Support For Christi Thomas

This blog is to help offer support to the Thomas Family and their daughter, Christi, in her battle against cancer. Please visit Christi's website at www.ChristiThomas.com to learn more. There, you'll find journals, photos and a lots of other information about this amazing child and her family.

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Monday, December 26, 2011

Our Savior is Born!

I've now had the time to clean up and to go through our Christmas pictures.

"Today in the town of David
a Savior has been born to you:
he is Christ the Lord."

~ Luke 2:11



I was so touched to look at all of our family pictures and see this one because of the two orbs - one large and one small. It's lovely to think of Christi and my dad, especially on Christmas morning!


Pic: Before mass on Christmas Eve. Our wonderful priest made my day when he told me he shared my message in my Christmas card with others. It basically said to enjoy the day and not clean up all of that wrapping paper; it's a great mess! (Of course, I could not listen to my own words as my sweet mother-in-law told me as I was hustling to clean up the living room quickly because the mess was driving me crazy!)

How fantastic to also have a beautiful grandma join us for Christmas!

My two awesome sweeties on Christmas morning!

Sunday, December 25, 2011

Merry Christmas 2011

Emotionally, it's been a very difficult couple of days. We were blessed to have a party for some high school friends one night last week. We enjoyed visiting with other awesome high school friends after mass last night and today we enjoyed going to see War Horse. I read the book on my nook on Friday and I must say the book was better but the movie was very good too. This is my first attempt at posting via my new iPad from Santa. Shayla was thrilled and very surprised about getting a bow and arrow. Lookout Katness from "the Hunger Games"! She also enjoyed the many clothes and other "girly things" she received. I hope you had a wonderful and blessed Christmas. We sure miss our giggling little Christi, but we are going to be just fine. Happy birthday to Jesus! I bet the party in Heaven is beyond anything we can possibly imagine! Pic. Christi's last Christmas and sitting on my dad's lap when he played Santa for my nieces

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

The Tree Topping

We've just completed topping the Christmas tree with the angel. Of course we think the angel looks lije Christi. Again this year Shayla decorated the tree all by herself.
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Monday, December 19, 2011

Upper's Amazing Lights

Christi used to love going to Upper to drive through their amazing light display. We are again helping to sponsor this year's display, in Christi's memory. If you get a chance to go, please do so. I think you and yours will really enjoy it!

Last Sunday night, I arranged for a carriage ride through the stunning light display. Shayla took a friend and it was super to be with Shayne, mom and dad enjoying the lights together, without any of us having to drive! We all had a great time!
Thanks for taking these wonderful pictures, mom! You are so awesome!
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Our horses were beautiful! It will be tough to go back to viewing them from our car next year, after having this amazing ride!

Sunday, December 18, 2011

Tis the Season! Rejoice!

Oh, a beautiful dusting of snow put us all in the Christmas mood yesterday! Shayla, who despises spending money and shopping, actually wanted to go shopping at the mall in Toledo to buy for all of her friends - so we did! When we hopped into a coffee shop before heading home, the gal behind the counter said, "You look like Christmas!" and we had to laugh and agree, we were dressed in red and green. (See photo.) We listened to a wonderful Christian CD of Christmas music one of my awesome students gave me as a gift on Friday, the day of his final. It was lovely! I have the greatest students!

Graduation was amazing! (I kid you not the professors have more fun than the students! Checking out the graduates' shoe selections and of course "flashing" each other by unzipping our robes back stage before marching in is a riot!) As soon as I heard the announcement, "Please welcome the distinguished faculty of Bowling Green State University" tears welled up in my eyes as I started processing in with hundreds of other faculty members. (Photo: Friday's "Girls Night Out" with one of my favorite colleagues, Dr. Penny!)

Much to my surprise and delight, my two favorite birds were around after the ceremony so I was able to snap this picture. Roll along falcons, and never stop BGing! Keep in touch, sweet students! Because thankfully, none of you were like this student:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVvKnq5XT-g&sns=fb (Need a good laugh, check this out!)

Thursday, December 08, 2011

Shayla's Christmas Band Concert

Love, love, LOVE the "orb" on my jacket! RIP, sweet Christi!

How nice to have Shayla's grandparents with her at the band concert!

Thanks to my awesome mom for taking the pictures for me!

Monday, December 05, 2011

Phoenix Trip

Shayne had to be in Phoenix most all of last week for work. Shayla and I joined him for about 48 hours this weekend. It was not long enough, but we have been gone way too much. (And trust me we have absolutely NOHTING on the books in terms of travel and I hope it stays that way for many months to come!) As we used to say with Christi, from one of her Berenstain Bear books she loved, "It's nice to go; it's nice to roam, but it's always best to come back home!" Regardless, I'm so grateful we were together for the weekend and that we were able to spend precious time with Shayne's side of the family! They are awesome!

Now this is the way to see the zoo lights! NOT in Toledo or Columbus, Ohio, but in Phoenix Arizona! I remember the time when I thought I put all of the second layers of warm clothes for the girls in the van and when we arrived, in freezing cold temperatures, I realized I had forgotten little Christi's winter coat! Shayne and our Japanese exchange student at the time, took off layers of their clothes and we wrapped her up. Her new sleeves hung way over her tiny arms, but she LOVED the zoo lights. As she got older she became quite scared around Santa. I'm so glad she died still believing in the jolly old elf!

Zoo lights with the best sister-in-law in the world! Aunt V!! I remember flying out to Arizona for a visit when Christi was 1 1/2. We practiced with her saying, "Aunt V! Aunt V!" She had it! It was going to be great when she saw her aunt, but when we landed it was over 100 degrees (August) and all she kept saying was, "Hot! Hot!" It was so funny! Not at all what we had been training her to do on the plane! Chrsiti definitely had a mind of her own!

Shayla thought this was one of the best horse rides she'd ever been on. I really liked it too; I had a great horse, but it was not the very best in my book. That would have to be Bermuda! Oh, of course their was the time we took the girls to lessons and just sat and watched them ride around the ring; now that's the way to ride horses!


An early morning ride through the desert on Saturday morning with a great trail guide. Who knew there really are wild horses in Arizona?! I didn't really believe that until I saw them with my own eyes. We also saw snakes, a jackrabbit and learned there were coyotos nearby too. Amazing!


This lunch went by too quickly! I am grateful I was able to catch up with my cousin while we were in Phoenix! The trip was much too short (as always)!


Aren't these three the cutest little ones?! I love them! We just don't get to see enough of them!


Shayla tried her hand riding on a mechanical bull. She loved it! And since she was asked for her ID in a bar waiting for our table in NYC and also by a TSA agent when we flew out on Friday, Let's keep her out of the bars where I hear they have them too. LOL!