Happy 6th Birthday Aubree

On Saturday, September 4th, the most beautiful red head I know turned 6 years old. What a joy and blessing she is in our lives! Here are a few of her current favorites:
color(s): pink, purple, blue, and green
restaurant: Olive Garden
type of cuisine: Mexican
book: any princess or fairy book
song: "Follow the Prophet"
character: Ariel (Little Mermaid)
drink: water, she chooses water over everything
Aubree wears a tiara every week to church and loves to wear them. She is a beautiful bright, little girl. Recently, Charity asked her what she thinks about during sacrament and Aubree told her she thinks about walking and smelling flowers with Jesus, how sweet is that! She is very kind hearted and enjoys learning. Aubree is a fine example to our family and a wonderful little helper.

Life is just plain busy but I love it. I love my life and the people in it. I am truly blessed! It amazes me how things always seem to work out, despite the fears that I may have about things. Jake is enjoying his new school but stays very busy writing new lesson plans for language arts and science. The girls are in piano after school once a week and I am hoping they both learn to play and enjoy it. Aubree has the funniest personality ever and says the cutest things. Her teacher this year is Mrs. Ault but Aubree calls her Mrs. Alte Poo or Aulty Walty. She loves her. Ginny is also enjoying her teacher. She had a dance challenge with her and Ginny showed her moves off. Unfortunately, she has my rhythm instead of her fathers...poor girl. Will is good and recovering from tonsillitis. He is all boy, he does not speak but he is a clever kid and makes us laugh when we are not cleaning up after him. Christopher had his 2 month check up a little back and weighed a whole 10.8 lbs but yesterday weighed 11.9 lbs. He has acid reflux and spits all the time but we still love him. I am enjoying having Charity near and had a great time today when we hung out with Kara too. Life is just good these days.

Ginny's ouch

Life happens all at one time. Last Monday, I had Charity follow me to the dealership to get my car worked on and nearly as soon as we left, the school called. Ginny had fallen off the monkey bars at school causing scratches on her face, a busted lip, and a hurt wrist. When we picked her up, the nurse said her wrist was sore and she would not able to write. So, I decided to taker her to the doctor and get it checked. X-rays revealed it was fractured and she was put in a long arm cast.To end the week, Sandra got engaged last night and Becky came into town too. I am excited for both. I have not seen Beck in almost a year at least and I am happy to see Sandra happy and to see how all her "my husband will be" and " my children will be" plans pan out. I wish them all the happiness and hope she has a fraction of the happiness Jake brings into my life and then I know she will be happy. I am not quite sure why everyone is so much more excited for her than they were for me but that's okay. Christopher is starting to smile some and it is ADORABLE.

Terrible Twos

In the past, I have believed that what is known as the terrible two's does not exist...but that was before my son came along. I am still not sure if it is more common among boys than girls but one thing I do know is that Will keeps me on my toes. Here are a few incidents from only two days. We were fortunate that Charity and Rob moved down to Tennessee a couple weeks ago and they are close to me, YEAH!!! The kids and I were at their new place as they were moving in, Will decides he needs to potty and tells no one nor asks for help. Upon walking into the restroom, we were not surprised to discover poop, all over the floor, in the bath tub, and along the toliet, somehow it also managed to be in his underpants too. About half hour later, we are preparing to leave and I begin to start buckling kids in the car. It had been raining, so I was trying to hurry out the door and suddenly I hear a big boom. As I turn around, I am not too surprised at all to see Will trying to drive a golf cart that he managed to crash into the building....my boy. He is such a quick, sneaky one. School has started back for the girls and I am back at work. I thought things were going pretty well, although I still need to get Will back in the sleep routine and develop one with Christopher but Friday morning, I woke to pure bliss. As I rolled over in the bed, I felt something wet and sticky, upon further investigation, it was discovered that my darling had the chocolate milk syrup and not only was his face and body covered, so was my bedding. The day began, so I stumbled out of bed to get him bathed and to my dismay as I entered the bedroom, there was marker scribblings on every wall....could it get more eventful. That is a dumb question, of course. In the bath, he emptied two bottles and shampoo and when the chocolate was washed off, I discovered marker up and down his legs. I am not superstitious but I was reminded that it was Friday the 13th, so that helped make it a good little story. He is a handful but he is my handful and I love everything about him.
School has only been in a week and the girls are enjoying their new teachers. Aubree misses her kindergarten teacher but seems to be adjusting well. Sometimes as I sit back and think, I am amazed at how quickly my babies are growing up....it seems to be passing all too quickly but occasionally, as it is happening it seems to be in slow motion. Each of my darlings, adds a little flavor, happiness, and lessons learned to my life.

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.