Tea Drinker?

As you may or may not know, I love to drink tea (hot and cold). My favorite cold tea is Blackberry Mint (only place that serves it now that I know of is the Macaroni Grill and we don't have one any more :0( ), I have several favorite hot teas...to many to list. If you are a tea drinker like me, did you know that January is National Hot Tea Month?

Today tea is the world's second most popular beverage consumed, second only to water. It's easy to make, affordable, and offers variety in its flavors and aroma. Americans drink 50 billion cups of tea each year, 40 billion of which are served as iced tea.

Here is Some Tea Time Trivia…

The first tea bags were created by Thomas Sullivan in 1904, and made of silk.

The difference between Black, Green, and Oolong tea is a result of the changes that occur during processing of the tea leaves. They are all made from the same type of tea leaves.

Black teas are fermented, left in a cool, dark, and damp place for a time, and then heated to stop the fermentation process.
Oolong teas are semi-fermented.
Green teas are heated after picking…so there is no fermenting process.
Herbal teas are not actually teas, but are concoctions of peels, flower leaves, herbs, and spices, and are caffeine free.
The caffeine content of tea is 40 mg in one cup of tea as compared to 99 mg of caffeine in a cup of coffee.
Black and Green teas contain a certain type of antioxidant called flavenoids.
To be labeled “decaffeinated,” the caffeine content per cup of tea must be approximately 5 mg.

Side note: Just incase you were wondering, June is National Iced Tea Month

25 Things About Me

You're suppose to write a note about 25 random things, facts, habits or goals about you.

1. Kirk and I met through a Telephone Dating Service in Dec of 91 and got married Feb of 92. This Feb will be 17 yrs of marriage.

2. It took us 10 1/2 yrs to conceive Edward because I have PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome)...it has nothing to do with timing or not thinking about it...it is a very depressing and difficult form of infertility to go through

3. Loves the color Pink

4. Was in the Miss American Co-Ed Pageant for 5 yrs (8th grade to 12th grade)

5. An Advocate for Breast Feeding

6. Worked as a live out Nanny for 4 months shy of 5 yrs (2 families total during that time...kids are now 16, 14, 10 (almost 11) and 8....man I feel old just saying that)

7. I love to cook (I use recipes as a guideline and make them my own by twisting them to make them even better)

8. I home school Edward (it's like being able to go through school all over again and being able to enjoy it this time through)

9. Loves to read

10. Been in 21 of the Continental United States and hopes to visit the rest of them in my life time

11. Never been away from Edward overnight, except for when he and Daddy have their boys nights together

12. I wanted to be an actress when I was growing up, I took drama in high school and was in a play

13. The other thing I wanted to be was a Child Psychologist

14. Loves Dark Chocolate

15. Been to the Virgin Islands on a Cruise for my 18th Birthday, thanks to my Grandma (we went together and it was a blast...yep I said I had a blast with my grandma on a trip...she was a cool grandma...very hip)

16. My parents were only 17 and 18 years old when I was born

17. Loves to scrapbook and do cross-stitching

18. Was listed in the Who's Who of High School Students Books (why I am not sure, I didn't do much in High School...only in S.A.F.T.Y. E. Club, Girls Club (1 or 2 yrs), Drama (1 yr) and Choir (can't carry a note to save my life)

19. I have lived in Washington State (from birth to almost 21 yrs old), Arizona ( almost 2 yrs), Minnesota (3 months), Oklahoma (11 1/2 yrs) and Kansas (2 1/2 yrs so far)

20. Loves Photography

21. Wishes she would have gone to college

22. Been engaged 1 other time, before Kirk

23. Is part Irish

24. Has 1 biological Brother (who has a little boy now...a nephew) and 8 step-brothers and sisters from 3 marriages (mom was married 2 more times and dad once).

25. Loves anything to do with the Amish (her guest room is decorated with Amish stuff and she lives only about 30 minutes from a Amish Community)

Its Loose!!!!

Well it's official Edward has his first loose tooth. He freaked out about it. He cried for about an hour or a little longer. I think it has a lot to do with when he fell and rammed his front tooth up into his gum, having to have emergency surgery to remove it. He isn't very keen on the idea of loosing his teeth needless to say. We tried everything to let him know it is okay. I guess next week during school, we will be learning about teeth and that it is natural to loose them at his age.

Sorry Virginia.............

Well, the other night Edward informed Kirk and I that Santa was not real. I wasn't really shocked by this but Kirk was actually (and surprisingly) a little bit upset by this revelation coming from our 5 1/2 yr old son. To top it off, Edward has informed that the tooth fairy and the Easter Bunny aren't real either. I guess no one can ever say that we warped his mind in the sense that we had him believing something was real, only to turn around when he was older and tell him we lied point blank to his face about it.
Now, please don't think that it was us who told him. We don't make a big deal out of Santa (we do have stockings and get pictures with Santa....LOL....I asked Edward about the Santa's we get pictures with and he just said it was some man in a costume working a job) or the Easter Bunny (we do have baskets and find eggs) but we have always made a point to make Jesus's birth the main focus of Christmas and Jesus's resurrection the main focus of Easter.
Kirk asked him where he had learned such a thing and Edward said in Sunday School. He said that some kids were talking about the fact that there was no Santa (this when we went to the other church and Pre-K through 5th grade were in Children's Church together. Edward said that the teacher confirmed this by saying that Jesus's Birth was the reason we celebrated Christmas.
I was kinda shocked by Kirk's initial reaction because we together had always agreed that Santa and the Easter Bunny were not to be made a big deal of. I think that it was just the point that Edward was so grown up about the whole thing that upset Kirk. I think it made Kirk see that Edward was growing up and not a baby anymore....maybe even a little analytical.

A Yellow Candle

Edward was in his first Christmas Pageant this past Sunday. He was a yellow candle on Jesus's Birthday Cake (they held up a candle that was cut out of posterboard in the color that represented which candle they were to be on the cake). He did very well, a lot better than he did a few weeks prior at the Co-op Choir Performance. He spoke his lines very clearly and smiled. He was so cute. All the kids did great. The Older 3's and Pre-K were hilarious....they were enamoured with the huge screens feeding the live videos of them preforming. One little girl kept jumping up and down, watching herself on the screen and another little boy kept taking off across the stage. Way to cute and funny.

It Was SO Easy Daddy!

Lets see where should I begin.......

Two Father's Days ago, I bought a Wii for Kirk (thought he and Edward would have fun with it plus I saw some of the things actually got you up and moving). We looked at the directions and didn't install it because we wanted to put it in the room with the projector and larger screen. We didn't see how in the world we were going to be able to install the eye bar thingy plus to be honest it looked complicated to set up.

Then we had builders come in after last Christmas and do a remodel/renovation/add-on to our house. Well during that time, Edward had gotten into the boxes for the Wii and we thought for sure that some of the pieces had gotten lost. After the builders were done, we moved all the boxes upstairs to the new theater/play room. There the Wii sat until yesterday evening.

Last night, Edward without saying a word to me went upstairs. I thought he was just playing. He gets the phone and calls his daddy on it. Says to Kirk "Daddy. I have the W-i-i all set up for us to play in my room (he has his own tv)." Kirk had just pulled into the driveway at that time Edward called him. Kirk comes in, says to me "Do you know he says he has the Wii set up in his bedroom?" I say "No! How could he? I thought we lost all the pieces plus we couldn't figure the thing out." Kirk goes upstairs to have a look at what Edward says he has done. Sure enough our 5 1/2 yr old has successfully installed the Wii and has it working. The only thing that he did wrong was he had the disc in backwards. Oiiieee, he is way to smart and ingenious for us. He and Daddy played it last night and boy did they have fun. This is something that we may never live down, after all we were ready to ditch it or sell it. I guess that goes to show Edward will get the job done and work towards what he wants. That is a plus.

Gobble Gobble

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! I hope that today was a beautiful and blessed day for you and yours. We (Kirk, Edward and I) had a traditional Thanksgiving meal....well, pretty much traditional. We fry our turkey instead of cook it in the oven. YUMMY!!! It is a great time saver too. Took about 1 hr and 15 minutes to cook a 20lb bird. I made cranberry sauce for the time. It was yummy. Don't think I will ever go back to canned again. I also mad a Sweet Potato Casserole this year instead of the Sweet Potatoes we usually make. Of course we had pie for dessert. It was basically a nice simple meal. I can't wait until tomorrow when we get to have left overs in the form of sandwiches. We do miss sharing the holiday with our family though, that is the down side to living so far from home...can't just hop in the car and drive to grandma's for the extended weekend. All in all it was a great day.

Gratitude

I just wanted to post what I am thankful for (in no particular order):

1. God has blessed me during this season of my life with wonderful friends, that mean more to me than words will ever be able to express properly. They are older women (Titus 2 type Women) who have been there to help guide me through my first years of homeschooling, who encourage me and love me in spite of my faults (and trust me they are many). They see the "diamond" in the rough and know that it can one day be a thing of great beauty. God knew that I needed these type of women in my life and to me they are more precious than any gemstone. There are days I wonder where I would be without them.
2. I am grateful for my friends around my age also, ones are facing the same issues that I am. These gals also love me in spite of my faults, encourage me, and gripe me out when I need it. They too are my sisters that God has provided to me in this season of my life. Some I have known almost all my life and others just a few years, but still to me each is just as precious as the next.
3. I am grateful for my son, he is the light of my day. Homeschooling brings our relationship to a whole new level. We are together 24/7 and pretty much 365 days of the year. While we have our moments and our struggles, those could and will never out weigh the special moments of I Love Yous, Sticky Hugs, Wet Kisses, Quirky Stories, Rambunctious Games and Lazy Days. I dread the time when he will be grown and leaves the nest. Until then I will cherish each and every moment with him, even the rough ones....as they are all learning and growing experiences.
4. My Husband of almost 17 years. We have weathered some pretty stormy waters together, yet we still cleave to each other. I have been asked, how I managed to go through all that I did with Kirk when he lost his arm 4 years ago. I say it is love, devotion and taking my wedding vows seriously. I said for better and for worse and I meant it...plus God was there to help us each along that dark and storm path. Those days were some of the worst but we made. Trust me not every day is all roses, kisses and whatever you want darling. After all he is still him and I am still me, we are human and have our own faults, opinions and characters. We just strive to work it out when it gets rough.
5. I am also thankful for my extended family and their love for me, good health, that I have a roof over my head and healthy things to eat.

I challenge you to post what you are thankful for this Thanksgiving Day Week.

Call the Fire Department

Today is my 36th Birthday....hard to believe that 20 years ago, I was celebrating my sweet 16 on this same day. Where has the time gone? Anyway, I digress....Today Kirk wanted us to come to his work as they were having a lunch (I cooked about 4 chickens for the thing...2 whole chickens and then various pieces in homemade BBQ sauce). This morning he told me he would have a birthday cake for me. I told him that was okay but I would rather not. Well he did it anyway, claiming it was for Edwards benefit. I get there and he has a beautiful 1/4 sheet cake with red roses on it. It says Happy 21st Birthday again on it. However my darling husband, decides to be the funny man and buys 3 boxes of 24 count birthday candles. He puts all 72 on them (he says this way no one will know my true age unless they knew to divide 72 by 2). Yep, I know know what a blazing cake looks like. When he started to light the candles they were so close to each other some actually were lighting others. He has them all along the left side of the cake and in the right hand corner, so they were stuffed together on the cake. I asked poor Edwards to blow them out for me because poor mommy was afraid she would have an asthma attack doing so. There was so much smoke afterwards that you almost need an oxygen mask to breath. Bless his heart, guess that is why I love him so much. It is just his way of being sweet.

We Are The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything

Here are the pictures from Vacation Bible School back in July of this year. The theme was Pirates. Edward had a blast. It was his first time to attend VBS, he gave his heart to the Lord during an alter call at VBS. Doesn't he make a cute Pirate?

Fall

In Science Class, we have been learning about plants, trees, leaves, seeds and so forth. Today as a part of our science lesson, we played in the leaves out front of our house. Then we took a nature walk; collecting leaves, doing bark rubbings and talking about the differences in the leaves and that some still have chlorophyll, while others have already lost all their chlorophyll thus turning them, their beautiful reds, yellows, oranges, rust, purples and browns. We are very lucky that we live on a street that has so many different deciduous trees. When we got home with our leaves, we sent them through our lamenator, to preserve them for further study.

Plays and Concerts

We went to church this morning. They announced that the children would be doing a Christmas Play this year. We signed Edward up to participate. His part wont be a huge one but he will still get to be in his first play. I can't wait. I will let you know how it goes. I hope that the play wont be until Nana is here, she is coming for Christmas this year. This will be her first Christmas with Edward. He is looking forward to sharing Christmas with her. Last year was his first Christmas to share with a Grandma. Grandma Bev came and he loved that. Now it's Nanas turn. It is so hard being so far away from family, especially during the holidays. So much we want to share with them.

He will also be having his first Choir Concert on the 22nd of November. He participates in Choir classes through our homeschool co-op.

Of course Mommy will be there, at both with her video recorder. :0)

Going the Extra Mile

Friday night we heard Edward in the kitchen, running the washing and what sounded like he was doing the dishes. We asked him what he was doing. He came out of the kitchen in his little footie pajamas, with his sleeves pushed up to his elbows...hands dripping wet. He smiled and came over to me, took my face in his hands and said "Mama, I am going the Extra Mile like the Elephant." This past month we have been learning about Obedience and there was a story about an Elephant who was obedient and had gone the extra mile. Amazing how much he absorbs. Once again, God reminding me that he is a little sponge soaking everything around him up (yep good and bad things). He then proceed to tell us that he was doing the dishes and was stacking them on the counter for us to load into the dishwasher later on.

Future Republican

Today Edward and I (with some members of our homeschool co-op) went to a Republican sign holding. We stood on the corner in our town for almost an hour and held signs for the Republican party. Edward will be going with me to the polls on Tuesday to vote and we might even go to another Republican sign hold that day.

Moses

Edward went to Awana's dressed as one of his favorite Bible Characters for Favorite Bible Characters Night.

No Soccer This Fall

I really need to find a good place for soccer. Maybe I am wrong but I don't think that 5 yr & 6 yr old children should be practicing soccer at 7pm until 7:30 or 8pm. Edwards bedtime is 9pm and I don't think he should be doing an activity that winds him up right before bedtime. This is another activity offered through our rec center. Parents are the coaches, we didn't recieve a call about the first practice until 3 days before it. She could even give me at that time set days for weekly practices. With our schedule we need set days and preferably earlier times. So we just ended up dropping soccer altogether this time and will be asking around about Soccer Programs. Edward will of course be taking the British Soccer Challenge again this summer. That is through the rec center but I must say it is the best program I have ever participated in through them.

Our Trip to Las Vegas

Edward holding the Limousine Sign from the Airport

Us infront of the Las Vegas Sign

Edward having a Coney Island Dog at the New York, New York (he ate almost all of it)

Edward and Kirk at the Luxor (for those who do not know this, Kirk is sort of a Egypt buff)

Edward at the Luxor

More Pictures From Our Trip To Las Vegas

Edward with one of the M&M Guys at M&M World

Edward with the Coca~Cola Bear at Coca~Cola World

Kirk and Edward with the Wax Replicas of the Blue Man Group (we saw them in concert)

A Living Statue at the Venetian

Gondola Ride at the Venetian

It Might Be Hit and Miss

Edward will be starting school next Tuesday, we have a full fall ahead of us with 8 weeks of Tap Dancing Lessons, Homeschool Bowling League, 15 weeks of Kindermusik Class (this is 1 of 2 semesters that he will be taking this school year...next year will be his last year and then it will be some sort of musical instrument lessons...these classes will help him to make a very educated decision as to what instrument interests him the most), Homeschool Co-op Classes (2 of which I am teaching), Church, 6 weeks of Soccer and not to mention school lessons. With all these activities, my computer time is going to be very limited. I will try my best to keep up with everyone but Edward, his education and social activities take place over computer time. He will be my soul focus for the next 43 weeks. Of course I will be posting here as much as I can about Edward activities, homeschooling adventures, and life in general to keep you all up to date the best I can.
We are also off this weekend for one last mini family vacation. Have a beautiful Labor day Weekend with your family and loved ones.

Edward's Newest Endeavors

Today was a big day for Edward, he got his first official Library Card. We will be going to our local Library once a week, so that he can learn how the library system works and how to utilize it. He is so excited that he has his very own Library Card.

Edward's newest interest is Tap Dancing. We watched Singin In The Rain a few nights ago and he loved the tap dancing portions. Kirk asked him if he wanted to take Tap Dancing Classes, at first he said no but he has agreed to give it a try. We found a beginner class that is 8 weeks long (once a week) at our local Recreational Center. We figure this will be a great way for him to see if it is something he truly is interested in.

Also, he will be playing soccer for the first time this fall. He took a soccer camp this summer and loved it. He has been begging ever since then to play soccer on a team. We found a team for 5 yr olds/Kindergarteners, also through our Recreational Center. There are 6 games, this means it should be 6 weeks long weather permitting. Of course there will also be practices. This is where we could get into trouble and may have to drop this idea all together, as we have a pretty full week with Kindermusik and Bowling League, in addition to Tap Classes. Will keep you posted and of course there will be pictures of Edward tap dancing.

Another Thompson Family Update

I just noticed that it has been 15 days since I have blogged....like others I use my blog to communicate with family and friends who live a great distance from us and are unable to share in our daily lives. I also use it as a way to keep record of our lives. I plan to print out my entries and make keep them for Edward to share with his children and their children.

We have been very busy this month preparing for the upcoming school year. Edward will be starting Kindergarten in just a few more weeks. Public School officially started here (also in OK and TX) last Thursday. I think that it is just to hot out and still to summery for kids to be cooped up in a class room. We will start our school year the day after Labor Day. Edward is looking forward to school. We will be using Sonlight this year for our curriculum, along with Horizon's Health (K), Math-U-See (primer), Character First (series 1), and A Reason For Handwriting (K). We will also be learning some Spanish this year using Teach Me Spanish CD. Next semester we will be learning some French using the same series. Then I plan for him to learn Hebrew the first semester of 1st grade. We aren't learning to write any of these languages yet, just what they sound like in familiar childrens songs. When Edward gets to 3rd Grade we will use the Rosetta Stone Homeschool Series to learn these languages more in depth. We will also be working on America Sign Langauge this year too. We are also going to be using Tatras to an extent to learn to read, this is also known as Vertical Phonics. I have heard good things about this. Thank you Renee for showing me this program...you are always so kind to share.

Edward starts Kindermusik Young Child 1 tomorrow. He starts Homeschool Bowling League on the 4th of Sept (he rocked during summer league...he bowled a high game scratch of 105, a high series of 196 and his game average was 81...he was 2nd highest in game average and in high series, would have been in high game scratch if he would have just bowled a 107 or better game. Not bad if you ask me). This will be our last year for summer bowling league. Next summer he and I will go bowling once a week together. He will be moving up that fall to the Batnam's League which is sanctioned and doesn't allow bumpers. We will be working during the summer to get use to bowling without bumpers, with out the distractions or pressure of being on a league. Plus there were somethings that I saw during summer league that I just don't want Edward to be around or see. I think a break will do us good and we will see about doing a summer league in 2010.

Our Homeschool Co-op starts on Sept 5th. I will be teaching 2 classes this semester. A Arts and Crafts Class for Pre-K to 2nd grade and an A to Z Animal Science Class (this is a curriculum that is through our local zoo) for K to 2nd grade. My Arts and Craft class is only 6 weeks long. The A to Z Animal Science Class is actually 2 semesters long, so I will teach that class all school year long. I am looking forward to it.

I just have to share what we are having for dinner tonight....stuffed head of tenderloin (as seen on one of Edward's Favorite Food Network Shows; Good Eats), this is stuffed with crumbled blue cheese....Kirk's mouth has been watering ever since he saw the show so I thought I would fix it for him. We will also be having Parsley and Chive Mashed Potatoes, Broccoliflower and Purple Cauliflower (we haven't had either of these so I thought they would be fun to try), butter and egg dinner rolls, and for desert petite strawberry shortcakes. Is your mouth watering yet? I will have to let you know how this dinner turns out. One night I also plan to make Swedish Potato Balls (Kroppkakor) for Kirk. His mom's parents use to make them when she was a kid and he remembers eating them when he would go to visit them. He has been talking about them. I also have Swedish on my side of the family, I think it would be great for Edward to taste some Swedish style foods. There a Swedish Community here in Kansas (Lindsborg....aka Little Sweden) that has a Swedish Festival (Svensk Hyllningsfest) once a year, I am hoping we will be able to go in either 2009 or 2011 (it's only done every uneven year). It is in Mid-October.

It is different with Sebastian gone, we all miss him so much. Thank you all for the well wishes and condolences. It has taken some getting use too. So far Bear and Storm seem to be dealing with it well.

We are off here over Labor Day weekend for a mini family vacation in Nevada. Pray everyone comes home in one piece and no one tries to amputate any of their body parts.

We wanted to wish Happy Birthday to Jim, Mom T (Kirk's Mom), Oma Du (my Grandma), Paige (our beautiful neice), and Charlene, who all have birthdays in August. Also Happy Anniversary to my brother and his wife.

For those praying for us, please remember that Kirk goes at the end of next month to see the Urologist. Will keep you posted.

In Loving Memory

Today was a very sad day in the Thompson Household. We had our almost 12 yr old Beagle, Sebastian, put to sleep this morning at the vets. The house is a little quieter, a little lonelier, just different. I guess it will feel that way for a little while. Kirk isn't dealing well with this, as Sebastian was his dog (mainly). Kirk is already talking about getting another dog. I said I don't want to right now. I have reasons, for 1 I don't want Edward to think that loved ones are replaceable and that you can't have time to mourn someone before someone new comes into your life. I want to give everyone (including Bear and Storm) time to adjust to the fact that Sebastian isn't here with us anymore.

Edwards Big Night

This week was VBS....the theme was Pirates. Edward has been enjoying himself. Tonight there was an alter call for anyone who wanted to accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Edward raised his hand and went up. He was the first child to go up. He prayed that Jesus would come into his heart and be his Lord and Savior. PTL! Yes, I had tears in my eyes. I know that Edward knew what this meant because he stated afterwards that this meant he would get to go to heaven and not to the bad place where Satan was. After Edward was done, it was like a flood gate was opened and about 10 more kids followed suit and got saved.

4th of July

This 4th of July, we went to a picnic at church. We had fun.

Swimming Lessons

This year Edward took swimming lessons again. This year was one step of where he was last year (this year he was a Goldfish). He did awesome. He will take this class again at the beginning of August. He has improved so much over last year. Even would jump into the water or go under water.