Today I offer for your viewing pleasure an oldie but a goody. This was taken when it was so stinkin' hot outside it was hardly tolerable. You know, when it feels like you're breathing through a sponge because it's so humid? One of those day. But I've figured out a couple of things over the years. One of those things is the fact that FOUR YEAR OLDS DO NOT CARE IF THEIR MOM IS HAVING A HEATSTROKE. Not even a little bit!

So on this blistering hot day, I got a brief chuckle out of what happened to Chip's hair when he went down the slide. I only did it for a moment though...because it made me hotter.

And today I get a second chuckle from this photo because as I post this cute shot of Chip on a 100 degree day, I'm sitting in my house listening to the wind howl outside on a 15 degree evening. Why, oh why, can't we have something in the middle??

Even just a few years ago, I would never have dreamed that a sight like this would thrill me as much as it does. I'm so non-athletic it's not funny. I'm actually offended by athletics, in a way. But put one of my kidlets in the action and suddenly, I'm all about it.

Funny, isn't it, how a mom's interests can change in a moment when it involves her boy?

Project 365...Day FOUR

A couple of week ago, Chip hit a nice milestone in the life of a kid. He turned four. Now I know that everyone has their own personal favorite age, but mine has always been four. They're just really fun at four, to my way of thinking. They can talk well, therefore they can reason somewhat. They're potty-trained and not as dependent on naps, if at all, so they're very portable. They have a sense of humor and SUCH a personality! Four is wonderful to me.

Well, Chip is all of those things I just mentioned and even more.

This picture is special to me in a bittersweet kind of way, I guess. I'm so glad he's at this stage of life and yet realizing that my youngest kidlet is not a baby anymore is sobering.
Still, I love FOUR! :o)

The Light of the World

My Project 365 photo for yesterday (hey, it was a very busy day as you shall soon learn) is a snap of the luminaries we prepared for our church's Christmas program.

It was very cold last night and, I have to admit that while the sun was shining, freezing to death while putting out little bags of sand and tealights didn't seem like such a hot idea...
no pun intended.

But when I slipped outside for just a moment once it was dark, I felt very differently. We had our sidewalks lined with glowing lights, guiding the way to the door of the church where we celebrated the Christmas season. It's not hard at all to see comparisons between these little lights and Jesus being the "Light of the world".

This fall Luke decided to try Cross Country. I honestly expected him to really truly hate every single moment of it. Everything: practice, meets, everything. Does that sound negative? Well, look at it from the viewpoint of a person (me) who can barely understand the reasoning behind running a race in which you run as fast as you possibly can for a short distance. Add to that nonsense the fact that Cross Country folks run a long....long....long distance. Distances that I think should be traversed only by large, gasoline-guzzling vehicles.

So imagine my surprise and delight when he not only liked Cross Country, but LOVED Cross Country!

I found out also that I enjoyed going to the meets! There's a lesson here to be learned about broadening one's horizons, I'm sure, but I shall choose to ignore it.

He did pretty well for his first year and intends to do it again next year.

I'm just thrilled that he tried something new...and that it turned out to be such a wonderful thing for our whole family.

GO EAGLES!

Well, here we are...day three of my Project 365 and it hit me at bedtime: "(GASP) You didn't post a picture!" I berated myself. I was pleased to see that it was not yet midnight, therefore not yet tomorrow!

I had a hard time picking today's photo. But I finally chose one of my favorite sky shots. I think we've had some of the most beautiful sunsets ever this fall, so I wouldn't be at all surprised if you see more pictures like this one here.

Project 365....CHECK

Recently, I read on a friend's Blog that she is going to try to post one picture per day for a whole year. That's a pretty neat idea, to my way of thinking. First, I'm eager to see what she shares each day. Second, I have read about how good this sort of thing is for honing photography skills, which is always a plus. Last, I figure this is the perfect place to show things that I think are beautiful or at least important enough to photograph.

I think I'm going to be really flexible and not set many rules for myself to follow. When I get too rigid, I argue with myself and don't have time to fold the laundry, so this must be avoided at all costs.

Today's picture of a local church steeple says alot to me. The sky is cold and wintry, just like today. And it reminds me that, in this month of busy-ness and excitement, to not overlook the real reason we celebrate Christmas.

So here we go! My own personal Project 365 is underway! Stay tuned....

Earlier this fall, a friend and I loaded up our boys and headed to the apple orchard. Cousin Colter even got to go along as a double treat! It was a beautiful day, warm and sunny, and the apples were waiting patiently.

They waited a long time.

A long time.

Maybe even a loooonnnnggg time. Maybe.

There were just so many fun things to do! We (over) fed the ducks, played on the swings, drank apple slushes, slid down the slide (repeatedly), and had FUN. Who cares if your moms drove 45 miles one way in the Big Ride with the express intention of PICKING APPLES? That'll wait.

Eventually we got to the apples! These boys are really good at picking just the right one.

We picked and picked then loaded up our tired, sticky kidlets and headed for home. It was a great day. Oh, let me tell you, those apples made the best cobblers and applesauce ever!

Faces for Radio

When it's time to say MERRY CHRISTMAS, radio folks know how to do it best. ;o)

Look at my wonderful boy on the right! I'm a proud Mama indeed.

The Big 4-0

Earlier this fall, a momentous occasion occurred. A certain person somehow turned an age that seems unbelievable...I'm talking about me turning 40. While I'm not at all concerned about getting older, I must admit that the number '40' seems like it must belong to someone else, not me. There can be no way that I've been alive 40 years! Why, that would mean that my life is either close to or more than HALF WAY OVER. Now, I know that's a very 'glass half empty' type of attitude, and I don't usually roll that way. It does make me stop and think about how I'm living my life though. Considering I only get one time around in this wonderful life, is this the way I want it to be? After careful thought, I decided that YES, my life is exactly the way I love it! That said, now onto the important thing: HOW DID WE CELEBRATE??

Well...it looks as though I have a very 'good' friend who made it her role to announce this special day to the world at large. Or at least the traffic on 1061. :o)

Mr. Tim and All Those Boys showered me with most excellent presents.

My favorite coffee....

Flowers......

An AWESOME bag just made for my darling camera....

And a DELICIOUS cake all decked out in black frosting.

The first 40 years of my life have been pretty darn great. I'm looking forward to the next 40 just knocking my socks off!

Fall Splendor

It is so hard for me to believe that nearly four months have passed since I last sat down and updated the Blog. I think that sometimes daily life gets 'in the way', doesn't it? There are so many things that have to be done and dealt with...it's amazing I'm not pencil slim! Be that as it may, today is Thanksgiving and I have so very much to be thankful for! And that's what this Blog is all about, isn't it? All the things I love so much. It seems fitting to return to the Blogging world on Thanksgiving Day. So welcome back to The Thomasson Times. Let's begin where we left off, shall we......

I believe the last time we visited was in early August. Let's kick off this reunion with Tyler's All-Star Baseball Team. That's right! Tyler was invited to play with the Red Sox this summer. He enjoyed himself very much! This level of play was very different from what he is used to, but he handled himself well.

And who could resist pants that cute??

The team had an excellent coach!!

While we're on the subject of Tyler's sports, he had a great soccer season as well. He hadn't played soccer since he was a wee little tyke, but he really wanted to play this year. Turns out, he's a natural!

He got a nice medal for finishing up a stellar season. I bet we see more of Tyler 'David Beckham' Thomasson on the soccer field!

My Little Angel...Right?

The other day, I caught Tyler playing with a gold chain he'd found laying around the house. He rolled it around in his hands and twisted it and untwisted it. Pretty soon, he'd morphed it into a halo. I always knew he was a good boy, but come on!

Well, I think we all know where he got his angel genes from, right? Indeed.

On the Road Again

This summer, we hit another milestone here at the Thomasson Household. Nick became a driver! Sure enough, number two son secured his driver's license. See, he's really cute and could charm just about anyone. So that mean lady at the DMV? Not a problem for this looker. Now I really truly never have to drive myself anywhere. Ah, the life!

The Great White Hunter

Chip has recently discovered the pleasures of fishing. He wants to go every single evening and usually does. Our pond is great for a little boy to fish in because it is so overstocked with fish that they are practically climbing right up on the bank to get out. Each time a hook is thrown into the water, a little fish clamps onto it and is yanked from the teeming masses.

Here is Chip waiting patiently for a nibble. He is still having a bit of trouble remembering exactly what the bobber is for and what he's supposed to watch for it to do. Like, perhaps, to sink thus notifying him of the presence of a fish hankering to be caught. (Note: Yes, I notice the absolute nightmare that is the outfit Chip is wearing. Please do not fear; this is all for research and will be covered in a later post right here on the friendly Blog.)

Success!! A fish, live at that, is pulled from the murky depths!!

It is one thing to catch a fish at the end of an impersonal pole; quite another to come face to face with such a creature.

But when it's all said and done, there is nothing like showing off your proud accomplishment with your dad. Good job, Chip!

The Twilight Experience

I know it seems an unlikely thing for me to admit, but here I go. I am a Twi-Mom, a Twi-Hard, Team Edward, whatever you want to call it. I dearly love the Twilight Saga. All of it, the books and movies. And Edward.

Speaking of movies, the latest installment premiered this summer. My fellow Twi-Mom Rebecca found out about a really neat deal. Turns out we could watch all three Twilight movies in one very long, very fun night! Well, we certainly couldn't pass that up, now could we? So we donned our 'Team Edward' shirts, fought crowds of women, hooked up with Edward in the lobby, then over-loaded on Twilight. ;o)

What a neat night that was! We can't wait now for the next movie. Granted, that's not coming out til fall 2011, but we Twi-Moms are nothing at all if not patient. We'll be there. Front row with a big bucket of popcorn. And Edward....lots of Edward.

What a magnificent Vacation Bible School we had this year! The weather was just about right: hot, but not unbearable. We had a TON of kids. The air conditioner did a great job of keeping the building cool. I didn't run out of Coke Zero. Like I said, MAGNIFICENT!

I'm sure you'd like to see a few pictures from the week. I'm more than happy to oblige!

Here is a lovely portrait of this year's directors. Chip did a superb job and graciously allowed us to help. HAHA!

Each day we started off with some rousing tunes. Wanda and Darrell really got into the music!

Every day, Bob, Sandy and Pam taught a thought-provoking lesson for the kids.

One day, we even had a real-true-to-life cowboy come and show us some neato rope tricks! He was a big hit with everyone!

We made photo frames in crafts and gave everybody their own picture to display in said frame. Here are Tyler's and Chip's pictures. Poor Chip was pretty nervous about sitting way over THERE away from Mom, but he was a real trooper!

Here he is again with his buddy Garrett.

Luke and Nick helped out in Recreation. They had a blast!

Now you can easily see how much fun we all had. Thank you to everyone for making this the best VBS EVER!!