Forever Family...One year!

One year ago we became a forever family...February 23 is a day I will never forget.




Over the past several weeks I have been reflecting and reliving last year and I am so overwhelmed by God's faithfulness!!! I have been in tears when I remembered several specific moments in the journey to get our kids home. (Ebe Fialley, Meggy Dankers, Sandy Garcia, Edie Koller, Rick and Emily Everswick, Gloria Thompson, Allison and Dwayne Stanton...I will forever be grateful for your help during this week last year!!!)

We will always celebrate February 23rd as our "Forever Family" day but it is also a day that holds a special place for me since it is the day my stem cell sharer went to be with Jesus. (I was a match to donate stem cells to a stranger in 2011. I have come to know and love him and his wife over the past year.)

On the day that Gabriel ran into the arms of the first father he has ever known, Montie Duncan ran into the arms of his heavenly Father. It makes me happy to celebrate both occasions on the same day and to know that the same God who welcomed Montie into heaven with open arms also was holding and carrying our family through the long journey home from Ghana to Georgia. Abundantly blessed, indeed!

Montie Duncan

Personalities Defined

I am SO THANKFUL we all remained sickness-free over the holidays but February has presented a different story entirely. As Gabe and Grace experience their first true winter I have been prepared for some runny noses, sore throats and coughs.

It started with Grace and then Gabe and then Liz and then Adam and then me and finally Cael. Now...it is back to Grace! Liz missed 4 days of school last week and Grace has already missed 2 this week.

Thankfully, it is pretty standard runny nose, fever, sore throat stuff and nothing severe. But...I have been doing a lot of middle-of-the-night comforting, medicine-giving, nursing and I think it is so funny how each of my children's personalities have been highlighted in the way they receive my middle-of-the-night care.


Grace- (With major high-pitched whining, heavy breathing and LOTS OF TEARS) "I don't want to take medicine. Will it hurt? I'm scared. Do I have to go to the hospital? I don't want to take medicine? Will I miss school tomorrow? Will I get a shot? Do I have to go to the doctor? I don't want to take medicine........" (gasps, sobs, more whining......)











Liz- Drinks the medicine, goes back to sleep.












Gabe- "I will not take this."
Please buddy just take it. It will help your cough.
"I will not take this."
Please. It will make you feel better.
"No"
Please. Take it FOR ME. Please. I can't sleep when you are coughing so much. Please. It makes me feel like a good mom.
With a frustrated sigh, he swallows the medicine and goes back to sleep.







Cael- "Thank you so much mom for giving me this medicine. Thank you for helping make me comfy. Mom, do you remember the last time I was sick and I threw up? I'm not going to throw up this time...I just have a bad cough and a runny nose. (I bring him a tissue.) Thank you so much, mom. I love you. Thank you for taking such good care of me. This medicine tastes really good."









This reiterates to me:
Grace is still very needy and fearful. She needs a lot of affirmation, reassurance, and TLC!
Liz is very compliant and responsible and doesn't require many words.
Gabe still wants to be in control but he also really wants to protect me and take care of me.
Cael likes to talk! He is also very affectionate, sensitive and loving. If something can be said using 3 words he will find a way to turn it into 30.

I love these 4 treasures so much!!!! Looking forward to seeing how God is going to use each of them and their unique talents and personalities for His glory!

Pinch me...I'm dreaming!

On Christmas morning I looked at Adam and said, "Am I dreaming?" 

I looked around our living room at the four amazing kids that God has given us. They are all healthy. They are all happy. They are all home.  Sometimes it's hard to believe. 

Last Christmas I remember the presents under the tree that went unopened and the uncertainty at what the future held for us. 

We had many opportunities this holiday season to reflect and share some of the joys and sorrows of the year.  We are so thankful to God for sustaining us through a tough year and binding us together into a true team...Team Thompson! Looking forward to 2015!

2014 Highlight Video

Hopefully you have received our Christmas card and were directed to this blog to watch the highlight video. If you did not receive the Christmas card and would like one, I have plenty of extra so please give me your address and I will happily send you one! ;-)

Hope you enjoy this small recap of our year! It's been one of the best and most difficult years we have had as a family.

Thanks for all your prayers and support!!!  We are so thankful for each of you!!!

Faithful followers

There was a time when I updated this blog regularly. To those few sweet people who still click on the link and check for an update despite my lack of attention...this update is for you. (Jillian ;-)

Liz has been doing a lot of cheering this fall. She cheered for her school football team and she competed on the school cheerleading competition squad. Now she is cheering for a local all-star cheer gym. She loves it all! She also loves hanging out with her friends and she just enjoyed an amazing 13th birthday.

Cael has been playing baseball, running around outside and learning more and more skills on the guitar and piano.  He loves playing music and singing all the time.

Gabe has been learning how to read. He has learned so much this Fall with his amazing teachers. He has also enjoyed playing baseball and PS4. He had another surgery to remove a bony tumor from his wrist and is recovering well. 

Grace loves being part of the crowd and helping mom with everything. She also loves playing with her dolls and toys. She is working hard to learn her letters. 

We just spent an amazing week in Virginia at a lake house with Adam's parents, grandparents and his brothers and their families. It was the first time we have all been together in 13 years...so we now have 10 children and 2 more on the way. We made some great memories together and have a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. 

A few sweet/fun stories to share:

While decorating the Christmas tree, Grace was very enthusiastic about all of the different ornaments, especially the handmade ones. She wanted to know what was written on the back of each one.

"Elizabeth 2006"

"Cael 2009"

EJT 2009"

Liz "2005"

Cael "2010"

You get the point. 

Then, she found an ornament that didn't have anything on the back. It is a purchased ornament, not handmade. It is a wooden cross. She said, "Can I put my name on the back of this one?"

Sweet girl. The cross does have a way of making everything right. 

Then, there was an ornament "Thompson Family 2009...Adam, Jill, Elizabeth and Cael". Grace asked me to read it to her, which I did. "You were just a baby then. Isn't that funny to think of yourself as a baby?" She said, "I didn't even know who my mom was yet?!?!?!" Bless.

I will end with a heart-warming story from Gabriel:

As a family we shopped for the items and assembled shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child. We talked about the children that would be receiving our boxes and how this would likely be the only gifts they would get for Christmas and then we made a circle as a family and prayed for the boxes and the kids who would receive them. Gabe said, "I am not going to pray" (He usually says he is not going to do something if he is uncomfortable with it but he almost always comes around with a little time.) We told him he didn't have to pray out loud but we would go around and he would be last if he changed his mind. Everyone prayed and then it came to Gabe. He prayed. Out loud. "God, help this child to have a family because it is good. I pray they have a father like me."

No more words.

Abundantly blessed.

Miraculous Summer

This update is long overdue. I'm sorry.

We had a miraculous summer.  We feel like a real family now. It is great!

A few weeks ago, Grace started Kindergarten, Gabriel started 3rd grade, Cael started 5th grade, and Liz started 7th grade.



They are all doing great in school!

Additionally, 2 weeks ago Gabe had 2 large osteochondromas removed from his arm and had a lumbar puncture to determine treatment for a disease he was born with. The surgery was a success and the pathology for the lumbar puncture was as good as it could be. The treatment will be quick and effective and he will be cured. This particular disease would likely have never been found in Ghana but would have caused come severe symptoms later in life and possibly even death. Now he will be treated and cured! Easily! YIPEE! He is a happy kid. He is learning so much and now reads to us each day. Amazing! He is playing baseball this fall and really enjoying having his dad as his coach.

Grace loves Kindergarten and is learning so much! She is very far behind her peers and does not catch on as quickly as Gabe but she is getting lots of extra help at our awesome little school so we are confident she will catch up soon. She is participating in a tumbling class each week and loves to color and play with dolls.

Liz is flipping, stunting, jumping and cheering all the time. She is on a sidelines squad and a competition squad this year and is enjoying all the practices, games, and competitions that come with that.

Cael is playing baseball on a travel team this year. This is the first time dad hasn't been his coach and it seems to be working out fine. He has really matured so much in the past several months and we are so proud of his attitude and example.

I am so blessed to be the mom to these four children and I am also thankful for an amazing husband who allows me to go away a few times a year to serve families facing the loss of a parent with Inheritance of Hope. This organization means a lot to me because I have seen first-hand what an impact a Legacy Retreat has on a family facing the loss of a parent. As the Legacy Retreat Director, I can coordinate and plan the retreats from my home and then support the event on site. It is a joy and privilege! I just came home from the most recent retreat and my life is richer and blessed after having spent 4 days with an amazing groups of volunteers and 15 families who are now dear friends. My best friend, Kristen, who started this organization with her husband and passed away 2 years ago would be so proud of her baby girl serving alongside me (and Mickey). ;-)

Thanks for all your prayers and support!

Some things have changed....some things have not!

We have been a family of six for 4 months. It is so hard for me to believe it has only been 4 months! It has definitely been the longest 4 months of my life probably because so much has happened during that time. Many things have changed and some things have not.

This girl still has a very fun-loving personality...

but she now has "LONG" hair!

These brothers still have moments of tension but it is usually a fun wrestling match instead of frustration and resentment. It has been a joy to watch this brotherly bond develop. Where Cael used to resent Gabriel's strength and toughness he now realizes there is no one he would rather have on his team. Gabriel said today, "Cael, I'm strong and you are smart!" A great team, I think!

This boy still adores his sister but he is coming to terms with the fact that a proposal would not be appropriate. Now he is just setting his sights on all her cute friends. ;-)

This girl has realized that her new brother is probably her best playmate and biggest fan. She is figuring out all his attention and love is a good thing. 

This boy still thinks he is the red power ranger. 

She is still beautiful and we are hoping we can keep her from getting a big head when everyone is telling her that all the time. 

He is learning to let go and be a kid and spend time in mom's lap. 

She still flips every where she goes. 

We are seeing a lot more of this and a lot less of the grumpy boy.

We are so incredibly thankful for all the positive changes going on in the hearts of all four of our children. God has been so good to us and we know He will continue to carry us through everything the future holds. Thank you so much for your faithful prayers. We can only attribute some of these miraculous changes to that.