Sweet Caroline

So we have lots of favorites at Frama's house...but this is one that has continued to provide joy and entertainment recently. In fact, these two were belting out Sweet Caroline, by Neil Diamond. Why, you may ask. Well...as big ISU fans we have watched Derrick's little video of the aftermath following the biggest upset in the ISU history when they beat Oklahoma State a few weeks back. Ells usually just joins in with the bum bum bum. But Shadd know the song pretty well. 

Our Thankful Box

So we have a little box at our house that looks like this...

kind of a recent update thanks to the silhouette machine and a little white vinyl.

And inside it holds lots of notes like these...

which state things we are thankful. We are supposed to bring our box to Thanksgiving but usually forget so I thought I would just blog our list of thankful for's that made the box this last year...in no particular order just how i pulled them out.


1. D feeling good 11-26
2. Shadd's attention span and behavior in public
3. Ells health and successful shots
4. D 4 weeks with no bad migraines - 2-10-11
5. Ells birthday
6. Shadd pooping on the potty
7. How Ells and Shaddy play together
8. Shadd's politeness
9. Kelsey's new job 2-5-11
10. The beauty of snow - just a great reminder of God's ability to provide a fresh clean start
11. Samaritan Ministries
12. D's new business venture
13. Ells walking 4-5-11
14. Skype - we love talking and seeing Nick and Kels
15. Great report from Dr. Mike 5-24-11
16. Our new bed
17. A new baby to arrive in March
18. A healthy ultrasound
19. All the help after knee surgery (from babysitting, meals, cleaning, playdates, etc)
20. The ability and willingness to help others in the time of need. We are truly blessed.
21. Ells crawling 1-30-11
22. Grandparents
23. Late starts for D. Just a couple of extra hours together as a family
24. Great friends
25. The birth of Blakely
26. Shadd potty-trained 12-9-10
27. Safe trip to Indiana 2-7-11




This is just a few of the many things that we are truly thankful for. So many times through out the year I forget to put things in that box but there are many times that I actually remember. Maybe next year I will have close to 100. We will see.


A lot has happened in the last year. D was battling migraines on a daily basis. Ells wasn't even walking let alone talking. We weren't expecting a new baby. I had knee surgery for hopefully the last time ever! Shadd was wearing diapers. D wasn't his own boss. WOW!

It is just amazing what these little tidbits of thankfulness provide in helping us recap our year. It's just a glimpse of what the Lord has done for our family this past year. He never ceases to amaze me!

Happy Thanksgiving a tad late!

Black Friday Goodness

So no pics as I'm trying out my mommas iPad. Can't lie super jealous. Just enjoying games as my family plays while My sis and I (the pregos) lay down and rest. And do I need sleep. So we are crazy black friday shoppers and didn't Get to bed Thursday night well Friday morning til 6 am. We scored some great deals and had a blast doing the Typical crazy things. Like digging thru the recycling bin at my gams residence for younkers $10off coupons. Standing in lines and chatting with strangers, eating in the middle of the night, and my dad locking us out to Round out the night. Never trade a second of time spent with my momma.

The breakfast crew

So these two love to help with breakfast - or at least beg for it!  And I am one lucky girl because more often than not, D can be found whipping around the kitchen making breakfast for us. I took a couple pics but since he wasn't fully dressed this Saturday - I will refrain from embarrassing him! He is the best!

The Lion King

We have a new favorite movie at our house...The Lion King. And when we watch a new one that we fall in love with - well we watch it a lot. I think that's why Shadd (and D) can quote it throughout the day!

They are laughing hysterically when Timon dances in a hula outfit. D usually just rewinds and replays about 4 times or so. Pure Joy!

Date Night w/Daddy & Mommy

So a couple of weeks ago...D told me that he was going to take Shadd out for dinner. Just some male bonding time. I was exhausted so Ells and I just read stories and cuddled. Meanwhile - Shadd picked the restaurant (McDonalds, of course) and they dined in! And of course I didn't take any pics.

The following week - Daddy took Ells out for ice cream, again McDonalds I believe. And Shaddy and I spent time working on a project for Uncle Ross and baking some peanut butter cookies. We even squeezed in a puzzle.

It all started as a little homework from D's bible study, but I think it's something that we are going to try and do once a month or at least more often. We all had a blast. Although Ells wasn't too talkative so they didn't stay out long.

best sugar roller in town!

Our little glimpse of what's ahead

So last week or maybe the week before it snowed...hardly could believe it! Well I am a little behind with my blogging and uploading pictures as I have been busy trying to be totally ready for our Christmas celebration this weekend with my family as this is my little sis's last trip home prior to the arrival of my new niece!

So I will do my best to blog this week.

Shadd seemed to think Dad should have shoveled prior to leaving for the day! In fact, all morning he wanted D to get out the snowblower. I think he's the only one excited! 

Our attempt at sledding - just a little to soft still.

Shaddy wanted a snowball fight so he ended up just throwing balls at the house! Much safer for Ells and I.

If you're happy & you know it

So Thursday afternoon while doing a little birthday card making - I heard Ells singing this little tune...before brother chimed in. If you can't make out what she is saying I'll give you a hint - its my favorite line in the song. If you're happy & you know it, say amen!

And believe or not she actually performed for the camera as I wasn't rolling when she first did it! She is definitely a chatterbox!

Best Buds

Sorry no new posts lately...it has been kinda crazy. We were gone all weekend and then my mother-in-law had the kids yesterday while I crafted and tried to wrap up a good chunk of my home-made gifts. Don't worry I am trying to take pictures so that I can show you all the fun things I have dabbled in lately. Gotta love other blogs and Pinterest. 

We also are having a blast with our school - This week and part of last was a review of our 1st six lessons and it is amazing how much stuff this little guy retains. Even Ells is getting a start on things.

I just thought I'd post these pics because these two are quite the pair. I hope they are always great friends. Don't get me wrong we have fights but they do spend a lot of time playing with one another! 

Family Pics

 Just a few of my favorites from our photo shoot in Pella with dear friend, Brooke! She isn't even professional - but she definitely takes professional pics, uh?

My Book Worm

My newest book worm - well I have two but this one seems to just make me laugh.  It may take her awhile but she figures out a way to drag a half dozen books over to her chair to read with monk (the monkey) and of course, baby!

Not much room for anything else

Ells has a few favorites but what makes D and I both laugh is that you can't try to sneak a few off of the chair at nighttime or naptime. No. Somehow that girl remembers exactly which million books she brought over and will fight like no tomorrow to get you to read all of them. D's tactic is just reading the last page which seems to satisfy her although I'm worried she will start reading like that someday. So normally I do my best to read a few and then we just battle it out till I win with we only read 3 stories.

I guess we should just be thankful that our children love to read and we spend a good chunk of our day doing it. Someday it will pay off - at least I hope so!

20 Wk Ultrasound

So we had our 20 wk ultrasound today. Didn't find out the sex - but we enjoy the surprise. I guess it just keeps the excitement coming for a few more months - plus it makes the delivery totally worth it for me anyways.

Well the baby looked great. Little babe was breach at the beginning of the ultrasound but decided to show off for us this morning and did a little somersault so we could see all aspects of this little one, well at least what we wanted to see.

I don't know about you but the Lord never ceases to amaze me. Childbirth is definitely one of those only God type of miracles but the precious time he takes to make each one of us is amazing. In only a few months we go from being a little seed to a human being with all of the normal features just on an immensely smaller scale. In fact, our little one weighs about 12 oz or so today - which is probably about the weight of D's phone - he noted as we left.

I couldn't be prouder. Each time I see one of these amazing pictures - I am in awe of the blessings that I have been given. Such a great reminder as I have two children struggling with colds and just plain don't feel good. And with that comes a whole lot of whining, which is something I absolutely despise. So this little babe gave me a great reminder of the amazing job I have been given as a Mother! It may be tough and not always pretty but it is mine!

This is the best she could get - Little Babe just kept wanting to look at us! 

Pretty comfy - I think! 

Weekend at Honey Creek

So for last year's Christmas - D's parents decided to get us all together this fall for a get together and some family time. We spent the weekend at a 4 bedroom cabin at Honey Creek. We had a ton of fun. Got to golf, enjoy the park, play at the water park, try out Just Dance on the Wii, enjoy bonfires. Even though we are little much for that cabin we had a blast! With 2 pregos and 5 kiddos it gets crowded quick. Just think what a year will add - at least 2 infants to the bunch!

They loved this slide - probably went down it 100 times. Well at least till they bonked heads and cousin A lost his front tooth. 

Being lazy with Uncle J

All 5 cousins - well minus the two buns in the oven

Being a little silly

Reading stories

Cousin A minus the front tooth! 

The whole gang - probably unshowered

Ells and Cousin M - about 1 month apart

Getting our groove on with Wii

More Fun In Indiana

Sorry for the little break from blogging...we have been showing our house well a little more than normal lately and it has been just a little crazy. So many pictures and things to update you on so I will try my best.

I had to include the halloween ones before these as well the holiday was Monday.

But we had a fabulous time in Indy. The kids did great on the road trip, even though Ells decided she would cut her normal nap of 2 hours to about 45 minutes. As long as we stopped to play at a park we survived.

We had so much stuff for the new baby's room that we had no back seat - so since I am the least prego I got to ride in the back. The kids did once too. See above - Shadd never seemed to let that little red football out of his sight. He kept it with him all the time because Uncle Nick will want to play when he gets home. 

My daredevil - always getting caught in unpredictable places

Maybe he'll follow in Daddy's footsteps

Aunt Kelsey's front stoop - pretty nice for campus living! 

The cousins - belly to belly (a little over 3 months apart)

My two - waiting for a photo shoot - before we head home! 

Annual Pumpkin Carving Contest

So every year - we get together with some of our best friends and carve pumpkins. Well the men carve in the garage pretty much the whole time while we entertain all the kiddos. At least its not just Shaddy running around anymore. I believe this is our 4th year straight. We do quite a bit of annual things but this and our Christmas party rank right up there. D won the carving contest last year - using his pumpkin carving kit but this year the birthday boy scored the big win with a wolf!

ells and nells playing face to face - the are a little out numbered

Nothing like pjs on and pushing bedtimes to finish these carving masterpieces

from top left  - isu helmet, haunted house (d's winner from last year - carved again) and cy
2nd row - central c (d), the wolf (WINNER)
1st row - not real sure - ryan would know!