Andrew is Buried in the NAME!!

On Mother's Day Sunday, Andrew gave me the very best gift I could ever ask for (even though he did not do it for me at all) he was Baptized in Jesus Name.

Andrew has been wanting to be Baptized for awhile now but I just was not sure that he understood or that he was old enough to comprehend what he was doing. But his sincere heart and steadfast determination won me over in the end and Micah and I gave him our permission. His excitement and joy over being allowed to bury his sins under the blood swelled my heart and I began to wonder why I had been so reluctant to allow him this blessing. I guess sometimes a mother does not always know best. Thank God that Jesus is teaching me this everyday.



Andrew getting ready to be Baptized! I always think of Andrew as my "big" boy, mainly because even though he is almost 3 years younger than Tyler he is pretty much the same size as Tyler. But when I saw him in these robes that are made for men and women I realized how "little" my boy really is and what a huge stand for Jesus he is taking at such a young age.



Andrew getting last minute instructions from our Youth Pastor, Brother Jeffrey. Andrew requested that Brother Jeffrey be the one to baptize him. Before he has been upset because Brother Paul Pamer (who was the youth pastor in Ohio and the one who baptized Tyler) would not be baptizing him. But after talking to Brother Jeffrey and after being baptized Andrew was glad that it was Brother Jeffrey.



Andrew Thomas upon the confession of your faith and your willingness to be identified with Jesus Christ in Baptism I now Baptize you in the name of JESUS CHRIST for the remission of your sins.



PRAISE GOD! His sins are washed away and he is a new creature in Christ. There is no sweeter sight in all the earth than seeing your children with their hands raised to heaven praising God and glorifying their Savior.



I know that God is going to use Andrew in a mighty way. How do I know this, because Andrew is willing to be used. I'm not sure what God has planned for his life but I know that Andrew's tender-heart will allow God to lead him and direct him. We gave Andrew to God when he was just a few days old. And on Sunday May 10, 2009 Andrew game himself to God, which is what we had prayed for when he was still a tiny baby in our arms. I thank God that he heard and answered our prayers with his wonderful keeping and saving grace.

Update On Tyler

I was looking over old blog posts of mine and I realized that I don't blog very much about Tyler. I guess there are lots of reasons for that. One of which is he is a teenager and I am trying to respect his privacy and not spread his business all over the Internet.

So I got his permission to blog a little about him and share with you all some of the recent events in his life.

Last Friday night he attended a Holy Ghost Rally in Titusville Florida with our church youth group. Before going he asked for some new clothes to wear. This is a huge change for Tyler. Just a few months ago he neither cared what he wore or what he looked like in what he wore. But over the last month or so he has taken an interest in clothes and girls (I'm not sure how I feel about the latter but I'm thankful for the former).

So I took him to the mall to look for a pair of jeans and maybe a shirt. I offered to take him to Wal-mart but he didn't want to go there. I'm not sure Micah and I can afford a teenager. But God was with us on this shopping trip and I found him some very nice jeans at Dillards that were marked down to fifteen dollars and he got two shirts at Aéropostale that were 70% off. THANK YOU JESUS! Here are a few pictures of him in his new clothes.



Such a handsome young man! And yes, for those of you who live in Ohio, yes he is wearing long sleeves in Florida in 80 degree weather. It is the style don't you know.



Just had to post one more picture because I think he looks so nice. And who knows if he will ever let me blog about him again.

Anyway, he told me the next day that he had a great time. That the Lord really moved in the service and that he enjoyed the fellowship with his friends. He did not get enough to eat (he could have had more but he did not want to wait in the line again) and he slept the next day till noon. So since these seem to be typical teenager behaviors I guess it's safe to say that my little boy is no longer a child but is on his way to becoming a man.

The other thing I wanted to blog about is that Tyler is learning how to cook in school. Tyler loves to eat but there are times when he is very picky about what he will eat. So I'm hoping that by teaching him to cook he may decide to try new things and also I figure it will come in handy for him when he is out on his own. So today we made homemade Banana Nut Bread. I didn't take any pictures of us actually making the bread (I was a little busy) but I did take a few pictures of the finished project. ENJOY!



And yes it was as good as it looks. Actually I think it tasted better than it looks. He did a wonderful job of following directions and I think he actually enjoyed cooking.




One more picture just to get your taste buds salivating. And now I'll share the recipe with you.

Southern Banana Nut Bread
1/2 cup butter-flavored shortening
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 cup mashed ripe banana (about 2 medium) - we always add extra
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups self-rising flour
1/2 cup buttermilk
3/4 cup chopped pecans (again we add more)

Topping:
1/4 cup mashed ripe banana
1 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar
1 tsp lemon juice
Additional chopped pecans

In a large mixing bowl, cream shortening and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs. Blend in bananas and vanilla. Add flour alternately with buttermilk, beating well after each addition. Fold in pecans.
Pour into two greased 8-inch x 4-inch x 2-inch loaf pans. Bake at 35o degrees for 45 - 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack; cool completely.
For topping, combine bananas, confectioners' sugar and lemon juice; spread over loaves. Sprinkle with pecans.

3 Month Surgiversary!

Well, yesterday was my 3 month surgiversary! I cannot believe that it has been 3 months already.

I had my first complication since my surgery on Saturday. I awoke at 2:00 a.m. throwing up and spitting up blood. I was very scared and woke Micah up so that he could pray for me and with me. This "episode" lasted about 30 minutes and I was never in pain. So I decided to wait until the morning to call my surgeon.

Well, on Sunday I felt fine and I knew I had a doctor's appointment already scheduled for Monday so I decided to take a wait and see approach. I promised Micah that if it happened again I would go straight to the emergency room.

We went to church and I continued to ask God to heal whatever was wrong. I had others praying for me too. I had no more problems on Sunday and I have not had any problems since. So I am claiming a healing.

I did however keep my doctor's appointment on Monday and I did tell them about this little "episode". They sent me for blood work and had me come back later that afternoon to meet with Dr. Jawad (my surgeon). He decided to treat it like an ulcer and put me on pepcid and mylanta.

I feel very blessed to have this be my first complication. I have heard horror stories from other patients and I feel that God has been watching over me through this entire thing.

Thank you for all those who are praying for me, I want you to know that your prayers are being heard and answered.

Now, on to the good stuff. I have lost over 100lbs and I have lost 53 1/2 inches total since surgery. 10 of those inches are off my waist. (PRAISE GOD)

This surgery is a life changing, life saving gift from God.

The thing that I am most thanful for however is not that I look better but that I feel so much better. It's simply amazing to me that amount of energy that I have now. Last weekend our neighborhood had a neighborhood yard sale and the kids and I left the house at 9 a.m. and began walking the neighborhood we walked our entire neighborhood (up and down every street) and then walked across the street and walked that neighborhood also. Tyler told me how proud he was of me and mentioned that just a few short months ago I would have been out of breath and struggling by the time we got to the end of our street. What a difference 3 months make.




This is me in one of my favorite dresses. I had not worn this dress since Delaney was about a year old. My goal was to wear this dress on Easter Sunday to church. And I did it. I forgot to take pictures of me in it that day but Micah took a picture of me in it last night for my surgiversary. This picture was taken the night before my surgery.



This was taken last night on my 3 month surgiversary.




Back view the night before surgery.



Back view 3 months post op.



Side view the night before my surgery.



Side view 3 month surgiversary.

Anyway, I just wanted to let you all know how I'm doing and share this incredible journey with you all.

Easter 2009

Yes, I am behind in my blogging. Things have gotten a bit hectic around here and life has simply gotten away from me. But I'm going to try and catch up here in the next few days and then I will make an effort to stay caught up.

Here are some pictures of the kids looking for their baskets on Easter Morning. I know Tyler seems like he might be to old to do this but he still really enjoys hunting for his basket of goodies so we figure what's the harm. Kids today grow up way to fast anyway so if he wants to hold on to something a little childish I'm all for it.



Now where oh where could all that candy be?



I know that basket is around here somewhere I can smell the chocolate.



See I told you I could smell it!



Look at all my candy! I love candy! Can I have some now please?

For the first time ever we did not have to play "hot and cold" with anyone. Either they are getting better at finding them or the "Bunny" is getting old and is running out of good hiding spots. They each of course got to eat one piece of candy before they even had breakfast. And you know that only happens on Easter around here.

Then it was time to get ready for church. My mother blessed our family this year with Easter clothes for all of the children. Micah and I were so thankful for this as it just was not in the budget for the kids to get new clothes and Tyler needed a suit because he has joined choir. My mother bought and shipped Delaney's dress but she sent money for the boys (because they are at that age where they like to pick out their own clothing). So we took them shopping the week before Easter and they picked out all of their own Easter clothes.



Daddy teaching Tyler how to tie a real tie. No more clip on or zipper ties for him. He is a teenager now and wants to dress like a man. It took him about 30 minutes to pick out his tie. He is very picky about what he wears. And he knows what he likes and what he does not like. Mom and Dad just follow him through the store and we are learning to not offer up our opinions unless we are asked for them. Not easy for me when I've been the one picking out his clothes since he was born.



Delaney, of course, slept in sponge rollers so that her hair would be nice and curly for Easter Morning service.



She looks just like the Princess that she is. Thanks Grandma Bush for the beautiful dress.



This is a better picture of the dress.



Andrew already had a suit (he had asked for one for Christmas) so Grandma bought him a tie (a zipper tie - cause that's what he likes) and a new dress shirt and some new dress shoes. I forgot to get a picture of the new shoes. Andrew picked out his tie. He wanted a green tie because "that's my style" he said.



This is a picture of Johnathon (one of Tyler's best friends) , Tyler and Andrew outside the church on Easter morning. We had to be at church 2 hours before it started so that Tyler could practice with the choir.



The church had this wonderful area set up in the foyer that was just so beautiful I had to stop the kids and get a picture. I cannot believe how grown-up they all look. Time does fly.



I decided to post this as a reference. This was taken our last Easter in Ohio. Easter 2006. So now you can really see how much they have grown-up, it's not just in my head. They are becoming wonderful young people for the Lord and I'm so very proud of them.




Here are my four greatest blessings. A wonderful husband, a teenager filled with the Holy Ghost and living his life for Christ, a wonderful middle son who has a heart of gold, and a beautiful little girl to cherish and share my life with. My other greatest blessing is waiting for me on streets of Gold and because of the Miracle of Easter I will again see my Darin.

"IN THIS LIFE WE WILL NEVER BE COMPLETE BUT ONE DAY ...." I thank God for that promise.

St. Augustine Field Trip Continued

So as you know last Wednesday we went to St. Augustine for a homeschooling field trip. I posted about the Fort that we enjoyed so very much. So today I want to finish posting about our wonderful day and share with you the rest of the pictures.

After we left the fort we drove over to the St. Augustine Lighthouse and Museum (which was the real reason for our trip) to attend the Homeschooling Day that they were offering. We ate a quick picnic lunch in the car while waiting for our tour time to arrive. It was a wonderful lunch and a great time to fellowship with the Devore family.

The tour was amazing and the children has a wonderful time learning about the lighthouse and the lighthouse keepers. They divided us up into two groups and took us to different stations to learn about different aspects of the lighthouse.

During the first station the children learned some "sea songs" and Tyler got to answer a question about what the land formation is called that is surrounded by water on only three sides. Do you know the answer? Delaney loved learning the songs and the hand motions that go along with them. Andrew was not impressed (of course).

The second station was on Hammocks. Nope not the kind you hang in your yard and relax on. A "Hammock" means shady place and in this case we learned about the shady grounds surrounding the lighthouse. This was the part that I found most fascinating but I'm not sure any of the children enjoyed this part. They did however learn the names of a few plants so they must have found it more interesting than even they realized.



This flower is called a "Sun Daisy" and we learned that it is the kind of plant for us. It loves when you forget about it. So we are going to order some seeds off the internet and plant some next year.



And this plant is a "Spider Wart". We learned that "wart" means medicinal so this plant may have been used to treat spider bites.

Then finally it was time to climb the lighthouse. This is the part the children had been looking forward to and dreading for most of the day. There were 438 steps total. 219 steps up and 219 steps down. (I of course could not do this so I stayed below and looked after the other children that were too small to climb - But I promised the kids when we came back I would do it with them).



This is a picture of the bottom of the lighthouse. We learned that it was painted in this manor so that in the daytime the ships would know that they were at St. Augustine by the black and white bottom and the red top. At night they would know they were at St. Augustine because the light flashed every 30 seconds.



Beautiful! I still cannot believe the children climbed it! We also learned that the lighthouse keepers (there were 3 of them) had to make this climb every 2 1/2 hours with a bucket of oil. Tyler decided that this would not have been a job he would have enjoyed.



Here is a picture of the kids at the top. As you can tell from our long sleeve shirts it was not a typical day in Florida, actually it was rather cold, only in the upper 60's (I believe). Now don't start sending me "hate mail" all you Ohioans when your used to 80's and 90's the 60's feel cold.



Here is a picture of our homeschooling group at the top of the lighthouse. What a great group of kids. I was so proud of the way they behaved all day long. They represented the homeschooling community very well.



They were doing a controlled burn across the way from the lighthouse. The boys were fascinated and Delaney was terrified. And of course when I say the boys I mean Micah too. He took a great number of pictures of the fire.



This is my favorite picture. This is the lighthouse keepers home with the shadow of the lighthouse. Micah did a fantastic job taking the pictures from the top.

After touring the lighthouse museum we took the Devore family on their first ever letterboxing adventure. We found 2 boxes and attempted a third that we were never able to find. I think and hope that they too caught the letterboxing bug.



The Devore Family and the Thomas Family in front of the lighthouse keepers home after finding the Devore's first letterbox.

As you can tell we had a wonderful and educational day! We are planning on returning to St. Augustine as soon as we can so that we can enjoy more of this wonderful city!

Easter Morning!

I know that I have not finished blogging about our trip to St. Augustine but I wanted to put that on hold to share with you all something that God has been dealing with my heart about.

As most of you know, 10 years ago when my son Darin Scott North Thomas passed away I had a battle with faith. And I lost! Not just the battle but my faith. I no longer believed that God would take care of me, or my children. I no longer believed his promises or his word. I felt desperate and alone. I felt betrayed and hopeless.

But as this Easter season approached God began dealing with my heart about my failure to have Faith during the biggest trial of my life. And like the awesome Savior and merciful God that he is, he was not dealing with me to chastise me but to show me that others, far greater others, who have come before have dealt with the same things as I have and have also failed. And that failure did not make them any less great or any less loved by him, it simply made them human. And that when they realized their failure and came back to him he restored them and made them whole again.

I am speaking of God's own mother. Mary. For if anyone in this world knew who Jesus was it was his mother. Mary had no doubt that Jesus was virgin born, Mary spoke with Angels about the birth of her child, and Mary witnessed the miracles that surrounded his birth. She heard the shepards tell of angel choirs that announced his birth, she heard the Wise Men tell of following a star from far off lands. Have no doubt in your heart that Mary knew who Jesus was.

She discovered him as just a young boy confounding the priests and scribes at the temple, she was the one who not only witnessed but requested his first miracle at the wedding supper. She had no doubt that Jesus could do anything that she asked of him, including turning water into wine. Mary knew who Jesus was.

Yet, on that terrible day when she watched her son drag a cross through the streets, when she saw him so weak that he needed help to carry his burden how her mother's heart must have ached for her child. I can only begin to imagine her suffering and despair. For my son was mercifully taken in his sleep with no pain and no suffering. How Mary must have wept for her child, I'm sure the pain was almost to much to bare.

And yet she stood at the foot of the cross, she watched as he cried "It is Finished" and she watched as he took his final breaths. I imagine that she was there because she was his mother. That she felt the need to be at his side. She was there when he was born and she would be there when he died. I know that as a mother, I would have been there too.

And yet, you must ask yourself, if Mary knew who Jesus was, if Mary believed that he was the Messiah, if Mary had heard Jesus speak of his death and Resurrection then where was Mary on that third day? Why was she not at the tomb on that first Easter Morning? She knew his birth was a miracle, did she not believe that his death would also be a miracle?

I cannot say for sure, but I believe that Mary lost her faith. I believe that Mary, in her humanness, thought that Jesus had died on that cross and that was the end. I believe this because she did not arise early that third morning and run to the grave expecting to see her son alive and well. Where ever Mary was that morning it was not at the tomb of Jesus. Others went to tend his body, but not her. The Bible does not tell us where she was, she might have been hiding with the other disciples afraid that they were coming to get her next. She might have started planning to return home, thinking there was nothing left for her in Jerusalem now. What ever she was doing that morning, she obviously was not expecting a miracle from God.

And this is the part about my God that I love .... Jesus did not need others to believe or have faith that he would raise from the Dead in order to do it. He came out of that grave on the first Easter morning even though there was no one there waiting and watching for him to do it. God did not need the faith of the 12 disciples in order to conquer Death, Hell and the Grave. And I am so thankful for that, because during my 5 years of having no Faith in him, it did not change the fact that he was still God and that he was still watching over my family and blessing us each and every day with his mercy and love.

I don't know where Mary was during those awful days following the death of Jesus Christ, but I now that on the day of Pentecost she was in the upper room. I know that Mary found her Faith again, and I know that God filled her with the Holy Ghost along with the other 120 people that were with her that day.

I am so thankful that I found my Faith again. That I rest assured in the fact that I will see Darin. That because Jesus lives so does my son. My heart breaks for the pain and sadness that Mary, the mother of Jesus, must have experienced during those terrible days when Jesus suffered and died on a cross and was buried in a tomb. But I rejoice with her, a sinner just like me that needed a Savior, that Jesus Christ rose from the dead with the keys to Death, Hell and the Grave and that he has gone to prepare us a place where we will live forever with him.

St. Augustine Field Trip

On Wednesday of this week our family (it just so happened to be Micah's day off) along with our dear sweet friends The Devore Family traveled to St. Augustine for a Homeschooling Day. Our day started at 7:30 a.m. as we packed a cooler of food and headed out. We arrived at the Castillo de San Marcos (the fort) at 10:00 a.m.

Now we had been told that we could easily "do" the entire fort in about an hour. Well, obviously they don't understand the way homeschoolers "do" things. Because after 2 hours we had to rush through the rest of the fort and we did not get to do anything outside the fort at all. Here are some pictures so you can enjoy our day with us.



This is a picture of the outside of the fort. That's a real drawbridge and those are real cannons at the top. Andrew was of course disappointed that the mote was empty and there were no alligators waiting to gobble up any unwanted visitors.



The Thomas children and the Devore children standing on the drawbridge. I guess we have not been hanging out together long enough for the children to mingle. (Back Row Left to Right: Andrew, Tyler, Holly, McKenna, Caleb. And Delaney in the front)



The girls (Holly, McKenna and Delaney) standing in one of the fireplaces used in the Gaurd Rooms. The boys woudn't get their picture taken in there because they were afraid of spiders.



This is a picture of a tourist who really enjoys the fort. NO! I'm just kidding. This is a man dressed as a Spanish Soldier would have dressed during the time the Spanish had control over the fort.



And these were some of the tools they used for medicinal purposes. I don't know about you but I'm glad I've never walked into a doctor's office and seen these before. SCARY!



This is not the best picture ever but I wanted to post it so those of you who have not seen us in awhile can see how big the kids are getting. And no Andrew and Tyler are not standing on anything, they really are almost as tall as their Daddy.



Delaney loves having girls to hang out with. And Holly and McKenna are so sweet to her, even though she is so much younger than them.



Micah and the kids sitting on the top of the fort. The veiw was breathtaking.



The children "manning" the cannons. Andrew wanted to fire one of them so badly. We did find out that they do fire them on the weekends so maybe with God's help we will be able to travel back there someday and let Andrew witness it for himself.



The men "manning" the cannons. They were just not as into it as the kids. I think they were trying to be "grown-up" for Tammy and me.



A picture of the inside of the fort looking down from the top.



A picture of a man dressed dressed in full military attire from the time of the Spanish occupation of St. Augustine.

We also went and visited a lighthouse (the main reason for our trip to St. Augustine) but I will save those pictures for another post as I fear this one has gotten way to long all ready.