Make Way, Make Way!!!

Make Way, Make Way for my post!

Well, as some of you all know, I decided to cut my calorie intake to 8,000 instead of 12,000 every day for Lent. I am only drinking soda and beer and a little bit of water when I have to. I weigh close to 220 now but i've cut down on some of the chips and oreos. I know Dad will be happy to hear that (Beat that, Ryan)

Also, I've got a new girlfriend...her name is mandy and she really likes my eyes. Check out the picture of us walking at North Park here at Ave Maria. It's a great shot.



okay, jk...anyways, life for me is going great. Oklahoma has been taken up a lot of time. Our two performances this past weekend were phenomenal. People loved the performances and for the first time in Ave history, the Healys and Dan Dentino are making us do an additional performance on Sunday because we sold out our tickets and turned away 40 people at the door. So, it's been a lot of fun and I don't know what I'm going to do once it's all over. I've had such a blast and love this musical. The first time I saw Oklahoma I hated it, but now I love it. It's a great musical. Wish you all could see it. :) But please keep me in your prayers this weekend cuz I still have two more performances and I get really nervous. Thanks!

Uh, I've begun my thesis and I passed my Comps with a B+ so i was happy to get that especially with all the musical stuff and midterms that I had. Seana and I had a good time in there...I asked her before she started grilling me: "Now, which lifelines do I get? Phone a friend and 50/50?" She laughed and so did I...haha...ahem, anyways... I also had to write up two students with major infractions for violating the inter-visitation and after hours rules. Fun, fun fun...oh and Little Rosario and I also called off dating for now for many reasons which I can't get into right now cuz I have to go to Oklahoma practice soon. She's just been very unstable and I need some time to recuperate. We are still hanging out tho and being friends. So, that's good.

So, that's about all that's going on in my life. There's a lot to tell you about, but unfortunately I don't have the time so I figured this would suffice for now. I love you all.

Oh and I got accepted into Thomas Cooley law School in Michigan. I knew I would get into there cuz they accept everybody so now at least I know where to turn if I need a last resort. I'm hoping some schools in Florida or Virginia will accept me, but I'll probably just end up taking the LSAT again. But we shall see, we shall see. Prayers are much appreciated. Love ya'll.

God bless - Joe Tompkins 2040

Pro-life Slogans?

Just looking for some good ideas from all of you Tompkins Family bloggers: this weekend Ryan and I spent our Saturday morning praying in front of the abortion clinic here in Manassas. We want to try and make a habit of going more often, and I want to make some of our own signs for when we do. The ones we borrowed from another picketer this weekend were kind of old and crummy (worn out from a lot of use, which is of course a good thing). They just had the same ol' slogans on them ("Abortion stops a beating heart," "Face it: Abortion kills," "Honk if you like babies," etc.), that everyone has heard many times. They were handwritten and the writing was not centered or neat, which bothered me; they just weren't aesthetically pleasing. So I want to make some of our own with some short but powerful Pro-Life messages; something thought provoking and not as over-used. Does anyone have any favorites, or any fresh ideas? Let me know, I'd greatly appreciate it!  

The Latest

Hi everyone! Just wanted to post a little something since the Blog has been a little boring of late, and what could be more exciting than a post from us, documenting the last few weeks of our eventful lives? Let me see...where should I start? First of all, here are some pictures; beginning with Ryan rejoicing over some XBox video games that arrived in the mail, thanks to Chris and Mike. I call this picture "Jubilation":

Unfortunately, Ryan gave up video games for Lent, which began a few days after this picture was taken, haha. How is that for irony? Here are a few pictures from our trip the Marine Corps museum a couple of weeks ago, which we thoroughly enjoyed. This is what it looked like from the outside:

Ryan liked all the weapons most of all, especially the guns...he proudly named them off to me at each exhibit. All this knowledge was gained from, you guessed it, video games!

This is a picture I just couldn't resist taking: since I have been unable to make dinner for the past several weeks due to my morning sickness, Ryan decided to make it himself one night. I guess he got tired of making himself bowls of cereal. As a result, he made us a gourmet meal of spaghetti and Ragu sauce. From the couch, where I lay passed out with nausea, my only request was that he not get his work clothes dirty, since spaghetti sauce stains. When I got up to see how he was doing, I found him wearing my cherry-print apron, a gift from my bridal shower. Doesn't he look hot?

As for the update: we are doing very well :) Ryan is not exactly loving his job but working hard to continue getting good reviews on his performance. He is now being given a lot more high-priority clients, which he hope will help with getting him exposed to bigger companies that he might switch to working for after FedSources. After our trip to the Marine museum, Ryan has decided on working towards a career in Defense, hoping to eventually work for the FBI so he can use his skills to help our country fight terrorism. Since the FBI headquarters is only a few miles away from us, we think it might be a real possibility. We will see where God leads us! Oh and Ryan has been working out now too; Dad we thought you would appreciate that little tidbit. :)

As for me and Baby Tompkins, we are very well. The baby is doing so well, in fact, that I have been dead to the work the last few week as a result. In theory, I don't mind the nausea and the vomiting because I know it means little Baby Tompkins is very healthy and having a grand ol' time inside my tummy. :) It is just very debilitating, since it lasts all day long. Poor Ryan has been very patient in dealing with me, and does not mind that I cannot prepare him dinner, that I fall asleep at by 9:30 every night, have stopped grooming myself, and am generally unable to do much of anything. Ryan continues to take very good care of me and the baby, and when he rubs my tummy and talks to the baby it always helps me feel better. Last week was particularly bad, since I picked up both a cold and a stomach virus that was going through my class at school, on top of my usual morning sickness. Thankfully I am just about over both of them now, because that was not fun. The children in my class are another source of joy to me; they are all very much in love with Baby Tompkins already. Since they are in the 3-6 year old range, they are perfectly eye-level with my tummy, so every day I have many little hands rubbing my belly and commenting on its size. They will ask me "Mrs. Tompkins, how big is Baby now?" and I will show them with my fingers the baby's size, and it makes them very excited. I can't help but think that Baby Tompkins enjoys all the rubs, kisses, and love he gets from the kids in my class; it's very cute.

This past week was particularly eventful for other reasons; we are getting internet installed in our apartment (finally), and we got cable as well! The former has proved to be a long and annoying process, but thanks to our new digital cable converter box, we now get a bunch of channels on our TV in HD. We ceremoneously watched the Office for the first time in our apartment last night, and boy did we feel like royalty! The whole experience of not having these things until now has made us realize that we have found the secret to a happy life: start out with nothing, work your way up from scratch, and you will appreciate each and every little thing so much more. So, we highly recommend getting married right out of college, having kids right away, and living life on a very tight budget. That way, things like a car, a place to live, mattress, cell phones, coffee tables, internet, cable, etc. seem all the more special since you gain them gradually! What fun would there be if we just had them all from day one? Booooring! :p

Oh and another exciting bit of news is that we booked tickets to come down to Joseph's Ave graduation in May. We are very excited to see most of you hopefully, and will look into coming down for the double Baptism in July as well. We will try our best! It's always exciting to write on the calendar that we have a trip to see family soon, and we are looking forward to it! We love you and miss you all, and keep the blog updates coming!! -Ryan, Mary and baby :)