"All Aboard!"

Last weekend our family got up entirely too early and headed to the local Amtrak station to meet some friends for the Santa Train. We decided to wait and tell the kids about it that morning so they were VERY eager to arrive and get on board. Bobby and I couldn't wait to see their faces because not only was this our first train trip, we knew that they would absolutely love this time with their friends and of course Santa. We were not disappointed at all! Below are our favorite pictures from our adventure! Enjoy!

(Above: Brenden was SO excited about the train!)

(Above: Bryleigh and Brenden posing while enjoying their "breakfast".)

(Above: Bryleigh eagerly waiting for Santa to arrive.)

(Above: The BEST picture all day! Check out Brenden's face!!!!)

(Above: Bryleigh was a little unsure at first but Santa insisted on a hug.)

(Above: Look who warmed up to Santa...she LOVED him!)

(Above: Brenden really enjoyed hanging out with his buddies on the train. They were "writing" on the windows.)

(Above: Bryleigh enjoyed hanging out with Daddy best...Daddy's girl!)

(Above: Brenden and Bryleigh celebrating arrival at the station.)

(Above: The Farr's - December 2010)

(Above: The crew! Gotta love it!!!)

Happy Thanksgiving from The Farrs

Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
for his steadfast love endures forever!
1 Chronicles 16:34

Family Traditions

Our family has a lot of family traditions that we enjoy regularly.
Traditions are actually a big deal for our family.
We feel that it is very important for us to have things that we do year after year that our kids can learn from us and then pass down to their kids.
Some of our traditions are things that we've learned from our parents.
Some are things that we started once we met each other.
Some are events that we enjoy now that we have kids.
Regardless, we LOVE all of our traditions!!!

Our most recent tradition revolves around UNC football.
We made the decision to buy 3 season tickets for the 2010 season.
Our intention was to have an opportunity to go to some home games regularly with Brenden (and sometimes Bryleigh) and cheer for our favorites, the Heels!
We have not regretted this decision at all!
We have actually loved the memories that we have created at the games this year!
Brenden has loved every second of this season and we even took Bry to one game for her to experience it as well.

It has been a great football season for our family and we're looking forward to many more just like this!

Our only wish, UNC would make winning a tradition for their team! ;)

Below are pictures from the game where we took Bryleigh and Brenden...

(Above: Bryleigh enjoying our hike to the game.)

(Above: Both kids enjoying a little pre-game fun.)

(Above: Brenden and Avery taking a break from playing football.)


(Above: Go Heels!!!)

(Above: So Much Fun with Friends!!!)

(Above: So in Love! PS Photography by Brenden)


(Above: Finally, game time! So exciting!)


(Above: Bryleigh spent the whole 1st half of the game hiding under blankets)


(Above: Brenden and Bryleigh cheering hard for those Heels)

(Above: 3 happy UNC fans after a great game!)

(Above: You know it was a great day when BOTH kids pass out on the way home!)

We LOVE this face and missed her dearly last week!

Happy 5th Birthday Brenden!

We are so blessed to call you our son!

We love you!!!

~ Mommy and Daddy
(more pics coming tomorrow)

Walking 4 Hope

So, I know that every one reading this blog should know who that girl is.
Hope.
Or Hopie, as she is affectionately called in our house.
Our niece.

However, what every one reading this blog may not know is that this is also Hope.

This is Hopie with all of her shots.
That's right, Hope has Type 1, or Juvenile, Diabetes.
She was diagnosed in 1st grade almost 2 years ago!
She is now 8 years old and is loving life and overcoming her fears every day.
This year she transitioned to an insulin pump which was scary for her but has been an amazing experience for us all.
We are very proud of her and all that she is learning and doing daily!
To show our support for Hope, we are planning to walk with her again in the JDRF Walk to Cure Diabetes on October 30th.
We all walked last year and it was such a great time for Hope and our family.

Here was our team...

...and here are a few of our pictures from the day...

So, needless to say we're very excited about this walk again this year.
We want you to be excited too and to consider helping us.
Please go here to find out more about how you can help:

click here

(To Hopie, We could not be more proud of you! You have done things that have absolutely amazed us. Keep smiling "Munchkin" and know that we love you!)

Weekend in Atlanta

About a month ago we went on a great weekend trip with some of our friends to Atlanta!

We had decided to all go down there for the UNC game and hang out together for the entire weekend! It was the GREATEST idea!!!

We got there on a Friday evening and had reservations for a tour at the Coca-Cola factory that evening. I had been to the old one before when I was younger but this was an even better experience. They had lots of cool exhibits and of course some yummy (and not so yummy) samples of coke from around the world. The boys had made a decision to try all of the flavors before we left and I was game until after about 40 samples and then I felt like I either needed to puke or quit. Needless to say, I picked the 2nd option! ;)

On Saturday the boys had football on the schedule for the entire day so they girls were left alone to enjoy the aquarium, some shopping, and yummy lunch and dinner. It was AMAZING! The aquarium was HUGE and had so many fascinating animals and exhibits. (YES, even me with my panic issues enjoyed this experience!) My 2 favorite things from the aquarium were the up-close observations of the penguins (AWESOME) and the whale sharks (SCARY BUT COOL)!!! It was a great day spent with great friends and I'm very thankful for the fun times and the memories!

Bible Verses

After school one day last week Brenden's teacher shared a fun story about his day...

She told us that they were listing their favorite bible verses and each child was allowed to contribute a verse if they wanted to.
Brenden wanted to share his favorite verse with the class.
He listed the address for it which actually impressed his teacher that he knew a verse so well.
So she asked him, "What does that verse say?"
Brenden grinned and said "Look both ways before crossing a street!"

SUPER!

We have taught him verses, practiced them numerous times, and read to him nightly and THIS is his favorite verse?!?!
Great testimony son!

Well, thankfully he redeemed himself a bit last night.



We are very proud of him for remembering his 1st verse for Awanas.
(We can tell you why this is so impressive but that's not important)

Now, fingers crossed...maybe he'll share the good news with his friends at school soon!

Well, it's official...our Bug has started his last year of preschool!
This is a VERY bittersweet reality in the Farr household.
We feel blessed that Brenden has had such a great preschool experience.
We love knowing that he is well taken care of during the day with his Aunt KK near if needed.
We also cherish the friendships that he has established with so many kids in his class.
However, we cannot wait to not pay for tuition for him each month.
We are also eager to have him at Easley where I can keep an eye on him each day.
We also know that each phase that we pass brings on more fun for us all.

When we got ready for the first day I was eager to get some pictures of Bug before we left the house just in case things got too crazy at school and I forgot to take some there. Brenden was VERY willing to pose and smile for his pictures. His only request was that I please take pictures of him with his backpack on. (Note: This was NOT a new backpack but he's still proud.)

Once we got to school Brenden hoped out of the van with "his glasses" on saying he was ready! Ha!

After some begging he agreed to leave behind his glasses for today. :)

He looked SO handsome and very grown!
He was so excited about his first day that he was almost nervous.
This was a side of him that we haven't seen honestly but he managed his anxiety well.

I think some last minute hugs from Mommy definitely helped him feel better...

Well, that was actually to help Mommy!
(It was a very emotional day for some reason!)

After preschool Brenden was all smiles and loved getting goodbye hugs from his teachers!
We are very proud of him and are excited about the new year ahead!

It's that time again...

...time for us to lace up those soccer shoes and head out to the fields!

As you all know, we've been here before (2 times) so this is nothing new. However, we're hoping that this experience will be a little different. We're definitely praying for lots of laughter and fun with just a few (or zero) tears! Wouldn't that be a big change in our soccer game! ;)

Brenden is super excited this season and we know that if nothing else, he will love the time with his buddies and the dads.
Don't worry, we'll keep you updated on how it goes...

P.S. Let's go "Green Dinosaurs"...ROAR!