Christmas 2012

We had an amazing Christmas this year!  Every year I realize how blessed I am and so thankful for my family.  This year was no different.  We had a great time with our family.  Farrah is at such a fun age with Christmas.  We didn't really push the whole Santa thing this year. Farrah wasn't real sure about Santa coming into our house while we were sleeping so we didn't play it up real big.

Our Christmas started off on Christmas Eve with the Fortner family.  We always have such a great time and I love watching James with his brothers.  They give each other so much heck and its so fun to watch.  They tell stories and tell on each other.....pretty fun to watch and laugh at. 

Fortner cousin's!!

This year we watched all the grand kids open their gifts first and then the adults had their chance.  It's always fun watching all the craziness when the girls start.  Farrah was very spoiled! 

After the Christmas with the Fortner's we went home and Farrah was ready for Santa to come...kinda.  She laid out her cookies and milk but she also had a lot of questions to go along with it.  I had to reassure her that Santa would not come into her room...haha! 

Christmas morning I had to wake Farrah up.....guess she hasn't quite figure out the Christmas morning excitement.  She has so surprised with her all her Santa gifts and played her little heart out.  The funny thing is that we had no idea that we woke up to a white Christmas!!

There is a funny story behind this next picture.  Farrah had saw this fun princess bath soap at Target and just had to have it!  I told her that maybe Santa would bring it to her and that seemed to be ok with her.  So when she opened her stocking Christmas morning she saw the soap she said "Mom, this soap was at Target!"  I just started laughing and told her that Santa must shop at Target...haha!!  This girl is to smart for her own good!

After Christmas at home we headed to my parents for Christmas.  Once again we had a wonderful time.  It's always so much fun to see Christmas through a child's eye.  My mom and dad had so many fun things they did for the kids. 

Every year my sweet Mimi make all the great grand kids something special.  She either makes them a blanket or something special.  This year she made them all pillows with special pillowcases that had what they were into this year.  Farrah's was an Ariel mermaid....she was so excited!!

My parents surprised all the "big" girls with a fun gift.....Kindle Fire HD's.

My wonderful hubby surprised me as well.....we got me a new camera!!  Not a point and shot one but a very nice Canon!  I was so surprised and so excited.  Can't wait to play...haha!!

Caroland cousin's!

Hope you had a wonderful Christmas!! 

Fortner family, Christmas 2012

Quick trip to Dallas

This past weekend we ran to Dallas for a quick family trip.  James is working a lot the next few weeks getting ready for end of the year stuff at church and we won't be seeing him much so it was a great excuse to getaway! 

We wanted to make this trip a fun and relaxing trip but we soon figured out that wasn't gong to be the case.  We hadn't planned on doing much shopping but we wanted to stop at our favorite places and it was a little crazy!  The one place I really wanted to stop was at the Northpark mall.  I had heard they had the best Santa and I'm so glad we did.  He was the sweetest Santa.  He asked Farrah all kinds of questions and didn't rush to the next child.  He really took his time and really listened to her and what she wanted for Christmas. 

We really wanted to take Farrah to see ICE at the Gaylord.  It was Madagascar so we knew she would love it and she had a blast!  The years past James and I have gone New Years Eve and it wasn't crowded at all so we were surprised at how crowded it was.  We still had a blast and Farrah was so fun to watch.  She looked so tiny in her big parka coat...haha! 

A trip isn't complete if we don't make a run to Bass Pro and Cabela's!  James was a good sport with all the places I drug him to so I returned the favor.  Of course those places are quite the entertainment for Farrah.  She loves looking at all the animals and fish.  At Cabela's she got to feed the fish and this was the greatest thing.  It kept her happy for a long time so James could do his shopping.  

After feeding the fish she found a pink camo pop gun and you would have thought she was in heaven!  She had so much fun "shooting."  I have my own "Annie Oakley" ....haha!! 

It was a fun getaway....Farrah had her moments where James and I wondered why we thought it was a good idea to bring a three year old on a road trip but overall we had fun!  Farrah is ready for Christmas and so are we. 

Chapter closing....

This week James and I will close a chapter and start another one.  We sold our house in less then two months which is such a blessing!  We weren't real sure we wanted to sell but really felt like God was telling us it was time. 

Don't get me wrong, we LOVE our house but sometimes it just isn't what you need.  Every year we go a mission trip we come back with so much more appreciation then we had before.  This year I went to Czech with my niece and we had a wonderful time.  The entire time I was there I really had God speak to me about the things we had and the things we were wasting.  The main thing was our house. 

We bought this house with the full intent to fill every bedroom with kiddos.  We wanted to have enough room where our family would be able to grow for years to come.  Well after almost three years and still no kiddos it was put on my heart to sell.  The main reason we needed to sell was to first be obedient to God and the second thing was we really weren't being good stewards of our money.  Don't get me wrong we can afford this house no problem but we were wasting two bedrooms.  Those bedrooms were sitting there "empty." 

We just felt like we needed to get something a little smaller and with the money we save we can put on fertility treatments and really sow into the Kingdom of God.  We have so many dreams about our future and how we want to bless other people.  This house been a blessing to us and so many others. 

The hard part is the not knowing.  We sold our house faster then we thought and we haven't found another one yet.  We were three weeks away from needing to move out with no where to go.  We did find an apartment for the next four months.  Its just hard to have a joyful heart when you go from over 2,000 sqft to less then 800 sqft.  We know we are doing the right thing and God will be faithful with blessing us with another great home. 

It's been such a busy week with trying to get everything out and our goal this week is to be out by this evening so I can go clean tomorrow.  I want to leave this house clean for the new family to bless them.  This week God has really blessed us in different ways.  Ways to show us that He is in control and He loves us.  On Monday, I had some dental work done was numb for five hours!  We went to Chili's so i could have soup and as we were about to be finished we saw some friends came in for dinner.  As we were paying our waitress came and said our meal and been paid for and pointed to our friends table.  It was such a blessing!  Then on Tuesday, we were out eating again (plates and cooking stuff packed) we ran into some friends and were visiting with them and my friend said "How about I take Farrah for the afternoon so you can work faster"....another great blessing!! 

As we close this chapter I am a little sad....sad that our family didn't grow but excited to see what's next.  After almost 15 years of marriage I wouldn't want to do this with anyone but James.

Visit #1 to Dr. C!

Last week James and I visited a new fertility doctor in Dallas.  I'll call him Dr. C.  We were pretty anxious to meet with Dr. C.

When we arrived I found out that my medical records had not been sent.  This almost put me in panic mode but one quick phone call to my doctor in Lubbock and all was right in the world again.  There were a couple of things I was a little worried about.  One, Farrah was with us on this appointment.  Second, the one question I have had for years.....will we ever have a baby??

First, lets talk about Farrah.  Oh my goodness is pretty much all I can say about her.  James and I were both so anxious about this appointment and knew Farrah could handle it but I think we were wrong....haha!  When we were meeting with Dr. C Farrah was just everywhere.  Farrah was throwing fits and rolling on the ground.  By the end of the appointment I was begging Farrah to behave, I think I even offered to buy her Disney World...haha!  Needless to say, Farrah will not be going back to any appointments with us. 

Secondly, Dr. C was so amazing!  He gave us a lot of information and we have a lot to think about.  He looked over my medical records and after he was finished reviewing things he was very encouraging.  At the beginning of this appointment, James and I were facing some decisions that we prayed we would never have to make. 

After the review of my records Dr. C needed to do an exam and see where I was at.  He needed to see if my fibroid tumor had returned.  When it was removed the first time Dr. P could only get 90-95% of the tumor.  The great news is that the tumor was no longer there!  After some more pictures and measurements we were given the clear all.  At least once I get all the blood work back. 

Speaking of blood work.  I had to have five viales of blood taken.  Not a big deal unless you have the worst veins possible!  After the fourth needle in my arm they were FINALLY able to draw enough blood.  I know it's all worth it but oh my word it was painful!  The third time they tried to draw blood out of my hand and when they did they hit a nerve that about shot me out of my seat!  Needless to say, there won't be anymore trying for blood in my hand! 

Anyways....We received some great news on our fertility journey.  We are going to do IVF (in virto).  I will have my system shut down for one month and then the treatments will start.  It's a two month process.  To start this process we first have to get approval with a company that will do the genetic testing on every embryo.  We found out that we have a genetic "thing" that makes our case even more difficult.  Thankfully this genetic "thing" can be tested and found. 

Once we start the IVF process, Dr. C will retrieve the eggs have them fertilized and then freeze them.  After they are frozen, he will then ship them off to this company who will test the embryos for this genetic "thing."  After that this company will then ship the healthy embryos back to Dr. C's office.  After that I will have a month of injections to prepare my body for the embryo transfer.  After that I will continue the injections until a pregnancy test and WHEN that test comes back positive I will continue with the injections throughout the first trimester.  I was told it will be three different injections three times a day....so that's nine shot a day!  Yay me!!!!!  I'll do anything to have a baby with the man of my dreams so this will all be worth it! 

For now we are just waiting and waiting is the hardest part.  I know this is the road God has chosen for us and I think we've walked our road pretty well.  Have we failed...absolutely!  But I am so blessed to walk this journey with one AMAZING man!  James has been such an encourager and an amazing support to me.  When I wanted to quit he wouldn't let me.  He has loved me on my hardest and darkest days!  He is the reason I continue this journey.  He is the one I can't disappoint.  He is my everything!! 

Great Wolf!!

This weekend we surprised Farrah with a weekend at the Great Wolf Lodge.  Our friends the Louders and the Watts joined us with their girls.  We had no idea what we were getting ourselves into but oh my goodness did these girls have a BLAST!!!

We turned into the Great Wolf and Farrah had no idea what this place was or what it was about.  She was so excited when we checked in and saw the indoor water park.  She was jumping up and down and couldn't wait to go swim!

Once we checked in Farrah discovered her friends were there too!  Now the excitement was over the top!  These girls played so hard.  Neither of them had a nap, we instead all headed to the water park.  Farrah did every slide she could do for her height at least 100 times....I'm not kidding!  She would come down one slide and run up to me and say "Again!" 

Needless to say these girls pretty much played and swam til 7pm that night.  Then we ordered dinner and after dinner we went to story time at the Great Clock Tower.  After the story was over Violet, the Wolf, came out for a visit and pictures.

After story time we bought the girls ice cream and this is where we could tell none of the girls had had a nap.  It was meltdown city!  It became pretty funny because we knew the girls were so tired and there was nothing we could do to make them happy.  After a quick dip in the bathtub it was time for bed.  I don't think Farrah lasted two minutes before she was out.

The next day we woke up to play again at the water park.  And again, these girls played hard!!  Farrah was so fun to watch with her little friends and how big these smiles were was priceless! 

After the Great Wolf we had dinner plans with some friends so thankfully Farrah had a nap so the night was pretty easy.  We had such a great time with our friends.  Farrah keeps asking when we get to go back.....hopefully we will get to go back every year. 

On our way home, James wanted to make a stop at the Bass Pro Shop.  It's a tradition for Farrah and James to take a picture every year in front of the store.  The first time was when Farrah was three weeks old....so its fun to see how Farrah has grown over the years!

One funny thought James and I had......Last time we traveled with Farrah she screamed and cried all the way home and we vowed not to ever travel with Farrah agian (just kidding....kinda!)  This time Farrah talked all the way home and this mom and dad were exhausted!  James just kept looking at me and asking, "Does it ever stop??"  "NOPE!!"  We had a wonderful time with our little family and our friends!! 

Girls trip to Canton

For the last three years for Kelsy's birthday we have taken a girls trip to Canton, TX for the trade days.  We have a blast every year.  I had to miss last year because I had shoulder surgery two days before we were suppose to go.  I was pretty excited about going back this year!

We left early Thursday morning at 5am.  There were 5 of us going together and then Paige was meeting us there.  Kelsey, Dana, Leslie, Abby and me were quite excited to leave the kids behind for a couple of days and shop til we dropped!

We made our first stop in Snyder for a photo opt for Team Tomi.  Our sweet friend, Tomi, is battling Breast Cancer and when she has a Chemo treatment we gather either at her house or the hospital and cheer her on to her treatments.  Since we were on the road we took a picture to cheer her on.

The laughs had already started by this time and I don't think it ever stopped til we got back home.

We made our way to Canton around lunch and started shopping!  It wasn't to crazy on Thursday but by Friday in was insane!  I heard this was a record setting year in attendance for Canton this year.  We had a great time shopping but I must say it was SOOOOO HOT!  It was close to 90 degrees all weekend but we still had a great!

On Friday, we ran into some of our husbands favorite hunter's.  The Duck Dynasty guys.  We met Phil's brother, James.  He wrote a book about Phil and how he started Duck Commander.  It was so fun to buy an autographed book for James. 

After Canton we came into Dallas and shopped some more.  We went to dinner at the Galleria and had pedicures that made our aching feet all better.  The next day we shopped at North Park and then finished our evening with cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory.  We all ordered a different flavor and went back to the hotel and rented a movie and shared cheesecake.  It was so yummy and fun!

I had a great weekend with some really amazing and fun friends!!  Thanks Kelsey for having a birthday and having a girls trip!  We shared a lot of laughs and made some great memories! 

Halloween 2012

For Halloween this year we surprised Farrah with her costume, Ariel!  I think this is going to become a traditation.  I like Farrah not knowing what she's going to be for Halloween.

It started in September when she started getting "Farrah mail" in the mail.  Magazines and flyers that she would look through for hours.  She already knew she wanted to be Ariel but know she had a magazine with all the accessories....shoes, gloves, wig and a crown.  She even had all her little girl friends costumes picked out.  Madi is Rapunzel, Maci is Cinderella, Peyton is Snow White, Molly is Aurora, and Ava could be Belle.

Farrah was driving us crazy!!  Everyday we had to look at this magazine and she would tell be exactly what she wanted and what everyone would be.  We had told her that since she already had the Rapunzel costume, that's what she would be this year.  This girl was so persistent and everyday she would say she wanted to be Ariel not Rapunzel.  She would look at me and say "It's ok Mommy, Daddy will buy it for me."  I think she already had us figured out...haha! 

So a could of days before Halloween we went and bought her the Ariel costume.  I hid it from her til Halloween and she was so excited when we surprised her with it!  I must say, she was one beautiful Ariel!

Pumpkin Patch Fun!!

The last couple of weeks James has worked some crazy late hours and he worked all day Saturday.  So today when Farrah woke up from her nap, James announced we were having a family date night.  He told us to load up in the car for some fun so away we went....to the Corn Maize!! 

We love the corn maize!  This year, Farrah is old enough to really enjoy it.  She had a blast!  We rode a cow train, fed the animals, went on a hayride and did the kiddie maze.  It was so much fun to watch Farrah and experience this through her eyes. 

Our pumpkin!

Greatest family pic ever....Haha!

Kiddie Maize

Feeding and petting the animals.

Cow Train....Farrah didn't want to ride by herself so mommy had to ride.  Haha!!

Hayride!!  Picking our pumpkins!

 

 

Thanks James for a family fun night....it was much needed!! 

Busy time of year!

This past month has been CRAZY!  This past week we had two conferences back to back.  Farrah has KDO two times a week, swimming lessons on Mondays and Wednesdays and then gymnastics on Tuesday afternoon.  So needless to say....its C-R-A-Z-Y!!

I haven't been updating the blog much so this update will mostly be pictures that I want to remember.  I promise I will be better about updating!

Farrah started her gymnastic/dance and is loving it!  I think she likes the gymnastics a lot more then dance!

Farrah has been quite the mess lately!  She wanted to help with laundry and I turned around and this is where I found her......

the South Plains fair was in town a couple of weeks ago and we met up with some friends and had some fun.

We also put our house on the market a few weeks ago and hopefully we will be getting an offer soon!!

Farrah had the honor of meeting Princess Belle at a friends birthday party!  She was super excited and I think a little shocked when she walked in....haha!! 

We walked the Susan G. Komen, Race for the Cure for a dear friend. 

I've had some really fun dates with Farrah while her daddy is busy teaching CHL classes!  She is the only one eating donuts in the family so its a special treat for her!

Every year we try to visit the Pumpkin Trail as a family and we always have fun!! 

It's been fun and we are having so much fun making memories with Ms. Farrah!  She is growning so fast and not looking like a toddler anymore!  She is such a fun and spirited little girl!! 

International guests....

Things have been a little crazy around here for the past two weeks.  Two weeks ago we had a friend from the Czech Republic here visiting the United States for the first time.  We call me Czech Michal because we know so many Michael's so it just made it so much easier.  (Yes, he spells is without an e...haha!)

Michal came in for the weekend and we had so much fun with him!  Two months ago I started a new workout called Crossfit and Michal loves Crossfit as well.  So there were a couple of days he went to the gym with me and I think he was surprised how much harder it was here in the states.  

This weekend there was a Crossfit competition here in Lubbock and Michal decided to compete.  He has been working hard for the last two weeks and training really hard.  James, Farrah and I went on Saturday to watch him compete and cheer him on.  He did so good and he competed in the individual men's group and won 2nd place!!  

 

While Michal stayed with us, Farrah adopted him as her big brother.  It was the sweetest thing!  She always asked about Michal and invited him to do everything with us.  I was pleasently surprised how Michal really looked after her. 

This weekend we had our friends from Norway stay with us.  Sean, Hannah, Isaac and Elizabeth have had a pretty rough weekend.  Isaac was sick with the stomach bug and then came down with strep...poor guy!  Then Hannah became sick with the stomach bug but I have to say, these guys were such troopers!  Farrah had a blast playing with Isaac and holding Elizabeth every chance she got....haha!

Sean and Hannah are about to do a church plant in Norway.  I can't wait to hear all the exciting things that God is going to do through them and for the country of Norway!