Merry Christmas Everyone!!!

For those of you in the Northeast, I wanted to show you that we get cold weather too! This is the frost we woke up to the other day. Catherine thought it was snow! It gets cold here but then the next day it is in the 60-70's...like today!

We finally have a mantel on which to hang our stockings. Unfortunately, we have no stocking holders, so I taped them up. Any suggestions on the brick on the back of the fireplace. I think it looks to busy with the different tiles on the facing and floor so I thought about painting the inside bricks...any opinions?

Since I've not posted for a while I thought I would post an update:
Praise God for his faithfulness...Calixto got a big landscaping contract for a bank just when our cash flow came to an abrupt end! At the same time he received a lot of calls for yard clean-up since the leaves have finally fallen. We pray that he will continue to get work over the next few months before Spring officially starts. He will be preaching this Sunday and has preached several times at different churches since leaving Crossroads.
Christopher is officially on Christmas break until Jan 7th. He was home sick for the past 2 days and enjoyed that time at home. He did finish his homework and doesn't have any make-up work looming over his head over break. He currently has two school friends over and is enjoying his afternoon with them. Basketball starts Jan 5th but has been practicing for the past few weeks, he is excited about the start of the season!
Catherine was tested for Kindergarten yesterday at school, she did great and will do fine according to the Dean. She is very excited about going to school! This morning she made a bell out of a glass coke bottle with a toy tied to it with string, she then got a red box, like a chineses take-out box, put a slot in the top. That way she could ring the bell and people would put their extra dollars in it for her! Just like the Salvation Army bell ringers. I thought that was very inventive!!
As for me I am tutoring a student in The spelling/writing/reading curriculum we use at school. This little boy has been a challenge and the work is going pretty slowly. My heart goes out to him as his dad died suddenly right before Christmas 2 years ago. I think his grief has really prevented him from succeeding in school. I have many projects around the house but so far have been pretty unmotivated to do them. My hope is to get to them in January.
We still have not settled into a church home! Over the summer we consistently attended a Baptist church 15 min outside of Longview but, feel this is not where we are to join. We have since gone to a Spanish church, where they do translation through headsets; a historic, country church (where Calixto will preach this Sun); and a Cowboy church that meets in a barn! A client of Calixto's was preching so we went to hear him. Many of you may not have heard of Cowboy church but, I guess it is a denomination of sorts, there are several of them around and this is a start-up church in this area.
We really miss our friends from Crossroads and realize we gave up a lot by leaving! But, we know that we did the right thing and that God led us to leave...doing the right thing is not often easy! We have grieved quite a bit over the past few months! We covet your prayers on this matter!!
After Christmas we are off to Tamazunchale to meet with the Pastors for some visitation time and planning for the future. That's all for now...hope your pre-Christmas plans are going well!

A little confused!

this is too funny. I think she is a little confused about the whole reindeer thing!

Anniversary

Well today is my annivesary. What a difference that a year makes. This morning I was reflecting on just exactly what I was doing this day 20 years ago (can you believe it was 20 years ago). With the thought came lots of memories. All good. Memories of wind and rain. Running late and not getting to spend much time getting ready. Getting out of the limo and having my dress nearly blow over my head. Walking down that isle and seeing Bruce standing there waiting.....looking a lot like he was going to pass out. Greeting people in a line that seemed to go on forever and ever. Burnt wedding cake and of course Mr. Frick coming in and dancing forever with Jean. I remember so many of our family and friends coming out to share the day with us. I remember the awe that i had that this great guy loved me and was mine. Everyone saying we were a pair that were going to make it. All good memories.

The memories were all so sweet but what that is missing this year is the pain. I will miss him the rest of my life but life has gone on. God has blessed me with family and new dear friends and church family. God has been so good to me. He has given me so much. He blessed me with 18 years with a man that he had put here just for me. I wonder if Bruce is looking down from heaven today and thinking about me. I am sure if he is he is celebrating the fact that I can look at our memories without pain. That I can remember the joy and excitement that came with that day. The anticpation of starting our life together. We had a good life together. I wouldn't change a thing. I have 4 great kids for him to live on in. I am truly blessed!

Please send me some of your memories from that day. If you can remember back that far........

Look at me

Mom Mom gave me these beautiful snow pants. I decided all by myself that I should be wearing them. I put them on myself including taking off the clothes I had on all but my tights. I wore them half the day because I decided I did not want them off. Aren't I just to cute?

Dingman's Falls

We went on a church trip to Dingman's Falls on Friday. Here are a few pictures. Isn't it beautiful. It was very cold that day too!

Being a Servant

This Past weekend my 3 friends and I (Elizabeth) Helped our Church with their "Couples Retreat". We were sort of like the servants running around helping people with their luggage and helping with dinner, cleaning up, and just making sure everyone had everything they needed. The Church got 2 HUGE houses out on Long Beach Island that would normally cost about $12,000 to rent one and $17,ooo to rent the other for one week. But the people who own them let us use them for free! The one I stayed in was called the "Cast House" and was about 2 blocks from the beach. It was Beautiful! It had 10 bedrooms and 10 bathrooms and each bedroom had a different play as its theme. Here is a few pictures of some of the rooms.

We had so much fun!



This is the "Lion King" room, my friends and I stayed in this one. It had four beds.

This was the "South Pacific" room.

This was the "Oklahoma" room.

This was the "Phantom of the Opera" room. My Favorite! On the ceiling there was a little loft thing with an organ and the phantom peeking over with a HUGE chandalier.

This is the "Cinderella" room. I loved this room, Especially the furniture!

The livingroom.

The kitchen we slaved away in. lol

The beach, there was a storm out at sea that day and the waves were crazy. The water came all the way up to the road that night.

Homecoming

Last week was Cody's homecoming game. It poured rain up until right before the game so they were playing in a big mud puddle. They lost but it was a close game. 12 to 6. Cody is really enjoying it this year. Afterward they got dressed up and went to the homecoming banquet. Note his trophy that he is very proud of. Watch for the number 42.

Elizabeth the Cat Catcher Strikes Again!

Well the stray cat in my backyard had more kittens! I'm not very happy about that. Time to call animal control! But anyway I caught one of the three kittens living in my shed... It was quite an animal rescue operation trying to get it. I set a cage trap in the shed and on Sat. and it caught one that morning, but i wasnt home to get it out. Well somebody locked the the lock on the shed which we do not have a key for. So when I came home I see Wade and John out there trying to pick the lock with a stick and the kitten stuck inside in the cage meowing away. So me and Mom-mom tried breaking in which didnt work. So we had to wait for Pop-pop to get home so he could cut the lock off.... But it is the sweetest kitten I have ever seen. As soon as I picked it up it was purring away.

Happy Birthday Cheyenne Leigh!

well the Princess is now three. She had a great time yesterday at her party
she wore her princess outfit all day and had the attitude to match!
This is a picture of her new hair cut. This really makes her looks so big. She was such a big girl when she got it cut too.

Church...what is it for?

This may not be the best time to ask a question with so many of you going on vacation and all but, I'll go ahead and post it and wait to hear your responses.
We are in the process of looking for a new church home. As we visit different churches the question has come to me..."What is church for?" "What is the purpose of church?"
It seems that different churches exsist for different reasons. Some may exsist for the sake of relationships with each other, keeping one another accountable. Others may exsist for evangelism, reaching the lost...etc. I feel we need to answer that question before we can find a "home". So, I thought I would ask if any of you have thought through or wrestled with this seemingly easy question and find out what your thoughts are on the subject.

Girls VS. Wild

I know that this is like my (Elizabeth) third post in a row, but i HAD to tell everybody this story! Its little lengthy... And sorry for any spelling errors, its late and im typing fast...

Well this past week our churh had a camping trip, at Bass River State Park. For those of you who arent familar with this area Bass River has hundreds upon hundreds of acres of the Pine Barrens surrounding it. I tell you this because it will be important later on in the story.

Okay, well anyway Me and my family arrived at the campground on Thur. and we were setting up and stuff... and it was Extremely hot that day! But anyway later on around 3 O' clock My friend Sami got there and me , her, and our friend Jessica decided to go on a bikeride. Well I know this campground very well because our family has been camping there since i was really little. So we were riding around and we came back to the road that our campsite was on, ( This is where the story takes a sharp turn) Well all three of us stood there at the beginning of the road and i said " So, do we want to go back or just keep riding?" Well we turned and saw a little hiking trail right next to us. So we decided to go down it. (Bad idea) Well it was a really clear trail, that obviously was used alot. So we followed it for awhile and then Sami saw a much smaller more adventurous trail off the the left. And us being ones for adventure took it. Well we followed this trail for awhile and it brought us out to a dirt road; and all dirt roads must lead somewhere right? (haha) So we start riding along on this dirt road thinking that it should bring us back around where we began. So we were riding , and riding, and riding. And this was one really really long road, with lots of intersections and turnoffs. so we found ourselves a little confused, and we looked ahead and we saw the parkway. Well, we decided that riding to the parkway was way to drastic, we had only been lost for a little while, and we would find our way back. So we kept going,.....and going,.... and going.

Now these dirt roads turned out to be a complete maze! They just kept turning and dividing and crossing onto more roads and before we knew it we were completely and utterly lost! None of us knew exactly where the camp was compared to where we were now so we had no idea what direction to go. and we couldnt follow are tracks back because we had already riden for miles and we figured that we would HAVE to hit a paved road eventually! There were car tracks on the roads, so they had to lead somewhere. So we just kept on riding. now remember when i said in the begining that bass river is surrounded by hundreds and hundreds of acres of pine barrens, yea that thought kept floating threw my mind as we were riding along. And also remember in my previous post about me hurting my foot, yea well that only happened a week ago, so my foot was hurtin pretty bad.

So anyway, a couple hours into our little adventure i start to get a little panicky. Im starting to realize how lost we really are. And im very clausterphobic, and i dont like being somewhere where i feel trapped or i cant get out, and that little phobia wasnt helping the situation at all...neither was my foot, or the fact that i was wearing flip flops and i was developing some pretty nasty blisters between my toes. So here is each of our attitudes: Im scared of dying in the woods, Jessica is scared that when we get back she will get in trouble, and this whole prediciment hasnt really phased Sami. So on we go,We had to keep walking our bikes because the roads were getting really sandy, and I walked my bike half the time because of my foot. Whis was slowin us down quite alot. but we kept going. And the one statistic that kept running through my head was " A great majority of people who get lost in the wilderness end up dying only 1/2 or 1/4 of a mile away from a busy road." That helped.

I also found out that when in such situations your survival insticts really perk up. I always remember my dad always saying "When you are lost in the woods always listen for the parkway" Because there are few places you can go and not hear it... Well we found that place! We got sooo far out in the woods that we could hear absolutely nothing!!! We also tried to get Sami to climb a tree to see if she could see anything, that didnt work. We tried to map out where we where compared to the parkway and the sun setting, that didnt work. Me and Jessica ate wild blueberries, that did work. We tried screaming for help, that didnt work.So we did the only sure fire way to get us help, we had a prayer meeting right in the middle of the woods...

So we kept going... Well Sami decided to go ahead of us (because she weighs like 100 lbs and was way speedier on the bike) And i lagged behind because of my blasted foot and Jessica because she was riding an 8 year olds bmx bike. Anyway so we hear Sami scream "I found a house!!!" We all get super excited and take off down the road. Now this is where our story starts to look a little like a horror movie. The house has a gate with tons of signs saying "dont enter", that didnt stop us. It looked to be like some teenagers make shift shooting range, that didnt stop us. There were deer heads hanging and bullet holes covering everything, that didnt stop us. and there were old Micheal jackson records hanging allover the building, that kind of scared us a little but it didnt stop us! So we see that this big ugly building has a direct tv satalite so there had to be a phone! so out next task was to break in. We were turning to our criminal ways for our own survival. Well the door is deadbolted shut, so we start whacking at it with metal poles, that doesnt work. I try to pick the lock with my bobby pin, that didnt work. Sami went on the roof to try to tear her way in, that didnt work. We tried to saw the door open with old saw blades, that didnt work. We Tried to uncover the windows which were all nailed shut, that didnt work and resulted in hornet stings. We tried screaming for help again, that didnt work. We also started halucinating thinking that we were hearing helicopters coming to save us. And here is the weird thing, we were suddenly really happy and giddy, singing and joking around as we were stranded in the middle of the woods, it seemed almost like a dream or a movie. Im not sure why, but it did lift our spirits.

So by now it is starting to get dark, And i was really starting to believe that we were going to have to spend the night in the woods. we had stayed at this God forsakin building way to long so we start riding again. Well now we had an adreniline rush and we were flying down these dirt roads on our bikes. Well up ahead i spot some sort of tower with a red light (A tower from heaven!!!) And it was miles away so we take off... well on our trek to this tower we came across the most wonderful thing in all the world that God could have let us stumble upon; A PAVED ROAD!!! WITH YELLOW LINES!! AND CARS!!!! We were freaking out happy!!!! Well or next task was to flag someone down, haha, we looked like homeless woodland people. covered in dirt and sweat and bug bites. so we didnt have to much luck trying to get someone to stop for us. Then finally a family stopped for us and called Sami's Dad. now this is like 5 or 6 hours later, and it was dark. And the State Police, the Park Rangers, And some people from our church were out looking for us. The road we had popped out on was ten miles away from the campground, and who knows how many miles we had traversed on those bikes in those woods.

So we left those woods with a new sense of life, Tons of bug Bites, Blisters, really really really sore butts, And a great story that we can pass along to all generations after us. Not to mention many speeches about not going anywhere without our cell phones, and people always making fun of us because of our lack of direction. But I can say that im happy that got lost in the woods with two of my best friends, and A God who never leaves my side.


The End

~Elizabeth.

Camp Wounds

Well Last week me and Cody went to summer camp.... And of course we had tons of fun hangin with friends, playing sports, swimming, and listening to great preaching!

But my (Elizabeth) Camp week didnt start off to wonderful... I'll start of by explaining that in order for the girls to get up to thier rooms they have to practically climb Mt. Everest. We have to climb an almost vertical road( and when it rains it is very slippery) and then climb 2 sets of stairs...With ALL our bags and pillows and Blankets ect...

Well I safely carried up all my luggage (2 Suitcases, a sleeping bag, and pillow) And me and my friends Sami and Christina were calmly walking down the stairs to get back down, Now I had nothing in my hands, it wasnt raining, and there were no supernatural occurances that would make my decent at all dangerous... AND I had only been at camp for maybe 2 hours... Well anyway we were going down the stairs and there was one step left, ONE! only one left!!! and for some reason my ankle just decided to give out, at a wonderful moment... and i fell...down ONE step, onto the concrete and into a hole where the water would run out of the gutter...

Well i got up thinking all was good... I was laughing it off and then i saw Sami and Christinas faces and i looked down and there was blood EVERYWHERE! I had scraped a good percentage of the skin on my legs off, took a big chunk of skin off 2 of my toes and i couldnt feel my foot!! BECAUSE OF ONE STEP!!!!! Well anyway they ran down to get my youth pastor so he could get the car and drive me down to the nurses station, and i hobbled up 2 flights of stairs to my room so i could get some of the blood off me ( I left a blood trail, lol).... Well yea, that was the great excitement of my summer camp adventure... when we got to the nurse guys place i didnt tell him about my ankle because i really really really didnt want to go to the hospital... so i just ommited that little bit of information...So i enjoyed the rest of my week gimping around on a busted foot...but i still had fun!!!

I felt kinda stupid though because whenever anyone asked me what happened (because my legs looked pretty gruesome) I couldnt be like "Well, i feel out of a 70 foot tree!" or " Yea i was walking through the woods and a great grizzly came and mauled me!" no my answer was "Well, i fell down ONE step!!!"...

And to make matters worse... I was told that day that someone had told my Mom, because my phone had no service... but no.. My mom found out like 4 days later after it was passed along through everybody else and thier grandma, And im sure once it got to my mom she probably did think i got mauled by a bear... But no, I fell down one step.

Sorry for the lack of pictures... lol

Cody and his friend caught sleeping on the ride home...

My foot!




Me!

Elizabeth --- The Great Cat Catcher!!!

Well, Several times I had looked out my dining room window and across the yard, in front of my shed, I spotted 2 little kittens frolicking around. Suddenly I got this great powerful urge to capture them. I assume I get these strong hunting instincts from my great "Thompson" ancestors.

Well anyway, I set up some squirrel traps baited with some Tuna, and put them in the shed. And within 2 days I caught both kittens!!!

And then about a week later i noticed that the mother cat was hanging around.... So then my hunter instincts took hold again. And my newest task was to catch her!

And I did.... but ... When i was trying to put her in the cage she ran away... So I will have to try again!!!

-Elizabeth

What do you think? Do we look alike?

Right now I really see Cody in Cheyenne. She definately has his mouth nose and chin. She is just a more female version and definately has those Thompson eyes.

So who do you think I take after?

Yesterday in between choir practice and evening service Cheyenne decided to trip over the curb in the church parking lot. I guess she gets her clumsiness from me and her need to rip her face off from her dad. I will own up to the clumsiness because just on Saturday two hours before Elizabeth's picnic I cut my leg on a picture that I had dropped and then tripped over. I should have had stitches but I couldn't go because people were coming over. So we have had a very interesting weekend! The barbecue went very well by the way!

Graduation

Well she has officially graduated. Here are some picture and her speech under them.

Before anything else I would like to thank God, for his patience, forgiveness, and grace. And for the blessings he has given me. I would also like to thank my parents. Even though my dad is no longer here, I would like to thank him for grounding my family in Christ, and for everything he has taught me, which I will keep in my heart throughout my life. And if my Dad where here right now, I know he would be proud and happy that I actually made it through high school. And to my mom I owe lots of thanks. Not only for loving and supporting me but also for standing strong even when times got rough. My mom has not only been my mother, but also my teacher in and out of school, and without her I would be nothing. I also want to thank Pastor Erickson and his family. They have always been there for my family and all of them have been a great influence in my life. I could never ask for a better Pastor. I consider the Erickson’s my “Second Family”. I know that if anything where to go wrong they would be there for me. I would like to thank all the teachers who have had their hand in who I am today. I am thankful that not only were they my teachers but that they were also my friends. And last but definitely not least I would like to thank my friends. They have always been there for me and supported me throughout my Dad’s bout with cancer. Without them I’m not sure where I would be right now. I am thankful that God has given me such amazing friends who have always been a great influence on me. I can remember the first day of kindergarten like it was just yesterday, and now I am graduating high school. These past 13 years flew by so fast. And even though I am a bit reluctant about the future, I know that with God I am ready to start the next chapter in my life…..

you are invited

The Mexican Woman

Here is the photo of the Mexican woman. I played around with it and came up with this look. I thought about cropping the picture to be just her but, I really like the table and the window in the picture too. We would like to use this photo as part of our ministry brochures/website etc. We need to set up a non-profit organization if we are going to continue the work in Mexico now that we aren't working through Crossroads. We have decided on the name "For the Fame of His Name". Hopefully in the next few weeks we can start working on all of that. Calixto is already preparing the Pastor's conference which will be held the 1st week in November.

Catherines 1st hair cut

Catherine had her first hair cut today. You have to check out our blog, www.thearces.blogspot.com to see the photos. We just can't get over how different she looks! When she looked in the mirror the first time she said "I look like Alexia!" I also bought a satin head wrap for her to wear to bed at night to protect her hair, I haven't downloaded that picture yet or I would have posted it too...she looks like a beautiful Aunt Jemima! Her appointment lasted 3 hours and she needs to go back in 8 weeks. She'll need to get a job soon just to pay for her salon visits and salon products!!
We just got back from Minneapolis. We went to "Children Desiring God" conference. I wish I could tell you all that we learned! It was so very good. Check out their website for great resources www.childrendesiringgod.org Even though we aren't working with our church in children's ministry it was still so very good to hear just as a parent.
We even ran into some NJ people. A large group from a CMA church in Vineland were there and a couple from Egg Harbor Twp. That couple (the Longs) go to church with Tom and Linda! In fact he had just spoken to Uncle Tom on the phone that morning! Isn't that too funny, what a small world!

Teen Conference

Here are some pictures of a youth conference me and Cody went in York Pa....

All our eyes are kinda freaky in this pic....

We played in a volleyball tournament where we came in 2nd out of 15 other teams.... Our name was the " Gallowayans "...

Cody and Justin cheering for our team.....

Chincoteague

Here are some pictures from our Vacation in Chincoteague VA.....

The house we stayed in.....

The beach in Ocean city, MD....

Cheyenne....

Veiw from Balcony........