Trains, Planes, and Automobiles!

Graham loves trains, trucks, cars, and anything that has wheels on it.

My Favorite Fellas!

Enjoying Life

We're enjoying more smiles from Wesley.
I think he's enjoying life more now that his tummy feels better.
Tim found this Elmo towel for Graham. Graham loves to run through the house after his bath and flash us. His favorite game right now is chase. He's always saying, "Catch me, Mommy."

A Humble Mom's Thoughts

Wesley has been struggling with reflux problems which was making him pretty fussy after each feeding and keeping him up at night. He is now on medication, and it has started helping a lot. We are all getting more sleep because of it. He is smiling more which is so fun to see. I can be feeling so tired or frustrated, and when he smiles at me, I instantly feel better.

Being a mother is the hardest thing I've ever done, but I know it's one of the most important things I'll ever do. These past six weeks have been extremely difficult, but God has been teaching me so much through it. My time with Him has become more precious to me, and He is showing me how much strength and wisdom He can give me when I feel so drained.

I feel so blessed to have two healthy boys, and being a mom brings me a lot of joy. It also has humbled me and shown me my weakness and need for God. For this, I am thankful. When I am weak, He is strong.

Several verses have really stood out to me during this time and here are a few of them. I hope they can encourage some of you.

Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. Lamentations 3:21-23

Praise be to the Lord, for he has heard my cry for mercy. The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song. Psalms 28:6-7

By day the Lord directs his love, at night his song is with me-a prayer to the God of my life. Psalm 42:8

Hooray for Sticker Charts and Chuck E. Cheese!

Graham has been struggling with naps for the last month, so my wise friend, Heidi, suggested making a sticker chart to give him some incentive to go to sleep. Everyday that he took a good nap he could put a sticker on his chart. After he earned 7 stickers, he got to go to Chuck E. Cheese. I thought he might like some time alone with me, so I asked him if he wanted to go just with me. He said he wanted Daddy, Mommy, and Baby Wesley to go with him. It made my heart smile that he wanted everyone there-even his little brother.
Wesley spent his first trip to Chuck E. Cheese asleep in the sling.

We had a great time with Graham, and he's already talking about a starting a new chart so he can earn another trip to Chuck E. Cheese.

I'm so thankful for good naps, quiet afternoons, and wise friends!

Wesley is one month old!

This is Graham when he was about 6 weeks old. See any resemblance?

Wesley is beginning to smile some. He also rolled over from his tummy to his back. I'm sure it was just a fluke but it made me excited. He's starting to be more alert and make good eye contact. The evenings are still pretty fussy for him, but he's happy most of the day. He loves to be in the sling so that's where he hangs out a lot. It's a very busy time for us, but I'm trying to enjoy this stage in his life. It'll be a little easier when I start getting more sleep.

Dressed Alike-for a few minutes

Perpy gave the boys these cute outfits. We dressed them in the outfits on Sunday morning to wear to church, but we didn't make it to church in them. Wesley got his wet. Hmmm...maybe next Sunday. At least we got some cute pictures.

Brothers

Graham loves his baby brother. If anyone tries to hold him other than his parents, he gets a little protective and says, "My baby!" He continues to show Wesley lots of love and affection. We are thankful they can grow up together and pray they will be good friends.


Wesley has started enjoying a few minutes of tummy time each day. Graham thinks it's great and always lays down with him.
Graham seems so big now that Wesly is here.

Happy Birthday, Perpy!

Perpy celebrated her birthday with us this weekend. She stayed for a few days and spent time

with the boys. She babysat so Tim and I could get out a little, and she did some cleaning. Thanks for your help, Perpy! We enjoyed our time with you.

Thank You, Mom!

My mom left today after being here for two weeks. I cannot describe how much I appreciate all she did for me. Here are just a few of the wonderful things she did for us: praying with me over the phone while I was in labor, dropping everything to get in the car and drive over 10 hours to come help, cleaning up poop off of the carpet-my son's and my dog's, cooking, cleaning, sleeping on the couch so she could help with the baby in the middle of the night, taking care of Graham in the morning so I could sleep in, doing lots of laundry, loving Graham even when he was clingy to me, helping me to laugh when I felt like crying, going shopping with me and telling me I looked beautiful even though I didn't feel so beautiful, fixing lunches for Tim to take to work, and rejoicing with us in the birth of our second son.

Thanks, Mom, for all that you did for my family over that past few weeks, and thank you for loving me so well over the past 31 years. I love you and will miss you!





Here's a journal entry written by Angela Thomas Guffey in Prayers for New Mothers. I love what she writes about her mother, and it greatly reflects my own feelings.

My Mother

Oh, God,
Thank You. Thank You for my mother. I never fully understood how incredible she really is until the birth of my first child. With this birth, my esteem for her is renewed. My respect for her grows daily. She truly emobdies the truth of Proverbs 31-a woman of great character, noble and praiseworthy and good.

My mother is a source of great strength. Her presence always brings calm and assurance. With each new baby, she quietly comes and takes her place in our home. She cooks and cleans and irons. She holds everything together while I fall apart. She has given each of our children his first bath. Even now, I hear her humming a lullaby, and I smell the beginnings of supper on the stove. It is so peaceful to rest in the love of my mother.

Lord, her legacy is one which I long to pass on as well. Although I am at the start of motherhood, I desire more than anything to give my children the same motherly love that I have known. I feel completely inadequate, yet wholly committed. Continue to teach me through Mama how to love my babies well.

Please bless her. Give her happiness beyond measure. Reward her many times over for each sacrifice she has made. Let her know that she is loved and adored by her children. Thank You, God, for giving me a mother to love. Give us many more years to walk together. From the tender heart of Your daughter and hers, I gratefully pray in Your name. Amen.

Wesley's First Trip to the Zoo

Sunday was Nissan Family Day at the zoo, so we made a special trip to the zoo.
We only saw three animals on this trip to the zoo because we got there 15 minutes before it closed. We saw the meerkats, elephants, and of course, the monkeys.
Wesley slept through the visit to the zoo, but Graham had a great time.

Another Day at the Pool

Drew and Will came over today to go swimming. Well, Drew slept in his stroller next to Wesley the whole time while Will and Graham had lots of fun in the pool.
Graham and Will were taking a break to eat some lunch. We are so thankful to have cousins close by.

Our First Week with Wesley

Graham is a very proud brother! He continues to be very excited and very affectionate with his little brother, "Baby Wesley Mark"!
Wesley got a lot of pricks the first week of his life due to his jaundice. Last Friday, he finally turned the corner and his bilirubin count started going down. We were very thankful for that because we did not want to have to go back to the hospital.
precious toes!

Life has been a little crazy around our house but we are loving having Wesley home. He's a sweet baby, and we treasure each moment with him.

Wesley's Story

Well, Wesley surprised us all when he decided to come almost two weeks early. Tim and Graham had gone camping Friday night to give me some girl time with my friends from out of town. Natalie, Christine, and Anne, dear friends from high school, came to visit for the weekend. We went out to dinner Friday night and had a great time. We all went to bed kind of early but none of us slept well. I woke up the next morning at 7 and realized my water had broken. I told my friends and they excitedly got me to the hospital. I was able to reach Tim quickly and he met us at the hospital shortly after. Everything moved very quickly, and Wesley was born less than three hours later. It was quite an exciting time!

Graham meets his little brother for the first time.

Perpy and Wesley
Natalie, Christine, Anne and I enjoying dinner the night before Wesley was born.

Nana and Wesley


Wesley is doing well, and we feel so blessed to have him in our lives. Graham is extremely excited to have baby Wesley around. He's a little emotional and challenging at times as he adjusts to all the changes in his world. I'm recovering quickly and trying to learn how to take care of two little ones. Thankfully, my mom is here for a few weeks to help.



Thanks for all of your prayers! God has been so good to us, and we are so thankful!

Introducing my little brother!

Introducing my little brother...


Wesley Mark Franklin

Wesley was born Saturday, July 7 at 9:50 am. He weighed 7 pounds and 9 ounces and was 20 inches long. He and Mommy are both doing well and came home from the hospital on Monday. I am so excited to have a baby brother. I love to hold him, give him kisses, and bring him toys. Mommy will fill you in on how he came into the world. Notice our new blog name-it's not just my blog anymore, but I'm happy to share it with Wesley. I think life will be more fun with a little brother around.

A Morning at the Park with Hiroto

Last Friday, I got to visit a new park with my good buddy, Hiroto. We played on the playground...saw a very large train,
fed some ducks, ate a picnic lunch, sang the ABC's together in the car, and sweated a lot. It was a great morning! By the way, ducks don't like left-over waffles-even if your Mommy makes them from scratch.