October

So it seems I completely missed the month of October. This is very sad news indeed because October is my very favorite month. I love the weather, Halloween, pumpkins, the smells, and the excitement of the holidays coming near. October was eventful for us. ΣA and BYX participated in homecoming together and I got to work on my first float. Pomping is fun! We walked in the parade and I got a slight tan. Then at the football game my best friend, Sarah, was crowned Homecoming Lady! So exciting!! Also this month our Fall 2011 pledge class was inducted as new members! What a blessing it was to be on the other side of pledging. I have such admiration for the 9 beautiful girls I can now call my sisters. God has blessed Sigma and I am so eager to continue this journey with them. We also found out this month that Crockett has been accepted into the Coast Guard! His estimated ship out date is April or May of 2012. I am so thankful he won't be leaving any time soon. God is so good.

Right before Halloween something incredible happened... Jess & Aaron & Noah moved in with us! Yes, our tiny, one bathroom, house now holds 4 people, 1 baby, 3 dogs, and 1 cat. It has been a tight, fun adventure. I love coming home and seeing Noah. I love not missing any of his life. I love having my sister around. I love laughing with her and talking with her and finally having someone around who knows what I'm talking about. Right after they got here it was HALLOWEEN. Crockett & I celebrated 3 years together Oct. 31. It really has flown by. I am so in love with him still. This year I was a NASCAR fan and a cat.

Speaking of NASCAR...

I survived my first coordination of TMS! The weekend went by almost flawlessly. :) Have I mentioned how much I love my sisters? How fantastic they are? How much they love Jesus and how it reflects in their lives? I. am. blessed.

And on a more academic note, there are only 2 weeks in the field left! I will be done with the first half of student teaching in just 2 weeks. I can't believe it. I still have classes till December and the projects never stop, but I'm one step closer from becoming a college graduate. Class of 2012!

Where I'm From

I'm from a deck of cards, from American Girl dolls, and CiCi's Pizza.

I am from rolly pollies on the front porch. (tiny and black, curling up in our small hands)

I am from the small avocado tree in the backyard, the junipers lining the driveway.

I am from opening presents on Christmas Eve, and the Ondrasek nose, from Andrew Donald and Susan Diane, and those loud Johnstons.

I am from summers at Memaw's, and roller skating birthday parties, from summer holidays in Conroe, and Thanksgiving in Coldspring.

I am from the stubborn and the tall, from "The Little Mermaid" tv show and "One Saturday Morning."

From, "Make a happy plate." and "Don't put a toe over that line.", from Nintendo 64 and Veggie Tales.

I am from saved by grace through Christ, our Lord; striving to bring him glory in all.

I'm from Houston, TX and Czech women, Memaw's macaroni, dump cake, and Nertz.

I am from black cats, small dogs, messy birds, fragile goldfish, and 5,000 hamsters.

From putting an entire jar of peanut butter in my little sister's hair to get the gum out and getting caught red handed by my mom in the bathroom, from mom working hard to give my sister and I a good life and rarely taking time for herself.

I am from the walls and shelves of 730 Cascade Creek, the yellow wicker stool in Memaw's playroom and the hutch in her dining room, from the bathtub turned playhouse in Grandma's bathroom, and the dining room table my parents bought when they were married in 1983.

I am from laughter, faith, God's mercy, and a loving family; I'm from Katy, TX and that will always be home.

Our New Addition

Introducing

Peyton Jersey Thompson
born: July 20, 2011
adopted: September 1, 2011

Crockett and I have been thinking about adding to our clan for a few weeks and when he agreed to go to the shelter and look at dogs I knew I was in the clear. :) We spotted this little girl and knew we had to take her home. I've known for a while I wanted one more, a girl and now I have her. She has a pink sparkly collar and a pink bowl. I also hand stitched her a pillow to match.

They tell us she is a Shar Pei/Heeler mix, but there really is no telling. She is six weeks old and weighs 7.6 lbs. So far the boys are adapting well. They like to smell her and aren't sure what to do with her. She is a little killer though and bites them and grabs hold of their tails, growling. They have been pretty clingy and wanting more attention since she's been home. She sleeps and potties with a few bursts of energy here and there and that's about all. We're not looking forward to potty training, but that comes with the territory. We already love her so much. :)

Rambling Autobiography

I watch the Jersey Shore every week with my best friends. In kindergarten I got a spanking from Mrs. Lakey. When I was 10 I was in a girl band with my neighbors called "The Spices." I married my best friend a year ago. I remember exactly how it felt when my high school football team won state my sophomore year. When I was 5 my dad was killed in a motorcycle accident. In 1991 I became a big sister. Orange is my favorite color. Noah James is my beautiful nephew who I'm crazy about. As a kid, my sister and I would play Barbies all weekend long, turning the entire living room into a world of imagination and play. I am a sinner in need of grace and I'm completely in love my Savior who gave it to me. My favorite teacher in high school was Mrs. Spurlock because she made me feel like I mattered. I have a pit bull mix who is so sweet and would never hurt anyone. My favorite book of the Bible is James. Tangled is the best Disney movie ever in my opinion. I enjoy fuzzy socks. Sigma Alpha is the sorority I pledged in Fall 2010 and I treasure all the sisters God blessed me with. I was a dalmatian for Halloween once. Sweet tea is my favorite drink. My God is incredibly faithful one hundred percent of the time. I slapped a boy across the face in 8th grade for insulting me. I'm going to be an Air Force wife in May. My memaw is the kindest and most pure woman I know. I wear a size 8 shoe. I played softball for 12 years. My absolute favorite thing to do is worship my God. I want to see the Backstreet Boys in concert before I die. I didn't go to my senior prom. I love pickles more than anyone I know. My mom is my earthly hero. I enjoy cupcakes with butter cream icing. I pretended to like a style of music I really couldn't stand to impress a boy when I was 13. Calla lilies are my favorite flower. I was an eagle at my first school and also my last. At a sleepover in 4th grade and Katie Hannah's house we dipped a girl's hand in water to see if she'd wet the bed; she didn't. I've never been further west than San Antonio, TX. I have my dad's temperament and my mom's phenotype. I will finally graduate college after 6 years of school. My sister and I have a secret understanding that no one else gets. I want to have 4 children before I'm 35.

cultural trends we follow

For a while now I have been amazed at the people our culture is astounded by. I'm surrounded by Christians who bash other Christians who are famous, while relishing in the disgusting trends of stars like Lady GaGa. I have a belief that we Christians need to support each other and the same Biblical principles we follow for our friends and the people in our immediate circle should apply to Christians who are famous. For example, Tim Tebow. I have heard Christians talk filthy filthy things about him. This always confused me because Tim Tebow has used his fame and the spotlight put on him to bring glory to Christ. No matter which team we root for, as Christians, this should please us! This should make us proud and we should feel encouraged. We should acknowledge how God is using our brother's talents and fame to glorify Himself. Likewise, with artists who are Christians we should pray for them that God would use their fame to bring himself glory. We should pray that they would not lose sight of God in the midst of their fame. And when they publicly acknowledge Christ as the giver of their talents we should be so encouraged and thankful. Even if we don't like their particular genre of music or style of clothing; what should matter to us is what they stand for and who they represent. My best friend is athletic and I am not. I don't talk trash about her because I think sports are a waste of time; I am thankful and proud that God blessed her with those talents and gave her such a passion for something. I am also incredibly humbled by how humble she is.

We need to stand together as Christians and support one another as we go out into this world that is not our home preaching the Gospel and proclaiming Christ as Lord. Whether their mission field be Africa, Denton TX, the VMAs, or the NFL, we should be proud and supportive, accepting and appreciating our differences, and clinging to what we have in common: Christ.

And just like that, you lose control

I am the girl who struggles deeply with patience, hates the unknown, has every detail of the next year planned as well as a pretty good broad life plan, and does not like change. So you can imagine my surprise when my husband tells me he wants to join the military. This was never part of our plan and I didn't even take him seriously. But after a week of hearing him talk about it I began to entertain the possibility and told him to explore his options. About a month later he's filling out the Air Force application, studying for the test, working out, talking to a recruiter, and meeting with advisers to rearrange his fall schedule. It looks like this is going to happen. But the most surprising thing throughout this entire process hasn't been Crockett's sudden new direction, it's been my reaction to it all. I have had such a peace and even excitement about all of it...

About 3 months or so ago I began to feel God putting missions on my heart. There was constant affirmation that this was his calling, from the book we studied in home group to countless sermons to the way it kept popping up in conversation, but most importantly that I couldn't shake the desire to get out there and do something for His name's sake. I talked to Crockett about it and he seemed interested, but didn't think there was an immediate plan concerning missions in our future. So I sat back with it and tucked it away, trusting God's timing would reveal it all. And then Crockett sprang the military on me. Once again, I feel a strong desire to go; to just drop everything and run with this. I feel like this is what God was preparing me for. The opportunity to travel with the military and move from base to base every 1-2 years could be completely terrifying if I thought about it from a "me" point of view. I won't be able to maintain friendships. I won't be able to settle in a career and climb the ladder. I won't be able to watch our children grow up in the same house and mark their heights each year on the door frame. I won't get to find a church home and grow there over the years. But the overwhelmingly great news is it isn't about me! There is so much I'm going to get to do to bring glory to God! I get to travel his beautiful creation and meet tons of people to share His gospel with. I get to be an example of God's everlasting faithfulness and provision through the trials and pressures that come with deployment and separation from my husband. I get to raise my children in a realm of uncertainty teaching them that our only hope is in Christ and he is our constant source of comfort and provision. I get to be an ambassador for Christ in a way I never dreamed of for myself. I am so excited about this because I know that God's plan is always the very best. He knows what will bring him glory and me joy and any time he wants to redirect my feet or step in and turn me in another direction he is more than welcome to take the lead. In the past I have struggled with this, no, battled with this. I have constantly wanted to tell God what is best for me and what will lead to my joy, but this time is different. The Holy Spirit has graciously lead my heart to trust. My soul is at peace. I know that Crockett is following Christ so I have no fear in following him. I am so blessed to be married to a man I can trust to follow the Spirit's leading. Our family is in for a wild ride we never saw coming, but I can honestly say I am so excited to see what God is going to do and how he is going to use me and allow me to be a part of his glorification. All praise is due to Him!

My epic adventure

A few days ago my friend Nicole introduced me to Geocaching. If you don't know what it is and you like adventure/treasure hunting I encourage you to look it up. But here's a quick overview for the purpose of my story. You have a gps and it navigates you to pre-registered caches which may or may not contain treasure. There are a ton of these things everywhere, especially in Denton. Well today Mitch, Crockett, and I decided to go find some. We started by heading to the gas station and after filling up and getting one bottle of gatorade or water each (and a pack of sour nerds for me) we headed out. Mitch navigated me to a nature reserve (we think) way out in the middle of nowhere and after parking we began to hike. There was a path and we followed it. Our gps lead us along the path for a short while and then we had to branch off the beaten trail and walk through some overgrown shrubs. As we wandered away from the trail I begin to wonder how we'd make it back to the trail as our gps was only set to navigate towards the cache. The boys were confident in their navigation abilities and soon we found the cache. Standing still while Crockett unloaded our treasure we commented on how still the air was and how hot it became. Soon enough we had put the cache back where it belonged and I blindly followed the boys back to the path as I had no idea which direction lead where. Within a few minutes we were back on track. The path at this point was winding through some trees near a river and there was a slight breeze. It was hot, but definitely nothing too bad. We got the smart phones all set up to track the next cache and we headed off. (It was only .27ish miles away.) We walked the path until the gps told us to stray. The problem this time was that the direction it was pointing was in the middle of some serious tree/shrub/log/bush mess. It didn't look like a person could get through without a machete. Mitch and I took seat on a low tree branch/ground ready to give up and find the next one while Crockett walked around the debris to find a way in to the cache. After a while he gave up and we set up for another. We walked further on the path until we were directed yet again by the gps to stray into the wild brush. Here's where we made our mistake... We did just that. We walked through some crazy plants that scratched our legs (we were all wearing shorts) and stung like the dickens. I was also under attack by the local skeeters. We walked for much longer this time off the trail and our gps was so confused. It told us 8 feet in one direction and then without us moving it would say 18 feet in the opposite direction. Once again Mitch and I were ready to head back to the trail as we were covered in spiderwebs and fuzz from the greenspurpokies which was very uncomfortable. (For those of you unfamiliar with the greespurpokie plant, I named it today. It's pronounced green-spur-pokey.) Crockett, however, was once again determined to find this cache. This time his determination paid off and he found it! After discovering it's treasures we headed back to the path. Quickly we realized we weren't sure which direction that was. But after many more scratches, our legs feeling as if they were on fire, and a quick and startling appearance of a fox (we think) we discovered a path! We continued down it ready to go back to the car. Our legs hurt and we were out of water/gatorade. After a good while the path let out into a field. We were no longer under the shade and the ridiculous Texas heat was pouring out it's wrath on our heads. (And faces and arms and legs.) We eventually got back under some trees and noticed we were walking into a swamp. The path slowly turned into mud and we saw hundreds of baby frogs. I was wearing Toms today (unaware of where my feet would be taking me on this journey.) and they became completely stuck in the mud. I was beginning to get upset because these Toms are only two weeks old and very expensive for a girl who buys $2 flip flops at Old Navy. I was the self-designated caboose throughout the hiking as I wanted the boys who are taller and broader than me to catch all the spider webs first. (Also, they had the smart phones with a gps.) Right as I began to complain that my shoes were getting stuck in the mud Mitch turned around to tell me not to walk in the middle, but along the edges where it wasn't as wet. Before he finished his sentence we both saw that I was about 2 feet from a mud colored poisonous snake curled up right in the middle of the path. I immediately panicked and turned around only to get stuck in more mud. I made it to the edge of the path about 4 feet away from the snake where I held on to a tree and stood in complete and total fear. Tears began to come and my brave husband rushed to me, picked me up and carried me away from the snake. We decided we would turn around and go the long way around the reserve so we didn't have to pass through the swamp/snake. So on we walked for about an hour along a path without tree covering. Mitch, who had been to this place before, began to recognize the area and said we were getting close. We were on the edge of the pond and would just have to walk around the edge and we'd be back and the place where we parked the car. At this point I was just telling myself I had to make it because we were incredibly close and the more I pushed through now the sooner I'd get water. I was so thirsty and getting very dizzy. I prayed silently that God would give me some endurance because as anyone who knows me can testify to, I have NONE. I didn't want to be a sissy because I was the only girl, but at this point I was pretty much over this adventure. So we begin to round the edge of the pond and we notice that the path dead ends. We couldn't go any further. I saw some shade and sat down thinking this wasn't possible. The boys went on a little to see if there was any way to pass through only to come back and report we had no choice but to turn around and go back at which I responded with, "Who do we know that has a helicopter?" After a short break in the shade and mustering up some strength to push forward we turned around and walked another hour in the blistering heat. Mitch turned his shirt into a turban and we began to tell stories to pass the time. (Mitch's good idea to distract me. I was quite miserable because at this point my fingers were so swollen that my rings were stuck on my fingers and hurting pretty bad. I walked the rest of the way with my hands raised above my heart.) We took turns telling a tale of 2 adventurers and a lady seeking treasure on the top of a mountain which was guarded by monks until finally we came back under the shaded part of the path. We took a right at the fork because the left lead to the snake and shortly our path came to a dead end. I think we were all a little shocked at how much worse things seemed to be getting each time we thought it couldn't get worse. So I sat down and Mitch was left to guard me while Crockett ran back. I wasn't sure where he was going. I was trying to convince myself that I could get past that snake because the swamp path seemed to be our only option. Mitch and I heard Crockett telling us to follow so we did and soon we came to another fork where we realized left was to the snake and right was the way we had come. We headed right and soon after heard a loud and startling noise that can only best be described as the sound a T-Rex makes. (Crockett says it was a tree, but I know a T-Rex when I hear one.) Soon enough though we began to pass familiar ground and eventually another human being! We took turns telling another story to pass the time and it was quite a tale I must say. Lancelot and Arthur saving Guinevere from the tower which was really a maze guarded by a magic dragon. Eventually we came to the open field which was the beginning of the path; the car was only about 1/4 a mile away!!! I however, was done for as the last leg of the path into the field was uphill. Mitch spotted the road through the shrubs and I walked straight to it and laid on the pavement on the shoulder. Mitch once again was instructed to guard me and Crockett ran all the way back to the car and drove up the road to where we waited. Utterly exhausted and a little dehydrated we arrived back at home over FOUR hours later than when we had left. I enjoyed a tasty glass of water and waited until my fingers went back to their normal size so I could take the rings off. Now I'm in need of a shower and some food. Man... what. a. day.