Holiday events...

I know it's been a couple weeks since I've updated things, but I've been bit preoccupied. I have been having quite a bit of preterm contractions (these are not just Braxton-Hicks, they are the real thing!), which if you know me, doesn't mean much because I always have preterm contractions with my pregnancies. All the kids were born right at 36 weeks, which for those men and some women who don't know what that means, they were 4 weeks early which is considered premature (a full term baby is 40 weeks). Last time with Hosanna, I actually went into labor for 14 hours at 35 weeks and then things stopped, so they sent me home. At that point I was dialated to 4cm, which is pretty significant. Currently, I am only dialated to a 1 1/2 cm and I am not completely thinned out...this is all good news. I have made about three trips to OB in the last few weeks, the last one was just last night. They typically monitor the baby and I as well as do some testing. They also can give me a little heavier dose of the meds I've been taking at home to get things slowed down. According to a my last fetal fibronectin test (I've had those every two weeks for the last 8 weeks) the likelihood of my going into actual labor is 99% negative, for about the next week. Still, good news. Now, if only I could get these contractions to not be so uncomfortable until the real-thing! Baby is healthy and happy. He enjoys having the hiccups and kicking me in the ribs. :)

This John entertaining himself while we are at the hospital...yes, that's a birthing ball he's using as a footstool!

Here's some important news....we decided to share the full name of our baby boy before we have him. This may come as a shocker to some of you, seeing as we typically keep things under wraps until baby is born. So, did you want me to tell you?? LOL!

We hope to have Judah Rhodes Thorndike join us happy and healthy soon(but not too soon).

No, there will be no nicknames given at this time...Judah-man is not an option! (Sorry, Honey)

For those of you who are interested in the whys of our choosing, we have just really liked the name Judah ever since we had Jeremiah. We have been holding his name in reserves for the last few years and we are so excited to finally use it.

Judah -to be praised; was the fourth son of Jacob (very fitting, eh?)

Rhodes- Rhodes Galbraith is John's maternal grandfather (and only living grandparent). Grandpa lives in Belligham with his wife Shirley. He is an amazing man of God and an excellent example of love and kindness. We love him very much!

On with the updating! Over the last few weeks the kids helped put up our tree, played in the mounds of snow we've had and gone a little crazy with cabin fever!

The Sunday morning before Christmas the kids had their program at church. They are both in the same class and it is so cute to see how different they are. Alison was very involved and did the motions, kind of...between shout-outs to Mom, Dad, Nana and Papa! Jeremiah folded his arms and sang occasionally, but mostly smiled and giggled at Pastor Phil who was sitting right in front of him. I love these kind of memories.

The girls had matching dresses and shoes...they were all adorable!

We had our traditional "Christmas Eve" dinner at Grammy's...but not on Christmas Eve. The kids had fun seeing everyone and I enjoyed sitting in the recliner!

(Cousin Stephanie and Hosanna, Me and Judah, Rachel & Tim with Alison and Aunt Tonja, Aaron and Jeremiah listening to Papa read from the bible, John, Tim, Uncle Joe & Aunt Tonja being goofballs, John and I...)

The evening service before Christmas was cancelled at our church due to the weather conditions. So, the kids missed out on attending their "Happy Birthday Jesus" party in Rainbows. The day before, Katie had come over to help them make some "special" cupcakes(wheat-free) so they could decorate cupcakes with the other kids. I decided that since the kids couldn't have the party at church, I'd let them do it at home the next day. So I got out some icing and a few toppings and we had a little birthday party in the kitchen.

(Making the batter, watching them bake, decorating them and eating them!)

The kids saying "Happy Birthday, Jesus"

We enjoyed Christmas Eve day with my brother and parents at our house. Mom helped me get a turkey dinner cooked and it was delicious. The kids opened their presents from Papa and Nana and Uncle Aaron and then we all went down to the church for the Christmas Eve service. Afterwards, we put the kids to bed and enjoyed a nice quiet evening.

Christmas morning we watched our kids open thier presents from us, aka Santa. Then we spent the day doing absolutly nothing. It was fabulous!

Hosanna enjoying a snack

Alison tearing it up!

Whoo-hoo! New PJ's....hey at least they still get excited about clothes!

Now we are just trying to adjust to being snowed-in. Although today it warmed up enough to melt some of it away, it's still not very easy to get around in. I think we probably accumulated around 16-18 inches altogether, but that's just my "mom" opinion...who knows how much we really got. :)

These pics of the snow were taken sometime in the middle of all the snow storms we had.

John's poor car is buried...probably won't be using that for a while

Our lovely driveway

A view of the front from inside

More of the front from the porch

We hope you all have a happy and safe New Year! We hope to start ours off with our new baby. We are blessed and thankful for each one of you and pray for those to be abundant in your lives as well. Remember His grace and mercy...they are always available and never-ending. Reflect and appreciate all His has brought you through, taught you, gifted you with and carried you through. HIS LOVE IS AMAZING....

Birthday Celebrations...

We have had a busy last few days! Saturday the girls and Mommie went to a Princess Party for our friend Adrie. They got all dressed-up and had lots of fun.

On Sunday we celebrated with Grammy for her birthday. The kids and I joined family at a chinese restaurant....Mommie ended up taking the girls home early, they needed naps!

Finally, on Tuesday, we celebrated Alison's 3rd birthday. She opened one gift that morning, her princess attire for the day....then, she and Mommie spent the morning getting ready for her party with a few "special" stops. We got coffee and hot cocoa and visited Nana at work, went to the lumber store(yay!) and made one last stop to pick-up her Cinderella cake. She, of course, has been telling everyone that she is Princess Cinderella leading up to her birthday.

We celebrated that evening with lots of family and friends. She received many, many fun gifts. We ended the night with a Princess-style meltdown at bedtime...it wouldn't be a complete day without! We love you big girl!

**CLICK ON THE LINK TO THE RIGHT THAT SAYS "BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS" TO SEE ALL THE PICS!**

Catching up...

So the circus hit the road this last week. We took our show to the Seattle area to spend Turkey day with some of John's family. But, before we loaded the tour bus, the kids and I did a special little "turkey" of a project for Grammy. This is the first year in we have ever missed spending Thanksgiving with my family and they were all a little sad to lose their entertainment for the holiday! So, the kids and I made some very cute little turkey centerpieces for Grammy's holiday table....this way the kids could still be the "center" of attention...hahahaha! We made our turkeys and then spent the evening wearing-out Grammy! They had a blast, as usual.



After getting all our tour bags packed, we hit the road on Wednesday morning. Alison tends to get very carsick, so I had called the pediatrician to see what we could try. I started with the lowest dose possible of Dramamine, and she was snoring before we hit Hermiston! Needless to say, by the time we reached the rest stop on the other side of Yakima, they were all asleep - except for Hosanna who had soaked herself with her sippy cup of water and was screaming miserably. After potty breaks and settling back in our car seats with lunch in hand....we enjoyed the commentary from the back seat for the remainder of our trip. Of course there was the standard question every ten to twenty minutes from Jeremiah..."Are we there yet? How much longer? Is this Uncle Dan and Auntie Beth's city?"

As we approached the summit, the kids saw the large lake and Jeremiah proclaimed, "Mom, look at that lake. It reaches clear across America!" Shortly after, Alison noticed several mountains outside her window...many of which had trees-trees with snow! We kept hearing, "Mommy look at all those trees...There's another mountain!....Take a picture of that one Mom!" I would reply, "I did sweetie" (of course we know I didn't every time) Alison, of course is so smart now that she is in preschool and all and would quickly reply..."No you didn't!" Busted. So, I did take a couple of "snowy mountain" pics just for her. At one point, Jeremiah decided to count all the trees as we were going over the pass....one, two, three....twenty-five! "Wow Mom, there's twenty-five trees! That so many!" John and I laughed so much and so hard, that I was certain I wasn't going to make it to Dan & Beth's without wetting my pants!

We made it safely to Dan & Beth's and had a wonderful time. It was great to take it easy for a couple days. On turkey day, we just took our time getting the turkey and other delicious sides cooked. We ended up eating around seven, but the kids were so tired afterward they slept great...and, the adults were able to enjoy coffee and pie in peace...even if it was ten o'clock at night!

(WAITING FOR BELLA TO DO HER "BUSINESS")

Beth and I took Hosanna and Savannah shopping on Friday. We didn't leave until just before lunchtime and so the early crazy rush was over....it was still shopping in crazy Seattle, but it was fun. I was able to find a couple of things I had been waiting to purchase at a very good price!

While we shopped, Uncle Dan had to work and so John took Jeremiah and Alison to see Rod and the kids. they had fun and again, were very worn-out.

Saturday we headed over to Rod and Liz's for a family brunch. All of John's siblings and kids were there as well as his mom, grandpa and cousin Tim. It was nice to see everyone and let all the kids enjoy some time playing together.

We loaded up the tour bus after loading up on food....ugh! The kids gave lots of loves to everyone, including their favorite family member....Bella, the dog(sorry everyone, I guess it's just too hard to pass up on those wet-nose kisses!).

Once we left, we decided to take I-5 to I-90, the long way, I know, but we wanted to show the kids Seattle and all the buildings, planes and of course, tunnels. We took the express way and if you know Seattle at all, you know there is a very long tunnel before you come out on the floating bridge. Jeremiah was laughing, squirming and had an ear-to-ear grin the entire time. He and Alison LOVED it! When we went over the floating bridge, he kept saying, "Dad, we are driving in the water! Our car is in the water!!"

We made a quick stop at one of my favorite places, Trader Joe's and met up with our friend Heidi. It was great to see her and the kids had fun shopping for their "special" foods (gluten-free). I think our circus show in Trader Joe's just about topped all performances form the weekend. We had quite a few onlookers as the kids chose their items and strategically tossed them into our cart. At one point, Jeremiah was doing a "trick" and flipped his fruit leather into another shopper's hand basket! She was very impressed with his skills! We got all our treasures and groceries alike, settled in the tour bus and gave Heidi one last goodbye before getting on the road to find the nearest Starbucks so John and I could survive the next couple of hours. Not long after, all but our faithful driver, John were fast asleep. I don't know how long it's been since I was able to sleep in the car, but I can guarantee that John not only enjoyed my slumber, but appreciated the silence!

We made one last stop in Prosser to see an old friend. Rob Morris and I went through fire and EMT school together as well as participated in the Resident Reserve program at the Pendleton Fire department about 8 years ago. My Dad officiated Rob and his wife's wedding not too long ago and John had also become friends with him thru me, of course! Rob is a state trooper for Washington now and so he and John have even more in common. We stopped for dinner and catching-up and then hit the road one last time. We made it home later in the evening and the kids were almost happy to see their own beds!

This circus group is very worn-out, but happy to have had such a successful week! We enjoyed our time with family and friends and we are looking forward to sharing Christmas with them. Thankfully, our next performance will be in our hometown!