Disneyworld!!!!

On Thursday, Feb. 10th, we woke the kids up at 3:00am to tell them we were going to Disney World, and that our flight was leaving at 6:00am that morning!!!! They all were jumping out of their jammies!!! (except Hannah, who wanted to go back to sleep) She finally got more excited when we told her that our hotel had a pool. So, we rushed everyone into the car after getting dressed and started our adventure! I am so proud of them all. My worst fear was trying to navigate them all though the airport and security and all. But, they all did great. OUr flight was smooth and fast, and before we knew it, we were in the Orlando airport, waiting for their second big surprise, which was that Grandma and Grandpa Thom were also coming to Disney World with us and staying at the same hotel!! It was such a great memory. We had some chilly weather while we were there, and Nathan got sick and threw up all over me- (hair and all) the first night we were there, but overall, we had a great time. The kids slept like rocks every night there because our days were early, late, and very busy with lots of walking. But none of us really wanted to leave. I think you could stay there for two weeks and not see all that you want to see or do all that you want to do. But, you have to always leave some things for the next time you come back.
Plus, eventually you will run out of money!!!!!
I think my favorite memory of the entire trip was probably Hannah's worst memory- the fireworks at Magic Kingdom over Cinderella's castle! Wow! Amazing!!! They had Tinker Bell zipline down from the castle over the midway to start off the choreographed firework show to all of your favorite Disney songs. Unfortunately, Hannah hates fireworks, and she completely melted down. We were in the middle of about 10,000 people, and she was freaking out! Nathan slept through the entire thing. Amazing! Finally I was able to calm Hannah down and I picked her up and got her to open her eyes and actually look at the sky. She calmed down enough to look and was finally able to see how amazing it all was. I told her that we will not get to see anything like this again probably for a long, long time. Another favorite moment was the Beauty and the Beast show. I loved watching the girl's faces as they watched Belle and the Beast dance and sing on stage. All of the costumes and special effects were so cool. Disney sure knows how to get the "wow" factor!!

I think that Andrew, Caroline, Olivia and Elizabeth would say that their favorite memory was tied between the Dinosaur ride at Animal Kingdom, where the dinosaurs actually chase you all through the ride, and between Space Mountain at Magic Kingdom. Elizabeth really showed her roller coaster legs, like a true Thom!!! She loved them! She is so brave!
Nathan was quite the little trooper! He is such a good baby! (Thank you Lord!) He battled through being sick and hardly ever complained. He loved it when we got to meet the characters, and liked touching Mickey's nose!! He went on all the rides we could take him on and never once cried or complained except for at night while we were waiting in line to take the monorail back.

All in all it was an awesome trip, and we made lots of great memories with our family and also with Mark's parents. They are both 70 years old, and they kept up with our crazy, busy family really well. I know they were exhausted by the end of the four days, but never once complained or ever showed it. We are so blessed to have been able to share this with them!!

Snow, Snow, and more Snow!!!!!

Another Snow Day!! My kids have been having a blast this past week, with being off school now for a total of 7 days since January!!
I'm wondering if they are going to make up some of these missed days at the end of the year?
They are glad that they are off from school, but are disappointed that the weather people misdiagnosed the intensity and accumulations of the storm. I think they were really looking forward to a foot and a half of snow, not 3 inches of sleet and 2 inches of snow. What fun is sleet? You can't make a snow man with it, it's not as good for sledding, and it's too hard to try to shovel now to make a little extra coin from the neighbors, because now it is a solid sheet of ice, and it is going down to -3 degrees tonight. (At least that is what the weather people are saying, but we all know how good they are at predicting the weather in St. Louis).
Any way, it is very cold, cold, cold, but that has not stopped them from having fun!! I think this is the coldest snowiest winter we have seen yet since we moved here from Boston almost ten years ago. This actually feels like a Boston winter!! We have made cookies, had hot chocolate, cleaned out our storage room, done numerous loads of laundry, watched movies,had many Wii tournaments, and even made a short movie preview. I am still learning on my new computer how to do things, so when I figure it out, I will post it.

Happy New Year!

Well, here I go again. It's been a few months since my last blog, but I will start again. I guess that is just an indication of how crazy and busy life is these days in the Thom family. Life is good. We had a great Thanksgiving with friends and family, an amazing Christmas and are now almost through the first month of the new year. Andrew turned nine and Hannah turned four back in November.
Nathan has started crawling and is pulling up and getting ready to walk already. He has two teeth, eating solid foods, and he will be 11 months old on Feb.11th. The year has flown by. My sweet boy is still as sweet as can be and loves to hug and snuggle and slobber kiss my face. His comfort thing is to twist my hair in his hands- so sweet. I am just cherishing this last sweet baby that God has given us! His namesake is so true- Nathaniel means: Gift from God. He truly has been! I can not imagine our family without him!
Olivia had a great first semester at Eureka High, and got all A's and B's on her progress report! Go girl!!! She has surprised us with a hidden talent of playing the piano by ear, and we in turn surprised her with a piano for Christmas. She has basically taught herself to play on the small electric keyboard that we have, and now is going to start taking lessons on the piano. She has blown us away with how well she plays by ear. She will hear a song, find it on the internet, listen and watch someone play it, and in a week's time is playing the song almost perfectly! She is going to try out for the Eureka soccer team at he end of February, and is an amazing runner. (Dad's genes!!) Olivia is so solid in who she is in Christ, and continues to be a leader and example to her younger siblings and friends. She is growing in her abilities to have confidence in herself as the person that the Lord has made her. I am praying that the Lord will keep teaching her what it means to be a bold witness, and to fan the flame in her for Him into a FIRE!!
Caroline has continued to do awesome in school- straight A's- wow- awesome!!! She continues to also wow us with her beautiful voice. She has found a certain style of singing that suits her range and tone---sort of a jazzy kind of lilt in her voice......watch out American Idol, only three more years and she is going to try out!!! She continues to shine for the Lord in all that she says and does, and is learning to be a true servant here in our home with her siblings. She played volleyball this past fall, and will also play this spring at the YMCA.
Andrew has had an amazing year so far in 3rd grade. He has made some major strides in his grades from last year and has learned some really good study habits that I know will carry him far in his life. He continues to grow up and is now almost 54 inches tall- big enough for ALL of the roller coasters at Cedar Point up in Ohio!!! He is continuing to learn what it means to be surrendered to the Lord in all aspects of his life. He is learning to put other's needs above his own, and practicing self-control when things don't go his way. I am so proud of how the Lord is growing him up. He is playing Upward basketball for the first time this year and loves it!
Elizabeth has her hand in a little of everything this year, and has done great in first grade. She is reading so well, and loves to read the bible at night with dad before bedtime. She still loves to jump rope and is fast as lightening when she runs. I think she got dad's athletic genes as well! She is doing cheerleading for Upward and loves it!! Right up her alley!!! She loves to play with her sissy Hannah with their "Littlest Pet Shop" toys, as well as Barbieland in our playroom downstairs. She has such a joyful spirit, and loves to talk about heaven and what it will be like when we all get there someday. She has such a tender heart for the Lord, and I pray that He will continue to grow her up in Him.
Hannah has continued to grow up into a playful intelligent little girl with a mind of her own. She is energetic and silly and very passionate about what she likes and does not like. She is learning what it means to be obedient to the Lord, by being obedient to mom and dad as well. I love to listen to her little prayers, and we have a little game that we play every night before we go to sleep. she says.... "Mommy, I love you all the way to the moon." then I say, Well, I love you all the way to the stars.... then she says I love you all the way to Ohio..... then I say I love you all the way to heaven......then she says.... I love you all the way to Disneyworld (more on this next time.....surprise trip coming soon!) well, you get the idea. She does this every night before she goes to sleep. Then, after about 4 or 5 times, she will say" ok mommy. Good night" then in about 2 minutes she is asleep. So precious!!!

Okay. That will conclude my bragging session on our kids!! They are all so special and different and precious with totally different gifts and talents and personalities! We are so blessed and thankful for our large, busy, loud and sometimes crazy family!!!!
Mark and I continue to spend lots of time in the car running to different practices, plays, lessons, studies, meetings, lunches, playdates, grocery store runs, and sometimes even a date or two!! We continue to take each day as a gift and pray that we never take one day for granted. God is good all the time... all the timeGod is good!!!!
I will try to keep up a little better with my posts. God Bless!!!!