It's cold!

Our long, warm days of fall weather are behind us.  The news people kept saying "where's the snow" over and over again and they got it.  Here in Payson we got 15in. of snow in a little over 24 hrs. and the temperatures at night dropped to around -8.  It warms up to about -6 by the time I take Elizabeth to school.  It is super cold.  This is January weather.  If we are already getting January temps what is it going to be like when the really cold weather comes in January?  Here are some pics of the snow in our back yard.  There is a snow drift back there that is pretty deep. 

Contractions

I have been having a lot of contractions lately.  No, not the real ones, these are the practice ones.  They feel very similar though.  Lately they have been getting stronger, not closer together, just stronger.  I wouldn't mind so much if they were actually doing some good but I know from experience that they are exactly what their name says, practice ones.  I will show no signs that contractions have been doing any work until one week before my due date.  Since I still have 3 weeks to go these contractions are only making me uncomfortable, not getting me ready for delivery.  So if you see me staring off into space while controlling my breathing I'm not going into labor, I'm just "practicing" for labor.  I won't complain though.  I am otherwise still rather comfortable and pain free.  It's been a good pregnancy and we have been blessed.

So sweet

Oh to be as content as a child.  Megan was playing with her toys and came to show me some toys she found that she hadn't seen in a while.  She was so happy to see them.  I played along showing my joy as well then handed her back the toys.  She smiled her sweet smile, turned around and left the room with a skip in her step and a song on her lips.  She is just such a happy little girl.  She melts my heart in so many ways but this is one I will remember forever.

I can't wait for Christmas!

I'm so excited!!!  My mom and dad are coming to be with us for Christmas and New Year's this year!  We can't hardly stand the wait until Christmas.  I feel like a little kid again who can't wait for Christmas morning because they know that they are getting exactly what they wanted.  This is the best present I could have received.  And to add to the excitement one of my brothers will be here for Christmas too.  He lives in Reno and doesn't get a chance to visit the family very often but this year he has chosen to visit with us for the  Christmas weekend.  It just keeps getting better.  The more excited you are the slower time goes so these next few weeks will feel like an eternity for me (and the girls who keep counting the days before grandma and grandpa get here) but I don't care because at the end of all the waiting my family will be here.  What a wonderful Christmas this will be.

Happy Thanksgiving

We just wanted to take a minute today and wish everyone a happy Thanksgiving.  This year has given us so much to be thankful for.  We pray that all is well with everyone.  Thank you so much for all your love and we wish we could visit with each and every one of you.  Have a blessed day.

Random Post

I haven't posted for a while and I feel like something is missing so I thought I would just post something.  I wanted to say thanks again to those who left some activity ideas for us.  They were wonderful.  There hasn't been a whole lot new going on lately.  We did finally get our fence finished.  We had just the posts everywhere for over two weeks and were beginning to wonder if we were ever going to get a finished fence.  It is finished now and looks good.  We also installed the sprinkler system in the back with the help of some wonderful friends.  We had a company come in and do the trenching and backfill for the sprinkler system.  It saved a lot of time with digging and burying but they didn't do that great of a job when they backfilled so a lot of the work done on the sprinkler system will have to be re-done, but that is another story.  As for the girls, Elizabeth is getting used to Jr. High.  It is definitely a change from what she was used to especially in the area of teachers.  It was hard getting used to a different teacher (some nice and some not so nice) for every class.  She likes band but likes theater too so she is not sure which one she will sign up for next year.  Rebecca is doing well.  She is starting to get into make-up and nail polish more.  She is also starting to like the color black a lot.  She loves to cook, read (of course) and help everyone she meets.  Dakota has had no trouble getting used to all the changes a big move causes.  She has always been able to make friends easily and loves school.  She also loves to bring me water (I've been super thirsty with this pregnancy), help around the house, and play video games.  Megan continues to learn new words.  She has got everyone in the family wrapped around her fingers with that sweet smile of hers.  She also has the "puppy dog face" down pat.  I think I'm in trouble because it is nearly impossible to resist.  She did find scissors again but this time her hair wasn't the victim, it was the tablecloth.  I had a check-up for the baby on Friday and everything is looking great.  He moves around a lot and it feels so weird, but I love it.  I can't believe that we are less than 6 weeks away now.  CJ is in a different department at work.  He still makes tables but instead of making plastic ones he makes aluminum ones.  With the new department came a different supervisor and the difference has been a welcome change.  He is much happier at work now.  He also just celebrated his 5th anniversary with the company.  Jack and Oliver are doing great.  They continue to make us laugh all the time with the crazy things that cats do.  We did have illness in the house for a while and thankfully it wasn't the flu.  First Megan got really sick with a bad cold.  It wouldn't have been so bad but because she wouldn't take medicine to bring down her fever she suffered a lot.  After she recovered Dakota came down with the same bad cold and two days latter CJ got the same thing.  They have all recovered well (except for a lagging cough that is driving CJ crazy) and no one else got sick.  Other than that life is busy but good in the Thomspon house. 

Here are some pics of the sprinkler system before it was burried.  I must say I'm very proud of the fact that I now know how to install and fix the pipes.  I will learn how to wire them to the control box in the spring.

Star of the Week

Dakota's class still does star of the week posters for their class. She was given this poster and asked to fill it up with information that was all about her. She had a lot of fun designing and then decorating her poster. These are the items it has on it: loves to play video games, ride her scooter and her bike, write plays, play at the park, and eat macaroni and cheese. There is a masked cow at the bottom with a volcano I think. I don't remember what her explanation for that picture was, but that shows just how oddly creative she is. I was proud of her for doing the whole poster all by herself. She even had some hidden pictures on it that she asked people to find, like carrots and Tinker Bells, so that the poster was not only informative but interactive as well. Great job Dakota. You truly are a one of a kind.

Halloween Pics

I should have posted these earlier but life caught up with me and I have been real tired lately. Halloween was a bit different this year. We got a late start to the night so we were a little stressed. Elizabeth decided she didn't want to go out this year. She wanted to stay home and pass out candy. Unfortunately for her only 5 people came to the door the whole night. I didn't get her picture because of a miscommunication. She dressed up as a zombie. She really went all out so I'm sorry we don't have a picture of it.

Rebecca went as a Goth/Vampire. She really was happy that day, she didn't smile in the pictures because she was "in character". Dakota was a Bat Witch. It's one of her favorite costumes. Megan was a little monkey. Monkeys are one of her favorite things so she really loved it. Megan was excited to go to the doors, hear how cute she looked, and then get candy too. She kept running to the next house saying, "more candy". She fell down once but instead of crying she was looking around desperately for all the candy that spilled out of her bucket, she didn't want to loose a piece. We were only out for about an hour and then the girls were ready to go home. It was sad really because there were so few homes participating that night so the majority of the houses were dark. Next year will hopefully be different. We may just stay home and have a party instead of going out.

Time for a trim

It's always a bad sign when your two year old is being very quiet. I went in to my bathroom where she was to see what she was up to. At first all seemed normal. Nothing was out of place. I kept looking at her bangs thinking that they looked a little weird but brushed it off to not having her hair brushed yet. I asked her what she was doing and she happily showed me. She had gotten in to the drawer that had my flavored chap stick in it. Sure enough she had been eating it. I talked to her about eating the chap stick again (then put what was left so high she would never see it again) and was getting ready to leave. Her funny looking bangs were still bugging me so I got out the comb and ran it through her hair. Her bangs were definitely not right. I looked on the floor again and there it was, a little lock of her hair. I then remembered that I have a little pair of trimming scissors in the same drawer (the ones I used on her hair.) I have been thinking lately that her bangs needed a trim. I guess she must have had the same thoughts and didn't want to wait for me to do it. It never crossed my mind that the scissors were within her reach. I asked her if she had cut her hair and she got very excited and showed me the scissors she used. Pointing to her hair she said, "See hair? Ahh, cute". She was so proud of herself how could I be angry. I just kissed her on the head and said they are cute and I love you.


I have to say though that she didn't do that bad of a job considering her age, the fact that she didn't have a mirror, and it was her first attempt at cutting hair. She didn't cut them completely off and they are pretty straight. Hopefully it won't take long for them to grow back out because of that.

Too much blogging?

I wonder if I am blogging too much. Lately I have tried to update daily. It's hard but it has been fun. I am constantly thinking about the next blog (many of my thoughts and encounters never make the cut for blog worthiness.) I guess the realization that I am a little obsessed with posting came last night when blogging was even in my dreams. In my dream, Megan woke up one morning and came in to our room. CJ and I were just waking up so we brought her on to our bed to get some good morning hugs. She looked at us and then said something to us. She said it so perfectly and was so serious that I was speechless (sorry, I am only speechless in my dreams.) I believed it was a message that she had been given permission to tell us. After she had spoken the message she went back to her usual babbling. All I could think about after she had spoken was that it was perfect blog material and I had to blog about it right away. It wasn't because I didn't want to forget what she had said, I was just so excited that I had something to blog about that day. I wish I could remember what the message was. I lost it shortly after waking up. But the fact that the first thing on my mind was the blog tells me that I probably think about it too much. Maybe that's what the message was. lol

Ramblings about the baby.

Everything in the pregnancy is going well. I passed the glucose screen which was a big concern of mine. Eating anything with sugar in it has made me sick through almost the whole pregnancy. That is unusual for me so I thought that maybe it was a sign that I was going to get gestational diabetes but I didn't so I'm happy. The Doctor said that everything looks good and he has me on the two week visit schedule now. That means we are getting close. I am excited and nervous at the same time. I can't wait to hold my baby, but I'm not quite ready for a newborn right now. My Doctor asked me if I had any questions and the only one I have is how big is this baby going to be. I already know the answer to that question I was just hoping that he would tell me this baby is going to be on the smaller side. Of course he won't be, I usually have bigger babies. I think this kid will be between 9 and 10 pounds. I'm hopping for 7 1/2 but that is not very likely. He is so big now that I can feel and see almost every move he makes. I keep wondering just how much bigger he can get before my belly splits open. He doesn't like anything on my belly because anything that sits on it (books, cats, my arms, etc.) he will try to kick off. He is going to be just like his dad (who loves to tickle the girls) because his favorite thing to do is tickle me. He tickles me with both his little fingers and his toes. I think it would be cute, if he didn't do it so often. The one thing I haven't noticed yet is the hiccups. All four of the girls got the hiccups daily by this point. This one hasn't had the hiccups once. I also dream about giving birth almost every night. He has been born early, late, on time but very small, in a car, in a hospital, and at home. Aside from being very strange dreams I do get to hold him almost every night for a short time. I have been having practice contractions since about 12 weeks. They are getting stronger now and more frequent. I don't mind these contractions because even though they take my breath away they aren't the painful ones. I am very grateful though for a healthy pregnancy and pray that it continues to be healthy. Hopefully soon we will have a name for this little guy but it most likely won't happen until he is born. There are a few names that we are leaning towards but I think we'll know which one is the right name when we finally see him.

School Pics

I look forward to the school pictures every year. I am not good when it comes to getting professional pics of the girls and our family done so getting the school pics every year is my way of making sure that each year of their lives is documented in pictures. Although I would really love to go and have a family pic taken hopefully soon. Elizabeth got her pictures taken 2 days after school started. It was the shortest notice I've ever been given for pictures. I have had Elizabeth's for a long time now but I didn't want to post them until I had all the pictures in and I just got Rebecca's on Friday and Dakota's yesterday. Proud momma moment...these are some of the most beautiful girls, and they're mine.

Dakota - 4th Grade


Rebecca - 6th Grade

Elizabeth - 7th grade

It's amazing how fast they grow. I see the girls everyday so I don't notice the subtle changes as they grow. Seeing these pictures though always opens my eyes to just how little time I have left with them before they leave the nest and take on a life of their own.

At the speed of Rebecca

Rebecca is an avid reader. She can read a full size novel (500-800 pages) in 2 to 3 days, anything smaller is usually read in 1 day. I often wonder if she really reads the books or if she just skims through them just to say that she read them so I quiz her on what happened in the story. It just amazes me as she tells me all about the book she just read just how fast she can read. It would take me at least a week to read the same book. She has loved reading since she was a baby. I have a journal entry I found about her when she was eight months old and how much she loved reading. Of course she was being read to or just turning pages, but still I was amazed at how much I could already see that she had a love of books. As if her super fast reading skills weren't enough she has now exhibited a new speed skill. She started taking keyboarding classes in school this year. When she told me she needed my permission to take keyboarding at school I was excited that she was finally going to learn how to play the piano. Boy did I feel stupid when I read the note attached to the permission slip and it talked about learning the keyboard on the computer and not the one on the piano. Oh well. This was a skill that I knew she needed as well so I signed her up and away she went. She has been in the class for only two months and she is already so fast that she can almost out type me. She took a typing test on the computer the other day (she loves going to the typing website the school set up when she's not reading) and she scored 42wpm with only 7 mistakes. I took the test and got 47wpm with 1 mistake. It amazes me because I have been typing for many more years and lately I have been practicing to get my speed up so I was really working hard when I took that test. She hasn't been typing nearly as long and she is so fast. There is only one other kid in her class, a boy, that is just as fast as she is and she says they compete regularly to see who is faster. She loves keyboarding so much. I am so happy for her and hope that she continues to excel in her new found talent.

Musician

When I was in 7th grade I signed up for band class and learned to play the clarinet. My older brothers and sister each played an instrument in the band or orchestra while in Jr. High so I thought I would follow in their foot steps because it sounded like fun. It was the best decision I could have made. I continued playing the clarinet all through high school and into college. I enjoyed playing music very much and the band was like my second family. We have encouraged the girls to think about learning to play an instrument in the band or orchestra when they were in 7th grade and had the opportunity because we know how much they will benefit from the experience. Elizabeth is the first to make her choice and she chose to take band. She wanted to learn the french horn but because of her braces that wasn't possible so she is learning my instrument, the clarinet. When her braces come off she is thinking about branching out and trying different instruments. So far she is enjoying the clarinet and I love to get out my clarinet and play with her when I get the chance. It has been so long since I have had some one to play with. She had her first concert this week and was so excited she could hardly wait.


Here she is on her way in to the auditorium.


She looks so grown up. Her beginning band did a great job on their piece. It brought back so many memories for me. I hope this is something she enjoys and chooses to continue. I am so proud of her and love to see the young woman she is growing in to.

Fall Colors

I love the beautiful colors of fall. Something I didn't get in Arizona like I do here. These are the colors near my house. Many areas are already finished with the colors but here the beautiful colors are still in full swing. There are a lot of pics. Sorry for that, I just love my new camera.

This is the mountain behind my house. The red bushes go all the way up and it looks as though the hill side is on fire. You have to click on the picture to see it bigger to really get the beauty. It doesn't come through as well in such a small picture.
We live in a neighborhood called "The Maples" so everyone is required to have a maple tree here. This is from the church next to us. I just love the red against the blue sky.
Tree lined streets. They are beautiful now, but I hate to see the mess all these trees will leave 20 years from now.
Bronco colors, orange and blue. Too cool.

These red bushes are everywhere. They are so bright it is amazing.

This is another maple out in front of the church. It has similar colors to our maple tree so this is a glimpse at what our tree should look like in a few years.