Four Years Ago Today

Four years ago today, Thomas was born. We named him John Thomas Franklin...John for both of my grandfathers and Thomas for Matthew's grandfather. Thomas made us wait twelve whole days past his due date, but he was worth the wait!


Today he is certainly his own person -- full of smiles and laughter, constantly coming up with some creative idea. On Saturday, we were walking around Costco and of course, they have their Christmas trees out. I asked Thomas if we should put up a Christmas tree this year and his reply was, "yeah, a BIG one." (we only put up the little tree last year, poor child!) I just ignored that that should have been "yes, mam," and asked him what should go on top of the tree. First, he said a star; then he changed his mind, and said we should put Jesus on top of the tree. Then he changed his mind and said both he and Jesus should be on it. This idea was fully developed after a couple of minutes into Jesus and Thomas hugging at the top of the tree. Only a child...



Here is the big FOUR-year-old with his hamburger dinner, as requested. More to come after his birthday party on Saturday!

Car Bargain

I love a bargain! I visited a local thrift store recently and found a fabulous Step2 ride-in car....for only $5.99! The boys absolutely love it and we are so very thrifty that we probably would never purchase one brand new. A great bonus is that the boys can play with it TOGETHER. It is also a good safe place to put Hudson while we are outside playing as it distracts him from putting acorns in his mouth.





Now if only I could find a wooden outdoor playset for an equally impressive bargain!

Halloween Overload

We had a lot of Halloween fun this year. We carved our first pumpkin ever. We trunk-or-treated at Andrea and Tyson Belue's church. Thomas was literally a little firecracker at school and on Halloween night (a last minute decision - he was going to be a dinosaur again). I didn't take the time to edit out pictures because, well, I don't have the time. So this might be an overload of pictures :)

Remember as Diane Stortz says in Let's Shine Jesus' Light on Halloween (a great little children's book): "Yes, Halloween is jack-o-lanterns, costumes, and candy on a dark and spooky night...But Jesus is the light of the world!"

When Did I Become 'Mom'?

Yesterday, Thomas had the day off from school for Columbus Day, but Hudson had Mother's Day Out. So Thomas and I had a (rare!) special day with just he and I. It was really fun. We went to several stores looking for birthday party ideas and I took him up to Vulcan Park. (I had flashbacks to a girl scout trip to Birmingham!). Vulcan Park has been renovated, and it is really well done and has beautiful views of the city. Thomas had a great time (which was the whole point anyway)! While we were at Vulcan, I noticed he was calling me 'Mom.' At the beginning of his young life, I was Mama, and then for the longest time I was Mommy. And now MOM? It just sounds so grown-up. He's not even 4 yet...

Back in the Swing

It has been a while since my last post. Well, a day shy of a month to be exact! I can't believe it's been that long... Preschool started for Thomas. MDO started for Hudson one day a week. Community Bible Study began it's new year for Hudson, Thomas and me. We've had birthday parties coming out the ears. We've already battled a light case of the stomach bug. And consignment sale season is upon us (my hunting season - ha!). Busy Busy Busy. So that's my big excuse for not posting. After a nice relaxing summer, the Franklin household is back in the swing of the new school year!

So what else is new? Hudson has started to clap and wave bye-bye in the past few weeks and just yesterday he started squealing, for everyone's listening pleasure (but mostly his). He is also climbing the stairs like a pro. Thomas is loving school and playing with all the boys in his class (there was only 1 boy in his class last year). So I'm hearing a lot about boy stuff like Spiderman and Power Rangers. Thomas doesn't know anything about them except that when you play Spiderman you run around and shoot out webs. He is also the proud (but temporary) pet-parent of a praying mantis. I found "Mr. Mantis" on Monday and he is now living in a critter box until Show and Tell on Friday. I'm not sure how long after that I'll be able to handle having him in our home.