Franke Christmas Letter

Dear Friends and Family,

Season’s Greetings! What a blessing it is to celebrate another Christmas season. As I sat down to write this letter, I thought of a Christmas letter we received from a friend a few years ago. In it, he eloquently described the sublime feeling of experiencing the sights and sounds of Christmas from within a toddler’s world. I now know exactly what he meant after spending the past several weeks with Henry exploring all that is Christmas through his eyes. When viewed from a 30 inch perspective, a Christmas tree seems so much taller and impressive, a Little People manger seems to almost come alive, and a Christmas pop-up book brings more excitement with each turned page (even after dozens of readings). Through the innocent eyes of a 14 month old, Christmas feels fresh, different, and even more poignant.

Henry is simply a joy. Each day brings a new discovery, a new expression, and a new adventure for all of us. He’s moved from walking to running in the past couple of weeks and Alison and I really get our exercise trying to keep up with him. The difficulties of his early months with reflux and milk allergies have thankfully cleared up and he is a remarkably healthy, happy boy. His smile is infectious and one that lingers in my mind as I kiss him goodbye each morning. It has been hard being so far from family with him growing and changing so quickly. We’ve tried to compensate by regularly updating this blog, frequent web-cam dates with the grandparents, and six round trip flights back to the Midwest in the past year. At this rate, he’s accumulating frequent flier miles faster than diaper rashes.

Alison is doing very well. She made the much-tougher-than-expected decision to return to work in January. She still works out of our home in HR for Eli Lilly, which, coupled with Henry’s nanny (Katy then Keisha), made that transition much easier. She successfully worked on another major sales restructure this year which consumed a lot of her time (including a two week work trip that the boys (barely) survived). She also was elected president of our church’s school board this year.

I am still with Frito-Lay and in my 15th year. It still provides me with daily challenges that I occasionally conquer from time to time. I am still slowly running about 10 miles per week and also played outside hitter on a competitive volleyball team for the first time in nearly 20 years this past fall. I still enjoy a good book, thick newspaper, and an occasional Sunday nap when Henry allows.

Dasher is still, well, Dasher. For those of you who know him, you know exactly what I mean! He continues to be a great dog who struggles with anxiety. We’ve fortunately found a great vet who specializes in behavioral issues and has really help us try to train and medicate (sometimes not necessarily in that order) him to make all of our lives more enjoyable. He is still warming up to Henry. He clearly liked the mobile-as-a-doormat version of Henry from a few months ago compared to the current version that lunges, trips, and careens randomly around the house. However Dasher suddenly becomes Henry’s best friend at dinner time, patiently sitting right underneath the high chair waiting for whatever edible object may come falling down.

This month we were surprised with a snowfall that recorded just over 2” at our house. What a treat to see Henry explore it for even just a few minutes. Something as rare and random as a Houston snowfall reminds us how the unexpected, irrational, and even miraculous can and does happen. And we celebrate the most wonderful of those miracles - Jesus’ birth - today, tomorrow, and throughout the New Year.

Our home is filled this season with the (usually) joyful noise of a toddler exploring Christmas. May each of you discover your own unique perspective of this holy season and we wish each of you a blessed Christmas and Happy New Year.

Merry Christmas,

Mark, Alison, and Henry Franke

Winter Wonderland

Yes, it DID snow in Houston last week! Hip Hip Hooray! Our area of town probably got 2 inches that came down in nice fluffy flakes, covered the lawns and rooftops for the better part of the day and created the perfect seasonal backdrop. I didn't realize how much I missed seeing snow until I enjoyed looking out my office window that day.

Needless to say, Henry (and Dasher) got their first taste of true winter weather. Henry took a header into the snow in very wet grass, so our outing did not last long, but it made for some good pictures.

Come Ye Thankful People Come.....

....Raise the song of harvest home....

Nothing, and I mean nothing, makes me think of Thanksgiving more than this hymn. I think I can actually smell turkey and pumpkin pie when singing it. Ah, the best meal of the year!

This year, we flew to St. Louis to visit the Bayes for Thanksgiving. We have a lot to be thankful for and up until Saturday it was good health, but then Mark got the stomach flu. Didn't make for a stellar weekend for him (and we were not thankful when it spread throughout our entire house), but nonetheless, we were thankful to be spending good times with family.


Walking off the turkey with Opa (nice IU Starter jacket, Dad!)


Wrestling with Uncle Matt and Tyler


So tired after wrestling that Henry had to suck his thumb


I love hugs!

Snarky

This is Henry's newest (and favorite) face. It started a couple of weeks ago and he will break it out in the midst of a serious mood or when playing with you. I started to call it the 'snarky face', but didn't quite know what snarky meant. Ends up it is British slang meaning "irritable or testy; short", which is quite the opposite of Henry's mood when this look comes along. Oh well, I think snarky sticks.

Trip to the Houston Zoo

Yes, the blog hasn't been updated in over a month. It's hard to know where the time went. So, this is a bunch of catch up...enjoy!

In November, Frito Lay had a family outing to the Houston Zoo. Henry had been when he was 5 months old, but I think this time he really noticed the animals. Also, he didn't enjoy the carousel as much as at the Fort Wayne Zoo, but they didn't allow me to ride along with him, I had to stand to the side and that must have made the difference.

Henry went home with a souvenir stuffed monkey since he grabbed it and put it in his mouth at the gift shop. I guess, you eat it, you buy it! We named him Herman (after the Zoo being in Hermann Park).


People say I look like my mom, but I definitely have Dad's eyes!