The Thompson Times

In Florida

2009-07-13T16:28:00.002-04:00

My sister Sheri and I traveled with our kids down to Florida yesterday. My Mom lives right across the street from the community pool and playground so it is great for Amanda and Mark. They are old enough to venture to the playground by themselves to play and they can go back and forth to get things they forgot when they are at the pool with one of us. I haven't made it there yet but will be going soon. It is different visiting with a 7 week old. Luke traveled well, sleeping most of the way.

We moved last weekend and are slowly getting settled in. I left Mike with a long to do list. We are learning a lot about living in a 20+ year old trailer.

I have posted more pictures... enjoy!

2009-06-23T12:49:00.003-04:00

Just a quick update...

We are moving this weekend which is hard to believe.
Luke will be four weeks old tomorrow!
We are getting used to life as a family. Luke is doing well and growing.
We are trying to take a picture of Luke every day so you can watch him grow. I will update them every week or so. Enjoy!

Watch Me Grow

Thanks for your prayers through this time of moving and transition!

New pictures

2009-06-11T10:52:00.001-04:00

New pictures of Luke

The Thompson Family

2009-06-09T10:52:00.002-04:00

We are all doing well. Luke had a check-up yesterday and is doing great. He is growing and has gained back all his birth weight plus some. He is almost 10 pounds now. He had his first bath today and loved it. He is sleeping pretty well and eating very well, obviously! Thanks for your prayers as we bring up this little boy!

We are counting down to when we are moving. It is less than three weeks away. I am very thankful for the packing I was able to do before Luke arrived because I would rather put my limited energy toward taking care of him! I am thankful that we are moving less than a mile away!

We don't have internet at our house any more so I haven't been able to update pictures or this blog or do much of anything to keep people in the loop. I am looking forward to when we get set up with it again once we move. Then there will be pictures galore to see and enjoy :)

We are enjoying being the Thompson Family! It is hard to believe there are three of us now! God is good.

He's here!!!

2009-05-31T20:13:00.002-04:00

Life sure has changed in the past few days. Luke Michael finally arrived on May 27 at 8:44am. He surprised everyone by weighing in at 9lb 11.4oz. He is the most beautiful baby in the whole world. Check him out here: Baby Luke

Still waiting

2009-05-21T08:20:00.003-04:00

Our due date is just two days away now. Three weeks ago my doctor was pretty sure the baby would come early. Well Luke has other plans and has been staying put. The weather has been much cooler the past couple weeks so I have been able to go for longer walks on a regular basis. Luke will come on his appointed day and hour and we are looking forward to that time.

Other news that we received a few weeks ago is that we are going to be moving. At the end of June we will be relocating to a different part of campus due to some major renovations being done (major as in the removal of our house and the moving of tons of dirt!) There is a married housing trailer park on the campus (where I said I would never live). We are in the process of purchasing a trailer in "the village" as this park is affectionately known. God has been slowly showing us how the pros of moving to the village greatly out weigh the cons. It will be a great community for us to be in. We already know our neighbors and several other families who live there. I have been packing since we found out and am trying to get as much done before the baby arrives.

Thanks so much for your prayers as we head into some major transitions in the next few weeks!

The name has been chosen

2009-04-29T10:32:00.005-04:00

For the past few weeks we have been conducting Mike's March Madness. We had planned to be making our final choices as the NCAA tournament was finishing. That didn't happen but last night we made it to the final two and then had the last "game" and now have a winner...

Our baby's name is going to be: Luke Michael Thompson.

You can see the tournament bracket here: Mike's March Madness

New pictures have been posted

2009-04-24T16:14:00.003-04:00

Click here to see the new pictures.

Week 35 doctor's visit

2009-04-21T20:23:00.003-04:00

Today we went to the doctor for a check up. We received a good report. All is going as it should. Baby has dropped into position and his heartbeat is strong and steady. The doctor said I was 1cm dilated and have started effacing. This is all on schedule. She doesn't think I will make it to my due date but I am sure that baby will come when he is ready and not pay any attention to the calendar! We start going to the doctor every week now so I am sure this month will go by quickly!

Spring Break

2009-04-06T07:14:00.006-04:00

It is kind of nice having two spring breaks! Mike's break was last week when we went to San Diego. This week is my spring break and my Mom has come for a visit to help with my spring cleaning and to get some things ready for the baby.

We had a wonderful time on our trip. It is hard to believe that our time there has already come and gone. We enjoyed the desert, mountains and the ocean. It was the perfect time to go since the flowers were blooming and they had rain so everything was green. I really enjoyed getting to know Mike's family better since during our wedding sure wasn't enough time! I have posted some pictures from our trip.

This week I have a long list of things to do with my Mom. Sheri's kids are on spring break too so they will come over for a few days throughout the week.

We are in the process of picking out the baby's name. We are playing Mike's March Madness and have finished the first round. You can watch the progress of our name tournament here: Mike's March Madness.

All is well with the baby according to our doctor last week. I am feeling good and the baby is making himself known throughout the day.

We're in San Diego

2009-03-25T10:14:00.002-04:00

It is bright and sunny here in CA today. We are here for a week, Mike's spring break, to visit his family and to see the sites. I have never been to this part of the world and Mike has never come at this time of year so he is seeing new things too. There are beautiful flowers and it is much greener than it usually is. Yesterday we climbed to the top of a nearby mountain (in a truck) to see what was on the other side. We were pleasantly surprised to find a national forest and a paved road to go back down the mountain! We are looking forward to going out into the desert to see if the wild flowers that are in bloom. It is good to spend time with Mike's family and to get to know them better.

I have been feeling fine, a bit tired from the different climate and a bit of jet lag. Mike is the one who has had a touch of the flu so hopefully he will be 100% better when he gets up today. (I think it is pregnancy sympathy pains but his are worse than mine.)

Once we get back I will post some pictures from our trip.

2009-03-06T08:47:00.004-05:00

So much time has gone by since the last time I visited our blog. Here are the highlights of the past few weeks:

- Our baby is growing right on schedule according to my latest check-up this week

- My belly is getting big enough to 'lose' things under it (such as an open pen that ended up writing all over my pants before being discovered)

- Mike has finished up the long process of choosing his team of students to be Resident Assistants and on the Freshman Leadership Team

- We went to Florida last weekend to enjoy some sun and relaxation (especially after the above process)

- We leave for San Diego, California to visit Mike's family in just 15 days

- Someone from my high school set up a facebook group for us to join so it has been fun connecting with classmates from 20 years ago!!

- Our one year anniversary is on Sunday and it has been fun reminiscing about all that was going on this time last year

- We continue to be thankful for the people in our lives who love us and cared about us through our wedding and beyond into our marriage!

A day to remember

2009-01-24T17:59:00.002-05:00

Nothing of significance happened yesterday but it is a date to remember!

One year ago I had surgery on January 23rd. I praise the Lord that by this time on the 24th I was home and recovering and already starting to be pain free. I had a ruptured disc that was pushing on my sciatic nerve to the extent of doing damage. Throughout the year I have had minor back aches but none of the pain that I had prior to surgery.

Also one and a half years ago my Dad passed away. It is hard to believe that so much time has gone by. We all dearly miss him of course but life has gone on. At times I wonder what it would be like if he was still here but am trusting that God's timing and plan are perfect.

Also our baby is due on May 23rd. Just four months away! We went to look at baby things today and got so overwhelmed. It did make it seem more real that is for sure.

2009-01-21T09:27:00.003-05:00

The students have arrived back on campus. They were welcomed back with a blizzard... well a SC blizzard with snow falling but not staying around too long... so they didn't have classes the first day back. Mike and I were able to get a lot done on our house in town and I was able to take a nice long nap since my school was cancelled too.

The students that Mike works with, the Resident Assistants and Freshmen Leadership Team, came back early for a retreat this weekend. It was exciting and encouraging to see how God continues to use Mike and I together in this ministry. We had a great time together with the 25 students and my sister who is Mike's admin, worshiping the Lord together, planning and making goals for the semester.

On the baby front, while we were singing together on Sunday morning our little baby started jumping all around. I hadn't really felt him before Sunday or maybe I did but didn't realize it. Since then I have felt him often which is fun. I look forward to when Mike will be able to feel him in there too. We are still looking for boy names so if you have any ideas send them our way!

It's a boy!

2009-01-08T15:25:00.004-05:00

We just wanted the world to know that the ultrasound has clearly let us know that we are having a boy! I was thinking that it was a girl for some reason and had settled on a name that Mike had said in passing a few days ago. But our little one is a boy for sure and I am also sure that he wouldn't be happy with the name I was thinking about for a girl! We are thinking of having a "play-off" to decide on a boy's name.

We are very thankful that the baby healthy and everything is right on track. We really like the clinic where we are going, all women doctors and we see the same one most of the time.

I'll post pictures of our baby in the near future.

We're going to Califormia!

2009-01-06T21:29:00.002-05:00

Today Mike bought us tickets to go to San Diego for spring break in March. We have been wanting to visit Mike's family out there for a long time. It didn't work out for Christmas but this will be an even better trip. Mike has been there several times so knows some of the fun things we can do together but is already doing research to see what else is available. We will do something special there to celebrate our one year anniversary! We're excited!

Christmas at the Thompsons

2008-12-30T17:49:00.001-05:00

Fun with the RAs

Setting up our beautiful Christmas tree

Cindy's Family

What fun it is to have a full house for Christmas.

Our first full house was with the students that Mike works with. We played some rowdy games with the white elephant presents we all brought. The best present was a used telephone cord! It was fun to laugh and eat all sorts of goodies together.

After the students went home for their Christmas break the campus has been empty and quiet. We have enjoyed several rambles through the woods, especially with our neice and nephew.

Christmas Eve the house filled up again for a few days, with family this time. My Mom came up from Florida with her sister and brother-in-law. My grandmother came over from Greenville and my sister's family came from down the road. We had a full kitchen with many hands in the pots to make our wonderful dinner. We were blessed with many presents under the tree and then had fun playing with the kids toys that they received!

Now Mike and I are enjoying the rest of our Christmas break in Florida. Mike braved the horrible traffic yesterday so that we could come and bask in the sun for a few days before heading back to work next week.

We hope that you have enjoyed your Christmas and will be remembering all God's wonderful blessings as we come to the end of this year!

Baby Growth

2008-12-17T15:38:00.002-05:00

Last week a momentous occasion occurred. I wore maternity pants for the first time. For the past few weeks I have been wearing one of about three pairs of pants that are a size bigger than my normal size (I wonder if the kids at the school where I sub noticed the same pants again and again...) Mike and I went to a banquet last week and in order to dress up a bit I needed to pull out the maternity pants. They didn't quite fit but they worked. Mike read that there are two kids of pregnant women, those who wear maternity clothes from the time they find out they are pregnant and those that hold out as long as they can in normal clothes. Can you guess which one I am??? Friends have offered their maternity clothes so I think I will be set once I do start needing them all the time. I may not be the most fashionable pregnant woman but at least I will be clothed.

Thanksgiving

2008-12-01T17:07:00.003-05:00

Mike and I had a lovely Thanksgiving, just the two of us. We had many options but then added one more. After hearing stories about how horrible traffic was yesterday we are glad that we stayed close to home.

Charleston was our Thanksgiving destination. We found a good deal on a hotel that was near the historic district so were able to walk most places. We ate good food, saw the sites, went to the beach and just enjoyed rambling. The weather was great and there weren't too many people around.

We came home on Friday and were glad we did since the rain started that night and didn't stop for 48 hours. It was nice to be home with nowhere to go!

Our tree was delivered this morning so soon our house will be looking a lot like Christmas.

Special Delivery

2008-11-20T18:22:00.002-05:00

Mike's brother sent us this sweet surprise to say congratulations!

News!

2008-11-10T20:21:00.002-05:00

We are having a baby! May 23rd is the big day we are looking forward to. All is going well and we are thankful for these months to prepare for our new little one. Baby is about the size of an egg or a lime right now and is working on growing it's little bones. We don't know yet if it is a boy or a girl.

Thanks for your prayers!

Pictures posted... finally

2008-10-26T09:09:00.002-04:00

Enjoy the pictures from the wedding and from the beauty of Quebec. You can click the link to the left or follow this link to view them: Leo and Susanne's Wedding

October Update

2008-10-17T11:22:00.003-04:00

The internet has been down at our house for about a week so I haven't been able to update you on what has been going on with our lives.

Late Monday night I returned from a wonderful trip to Quebec with my Mom, sister and Amanda. We went north for my cousin's wedding expecting the weather to be very cold but it was perfect. The colors on the trees were not at their peak but they were still very beautiful. Amanda was amazed at the blanket of color as we were flying in to Vermont.

We pitched right in to help with whatever needed to be done from decorating the church to making lunch for our whole crew. Amanda and I even helped to make apple cider. It was Canadian Thanksgiving weekend so the rehearsal dinner was a turkey dinner. The wedding went well with perfect weather, great food and fun times with our family.

On our way to the airport we stopped at Ben & Jerry's. It was so crowded that we couldn't take a tour but the ice cream sure was good!

As soon as the internet is back up and running at home I will post some pictures from our adventures.

Camping with the Canadas

2008-10-06T10:10:00.003-04:00

Last weekend we went to Mt. Pisgah on the Blue Ridge Parkway to go camping. It was about 20 degrees colder up there on the mountain so I survived with multiple layers of clothing on most of the time. We went on a couple hikes and enjoyed the beginning colors of fall. The best was just being able to spend time together around the camp fire. We came home smelling like smoke but it just served as a reminder of the good times we had up on the mountain.

Click on the link to the right to see more pictures from our camping adventure.

2008-09-22T10:09:00.000-04:00

Go UD

2008-09-22T09:22:00.002-04:00

It has been a long time since I have been to a football game. University of Delaware was playing at Furman this weekend so Mike and I went to the game. It was a beautiful sunny day with a bit of a breeze. I have forgotten everything Mike taught me about football last year so I am getting a refresher course! It was a fun experience even though UD lost by 2 points.

Furman is in Greenville where my grandmother lives so we spent the night with her and helped her out on Saturday until it was time for the game. She wasn't feeling well so I am glad that we were able to wait on her a little bit, though she prefers it the other way around!

One year ago today

2008-09-13T09:49:00.003-04:00

Mike and I met one year ago today. During homecoming there was a special event for the alumni and I went with my grandmother. Mike was also there sharing about the prison initiative. As we were leaving our cars were parked right next to each other and we were leaving at the same time. Mike talked to my grandmother for most of that first meeting but we met again soon after that and the rest is history!

2008-09-13T09:35:00.002-04:00

It is so nice to be able to leisurely wake up on Saturday mornings without the blast of an alarm clock. We made our list and hope to cross everything off before the Michigan football game this afternoon!

This week was the first week that I went in to school every day. Some days I only taught for a couple hours and some I was there all day. It is going much better than I expected. The kids are good for the most part and I am slowly starting to learn some of their names. My jobs this week were pretty random. I was a librarian, science teacher, year book teacher and choir teacher. Also on one day I was the picture coordinator as the kids each came to get their school pictures taken. Nothing is very difficult. I am getting lots of reading done and can even walk home for lunch on some days.

Time helping Amanda and Mark with their homework is going well. It was hard for the first week or so but now they are more into the swing of things in school and their schedule. Mark started being on a soccer team and is disappointed that practice is only for an hour.

Life is good and we have much to be thankful for!

September is upon us

2008-09-03T14:38:00.003-04:00

September is here and it actually feels like fall today. The porch, my favorite part of the house, has already been used for lunch and is ready for many more similar events. The windows are open and the breezes are blowing in. I love it!

Mike and I spent Labor Day weekend with my Mom in Oviedo, FL. We didn't do any of the Florida things like going to Disney or the pool even. We did a bit of this and that and it was wonderful. Mike helped Mom out by putting some shingles back on and fixing a few things. Mom and I went yard saling. One yard sale boasted 700 families in the community who were participating in the sale. We went only to find it was a trailer park of senior citizens who were selling their 50 year old stuff in their community center. I still found some bargains and we got a good laugh out of it.

My niece and nephew have been coming over after school for me to help them with their homework. It is nice to see them during the week even though it isn't always fun doing their homework together. I am sure once they get into the swing of things in this new year things will get easier.

Mike started teaching NT survey at the prison last week. CIU is doing an associates degree at the prison across the river. Mike loves teaching and being a part of their lives. He showed me some of their profiles which included a picture, why they are in prison and how long they will be in. It is so encouraging to know that they are thankful for being in prison because it brought them into a relationship with Jesus Christ. These men will be assistant chaplains in the prison system once they finish this degree. Please pray for these 15 inmates as they study God's Word with Mike each Wednesday and Friday.

One more

2008-08-23T15:59:00.002-04:00

One more new beginning is that we have new renters at our house. Mike owns a house in Columbia but we can't live there since he is required to live on campus. The lady who was renting it is moving out of town so we needed someone else to live in it. We placed an ad online and within a week God provided two young ladies to live there starting next weekend.

We went last night to work on it but forgot that the power was turned off so that didn't work too well. We spent the morning there and got most of the things crossed off our list. Mike installed a new dishwasher and fixed up some odds and ends. I tidied up the yard a bit and cut the grass. We found several wasp nests so we will have to go back again to take care of them!

We are very thankful for God's provision!

New Beginnings

2008-08-22T12:32:00.002-04:00

Last Friday was my first day of substitute teaching. I went in for one of the Spanish teachers. No one could find her lesson plans so that was an interesting way to start my subbing experience. It turned out that I had to give them a study hall each period which the students were happy with. This week I have only had to go in one morning so I have been able to catch up on some work here at home while watching some of the Olympics.

Classes started here at CIU on Tuesday. My class was last night and I can tell already that it is going to be challenging and really good. I am glad that I am auditing the class since I will be able to pick and choose what to do according to my time schedule.

Mike loves having the students back and spends much of his time catching up with them and helping them settle in to their lives and schedules here.

Mid August already?

2008-08-13T09:25:00.002-04:00

To me school starts in September. Growing up the first day of school was always the day after Labor Day, even at University. Here in SC things are a bit different. Amanda and Mark went back to school yesterday and the freshmen are arriving at CIU today. Classes start next Tuesday. I will be auditing a class called Prayer and Discipleship with one of my favorite professors. It will be good to be back in the classroom each week to learn and spend time with my friends.

My new job started yesterday but I haven't had to do anything yet. I am the on-call substitute teacher for Ben Lippen High School and Middle School which is on the same campus as CIU. I can walk to work so I don't have to worry about getting stuck in rush hour traffic!

Today is a rainy dreary day so it doesn't feel like summer. I am all mixed up with cold weather and school starting already. Is it summer or fall?

Life on a Thursday

2008-07-31T19:52:00.002-04:00

I just walked outside to water my garden and God was already taking care of it for me. The rain had just started and it is still drizzling a bit out there after giving my flowers a good soaking. The outlook on my garden is bleak. I have learned that deer like Impatiens, squirrels like portulaca and the zucchini just doesn't want to grow. The front of the house looks nice since the cosmos and window boxes have survived any of the above problems.

Tonight I am home alone since Mike is at a Braves game in Atlanta with his friend Dan. I could have gone too but chose to go to Myrtle Beach with my friend Sarah for the day. She was going to visit a friend so I went along for the ride!

Our fox family has grown and we now have four coming to check out the leftovers we leave for them. My newest pets are hummingbirds and so far we have four of them constantly flying around and entertaining us!

God has been answering some pretty big prayers for us recently. I had a long worry list but changed it to my prayer list and God has answered!

Our renter is moving out next month so we posted our house on the CIU website and within a week we have some renters!
We found a church that we both like.
My job is ending mid August and I had a job possibility fall into my lap (I am still waiting to hear if I got the job or not but it is looking promising.)
We sold one of our vehicles and the other has had some nibbles (anybody want to buy a jeep?)

There are a couple more things on the prayer list but we are seeing the light at the end of those tunnels too! God is so good!

My sister's kids are spending the night tomorrow night and we are all looking forward to the fun!

My Dad

2008-07-23T19:59:00.004-04:00

One year ago today my Dad went home to be with the Lord. I called my Mom this morning to congratulate her on making it one year without my Dad, something she didn't think she would be able to do. With God's help we all made it through this year with many tears as we thought about all the wonderful times that we spent together. I am so thankful for the Dad that I was blessed with and I am thankful for the 36 years that I had him here on earth. He is greatly missed.

Mike and I were going to go to the driving range to hit golf balls in my Dad's honor but there is a thunderstorm going on so it will have to be postponed until tomorrow.

Six months ago today I had my back surgery. I praise the Lord for my recovery. Now I can slowly add things like golf, bowling and running into my life if I so choose.

2008-07-14T08:55:00.001-04:00

Mark is now 6 years old! He had his birthday party this weekend with his friends from school. They went to a nearby splash park and had a wonderful time together. Click on the picture link to the right to see more pictures.

We are back!

2008-07-11T16:11:00.002-04:00

We arrived back to SC to a flurry of bedsheets, pillows and blankets. Both Mike and Sheri are involved with helping to set up for a 5 day educational institute that is here on campus this week. The first two days we were back, I spent in the dorms making beds and folding towels. Finally, on Friday, while they were still scurrying around I was able to sit down and get pictures online for you to see our trip. (http://picasaweb.google.com/cefcindy) The pictures tell the story much better than I can. I am still working on captions that will tell a bit more about what we did and saw. There are quite a few pictures so sit back and enjoy!

(We are still waiting for internet to be installed at our house, thus the delay in getting this posted. I look forward to the day when I can do things on the internet from our house!)

Costa Rica!

2008-06-29T21:18:00.004-04:00

We are having a great time in Costa Rica! We have seen a lot in 5 days. We spent one day investingating downtown San Jose. We saw were my Dad was born and where my grandparents spent part of their honeymoon. It is really fun to be where they were so many years ago.

Our host, Manrique, has a construction company and had to check on the progress of a job at the beach so we tagged along. The hotel was realy nice with an outdoor shower next to the hammock. Our room was right near the pool and a short walk to the beach. The sunset was so beautiful.

We took the long way home and stayed two nights at a friend's beach house. We went for a hike at a national park that also had gorgeous beaches. While we were swimming a family of monkeys came by to show off for all the tourists. They were so cute and funny. We also have seen large lizards, pretty birds, crocodiles, butterflies and even two sloths. Everything has been extra great and we look forward to more adventures to come.

On our way....

2008-06-23T15:48:00.004-04:00

Tomorrow morning, bright and early, Mike and I will be on our way to Costa Rica! We are excited for our adventure to begin. The weather forecast says that it will rain every day we are there. Good thing I got a new raincoat!

We had a great time in Florida. It was fun and relaxing. My Mom's neighborhood pool is right across the street from her house so we were over there all the time. It rained each afternoon to cool things off. Friday we went to Cocoa Beach and had a wonderful day together! I am so glad Mike encouraged me to go and spend time with Mom. It was hard to say goodbye but so good to have someone to come home to!

Spur of the moment

2008-06-18T11:37:00.002-04:00

When I woke up yesterday I thought I knew how the week would play out, working, preparing for Costa Rica, helping with CEF and taking care of our house guest and my husband. But a couple minutes after I arrived at work Mike called me and said my sister had decided that morning to go to Florida. During the conversation Mike suggested that I go too. I was undecided but was soon convinced that this was the best plan of action. So Sheri drove up to our house yesterday with the kids to "pick up one more thing" and the "one more thing" was me. They were thinking they were having to say goodbye. We had a good trip and arrived last night at about 9. The kids were up and in the pool by 8:30 and we just got out a little bit ago. It is so good to be here and very relaxing to not have an agenda except to have fun doing whatever we feel like doing. The kids are enjoying playing with the toys that my Mom has kept from when we were little. The house looks like a toy tornado came through but that just adds to the fun. I'll post some pictures soon.

We will be here until Sunday and then Mike and I leave for Costa Rica on Tuesday! What a great way to spend my summer!

I like Mike

2008-06-11T17:21:00.003-04:00

This sign was left in Mike's office made on cardboard by one of the students:

Top 10 Reasons that "I like Mike"
1. He is a rock solid follower of Christ!
2. He is not afraid to tell it like it is... even if it's bad!
3. He knows how to fix lots of things!
4. His life ambition is to serve God and others!
5. He doesn't take anything from anyone!
6. He listens and gives wise counsel!
7. He is a great fill-in dad!
8. He uses "cool" unheard-of phrases like "Bow-up!"
9. He would do anything for anybody!
10. Basically, he's Mike Thompson... enough said!

I agree with these 10 whole heartedly! What a wonderful man I married!

Costa Rica Bound

2008-06-08T12:50:00.003-04:00

Our big news is that we will be leaving for Costa Rica in a couple weeks. This is one of the places we considered going for our honeymoon but decided to go later on when we could take the time to enjoy it after getting to know each other a little better. Mike had many frequent flyer miles from his credit card so we got our tickets for $90, not each but total!!!

My grandparents were missionaries there and it is where my Dad was born. We are excited to be able to go see the places where they served. Before we go we will spend some time with Grammy and a map so we can see where it is that we need to go. Of course many things have changed drastically in the past 60 years but it will still be great to walk where they walked so many years ago.

There are many Costa Ricans who come to CIU and Mike has made friends with them all. He is like a Dad so some of them so they call him Pappy. We will be staying with several of these friends so will have our own personal tour guides. One of them has a house near the beach so we will have some time alone there for a few days.

We are both very excited about this trip. We leave June 24 and will be there for two weeks. Many people are suprised that Mike is taking a vacation! I haven't taken very many myself so I am glad now that we can take one together!

Time flies

2008-06-05T11:08:00.003-04:00

It is hard to believe that we have been married almost 4 months now! The summer is much quieter around here with no students on campus. I miss going to class and seeing my friends on a regular basis. Mike's schedule is more free so he has a bit more time to go out to lunch and play golf with his buddies.

We are enjoying our peaceful backyard. We have a friendly fox who comes by regularly to check out my compost pile. Two nights ago we had a 4 foot long friendly black snake in our tree right outside our porch. We were very entertained as we watched it figure out a way to cross from one tree to the other without getting on the ground!

This week Amanda and Mark are at basketball camp at Ben Lippen which is here on campus. I have been working in the president's office in the mornings and then watch the kids in the afternoon. It is great to have so much time with them. I hope we can work our schedules out to be able to see them throughout the summer.

Good News Club

2008-05-21T16:25:00.002-04:00

We have one more Good News Club left in the school year. Today the children had two special guests. The missionaries we have been talking about came and told us about their mission to Ireland. The children listened so well and had great questions. One of the best ones was, "What book of the Bible will you preach most from?" This couple are going to a small town in southern Ireland with 10,000 people. The name of the town is pronounced "Y'all" so the kids will surely remember! There are only 15 believers in the whole town.

It will be sad to see the summer come. I hope I can continue with this Good News Club next year but we will have to see what God brings along for my fall schedule. Thanks for praying!

We're expecting...

2008-05-20T12:41:00.006-04:00

...a tomato! We are excited that our planting efforts are paying off. We have one little tomato growing and many other buds. The flowers are flourishing and the seeds are popping up. By the end of the summer we will have heaps of zucchini and squash to share with our friends and neighbors. I need to start researching recipes now!

We had a great weekend with the Canada family. They came to attend graduation and to visit friends. We enjoyed sitting in the mornings with them on the screened in porch. Eden, who had her 6th birthday party this weekend, commented on how much she loved listening to the birds chirping in the morning. They just don't chirp in NC. They live on base in a neighborhood full of children so that is what you hear most of the time!

A discovery

2008-05-12T14:18:00.002-04:00

My parents always were into gardening when I was growing up. Their gardens ranged from large plots of land to pots on the back porch but they loved to grow things. It was fun to be able to eat things that they grew in the garden. In all the years that I lived on my own and had a house I had no desire to garden or plant things. This weekend I had the itch to get out in the dirt and plant things. We had a gift card to Home Depot which was perfect for my gardening itch. I spent a few hours weeding and digging and planting on Saturday and had a great time. I got more seeds and plants for my birthday. So we shall see where this new discovery leads, hopefully to some yummy things for our dinner table eventually!

Birthday Blessings

2008-05-12T14:06:00.003-04:00

Early Sunday morning we woke up to heavy rain and wind. There went all our birthday plans we thought. After breakfast in bed brought to me by my husband, the sun eventually came out and we were able to go hiking and even put the top down on the jeep. The Zagata family (my sister) joined us at Cold Stone Creamery to celebrate mother's day and my birthday. The day ended with a game of Scrabble by candle light since the wind blew down a tree and knocked out the power lines. Very romantic!

2008-05-06T10:34:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, Mike and I met up with Kay and Roger Bolling. I stayed with them whenever I went to Australia. They are traveling around the world and were nearby at the Child Evangelism Fellowship International Conference. They wanted to meet Mike and get to know him a little bit. It is always fun for us to see a little bit more into each other's worlds. We had a great lunch together and enjoyed seeing pictures from some of the places they have been so far. It was fun reminiscing and hearing their Aussie accents again! They still have many more adventures ahead of them. We are glad that we were one of their stops on their travels around the world!

Fun with the Canadas

2008-05-06T10:23:00.000-04:00

Last weekend we went to Fort Bragg to visit our good friends the Canadas. You might recognize them from the wedding pictures. Soon after our wedding they moved to NC and we miss them a lot!

It was really good seeing where they live on base. It sure gave us a bigger basis for prayer. They live in a neighborhood where all the families have at least 3 children. You can imagine the noise on Saturday afternoon. It sounded like a crowded playground. What a great mission field they have right on their doorstep!

We were going to go camping but instead enjoyed a hike and some great food around the BBQ at home. Mike and Matt went on a secret mission to get the girls a trampoline. The girls were so excited but waited very patiently as the men worked very diligently to put it together. I am sure that it will get well used!

Matt will be deployed later this year to Iraq so we are glad to see the community and support that they are surrounded with.

We look forward to seeing them again soon!

Now I understand...

2008-04-25T17:06:00.000-04:00

For many years I didn't like paying for insurance. I felt it was a waste of money that was spent just in case something bad happens. Well, now I understand the need and importance of health insurance! I received one of my medical statements from the insurance company in the mail today. The bill for a few different hospital charges, not including my surgery, came to more than $18,000! The amount I have to pay for my whole surgery is just a small fraction of that amount. How thankful I am that I was covered!

I am most thankful for God's coverage over my whole life. I attribute Him with my successful surgery and my healing! I am feeling 100% again and am just careful with what I do and don't do. Praise God!

On the Road

2008-04-21T14:59:00.000-04:00

Mike and I had a great trip to Charlotte. It was really fun for me to be able to see Mike in action. He spoke twice to the whole student body from grades K-12! That was a total of 815 students! He did a great job speaking on their theme to be armed and ready. On Wednesday afternoon we went from class to class and he had the opportunity to "unpack" what he had shared in chapel. He really is a teacher at heart and it was fun for me to see him interact with the students. It was a missions conference, the first one in a long time where I got to sit back and not be the main speaker!

Wednesday night we had dinner with four of Mike's former students. Three were RA's in the past and had many stories to tell of their time with Mike! Thursday evening we drove to Winston-Salem for dinner with a former staff member here at CIU. They have two little girls so we were given a dance show and an introduction to all their stuffed animals! It was a long drive but well worth it.

We splurged on the way home and ate at a great Chinese restaurant, PF Changs. Mike has been wanting to eat there for years and he said it was well worth the wait!

RA Mystery Dinner

2008-04-14T12:44:00.001-04:00

RA Mystery Evening

Click on the picture to see more.

Welcome

2008-04-07T11:06:00.000-04:00

This is a brand new site for Mike and Cindy Thompson. Check in here for updates on what is going on in our lives.

When I was a missionary overseas I used to send a weekly update and a quarterly newsletter. This will now be how I will keep up with people so you can keep praying for us and our new lives together.

We are loving being married and sharing our lives together. We praise God for leading us to each other!