6th Grade Band Member of the Year!

We are so proud of Faith.  She was selected as the 6th grade band member of the year and given an award at last week's spring band concert.  She was not expecting to be chosen for this award.  I was really glad that we had decided to bring the camera along.  

White Knuckle Rides

Okay, so I tried to put a picture with this post, but my son discovered it before I could publish it and has forbidden me to use it...

Another exciting thing that has happened in the Thompson household this past month is that young Mark (we can't call him "little Mark" anymore since he is taller than all of us) has gotten his learner's permit for driving.  He is doing very well and is a careful driver, but I still seem to hold on for dear life anytime he is behind the wheel (funny, I distinctly remember my mother doing the same thing when I started to drive).  I am really surprised that there are not visible finger indentations in the door and arm rest of our car.  Every time I hand over the keys, I tell myself that I need to just stay calm and that everything is going to be alright.  But after a few minutes I can just feel the tension building up inside and I am trying desperately not to show him how nervous I am.  I really hope that this anxiousness goes away soon.

The other thing that has kept us very busy over the past few months with Mark is scuba diving.  He spent the months of January, February, and March becoming certified in scuba diving.  In January and February he took scuba diving, advanced scuba diving, rescue diving, cpr, first aid, and life-guard classes and successfully completed the check out dives and written exams for those.  In March he took the master diver course and has passed the written exam.  He will go for his check-out dives for that class in June sometime.  He also has a job lined up as a life guard for the summer.  Now if I can only get over my fear of riding in a car with him....

So...what have I been doing with myself???

Okay, okay, I know that it has been a very long time since I have posted anything on here.  I told you all in the beginning that I was not very good at this type of thing.  You would think that with all the kids in school that I would have more time for this... oh well.

In March, Faith and I went to Virginia and DC for a week.  Faith attended the People to People Student Leadership Conference there and I spent the week with great friends (thanks again guys for putting up with me for that long).  It was a great trip.  We stopped in NC to visit with family on the way up and back.  Mark was at home with all the other kids and he did a great job keeping everyone on schedule and getting everyone where they had to be.  But, I think that he was really glad to have me home again.  

What to do with myself??

After almost 15 years of having young kids in the home with me most of every day, today we sent our youngest off to pre-K at the Goddard School. Noah was so excited and has been looking forward to this all week. Now I am at a loss as to what to do with my day. Maybe I will paint the living room? Or maybe I will take a nap? Maybe I will go for a long walk? I am sure that my days will fill up quickly, but in the meantime, I am missing my baby...

More snow pictures..

On Thursday morning, the kids were up before the sun and couldn't wait to go outside and play in the snow....

Building a Snowman

The finished product...

The snowball fight was fun too...

We have heard that it is suposed to snow again tonight. What fun!

**SNOW**

Wednesday evening, we finally got some snow. This is the first time that Noah remember's seeing snow. He and Faith played out in it for a few minutes...

Faith even made a small snow man. The flakes were HUGE! At 10:30 we found out that school was cancelled for Thursday...The kids are sooo excited!

Christmas morning fun

Christmas day was a blast at the Thompson home this year. I think that all the kids (and adults) had a great morning and were very happy with all the gifts that they received. Not many things that need to be returned or exchanged.










Faith played Santa this year and handed out the presents to everyone.

Mary and Noah opening presents...














Mark Jr. and his scuba diving instruction book.

Noah enjoying one of his favorite presents, his spiderman scooter.