Friday, May 16, 2008

Welcome, Baby Joshua

Joshua Daniel Thomas
Born May 15, 2008
7 lbs. 10 oz.
My sister Bonnie had her baby yesterday so today we went down to the hospital to meet him. It's so hard to believe that it has already been nearly 2 months since we were in the hospital with Ashlyn.


Micah, Mama and Joshua ~ he's so light compared to Ashlyn

Cousins ~ Joshua and Ashlyn

Micah had fun watching TV with the headphones while Mama visited with Aunt Bonnie and Uncle Micah

Sunday, May 11, 2008

Mother's Day Weekend

Mama and her little munchkins! I am so blessed to have these two wonderful, beautiful children. They bring such joy to my life and I am grateful that the Lord has entrusted them to Nathan and me to train their little hearts for His glory. I love you Micah! I love you Ashlyn!
Daddy took Micah and Ashlyn out this week to make me a special Mother's Day present. Here is Micah painting the cup he picked out.

Ashlyn participated by providing a handprint and footprint, although she wasn't terribly cooperative.

The finished product...

Isn't it beautiful!

With our lives so closely intertwined with academia, Mother's Day weekend also means graduation weekend. It's hard to believe that it has already been a year ago since Nathan graduated from the seminary. It's been quite a year! This year we have friends graduating from both Master's College and the Seminary so we attended both events. It made for a busy weekend, but we are so excited to celebrate this awesome accomplishment with those who have worked so hard to complete their degree. Congratulations graduates!

Auntie Vonna and Ashlyn. We had to bundle Ashlyn up because the ceremony was outside in the evening and it was cold. Well, cold by California standards anyway ~ I think it was about 60 degrees.

Heather and Barbara

Vonna and Heather with Sue and Sandy Nafzinger. Sue and Sandy run the Cadence Int'l Hospitality House near Travis AFB. They do an awesome job ministering to the men and women of the Air Force, seeking to encourage them and minister the truth of God's Word to them. Vonna introduced us to them several years ago and it has been a joy to get to know them and many others as a result of that introduction.

Micah had a blast playing around on the football field after the graduation!

Cubbie Awards

This was Micah's first year in the Cubbies program at our church. It is part of the Awana program for 3 and 4 year olds to memorize God's Word. Every week he learned a new Bible verse and then got to go to Cubbies every Wednesday to play games, recite his verse, do a craft and learn about God's Word. At the end of the year there is an award ceremony to recognize all of the kids who completed their book for the year. Micah finished his book the week prior to the award ceremony and he spent the next week in anticipation of award night. Every day he would ask if it was time for award night yet. It was so cute to see him so excited! The day finally arrived ~ here's a few pictures of that special night...
As a group, the little Cubbies said the Cubbies motto, "Jesus loves me," the Cubbies key verse, 1 John 4:10 "God loved us and sent His son," and sang the Cubbies song.

Micah was so proud to show off his Cubbie award. He learned over 30 verses this year! We praise God that he is learning to hide God's Word in his heart at such an early age.

After the Cubbies received their awards they got to celebrate with a special movie night. The best part was the cheesy popcorn and licorice sticks!

Cinderella

Have you heard Steven Curtis Chapman's song Cinderella on his new CD? It's about a Daddy taking the time to dance with his "little" girl through the stages of her growing up years until she gets married. I first heard this song in December as I was driving to Glendale for one of my doctor appointments. Knowing that we were expecting a little girl my thoughts went to Nathan and Ashlyn as I listened to the words, and I was in tears by the end of the song. That night I came home and played the song for Nathan. Oh how emotional the thought of our little girl and her Daddy!

When I was in labor with Ashlyn we had music playing on the computer. After the nurse got Ashlyn all cleaned up, Nathan finally got to hold his little girl. As he was walking around the room looking at her and talking to her I couldn't help but notice that this song was playing. How appropriate!

At 6 weeks old, here's Daddy dancing with his little Cinderella. I'm sure it will be the first among many...

More April Pictures

Nana picked up this little tent at our church's swap shop last month. Micah loved it! The day we set it up he had a picnic lunch in there and then he got to sleep in it that night. So much fun!

We put Ashlyn under the baby gym, but she wasn't impressed. She looked at everything except the animals dancing above her.

A trip to the zoo. Here's Micah wrestling an alligator.
While we were at the zoo Ashlyn woke up long enough to eat, but slept for the entire rest of our time there. That's ok ~ I'm sure she'll get many other chances to see all those animals.

Micah had a special date with Daddy at Scooter's Jungle. They had a blast jumping and bouncing and sliding all over the place! This was Micah's 2nd time there this month. Two weeks earlier he got to go with Nana.

Ashlyn with her first bottle.

Daddy got Micah a soccer ball. He's been having fun practicing his new soccer moves.

So sweet!

A Fun Letter to Receive

Ashlyn received this fun letter in the mail from the White House. It was a note from the President of the United States and the First Lady!

Our Baby Girl


Sunday, May 4, 2008

A Baby Girl Shower

Several of my friends hosted a baby shower for Ashlyn and me on April 12. We had a great time and were so blessed to receive many wonderful gifts! Thank you all so much! When we arrived home with everything Nathan started to worry that we would need another house just to store all of Ashlyn's new clothes!
All dressed and ready to go...

My good friend Georg hosted the shower (and did a million other things to help us through this pregnancy). Thanks for everything Georg! You're the best!

Caleb Fredericks and Ashlyn. These two are only 6 weeks apart.

Brooke shared a devotional with us from JC Ryle's book The Duties of Parents

Ashlyn got passed around all throughout the shower and slept the entire time!

Kristina, Heather, Ashlyn, Barb, and Dianna

Have you ever tried to look at black and white baby pictures and guess whether or not it is a girl or boy? This is the game we played and I think it was virtually impossible! Needless to say, I didn't win the game, although I did actually get a few right.

Kristin and Barbara

Kris, Ashlyn, and Barbara

Our dear friend Dianna made this beautiful blanket for Ashlyn. She started working on it when she found out I was pregnant with Ashly. Thank you Dianna ~ this blanket is a special treasure!

Keeping Busy in April

Here's a few pictures from things that we've been doing in April.
Micah's new haircut. What a handsome boy!

Visiting Daddy in his office.


Giving Ashlyn a bath in the sink. Micah was fascinated with this!

Micah and Ashlyn on a big brother date. He was thrilled that she took him to a restaurant with a play place in it!

Having fun climbing high!

Micah discovered something new to do with his tricycle and wagon ~ he made a train (with a little help from Daddy)

Of course a train is more fun when you have a passenger on board.

Ashlyn's first doctor visit ~ she's growing already. At her 2 week appt she was 6lb. 9oz. Then 1 week later at her cardiologist appt she was 7lb. 8oz. A little update on her heart murmur ~ the cardiologist did another echocardiogram and said that the hole in her heart is small and that it will likely close up on its own within a year. He'll check her a few times during the next year to evaluate if it is shrinking. For now, he said it isn't even affecting her so we have nothing to be concerned about.

Micah got this cool boat from a friend who stopped by to see us. It was a hot day so he convinced dad to take him for a spin in the pool. It was short-lived though. Even though the temperature was high, the water was still freezing cold.

Micah helped Daddy plant some flowers outside. How fun to dig in the dirt!