Victoria plays piano

I know I have a lot of catching up to do but lots of people wanted to hear Victoria playing on the radio so this is the best way to get it on Facebook.  This is the finale of her very many years of taking piano lessons.  She's had WONDERFUL teachers!  We've been very blessed!  Here she is--our star!

Here's a video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCwrC7tHRn8

I'm still trying to figure out how to upload the mp3 of it.  Hopefully the video will work! :)

Samuel's Baptism

Samuel turned eight on October 13th and was able to be baptized that day.  He was so excited to be baptized.  It was a very busy day filled with lots of family.  We were sitting in the church and I realized that Scott hadn't practiced with Sam like he had done with the others.  This was a bit of mistake since Sam is still a little afraid of the water and not a fish like his older siblings.  He was excited enough to not think about being afraid of the water, thank goodness.  He did kick his little feet right up out of the water and had to break his dad's perfect record and needed to be baptized again.  The second time his dad was sure to get him all the way under, barely.  He is such a sweet boy!  We love him and are so grateful that we got to have him in our family!  Here are some pictures of his special day.

Along with turning 8 Sam got to start Cub Scouts.  He was so excited to get a scout shirt and get to be in scouts like his brother.  He got his Bobcat at his first pack meeting and was the cutest scout ever!!

We are all so proud of Sam and wish him many great years in the scouting program!!

Catching up

Our lives have been so crazy busy! I would never have imagined we'd be doing all we do! I had another surgery on December 8th that was a lot harder to recover from than I expected. It made our December pretty busy, but we survived and still did a lot. Here's a quick run down on a few of the many things we did.

We started our Christmas with our traditional dinner at a Mexican restaurant. Then home to open our Christmas pajamas. Here's the crew with their new jammies.




We got up Christmas morning and opened presents. Here's a picture of the kids' favorite present. Well, Jed did LOVE his cell phone. :) (Oh, the dog's name is LuLu.)



Then, we got things all put away at home, grabbed our suitcases and headed to the airport. Here we are on the plane heading to sunny Southern California.





While in California we went to Sea World,


Saw lots of people we love,


Enjoyed the wonderful weather and palm trees,



Played at the beach,


Saw more people we love,



Loved on cute babies,




Wore our sunglasses lots!



Got to know our cousins better,



Saw cute baby bellies, (I'm talking about Steph's, but Sydney's is pretty cute too!)



Made great memories,



Ran away from the freezing cold waves,



Body surfed in the ocean, and LOVED every minute of the trip!!! Thanks to the Nickerls and Jon Thomason family for hosting us and to the Mark Jensen and Jeff Jensen families for making the drive to see us and spend time with us. We so enjoyed seeing everyone and loved that you shared the beautiful weather and sunshine of Cali with us. It was very healing and therapeutic for me! We wish we weren't so far away!!!



Victoria was asked to the Winter Formal. It was so fun for all of us! Her little sisters teased her and were so excited for every part of it. We went shopping and found a dress that Victoria loved and we came home and I spent the week sewing it and getting it just right. Here she is with the cute flowers that Seth gave her to ask her and the tray of cookies she gave him to answer. Can you see the YES in the middle of the cookies?



Here are Victoria and Seth all ready for the dance. Don't they look wonderful!?! I think Victoria was the most beautiful girl there!



Here's a video that the Johnsons (Seth's parents) put together of the pictures. I hope it works. I don't know how to do much with blogging.




Now I think I'm all caught up with what's going on with us. Hope you can get a taste of how very busy our lives our, but I wouldn't trade it for the world. Being the mom to these 5 kids is way better than I could have dreamed! I'm so grateful for each of these kids and their great dad that quietly, but dutifully goes about helping us out. We all love him too!!!

Happy Birthday Sam a little late!!!

Sam and Emilee

Julia and Sam

Jed, Sam and Victoria

"Come on Mom, just take the picture so I can open my present!!!"

Sam ordered a cheesecake with cherries on top. It was yummy! It looks like Jed is about to get hit with a falling pot or two...I guess that's what happens when you grow as tall as the pot rack!

Happy Birthday Sam! Even though it took me way too long to post this we still love you and are so glad that you're in our family!! One more year and then all of our kids will be baptized...how did that happen!?!

Our Angel Anna

Last Tuesday I got on a plane and went to see my sweet sister Anna. I knew it would be the last time I'd see her in this life, but what happened I wasn't prepared for. When Angela and Amand found out I was headed to Arizona they jumped on planes and we were able to have a sweet day as sisters. It's been five years since we were all six together. We laughed and cried and cried and laughed. Each of us were able to tell Anna we loved her Wednesday afternoon after her husband gave her a blessing releasing her from this life. The last thing she said to me was, "I love you! I'll see you in the morning." I left her house that day thinking I would see her again, but also aching in my heart for her and her desire to be freed from her earthly body that caused her so much pain. I was worried about how long she'd have to live like that.

That night she was transported to a Hospice Facility "just for the night" so they could get her started on some pain meds. The next morning she wouldn't wake up to see her kids before they went off to school. At 12:30 pm we were called to come and be with her. It was so hard to watch her in such a painful state! At 3:16 pm on September 29, 2011 as her sisters sang to her she drifted from this life into the next. We were so thankful that she went quickly, but so sad that we had to say good-bye in this life!

All six Thomason girls on Wednesday September 28, 2011

January 2011 Anna and Rick "finishing" the cancer benefit run. Rick pushed her most of the way, but Anna wanted to cross the finish line on her own power. She is such a finisher! She won the race that day just as well as she did last week.

Anna brought her kids to our house for a visit last summer. This is such a silly picture, but I'm so grateful for the time that we had together!! July 2010

Oh Anna, we will miss you so much! Our hearts are so broken to not have you here with us, but we KNOW you are in a better place. We are so grateful to have known you. We are all better because of you and everything you taught us. You were such an amazing wife and mother! We love you!!! God be with you 'til we meet again.

There's a Sixteen-year-old in the House!!!

Here's the Birthday Girl!

Victoria and Sam

Victoria and Emilee

Victoria and Julia

Victoria and Jed

Victoria and Grandma Thomason

Victoria and Mom

A little BLING!

The best part of the whole day for Victoria was that she got asked on her first date! David Ross came and took her to dinner at Azteca. They doubled with Victoria's friend Ashleigh Parr and Connor Henry. What Victoria didn't know was what was waiting for her after dinner...

A surprise party at the Ross's house!

Singing with candles and cake.

We had a lot of fun planning and keeping it a surprise. Victoria said she had no idea so it really worked. We love you Victoria and are so glad you're part of our family! We hope you had a wonderful day. You only get to be 16 once, and we're glad you're 'sweet' 16!!