Christmas Wishlist 2013

HIS CHRISTMAS WISHES FOR 2013:

     

1. Barney Campfire Sing- Along VHS tape

2. Cooter's Place "Keep It Between The Ditches" Sweatshirt

3. The Dukes of Hazzard VHS tape, any will do :) 

4. Angry Birds T-shirt

5. Angry Birds Moustache Pig Hoodie 

6. Barney Exercise Circus VHS tape

                   The Letter To Santa: 

With an adorable letter like this, how can one not love this sweetheart! He even drew a little sometime, to give it "character!" I know Santa will be extra good to this boy this year, for he has been truly good all year long! 

Lunch Date With Ral!

After working around the house all morning, since school was closed and Thomas spent the night at our house, we decided to finally grab some lunch! But not before, completely the "Christmas Chores" i.e. 

D | E | C | O | R | A | T | I | N | G

Thomas was a wonderful assistant, staying warm and toasty under the blanket, while watching Ral hang lights! Needless to say, our house can be seen for all to see and everyone who passes by! So after working hard, Lunch was much anticipated! With the agreement of spaghetti, we headed to just the place! You can tell from his face in the above picture, he was more than happy with our lunch choice! After his first bite, he said, "It's GOODD!" My response, while shoveling in my spaghetti, was "Yes it is!" 

We had a great lunch together, and as always it was a pleasure to have Thomas come spend the night with us! 

If I could make a living out of lovin' you

I'd be a millionaire in a week or two

Well said....Clay Walker! 

Saturday Date With My Girlfriend!

So comfortable with her, he feel asleep during the movie! 

Pure joy, can be seen through their eyes! 

A Saturday bowling trip, turned into a day/evening date for these two adorable souls! After two games at the alley, it was movies, popcorn, and snuggling on the couch! They hold hands, laugh, share their popcorn, and carry on conversations. Nothing short of "normal" <3 

Thomas loves to see his girlfriend, Lauren! She calls him her "love buddy" and habitually sends home homemade cards she wrote and drew on, with all her love in each stroke! They give each other smoochies and hugs, all most of all care for one another. Lauren has been known to assist Thomas in eating, reminding him to eat more, and cleaning up after him. It's wonderful to see Thomas have a connection with someone, especially the ever sweet Lauren! 

After two movies and dinner, the date concluded....but not forgotten :) 

Visiting Emily at Work!

On our after school outings, we typically run errands or try and do something fun together! On this day, we had to drop off a package with FedEx, then decided we both could use a snack, plus we wanted to see our sister! We had a nice visit with her, a yummy snack, and a fun time together :) 

Visiting The Sound!

This past weekend, Thomas visited the sound in Nags Head, North Carolina! He was happy to see some sand after months away! He and my parents drove down to have a visit and enjoy the weather! Although we are still enjoying the Fall season, the beach is always a beautiful and fun place to visit no matter the weather! (Although a hurricane...that's a different story!) Thomas was able to visit his favorite movie theater and enjoy the yummy popcorn and best fountain drinks around! He also visited his favorite pizzeria, Slice...so yummy!! And managed to get two free slices to go, lucky duck :) Overall, his trip was well worth it, and much enjoyed by all!

ARRGGHH Matey, It's Halloween!

This year like normal, Thomas and I hand out candy to the kids in town or our visiting trick or treaters! However, in the past we have dressed as our normal selves. So this year we decided to make a change, and participate in dressing up as someone other than our beautiful selves! Our costumes consisted of one male pirate and one zombie pirate! Thomas was rocking his striped ragged capris and head scarf! I loved my headband as well, it totally completed the look for both our costumes! Thomas had fun handing out candy with and even enjoyed visiting with fellow trick or treaters! One of the very first to ring our door, was Madison, our favorite special angel also with Down Syndrome! She used to live next door to us, however we still love her <3 Thomas and Maddie talked and took pictures together! She was "Brave" for Halloween, red wig and all....SOO  adorable if I might add! By the time we had handed nearly all of our candy out, we were exhausted. Two hours of manning the ship, I'd say we were some pretty awesome pirates!

Thomas's New Sofa!

Yesterday, the new sofas were arriving at Thomas's house to be placed in the living room or "back room" as we call it! The old couches had been worn out and didn't nearly seat as many people as there were in the room, on any given time. So one afternoon, we accompanied mom to the furniture store to browse, but low and behold, Thomas lounged in one sofa set, and that was all she wrote! Mom told the sales woman, "SOLD!" If only all things in life were so simply! 

Needless to say, once the sofas were delivered, Thomas was eager to watch the men carry them in, and anxious to take a seat! It's funny how something so simple as a new couch, can be so exciting?! Thomas along with everyone home at the time, joined in and took a seat on the big comfy sofas! Today makes day two of enjoying the sofas and breaking them in...and Thomas was yet again found in "his" spot lounged out and happy as a lark!

Thomas Pack's Shoeboxes!

You might wonder what packing a shoebox is all about.....well let me fill you in! 

Samaritan's Purse is an organization in which our church choose for our annual Christmas ministry. It's all apart of Operation Christmas Child. This was established in 1993, were more than 100 million boys and girls in over 130 countries have experienced God’s love through the power of simple shoebox gifts from Operation Christmas Child. Samaritan’s Purse works to deliver the gifts and share the life-changing Good News of Jesus Christ.

If you would like to be apart of such a wonderful opportunity and joyous honor, please click the link below and find out how you can make a difference in a child's Christmas/life this year! 

http://www.samaritanspurse.org/what-we-do/operation-christmas-child/

Unfortunately, I was unable to get a picture of Thomas that morning packing and working hard to help get those boxes ready to be shipped! I had my phone playing Christmas music (which is usually my camera and eyes) and our hands were filled with wrapping paper, tape, toys, and fun goodies to stuff in those boxes! 

What I would do is wrap the shoeboxes two at a time, then stop and have Thomas fill those two with all the necessary supplies and goodies, close them up and designated for which age group and gender each box was for. After all that was finished, we would then start on our next two! By the time our wrapping and stuffing group got done, we had completely filled and stuffed 47 boxes!!!!!!!

God is SOOOO good in so many ways, but the true joy of filling those boxes for these children across the world, was far morning meaningful than anything that could be wrapped under a tree! Knowing that our shoeboxes would make a difference in another childs life, was heartwarming and memorable! 

Howl-O-Scream 2013

                                                               

Friday, the kids played a little hookie from school, and we visited Busch Gardens Amusement Park, for Howl-O-Scream 2013! We decided to visit the park during the day, because the scare factor was basically non-existent, making our day more enjoyable for Thomas and his girlfriend. When we first got into the park, we visited Elmo's Forest of Fun, where Thomas got to see Elmo and Count Dracula :) They then stopped for ice slushies or what I like to call "slurpee's" before walking onto the next attraction. We made our way into Italy, were we rode the Teacups, Battering Ram, and visited the Arcade. 

Next, we made our way into Oktoberfest, where we stopped to few one of the games along the way, a soccer shoot out contest. Thomas was very eager to participate, so money gave him $5 and he entered. And this is how it went.....

                              

Thomas had three shots, 2 out of 3 meant a small prize and 3 out of 3 meant the larger prize! Thomas played two times and won a prize both times for making 2 out of the 3 soccer balls in the goal!!! So proud of our sweet man :) 

After the excitement of soccer, we worked up quite an appetite for a snack and something to drink. We made our way in the Fest Haus, where we grabbed some yummy french fries and a coke to chow down on, until the show "Night Beats" would shortly begin. We saw dancing, singing, and a live band play during our time in the show. 

Our final activities in the park included: Riding the ride Darkastle and the Carousel. Then stopping to watch Thomas's girlfriend get face painted. Watching the show Fiends, and taking a train ride all the way around the park, seeing lights, animals, and Halloween decorations. Needless to say our day was jam packed with many exciting treats! Thomas very much enjoyed himself and spending time with his girlfriend on their date <3 

Celebrating Ral's Birthday!

God blessed me with another year of life on this Earth! I was so happy and overjoyed to share it with all of my loved ones and dear friends! My competition cheering girls came over for dinner and cake, and helped in making my day one to remember :)  Thomas especially helped in making my day extra wonderful, by giving me a beautiful vase of flowers and an engraved necklace, that read: "Loves you Ral" and "Woobitz loves Ral." Both of those engravings are statements in which Thomas makes to me, and words in which I deeply cherish <3 

Thomas helped in the singing of "Happy Birthday" by queuing everyone with a 1...2...3! He also assisted in helping me blow out my candles, making my birthday wish extra special, and sure to come true! 

Watering Some Plants!

Simple things like watering plants, turn into helping Thomas learn basic skills and fine tuning his fine motor skills! So I first asked Thomas to turn on the water, from the knob attached to the side of the house (also another fine motor skill ) Then I handed him the water hose and instructed him to begin watering all the plants. He started out a little slow, but then got the hang of gripping the sprayer! By the time Thomas got to the fifth plant in the flower bed, he decided it would be funny to spray his sister! Now consider this, it's Fall, the water isn't warm, and I have a cast on that is NOT water proof! Needless to say, he thought it was the funniest thing in the world, as I am shouting "STOP!" So he begins to water another plant, slowly pretending to of listened to me. And yet again, he turns the water hose on me, laughing all the while! By this time, I'm already soaked from the knees down, and I cannot help but laugh along too! He tried three more times to soak me some more!

After watering the plants and his sister, his task was complete :)