Mama Monday Wrap-Up...{Angie}!!!

Tell us about yourself…

My name is Angie Thompson.  I am a wife to an amazing man, a mama to two adorable boys with another baby on the way, a daughter, a sister to three fabulous women, a friend, an aunt, a crier, a shopper and lover of time with my family.  I also love Jesus and feel I'm growing stronger in my faith every single day.

 

 

my family





 

 

Husband love…

I met Chad in the seventh grade!  We were good friends, dated sophomore/junior year in high school, were madly in love and then remained friends until we, or maybe I should say he realized in college that he wanted more! :)

We have been married for almost 10 years and our love grows stronger every day.  I'm so grateful for what God has done to our marriage.  We have been through a lot in our short time together and God continues to help make us stronger, more forgiving, loving, and giving.  Chad has been my rock since our second child was born.  I think he always has been, but being given a birth defect diagnosis at 20 weeks along, when you did every single thing right, rocks your world.  He is an amazing husband, dad, provider and lover.  We're so blessed to call him ours!

 



 

My handsome husband and I.

 

 

Best daddy to our kiddos



 

 

 

Mama love…

I can't even begin to explain how wonderful it is to be a mama, but also how difficult it can be :)  How can you love so much???  Oliver and Palmer bring an immense amount of joy to my world and I have no idea what I would do without them.  They challenge me in many ways and love me for just being their mama. 

 



Oliver - 3 weeks old

 

Oliver - 18 months old, one of my favorite pictures!  That's how I feel about him!

 

 

Palmer - 4 weeks old

 

Our new family - February 2011

Oliver's first time holding Palmer (16 days old).

 

 

July 2014

 

Challenges you have faced on this mama journey…

I have challenges every day with my boys! In addition to the normal challenges of any mom, I have a few different/extras with our son, Palmer, who has Spina Bifida. I believe the hardest challenges for me have been hospital stays, doctor/therapy appointments and the amount of time we've been away from our home (and especially Oliver!) since having Palmer.

 

Palmer when he was three days old at Children's Minneapolis hospital.  My first time being with him after recovering from his birth 8 hours away.

We had a 15 day hospital stay which included two surgeries.

Oliver was finally able to meet Palmer when he was 11 days old.  It's a day we'll never forget!

These two have a wonderful bond.

 

Our second hospital stay which included a third and a fourth unexpected surgery.

Arriving home after our fourth hospital stay and sixth surgery.  We were so happy to see Daddy and Oliver.

 

A photo from one of our many therapy sessions.

 

Mama advice for surviving the tough days...

I have been blessed with fabulous sisters and parents who would do anything for my family. I also have the greatest group of friends a girl could ask for!  These people and Chad help me through the difficult days. And a hot cup of coffee with some flavored creamer while I read a few devotions or a good book always boosts my mood :)

 

 

Simple pleasures…

A simple pleasure of mine would be going to TARGET, by myself and browsing every single row. :)  I'm not sure if it's a mom thing, but I LOVE it! 

Snuggling with any one of my boys, including my husband!

It may not be simple, but we have a love of traveling and exploring as a family!

 

 

Money saving tip…

I'm a sales rack girl when it comes to clothes - I always have been and I think I always will be.  I love fashion, but try to be careful about it.  A girl could go CRAZY!  I also try to buy the boys' clothes from previous seasons when they're on clearance - I think it's a major help!

 

 

 

Health and fitness…

Being nine months pregnant, I'm terrible with this at the moment. Chad and I do try to keep our house healthy with our food choices.  We love family walks, golfing, biking, being outside and taking trips to the YMCA for swimming, shooting hoops and running/wheeling around.

 

 

Enjoying our North Dakota summers!

Good read…

I'm a sucker for romance novels.  They are all the same, but I still love them!

Beauty secret…

No beauty secrets here!  I'm a no make-up kind of girl.

 

Closing words…

I began writing a blog before we had Oliver with the intentions of having a scrapbook for him and our future children.  I rarely print pictures - I'm terrible!  I highlight the majority of our fun times and everyday life in our world with the hope of possibly helping another family who receives the diagnosis of Spina Bifida. I'm not sure what we would have done without the support of our SB online friends and the help we continue to get from them as we continue on this wild journey!

 

February 2014 - brothers

Last pictures with just my two boys - #3 expected April 2014

 

 

My blog is www.chadandangiethompson.blogspot.com