Tyler ~ Our Kindergartner

Last week I went to my first Parent/Teacher Conference as the "Parent" not the "Teacher." I can't believe my "baby boy" is in Kindergarten already--time is going WAY too FAST!! It still seems like just yesterday I was in my third grade classroom, just teaching away. I loved teaching third grade and miss it at times, but it does NOT even compare to the joys of being a MOM! I am very grateful that I get to stay home and be a Mom. I have an awesome husband who supports our family-I am very blessed! THANK YOU TROY!!! So anyway, Tyler is in Kindergarten and he absolutely LOVES it!! Before I went, I told Tyler where I was going and what I was going for and he got this nervous look on his face and said, "What is she going to say about me?" It was fun to hear his teacher talk about him. She says he is a joy to have in class and does well in his learning. There is however, one thing he could work on, which I TOTALLY agree with her, she said he could work on listening the "first" time a little better. I seem to have that problem at home as well--sometimes I think my children have a little bit of what do you call it--"selective hearing"-must of got that from their Dad!! We are working on the whole "listening problem" at home--hopefully we can master that soon. He also needs a little work on the whole rhyming deal, so we are working on that as well. Other than that he really is doing well and enjoying all that he is learning. He knows all his letters and sounds and can count to 50. He is even beginning to sound out words and read and spell them. The other day, I was doing dishes and he came to me and said, "Mom, I know how to spell cat, C-A-T and stop, S-T-O-P." It is very exciting to watch him grow and learn. Tyler is a joy to have in our family and we love him very much! He is a big helper to me and I really do love and appreciate him.

CHRISTMAS LIGHTS!!

Well, it is a little tradition we have started to hang Christmas lights the day after Thanksgiving, well at the least some time during the weekend! Troy and the kids did it Friday. Tyler, Brandon, & Kara were ecstatic to hang them up. Troy, on the other hand was not as excited, but he does it anyway because he knows how much the kids LOVE it!! They are his faithful little helpers!! They stick by him the entire time. Tyler is very good to keep his Dad on track and not allow him to take too long of breaks!! Tyler likes to get stuff done right away!! Troy let the kids get up on the roof for part of it, but then put them to work with me on the ground to assemble our snowman. Tyler, Brandon, & Kara were so excited, the snowman is a new addition this year so they thought that was pretty cool. After the kids and I assembled our snowman, we just layed outside on the grass and played around, giving Troy moral support!! The weather was absolutely GORGEOUS!! It was a great day to do lights, compared to previous years when the kids and I stayed inside and made hot chocolate for Troy so he could come in and warm up!! Emily & Brooke were taking a nap while this event was going on, but Emily was very impressed to see the lights that night when we took her outside to see them.

BRINKERHOFF Family Pictures!!

We take our Brinkerhoff Family Pictures during the Thanksgiving Holiday Weekend. We have outgrown studios we have tried, so this year we just shot a few ourselves before Thanksgiving dinner. We were only missing 2 grandkids, so we did pretty well, considering there are 40 of us ALL together. Mom & Dad have 28 grandkids!! Here are a few fun shots!! I added the latest family pictures of each sibling (that I had) also just for fun!!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I love this time of year--there is so much to be thankful for. I am so very thankful for my family. I have a wonderful husband, who is so good to me. I am very grateful to know that we are together for eternity! Troy and I have five beautiful and healthy children that I am so VERY thankful for. We truly are blessed. We both have the most amazing parents that are the BEST examples to us and now our children. I am so thankful for my parents--I know I would not be the person I am today, if it wasn't for EVERYTHING they taught me. I love my parents very much. I also have 5 brothers and sisters (and their spouses) that I love very much!! I am so very blessed to be apart of the Thompson family. I always tell people that I am very lucky--I have the best in laws ever! Troy's parents are some of the most amazing people I know. I love them very much and am very thankful for all they do for our family. I am also thankful for Troy's brothers and sister (and their spouses) they are the absolute best. Our children are very blessed, they have two sets of AWESOME grandparents and LOTS of fun cousins!
This was the year we spent it with the Brinkerhoff Family. We have our Thanksgiving dinner at the Stake Center now, we have outgrown Mom & Dad's house. There are 40 of us total when we all get together (28 of those are kids between the ages of 16 and 6 weeks), so needless to say, it is very entertaining and LOUD!! We have a very fun and energetic family. It was a fun day just to hang out and visit. Even though each of my siblings and their family's live close, it still seems like we don't ALL get together very often~trying to work with everyone's different schedules, it gets difficult. We had a VERY YUMMY Thanksgiving dinner--thanks MOM!! She is amazing when it comes to putting on a dinner for our family!! We had turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, gravy, peas, corn, rolls, stuffing, pistachio salad, and of course pie and ice cream!! Grandma even brought root beer and made root beer floats for the Grandkids~she knew they would like that better than pies!! Talk about 28 grandkids that are SPOILED by their Grandma & Grandpa!! We had a great day and created some fun memories!!

Up to the Clouds!

First of all, I just have to start out saying that I LOVE BEING A MOM~~it is very entertaining!! Brandon came to me yesterday as I was sitting feeding Brooke and he said, "Mom, when I turn 49, will I be big enough to touch the clouds?" (I just laughed inside when he said that to me!) Tyler and Brandon both are always talking about when they get older and how BIG they are going to be! It is funny to listen to their conversations, they have no concept of time. Tyler is always saying, when I turn 6 or 7, I will be WAY big!! The other day at lunch, Brandon was eating green beans and they are really not his favorite. He just had a few left and I asked if he was done, he then said, "No, I need to eat them, then I will be big like my Dad! Tyler and Brandon both are always saying they can't wait until they are BIG like their Dad--I am happy they look up to their Dad--he is a GREAT example for them!! However, I am glad they are both still small!! I am not ready to give them up yet!

Patient BABY!!

First of all, this blogging thing can be very addicting. I have enjoyed playing and learning how to make my blog look "fun and cute!" I got Tyler, Brandon, Kara, and Emily to bed. (Seems like my bedtime is the only time I really have to blog). I told myself I would spend just a few minutes changing some things on my blog and of course a few minutes turned into more--oops!! Brooke was on the floor by me waiting to be put to bed--patiently waiting to eat! She was quietly just kicking and playing so I of course kept exploring different things for the blog. I look down and here is what I see--she's peacefully sleeping!! What a GREAT baby!! I love her lots!! Hopefully she will now sleep GREAT the rest of the night!!

SIX Weeks!!

I can not believe Brooke is six weeks already!! WOW how time flies, too fast!! Today was my six week appointment--seems like we just brought Brooke home yesterday!! I took Tyler, Brandon, and Brooke with me to my appointment and my Dr. played Simon Says with the boys during my appointment and then gave them each a sucker. They were very impressed with him. As we walked out to the car, Tyler said, "Man, he is cool!" I would have to agree--He is a great guy! We tried to wake Brooke up for this picture, but she said, "NO WAY!"

Fun Weekend!

Saturday we had to run over to Meridian for Troy to deliver some products for work so after we took the kids out for pizza and then we went to Cabelas. Yes, they have been in Boise for quite some time and we had never taken the kids there. The kids were mesmerized with the fish tank and then all the fun animals. There were quite a few fish that had PINK on them and that impressed Kara. Those of you who know Kara very well, you know she LOVES PINK!! It was fun to walk around and listen to the kids talk about the animals they saw!! As we got into the car after our little adventure, Tyler, Brandon, and Kara each said, "Thanks, that was fun!!" That was worth going for right there, it is so neat to hear your kids say those words!! Kara then said, "Ya, I loved the pink fish!!" We then came home and got Tyler's talk he gave in Primary the next day--which he did an AMAZING job on. He loves to give talks!! Brandon and Tyler both love to give talks in Primary and they are always so happy when it is their turn!

Brooke's Ear Piercing

Yes, I went and got Brooke's ears pierced Friday, November 21. She was almost 6 weeks old!! At first, they were a little hesitant to do it because her ears are so small, but they did. She of course cried when they poked her, but the second I snuggled her, she stopped!! There were several ladies (older) in the salon and they were NOT impressed, but oh well!! She looks sooo cute with her earings-not that she wasn't cute before!:) Kara and Emily are excited Brooke now has earings like they do!! Here are a few pictures of this event--Brooke had a cold at the time so her eyes are all watery and bloodshot from that--not from her ear piercing experience.

Fun Thompson Kid Pictures!!

Here are a few pictures of the kids! Brooke was only three weeks old. They did pretty well. We took these October 28, 2008.

Brooke's Blessing Weekend

Brooke was blessed on November 2, 2008 by her dad, Troy. She was three weeks old. Thanks for all those who came and supported us!! It was great to have Mike and Jamie and their family come from Utah. Robert also came from Utah-thanks!! Sherri and her kids were there-they actually came and hung out for the weekend. Richard and Karen and their kids, John and Diane and their kids, Scott, Carol, and Megan, and Grandma Debbie and Grandpa Lynn and Karen were also there. Chris and Michelle Gurney with their two kids also came--thanks guys!! We missed Grandpa Brinkerhoff, he was in the "Big Truck." We have such a great family that is always there to support us!! We love you ALL!! Thanks Grandma Debbie for making Brooke's GORGEOUS dress!!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

Our Halloween this year was pretty low key!! We carved pumpkins the Monday before Halloween night for FHE-thanks Grandma Brinkerhoff for coming up and helping us!! The night before Halloween we went over to Great Grandma Thompson's so she could meet Brooke for the first time and it was also her birthday the next day. The kids wanted to show her their costumes. It was fun to visit with her. We then went over to Grandma Debbie's and she made us yummy pancakes and eggs for dinner. On Halloween day, Brandon, Brooke, and I helped at Tyler's school party. Brandon loved going to Tyler's Kindergarten class and Tyler loved having him there. After having the party in the morning, we just hung out at home, (kids took naps of course) then we had dinner at Scott and Carol's. We then went to the Butte Ward Trunk or Treat. It was wonderful--the weather was very nice this year. The kids did not even need coats--just their costumes!! Tyler was a Power Ranger, Brandon-Hulk in the morning and Spiderman that night, Kara was a Witch, Emily a Lady Bug, and Brooke was a Pumpkin. After the Trunk or Treat we went home checked out the candy supply and went to bed!! Very relaxing Halloween!!

Family Pictures!!

October 25, 2008 we took a few Family Pictures and here they are!! Keep in mind, five children under five and a husband (which he actually was VERY PATIENT)--kinda difficult to get the 'Perfect' one. They are fun though and what GREAT memories we created together!!

Latest Thompson Family Addition

I know I am back tracking a little, but oh well. Brooke was born Sunday, October 12, 2008 at 4:35 a.m. She is a great blessing to our family. My due date with Brooke was November 7, but I have always been early, so that really didn't mean much. I carried Brooke the longest and she is our biggest baby!! Here is how she joined our family. I was sound asleep and Tyler came and woke me up and told me he had to go to the bathroom, I sat up, thinking since I was up, I might as well go myself. I stood up and my water broke, it was 2:45 a.m.!! Tyler went back to bed, I woke Troy up, I called my Mom and Dad, they came up, and we headed for the hospital. I did not have any contractions until we hit the top of Freeze Out and that's when they began and they were constant and hard the entire way over to St. Luke's. Luckily, Troy called the hospital to let them know we were coming--they were prepared for us. We got there and a nurse was outside the elevators waiting for us and I was completely dilated at that point. There were numerous nurses that came in and helped prep me for surgery. Brooke was my fifth c-section. We got to the hospital at 3:55 a.m. and it was all pretty much a whirl wind. Brooke was born 40 minutes later!! It was a long 40 minutes with steady and hard contractions, let's just say I was happy to see the "anesthesia guy!!" After the third try--he finally got my spinal to work--I'm not sure what the problem was but it wasn't so handy!! I was very happy when it began working. Brooke was then born at 4:35 a.m. She weighed 6 lbs 5 oz and was 19 3/4 inches long--JUST PERFECT!! The NICU nurses checked her out and she passed!! Brooke got to go the recovery room with us!! I was soooo happy!! As many of you know, Emily and Kara were both NICU babies, so we were VERY excited that Brooke was only 4 weeks early and completely healthy!! Her blood sugar was a little low, but once she ate, that jumped up right away. After spending an hour or so in the recovery room, we were off to our own room. We stayed at the hospital until Tuesday night--we then headed home!! Brooke weighed 5 pounds 14oz when we left the hospital. Brooke also had to take the little car seat test because she was 4 weeks early--she passed!! Tyler, Brandon, Kara, and Emily stayed with Grandma Brinkerhoff-we stopped off there to pick them up. They were all very excited to see their new baby sister. Emily was the one that struggled the most with Brooke--Emily felt like she kind of got replaced as "the baby." Life is busy with five, but we feel very blessed to have Brooke apart of our Family.

Blogging 101

OK--Here we are!! We are finally going to try this "BLOGGIN" thing!! I am excited to "jot" down fun things going on in our little life!! Here it goes!!