Roomies!!

My brother and his family moved back to Lubbock and are living with us. We have had so much fun with them here! Farrah has really enjoyed them being here! She wakes up everyday asking for Aunt Juana (LaJuana) and Lucas and Annika.





I think mommy and daddy have become chopped liver...haha!! We've had so much fun playing and just enjoying watching Lucas and Annika. We've gotten to see how much fun they are and have had some really good wrestling matches. Lucas and I have also had some really good laughing phases at the dinner table that get us both in trouble with spewing a drink cause we are laughing so hard at each other!





It's always fun to see my older brother and younger sister with their kids and know that their life is a lot like when we were kids. My brother, sister and I were always really close and I love that their kids are close to their siblings as well.

Ruidoso with the cousins!!

For Labor Day my mom and dad took all the grandkids to Ruidoso for a little vacation and Shawna and I tag along..haha!! It was so nice and cool and we had a blast!! We did everything we could think of. We played outside, went and played at the putt putt course, did race cars, jumpers, fishing and we even went swimming.



We were so glad to get a break from the heat and it was about 70 degrees and rainy...it was perfect! I am so thankful that all the grandkids get a long so well and love playing with each other.



We even did an old western picture with the grandkids and it was so funny! Farrah was given a toy gun to play with and she was so funny to watch. She would stick the toy gun in her ear, her mouth and at Reagan and Annika. We had to tell her a few times to stop pointing the gun at everyone..haha!



I've also figured out that mom and dad have a lot of the pictures from the weekend..haha!

Thanks Nana and Dandy for the fun weekend and for letting me and Aunt Shawna tag along!!

First day of school...

Farrah had her first day of school on Monday and she was very excited! Our church started a KDO (Kids Day Out) program this year. What I love about this program is that Farrah will get to learn so many things. Every month Farrah learns a new color, letters and a number. Farrah is a pro with her colors and knows her ABC's and how to count but we are working on how to recognize them on paper, so this program will be great for Farrah!

I took Farrah to her first day of school and she was so cute! She walked in carrying her sleep mat and ready and excited for her new adventure. Last year when we went to school she cried and and by the end of the year she was telling me "Bye mom...see you later!" This year there was no crying, Farrah is becoming such a big girl!!

When I went to pick Farrah up from school, I was told Farrah did great! I did find out that she was a little toot. This girl is so much like her daddy that it just cracks me up!



The fun part about this year is that James get to take Farrah to school! While Farrah is at school I'll be doing my shoulder rehab. I think James is kinda excited about this. I usually get to do everything with Farrah so this will be something for just James and Farrah to do.

Surgery...

Last week I had my right shoulder surgery and it was a little more then I expected. I had a slap tear and then once my Dr. took a closer look at my shoulder, he realized that the actual ball was no longer in the socket. So after my surgery he told James that my rehab was going to be real fun...haha!

I've needed to have this surgery for a while and thankfully I love my Dr. He is so great that he will be doing surgery on my left shoulder in October...haha!! James and I talked about which shoulder to do first and thought it might be better to do my dominate arm first just in case I didn't want to get the other one done. I haven't had a lot of pain unless I move my shoulder in a way that I know I'm not suppose to, like trying to dress Farrah. My right shoulder is higher then my left and the movement feels so foreign to me. I had no idea my shoulder was out of its socket and it feels so unnatural for it to be in place.

When we got home I went to bed and crashed all day and then that evening we discovered that our AC went out at home. I was in such a fog that I really don't remember much but being loaded up by my brother and LaJuana, and headed to Levelland to my parents house. They were out of town that weekend so it worked out great. Lance and LaJuana were such a great help to me that night. Shawna helped with Farrah during the day. She took Farrah the night before and then took her swimming and then took her to the park. Farrah had so much fun that I don't think she was ready to come home.

Needless to say, this week has been very interesting. Having only one good arm with a VERY active two year old is a big challenge. The hardest part is not really being able to hold Farrah. Farrah has been such a trooper. She has truly blessed my heart this week. She has been the sweetest thing! She saw my staples for the first time and said "Oh mommy....I kiss you booboo!" I've been asking/telling her that she needs to be a helper. She has done great with helping me with a lot of different things this week. The biggest challenge this week has been her car seat!

Having only one arm this past week I have learned a few things about myself. I am learning patience, how to ask for help, and to slow down. I have always known that I'm not a patient person but this week its really been put to the test. Not with James or Farrah but with myself. I have always been a person who did the best I could. Not being able to do my best was been really frustrating for me. Not being able to cook, clean and bath my own child much less bath my own self was really hard.

So not being able to do things my self, I found myself having to ask for help. James has been amazing!! He has had to dress me, do my hair and help me even shower. It has brought a lot of laughter and some tears (when it comes to my hair). We've had some great friends and family really step up and help us by cooking us dinner and helping with Farrah. I've even had to call upon friends to straighten my hair...haha!!

The most important thing that I've needed to learn is to slow down. If you know me at all, you know that I LOVE being busy. This week has been such a busy week for us. I've had two funerals, doctor appointments, physical therapy and so many more things. By Friday, I was worn out and now I'm battling a summer cold......great!! I always know when I've done to much cause I usually end up getting sick. I'm excited about this week because I am choosing to slow down and play with Farrah before she starts school next week.

Thank you all who have helped me this past week! James is very glad he didn't have to cook any this week!

I found this picture that James took of me and Farrah....I have no idea when he took this.

Heavy Hearted....

This week has been a pretty hard week! My hometown of Levelland lost three very special people this week. One was Christie Devitt, she and I went to high school together. I can honestly say I have never met anyone like Christie. She is so genuine and sweet.

So with the loss of Christie this week it had me thinking. I had surgery last week and was starting to get frustrated with life. Getting frustrated with having only one arm, not being able to hold Farrah, having to ask for help, having to slow down and feeling like I have been replaced in some friendships. If you know me at all, these things are important to me! My family and my friends. To top it all off, I also had to quit my new job this week before it even started due to my surgery. I'm so thankful that I don't have to work, but I was going to be a teacher for our KDO program at church. It was perfect because Farrah was going to be able to go with me and I was going to start being able to start saving some extra money for fertility. I know my plans aren't my own but it's still disappointing!

It kills me to tell Farrah "No, I can't hold you baby." But I have done lots of sitting and holding Farrah in my lap and that is truly wonderful! I have to slow down to sit and hold Farrah which does this mommy a lot of good. Farrah's little world has been turned upside down this week. We've had lots of family helping with her and she is so tired. So I am choosing to slow down and letting us both rest. Even if it means watching Toy Story 3 multiple times a day...haha!!



Asking for help is very hard for me to do as well. I am a VERY independent person and pretty much do everything on my own. My biggest challenge this week was figuring out how to keep my house clutter free. If my house is cluttered, I will not rest. The first thing I did was make my huge bed all by myself! I did it one handed and it was a challenge, but I did it! It didn't look great but I did it. After that I put dishes in the dishwasher one handed, and after that I was on a roll....well as much as one can do one handed. Haha!!




I have discovered this week, especially after Christie, what I need most is God and my family. My little family of three is the most important thing to me and as long as I have my husband and my daughter, then I am truly blessed! We all need friends but I have to remember, I married my best friend. James, you make me laugh everyday and make me proud to be your wife. You make me want to be a better person, wife and mother.

Water fun/Swimming lessons

This last week and this week Farrah and I are doing mommy and me swim lessons. We did this last year and had so much fun! Farrah loves the water so I knew she would love it again.



She is learning to jump off the side of the pool, get out of the pool by herself (elbow, elbow, knee, knee), swimming under the water, blowing bubbles and kicking and scooping the water. She is so fun to watch, but there are days when she is done she's done. Poor thing, the water is freezing cold, and she just sits and shivers to death.



She has made a friend with a little girl named Abby and a little boy named Luke and this makes Farrah excited about going everyday. It's so much fun to watch Farrah interact with other children, I wish I had her courage to go and meet new people like she does..haha!!



Farrah has this water table that she LOVES to play with and we do this every night. She starts out real careful and by the end of the night she is soaked from head to toe. She has the biggest grin on her face so I know she is having a blast! She even sticks her head in the water and blows bubbles.

July 4th...whoops!

So I was looking through my pictures and realized I never blogged about 4th of July and I want to remember Farrah at this age so here we go. Last 4th of July we were stuck inside because of all the rain we were getting, and this year we are inside because of the heat...haha!



My whole family was in town for 4th of July this year, and I couldn't tell you the last time this happened! So needless to say we were very excited. We started off with the parade on Broadway and had fun. This was the perfect day, and we had some great weather for once this year. It was an overcast morning which made it perfect for the parade.



Farrah was really into the parade this year, and it was really fun watching her. Just seeing new things through her eyes makes my heart happy! She really soaked up the sounds and sights of the parade, and waved her little heart out at everyone who walked by. At one point someone walked up to us and gave Farrah a flag, and she was so excited but the only bad part was that the flag became a weapon. So you had to really watch out when she started waving her flag (just makes me smile watching her).



After the parade we were off to a cookout and swimming at our house and we always love that! We would much rather have people at our home than wrestle Farrah for an hour at a restaurant...haha! After lunch we let the kids loose in the pool and it was crazy for awhile. It really amazes me with having older nieces and nephews on both sides of our family, and how they all really look out for Farrah. We are truly blessed with amazing nieces and nephews and Farrah is CRAZY about each and every one of them!



Another great July 4th! We are so proud to live in the US and are very thankful for each and every service man and woman!