16 Weeks and Counting!

Here I am at 16 weeks. Hooray. Isn't that a nice  "little" bump? It would be a better picture but Jacob insisted on being in the picture. BTW  the wrinkles in my shirt hide how big the bump really is. I truly look larger in person :)

I finally got to go to the doctor this week. It was a GREAT experience. Dr. Born (don't you LOVE the name) is my first female OB and I adore her. She is everything I hoped for in a doctor. After expressing my concerns to her that I thought I might be having twins she gave me an ultrasound. THERE IS ONLY ONE! Huge sigh of relief.

Can I just say there is something so therapeutic in seeing that wonderful baby inside you. All those terrible mornings of worshiping the ceramic throne in the bathroom (or the bushes on the way to school) are worth it. The moment I saw that sweet baby and its heart beating perfectly I remembered why I go through this and am reminded IT IS SO WORTH IT! Every pain, every moment of sickness, even those darn stretch marks were forgotten the moment I saw the image of my baby growing inside me. I am in love again and ready to count down the long weeks until March 16 when the fourth Francom baby will be placed in my arms. 

BTW my next doctor appointment will be the big ultrasound. October 31. I AM SO EXCITED FOR HALLOWEEN! 

Packages! Presents! Pajamas!

Today was a USPS Christmas! We got 3 packages in the mail! THREE! 

The first came from our friends in Spain. The girls got Flaminco dresses! 

Jacob got a really sweet soccer ball. 

He won't put it down. It goes everywhere with him. Even on car rides. I won't be surprised if he decides to sleep with it tonight. I also got an apron in the style of the girls dresses and Greg got a magnet. Cool stuff. 

The second package was full of HALLOWEEN GOODNESS and some fruit flavored tootsie rolls to fulfill my other pregnant craving. PERFECTION. 

The first step in getting a package is to shake it...sure enough. There was candy. 

My favorite part of the package was...............SUPER JACOB! 

Isn't he cute stuff. I so love him. 

The girls loved their crafts & coloring supplies. (Hello cute stamps!) Clara has already colored me four pictures and made a wooden witch in the time I have blogged this post.

They also received Halloween shirts, a spider man shirt for little man, and some fantastic Grammy jammies.

Our third package was a book on CD. Those are treasured items at our house. I can't wait to listen to it.

What a crazy day. THREE packages in one day!!! We never get mail. I bet the USPS guy thought it was someone's birthday. Instead it was just sent by wonderful people whom we love and miss.  

THANK YOU EVERYONE! You made for a super exciting day at the Francom house!

Spooky Lanterns!

For our family home evening activity tonight we made spooky lanterns!

Awesome! 

Inexpensive! 

Fun!

I went to the Salvation Army and purchased vases for 59 cents each .

The idea was inspired here.

The vases were created (in order) by:

Greg, Jacob, Misty, Clara, Sabrina

Family Home Evening dessert was also FANTASTIC.

It  followed along with my current pregnant obsession of caramel. 

We had to experiment with a new way to eat it.

We made caramel apple dip and dipped our apples.
Basically the same as before...but better. More caramel!

Yummy. 

Jacob discarded the apple quickly and went and got a spoon so he could dig in more effectively.

I wish I had six extra hands during the craft so I could have taken pictures of the kids making it. Jacob had his hands in the Elmer glue spreading it everywhere :) It was so much fun! I guess living life is better than taking pictures of it.

The Aberdeen Zoo

A Tour of the Aberdeen Zoo

It's Autumn Time!

Last week as you all know we got a burst of cold weather. Thankfully it only lasted a few days.

The kids loved it.
We decided to make caramel apples to celebrate autumn.

Jacob was so funny. He loved the caramel...not the apple. He actually cried when he saw I had put the caramel on apples.

Here are a few random pics: 

Jacob just loves the blanket my mother made for me. If I am using it he will pull it off of me at all costs and wrap up in it. I think he can feel Grandma's love flowing from it :) 

The basket monster :)  He stayed in this position for a surprising long time.

The Homecoming Parade

I was surprised the week of homecoming to see that the newspaper advertised a homecoming parade. They said it would have over 22 floats in it. I was so excited I knew this was one we would have to attend. I even convinced Greg to go into work a little late and come with us to see the parade.  Turns out it was one cold morning.
Clara was not happy.

Especially when the 22 floats arrived. I will only post two "floats"

Jacob, on the other hand, thought it was FANTASTIC. So many deer horns on display. We were playing the "bucks" so apparently every float had to have deer horns displayed with some slogan like "Kill the bucks!" They even had chipmunks riding in little remote control cars. Funny.

Me....I still wonder how the newspaper felt justified in calling these "floats". Whatever. It was still fun. Thank goodness I wore my long underwear and when we got home I drank a gallon of hot cocoa.

Freezing.

This is me. I am an ice cube. I think I am probably the coldest person in South Dakota right now. I knew it would be cold here and I was prepared for that. Or I thought it was. Perhaps it was reaching the 31 degrees last night that made me realize I was wrong. That isn't even a cold temperature. Maybe it is because it is still September and my body expects at least another 2 months of great warm weather. I am acclimated to Georgia weather after all. I thought for sure with the pregnancy I would feel nice and toasty. My internal heater is just not working correctly. I think I might be colder than I have been in years. I took my kids to the library today. Me in my jeans and a nice warm sweater and the kids in their winter coats with  hats on. No one else had coats on. They had long sleeved shirts on. I bet they wondered what planet I came from. :) Georgia is the name of that planet. Anyway  I was so cold I was actually shaking. I guess I am going to have to buy thermal underwear sooner than I thought. The good news is that by Saturday we will be in the sixties again. Thank goodness for apple cider.

In other news my belly popped this week. Clara told me yesterday I was fat. I reached down and oh my goodness. I had a bump on my belly. A nice big one. When did that happen? I couldn't believe it. Usually by the time my belly shows I feel better. Not there yet...in fact earlier this week I lost my breakfast while walking Sabrina to school. Oh the joy! There is a first for everything. I do have good days now and then and I can cook in the kitchen as long as I am chewing peppermint gum and don't have to touch the butter with my hands :) Life is funny. Greg is patient. Apple Cider is my friend.

The Kids Domain

I finally took some pictures of the home. Just a few and mainly of the kids areas.  Jacob's bedroom is the best room for light. It has GREAT windows and is on the second floor. He is so funny with the windows if they are left open he will talk to people outside. I think it is funny!

Before we left Georgia we were given beautiful bedding and curtains for the girls room. They are pale pink and white with soft little flowers. They are from the pottery barn and I love them. The curtains match too!

 (If you can't tell Sabrina is a butterfly flying away)

Upstairs we have a little landing that we decided to put all the children's books on. I love it when I come upstairs and see them rocking and reading.

The basement playroom has been a bit of a challenge for the kids to get used to. So on Labor day we went downstairs and labored. We swept and dusted and got rid of all the cobwebs and spiders. I taught the kids how to dust out the corners and keep all the containers closed so they will stay clean and free from spiders. Hopefully this will help. They played downstairs for an hour and that was a nice improvement.  The hunnies helped us get some rugs to cover the floor so the kids have a nice place to sit and we are going to leave the other half open so the kids can ride scooters downstairs in the winter.

Hope you all had a wonderful Labor Day!

(the top three windows are Jacob's room.)

Picnic at the Lake

 Crazy Eyes

 The Frog Prince