"I have two cats" by Jenny Franz

I have two cats.
Their names are Cinder and Alli.
Cinder is black, brown and white.
Alli is black and brown.
I like my cats because I love them.

Jenny Franz
7/25/2008

6 Months ago, she did not speak any English. Can you believe it!

"I love my dad when he...." by Anna Franz

I Love My Dad When he....by Anna Franz
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Makes egg sandwich for me every Saturday.
When we go shopping together.
When I am crying and my dad carries me to bed.
Sometimes he lets me sleep with him.
He watches movies with us.
He picks apple with me.
He takes me and Jenny to the park.

Anna Franz
7/25/2008

Blanket for Jenny's Adoption

When we adopted Anna, we traveled with 7 other families. I made a blanket for Anna that has 8 handprints from the original 8 Anhui dolls. Since we came home with Jenny, Jenny has been admiring it and wished she could have a similar blanket.
I finally made one for her. Since she really did not have a travel group, I made the blanket with 4 hand prints from her brothers and sister. In reality, these were the kids who traveled with us to get her.
Needless to say, Jenny and Anna both are very excited about the blanket. Jenny calls it her favorite!
Thanks for Toby and Josh - You are probably the only two teenagers I know who are willing to print their hand prints on a blanket! Can't love you enough for everything you have been!

Leco Picnic

Once a year, Bert's company will have a company wide picnic at the river front park in St.Joseph. It was whole afternoon event with a lots of food, drinks, all kinds of rides and games and prizes. When Toby and Joshua were little, they were always looking forward to it. It was like taking them to an amusement park. Jenny had heard all about it from Anna. Both girls were so looking forward it too this.

Each year, there is a theme. Some employees will dress up costumes that match the theme. The animals are typically there every year. Bert was tigers for two year. This year, he is a pink monkey. Kids or adults who come in costumes will get prizes. This year's theme is "Western".

We have two cowgirls, two beautiful cowgirls. When I searched cowgirl costumes online, Jenny would have preferred a different kind of cowgirl costume that Mom and Dad would not allow her to wear:). Anna really liked the cowboy type of costume that Mom and Dad like too. They had great time and won a lot prizes. Unfortunately, we were not the grand prize winner (again). We will try again next year:).

The 4th of July Weekend

Since we returned from Miami, Anna had been asking when she would see her Anhui sisters again. Unfortunately, most of their families have other plans this weekend. Luckily, we were able to have the Wess' visiting us. We promised each other that we would have a relaxing weekend. We did just that and truly had a great time.

We really had very good use of our pool this year. The weather has been perfect the whole weekend. Kids in and out of the pool most of day. We tried to take our boat out, but it did not work. Toby took the Mountainer with him to camp. The new hitch on the minivan was too low for th boat. Instead, while Bert and Craig went out golf, Cindy and I took the kids to the beach. We had to climb 128 steps up then uncounted number of steps down to the beach. It was so tiring for the Moms, but kids ran through the whole thing without a blink of eye.

While Cindy and I had some time off to ourselves shopping and dining in Saugatuck, dads took the kids to Timer Park in Zeeland. They all caught fish. Kids were so excited. Adam was so patiently waiting for the fish to bite, he felt asleep on the dock - so cute! Anna and Jenny was so excited about their little fish they caught. Jenny was quite unhappy, though, when dad had to put her fish back to the water. She thought she could have it for dinner:)

On Friday, we all went to Koln Park to watch the firework. Anna was a little unease that she had to share her friend Natalie with Jenny. With Jenny's easy going personality, she never had problem getting friends. I, on the other hand, had good time to cuddle with Anna. The firework was spectacular!

Like every good party or reunion, we always hate the part when we had to say goodbye. Anna and Natalie schemed that they would switch places. Adam cried first because he would miss Natalie. Frustrated, Natalie hurried up and went to the car. She was afraid to say good bye. Two minutes after they left, we found out that Natalie had left her hair accessory box. When we called, Natalie did not want to come back because she was afraid she would cry. Needless to say, she did. At night, Anna cried too because she missed Natalie.

It is so good to see their sister's love. We wish they keep their bond. As they get older, they will need each other. Their parents also need each other to help them understand their past, presence and future.

On Sunday, we had the Timmerman-Sanford's over for a BBQ after church. It was another beautiful day again.


More photos:

Tobias Eagle Scout Photos

Before

After

Proud Scout

Click here for more photos

As soon as the summer started, both Toby and Joshua were eager to go to Boyscout camper at Camp Gerber. They both were offered jobs there as youth councilors. Last year, Toby worked 8 weeks during the summer. This year Joshua is joining him. However, Toby also needed to finish his eagle scout project before he could go.

So since the beginning of the summer, he has been working on planning and organizing his eagle scout project. He has always wanted to do something for Kamp Kiwanis, a non-profit organization that offers support and facility for many youth activities including cubscout camps in the past. With excellent guidanship, Toby landed a project to build seats for an amphitheater. A profesional screw had already built the stage. All Toby needed to do was to build ten 16 foot long seats.

The eagle scout project is about leadership. He needs to plan the project and get volunteers to finish the project. He managed to get the project approved within two weeks. On the third week, he rounded up a group friends and got the project officially kicked off.

Like any project, it was a struggle at the beginning to figure out what to do. With try and errors, it took them three evenings to figure out the best ways to build these benches. Then another 10 hours to finish all the benches and spread the woodchips to cover the ground.

Berthold and I were two of his volunteers. It was very rewarding to work with him and his friends. I learned that he has many good friends. They work hard, funny and respectful. I am very proud of him.

Last Day in Miami

I finally had time to upload photos from our last day in Miami. It was a Sunday. We went to the Church with the Meiser's. It was a beautiful Catholic Church in Coral Gable, just three blocks from where the Meiser's live. Kids did so well in Church. Like every Catholic churches in the world, its readings and mass procedures were all the same. In a way, we had the same mass as Toby and Dad at home. Joshua was still at camp.
After church, we had brunch at the famous Biltmore Hotel. Because the Meiser's went there all the time, we were treated as royals. The food and service were unforgettable.
Chris has to do some moving in the afternoon. We hanged out at the pool at the Meiser's temporary condo. There were other kids playing there too. At one point, two older boys challenged Anna and Amelia to compete with them in swimming. Anna did not hesitate a bit to take up the challenge. Amelia did not want to disappoint Anna and stepped in too. They had two way relay. One of the sneaky boy started earlier than Anna. Anna kicked bud! She swam as fast as she could and passed that boy in no time. Amelia took over from there and beat the boys in the race. "Yes, girls rule!". They were so excited to win the game.
We had nice Cubian dinner at the Meiser's. We stayed at the Meiser's again for our last night. I could sense the girls were sad because they knew they had to say good bye tomorrow. There were some tense emotions who slept with whom. Jenny was very easy to give in so Amelia and Anna could sleep together.
On the way to the airport the next Monday, Anna told me that she wished she could stay longer with Amelia and Anqi. On the airplane, there were two girls who were a little bit older than Anna and Jenny flying all by themselves. Anna told me that next year, when she would be 9 years old, she could fly alone with Jenny to visit Amelia and Anqi!

A beach day with the Meiser's

It is a beautiful Miami summer day today. We spent the entire day with the Meiser's at the beach. The water was warm. The sun was hot with a nice breeze of air. Miriam brought sandwiches and drinks for everyone. We stayed at the beach as long as the kids allowed us. We then headed to the pool where they could spend hours until we pull them out of water for dinner.
We had a nice dinner at the Garcia's seafood restaurant. The food and the atmosphere were great. After the dinner, Chris gave us a nice Miami tour. Jenny and I headed back to the hotel to spend some quality time together while Anna will have another sleep over at the Meiser's with Amelia. These two have been inseparable since we got here.
I am glad to have Jenny alone with me. We took a walk on the beach after dinner. When I asked what she wanted to do after the walk, with all the things she could pick, she picked swimming again. No matter where we go, swim seems is the only thing on their mind. After swimming, we played with some flash cards and read books until we both tired and snoozed off together. I just woke up from Bert's phone call. He misses us and we miss him too. We already started to talking about our next vacation....a vacation together.
I can't believe that our vacation will be over soon...time flies when you are having a great time.






More photos....

Seaquarium

For those of us who have kids, we know nothing can be planned. But if we go with the flow, things always turn up to be better. Today is one of these days.
We initially had decided that the Meiser girls will go to their Bible school for their final day of class and end of the program performance for the parents. Amelia had been so excited about this program and had been waiting for this performance since the program started. The church must have done a great job. We also decided that since the Meiser girls will be at the church most of the morning, the Franz girls will go to the Jungle Island in the morning then meet the Meiser girls after their performance at the Seaquarium.
When we dropped off the Meiser girls to the Bible school, Amelia immediately asked her teacher if Anna and Jenny could stay. When the answer was no, she decided on the spot that she is not going to stay either!! She gave up something she had been looking forward to to spend more time with her friends. We were all very touched! Needless to say, we were all happy too. We immediately went back to the Meiser's place and change our gears for the Seaquarium.
We spend most of our day at the Seaquarium. We truly experienced Miami sun. Sue loved it! Poor Jenny, on the other hand, could not stand the sun. You really can't blame her as she is from the coldest place in China - Inner Mongolia! She was dropping wet with sweats. But she loved every bit of the experience. She thinks the dolphin trainer is a great job. When we came back to the hotel, she pretended to be a dolphin trainer and Anna and Amelia pretended to be dolphins. They did all kinds of tricks by Jenny's commands.

After the Seaquarium, the girls had a bath party at the Meiser’s. Right now, all three older girls are having a sleep over at my hotel room. This is the first sleep over Amelia had besides sleeping at grandpa's house. She was a little homesick and missed mom. But she finally fell asleep. I have been told by Anna that Jenny moves around a lot while she sleeps. I just first witnessed her now turned herself 180 degrees with her feet on her pillow now. Anna as usual, sleeps all different directions. She said she misses Daddy now, but is not ready to go home yet.

Hello from Miami!

Despite the storms and rain, we are having a great time in Miami! It was a spontaneous decision on Sue's part to take an offer from Northwest Airline she thought she could not refuse. In realty, it was really the thought and attraction of spending time with the Meiser's that takes the three of us to Miami. Both Anna and Jenny had been counting the days since Sue booked the tickets. This is the first time mother and daughters going anywhere without the boys.
We arrived at Miami airport on time yesterday. Due to the severe storm, we had to stay on the run way for a while before they could connect us to the gate. Once we arrived, we ended up waiting more than 2 hours for the luggage!! Sweat Miriam was afraid that I would get lost so she met us at the Alamo rental car place. I followed her to their condo – a temporary home while they are renovating their house. I have to say that I was very impressed with the condo. It is like a luxury hotel from the outside. The free use of club house, conference room, business center, pool and hot tub are just a few extras that come with the lease.
It was so good to see the Meisers again. It has been more than 5 years since we were here in Miami with them. The girls disappeared instantly in their new play room – a huge closet in the girls’ room. Before Miriam and I could have a chance to catch up, the girls conducted and performed two dress-up shows for us. They were so cute! We stayed up so late that we ended up not going to the hotel and spent the entire night at the Meisers. Poor Chris, he had to sleep on the sofa – but rumor says he really loves that sofa
We had change our original plan of going to swim or to the beaches because it was another rainy and stormy day today. We decided to go bowling and going to see the movie “Gong Fu Ponda”. Kids had a great time doing both. When we walked out the movie theater, the sun came out. It was upper 80 degree!! With no hesitations, we headed right to the hotel and spent the rest of the evening at the pool and the beach. The hotel we stay is right on the beach!
Kids did not want to separate themselves from each other. There is another sleep over at the Meisers for the girls. At the same time, I am enjoying an evening all by myself walking on the beach. It is still 80 degrees at 10 pm. Nice!!!
Here are some photos of the day... for more photos, please click here.



















More photos

Jenny's Baptism

Jenny was baptized on Sunday, May 25, 2008. It was a beautiful weekend. We were so excited to have one Anhui family, the Migan’s, with us this weekend. Anna and Cela had a lot to catch up. Jenny was glad to meet her first Anhui family. She became instant friend with Kelan. Bert and Nick played a round of golf with Jenny’s godfather Leroy. Sue and Donna enjoyed five hours of shopping at Downtown Saugatuck. Our pool just opened so the kids were excited to jump in the water.

Jenny was baptized during the normal 10:30am mass. Fr. Charlie did great job to integrate the baptism with the mass. Jenny had been looking forward to this day for a while. She does not fully understand the true meaning of the baptism yet; however, she knows this is an important event of her life. She willingly stepped in the Baptismal fond and happily let Fr. Charlie pour water over her head. While we walking back to the altar, her big smile lighted up the entire church. She was very happy.

We invited some friends from the church to our house for a BBQ after the church. We also celebrated Toby’s 17th birthday. Unlike Jenny who enjoyed the spot light, Toby did not like to be the center of attention. Quickly blow the 17 candles, he disappeared the crowd.

Jenny kept saying “it is a good day”. She had great time. Life is just full of excitement for her.

We said good bye to the Migan’s on Sunday night. We hoped they could stay until Monday so they could watch the parade. However, we truly understood how hectic it would be driving through Chicago on Monday. Driving through the night would be much easier and less traffic. We ended this long weekend with Memorial Day parade. This is the last parade of this school year for Toby and Joshua. They both were glad. Summer is just around the corner.



Jenny is baptized



Dad lights up the candle



Jenny with parents and godparents



The franz family



Jenny with her friends



Anna and Jenny



Toby's Birthday Cake



Dads with the girls



The kids



The Migans

For more photos of this wonderful weekend...please click the slide show below.

It is Tulip Time in Holland!!

The Tulip Time has been extra fun with all the kids. Toby and Joshua were in all three parades. Anna and Jenny were in the kinder Parade. I took Wednesday afternoon off and watched the volkparade with the girls. After the parade, I took the girls to the carnival. They rode most of the rides twice. Jenny was not afraid at all. Unfortunately, she was still too short for some of the rides.
The boys are so interested in going out with their friends. We rarely see them anymore...

Happy Birthday Anna and Jenny!!

We have a huge birthday party for both Anna and Jenny together at the Crazybunch. We have total of 37 people. Since Jenny and Anna's birthdays are two days apart, we invited all their friends together. It was a blast!!
Happy 7th Birthday, Jenny!
Happy 8th Birthday, Anna!
After the party, we have the Timmermann's kids over for some play time. They had great time!!

Toby's first prom!

Toby in front their limo



Gang of five!


Ok, Gang of six!!



Toby and Keshia


Group of friends traveling together in style


Keshia


Group picture


Toby and Keshia


Toby and Keshia


Nicole, Dan, Nate, Mark, Andy, Marcus, Toby and Keshia

Things could not have gone any better! This is Toby's first prom. The most important thing is that this is actually the first prom ever in the Franz family. With both parents were born and raised in foreign countries, proms were so distance to them. Toby has been a great kid. He had never stayed out pass midnight. He was so excited about this prom. He and his friends planned to go to a bowling alley after the prom and came home around 3 am! It stirred so much unease in our household. I am especially worried. I woke up 3 am two nights ago thinking the horrible car accident happened a few years ago when a group teenagers got killed at 3 am. I remember I was thinking then what kind of parents would allow their teenagers be out that late at night! Now it is my turn to make this decision. I have tons reason to say no. Toby was calm and respectful. He reasoned with me. He said, I do not use drug, I do not drink, I don't have sex, I work hard to get good grade and try to go to the best college. It is only once in a year that I would like to stay out with my friends passing midnight!. I do trust him and trust his friends. I don't trust other people on the road at that hours. He comforted me by saying that I can't live in my worries. If I do, I should simply pray for him! So we agreed that he might stay out late.

The school had half day off. Girls were busy with their dresses and hairdos. Toby and some friends went out to play some balls with their lacross sticks. By 3:30 pm, he showered and dressed. He went to pick up the corsage and went to pick Keshia up. They then met at Marcus Ackerman's house. Marcus' uncle has his limo there waiting for them. They all went to Centennial park to take pictures before heading to Grand Rapids.

I was expecting a quiet night, but the night was everything but quiet. First Anna invited a friend to sleep over. At the last minute, I realized that we had not prepared "goodie bags" yet for the girls birthday party tomorrow. While I was shopping, I got a call from Bert saying Toby was on his way back home. Nothing was wrong except he and his friends did not like the loud music at the party. They left the party before it was over and were heading home to our house to watch movies. Bert was hurrying up clean up the house. With all the commotions, I did not go to bed until 3 am! I was cheering in my heart all these times! Yes, thank you God for making him coming home earlier!

Everything went all so well about the prom. I am so blessed! Toby and his friends had great time playing games and watching movies. Their friends stayed until 8 am this morning. Keshia had to attend a service project with her church at 8:30am!! Toby slept a few hours and then joined us for the girls birthday party! Toby kept saying that next year, he and some friends of his will have an "anti-prom" event. They will all dress up and go through all the photo taking and fun events before the prom. Then they will just to go a separate place to watch movie, play video games all night long!

I took 170 photos. I wish I had better photography skills. The above are my favors. For more best picks, click on the slide show below. I had great time taking these photos. I am now hoping that all future proms will be as fun and easy as this one!

See more photos below. If you want to see them in full screen, please click here.