The Newest

Our friends Mike & Kathleen Fox welcomed their 3rd

baby boy last weekend, Griffin Krueger Fox!

Cole is sitting up sometimes now on his own. Today he was mesmerized by Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What do you hear?

Good Weekend

Our weekend included:

Saturday - we went to the grand opening festivities for the extended U-Bahn (subway system). This particular line was extended right by our school so now there is a stop across the street from VCS. Makes our commute much easier! Anyhow, Austrians know how to have festivities. At 5 or 6 different subway stations there were all kinds of live music with big Austrian names, stands with food and drink, free balloons for kids, free pastries at some of the new bakeries in the subway stations, etc. It was crowded with people because it's usually a good time when Austrians throw festivities like this. Tomorrow morning (Monday) I'll get to enjoy the true benefits of this extension!

Then later on, Thomas, Mollie, and Thad came over to hang out and have dinner. A good relaxing time for all. They are new to VCS and are from Mississippi. They have a blog too!

Sunday - We hung out at home with Cole, went on a walk through Prater (local park), and went to church. We've been going to a new church since the summer called C.I.G. After the service tonight, a lady approached me and asked if I was the Business Manager at VCS. I said yes and she thanked me deeply for allowing her child to come to VCS. Her son already graduated from VCS and was the first Austrian to go from Kindergarten through 12th at VCS. Now her daughter is going to VCS, starting tomorrow. There were some special circumstances that the school administration and I worked out for her to come and the mother was thanking me with teary eyes. Anne saw this and almost started crying too. (I didn't cause I'm tough). Then the daughter came up to me later and thanked me herself - pretty mature for a new 7th grader. I'm not sure if Anne will talk about this, but this was a big encouragement for her to see how it really is important that we are here and that God really is using us. Well, me too. :)

Smooth

Life has been running much more smoothly since my food dilemma post. Thankfully! We started rice cereal earlier this week, and yesterday Cole ate bananas for the first time. He gobbled it right up! He slept through the night last night, too. All this stress, though, has caused me to think about what I'm really doing this for. Why am I striving for Cole to sleep through the night and not demand to be fed every two hours? When I achieve these goals, then what can I stress about next? I'd like to say that my pure motivations are to put Cole's health and well-being first, but honestly, a lot of it has to do with my own selfishness. I don't want to lose sleep and have my milk be constantly on call. I want to protect my own agenda as much as the next guy. Cole came around and now our agenda has faded away into the distance, except for the brief golden time between 9 p.m. and when we hit the sack for the night. So...the bottom line is this. What I really want is for God to continue to change me and Chris by raising Cole, selfish agenda aside. Cole is now the practical way for God to remind us that HE really is in the driver's seat. We want it that way...when we're thinking straight!

Food Dilemma

I am such a people pleaser. I want people to like me and respect the decisions I make. I am having such a dilemma right now. My pediatrician told me to start Cole on solid foods at 6 months. I really think Cole is ready for food now, though, and I'm ready for him to be ready. He's waking up early from naps hungry, once or twice at night to eat, and is just not satisfied. Baths and walks work to distract his hunger for a while. Ugg. I have read so much online and in books and I just don't know which camp to join. Do I wait or start now? I don't want my doctor to think I'm a crazy American who disregards her professional opinion, but I don't want to keep getting up at night, when for 2 months I thought we were out of that pattern! I don't want to starve Cole, either, and often I feel like I just can't keep up with him. He bit me 4 times today, too. That's not cool, Cole. Not cool.
So, the point is that I'm torn up about what to do. I want Cole to thrive, I want my doctor to be happy, and I want to sleep. My doctor is unfortunately on vacation until September 8. Tons of Austrians take holidays this time of year. I stress out about this so much. I need to pick a perspective instead of worrying what others will think. Sigh.

5 Months!

Cole is 5 months old today. He loves chillin' in his new walker and chewing Piglet's head off. Who ever taught kids that Piglet tasted good? Hilarious. He just got his big toe in his mouth yesterday, too, which allows me at least 5 minutes to read a magazine!

Us

You've seen so much of Cole...don't forget US!

At Work

I think this might be the first time I've blogged at work.
Well, I think it's worthwhile. I wonder if someone has been praying for me about today and my interactions with parents. Either way, God was really generous to me.

This is how:
I've had to be the bad guy recently regarding families paying and their kids attending school or the lack there of. Anyhow, I had some meetings with some families today and they all have worked out about as smoothly as they could possibly go! I mean, WOW! That is seriously a relief to me and I'm sure to them. I've also gotten some communication things cleared up with some other folks. All around, a very busy morning but productive and good.

Then, I just walked out of the office and saw a big group of guys - all the 9th graders! Those are my boys! You know, Anne and I are sponsors of the 9th grade class and will stay their sponsors every year we're here until they graduate. Anyhow, they're great guys and we were happy to see each other. :)

OK, back to work....

Singing Career?

Cole loves playing in his walker these days. There's a makeshift microphone attached! Watch out, Uncle Mike!

In other news, I was doing some research about pretzels for the first elementary chapel coming up tomorrow, since we're doing a study of the Lord's Prayer and the origin of pretzels is connected with prayer. I found out that around 610 A.D., European monks used leftover bread dough and formed it into what we now know as the pretzel shape to represent children's crossed arms while praying. The monks gave this pretiola (Latin for "little reward") to children for memorizing Bible verses and prayers.

Last thing. I also discovered that Cole's doctor, Dr. Stein, has her own website that is pretty cool. She speaks Hebrew! Who knew?

Construction Zone!

This is what our bathroom looks like today, while the tub waits in our entry way. For the last two years, something has been funky with our shower and the lady downstairs has been accumulating more and more water spots on her ceiling because of it. So, today is the day they have com to fix it. Fortunately, Austrian repair men are super nice. They smile at Cole, too. Bonus!

I Have PROOF!

So, for the past few days, I've been telling Anne that Cole hates me. OK, maybe I've been overreacting, but he seriously seems to be inconsolable whenever I try to do anything with him. Only the very best things that he loves kept him from crying - when I gave him a bath (he didn't cry, but didn't laugh) and when he slept (he slept).

So today, I babysat Cole. He cried himself hoarse. Literally. I tried everything under the sun - all kinds of things that he used to laugh and laugh about. No dice.
He slept a little, but threw off any schedule mom had set up this morning. So, when Anne came home he was.... you guessed it. Screaming his face off.
So Anne mercifully took him and held him.
Guess what?
He stopped crying.
INSTANTLY.

Seriously. That cuts me real deep, Cole-man.
What's a daddy supposed to do???

Could it be that I'm hairy? Could it be because I don't have the special food source? Could it be my deeper voice? Me no know.

I just went through a few of the recent posts by Anne and added some links to a few various things. That can give you a bit more of a visual image to some of the things she's talking about :)

As for me, I've had big intentions of writing things recently, but things at the VCS business office have been getting more and more busy. It's the time of year with all kinds of new families coming, some are leaving, and many need some kind of financial info. I even have to be the bad guy (that I really don't want to be) sometimes with some families about payments.
I've also had a lot of fun getting to know and help the new staff. There are 10-12 new folks teaching and/or being office staff. I like 'em all. Their pictures aren't on the VCS website yet, but maybe in a month or so. :)

Good News!

In June we applied for our Austrian Visa renewals and a visa for Cole, and today we picked them up! The laws for obtaining visas are growing more strict, so we want to make sure we're in the right with the government. We're official until next summer. That's a relief!

foto.com

I love having pictures in the frames around our apartment. There is a fantastic website that I completely recommend to you. It's how I can continually order and have current photos inexpensively. Credit goes to Linda Schwartz for giving me this tip. I use the Austrian version, but there is a US version that's perfect, too.

The benefits:
1. 4x6 pictures cost 9 cents each
2. delivery to your door within 4 business days of online ordering
3. quality, quality, quality prints
4. options for enlargement (i sometimes order 5x7 or 8x10)
5. i once ordered 400 photos and including shipping my bill was 45 euros
6. you can use this to order mass quantities of photos to give to supporters, friends, family, mailmen, etc.

You really can't go wrong! I'm not sure how much Costco or Wal Mart cost, but this is the ultimate for the photo ordering fool.

Normal!

Today was our first normal day since our trip back from the USA. We ventured out to the Naschmarkt, took a walk to get chocolate for cookies, and even watched some of Baby Mozart. All in a good day's play.

Prater Billa

Grocery stores, bakeries, post offices, shops, and most restaurants are closed today in Vienna in observance of Mary's Ascension (or assumption). Yes. Mary's Ascension. So when Cole and I ventured out to pick up some groceries for dinner tonight, we were not so pleasantly surprised, since most Americans tend to forget these Austrian holidays. Humbug. Our only grocery option was a store called Billa located at the train station near our neighborhood and next to a huge amusement park called Prater. This store more often than not resembles more of a circus or zoo than Kroger or Trader Joe's, but we braved it. Imagine the Indy 500 on your high school track. You can find people from I think every country in the world at this store, and their top selling item: beer. Not somewhere to sip a cappuccino and relax as you peruse the gourmet selection. Cole and I navigated the mess just fine UNTIL the check out herd. I was quietly waiting in my line and looking at the stuff for sale near the cash register, when a middle-aged lady grabbed my shoulders from behind and moved me over out of her way. Then, she grabed Cole's stroller, lifted it up, and moved him out of her way, too. A glare follwed as she shoved her cart through to check out at the lane next to mine. Woah, lady. I smiled at her and went home. All in a day's work at the Prater Billa. Next time I'll check my calendar.

Back in the Swing

We're back in the swing of life in Vienna now, yet jet lag's grip hasn't fully loosened. Bummer. We celebrated Chris's 32nd birthday downtown last Thursday with friends and belgian waffles, and the back to school staff cookout was last weekend. But, we cooked in. Rain.

It's really nice to see everyone at VCS again, and there are a lot of new staff this year. It's cool to put names with faces of people we've heard about for so long.

Cole is discovering so many new things daily, and it's truly a privilege for me to watch him grow. Unfortunately, though, he is getting another new tooth, we think, and he's eating like a MANIAC. I can't keep up with him, and he's unusually fussy and just plain wierd. Thankfully, we're heading to Dr. Stein on Wednesday so we'll see what she says about starting rice cereal before 6 months. That's what Austrians do. My pediatrician is Austrian. We'll see!

A Fun Surprise

I got to see some of my old students today. Yahoo! You may remember that last fall I had a student teacher, Elizabeth, from the USA, helping out my 4th grade class. She has been visiting Vienna the last couple days and I was able to see her today. But not only her! We had lunch at Burger King with almost our whole class from last year. It was such a fun surprise for my first day back in Vienna. We all had ice cream sundaes and caught up about the summer. I loved seeing the kids and Elizabeth, and they loved seeing Cole, especially now that he's laughing, grabbing things, and responding to them.

We're BACK!

Cole loved the ocean!
Zeke & Jason Griffice
Jimmy & Jana Rourk! Yahoo!

So we're back in Vienna now. Whew! Cole was a super duper flier. We had a great

time in San Antonio visiting with our friends the Griffices and being a part of

our friend Jana's wedding. Above are a few photos from the last week or so.

More from the Colemeister

So we decided to see what Cole would do with a cup...and a hat!

He drank a little bit of water, but had more fun biting the spout.

He has 2 teeth coming in now. Super!

Family Cookout

Our little Frank family:).
Auntie M & Carrington

(Chris's sister, Misi, and her daughter)

california luh-uv

Bubba & Gammy sure love Cole!
Emilee does too!

chris & cole on the piano

WOAH

Today has been a GREAT day in California. We are visiting with Chris's family for the next two weeks. Today I read Cole a story called The Gruffalo, and while I was reading, he turned some pages. Yes, folks. I'm not making this up. He grabbed the page with his left hand and then passed it to his right hand. I have witnesses. After that, we ate lunch at In N Out Burger, Chris's all time favorite. YUM! We just came home and were hanging out outside on the back porch with Chris's parents and Cole's cousin Emilee, when low and behold, I felt a TOOTH SPROUT on Cole's bottom gum. Yes, and then we SAW IT. He hasn't been acting super wierd, just sucking on anything he can get his hands on. That brings us up to now. Whew! I need a nap from all this baby mayhem.

Super Cool Sunset

photography by Bob Luginbill

Highlights

We just spent 10 days in northern Michigan with Anne's family, which is a yearly traditin. It was Cole's first time to experience the madness.
Some Michigan Highlights...
1. Hanging out, singing, and playing with the Luginbills
2. Homemade ice cream
3. Cole rolled over from tummy to back AND began happy screaming (he found his voice!!)
4. Anne got up on a wakeboard on her first attempt
5. We learned a new game called Corn Hole
6. An amazing sunset, moonrise, and thunderstorm (not all in one day unfortunately!)
7. Playing with our new cousin Miles

So far in the USA

So far Cole has been quite the busy man. First, his first swim. Success! Second, a visit with cousin Miles...well...Anne's cousin Miles...so I guess Cole & Miles are related somehow. First cousin, once removed, something like that. It's been great to visit with family and friends in Indiana over this past week. It's been much different than any other time, just because we have Cole now. It's harder to see people and get places quickly. I'm so sorry if we didn't get to catch up with you for that reason. We're learning! Enjoy the pictures.

Franks in America

Coming to a city near you (probably)

I love root beer.
I can't stand demanding people that think the world revolves around them and their rights.
I love going to the post office and being able to converse perfectly well with the person at the counter.
I love being able to read signs quickly and easily.
I don't like jet lag.
I love it when Cole sleeps through the night.
I love it when people say they will pray for us and I feel confident they really do.
I am enticed by the unending options of places to eat.
I love AC.
I love being able to speak in code with Anne in public (auf Deutsch).

Bush in Vienna

Yep, George Bush just paid a visit to Vienna, Austria along with his wife and C. Rice. It was a pretty big deal. I think the meetings were with Austrian leaders as well as EU leaders - the UN European headquarters is here. Anyhow, it has been 27 years since a US president has visited Austria. I guess that would mean Jimmy Carter was the last one??

Anyhow, I heard about how an entire hotel (one of the nicest in Vienna) was totally taken over by US officials and that 600 secret service agents checked the whole place out for weeks ahead of time. This is all for a 24 hour visit (one night in the hotel). On top of that, there were all kinds of roads closed to traffic and pedestrians. AND, it just so happens that the path which the motorcade took with Bush went by our building twice. They closed the street twice to traffic and pedestrians. Policemen were everywhere - in cars, motorcycles, helicopters (which are rare here), boats along the river, etc. It was an amazing amount of hoopla, especially for such a slow paced country of 8 million people that are much less violent than the US and love to just watch anything. Zooming by our apartment building was about 6 police motorcycles and 2 police trucks. Then some time. Then another group of the same size. Then some more time. Then 10 motorcycles, a few police trucks, some BMWs with sirens and black windows, then some big American cars with sirens and black windows, then 3 limos with American and Austrian flags sandwiched between 5 or 6 Suburbans (which you never see here), followed by more BMWs, Cadillacs (not found in Austria), police cars, ambulances, very American looking huge SUVs, more police motorcycles, Austrian police trucks, Austrian ambulance, huge busses, more police,.... I mean this was just insane. I've never seen so many people peeping out of their windows in my neighborhood (some of them wearing just about nothing because thats normal when it's hot). I wanted to video tape it or take pictures, but I didn't have the best angle out our window and I couldn't get out of my building to see since the roads were closed to pedestrians.

By the way, Bush is in the picutres with the Austrian president Heinz Fischer and the Chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel. Enjoy the other pictures. :)

GWB with Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Sch�ssel. 

As you can see, there are a fair amount of people that don't like GWB. 

GWB with Heinz Fischer, the Austrian President. 

New Trick

Lately Cole has been pulling out so many new tricks! Our favorite one is when he sits up and we hold his hands. He also has been holding toys and other random objects and putting his little hands together. Just last night he passed a marker from one hand to the other. What a stud. I'm sure he's going to charm those flight attendants on Saturday!

Next Year's Ideas

Since my school year ended a few months ago, my brain is ready to plan for next year. I often have myriad ideas swirling up in my head, and just recently a few have been solidified, so I thought I'd share what my year will possibly look like.

1. Chris & I are going to be sponsors of the upcoming 9th grade class along with another staff member, Becca West. We're really looking forward to being more involved in the high school part of VCS.
2. I will be working on the weekly elementary chapels...possibly organizing, planning, and speaking.
3. I will also be the co-chair of the VCS social committee. Yes, VCS has a social committee. Natalie (my new neighbor and the art teacher at VCS) and I will be working to ensure BIG FUN for the staff at VCS every so often.
4. Lastly...my favorite...I will be baking birthday treats each month for the staff meetings that I don't have to attend any more!

We've got a LAUGHER, folks!

You folks better exercise your funny muscle QUICKLY, because Cole Frank is coming to a town near YOU, and folks, he's FUNNY!

Anne & Cole

Good Things Happening

Well, I told you a few weeks ago that things were busy for me in the VCS Business Office. One thing in particular was that I was doing some interviews to find a new bookkeeper, and I asked you to pray about it too (I think). Well, the interviews went well and we actually ended up with two good options. We ended up choosing a lady named Gabriela - an Austrian, but actually born in Romania. She had about a week to spend with the bookkeeper (Doreen) before she left. That time is over now and Gabriela is on her own for the most part. I can tell that she is good at what she does - accounting and bookkeeping things. It's a huge help to me to have someone do this job and I think God has really provided for what we need in this situation.
School's out now - Wednesday was the last day of school. So I'm working shorter days next week and the week after. Then the 3 of us are flying to the US! We're looking forward to that, and we just be in a city near you!

Cole will start his world tour on the 24th. :)

Movin' Home

I moved out of my classroom yesterday at VCS. I brought home all of the things that have lived with me at school for the past 4 years. It was kind of like moving home. I brought home all the things that defined ME at school, and now I feel like I just moved in. You know the settled feeling when your room is exactly the way you like it so you can relax? All of Anne is home now.

I brought home my silver box. I brought home my Mrs. Frank sign and my faces collage from an art class with Shelley in Bloomington. I brought home my purple and yellow vase with stars on it that I painted years ago that lived on my desk. I brought home my fishbowl that I never used for fish, and my stuffed moose, Boomer. The most important things I brought home, I realized as I unpacked, are not the THINGS, though, but the memories I have of those things with my students in my classroom. I LOVE teaching. I LOVE the kids at VCS, and I LOVE even the lesson plans sometimes. But, I have a new job now...and I brought the old things with me to make new memories.

Maybe I need a fish for my fishbowl?

Look Out World!

Updates...

Mirror, mirror, on the ground, who's the cutest baby around?


Jana came over this weekend to visit, and we ate some good Asian food at Go Wok. Only 2 more months until Jana Russell turns into Mrs. Jana Rourk!


We never know what position Cole will be in when we wake him up in the morning. This was the cuteness that we saw today! Like son, like father!

The Heat Celebrate, but....

somehow this picture just doesn't look right. Shaq Diesel and Pat Riley the warrior coach being all soft. Hmmmm....

Maybe you can come up with your own interesting title for this:
** Riles and Shaq Share an Intimate Moment
** You use Neutrogena lotion, too?

The Latest Family Photo

Test...and Talent!

So this was a test...I tried to shrink the pictures so maybe it'll look different on our blog and not take up so much space. Hmm. I hope this works.

Secondly...I think it's time to give Cole a bath, don't you think? I'm not really sure how he got that all up his face. He's quite talented!