"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. "
Matthew 11:28 (NIV)

We just received news that our Granddaddy has passed away.
This is news that we have been trying to prepare ourselves for over the past few months...
However, now when we're faced with the news our hearts are breaking,
our tears are flowing, and our questions have already started forming.

We had big plans to visit Granddaddy this weekend.
We had wanted to see him, a belated Father's Day visit.
We were so eager for the weekend to arrive and now we're left feeling like a precious moment has been ripped away from us before we were ready.

We have spent every night since May praying for Granddaddy as a family.
In May we attended a doctors visit with him where they shared some results.
The words still haunt us...it was definitely cancer and it had spread through the blood to his bones. We will never forget that moment with Granddaddy.
His hope was that if he received treatment for his cancer then maybe, just maybe, he could be with all of us a bit longer.
The treatments have been hard...making him weak, tired, and very sick.
Our prayer has been for healing for our Granddaddy.
"Dear God, Please help Granddaddy not be sick" was often the prayer Brenden would pray.

It is with tears that we say God has heard our prayers!

He has truly healed Granddaddy and has welcomed him home today.
Granddaddy had amazing faith and we have no doubt in our minds about the welcome that he received at heaven when he arrived.

We ask now that each of you pray for us and our family.
Granddaddy has been the only grandfather that I have known and has been one of the most influential men in Bobby's life.
I am so thankful for how he has loved me since I've joined their family.
I am so blessed that my kids got to know him over these years.
I'm so appreciative of all that he has done in molding my husband into the man he is today.

However, I'm so sad to say goodbye.

Please pray that even though our grief is strong during this time of sorrow, that we will find comfort in the memories that we have made with him that will carry us into each tomorrow!

Happy Daddy's Day!

Happy Daddy's Day, Bobby!
I am so blessed to have you as my hubby and I couldn't have hand-picked a better Daddy for our kids! Your constant love, support, encouragement, help, forgiveness, and faith always amaze me and I hope you feel extra loved this Father's day! Thank you for being you and for also being the Best Daddy Ever! :)

Brenden's Preschool Graduation

Can you believe it?!
I know, it is amazing but it's true...
Brenden is now a preschool graduate!!!
His graduation was on Thursday, May 26th.
He was super excited about his special day and we all had a blast celebrating it with him!
His preschool had a very nice morning for all of the graduates and their families.
We had a ceremony first thing where the kids sang songs, did a little skit, and then received certificates. After that we had a mini photo shoot before heading over to the reception that they had for everyone....Brenden and Bryleigh loved that part since they both got cake with icing! :)
Below are the pictures of our morning and of our big boy. Enjoy!

He was grinning like this all day! :)

He woke up bouncing out of bed and ready to go!

Walking in for the ceremony.

Opening Prayer

Receiving his certificate

Shaking hands with his teacher, Mrs. Jill.

Proud Nana and Papa

Mommy and Daddy were also super proud of this boy!

Still grinning from ear to ear!

Posing with some of his preschool buddies

His buddy since birth, Avery.

Best of Friends...all of us!

Brenden, we are so happy for you and so proud of all that you've accomplished at Aldersgate!
As you approach Kindergarten and the years ahead of you our prayer for you is that you always remember that we love you and that we will always be your biggest fans!

"You have brains in your head, you have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose." ~ Dr. Seuss

Fun at the Museum

About a month ago (April 15th to be exact) The Hicks girls invited us to join them for an afternoon at the Museum of Life and Science. We had an absolute blast and it was such a great time out with the cousins!
I won't add a lot of words, just a lot of pictures of our fun!
Enjoy!

Easter 2011

Our family really had an amazing Easter!
The older my kids get (and the older I get) I feel like I grow more and more convicted of how it's the simple things that make these days so special for us all.
The more I do the more it complicates the day and distracts me from the things that are most important to me.


We woke up early so we could show the kids their Easter "baskets" before church.
The kids couldn't wait to check them out.They were definitely VERY excited to see all of their loot...
especially Brenden...Ha!
He actually asked me to take a picture of him with that face! ;)
However, I think their all-time favorite gift were their jump ropes!
They both absolutely LOVED this!
After Easter baskets we ate our breakfast and headed to church.
We had a great time hanging out with our friends there.
After church we headed outside for some pics and then lunch at Bo's.
(Brenden's request).

The rest of the day was just perfect.
We spent all afternoon/evening outside.
We hunted for eggs, played baseball, and cooked out.
The weather was perfect, the kids had a blast, and it was the best way to spend the rest of the day!

We feel so blessed and love that we have these special memories to cherish on life's journey.
We have found that nothing satisfies us more than time with the Lord, company of friends, love of our family, sunshine on our face, and laughter all around us!

We hope the same for each of you!

Happy Easter!
Love always ~ The Farrs

April showers bring....

Baseball players!

Yeah, I know that's not how the saying goes, but it's true!
It is officially baseball season and no one is more excited about that than this boy...

Brenden Farr

#1

He was drafted to play with the Tampa Bay Rays this year and he is THRILLED!
So far the season is off to an awesome start so stay tuned for more pictures, posts and updates.

The other weekend our family loaded up in the van and headed west for the weekend. We always love going to Blowing Rock and have tried to visit there yearly since we first started dating. That was an easy task before kids but it has been harder for us to do now that we're parents. It is definitely one of our favorite getaway spots but we haven't been able to go in awhile which made us extra eager to get on the road and enjoy your weekend away!

Both Brenden and Bryleigh have both been to Blowing Rock before...you can read about that here...but neither of them really remember this visit. They were both SUPER excited about this trip to the mountains. Brenden was especially excited about getting to the mountains.

Every time we visit Blowing Rock we always stay in a local inn. This year we asked Nana and Papa if they wanted to join us and we stayed in a suite at one of our favorite inns. The suite was so nice and was just perfect for the 6 of us. The kids loved the big bath tub. :)

Our absolute favorite thing to do in the mountains (aside from eating and shopping) is spend some time outdoors. The weather wasn't great while we were there but it was definitely nice enough that we got to spend some time doing what we enjoy the most. We headed out to Linville area first thing Saturday morning. Above are some pictures that we took while exploring the water area near Linville Caverns.

We also wanted to visit Linville Caverns during our visit this time. Brenden and Bryleigh were so excited about getting to "go into a cave". Brenden was bouncing everywhere with anticipation. The caverns were such a fun activity and we loved this visit. Brenden was like a sponge listening to everything the tour guide was telling him about the rocks, water, exhibits, etc. Bryleigh was way too brave wanting to explore the cave without any assistance. Overall, it was a big win for the whole family and we highly recommend it to everyone.

It was an amazing weekend, with amazing people, and we definitely created some amazing memories! We can't wait to do it again next year!!!

Do you notice anything different in this picture???

I know, it's hard to see it...

hold on...

let's see if this helps...

See it now?

Yep!

That girl is wearing big girl panties!
Yippee!
She has been officially potty trained for over a month now
but her Mommy has been very slack posting the news! ;)

As you can see, we're ALL very excited and very proud of her!
Way to go Tinkerbell!!!

Boys Night

This past Friday my favorite 3 boys (Papa, Bobby, and Brenden) loaded up in the minivan and headed out a very special event.....a Hurricanes game!!!

(Brenden is pointing to his new Hurricanes hat! So proud!)

Brenden was SO excited about this night!
He talked nonstop about it and couldn't wait to get out the door.
Bobby said they all had a really good time even though they were hoping for a win and a few more fights....BOYS...ugh!!! ;)

Before they walked out the door I handed Bobby the camera and begged him to take a few pictures for me...reluctantly he agreed and here is the fruit of his labor. Enjoy! :)

(Papa and the boys waiting for the fun to begin.)

(Papa and Brenden enjoying some grub and the game.)


*Thank you to Easley Silent Auction for the great tickets!!