Christopher's Blessing

Today we blessed our little boy. We were privileged to have several members of our families present (Kara even came with baby Jack). Chris, Sarah and David, Jake's parents, Michael and Amy, James and Kara, Sandra, and my parents were there. Jake gave him a beautiful blessing. He was blessed with the following: Blessed with strength to fulfill tasks that Heavenly Father has for him on this earth, blessed with sharp mind and the knowledge to gain employment to sustain his future family, to be fortified against temptation, desire to read the scriptures and grow close to his Father in heaven, Blessed to know he has a Father in Heaven that loves him and watches over him, and blessed to know his parents love him and hope to raise you in righteousness.
After church, we grabbed a quick photo before Jake's family had to take off and anyone who wanted was welcome to come grab dinner/ lunch here.I also wanted to capture the short time that Jack may be bigger than Christopher. I will have to also capture this short time with Riley when he gets here.

The summer has officially flown by and oh, how I have enjoyed being off work. I now know how much school teachers enjoy the summers off. I feel that I have accomplished two big things this summer. First, I added another sweet boy to the family and secondly, I potty trained my sweet, okay wild two year old. He has recently learned to stand and potty but has not figured out to sit on the potty and not stand backwards to poo. He makes a mess but at least we are mostly done with diapers. The girls are gearing up for school and Jake and I both start back to work next week. Jake will be working for Shelby County Schools at Germantown Middle and looks forward to that. As for me, I am not sure how I will adjust again but am sure I can. Also, Charity and Robert are moving down and I am excited to have her near again and meet/squeeze that chunky baby of hers. James and Kara also had Jack this week. Christopher has been the runt so far but I am not counting on that to last (Riley weighed 9.8 and Jack weighed 8.12). We have enjoyed the summer having Michael and Amy here and will be a little sad when they leave. We have listed the house to sell but no serious inquiries yet. Also, I donated hair to locks of love again.

Summertime Fun

One of my favorite times of the year is the summer time, despite the fact that I am not a fan of humidity nor do I enjoy being hot but our entire family gets to be together. That is a pro of Jake being a teacher, he is off during the summer with us. Another perk is we get to see family that we do not see often. Michael and his family are spending a moth of the summer here in Tennessee, Becky is coming for a visit, and Charity is moving here. Also, during the summer, we make a trip to Texas to visit Jake's family. This summer we were able to see all his siblings and most of their families as well because everyone met in Concan, TX for a few days to a week. The kids have a blast playing with their cousins and are always excited to see them. It surprises me how well they get along with their cousins even for a extended amounts of time. Jake has also accepted a job with Shelby County schools and we look forward to that. It is not inner city schools but we are certain they have their challenges too. The kids are all doing well and the newness of a new baby brother is wearing off them. Life is good for the Farrell family and most importantly, we are happy.