A TADD of this and a TADD of that

Andrew is Buried in the NAME!!

2009-05-14T06:48:00.007-04:00

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

2009-05-06T08:36:00.006-04:00

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!

2009-04-22T17:44:00.007-04:00

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

2009-04-21T08:48:00.016-04:00

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

2009-04-16T07:47:00.012-04:00

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!

2009-04-12T06:14:00.005-04:00

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

2009-04-11T08:06:00.014-04:00

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.

Cupcakes for Delaney

2009-04-07T07:43:00.003-04:00

Delaney's Sunday School class had their Easter party this past Sunday. And since you all know how much I love to cook and bake I volunteered to make something for the class. I was going to make sugar cookies (I bought and Easter Egg cookie cutter) but Delaney wanted cupcakes and since it was her party and her treat I decided to let her pick what I made. So here are a few pictures of the cupcakes that she took to Sunday School.

I know I'm not supposed to say it "But how cute are those?" I had to make 40 of them and I piped the icing on each one. It took me 3 hours to decorate them all but she is so worth it. The kids all loved them and she was the most popular girl in class. Her smile when I picked her up was worth every minute that I had spent. And let me tell you it was not easy not eating any of that icing.

I wish I could share one with you all. I was told they were excellent.

Good Fun, Good Fellowship, Good Friends

2009-04-06T07:45:00.007-04:00

Well, once again, I have lots of things to blog about so I'm going to break them up over the next few days.

Let me start this post with some background information. Micah and I have lived in Florida for almost 3 years. Neither one of us had made any friends in those 3 years. I was becoming desperate for a friend. So I began to pray (why I did not do this before I have no idea), I asked God to send me a "sister friend". The kind of friend that you can call when your having a bad day and your house is a mess, and your kids are behind in school, and your husband is on his way home and you did not even take out anything for dinner. The kind of friend that when you call and tell her all of this will not judge you, or tell you that you should be doing better but the kind of friend that says "OH MY I'm having the same kind of day. And to prove it to you I'm going to post some pictures on the Internet." That's the kind of friend I needed and that's exactly the kind of friend that God sent me. Within just a few weeks of praying for this friend, Micah and I met this wonderful family at church.

Mark and Tammy Devore. Micah and Mark (I believe) were separated at birth. I know that's a scary thought to those of you who know Micah that there would be another one of him out there, but there is and I thank God for him. Men need good friends as much as women do, and Micah is so glad to have found a guy friend that he can go and have pizza with and talk "Man Talk".

So I told you all of that so that I could post about our Friday night. We had invited the Devore Famly over to our house for an evening of fun and fellowship. Well, we had been to the Devore house a few weeks ago and let me tell you Martha Stewart has nothing over my friend Tammy. Her house was decorated so cute and was so neat and tidy. I became a nervous wreak that she was coming to my dusty nondecorated house. So I called my Aunt Pam (I love that woman) to come and HELP me. So my Aunt and I spent the day cleaning and hanging curtains and shelves. We didn't get everything hung that we had hoped but it was a huge improvement over what it had been.

This is a picture of my dining room with the new curtains my Aunt hung up for me. I am going to get some tie backs for them.

Since I had never posted pictures of my dining room before I wanted to post this picture also. This is looking into the dining room from the foyer. The other one is of the dining room looking in from the hallway that leads to the kitchen.

And since I mentioned my foyer but have never posted a picture of it. Here it is.

Anyway, I should have knows better than to get so stressed out about Tammy coming to my house. God certainly picked the right friend for me. She immediately put me at ease when she arrived and never commented on my dirty baseboards at all. What a blessing!

We had such a wonderful time talking and laughing. And of course eating. Those of you who know me know that I cooked enough to feed an army. So I'm going to post a few of the recipes that I made so that you can try them too.

Chipped Beef Dip (I forgot to take a picture)

1 8oz package cream cheese (softened)
2 TBSP milk
1/2 cup sour cream
2 packages chipped beef (cut up into small pieces)
2 TBSP onion flakes
2 TBSP softened butter
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. With a mixer mix all ingredients except chopped pecans. Spray a pie plate with cooking spray and spread cream cheese mixture over bottom of pie plate. Sprinkle with chopped pecans and bake for 30 to 40 minutes. Serve warm with crackers.

This recipe is very simple and very delicious.

Mini Cheesecakes (again I forgot to take a picture)

1 package Oreo Cookies
3 (8 oz) packages cream cheese, softened
1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk (NOT evaporated milk)
3 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract.

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Place cupcake papers into muffin tins. Put one Oreo cookie in the bottom of each cupcake paper.

In a large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Gradually beat in sweetened milk until smooth. Add eggs and vanilla; mix well. Spoon equal amounts of mixture into prepared cups (almost to the top). Bake 20 minutes or until cakes spring back when lightly touched. Cool on wire racks. Chill. Garnish as desired. I always serve mine with chilled cherry pie filling or strawberries in juice. Refrigerate leftovers.

We also had stuffed crescents, meatballs and Hawaiian Pizzas. I am already trying to think of another time that we can have them over and what else I can make for them.

MARCH: Review

2009-04-01T07:11:00.012-04:00

I can not believe that another month has come and gone already. 2009 seems to just be flying by. I did not do that great of a job this month taking pictures of all of the things that we did so I am going to try harder in April to get pictures of everything.

But I thought I would do a review of this month (even without pictures) to keep our friends and family that live far away up to date on our lives.

Well, at the beginning of March I of course turned 35 years old. It was a very interesting birthday. No cake and no ice cream. But I felt better than I had felt on any birthday since I was 21. So I did not really mind the no sweets. I am actually looking forward to turning 36 as I keep telling myself that on my next birthday I will have hopefully lost all or pretty much all of my weight. (Sorry no pictures of the birthday girl - I still don't like to have my picture taken. But maybe next year)

In March Tyler also joined the Youth Choir at our church. He was reluctant at first (which I found strange considering he loves to sing) but I decided to leave the decision up to him and he did not disappoint me. It took him less than 24 hours to decide that he wanted to join and he worked hard on learning the songs and never complained about going to practice. Even though their practices were 2 hours once a week. And one week they had 2 two hour practices. He sang at "Fusion" (more on this later) and he will be signing on Easter Sunday. (Sorry no pictures of this yet- I will get pictures on Easter Sunday - as I could not embarrass him by going to practice just to take his picture).

Also, starting in March I began attending our Ladies Prayer Meeting on Thursday nights. I cannot even begin to tell you how much of a difference it has made in my life already. I feel so much closer to God and it renews my spirit and gives me strength for the rest of my week. I just wish it was earlier in the week. I am so thankful for Micah who allows me to go and stays home with the kids and cleans up around the house for me while I'm gone. What a blessing. I am also hoping that seeing me leave the house once a week to go and spend time with God will leave an imprint on my children and show them how important and powerful prayer is in their lives. (No pictures of prayer either - I just did not think that was appropriate).

On March 27 and 28 Tyler attended his first Youth Conference at our church called "Fusion". Micah took him and his friends to church Friday night at 6:00 and we did not see him again until Saturday around 2:00 in the afternoon. I was quite nervous but we all survived. Tyler had a great time. He sang in the choir and hung out with his friends all night long. Then went to one of his best friend's houses and spent the night. Got up on Saturday and went back to church for another service. When I asked him if he had a good time he touched my heart when he began to tell me how awesome it was and how much fun he had and how he enjoyed it so much. I expected to hear about the food he ate, the games he played, the girls he saw and typical teenage things like that. Instead I was told how awesome God is, how the Holy Ghost fell even before church started, and how the man of God touched his heart. I was reminded again of how blessed Micah and I are to have a child who loves God so very much. And once again I was convinced that God is going to use Tyler in a mighty mighty way. (Again, no pictures of this as it was a youth event and Micah and I are not youth).

And we ended our month with Corbin's (another of Tyler's best friends) birthday party. It was at a local park and the kids had such a great time. I forgot to take my camera so I did not get any pictures of that either. Like I said I'm going to try and do better in April. But the boys and even some of the adults played football and baseball.

So March was a pretty eventful month, lots of school and lots of fun things. We are looking forward to April and all of the exciting events that it will bring.

I did not want to post a blog without any pictures at all. So I'm going to put a few pictures of some of the things that Andrew has made out of Legos.

This is the Christmas present Andrew made me. I still think it's amazing the things he can do with Legos.

This is the Batman face he made. AMAZING!

This is his Joker (from Batman).

And this is the castle he made Delaney complete with balcony and drawbridge. See the little windows.

Delaney Sings for Jesus

2009-03-26T05:45:00.010-04:00

In January of 2009 Delaney was asked to join Kid's Praise at our church. It's a group of children that lead the other kids in singing and signing (sign language) the praise songs that they sing before Sunday School on Sunday mornings. For those of you from the Barberton Church think Silent Praise with kids.

Well if you know Delaney, you know this is right up her alley. She loves to be the center of attention and is quite a little actress. She gets to dress "crazy" every Sunday morning. Which she loves to do. She complains every Sunday though that I have not dressed her "crazy" enough. I am posting some pictures of her "crazy" outfits and hairstyles that I have come up with. And just to put everyone's mind at ease, NO we do not go anywhere after church but home.

This was her first "crazy" outfit. Don't you just love the leg warmer? And the blue shoes?

Nothing says "Praise Jesus" like a pair of cowboy boots and beads.

This is her "mohawk" of ponies. She loves this hairstyle and would have me fix her hair this way everyday if I would do it.

This is Delaney actually singing and signing during Kid's Praise. Again she loves to wear her cowboy boots for Jesus.

Micah and I are so proud of her. She works hard every Sunday to learn the songs and the signs that go with them. She has to be there 30 minutes before church to practice and she never complains. And even dressed "crazy" she is still so cute I can not stand it.

This is Delaney with some of her other "Praise Kids". The little girl in the red shirt is one of Delaney's best friends Amber (who is also Johnathon's (one of Tyler's best friends) sister). The little girl in blue is Corbin's (one of Tyler's other best friends) sister. And the little boy in the back is Caleb (my dear sweet friend's only son).

I love that Delaney even at her young age is working and doing something for the Lord. I hope and pray that she continues to give God her all and that he uses her in a mighty way.

2 Month Surgiversary!

2009-03-22T06:47:00.000-04:00

Well, yesterday Saturday the 21st of March was my two month surgiversary. For those of you that have no idea what I'm talking about on January 21st, 2009 I had bariatric surgery. I had a laproscopic RNY procedure. Basically what that means is that they gave me a new stomach (that can only hold about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of food) and bypassed 7 feet of my intestines. So not only am I limited on how much I can eat and on what I can eat (no sugars, no acidic foods, and not sure what all else I cannot stomach yet :) ) but my body also does not have a chance to absorb all of the things that I eat.

I know that Surgiversary is a very strange thing to call it but since it really is the start of a brand new life for me I think that word fits perfectly.

This was a life changing surgery not just for me but for my family. But I know that God has had his hand in it since the beginning. He brought me through the surgery just fine and has been with me every step of the way as I have recovered and healed.

And here I am two months out and I feel better than I have felt in years. I don't seem to be able to see the change in my looks as much as others can see it but I know that my clothes are getting bigger on me and the numbers on the scale are getting smaller.

So I have decided to be brave and post a before and now picture on my blog so that family and friends who have not seen me can have a peek at the me I am becoming. So here goes nothing.

This is me the night before my surgery. Dear Lord is all I'm going to say about this one.

And this is me on my two month surgiversary. I have lost 95 pounds and 36 1/2 inches. I have a waist now! PRAISE GOD!

Anyway, I just wanted to share this journey that I am on with all of you. And also to ask for your continued prayer. I am not all the way healed up yet and I still have a lot more to lose so I appreciate the prayers and the support.

Letterboxing! A Great Way to Spend the Day!

2009-03-16T15:04:00.000-04:00

We spent all of Friday afternoon (because this was Micah's weekend off) letterboxing. We had so much fun. We went to Wekiwa Springs in Apopka.

This is the link encase you want to check it out.
http://www.floridastateparks.org/WekiwaSprings/

We had never been there before so we decided to pack a picnic lunch and head out for the day. We will definitely be going back, we had so much fun and did not even get to do everything they had there.

Now, back to letterboxing for those of you who have never heard of this wonderful family pastime. We discovered letterboxing about a year ago, I read about it in one of our homeschooling newsletters (of course - don't you know that homeschoolers always know the best things to do). We went once and we were hooked. It's kinda like a scavenger hunt and it's an awesome way to spend the day together as a family. The very best part of letterboxing is that it's pretty much free (unless you decide to go a park that has an entrance fee - like Wekiwa Springs). We always pack a picnic lunch fill up our water bottles and spend the entire day exploring a great place. We have found some wonderful parks that we never would have known about had it not been for letterboxing and my children have seen wildlife actually out in the wild.

If you would like more information on letterboxing (and I suggest that everyone try it at least once) you can go to this website for more information
http://www.atlasquest.com/

Here are some pictures from our day. Enjoy!

We saw a woodpecker hanging upside from a tree. The kids had never seen a real woodpecker before.

There were some college kids counting turtles. They had two canoes full of turtles and we watched them weight them and measure them and then carve notches into their shells to number them.

Here's a picture of the kids with a stuffed baby black bear that had been killed on the road outside the park. Delaney is afraid (but I'm pretty sure she could have taken the bear even if it was alive).

And here is Delaney with a box turtle. She loved all the turtles they had on display at the Nature Center. The boys loved the snakes (go figure) but they did not have any of them out of the cages (Thank God)

And as we were leaving the park for the day this little guy came out to say "Good-Bye" to us. It was the perfect ending to a perfect day.

No lines, no going home broke, no crowds, and no angry stressed out parents. See why we love letterboxing so much.

Our House and Schoolroom

2009-03-14T08:18:00.000-04:00

Well, I have lots of things to blog about, but I don't want to overwhelm those of you who read this so I'm going to divide them up into separate posts that I will write over the next few days.

I realized the other day that some of you (actually most of you from Ohio) have never seen our house. So I thought I would take some pictures and put them on my blog. Now don't get nervous I did not take pictures of every room (not yet at least - those are coming :) ) But I took some pictures of the outside and also of our schoolroom. Enjoy!

This is the front of our house. I love my house! This is our first Florida House and we love it. When we moved here we lived in an apartment and while we were thankful that God had provided us with a place to live we feel so blessed to be living in a house.

And this is our schoolroom. By far the messiest room in our house (on good days). This would normally be the formal living room but we are not all that formal around here and besides that we NEED a schoolroom. I have tried doing school at the dining room table and it just does not work for us. I am so blessed to have a husband who understands and does not mind allowing us to have a room that looks like this in our house.

Tyler and Andrew sitting in their desks getting ready to start the school day. I think Andrew is almost ready for a big desk like Tyler but I have no idea where I will put another big desk like that.

Delaney at her desk waiting for the school day to begin. She loves school and I hope that love of learning never leaves her.

This is a picture of one of my most prized possessions. Our pulpit (where I stand and lecture and teach). I had been wanting something for our schoolroom back when we lived in Ohio that I could stand at (the kids just seem to pay better attention if I am standing in front of them) and still have my books and things that I needed in front of me. Well, our church (Apostolic Church of Barberton) was remodeling some areas and they were selling the things that they were no longer going to be using. So my wonderful husband bought me this pulpit to use in our schoolroom. But this pulpit became an even bigger blessing to me just a few weeks after we bought it. Because a few weeks later we moved to Florida and I had to leave the only church I had ever know (and it broke my heart). But I got to take a piece of Barberton with me in this pulpit.

We hope you enjoyed seeing our house and our schoolroom. We sure did enjoy showing them to you.

Stay tuned for more exciting things from the Thomas Family.

First Official Day Back!!

2009-03-09T14:05:00.000-04:00

Well, this was it. Our first official day back to school since December 19th. I have been looking forward to and dreading this day for a month now. As always I had the vision in my head of how I wanted today to go, and as always my day was nothing like the vision.

My body and mind refused to get up at the hour I had planned. So that meant that I would be running behind all day long. I hate when I feel behind before I even get started. But I encourage myself with the thought that tomorrow I will get up on time (even if it kills me).

And even though we did not start school at 8:00 a.m. (yep, that's what time we start our school day) I was determined to be finished by 4:00 p.m. (yep, that's what time we end our school day). There is an hour in there for lunch, I do have a heart (a very small one according to my teenager, but a heart none the less). And I am very happy to report that it's 3:45 and my youngest have finished their day and my oldest is working on his last paper.

Did we get every subject done that I had planned NOPE.
Did we get every assignment done that I had wanted NOPE.
Did we have a few moments of rebellion YEP.
Did we have to stop and breathe and count to ten YEP.

But all in all it was a good day. I spent quality time with my children teaching them and reading to them. We have agreed to work harder tomorrow and to try and accomplish more than we did today. I hope they all learned something new and I hope that somewhere along the way we made a good memory that will last them a lifetime.

Now, I must grade the papers that we finished, get things ready for tomorrow, and start dinner. I am looking forward to a relaxing evening with my husband and children. I am also looking forward to going to bed early.

Sunday Night Service

2009-03-03T17:39:00.001-05:00

We had an amazing service here on Sunday night. Pastor never even got to preach, the power of God began to fall and God's people let God have his way in the service.

I received a special blessing during one of the songs that we sang at worship. The words simply say

"I'm reaping the harvest God promised me
Take back what the Devil stole from me
And I rejoice today, for I shall recover it all
Yes, I rejoice today, for I shall recover it all"

10 years ago, Micah and I buried our third son, Darin Scott North Thomas. And I allowed the devil to steal my joy, my hope, my faith, my peace of mind, and my walk with God. I blamed God for my son's death. I was so angry that I could not pray. I no longer trusted God to take care of either me or my family. When your a mother that prays over your children for every hurt and illness and then you no longer believe that your prayers are heard or answered it's a scary lonely place to be. I allowed the devil to keep me in that kind of a prison for five long years. I never thought there would be an end to my valley.

But thank God there was. 5 years ago I realized that God did not leave me on the day Darin died. That he was still there, still loving me, just waiting for me to call out to him so he could come and wrap me up in his arms of love and comfort me. It took me 5 years to realize that the harder I pushed God away the closer he drew to me. That while I was yelling and screaming at him for being unfair and unloving that he was protecting my children and blessing my life with another wonderful child to call my own. That while I stopped praying for his guidance and hand in my life and the lives of my children he never withdrew his protection or his love. I know that God saw my hurt and pain and that it broke his heart to see his child in that kind of despair. I know this because the minute, the second that I reached out to God he flooded my life with peace and love. He did not make me work for it, he did not make me beg for forgiveness. I simply raised my hands in the air and said "Jesus, help me" and I felt his love and his sweet peace roll over me like an ocean wave.

But you see up until Sunday night I had let the devil torment me with the fact that for 5 years I had failed God. That during the biggest trial of my life I let God down. I let the devil beat me up time and time again with the knowledge that when my storm came I was not able to weather it. So even though I had returned to God and was once again living and doing his will in my life as best I could I was still allowing the devil to steal from me. Now I know that I cannot get back those 5 years, that I am not able to relive them and live them better. But what I believe God showed me on Sunday night during the singing of this song is that my faith, my joy, my peace can be restored to what it was before our son went home to be with Jesus. And not only can it be restored but it can be greater. So that the next time the devil comes around and points out my failure to serve God in the storm I can stand on my faith and let him know THAT I FAILED GOD BUT GOD NEVER FAILED ME. And that I'm taking back all that he stole from me (peace, hope, love, faith) and I'm not just going to be satisfied with what I had but God and I are going to grow it to where it's greater than it was before.

So this is it! My first blog post.

2009-03-03T11:45:00.000-05:00

Hello All,
This is it my first blog posting. I am very excited. I am hoping to use this as a way to keep family and friends updated on our daily lives. Since we no longer live close to most of our family I will use this blog as a way to keep you all close in our hearts.

I'll start with filling you in on the events of yesterday. Micah had to take the day off work (Thank God that he works for the government and gets paid sick time) in order to take me to my follow-up appointment with my bariatric surgeon. I had my feeding tube taken out and I was very nervous and afraid so I asked Micah to please take the day off so that he could go with me and hold my hand. So of course, being the amazing husband that he is, he took the day off and held tightly to my hand as my tube was removed.

Later on in the day, we saw God's hand at work in our lives in a mighty way. We were coming home from Sam's Club (where I had to stop after my doctor's appointment and get milk) and we got a flat tire. After Micah had changed the tire and we were once again on our way home, we began to talk about the mighty way that God had shown himself to us along the way. First of all, had I taken Micah to work that morning the kids and I would have been stranded on the side of the road with no way of getting help. (I have no idea how to change a tire). Second of all, as we were leaving the house that morning Micah had on just a t-shirt and Andrew asked him why he was not wearing his Mickey sweatshirt that matched the one I was wearing so Micah went and put on his Mickey sweatshirt over his t-shirt. Again that was God as the temperature in Florida yesterday was quite chilly and Micah was outside for a good hour changing the tire. Third, not more than 5 minutes after pulling over on the side of a very busy road in Orlando so that Micah could change the tire a police officer pulled up and blocked traffic for us so that Micah could safely change the tire. But the last and final way that God showed himself to be with us through all of this is the spare tire that is in our van had somehow became stuck and in the 3 years that we have owned the van Micah has never been able to remove that tire. However, yesterday when we needed it, the tire simply popped out and Micah was able to use it. WHAT A MIGHTY GOD WE SERVE. Now I know that some of you may think, well that's all fine and good but would not have God shown himself more mighty by just not allowing the tire to go flat at all. And while, I know that God could very well have done that very thing, there would have been no way for any of us to know that he was doing that. There would have been no Glory in that for him. We would have just continued on with our day not even knowing that God was with us. But by sending us this little trial he showed himself mighty and we gave him thanks for his faithfulness.

So that was our very exciting Monday. Quite a way to start the week.

As some of you may know and others may not, this past Friday night the couples of our church got together to watch the film "Fireproof". Let me stop there for a minute and tell you that if you have not seen this movie then you need to put it at the top of your "To Do List". Married or unmarried this movie should be watched by all. If you are "religious" or not it does not matter, this movie holds marital truths that everyone should know and learn. Anyway, at the end of the film, Micah won the book "The Love Dare" which goes along with the movie. Well, knowing Micah and the hours that he works I never expected him to have the time or the energy to even open the book let alone read it and put it to use. But lo and behold, I awoke this morning to a completely clean kitchen (not just dishes in the dishwasher, and a few items washed and put in the dish drainer) but a completely clean kitchen. All dishes put away, an empty dishwasher to start the day with and all counters and stove top wiped off. Let me tell you this blessed my heart more than anything else in the world he could have done for me. The fact that my husband works so hard yet took time out of his day to do something that I feel is my responsibility touched my heart and has blessed me throughout my entire day. I thank God that he gave me a wonderful, loving, man of God for a husband. I AM SO BLESSED.

For dinner tonight we had meatball subs (yummy), tater tots, and salad. I of course could not have any of that as I am still on a soft food diet for at least another two weeks. I simply cannot wait to be able to sit down with my family and enjoy the same foods as them. (In much much smaller portions of course).

We also watched a family movie tonight. "Kermit's Swamp Years" is an adorable movie about Kermit as a small frog, when he still lived in the swamp. We are going through a muppet phase around here and have decided to watch all of the muppet movies we can find. We are even going to be watching the "The Muppet Show" on our next family movie night. We of course all have our favorite muppets. Tyler's is Kermit, Andrew's is the Eagle (not sure what his name is), Delaney's is Miss Piggy, Micah's is Animal, and mine is Ralph the Dog. For Christmas I am going to try and find something with our favorite muppet. So that all of us can remember our "Muppet Phase".

So that is the end of my first post. I will try and post some pictures next time. I hope you all have enjoyed reading this as much as I have enjoyed sharing it.