Today We Celebrate You, Russell!

Tweaked and re-posted because I felt it needed repeated!  :-)

Today is that special day when we celebrate  Russell!  46 years ago, he came into this world with a passion and a purpose that has never stopped.  I'm told how his enthusiasm, his sense of humor and his love for our Lord began at a very young age.

How he would stand on the side of the road outside his house, with a Bible in his hand, and "preach" to the cars going by.  How he would carry his tape recorder around recording himself singing and telling jokes and then play them back, annoyingly, for his entire family - over and over AND over.

There are stories of catching the back yard on fire, while attempting to help his dad kill fire ants.  Stories of jumping off the roof with an umbrella like Mary Poppins, to see if it would slow down his fall.  (He says it worked!)  Stories of breaking the stained glass windows in his dad's church with a rock (on accident) and of sneaking off to downtown St. Augustine on his bike while his parents were at work, and being hit by a red tourist train! (Obviously he wasn't seriously injured).

I could go on and on - but I'm sure if you asked him, and got him started, he could tell you so many more.  I hear these stories and I laugh, but I also see how the Lord continues to use all that passion, enthusiasm and creativity in his life and the lives of those he ministers to today.

One thing that many do not know about my sweet husband is that he was born with a cleft pallet and had to have surgery when he was a baby.  Fortunately, it didn't extend to his upper lip, like most do, but did give him a hole in the roof of his mouth and caused a speech impediment which put him through years of speech therapy.  By the time he was nine, he was struggling in school, was tested and the teachers told his parents that they should find a trade school for him because he may not finish High School and he definitely wouldn't make it to college.

When he was 16 and at Youth Camp, he heard God's call on his life to ministry.  He came home, went back to school and asked the principal if he could have a room each morning before school for a Bible Study.  When I first met him, 28 years ago, he was sitting at a table, teaching through the book of John to his peers.  He has been leading ever since.  He finished High School, he not only finished four years of college, but three years of seminary to earn his Master's Degree.  He came back to the Jacksonville area, got his first full time ministry position and pursued me until I finally gave in.  

Oh how thankful I am for this man. I know that he was created just for me.  God creates all of us for a purpose and it's fun to look back over his life and see how everything has prepared him for where he is now.  He loves the Lord, loves his family and he loves the church.  He is kind and sensitive to others and he desires to lead them to a closer walk with Christ.  He is spontaneous, creative and did I mention enthusiastic and passionate?  He is human, he struggles with things like all of us, but he doesn't hide that.  He is real, he is honest and he is a man of great integrity.


I simply could not imagine my life without him!

I admired Russell's qualities long before we were ever serious.  I even told him one night on the phone, in an effort to encourage him, that he was going to make someone a wonderful husband someday.  And I really believed that!  I just had no idea it would be me!  Turns out that I'm the lucky one that got this man and all of his wonderful qualities.

I can't even begin to tell you what I like most about him.  He is everything I ever prayed for and more.  Even before he was born God knew he was my husband.  God has great plans.

Russell - today I celebrate you!

• I am so thankful that your parents were surprised by your presence because God had to add one more to  their family. 

• I'm thankful that you moved to Orange Park and had the passion to start a Bible Study in our High School where you and I would meet.  

• I'm thankful for the 10 years of solid friendship we shared before we ever began dating.  

• I'm thankful that I am that woman that benefits from all of your wonderful qualities. 

• I'm thankful for your passion, your sense of humor, your serious side, your sensitivity, your complexity, your easiness.  

• I'm thankful for you spontaneity, your sense of adventure and your desire to sit at home and do nothing.  

• I'm thankful for your leadership, for your quirks, for the way we can finish each others thoughts. 

• I'm thankful for the way you love people, for your compassion and your mercy. 

• I'm thankful for your doubts and your fears because I know you are real. 

• I'm thankful that you are always three steps ahead of me and are ever so patient while the Lord works in my life to get us back on the same page. 

• I'm thankful for the two beautiful children you have given me and for the way that you love and lead them. 

• I'm thankful that you love our Lord more than you do me because then you love me even better. 

• I'm thankful for your prayers, your faithfulness and your trustworthiness.

• I'm thankful for your restlessness and your desire to just be.

• I'm thankful for your tenderness, your listening ear and your desire to do whatever it takes to provide for us.

I'm just thankful for you.  Everything about you.  You were meant specifically for me.  I know this is your birthday - but many people have been blessed because you were born.  Thing is - I made out the best!


You have continued to use your gifts and talents that the Lord has given you for His glory.  Your desire to serve and obey our Lord is contagious.  You are my love, my husband and my best friend.  Apart from salvation - you are my greatest gift!   I love you more than you know.  Here's to celebrating many more years of "you".......

Happy Birthday, my love!   ~ Me

The Return of Butticus

Last year, I wrote this post.  I let you all in on one of the secrets of the Franklin household.  If you haven't already done so, you probably might want to read it so the rest of this makes better sense.

Ahem......

So - Butticus never showed up last year.  In hindsight, I really believe that he was thrown away.

Upon seeing all of the Elves return to Facebook this year, I was determined to find a new Butticus!  I thought about calling Anne's former Sunday School teacher, but explaining why I wanted to know where she got her tiny babies was going a bit too far.  She may read this blog - who knows?  But, ya - didn't want to talk about how Baby Jesus has been turned upside down, been re-named Butticus and used to play a crazy game all through the holidays.

I did the next best thing - I went online!  I looked at all the images of "Miniature Plastic Babies" (that was a little creepy at times!) and found one that I thought was the same.  (It has been two years.)  Ooooh!  $1.99 for 6 of them!  Perfect!  If he got lost - I would have spares!

I ordered him (them) and they arrived yesterday.  I said nothing to the kids and waited until they went to bed.  I opened the box and this little guy was in it.

Nope - not the same.  Not near as cute and much bigger then I remembered.

I went ahead and put him out.  I started easy - so he could be found quickly.

But something just wasn't right.

Jarod found him first.  He came into our room and said, "Uh - why is there a weird baby on the faucet in the bathroom?  That's NOT Butticus."

Great.  That was a waste of $1.99 (plus shipping)

Now what?

Jarod was a good sport and hid him on Anne's backpack so she could find him easily.

She found him and the first thing she said was "Butticus!!!!  Let's do this all year - not just at Christmas!!!!"

Okay - well, obviously the deformed Butticus didn't bother her.  But I was going to Hobby Lobby today and I thought I would check there and see if they had any babies.

Sure enough!  Butticus!  The REAL Butticus!  Should have just gone to Hobby Lobby to begin with!  They are awesome!

Another $1.99 and I could have the REAL Butticus (complete with the crazy mohawk looking thing on his head) and a whole litter of 15 more!  Yay Hobby Lobby!!!!

I came home and secretly switched him out.  Anne discovered him first and said (with the brightest and most excited face) "Ah!  The REAL Butticus!!!!  The other one was just wrong, Mom."  Well, at least she was a good sport about it earlier!

We like this one so much better!  He's probably half the size of the other (Only slightly larger than my thumb nail) and his butt is so much cuter! Don't you think?

Anne went off immediately to hide him and I could hear her giggling at herself from the other room.  Here's where I found him -

Ugh!  This girl!!!

As a friend said, "Nothing says Christmas quite like Butticus being eaten by a Giant Nutcracker!"

The Butticus tradition is in full swing!  Here are a few places he's already been spotted today - 

 He's just so much cuter on here than the other one!!!!

 Joseph's head.  Really, Jarod???

Nothing like being mooned while reaching for the Wii remote.....

So - this is Butticus!  Prepare to see photos on Facebook.  If you can post your elves, we can post our Butticus.  Besides, I was told today that, "He's so awesome that Elf on the Shelf wears Butticus jammies!"  I think I agree!

Until next time......

Oh Tooth Fairy, Where Art Thou?????

Anne lost a tooth several (ahem) ....... months ago.  The Tooth Fairy has yet to come so she resorted to her own methods to get her attention.  I found this taped to her bedroom door this evening when it was time for bed.

Cracks me up!  Guess I need to find a few dollars - maybe more to cover her wait time. 

Planes, Trains and Automobiles - Literally!

So after a fun wedding weekend at the Jersey Shore, I took the commuter train into New York's Penn Station.  Having never ridden a train before (besides the one at Disney or the Zoo) I was very excited for this experience.  It would be a four hour ride into Boston. 

Since I was already up North, I decided to combine my trip and head on up to New Hampshire for my annual Fall trip to Emily's.  What a fun and relaxing way to travel!  Not to mention spacious.  I had a nice window seat with electrical outlets and WiFi.

I could have easily napped but I was too afraid of missing something.  We traveled out of New York, through Rhode Island, Connecticut and into Boston where I caught a bus to meet Emily in New Hampshire.  I was a month earlier than usual so the leaves weren't changing yet, but it was still beautiful and a fun experience.


Bruce and Emily purchased a new home back in the spring and I was excited to be able to see it first hand.  They have been busy painting, decorating and making it theirs for the past several months.

It's perfect for their large family.  Lots of space inside and out.

So happy for them to finally feel like they are settled in New Hampshire.  Owning your own home helps to put down roots and create a feeling of permanency.  God has provided so many things for them and continues to confirm that their move was His plan for their family.  It's been amazing to watch them trust Him through this journey and see all the blessings unfold.

So, I spent the first part of my week just chillin with Emily at the house.  It was so nice to just relax, chat and catch up.  Bruce took Thursday and Friday off so we could go play as usual.  The last two years we have headed into Boston and had a blast.  This year we wanted to do something a bit different.  Bruce suggested a road trip into Maine.  When we discovered we were only an hour from Kittery - we got so excited!!!  We got on the internet and figured out a day trip - we could travel up the coast, never more than about 2 hours away and search for lighthouses!  Eeeeeeek!!!!!

I love this kind of travel.  Russ and I do it all the time.  Just hop in the car and go explore. So that's what we did.  We took off on Thursday morning and headed to Maine.

 After a stop at the Visitor's Center to pick up maps and get directions along the coast, we stopped here in Kittery to see out first Lighthouse of the day.  The Whaleback Light. Such a beautiful area.

We took off driving again and came across this area near York Harbor.  We decided to get out and walk a bit.

We had lunch at an adorable restaurant on the water at York Beach.  The weather was perfect and the ocean beautiful!

 View of Boon Island Lighthouse from our table.  It's about 6.5 miles off shore.

Cape Neddick (aka Nubble lighthouse) 

Also from our table

After lunch we took off for a closer view of the Nubble Lighthouse

Like the others, the Nubble is only accessible by boat.

 

So many fun things to stop and see along the way.  We loved this church. So pretty.  I'm a sucker for stone architecture anyway.  Would love to have it incorporated into a home one day.








Our next stop was Ogunquit, Maine.

 Beautiful area.  And the beginning of The Marginal Way - a mile long walking path along the coast.

I had to walk down and put my fingers in the water.

We enjoyed this area so much.

Next, we headed into Kennebunkport.

Lovely little town with lots of shops.

And just outside of town is President Bush's home.  How cool is that?

Our last Lighthouse of the day - Didn't catch the name of this one.

 We knew that we had to try Lobster while in Maine.  I had never had it before - at least not like this:

Ya - a bit overwhelming.  Couldn't quite get past the thing staring at me.  Suddenly I felt like I was in Science Class again.

At least we looked cute while trying something new, right?

While the lobster was good - we both decided that all of that was way too weird and too much work.  I'll stick to my shrimp.

So - we had so much fun on Thursday, that we hopped in the car and headed back on Friday to hit all the shops.  This time we started in Kennebunkport and headed South.

I was the navigator on our trip and I did manage to get us off course a few times.  But sometimes those are the BEST times.  We got off the map a little and wound up at this beach area at sunset and had the best time exploring!

 I ventured out on the rock and soon discovered I was in the middle of wildlife!

These little guys covered every rock

The bigger they got, the prettier their shells.

And we soon discovered that they traveled!

 They are quite talented, don't you think?

We made one last stop where we began the day before.  At the harbor in Kittery.

Beautiful -

Between the layovers, the wedding, the train ride and our journey into Maine, I was in 10 different states this trip.  Kind of blows my mind.  The New England area is so beautiful and I am really thankful I was able to experience more of it this time around.  It really was hard narrowing down all the photographs.  I hope you enjoyed them.....

As always, time spent with Emily is so special.  Very thankful to have a friend like her in my life.

 We decided that next year we might want to try Whale Watching.  How fun would that be????

Until next time.....