1st taste of rice cereal

So - Rhett had his first taste of rice cereal the other night and he did as well as expected I guess. He of course spit it out, made a mess and wasn't too interested. I think more came out than went in. But - you gotta start somewhere and even though it may be early for cereal I think it might be worth the effort if he could sleep a little longer at night.

Our New President - 4th grade perspective!

So - our country has once again stepped into history with the election of Barak O' Bama as President. I have to admit I did not watch the inauguration on Tuesday - not because I am bitter or nervous but rather because I was involved with a bible study at church and - historical it may be - I did not believe it warranted an absence at while studying God's word. Anyways, because it was a Tuesday I was not at school with my 4th graders. Wednesday I came to school completely oblivious to the fact that we had a new President - it took my 4th graders to remind me and because it was a historic occasion I decided that we should probably discuss and have a conversation about it. What I heard from them was quite interesting!! I want to remind you before I list their comments that I teach in a very conservative small town and the students of mine were (no doubt) mimicking what they had heard at home from the mouths of their parents. However, in the small mind of a 10 year old how construed the facts can come across. Here is a few of the comments that they made - some humorous, some wise, some hateful and some - well, you'll see:

Question that I asked: "So, what do you think of our new President? What do you think he's going to do for our country?

- " I heard that he is going to change the Pledge of Allegiance"

- " He is going to make all guns illegal"

- "I don't think we will be able to go on field trips anymore"

- "He is going to take the troops out of Iraq"

- "I heard that he is going to make it illegal to have paintball fights in your backyard." To this I responded with a little giggle (couldn't help myself) In response to this comment one of my boys piped up and said, "well, then maybe he will let us have them in the front yard." (after this comment it was a full blown laugh) - too cute!

- "He is making gas prices go down" - pretty impressive for someone who has been in office for 1 day.

New Question: What advice would you give to our new President as he leads this country?

- "My advice to him would be, 'He should back out and let McCain be President'" - someone's parents are a little bitter

- "He should leave the troops in Iraq - they have the right to be free as much as we do."

- "He should really think about abortion before he makes it legal."

- "He needs to work on memorizing his speeches - if he is President than he should be able to memorize. I had to do it and I'm only in the 4th grade."

- "I would tell him not to mess with the Constitution - it's there for a reason."

- "I would ask him if he could let us go to school for only 4 days a week."

- "I would tell him that he needs to salute the flag."

- "I would tell him to only do good things."

- "I would tell him that if he says he is going to do something - then he better do it."

- " He needs to be honest - always!"

It was rather interesting listening to them discuss. They were wiser than I thought and I hope they grow up with the view that a President should do and be everything that they hope President O'Bama to be. There is still hope for our future I think.

Rhett's Dedication

On Sunday we dedicated my precious little boy to the Lord. As I really think about this the reality and symbolism of dedication is truly a glorious tradition - I think it's one that I took for granted growing up in the church. I was talking with my dad on Sunday afternoon and apparently there is a young mother in our church with a little 8 year old boy. She has a background in Catholicism and was wondering if she could get her little boy baptised or something. When she saw Rhett getting dedicated on Sunday she approached my dad after church and asked what it was that we did with Rhett. My dad casually explained that the dedication meant that we were giving Rhett to God and God was giving him back to us to take care of (what a huge responsibility). With tears in her eyes the mother said, "That's what I want to do with my son - dedicate him to God." She was so moved by the concept of dedication that it brought her to tears. I couldn't help but let it sink in and truly realize the magnitude of what it means to dedicate your child. I will never take another dedication for granted and I feel so blessed that we have a Creator who loves ALL of us so extremely much that he would entrust to us the responsibility of raising His precious children.

Lord, thank you so much for my precious boy. He has brought so much joy into our lives. We do not feel worthy of such a gift but we pray that you will guide our path as we attempt to raise him up to do Your will. Grant us the patience that we need and the courage to do what is right. May he grow to fall in love with You forever and always. We pray that you will instill in Rhett a steadfast spirit and may he always see people through Your eyes. We love you and can't thank you enough for Rhett. Amen!

I also want to thank all of my family for coming and supporting us during this day. We feel so blessed to have such a wonderful family on both sides and could not express enough how wonderful you are. We also realize the priveledge of having both grandpas dedicate Rhett. What an honor! We love you and we look forward to all of the wonderful ways that you will contribute to who Rhett will become.

SNOWDAY!!!!!!!!

So - this morning began as a normal back-to-the-daily-grind kind of morning. Woke up at 5:30 a.m., fed Rhett while I did devotions, took a shower and began preparing for my first day back to teaching since Christmas break. As I was trying to get Addison dressed the phone rang and by now it's 7:03 a.m. and there is no way that someone is calling because school has been canceled - that call usually comes at 5:00 in the morning. So, I though it was Jeni telling me that she was feeling too sick to watch the kids today. However, as I answered the phone I was delighted to hear my friend/co-worker Janell's voice on the other line telling me that we have a snowday! I was in disbelief for a second because Melba NEVER closes for snow - our busdrivers are too proud and are GOOD. Apparently it must have been worse than I thought. It was a nice morning surprise and I have to say I have enjoyed every minute of today. Addison was super excited to go to aunt Jeni's today to play with her cousins and was devastated when she found out that mom would have to stay home for the day so I promised her that Kenna and Chade could come over after lunch and play for the afternoon. This is what they did:

Made snow angels

Had a snowball fight

gave snow hugs

And then came in for a nice warm cup of hot cocoa and

chocolate chip cookies, wrapped up in warm blankets (straight from the dryer)

and watched the Gummy Bears.

Best of 2008 - Hopes for 2009

As I look back on a year that seemed to be gone almost the moment I remember it beginning I would like to post my favorites for the year 2008. It has been a great year for Jeremy and I and our little family and we only look forward to the many blessings that God will have in store for us in the year 2009.

Best of 2008 ( Please anyone feel free to play along - it's kinda fun)

Book - "The Shack"

Movie - "The Dark Knight" or "Prince Caspian"

Song - "Washed by the Water" by NeedtoBreathe or "Give me Your Eyes" by Brandon Heath

Memory - (1) The birth of my son, Rhett Douglas Franklin (2) the wedding of my little sister

Something new I've started - became a blogger

Quote - If you want to make God laugh then tell Him your plans

TV show - PrisonBreak and Lost (also like "The Office" for comedic relief)

New artist - David Cook (winner of American Idol)

Presidential vote - John McCain

Person - Rick Warren

Place - The cabin - always!!

Something I'm proud of - I'm proud of completing Dave Ramsey's FPU class and how dedicated I've been to making sure our budget has been followed. I'm proud of my husband for working so hard and enjoying his job. I'm proud of our kids who continue to amaze me every day. I'm proud of our church for taking on new ministries and seeing them take off and glorify God.


Top Ten Hopes for 2009 (in no particular order)

(1) I hope to read more books - I love to read!!

(2) I hope to lost some baby weight (from both kids) - just get more healthy and in shape ( I think I make this resolution every year (don't we all?)

(3) I hope to be more faithful to my devotions and making them a priority for every day.

(4) I hope to become closer to my friends (I'm realizing that I need them more than I thought did - and I LOVE them all!)

(5) I hope to get caught up on my scrapbooking (just bought a srapbook program for the computer that hopefully will let me catch up a bit)

(6) I hope to keep in contact with people a little better (cards, email, phone calls, etc . . .)

(7) I hope to do something kind for someone else once a month (without expecting anything in return) - I gave this assignment to my 4th graders and I should probably do it as well!

(8) I hope to take my kids to Disneyworld in June and have a BLAST with my family.

(9) I hope to have more determination to finish projects once I've started them.

(10) I hope enjoy every single solitary minute of 2009 because I will only live it once!!