Painting

With the nasty weather outside, we brought the easel out after being in storage for the summer. Yes, I strip their clothes off to paint. Sorry about Adalin's puffy underwear... yes, she is a girl. :) She will be mad at me someday for pointing that one out.

Seriously, though, aren't they stinkin' cute?

Happy Halloween from the Fransons!

SoMe FaMiLY PiCS

My mom rounded us all up for some family pictures at Greenfield Village not too long ago. Here is a sample of some of the pictures that were taken.

Is there something wrong with this picture?

I Hope You Like Roadkill

OK, Adam is weird. He always notices roadkill when we drive anywhere! On our way to look at a house we may rent next spring, he noticed a freshly hit raccoon. He insisted that we stop on our way home to show it to the girls. I mean, what other chance will they ever have to see a raccoon that up-close? I stayed in the car. Adalin wouldn't even go close at first but finally got the courage up to stand with Adam and Kira. Elina took the pictures. Did I mention that I stayed in the car?
Adam found it necessary to pull it off the road by its tail as we were leaving. Don't worry though, it was all perfectly sanitary b/c he had a rag in his hand so he didn't actually touch it. Sheesh.

Spicer's

Our good friend, Elina stayed with us the month of September and her last Saturday here we went to one of the many MI apple orchards. Spicers in one of my favorites because it has everything! You can pick all kinds of berries throughout the summer, apples in the fall. They have a corn maze, a nice kids play area and hay rides that take you out to pick the apples. Their cider and fresh doughnuts are to die for.
Elina, Adalin and I had never done a corn maze before, so that was the real reason for this trip. The weather was gorgeous. We couldn't have asked for a better day.

Adalin the Brave

So, Adalin's first day of school was today. It is just preschool (because she misses the cutoff for kindergarten by 2 months) but seems more like for-real school because she actually rides the bus! All who know miss Adalin know that new things to her are always very difficult to conquer. I made a bet with Adam that she wouldn't get on the bus, he bet that she would. Adalin's track record definitely predicted that I would win this bet, but I didn't! She was SO excited about riding the bus that when it finally came (20 minutes late) she just climbed right on and hardly looked back! I am so proud of her!

It's a...

Refer to the 3rd picture for the answer to that question... :) A 3-D image of the profile. Ok, I will just give it away now... Her arm is in front of her chin. You can see her tummy and skinny leg at the bottom. You can also see the head sutures here, on the side of her head. It looks like there are holes. Don't worry, they will close up. :)

Her gender... We have seen those 3 lines many times!

A Journal Entry

This won't be the most exciting post for you all to read. I began writing on this blog a few years ago for a few important reasons. First, it is my journal. I believe that this will be a priceless record of our lives in the future for both me, my children and grandchildren... Second, it is a wonderful way to keep our family and friends updated with all that is important in our lives. Thirdly, I enjoy it!

So this is more of a journal entry... read on if you care to know Melissa a little (or a lot) better.

I have had a lot of thoughts going through my head the last few days. I think the last 3 years both Adam and I have been desensitized, in a way, to our emotions. In other words, we have been really just plugging along, trying to make it through this exam or that rotation, not really focusing on our spiritual and emotional needs. Life has been good, but life hasn't been very spontaneous or spiritual. Both of us have felt for a long time like we were in a rut, a spiritual rut. And its not like we haven't done the things that we should have been doing. We are good to our children, we try our best to serve those who need our service, we are good friends and neighbors, we read our scriptures daily and pray always. So, in short, it has been frustrating.

I have good news though. We both feel like we are coming back alive in a lot of ways. Maybe medical school has been harder on us than we realize. There hasn't really been time or energy to focus on our deeper needs and on things we enjoy. Finally, we see the light at the end of the tunnel. Adam is heading toward the end of medical school. We are thinking a lot about residencies and houses that we would like to buy. We have a new baby on the way. Adalin and Kira are growing up and are wonderful girls.

Sunday was a wonderful day for me. I have been a Primary teacher for the last year, teaching the 6-7 year olds for 2 hours each Sunday. It has been difficult for me some Sundays to hardly get any spiritual revivement at all between taking care of my kids during the first hour of church and other people's kids during the last 2. For the first time in months, I heard exactly what I needed to hear during that first hour.

To put it shortly, I made some of the most crucial decisions of my life when I left for college. I left behind people I cared a lot about, a place I loved and habits that had to be broken. It was hard. I got into some very good schools like UofM and MSU that would have allowed me to stay closer to home. But when I opened that letter from BYU, I knew that was where I needed to go. It was the place I least expected myself to go. The way I lived my life then, I probably didn't deserve that prompting from the Spirit. But the Lord saved me from a life that I would have lived if I would have stayed here, a life in which I never would have been truly happy.

On Sunday two people gave talks and, without even knowing it, they confirmed that the decisions that I made years ago were the most correct and inspired of my entire life. It was an amazing experience for me, one that I needed right then. BYU is an amazing place that strengthened my entire being. From the statues on campus to the professors that were so much more than teachers, I was always reminded of the essential things in life. It is exactly what I needed. It was shortly after arriving there that I met Adam. Again, exactly what I needed. He has always strengthened me in ways that he doesn't even realize.

I feel like these song lyrics hold so true to my life:

I set out on a narrow way many years ago

Hoping I would find true love along the broken road

But I got lost a time or two

Wiped my brow and kept pushing through

I couldn't see how every sign pointed straight to you

Every long lost dream led me to where you are

Others who broke my heart they were like Northern stars

Pointing me on my way into your loving arms

This much I know is true

That God blessed the broken road

That led me straight to you

I think about the years I spent just passing through

I'd like to have the time I lost and give it back to you

But you just smile and take my hand

You've been there you understand

It's all part of a grander plan that is coming true

Now I'm just rolling home

Into my lover's arms

This much I know is true

That God blessed the broken road

That led me straight to you

That God blessed the broken road

That led me straight to you.

It is just a serene feeling, to know that God has had a plan for me all along. That the things in my life before I met and married Adam, shaped me into a person that would be perfect for him and into a person that deserves a life of spiritual richness. That He really has been beside me with every step I took, for good or bad.

I am grateful for my life, my husband, my precious children, my family, friends, talents and trials. They are all part of a grander plan that is coming true.

(Not-so-small) Smalls Falls and the Appalachian Trail

Smalls Falls is a classic Franson hot spot of Maine. Growing up, Adam's mom & dad took him and his siblings to these falls. And not just to admire the immense beauty. To cliff jump.

Adam really should write this post b/c he knows how high this ledge and that ledge is... All I know is that the one I jumped off of was high enough. It was like jumping out of a two-story window (no, it seemed higher to me actually) into a pool of water fed by a raging water fall. Intense. Not to mention the water was freezing and once you recover your sense of direction after the plunge, you have to climb back up a cliff.

It was fun, in the end. It took me quite a while to jump though. Even as a 4-year varsity swimmer, I have never liked jumping into water from anything higher than a starting block. It's a little too exhilarating, in my opinion. I am glad I did it though. Glad Adam was proud and won't feel the need to tease me b/c I was too chicken to do it. I'm also glad that I don't have to do it again any time soon. :)

The view from the bridge pictured above. This picture doesn't give the falls' size enough credit.

Adam psyching himself up to get in the freezing water. From this rock you can swim to a smaller jumping spot. We warmed up (haha, no it wasn't warm) with this mini jump.

I thought about it too much! I stood here for at least 10 minutes. The edge that I am resting my elbow on is where Adam jumped off. He would getting a running head start and fly off of there. I started with the ledge I'm standing on and then jumped off a higher one.

Adam used to jump off of this ledge but the 2 months of rain Maine had before we were there made the falls a little too wild to jump off at this spot. Can you tell?

The girlies during our mini-hike on the AT. I love this picture!

Kira found a dead dragonfly and just picked the thing up and showed it to all of us. Love it. Adalin wouldn't touch it.