Saturday Morning Fun!

Everybody SQUEEZE in!!!



Yep, that's Emma pushing Gracie in the doll stoller....just a typical day around this mad house! :)

Checkups!

Today both Emma and Gracie had checkups (3 years and 18 months respectively). Josh was home so he took them...yay! The girls seemed fine to us but I always feel a little nervous about going to the Dr. It's just not always the most fun experience. Josh called me when they were leaving and said the appointment went well. The Dr. was impressed with how verbal both girls are and said developmentally Gracie is right on target and Emma is really more like a 4 year old than a 3 year old (no surprise there...we know we have smart kiddos)!! I thought it was hilarious that one of the ways they make that determination (where a kid falls developmentally) has to do with what kind of person a kid draws. For instance, when asked to draw a person most three year olds draw a head with a face but most four year olds add bodies, arms and legs...apparently Emma drew a person with a body (probably because she has a big sister who draws people with bodies)...we'll take it! :)
The only thing that was at all concerning was the Dr. noticed that Emma had one eye that seemed to "trail" the other. They didn't call it a lazy eye-which would be obvious when you looked at or talked to Emma-but just one eye that didn't seem to be as strong. They suggested that we take her to an opthamologist and have it checked out...it IS something that can be corrected but it needs to happen sooner rather than later so Emma will have maximum functioning of both eyes! We are looking into finding a pediatric opthamologist asap (we have a very gifted optometrist at our church who we hope can reccommend a dr. to us) to get things figured out.
I did talk to my pharmacist friend, Katheryne, my go-to for all things medical and she said that one of her girls had had a similar situation and when they saw they opthamologist they determined that it was something that would correct itself so she seemed to think that it might not need any correction at all. That is what we're praying for. BUT even if it does need some type of correction it would probably be a matter of patching the strong eye for a certain length of time each day to give the weak eye a chance to flex it's muscles and catch up! I know that's not terrible and many many people have children who endure much more on a daily basis but just the thought of trying to keep a patch on Emma's eye while trying to care for her and her three siblings makes my head spin! (Katheryne did say there are some drops you can use to "blur" the good eye which would probably be as effective as the patch...if it comes down to it we would probably go this route if possible.) BUT we know that God is good and he can choose to heal or remove any problem or suspected problem in the blink of an eye (no pun intended) SO that is how we are praying. AND if you're reading this...that's how we hope you are praying too!

4 going on 14....

Tonight the girls and I had somewhere to be! Since it's Wednesday night we are usually at church but since last week was the last week of the school year programs and it's not quite time for summer programs we opted to skip (shame! shame!) and get together with our dear friends who will also be leaving town in the very near future (in fact, i think they are out of here before us and i must admit I am jealous)! We pulled up just in time for dinner and enjoyed a wild and crazy dinner with a whole bunch of wild and crazy girls (2 moms and 7 girls ages 7 to 1...WOW)! We really had a lot of fun visiting and playing but as all good things do, the fun times had to come to an end and the time came for the Thompson girls to load up and head home. This did not make for very happy girls! In fact, Annie T. hid and practically refused to leave!
We finally got almost all of the way loaded up when Annie T. turned around and looked at me and PINCHED me on the arm! Oh yes, looked right in my eyes and pinched me as hard as she could. I told her to hurry her little bottom into her seat RIGHT THIS MINUTE all while smiling calmly for the benefit of the other six girls around me! I was HOT! I still can't believe she knowingly and defiently looked in my face and pinched me! I told her that she was to get her jammies on and head straight to her room when we got home and that she would have to miss out on reading with Emma and Gracie and me before bed. This news led to a major meltdown!
So, tonight as we were getting out of the car, Annie asked me if she still had to go to her room (as if I had changed my mind in the three minutes it took to drive home). I told her that yes, she did have to go on to bed and miss our story. She asked why?
Our conversation went a little like this:
Annie: Why do I have to go to bed and Emma and Gracie get to stay up?
Me: Well, you made a poor choice and you have to have a........
Annie: I HATE consequences! AND you're mean! I'm going to live with Gleigh and Bo!
HA! I guess she told me! :) (I should have told her that Uncle Daniel thinks Gleigh and Bo are mean so maybe they should trade!) :)
Even though she was angry, Annie did go inside and do what I asked her to. When I was saying prayers and tucking the big girls in Annie asked me again why I made her miss the story. I tried to explain that it's my job as her mom to teach her right from wrong and that I discipline her because I love her and I want her to grow up to be the kind of girl that God wants her to be. I think most of that went over her head but I hope she got that I do it because I love her and want what's best for her. And I think she did (at least a little) 'cause she sure did hug me extra tight and give me a couple of extra goodnight sugars!:)

I can't believe....

this girl's going to be a big sister!

but from the looks of it I think she's going to be a GREAT one!! :)

Just coloring with my sister!

Think Gracie knows her marker's not uncapped?!?!

Can you believe it's been 3 years.....

since we welcomed this big girl?!?!? I sure can't! Time sure does fly when you're having fun!
A few things about my sweet Emma T at Three...
*Emma loves all things Madeline and/or Strawberry Shortcake! This girl has been talking about her "Madeline party" for months. We still haven't had it yet...but I'll be sure to update you on how it all goes!
*Emma is a natural helper! She is always game to help pick up or bring you something she needs. She often willingly shares her toys with her sisters (sometimes without even being asked)!
*This girl is a hoot! She definitely has her own personality! Whether she is renaming herself (Lulu) or talking about her "brother Plex" she is sure enough her own crazy little girl!
*Emma T. is a super snuggler. She loves to crawl up in your lap and read or just sit and spend a few quiet minutes with you! She is also a great kisser...never too busy for a big fat smacker! :)
*Emma says the sweetest (and sometimes craziest) bedtime prayers. I love to hear her talk to God in her sweet little voice...asking him to help her have a good night's sleep or to help her not be afraid because she knows her is taking care of her.
*Emma T. loves to dress up (just like her big sister Annie) and loves to wear her rain coat and boots and slippers anywhere you let her!
*This girl can turn on the waterworks when needed....unlike her big sister who can fuss for an hour without producing tears, Emma can turn on the crocodile tears in no time flat! She sure knows how to work some heartstrings!

I am so thankful for my sweet, pleasant, fun, beautiful, smart, healthy, amazing, silly (I could go on and on) Emma T! I am so proud to be her mom and again thankful (and a little overwhelmed) by the responsibility and privilege I have to teach her and help her grow! I know she will do GREAT things! :)

ALMOST....

Our first trip to the Emergency Room! Thankfully, only almost! On Saturday we headed to Jacksonville to hang out with Becca, Matt, Walker and Josh's parents (we thought Nanny would be there too but she wasn't feeling well enough to make the trip) and celebrate Becca and baby Grogan (who still doesn't have a name to Becca's endless frustration) as well as Emma's birthday! Becca was having a shower on Saturday afternoon so we wanted to be there to join the fun! We got to Jacksonville a little after lunch and the girls (well, the over 18 girls) headed to the shower. The men kept the kids (3 adults to 4 kids....pretty good ratio if you ask me) while we went to the shower! Becca got lots of great stuff and eveyone had a great time.
Back at Becca and Matt's house Becca, her mom and I were checking out the nursery when I heard someone upstairs shout my name! It wasn't just a casual call but a little more panicked sounding shout! I knew something wasn't quite right so I ran up the stairs to find Annie and Josh in the kitchen with blood pouring off of Annie's face! YIKES! Annie had been playing in the sunroom with the other kids when she tripped and hit her head on the edge of the window sill. Now, I know that "head wounds" bleed A LOT but seeing the blood pouring off of her face about sent this mama! Josh had already gotten an wet washcloth and started to clean up the wound and Annie was beginning to calm down. I scooped my girl up and just held her a minute while we discussed our options. We finally decided the cut was probably small enough that we could just busy some butterfly bandages and get her put back together ourselves! Josh headed off to the store. Annie calmed down and went to read a book with Grandma while we awaited Josh's return and the impending "surgery"!! Josh came home, performed the surgery and then Annie T. went on about her day!!
The rest of the evening was spent celebrating Emma T's birthday and just enjoying our visit with Josh's family! Yes, in case you're wondering I did wake Annie up a few times throughout the night to make sure there was no head trauma! She growled at me each time so I know that she was her normal self! :)

Painting Piggies!!

For the last week or so Annie and I have been talking about helping others and allowances and making and sharing our money. Josh and I decided that Annie was probably old enough to get an allowance for doing a few chores around the house. We're still working out the kinks but I think we've decided that Annie can earn a dollar a week (gotta start small so I can keep up with her as she grows) and that we'll pay her in dimes so she can easily divide her money between her tithe, savings, giving to Jenifer and spending.
We decided (actually I stole the idea from a blog that I read) that we would paint some plain ceramic piggy banks for each of our girls and Jenifer.Then when Annie got her allowance or anytime we just had some extra change lying around we could start filling up our banks. The big girls had the best time picking out pigs and paint and getting to work on the porch! Here are a few action shots! :)

The Incident at the musical!

Tonight was the children's musical at our church (well, our Wednesday night church). The preschool choir sang a few little songs (very cute) and then were supposed to come and sit with their parents aftewards. The row that Katheryne and I were sitting on (3rd row) was full (even though we were the first ones there...people just kept crowding in) so we decided to just let our girls sit on the first row together (2 rows ahead of us). They did great...for about the first 20 minutes! (Actually, Katheryne's girls did great the whole time). After about the first 4 songs Annie T had "to come tell me something". She tiptoed back to me and whispered her request (to go get some water...which I denied) and then tiptoed quickly and quietly back to her seat with instructions to not get up again. Someone obviously wasn't wearing their listening ears!
After about another song and a half, Annie T. was back. :( This time I told her she just needed to stay with me. This did not make her happy! I picked her up and put her in my lap and wrapped my arms around her waist. She was struggling and making noise (not yelling but not being quiet either) so I decided we needed to just hit the road. Thankfully the little girls were in the nursery so I didn't have to deal with them right that second. Right as I was struggling to get Annie and get out the door this lady (who was hogging my pew anyway) leaned over and shushed us! I turned to look at her and when I did lost my grip on Annie who ran down the aisle and back to her orginal seat! (She did sit there quietly on her bottom until the musical was over). I was so embarassed! And furious! Furious at Annie! Furious at the woman who shushed us! FURIOUS! I could feel the tears prickling my eyes and that just made me furious at myself! I hate to feel that way! Now, please don't get me wrong, Annie T. was out of line. She was rude and disruptive and her behavior was inexcusable BUT she's 4!! 4!! The shusher was a grown up-@ least 5 years older than me! I totally understand that she wanted to hear her child and the other children sing BUT give me a break lady...I was doing the best that I could. I guess it just really hit me that even in church (and maybe especially in church) we rarely make people feel welcome or accepted or show any measure of grace. ***Please don't hear me bashing this church. I love this church and have never had any kind of negative experience there. Every other encounter I have had there has been so positive and it is one of the things I will miss most about leaving.*** This woman was not a friend of mine; I recognized her but that's all. She doesn't know me or what my life is like or what I deal with on a day to day basis. She doesn't know that I feel bad, have a house that won't sell, a husband who lives out of town and three crabby kids (today) 4 and under. She probably didn't think that her shushing me would be the thing that sent me over the edge for the day... the final nail in the coffin of my day. She didn't understand how much more powerful a smile or a quiet "it's ok...we've all been there" would have been. And believe me, if you have kids and you take them anywhere you HAVE been there.
As angry as I am at the shusher, I'm equally angry and saddened by my own behavior on any number of occasions. If this were another day, I could just as easily be the shusher or the avoider or the whisperer...I can think of several times when I have treated people poorly or given them dirty looks for no reason other than that they dressed funny or looked funny or had a screaming child (I'm less likely to stare you down for that one...remember I've been there before!). Then it really hit me! How can we who call ourselves Christians treat others that way? Why is our first response so often to be critical or judgement rather than to show grace or mercy. How many of us have received grace, a pardon, when punishment was what we deserved? Why can't we extend that same privilege to others? How heartbreaking that must be to the One who created us (each and every one of us) in HIS own image. The One who know us before we were born and formed us in the womb into exactly the person he wanted us to be!
Psalm 139 says "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb....My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body." (vs. 13, 15-16).

Mother's Day at 4k!

On Friday I had the very special privilege of spending part of the morning with Annie and her classmates and their mothers. We had a very special Mother's Day Brunch! The children were our waiters and we were treated to a delicious brunch with excellent service!
The chilren had drawn pictures of each of their mothers, answered questions about their mothers (Annie said I weighed 16 pounds....gotta love that!), sang sweet songs and recited several verses from Proverbs 31 describing the kind of mother we all desire to be! It was so adorable! Annie T. was so excited to dress up (no uniform required!) and show off her classroom, friends and work! It was such a sweet day with my sweet girl!

Annie and Shelby! Good Buddies!


Annie and Lily! Silly Girls!


Annie and Lily again!


Me and my girl! :)

Allowance

Lately Annie and I have been talking a lot about helping others. Annie is very sensitive to the needs of people around her and wants to help out! I love that little heart of hers (you know, the times when she's not talking about how she wishes she didn't have parents and she could just do what she wants to)!! Our town has quite a few who are less fortunate than we are and they are in plain view most everywhere you go so Annie has actually had some eye opening experiences (for a 4 year old). So, we've been talking about ways to help and trying to put our money (and time, efforts etc.) where our mouth is.
The first thing we've done is "adopt" Jenifer. While I think this is totally worthwhile and I'm so glad that we're doing it, rather than coloring a few pics to drop in the mailbox, Annie hasn't really done anything. Yes, we spend a little money each month to sponsor Jenifer but that is Josh and I, not Annie. So, Annie asked about how SHE could help Jenifer. Well, I was kind of at a loss. Annie doesn't have many resources (no debts either :)) but she's not exactly miss moneybags! So we have decided to let Annie do a few chores around the house to earn a little money so SHE can help Jennifer too.
Here's where it gets a little tricky. What kind of "chores" should a 4 year old do? I know she can do things like clear the table and help pick up her room, make sure all of the books are picked up each night before bed. Any other ideas? Also, how much is an appropriate amount for a 4 year old's allowance? A dollar a week? We want her to learn to tithe, help others, save and enjoy her money and we know it's our responsibility to teach her. We also want her to just be helpful for the sake of being helpful, not just to earn money. How do we find balance here? I think I am going to get some piggy banks (the plain old ceramic kind) and let my girls paint them...one for each of my girls and one for Jenifer. Maybe they will be a visible reminder of what we are working for and also to think before we spend. It might be good for ALL of us!

The SURPRISE of our lives!

Yep, that is what you think it is! It seems that those of us in the Thompson household are trying to give the Duggars a run for their money!! :) Actually, that's not true...this will be baby number THE END!!! In fact, if you had asked us just a few months ago we would have told you that Gracie was the last of our bunch! Funny how things work out, isn't it!
Josh and I have always wanted a big(ish) family. We had kind of settled on three or four depending on the day you asked. Lately however, with our situation (you know, the fact that we live in two different states, have a house to sell in GA and have not bought one in AL) we had come to the conclusion that three pretty little girls was just perfect! The fact that Josh had his ACL surgery this year (meaning he had met his deductible for the year meaning the surgery to prevent more little Thompsons would be free!) was simply icing on the cake...that decision was MADE!! (Don't worry...that decision is STILL MADE!!!) Anyway, God and this sweet (but still so shocking) baby BOY! had other plans (and a sense of humor)! They aren't the only ones laughing though...I saw a great new Dr. in Alabama who got the biggest kick out of my shock at our current situation. Her exact words were "I love it! This would NEVER have happened if you were trying!" Gee thanks, Dr. Hoover...glad to give you a laugh!:) (The ultra sound girl said she is 95% sure it is a boy...that was at 13 weeks...we find out FOR SURE on June 4). By the way, the US pics look great. The tech said everything looked perfect...in fact you could already see the nasal bone(s)? which is a good sign that there is no downs syndrome. We are still a little overwhelmed and a lot in shock but we are getting excited to see how God is working (and has been working). In fact, he has already overcome some major hurdles for us re: this baby and we are just waiting to see what else he has in store for us and our bunch of kiddos! We know it will be great (and surprising) stuff!

***ALSO, our house was shown again this weekend and we now have a for rent sign in the yard in addition to the for sale sign so we are confident that SOMETHING will happen soon and we can all be back under one roof!***

You want to do WHAT? WHEN?

So as you all know, we've had our house on the market since January....with very little activity. It's been a VERY frustrating situation, especially since we are basically living in two states and driving between the two to meet and spend a little time together each weekend. We are ready to all be together in one place and I'm ready to not be the only meanie around here again (since the girls see Josh so little he is always the fun one...in fact anytime I get on to one of the girls the standard cry has become "I want Daddy")!
So tonight around 6:30 I was putting the girls in the tub. Actually they were already in the tub. This is kind of a weird thing since I usually do dinner and then bath but I was feeling crazy or something and decided to switch things up! :) So the girls are in the tub and I haven't even started dinner (this will turn out to be a good thing) when the phone rings. I grab it...don't worry I had in the bathroom with me...and it's my realtor on the phone. He says "I know this is short notice but..." you all know what comes next...."someone wants to see the house. In 30 minutes." Um, excuse me? Someone wants to do WHAT? WHEN? Oh yes, you read that correctly!!! I told him to please see if ANY other time would work and then give me a call back. I go back to getting my girls out of the tub and start doing a last minute run through of the house just in case. I decided I would call my realtor back and tell him if they could give us about 15 minutes we could be out of their way. He says he'll check and let me know. I go back to getting the girls dressed and straightening and/or stashing things around the house. After literally 5 minutes or less, there's a knock at the door. Yep, you guessed it! They're here! I grabbed my girlies up, loaded up the car and sped off into the night!
SO hopefully we'll get some good news tomorrow! Please say a little prayer that these people are THE ones for this house! They better be after the mad dash they put us through! If they don't buy the house, you might want to say a little prayer for them if I ever see them again! ;)

Smarty Pants!

My big Annie T. is such a smarty pants...it just makes me want to bust with pride! Her latest accomplishments are learning both her (complete) address and phone number! Aren't you impressed too?

**Just an aside...I started to post a video to let y'all see her in action but then decided it's probably not the best idea to reveal our EXACT location and phone number to the whole wide internet! Sorry! You'll just have to ask her to tell you the next time you talk to her!**

Meet Jenifer

Jenifer is the newest member of our family. She lives in Ecuador. We don't really know her yet...BUT we are so looking forward to getting to know her and learning about her family and country and maybe even getting to visit her sometime. I know you have lots of questions (or maybe not) about how we "got" Jenifer. I'm happy to answer!
Josh has been involved in Compassion for a while. Some of his youth groups have sponsored children in the past and he's been really impressed with the organization and the work they are doing all over the world. We've even talked about sponsoring a child ourselves before but for some reason or another we've just never gotten around to doing it. Well, things have changed around here. I don't know if it's because my kids are getting older and I'm trying to teach them some things by example or if it's just finally time that I put my money where my mouth is (you know I SAY that I care about people but what am I DOING to SHOW it???) but we took the plunge and found Jenifer!
Annie and I have been talking a lot lately about how very very fortunate she is and just how good she has it! :) To be born in this country, with two parents who love her (and her sisters) so very much, to never have to worry about food or clothes or where she's going to sleep at night!! What a lot we have to be thankful for! So, Annie and I have really been talking lately about how other people live (even people here in GA) and how we can help. I actually showed her some pictures on the Compassion website of how other children her age live. How they wonder about where they might sleep at night or what they might eat or even about where to get medicine if they get sick. It really made her (and her mama) aware of how so many children and families live and how little they actually have AND it made her want to help (did I mention that I love this girl)!!! She was so excited about "getting a girl to help"! We spent some time looking at the children in need of sponsorship and decided that Jenifer was just right for us! So, thanks to Annie T., Jennifer will be able to go to school, get necessary vacinations and medical treatment and help her family gain a little security. Annie and Jenifer actually have the EXACT same birthday so it will be really neat to watch them grow up together (sort of)!
I am so proud of Annie-she is growing into such a caring young lady. She even told me this week that she is going to give some of her allowance each week (another post altogether)to Jenifer and her family! This has been (and I know will be continue to be) such a learning experience for our whole family. Josh and I have decided that we want to sponsor a child for each of our children when they get a little older. Someone that they can each get to know and love and share life with even if they are half way around the world!