HAPPY NEW YEARS!!!

Well, another year passed and gone. I can't believe how fast the year went. One more term left until Jeremy is officially in his (third) last year of law school!! I am so excited!!! It finally feels like we are coming to the end. I know that he will still have to pass the bar and that even when he finds a job we will still be living like students for a while because of all the school debt BUT despite all that at least we will be done with school. We will be married 11 years in July, have 4 children and have been in school WAY TO LONG! I am tired and exhausted and ready to be done. I look forward to a brighter year, a year of changes and of surprises. Jonah will turn 8 this year and get baptised, that is exciting!! My parents and Jeremy's dad will come for that and I can't wait! Jeremy will be in his last year of law school, Isabella can start pre-school and becomes a sunbeam at church! Hopefully we will have less car problems! Mailee will love some one on one time with mom. Jeremiah is excited to turn 6 because then he gets a subscription to Junior National Geographic from his Nana just like Jonah did. I will turn 30! I don't even like to think about it. I have always felt 20 no matter how old I got now I am exiting my 20's and it is a little unsettling for me. Oh well, Hopefully it will be my year! We should finally be able to go home the end of the year. If all works out we will end our year in Mesa AZ, with my family. I have missed them so much! I have missed AZ. What an adventure we are having. I will say that we have been so blessed here and have made amazing friends who will be very hard to leave. It will be a bitter sweet Christmas for me BUT in the end my heart is in AZ and it is where I belong. My kids are already talking about it. I think it will be harder for them to leave now since their cousins and aunt and uncle from Jeremy's side are here and they have created a friendship with them. They will have a hard time with that but yet they will love to reunite with their cousins from AZ and be able to see Nana and Tata. Who knows, maybe Grandpa will come see them when we are closer. :) I know there will be so many things that I won't expect and things that I will not like but I will enjoy the journey and cease the moment, for a moment is all we get until we look back and it is gone. My kids are only small for a moment and some day when they are older and don't want to be around me, like they do now, I want to know that I did all I could to show them I loved them and that they are my number 1. I wish you all a happy New Year and I hope that yours will be one to remember. Thank you for being apart of our lives. xoxo The Thomas Family

*I wrote this before midnight when my kids fell asleep and then added the picture this morning which is why it says I posted yesterday. Just thought I would explain incase you wondered why my new years post was done before new years.* :)

Christmas Sunday, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day!

Merry Christmas
Mailee please sit up and smile....you can get a piece of candy:)

Yeah! We'll take it!

Isabella, Mailee and Lizzy playing the baby grand.

Joe, Jeremiah, and Jonah

Lizzy showing Isabella and Mailee the kid table

Mailee and Jill

Mailee waiting to open Aunt Carries present

Jerry as Santa's Elf

Darnel as his "cool" self

Anesah, Aunt Carrie, Isabella, Deyshawn, and Jeremiah

Isabella, Jeremiah, Jonah on Christmas morning.

Mailee was not cooperating :)

Well, Christmas Sunday did not go as planned! It was hectic and my girl's hair would not cooperate with me. My hair was making me mad AND the weather was horrible. I forced myself to go and it was a very nice meeting. Christmas Eve was a blast!! We went to our friends house and joined her and her family and friends. She had a wonderful Mexican fiesta and it was the best Mexican food I have had since moving to Michigan!! Her home was beautiful and my kids love to play with her children, who range from 16-25 years of age. :) Her kids are such great sports! We enjoyed ourselves very much and then when we got home Jeremy's sister and her family came to exchange gifts with our kids. They loved to see their cousins and get to have 1 present before Christmas morning. The next morning we found Jonah (at 3am) sitting in front of the Christmas tree just gazing at it! He was not happy when we had him go back to bed. We were up at 6:30 and had to wake up the girls since the boys were ready to go. They had so much fun. We were pleasantly surprised at what Santa left for them, they must have been really good this year! :) We took a few pictures but mostly video. We missed my family in AZ but it was good to have Jeremy's here with us this year. All in all it was a nice Christmas. I am grateful to celebrate the birth of my Savior and wish you all a very happy New Year!

My little big boy

Jonah came home with a present he had made for me at school. It was so cute! I loved the picture ornament and inside was a pad of paper with his art work printed on it. He had it wrapped in paper he had decorated with paint. The whole thing was so cute! I loved it! He also got to go to the Nutcracker Ballet with his class and so he was told to get dressed up. He looked so handsome and suddenly I saw him a little older and to be honest it kind of hurt. Where is my little boy going, my baby, my firstborn? It's crazy how time flies by and I only hope I can learn to enjoy the journey a little more instead of waiting for the day to end. I sure love my kids so much. I can't imagine my life without them. Anyhow, just wanted to share. :)

Cinderella, Baby Jesus.....hu?

I was cleaning my front room and decluttering the top of the t.v when I saw this. I laughed so hard. Isabella loves to play with this nativity but she has never replaced the figurines before. She cracks me up, I had to get a picture. The sad thing is is that now I cannot find baby Jesus (or the animals) but heh, I have the princesses! :)

Our Christmas Card Photo

We went out the other night and a friend of mine took these for me so I could choose one for my Christmas card. It was 4:45 and already getting dark. We walked out and it was 10 degrees, COLD, WINDY, and did I say COLD. We hurried so fast and figured these would have to do. I wake up this morning and there was snow all over the trees, it would have been so pretty in the picture but that is my luck. Oh well, so any suggestions as to which one is the favorite? I hope you are all staying warm, actually if you are I hate you. :) Just kidding but I am a little envious. Our headlights went out on our car and so we took it in to a mechanic but before that I was driving the boys to school this morning in the snow, 10 degrees (19 the high) bitter wind chill and I get a flat tire. RRRRRR! I was so ticked. I felt like someone had it in for me or something. Jeremy had to walk over to the school and walk Jeremiah home in such horrible weather, I felt bad. He walked in and his cheeks were red and frozen, I had hot cocoa all ready for him and he was so cold. I was lovin him up and Jeremy was like, oh stop...he's fine. Then you look at Jeremy and he's flippin cold and red and the first thing he does is make some hot cocoa too. Tough guy right? I swear it is days like today I have to be thankful that I have all my children and we are healthy and have a warm home. Counting my blessings always seems to work when I feel like giving in. Hope your all having better days. :)

Early Merry Christmas

Disclaimer: No Make Up On! sorry :)
The Big Cheese!

Buzz Light Year!

Bell :)

Peter Pan :)

Little Mermaid

Waiting for me to open the package!

So, my mom and dad went to Disney Land with their friends Luanne and Russell Pierce. They had such a blast and were able to stay in the Disney Land Hotel (resort). I was so happy for them that they were able to do such a fun thing together, they really got a great deal on the trip! They brought back something for EVERYONE! SO NICE!! They sent my kids a new disney outfit for their build a bears. They LOVED IT! Jeremy and I got matching shirts, his says, I'm the BIG cheese on it and mine says, I look this cute all the time! The kids were so excited! Thank you Mom and Dad!! It was a wonderful, wonderful suprise! :) xoxo

P.S. Please ignore the laundry in the background, you know how it goes. :)

Decorating has begun!

We put up our Christmas tree and some other decorations on Saturday. The kids had so much fun! I was bummed when I realized I did not get many pictures of it so I just posted a couple. Anyhow, I love this time of year! There is such a special feeling to it and it is a great reminder of what is really important. I do, however, miss my family and friends not with me in Michigan. It is a bitter sweet thing for me when Christmas comes around. All in all I am with my husband and children and we enjoy the spirit of Christmas very much. I hope all of you are well and that you are all much warmer than me! :)

Primary Program Sunday

This past Sunday our kids had the primary program, they were so cute! They did a great job! I always LOVE the primary program. Their is something so sweet and special about it. When they sang the closing song "If Jesus Stood beside you" (I think that is the title) I had tears in my eyes. I love that song, it is one of my new favorites now. What a wonderful Sunday it was and I love how proud the kids get when it is done. They feel so proud of themselves and look so happy. I hope you all enjoyed yours as much as I enjoyed ours. :)

Halloween Fun!

We have had a crazy busy week! Earlier this week I took the kids to the library for "Creatures of the night" They were able to see many night animals and learned a lot about them. Jonah enjoyed it but Jeremiah thought it was boring. The girls usually like anything. Then later in the week we took the kids over to Kroger's where they trick or treated through the store and were able to play games along the way. They LOVED the cake walk at the bakery and we hit the jackpot! Both my girls won first try and each received a free cheese cake. The boys both won the second time around and received cupcakes. YUMMY! We left with great desserts and I felt the pounds come on even before eating it. :) Then yesterday was so hectic, FUN but hectic. Jeremiahs class parade and party was from 10:15-12:00pm and Jonahs was from 1:30-3:40pm. I went to Jeremiahs (with the girls) and then hurried home gave the kids lunch and drove them to Carries house to be watched while I went to Jonahs. I hurried back to pick up a lady who needed a ride to the school and then went to the school with Jeremiah and watched Jonahs parade and then was in charge of the craft in his class during the party. I get there and go to pull out my camera when Jonahs parade started and NO CAMERA! I had put it on the charger after Jeremiahs parade to make sure it would not die on me and I forgot it! I was so mad. Luckily my friend, Jessica, was there and took pictures of Jonah for me. Thanks Jessica!!! It was still a lot of fun! The party was also great. After all was done we hurried and took Ella (lady needed a ride) home with her grandson and then went to pick the girls up from Carries. I realized I had forgotten my purse in Jonahs classroom AHHHH! I call Jonahs teacher as I am driving home from Carries and tell her not to leave. I race over there and grab my purse and get home by 4:30pm. When we drove in we all noticed 4 huge Dracula balloons at our door sticking to the screen door with an envelope attached. It was addressed to all the kids. We opened it and saw 4 certificates along with the pictures they had colored for the coloring contest in our town home community. They were so excited that they won something. We put them on our wall and the kids were so happy and proud of themselves. By now it is around 4:45pm and I finally start dinner (suppose to eat at 5:30) and it was not done until 6:30pm. (Dinner in a Pumpkin seems to take forver!) I felt so bad because we were having Jeremy's sister and family over for dinner and I was so behind. SO we sent the guys with the kids to go trick or treating while I finished up dinner. Thankfully Carrie had brought a side dish that was soooooo good! We ate when they got back since our county was only able to be out from 6-8pm anyways. I did have Christopher join us (friend of Jeremiahs who lives with his grandma) so he would have someone to trick or treat with. I was suppose to make caramel apples that night but since I ran myself ragged that day I did not! I woke up this morning and made them. I sent some to Carries family and my kids had theirs. They were delicious! Now, it is November first and I feel like I can breath a little but just for the time being. I can brace myself for Thanksgiving and Christmas. At least I have a little bit of a break before those. Jeremy's finals are coming very fast so he will be non-existent but that's OK because soon he will get his Christmas break, YEH! We are finally about 1/2 way done! WHOO! Just 1 1/2 years to go. :) Anyhow, I attached a few pictures of our crazy fun week. Hope you all had a wonderful Halloween. Happy Fall!

Ward Halloween Party

Isabella, Jonah, Jeremiah, Mailee (the boys are Indiana Jones)
Isabella (Tinkerbell) SO pretty :)

Jonah eating a hot dog


Mailee with her pumpkin she made (with help from Aunt Carrie)



Jeremiah and his pumpkin




Anesah and Isabella dancing (her legs look so funny)

Mailee, Anesah, Jonah, Victoria, Isabella, Jeremiah, Grace, and Halie

Anesah, Aunt Carrie, Mailee

Mailee and Anesah (SO cute!)

Victoria and Isabella (ahhhhh)

Mailee (Dorothy and Toto)

We had our ward Halloween Party. The kids were so excited and had a great time! They got all dressed up and were able to play different games and trick or treat. I will say the candy output was a little disappointing this year, the kids complained about it the whole way home. We assured them that on Halloween when they go trick or treating it will make up for it. :) They danced a little and were able to see what all their friends were going to be on Halloween. They looked so cute!! Isabella looked so beautiful and Mailee was too cute. Jonah and Jeremiah were so cute with their whips and hats. Jonah had some stubble on his face but decided to take it off for fear that someone would laugh at him. I tried to get him not to care what others thought and that Indy has scruff on his face BUT he said he would rather not. You know that age, they want to be cool. :) I fear it will only get worse. Anyhow, he still looked great! They all enjoyed wearing their costumes more than anything. In our house it is a rule that you cannot play in your costume until after Halloween because (from experience) if that is allowed then it's 98% positive that something will happen to it before they even use it. Now they are all hanging up waiting for THE DAY. They have a Halloween Parade and Party at school where they can wear it again and then that night will be HALLOWEEN. After all is said and done they use them to play dress up, so it's all good. Have a Happy Halloween!!!!

I have no idea why it is leaving so much space on the bottom. sorry....