Wednesday, April 30, 2008

May 19th- It begins

So I start work May 19th. I am planning on doing 2 days a week, mostly 12 hour days but occasionally 8 hours as well, like when Dave is out of town. I found a preschool/daycare that I really like and is really close to home. Dave will be taking the boys and picking them up, since his days will be shorter than mine. 2 days doesn't break the bank, although it will be $170 a week. Then I will have to pay for formula ($200/month) and baby food pretty soon, but this should still be enough to make enough extra do do the debt snowball. So, yay, i'm excited to get back in the swing of things but still be with my kids 5 days a week. I feel like this will be the best of both worlds.
Please pray that it goes well, both for me and my precious children. Separation has been a big issue for Jeremiah lately. 

Monday, April 28, 2008

may 11= 6 years

May 11 will be our 6 year anniversary. That looks like it is going to be a really busy weekend. Friday we are having a big volunteer appreciation dinner where we are supposed to dress up like movie characters. I think this will be really fun. Then Sunday there is a big mothers day thing dave is planning for mothers by the student ministry. With this being his deal, it will be quite interesting to see if he remembers our anniversary and what he does. We shall see!

Dont you dare remind him! Lets see how good he really is!

Monday, April 21, 2008

God has a sense of humor

i am a pretty laid back person. I enjoy being still, taking naps & being quiet. God has a sense of humor in that he gave me a husband so different from me and beyond that gave me Jeremiah, who is a mini-Dave. They dont know how to be still, are wide awake (all the time) and are soooo loud. I love them both with all my heart, but it just seems so strange that we would be together.
I have finally come to the realization that God does things for a reason to grow you. Sometimes, it is so hard to see and know why in the moment, however. I have been really struggling with Jeremiah lately. He has been really testing my boundaries. We have had multiple battle of the wills lately. Harriet always prayed Dave would have a kid just like him and he got that. But what about Daves wife. I think this should be a question asked prior to getting married. It has been so hard to get used to this personality. I know God has taught me so much and changed me in so many ways through Dave and I am forever grateful. I know He is growing certain areas of me now too with Jeremiah, it is just so hard to see in the moment. I love my kid to pieces and he can be a sweetheart, but age 4 has really been a hard one for me. I see myself in him so much, but it is usually the negative traits, like his anger, his temper, his attitude. He argues everything that comes out of my mouth, which is what i did with my dad (I say did b/c I now see it and am making a conscience effort to not). It is so hard to see your flaws come out in your kid.
I am working really hard to be a better person, especially a better wife. I am re-reading Love and Respect and trying really hard to be respectful.
One part of the book says imagine if your son marries someone like you. That is part of my motivation to be better. I would not like Jeremiah or Thomas to marry someone like I was, who complains, nags, is disrespectful, breaks his spirit, shows contempt. This breaks my heart to think of my boys like that. I want them to see me being very respectful of their dad and see him treat me with all the love in the world. I want them to see how well we communicate about everything, and how we handle disagreements. I want them to know we love God first and each other second. I want them to know our relationship is a priority and we will do whatever it takes to make things work.
I feel like Dave and I are at a level we have never been at before in our marriage. May will make 6 years we have been married and 10 1/2 years together. We communicate better than ever now and i would put our marriage up against anyone. We have no secrets. I am happier than i have ever been and know God is changing me daily. I have so far to go, but i have come so far in this 10 years. We both have. I am so incredibly blessed to have the best husband in the world. He is so perfect for me, despite all the many differences. God knew what he was doing all these years ago and i know He has a plan for Jeremiah as well. I dont know yet how Thomas is going to be, but Im sure these Farris genes are hard to overcome, so i imagine, he will be pretty similar. Only time will tell.
I am so thankful for my boys and our differences. I know this is good for me and I welcome the changes that will hopefully take place in me as my boys grow up. Hopefully i will be able to see some of my good traits in them as well and a few less bad ones(in me and them)!

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

pics from jeremiahs digital










another plea to harriet

~Harriet~ i know i have asked you once or twice, but dont you want to retire early and come to cincy and keep your grand babies? This childcare thing is stressing me out. just thought id ask again! publicly for all to see. ~mandy~

Sunday, April 13, 2008

what to do, what to do...

man, childcare makes life so difficult. Who knew getting a job was so much work. It isnt actually the getting a job part that is hard, its the what to do with the kids that is hard.
I wanted to make $300 a month to be able to get our debt snowball rolling, since we were doing Financial Peace University. But that $300 quickly turned into so much more. For 2 days a week, school for Jeremiah was $100/week. But the job i am more than likely taking is prn, meaning as needed. They may call Monday and ask me to work Tuesday. It could change every week and some weeks I could get 36 hours a week, some weeks I could only get 8 hours. Preschools like consistency however, so there is a wrench. Most daycares take babies only fulltime (5 days a week/$170-$190), the ones that do take them part time also need the days to be consistent.
So i think, i should just work full time to justify full time childcare, and to be able to afford it, well the problem there is Dave is gone 4 weeks in the summer and if i work 7a-7p, the daycares all close at 6 or 630. So, what would i do about that. Not to mention that full time childcare is $1500 a month. Man, life is complicated when you throw in the little guys.
So i just ask that you pray for me to make the right decision about how much to work and where and what to do with these little guys. It is stressful for a mommy.

Tuesday, April 8, 2008

and i thought giving shots to babies was rough...

We had the boys check ups yesterday. Thomas' 4 month and Jeremiah's 4 year.
They went well, until it got time for the dreaded vaccines. I had them do Jeremiah 1st because i knew if Thomas was first and he knew he was next, he would be out the door. With the first one, i just held him, but he figured it out on #2 and by #3, we had to call in backup. It took 3 of us to hold him down and 1 to give the shots. He screamed like I have never heard him scream and kicked and tried to hit and tears just streamed down his face (and mine). He was so hot and mad after it was over with. Thomas cried because Jeremiah screamed so loud. It was horrible. I always thought the babies shots were bad, but they stopped crying as soon as you picked them up, not Jeremiah. He stewed over this all night. He was just plain mad. He said things like 'that mean nurse' and 'if i could have i would have kicked her in the face'. We tried to explain it was for his own good, but he wasnt a happy camper. The good thing is that we dont have to get shots for a few years. He was so sweet when it was Thomas' turn. He even cried when they gave him his and said please dont do that to my brother. It was sweet!
Jeremiah was 50% on height and weight for his age. He is 38 pounds now and 41 inches.
Thomas was between 75-90% on height, 26 1/4 inches, and 25% on weight, 14 pounds 6 ounces.
Jeremiah was 25 1/4 inches and 16 pounds at 4 months, so Thomas is longer and slimmer for now.
I have new pictures to post but we are using Harriets camera and her memory card doesnt work with my card reader and I dont know how to download pictures otherwise. But soon we will have some new pictures.

Thursday, April 3, 2008

urgent prayer request

As many of you know, i am addicted to this blog http://cfhusband.blogspot.com.
Well, Tricia got the call and got her new lung last night and is recovering as we speak in ICU. Please pray as this is such a crucial time. Pray that her body will accept, not reject the new lungs. Also, pray for the donors family, as this was not an expected event for them to lose someone they love.
check out the blog yourself if I have peaked your curiosity to know how she is doing over the next few weeks and months.
Thanks guys.

Tuesday, April 1, 2008

prayer requests

Please pray for my friend Tiffany. She just recently had her baby. She had to have an emergency c-section because the cord was wrapped around the babies neck twice. They had a really hard time getting her to stop bleeding and almost had to do an emergency hysterectomy to stop the bleeding. The baby is also having some problems with being lethargic and trouble feeding. She is only 28 years old. This is her first baby. Please pray that they can recover and heal and be able to enjoy their new baby like they should be able to.
Also, Dave has had multiple issues with kids and parents lately. Drama stuff, all pretty severe and intense. Please pray for some peace and resolve for him. He is pretty stressed and upset about alot of the issues.

Thanks!