Church went well. I LOVED having all 4 of my kids with me. We had the Young Men over for a sock exchange and then hung out as a family for a bit. We celebrated the New Year with New York, so I could go to bed but the girls came back home a few minutes before midnight and rang in the new year. We are blessed beyond measure.
It has been a very busy break for the Farrell crew. We arrived home from Cloudcroft Wednesday evening and left Thursday morning (12/28) for Georgia for Charity and Owen to be sealed on 12/29. We stopped in Jackson on the way for Will to take his driver's test and had lunch with my mom. Then we made it to Nashville and stopped at Opry Mills mall for a little shopping for the kids. I believe they had an enjoyable time. It was a lovely weekend overall and I so enjoy having all my babies with me. I do know that the time is limited as they are each growing up and the girls are branching out more. Charity and Owen were sealed on 12/29. On 12/30, we had ice cream cake for Will and spent the day at Stone Mountain.
Happy 16th birthday Will! He is the most inclusive person I know. He is diligent in reading his scriptures and prays regularly to build his relationship with our Heavenly Father.
He’s also clumsy and forgetful but we are so glad he’s our son. We love you, son.
Facts about Will by Will:
I love my family.
My favorite thing to do is play with Chris
I love learning new things about building
You currently want to be when you grow up: Marine Biologist
Your favorite color is: Cyan
Your favorite show is: Slug Terra
Your favorite game is: Fortnite
My favorite activity is playing Skull King.
Your favorite girl is: Mom
You are really good at: STEM
Your best friend is: Walker Orris, James Jones the 3rd, and Gage McGuffee
You want to vacation to: Disney Cruise again
Your favorite ice cream is: cotton candy
Your wish is to be 17.
Your hero is: Dad
Your favorite thing to do with your friends
is: play
Your favorite holiday is: Christmas
Your favorite person in the whole world is: Mom
Your favorite song(s) is: Stay
Your favorite restaurant is: Olive Garden
Your favorite foods are: pizza
Today is Christmas Day and it has not been one of my most favorite. Not only do I feel uncomfortable (I’m the least liked), Aubree and I had an unpleasant conversation, the boys have fought (which I think has some to do with lack of sleep), and Will had a really tough night. This is two tough nights in a row with him. I do not feel that I was able to focus on the Savior today like I should have, which is on me. I did read some in the gospel library but my focus was not as it should’ve been.
Of all days, I should not complain but I need a space to vent a moment and complain (with that said, please know I’m a little irritable and tired right now). To begin, I feel like my kids were disappointed with their gifts. I did not like having to wait on the girls to arrive either as I love watching them open gifts first thing in the morning. I allow myself to get irritated over dumb things too. For example, I had picked out 4 possible pair of socks for Jake and they completely got another pair and gave two of the others to Blake and David. I feel like Crystal consistently tries to point things out (like telling me not to start laundry, complaining about my boys, etc). I feel like I’m not really part of the family and just here because I’m Jake’s wife. My Christmas tag was the only signed “Lynn and Tommie” and not “Mom and Dad” or “Grammy and Papa”. I also feel like people aren’t interested in being around me or carrying on a conversation with me. I try to go with it because I want Jake and the kids to build relationships and make memories but I’m definitely the least liked around. I feel like I’ve been trying for over 20 years to feel accepted and loved. I feel like it’s not right for Jake she our kids….it would be different for them if I wasn’t the mom/wife.
I am at my wits end with my son. I have prayed and prayed for guidance. He is so defiant and disrespectful towards us. I want to build him up and be a positive voice in his head and I really try but he doesn’t want to take any accountability for his actions and isn’t always truthful. I feel like I’ve failed in so many ways.
As sad as I was there was no church, the evening overall was well, with the exception of the boys arguing. We had a Christmas concert and during it Jake and the kids sang “Light of the World”, the girls did a number, and then Will played “It came upon a Midnight Clear”. The kids spent a little time our room for scripture and prayer and we wore matching pajamas.
Merry Christmas Eve from the Tennessee Farrells! This was not the Sunday Christmas Eve picture I envisioned but how happy I am my family loves me. I was sad church was not happening due to ice road conditions but have enjoyed listening to my girls (and their dad) sing and play.
This year we felt the Savior’s love abundantly through others. It has now been a year since we had water issues with our house and we are so close to those damages being 100% repaired. Friends and family strengthened us from Sunday dinners to encouraging words. Although it was crazy, over 1/2 of this year was in a hotel, we grew as a family in many ways.
I changed jobs this year and left teaching. There are definitely things I miss about it (mostly Jake and our rides to/from work together), we think it was a good move. I serve as the stake historian specialist and assist with ward activities.
Ginny (21) is a college senior this year, at East Tennessee State University, finishing her degree in dental hygiene. She wants to celebrate big because feels like Covid robbed her of her last spring senior festivities. She is looking forward to May and currently prepping her boards. Ginny is currently serving as Relief Society in her branch.
Aubree (19) is a sophomore ar Utah State. She is loving her life, maybe a little more than I like. She works as a CNA at a nursing home and recently was promoted to director at Chick-fil-A. She somehow manages school, work, church responsibilities, and a social life. Her vocals and piano talents continue to grow and are beautiful.
Jake/Will (15) is a sophomore in high school. He is enjoying seminary but does not enjoy school work. He plans to get his driver’s license this week and is looking forward to that. He lived video games abd YouTube but does not like that we limit his time on those. He has helped his dad a lot getting our house back together and is learning to give things his best. He also started piano lessons this year and is developing well at that.
Christopher (13) is in his last year of middle school. He too enjoys video games and YouTube. He served as the Deacon’s quorum president at church this year and was wonderful at strengthening relationships within hud quorum. He arranged game nights and attending each others soccer games outside of weekly mutual activites. He is kind to everyone. He is lived to play Rummikub and Skull King; he reigns as Skull King champ.
And Jake…Jake is our rock. He is committed to the Savior and keeps us all on the right track. He offers the best counsel to our family and loves big. Although he excels in teaching his students at school, he teaches best in our home. He decompresses by playing the piano or sitting to watch a show with me. He has worked diligently on our home and it looks better than ever. Jake is currently serving as bishop of our ward. He is wonderful and truly loved to serve his ward.
We know God lives and loves us.
This past Sunday in Sunday School, we read the scripture about how we are to forgive 7x70. I had a few thoughts and I am sure it was primarily prompted because I have been reading in Revelations. 7 in the Biblical times can be symbolic of complete, so it occurred to me that maybe we are asked to always forgive so we can be complete or whole. When we choose not to forgive others, we are only hurting ourselves, so it is imperative to forgive. I need to work more at becoming better and forgiving.
