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.

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."