A Mermaid Birthday

Josie turned 3!!! The girl has had her birthday date memorized for months and would quote it to anyone who would listen, and then would say "January is happy to see me". We found it quite endearing. She is princess and mermaid obsessed so we went for the mermaid theme this year. She had 3 little friends over to eat cake, play games, and do a craft (which bombed miserably!). So really the craft was a mason jar that you decorate with stickers, fill with glitter, water, and vegetable oil and viola! an ocean snow globe. No, it turned into a lava lamp. Pinterest said it was so easy!!! One of the little girls said "It is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen!". Thank goodness for how those darlings see the world. Enough about my craft, I know you are really waiting for pictures.

 Even though we did a number of games, the hit of the party was popping the "bubbles" with little surprises inside the balloons. The laughter was infectious!

 I made the girls mermaid tails to wear. Don't give me too much credit-it didn't require a sewing machine! Just lots of fabric glue.

 Josie with her besties Peyton, Evie, and Ashton

 Mermaid cake!

 Her favorite gift was the big stuffed unicorn her siblings picked out for her.

 The day of her actual birthday it snowed buckets! Even Joel had the day off from work. It was very special for her to have everyone home on her birthday.  Here she is sledding with our neighbor Heather. Actually the kids ending up being home all week-yikes! They haven't been to a full week of school since early December. The kids now expect a snow day every week.

 Her favorite thing to do in the snow-eat it!

Happy Birthday my little mermaid!!

Welcome to 2014

Happy New Year faithful family members and friends who keep up with my blog! We have yet to all make it till midnight on New Year's Eve. This year it was the boys who rang it in together while us girls bit the dust. Yes me included, went to bed at 11:45! I must be growing up. We had a wonderful time celebrating with friends from Hawaii (the Foxworth's , Beers', and Ericson's), eating Kailua Pork, catching up, and watching our 13 kids bounce off the walls. It was wonderful but once the party dispersed I couldn't hang in there anymore.

 Anna at 11:45 pm.

 The boys at midnight celebrating with "kid's wine".

Anna has determined to become a baker this year. She is always asking to make stuff and I have a hard time giving her free reign on the kitchen. Over the break I just gave in and Anna had a day pretending she was on Cupcake Wars. She amazed me! According to the judges in this house, she was the champion! What do you think? I was her assistant but for some reason she talked to "Gracie" all day. DiAnne Boutz, someone is a little excited about a reunion!

Merry Christmas from the Thorson Family! We had a wonderful time celebrating our Savior's birthday. Happy Birthday seems to be the kids favorite song to sing and we lost count on how many times it was song over the holiday break. The kids even created their own rendition just for Jesus! The only thing that was missing were those family members that we couldn't be with this year. Their absence was a definite whole in our hearts.

 All decked out for Christmas Eve service followed by chocolate fondue all over those nice clothes!

 But it was better for the chocolate to go on those nice clothes rather than our new Christmas jammies-the one present the kids get to open on Christmas Eve. 

At some point Joel and I will get to sleep on Christmas Eve night, right?! It wasn't the wrapping that kept us up…we actually planned ahead and had it pretty much done. It was the kids…poor things.  Anna was up till midnight at first determined to see Santa and prove his existence and then just crying because she was too excited to sleep and "how long is this night going to be!?". Then Asher was up at 5:15. We forbade them to come out of their rooms until 6:00am and of course at 6:01 we hear the feet running down the steps with squeals while they looked for their stockings (yes Santa hides them). It was Josie exclaiming "My PINK NAPKINS!" that finally rallied me out of bed to be opening presents by 6:45.  

 Have you ever seen a kid so excited to get socks? Apparently this is another "cool boy" thing. 

 Jesse got his Skylander's swap which he wants to play every minute of every day. We have to pry the controller's out of his hands to take breaks.

Anna got a karaoke machine-her most favorite gift. Now the dancing bouncing girl comes with a microphone too! The shows have been endless.

In addition to her pink napkins, Josie got beloved Cinderella glass slippers. Once they are on her feet she magically turns into a princess! 

Needless to say, everyone was extremely happy with their gifts. I got a bunch of new cold gear running stuff in my stocking. The kids said "Is that it?". They think Santa wasn't very nice to me-I guess they don't me that well. (but my husband does!).  While everyone was playing with their new toys,  I enjoyed a beautiful 6 mile run enjoying my new toys!

Let it Snow!

About a week ago we had 3 glorious snow days. The kind where everyone (even Daddy!) was snowed in and the whole neighborhood was out celebrating together. It feels like an ancient memory now because just yesterday it was 70 degrees and my kids were running around in t-shirts. Not sure what is going on but our dreams of a White Christmas seem to be disappearing. So we find ourselves looking at these pictures and hoping that it happens again soon!

 Snow days also mean baking cookie days! In this process we have learned that Jesse really does not like crafts. He says it is just "work work work". Bring on the games! So we literally had to tie him down just to decorate one cookie!

 While Anna has to decorate the most perfect cookies, Asher is all about fitting as much decoration on one cookie as you can get! He was having a blast. All he wants for Christmas is under armor clothes. When did I get a kid old enough to just want clothes for Christmas? Apparantly under armor clothes are the cool thing for boys now?

 Anna trying to build a snowman all by herself! There were snowman's everywhere in the neighborhood. This Christmas season might be our last "magical" one with Anna. She is determined to prove to all the older kids at the bus stop that Santa is real. We found her talking to Sonny, our elf on the shelf, one afternoon…just chit chatting away telling him her Christmas list.

 Ask Josie what she did in the snow and she says "eating it!" which is exactly what she did the whole time she was out. Her Christmas wish list is hilarious…"all the mermaids, a heart, one lip (meaning lipgloss or chapstick), and pink napkins (my favorite and not sure where that wish came from! but check, I think Santa has that one covered)."

Jesse sledding-oh boy! Can someone please put this boy in bubble wrap? It has only been 3 weeks since his last surgery and the cast coming off and my heart skips a beat every time he falls. All the kids were out riding bikes yesterday and I made him stick to the scooter. I am a nervous nilly!

Nutcracker Thorsons

Every year, the ballet company that Anna dances with does a semi-profressional production of The Nutcracker to ring in the holiday season. It is something that Anna and her dance buddies dream about all year and she cries buckets after the last performance agonizing over waiting another whole year till it comes around again. Since seeing the show last year, Asher started begging and pleading to be in the show as well (which means Jesse follows). So this year we had 3 Thorson's in the production. They have been practicing since September and spent the last 2 weekends on stage. What a treat for these parents to see!! Anna was a mouse, Asher was a party guest and soldier, and Jesse was a crown bearer which carried Clara's crown on stage with the Nutcracker (his good buddy now!).

Thankfulness

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Yes, I am a little late in my post but I want to take a moment to remember all we are thankful for before heading into all the Christmas posts. We spent Thanksgiving with my parents in West Virginia which was a special time. We made a "thankful" turkey to remind us what we were celebrating-each feather is something we are thankful for. The following pictures will be some of those things. (I heard the Sounds of Music song in my head…these are a few of my fav-or-rite things!)

 Train rides with Grammie at the mall where she works.

 Playing in the leaves (this is how a walk with Finn went. Needless to say we didn't get very far).

 Anna expressing herself.

 Pizza! Jesse's favorite food.

 Josie LOVES hats and mittens.

 Family outings

 Especially ones that include exploring!

Our dog Finn

We pray that you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and remembered all the gifts He has given us!

Happy Halloween

So we have officially entered the candy, cookie and junk food season. I seem to find the evidence in every corner of the house! Not to mention in own hands once the kids are safely tucked in bed. We have enjoyed the start of the season with costumes and carving pumpkins, a block party and trick or treating, all while reminding our kids that we are being a light in a dark world by imitating Jesus every single day. We are super proud of the character we see developing in them. We here wonderful reports from their teachers and other parents, and I reminded by the one thing we desire most in them is that they love the Lord above all else. As a parent, we should desire this more than a blue ribbon or the winning goal, straight A's, or even a stellar athlete. We are happy to turn our porch lights on and open our doors to neighbors, delight in their children, and be a part of our community while showing them the light in our hearts and letting our kids have a little fun. Our kids often point to Jesus before Joel and I even do and as we chase a kitty cat, Darth Vader, a minion, and a fairy around the block I remain more proud of them each passing year.