The Modern Toddler

She plucked it right out of my ear and knew exactly what to do. I am sure she is discussing what to download on her ipod with her playdate friends. I have my hands full, folks.

Pirates and Walking

Yesterday was a fun day! We had a lazy morning and then dropped A off so we could go see a movie. I have to tell you it has been 2 years since Russell and I have gone to see a movie together and I was SHOCKED to find out MATINEE tickets are 7 bucks a piece!!! Good Grief!! No wonder we never go to movies anymore!!! We went and saw Pirates of the Caribbean, which was good, but I have to say I found it a little bit confusing. Has anyone else seen this movie?? What did you think about it??

Today was so EXCITING! I am happy to report that my girl is now OFFICIALLY walking 2 days after her 14 month birthday! I honestly thought she would never get her nerve. We have known that she had the capability to walk for quite some time...just never seemed to have the nerve to let go! I guess those days are over and my world is about to change for good!

She's HERE!

Many of you may have already received the email from Beth's husband Brian...In case you didn't, I wanted to let you know that Lillian Elizabeth P. arrived via C-Section last night at 8:04 PM. She is a big girl! 8 lbs, 11oz. and 21 inches.


Brian has set up a blog so you can check up on them: http://www.myfavoriteflower.blogspot.com/

Here is the little Angel who I think looks JUST like her mommy!

WELCOME TO THE WORLD LITTLE MISS LILLIAN!

Are we too old for this??

We had our Spring Fling last night for Juniors and Seniors. It was SUCH a blast but not over until 5 AM !! After a few hours of sleep this morning, Russell and I are still pretty bleary eyed. We went to some really neat Dallas attractions (The West End, The Arboretum, Fountain Place, and Reunion Tower) But it rained most of the night so all of my pictures are inside...Here are a few Some Cool Kids Some Sweet Junior Girls Some Amazing Chaperones Some Tired Youth Ministers!

Bethie is in Labor

I am so excited...my oldest ,bestest friend Beth Moore Prewitt is in labor right now with her first child in Atlanta. Please pray for her as it has already been an exhausting night and she has a while to go! I can't wait until her little girl is born so we can ALL FINALLY know the name!


Good Luck, Beth! We are praying for you!!!


I will get pictures up as soon as I get them!

Cute Pregnant Bethie

Me and Bethie at NCYM a few years ago

Back from the beach =(

We just got back from the beach last night around 1AM and I am so sad to already be home! It was so great to relax with friends and family! Here are a few pictures from the trip...I took over 200, and I have to say, they were all so good I had trouble deciding which ones to post!

ALL 8 of us!!! Good thing we stayed in a big house!!!

update

This is going to be quick. We had to take Annaleigh back to the Dr. yesterday after a very ROUGH couple of days...he proceeded to tell us that she had not one, not two, but THREE viruses! I just about cried right there in the office at the prospect we may not make our long-awaited beach trip this week. He quickly told me that we were on the end of the two contagious ones (Intestinal and Croup) and he was going to give her a shot today and send her home with Antibiotics for , yet another, ear infection....his advise would be to hold off the trip one day if at all possible to observe her and make sure she is on the up and up....FORTUNATELY, the beach house we are going to is owned by some very dear friends who could be flexible...so we are STILL going (just not until Friday.)
I most likely will not get another chance to post until we get back...so I hope everyone has a fantastic week!

Buggie

It turns out little-bit has a touch of the dreaded stomach bug again! Looks like a few days inside for us plus lots of germ-x, lysol, clear liquids, crackers, and watching the Wiggles. I gotta get this kid 100% before we leave for the beach (Laguna Beach, Florida for those who care) on Wednesday!

Here she is on a day she felt more like herself

Last night's adventure

We have been experiencing an unusually wet/stormy spring here in North Texas. Considering it rained a total of about 3 times all last spring or summer, everyone has been in shock! Last night a huge storm struck our area about 15 minutes after Bible Class started at church. It went from still to literally 90 mile an hour winds!!! The power went out not too long after things started to kick up....My baby was in cradle roll in another building so a friend and I braved the storms to go and rescue our kids! Of course they didn't even care it was pitch black, but it made us feel better to have our babies in our arms. All the moms gathered and sat in the hallway with the babies while waiting for the worst of the storm to blow over by cell-phone light! We all laughed how funny it was we don't even need flashlights anymore because of cell phones.
We got home to discover the power was out in our house, so we just lit candles and made the best of it. We sort of thought the power would come back on quickly because we practically live in the middle of Mesquite....well it didn't and the house started to get muggy and hot. We would have left the windows cracked but there are no screens on our windows and we didn't want to let bugs and critters in all night. We didn't want Annaleigh to get too hot so we packed up to go spend the night at a friends house. Wouldn't you know that as soon as we got to the front door Annaleigh THEW UP all over me and her. We were already wearing our pj's and didn't even have a change of clothes with us so we had to borrow clothes from our friends. She was so yucky I had to bring her in and put her straight in the tub! By the time we all got to bed it was almost 1AM.
Everyone is fine now! We got power back around 10am today but unfortunately some people in the area still do not have power. There were not any tornadoes here....but there was some damage done by the wind. Thank goodness our only loss was the melted Blue Bell ice cream in our freezer!

confession

Hello. My name is Laurie and I am a Diet Dr. Pepper-aholic. It is sad, I know. Justification: I only have one or two a day so it's not that bad, right?? Okay. I know the real culprit is my teensy addiction to caffeine...but I still can't help loving the stuff. It's my only vice in life!! What is your favorite food or drink vice??

Cut it or leave it??

Okay, I know this may seem random or even silly, but I am debating a huge dilemma. I can't decide whether or not to cut my little girl's hair. Bless her, she is a bit challenged in that department anyway so I hate to cut any that she has, but these days she is sporting a do that's somewhere between a sweet 80's mullet and Cindy-Lou Who off of Dr. Seuss's the Grinch that Stole Christmas ( i.e. curl over the ears and occasional sprig that stands straight up on her head) Here are a few recent shots to give you a better idea on how to vote:

Blue Bonnets

A fun Texas tradition is to take your kids pictures in the blue bonnets every year....here is our first attempt:

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday, Russell! You are an amazing husband, a loving father, a fiercely loyal friend, and dedicated and enthusiastic follower of Christ. I love you!

Crunch TIME!

UGGGHHH! I have a Microbiology paper due today on Salmonella Typhimurium that I have been slaving away on for days. All of the sudden I am having flashbacks to the Elam Dorm computer lab at Lipscomb University, circa 1998! Let's just hope my computer doesn't freeze up like the ones in the dorms were notorious for doing!!! Does anyone else remember that??
Back to work! Will update in a few days after papers, lab practicals, etc. etc. etc.

Baseball

Catchin' a little Skeeter baseball this weekend with Daddy and his friend!

Breast Cancer 3 day walk

60 miles in 3 days! This October I am going to have the incredible privilege to participate in the DFW Susan G. Komen 3-Day walk with several moms and girls from our youth group. I am a little fearful because I am certainly not in tip-top shape but I know it's such a great cause and will be an amazing bonding experience for us all. Breast Cancer affects all women in some personal way...we all probably know someone who has survived breast cancer or gone on before us because of the disease. I can't help but think that statistically one of us will have it at some point, which is scary, but all the more reason to promote finding a cure NOW. When the girls initially asked me to do this walk with them I thought it might not be the best idea. Of course I support the cause, but I thought it might be good for them to just do it with their moms. Later, one of the moms approached me and said they really wanted me to do it with them because they consider me such a significant part of these girls lives they wanted me to be there as friend, supporter, etc. I was so honored/humbled...how could I say no?? So the task ahead is to raise $2,300 dollars and to train to walk 60 miles....and I need help. I need prayers and I need fundraising ideas. If you would like to help me with this or have any great ideas feel free to comment or contact me by email at lauriefrantz2002@yahoo.com . Thank you in advance!

Naked Baby

This picture of my little girl made me smile today!

Spring?? Is that you?

Here is to hoping the cold weather is finally behind us!

Do we have a future Georgia Bulldog on our hands??

More Blogging Friends

Sarah (Scott) Damschroder and Amy (Bogle) Hogg have also started blogs this past week..... thought you might be interested in checking them out!

Family

I have been thinking a lot about family today...specifically and in general. We actually went on a youth retreat this weekend, which was great, but I have to admit I was sad to not have a "traditional" Easter Sunday. There were no special Easter services, no new dresses, no bunny, no egg hunts. It was a great time of fellowship and community with our teens and youth team....but I missed the tradition. On the car ride back from Austin, my friend played a new Amy Grant CD of traditional church hymns . I was amazed to find how all the songs touched my heart in such a personal way. Each hymn reminded me of a family member... "My Jesus, I Love Thee" has always been my Mama Moore's favorite song. I can close my eyes and hear the words in her beautiful voice. "It is Well With my Soul" is one of Papa's favorite. Tears come to my eyes every time it is sung. I realized today that through songs of praise to God, we can also have powerful connections to our loved ones here on earth and to those who have gone before us. I missed my family today, but somehow, through songs, they were right there next to me.