Thackers

Palm Sunday

2009-04-06T17:58:00.001-07:00

Yep! Just look at that new hair do. I'm not too crazy about the short bangs, but I think it helped him get into character. Philip is dressed to play a towns person on Palm Sunday. This was the first event in which I was nervous for him. My hands were sweating! (I know there will be more of those moments to come.) I wasn't sure if he would start crying or see one of his grandparents and run to them. But he did great, and I was proud!

We are Home!

2008-12-24T12:17:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone!

First off, Timothy and I would like to thank our family and friends for the prayers and help during all of this. We arrived home today around 1:30 and couldn't wait to see Philip. The doctors in Cleveland sent Timothy home with the suspected diagnosis of Susac syndrome. As far as we know, Susac is a rare autoimmune disease that attacks the blood vessels of the corpus callosum in the brain. There are only a couple hundred cases in the world. Timothy starts treatment on Friday, which will be 5 days of steroids (through IV) and IVIG. The process takes around 6-8 hours each day. We are praying this treatment will produce a clear MRI. If not, then we head back to Cleveland.

The last 3 weeks have been very trying. Timothy and I have struggled to keep a positive attitude. Monday night Timothy, Phyllis and I read through Job trying to understand God's purpose in all this when He lead us to this passage:

Job 42:1,2
"Then Job answered the Lord and said: I know that You can do everything. And that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You."

We trust that God has lead us to this point in our lives for a reason and our prayer is that: He will be glorified in it all and we will have the strength to accept wherever this leads.

Trick or Treat

2008-11-01T17:46:00.000-07:00

OK, this is the story of Philip's costume. I found this at Marshall's and Philip loved it. He carried it with him in the buggy all through the store. When Timothy got home I took Philip to his bedroom and put his costume on. When Philip walked down the hallway both Timothy and I were laughing so hard, then I said, "Timothy isn't it perfect he is going to be a rooster." Timothy's reply, "Kiera, that is not a rooster.....that is a hen." Poor Philip...I hope he does not hold this against me. But last year he was a hot dog so he has moved up the food chain....maybe next year....prime rib or lobster!!!

It was so fun to have all the cousins together! We had two power rangers, a batman, police officer, princes, chicken and a pumpkin.

Not too sure about her....

Pa's office was our first stop on Friday!

Mackie tagged along with us. As you can see she was Yoda! Love the ears!!!! She had to make sure Philip was close by. They are precious together.

Aunt Ni Ni teaches English to the international students at Marshall!

She has no idea we were coming so Philip walked into the office by himself, I think we surprised her!

All the students loved Philip and Mackie. Philip kept a close eye on Mackie. He acts like a protective brother to her.

This was Nikki's writing class.

Of course we couldn't leave Nonna out. Philip actually came home with some extra candy. I'm sure this is going to become a tradition he will look forward to.

Mackie started playing "hide and go seek" towards the end of our visit!

Hilton Head

2008-09-21T20:52:00.001-07:00

It looks like we took everything but the kitchen sink....well, we did take a lot of stuff. Timothy was proud of his packing job, I have no idea how he packed all that loot. The plan was to leave at 3:00 am......I was so excited I seriously could not sleep. I felt like a little kid on the night before Christmas.

Ta-Da.......How awesome is this pool? It had everything.(except a swim up bar) We all were so impressed with the condo and its amenities. Aunt Connie struck gold!

Philip's first impression of getting into the ocean. I think Timothy lost a few chest hairs. Ha!

He loved the sand, though!

Our night out at Parrot cove!

This was Philip's favorite thing. He would have played in this all day!

Just relaxing!

My Aunt Connie and Philip. Philip would get really excited when Aunt Connie would come out of her room in the mornings. He was say, "Ooooooooooooh"!

Our pet for the week.

Trying on some shades and new shoes!

Pa and Philip

I love this picture!

This is how Philip ate the sand. Disgusting!

Eewww!

The last night we ate at the Weston and had Aunt Connie take some pictures. It was hard to choose which ones to post because they were all so good. Once again.... thanks Aunt Connie!

Oh, he is getting so big.....I can't stand it.

Where's Bryon and Erin? Well, they were sitting in class, studying for midterms, and working. :-(

We were glad Mom and Dad were able to come down towards the end of the week.

I have such a wonderful husband and handsome too!

Philip with one of his favorite people.

Come on! Can't you tell we're cousins?

Even though Anna may not look like the Collier side, she reminds me a lot of our Granny - she would do anything for anyone!

Update

2008-09-04T17:19:00.000-07:00

"Help! Mommy cut my hair." Philip's hair was getting too long in the front so I decided to trim it. Philip sat very still in front of the TV while HI-5 was on. The bangs are a little shorter than I intended, but Philip was a very good boy. He is mesmerized by HI-5.

Big eyes!

OK everyone, this is Mackie!!! She spends the weekdays with us. The first week was rough (she really missed her Mommy), but we have settled into a routine and we miss her when she is not here. Philip shares his toys very well, he even tries to give Mackie his bottle. They are going to be great buds.

I think a double stroller is in our near future!

Eating Ravioli! You know he is part Italian (Mom always claims she is Italian).

Fun, Fun, Fun!

This cat loves Philip. It always comes over when we are out and sometimes naps on the back porch.

Philip's first birthday!

Papa grilled the hamburgers.

Every time a boat would come by the kids would run out on the deck and watch it. It was so much fun!

Most of the cousins - Chance, Nathanial, Philip, Samuel, and Marissa (minus JD and Lincoln)

I love Nathanial's face!

The adult table.

Philip definitely knew what to do with his cake!

He ate most of his birthday cake. Some of it ended up on the ground.

Philip's reaction of his new toys the morning after!

My pictures weren't that great. I was too busy. Thankfully, Aunt Debbie had a camera so I will post those pictures soon.

Todd and Rachel's Wedding

2008-07-03T13:55:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we traveled to Lexington and attended my cousin, Rachel's, wedding. These pictures are from their first dance. Unfortunately, I was unable to stay in the church during the ceremony. (Philip has a tendency to be a little loud.) But, I did get to see Rachel before she walked down the aisle, and as you can see she was a gorgeous bride!

One of my favorite pictures of them. They make a beautiful couple.

Where we stayed!

This was so pretty and it inspired Mom to have Dad and Bryon paint their rocking chairs black. Sorry guys...:-)

Ha.... I loved his outfit - I hope he doesn't hate Timothy and I when he is older for some of the things we made him wear.

Philip loved these girls! The little one, Ella, was jumping and dancing for him - Philip thought she was the best thing ever.

My boy!

My roommate for the night! We had some great talks, and Erin said when she woke up in the morning Philip was staring at her! Ha...

I wanna dance!

Bryon and Erin helped a lot with Philip, they are so good with him!

Dancing with Nonna!

It was way past Philip's bedtime, but he stayed up until he couldn't hold his head up anymore!

Again, it was a great weekend. Seeing family is priceless and I feel very fortunate that I know my Dad's cousins and their kids and their kids. It is very special, and I think Uncle Jim, Aunt Jenki, and Granny would all be happy we stay in touch.

Father's Day

2008-06-19T07:46:00.001-07:00

OK I know this is pretty late, but our computer has been acting weird. Timothy came home from work around 7:30 am on Father's day morning. Philip was happy to see him, as usual. Timothy opened his cards and then went to bed! He met us later at my parents house. Happy first Father's Day, Timothy - You are a wonderful Dad!!

Happy first Father's day as a Pa, Dad!

My mom set the table and cooked a fabulous dinner. (Thanks Aunt Sharlene!!) Notice the "manly" centerpiece. It is a bucket with car maintenance stuff in it!

Philip loves playing with Brandy, as you can tell he tries to mimic her sounds.

We love this video. I guess Philip got scared and then scares Brandy. HA HA... I could watch this over and over. Notice, Pa comes to the rescue!

Sitting in Mommy's rocking chair.

Happy Father's day Papa!

Uncle Jon brought the go-cart. We had so much fun! This is Timothy driving with Nathanial in the passenger seat.

Philip "driving" with cousin JD.

What's New?

2008-06-14T16:27:00.000-07:00

A lot of new stuff has been happening at the Thackers. Timothy is finally done with school for the summer! He had a crazy schedule with work and school. It will be great for him to have some time off.

As you can see we bought a pool!!! Yes, it is above ground and solar heated. It probably takes about half of the day for it to heat up. Ha! Philip sure loves it. We're getting him ready for the beach. I love this picture. I think he looks like a big boy in it.

Cool Dude!

New moves! Philip learned to climb the stairs at my parents' house, since then he has been climbing EVERYTHING! Thanks Mom! (I'm kidding!) Just so everyone knows, Philip is OK after his fall - we haven't been parents that long. (I'm kidding - again!)

A new pet! Timothy brought home a turtle one evening after mowing.

Sadly, the turtle ran away.

New shoes! He was trying so hard to get them off.

Brandywine!

2008-05-29T18:41:00.001-07:00

This is the cabin - I know it does not look like much, it's just a hunting cabin. This cabin contains a lot of my memories with my Papa and Granny. It was sad at first, wishing they could be there. It was the first time a new generation (Philip) had come. I know Papa would have loved that. One evening I was putting Philip's shoes on a shelf and next to his were a pair of Dad's shoes and next to his a pair of Papa's that no one had moved. I really missed him then too. The things I remember about Brandywine are: driving around the cabin in the car, eating meals like beans and cabbage that Granny had made, sleeping in full-size bunk beds (which at the time seemed like eight feet high to me), Granny warming her hands under Papa's armpits in the morning (Ha!), waking up to Papa making homemade biscuits with his hair all messed up, every time we passed John Reddin's Ridge - Papa telling us the story, going on hikes, and of course, shooting and fishing. I am very excited to share these things with Philip when he is older so he can have memories of Brandywine too.

When I was little, this is where we had to go to the bathroom - it was scary especially at night.

You just might be a redneck if you keep your lawn mowing equipment with your toilet.

You just might be a redneck if you turn your truck bed into a playpen in your front yard. (I couldn't let Philip in the grass because of the cacti.)
This is where Papa taught me to fish. I cannot go fishing without thinking about him. I didn't mind catching my own bait or baiting my own hook, but Papa always took the fish off of the hook for me. This time I did it on my own - I think he would be proud (even if it was a little bluegill).

This is a helgrimite - they live under the rocks in the fast flowing water, and are a favorite dinner for fish. While hunting them one time I found a snake. It took me about two leaps to get to the other side of the river.

Pa and Philip hung out for a while so I could do some fishin'.

Philip liked the fish and probably would have eaten it if I would have let him.

Erin caught a pregnant fish!

Three generations.

Awwww...Bryon and Erin!

Brandywine lake

COLD water!

A fun place to play in the water.

Sun setting on the lake.

It has probably been a long time since there was a baby at the cabin. We lived without a lot of the usual things - a bath tub, carpet, heat. Philip was a trooper and especially liked the baths in the sink.

Granny loved playing dominoes in the evening. So we had to play. This night, Bryon was having a little trouble getting his "train" started and he ended up with most of the dominoes and a bad attitude. Eventually, the rest of us got stuck (because Bryon had drawn all of the dominoes), so he ended up winning! Fun night!

The second place we went fishing.

Oh how beautiful!

Nobody caught anything this day, but it was great just being able to enjoy the scenery.

Philip tried to eat every rock....He was pretty busy!

This is the rifle range. I shot my first gun here (with Papa's help of course). It was always a lot of fun. One time we actually saw a black bear here. Thankfully we were all in the car!

Looks like Erin is shooting a big gun! Love the facial expression!

We always picked up brass for Uncle Timbo to reload. We found a lot for him this time!

Brandywine - Coming Home!

2008-05-27T20:35:00.001-07:00

On the way home, we made a couple of stops. This is German Valley - we've never made it into the valley, but we have stopped a couple times and enjoyed the view!

Beautimis!

There are some little cabins you can rent - wouldn't that be fun?

Spruce Knob is the highest point in West Virginia. I wish I could remember how high we were. We drove up an incredibly winding road. What was amazing is that people live pretty high up on this mountain. There was a fixer - upper for sale if anyone is interested!! Bryon and Erin walking to the observation tower. Awwwwww!

It just goes on and on and on......

Look at the shadows from the clouds on the hills! This picture makes me want to sing, "Oh the West Virginia hills how majestic and how grand, with their summits bathed in glory...."

Isn't that wild how the trees grow?

Check out Pa's shades.

"Titanic"

Ha Ha....Look at Philip's hair. He loved the wind!

I had a lot of fun with Philip! We missed Daddy A LOT!

I would like to dedicate this section of the blog to Mr. Cameon (Mine and Bryon's sixth grade teacher). We actually stayed at the 4-U motel on our West Virginia trip. It was a great experience. We also stopped at Spruce Knob and Seneca Rocks on our sixth grade trip. It is really special to have memories to look back on. I'm excited to share them with Philip when he is older!

There use to be an old swimming pool (it didn't have any water in it when we stayed there).

I remember waking up and hearing sheep "baaing" from the back door of the room!

Lastly, we stopped and hiked up to Seneca Rocks. It was a beautiful, hot day. I started off with Philip on me then after we went up 102 stairs, I happily passed him over to Bryon. Even though Dad, Bryon and me had been here before it was still amazing. Hiking reminded me how much I enjoyed being in nature and absorbing all God has created. He is amazing!

Bryon took this picture - Isn't it beautiful?

The view is amazing!

We had to climb rocks to get to the very top! Philip didn't make it that far - maybe next time.

There is a similar picture of Dad when he was at Seneca with Bryon's sixth grade class.

There's Erin!

Thank goodness for Uncle Bryon - Philip would not have made it up to the top if it wasn't for him.

Bryon was freaking out a little bit during this picture!

Eating a popscicle!

2008-05-10T18:39:00.001-07:00

Philip loves being outside!

What is this?

Mmm Good!

Almost gone.

Discovering grass.

Around the House!

2008-04-30T15:48:00.001-07:00

"Batter up" - Watch out Morris boys and Danny, you may have some competition.

He likes to pull up on his toy basket.

Every kid's favorite toy.

Loves playing under the chair. Look at my tongue!

Driving his big red car.

An Afternoon at the Park!

2008-04-25T18:39:00.001-07:00

We decided to go to the park last week. It was a blast! I hope it turns warmer so we can go again soon.

Philip loved the swing.

Sorry, I don't know why I filmed it this way.

First time down the slide!

This pretty much sums up what he thought of the sand.

Philip's first Boo-Boo!

2008-04-25T18:28:00.000-07:00

Philip got his first boo-boo yesterday. (Notice the bruising under his eye.) It makes me so sad, but I know there will be more to come. He was actually sitting and fell over on a toy. After crying for a few seconds he was ready to play again.

The Wedding!

2008-04-23T06:51:00.000-07:00

My cousin, Nathaniel is now married to a wonderful girl, Kim. Kim is very sweet and down to earth, a great addition to the family. It was awesome to see my relatives at the wedding. I wish I would have taken more pictures of everyone.

Philip was happy to be there, he got to stay up way past his bedtime.

Dad, Mom and Erin (Bryon was sitting with the Wedding Party).

This is Aaron! He is Kerri and Brian's little boy. He was so good, and has the prettiest blue eyes!

Hanging out with Jeff and Stacie.

Spring Days!

2008-04-10T16:54:00.000-07:00

It has been a while since I've blogged (camera out of batteries). So much has changed. Philip is now crawling - well it actually looks like "the worm." We lowered his crib as low as it goes. That is the first thing that made me a little sad. I feel like I do not have an infant anymore. Even when shopping for clothes, he wears some 9 months, but I've been buying 12 months.

Love the Legs!!!

Philip loves being with Mommy right now.

I better enjoy it while I can!

This is one of my favorite pictures.

I tried to get him to smell the flower, but of course it went straight to the mouth.

We're planting a garden this year.

Later that day, Philip helped Daddy hang some things.

My Birthday

2008-03-28T19:54:00.000-07:00

Today was my birthday, and a great day it was. My dear friend Erin came and took me out to eat. We went to CJ Maggies. (Mmm Good.) While we were there little did I know Timothy was up to something. I have been wanting a treadmill for a long time and Timothy decided to get me one. I was quite surprised when I walked in the door. He actually did a pretty good job of hiding his sneakiness.

Now all I have to do is start using it!

P.S. Happy Birthday, Uncle Greg!

Easter Sunday

2008-03-25T09:56:00.001-07:00

We had a wonderful Easter. After church, we went to Mama and Papa's and ate great food and had an Easter egg hunt. Philip had to of known it was a special day because he only slept an hour and was completely slap happy when we got home.

Ready for church

I bet he wishes that was his basket.

Yea! We're at Mama and Papa's.

Samuel saying, "cheeeeeese."

Marissa is a great help with Philip.

Philip's hair looks red being next to Marissa.

This is the newest member of the Thacker family - Lincoln.

Look at those cheeks!

JD and Chance counting their money from the egg hunt.

Easter at Pa and Nonna's

2008-03-22T19:06:00.001-07:00

We celebrated Easter with my parents on Saturday. It was a great evening of good food and fun. Philip enjoyed his first Easter basket and sitting in his new highchair.

Sitting at the table with the grownups.

Philip's first Easter basket.

Timothy - always keeps me laughing.

Sitting with Pa.

My mom did a wonderful job decorating and cooking -

everything was fabulous!

Philip loves Brandy, but she's not too sure of him.

I think she knows if he gets a handful of hair, he will pull - hard!

Hanging out with Uncle Bryon and Erin.

I Love my Family!

Almost Crawling!

2008-03-18T18:33:00.000-07:00

Philip is trying very hard to get around! He is almost crawling.

Fun in the Sun!

2008-03-14T18:26:00.001-07:00

Yesterday was a beautiful day - in the 60's. Philip and I had a wonderful time outside. He loves to look at everything. Its almost like he can't take it all in. We look forward to more days like this!

I wonder what he is thinking.

Probably - "another picture - come on, Mom"
In the backyard.

A Barge!

Teething!

2008-03-14T18:17:00.000-07:00

Poor Philip is teething. He puts EVERYTHING into his mouth (as you can see). He has four teeth now - we still have a ways to go! Even though cutting teeth makes him fussy sometimes, he can always make me laugh.

Yummy!

2008-03-10T17:55:00.001-07:00

Those were some good carrots! Philip loves eating baby food. I cannot get the spoon in fast enough so he decides to put his fingers in his mouth which results in a huge mess!

Snow Day!

2008-03-08T17:06:00.001-08:00

Help - I can't move!

He loves being outside.

Me and Philip

The river was pretty high.

Philip and Timothy

March Madness Baby!

2008-03-06T17:34:00.000-08:00

With the month of March comes the fun of watching basketball - ALL THE TIME!! Philip has no say in which team he "wants" to win. Having been born into this family, he was born a Blue Devils fan!

Bouncy, Bouncy

2008-03-01T14:11:00.000-08:00

This is one of Philip's favorite things right now. It is hilarious! Thanks Aunt B!

Six Months Old and Loving It

2008-02-28T11:27:00.000-08:00

The Thackers have officially entered the blogging world. Finally! Yep, Philip is six months old. I can't believe it. He is learning new things everyday. While he is still trying to crawl, he enjoys scooting backwards on his stomach. He is full of smiles and laughter which makes our days fun. It is amazing. Timothy and I feel so blessed to have him in our lives.