It’s hard to believe that another year has come and gone already. We started the year by purchasing another vehicle. *shocker* This time, it was for me! We bought a 1950 Pontiac. We can’t wait to get it running and cruise around in it. If anyone has a Pontiac engine that they want to get rid of, give us a call!
Gran turned one in February and we celebrated with a fiesta.
A few weeks after Gran’s birthday, Austin changed positions at work. He spends his days driving to work sites to service and install GPS systems on machinery. Some days we see a lot of him and other days we don’t see him at all. He’s enjoying his job but he really enjoys working on our vehicles in his spare time. He always has something to work on around here because we currently own six vehicles, one moped, and one RV. We only brought three new ones home this year! Believe it or not, we are looking for another vehicle that will accommodate three car seats. Austin refuses to buy a minivan but would love to own an old, ugly conversion van. I keep reminding him that we had a deal. I would get four babies and he would get a conversion van. This is only baby number three so I don’t think I have to give in yet.
March started off with a bang. Literally. Austin totaled my car on March 6 when he hit a couch in the middle of the highway. That was quite the phone call from him.
A few hours after Austin’s accident, our nephew, Nolan, was born. He is the squishiest, happiest baby around! We can’t get enough of him! 
At the end of March, we FINALLY put carpet in the house. Having carpet in the bedrooms meant that we could move everyone into their own rooms. We had been sleeping in the studio so as soon as we got everyone out, I was able to set that up and start using it!
April was uneventful but in May we took a road trip to bring home another car. Poor Gran was sick but we borrowed a trailer, hopped in the truck, and drove to Pontiac, Missouri. We bought a 1987 Jeep Grand Wagoneer. Our beloved Woody! Austin recently rebuilt the engine in it and we’ve been slowly repairing some of the cosmetic issues. 
Our trip home from Pontiac included a stop at Lambert’s Cafe for some “throwed rolls.”
We spent Memorial Day weekend camping. Yes, we still own AND use the famous RV from the Francis family Christmas card of 2016!
Nothing ever slows down around here. However, we found time to take some updated family pictures before summer started.
Summer went by way too quickly. We enjoyed some time at the Discovery Center and the zoo where we got to meet the two baby giraffes. We also made our annual trip to the Shawnee County 4-H fair and picked some strawberries from a farm.
At the end of summer Ellie and I borrowed my Granny’s sewing machine so we could do some sewing together. Austin even got in on the action! Ellie and I (mostly I) made a few dresses, a baby carrier for her, a headband and bow, and a few princess outfits. We’ve really enjoyed doing it together! I also did some sewing for the Christmas card pictures. Austin tried his shorts on early and practically tore them in half because he thought he could stretch them out a little. Despite searching every thrift store in Topeka, we couldn’t find a cheesy leotard for Ellie so I had to create a pattern and make one myself. You’ll notice in the pictures that we still don’t have the living room and kitchen torn out and remodeled yet. It’ll happen someday. 🤷🏻♀️
Of course, we also had a few other camping trips and days on the boat with Grandpa Chuck.
We ended our summer with some big news!
Ellie was thrilled at the news. Gran didn’t really care. Now that we know it’s a boy, Ellie has asked if we can leave him at the hospital and get a girl instead. We told her that we are keeping him but maybe next time she will have a sister. Our little boy is due May 1st and we couldn’t be more excited to meet him! So far, I’m not showing any signs of preterm labor and we are praying that things continue to go smoothly! We know that he has a 50/50 chance of having Marfan Syndrome and we are at peace with that. We know that God is in control!
In September, we got to see my “Grandma Liz” and catch up with her. We are so thankful that our children are enjoying the special people that made our childhoods so memorable! Before Liz came to visit, we found one of my old tea sets that Liz bought me when I was a little girl. 
In October, Austin and I went to the Dave Ramsey Smart Conference and we had a blast. We are just your typical 23 year olds, spending a weekend away from our kids at a financial conference! That’s about as crazy as we get.
After the conference, we spent a day at the Step Up for Down Syndrome Walk to celebrate Nolan. It was a fun day of face painting, dancing, bouncy houses, and pony rides. 
For Halloween this year, Ellie wanted to be Cinderella and Gran WANTED to be a $6 clearance costume of a dragon that I bought before he was born. Austin was at a work conference in Vegas for Halloween so we took the kids to a trunk-or-treat the weekend before. I took the kids to Blue Cross Halloween day to get some candy and then just visited grandparents that evening.
November was an exciting month for us! We took the kids to Branson for their “big” Christmas gift. Ellie really wanted to see the Dixie Stampede again and I really wanted Austin to experience a show at the Sight and Sound theater. Ellie was chosen to chase chickens at the Dixie Stampede and she had a blast. Her team didn’t win but I told her to just tell people that they got second place and leave out the fact that there were only two teams.
After our trip to Branson, we celebrated my 24th birthday and Ellie’s 4th birthday. We can’t believe that we have a four year old already!
We decided to have her party at Chuck E. Cheese this year because…
Honestly, we knew that November would be when my doctors would start checking for signs of preterm labor so we decided that paying Chuck E. Cheese to take care of the whole party would take some stress off of us. Ellie had a blast spending the evening with all of her friends! 
This time of year is always so busy for us with birthdays and holidays that we feel like we are rushing to get Christmas cards ready and sent out on time. For this year’s card, we enlisted the help of Marcella to make the hair magic happen. Austin’s haircut was something that we found on Pinterest and thought he absolutely had to have for the picture! We decided at the last minute that Gran needed a bowl cut and unfortunately, Austin fell in love with it. He doesn’t want to cut it but I’m planning to shave it the next time Austin leaves town!
We’ve tried every year to pick a caption on our card that tied the holidays and the theme of the card together. This year, we had a lot of good suggestions from our friend, Lauren! We had a hard time choosing just one! “It’s starting to look a lot Lycra Christmas” (google Lycra) “Sweatin’ around the Christmas tree.”
We hope that all of our friends and family have a wonderful holiday season!
Because we could only use a few of the pictures on our card, we wanted to share a few more of them here because they were all so good!
Also, mom and dad, you might want to stop scrolling now! 🙈
Seriously, you’ll never unsee this! You’ve been warned.
And Francis Makes Four 