Francom Family Blog

Easter 2010

2010-04-11T18:41:00.000-07:00

Easter Sunday, we went to Grandma and Grandpa Sargeant's house and had an egg hunt.

Emma's First Birthday

2010-04-11T18:31:00.000-07:00

Emma turned one on March 11th. She loved the cake!!!!

Ethan Michael

2010-01-03T17:50:00.000-08:00

Ethan Michael son of Heather and Adam was welcomed to the family on January 3, 2010 at 4:06 a.m. He weighed in at 7 lbs. 14 ounces and was 21 inches long. Here a couple of pictures of Ethan in NICU. He had a fever when he was born which was normal shortly after, but the pediatrician decided to take blood tests and give him antibiotics. So, he will have to stay in NICU for 48 hours until the blood tests are complete. Not the way Adam and Heather intended to have things work out. Heather will be discharged tomorrow, so they will have to go back and forth to the hospital until Tuesday afternoon when Ethan should be able to come home.

Francom Family Snowball Fight!

2009-12-02T10:51:00.000-08:00

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

Recent Pictures of Emma!

2009-11-16T11:38:00.000-08:00

60th Wedding Celebration!

2009-11-16T10:15:00.000-08:00

On November 6th, 2009, my Grandpa and Grandma Bowman celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary. We all went up to Hurricane, Utah to have a big celebration party for them. It was such a wonderful experience to learn more about them. We love them so much and are so excited for them. The following pictures are from our time up there.

Halloween 2009

2009-11-16T09:56:00.000-08:00

The day before Halloween we went to my parents ward party. On Halloween we went to my parents house. Samantha and Tyler went trick or treating with my brother in law's sister Marissa, who is their age. Samantha was Silver Mist (fairy in Tinkerbell movie), Tyler was Captain Rex (Star Wars) and Emma was a bumblebee.

Samantha Feeding Emma

2009-11-16T09:53:00.000-08:00

Samantha is a huge help with her sister. She helps with feeding and changing Emma.

First Day of School

2009-11-16T09:50:00.000-08:00

Samantha started 2nd Grade and Tyler started Kindergarten.

Random pictures

2009-11-16T09:20:00.001-08:00

July 4th 2009

2009-11-16T09:17:00.001-08:00

Hike at Lake Tahoe June 2009

2009-11-16T08:52:00.001-08:00

Brion, Sean, Dad, Adam S. and Adam R. went on an overnight hike while in Lake Tahoe. These are some of the pictures they took. The lake they hiked to was so calm in the morning it looked like glass and reflected the scenery so beautifully.

Lake Tahoe June 2009

2009-11-16T08:13:00.001-08:00

In June all the Sargeants and Grandma and Grandpa Bowman went to Lake Tahoe. We had a wonderful time. We did a lot of hiking, riding bikes, playing games, swimming and just spending time together as a family.

Father/Son Campout May 2009

2009-11-16T08:02:00.000-08:00

Brion took Tyler on a Father/Son Campout. They both had a blast.

MAY 2009

2009-11-15T22:00:00.001-08:00

Emma Renee Francom was blessed on May 3, 2009.

The night before Emma's blessing, Tyler fell and split his chin open. He
had to get 3 stitches.

Emma Renee Francom

2009-03-29T16:10:00.000-07:00

Emma decided she wanted to come early. I went into labor on March 10th and after much effort by the doctors to stop labor, Emma was delivered by C-Section on March 11th at 9:20 PM. She was born 4 1/2 weeks early. She was a little bruised from delivery because she was transverse and had to be delivered breech. She did however, come out screaming and only spent 5 hours in the NICU. She weighed 6 lbs. 9 oz. and was 21 inches long.

A few days after Emma was born she developed Jaundice and had to be admitted to the hospital. She only spent about 24 hours in the hospital.

Emma lost almost a pound since being born, she weighed 5 lbs. 14 oz. at the doctors office and she measured only 18 1/2 inches long. I think the length at the hospital was wrong. The doctor also told us that she has a temporary birth mark called a stork's bite on the bridge of her nose. He said is should go away after 6 months to a year.

Emma's First Sponge Bath

Emma sleeping so peacefully!

Samantha, Tyler and Emma!

Tyler's First T-Ball Game

2009-03-29T16:00:00.000-07:00

Tyler started baseball this year. He is #6 on the Yankees. It is so much fun to watch these young boys learn how to play baseball.

Here are a few videos of Tyler's First Game.

Nicole's Wedding!

2009-01-12T15:23:00.000-08:00

Brion's Neice Nicole was married on December 27, 2008!

Tyler Skateboarding!

2009-01-12T15:19:00.000-08:00

Tyler trying out his new Christmas Present!

Christmas Morning!

2009-01-12T15:17:00.000-08:00

Christmas Morning 2008!

Adam and Heather's Wedding!

2009-01-12T15:03:00.000-08:00

Adam and Heather were married on December 5th, 2008.

Jenny returns home!

2009-01-12T14:58:00.000-08:00

Jenny returned home from her mission on November 19th!

Student of the Month

2009-01-12T14:33:00.000-08:00

Samantha received Student of Month

Our family (plus Brenda's Grandma) did a dance for you. Check it out.

2008-11-17T00:23:00.000-08:00

http://elfyourself.jibjab.com/view/nO3sMwvhQYoN2dO7WyP6

Kelly's Wedding

2008-08-04T14:45:00.000-07:00

On June 28th, my sister Kelly was married to Jon Berumen. Here are a few pictures from the wedding.

Kelly and Jon were married at the stake center in Bakersfield, California.

All the sisters except Jenny who is serving a mission in New York.

(Front left to right: Brenda, Stephanie, Kelly, Becca and Mindy)

My Grandma and I made the cake. It was a lot of work!

Trip to Utah

2008-08-04T13:52:00.000-07:00

While Brion was on a business trip to San Francisco, I took the kids to Utah to see my Grandpa and Grandma and my sisters.

The kids thoroughly enjoyed playing in the water at their Great-Grandparents house. It was consistently over 105 degrees while we were there.

Near my grandparents house there is a water spray park that kids come to play in. We took the kids there to cool off from the heat.

After spending a few days with my grandparents, we went up to see my sister Stephanie and her family and my sister Mindy and her new husband. My nephew James had a T-Ball game while we were there. The kids enjoyed watching the game and getting snow cones.

The kids played at Stephanies home to cool off from the heat. Although the weather was cooler than at Grandma and Grandpas it was still about 95 degrees.

We all had a blast visiting with family and building bonds and memories.

Samantha Lost Teeth

2008-08-03T20:29:00.000-07:00

Samantha pulled out her first top tooth. Two weeks later she lost the other top tooth, this time her brother helped with a "gentle" punch to the mouth.

Trip to San Francisco

2008-08-03T19:43:00.000-07:00

Brion had to go on a business trip to San Francisco for the last two weeks in June. Here are a few pictures from the trip.

Great Italian food!

Trip to Lake Tahoe

2008-07-03T15:34:00.000-07:00

The first week of June we took a trip to South Lake Tahoe, California. We went with my parents and few of my siblings. It was so relaxing and the scenery was incredible. We stayed at a resort right on the beach. The temperature there was in the 60's, which was a nice break from the Bakersfield heat.

This photo is one of the surrounding lakes, taken on the way there.

We took a bike ride on a path along side the lake.

Tyler on the beach, taking a break from the bike ride.

Samantha throwing sand in the water.

Brion went fishing with my dad out on the lake.

We took the kids to a trout farm to catch some fish.

We went on a horseback ride to the top of a mountain near the lake. This was Samantha's first time on an official horseback ride. She was in heaven and loved every minute of it.

Later on the same day as the horseback ride we took another bike ride and found a secluded beach which was beautiful.

We took a hike out to emerald cove.

We rented some wave runners and went out on the lake. The kids played in the water which was a freezing 55 degrees. Needless to say they did not go in the water very far or for very long.

Hope you enjoyed looking at our pictures. We can't wait to go back to Lake Tahoe.

Rebecca's Graduation

2008-07-03T15:28:00.000-07:00

My sister Rebecca graduated from high school this year.
Here is a picture of our family and her at her graduation.

Mindy's Wedding

2008-07-03T09:57:00.000-07:00

On May 10th my sister Mindy was married to Adam Ricks.

Here are a few pictures.....

Samantha being a mommy to her cousin Jessica.

Tyler loved the chocolate dipped strawberries.

The whole family - (Back row - Adam, Sean, Brendan, Dad, Mom, Mindy, Adam, Nathan, Brion) (Middle row - Stephanie, Becca, Kelly, Brenda) (Front row - Jessica, James, Tyler, Samantha)

Tyler and cousin James had a blast dancing around.

Michael A. Monsoor- First Class Hero

2008-04-01T22:19:00.000-07:00

Photo from Navyseals.com

Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

John 15:13

Our nation is honoring this Hero with the Medal of Honor. If only we could all live our lives with such honor.

Michael A. Monsoor was a Petty Officer - Second Class in the Navy Seals, but to me and I'm sure to his fellow soldiers he is a First Class Hero. After hearing his story on the radio today, I had to look it up a bit more. Here is an excerpt from Navyseals.com about his heroic service to his country and his fellow men:

"Received the Silver Star posthumously for previous heroic actions in Iraq on May 9, 2006 when he pulled a wounded teammate to safety while under hostile enemy fire. Monsoor was engaged in a firefight in Ramadi when, according to the military report, “he and another SEAL pulled a team member shot in the leg to safety while bullets pinged off the ground around them.”

But that is not all. Here is the record of another day in this man's life- His last day.

Navy Narrative:
“On 29 September (2006), Monsoor was part of a sniper overwatch security position in eastern Ramadi, Iraq, with three other SEALs and eight Iraqi soldiers. They were providing overwatch security while joint and combined forces were conducting missions in the area. Ramadi had been a violent and intense area for a very strong and aggressive insurgency for some time. All morning long the overwatch position received harassment fire that had become a typical part of the day for the security team. Around midday, the exterior of the building was struck by a single rocket propelled grenade (RPG), but no injuries to any of the overwatch personnel were sustained. The overwatch couldn’t tell where the RPG came from and didn’t return fire.”
“A couple of hours later, an insurgency fighter closed on the overwatch position and threw a fragment grenade into the overwatch position which hit Monsoor in the chest before falling in front of him. Monsoor yelled, “Grenade!” and dropped on top of the grenade prior to it exploding. Monsoor’s body shielded the others from the brunt of the fragmentation blast and two other SEALs were only wounded by the remaining blast.”
“One of the key aspects of this incident was the way the overwatch position was structured. There was only one access point for entry or exit and Monsoor was the only one who could have saved himself from harm. Instead, knowing what the outcome would be, he fell on the grenade to save the others from harm. Monsoor and the two injured were evacuated to the combat outpost battalion aid station where Monsoor died approximately 30 minutes after the incident from injuries sustained by the grenade blast.”
Also due to Monsoor’s selfless actions, the fourth man of the SEAL squad who was 10-15 feet from the blast, was unhurt. A 28-year-old Lieutenant, who sustained shrapnel wounds to both legs that day, said the following in crediting Monsoor with saving his life: “He never took his eye off the grenade – his only movement was down toward it. He undoubtedly saved mine and the other SEALs’ lives, and we owe him.”
As Kristen Scharnberg of the ChicagoTribune summarized in tribute, “The men who were there that day say they could see the options flicker across Michael Mansoor’s face: save himself or save the men he had long considered brothers. He chose them.”

May God grant us more heros like Michael Mansoor.
-Brion

Tyler's Birthday!

2008-03-31T22:21:00.000-07:00

Here are some pics from Tyler's Birthday this last month. We did another low key party and Brenda made another cake. Yes that totals 4 cakes and 3 parties, for our 2 kids who give us 1 big reason to smile and 0 headaches ;) ! You would think that we could get away with just one big party since the birthdays are so close together. Tyler was one patient child the entire week before his turn came around, and when it did he was all smiles.

The Baseball Cake

He's just happy to be him

Big Smile

Samantha's Birthday Party

2008-03-10T15:55:00.000-07:00

For Samantha's birthday she wanted to go to A&W for dinner. We invited Grandma and Aunt Kelly to go with us. We had dinner and then went home so Samantha could open her gifts and we all could have cake and ice cream.

Samantha wanted a Tinkerbell cake. So mommy did her best.

Happy Birthday to you....now make a wish!

Grandma, Aunt Kelly and Tyler

New Sandles from Mommy and Daddy.

Yeah, just what I wanted.

Oh yes, clothes, my favorite.

Pink skirt from Grandma.

Yeah, Barbie Mariposa from Aunt Becca.

Polly Pocket Toy from Aunt Kelly.

Watch from Mommy and Daddy.

Pre-Birthday Party!

2008-03-02T22:28:00.000-08:00

Grandma and Grandpa made it up here this weekend

for some pre-birthday celebration. Here are a few pics:

Wow Cool!

Daddy watch me eat this!

Patience

Focus

Ready...Set...Wish!

Here is the address to our Flickr site. Let us know if you need access.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/francomfamily/

-Brion

Next time you visit Home Depot, ask to ride the bumps

2008-02-29T21:17:00.000-08:00

Who needs Disneyland to have fun, when you have the sidewalk bumps at Home Depot.

St. Louis!!

2008-02-28T18:11:00.000-08:00

What an adventure! Here are a few photos from our trip. We attended the Team leadership convention in St. Louis. It was a bit of an adventure getting there as our flight was cancelled due to weather. We didn't let the weather stop us though. We were able to get a flight into Kansas City, rent a 4x4, and drive across Missouri. We made it to the hotel in time to get some sleep before the beginning of the conference.

My Friend the Bear at the Jefferson Expansion Memorial Museum

The Old Court House

Downtown view from Arch

The Gateway Arch ... Yes it is big.

Very Cool Place...

Switchbacks

2008-02-26T21:33:00.000-08:00

In writing this blog my intentions are in no way to pretend to be an expert on anything. This time of year, I'll leave the pretending to the politicians! My hope is that something found here can be of use to those who read it. If not, my hope is that you comment and leave something useful behind when you leave.

As a boy scout, our troop did quite a bit of hiking. We took some great trips and as I look back we saw some of the more beautiful country here in California. Thanks Ros! (My scoutmaster if you were wondering). One thing we were always encouraged to do was to leave a place better than we found it. In the context of camping that means: if you bring trash in, you leave with it and a little extra to make the place a bit cleaner. The rule also meant not harming the surroundings and helping to improve what you can.

Picking up trash was actually the easy part (Trash was not very heavy)! The hardest thing to keep from doing was not cutting the switchbacks. Anyone who has hiked down a mountainside full of switchbacks with a full pack, on a hot day will know what I am talking about. The temptation is huge to just cut off one corner and save yourself a few steps. Or even worse just forget the switches if you can and slide straight down. Problem is if many people or even one person did so the mountainside and trails would erode, making future hiking and plant growth an issue.

Truly, just as in hiking, life offers us opportunities to better our surroundings or harm them. With every footstep or action, we make an impact on the world and people around us. One of my favorite quotes is from Mark Sanborn in his book, You Don't Need a Title to be a Leader "Everything you do has an impact. Your actions either diminish others or help improve them." He continues, "Strive to live by a higher standard, knowing that you lead as much with actions as with words."

Hopefully this blog has shared something to brighten your life. Please do leave comments as you pass by, but don't forget to take your trash with you when you leave. :)

"You will be remembered more for your contributions or subtractions from people's lives than anything else you will accomplish." Chris Brady

-Brion

It's about time!

2008-01-19T23:11:00.000-08:00

It's about time that we get this blog up and running. It has been sitting here for about two years waiting for the first post. So to start it off here's a pic from the family Christmas party.