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.

1 week photos

Our little fella is so small. At his 2 week check up, this past week, he weighed in at a whopping 7 lbs and 8 ozs. He is very alert and stays up for hours at a time. This past week, Michael and his family also got into town for the summer. We are excited to be able to spend some time with them. Also, Christopher had his first sleep over on June 18 (1 week old), he stayed with Sandra and Nana at Nana's house but not to fear, his big sister, Ginny stayed too. Maybe, I am a little crazy but I needed a full night of rest and they are capable to care for him. Jake and I took Will and Aubs to see Toy Story 3 that night too...they enjoyed it. We also spent time this week getting the house ready to sell and we finally put up the crib for the baby.

Adjusting to 4

Adjusting to having four little ones is a bit more demanding than I realized or maybe it is partly because it is summer and they are all home, including their daddy. The kids all seem to be doing very well with the baby and are like little leeches. Ginny is the baby hog and loves to hold him every time he makes a sound. Aubree loves to hold him too but more so likes to try to walk with him because she has seen her sister do it. Aubree sings to him almost every time she hold him, Christopher is serenaded with "I am a Child of God" and "Follow the Prophet". Will loves to try to help feed him and we have caught him twice with the baby in tow as well. It is cute how they each love him in their own little way. It has been an adventure too and someone is always hurt too. Ginny fell the other day and hit her shoulder pretty well, she swore it as broke but it is just bruised and swollen. The next day, Aubree hit her head and has a little bump but from the way she carried on, you would have thought it was much worse. Two ice packs, a towel, and a fruit roll up later, she was good. And Will, he is just clumsy and runs into everything or trips. He looks so big next to his brother too. As for me, I am tired. I forgot how tiresome a newborn can be. Jake has been getting up with at night some too, but I find myself still waking up too and just listening. I do not think the hardest thing for me has been the physical adjustment but my emotions have been a little off the scale, which I think exhausts me. I worry a lot but am hoping it all passes soon. It seems, although most likely unintentional, those we love the most can hurt us the most. In the past, I certainly have said some unkind things to those I care the most about and wish that I could erase them. Luckily, they forgave and I hope they realize that the comments were most likely said out of anger or hurt on my part but that it no way justifies them. From my mistakes, I have tried to understand that often when people do or say hurtful thing that is because they are hurting or there is an underlying issue. I know that I have been greatly blessed and it makes me sad for the times that I have hurt or offended others. Sandra had a comment up the other day that I enjoyed and I think it can relate to each of us in different perspectives in our lives. It is a quote from CS. Lewis, " We are not necessarily doubting that God will do the best for us; we are wondering how painful the best will turn out to be."

Christopher Wade Farrell

I am happy to say that we have added the newest addition to our family. He was born at 1:09 p.m on Friday, June 11th, 2010 (he waited until Friday to ensure mom and Sandra could be there). Delivery was probably my quickest thus far, although I have been having contractions for a week. We left for the hospital close to 5:00 a.m. and a friend came to sit with the kids until James could get them. I was dilated to a 4.5 on my own, when we arrived but stayed that way for a little while and was put on pitocin and that got me to a 7 in hours. Then mom, Sandra, and Jake were talking about the other rooms contractions closer than mine and the women progressing, (the monitor that measures my contractions, shows others as well). So, I rolled off my side and laid on my back, joking that I had to beat them, like I have control over that, but I went from a 7 to a 10 in quickly, I want to say within 15 minutes, so maybe being on back helped....doctor arrived, scrubbed up, and had me push on my 2nd contraction after she was there. He was born with 1 contraction and 3 pushes. Sandra was able to cut the cord. I feel truly blessed that not only was Jake in there but also mom and Sandra because they are such prominent people in the lives of my children.
After he was born, he had a tad trouble breathing, so was sent to NICU. But was never given oxygen or an IV. We were able to visit him up there but the girls could not...and they were so excited to see him. They spent most the day at James's house and mom and Sandra stayed with him that night at my house. Some days, I honestly do not know what I would do without them. The girls came up and had girl time with me for a few hours while we waited on Christopher to be brought to the room and we had a few visitors. They were ecstatic went he was brought in. Later that evening, Jake and Will came up while the girls went with Sandra, Nana, and Papa to Elle's dance recital and I had some time with my boys. Then we had a couple more visitors, including James and Kara.

The poor child did not have a name until the early hours of this morning. We knew it would be Christopher and the middle name would be Michael or Thomas. However, obviously that has changed. Yesterday, I asked Jake what Tommie's middle name was and it was a name that had crossed my mind earlier with Kammon and Jabren (the other 2 names I liked for first names). I had always been under the impression from Jake it was a different name and by different, I mean weird....but it was Wade, so without his consent, I threw that in the mix and the internal debate continued. Then last night, there was reason for the nurses to have check on my a little more often, just my luck, and I reflected a lot on the relationships I have with my family...I was actually feeling great gratitude for Sandra and my mom and all they do to help me and the love that is evident they have for my kiddos. I thought about how special that relationship is with the women in my life and then thought about my brothers and how their relationship is unsurpassable. I know of no other 2 men closer than them. Then my thoughts turned to Jake and although manifest differently the love and relationship he has with his brothers. Then my mind went racing and I pulled out my paper and pen and started writing name options again, weighing in all kinds of family names and thought about my nephew and how Amy, my sister in law manifests her love for Michael , by naming Seth after Michael and his best friend/brother, James. My heart became full and Christopher Wade just felt right. so, my inspiration came from the relationship that I have with my family, especially my sisters and mom, and the bond of my brothers. So, why not, name our second son, after two of the most influential men in his father's life. Will was named after the favorite men in my life. With all of that said, I pray that I have in no way hurt feelings or made anyone feel less important than the other. We are each blessed to come from strong, loving families and both are equally important in the lives of our family and complete it. The names stem from his father's side but the bond or inspiration from mine. Thomas was a family name that could come from both sides and Michael would have come from my brother but I am going out on a limb.

Anxiously Awaiting

So, I am at the stage in pregnancy where you just can't sleep because of discomfort and pain. Also, I have begun to sick again. I had done very well this pregnancy and not had to be put in for IV's or anything but last week, I had to get one. I was also having contractions 2 minutes apart but nothing else. I have been dilated to a 2 for a few weeks and can not seem to get things moving....this one may also be a little stinker. The doctor has me scheduled to be induced next week and as anxious as I am to have the baby, I am not sure that I want to be induced. I still do not have the bed or pack-n-play up nor do I have his clothes all nicely put in a little dresser or container but I am not the least bit stressed about it....maybe it is all too surreal to me still. However, I am attempting to help dilation along and have been to the gym regularly this week and walked on the treadmill for about an hour or a little longer each day, maybe something will happen. Oh, we were rear ended Tuesday evening but that was not a big deal, we were stopped at a light and the gentleman hit us. We pulled off and there was not much damage to the van, so we were not even sure it would be worth filing a claim but he filed one. Come to find out, the damage is about $2500 worth. We are not sure if we will get the van fixed right now or just use the money for this summer, since we do not have income. With all that said, life is good for our family. The girls like to guess when the baby will come and every time, I have a pain, they ask, "is it time?", it is too cute for me to get too bothered by it.