April

Of all of the months so far April has gone by the quickest - and the funny thing is that I can't quite put my finger on why. I was clearing off my April calendar at school yesterday and realizing how quickly it seemed to vanish. And as I sit here pondering just what it was that made it fly by so quickly I am struck with the reality that life is going by way too fast. Addison and Rhett are at such a ripe young age where their minds and their perceptions of their parents and of the world are being molded and I need to remember to tred this path carefully or else I could make some vital mistakes. I need to seize more "joy" moments in my parenting and "really" realize how quickly the time will pass before they are grown up. I want to cherish every minute of it and not be concerned or too preoccupied with my own desires or my "list" of things to do before I sit down with them and play a game, read or just talk with them. I'm going to try and blog my joy moments weekly with you because I need to find them. My friend Kristen records her joy moments weekly and I love reading it - and it makes me realize that so many joy moments happen each day - I just need to recognize them. So, I'm going to - I will record my joy moments as well!! So I can look back on this time when my kids are so young and remember what life was really like and the little things that I'm sure I will dearly miss all too soon!!!


Now that I went off on a random tangent I will get back to the things that were accomplised in April: Here goes!!

Addison begins soccer

We gave Addison a choice to play T-ball again this summer or try soccer. She decided that she wanted to attempt her luck on the soccer field and so far she loves it. She has yet to really grasp the concept of being aggressive but she runs her little tail off after that ball each and every game and it's so fun to watch her.



Movies:

Savannah Smiles is a movie that I remember watching when I was a little girl and I remember I LOVED it! So when I saw it at Target for $5.00 I snatched it up quick and was positive that Addison would love it as well. It was so fun watching it again!

Unstoppable was an intense movie - very entertaining! I have always liked Denzel Washington and his performance in this movie didn't disappoint.

Books:

The Hole in our Gospel - I finished it this month and was overwhemingly moved by it's pages - a must read for every Christian for sure!

At Home in Mitford - a story of a small town and it's interesting and colorful inhabitants. It is such a light, easy, uplifting read and I look forward to curling up with it and a cup of coffee almost every day to read about the goings on in Mitford.

Octave of Angels - I wanted to read this book because it was by the same author as the Mistmantle Chronicles that I loved so much. It was about a small town mystery in England and a yearly tradition called the Octave of Angels. It was a short sweet story about mystery, ancestry, faith and friendship.

Budget:

We made a budget and kept pretty close to it for the most part. I really messed up with the grocery budget and found myself out of money with 2 weeks left in April. It was eye opening to realize how much we spend on groceries each month and this month I'm going to have to really consider whether or not we actually NEED the things that I've been buying. I'm ready to give it another go this month and hopefully stay more within our budget range.

Pounds lost:

Now here is the real question and the answer is - much to everyone's surprise - Nothing!!! :( This month was extremely difficult in the weight department. I would try weight watchers for a few days and then I would run out of food and money to buy more weight watchers food and then call it quits. Then my weight watchers online trial ran out so I didn't have the use of all of the fancy tools and that was not motivational for me. Then I decided with 1 and 1/2 weeks left in the month that I would just go off sugar and starch and that should at least get me somewhere right? wrong!! In the 5 days that I did that diet I didn't lose more than .4 ounces. BOO!!! Needless to say I need to try something different. Jeremy and I began doing the 30 day Shred last week and so far have successfully done it for three days which is what we vowed to begin with. We said that we would start doing it 3 times a week and then start adding other stuff in or more 30 day shred. I feel good after I've done it but nothing is showing on the scale. It's been frustrating and with summer quickly approaching and our trip to California looming to the forefront of our calendar I find myself discouraged. I wish this wasn't so difficult. So - all I can really do with a limited budget and no gym pass is to find a way to just eat better and exercise regularly. I'm hoping that if I establish a fairly consistent exercise routine then I will be able to be a little more free with what I put into my mouth. So with no real definate plan I hope to lose close to 8 pounds this month through exercise and eating right. That's 2 pounds a week - I can do it!!!

Craft:

Easter Egg decor

You can't get through the Easter season without dying some Easter eggs - the kids loved it!

Recipes Tried:

It wasn't until late in the month that I remember about my monthly goal of fixing something new and by the time I remember we had no money left in the budget to purchase any of the ingredients - so - maybe next month!

April Others:

We enjoyed a nice visit from our dear friends the Pucketts at the beginning of the month. It was such a joy to see them again and visit with them. I still mourn their loss almost daily and hopefully someday they will be back in this area. Until then, we will make the most of the time that they are here visiting.

Addie missed Eli tremendously!

Friends - nothing quite like them in the world!!

Rainy Days: There were plenty to chose from!

Jumping in puddles is a must for Rhett so when it's rainy and we go out, the rainboots must come along. It's useless telling him no because to him any punishment is worth jumping in a few puddles.

Fun things to do on a rainy day:

Addison loves to play birthday and so she gets giftbags and fills them with toys from Rhett's room and then he comes out and opens his gifts - acting like he would if he was getting it for the very first time. It's a great game that they love to play.

Jumpin Jungle!! We had the place to ourselves for nearly 20 min. Then just two other little boys for a full hour - it was awesome!! The kids LOVED it!

Another one of Addison's favorite things to do if play library in our office. She has us reserve books and then brings them to us with numbers on sticky notes written on them. Too cute!! As I was walking past the office one day I noticed this sign on the door.

Transfering our Garden to the other side of the house and replanting raspberries and strawberries. The kids LOVED to help! much to daddy's frustration at times - it was kinda funny!

Many hours of Jake and the Neverland Pirates while the rain poured outside:

Elementary Carnival at Melba: The Wild West - soooo much fun!

Eggstravaganza at the church:

Children's program at the church:

Addison: "The green inside my basket reminds me of the palms that lay across the ground for Jesus for his parade one day." - She did great!

 Apart from telling the children to be quiet or he would kill them Rhett did a pretty decent job behaving during the Easter program. (I really don't know where he learned that - honestly!)

Easter:

Very busy day for us with both of our families being in town. We spent the morning at church then went to my aunt Lollie's house and spent time with my parents and her side of the family. We had a nice dinner and an extremely large egg hunt for the kids. Then we went to Jeremy's parents and hung out as well as having another egg hunt. It was a lot of fun!! A great day to celebrate the resurrection of our Saviour.

Cousins and best friends end up with the exact same Easter dress. No - it was not planned!! Too funny!

SNOW!! April 29th???? Really/?

I'm looking forward to May - it's warmer weather and fun activities!! And the end of school - hurray!!!

Only in Idaho!!!

I have been thinking a lot lately about things that happen in Idaho - not exactly JUST in Idaho but the things that Idahoans would say, "only in Idaho". Here is the list I came up with . . .


Only in Idaho -


1) would you be playing in the sunny 60 degree warm weather one day and the next be celebrating a snow day and making snow angels
2) is it still legal to hang someone publicly for their crimes
3) would legislators suggest that to cut budget expense they should eliminate kindergarten - apparently it's not mandatory in Idaho.
4) would you see a dead deer, coyote, badger or racoon as the majority of the road kill over squirrels and birds.
5) would you have crazy laws that state, "Residents are not permitted to fish from a giraffe's back" - what? "Residents may not cut off their friends heads with an ax" and "it is a criminal offense to ride a merry-go-round on a Sunday". (I'm really NOT kidding!)
6) can a person get a flat tire from running over a metal box in the highway, get stranded without a cell phone next to a cow pasture, have someone you know pull over and lend you the use of their cell phone and witness one of those cows get his brains blown out by the local farmer while you wait for help to arrive - all within 20 min. (personal experience)
7) have your high school friends bring their hunting rifles on school grounds because they had a rifle rack on the back of their trucks and they go hunting after school. Nobody ever got into trouble for that - ever!!!
8) will the majority of the junk cars in the impound lots are due to the unexpected arrival of a deer in the road.
9) we have 72 types of semi-precious and precious stones. Some of these stones can be found no where else in the world. And for that reason we are called the Gem state. However, we are widely known for our precious potatoes - which are not even our biggest export - awesome!
10) would you see people fishing in the canal outside the grocery store!
11) Apparently only we native Idahoans know what a jockey box is!
12) would you be within city limits and still see people on horseback, on fourwheelers and driving go-carts down main roads.
13) would you find all of the comforts of the modern world and yet be minutes away from the refreshing, uplifting air of the mountains and the beauty that is at our doorstep.
14) would you find some of the world's most amazing people! Seriously - a few years back we were in Virginia and we entered a small store on one of the main drags of Lexington and as we were visiting with the cashier she asked politely if we were from the Northwest. To this we agreed and said we come from Idaho - she said that she could tell because the friendliest people she's ever had enter her store are always from the Northwest! Who knew?
15) would you only need a jeep with no shocks to enjoy a carnival ride down one of Idaho's many public roads.


Anyone else have any "Only in Idaho" comments they would like to share? And NO - you dont' have to have lived here all your life. It's most often the people from out of state that come up with the most interesting and sometimes startling perks about our state.


Proud to live in this amazing state!!!

The language of Rhett

I have been collecting the funny things that Rhett says for awhile now. He is at that age when everything he says is just too cute and want to remember those cute things for a lifetime so I'm blogging about them. I'm sure this will be one of many blogs of the language of Rhett Douglas Franklin but for the past month this is what we've heard and snickered at. I have to admit it is a lot funnier in person but since I'm the one who saw it happen I can remember the circumstances, the voice inflections and the facial expressions of him and that makes it all the more precious to me. (My mom did add a few to the list since she spends time with him while I work - such a blessing!)

Discussion about love and my grandparents:

Rhett, who do you love? "Mommy and Daddy"

Rhett, what is love? "Jesus"

Rhett, where is grammy JoJos and Bapa Pouie? "Dancing with Jesus"

Are they having fun with Jesus? "Yes"

Are you going to see them again someday? "Yes"

Where are you going to see them? "Disneyland"

One of many discussions with his sister:

 

One day in the car Rhett nochalantly says to Addison in the car, "Addison, fairies do NOT have tails, dogs have tails."

Conversation between Addison and Mimi:

Addison was showing Mimi how she could cross her eyes. Mimi said, "do you know what is going to happen if you keep them crossed for too long?"

 Rhett pipes up and says, "You'll stink for days!"

Random:

Rhett steals away Addison's stuffed dog one day, runs down the hall saying, "I need her, Jesus loves her"

"Mom, eating a big chicken will make me strong."

"I'm strong like Jesus"

"When I'm bigger I'm going to tell Jesus that a monster is chasing me and he will make it go away."

"One time a lion growled in my tummy"

"Addie is Captain Hook and I'm Mr. Smee"

He calls Punky Brewster - Grumpy Brewster

When I told him the purpose of  firetruck was to help people and put out the fires in their houses he said, "no, people will just get their swords out and fight the fire."

Talking to his truck, "You are taking a time out right here, and you'll never get out" (don't think we've EVER said that to him - so don't get the wrong idea)

Addie was talking about wearing a fancy dress for church and Rhett says, "Yeah, I'm going to wear a fancy boy skirt too."

My mom was watching him and he was staring out the window at some ladies walking in the rain. They had were using umbrellas and Rhett said, "Hey, those ladies have a . . . . . .a . . . . . . .a . . . . . . a tent on their heads." Apparently he couldn't remember the word umbrella.

In Walmart he runs up to the stand with the pillow pets and grabs the yellow duck. He gives it a huge hug and says that he wants it. I let him know that we don't have extra money to buy one of those right now so he is going to have to wait. And Rhett says, "but he wants to go home with me." Too cute!!! I wish at that moment that I could justify spending $19.88 on the thing but it wasn't in the budget. I told him that he was going to have to put him back and Rhett says, "he is going to cry and cry because he can't come home with me." (No - we did not leave with the duck but he already knows what strings to pull with momma because I have never wanted to buy him something that bad before)

I am going to keep another ongoing post about the funny things that he says and post it again at a later date. I want to remember them forever.

March

March FLEW by on the wings of wind and rain and coldness. Idaho weather is so strange - I've lived here all my life and still am amazed that it could be 40 degrees and sunny at 7 am and then two hours later be 30 degrees and snowing. weird!! Anyways, as I had suspected in January my monthly goals are kind of taking a back seat to the normal everyday life that I have always been accustomed to. I fear that I have dug a rut of normacly so deep that crawling out is going to take some helping hands to pinch my butt (yes I just did say that) and lovingly coax me towards the light.


So - here is what I did accomplish:

Books read:

Wow - this book is intense!! While I was reading it I kept thinking how awesome it would be to put it into a movie but the rating would be R and possibly be under the category of horror film. It's about demons and angels and how the author suggests that they may opperate in the world of the unseen, for or against us. It makes me look at things a little differently. I've always been one to believe in angels - but didn't realize how real demons are as well and how much power they may have. It was a great story - well worth reading a second time!

This book is written by the President of World Vision. He definately makes his case for the poverty-stricken people of the world. They don't just need Jesus - they need a solution and hand-outs just make them dependent, not relying on their own gifts and strengths to better their lives. It's deep, it's disturbing and every time I read it I feel guilty for the way I live and how much I've been blessed with. Don't get me wrong - I don't mind feeling guilty - because then maybe I'll do something about it. I don't know what God has in store for me while I read this book. It may be to open my eyes, give me a clearer perspective on how to help the poor people of our world. My prayers is that when I'm finished with it (because I'm still reading it) that I won't just turn it back into the library and forget about it - that I will put some of it's advice to work in my own life to change this world for the better.

Ahh - the last book in the Mistmantle Chronicles. I'm saddened that my adventures on the island of Mistmantle have ended. I feel in LOVE with the creatures on this precious island and have come to have a deep appreciation for this author. I would recommend this series to ANY young reader who enjoys fantasy and talking animals. I look forward to owning them someday and reading them to my kids. And there are a lot of underlying "Christian" principles throughout this book that would create great discussion in any household.

Recipes tried:

Chicken Mushroom Merlot - didn't get around to making it!! Mostly because I would have to go out and buy wine - waste of money - even if it is only for cooking. whoops!

Chocolate Mint Cake - yumminess!!

Home Item Purchased:

This item wasn't purchased!! It was a gift given to us by my loving grandparents, and it sits in our office. It was much needed for storage of our many books. I LOVE it!! And every time I open the cupboard to get out another book I smell my grandparents home and my heart hurts with grief. I still miss them tremendously!

This item wasn't purchased either - it was a gift from Nampa Floors. Not really - but it was just going into the junk pile due to a bent frame. Jeremy easily fixed it and put it up in our bathroom. Hurray for new lighting!!

New Movie:

Set in the late 1920s! A depressing movie - dont' watch it! Child serial killer and a son that she never found. There - I ruined it for anyone who really wanted to see it! Believe me, if you are a mother - you don't want to watch it. The only good thing about it was that this mother stood up to the corrupt police force in Los Angeles and won.

craft project:

wrist warmers - they are really cute but I don't see people actually wearing them - oh well!!

Family Activity

We actually got around to a family activity this month - The Boise Zoo!!! And we had a lot of fun!

Pounds Lost:

zip, zero, zilch, nada, nothin!! I am kind of upset with myself that I let an entire month go by without any weight loss. I can blame it on the fact that it was my birthday month (lame), or the fact that we were busy (excuses), or that we spent a lot of evenings at homes other than ours (another lame excuse). My fault completely and in April my goal is to lose 6 pounds (that's right people!!!) Weight watchers and Jillian's 30 Day shred are going to be my best friends for the next few weeks. I may just have to excuse myself on Easter Sunday because, well we all know why! :) Wish me luck!

Other:

The end of Addison's Cheerleading career at Upwards. Basketball all the way from now on. She was SOOOO ready to be done and coordinated moves and her just don't get along very well. It was cute though and I'm glad she stuck with it.

 Spring Break which doesn't hold the sweetness that it once did when I was full time - however - it was a nice break and I loved hanging out with my kids. They are getting to the ages when they are just so much fun!! We spent one rather rainy afternoon walking around the fishing pond in Nampa and feeding the ducks. We were excited because we found a few secret places that we are saving to show daddy when he comes with us next time.

Jeremy constructed another fort - and it stayed up for 4 days. Our bedroom mattress was underneath as well as the TV. The kids enjoyed watching movies and playing in it and Jeremy and I enjoyed sleeping in it and watching movies as well. It was a very nice getaway from the norm.

Visits from aunt Tee-Tee are always a high light in our house! She was trying to get Rhett to come sit closer to her and Addie but he wasn't budging. The pictures prior to this one were actually quite comical.

Rhett enjoying Addie's felt board. It's time I made one for him to play with. The stories he was telling were too cute! And if you can't see it - the people are flying with the owl and the mushroom.

March was good to us. Rhett had another bout of stomach yuckies and that was NOT fun!! However, the rest of us stayed well for once and we are thankful for spring, daylight savings time and warmer weather. Excited to see what the month of April brings.