Unproductive packing

Two of our family members (who will remain nameless) just can't seem to get motivated to pack...all they want to do is play and climb on boxes!!!

Across the Threshold

We closed last Friday and got the keys tonightCeremonially being carried across the threshold to our new house for the first time.

We are packing this week and the movers are coming Friday...Let the craziness begin!

Barry Manilow

Does anyone want tickets (or know someone...like maybe older parent-types) for the Barry Manilow concert...yes, that's right, Barry Manilow concert at the American Airlines Arena in Dallas for Tuesday, February 19th at 8PM? In an INCREDIBLE stroke of luck (note sarcastic tone here) I won great seats (not sarcastic) to this concert at the grand opening of a local bank where one of our friends is a manager. Just think, you could sing Coco Cabana to your hearts content for one magical evening! ..Anyhoo, I am willing to unload them for cheap (face value is $95 a ticket)...so email me if you know of anyone. lauriefrantz2002@yahoo.com (did I put enough parenthesis in for you=) (again, not sarcasm.)

Crazy times!

We are pretty busy around the Frantz household these days. Russell started his new job at the Grapevine church on Monday and I started my clinical portion of nursing school Monday as well. I think Russell is really liking his new job so far.... but the one thing he is having trouble with is the commute. Miles wise, it's only about 35 miles to Grapevine from Mesquite...Dallas traffic wise, it takes anywhere from 45 minutes to 3 hours! I am sure many of you can relate to wretched commutes, but I am here to tell you, it's the pits!!! I have always thought of myself as a city person, but lately I have had thoughts of moving to a small town where there's only one traffic light!!! I will be looking at the same drive in the opposite direction when we make our big move in a couple of weeks. Speaking of our new house, everything is looking great and we are moving right along to close next Friday. YAY!!!

Annaleigh is about to start a new beginning as well. Until we move, she is staying with friends in Mesquite while I am in school, but starting in February she will be going to the Grapevine Christian Pre-School (at the church where Russell works.) I think she is going to love it...She is such an extrovert!

I just realized I never posted any pictures from Christmas morning. Annaleigh made out like a bandit this year (my mom always uses that phrase=) , but take special notice to the lollipop. It was the first thing she found...therefore she has a messy face in all the rest of the pictures!!!

This picture was taken at one of our last devotionals with the youth group in Mesquite. We already miss these guys!

She finally has enough hair for pigtails!!

Notice the boxes in the background?? We are packing up and hoping to close on our new house in a couple of weeks!!!

First Skating Party

All of you "Children of the 1980's" can hopefully appreciate this next post. Our very special little friend Kenzie had her 7th Birthday party at the skating rink this past Sunday. We all had a great time! Annaleigh trying out her skates...They were actually about 2 sizes too big (we got the smallest ones they had) but I think she did pretty well!
Tiff (Kenzie's mom) & Steph (Kenzie's Aunt) giving Annaleigh some love.
Mom and Dad reliving the old days
Couples Skating

Some great friends...Gigi, Papoo, Kenzie, and Grama

Congrats!

I couldn't be more happier for these two (James and Holly) who got engaged over the holidays at Disney World! Even more, I am honored Holly asked me to be the matron of honor at the wedding in November. Congratulations to two of my favorite people!

Perfect New Year's Eve

The Perfect New Year's Eve: We sat by the warm fire all night, ate a yummy dinner, watched the Law & Order Marathon and toasted in the New Year. I am so thankful for all the Lord has taught me in 2007...and anxiously look forward to 2008 to serve God, glorify His Name, Further His Kingdom, and become closer to Heaven.

Santa Baby

Russell handed out autographed copies of this little beauty last night at our YG Christmas Party.

You know you want one!!!!

2 Pictures

I just wanted to share 2 pictures today.

The first one is obviously of our Christmas tree. We ended up going for an artificial one this year...Since we are about to move, the thought of the mess of a real one just stressed me out. The point of interest in this picture is the decorations (or lack there of.) It's kind of hard to tell, but the decorations stop about 3 feet from the floor. The munchkin just kept on pulling them off while I was decorating, so I figured I would just take the temptation away from her and the extra stress away from my life.
This picture is from our visit with Santa tonight. (excuse the quality-it is a picture of a picture since I don't have a scanner) I guess I should have known better to think that anything would be simple with my "spirited" child. Our first attempt at a picture was a definite no-go. She SCREAMED at the top of her lungs....The patient elves taking the picture suggested we take her for a little walk and come back when she was calmed down...but Russell and I had a better idea: Bribery. We walked straight to the candy store and let her pick out a sucker. She got it when she sat back down on Santa's lap and was more than happy to smile. It's hard to tell in the picture, but the sucker is in her right hand.

'Tis the Season...for a big change!

This feels so surreal to actually type out for the whole world to see...but Russell just accepted a job at the Grapevine Church and we will be moving there in about a month! We are sad to leave good friends in Mesquite behind, but excited about the opportunity God has given us to work at this place. It also helps it's only about 35 miles away from where we live now. Some of you may already know, but Grapevine is the church where Russell and I met as summer youth interns and started our relationship....It's also where my friend Hollee and her family lives. It will be neat because even though we will be meeting a lot of new people...there will be old friends there too. Right now we are in the house hunting process so keep us in your prayers as we go through all these changes!!!

God is so good to us and we are continually thankful for His sovereignty in our lives!!!

Thanksgiving in Virginia

We spent Thanksgiving at my grandads house in Virginia this year. It was such a great trip....save the one lesson we learned: Always try and get direct flights with kids if at all possible!!! A and I have flown a lot of times but have always been on a direct flight. Believe me, your sanity is worth a little more money!!!

I hope these next pictures don't seem too morbid. They were taken in Lexington, Virginia where a lot of my family is buried including my grandmother (dad's mom) She always said she wanted to be buried there because she thought it was the prettiest place on earth.The church on the sight is so neat. Obviously, it's very old. There are graves that date back to the Civil War and American Revolution. My Mom and Annaleigh



My sister Rachel, me, and Annaleigh.
Showing us the pretty yellow leaves
Annaleigh was so attached to Rachel the whole time. She was stuck to her side!
Check out yet another cute outfit my mom made for Annaleigh. She is doing such an awesome job...and FYI: I think she is going to start selling her stuff soon so stay tuned for that and let me know if you would be interested.
My Aunt, Uncle and Cousins all went to Virginia Tech....so of course they had to give Annaleigh a hat!Attempts at "a great-grandchildren picture" Whew!!! Kailey is 3, Kyle is 2, A is 1...yeah, I would like to see you do a better job!!

Here we all are (minus just one cousin) Me, Rachel, Tyler, Mark, and our kids.

What a way to go to sleep...cuddled in great-grandads arms. Sure hope there is less time between our next visit!

"Over the River and Through the Woods..."

We will be traveling in 2 airplanes and one rental car tomorrow...a total of 2000 miles to get to my sweet granddads house in Virginia . I am so excited about seeing him and I know he is MORE excited about seeing Annaleigh...He hasn't seen her since she was 3 months old!!! We are looking forward to getting away to the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains for the week (we don't see too many mountains in Texas!!) and just getting away from it all to enjoy family! I am thankful for so much this year. We have had our trials, but God has been so faithful and good...and I am thankful for all of you, too! Thank you for sharing our little life with us through this blog. Happiest Thanksgiving!!!

Lipscomb

So....since I live in Texas, I don't hear a lot of news about the old Alma matter...Periodically I peruse the web sight to see what's new.

The first thing that caught my eye tonight was that Dr. Mike Matheny passed away today of brain cancer. I am so saddened by this news. I am not sure how many of you Lipscomb alum had him has a professor. I know I had him once or twice, and to be brutally honest, I am not even sure which Bible class it was for...what I do remember is his soft voice, his kind demeanor, and his caring heart. This man of God will be greatly missed, but I can't help think of how happy he is rejoicing in heaven with our Savior. You can read a tribute to Dr. Matheny HERE

Totally unrelated...I found this neat story about a couple who graduated from Lipscomb in like '93 or something who are taking a YEAR long honeymoon around the world. They write about it HERE in their blog. Check it out...they are doing the COOLEST things ever! I think I will have to live vicariously through them for the next 10 months!!

Lastly, in sports news, did you hear about the Lady Bisons defeating Frisk University 123-22...yes that's right...they beat them by 101 points. Read all about it HERE. Okay, and here is the kicker...I first heard this story on none other than ESPN today (Russell was watching, I just happened to be in the room!!!) Way to go Lady Bisons!

Here's a question...

Candy & Coffee are acceptable substitutes for breakfast and lunch the day after Halloween, right????

Halloween Night

Okay...I am so behind. I had intended on posting my journal from the 3Day earlier this week but will have to get to that later. For now, here are some pictures from Trunk or Treat last night. I would like to preface these pictures by saying I did not take any of these or walk around with my child because I was passing out candy from our trunk. Russell tried, but it's pretty hard to capture good images of a 19month old running around on a sugar high!!"Ok, where's the candy?""MMM, I know Cynthia will give me something good!!""I got a sucker, now I am keeping my eye on the prize (more candy) not the camera!!""Your trunk is kinda scary, Ms. Diann. If you give me candy, I won't cry!!"A, Papoo, & Kenzie. Circa 2006 (above) 2007 (below)

I Will get clean mom, but I will NOT give up my sucker!!! It's one day out of the year, RIGHT??

Stomach bugs are no fun!!

Mr. Stomach bug came for a visit this weekend and a good time was NOT had by all. A and I both came down with it on Friday night at the exact same time. Poor Russell won the daddy/husband of the year award taking care of both of us...and let me tell ya, it wasn't pretty!!! We are finally getting back to normal around here, but here is some advice for the day:

WASH YOUR HANDS frequently, Lysol door knobs and toys that could be contaminated, and do not eat/drink after your kids (or anyone else) this virus/flu season. Trust me, you don't want it!!! This is a picture of A when she was just a month old. It pretty much sums up how we both felt this weekend!

In other totally unrelated news....the 3Day is on Friday!!!! Thank you!Thank you! Thank you! for all of those who supported me financially. I ask that you all lift me and my team up in prayer this next weekend as we walk with thousands of other women in hopes of raising awareness for the cure for breast cancer!

Say Cheeeeese!

What a little ham!!!!