know any trusty goldfish?

good real estate...to a trustworthy fish
chubba the hut
chubby goodness
my beautiful daughters
Mel's last goldfish died this morning...that sight always disturbs me, not sure why. she asked if she could get another one or two. yeh...I've been trying for over 2 years to "kill" those two off so NO! not right now. fish are smelly.
I had to post these pix of Molly's killer gams. I realized today just how chubbalicious she really is. she then proceeded to trash this ever so cute outfit! blow out #6 in the last 5 days. I think my dear is teething. any hints out there?
Ok, well happy weekend. I may be back on Sunday night to post pix from the Young reunion we will be going to in Illinois on Sun. morning. To all of our Young relatives, please be attend. k? thanks. Molly wants to see you. allright...relax and enjoy your weekend.

Loved ones from Michigan

Taylor McMath...happy thing! she is her mom's maiden namesake
The look-alikes...Dawn and her 2nd daughter (T)
Lanie and Laynee (L squared as I like to call them)
Lil' punkin Tay Tay
Laynee with her halloween loot...share the wealth!
My cousin, Dawn, brought it to my attention that she had never been posted on my blog! Well, that is about to change. For now, you, your mom, and your 2 daughters are blog regulars! whaddya think of that?
Dawn and I grew up together in Michigan. Her dad and my mom were siblings. If you saw the post from Wed. where I brought out the Christmas thru the years album, she is on my page from my first married Christmas...(1993)
These are her daughters, Laynee, who just turned TWO, Happy Birthday, chicklet and Taylor, who is a month younger than Molly and 2 weeks older (exactly) than Nora! It's so funny to me, still, that we all had girls. (Her brother, Scott and his wife, Jen, had a baby girl in May as well...Evelyn Christine, I have no recent pix of her so she has not been posted yet...bring it on).
Dawn, keep on sending the pix thru, and I will be sure to post them on here. but what would be cool as well, is if you got a blog of your own. Love you all! thanks for sharing your pix with us. :) :)

Donna's house, good friends, Christmas splendor...

My short-haired daughter with Holly and Sophia...eatin' MY salsa...(scoundrels)
Celebrating with Luke (standing on the chair) for his birthday...
Alisha with Molly! Alisha, you are so good with kids!
Whatta group of gals! Jill, Sherry, Laurie, Donna down in front!
We were all dressed in brown tops except for Sherry...she didn't get the memo
O Christmas Tree, o Christmas Tree

Hi there y'all!

What's new in cyber space?

Not much here, just a day at home (praise the Lord for those regrouping days, huh??), listening to Mel practice some Christmas songs on the piano, Levi yelping for some cereal (at 11:20 a.m.)...

These pix above are from a gathering at the lovely Donna Robbin's home...her son, Luke, had a birthday! I love this group of gals...they all mean so much to me! The Lord was truly looking out for me when He put them in my life!

The picture of Alisha with Molly is one of my new faves. This girl is so good with my kids...she is always ready to help me out with squirmy Molly and I really appreciate her eternally wonderful attitude! You Rock, Alisha! (she comes from good parentage too, so that helps!!)

The last pic is just a cool one I snapped of our tree late at night. Silent Night...not a creature was stirring (yes, two different songs/poems)

Ok, well I need to post again, since I probably won't again till Sunday or so...up next, my cousin Dawn, Aunt Lanie, Laynee, and Taylor. stay tuned!

Here's the rest...

Christmas 2005
watch out for the Loch ness Monster, that's all I have to say, those aren't fish nippin' at your toes
Christmas 2004...whatta lovely couple!
Just got on my blog and thought that this one from yesterday afternoon had gone thru...hmmm, guess not. So it's a day late for you Becky but maybe that will make the memories of your lovely date last night refreshed thru the day!! When I told you I had posted again in honor of your anniversary, you probably thought I was crazy! Well here ya go!! It was waiting to be edited?? weird.
Next up, our get together of friends at my lovely friend, Donna's house this past Wednesday!

Happy 4th Anniversary, Beck and Scott!

November 29, 2003

Here's to the next 40+ years!! May the Lord bless your marriage and take you to places you never thought possible in your life!! I love you two and we are thankful for your little family!

I have been trying to post some pix for the past 45 minutes at least, and blogger won't let me! darn-it!! I've never run into the problem to this extent! they are not helping my blogging life! (I will have words with them...ha ha, just kiddin')

allright...it's now almost 6 p.m. and blogger just let me upload...so, Becky, sorry for not getting this up for you while you were at work. I had every intention of doing so!! Hope your night out is very relaxing and nice!

Christmas thru the years album

we weren't even engaged yet...but he still had his arm around me!! (heathen)
Remember the "crochet" vests?? I loved mine. This is our first married Christmas. Bottom pic is me with my Gma. Taylor and two of my BFF's, my sis and my cousin, Dawn. We have really changed so much...
Will's first Christmas...I turned 22 here...so young!
Love Will's hanging bottle..a sign that his mother really was too young...check out my burgeoning E. belly(black arrow)...he was born less than two months later!!

here is the first attempt at taking our family pic to send out to all of our friends and loved ones...even if they didn't want it! What I'm loving is all the plaid...my big plaid collar on my lovely corduroy dress, Will's plaid vest...yikes.
I have some pix from our day out today that I wanted to post but my Kodak software is acting up, as usual. So here are a few blasts from the past, because I know how much you love it when I drag you down "memory lane"...I put together a small scrapbook this year, that chronicles all of our family Christmas pix...but we didn't officially start with the card pix till 1996. Now it is such a tradition...and I'm late this year...so I think I may just take the 5 kids pix for our card this year.
Ummm, well, I could post again but I am so tired from raking, mowing and being out of the house all day so I will post tomorrow sometime, after David leaves for work! Let me know if you think I should just do my kids pix for our card this year, since there are so many of all of us...etc.
G'night!!

Do you remember this guy?

Will, about 8 pounds lighter
I like the short back and long front...
A Target bag full of hair...we are making David a toupee for Christmas
It's good to have you back, Will!!

As you can see, David gave Will a hefty hair cut today. While we liked the "trendy" hair, it was getting rather scraggly and gross...plus, it was always in his face so we opted for this freshly cut look. He seems pretty happy and E. told him it was good to have his brother back. silly boys.
Chow!

Molly's First Christmas Tree Experience

Not very cooperative
Craning her neck to have a look
In the midst of trying to "throw" herself out of Bumbo
lovin' some Blue's Clues
Levi sharing his "pizza" with his grabby sister

I thought it would be fun to get some pix of Molly by our tree...seeing that it's her first Christmas and all. She really just wanted to eat but I made her sit thru it, as if she has a choice yet.

Levi was in the living room watching Blue's Clues. I think she will be a Bumbo potato, because she was totally happy sitting there watching TV with him. This is where she was sitting when she had her blow-out, she even christened her Bumbo.

I think for my Christmas pic this year, I may just do the five kids. It is nearly impossible to get all SEVEN of us together unless it's the weekend and even then, we struggle to all look presentable. I need to get Will's hair trimmed (that's what I keep telling him but I think he needs it CUT right off, whaddya think???)

Ok, well, let me know what you think on the Christmas card pic and Will's hair. what is in style for a boy of 13? would we be ok to trim it up? It just looks so shaggy and I'm half tempted to get him a head band or barrette so he can keep it out of his face. whatta dilemma.

Sorry for the rambling post...time for some breakfast...love, peace and Happy Tuesday!

Just a few more "us" shots and then I'm done

still wet behind the ears engagement pic...we had noooooo idea what to expect (I didn't anyway...this is where gushy, movie-lie feelings of "first love" wear off)
Cake shoving!! I love my hair. not so much.
While I love this pic of us getting pegged with birdseed, I love Natalie's expression (in lower right corner) even more
Married for one week...downtown Indpls!
At my sissy's wedding, 2003...10 years and 2 days after ours...
O to be young again ! Not really. I really just want my 20-year old waist back. I have enjoyed our journey. It's been mostly fun...definitely a learning experience!
I will not bore you with anymore thru the years pix of us...I have definitely left the more frumpalicious ones out...and there gobs of those! :)
Up next, pix of Molly with her first Christmas tree! She sat in her Bumbo seat so well tonight...watched some Blue's Clues with Levi...got fussy so I took her out to prep her for bed and she had poo smeared right up her back. Needless to say, she got a nice warm bath before she hit the hay. It was so cute though because when I pulled her poop-encrusted shirt off, I had to do it in such a way that it was kinda rough and she giggled like I've never heard her giggle..she thought we were playing. She's my chubby dolly (thanks for the cute nickname, Brittany). She is so darn sweet and good natured, like her big sis Mel was, and still is! I am so blessed with nice, cool, caring, cute, fun kids. I want to bottle up these stages of each of their lives! awww, man. I'm getting all choked up.
Ok, well, I will post the pix of her and the tree Tuesday daytime...I've gotta either hit the hay or watch a movie with my studmuffin, who just got home from work at 12:15 a.m. Happy Anniversary, Schweetheart! You're a Gift from God!

Happy 14th Anniversary, David Dear

Thanks for taking this cool pic, Matt
Dec. 30, 2006
13 years of marriage under our belts here, though
it's been years since I've worn a belt.

yikes. just plain yikes. check out E's beard and 'stache
Laurie lookin' like Wynonna and David w/Will's fox head on him

Saturday, November 27, 1993, I became Mrs. David Franklin what's his name and he tied on the ol' ball and chain. I still can't get over how fast the past 14 years has gone. It's kinda sad in a way but also kinda cool. does that make sense? I've always imagined myself as a wife and a mother...so in that sense, I'm doing exactly as I had hoped and as I had prayed. I am so thankful for the incredible husband that the Lord has given me. We have made it thru some pretty iffy times, there have been times that he hasn't liked me or I haven't liked him but we've stuck together and will keep on keeping on. Love is an act of the will, a commitment...not an easy, flowery deal or feeling (don't those feelings leave quickly? yes ma'am, yessir)...it sure beats being alone. I am so thankful to have this man to trudge through the hard, scary days of raising kids and hoping you aren't scarring them too badly. I am so glad that he isn't afraid to discipline our kids and tell them why and hug them, tell them he loves them, spend time with them and if he can't do something that involves the kids, he usually won't do it (unless it's a date with me, a rarity), he is forming their character, helping them to get over themselves before they end up as a twenty-something whiner and crier. (he's still working on me though) I am glad he isn't afraid to stand up for what is right and for Christ! Thank you for your testimony, David. You are a blessing to me. I have some more pix to post! lucky you!

Just a bit more Matt

see explanation below
Will strikes again
he even got one of himself....

checking out the funny pix
these are the mad faces
yes, I was here too...I just slept the whole time!
sad boys
I can't remember what these expressions are...

Aren't these fun pix? Matt taught the kids how to do expression pix...E. and Mel can make some faces, can't they? I like the Melanie/Matt mad one!

Will didn't get too involved...he was too busy taking some funny pix of his own with my cam while I wasn't looking. not sure if I should post any of those because a couple of them are of me. The pic of David and Matt is funny because I got the normal brother shot and then Matt laid his head down on D's shoulder and David's expression didn't change, he just looked more uncomfortable...it's fun to do that to you, David...loosen up, ol' boy. (he really has loosened up since I met him over 15 years ago...) Anyways, it was fun, come again, Matt!

We are finally going to get the ornaments on our tree today...it has been "lit up" since Fri. night but we just haven't taken the time to do it and besides that, I want to get pix of the event. All five kids gathered around the tree, puttin' on the ritz and each of their ornaments from over the years. a very cozy day today...with all of this gooshy rain and drear! We will brighten the day with our Christmas spirit...yeah, ok. crank up the XM Holiday Traditions, watch Elf again...good stuff.

A very happy 3 MONTH BIRTHDAY to you today, Dear Little Nora!! You are getting to be such a big, chatty girl! Love you!

Ok, I'm outta here till later...hope your dreary Monday is going well for ya!