What to do on a rainy day....

You could....

take a rest on a bed of nails

play a song on a giant piano

do a little ice fishing

play in the SNOW

try a little carpet skating

do a little grocery shopping

The kids and I spent this rainy afternoon at the McWane Center! It was awesome! We picked Annie up from school and headed straight there and had about an hour and a half to play and explore before it closed. The kids had a GREAT time (and were on their very best behavior which makes for one very happy mom!) especially in the Winter Wonderland! We will definitely be spending more winter afternoons like this!

Look what we got....

AND......

YAY! Christmas came a little early at our house this year! :) Josh's parents decided that they would give both Josh's sister and her husband and Josh and I a new washer and dryer for Christmas this year. Ours was the one that my mom and dad had for several years and then Josh and I had and then we got another one (which ate clothes) and then we got this set back again. Needless to say, it had been around the block a time or two! It was still working but it was only a matter of time before it completely conked out-not something we really wanted to deal with! Anyway, like I said Josh's parents made us a most generous offer and we were so excited to accept!
On Saturday of Thanksgiving weekend Josh's mom and I headed out to Lowe's to check out the washing machines. There are literally so many to choose from! I don't know about y'all but I really had no idea where to start. Josh's mom showed me the one that Becca had picked out earlier in the week (the Cadillac....mines more like the Honda but y'all know I love my van so there is no complaining from this girl!) and then turned me loose! I basically had my pick of any of the washers and dryers in the store. There are washers and dryers that are fancier than I would even know what to do with. AND let me just be honest, while a little part of me LOVED the shiny fancy ones with every bell and whistle imaginable, I am the type of girl to set it to normal, push start and walk away! We left empty handed because I just couldn't make a decision without Josh's input (boy was he thrilled to have some say so-ha!). Later that evening Josh and I headed back to Lowe's for one last look. We finally decided on one. AND it is super nice and does everything we want and need AND it was ON SALE!!! And because it was on sale and it we didn't hit our spending limit we were also able to replace our CAMERA (you know the one I lost like a big dummy)!!!! YAY!! So now we are seriously back in business around here!
So, thank you Grandma and Grandpa for the super awesome washer and dryer AND our new camera!! We appreciate all you do for us! We love you! :)

A sneak peek!

Thanksgiving 2010

We had quite a busy Thanksgiving this year! We were able to spend time with both of our families which was nice (and unusual)! We almost always spend Thanksgiving day with Josh's family at his grandmother (Nanny's) house. This year Nanny (who is in her eighties) decided that she wasn't really up to doing all of the cooking and prep that comes with a big Thanksgiving dinner so Josh's parents decided they would take her out to lunch instead. I don't know about you but Thanksgiving dinner at a restaurant with four rowdy (well, three rowdy kiddos) is not exactly my idea of a relaxing Thanksgiving! So, while we all wanted to see Nanny and spend the day together we all (Josh's parents included) agreed that us tagging along was probably not the best idea. We decided instead that Josh and the kids and I would go to Chattanooga for Thanksgiving day and then get together later in the week.
Josh and I decided we would head to Chattanooga on Tuesday and stay until Friday morning! On Tuesday morning Josh took the girls to the local science museum so that I could get cleaned up and packed for our journey (5 nights away with 4 kids requires quite a bit of stuff)! They headed home in just enough time to eat a quick lunch and jump in the car! We got to Chattanooga about the same time my mom and dad were getting home from work! We had a quick dinner of white (red...my mom is so crazy!) chicken chili, hopped in the tub and headed to bed!
On Wednesday, we mostly hung out around the house with my mom and Daniel and started some of the prep for Thanksgiving lunch and awaited Matthew's arrival from D.C. Wednesday night Josh, Daniel, his friend, Jack and I headed out to see Harry Potter 7! (SO good by the way! Thanks mom and dad for watching the girls so we could go!!) Matthew was going to go with us but geeked out at the last minute....what a crazy! We missed him!
On Thursday we got up and like every other family in America started the cooking! I am not a big fan of turkey or "Thanksgiving food" but this meal was so good! My dad made a really good turkey, Matthew made super yummy mashed potatoes (kinda like twice baked), Grandmother came and brought dressing, my mom made a really good pie...YUM! I don't know why but this Thanksgiving dinner was the best I remember in a really long time! I will certainly look forward to next year's Thanksgiving meal after one like we had! We had a lazy Thanksgiving night...just kinda relaxing and visiting!
On Friday morning we got up and started to (slowly) make our way to Josh's parents house. Our goal was to leave by noon so we could get there in time for the Iron Bowl.....in case you didn't know our Tigers were 11-0 and hoping for a BIG win in T-town! We got a little behind and missed the first quarter of the game....probably a good thing if you know how it looked at the beginning! Josh and I were on our way to Gainesville and I made Daniel promise to keep us updated until we got there. We about had a heart attack as the texts started rolling in....none of them good! Our Tigers were getting KILLED! We could see our National Championship dreams just slipping away! YIKES! We got to Gainesville, got unpacked and rushed in to see the rest of the game....things were still looking pretty bleak :( At one time we were down by 24 points and the score was 24-7 at the half! I don't know what Gene Chizik said to get the team back on track but if he isn't the Coach of the Year, I don't know who is! Our boys came out after a few minutes, the tides so to speak had turned. We were scoring. Our defense was holding up! Holy Cow!! It was like we were a whole different team! AND at the end....WE WON!!! YIPEE!!! :) After the game (when everyone had finally calmed down a little) we had some dinner and threw the girls in the tub before settling in for a relaxing night!
On Saturday morning we got up bright and early(ish) and Josh's mom and I went washing machine shopping (oh yes....this is a whole separate post. stay tuned for details) before Becca and Matt and Walker and Laynee got there for lunch. My girls were so excited to see Walker and Laynee! It sure is nice to have cousins! We enjoyed our lunch and then headed to the playground. It was cold but a beautiful day so we lasted an hour or so before heading out for icecream....I know kinda a weird choice for a cold day but it sure was good! We headed home with a car FULL of tired kiddos! There was a lot of singing and asking questions and general chaos in our car in an effort to avoid the dreaded late afternoon nap! Thankfully we were successful and no kiddos conked out! We spent the rest of the evening relaxing and getting kiddos fed and bathed and tucked into bed....they were all exhausted! Gracie even asked to go to bed!
On Sunday morning we got up and dressed all of the kiddos in their matching t shirts and tried (tried being the key word here) to get a picture of them all together! What a fun disaster! We also tried to get a picture of our family for our Christmas card....of course Josh hates all of them so we will be having a make up photo shoot one day this week (we may just do kiddos....that's who everyone wants to see anyway). After a little more playing and visiting we all loaded up and headed home!
Our Thanksgiving was filled with family and fun! I am reminded even more after spending time with our loved ones that we have so very much to be thankful for! Even in this time of uncertainty and this season of waiting in our family, we are never alone and never forgotten. We don't have to be in control or have the perfect plan (although sometimes we think we do)! I am so thankful for that AND for the knowledge that our God (who is always FOR us) is so much bigger than I am and my worries and troubles are not a surprise to him and he has a purpose for even the most difficult of situations! We are truly blessed and truly thankful!

Jack is ONE MONTH OLD!

Check out this CUTIE!!

November 19, 2010

Not loving the camera BUT still looking awful cute! :)

Happy Birthday Gracie!

On November 14th my sweet Gracie turned 2! So hard to believe we've had her so long (but at the same time I can hardly remember not having her)! She is such a fun and special addition to our family and I can already tell that she's going to be a great big sister to "baby Jack" as she likes to call him!!
In case you didn't know, Gracie's birthday is always the same weekend as the Auburn/Georgia game. This is a pretty big rivalry game (not like Alabama but still big!) and the South's oldest rivalry AND a little bit of a family rivalry (my dad went to GA and Josh and I and my granddaddy and most of his family went to Auburn). Anyway, we have tickets to the Auburn games yet since Gracie arrived we haven't made it to this game (all this to say that when Gracie turns 12 or so and starts thinking we don't love her she has only to look at our blowing off the GA game for her to know how much she really means to us...we're pretty serious fans)! Anyway, we spent Gracie's birthday weekend with my family in Chattanooga. We're pretty low key about birthdays around here...we do lots of celebrating with family (although apparently I'm not very good at getting pics with our family...I guess there is too much other stuff going on around here)! We also do lots of cake or in this case brownie and icecream eating and happy birthday singing and opening a few presents to celebrate the momentous occasion! :) I know it was nice for Gracie (who is number three out of our family of four kiddos) to have a day to celebrate just her!!!
A few things about my girl:
*Gracie is SWEET! This girl is a hugger and gives lots of good sugars. She also LOVES her baby brother! She loves to hold him and will sit for quite awhile with baby Jack on her lap!
*She loves babies and dolls and LOVES the doll stroller she got for her birthday (it may be the best $10 Josh and I have ever spent). She could spend hours pushing her babies up and down the hall.
*G is usually very easy going but man, does she ever have a temper! You DO NOT want to get on this girl's bad side! She can also throw a pretty good punch! We are all working on using words rather than hands and keeping our tempers under control! I hope some of that fire and passion will serve her well in life!
*G is fun fun fun to have around! She is always (well most of the time) smiling and pleasant and just plain ol fun! I hope she continues to keep such a sunny disposition!

Gracie,
We are SO thankful that you are a part of our family! We can't imagine our lives without you...you bring so much fun and joy to our family! We love you so much and excited to see what GREAT things God has in store for you!
Love,
Mom and Dad

Gracie enjoying some brownie and icecream....this girl can EAT!

Getting ready to blow out her candles! :)

Pushing Raggedy Anne in her new doll stroller! (Seriously, the best $10 we EVER spent!)

Shutterfly....50 FREE Christmas cards!

Ok blog friends, I don"t usually do this kind of thing BUT this deal is too good to pass up! AND for a product I do (and you will) LOVE!!!
Shutterfly is giving away 50 free Christmas cards to all bloggers who blog about what products and why they love shutterfly! First of all, Shutterfly is EASY to use! That's so important if you are pressed for time and technilogically challenged like I tend to be! I have to have something that works quickly and easily....no hassle involved and Shutterfly fits the bill!
I also LOVE LOVE LOVE pictures and Shutterfly has so many ways to display them...calanders, notecards, invitations, photo books and of course Christmas cards! If you are like me, Christmas is one of the few times of year that you hear from ALL of your friends....the ones scattered near and far. It's one of the few times you get to catch up on all of their families and of course show off your own cuties! That means your card has to look GOOD! That's where Shutterfly comes in! Again, so easy to use and the designs are ADORABLE! You can even try out your picture in the different cards to be sure you like them! What more could you ask for!
So, if you like me are looking for a great deal on a great product AND you are a blogger check out Shutterfly for your chance at 50 free cards (how easy is it to promote something you love alread)! Can't wait to get my Christmas pictures taken so I can get to work on my card! :) Merry Christmas Everyone!


Ok....because my computer/blogger are conspiring against me (what's new?!?!) I'll put the links for some of my favorite Shutterfly products below. Sorry!

For Christmas cards : http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/christmas-photo-cards

For calendars: http://www.shutterfly.com/calendars

For invitations and other stationary: http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/christmas-invitations

Happy shopping and Merry Christmas (a little early)!

A Sister Slumber Party!

After cleaning the kitchen one evening this week I walked into the living room to find this...

Three little girls snuggled up and watching a movie together in front of a toasty fire!

Don't they look sweet! AND don't they have a sweet daddy for getting them all snuggled up and comfy!

Check out little brother there on the couch....he already knows he doesn't want to miss out on any fun!

I sure do love these sweet kiddos (and their dad)!

Colonial Day!

Sweet sisters before school this morning!

My Indian Princess! :)

Annie's school has a fun filled day each fall called Colonial Day. On this day, the students and teachers dress up like Pilgrams or Indians or Pirates (pirates?) and get to experience a taste of what life was like in the "olden days"! Annie wsa so excited about today! I don't blame her...there was lots of exciting stuff going on! The kids got to see a blacksmith and cobbler and watch and participate in several different types of crafts and jobs (churning butter and spinning cloth)! I think the kids (especially my kid) had a GREAT day and learned a lot while having fun!!!

Incognito!

Annie and I have been working hard this week! She brought home a project that required quite a bit of thinking! Each Kindergartener brought home a turkey with instructions to disguise the turkey in hopes that it could escape the dinner table at Thanksgiving! You could disguise the turkey as anything you wanted to....another animal, a celebrity, a community helper etc. We started thinking about our turkey and how we wanted to disguise our bird. We wanted our bird to be dressed up as something that represented our family or something we loved SO.....we chose to dress our turkey as an AUBURN CHEERLEADER!
As most anyone who has a tv, radio or computer knows, our beloved AUBURN UNIVERSITY and CAM NEWTON are on the hot seat these days (we believe without reason) SO to show our support of the school, the team AND the Newtons (this is America...innocent until PROVEN guilty, right?) we went all out for the Tigers!
SO without further ado, Annie T. and her Auburn cheerleader turkey!



And a close up of just the turkey! I'm thinking we did a pretty good job! This turkey at least has a shot at avoiding the dinner table! :) And Annie T. and I had a lot of fun working together!

Good Luck Uncle Daniel!!! (alternately titled " I am the BEST big sister ever!")

Check out these cute kiddos in their McCallie duds (too bad you can't really see Jack's shirt)!! Tonight my brother Daniel and his football team are playing in the first round of the playoffs. They've not had a great season. In fact in a lot of ways it's been very disappointing. Daniel has done well though and we are SO proud of him! So today we all wore our BLUE to support the McCallie Tornado!

Good Luck Daniel! We are SO proud of you for sticking with football even when it hasn't been fun and having a GREAT season! We LOVE you!!!

An Attempt.....

at getting all four kiddos to cooperate and let me take their picture! HA! Well, there are no GREAT shots in the bunch but there are a few that are good for a laugh! And an honest picture of what life at our house is really like! :)
ENJOY!

AND just in case you were wondering yes, I'm aware that Gracie has no clothes on and her paci in her mouth and Annie is not smiling OR looking at the camera and in most pictures Jack's face is turned away from the camera AND for the most part only Emma is cooperating! Like I said....a pretty good glimpse of real life at the Thompson house!

Roasting Marshmellows in the Living Room!

The cool weather has finally arrived here in Alabama and we have just been itching to build a fire! Even though I don't love cold weather I do love to pass a relaxing evening snuggled up next to a cozy fire! However, snuggling up in front of the fire wasn't exactly what my girls had in mind! These crazies were determined to roast marshmellows in the fireplace! Maybe not the ideal spot for marshmellow roasting but the PERFECT spot for having fun and making memories! So I say....Let the marshmellow roasting begin!

Serious marshmellow roasting going on here!


Serious marshmellow eating going on here! Check out that mouthful! :)

"Mom, my marshmellow's on fire!"

All the girls getting in on the marshmellow action! Jack was snuggled up asleep on the couch! :)

Sweet sisters in their matching pjs! Life is good, huh?

Halloween Pics!

OK....so here they are! I told you there were only a FEW! No one was very interested in cooperating (only in getting to the fall festival asap)!!

My three 50's girls! Cute, even if they're not cooperating!

At least Gracie's not screaming in this one!

"Mom! We are DONE!" Annie T. had already left the picture! Aren't their skirts cute? Thanks, Grandma!!

Halloween FUN!

Since Jack was arriving just a few days before Halloween, there were some decisions to be made ahead of time....things like what to be and where to go! I admit it....I'm one of those moms who is definitely pro homemade costume AND who feels like the kids have to all be the same thing or something that goes together (for instance in the past we have been a farmer and a chicken, auburn cheerleaders and three blind mice)!! I KNOW that's a little on the control freak side but I just can't help it!

SO, like I said I am pro homemade costume. I can be crafty at times but I'm definitely not a seamstress so anything that requires serious sewing skills is out of my league. Thankfully my mother in law is a pretty proficient seamstress (and by proficient I mean awesome)! She even makes stuff for herself to wear occasionally....if you know anything about sewing you know what a big deal that is! I am no where close to her skill level BUT thankfully she is also sympathetic to her frazzled non-sewer daughter in law! In 4k Annie needed a poodle skirt for her grandparents day program-you could buy one or make one either way! Remember, this is the pro homemade, non sewing girl talking....I really wanted her to have a homemade one but of course I couldn't do it! SO.....Grandma to the rescue! Grandma came through with an adorable poodle skirt and Annie T. was a perfect 50's girl for grandparents day! Since Grandma knows a thing or two about growing up with a sister (or two) she went ahead and made skirts for both Emma and Gracie (and even Laynee) too! YAY GRANDMA! Costume problem solved!

Once we had decided (well, once I had decided) that the girls would be 50's girls for Halloween, we had to decide what Halloween festivities we would be participating in! I happened to be talking to Billie a few days before Halloween and she mentioned that she and Bob were taking Lyla to the fall festival at her church and invited us (the whole crew) to come too! Of course, it would be on a night that Josh had a conflict but that didn't deter us! The kiddos and I piled in the car and headed out for some trunk or treat fun! Billie and Bob and Lyla were gracious hosts....that Lyla was the cutest pig you ever saw (even if she didn't sit still long enough for me to get a picture)!!! We had a great time and the girls looked so cute! Jack just slept in the moby wrap (I don't know why I've never had one of these before now) and was a perfect angel the whole time!

Since our first Halloween experience went so well we decided we could take on another adventure or two! So on Saturday night we packed up the kids again and headed to our friends neighborhood for a quick run up their street! It was the perfect amount of trick or treating for the Thompson crew! We had a great time with our friends and their 4 kids (i know people were cringing to see ALL of us at the door) and the girls got some yummy treats!

Our final Halloween adventure was to the fall festival at Grandmother's church! We LOVE FBC Gadsden and the people there! They LOVE us too! It is such a fun place to go back to. Everyone is excited to see our kids and hear the latest news and we are always so excited to see all of the kids (who are all so big now) who were there when we were! We had a great time visiting and just seeing people and catching up and the girls had a great time playing on the blow ups, trunk or treating, watching the puppet show, riding on the hayride and of course eating all of the yummy snacks and candy! Becca and Walker even came to meet us which made for some excited Thompson girls!
Overall we had an awesome Halloween week!


****Just fyi: I know that EVERYONE wants to see pictures of the kids in their costumes! I promise I do have a FEW! However, blogger and I are duking it out right now and it won't let me upload pictures AT ALL! How frustrating! I PROMISE that I'll put pictures up as soon as blogger starts to cooperate!!!****