A few updated pictures

I've attached some pics of Myra and her cousin Ben at Christmas time. They has so much fun! Myra prays for Ben every night thanking God for him. It is so cute! He must have stolen her heart like he has all of ours! They would run up and down the hallway 100 times a day. They did well to share the push toys and play together. Grandpa and the two cuties enjoyed many "forbidden" sweets during the Holidays. We all ate and ate and ate! It was so fun! (Until I went to the doc for my checkup-- I gained 8 pounds in 4 weeks!)

The picture of Myra and Hank in a tutu is SUPER cute! This was back in August. (I "lost" all my pics from Aug- Dec)- teardrop -

Notice the writing on Hanks' t-shirt. It reads, "I'm the smart one". It makes this picture a classic blackmail picture when he's 16 and needs some humbling from his Aunt Jamie! :)

Baby is growing and is very active. He looks cute in his 4D sono pics. I'll try posting some later. I'm currently being summoned by my almost two year old sweetheart wanting to share popcorn. She also thanks God for popcorn every night!

In Case You Haven't Heard

Time is flying by!! I can't believe my last post was in October!! I didn't even post the sex of our new baby! We are having a BOY!! I'm due April 7th, but from the comments of those around me, they don't see how I can last that long. Hmmmmmm... I guess I'm really starting to grow! In my mind it is April 7th. I don't want to get my hopes up for an earlier date and I want this baby boy to "bake" as long as necessary!

I would love to post some updated pics from the holidays-- but I LOST MY PICTURES!! Chalk one up to pregnancy brain- I was messing around on my camera and deleted all my pictures since August. I cried. If any of you have pics of my sweet Myra in the past 5 months, please email them to me!

Myra Kate is growing!!1 Can you believe she will be 2 in a month? She is talking all the time!! She is currently singing Ring Around the Rosies as she plays with her bathtub toys. She sings Jesus Loves Me all the way through, but only when she wants to. She is also potty training and doing very well. We are blessed to have one who wants to sit on the potty.

I'm wanting to use cloth diapers for our little guy, and Myra's potty training has started to prepare me for that. I'm using cloth training pants from Mimsy Vimsy and the few times she has had a big accident, I kind of shutter. It will take some getting use to-- especially the stinky diapers! Hats off to our moms who used cloth diapers from day one! Too bad our generation has opted for the "disposable" diapers that sit in our landfills for 400 years!! Maybe more will catch on to the need for us to be more responsible with our diapering. :)

oops- I got on a salt box. I have been doing that a lot lately! I think my hormones are going crazy with this little guy!! Ha!!

I'm so excited for my sweet friends, the Smiths! Amber had her baby girl New Years Day! What an answer to many prayers!

I've been thinking of my brother a lot this week. He had a birthday Tuesday and man we are getting old!! He has dedicated the last two years of his life to planting a church in the Denton/Frisco area and I'm very proud of him. Lift up a prayer for Les' family and the Body at Vinelife as a gift to him. :)

Our house is a COMPLETE wreck! We are moving furniture from room to room, painting shelves and beds, and trying to make room for baby brother. (These are times when living on a budget stinks!!) It seemed so easy in my mind, but now that we are in the middle of it, I wish we could pay someone to finish up our mess! It doesn't help that I can't move furniture or lift heavy things. Much of the work has fallen on Ross' shoulders-- as if he doesn't have enough going on! Too bad I can't get HGTV in here!

I've not been good at sitting at the computer... I get uncomfortable quick. And, Myra Kate wants to sit in my lap and type herself. She is "doing laundry" now, which means she takes all the dish towels out of the kitchen and lays them perfectly straight on a chair in the living room. It looks like she found the bath towels, too. Too bad putting them away isn't as fun.

Love to all!
Jamie

First Tri Down!

Hey friends!
The last 13 weeks were a real doozie! I was so nauseated I had a hard time looking at the computer screen! I am feeling great now! No more "morning sickness" and am really getting excited about #2!

We went to get a sonogram of the baby last week (thank you, Leesa) and saw some sweet pics of our little 4oz sweetie! He/ she had its legs crossed like it was posing for the sono! How cute!

After much whining, temper-tantrums, and begging.... from Ross, we are going to find out the sex of the baby! I wanted to be surprised, but my sweet OCD husband wants to be able to "decorate the nursery". He said it and I will hold him to it! Ha! I think that was one of his persuasive arguments meant to convince me I HAD to know the sex of #2! I'm okay finding out, but I really didn't think Ross would be okay not finding out, so I submitted. :) Love you , babe!

Myra is growing so fast! She is adorable! She really is the most precious little girl! She is so loving and cuddly! She loves nature and her daddy! Myra said a prayer at SNL Sunday night after we talked about how God sees us as His precious, perfect child in Jesus! It was quite a moving experience to listen to Myra and to see her sweetness and to think that God looks down and sees me like her! WOW!

She asks about our family everyday, by name. She is a people person! Her eyes speak so loudly a language of love and interest to even a a stranger in the grocery store! She is speaking more clearly everyday and communicating so well. It is the most blessed fun to be honored to be her mama!

Now to some deep thinking! I have really been mulling over in my head the Church. Sleepless nights give me many hours to weed out the weird dreams and focus on the ones that are important. (As I continue, I am in no way thinking specifically of Eastside, I am thinking broader in terms of the "Body of Christ") I dream of a church that one day will have no walls! A church that truly loves, that we love so much that we can't see enough each other! It seems that just to get people to attend worship or Bible class is a struggle, a trick, a secret! When will be like the early church and have worship and fellowship daily and add to our numbers because they SEE Christ in us! It is a lot to ask this society we live in... to give up your tv shows, your overtime at work, your "down" time. Trust me- I am there... when I think of the work involved I get tired! BUT, I really think if we could just try it for a few weeks, we would be amazed at how little work it really is, how awesome it is to really KNOW one another, to encourage and pray with each other in our struggles, and to rejoice in Jesus! I think our kids and teens would see and learn true devotion to God without us having to pound a Bible over their heads and make them sit quietly in worship.

The morning dawns and the dream is overwhelmingly too big! It gives me hope, though. Maybe one day, we can BE the Church, the Bride of Christ, the Body of our Savior. And yet, aren't we? Romans tells us that God sees us as little Christs-- He doesn't see the imperfections! So why don't we believe God and start seeing ourselves that way! Stop buying into the lies - no one cares about me, they are hypocrites, don't trust, they will never... That is not what God sees, why do we?

Join me in embracing the dream! join me in loving one another and believing that the church is God's perfect child! And soon, very soon will start acting like it. What you think about you bring about!!

Hugs!
Sorry for rambling...

Help!

I changed my background and lost all of my favorite people's blogs! So, if you ever visit my blog and your name was in the right column, email me or comment so I can find you again!!! Please!!! PLease!!! I'm missing being on the inside already!
Love you all!

BIG News

Well, we've decided to go public with our exciting news for two reasons.
1- The more who know the more prayers that can be lifted
2- I'm feeling so sick that people are sure to start figuring something out... I don't want anyone to think that Lupus is showing its face in my life again. It is gone for good. Praise GOD!

Yes- I am expecting baby number two!! Can you even fathom it? If it weren't for the nausea and fatigue, I wouldn't believe it! God is good and we are thrilled!

It is so weird to be walking in healing. Sometimes I think the 6 years of really bad health was like a twilight zone! It's strange to look back at the despair, fear, and pain that once gripped my everyday life. Now, I'm doing the unthinkable! I'm healthy, with child #2, and having no signs or symptoms of that horrible disease! I praise God every time I pick up Myra and we dance around the kitchen with no pain! This summer in CO, it was awesome to hike the trails and not think about aching joints or piercing stabs in my feet with every step!

I find it easy to forget on a daily basis what God has done for Ross and I. Living in a new place with people who have only seen me healthy makes it a challenge to remember everyday the bondage God has freed me from through Christ Jesus!

Stranger still, is traveling further and further away from the time in which I suffered. As time moves on and life takes us on its crazy journey, Lupus has truly become a thing of the past! It wasn't until being sick with this sweet baby that I realized what people might start thinking. I had to drop out of a few commitments due to the nausea and dizziness and all I could say was, "I'm not feeling well". I have forgotten the feelings that go with "I'm not feeling well'.

Those 4 words use to define me in many ways. Others defined me as the sick girl, family defined me as the weak one, and strangers saw me as lazy. The worst was people who felt like I was a hypochondriac-- those who didn't believe that a young, athletic girl who looks fine on the outside can be so filled with pain. Having to pull out of a few important events in the last month brought all that back for me. It made me realize that I have not been sensitive to those around me who "don't feel well" yet keep their smile and keep trekking. It was a gentle reminder for me. Although I don't live in the past, I must hold on to the lessons learned so I can be compassionate to those around me.

Well, world- Look at me now! When you look at me the "sick girl", "the weak one", or the "lazy wife", I hope now you see Jesus Christ and His healing power! I hope now you see what we all hope to be true in scripture, that God does heal and that there is hope for the hurting! May you be blessed by the miracle God has done in our life TODAY and rejoice with us as it continues in baby #2! WOO-HOO!

It has been way too long, once again, since my last post. I've attached a few pics of Myra Kate... she is nearly 18 months old! Some are of dressing up in her tutu and in Colorado at Ross' grandparent's house. We are having fun exploring the world and learning new things everyday! She has learned what a "video" is form our long drive to CO. Her Grandma and Grandpa bought a portable DVD player for the trip so Myra could watch videos. ( It was a life saver!) Since then, she wants to watch "vee-o" all the time! I, of course, narrow it down to once a day, but she asks often. Usually when she is tired. Anyway, she loves to sing and dance with the videos.

Sunday night, we had a good laugh with some friends from church and a few teenagers. After small group, Ross pumped up the jam (rap) and Myra began busting her moves! It went on for nearly half an hour! It was hilarious and oh, so cute! We laughed and explained this is why we don't go to movies-- we have our own entertainment at home!

I don't have much to update... we have been busy, I mean BUSY, with all the summer activities a youth minister gets to do! We've had fun, but we are looking forward to school starting up so we can be more scheduled again.

We are living each day in God's love and grace and are so thankful for our family, friends, and church. We are challenged by our teens constantly which helps us grow and seek God's hand more and more. We have decided to try to look at the "progress" in baby steps and focus not on the numbers, but in the spiritual growth going on in the hearts of our teens. It can be hard to measure that, but God gives us glimpses every now and then that so encourage us!


I'm thinking of giving art lessons to kids this fall. It's a little intimidating thinking of teaching something that has been so personal to me. I keep thinking if when I was a child, I had opportunities to explore art, I might have known sooner that it was a love and talent I had. I would have done many things differently in college. But there is still time to learn more and grow! I think teaching the kids will be fun and may give us a little extra money so I can do some of my own creative projects at home.

I check out all of your (my friend's) blogs often... I just don't always post. And Kaci-- if you read this, I've tried commenting on your blog to get back to you about your friend with Lupus. I can't comment. hmmm. Find me on facebook and email me, girlfriend!

Count your blessings! Below is one of mine!!

I'm so miniscule!

Okay, I just spent the last 20 minutes roaming around the blog world and am amazed at how DETAILED some of the blogs are! Some of the blogs I ran into looked like a tv series or a chapter book of someone's life and thoughts! It is truly amazing! I honestly don't have that much time (or typing skills) to sit at the computer and blog my life. I am truly awe struck at the gift of those of you who have organized your life into such interesting categories. I wonder if you could come organize my brain a bit?

I feel so proud when I sit at the computer to post a note... now, I see that it is a miniscule task compared to what the "real blogger" does. Here is a quick update on the Thomas family.

Ross is at a Chamber Luncheon getting a reward for graduating the You Lead CLass that he participated in each month for the last year. He enjoyed learning about the community and getting to know some new friends. He came home last Thursday from the carnival where he made funnel cakes for 6 hours! He smelled sweet and greasy!! (It was kind of cute and yummy in a weird sort of way! ) Anyway, he had a great time with his You Lead companions. He said, "It is really a treat to be blessed by someone and by doing something that you really did not want to do." In other words, when you go out of your comfort zone, there is always a blessing to be found!

He shared this with the teens Sunday. We have found teenagers growing up in a small town see the world as such a small place. They get really scared when they are asked to go somewhere else, to serve outside of their comfort zone, or to simply go to summer camp! I'm amazed at how many times we hear them say, "Can't we just have our own camp ( or whatever activity) with just our youth group? "

I guess that simply HAVING a youth group in the first place is a huge adjustment for the teens and parents, none the less asking them to go BE with OTHER youth groups. It is definitely a drill in patience for me. There is so much JOY and FUN when we experience Christ outside of our comfort zone. I so badly want these teens to experience that!

Sorry, I rambled away from the Thomas Update...

Myra is growing so fast! She speaks a new word or two everyday! She is learning to grumble or moan. It is quite a sound to heara one year old moan out of frustration. I know I need to be ahead of the game and have new things for her to discover each day. I'm finding myself to be boring in her eyes. I'm going to try to change it up a little more each day so we can have fun and maybe distract her from the new "mooooaaaan" that she has learned. She is a joy!! Truly a bit of heaven in my arms!

I'm enjoying my Monday after celebrating Mother's Day. I made a cute wall plaque with Myra's handprint for each grandmother and myself. It was a fun project. Ross gave me the BEST gift... I suggest you all give your husbands the link to Pajamagram. It is a site that sends you pajamas in the mail. Of course, mine are "green" as in environmentally friendly! They are soft and oh so cute!

We have had two deaths in my family and my Mama is moving home very soon. She has stopped eating and drinking now and it could be days. The death of my cousin, Grant, has rocked my family and I'll blog about that at a later time. I'm still not ready to put my feelings out there for everyone (all five of you) to read. My Grandaddy died at 93 and we leave to go to Atlanta this weekend for his funeral. My parents are seriously grieved at this time and I pray for their health. Death has lost its sting- praise be to God- but the loss we who remain on earth feel is still great. Even Jesus wept when he arrived at Lazarus's tomb. The Victor of Death cried and mourned with those He loved. Death is not from God, and it is painful.

So, I'm still healing, Myra is still growing, and Ross is still serving. I guess that sums it up pretty well!

I've attached a picture of Myra's hand prints that I scanned for the project I did.

Imagination

Whew! We have been busy with LTC, Easter, Spring Break, family visits, and strep throat. The first four were so fun! I have many pictures to download, but I've got only a second to add a post.

The latest thing Myra does is pretend she is a dog. Se will crawl around the house barking and panting! Is a 13 month old suppose to be pretending? Back in November, before she was walking, I played Tea Party with her and was amazed at how she poured the tea and sipped from her cup just like I did! She has such an imagination already! I think she gets bored at our house. Any fun ideas, parents?

Okay, I'm bragging about my child! I never understood why parents liked to talk about their child's "amazing" behaviors. Now, all you parents out there can completely relate to me. When you watch your child grow up it is like a miracle everyday! Watching Myra learn about this beautiful world is the highlight of my days.

Thank you, God, for allowing me to be at home with Myra Kate! May she grow to love You more than anything in this life and to love her neighbors.

Ticker

Okay, I'm feeling so techno-savy right now! I just added this little ticker at the top of my page from lilypie.com to my blog. It was very easy!

Sometimes its the little victories in life that mean the most! Ha!

More Birthday Pictures

Here's more pics... They didn't upload in my last post. Is there a limit?