Well, it's here. Adam Ronald Thomas has turned one. Can you believe it? What a year. We've had a bit of a stuggle with Adam's weight gain. Today, he came in at 16lbs 1oz. A bit short from where his doctor wanted him, however, the doctor said, "he's growing at his own rate."

It's tough to think a year has gone by. I just blinked and WHAM! One. Time flies and I have loved every minute of this Thomas kids life. Children are a blessing from God.

I am blessed.

My little Adam, Happy birthday. You're ONE year old today and you have given so much to our family in one short year. I love your smile, I love your eyes, I love your crazy reddish blond hair and I love your little voice when you say, "Papa."

So today I want to remind you of this:
You are Adam, made by God, loved by God and redeemed by God. In the beginning, formed out of dirt, the breath of life, י‎ (yodh) ה‎ (heh) ו‎ (vav) ה‎ (heh), breathed into man. Your name bares witness to the one who walked with God in the Garden. Your name also tells the story of God's grace to redeem a fallen people. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. Before the world and before Adam, God chose us and you.

So hear these words my dear son, live by them, never forget them.

Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. Love your neighbor as yourself.

I love you.
Papa~

Sorry to everyone for not keeping up-to-date with this site as I've done in the past. I'm even behind in my POTW project. However, I have been under "house arrest" in blogger land. It seems as if the "Blogger Robot Police" thought my page was a SPAM page and it blocked it until I could notify them. I had to wait for the "real person" Blogger Police to review and unlock my account.

Now I'm free, free at last.

The kids are well. Adam will be one next week. Many of your prayers have been well received and again I thank each of you for your thoughts.

As for me... Well, I'm on a journey. I'm not sure where it will lead me so I'm just listening carefully. I don't really wish to share my thoughts here yet, but they will come soon.

Until that time comes I'll leave you with some great looking kids.









peace.
johno~

I feel guilty for not keeping up-to-date with everyone on how life is for the Thomas family. All is fine. Adam is doing very well. If you take a look at my POTW you will see chunky cheek Adam getting his first haircut. I don't think he was ready for it. It's not a great photo, however, it shows a very "normal" child.

It seems as if Caleb has caught yet another cold and Miriam is trying her best to catch it too. Hannah, just wants the spring to start so she can play softball.

Dawnette, well D is still breaking records as super woman. I'm still not sure why she picked me to have offspring with but I'm not complaining.

Myself... well, I'm learning that I don't know much of anything. I'm not trying to put myself down, I'm just in a "revisit" everything mode. I have new question and new answers... Many of which I struggle with.

On the photo side of things, football season is here. I still have a lot to learn. I'm really not that great at photography. SO MUCH TO LEARN. I'm trying.

Well, to the many that read this, you are all in my thoughts and prayers.

peace.
johno~

What a week. I learned that a missionary friend, age 30, in Uganda was killed in auto accident and one of my former students father, age 52, died from a massive stroke. What a week.

Today was the memorial service for Nicks father. Nick was one of those students I worked with who either was going to be a minister or in prison. I know, I sat in court with him one time. However, prison was not where Nick would end up. There is a God... He is alive.

Seeing Nick today made me feel proud of what this young man has accomplished. However, today, he would bury his father. Fifty-two is to young. It breaks my heart that Nick will be married in 3 weeks and his father will not be there.

Nicks father was an awesome man. I heard it from many.

It made me think. Listening to Nick speak about his father, hearing co-workers sharing about Dale and his employee of the month award which he received for the month of January 2007. All stories of a man who cared for others, laughed and loved life. It made me think...

What will my children say about me? Who will share at my memorial the life they saw me live? How do I live as seen from others? Do I know? Could I stand up and say a few words myself? (of course if I did that would be freaky but pretty cool).

All I know is... There is no promise of tomorrow on this earth. I'm not even guaranteed today but I do have an eternity. What will I leave my family, my friends to hold on to until we meet again? Again? What a blessed thought. Until we meet again.

I hope my legacy is a life of Grace received by a Father who rescued me. He came looking for me when I was hurt and alone.

I'm not sure what I'll leave behind, or what people will think, but I hope it was a message of salvation that lives beyond this lowly shadowland.

peace.
johno~

Just an update on our storm situation... The storm front was "deflated" and our "2nd" wind storm turned into a breeze storm. A true blessing. There are still around 7000 families without power. Many have loss and some lack insurance. I came across this terrible scene... A single mom and her daughter went shopping... when they returned home they found their car destroyed. When I spoke to her she had already been without power for 24 hours. It was warmer outside than in her house, she told me.

It's amazing. May none of us ever forget how a life can be changed in a moments notice.

Thank you all for your prayers and thoughts.

For those of you who have been praying for my friend Nir and his daughter... Thank you. I have to say I misread what had happened to Tamar, Nir's daughter. Today, however, she was in her second major surgery for her ankle which was the only thing physically injured in her accident.

Lift her up today, please. Ask God to give her a strong spirit and a body which heals quickly. It is a true blessing she is surrounded by a family who loves her.

If you live in the NW, you might have been a part of the major storm that moved through on Sunday. Here in Central Washington, we had the worst storm since I've been here.

Wind gust up to 73 MPH for 7 hours. As I drove around today, I thought I was back in Louisiana doing Katrina relief work. I have never seen so many trees and fences blown away.

Our home is surrounded by 7 larger trees of which 7 still stand. Amazing. Many others didn't fare so well. Thank you Lord for protecting our home.

We received another report that a similar storm will be here tomorrow. We are stocking water and getting out the candles. Large parts of the city are without power. Again, I'm blessed to be writing this. After the storm, tempatures are said to be dropping low into the single digits. Not good for those of us who rely on electric for our heat. (Note to self... get blankets ready.)

I've included a few shots from my outing today. Most of these shots are from a park near by where I take the kids. Looks like there will be little shade this summer. It's terrible to see so many wonderful large trees destroyed.

Keep us in your prayers.

peace.

An entire year has passed and I have arrived at the end of my photo-a-week project. I can say it's been a lot of fun and it has been a real pain. Sometimes the photos came early... other times, late Saturday night. Yet, 52 photos have come to an end and it really has been a blessing. I've been able to see things in a way I've not seen in the past. Now, everything is a photo captured in my mind with or without a camera. It's amazing the things you see when you look.

I think that's why I love photography... Seeing things differently. Many people walk past the photos I take and never see what's right there in front of them. Sometimes it's grand... sometimes it's humble, but, it's always there. Funny, sometimes people can look at the same thing I'm looking at and not see what I see. I guess many of my pictures are a glimpse into my mind.

So what's next? After seeing my friend Jason Hill's picture of the day for December, I thought, "I can do a picture-a-day for a year." My wife was nice enough to remind me of my schedule and how I don't deal with failure very well. Sooooo, I suppose I'll take another shot at the 52 picture project again... And one other photo project.

"photo 52 people"

I'm not sure how this will work yet... a project that will grow on it's own I'm sure. I can see the 52 people project using the talents of several other photographers I know... Jason, Nir, Allan, Dustin, Cody and a few others. We will see. They may not want to participate... But I'm sure it would be fun.

Anyhow, I'm looking forward to another year of life... God willing, it will be great.

peace.
johno~

P.S. To those with an active prayer list:
Please add to your prayer Tamar Alon who was in a motor bike accident this last week. She is the daughter of my dear friends Nir and Dorit Alon who live in Jerusalem, Israel.