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!