Happy 5th birthday Christopher!

Today our youngest turns 5 years old. It's hard to believe that our baby is 5.  Christopher is such a little character. This morning, we picked up kolaches and donut holes for him, before we went swimming for about an hour. He chose Chick Fil A for lunch and played with his cousins visiting most of the day. Some of his favorite things are:

Characters:  Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Captain America, and The Hulk, 

Food: pizza, Super Golden Crisp cereal, Lenny's philly sandwiches, cheeze its. 

Activities: playing with his train table, riding his stuffed tiger, playing ball outside with his dad, swimming, and doing whatever his big brother does. 

He is the cutest thing ever! His personality over compensates for his lack of speech and he makes everyone smile. One of my favorite things that he does right now is pick a flower (usually a weed), comes and bows on one knee with his head down, and holds the flower above his head with one hand to give to me. When I take it, he kisses my hand. He is totally beyond sweet! 

Tim left to right: Chloe, Claire, Riley, Christopher, and Elijah. 

To the my whom holds my heart...

As I sit here watching my sweetheart nap, I feel a little envious and can think of one hundred things I need to do or could do but yet I just want to watch him. Yet there are days and times, I just really want to be alone...an hour, a day, sometimes I wish for more like a month... But then I think about what life would be like with no one. No one to share the load of dishes, laundry, cleaning and taking care of the kids. (maybe I could adjust to that, laundry and dishes seem never ending) No one to pick up the slack when you just can't. No one to run to the store for ice cream or chips and salsa when you are gloomy. No shoulder to cry into at the end of a long day. No arms to surround you when you feel you just want to collapse. No one to warm the sheets on your side of the bed in the dead of winter. No one to share laughs, celebrations, and good news with. No one to share hopes and dreams with. No one to put before yourself. There is no doubt in my mind that a loving God orchestrated His plan around couples, a man and a woman, who love and respect one another. Thinking of life without Jake makes me sad. Because while life would still be good and worth living, I don't think it would ever feel complete. I'm eternally grateful for a husband who is good and kind, who works hard and cares for his family. He does small and simple things to melt me (like clean the garage, have me a little lunch prepared when I get home, makes the bed, kisses my forehead, etc.) He dries my tears about little stresses of life before falling asleep at night or lets me chat away as he struggles to keep his eyes open. He'll always have my back and he'll never stop believing in me. Dearest Jake, I love you. Thanks for the best fourteen years of my life. I'm looking forward to many, many more. As a side, after fourteen years I think we've finally figured out the whole anniversary thing. Think low expectations. No cards, gifts or grandiose celebrations.We were trying to find the time to just enjoy dinner together and I had sarcastically commented something to the effect..."Our kids keep us so busy, no time for life" and Jake reminded me that right now, these kids are our life. Forevermore, I will be a mother and wife. There will come a time when I will look back and miss the business of life that sometimes makes one on one time not feasible. It's not our wedding day. It's an extra special day, once a year, to remember a sacred event that happened once upon a time.

I love these people

These were taken last year about this time...

Aubree's ELT speech

Aubree was chosen at the end of the year to be one of the speakers for the ELT program. She did a fabulous job. She has a lot of charisma and is at lovely as they come. "Hello, boys and girls, ladies and gentlemen, for those of you who don’t know me, my name is Aubree Farrell and I am a preschool E.L.T. The letters in E.L.T stand for: Educational Leader of Tomorrow. An E.L.T’s job is to help their assigned teacher in anyway they need it, and I’m sure they appreciate it. Being an E.L.T means a lot more than unstacking and stacking chairs, trust me. Being an E.L.T means being responsible, honest, patient, and trustworthy. Sometimes being an E.L.T is difficult, but once you see one smile on a single kid you know it’s all worth it. One of my favorite things about being an E.L.T is watching the students learn and grow. Some of the kids communicate more easily than others, but once they warm up to you it’s amazing how much they change. One day I was helping some of the preschoolers when one came up to me and said, ”Hey, I need to tell you something.” I simply responded, “What is it that you need to tell me?” He said, “My dad is picking me up today!” I loved the way he said it, along with his dazzling eyes, sparkling grin, and enthusiastic attitude. It was so excellent to know that the preschooler had warmed up to me. In conclusion, I’ve spent some of the best days of my life as an Altruria preschool E.L.T. I will never forget my incredible preschool E.L.T experience." 

Ginny went in her first out of town school trip and mom was worried like crazy but she is a bright lady and makes good choices. They went to St a Louis for three days. Honestly if I woykdvd read the laker closely and realized it was over night, I probably wouldn't have signed off on it.  Ginny was also recognized this year in band for her improvement. This is her first year in band, playing the flute. 

As for the boys, they are getting into sports and it's super cute. Neither of them are very good but it's fun to watch. Christopher chose soccer and Jake chose baseball. He has wanted to play baseball since he subbed one day last year. 

School is out for Summer

It seems that I have so much catching up to do. Who would've ever guessed that teaching would take up so much time, although I also contribute it to putting the kids in sports. Each of the children had a great year. Ginny has excelled in band and was recognized for her efforts and growth. Both girls have maintained all A's on their report cards this year, along with Jake. Aubree tried out and made the volleyball team for middle school. Jake is playing baseball and Christopher is playing soccer. At registration this year, the pre-school teacher recommended that we keep in pre-school another year but we asked to meet again at the end of May to make a decision. During the 7 weeks, we worked with him nightly on his words and speech and to our pleasant surprise the night before the meeting, his teacher, Mrs. McCoy called and was recommending advancement. We are looking forward to the summer together.  Summer began with my mom and sisters and I catching quick girls time. I sure do  love those ladies. 

Spring break farrell style

Last week was spring break which can not come soon enough for teachers or students. Right after school we headed to Michigan to see Michael and Amy. The drive was a little longer than anticipated, party because of rainy conditions almost the entire way but enjoyable. We took the kids to eat at Lambert's Cafe on the way up and the boys lived trying to catch rolls. They tried to hold their hands up even if they did not need one. We enjoyed homemade pizza with Michael, frozen Lake Michigan (literally, we walked out onto it), Chicago style pizza, Willis tower, Millenial Park, Chicago mix popcorn, and outlet shopping. We made a day trip to Chicago while the kids were in school but took Claire with us. Willis tower was crazy, currently the tallest observation deck in the Western Hemisphere; the observation deck is on the 104th floor. Upon arriving back, dinner was prepared and Amy had made Ginny a Texas sheet cake to celebrate her upcoming birthday. We had s wonderful time and so much enjoy their family. Upon returning back to Bartlett, we dove into home improvements and are still working on them but out home is looking much better and we are totally making it ours. 

Happy birthday Jake and Ginny!

March 23rd and 24th are both special dats for me. The 23rd is the day that my eternal companion began his mortal journey. Every year I am more in love with this man and thankful to his parents for bringing him into this world. Happy birthday Jake! The 24th is the day I became a mother. Happy birthday 13th Ginny! Ginny is finally a teenager in her words but it makes me a little sad that she's growing up so quickly. We are extremely proud of her and the lady she is becoming. Some of her favorites right now are: concert band (she plays the flute), pistachios, clothes, and Minnie Mouse.