Snow FUN!

Tristin and Natalie enjoying the snow!

That's My Girl!!

This is my girl feeding Grandpa and Grandma Thompson's neighbor's horse an apple...so sweet!

Only Two Weeks Until Christmas!

Last weekend we had a great time at the Roops! Click on our Flicker link to see all the great photos. The kids had so much fun and it was so nice to get away and enjoy John and Karen. We don't see them nearly enough since they've had their moving transition, but that will change now since they are all settled in their beautiful home. We did get some nice family pictures. I really wanted to get a new one since Kolton is almost nine months old and he wasn't included in any of the family pictures on the walls. I look at this photo and just smile. We are so blessed...I am so blessed beyond words to describe it!

We had a battle with the flu last week...yuck, but everyone is back on track and keeping busy. I hope to finish up my shopping today (if I beat the snow storm coming in), and need to get that cookie dough rolled out and baked TODAY!! It has been waiting on me since Tues. I think. I'll let you know how that all works out! Most of the time I just roll with the day because any plans I try to make...well...you know how it goes. I'll take what the Lord gives me and be happy with that. Everything waits on me until I get back around to it.

There's only two weeks until Christmas!! Every year it sneaks up on you, well at least me. It is kind of nice that we have all our gatherings pretty spread out over the month so I can organize and plan as I go and don't have it all hitting me at once. But I do need to get the kids finished up if not today because of the weather, next week for sure. I have also vowed that I will not be wrapping the presents on Christmas Eve this year after the kids have gone to bed. I hate that!!! But it's no ones fault but my own! So this year is going to be different! =0) I'm at least going to make the effort!

Well...hopefully I will remember to get a picture of the house after this snowfall. I was bummed that I didn't do that after the last time it snowed. It looks nice at night all lit up. I hope you all have a wonderful day, or week, or month...until the next time I'm back to give you all an update. Merry Christmas just in case!! =0)

~Tina

The Thompson Tree is Up

We told the kids on Friday that since Keith had Saturday off work we would put the tree up. Well you can imagine, that was the first thing they mentioned when they got up and the only thing they talked about all morning. I had a hair appointment at 11:00, so after a great husband prepared breakfast, I left to do the girl thing leaving instructions that they could put the tree up but had to wait for me to decorate. When I got home....I walked into the kitchen and there was a tree in the middle of it. As I walked in the Dinning room...a tree, and as I entered the living room....two trees! Well I got what I asked for! Keith was in the mood to decorate since we really didn't do much the previous year so he got out all the trees he could find. Actually he found one more after I got home so we have a total of five trees up. Some of you know how big our house is, so as I heard people say they were getting rid of their old tree and getting a new one I asked if I could have the old one. We have plenty of room for one more tree. I guess I didn't realize it has now totaled up to five...anyway, Keith decided to put a tree in each room that goes up the tower. Boy does it look nice! I will get a picture of the house when we are all done. The girls were SO EXCITED to get a tree in their room. Lola wanted to go up and rest her eyes in her bed to enjoy the tree...cute! We still have a mess but did get some stuff done. Guess what I'm doing today?? Getting everything out can be such a mess, but fun. The kids had fun. They enjoyed helping me get the village up (which hasn't been out for a couple years). We put that up above the tree on the ladder that Keith helped me put in the tower. He placed some barn boards over the ladder and I put my village up there. It worked since our tree looks a little shorter since we gained the extra ceiling space. It was Kolton's turn to put on the star. That was so funny! After he was done trying to eat the tree and as I was waiting for my camera to get into gear he just looked at me like "Why am I up here?". I also got some cute pictures of the kids so click on the flicker link to check those out. I love our tree! It is so bottom heavy with the ornaments! How I will miss that some day! Well...I'm off to get the day started. I think I heard Kolton upstairs. Hope to touch base soon!!

~Tina

The FIRST Snow!

We had our first snow last night. The kids were so excited to make snow angels, snowmen, and have a snowball fight in our less than an inch snowfall! They couldn't wait to get outside and left strict orders to have the hot chocolate ready when they come in. My nephews Chase and Skylar were in on the action and everyone managed to cover themselves in the fluffy white stuff. It was pretty to see the big flakes coming down. We all had a wonderful and relaxing Thanksgiving yesterday and enjoyed a quiet day here at home today. I hope you all enjoy your weekend!

My Latest Cakes!

Here are my latest cakes. They are getting a little easier to decorate. The more you do it the easier it is and the better they look. Superman cake was for my nephew Skylar's fifth birthday, and OSU cake is for Keaton, who is part of our extended babysitting family. He is celebrating his seventh birthday! His only request was that there were homemade buckeye's on it!

Natalie's First Riding Lesson!

Natalie would like you to meet Daxie! She is a 17 year old Quarter horse and very sweet! We started riding lessons last night at Shady Lane Stables in Shawnee. Natalie's instructor, Shelly did a great job teaching Natalie the basics of tacking, grooming, mounting/dismounting, leading, cleaning up, and general facts about horses. A month or so ago we looked into riding lessons and asked Natalie if she would like to give up dance to learn how to ride. Let's just say, we didn't have to ask her twice and things were set into motion from there. I figured we might as well spend money on something that she is passionate about. Last night went very well learning how to stop and start Daxie and even getting her to trot a little bit. I must say my camera did not do a very good job at taking pictures. I will hopefully get better ones next time!

We are still here!

So...never believe me when I say I'll be right back to give you all an update! Honestly it all depends on what is going on and if I have a quite minute to sit down quick to say hello to all of you! Things have been so terribly busy! Too busy for my liking honestly! Don't miss understand though...everything has been good, we are all healthy and happy, it's just those darn days just slip by so quick! This weekend though I'm focusing on just sticking around home and enjoying the family. It's funny how that sounds good to Keith and I, but the kids are always asking where can we go and who can we visit! The forecast sounds like beautiful fall weather and we are just going to work around the house. Hopefully I can get some of my flower beds cleaned out for winter. Working outside in the flowers/weeds is very relaxing to me. I know sounds crazy to some of you, but it's true. But...we take what the day gives us, so we will see how it all works out.

Some exciting news since the last time I posted! Natalie turned 7 years old. We just had a small birthday party for her. The plan is for us to go to her favorite horse farm and go riding at some point. Just haven't set the date yet for that. Also, Kolton has two teeth now and is almost sitting up by himself! He is getting so big! He eats half cheerios and is enjoying his cereal now. Tristin is done with soccer (thank goodness) and we are busy with Popcorn sales for cubscouts. He learned how to shoot his new little bow that we picked up on a garage sale this summer. Looks just like his Dad standing out there! Keith does a great job teaching him how to correctly do it. Even I took a little lesson...it was fun! I'm not as bad as Keith says I am =0) !! Lets see...Lola...she has been busy with Preschool and "helping Mommy". She totes around after me and helps me with whatever I'm doing. She's sweet and growing up to be quite the young lady! Keith is still busy at work and likes to spend time in the work shop on his days off. He is almost finished up with the trim work for Kolton's room. It looks so nice! As for myself, I'm busy with this and that. The kids keep me busy during the day and in between activities and chores I'm still sewing. I have a new little doll I'm working on that says "I'm a REAL princess, my father is the king of kings" on her belly. I'm going to give her a little crown. She will be cute! I also started selling for Uppercase Living. I'm having an Open House next Sat., which family and friends reading this should have received an invite yesterday. For those of you that didn't let me know...your always Welcome! You can check out the online catalog at www.uppercaseliving.com and enter the ID: 599343 and token: Thompson, to view it! It is really an awesome product and I know everyone is going to love it! GREAT company to work for and GREAT extra money for the holidays. Any questions, just let me know.

Well, I guess that is about it for now. The kids are still sleeping upstairs and Kieth is off to work, so I think I'm going to take advantage of this quite time to get some work done...wish me luck! Have a GREAT weekend and I hope to talk to you all soon!

ps~ You can post comments by hitting the button. Let me know what's going on in YOUR day!

New Dolls!

Another GREAT week!! I'll be back to tell you more all about what's going on around here, but just wanted to let ya know that I've been listing dolls, so check out my Etsy! Talk to you all soon!!

Best Friends Forever!

Such a cute picture of Natalie and Shayna! Despite the age difference of Natalie-6 and Shayna-8 they just get along together so well! Could be their shared love and passion for horses that plays into it, but they do spend a lot of time together and I think they will always be good close friends!!

America's Top Model!

Well...at least the Thompson Family's top model...for today anyhow!! Lola loved posing for my doll photos. This little doll is a little purse so Lola was thrilled and jumped to the occasion for Mommy to take her picture with this baby. Gotta love the smile!!

Happy Birthday To You!!!

What a week!!!! We are still recovering from Lola's party (well at least I am), and had a busy week with the daily grind of school, soccer, dance, cubscouts and everything else we've had. I told Keith this morning that we haven't eaten supper together all week!! But, it's Friday already and we did have a good week overall!! I wanted to post the latest cakes that I have made. They turned out good and the birthday girls were very happy. Hope everyone has a wonderful and RELAXING weekend!!

Mommy's Babies

Here are some pictures taken of all my babies this weekend! They each have their own special personality. I love them all so much!! Hard to believe that they are growing up so quickly. Keith and I are so blessed!!

The party was a BIG HIT!!

Lola's 5th Birthday was the social event of the month here in New Knoxville. Well...at least for children 8 and under!!!! We had such a great time!! All the children were so good and played great together! Lola had a blast!! She was so excited and blessed to have so many family and friends come to castle Thompson celebrate her special day! I think we had around 40 people here! What an amazing fun time!

YUMMY!

This watermelon was so good!! I took these pictures a couple weeks ago, but came across them today. Nothing like some good ripe fall melons!!

Two of My Boys!

I was missing two of my boys on here!! Keith bought this hat for Kolton before he was born. It fits him so good! Don't they look so cute! Kolton is five months old already!! He is rolling over both directions and grabbing for everything that comes his way. Such a good little boy!! Never gets much love or attention around this house! =0) ha ha ha!!

New Knoxville Parade!

We had two big kids in the parade this year!!! These pictures are terrible! We sat on the wrong side of the road and the sun was bright in our eyes, but you can get the idea. Tristin is in the first picture with the cub scouts. They were Grand Marshall this year!! Very Hot Stuff!! This is his second year in cub scouts and he is currently working on his Bear badge. Natalie is in the second picture. If you look close you can see her seated in the middle of the truck. She has her hair up in bun pony tails (which she hated, because cowgirls don't wear bun pony tails!!). Her head is by the white part of the flag. This is her second year with the girl scout program. Last year she was a Daisy and this year she is a Brownie. LOOK OUT!!! Won't be long and we will be hitting you up for popcorn and cookies sales!!!!!!

She Looks Too Big!!

It was time! As much as I hated cutting off that long pretty hair, it was long over due. Lola still had that baby fine hair and it was starting to look straggly so off it came today. Don't look too close as it was my own chop job and my scissors weren't very sharp but she was so excited and feels so beautiful as you can tell in her pictures. And as the title states she looks to much older!

Lola's 1st Day of Preschool!!

The first day of the last year of preschool! I can't believe it!! For Lola, it was no big deal this morning. This is her third year of preschool, so it was not as exciting as previous couple of years. I told her that she was going to school today and she asked if she was riding the bus. She is so ready to get on the big yellow bus. Mommy on the other hand can not believe that she will be turning 5 in a few weeks. Yikes...where does the time go???? Someone please call and check in on me the day Kolton goes to Kindergarten...I will be crying my eyes out all day having all my babies in school.

So Lola gets ready for school and picks out her outfit which is cute. We bought her that brown shirt a couple weeks ago. She gets left out quite a bit when it comes to new clothes because of hand-be-downs, so I try to pick up a new shirt or something here and there to add to her wardrobe. Well we got ready for school and as I was loading everyone in the van I asked her to brush and get shoes on. Such a big girl brushing her teeth and getting shoes on without me helping and doing it the first time I asked. So then we get to school and I'm getting them out of the van and I notice the pink boots. And then I notice the big blob of toothpaste on her shirt. I chuckle...pink boots, that's so Lola...and well she at least brushed her teeth like I asked. But it goes to show at the detail I look at the further the kids go down the line. With Tristin I was so particular...then Natalie, it's good enough...and Lola, whatever let's go...poor Kolton. =) I've joked about that many times. So the picture of her teacher putting Lola's name badge on is her laughing because she asked Lola where she wanted her to put the tag on her shirt, and I said how about right over top of that blob of toothpaste. She laughed and said, "Well at least she brushed!" During school, they sang songs, and made glow in the dark lightning bugs & reacquainted and played with friends from last year. When she got home she said, "Mommy, I'm in the BIG kid class". She had a great day!

ICE COLD LEMONADE!

Okay...so we have had a road crew going past our house because they are repaving our road. Tristin (well actually Keith first) got the idea to set up a lemonade stand to make a little money. Well talk about making some money and Tristin is all over it! So he worked on making his signs. He also had the great idea of making some posters to advertise and when it was break time to ride his bike down there and pass them out to all the workers. Mom and Dad said no, but it was a good idea. So we get everything set up and everyone joined in out by the driveway yelling "Lemonade! Lemonade! Lemonade! to everyone passing by. And when I say everyone I mean EVERYONE! It was so funny. Keith said if we ever needed to sell a car all we would have to do is pull it out by the road and set the kids out there by it. It would be sold the first day. I really thought that after a few hours they would fizzle out...but they were out there all afternoon! It was great fun and a team effort. Well the first day he did pretty good, I think he made like $12. We had neighbors, friends, a man on a bicycle, and a few people stop in their cars. Tristin was pleased. So wouldn't you know it...first thing the next morning...he's ready to set up shop. I got him to wait until after lunch and business was rolling in once again. Towards the end of the second day, the road crew finally made it down to our house. It was funny to see that most of the trucks were lined up on our side of the road leaving the traffic down to one lane and the road crew standing in our driveway sipping their ice cold lemonade! It was a great time and a fun memory! Oh and Tristin ended up making a total of $36.00!!

This picture turned out so cute...

Nope not talking about one of my real babies...buy one of my pretend babies. She had her little photo shoot today because she has been hanging around here since May 2006, and frankly she is sick of us so I'm trying to find her a good loving home. But this picture just turned out so cute I had to share. She looks real enough that you just want to get that belly!! I know, I know...I'm going crazy and need to get out more! Well, if you want to check her out just click on my Etsy link on the right side of the page. Thanks for lookin!

Tuesday was the first day of school!

The summer has gone by already. Not quite as fast as when I was young, but School is here once again. Tristin is starting the third grade already and he really does well and enjoy's school! He has Mrs. Eshelman and actually she is our block neighbor living right over in the next woods from us. Very sweet lady...their big 13 yr old dog comes over to visit from time to time. Natalie started 1st grade. I almost cried packing two lunches Tuesday morning. She is excited and has Miss Heil, the same teacher Tristin had. She does a great job in school as well! Natalie told me her favorite thing the first day of school was eating lunch in the cafeteria...boy that will change. Here is picture of Tristin and Natalie before school.