6 more weeks!!

Yes, I only have 6 more weeks to go...or some people say "6 weeks?! I thought you were due any day, wow, are you having twins?" No I'm not having twins, yes I am short and have no other place for a baby to go, but out. We are all very excited to invite a new baby into our family through another home birth and look forward to sharing pictures with you all. Sorry about the bad quality of a picture...

Lessons from Kit

Emma just finished another semester of Liberty Girls. This past semester we learned about a girl named Kit from the 1930's. She lived during the Depression. One thing that happened is her Aunt Milly came and made her a dress out of chicken feed sacks. In June, all the Liberty Girls groups will be going to a retreat in Salt Lake. The girls love to dress in costume so we just put together this remake of a 1930's dress for Emma to wear. Doesn't she look cute in it?

Here are some pictures of our group visiting the Humanitarian Aid Center in Salt Lake. Kit did a lot of service in the books we read, including feeding the homeless and getting others to donate clothes and shoes to needy kids. We learned some ways to serve others and where our donations go. It was touching to my girls to see what other children are living like around the world. Emma said "Mom, after that, I feel really spoiled I want to give more" Robyn started in on making baby kits to donate. I'm so grateful for compassionate and loving children!

Easter

For Easter we really try to stay focused on what it is all about, Christ. On the Saturday before Easter, we have a tradition with Joe and Krista Nielsen to have an Easter egg hunt where we don't use candy. This year we did nickles in the eggs and then had a "store". We talked a lot about Christ and the reason for celebrating Easter. On Sunday Aaron and I do not give baskets or candy, but read stories about Christ and attend church. I find it very important to teach our children why we celebrate these important holidays.

Josef and Aaron hiding eggs
Baby number 5 attending in utero

anticipation

Gwen and Ainsley

Gwen

Aiden

Robyn

Emma is the pink blurr in the back ground. It was hard to get her on camora. Aeryn is in the blue.

Other WA photos

Here are some more pictures from our Washington trip. One of my favorite places to go in Seattle is Alki Beach. You can see the Olympic Mountains, Ferry boats and down town Seattle from a distance. The kids loved playing in the sand.

Gwen's feet
The kids with the Puget Sound in the back ground

Robyn's creation of her name (do you like the Rainer Beer cap?)

Robyn's self portrait

A ferry boat

Me with the kids and down town Seattle in the back ground

One day I took the girls to the Bellevue Doll Musuem and Grandpa took Aiden and Max to the Museum of Flight at Boeing Feild. I did not get any pictures of Aiden at the Flight Museum, but here are the girls with the dolls. They loved it! They are holding the dolls that their Aunty Gwen made them. Aren't they cute!!

On the way home we stopped at Snoqulimie Falls.

Dan's Wedding

This March I got to drive to WA with my kids for my brothers wedding. Here are some pictures of the blessed event :). I made the girls dresses.

Robyn, Emma and Gwen with their cousin Lucy (my sister Gwen's daughter). She looks like she could be a Kibbie.

The girls with their cousin Logan (my cousin Tracy-Beth's son)


My brother Ron's Daughter Elizabeth is finally brave enough to meet the other kids

Ron with his daughter Lizzy

My sister Gwen with her son Oliver

Robyn with Lizzy

My kids with Grandma and Grandpa Thompsen

My parents with Dan and Jeanette

Cousins

Blowing bubbles while waiting for this show to begin (Gwen, Lucy and Max)

Dad and Mom (don't they look great?!)

The happy couple

The end of the festivities

Wonder Woman

Here is my amazing childhood friend, Melissa Waller, who was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer at the beginning of February this year. I got the opportunity to be her care giver twice, once in March and once in April. I met Melissa and her family when we were about 6 or 7 years old. Her family quickly took me in as one of their own and I became their "fourth" daughter. I was there so often that their mom equipped with a tooth brush to use when I went to their house. They took me on many family vacations and included me in every sport that they were signed up for. When we started middle school, I would ride my bike to her house early in the morning, have breakfast, braid her hair and then we would walk to school together.

Her mother was an amazing influence in my life. I remember one time, Melissa and Mary (her mother) showed up at my house unexpectedly and Mary said "I don't know why we came, but my car just drove here, so can you come with us?" Sadly, when we were 14, Mary passed away from brain cancer after a short fight of about 8 months after diagnoses. So finding out that Melissa has such a serious cancer, is living a night mare all over again. Mary was such an amazing example of strength and positive attitude during her illness and I see Melissa exhibiting the same strength and mental attitude as her mother.

Melissa decided in the beginning that after feeling anger, she did not need to feel that way because it would not help her to get better and make her more miserable. She decided to stay positive and accept the love and kindness that others are offering her. I look at her dedication to life with much respect and love talking to my kids about her abilities to stay positive.

Our conversations were filled with catching up with what she has been through, some of her fears, what she wants to do when she gets through this hell, and reminiscing our childhood memories. One memory we shared happened after her family had moved to Park City from Seattle. I went to visit her for the first time after she moved and as I walked off the plane, I was greeted with a hug and a friend full of joyful tears. She kept saying "I'm just so glad to see you!!" Those are some of the very few tears I have seen on Melissa's face and as I reflect back on that moment I am honored to know that some of her true joy was given to me. What a friendship and love we have! What a treasure it has been in my life to have Melissa as a friend!

I am truly impressed at her willingness to give, even when in her bed. She has shared details of her ordeal on her personal blog that has already become a strength to others. Out of all the people I know, Melissa is the one I know can beat the odds the doctors have given her.

This is a picture of a scrapbook page from my high school years. I love what I had wrote.

Here we are during my March visit