The Christmas Spirit

The Christmas Spirit

Merry Christmas!

Recommendation

If you are in need of a book to read I fully recommend "The Peacegiver"!! It is FANTASTIC!!

Family pics

We just had our family pic's taken yesterday. Check out the following link for some teasers. And if you need a photographer in the Biloxi are Jerusha Goss is AWESOME!! :) http://www.jerushagoss.zenfolio.com

Poop-capades!

I thought I would share how my morning started just so you all could feel much better about your days.

Well, I thought my day was going to start off great since I got to sleep in until 8 am. Unfortunately, that thought got thrown out VERY quickly.

First, I went to say good morning to Sophie and found that she had had an accident and had peed in her bed. (ok, not so bad, I can handle this one.)

Next, off to the boy's room. This is where my day took a DRAMATIC turn for the worst. I found Joshua COMPLETELY naked, holding his diaper in his hand. As I surveyed the room, I realized there was poo covering the majority of the floor, on all the bedding, doors, most of the toys, and almost completely covering BOTH boys. (Ok, I still thought I could handle this. I got the boys in the bath, and went back to really see how bad the damage was in their room. Which is when I realized it was WAY beyond a 1 person job, so unfortunately, I had to wake up Jon.) Oh, did I forget to mention that Joshua peed on the floor when I asked him what he did.

So, Jon was taking care of the boys bath and I was cleaning the room. We were just about to finish up and we were doing pretty well. When Jon realized that the boys had now poo'd in the bathtub. Luckily, since I was still cleaning the poo that had literally been thrown onto the door and the rest of the room, Jon took care of the bathroom. This now included draining and bleaching the tub, all the toys, re-bathing the boys and now mopping and bleaching the floor.

We finally got them dressed. Then it was off to the laundry, which consisted of TWO loads to handle all the blankets, sheets and toys. Then it was Sophie's turn for a bath.

And all this before 9am. So, who wants to be us today???

Halloween pt. 2

Sorry, these came out backwards. But I think you can figure out what was going on. We had such a blast at Halloween, and we are already thinking of themes for next year.

Halloween pt.1

There is more to come later, but if you would like to check out what we dressed up as for Halloween...click on the link http://www.myonlineportraits.com/Albums/Album.aspx?AlbumID=47725

Update on the pee pee

We started training Sophie on Tuesday. I spent a couple of hours with her one on one. I thought that day that it was never going to happen or that it would be worth it. But now we have gone the last two days with no pee pee accidents. (during the day that is). We are focusing on getting that mastered before we worry about the over night stuff. So, I am pleasantly surprised. I have a little hope that this is ACTUALLY going to happen. Although, I know that we are just at the beginning of a very looooooooooooooooooooong road. Good luck to anyone else going through this process.

New season brings changes

Potty training has commenced in our home. Sophie is our big girl. So far it's been tough, but we did have one positive experience yesterday. So, we have faith that she will also be able to conquer this, just like she conquered losing her paci.

YAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!

Huge Announcement!!!!!! Target has FINALLY opened in Biloxi. I've already gone once and you can GUARANTEE I will be spending A LOT more time there. In fact if you can't find me, you know where I will be. If you haven't figured it out...I LOVE Target!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jeremiah and Joshua

A quick update about Jeremiah and Joshua. We had our court date Sept. 29th. It wasn't great news but it wasn't horrible news either. We still have them....for now. Somehow the birth parents lawyer was able to pull some strings and get a 45 day extension. So, we will be going back to court November 24th (which happens to be 2 days before Thanksgiving...so hopefully, we will have a lot to be greatful for). We have spoken with our social worker and she still believes strongly that we will be able to keep the boys. The parents have as of right now not completed anything on their list of requirements, including missing the last two months of visits with their kids. (Just a side note.....the saddest part of the court hearing was that they didn't even ask us how the boys were doing.) We are hopeful that we will be able to keep them and adopt them, but we know that Heavenly Father is watching and he will make sure that Josh and Jeremiah end up where they are supposed to. We Thank You for all your prayers!!

Another first

Sophie said her first prayer all on her own the other day. It was short, sweet and concise. She simply thanked Heavenly Father for chocolate milk. So cute!! :)

Finger painting and Hiking

Good thing it's washable finger paint!

For Labor Day we went to the local National Forest and went hiking.

Sorry

I have to apologize for not posting anything recently. I have been completely addicted to Facebook. So, then I feel like I'm posting things twice. I know though that some of you aren't on FB so I am going to attempt to be better at updating my blog. Also, since I want to publish my blog at some point to save for years to come.

Here are some things we've been up to in the last couple of months (I will add some random pics in a future post)

-we had a FANTASTIC family trip to Wisconsin

-my cousin came to visit, and she schooled us on Rockband

-Sophie is now 100% paci free

-awesome date nights out to eat Sushi and play pool

-attempting (and what I really mean is FAILING---Katie I could really use your help!!) to organize my house

-chasing after 3 VERY active 'lil munchkins

-cleaning up poop that Joshua has smeared all over himself and the room (4 times)

-getting ready to attempt potty training my daughter (I'm SCARED!)

-and now currently we are getting ready for the boys court hearing on Tuesday (as of right now the social worker is recommending they stay with us.. YAH!)

Mainly we live a pretty mundane life so there hasn't been much to blog about. We love and miss all of you!!!!

funny, funny daughter

Sophie is so funny. She's really into this mode where she is starting to grasp the idea of taking turns. Ofcourse this really only applies to when someone else has a toy she wants, and she thinks THEY should take turns. Lately, now she has expanded on this concept. She will bring a toy (usually a toy she does NOT want) and give that to the boys and then promptly take the toy they have (which is the toy she wants, until they start having fun with the toy she gave them, which then promptly starts this WHOLE process over again.)

Jon and Franna plus 3--day 2 of vacay

Jon and Franna plus 3 drive to Wisconsin

Happy Happy Birthday

My wonderful man has had another birthday. I am so thankful that I got to spend another year with him, and I look forward to MANY more. I'd try and list all my husbands wonderful qualities, but really there are to many to list. The most important one though is that he puts up with me. And for that he deserves a medal.

Erin's in MS again...YAH!

Hanging out at McD's....it had been raining for a couple of days and the kids NEEDED to run.
The kids decided that Erin and Shelby needed to hold ALL the dog toys.

Aren't we cute?!?!?!?!
Playing rockband

Playing farkle and having snacks.

We loved, LOVED having Erin come stay with us. We look forward to the next time she can come down, and hopefully the weather is better so we can do more outdoor activities.

Be careful what you wish for....

Sophie's new favorite phrases:

"Momma, carry you" --- which actually means carry me

"Snuggle momma" --- which only is said at bedtime when she is trying to put off going to sleep

"I don't want it" --- usually referring to a food on her plate, that if not taken from her she will promptly throw towards your plate.

Happy 4th!

Jon playing rockband

Sophie and her best girlfriend Libby.

Amber showing off another awesome cake creation!

Happy 4th from the Larsen's. I hope you had a blast celebrating our independance!

Super dang funny!

Weight update

I just wanted to update you all on our weight progress.

I finally lost my last pound. I got down to 135. This is a total weight loss of 32 lbs. And Jon lost an awesome 4 more pounds, which brings him to 224 and an OUTSTANDING 87 lbs lost.

Jon did it again

Here is part two of the family videos. (click here)

p.s. comments are ALWAYS appreciated!

My crazy husband

Jon has decided that he needed to start a video blog of our life. I apologize to all in advance!

(click here)

Sushi...YUM YUM!!!

Isn't that the coolest thing you've ever seen. My friend Amber made me a Sushi cake. And everything on there is eatable. She made all the sushi out of candy. It was fantastic!!! This girl has so much talent, she is going to be the next Ace of cakes!

Sunday night fun

Jon and I spent our Sunday night putting together my birthday present. He got me a 500 piece Greg Olsen puzzle. I can't wait til we finish it. It is going to look so awesome matted and framed.

Happy Father's Day

I know this is a little late, but I just wanted to tell everyone how wonderful my husband is, and how greatful I am that he is the father of my children. He is loving and caring and works so hard to take care of all of us financially, emotionally but most importantly spiritually. He has lovingly taken over the care of two children that aren't even his and strives to make every day special for all of us. Thank you Jonathan for ALL that you do, and I know that you do way more than your share!!

You know you are in Mississippi when...

Sophie just chilling, kicking back, having a drink. LOL! :)

You go to a friend's house for a crawfish (or more commonly called "mudbugs")boil and you LOVE it!!!! Sophie is HILARIOUS!! She is definitely a true southern girl. She would just grab a crawfish and take it to any available adult and expect them to shuck it for her. SO CUTE!!! And trust me if she wasn't getting enough fast enough, she let you know. Unfortunately, I didn't think that Jeremiah and Joshua were old enough to eat any crawfish so they had a blast playing with and popping water balloons.

I would have included pictures of us eating the crawfish but it all happened so fast there was no way to get it on fim. LOL!!! :)

My husband is a STUD!!

First of all I need to apologize for slacking SOOO bad with our blog. Ever since I have found Facebook I have neglected my poor blog. But, I am coming back and will become a good blogger again.

Now to the more pertinent, crazy, awesome news... My husband is a rockstar stud!!!!

We are still working out (or at least my husband is still working out...I spend my time chasing after the kids), so I wanted to update you on our results.

Since previous post...........

Franna's starting weight: 137

Current weight: 136

Loss of 1 lb

1 lb to go to my ultimate goal--- I WILL make it!

Jon's starting weight: 235

Current weight: 228

Loss of 7 lbs.

Jon has now lost an ASTOUNDING 83 lbs.

I told you my husband was a rockstar stud!!

It's been two weeks

Franna: started at 138

current weight: 138

weight loss: 0...that's right a big FAT 0

Jon: started at 240

current weight: 236

weight loss: 4 lbs

Total weight loss: 75 lbs.

The results weren't as amazing this weigh in. But we knew it had to slow down at some point. I am just glad I didn't gain any weight with the way I've been eating lately. Time to get back on track.

It's time to see how we measure up

Franna: started at 140

current wt: 138

Loss of: 2 lbs. (1.4%)

Total wt. loss: 29 lbs (17.4%)

Jon: started at 247

current wt: 240

Loss of: 7 lbs (2.8%)

Total wt loss: 71 lbs (23.1%)

Between the two of us we have lost an AMAZING 100 lbs! What a year so far!! :)

When the cats away the mice will play!!

This is where I found the kids yesterday when I was trying to put away the groceries. I still have no idea how Sophie managed to get up there. Now, you'll understand why I call her a monkey. :)

Shout out!

I wanted to give a huge shout out to one of my friends and her business. If you ever need/want any vinyl decals/decorations for your home you have to check out http://www.vinylvineyard.com/. Katie does FANTASTIC work and it is really high quality at affordable prices. And you couldn't be helping out a better woman or family. She just sent me my latest decal as a surprise Easter present. (I told you she's the BEST!!)

She sent us our monogram. So we chose to put it on our mirror in our living room. We LOVE it!! Unfortunately, due to my horrible photography skills you can't truly see how cool this is. But if you check out her website you will see all the awesome stuff you can do. Happy shopping!!

An EGG-stra special Easter

We had a fantasic Easter Sunday! We had lots of fun with the Hickman's. They came over for an egg hunt, dinner and than a game night. The kids all had a blast hunting for eggs. Although, I am pretty sure that we had enough eggs in our backyard for like 10 kids. But that it made all that more fun (and easier on the little ones to find an egg)

The most amazing part of the day is that somehow we managed to get ALL 5 kids to sleep at the same time, so that we could play games. 1 word---MIRACLE!! LOL :) We had a wonderful dinner together. Amber even made rolls with marshmallows in them to represent the saviours tomb after the resurrection. (the marshmallow melts so it leaves the center empty, just like the saviour's tomb---such a cool idea!!!) The Hickman's taught us a new game called "Ticket to Ride". Jon is now completely hooked. He even had to find a way to play it online he likes it sooo much.

We are so thankful that we have such good friends that we can come together like family to celebrate one of the greatest gifts, our savior's resurrection.