Abby and Bekah: Violin Recital Debut...

At the beginning of the month, Abby and Bekah premiered at their first violin recital. The past 5 months have been spent learning about posture, bow hold, and fingering. It is a detailed process just to hold everything correctly. Their teacher is Ramona Stirling... and she is wonderful with them. In her 30+ years of teaching, she has never had a set of twins, and we are always experimenting with how to structure lessons and practicing to see what works best.





We are learning the twinkles right now (variations of twinkle twinkle little star), and for the recital they had "polished" some pre-twinkle songs: The E String and A String Concerto, and "I'm A Little Monkey." What fun!

They loved practicing for the recital. They would walk in from the other room... with a very serious face, announce the piece, and play it with various degrees of refinement, and take a deep bow to my applause. It was fun to see the fruits of practice and anticipation displayed on the stage of this little recital hall.

They are lucky enough to have a daddy who can accompany them. They love playing with their daddy.

I was sitting to the side, and should have moved to get better video. You can barely hear a little voice announcing the songs, then Mrs. Stirling (who is sitting right in front) gives them reminders about their posture, etc.

Here is Bekah playing E String and A String Concerto.



Bekah playing I'm a Little Monkey



Abby playing E String and A String Concerto and I'm a Little Monkey



Grandpatty came, and so did Aunt Melinda and cousins Aaron and Baby J. It is always fun to have a cheering section.

As practicing with the kids takes up more and more of my time, I am realizing the value of having this one-on-one time with them. Time working toward goals. Time being productive. Time doing hard things. Time to motivate and inspire, and exercise patience and long-suffering. It is bonding and it is meaningful.

It varies in success. Sometimes there are tears and grumpy faces, but often there is willingness and excitement. It is always work for me. It is usually emotionally draining. It is always hard to fit it into the schedule... between Michael's cello and piano, and Abby and Bekah (who need separate practices now) it should all take around 3 hours out of my day--and some days it just doesn't happen. Because sometimes we skimp... and sometimes we just skip. But I am always remembering the scripture that by small and simple things are great things brought to pass (Alma 37:6).

I love seeing their confidence bloom. I love cheering for them. I love sharing hard work and success. I love that they love music. And I love that they can make music.

michael's final b-ball game...

michael's final basketball game is tonight! i will try to get a great shot of him in his junior jazz outfit to add the this video-post. it has been a joy to watch michael play this year. he is a kinder player than i was at his age. he still has a competitive streak in him, but it's kinder and gentler. he passes more, cheers his teammates on, cheers when they score etc. i have lots of b-ball footage, but i focused on a single game for the video below. this is the game after the SDSU game where we saw jimmer drop 43 on the 7th ranked team in the country. we hadn't discussed before the game, but michael decided he should take long jimmer-length shots early in the game.

we talked at half-time about how he is more of a brandon davies type because of his height compared to teammates. we discussed the meaning of 'high-percentage' shots and that until he's made over 1,000 three-pointers in the gym he should work for the higher percentage shot. he took it to heart and the video shows his progression during the game as he moved closer to the hoop.

he's a sweet kid and loves this game...

New Year's with the Frandsens...

The day my family left we started a packed few days with Paul's family.

Our time together began solemnly and sweetly. Just after Christmas Paul's Uncle Ron passed away. It was expected, but sudden. He had ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease) and had been slowly declining, but we all simply thought he had more time than he did. As his son said, he left on his own terms... without the need of a ventilator, feeding tube, or hospitalizations. He passed away just after a Christmas holiday when he was surrounded by those he loved the most. He had spent time with each side of extended family, and had all of his children and grandchildren in his home Christmas Eve and Day. The tender mercies that surrounded the circumstances were faith promoting, as were the words and attitudes of his family.


I have experienced loss with my grandfathers, and I simply cannot imagine reasoning death without the knowledge of Jesus Christ. Knowing that there is Life after death, and that there is a way to have eternal happiness with our family members, our Savior, and our Father in Heaven helps takes the sting out of death. For those left behind, it will always be hard, but at least there is true hope with this faith. Paul and I love Ron's family so much. They are good friends and we look up to all of them in so many ways.

Paul's dad and Aunt Shauna

I will never forget the sweet spirit in the funeral service as Shauna and her three children Jill, Nick, and Peter all shared their love and fond memories of their husband and father, and the journey they traveled together through this experience. From sorrow came inspiration and powerful testimony. I am so grateful for the gospel and a Savior.


It was truly bonding talking through it all and feeling the emotions and spirituality with Paul's family. That is the wonderful thing about funerals and coming together to grieve and hope. I think it makes those left behind closer and gives clarity to the purpose of life. And there is much to be learned from a life like Ron's.

The funeral was on the day of New Year's Eve, and there was definite soberness as we gathered at Paul's parent's house. We didn't throw the New Year's bash we had previously planned with balloons, noisemakers and firecrackers... but sat down to a thoughtful dinner.


We went around the table and shared our favorite parts of the year, and had the "unveiling" of a new family theme: "We Are All Enlisted" in God's army... complete with t-shirts and dog tags. We quickly put the kids to bed, and stayed up and talked about parenting, family, and plans. Paul's cousin Gabrielle was there to add to the dimension of the conversation. Luckily Stephen gathered noise making apparatus so that we could properly bring in the New Year.



I definitely have more pictures of this gathering. It does help to have a professional photographer for a sister-in-law who kindly sends a cd of all the pictures to us. (THANK YOU Libby... every picture in this post is from you!)

The next morning, Paul's mom designed to have a New Year's morning of opening family presents together. But make no mistake... With a big yummy breakfast and all the feelings and joy of giving and receiving, it was just about as exciting and special as Christmas morning itself. Minus the Santa stuff. :) I love the thoughtfulness of Paul's parents and siblings to each other. So much love is poured into each gift. It was a fun morning.

We enjoyed watching our nephews, and the kids basked in all the attention of beloved aunts and uncles, Grandpatty and Grandpappy.

Cute Aaron and baby J... I love that you can still see the hospital band on Jonny's wrist, even though baby J is over a month old. :)

The girls loved these headbands that were part of a new outfit...

I wonder how long we were there all together just opening presents and enjoying them together??

And the girls all got new boots from Hannah and Lafe. Oh, the excitement. They also got Michael a byu ball set and a Jazz wristband that he wears every day. So thoughtful.

Later that day, a birthday celebration for Libby Lou.

Sunday we celebrated the newest addition to the family. Sweet baby Jared. Can you believe these precious cheeks?? He is a sweet little man, and Jonny and Melinda are genuine, purposeful parents.


What a sweet experience to gather with the same extended family that just grieved the loss of one member, to now welcome the newness of another. It was a poignant way to bring in a New Year.

Four Generations of Frandsen Men. A Force to be reckoned with... :) DJ fits right in, of course.

And Four Generations of the women who love them. Guest appearance by Hillary, whom Ella absolutely loves.

(Yes, I feel sheepish that my girls are without tights and shoes in this important family picture. But all I can say is that they had switched to dress up mode (dance costumes and animals...) so we are lucky we got their dresses back on... )

And I love this picture of my girls getting loves from Great-Grandma Frandsen and Grandpatty...


What a wonderful holiday season we had this year. Filled to the brim with family and experiences together. Between Christmas and the New Year, we felt a whole lot of love.

Does it get any better than this?? I always want to be surrounded by family during the holidays.

Post Christmas with the Risenmays...

The day after Christmas, the real party began. With four of my family members already at our house (mom and dad, Todd, and Paul), we only had a few more to join us to complete the gathering. By Sunday afternoon, we had everyone here except for Chelsey, whom we missed a lot!

Although I didn't pull out my camera nearly enough, I have to document the goings on of those few days. I think I just scurry around so much when everyone is here, and I simply don't think about the camera at all. I'm so sad about it afterward! Remind me to pull it out next time. Or someone else should be designated to gather pictures!! I always enjoy having my family all together, and am so happy that they don't mind coming to our house to congregate. I love having them all here.

Matt and Angela and their family arrived the night of Christmas Day. AJ and Marc arrived Sunday afternoon, and we had a family feast with a few guests--Connie and Stirling and their family, and Amber--long lost dear friend who was a foster sister who lived with my family during some of our years in Kentucky. Mom made her lasagna... mmmmm... It was so much fun to have everyone here!

Should've gotten a picture of that.

The next day, we all woke up to a fantastic breakfast made by Todd and Marc... they redeemed their reputation from last year. :) Once we all got going, the kiddos had fun hanging out with the uncles and grandpa while the girls went out to shop the post-Christmas sales for a bit. We traded posts that evening for the boys to go to Salt Lake City for a Jazz game. Always looking for a deal, they waited to try and scalp tickets on-site, but were not successful in scoring any type of deal whatsoever. So they retreated to a restaurant, ended up watching Monday night football instead, and had a great time doing it. The kiddos who stayed home got to see the Christmas lights at Thanksgiving point. Where was my camera??

On Tuesday most of us went to BYU's art museum to see the Carl Bloch exhibit (wonderful.) and hung out around the campus for a bit. The kiddos enjoyed rolling down the snowy hill by the library, and we all enjoyed chocolate delicacies from the BYU bookstore. I happened to tote my camera for this one (but I think it was Paul who took the pictures)...

I love having our kids together with Brinlee, Max, and Will. They all get along so well. My girls look up to Brinlee, and she is so doting with them. Michael loves showing Max and Will things about basketball, books, and anything that interests them. Michael and Brinlee are great pals, and Max plays with Abby and Bekah. Will and Ella pal around, but Abby likes to play with Will, too... see what I mean?? It's great!


And I love their mama. I treasure one-on-one time with Angela whenever we are able to squeeze it in. She has a gift for seeing and bringing out the best in people around her. She helps me refocus and feel good about the little things that I do, and I am constantly amazed by her ability to focus on what is truly important. She is an endurance personality, and I am so grateful for all that she endures for her sweet family.


Bekah gave her coat to Ella because "I like the cold." Thanks Bekah!


Ella was a happy little sprite running around the campus.


And here's our collage man, Farcles. A little mixed up here... UofO shirt on BYU campus headed to BYU-Idaho just days later. What a fun time of life for him!

With mom and dad...


The lovebirds...


Yup... those are all the pictures. Shamey Amy.

That night we had a "talent" show... my favorite was seeing all the younger brothers do a push-up contest against their big brother Matt (who had been doing military training). He was somehow able to last through all of them rotating through one after the other. Amazing. Kids sang, played instruments, showed how fast they can run, and shook a booty. It was fun to have a loving, enthusiastic audience for them.

The big boys (michael included :) ) had their traditional basketball game at the church. Movies were enjoyed. Games were played. My favorite was Dalmuti with Todd at the top with Abby's toy kitty as his sidekick. Disturbing and so Risenmay.

One of the things Michael and Brinlee really enjoyed was exploring science with Michael's new microscope (from Grandma) with their science-savvy Uncle AJ. With the microscope, he taught them the ins and outs of cells, DNA, and studied hatched shrimp eggs. AJ referred to them as "Dr. Michael" and "Dr. Brinlee," and they looked forward to their "labs" with him.

A few weeks later, I did happen to take a picture of the very official package that came to our house addressed to Dr. Michael Frandsen from "Professor AJazz."

As we explored the contents of the package, my eyes welled up with appreciation for my brother and how thoughtful he is with my Michael.


He felt pretty special, indeed.


Check out the official transcript... all A's!


And such a sweet personalized note.


AJ... you'll never know how much this means until you have a child of your own.

And thank you to all my brothers and my parents for how you dote on our kids. Thank you for encouraging the best in my children. The sure eat it up. No one loves your kids like family, and I love having them around you.

I think the best moments were just horsing around with the kids, or the conversations we sat around to have. I love talking to my dad. My mom was fun to shop with (don't worry... I took all the green pillows back!). I enjoyed each of you at different times during those days.

Maybe that's why I forget to bring out the camera... I'm just enjoying the moments with each of you. Thanks again for coming. Until next time... :)

January...

As I started sorting through the pictures and videos of our February birthday extravaganzas... I went through the pictures and videos from January. Nothing spectacular. No trips or big events. But a lot of little snippets from everyday life.

These are the things I want to remember... more than Disneyland trips or birthday parties. More than holidays and games watched. But it is so easy to let it go undocumented.

And my apology for not taking the time to edit the videos. They are truly real life as it comes. You may see more than you want to (like a push or a scream or a teasing or some insistent personalities...) but my kids will be interested in the years to come.

Abby and Bekah playing horse and chariot. The blanket serves as the reigns and Bekah is a fierce driver (just look at how she uses a whip!). They ran around the house like this taking little breaks for other pretending moments... within the same story line of course.



I simply cannot say what joy comes into my heart when I see my children reading. I love having so many different stages to enjoy right now. Ella surrounds herself with picture books and flips through them one at a time. Abby and Bekah still look through the picture books, but try to figure out some of the words. They have their own beginning reading books that they are doing wonderfully well. Michael devours chapter books right now, but is content to read the picture books too, especially if he has a sister who wants to hear.

The video below is of Abby reading to Michael. I love how attentive he is to her and how encouraging he is of her success. It melts my heart.



If I were to be completely open and honest, many January pictures would include this little girl and all her schemes that result in household messes. This is one creatively motivated girl. She gets an idea in her head and doesn't let a little fear of discipline get in the way.


One incident that happened a few times last month was the ol' cut-up-all-the-paper-you-can-find-into-tiny-pieces-and-pretend-it-is-confetti-to-throw-down-from-the-upstairs-landing-all-0ver-the-room-below game. Love that one. I happened to be carrying the camera and caught this glare after I gave her the ol' "If-you-play-it-you-pick-it-up" line, followed by the "If-it-is-too-messy-for-you-to-clean-up, it-is-too-messy-to-play" line.

Hmmm... I kind of use those lines a lot right now...

For a few days, the kids pulled out the checkers board. Michael loves the game, and took it upon himself to teach his sisters. They enjoyed the tutoring, and I enjoyed listening to the happy strategizing as I cooked dinner.


One of the only truly serious things they all do together...


And who says Christmastime ends in December?? In this house, Christmas was gone but not forgotten, with holiday scenes and nativity reenactments still dominating the scene through January.

Meet Santa:


And his trusty reindeer, Rudolph, with an impressive red nose.

(I kept asking if she could breath through all that tape...)



I can't say how much I love Bekah's Rudolph nose. I don't know how much red paper and we went through as she cut red noses during her days of Rudolph obsession...

We played "Santa's Sleigh" all together for the longest time that afternoon. We took turns being the Santa, the sleepers, and the reindeer. Moments like these are the ones I know I will want to replay years down the road...



A moment about Ella's snorting. Isn't it the grossest thing?? She first started doing it when she had a cold before Christmas. I started saying things like, "Oh, that's yucky... let's do sniffles" and teaching her how to sniffle. I would make a yucky face whenever she would snort, and I think she thought it was pretty funny because the snorts increased. So then I started being more stern with a "Yucky Ella. Please don't do that." This caused her to want to egg me on I think, and the more I protested the louder she snorted.

So that's where we stand now. The more I protest, the louder and longer the snorts. Blah and ugh. So now I have to just ignore it. Which generally works around the house.

But then... try to take the girl to church. Yikes! She picks the quietest time to let out her biggest snorts. Yuck. But if I protest... you know what happens. So I have to just sit there and pretend I don't hear her... leaving everyone sitting around me to wonder why this mother doesn't teach her daughter that snorting is gross. Ha ha joke's on me once again. It started happening at the girls' violin recital last week. Luckily I was able to distract her.

I will look at this as yet another passing phase...

And isn't it all just a passing phase?? The cuteness and happy moments, the messes and frustrations... they all will come and go. Sometimes I hold onto it as long as I can. Sometimes I just grit my teeth through it. But at least now I've captured a little bit of it to play back later.

Sweet, Innocent Michael...

Today when I was helping in Michael's 1st grade class I heard this come out of his mouth:

"100 points will get you a sexy lady!" followed by many ha ha ha's from him and his friends...

!!! What?? My ears perked *right* up to listen in to what was happening. Another boy said, "1000 points will get you a fashion model." !?!?

I gave Michael a *look* and he looked back with wide eyes. It was completely apparent that he didn't know what he was saying.

From what I could gather they were keeping points for something and were giving "rewards." The teacher didn't hear, but transitioned to a new activity soon after that.

So tonight when doing standbys before bed, I told him: "There's something I want to talk to you about."

Michael: "Is it about sessy lady?" (he pronounced it a little "off"... further indicating that he had NO idea what he was saying)

Me: "Yes. It seems like you know you were saying something inappropriate."

Michael: "Yeah. But I don't know why."

Me: "Then why do you think you said it?"

Michael: "Well, Bowman just said it. And then Tanner said it. But I didn't know what it was all about."

What followed was a conversation about what the word really means. How it is not the way Heavenly Father wants people to see his daughters. About modesty and how bodies are special.

We figured that Bowman and Tanner probably didn't know what it was all about either, but probably heard it from an older brother or something.

I've actually been waiting for a conversation like this. A chance to be a little more frank than just the "if you see anything that makes you feel uncomfortable..." thing. When talking about pornography, a mother I really respect once told me "it isn't IF our boys will see it... but WHEN and HOW they will choose to react to it." So scary and so true.

So we talked about how there will be times in his life when he will see, on TV or on the internet or in things that people show him, pictures that are "sexy." I was fairly open. I explained a bikini. I used the word naked. But we talked more about his spirit and knowing right from wrong. And we talked about the "sneaky" feeling that he might have--a sure indicator that it is wrong. We talked about how he might feel like he should hide it or try and forget that it happened. But that he can always talk to us about it and we can figure it all out together. That we will always want to help him.

We talked back and forth for a bit. Then I asked him if there had been another time when someone did or said or showed him something that made him feel uncomfortable in this way.

Michael: "Yeah," he said. "A couple of days ago there was a kid in another class who said something that made me feel that way."

Me: "Really? What did he say??"

Michael: "Well... It was about BYU."

He was very serious and I could tell he was disturbed.

Me: "What was it that he said?"

Michael: "He said 'BYU is P-O-O'. "

I almost laughed out loud, but maintained a serious, concerned face.

Me: "And that made you feel uncomfortable inside?"

Michael: "Yeah."


Sweet innocent Michael. May you always be so sensitive and open with me.


I am so glad for your strong sense of right and wrong. I am so glad you talk to me. I hope I didn't overload you tonight. At the same time, I never want to be too late to warn you. To prepare you. To give you the tools to keep you close to the Spirit, your Savior and Heavenly Father, and your parents who love you so fiercely that we would do anything we could to keep the bad away. To preserve your special spirit.

Please keep telling me the things that make you uncomfortable. I want to always be open with you, and I hope you will return the gesture. I want to be in the fight with you... the fight to keep your innocence and tender-heartedness. There are so many influences wanting to steal it from you. Stay away, Michael. Stay so far away.

And while you're at it... you can stay away from the little turd who says BYU is poo, too.

Ella's Haircut... by Abby...

Oh, the mischief of preschoolers is so fun. So curious. So inventive. Experimental and ingenuitive. Most of this "creativity" I can clean up with the vacuum, rag, or Windex and only keep the memories. But scissors to the little sisters' hair... nope. Not that one. That one's going to show for a while.

Let me remind you about Ella's hair journey here... and how long we've worked for her locks...

Here at age 1 (almost) she is still kind of a fuzzball. A really, really cute smiling happy fuzzball.



At almost a year and a half we could make some pretty decent pigtails...


And by this summer we had some pretty decent hair. So cute and girly.



Then there was the Sunday afternoon at Grandpatty and Grandpappy's house where long hair dreams were cut short. Have you seen Disney's "Tangled"?? Well this is the result of sister Abby's attempt to reenact the last part of the movie. (Seriously.)


Whacked off in the back.


Like the uneven super-short bangs that will take forever to grow out??

Fantastic.

Cute Ella came down excited, then saw that Abby got in trouble for it. Then she turned sad, saying "Abby broke my hair. Abby broke my hair." You can see she was in the sad phase when these pictures were taken. As usual, she found comfort in her blankie and a cuddle from Grandpatty.

Abby even gave herself a little "Tangled" do. Remember that Rapunzel had a section of hair cut from when she was a baby that never grew back?? Abby wanted a short section of her own. So by her neck is now a small section of hair that is about 3 inches shorter than the rest. So fun.

So I've trimmed it up a little, but Ella does NOT keep elastics in right now. So the front is always a little strangely uneven.



But she's still such a cute little goonie bird... and now her haircut goes along with her strange little nickname. :)

And time will help the hair grow back. It will grow back. It will. And this will be yet another chapter in Ella's hair journey...