Happy Birthday Jesus!!

Well, we made it through Cason's first Thanksgiving and Christmas!! Always such as busy time but so worth it.

We did Christmas at my dad's house on Thursday, then Friday Chad and I took Cade to the Sea World Christmas Celebration while my mom watched Cason and this was by far one of my favorite parts of Christmas this year. I loved the shows and it really put us in the Christmas spirit. I also loved that they made things about CHRISTmas and the birth of Jesus and weren't afraid of any reprecussions from someone that may not celebrate Christmas. We will definitely spend a Christmas in the future at Disney or somewhere like that!

Friday for Christmas Eve we spent the afternoon at Chad's dads, attended Christmas Eve service and came home for Christmas here at our house with my mom. She stayed the night with us (which really helped because it allowed Cade to sleep in his bed at least half the night while Santa came) and then finally we spent Christmas afternoon and evening at Chad's moms. BUSY BUSY BUSY!


So today, Chad was off and we all lounged around the house and enjoyed all of the kids new toys.

Sorry for all the pictures but I had a hard time narrowing them down (and they are in no order)!

Look Mom!! Santa came and brought me a Buzz flashlight!

My Sweet Boys in the Christmas PJ's!

(Yes, Cason got a black eye right before his first Christmas -- thanks to his brother!)

My Mom with her grandsons!


Our family pic (the best we could get)~!

Poppa TR with his grandchildren

Cason, Cade and Camryn

Daddy and Cason opening gifts at Nana's house.

Chad and Cade at the seal and otter show at Sea World!

Mom and Cade at the front of the park - yes it was very cold but so worth it! Big Bird and Cade

Cade opening gifts at my dads --- new Sperrys!

Fall, Football and Fun!

Fall is by far my most favorite season of the year!! Football season, cooler weather, Halloween all follwed by the Holidays!!! Love it!! It is also usually our busiest season of the year so of course I haven't updated in a while -- if I try to sit down at the computer then Cason ususally begins fussing. He turned 6 months old yesterday and is teething like crazy. We aren't crawling yet - but we are up on all fours rocking back and forth - so it won't be long. I feel like his baby year is going by way too fast and I wish I could just pause both of the boys right where they are. Cade says the funniest things -- I bet I could write a best selling book just from the quotes that come out of his mouth.

Last weeked we participated in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure in honor of my mom. It was a lot of fun and we had a great group of friends come out and walk/run!! I was very proud of my mom finishing all 3.2 miles just two weeks after her final surgery. She has been such a trooper and hopefully the worst is over -- just check ups from now on. Thank you to everyone for their support and prayers through it all! We plan to make this an annual event so please consider joining us in the upcoming years.

Sweet boys ready for bed!


The Three Loves of My Life



Cade's 1st Teeth Cleaning (Not 1st Visit though - due to his dead tooth)

6 Months Old

Battle of the Piney Woods Tailgate 2011

Chad and I before the Sam/SFA game

Half of Our Race for the Cure Team

Mom coming through the Survivor Finish Line


Family Pic Before Texan Game on Sept. 11th

This And That - Summer 2011

Well, now that the first week of school is behind us I am finally sitting down to catch up on downloading pictures from the summer (at least from one camera) and do what was meant to be a weekly blog update! Weekly, monthly - who's counting! Lot's of summer events I never posted I will include some pictures of in this post -- Ringling Brothers Circus, Children's Museum and My Dirty Thirty Bash!



Yes, that is right I turned 30 this past month! Chad threw me a party out at a river house on the San Bernard with all of our closest friends and we had a blast -- eating, drinking and wake boarding. It was the best weekend! The boys came out for a little bit on Saturday - we were able to take our dogs with us and our family was in and out as well.



I am back at work full time and both boys are in day care. I am having a little bit of regret about not putting Cade in pre school this year, but I wanted him to be with his brother for at least a year and he will go to school for the next 12 years so one more year out will be okay! Cason is doing real well with Mrs Nina -- he is the baby so he is spoiled there. He is rolling over ALL the time. In fact I have a hard time sleeping because he rolls over in his bassinet and I am super paranoid about SIDS so the minute I know he is not on his back I am wide awake. He is a very happy baby and I blessed to have had two happy babies.



Here are a few pictures from the past months!! Enjoy!

Banner for the Dirty Thirty

Before Date Night for Chad and I

Cason's First Time Eating Solid Foods

First Time Swimming

Stefanie, Cason, Cade and Drake at the Children's Museum

Cade at the Children's Museum

Circus!

Dad and Cade at the Circus (Cade was still unsure at this point!)

Painting with a Twist with Al's Pals!!! So much fun! Girls Night Out!

All Good Things Must Come To An End

Summer that is! Tomorrow I return to work for another year at B'Wood. Can you hear the excitement? Cason will start day care - luckily he will have his big brother there to help watch after him and ease Mommy's mind. Cade is quite the caregiver with Cason - he loves to feed him, hold his hand and talk to him and Cason just smiles and laughs at him. I can already tell they will be best of friends.

Cade has recently become addicted to the Wii. Chad bought him the Cars 2 game for a surprise and it was all over from there. (Cars 2 is another addiction we have.) As soon as he wakes up in the morning he asks to play -- and I am worried that he will be a gamer. Hopefully it is just a phase. Cason has started rolling over (from back to tummy) and laughing quite often. Other than that things have been quite quiet around here. But with me returning to work, the chaos will begin ---

Dani & Cade playing Mario Brothers!

Sweet Brothers holding hands asleep in the car!!!
Cason and Brie (cousins - twenty days apart)!

My handsome boys!

God Gives Great Gifts! Thank You God!

WHAT A WEEK!

This week was Cade's first experience at Vacation Bible School. He went to Sweeny 1st Baptist which is the church I grew up in. He was in the three year old class while mommy helped out in the nursery with the babies. I was very worried about how he would do in a "school" type setting since he has always gone to an in home daycare but he did wonderful. His teachers said that he always wanted to be the "leader" for everything. He came home the first day telling me - "God made me - Thank you God!" and that just melted my heart. Throughout the week he would sing songs he learned and continue saying their theme for that day with "Thank You God!" after everything. Cade's Official VBS picture.Cade with his class and the teachers singing the last day!Cade and Jake eating their snack in the Fellowship Hall.

Ironically, the last day of VBS their theme was "God Gives Great Gifts!" And for our family we could all say "Thank You God!" to that statement. On Wednesday, June 29th, Corey and Lynsie welcomed Baby Camryn Grace into this world at 1:08 PM. And praise God she was a healthy 7 pounds 2 ounces - 20 1/4 inches long. They have been through so much to make sure she was healthy it was such a blessing that 4 weeks early she was and had absolutely no NICU stay at all!! It was a long, long three months for Corey and Lynsie but she is here now and they are happy. Here are a few pictures of beautiful Camryn. Hopefully her mommy and daddy will get to bring her home on Sunday.

Corey, Lynsie and Camryn!!


Camryn Grace Thoe
Cousin Cade, Uncle Chad, Camryn and The Proud New Daddy

Father's Day Weekend

A holiday that I never "celebrated" as a child growing up has actually become one of the more important holidays in my household. Having two boys I know that the relationship they have with their dad is one of, if not the most important, relationship they will have in their life. Watching Chad interact with my boys, especially Cade right now, is one of the most heartwarming things for a mother and a wife. Knowing that they truly bring joy to his life and seeing how much he loves making them happy is one of the best feelings. And he proved that again this Father's Day as we spent the day at Sea World with Cade. Why not both boys you ask?? Well Cason is still only two months old and the tempature on Sunday in San Antonio hit 104!!! Therefore, we didn't figure it would be the best idea to get him out and about on a day like that. Plus, it was good for us to spend the day with Cade and give him that undivided attention he used to get before Cason came along. So, we dropped Cason off with my mom early and headed out. It was a LOOONG day to say the least, but the excitement on Cade's face was well worth it. We rode some of the new Seasame Street rides, the shamu coaster, fed the dolphins, played in the waterpark and watched the Azul show and of course Shamu himself. Cade loved it and since we have fun passes now, we may make another trip before the end of the year. Saturday night, Cade and I cooked and decorated Chad a cookie cake. When I was picking up his gift at the mall they had a booth selling Father's Day cookie cakes and I thought it would be fun (and more special) for us to do it ourselves. So we did!! Chad doesn't eat sweets much - the only two he likes are chocolate chip cookies and the occasional cheesecake so it only made sense to try. It actually came out pretty good and Cade had a blast helping!!

The cake that Cade and I made for Chad for Father's Day!

Cade anxiously awaiting us to enter the park!

Can you tell me how to get, how to get to Seasame Street???

Feeding the dolphins
At the show Azul!

Mini Vacation

Chad and I just returned today from a two day stay at L'auberge dulac in Lake Charles. It was the first vacation we have been on alone since before we had Cade. Leaving on Tuesday I cried and cried as I held Cason since it was the first night I was going to spend away from him, but once we were on the road I was okay. It was really nice to have some time away with my husband. We checked in, went to the movies, had dinner at a local favorite --Steamboat Bill's and then gambled a bit Tuesday night after we arrived. Then Wednesday morning we got up and golfed (well Chad golfed and I drove/caddied) and spent the rest of the day in the lazy river pool enjoying a few drinks. It almost felt like Mexico. Thursday morning I woke early --inspite of saying I wanted to sleep in anxious to return home to get the boys. They stayed at Nani & Paw Paw's and it was a rough couple days for all involved there. Cason really doesn't have sleeping down yet and Cade tends to wake up if you are up with Cason. Sleeping habits are where Chad and I went wrong with Cade (he sleeps in bed with us). Our goal this next year is to try to straighten that out with him. However, we are very greatful to Nani and Paw Paw (and Ashley - as she was in town visiting) for taking care of the boys and giving us a chance to get away.





We will celebrate our 6th anniversary this Saturday -- hard to believe we have been married six years and even harder that we have been together now for 13 1/2 years. No one ever said marriage was easy but I have to say I got pretty lucky. I love Chad more than ever and watching him be a father to our boys makes me even more thankful that he chose me.




Monday Chad will begin a new job at the Brazoria Telephone Company, so our trip was half anniversary and half to get one last outing in before he starts this job because it will take a year for him to earn any vacation time. Although I am going to miss him in education with me - I think this is an awesome opportunity for him and our family. The fall will me much nicer to have a husband around again! :)



Also, thank you for all the prayers -- My mom finished her last chemo treatment on Monday, June 6th!! I know she is so happy to be done and after she recovers from the side effects the next couple of weeks I know she is looking foward to getting her health and life back to normal. Keep the prayers coming for her that this is really it and she never has a relaspe. Also, please pray for Exa Mae -- she started chemo the day my mom ended it and we hope that her outcome is good. The power of prayer is amazing.

Trying Again

So it has been over a year since my last post -- but we will try again. I am now the mom of two handsome boys - Cade David, 3 years old and Cason Dane, one month old as of yesterday. Chad and I never do anything small - so there have been a lot of changes to our lives this past year. Chad will be changing jobs in June - going back into business and working for the Brazoria Telephone Company and I will continue counseling until something comes along in the business world -- I would really like on at Conoco Phillips so say a few prayers for me.

My mom found out in November that she had breast cancer and in January underwent a double masectomy, hoping that would be the end of it. However, during surgery they found that it had spread to her lymphnodes and in March she started chemotherapy. Only 3 treatments left and we are praying that she will then be cancer free.

My sister in law is also in the hospital again, pregnant with a baby girl. She will be 29 weeks this Wednesday. She is in the best spirits and handling everything very well. We pray everyday that Camryn will hang in there and continue to grow healthy.

Yesterday was my first Mother's Day as a mom of two and I couldn't have asked for a better day. Dad and Cade brought me some beautiful yellow tulips (my favorite flower) and we had both of our mom's over to the house for lunch - which Chad prepared. He has become a regular Bobby Flay lately.

Here are a couple of pictures to get my blog really started and I will add somemore so you can see the boys grow.

With Love,

The Thoe Family