threesixfive, days 111 thru 117

what a week!! thats all i can really say.

we were super crazy busy, having something every night to go to, which, believe it or not, was a good thing.

pictures.....

sunday, day 111

happy easter!!

monday, day 112

on a shopping excursion (still working on the room switch) colby and molly found these chairs. there were even signs attached to the top that said 'king' and 'queen'.

tuesday, day 113

we went to the ballpark with some friends and got to enjoy the pool! this is our best friends' oldest, adler. he loved colbys goggles.




wednesday, day 114

we have a family of cottontails under our deck and usually if we're coming home in the evenings or leaving really early in the morning, we'll catch glimpses of them.

thursday, day 115

this coming wednesday is the derby race at awanas. this will be colbys first year to participate. he and allen spent a good part of thursday afternoon working on his car.

friday, day 116

today was our last day to meet with our co-op friends. the last day of classes was two weeks ago. today we had a field day for the younger kids and an exhibit for anyone who had anything to share (art on display, drama skits, choir songs, etc).

saturday, day 117

still working on the rooms. allen is hanging the last pictures in the guest room as i type. we decided to go with a vintage sports theme. the new bookshelf for the schoolroom will hopefully be assembled tomorrow evening. i'd like to paint this room a khaki color eventually, but not in the immediate future.

have a blessed week!!!

dreams really dont come true

this was the conversation between colby and molly in the car today.

molly: "colby, dreams dont really come true, you know."
colby: "why?"
molly: "they just dont. they just dont come true."
colby: "like what kind of dreams?"
molly: "well, my dream is to be a princess, but im not really."
colby: "why?"
molly: "im just not ever going to be a princess."
colby: "but youre kind and youre nice."
molly: "i just want to be nice!"
colby: "molly, kind and nice are the same thing."
molly: "oh, ok."
colby: "you kind and nice, and princesses are kind and nice.....and princesses can dance really good."
molly: "like a ballerina! like ballerina princesses!"
colby: "yeah, like a ballerina, and youre learning to dance like a ballerina, so youre working on that one."
molly: "yes, i am in my dance class."
colby: "so thats good."
molly: "but im not ever going to be a real princess. until we go to disney. thats where all your dreams come true. mommy, can we go to disney so i can learn to be a real princess?"

i dont know where they come up with this stuff. its hilarious.

threesixfive, days 104 thru 110

its been a fun, fast, full week. i promise i didnt mean to use all those f's. it just worked out that way.
it was spiritual emphasis week at the academy at our church, and i was part of the worship team asked to lead.
i was up at the school each day from 12:30 to about 2:00. i love doing it, though, so it was a lot of fun.
allen is in charge of chapel services at the academy, so he got a friend of his whos a youth minister a couple hours away to come a speak this week. he stayed with us, and broke in our new guest bedroom.
theres still plenty that needs to be done to finish out the bedroom and whats now the school room/office (formerly the dining room), but we like the new setup.
allen left thursday afternoon when the last chapel service was over to drive about 4 (or 5) hours south where he was the speaker at a youth event down there.
he will get back late tonight (around 2am).
i've been flying solo with the kids for the past few days but we've had fun.
my week was much more exciting than my pictures are. im dissappointed in my lack of effort this week, but at any rate, here they are....

sunday, day 104
heres a shot of the new, not yet finished schoolroom. we decided to keep the dining room table and just take the leaves out, so its a great size for colby and molly to sit and do their work, if we ever get to that point. right now we do everything on the floor. BUT, i didnt have to get rid of my dining room set that i LOVE. we still need a big bookshelf so we can get rid of the white drawer things, and eventually we'll frame out the opening and add french doors.

monday, day 105
day 1 of spiritual emphasis week. we took bj (the speaker) to dinner at tokyo steakhouse. it one of those places where they cook the food at the table. super fun.


tuesday, day 106
i saw this liscense plate and had to get a picture. so many questions....



wednesday, day 107
time to feed the frog! we put 5 or 6 crickets in once a week.


thursday, day 108
while my parents had the kids, i went and got the stuff for their easter baskets.


friday, day 109
colby and molly opted for their matching round rock express nightshirts for bedtime and asked if i would take a picture of them together. so cute.


saturday, day 110
i just took this picture about ten minutes ago. its what i'll be tackling after i post this blog entry!!


have a blessed Easter sunday! we're having my family, and our friends the lamberts over for lunch and an egg hunt tomorrow after church. i hope you get some good time with your families as well!

make it easy

just a couple of funny things that happened today with the kids...

I heard colby say
colby: im going to count to 100 from 10!
me: why are you starting at 10?
colby: it's just easier.

I've always thought the first 9 numbers were a hassle too. so overrated.


the kids made a pile of toys, and then decided to wrestle for them. whoever wins gets the toys. after about 5 solid minutes of wrestling, like rolling around on the floor, trying to pin each other, colby says.
colby: maybe we should just flip a coin. that would be a lot easier. this just isn't working.
then when they went to flip the coin, instead of heads or tails, it was president or bird. :-)

hope everyone is enjoying Good Friday! allens out of town at a speaking engagement until late Saturday night, or very very early Sunday morning, as it were, so the kids and I are trying to stay occupied.
so far today we've made a bird feeder, a fort in the living room, and (I've) cleaned the floors and done laundry. I think baking cookies is on the agenda as well.

have a blessed weekend!

bluebonnets

here are a few of the pictures our friend zach took last week.

threesixfive, days 98 thru 103

i'll get right to it!

sunday, day 98

youth guru jim burns was here to do an understanding your teenager conference. it was fantastic!! and we got to hang out with him sunday afternoon; hes such a nice man!

monday, day 99

i was baking all day in preparation for tuesday.....

tuesday, day 100

i hosted a coffee party for the co-op moms tuesday night. we had 6 different coffees from all over the world i had been collecting for the past several months from missionaries, or people at our church that travel. this is kimberly with her tasting cups. oh, and ethiopia was the favorite!

wednesday, day 101

i treated myself to some gerber daisies. so pretty!

thursday, day 102

bluebonnet pictures; a texas must! my friend zach took some great ones that i'll post when i get them!

friday, day 103

i went to the RRHS spring show to support some of our youth girls that participate in drill team and dance. i love going every year, but it makes me want to dance again!

saturday, day 104

we're doing an overhaul here at the house. the dining room is becoming the school room and the school room is becoming a guest bedroom. we've been running around all day to get the stuff we need for the transition. molly got buried under pillows at target!

this will be a very full and busy week! i'll be finishing up the room changes, we'll have a guest with us this week (the speaker for spiritual emphasis week at the academy at our church), and easter is a week away! have a blessed week! see you next time!

threesixfive, days 91 thru 97

it was a great week here at the frans casa. allens first week back to work in a month went well for all involved. we missed him around here, but fell back into our routine pretty well for the most part. allergies kept us indoors a couple days (me and colby), but other than that it was a normal week.

sunday, day 91

molly was playing with my camera and decided she wanted a family picture. my camera has a timer, but it was so funny watching her push the button and try to run and get in the picture, that i didnt set it. there is a slight delay, so its possible. she finally got one, but i posted a few so you can see some of the 'no's'. you can also see where colby finally had enough with posing.

monday, day 92

my friend dawn gave these to me a couple of months ago, and i finally unboxed them and set them out. she has a set and she fills them with different things, usually seasonal. i love the way the jellybeans look, but its a challenge to not eat them!! just a couple more weeks.....

tuesday, day 93

we went to the park for a couple hours. colby made a friend and was playing hide and seek. hes 'whisper-yelling' at me to stop taking his picture or i'll give away his hiding spot.

wednesday, day 94

nothing like a new box of crayons.

thursday, day 95

my best guy friend from high school turns 30 on tuesday, and his wife is putting together a picture collage of all his friends doing something with the number 30. this is one of the pictures we took. we also did one with sidewalk chalk, and took one in front of a 30mph sign.

friday, day 96

spent a couple hours at the pool. i mentioned needing a picture for the day, and colby insisted on me posing with him in front of the water. then he didnt even look at the camera!! grrr.

saturday, day 97

this is one of my favorite movies; easily in my top 3. i watched is saturday for the first time in many years, and laughed just as hard as i ever have.

have a blessed week!!

silent screaming

so, being a parent is awesome, right?
you have this precious child, who cuddles with you, gives free hugs and kisses, and thinks youre pretty much the greatest person on the planet. most of the time.
you get to experience their firsts. from the first time they roll over to their first lost tooth, and eventually first job, first date, first car, etc.
i love my kids with all my heart.
i'm so proud of them, and so proud to be colbys mommy and mollys mommy. i want to bless them. i want to take them for ice cream, and let them stay up late becuase we've had such a great day that i dont want it to end.
i want to take them to do something theyve never done before just so i can watch them experience it for the first time.

but sometimes they dont deserve it!
sometimes, im finding, i really want to do something nice, but i cant because theyve been acting like toots all day!
this has been the recent development at our house. we've been working on being thankful for what you have, or what youre given; not expecting more, or pouting becuase its not the color you wanted. hey, i'm sorry you're balloon is white, not red. but theres kids in china that dont have balloons.
be grateful!!!
this happens much more often with molly than with colby, and we've decided that we're going to have to start being more intentional in teaching her what it is to be grateful, which will mean times of her having some things taken away. such a hard lesson to learn, and a hard one to teach too!! they're also learning more and more how to really push each others buttons. they mess with each other just for the sake of irritating them! seriously?!?
i'm an only child, so all this sibling...ness, is completely over my head. i'm experiencing it fir the first time through my kids. and my mom just looks at me and shrugs, like, 'i got nuthin.'
so, we've had to start having talking time outs, specifically in the car. they'll get so worked up, and always when i'm driving it seems, that they just start screaming. literally. so i say, "ok, thats it. youve lost talking priviledges. no sound at all for 5 minutes." this happens on a very regular basis, but the other day i looked in my rearview mirror, and saw colby silent yelling. technically, he was following directions, but man, he was yelling in spirit. then molly joined in too, when i didnt say anything. i pulled out my camera and caught some of the action. they saw me filming, so it became kind of silly yelling, but you get the idea.



Lord, help me.

threesixfive, days 84 thru 90

****blogger is not letting me space out my post and i dont know why!!! ive tried to fix it but i only make it worse. please excuse them and bear with me this week.**** this week wrapped up allens month long sabbatical. its been great having him around so much. the kids and i will definitely miss him when he heads back to work tomorrow!! we spent sunday thru wednesday in san antonio, staying in a hotel on the riverwalk. one of our 'couple friends' came down sunday evening and had dinner with us, then the next morning the guys played golf while emilie and i went shopping...and ate, and ate, and ate! the riverwalk is such a fun and beautiful place. its right in the heart of downtown san antonio, and its lined on both sides with fantastic restaraunts, and boutiques. tuesday allen and i slept in and after lunch went and walked thu the alamo, something i hadnt done since i was probably in middle school. i appreciated it much more this time! we also went to the rivercenter mall, did a little shopping, and squeezed in a movie. it was so good to get away without the kids, and just be with each other. we hadnt done that in a long time. the rest of the week played out as usual, with a few extras thrown in. i'll let the pictures show you that stuff, though.... sunday, day 84 dinner at the magic time machine. so. much. fun. this is emilie and i with our waitress, poison ivy. she was adorable! monday, day 85 emilie and i walked (much farther than we anticipated) to the guenther house for breakfast. its a historic home thats been turned into a museum and bakery. fabulous coffee, and i had the most delicious oatmeal pancakes. afterward i was thankful for all the walking we'd be doing! tuesday, day 86 i saw this place on diners, drive-ins, and dives (food network) about 3 weeks ago. i told allen we had to eat there while we were in S.A. it did not dissapoint! sandwiched between a car wash and a laundromat, their entire menu is organic and locally grown. we had spinach mushroom quesedillas (my favorite that day!); allen had the lamb burger; and i tried one of their fish tacos which was also fantastic. wednesday, day 87 the alamo!! very cool. thursday, day 88 i went today and got a feather hair extension. i've seen a few people with them and think they're so cool looking. one of the girls in the youth group, whos also our babysitter, has one and suggested that i go to the place she went. so thursday afternoon i drove down to south austin and got one! i love it!!! you can wash it, curl it, brush it; anything you'd do to normal hair. its supposed to last 2 to 3 months. i kept it pretty neutral this time. if i do it again, i think i'll add a little color. friday, day 89 allen took molly to the daddy/daughter dance. this was their second year to go, and they had a great time once again. saturday, day 90 our first pool day of the year! it got up to the low 90's today, but that water was still cold!! i'm so glad my kids are old enough that i dont have to get in with them!!!! have a blessed week!!