A Year of Joy!  That is how I would define it.  I think our little family has definitely experienced some interesting challenges over the last several years.  Sometimes Wayne and I wonder if we will get a year that doesn't exist of those grown-up hardships that we try to shield our kids from.  But, they exist each year, but every year we rest in the fact that Christ gives us a reason to be joyful, even in the rough and tough times of life.  I think if there is one thing we have learned at a deeper level is what it means to LOVE and to TRUST God even when things are not going exactly the way we would envision it to be.  I think that actually might define true faith.  When you are willing to still be "All out" for God even when you don't feel like it.  That's a real relationship, much like that of a marriage. 

I read an article by Tim Tebow the other day, and it is too good not to share what he had to say after being asked to chill out on his Jesus comments by another fellow football player.  There are not too many folks out there who have a backbone of faith like this.  Wayne and I both have appreciated his willingness to be that front runner for Jesus who is joyful enough to share his faith!


For us, as a family there has been so many wonderful things we have to be thankful for, but we also want to translate those great joys into something we share with others!  I mean, when we get excited about a great deal we got, or something fun we did...most of us, immediately tell our friends, or at least go to facebook and post!  I hope Wayne and I teach our children the same kind of excitement for our Lord.  I hope that as we celebrate Jesus' birthday and as our kids get older, they become excited enough about, not only this season, but what Christ is doing in their own hearts that they "shout it from the mountain tops." 

May we rest easy this Christmas, knowing that Jesus as come, Jesus is present, and that Jesus has won over death! 

WAYNE UPDATE

This year, Wayne took a new position within his company.  It has been a very good learning experience for him.  He has learned lots of new skills, as well as recently traveling to India to facilitate training.  He really enjoyed his trip to India, as it was the first time Wayne had EVER been out of the country!  As his wife, it was a little scary watching his flight on flight tracker go over so many countries.  His flight time was about 17hrs. in flight.  And, the time difference is 11hrs. ahead of the east coast.  It actually worked out great to talk to him, because as I was waking up, he was about to go to bed!  And...I have a new love for Skype, as it was perfect and free to talk to him while he was a half a world away! 

Paige and Wayne share a datenight each month with each other as well!  He asks her each time what she wants, and 99% of the time, it is dinner at chick-fil-A wearing some sort of fancy dress, a movie and sleeping in the tent. 

JAMIE's UPDATE

I continue to absolutely love being a mom to my kids.  It by far surpasses anything that I do!  This year started out with a 1 year old and 2 1/2 year old where Paige was going to school two days a week and I had Zach with me every day.  During those days I took Zach to My Gym a few times a week and to the library.  Then, hit the summer, where we did Camp Tiny courtesy of a great writer friend, who shared her talents with us mommy's this summer.  We had some great fun being creative, memorizing bible verses, and connecting with each other. 

Then...came fall!  Both Zach and Paige started school.  Paige 3 days a week and Zach 1 day a week.   At first, Zach wasn't too happy about going, but now he has warmed up nicely and I am so proud of my children, as Paige walks him to school with me each Friday morning, holding his hand and telling Zach, "you are going to have so much fun today at school."  He smiles and now...walks right in to his teachers.  And, of course I teared up dropping Paige off for the first time in car line...watching her grow up to become a little lady makes me proud, but wonders where the time goes! 

Her and I share on a monthly basis a Mommy/Daughter date night.  We will either watch a movie, and have a girls sleepover, or go get our nails done and then hop over to the cupcake shop.  Sometimes we will insert a game or two of memory, candy land, or Old Maid!  I love my connecting time with her.  It is priceless to me! 

My business is going strong, we are entering our 5th year...stronger than last year as in March we decided to add a new componant to it.  So now, not only do we do Virtual Assistance and Web Design, but we have added a social shopping comparison site as well (similar to Amazon, but offering cashback to the consumers who shop through there).  If you love to support small businesses, this is a great way to do it, and we can even help you find the best deals on products you normally buy with over 4,000 partner stores (Barnes and Nobles, Travelocity, REI, Ebay, etc.).  I am so proud of my little company, the mission behind it, the women behind it, the families that support it, and the ability to help individuals, small businesses, and now families save time and money.  I feel so blessed by the opportunities that have come with it, and am looking forward to another 5 years!  So fun!

Personally, I still have my girls group on Monday nights.  We have taken the fall off, but are eager to get back for January!  Two of those girls are expecting some little ones, that we cannot wait to have in our playgroup.  Playgroups have been less and less since the kids started school, so we don't get to see each other as much, so having Monday nights has been such a blessing to relax and catch up. 

Us on a date at the American Idol Concert

And, last, but certainly not least, time with my sweet husband, although the season is quite busy with kids and such we make time for one another every Saturday evening!  Wayne took me to the American Idol concert this year (I'm a big Scotty fan! ;)  I would say this year has just been a great year for connecting for the two of us.  We have really been able to make a great effort to make that time for one another.  I'm actually proud of us, because in the years past it was not only hard, but almost impossible!  So, this year, we made this "resolution" and stuck to it. 


PAIGE UPDATE

Life as a three year old has been great for Paige.  She has accomplished so much this year even coming out of her shell quite a bit from a shy girl, to a little girl who loves to be involved and included.  She loved school last year, so we enrolled her again this year.  We were fortunate that she got her same teacher that she bonded so well with last year for her 3 year old class.  She now goes to school 3 days a week and insists on car line 2 days a week as it is her "big girl duty".  On Friday it is her big sister duty to walk her brother in, and then I get the privledge of walking her in that day and she loves that as well. 


This fall Paige also started tap and ballet!  If you know Paige at all she is about as dainty as they come!  She absolutely LOVES it, and loves it even more that we go to each of her practices as a family.  Her first recital is in April at Nations Ford High School Auditorium in Fort Mill, and we cannot wait to see her in her cute costumes! 

She also has tons of sweet girlfriends, that we have gotten to know really well!  I hope they all continue to remain friends as they are all so sweet and loving to each other. 

ZACH UPDATE

So Zman has grown up so much this year!  He started talking this summer, and now weighs as much as Paige.  When I have the kids out together, I always get asked if they are twins!  Yes, they are about the same height as well!  He has some interests, mostly the typical boy interests of cars, choochoos and airplanes.  He and Paige have regular conversations in the car that make me laugh! 

Zach and I get to hang out twice a week since Paige is in school.  We regularly attend the library classes, go to the park, and have time together.  He is a great companion to shop with, and just loves interacting with the people we come into contact with, saying "Hi", "Bye", "See you Soon", and blowing kisses. 

I can't believe he is going to be two on December 18th!  Time flies so fast, and I just feel so blessed to be his mommy!  He is such a loving and caring boy.  He is a great brother to Paige, sharing, giving hugs, asking for kisses, and just overall sweetness.  He is quite the passionate human being at times, but I hear passionate kids make great leaders!  So, in those moments, we love him where he is at, and teach and discipline where necessary as well. 


Zach started school in the fall too, and at first was a little nervous and scared.  He cried when I would drop him off, but his confidence that mommy will come back has gone up, and he now walks in ready to play!  His teachers have said nothing but positive things about him, and he ALWAYS leaves blowing kisses to Ms. Tammy and Ms. Ruth! 







THOMAS FAMILY UPDATE

This year we were able to take Paige to Disney for the first time.  We just loved seeing her reactions to things.  We also got to see Wayne's Grandmommie for the last time, as she passed away in July of this year, just before her 90th birthday!  We were so blessed by her life in so many ways.  When we visited her she was so active and took Paige on a ride on her walker!  It was the funniest thing. 

We were also blessed this summer to have a special guest in our home.  A friend of Wayne's family contacted us regarding their grandson and asked if we had a place for him to stay while he did his internship for grad school.  Since we have an extra room in our house, we felt so honored to be able to offer him a home as he blessed us with a new friendship...our kids were so blessed by his interaction and interest in them, and we feel like we added a new member to our family!  We love the Jacksons and are so excited for what the future holds for them in Texas, and we will definitely hold some great summer of 2011 memories in our hearts! 

Us hiking in Colorado

Wayne and I have had our house on the market now for almost 2 years!  Yes, it has been that long!  We continue to pray through what we are supposed to do with that, as we pray through schools for Paige in the future, and what neighborhood God wants us in.  For now, we remain in the same location and hope that the right door opens up when it is time. 

We will certainly miss Arveda "GreatMommie/Grandmommie" Thomas this Christmas as she passed away at the ripe age of 89 just short of her 90th birthday.  We will miss visiting her in the nursing home on our visits to Dowling Park and her overall smile. 

We are praying that 2012 holds just as much joy as 2011!  Wayne and I send so much love to you and your family and hope that some how our life will intersect with yours in a more personal way than a Christmas letter or facebook. 

Love to all!

Wayne, Jamie, Paige, Zach and Hollie (the dog)

Their treat that day was a lunch out to Steak and Shake.  We had a great time as a family, Steak and Shake does free meals for kids on the weekends, and they give them all kinds of goodies.  So, we had a great time!

5th Day of Advent

Today we actually talked about the long journey that Mary and Joseph went through before they got to Bethlehem.  We talked about how they had to travel because the Emperor told them they had to, but that Mary was about to have her baby.  We ended the story talking about the KINDNESS of the Inn Keeper and how he gave them a place to stay despite the crowded city.  Now we are waiting for the exciting moment of Jesus' arrival.  I can't wait to share with my kids why it is so important for Jesus to be born which is why we are talking about his birth early on in advent. 

Their treat today since Mondays are quite busy with kid activities was a cake pop from Starbucks!  They love them, they are easy to eat and they are cheap!  Birthday Cake is our favorite.  So fun! 

I am so excited to do Advent this year.  There is so much to do with a three year old and a two year old! I am so grateful to my friend who has a wonderful talent in graphics and ideas! This year I downloaded her advent calendar template and added my own twist to it.  You can down load it too at her etsy shop by clicking here.   Just email her the availability.  For mine, I simply print them out and laminated them, so that I could write their surprise on the back with a white board marker.  Then I attached ribbon I had lying around...I think twine or henna string would look fab too! 

Our Advent Calendar...

We turn over our card at the beginning of our time together. 

I love salads in the summer.  They are cold and so much love can be poured in them.  This salad is one of my favorites and is a slight variation of another salad that my sister in-law gave me.  The dressing is the key!  But, your family should love it.  And, it is so healthy and yummy that your bathing suit body will love it! 

So, try this and let me know how your family likes it!  I like to take the variety mix greens.  They seem to have more flavor, but you can do this salad with spinach leaves only if you would like.  Take a bag of dried cranberries and a bag of pecans whole or crushed, doesn't matter, sprinkle.  Now...here is where preference comes in.  You can either do blue cheese (strong) or feta, either is delicious - but the blue cheese is a MUCH stronger cheese.  Sprinkle.  Now, for the dressing:

1/2 cup Veg. Oil
1/4 cup Cidar Vinager
1 tbs. Worchester Sauce
1/2 cup sugar (or substitute your favorite sweetner I use Truvia)
1/2 tbs. poppy seeds (optional)
2 tbs. sesame seeds (optional)

MIX Well - Pour over salad and blend in!  Enjoy!

Saw this on the back of a Semi the other day then heard it in a sermon!  I think God is trying to teach me something! It's hard to see, but it asked the question, "Do you trust God?"  Lately, my family and I have been trying to do exactly that and I am loving how God continues to ask us (remind us) of the question! 

I went away for a great spiritual retreat for myself a few weeks ago.  To gain clarity, reconnect with Jesus and simply pray about direction, life, being a wife, mom and everything else that goes with my title.  It was great!  But, I walked away with 3 things that I needed to take home with me.  1.  Trust God   2.  Developing a better self-image not just my body, but inside too!  3.  Being not just a good wife, but a GREAT wife! 

So, I thought it was quite humerous that a few weeks later, God is still reminding me "Are you trusting in me"? 

Are you?  How?