The Frantz Family

They've got rhythm....

2012-01-30T19:42:00.003-05:00

Our kids LOVE to sing and dance... a dance party or "concert" breaks out at least once a day around here and has become one of the funnest parts of my day! Here are a few videos from this past week of them performing. Yes, Rivers has on high heels in one of them, and yes they are using wisks as microphones.

Christmas 2011

2012-01-24T08:41:00.006-05:00

We had a busy but extremely joyful Christmas! There are a lot of pictures... and yes, I know it is mid/late January but I just didn't want to forget all of the special times we had celebrating Christ's birth this year!

Madeline wanted to host a Christmas party for her friends. So we had some of her good friends from our church and neighborhood over for a mommy and daughter cookie exchange and tea. It was such a fun time!

Christmas Eve we celebrated with the Frantz side of the family and had a blast as always!

Gloria really excited about her first Christmas

One of the most fun things we did this year with Mike's family is play a Christmas cookie game. The object is to see who could get the Christmas cookie into their mouth from their forehead without using their hands in less than a minute. We did several rounds of this, laughing hysterically all the way through, and Mamaw ended up winning with the amazing time of 4 seconds! Here are some highlights of the game :)

All the cousins minus Lacey and Stella who were in Japan...we missed you guys!

Christmas Eve night

Our big girl had a princess Christmas this year!

Little man only liked opening one gift and then didn't want to open anymore. Finally he opened the rest of his gifts with sissy's help. It was quite funny though.

I loved that Christmas was on Sunday morning. We had a beautiful, sweet time of worship with our beloved church family! And then we spent the afternoon packing up for Mississippi and having dinner with family.

We got to celebrate lots in Mississippi for a week with lots of family. Talented Aunt SuSu made the kids some cowboy and Indian dress up clothes!

Christmas morning "replay" at Papa and Marmie's house

Trying to get a shot with Mamps and Granne and all the great grands... pretty impossible

Papa and Marmie with all of the grands. We were laughing how in 5 years Papa and Marmie have grown from a family of 4 to a family of 10!

She's 8 months old!

2012-01-23T16:31:00.004-05:00

Well I'm going to try to do a marathon of blog posts to catch up on the happening through Christmas and the past few weeks.... and to start our baby girl is 8 months old! I totally missed blogging about 7 months so I'll just combine it all in one.

7 months old

At 7 months old our sweetie was army crawling all over the place and sitting for longer periods of time by herself. She loves to play and be involved in the action of our oldest 2 whenever possible. She continues to be a happy little girly and eats solids once or twice a day. She has yet to reject anything I've given her :) She's dropped down to two naps most days and is by far our most flexible child yet, which I'm attributing to her being the third child.

8 months old

This past month there were many milestones. Gloria is crawling everywhere and getting into lots of things! We definitely have a mobile little one on our hands who is curious about the world around her. She babbles all the time words including "mama" "dada" "nanna" "baba" and does this cute little rolling of your tongue like a car motor when she is frustrated. Her two bottom teeth also came in this past month. She has started some finger foods and cheerios is a new found love that combined with drinking out of her sippy cup can keep her entertained for about an hour. She is reaching for people, especially her mama and daddy, whenever she gets upset or hungry. She continues to grow; last week I put her in some 12 month pjs thinking they would be a little big and they fit! It will be interesting to see how much she has grown next month! She continues to be such a big joy to our family! We love you so much baby girl!

Kiddos sing at Church

2011-12-15T15:59:00.002-05:00

Last night we had a Christmas service at our church. The kids always do a few songs and Scripture reading, and this year, since Madeline is 3 and in "big kids" Sunday School, she got to participate. Since Rivers is 2 he wasn't supposed to be involved but followed Madeline up to the stage. We didn't want to cause a scene so we let him stand there with Maddie and her friend Dallas. Here is a couple of the songs from last night! Enjoy! Merry Christmas!!!!!!

Our Hero Made the News!

2011-12-12T18:22:00.005-05:00

Daddy is an everyday hero around here, but was shown here tonight on the local news being a local hero on WHAS 11 News. We are so grateful for God's mercy in protecting his life as well as the other firefighters and the woman they saved.

You can also read a great blog post our good friend Denny wrote about Mike.

(click on the gray text to watch the video and read the blog, if you were having a hard time finding it!)

Ornament Day 2011

2011-12-09T21:40:00.006-05:00

Today was our 6th annual ornament day. For those of you who don't know, or have forgotten, the background of the reason the Frantz Family has an ornament day on December 9th every year, I will briefly give you the history. It was the year 2006, and a certain handsome man (Michael) and a certain southern belle (me) had been dating for a little while. He took me on a surprise date before I was to go home to Mississippi for Christmas. We went to see the Nutcracker Ballet and then we were supposedly going out for a nice dinner afterwards, but decided to exchange one Christmas gift early. We were going to start a tradition of exchanging ornaments with each other every Christmas. Well, much to my surprise and excitement Michael proposed that night with a beautiful engraved ornament, and we have kept the tradition every year on December 9th, now including our kiddos in the ornament exchange.

The 2 young Lovebirds 5 years ago

This year was so much fun, because our kids, especially Madeline, had really been looking forward to it. Michael started off with a little family devotion by retelling the story of that night 5 years ago. They listened with wonder, that mommy and daddy hadn't always been married, and he read some of Ephesians 5 explaining that marriage is a wonderful gift God has given to picture Christ and the church. Then we sang "Merciful God", the same hymn we sang together the night he proposed, and thanked God for the sweetest gift apart from our salvation... our family! And then of course the kids excitedly opened their first Christmas gift of the season, their 2011 ornament.

Gloria got a "baby's first Christmas" ornament. Madeline appropriately opened a princess ornament since that has been her "favorite" thing this year. I was super excited to find Rivers ornament because it incorporated his 3 great "loves" of the year, balls, books, and "oo-oos" (a monkey or really any zoo animal for that matter).

I got Michael a Johnny Cash guitar ornament, complete with the ability to play Blue Christmas, because 1)he loves Johnny Cash's music 2)he found out about a month ago he is distantly related to June Carter, and therefore, by marriage Johnny. Yes it was something very big and important that happened this year :) He got me a cute little school house ornament since this year embarked the first year on my journey of homeschooling.

We ended the night with family movie night, something we all look forward to, with the works... pizza, The Polar Express, and brownies. Such a fun way to celebrate a day that we consider its own holiday around here! Oh how much has changed in these 5 years! Thank you Lord for this sweet sweet gift! Happy Ornament Day!

Its Beginning to Look a lot like Christmas

2011-12-05T12:23:00.008-05:00

Christmas is definitely in full swing in the Frantz household. We've trimmed our tree, decked our halls, made our first batch of Christmas cookies, went to a Christmas concert this past weekend, and attended our Sunday School Christmas party... and it's only December 5th! I hope to be sharing some more ways we make Christmas special around here, so stay tuned!

Our little helpers decorating the tree! They had so much fun this year!

Making the first batch of Christmas cookies to celebrate Daddy's first semester of seminary ending (daddy's favorite)

Watching Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer for the first time... It makes my heart happy how much these 3 love each other!

Last Month Happenings

2011-12-01T14:10:00.005-05:00

Last month was quite busy... so I'm going to update you briefly (with lots of pics) on the highlights from November.

We started off the month with a trip home to Mississippi to welcome Carter Wesley Lewis into the world! Much to my sister's disappointment, but to our delight, he waited to make his appearance until we got to the hospital late that evening (November 2). What a sweet time it was to be there for his birth, and we definitely can't wait to get back for Christmas and get to love on him some more.

My sweet little nephew

On our trip there we also got in some fun time with Aunt Susan

and of course some play time with Marmie

a proud Papa and his 2 grandsons

November was a big month for Madeline. We've casually been doing what you could consider "preschool" with her for a while now, but she officially started a more "formal" preschool last month by beginning a phonics curriculum. She LOVES doing school and its been a lot of fun being her teacher!
In November our little one turned 6 months old! Half way to her first birthday, can you believe it? She experienced her first time swinging and loved it!
She's rolling all over the place, can sit up on her own for moments at a time, and is starting to scoot up on her knees trying to crawl. She remains such a content happy little girl and we love her so much!
She also began solids last month and loves all the veggies we have tried so far (peas, carrots, sweet potatoes). Like my other 2 it looks like I've got a good eater on my hands. At her 6 month check up Gloria weighed in at 16lbs. 10.5 oz (50-75%) and is 27 in (90%) tall! We are thrilled to have a healthy growing baby girl.
We hosted Thanksgiving at our house with a grand total of 17 of our friends and family! It was such a fun holiday :)

loving time with Mawmaw

Thankful for our growing family this year

Fun to use my newly renovated dining room (thanks to my talented hubby) to host Thanksgiving

The bounty of food!

Madeline and Rivers loved spending Thanksgiving with the best friends!

That about catches you up on November for the Frantzes... a little late :)

Halloween

2011-11-02T10:36:00.005-04:00

We had a blast Halloween night. We trick or treated with the Murrays, and it was so so much fun watching all the cousins trick or treat together. This was our kids first time and they loved it!

Carving our pumpkin a few nights before

The finished product

Getting ready to go get some candy

What fun cousins we have!!!!!

Our little Lion all bundled up. She helped Mawmaw pass out candy

Trick or treating

The finished loot of candy & one happy little boy... I think it will last us months!

Our Hero

2011-10-22T10:32:00.003-04:00

This was the front page if the Metro section of the Courier Journal this morning. Notice the hotty in the center of the pic :)

Sweet Prayers for Daddy

2011-10-21T19:32:00.003-04:00

Every night before our kids go to bed, we read them a story from one of our Bible story books, sing a hymn, and pray. We often ask them what or who they would like to pray for and then give them a chance to pray. Most of the time their prayers go something like this, "Father, thank you for _______. Amen." The nights that Mike is working we always pray for him. Tonight, Madeline said that she wanted to pray for Daddy, and I was expecting her usual prayer. Instead this is what she prayed,

"Thank you for my Father. Help him to grow. Be with him at work. Please can he not go to work because I love him so much? Amen."

Well, I was in tears by the end of it! We so miss Mike when he has to be away from us, and as you can tell, he is such awesome daddy that our kids want him to always be with us. I pray they will continue to go to God and trust him in all of their needs and concerns.

5 months Old!

2011-10-21T13:54:00.004-04:00

Last week Baby Girl turned 5 months old. This week she has officially gone mobile by rolling over. As soon as you place her on her back she'll flip to her stomach and scoot around. This sweet girl's smile is contagious and she remains such a content baby. If you can't tell, we all just adore her!

Doxology

2011-10-21T13:43:00.003-04:00

We have been singing the Doxology most nights before dinner for about a week or so now. Madeline especially likes this prayer and often breaks out at other times during dinner to sing it.

Here's a little peek :)

Fun Fall!

2011-10-21T13:21:00.004-04:00

I am so glad Fall is here. So far we have had a fun and busy fall. I love Louisville in the Fall. The leaves are beautiful turning colors, the weather is getting cooler, and there is lots of fun things to do in or around the city! Last weekend we went to the "World's Largest Halloween Party" at the zoo. They decorate the entire zoo with different movie themes and have Live characters out and about. The kids had a lot of fun, and so did we.

Mawmaw and Rivers starting the trick or treating

This pic is kind of blurry, but it is one of my favorite from the night. My niece was trying to get Rivers to smile for a picture and this is what he did... I love my sweet Little Man!

Madeline loved seeing all the princesses there.

Cute little Lion

The 3 munchkins ready to get some candy

Two weeks ago we went on our annual pumpkin picking trip to Huber's Farm with a few families from our church. It was a blast. Some friends also took some family picture of us that I hope to post soon (especially since we have none of all 5 of us). Here are some pics I got before my camera died.

This is my favorite one from the day.

Daddy and Rivers pickin apples

Not great... but the best shot I got of the 3 kids together

We are so blessed to have such great friends!

Disney on Ice

2011-09-19T21:56:00.004-04:00

Last Wednesday my mother in law took Madeline and I (Gloria tagged along too) along with my sister in law, Michele, and her three youngest kids to Disney on Ice. To say that Madeline had fun is an understatement. She was absolutely thrilled to be there, even picked out a dress so she could look like a princess, and when it was over she almost cried because she didn't want to leave. I have to admit, that I really enjoyed it too. I thought it might be amateur or cheesy, but it really was an amazing show. They had great effects and the ice skating was very good, at least I thought, and I was really entertained!

Not sure if a 4 month old can actually enjoy the show but even Gloria seemed to really like it.

Peter Pan flying off to Neverland with the Wendy, John, and Michael

Michele and Gloria

All the kids glued to the action

Our favorite was The Little Mermaid's "Under the Sea." Bubbles fell from the ceiling and giant jelly fish were floating around

Thanks Mamaw for a fun night to remember!

Narnia

2011-09-19T19:41:00.005-04:00

I'm going to be posting lots of pictures from some fun things we've been able to do the past month.... it's been a long time coming so bear with me :)

A few weeks ago we went to SBTS's family fall festival. The theme was Narnia which we were excited about because it is one of our favorite movies... yes, especially Madeline's. They left no detail unattended to, and we had such a fun night with the kids. Here are some of my favorites from the night...

About to enter through the Wardrobe. It was complete with fur coats and everything.

Before you entered through the wardrobe they had the hallways set up like a train station with noises all around and conductors walking up and down. Here are the kids with one of them.

Meeting Susan and Lucy once we walked through the wardrobe.

Enjoying some of the yummy treats! We even got to try turkish delight.

Our princess showing off the crown she made.

Petting the pretty horses that were part of the real live jousting event later on that night.

Little miss enjoying the jousting

Lots of fun in the inflatables

They stood like this without moving for a good 45 minutes watching the "knights" joust, just mesmerized!

Happy 4 Months Gloria!

2011-09-15T15:47:00.003-04:00

We just adore our baby girl and cannot believe how fast she is growing up! She is no longer a newborn for sure. She loves sitting up where she can see everything around her and what is going on and no longer likes to be held cradled like a baby, which makes this momma a little sad. She is definitely our most content baby yet. She rarely cries and is full of smiles and laughter these days. I also think we have another talker on our hands. She can hold her own making her little voice known as she jabbers away.
This past week she has come out of the swaddle and falls asleep like a big baby now without it. Miss Gloria is growing bigger too! At her 4 month doctor appointment this week she weighed 14 lbs. 9 oz. (75%) and was 26 inches long (95%!). This is a shocker since Madeline and Rivers both barely make it on the charts. I'm not quite sure where she is getting that height!
She is almost rolling over and loves to stand up when you hold her hands. This week she tried out the jumper and absolutely loves playing in there. It's been one busy month of growing for our girl! Happy 4 months sweet Gloria! You sure make our home a more joyful place!

Hannah Coulter Download by Wendell Berry - Audiobooks, MP3, M4B, iPhone Apps, Free Downloads!

2011-08-23T20:06:00.001-04:00

Hannah Coulter Download by Wendell Berry - Audiobooks, MP3, M4B, iPhone Apps, Free Downloads!

Mike here...If you enjoy listening to books while you drive, you will love Hannah Coulter. I recently downloaded this free audio book and began listening to it on our way to MS last week. Mariah and I were automatically hooked. Mariah and the kids stayed an extra week with her parents so I made the 8 hour hike back to Louisville by myself. I couldn't wait to get back into the car to see what happens next in the small town of Port William. For 1/3 of the trip I had a hard time driving b/c of being teary eyed, I can only imagine what the people passing me thought!. Anyway you should check this out.

July 2011

2011-08-15T14:14:00.001-04:00

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June 2011

2011-08-15T13:56:00.001-04:00

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My new bookshelves

2011-08-13T21:30:00.003-04:00

We've had LOTS of DIY projects this month and I can't wait to post some pictures of the transformation of our home. This is the newest (and cheapest) DIY project that Mike did for me Thursday. He built some bookshelves for the basement out of rain gutters... yes, you read right gutters. I think they turned out really great and just wanted to share!

3 months Old

2011-08-13T21:23:00.003-04:00

I can't believe that yesterday our baby girl turned 3 months old. The time is flying by so so quickly! Here's our pretty girl. She's getting stronger and much more curious about the world around her. What a sweet blessing you are little Gloria!

2 Month Pics

2011-08-13T21:14:00.003-04:00

I know I'm really late with this one, but here are some 2 month pics of Gloria.

Stats of 2 month check up:

Height - 22 1/2 inches (50%)

Weight - 12 lbs. 9 1/2 oz (75-90%)

My smily baby girl

2011-08-03T15:48:00.004-04:00

Baby girl has been smiling for weeks now and I finally caught some on camera last week. She is getting so big so quickly. She started sleeping in the big crib in hers and Madeline's room this past week. She loves it in there especially if Maddie's in there with her. She never cries one bit if Madeline is in her bed when I put Gloria down for the night. Even if she is wide awake and not super sleepy quite yet, she will just lay there while Maddie sings or talks to her. It's really so sweet!

Almost laughing in this pic

She adores her big sis

Beautiful smily baby girl!

My Cool little Boy

2011-08-03T15:43:00.002-04:00

I know I'm partial but I think I have one of the coolest little boys on earth! He is at a fun stage where he's putting the world together and starting to be able to communicate so much. Here are two of my favorite recent pics of him.

This is how he likes to go to bed. He has to have all these stuffed animals and if you leave one out he knows which one is missing (yes, even the pink hippo). He also has to sleep with a basketball and football.

All smiles driving the tractor at Hubers.... I think our family was meant for a farm not city life sometimes.

Day at the Farm

2011-07-30T20:08:00.004-04:00

One of our favorite things to do here around Louisville is go to Huber's Farm. It's just across the bridge in Indiana and we enjoyed such a fun morning there last weekend. It's been so hot outside but Saturday was overcast and surprisingly pleasant. We got there and they let us play on their cool slide and swing set and visit the animals before it even opened. We had the place all to ourselves and had a blast.

Visiting the goats, chickens, and turkeys. They kept waiting for us to throw some food their way but we had no coins to get any :(

Enjoying the cool Huber's barn slide

They loved this tire swing... Mike might just have to rig one up on our swing set!

Riding the tractor

Then we went berry picking. First we made a stop at the blackberries and as you can see by Rivers face we enjoyed a few while picking! They were delicious and plump and juicy! Next we headed to the blueberries, and again had our fair share of sampling.

Follow the daddy through the fields to pick some berries

Our scrumptious blackberries we picked. Even though we've been on this new healthier eating kick, I have to confess we did enjoy a blackberry cobbler last night and it was delicious!

The lady who weighed our berries asked if she needed to weigh our kids too before we paid! Ha! It was all over their faces we had done some sampling while picking.

Picking blueberries

Gloria slept most of the time but woke up to do a little picking too.

Photo Shoot

2011-06-23T15:10:00.009-04:00

For part of Michael's Father's Day present, I had a friend at church come and take some pictures of the kids. Here are some of my favorites. If you want to see all of them check out the link to our photo site at the top of the page. Thanks Stephanie Chen! She was so amazing with the kids and did an incredible job with the pictures. Michael loved it!

Little Man turns 2

2011-06-21T22:04:00.002-04:00

My Little Man turned 2 on Saturday. Seriously... where does the time go? We had a fun day of all his favorites including a trip to Lowes in the morning, going to Toys R Us to let him pick out a toy with the money Granne and Mamps sent. He picked balls of course and some army men. Then we had lunch a McDonalds, or "old McDonalds" as my kiddos call it. After naps, we had cake, ice cream, and presents and then met some friends from church at the minor league baseball game. It was a beautiful night and we had a blast!

I am so thankful for the blessing of a son and having this Little Man in my life. He definitely can be a booger sometimes, but he also is the funniest, sweetest little guy I know and fills my life with lots of laughter and joy. Happy Birthday Rivers! I love you So much!

One Month Pics

2011-06-21T21:56:00.004-04:00

Here are some pictures of baby girl when she turned a month old last Sunday!

So pretty and ready for church

She adores her daddy already

This is how she likes to sleep if she isn't all swaddled up... so sweet

THANK YOU

2011-06-21T21:25:00.007-04:00

Well, I've been a little quiet in the blogging world lately. We have been home by ourselves for almost 3 weeks now. Things are going great, but they are definitely busier and I'm kind of exhausted by the time the kids go down to sleep so blogging just hasn't been a priority! This blog is very late and a long time coming... but I just wanted to say a HUGE THANK YOU to some pretty amazing people.

First my Mom came and stayed with us for 2 whole weeks after Gloria was born and made the transition to 3 kids so easy for those weeks she was here. I didn't do a stitch of laundry, hardly any cooking, and she took most of the older kiddo duty while I fed Gloria... which in those early weeks is the majority of the day. This was her "vacation" this summer and I know she left more exhausted than when she came! She is one amazing momma and lady in general and Maddie and Rivers loved having her here. We miss her dearly... and I am missing my naps :)Thanks Mom!

After mom left my aunt Susan stayed with us another week and helped so much cooking, cleaning, playing with the kids. We had so much fun with her. She helped Madeline plant some tomatoes and peppers, and with that won her affection! Maddie still talks about "Aunt Su Su" and wants to know when she's coming back! So Susan, hopefully you will make Louisville one of your regular places to come visit.

My in laws were such a big help during the time we were in the hospital with Gloria. Mike's sister and her family along with my mother in law kept Madeline and Rivers for 3 days and nights. It was so comforting to know my kids were well taken care of and were having so much fun as well! Mawmaw also has come and baby sat several times so I can go grocery shopping without the kids. The kids love Mawmaw and I don't know what we would do without her!

Also many of the sweet ladies at church have brought us meals, come to visit, and have just been an encouragement and blessing during this time. We absolutely LOVE our church! So thank you for making the past month so much easier than if we had done it alone!!!!!

2 Weeks

2011-05-30T21:52:00.005-04:00

We have been home with our baby girl for a little over 2 weeks now. Besides a little bit of jaundice, Gloria has been the easiest, most laid back baby so far. She eats good, sleeps good, and is pretty content in general. Madeline is thrilled to have a baby sister and has been such a little helper. Though Rivers wasn't so sure at first about Gloria, he has grown to love her really quickly. He loves to kiss the top of her head and when she is awake loves showing her toys to play with. Here are some of my favorite pictures from the past 2 weeks of our baby girl.

3 Years Old!!!

2011-05-27T19:51:00.004-04:00

This is about a week late, but we've been a little busy :) Last Thursday our big girl turned 3! For her birthday we took her to Chick fil A for breakfast, which she deems her "favorite" breakfast... I think because she can have chicken nuggets for breakfast and then play. Then we spent the rest of the day playing outside in some beautiful weather. Mamaw came over for a little birthday party for dinner including a princess cake. Just a week after having a baby it was just a small party, but we had a blast with our sweet girl.
I can't believe it. Time has flown since she was born. It is amazing to me the transformation Madeline has gone through the past year. She is no longer a baby, but completely a little girl. We are so blessed to have her as a daughter! Happy Birthday precious girl! We love you so much!

YEAH... If you can't tell she is really into princesses :)

Introducing Gloria Michele Frantz

2011-05-18T19:12:00.001-04:00

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How Time Flies!

2011-05-06T21:58:00.003-04:00

Last week I washed all of Madeline's baby clothes to get them ready for Gloria's arrival. It was so nostalgic to remember her wearing each and every thing I washed. For most of them I could recall specific days with her as a baby. It also reminded me just how fast the time has flown by! I can't believe that she is about to be 3 in a little less than 2 weeks.

This is one of my favorite little "baby girl" dresses

This is Maddie in it one Sunday after church when she was about a month old. I can't wait to have Gloria here, and to see if she'll look like Madeline :)

My Big Girl now. Though it seems like just yesterday she was that tiny.

Gloria update: I'm between 2 and 3 cm dialated and have had some contractions this week. It's just a waiting game now. My Dr. wants to induce me on Thursday, so please pray she comes before then! We are all so ready to meet our sweet baby girl!

Scary Monster

2011-05-03T15:18:00.002-04:00

Madeline has been hiding from monsters lately. I'm not sure she is even aware what a monster is, but she will build a little fort under her bed, the dining room table, her closet, and whisper "I'm hiding from monsters!" She's not scared, just thinks it's a fun game. So last night after dinner she and Rivers were again busy in her room making a little hiding place in her closet from monsters. Michael thought it would be funny to actually be a monster she could hide from. He put on a mask he got over in Papua New Guinea and this is what entailed...

We never expected Rivers to be scared of the monster. It took a while of daddy holding him and showing him the mask isn't real. By the end of the night Madeline was wearing it and making funny noises and he was laughing, so I don't think there was any real harm done!

Happy Easter!

2011-04-24T14:52:00.004-04:00

I have to be honest, this morning when I woke up, I was a little sad. Michael had already left really early for work, it was raining, and I knew the challenge ahead of me to get myself and two small children dressed, fed, and off to church on time in the pouring rain (plus I still had some cooking to do for potluck). But God was kind. Madeline woke up and was singing "Behold the Lamb of God" when I went into her room to get her. As we had breakfast together we were able to sing the song together and talk about what today really meant. It was a really sweet time and the Lord used it to prepare my heart for worshipping and celebrating the Risen Christ!

We made it to church, almost on time, :) and I was greeted by my amazing church family who helped me unload the kids and food in the rain, leaving me so loved on and well cared for! Then I unexpectedly had to teach the 2 year old's Sunday School class which was an absolute joy. Not only did I get to spend time with a good friend in there, but as we read about Jesus going to the cross to the 2 year olds, again God was sweet to continue to help me meditate and ponder on Christ's sacrifice on our behalf. Although Michael wasn't there, and holidays are never quite the same when he is at work, the love and fellowship at our church was such a blessing to my soul this morning. I pray you all had a wonderful Easter as well celebrating a Savior who is risen and has conquered sin and death once and for all!

Enjoying the Easter Baskets after the "hunt" to find them yesterday afternoon

No Family pics this year, but here are my 2 cuties after church this afternoon, probably on a little bit of a sugar high from the candy in the Easter eggs they hunted.

Here is a little of Madeline's singing this morning :)

He "was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord" Romans 1:4

Happy Anniversary

2011-04-14T12:58:00.005-04:00

Four Years Ago Today.... I married my Prince Charming!

Four Years, and (almost) 3 kids later, he is still my Knight in Shining Armor. I'm so thankful for the gift of a godly husband and how God has used him in my life.

Happy Anniversary Babe! I pray for decades more to come!

Celebrating Gloria

2011-04-11T20:25:00.002-04:00

Last Saturday some sweet friends from church threw a baby shower for Gloria. We got to share the shower with my friend Jenn who is bringing home their son Joel from Ethiopia hopefully really soon. It was such a special time and we were really blessed by lots of love, prayer, and helpful gifts to help welcome Gloria into our family in a few weeks! Now I just can't wait to meet her. If she follows the pattern of our other 2 kiddos, my prediction is she will make her appearance on May 8, four weeks from yesterday, which just happens to be mother's day. What a great gift that would be! That totally could be wishful thinking, and if I'm wrong she'll be here in about 5 1/2 weeks!

Jenn and I opening gifts... so blessed!

My sweet in-laws that came!

Jenn and I with all of our wonderful hostesses

The AWESOME and yummy cake my friend Anna made

The beautiful diaper cake my friend Lauren made!

Thanks everyone who made it such a special day!!!!

Sunny Days

2011-04-10T21:57:00.002-04:00

We enjoyed some really warm weather today for April... 84 degrees! We decided to introduce our kiddos to ice cream cones, and they thoroughly enjoyed ever bite!

Sweet sister and brother

Little man enjoying his ice cream cone

Our flowers we planted last weekend are enjoying the sun too

My gang :)

March Madness

2011-04-05T20:48:00.006-04:00

Our family had a really busy March! The month started out with transitioning Madeline to a big girl bed and getting her ears pierced!!!!! My baby is definitely growing up into this little lady. She has done fabulous sleeping in a big bed, and hasn't even gotten out once! She is super excited about giving her crib to Gloria and sharing a room with her.

We also spent 2 weeks in Mississippi with Marmie and Papa while daddy had to go out of town for work. It was a fun filled 2 weeks with beautiful weather so we spent most days outside. Here are some highlights from our month:

Painting with cousins Will and James at the Speed Art Museum

playing with cousin Max in Nashville

snuggling with Papa

Lunch out with Uncle Al and Aunt E

Marmie's little gardners

Afternoon at the park

Playing the piano with Granne

Reading with Mamps

Fun at the Hands On Children's Museum

All this fun is hard work! We were pooped!

Christmas 2010

2011-02-14T20:24:00.001-05:00

Click here to view these pictures larger

Thankful for a Beautiful Day!

2011-02-14T20:15:00.004-05:00

We enjoyed an absolutely beautiful day today compared to the frigid winter weather we have had lately. The kids and I got outside a ton today, poor daddy had to work on Valentines Day. They were thrilled to once again play in the backyard on the swingset and in the dirt, and I was thrilled to get some much needed fresh air and exercise going for a walk. It's supposed to be even warmer later this week and we are planning a much anticipated (by Madeline) trip to the zoo! Thank you Lord for this warmer weather and some fun kiddos to share it with.

Here are some pics of our day outside... can y'all believe what a big boy Rivers is? He will have nothing to do with the "baby" swing and did a great job swinging like a big boy on the big kid swings!

memory verses

2011-01-15T16:40:00.004-05:00

Mariah and I are in the process of memorizing the book of Philippians. This has been a fun time for us as we recite to each other the verses we have learned. The other day as I stumbled through last weeks verses, it reminded me of one of my favorite episodes from The Andy Griffith Show.

Big Boy!

2011-01-09T20:34:00.002-05:00

Well after months of waiting and trying to get Rivers to walk he finally is! He started taking a few steps at a time a little before Christmas and is steadily walking more every day. He just likes to do it his own way, on his own time... unless bribed, like you will witness in the video. The sun was streaming through the window so the video isn't great but you can tell that he is walking a good distance. We all like to cheer him on to encourage the walking, and at the end you will hear Maddie calling him a big boy. Listen carefully and you will hear him repeat "big boy". He is also using more words all the time. Our baby boy is growing up, which is good I guess. We're all making room for a new baby!

We are having another...

2011-01-05T08:54:00.005-05:00

GIRL!!!! We found out on Tuesday that the Lord has graciously blessed us with another daughter! We had a really fun time finding out because the kids went with us. Madeline kept saying "I get to have a sister! I get to have a sister!" To Maddie's disappointment, though, the baby's name will not be "Jack-Jack" which has been her name of choice for the baby. Her name will be Gloria Michele Frantz. Gloria, meaning "glory to God", and Michele, after my sweet sister in law. We pray that she will grow to be a godly woman like her Aunt Shelly and her life will give glory to God. We are grateful that Gloria is healthy, and very active! Come May the Frantz house hold will be a busy place! Here are some pics of our sweet girl!

A Social Network Christmas

2010-12-19T21:34:00.000-05:00

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

2010-12-06T21:56:00.008-05:00

We kicked off our holiday season with Thanksgiving celebrating with Mawmaw and our friends Chris and Lindsey. Remembering how much we have to be thankful for, most importantly, our salvation and life in Christ, was a great way to begin to prepare our hearts for thinking on what Christmas truly means.

Christmas time is definitely one of my most favorite times of the year. This year has been especially fun because Maddie and Rivers are definitely LOVING everything about Christmas. She and Rivers both love singing carols and hymns, she loves helping me bake Mike's favorite Christmas cookies. They love seeing lights, opening the advent calendar each day, and talking about the baby who was born to save us from our sins (as they play with the nativity scenes in our home). Kids have definitely made the season more joyful as well as helped me really focus on teaching them the "Story of Christmas". We pray and try to make Him the center of our home during this time of year as we do throughout the entire year. Some things that have really helped us do that is Andrew Peterson's "Behold the Lamb" CD. Madeline can sing the chorus on several of the songs from this now. The past few nights we have really had extraordinary opportunities to worship the truth that God became man. Our church had a wonderful time of reading Scripture and singing about the incarnate Christ, and last night Michael and I went to the Keith and Kristyn Getty concert at Southern Seminary and had an amazing time of worship. We hope you're Christmas season is full of the Comfort, and Joy, and Peace that knowing Jesus brings and you have a wonderful time celebrating with friends and family!

Look how they've grown...

Dec 2010 Dec 2009

Christmas card "photo shoot" was semi successful.

First snow day!

Little man all bundled up

Merry Christmas!

These are a few of my Favorite Things...

2010-11-28T15:38:00.003-05:00

One of my favorite parts of this season is getting Christmas cards in the mail! It’s so fun to see how my friends and family have changed, grown, experienced in the past year. Last year was our first year to make a family Christmas Card to send out, and I plan on doing it again this year thanks to Shutterfly. They are having a promotion where bloggers can get 50 Christmas Cards for free when they write a blog about their new Holiday/Christmas Card collection. I have used Shutterfly for various different personalized photography products and am really excited about the chance to order our Christmas cards from them this year! I love creating our own Christmas cards because it gives me a chance to highlight significant moments of our family throughout the year. It’s simple because I just download pictures straight from my computer into the card, and its fun to create something that is unique for our own family’s personality. You can see some of the many Shutterfly designs here Christmas photo cards: http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/christmas-photo-cards or holiday cards to http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/holiday-cards. You can add 3 or more pictures on the cards. They have selections of flat photo cards, folded cards, or stationary cards. The designs are adorable and their collection this year has so much to choose from though, it is going to be hard to pick which design to use.
They also have wall calendars (you can find them here poster calendars to http://www.shutterfly.com/calendars/wall-calendars ). I design and give one to my mom every Christmas, and I think that she expects one now :)
So if you need Christmas cards this year or some great personalized gifts, check out the links above. And if you have your own blog and want to sign up for this great promotion to get some free Christmas cards go here http://bit.ly/sfly2010!

Hubby's a Preacher

2010-11-22T14:16:00.003-05:00

I just wanted to share a link to Mike's first sermon with anyone interested. He preached from Mark 14 on "A Faith that Serves" yesterday at our church, and though I'm biased, I think he did an amazing job delivering God's word! As a proud wife, just wanted to give y'all an opportunity to hear. Praise God for his work in and through our lives!

Just copy and paste the link below and it should take you right to the sermon.

http://kenwoodbaptistchurch.com/podcast/media/2010-11-22_mike_frantz_mark_14_39.mp3

Lots of time with Family!

2010-10-29T11:06:00.005-04:00

We have had a month filled with visits/visiting my family. It all started in early October. My cousins Matt, Jennifer, and Emily came from Nashville for a visit. Matt and Jenn have a little boy, Max, who is only a few months older than Rivers. We really didn't do much but watch football and catch up because it was raining most of the day, but the kids had a blast playing and it was so fun to see them together.

Max and Rivers

All 3 kiddos together before bed

Not really a "family" pic, but this is one of my favorites of Madeline this month. For any of you who know this girl you know she LOVES her veggies. This carrot was meant to feed a horse Mike took Maddie to see, but she ate it and wouldn't share with the horses!

Mid October Marmie came for 5 days to visit us in Louisville and we had a packed, fun filled time with her. We went with the kids to the Zoo for their Halloween party. Madeline was a little confused and upset because all the animals were not out, but she ended up enjoying all the characters. Rivers of course was just along for the ride and had a blast.

Our Little Oompa Loompa

Madeline liked the "cowboy" and "astronaut" the best

Getting lots of great snuggle time with Marmie

We went to Huber's to pick apples and visit the pumpkin patch. Madeline loving not just picking but eating the apples!

In the pumpkin patch

Little man enjoying crawling among the pumpkins

Marmie drove back with the kids and I to Mississippi for a week while Mike stayed in Louisville building up some work days to join us for a vacation. He flew down the next Thursday to meet us for another week. I love that we got to spend so much time with Papa, Marmie, Erica, and Uncle Al. Since we only get to see them every few months the kids change so much so quickly. When we get to see them for such an extended amount of time, I feel like they really get to know the kids and see their personalities (good and bad)! Ha Ha! While we were there we got to see two of Papa's football games. Rivers wanted so bad to be a big boy and get out there and play football!

We also visited the pumpkin patch in Mississippi and Madeline experienced her first pony ride. She was a natural and loved it!

Aunt E and Maddie on the hay ride

We had such a fun time! We also got to see Granne and Mamps and the kids had a blast picking tomatoes and peppers from Mamp's garden. My batteries in my camera died so hopefully I'll get pictures from Granne soon to post. We saw lots of other friends and family, got lots of rest and good meals. Thanks Marmie, Papa, Erica, and Uncle Al for "putting up" with us for so long!

First signs of FALL

2010-09-09T15:31:00.004-04:00

Well it's getting to be that time of year again! The weather is getting cooler (well some days at least), its getting darker earlier, and FOOTBALL has started. We even found these outside today while playing...

Yep... that's yellow leaves that are already starting to fall.

We've even started decorating our house for fall and are thoroughly enjoying being able to go outside without immediately sweating and getting eat up by misquitos.

Madeline helped me plant some mums

Hung our fall wreath

This past weekend was the kick-off of college football and of course we had to cheer on our Wildcats against the Cardinals. We were supposed to have lots of people over for the game, but we all ended up coming down with a stomach bug. We had our own little party anyway!

Game day Picnic

Madeline and "Lexi" our UK cheerleaders

Welcome Fall... We are so glad you are here!

Bruiser

2010-08-25T21:21:00.002-04:00

I know... I am WAY behind in any kind of blog catching y'all up on life's happenings. I couldn't pass by the opportunity to post a pic of Rivers' first black eye. I am sure it is one of MANY to come. The kids spent the weekend with Marmie, Papa, Erica, and Uncle Al this past weekend, and when we met them on Sunday afternoon to pick them up, this is what Rivers looked like.

Our little Bruiser boy

Vacation slideshow

2010-07-15T15:02:00.002-04:00

We had an amazing vacation to Miramar Beach, FL. I have been trying to get some pics up but my old computer (the one I have to download them to first) is getting slow, so its been hard for me to get a post up. I will try to get some of our favorites up this weekend. I created a little slideshow though that you can check out by clicking the link below if you would like!

http://www5.snapfish.com/snapfish/mmsshareewelcome/p=824131279075591137/l=7658704014/g=126930880/cobrandOid=1000/otsc=SYE/otsi=SMMS

Rivers turns ONE!

2010-06-25T14:51:00.007-04:00

June 18, 2009

This past Friday our little man turned ONE!!!!!!!!! WOW has this year flown by. Rivers has brought so much joy into our home. Anyone who knows him can testify that he is the sweetest most lovable baby! Its crazy how much little ones change in the course of a year. As you can see from the pics above and below, our precious baby is quickly turning into a toddler! It's been so fun to see his personality gradually show this year. He is our "quiet" one most of the time, but he is the happiest kid I have ever met (except when he is hungry, sleeping, or teething!) He loves to be around people, especially people he knows really well. He is SO curious about everything, and loves examining and studying things. He started crawling (well army crawling) around 10 months old and is into everything now. He is beginning to pull up and let go now, so I know its only a matter of months before he takes off and is a full blown toddler. He loves to laugh and his sister can make him laugh more than anybody else. He is an EATER. He eats twice as much as Madeline, and I think I'll be in trouble once he gets older! He is very affectionate, and loves giving hugs and kisses these days.

June 2010

We had such a fun day celebrating his birthday. We woke up and had breakfast with the Murrays and then went swimming with most of the Frantz cousins. Rivers had a feast of pizza and birthday cake for lunch. He demolished his piece of birthday cake... yes he shares his Daddy's sweet tooth. Not only was it Rivers birthday, but it was Will and James' 3rd birthday, so that afternoon we went to their birthday party. We had lots of fun celebrating the life of our little man. What a precious blessing from the Lord he is, and what a blessing it is to be his MOM! Happy Birthday Rivers, WE LOVE YOU SO MUCH!
Pics of BIRTHDAY
Hangin with the cousins

Some Pool time

Opening presents

Ready for cake

Mmmm... good

The birthday boys

Pickin Strawberries

2010-06-07T14:41:00.006-04:00

Mike has an incredibly busy week this week, so on Saturday we took full advantage of his day off and had a Frantz Family Day of FUN!!!!!!! We shopped the neighborhood yard sale that morning. We found some great deals, but even better made some new friends! Then we went strawberry pickin at Huber's Orchard over in Indiania. It was a sweet treat... as you can tell from the kids faces!

Introducing Madeline to fresh picked strawberries

Workin hard!

"There are just so many ... can't I eat some!"

"Mmmmm. . . Good!!"

Brother liked them a lot too!

Our beautiful bushel of berries

Tractor ride back in from the fields

"I didn't eat many strawberries?!"

Top it off with homemade strawberry ice cream, YUM!

I think we can honestly say that Huber's is our new favorite Saturday spot! We finished the day with naps, an local cultural festival, and dinner with some of our great friends from church! It was an awesome weekend to say the least!

Happy Birthday Madeline!

2010-05-20T15:53:00.004-04:00

Then

Now

Well yesterday our little darling turned TWO! My how these two years have flown... and I was assured by my Granne yesterday thatthey only get faster. We had an extremely fun day yesterday. We started our day by going to breakfast with the Murray clan, and then we headed to the zoo since it is probably Madeline's favorite place on earth right now! It was the perfect day at the zoo too, cloudy, which meant all the animals were out and active. Madeline even went on her first carousel ride, which she loved, except for the part where she had to get off! Next was lunch, naps, and mommy trying frantically to get the promised "Elmo cake" iced. Daddy helped Madeline fly her first kite, thanks to Mamaw, and do her next favorite thing, play in the dirt that afternoon. Dinner was of course Maddie's favorite Mac n Cheese! We ended the day with cake of course which turned out quite nice :) Marmie and Papa even joined us over Skype to watch Madeline blow out her two candles and open her gifts!

We cannot express how grateful we are for our precious Madeline's life. God has brought us so much joy and taught us so much by being her parents. I was asked a few weeks ago in one of those random "get to know you question" things "If you could have any job in the world what would it be?" My answer was quite simple and profoundly true... DO EXACTLY WHAT I AM DOING RIGHT NOW! I love getting to be a stay at home wife and mommy (thanks to my incredible hard working husband!) Madeline's two short years of life have absolutely been my BEST two years of life!

Here's some of the highlights from our day... ENJOY!

Recent Pics and Video

2010-04-19T13:46:00.008-04:00

I have a longer post coming soon.... I promise! All my time on the computer has been spent making Madeline a photo book for her 2 year birthday coming up in just a little over a month. Can you believe it?! So as soon as I get that done I am going to try and devote a little more time to blogging. I just wanted to give y'all some pics from the past few weeks. Our kids can't get enough from being outside, and love dirt, as you can tell!

I love this pic because it captures Madeline's fun loving personality. And yes, that is dirt on her face. It is this way most days if we are outside longer than 5 minutes. I think she will make a great horticulturalist one day!

Baby boy loves being outside in the grass... we don't always get to him before he eats it though!

Some family pics from our time in Mississippi and Easter morning

The kids absolutely love the swingset Missy let us borrow for our backyard. In Maddie's words "tanku aunt mizzy"

Here is a recent video of Rivers. When in a big group, he is usually our quiet, introspective child, while Madeline likes to be the center of attention. But when he is with just us he is quite the funny boy as his personality is really beginning to show. So for all of you who haven't seen that side of him yet, here is a little look into our funny boy!

Welcome SPRING!

2010-03-21T16:18:00.006-04:00

YAY Spring is officially here, and OH how we have missed warm weather! We had such a cold couple of months that about a month ago it was 46 degrees and we had the windows down in the car because it felt so great! Over the past 2 weeks we have really enjoyed some beautiful weather and have taken full advantage of it after being cooped up all winter! Madeline and Rivers have LOVED it. We have been to the zoo, out for numerous walks, to parks, everything enjoyable about the temp being above 50 degrees again! We literally have to force Maddie to come back inside. Right now we are in Mississippi, missing Mike, but having a good time with Marmie, Papa, Erica and Alan. Here are some pics of our recent adventures!

Zoo time!

Cuddlin with Papa

Lunch out with Marmie... first Japanese food (unsure about the chef)

Swingin for the first time Unsure...... Lovin it!

Couldn't get her off of the slide!

Sweet Nights

2010-03-07T21:13:00.006-05:00

Sorry I haven't been posting a lot lately. My camera has been out of batteries, and we have been adjusting to a new life of another family coming to live with us... (yes, you read that right, but that's another post for another time for those of you who are wondering what I am talking about). Anyway, I really hope to be posting more regularly!

One of my favorite times of the day is when we put the kids to bed, and no its really not because they are going to sleep. They are sharing a room now so when Michael is home we put both kids down to bed together. Our routine usually goes something like this. He reads the kids a book while I get Madeline some milk and Rivers a bottle. Then we read a story out of the Big Picture Storybook Bible (aka... the "B-I-" as Madeline calls it from the little childrens' song that spells out BIBLE). We have found that using this book has helped us start teaching Madeline some basic truths about the Bible. Even at such a young age she loves reading it and loves to point out new things she is learning like "the temple." We then pray and rock the kids as we sing a hymn. One of Maddie's favorites has become "Jesus Loves Me". I caught it on film tonight and thought y'all might enjoy hearing her sweet voice sing it (ignore mine in the background). It brings joy to our hearts hearing our little girl learning and singing such a sweet truth!

Here are some of my favorite pictures that I haven't posted yet since my batteries ran out!

Snoozing after a hard day of play!

Baby boy... 8 month old... where has time gone?

Bathtime together... double fun!

Maddie's "cheese" face

Our Snow Day

2010-02-09T21:34:00.004-05:00

We woke up this morning we woke up with about 5 inches of snow on the ground! Here is some video footage of Madeline in the snow. She absolutely loved it, as you will be able to tell from the video, and it was really hard for us to get her back inside. It is so much fun to see her wonder and excitement!! Poor Rivers didn't get to enjoy it because he has a fever and an ear infection. (Warning: the video is a little long, but you can always skip around)! Its mainly for mom to see Maddie in action... we haven't seen Marmie in a while so hopefully this is a treat! ENJOY!

Year In Review (Better Late than Never!)

2010-01-26T21:37:00.003-05:00

Last Saturday my mother in law watched Madeline and Rivers for a little while so I could go and run some errands. I am a little behind on my "reading the Bible in one year" plan so I went to Starbucks to catch up. I was reading in Genesis about Jacob meeting God and setting up a stone as a reminder. Before I left I did a little journaling, and started remembering how much God did for us this past year. 2009 was a BIG year of changes for the Frantz family and God has been so faithful to guide us to and through every change. Just wanted to share some of God's faithfulness to our family last year as a testimony to him for his sovereign loving kindess.

The greatest blessing was the healthy pregnancy and birth of Rivers in June, and the healthy development and growth of Madeline. What a joy they both bring to our family! I was a little worried about being a mom of two under two. Although it is extremely busy, the transition has been fairly easy and we are overjoyed that God has given us these two precious children! Also this past spring Mike stepped out in faith and started his own lawn care business. God provided in many ways for the expenses to start this business and it is growing successfully!
In the spring we started feeling God calling us to move from our much loved church at Clifton Baptist to a new church in the Southend of Louisville. It is a church that was small and the majority of the members were over 70. They called a professor from SBTS, Jim Hamilton (yes, just like dad), to be their pastor in April and we started attending right after that. We became members in June and God has given us ample opportunities to serve since then! I have to be honest and say that despite my hesitancy at first, moving to Kenwood is one of the best decisions that Michael has made for our family! We completely love serving and being part of the fellowship there.
After we started attending Kenwood, we figured if we really wanted to jump in serving and ministering to Southend Louisville, what better way to do that than to live there. So three weeks before Rivers was born we put our house up for sale. Within a week we had an offer on the house, and a couple of weeks later God had provided a house for us close to Kenwood! In this crazy economy we can only credit all of this to the Lord's faithful provision for us.

We can only anticipate what God has in store for us in 2010!!!!!!!!!

To leave you, here are some of my favorite pictures of this past week:
I have been teaching Madeline to "help mommy" lately. Its just simple things like helping me pick up her toys and helping me by entertaining Rivers when I need to get lunch ready. This past week she was playing with Rivers (telling him what animals they were playing with) and I look up and this is what I see...

What a SWEET big sister... and Rivers just adores her! Its such a blessing to be a mommy to these two!

Our sweet smiley baby boy... doesn't he just brighten up your day!

2010-01-15T21:13:00.000-05:00

Shai Linne with "Spread His Fame." from Grace EV Free on Vimeo.

Nov - Dec (M 18m, R 5m) (79 photos), by Mariah Frantz

2010-01-08T10:32:00.001-05:00

I'd like to share my Snapfish photos with you. Once you have checked out my photos you can order prints and upload your own photos to share.
Click here to view photos

A BIG Week!

2010-01-07T21:05:00.009-05:00

I am not even going to try and catch up since the last post. In summary, we has a fabulous Thanksgiving. Dad, mom, and Susan visited that week, and we hosted Thanksgiving at our house with about 23 people, including both of our families and some great friends from our church! It was a blast. The holiday season was pretty busy for us (as you can tell with no posts). We celebrated Christmas for about 10 days with all of our family. We had a really sweet time celebrating the birth of our King with our church and both of our families. One of the sweetest things for me was reading books to Madeline about Jesus' birth for the first time. One book in particular she loved and wanted to read it all of the time. Whenever she was ready to read it she would hand it to you and say "Sheshus".

Sorry about the brief catch up. Here are some of my favorite pics from the holidays... if you want to see all of them, the two posts under this one are my albums from Nov and Dec. Feel free to check them out!

Burr! Its been frigid... our little cuddle bugs trying to stay warm.

All the cousins on the "Hamilton" side together

and playing for the first time

The Frantz family 2009 Christmas morning

Rivers excited about the Giraffe that is bigger than

him that was under the Christmas tree

Our pretty "Big" girl ready to go to church

Little man has started eating all kinds of solids

and has gained 1 lb this month!

Ok now for current news....

This has been a BIG week for the Frantz kiddos. Starting on Tuesday afternoon Rivers finally rolled over! The doctor at his 6 month check up told me he had all the muscle tone to do it but our little guy is just so content he hadn't been motivated to do it. All of the sudden on Tuesday he was trying to get a stuffed monkey toy that was out of reach and just did it. He has been rolling back and forth, back and forth ever since! Check it out....

Also on Wednesday we started potty training Madeline. Its challenging, but she is slowly getting the hang of it. Most of the time she says "potty" or "tee tee" as the "tee tee" is running down her leg and she is walking toward the potty. We have used probably 3 full rolls of paper towels cleaning up accidents in the past 2 days! Last night we had a major break through though. After she was done eating supper last night she said "tee tee" and got down from her high chair. About 2 minutes later she started squealing "tee tee, tee tee" and I look down and sure enough she is sitting on her potty going potty. The only problem is that she had shut the lid of it first, so the "tee tee" was running all over the potty and onto the floor. She was so proud of herself clapping and squealing that we just acted like she did it perfectly for the first time! Needless to say Mike removed the lid to the potty so it won't happen again.

Also on Thursday morning we woke up to a snow covered ground. We took a brief break from potty training to play in the snow. We didn't think that Maddie liked it at first but she wouldn't come inside. We played for a while sledding and making snowballs in our back yard. It was a blast.

Hope you all had a Merry Christmas and your New Year has started out great!

Dec - Jan (M 19m, R 6m), by Mariah Frantz

2010-01-07T20:53:00.001-05:00

I'd like to share my Snapfish photos with you. Once you have checked out my photos you can order prints and upload your own photos to share.
Click here to view photos

Growing Up so Fast!!!!!!!

2009-11-15T21:55:00.005-05:00

I can't believe it's almost Thanksgiving! Not only that, but this past week our little man turned 5 months old and our big girl turned 18 months. How fast time is flying!!!!!! They are both at such fun stages. Rivers is so smiley and loves to laugh. His big toothless grin can make any day brighter. He is close to rolling over, loves kicking his feet, and has become quite a chatty little guy. He also loves watching whatever is going on around him. A lot of his time is spent in his bumbo seat at various points of the day. He sits on the table during meal times, watches me do chores, and joins in with Maddie's story time. As long as he is part of the action he is content.

Madeline is learning so much right now. I really think her vocabulary grows by about five words a day. I am not sure where she is learning it all. She has these foam bath toys and when we were taking a bath the other night she picked up the letter "Y" and said "Y". She proceeded to do the same thing with the B and the L. That's her extent of identifying letters, but I was shocked. This winter is going to be so much fun. She just learned this week what snow is and every time she sees a picture of it she lights up and says "SNOW!" Her newest thing is having tea parties. Almost every morning, she brings all of her stuffed animals out of her room into the living room and serves them tea. She is quite the little hostess. She has also become more shy. She clings to me or Mike when she is in a room of people, but give her about 30 minutes and she is showing out.

Here are some of my favorite pics of our past couple of weeks. The first couple are from Aunt E and Uncle Al's visit. We had so much fun the couple of days they were here. We got to show them what a real fall was like because they got here right before all the leaves started to fall off the trees.

Having some fun looking at Halloween decorations

Of course they had to bring Rivers his first MSU hat

Halloween night... our little cheerleader

Bundled up trying to stay warm

Having so much fun with Aunt E

Serving tea to all her friends

5 Months Old. Big Boy hair cut

Oct - Nov (M 17m, R 4m), by Mariah Frantz

2009-11-02T10:06:00.001-05:00

I'd like to share my Snapfish photos with you. Once you have checked out my photos you can order prints and upload your own photos to share.
Click here to view photos

Sept- Oct 2009, by Mariah Frantz

2009-11-02T09:57:00.001-05:00

I'd like to share my Snapfish photos with you. Once you have checked out my photos you can order prints and upload your own photos to share.
Click here to view photos

Fun Fall!

2009-10-28T20:20:00.005-04:00

It doesn't look like I am getting much better at the blogging thing. I apologize if this is a long one. There are lots of pictures and I am going to try to catch up. I am attempting to create me a weekly schedule for my "chores" each week to make sure that they all get done. I am going to put blogging on the list, so that hopefully I can make one post a week... we will see if that works. This is just one of those things that has changed since becoming a momma of 2! That's a blog I have been thinking up that maybe I will write one day.

One of the things I love about living in Louisville is that we actually have seasons here. Fall is quickly becoming one of my favorites! The leaves have been changing since early October and right now they are absolutely gorgeous. A couple of weeks ago, Michael surprised us by planning a little family trip to Brown County, IN. They are known for their state park, great hiking, and beautiful fall leaves. It was the kids first hike, and I have to say I was pretty impressed. It was a work out for Michael and I, but totally worth it. We had such a great day hiking and walking around the little town!

At the top of a look out tower about half way through the hike

One of the things I love about our new house is that we have lots of trees in our yard. Our neighborhood also is filled with trees with leaves with all kinds of fall colors. We try to get outside as much as possible while the weather is nice. Madeline loves playing with all of the leaves and pumpkins, and Rivers just loves being outside. Here are some pics of the fall beauty around our yard and Madeline having fun with it.

pretty mums on our front porch

Beautiful Trees!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

View from our family room window

Maddie enjoying the fall weather!

It is hard to believe that Rivers is four months old! He is growing so fast. He loves watching everyone and everything around him, especially Madeline. We have a good friend that let us borrow a bumbo seat. It allows him to sit up until he can do it by himself, and he loves it. He can grin from ear to ear and it just melts your heart. He has found his hands and spends lots of time looking at them, chewing on them, and then looking at them again. He rolls from tummy to back, and when he is really mad he can almost roll from back to tummy. We had his 4 month check up last week. He weighed 12lbs. 5 oz, and was 23 inches tall. I thought he was going to be a much bigger baby than Maddie, but that just puts him in the 3 % for height and 10% for weight. Looks like we are just going to have small babies!

That sweet smile

Enjoying the bumbo seat!

Doing some tummy time.

Madeline has completely transitioned from baby to toddler. She has a growing vocabulary, and is learning a couple of new words a day it seems like. She understands so much more than she can even say. She can pick out any animal, follow lots of directions, and is such a big help with Rivers. She is such a joy! She is learning expressions and loves doing her "suprise" face. She also loves to explore and do new things. Pretending to cook with her dishes and playing with her doll house are probably her favorite activities. She tests us often, and we have come into the age of discipline. She is growing in obedience too! She used to pout and throw a fit when she was disciplined or didn't get her way. Most of the time now she is quick to change her attitude and give a big hug after she getting disciplined. Not that we ever doubted that the Bible is true, but it is really neat to see Madeline growing and learning to be obedient. We pray that through learning to obey and trust us she will ultimately learn to obey God and trust him.

Her contemplative side.................. and her silly side (this is the suprise face!)

Reading to brother

Again, sorry this is so long. Hopefully I will get better at updating the blog so its not such a marathon!

Pics from the Past Month!

2009-10-05T21:20:00.006-04:00

Well I have been terrible at blogging lately! Things have been crazy busy moving into the house and getting settled! But here are some pics from the past month and a half. Enjoy! Try to post an update and pics of the new house later.

Two months!

First Happy Meal!

First hair cut - 2 1/2 months

First Kentucky game... they beat Uof L!

Go Cats!

Hanging out with Marmie!

Trying to get a good shot of these 2 together is impossible!

3 months already?

Recent Videos

2009-08-18T17:21:00.007-04:00

Some Recent Pics

2009-08-14T15:29:00.005-04:00

Our big 2 month old:

height- 21 1/4 inches (10%)

weight - 10lbs. 11 oz (25-50%)

Chillin with Dad

Our petite princess 15 month stats:

height- 29 inches (10%)

weight - 17lbs. 12 oz (5%)

We had so much fun with the Joneses... Mike's sister and her 2 daughters while they were here. We went to the zoo, and Maddie and Lacy loved playing together... We miss them already!

visiting dad at the Fire house is so much fun!

From a dad's perspective

2009-07-30T20:56:00.006-04:00

Tonight I thought Mariah deserved a ladies night out, so a few of her friends were kind enough to plan it for me. Since Rivers only source of nutrition comes from Mariah she has been the one dealing with the sleepless nights, then dealing with both of them alone when I am gone to work for 24hrs every third day. So to say the least, she deserves it. But it was not until after having the two kids alone at night did I see just how hard it really is..... As I type I ask that you just picture me writing with one hand, holding Rivers in the other b/c he has to be touched, and hear Maddie screaming in her crib for no reason. When I try to comfort Maddie then Rivers began to scream and vice versa. Hold that thought I need to go feed Rivers his bottle.

OK I'm back:

Anyway now I have breast milk all over b/c Rivers cannot keep it down. Now after eating, it is Rivers routine to grunt for 15 minutes while what little food is in him digest. Maddie did make me laugh though. On my way back to get his milk I thought I'd try to rock her to calm her down. She apparently has some gas issues, so as she laid against my belly every few minutes she would let some real loud stinkers go. It took all I had not to laugh or gag in order to not disturb her. I type all of this not to complain, but to give thanks to my wife. Motherhood is truly a labor intensive profession in which there should be many days of recognition! I am not sure how she juggles it but it is much calmer when she is here. While Mariah needs to take more ladies nights out I think she should wait till Marmie is around so I can go fishing.........

wait yep there is Maddie crying again

2009-07-30T17:47:00.002-04:00

Catching Up!

2009-07-29T16:13:00.005-04:00

Sorry its been so long since we blogged. Its crazy that Rivers will be 6 weeks old tomorrow. Time is flying by, and we are loving it! Life with two little ones have been quite busy for us this past month. When we got back from Mississippi, I was a little worried about handling both kiddos by myself while Mike was at work for 24 hours. But I have survived! Though it is crazy some days we have lots of fun, and I have learned lots of tricks to juggling a toddler and newborn. Also when we got back, we learned that Madeline was going to have to have outpatient surgery to remove a staph infection that had gotten in her ear. As traumatic as it was for me, she did quite well and the surgery removed all the infected tissue and closed the small sinus in her ear to prevent the infection from returning. She is a strong little girl.

I don't think I've mentioned in previous blogs that we are moving. We accepted a contract on our house just a couple of days before Rivers was born, and about a week after he was born we found a new house. So we have started packing up our house and getting ready to move. We will be moving out into a neighborhood just down the road from our new church. God quickly answered our prayers of a quick sale, and a quick buy. We are really excited about being in the South End Community of Louisville and getting to minister there the remainder of our time in Louisville (however long that may be). We close and will be in our house this time next month!

That is the recent updates from the Frantz family! Here are some pics from this last month.

1 month old!

I look more like my daddy everyday

First trip to the Fire Department to visit daddy

Fun night at the River for a cookout

Our big 14 month old

P.S. We will be getting up a really cute video of Maddie saying her new word "baby", so stay tuned!

2 Weeks... 2 Kids

2009-07-06T17:29:00.004-04:00

It's been a little over 2 weeks since we brought Rivers home from the hospital, and adjusting to life as a family of four has been fun but crazy. We are so thankful to my sister for her help before Rivers was born and to my mom for her help these last 2 weeks after his arrival. This past Thursday we took mom back home and stayed for a weekend visit in Mississippi. Rivers got to meet lots of family members, and we had a great time seeing everyone!

While we were there Madeline started saying "bird". The video shows how proud she is (and we are) of her new word. She is getting to be such a big girl walking around everywhere and starting to talk.

Rivers has been such an easy going baby. We thought Madeline was laid back, but Rivers is even more... if that is possible. He has been a great sleeper and pooper. He loves to be snuggled up to and is such a sweet boy. He is growing bigger by the day and has made the transition for us having a second child as easy as possible! Its funny how different having a boy is already though. He grunts all the time, and I am definitely having to learn how to change a boy's diaper.

Here are some pics of our first 2 weeks at home and our first road trip. The kids did fabulous, and we couldn't ask for better little travelers!

Introducing Rivers Judson Frantz!!!!!

2009-06-21T11:13:00.004-04:00

I'm Finally Here!
Holding sweet Rivers for the first time

Proud Daddy!
8 lbs. 1 oz. 19 1/2 inches long

Aunt E made it through the delivery too!

Madeline meeting Rivers for the first time!

First family photo

Marmie and Papa with their grandchildren

A proud daddy of two

Isn't he a handsome little man

Glad to be home!

Thursday morning I was scheduled for an inducement... Well Rivers didn't wait that long. Wednesday afternoon contractions started and by that night I was in full blown labor. We finally went to the hospital at 3:30 Thursday morning and I had already dilated to 8 cm... 4 hours later at 7:25 a.m. Rivers Judson Frantz was born! We are so grateful for all of your prayers. He is a big healthy boy as you can see!

We were blessed by lots of family and friends visiting us in the hospital, and we are home now adjusting to life as a family of 4! Sorry for the delay in getting pics up. I'll try to post some more soon in our family photo album and update more on life when we get a chance!

Our One Year Old!

2009-05-30T13:28:00.010-04:00

Sorry we have been so delayed in blogging this past month. May was quite busy for the Frantz family! It all started off with Derby season the first week of May. Madeline and I both experienced our first trip to Churchill Downs. We didn't go to the actual Derby races, but went to a couple of races earlier in the week. Madeline loved seeing all the horses and we had a great time. Checking out the horses before the races began

I picked the winning horse for the first race... but then it was all down hill after that!

We also went and spent a week in Mississippi. It was the last week I could officially travel. We had lots of visitors and fun adventures! I got the third stomach virus of this pregnancy (the second one in Mississippi. I think there is something in the water). While we were there Madeline got to go swimming for the first time. Even though it was cold, her sweet daddy got in with her and she absolutely loved it.

(About to try the water for the first time!)

The whole trip to Mississippi wasn't so peaceful though. While I was sick, Mike took Madeline to the lake to feed the ducks one afternoon. He didn't know these ducks were psycho about food and they rushed to attack Mike and Maddie when they got to shore. Maddie screamed and clung to Mike as he ran to the car. They escaped with no injuries, but I think Madeline might be a little traumatized by the event. Later on that week we went back to the lake. Although she had a good time, as soon as she saw the ducks she clung to Mike for dear life again!

We got to see lots of family that came to wish Maddie a happy birthday, and she enjoyed opening all the presents. Susan came at the beginning of the week, and Kathy, Henry, and Molly came over one night. Then we had Madeline a Mississippi birthday party that weekend and Granne and Mamps came from Vardaman for the day. Even our dear friends Andy and Melanie got to come up for a couple of hours. It was so much fun!

Our last day in Mississippi was Mother's Day and it was a lot of fun and really special to get to celebrate my first Mother's day with my mom.

May was also my birthday and Mike's birthday (he turned the Big 30!), and then we had Madeline's first birthday! For her party here we went to one of our favorite parks and grilled out with Mike's family and some other of Maddie's favorite people! It was a blast... especially watching her dig into her cupcake.

I think she liked the cupcake!

Showing how she blows kisses

After we got back from Mississippi the next weekend we made a quick day trip to Nashville and got to meet cousin Max. I think that Maddie is ready for a little brother!

It is so hard to believe that a year has gone by! We are extremely grateful for God's mercy in Madeline's life, and experience it daily as we watch her grow, develop, and learn. She has been a source of absolute joy to our family and we feel humbled that God has given us this amazing task and responsibility of being her parents. Our little girl May 19, 2008
Our Big One year Old!

I know this has been a long post... sorry! A quick update on Rivers though. I just had a Drs. appointment and everything looks great. His head is down, which means he is in position to come! My platelet count has been low again, and my drs. have had me start some medicine which should help them come up. If they are stable by the 18th and Rivers hasn't made his arrival yet, they probably will induce labor to make sure they stay stable! So at least 2 weeks from Thursday we will get to meet our little boy. Erica is coming in a week to help out the last week, and we can't wait! So next time we post (realistically) we will be a family of FOUR! We covet your prayers!

2 Years!

2009-04-15T20:31:00.005-04:00

April 14, 2007

Yesterday Michael and I celebrated our 2nd wedding anniversary! I can't believe how fast these two years have flown by, though it is hard to remember life before Michael. Maybe its because so much has happened and changed in those two years. Even since last year: we became parents, I finished seminary and now am a full time wife and mom, and we are just two short months away from the birth of Rivers. Life couldn't be any better! We celebrated yesterday by taking an overnight trip to Cincinnati. It was fun just getting to spend the whole day and night with Michael uninterrupted. I am SO thankful that the Lord gave me such an incredible husband (I could keep writing page after page about how amazing he is but it would embarrass him so I won't). God has been gracious to grow us in our understanding of how to be a godly husband and wife these two years, and as a result our marriage and love for each other has grown! I look forward to decades more of anniversaries!

Us Now

Other updates: I had a Dr. appointment last week and Rivers is measuring right on time and is completely healthy. He is growing so fast (and so is my belly!). In the past week he has become extremely active. Madeline is almost through month 10! Her crawling has picked up in these 2 weeks and she is getting around really fast. This has increased her curiosity of everything around her now that she has access to it, so we are always having to keep our eye on her. It makes life a little more crazier. Can't y'all just see me at 7 months pregnant chasing around a sneaky little crawler all day long (it is fun though)! Just today we found her fully standing up in her crib which is the first time she has pulled all the way up. This has made nap time interesting (as you can see in the picture at the bottom!). This past week was a tough week for Madeline. She had a viral throat infection at the beginning of last week that made her have a high temperature and feel pretty tired through Wednesday. Then on Friday night I found a sore under her left arm. Our doctor sent us to the ER to have it checked out and as we suspected it was a staff infection. It was a tramatic night for her because they had to draw blood and drain the absess. They sent us home with antibiotics and they seem to be working. We spent the weekend disinfecting everything including Bailey and us. We are thankful that we caught the infection so quickly and she is healing so fast.

Michael has decided to start his own lawn service on his off days. It is coming along steadily... so if any of you reading this in the Louisville need some excellent lawn care give us a call! That's pretty much the updates on our life... more to come soon!

Here are some 10 month pics of Madeline:

Madeline and I spent a week at the end of March in Mississippi

Madeline modeling the beautiful dress that Granne made her

She is a good multi-tasker already... reading while on a walk

Fun in the bath
First Easter egg hunt
It was successful
"Mom, I'm not tired! I don't want to nap!"

First Crawl

2009-03-29T21:37:00.002-04:00

9 Months (well really 9 1/2!)

2009-03-10T20:01:00.002-04:00

Our little girl is getting big! She's 9 months old and is changing everyday. At her 9 month check up she weighed 15 lbs. 14 oz. ... so we are almost at 16 lbs. That puts her in the 5% for weight and 10% for height. I think that she has gained a pound or so since the check up. She is eating almost every fruit, veggie, and meat now. We even let her try a little ice cream on Sunday when we went to our favorite local ice cream shop. I think she has her daddy's sweet tooth! Lately her appetite has increased, so I think she is going through a growth spurt.
Last week was a big accomplishment as her first tooth poked its way through! She has another one right beside it trying to push through. Other recent accomplishments is she can drink from her sippy cup all by herself, she is crawling (backwards not forward yet), she is eating finger foods, and she is starting to assert her independence. She loves playing with anything that makes music, and she loves giving her doll kisses. I think this might mean she is getting ready to be a big sister. Really she loves giving anybody kisses (the wide open mouth really wet kind!). Her newest love is her books. Whenever we go into or pass by her room she points to her book shelf and almost won't let you walk past without stopping to read one. She especially likes any books with flaps she can open or animals that you can make sounds for. Needless to say we are having so much fun watching her grow.

Rivers is also doing great and measuring right on track. He is not quite as active as Madeline was in my belly. That might be because I don't have time to sit down and feel him like I did with her. He definitely kicks harder than she did though. I can't believe we only have 3 more months until he is here, though we can't wait to meet him. Children are such a blessing from the Lord and we are loving being parents!

Here are some pics of Madeline's new accomplishments.

Amazima.org

2009-03-01T21:34:00.004-05:00

This is a great blog about someone who gave up all she had to follow the Lord. Please check it out and read her blog in the following attachment.

It's A BOY!

2009-02-14T20:55:00.008-05:00

I know most of you have heard the news by now... but if not Madeline is going to have a little brother! Sorry its taken us so long to post, but we found out last Tuesday before heading down to Mississippi for a week. We got back on Monday, but y'all know how busy the first couple of days are getting back on a routine. So here is our precious little boy, Rivers Judson Frantz! Rivers is after my mom. It's her middle name and she was named after her grandfather Rivers, so it goes back on my mom's side of the family quite a bit. Judson is after some of our favorite missionaries, Adoniram and Ann Judson. We are so excited and most of all grateful that he is healthy. Here are some pics from the ultrasound. We can't wait to meet him in just 4 months!

There is no doubt... he's a boy!

The ultrasound tech said he looked laid back here he has his feet crossed.

Sucking his thumb

Waving to the camera.

We had a really great time in Mississippi! We got to relax for a couple of days and be there to celebrate both mom and dad's birthday. It was nice to get down south for a week of warm weather. The week before leaving we had a huge snow/ice storm that knocked out our power for 2 days. Mike was so energized from the sun that he spent a whole morning washing mom's, dad's, and our car! Also because of the nice weather, Maddie had her first trip to the park. She loved the swing and slide! That weekend I was a bridesmaid in Katie West (now Diggs) wedding. I got to see a lot of old friends from high school that I hadn't seen since graduation. It was busy but a lot of fun. If we didn't already know, we confirmed that Maddie is quite the extrovert. She partied with us at the reception until 10... which is way past her bedtime. She waved and talked to everyone all night, and she especially loved the dancing! It was the first time we have really seen her dance, and I have to say the child has got some rhythm. Here are some pics for y'all to enjoy from the weekend.

Playing with Marmie and Papa

First time at the park... So much fun!

Our little party girl at the reception... especially enjoying time with Becca:)

I think we have a little ballerina or gymnast on our hands (thanks to aunt Susan for the cute clothes she made!)

First Signs

2009-01-22T10:14:00.005-05:00

8 Months old! So Big!

Madeline learned her first sign this week, the word "more." She does it all the time now, when she wants more food, wants you to play with her more, or wants anything more. We are now working on "please."

Also here are some pics from Christmas... I know we have been slackers at getting them up. We had a great Christmas with Mike's family and the Mississippi crew, and we had a very fun first Christmas morning in our house. Hope you enjoy!

Merry Christmas! (Sorry no Card)

2008-12-22T14:35:00.009-05:00

We have been getting lots of Christmas cards in the mail from family and friends all over the US with precious pictures of their family and updates on the past year of their life. I love getting these cards, seeing recent pictures, and reading updates, but I have felt a little guilty this year not sending our own out. We just didn't fit Christmas cards into the Frantz Family Christmas budget (which my wonderful gift giving husband neglects to observe half of the time), but we will try to work it in next year... so all that to say, sorry for those of you who might have expected a Christmas card! But I was thinking today, most of the people, if not all of the people, who we would have sent cards to read our blog, so though this is a little technologically informal - here is this years Frantz Family's Christmas Card and update (though if you keep up with us on here you are updated regularly!)

Photograph by Amber's photography (*to see more email me and I'll send you the link!)

"For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign to you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger." And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of heavenly host praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peache among those with whom he is well pleased!"

Luke 2:11-14

This has been a wonderful Christmas season for us. We are very blessed to go to a Christ centered and exalting church that has helped us focus our hearts and minds on Christ's first coming in becoming man and the expectation of his second coming! We have enjoyed a month of having nothing but Christmas songs, especially those great traditional hymns, played in our house almost constantly. We have had gotten to go to some fun Christmas parties, have friends and family over to enjoy the season, baking those traditional Christmas goodies, and watching good Christmas movies. Thanks to my creative and festive husband, we have also done some special things to celebrate. We made a trip to Bardstown and toured "My Old Kentucky Home" all decorated for Christmas. We kept our tradition of exchanging ornaments on the 9th, which started 2 years ago when he proposed. He even managed to make Christmas shopping overly fun... we took a trip to Target one night and split up for 15 minutes buying stocking stuffers while trying to avoid each other the whole time. We are looking forward to spending Christmas Eve with Michael's family, having our first Christmas morning in our home as a family, spending Christmas day with some close friends from church, and spending the week after Christmas in Mississippi with my family. It's going to be busy but a lot of fun!

A quick overview of the past year for us... it's has been a whirlwind of a year, but what else would you expect? January, February, and March flew by preparing for Baby Madeline to arrive with showers, getting her nursery ready and those oh so fun birthing classes. In April we celebrated our 1 year anniversary! In May we celebrated our birthdays, I graduated from Southern, and the our first precious baby girl was born. The rest of the summer is a blur as we adjusted to being parents. This fall has been busy as Michael has decided to finish school at Columbia Southern University, and should be done this time next year! He continues to work hard at the fire department and painting with a guy from church on his off days. I have loved being able to stay at home and devoting all of my time to being a wife and mom. In October we found out that we would be expecting another Baby Frantz in June! We are continuing to pray about the future that God might have for us overseas and are anxious to go but patiently waiting for God's timing and direction.
Madeline just turned 7 months old! I can't believe how big she is. She gained 2 pounds this past month, so the doctor is no longer concerned about her growth. Her sweet personality is really starting to shine through. She loves people, especially other kids, and she often waves and smiles at complete strangers. She has found that she can squeal and often does this, especially in the car singing to our favorite Christmas music. She loves to laugh and be very silly. She becomes the silliest and most talkative when she is getting tired (like a typical girl!), and can have a whole conversation by herself. She lights up a room by flashing her ear to ear grin. She has also found that she loves to eat and now eats avocado, oatmeal, apples, bananas, pears, peaches, sweet potatoes, peas, and green beans.

Hope you enjoyed our Christmas card! We hope that you all have a wonderful Christmas. We are thankful for each of you in our lives! Here are a couple of pictures from our holiday festivities.

Family ornament exchange December 9th

Mike and Maddie braving the cold in Bardstown

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas!

2008-12-04T20:58:00.004-05:00

Well the Christmas season is finally here! We went to Mississippi for a little over a week for Thanksgiving and had a blast. We got to see Matt and Jen on the way home. We got to spend a couple of days in Columbus, saw some family and friends, had the first family pictures made. Mike even killed his first deer! We got to have lunch with our dear friends Andy and Melanie which was such a blessing! Then we headed to Pete and Susan's cabin in Yazoo County for Thanksgiving. The guys did a lot of hunting and the gals did a lot of relaxing! I would show you lots of pictures but the one thing I forgot on our trip was my camera! This is one that Erica took for us while we were there.

When we got back we started decorating for Christmas and finally got our tree up yesterday. Madeline is fascinated by the lights and ornaments. I can't believe that she is 6 months old! She is quickly becoming a little mover. She is trying to crawl, though most of the time it looks like she is trying to swim. She is constantly busy wanting to touch and feel everything. She has started babbling too. First words of course was "da da". It usually comes out "da da da da". At her 6 month check up the doctor was concerned about her weight and a couple of other things so he ran some tests for cystic fibrosis and some metabolic disorders. We found out while we were in Mississippi that the cystic fibrosis test came back negative, and we have not heard back about the other tests. It was a time of us really trusting God's goodness no matter happens. We are very thankful for our church family and everyone else who have prayed for Madeline and given us much support and encouragement. We are very grateful that Madeline is healthy and are having so much fun watching her grow! We hope you all have a wonderful time celebrating this season!

Fun Times

2008-11-17T19:38:00.006-05:00

Children are such a blessing from the Lord. Who knew you could have so much fun with a spoon full of applesauce. We wished we had more video of this because it kept getting funnier with each bite. I almost had as much fun listing to Mariah laugh! Enjoy....

SURPRISE!!!!!!

2008-11-08T10:22:00.008-05:00

Sorry for not posting in a couple of weeks. There has been a lot going on to catch y'all up on. One of the main reasons I have fallen behind in posting is because I haven't been feeling very well and have been unusually tired. Well come to find out, I am not technically sick. The Frantz family got a great surprise last week.... Madeline is going to be a big sister come June! If the home pregnancy test didn't confirm it completely, I went to the Dr. yesterday and they did an ultrasound. I am almost 7 weeks along and the due date for Baby Frantz is June 28 (exactly 13 months past Madeline's due date). Though we were a bit shocked and overwhelmed at the fact that we will have 2 children about a year a part, we are completely overjoyed and excited. We have always wanted a big family, and its just happening a little quicker than we expected. Here's the first pics of Baby Frantz...

It's Finally Fall!

2008-10-20T20:07:00.006-04:00

Well it finally feels like fall in Louisville! To celebrate we did one of our favorite things this past Saturday. We went to Huber's Farm in Indiana and went apple and pumpkin picking. We had a blast along with the Murray's and a couple of other families from our small group.

In the Pumpkin Patch

Apple Picking

We also went out to Bernheim forest last Sunday with the Murray's and enjoyed a picnic under the changing leaves.... Here are some pics from our outing.

Just wanted to show y'all some pics of the latest new change in Maddie's life. Because she is rolling over she had to get rid of the swaddle when she sleeps. So here are her new sleeping positions. Although she cries forever sometimes at night to get to sleep these are the precious positions we find her in!

Roll Baby Roll

2008-10-13T11:00:00.003-04:00

For almost a month now Maddie has been almost rolling over. She will get all the way and get her arm stuck under her. This morning Michael was on the phone and all the way over she goes. Of course I was out at the gym and missed it all!

Recent Happenings...

2008-10-11T11:06:00.003-04:00

We have been pretty busy the past couple of weeks. As soon as we got back from the Smokies, we went to the annual Hot Air balloon festival at Bowman field here in Louisville. It was really cool and a lot of fun to hang out with some good friends. Madeline slept through most of the balloons glowing at night, but we enjoyed seeing them light up.

The next weekend mom and Erica came into town. We went down to the St. James Art show on Saturday. Sunday and Monday were mainly spent shopping and being entertained by Madeline. It was such a fun time... Maddie loves her Marmie and Aunt E! I just wished we lived closer together.

This has been a big week for Madeline. She has stopped sleeping through the night so a friend suggested I try some rice cereal during dinner. So, this week Madeline was introduced to solid foods for the first time. Go figure she loves it! She opens her mouth extremely wide when she wants another bite and will grab your hand and force it toward her mouth if you don't do it fast enough. Note the second pic. Though it might be messy, she is extremely happy after she is full! She has been sleeping her regular 10 hours again, so mommy and daddy are thankful for that.

Aunt Missy... note the bib! We won't let her forget how much her aunt in Japan loves her:)

P.S. Check for a new photo journal link. I got the idea from Missy and am trying to get it up and running! You can see all of the pics from the past month (and eventually everything) if it works out.

Trip to the Smokies

2008-09-28T19:59:00.023-04:00

This past Wednesday we packed our bags and headed to the Smoky Mountains with the Murrays. We got to stay in a beautiful cabin right out side of Gatlinburg and had a really fun time.

Here are all 11 of us right outside the entrance of the National Park.

Michael has really wanted to see a black bear in the Smokies. Well this year he got his wish! We not only saw one bear but five! This is the first cub that we saw on our way up to Cades Cove the first day.

On our last afternoon there we went to this beautiful stream on a trail up the mountains. It was a cool, crisp fall day and the perfect ending to our trip! We are thinking Thanksgiving next year would be the perfect time to go back... anyone want to join us?

More pics from the weekend...

Hurricane Ike Visits Louisville!

2008-09-20T19:52:00.009-04:00

Last Sunday Hurricane Ike decided to visit Louisville! Madeline and I were walking home from church and I noticed it was extremely windy. By the time we got home, the wind had picked up a good deal more. As I was fixing lunch, I noticed I kept hearing branches hit the roof and the grill cover was off again after I had just put it back on. "No big deal," I thought, "it's just a little wind." Michael called saying they had been really busy going on calls with trees falling down. By 1:30, the wind was even harder and the power went off, came on after a couple of minutes, and then went off again not to come back on for 4 more days! Come to find out, winds up to 80 mph swept through the city knocking down huge trees and telephone poles leaving almost half a million people without power. There were several big trees to fall around us blocking rodes and bringing down lots of wires. Our house was unaffected besides a few big limbs that were flung from a neighboors tree and planted in our yard. We are really thankful that Michael was safe as he was working that day and saw a good number of trees fall. We are also thankful that we had a gas water heater, stove, and grill. It was fun and romantic for a couple of nights to live by candelight, but that wore off and we were glad to get power back mid week. There are still many without power though.

Other news this week.... Madeline turned 4 months old. Time is flying by. She is still a little jabber mouth and is laughing a lot more. She loves watching her Baby Einstein videos and talking to her toys! She also has started loving to stand up these past couple of weeks and is really close to rolling over. She is so fascinated by most anything and grabs anything within sight! She loves being around people and her smile lights up the room!

Here are lots of pics from the past couple of weeks for a glimpse into our life and to see how Madeline is growing!

Another trip to Mississippi

2008-09-02T13:33:00.005-04:00

For the past 10 days we have been traveling all over Mississippi. We had a great time and got to see lots of family! We started out by stopping in Memphis and seeing Aunt Jack. She is my great aunt that would make her Madeline's great great aunt. The next day we headed down to Vardaman Mississippi where my grandparents live for Mamp's 75th birthday party. Maddie got to meet lots of new family members there, including her great great great Aunts Martha and Maggie. We spent a few days in Columbus resting and relaxing and then on Thursday headed to Hattiesburg. We went to see Andy, Melanie, and Jude. Although I think it made us miss them more, it was so fun to spend the day with them (and we have to get Madeline and Jude around each other so that our plans for an arranged marriage succeed!). Our last stop was Jackson, MS to see Uncle Pete and Aunt Susan and for Mary Allison's wedding. We had such a fun time there for a couple of days, and then headed back to Louisville yesterday. Here are some pics of the highlights of our trip.

Madeline and Aunt Jack

5 Generations (Maddie's great great great Aunts Maggie and Martha)

Jude and Madeline (don't they make a cute couple)!

Madeline and Susan

Family picture from the wedding

Uncle Pete and Maddie

Picnic at the River

2008-08-10T15:25:00.006-04:00

We have finally been enjoying some cooler weather in Louisville so this past Friday night we headed down to the river to have a picnic. Madeline loves the outdoors, and as you can see by the pics she thoroughly enjoyed herself. Mike grilled us up some fabulous food and we had a really good time!!!!!

Maddie cheezing it up for the camera

Our yummy dinner

And just for your enjoyment here are some 12 week pics!