A lot has changed

We have added another Farnum this year. Little Cierra Nicole came to us on July 12. She had to be coaxed out but made a quick and easy delivery for both of us. The adjustment to three has been something but we're doing it and it's getting better daily. Well here are some pictures to share with you all.

My happy, and hot baby. Thank you daddy for opening the window!!

My beautiful family hanging out on Saturday morning.

Ethan talking to his singing lion.

She loves her brother.
Can you believe that he's 5 months already. Starting to sit up on his own and rolling over. Talking and will lay on his back and play with his feet. He's getting so big so fast. Everything is going to his mouth. He'll grab my finger and put it in his mouth. We are loving every minute of him.

Spring Update!

Alexa at Tulip Time this year! It was freezing but you wouldn't know because she was in charge of bringing her coat and forgot it. (grandma brought it a little later)

One of our crab apple trees in bloom this spring. It was absolutely gorgeous. Thank you God.

Mom's big boy and my "miniature Jimmy."

My cuddly kids smiling for the camera. So cute.

Well things are going pretty well around our house. Jim's working full time and staying really busy with his landscaping job. He's also learning how to work his new camera so that he can get video of all of his hunts this year.

Alexa is really liking her new daycare and making all kinds of new friends. We're very happy with our choice to move her to the new daycare as well as Ethan. She has also become my big helper with her brother. She loves to hug him and kiss him and talk to him. She's very ready for this summer weather and activities. She can't wait to turn 4 and go swimming and wear shorts and tank tops. She's definately going to live in the warm area of the world when she grows up. She amazes me daily with her understanding of things in the world. She's soaking things up like a sponge and is very easily influenced. We're trying to make sure that she's getting the right ones. You should hear her tell you the story of Jesus and how he saves our sins. She'll make a believer out of anyone. It's so cute and special.

Ethan has gotten so big and just keeps on growing. He's 4 1/2 months old now and weighs 18lbs 4 oz. We've had a few ear infections and been on antibiotics for a month but I think that we're finally going to kick that happit. Now we're starting to do some teething I believe. The slobber is flowing and he's constantly got his hands in his mouth. He is rolling over and grabbing things. He's getting so big, so quickly.

As for me I'm back to working full time. Trying to get my flowers and my yard beautiful already and keep up with the household chores. I have also decided to redecorate my bathroom with some paint and new fixtures. This place is always going to be a work in progress I foresee. Well enjoy the pictures. Have a wonderful Spring and beginning of summer. God Bless!

Back to Work

Well last week was my first week back at work and while it was awful to leave my children with someone new it was awesome to get out and about amongst people again and have conversations with adults about things other than my kids. Now don't get me wrong I would love to be home with them and I cried that first morning as I sent them out the door to a new daycare but I like going someplace where I know what I'm doing and I feel like I can really help people. I got back to work and stepped right back into my old job organizing and keeping things together for Dr. John. I really enjoy my job and I enjoy my family but I think that it takes both to make me realize how much I need the other.

This weekend I took some new pictures of the kids that I thought that I'd share. I hope that things are going well for the rest of you. God Bless.

Already 7 weeks old

Well things here in Iowa are going well. Jim is still off of work which is allowing us to have a lot of time together as a family. Alexa is still going to preschool every morning which gives her a break from the house. This last week it was actually 60 degrees here a couple of days so we were able to get outside and walk a little bit, she even got her bike out and rode it to Grandma's house. She really liked that. Now today we've had another snow storm so we're back to being inside and in our winter coats.

We've all stayed pretty healthy. Ethan did have a cold which was not very fun for a 5 week old. He's doing much better now though. The cold didn't stop him from eatting though, we took him to be weighed yesterday and he's up to 12lbs and 14.8oz at 7 weeks old. It's hard to believe that he started at 7lbs 1oz. Other than gaining weight he's spending more time awake during the day and he even coos. He has grown to love the just looking at the ceiling fan even when it's not on and of course sister Alexa entertains him. We have to keep an eye on the two of them though because Alexa also likes to try and pick him up and move him around when she's holding him. It's a good thing that God knew what he was doing with babies and the amount of cartilage they have.

I have 4 more weeks off of work before returning to the clinic job with Dr. John. I'm excited and sad at the same time to go back. It will be nice to be out of the house but I'm going to miss spending all of this quality time with the two of them. We still have to decide on a daycare for the two of them together. We're praying and hope that God will lead us to someone that will love our children and take such good care of them.

Well I'll update when we have new pictures. Who knows how big he'll be then. Have a Happy Valentines Day! God Bless

Our Christmas Miracle

Well I thought that I would update you on what's been going on in our family. On the 23rd of December at 4:26pm we received the best Christmas present ever, Ethan James was born. He weighed 7lbs 1oz and was 20 1/2 inches long. He came out very healthy and nursed right away and hasn't stopped since. He's grown now to be 7lbs 14oz on the 5th of January and I'm sure more than that now. He's a very good nurser and a pretty good baby. We only hear from him when he has a really poopy diaper or he wants to eat which normally happens pretty quickly after the other.

Alexa is adjusting quite well. She is constantly wanting to hold and hug and kiss Ethan. We let her do this with supervision of course because she thinks that she's a big girl now. We're trying to give her as much attention as possible and keep things normal. It's been a blessing in disguise that Jim is on temporary layoff because of the weather, this means that he's been home with us since before Ethan was born. It makes it easier for both kids to get the attention that they need and deserve. He's been keeping busy here at home and with hunting and now shoveling all the snow.

Well if things go as expected I'm planning on being home until the middle of March before returning to my job at the clinic full time. Well I hope that the holidays were great for everyone and that God is blessing you all.

Almost ready for baby!

Can you believe that it's almost time for baby Farnum to join our family. Alexa is very excited about being a big sister. We took her to sibling class last night and she learned how to hold the baby and she learned about the germs. She's going to be on the germ patrol when baby Farnum comes along. We have the nursery ready. We're expecting it to be a boy! Jim is excited about adding a Farnum.




Alexa is getting so big. She's going to preschool and getting very smart. She seems to like it. She's learning how to identify her name and how to spell it. She's doing pretty well. I can't believe that she's getting so smart and so big. Well we'll update when we have our baby but here are a few recent pictures.

Alexa as Belle on Halloween!

Our family at the pumpkin farm.

35 Weeks pregnant with Baby Farnum!

Lots of Changes

Well 2008 has brought along lots of changes to the Farnum household. Jim lost his job the 21st of March and is on unemployment while searching for a new way to provide for our family. It's been quite a trying time for us but we're making it. God is showing us all the things that we do have and is amazingly providing for our every need. Everytime I turn around things are getting taken care of.

With Jim losing his job I have realized just how much God knows. He truly does things for our own good. We're still trying to conceive a second child, it's been 19 months now. Although I look back and wonder what God was thinking I now know that there's no way we would have made it if I would have gone back to work only part-time and Jim not working. There are miracles all around us. I just didn't understand at the time. I've learned to truly trust God and he won't lead you astray. Now that doesn't mean I don't ask him at times whether or not he's still there or why it's taking him so long to answer our prayers. I just know that there's no use in worrying about it. "Don't worry about tomorrow, God is already there working on it."

Alexa is doing very well. She's going to be 3 soon. I can't believe it. Right now she has pink eye, the medication is drops in her eyes 4 times a day. Now can you imagine holding down a 3 year old to give her drops. She's very smart so we've decided to bribe her with candy!!! This seems to work. It also seems to work to calmly explain what we're going to do but this isn't quite so easy for Jim, it's been a great test of his patience but he's learning. This is why I'm the nurse and he's not!:)

Other than the pink eye things with Alexa are good. She helped me paint a computer table for her that Jim made. We did a green top with pink and purple legs. She had a blast and paint in her hair and on her lips. We are going to set up my old computer for her to use to play her games on and type. She likes to pretend that she's old!!

I've been working some extra to make the bills and Alexa has gotten the mommy thing down. She tucks me in in the morning, she tells me that if I go right to sleep that I can have a gummy bear when I wake up. She's so sweet and takes such good care of her Mom and Dad.

Well I hope that you all are doing well. God Bless. Happy Spring!

Happy 2008! Here's to Great Beginnings!

Well what a year! It has truly been an adventure for us.We've been realizing how much God loves us and has planned for us.
Well as most of you know we have had a year of loss and a year of spiritual gain. We lost my great grandma, Reva this year and we also lost Jim's grandma, Verna. We know that this was God's plan and they both loved the Lord and are in a better place. We have also had a year of joy and grief. One of my good friends finally got pregnant but then found out that she had lost a twin. While she's still pregnant and due in March this was hard news to bear. Another of our friends was 12 weeks along and lost her baby boy. She too is pregnant again and is expecting a girl in May. Oh the plans He has for us!!
We've had more signs that God knows what he's doing, Jim and I decided last November that we were ready to have a baby so we started trying. By July I was concerned and we did some testing but everything came back fine. The next step would cost us a lot of money and we decided that we weren't that desperate and we'd been told that the test would probably come back fine so we decided to just wait for God. Well we're still waiting but I have started to see God's reasoning. It would be very beneficial for me to not have to go back to work after having another child, this isn't possible until I've worked for 5 years so that my Perkins loan is forgiven. I still have 1year and 4 months left before that can happen. It seems to me at this time that God is just making sure that I can do that.
In the mean time we're thoroughly enjoying spending time with Alexa. She never ceases to amaze me. Her vocabulary is expanding more every day. I'm doing my best to start that good english from the beginning. I'll correct her and she must be paying attention because the next time she makes the same grammar mistake she will correct herself. She keeps us very busy. Just when you think that sleeping in is going to become the normal she wakes up at 6:30am. While we have the dual paychecks we're also trying to enjoy what we have and fix up our house so that we don't have to do it then. Although if we did everything that we truly wanted to I'd be working full-time until retirement!! You never have everything, there's always something more. Contentment is a lesson that God and I are still working on.
Well I hope that this year brings all of you contentment and happiness. I pray that God is with you every day and you see his love show in everything that you do. We love you all. Happy New Year!

Well I'm not sure if anyone still reads this but I thought that I'd update. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. I'm at work tonight of course. It's kind of slow but steady at least. Whatever it takes to at least get some paycheck. That's the bummer of working in a small hospital, but I do like it.
Alexa is getting so big and it was a lot of fun to watch her open her presents this morning. She was so excited and the typical child. When she opened the clothes she threw them on the floor and asked for the next present. When we were done she was sad and frowned and said that she wanted to open more presents. Now some may say that's greedy but I've been told that's simply how they are at this age. At least this year she was ripping into the presents and she spent all day playing with new things. She is loving Cinderella this year so we got her a Cinderella doll and grandma got her some new sheets and the movie and she's just surrounded by it now, I'm sure she'll move on to something different soon.
Well over deer season we went out and braved the ice storm and Jim got 2 doe's and I got a doe and a 6 point buck. It was sick so we got rid of it, it broke it's rack off when it fell to the ground with my shot. It was sad but my hope is that there's plenty more and bigger where that one came from. We still have 4 tags to fill before the middle of January so we're going to keep hunting. It's a lot of fun to spend time together. I just can't wait until Alexa actually gets to go with us, I hate leaving her with Grandparents or friends.
That's all the news for now. Nothing exciting this month to tell you. I hope that the new year finds you all happy and healthy. God Bless.

Alexa and Sam in there new bibs, ready for the train ride!

Aren't I cute in my new bibs?

Sam, Alexa, Rob and Sam riding the carousel.

Jim, Alexa, Rob and Sam getting ready for a real pony ride!

Alexa riding on the train, "HELLO!"

Well this last weekend was Old Threshers, we were only able to go down for Sunday afternoon and evening but look at all the fun that we had. Not a lot going on here just trying to milk the most out of the last part of summer. Alexa is learning a lot of words and talking up a storm. She loves to play outside in her new house.

We're still not pregnant but we're hopeful. We've done some testing and so far things on my end are alright but we're awaiting Jim's test results. Please continue to pray for us and this effort. God will bless us someway, just pray for us to know clearly which route He wants us to take.

Well I'd better get ready to leave for work. Have a wonderful week. God Bless

Samantha

Moving

Jimmy in Alaska with Red salmon
Alexa with Grandma Farnum

Alexa with Aunt Jeanette
Travis and Ty.




Well you might wonder why I haven't written lately. I've been stuck in the new world of MYSPACE. My mom is pushing me to write both, she's actually made a myspace page to keep up. So I thought I would update you on what's been going on this month in our life.
Well Jimmy had a good trip to Alaska fishing with his dad. He caught Halibut, King Salmon, Silver salmon, and a bunch of other fish that I can't remember the names. While he was gone though he caught bronchitis and has brought it home and shared it with the family. We're trying not to share it with our friends.
While Jim was gone Bernice came and we made a trip to St. Louis and visited some of her old stomping grounds and had a party with her friends. We then made the trip to Indiana and stayed with Jim's sister and played with the boys. We had a lot of fun and got to see a lot of veggie tales movies while on the road. Alexa did pretty well though for all the driving. When we got back it wasn't for a very long stay because my great grandma passed away in Michigan so we went up there last week. We came home on Friday and spent the weekend taking a deep breathe and relaxing at home before we started this week at work.
Work has been pretty slow while I've been there. I haven't really worked that much because I've been gone and because we've been closed. This is my weekend so we're destined to be closed again. Which isn't a bad thing it's simply not good for the budget. I guess this just gives us the chance to practice being a one income family.
As far as fertility goes we're not much closer than we were 9 months ago. We're still trying, so far my thyroid and my progesterone levels show that things are all fine. Our next step is to make sure that Jimmy's levels are all fine and then I guess we move into the more extensive steps. We're struggling with when it's too much intervention and when do we just stop and wait for more time to pass. At least now we know that things on my end are alright at least chemically. We really want another baby and every month is truly a stuggle for me in my trusting God to take over and make things happen for us. I'm not sure what I can do to convince myself that He's in control and I need to "let go." We'll see. My friend Courtney that has been trying for two years is pregnant and my friend Valerie that suffered the loss of her daughter Erin is pregnant again so I'm trying to just be the best friend I can and not bother them with my concerns any longer. I con't want to be the friend that darkens every meeting.
Well that's enough sad talk for now. Alexa is doing well and her vocabulary is expanding greatly. She's becoming a lot more clear in her words and she's a lot of fun. I'm kind of enjoying this two year old stage for the moment.
I'm going to get going . Hope you're all doing well. God Bless
I'll try to keep updating things. If you're interested you can see pictures on my myspace page. Go to www.myspace.com/samanthaobnurse.

Samantha

Sorry this should have published a long time ago and it didn't go so I'm publishing it now.

Back into the Swing of Things

Well it seems like maybe my body has finally remembered it's purpose. I know that I'm kind of jumping the gun some might say, but I'm just excited that I've ovulated this month. God truly is in control and I know that and sometimes I think that He has to remind us/me of that fact. This doesn't of course guarantee that I'm going to be pregnant but it reassures me that my body does know what it's doing and it can ovulate when it wants to. Please pray for me this month just to be able to have the patience and if I'm not pregnant that I would be able to continue on in a good mood about the trying part and not lose hope.

Alexa is doing so good. She's finally potty trained, except for the occassional accident but we're so proud of her. Every day she does something else to amaze me. She's picking up vocabulary like crazy and of course repeating everything that you say. She loves to "mow" and play with her babies. She's definitely in the 2 year old phase of sharing with others, it doesn't happen. She thinks that everything is hers and she is into pushing and stealing the toys that she wants. She's definitely her papa's girl because she loves to be outside playing, especially with her new companion-Mocha, our dog. Jim and I have decided they're going to be best friends. Mocha is such a good dog, Alexa can push her and hug her and play with her and she just stands there. She has been such a good addition to our family.

Jimmy is getting packed and ready for his big trip with his dad to Alaska. He leaves on Friday. He's planning on doing a lot of fishing and from the sounds of it not too much sleeping. It's only dark there from 11:30pm to 4:30 am right now so my guess is that they're going to fish most of the time. He's very excited but I'm very nervous. It's a long way away and I want to make sure that he comes back to us. Please pray for him.

I am also asking everyone for prayers for a former patient of PRHC. Their little baby died on Tuesday night and they're struggling with the loss right now. Please pray for peace for them. They have had a tough time and also have a lot more to deal with. Also pray for the nurses and doctors that took care of Cody. Pray for peace.

Well that's all for right now. Hope that you're all doing well. I'll write later.
Samantha

Feeling 10 again

Have you ever felt like you were back in 2nd or 3rd grade? Well that's how I'm feeling right now. Just this overwhelming feeling of being the odd one that no one likes, like everyone else has boobs and is wearing a bra and I'm not. At church I don't feel like we're fitting in. People go places and do things and we're not invited. I'm not saying I want invited to everything but it would just be nice to be included sometimes. I often think that people are afraid to include me, or call me simply because they are afraid they're going to wake me up. WAKE ME UP, PLEASE!!! I'm missing that special fellowship with a lot of people and I'm struggling with that. I don't want to force people to invite us places but church feels very cliqueish(?) right now and I don't like that feeling and I don't feel close to anyone. Well anyone that is but good old faithful friends, Aaron and Courtney. No matter how the world flips us around, no matter where we land Courtney and I always understand what the other one needs. Thanks Courtleg!!

Through all of these feelings I'm also working on the fertility feelings. I'm trying to be more open to God and talking to him straight forward about what I want and how I want to understand his reasonings for things. In the midst of this I've talked to one of my doctor's about the situation and we're going to do a progesterone level to see where things are, as far as ovulation. I'm just praying that this will give me some answers and let me know where to go next. Please continue to pray for me with this issue.

Well in other areas Alexa is now 2 and doing well. She's potty trained, except for the occassional accident and doing pretty well with it. We're very proud of her.
Well work is very busy so I'd better go. 6 babies and 6 mom's right now. I'll talk to you all soon. Congratulations Michelle! See ya
Samantha

Alexa's Birthday Weekend

Her and Courtney hanging out while mom was the seemstress.

Her last days of being 1 year old.

The Fish Cake, imagine the candles on top.

Standing in line to ride the 4-wheeler with Uncle Jimmy.

It's birthday weekend and the cousins have come to visit. It's a little different though now because Alexa is old enough to play and fight for her toys. Before they got here I worked on the birthday cake for Alexa's party tomorrow. Well not a lot of time to blog but I thought that I would definitely get the pictures of the cake up so you could all see my masterpiece. Well I hope that you have a good weekend. See ya soon.

Samantha

2 years old

I can't believe that Alexa is going to be 2 on Sunday. She's getting so old. Potty training is going better. She's been wearing just pull-ups and she's been dry for 5 days, except for 2 accidents. We're happy with this and she's not holding it, she's telling us she has to go and sitting on her potty and papa's potty, even pooping in the potty. It seriously feels like we've been working at this potty training thing for an entire year. Oh well, I'm kind of sad too because that means no more baby, no more diapers. We haven't been able to get rid of the "rag" though. She still has to have it to go to sleep at night, I guess that's not too bad at the age of 2. She's doing really well and her vocabulary has exploded, you really have to watch what you say because she repeats everything.
Well what we've been waiting for for 2 years is finally hear, my friend Courtney is finally pregnant!! :) I'm so excited for her that I almost forgot about the fact that another month has passed and we're not pregnant again. I have just been praying that this pregnancy will take and that God will protect this little child. I know there are risks but if anyone deserves to have this baby it's Courtleg.
Well that makes almost all of my friends that were trying to have a baby pregnant now. I've got to be coming up here soon. I'm surrounded by pregnant women. I really thought that by not trying it would make it easier on me when I started my period this month but it's not as drastically changing as I thought. Maybe that means that I am not really, "not trying." Part of me wants to know what's wrong with my body and another part of me just wants God to give me the desires of my heart but at the time that he wants it. How much is too much trying or intervention?
Well I'm just trying to vent a little. Please pray for Jim and I and our family and friends and all the pregnancies of my friends. Well blog again soon. Hopefully next month at this time we will have some better news. Happy Independence Day!
Samantha

Playhouse

It's done!! The playhouse is up and ready to be played in. Alexa has a lot of fun in it when the bugs aren't attacking her. The slide still needs to be bolted on but then she'll be really in business. It's nice to have somewhere for her to play while we're out working in the yard.

We've been working on improving our deck so we've stained it and we're doing a cherry floor and white railing all the way around. We really like it and it really makes the house look sharp. We've also gotten new furniture on our deck, now that the hot tub is gone, so that we can sit out and enjoy meals and friends on the deck.

Well Jim and I have decided to stop trying to have a baby. It's been 8 months and it's been very emotionally trying and just too hard on us right now. God has a different plan for us so I've decided to focus on my relationship with Him for awhile instead of worrying so much about myself every month. I'm reading a great book given to me by a friend, "Traveling Light," by Max Lucado, he's a very easy author to read and his stories keep you interested. I'm holding on to a lot of baggage that I don't need to and I need to "let it go," as Dr. Carlstone would say. I'm also going to take this time to focus on my friends. I have a dear friend that has been trying for 2 years and I want to be an encouragement through the next steps of her journey to motherhood, not a stumbling block.

Jim is doing well, pretty busy at work this week and driving back and forth to Ames everyday to deliver samples. He's been working in the yard and riding on his new four-wheeler. We even weeded the garden,the three of us, on Sunday night. We did well until Alexa started getting eatten alive. The bugs love her and bit her 6 times on the face. She's going to be 2 in 3 weeks. It's so unbelievable that she's so old already, although her attitude is definately showing me that she knows it. We're having lots of fun with everything that she's learning. We're working on sharing though.

Well that's just a little of what's going on here. I hope that everyone is doing well!

Sam

RENO

Well sorry that it's been such a long time since my last post but we've been on vacations for the last two weeks. First we went to Minnesota for a long weekend over memorial day and had a good time just relaxing and Jim went fishing with his friend Aaron and his dad. Alexa played with Grandma and we went shopping in Pequot Lakes. It was very nice and relaxing. We also got to see the playhouse almost finished. I don't think that I've mentioned it but Jim's parents are building Alexa a big playhouse. It's 41/2 feet off the ground and has a deck and a slide. It's here at our house now and next week they're going to come and help get it all set up. Once it's finished I'll put some pictures up for all to see.

This last week Alexa and I were in Reno, Nevada visiting my college roommate Kim and Pete and Maya. We had a blast. We went to Sacramento and San Francisco, CA over the weekend which was really cool to see since the last time I was supposedly there was when I was Alexa's age. We met some new friends and had a lot of fun. We went shopping on Pier 39 and saw the sea lions and Alcatraz, and the Golden Gate Bridge. We also went to a water park in Sacramento and went to Lake Tahoe all in one week. We did a lot of relaxing and enjoying conversation too. It was a lot of fun and maybe next time Jim will be able to come with us.

Alexa was on her very first airplane this last week on our way to Reno. She did pretty well. We had early flights so she was pretty tired but there was a lot of excitement so she didn't sleep much but was good on the plane. She's never met a stranger so we made friends wherever she went. Well I'm adding some picures from our trip. We'll write again soon. Hope all is going well. GodBless!

Alexa and I before her first airplane ride.

Alexa at Raging Waters

Pete, Kim and Maya at Raging Waters in Sacramento

Alexa and I at Lake Tahoe, CA

Alexa and Maya

Happy Mother's Day!

God is always teaching me patients and just when I start to doubt the fact that He knows what He's doing He shows me. I'm currently reading the story of Jacob and Rachel(Genesis 29-35), which has come at a good time in my life. I know that God will provide for me when at last he remembers me and I am still showing my faith in him.

Our weekend was good. We were in Davenport for my nephews birthday and then we spent Mother's Day all together. Our lunch was at Biaggi's which the service was terrible and the food was ok but the company was good and we made a good afternoon out of it. All the girls went and got pedicures which was my first time experiencing such a nice thing. The best part was that while they were down there cleaning my toes all up I was sitting in this wonderful chair that was giving me a deep message. I loved it and I'm definately going to do that again. Thanks Mom!

While we were there we visited my brother's new church. It's great to see him so excited about a church and for him to get his family up and ready to go every sunday is a great thing. I hope that this is the turning point in his life. He's definately making a good effort this time. It's a very interesting set up. They have a breakfast and lunch and it depends on what service you go to which you get served but you sit at tables and eat and then while you're finishing they start the service and you stay at those same tables. It was a good service.

Well I hope you all had a good mother's day. Only two weeks and Alexa and I are headed to Reno to visit Kim and Pete. I can't wait for a vacation and to see miss Maya and experience the west coast. I'll write later. Hope God is Blessing you all.

Ready to Party!!

Sam had his cake and ate it too. Actually more like sucked it in.

Both kids were crashing after their sugar high. Alexa didn't want to let papa hold just Sam!

Samantha