Finally...

Three years and two months ago Bret started working for Chick-fil-A. Yesterday was a HUGE step forward with all of that. We have been waiting for seven months for an answer to see if Bret gets into the interim manager program. Yesterday he got his YES. I feel like we have been on cloud 9. It is just so great to hear about a next step.

So what this means is this:. Bret will leave in March to go to training for three weeks. When he comes back we will be placed in an existing store that he will run to "prove" and show he can operate a store. We could go anywhere. Which is scary and fun all at the same time. None the less though we are more than excited. So thankful. The Lord's timing is always perfect. He is always right on time. Always. As soon as Bret called me yesterday I wrote in our faithfulness jar about it. It was crazy because all morning I just felt I needed to pray or we may hear something today. Bret had already called me that morning on his break, so when he called back and hour later it was my first thought. As soon as I answered the phone I could hear it in his voice. I still smile so big every time I think about it. He is faithful. We are so grateful for this opportunity.

In other news, yesterday this cutie swallowed a whole penny and I found it in his diaper. Amazing that he could digest that. This boy will eat anything, including pennies apparently. He also loves Styrofoam. Gotta watch our for this one. Still can't believe he will be one in a few days.

Carter yesterday got to go see my dad and his cousin Christopher, which HE loves!! They go ride in his jeep, tractor, ranger, bike and ALWAYS go get ice cream. To say the least it is Carter's heaven on Earth.

hmmp hmmp hmmp

So Carter does thing now where he will come right beside you and just "hmmp, Hmmp" over and over till you say, "What do you need Carter?" It is usually one of the following things:

"Well, I just need to go potty."
"Well, I just want to watch my show."
"I just want to ride my tractor"
"Will you hold me?"
"I just want to go see my friends."
"I just want donuts."
"Well, I just hungry and need pink cereal, or grilled cheese or yogurt" (his favorites right now)
"Well, I just hit my brother" We respond with "Why did you do that?" Always with the same response "Because I just do that."

He just woke up and said "hmmp, Mommy will you hold me and I really want to watch a show" :) Never fails. Ever.

Gotta love this boy and his "hmmp,hmmp"

 A few things that have gone on this month......

Carter asks everyday to go to school with his backpack!

This day he told he was "ready for church" We are styling. That is for sure.

He made his own tie like daddy:)

Best husband ever always doing dishes after dinner in CFA apron

Carter loves pushing him!

 Daddy and Carter smiling on a cooooold winter day in January.

Tucker napping with daddy

Bible Study Fellowship

In one of my earlier posts I talked about BSF. It stands for bible study fellowship. Before I had kids I had also heard moms rave about this bible study. It is international. It's deep. They have an incredible children's program. And my husband's favorite word. Free. It is free. They provide you with all your lessons and you never pay for child care.

I have been apart of it for almost three years now. I don't think I can really express my love for the way they do this study. They pick a book of bible and do an in depth study. My first year we were in Isaiah, last year Acts and now this year we are in Genesis. It grows me, it challenges me, and most of all its making me want more and more of Jesus.

Here is my favorite part though. The children's program is incredible. The kids learn the same lesson you are learning. This year I have had the privilege to get to be a children's leader. Oh it has been such a blessing. First off, because I get to teach the word of God to three and four year olds! How awesome is that? But these kids teach you so much as well. It is a big commitment with two young kids, but my kids loooove it! Getting to be trained by how they run this program has helped me become a better mom. I find myself singing hymns with my kids and since I am teaching the lessons myself too-so I get to to go over it with my kids. Your kids in this program will be prayed over, taught bible stories, scripture verses, hymns, have their own quiet time and just be poured on with so much love. I would recommend BSF to any mom looking for a great study and something to do along with your kids as well. I'm constantly blown away.

The other day Carter was just sitting at the table singing O is for obey. "O" is for Obey, "O" is for Obey, Obey is doing what you should, "O" is for Obey."He is constantly singing songs now. He didn't sing that much before. Even today he said,"Mommy, I want you to sing songs to me" Then he will just jump in and sing along. He has made so many fun friends and has grown so much being in the program since he was 10 months old. Tucker has been in it now since he was two months old and he has never ONCE cried when I have dropped him off. Each week a volunteer holds Tucker and then thanks me for letting them love on him. Thanking me sounds crazy because I am so grateful for these women who love and pray over my kids.

This is Carter and his BFF Olivia as they blow bubbles while we are cleaning up after class one day.

2012

Wow. What a year. I tried to sit down before 2012 was over and process ALL that went on this past year, but words failed me. So here we are on New Year's Day taking a stab at it.

 Bret and I were talking last night and without a doubt our year started out perfect. Tucker William Farris was born January 24, 2012. He came into the world faster than his brother and that about sums him up perfectly. He goes and goes. 90 mph and does not stop. He is just a perfect gift as his big brother. Gosh we are so thankful for those boys. Right now he does this thing where he scrunches his nose and I just want to eat him up. This is him and Carter playing in the laundry hamper in the bathroom. Presh

The first few months of a newborn I think I block out of my memory, or you are just so sleep deprived you really can't remember. I mean my boys are good sleepers(they sleep hard like Daddy-thank you BRET!!) but still waking up every 3 hours is so tiring. Not to mention the week Tucker was born Carter decided it would be a perfect time to climb out of his crib:) So we transitioned the week Tucker was born. Carter slept on the floor a lot, or in his chair, or in the middle of his stuffed animals like this:

Let's just say I am SUPER glad he loves his big boy bed now. Although these will make for great stories one day:)

So February and March were kinda a blur trying to adjust to two, but in February we did celebrate five years of marriage:) WAHOOOO!!  I am so grateful to be Bret's wife. He is such a wonderful husband and dad and is just so fun to do life alongside of. We had a weekend away in Austin right before Tucker was born and it was perfect. March is a big month for our family. 3/4 birthdays hit us this month. Bret and I turned 29 and since we have the same birthday it is super fun to see who gets each other the best present. Bret had a BIG opening coming up in May that he had been working hard to get ready for so this year I had a book of letters for him. He may or may not of cried- I mean we both may of cried. Truly, it was so fun to read from our family, his college and childhood friends, camp friends and now friends from the Woodlands what they said about him. It is what I get to live with everyday and so fun to read in what others say as well:). Carter man turned two in March, which is just crazy. He started talking like crazy and pretty much hasn't stopped since. Two has been so fun. I cannot believe he will be almost be three. I get a reminder everyday "Mommy, MY birthday is in March". I don't think I will be forgetting.ever.

April and May were finishing up things like BSF and Bret preparing for his opening at the end of May. The opening ended up going great. His boss got his second store in Willis, and so he was helping a ton with that. The Willis store has been such a blessing. Bret has stayed in that store ever since it opened and he has been the "opener". Which means that he works from 5:30-3 everyday. Yes, they are super early mornings:/, but it has been so WONDERFUL to have him home right after the boys get up from naps and for dinner and all that goes along with that crazy time. The past year and a half we were in Houston he could open one day, close the next, work 12-8 the next. The consistency these past 6 months has been amazing of having the same schedule. No words to say how much WE all love it. 

Summers are always so fun. I mean the Woodlands has so many great things for kids here. The best thing ever is their pool passes to I think 13 different pools. I mean these are not a big square with water in it. Most pools have a slide and diving board ALONG with a kiddie pool that is perfect for my kids age.Some even have playgrounds in water, lazy river, I mean seriously?? It is amazing. WE live at the pools during the summer. I mean what else do you really want to do when it is 115 degrees outside?? We also got to take a week of vacation at the end of the summer which was perfect. We so needed it. We went to great wolf lodge in Grapevine with the boys for two nights. Between the indoor and outdoor pools was more than enough fun for the boys. Carter also enjoyed the game room because they had race cars, but he is also at the age where he didn't get you have to put in coins in. We didn't have to spend one penny on a game. Score for us. I know we don't have much longer of that. After that we were able to go see Bret's family at their lake house on Lake Texoma and spend some time with them. We had a blast. Carter loves the boat if it is not too bumpy:) and Tucker takes great naps on the boat. The weekend we returned from vacation we went to my grandparents 50th wedding anniversary party in Kemah. It was perfect. Such a beautiful celebration of their marriage and lives together.

 He loved the slides.

Kisses from little brother

Loved this car

he loved jumping on these

great wolf lodge baby

on the boat with Aunt Holly

with Daddy...not a fan of bumpy boat rides

loved feeding the ducks

feeding the ducks with Pops

My grandparents 50th wedding anniversary in Kemah

at Kemah boardwalk

We are always sad to see summer go but we were really looking forward to this fall. I had been asked to be a Children's leader in BSF this next year and was so looking forward to being apart of it. We have loved it. The boys love going on Wednesday and Thursday and I get to teach precious 3 and 4 year olds about Jesus while my boys are learning the same lesson. I will have to write about BSF in its own post because it has been so impacting in my life and my kids.

We started up in September with BSF and a few weeks later we got the phone call my grandma was in the hospital. It was just supposed to be a routine procedure on Wednesday. While they were in there though they found a mass and did a biopsy. Results were coming Friday and we were hopeful. I will never forget that Friday evening my mom called me. Cancer. Pancreatic cancer that had spread to her liver. The doctors didn't give us much hope, but we still had to try all we could. My grandma went to get more diagnosis and the same thing from each one. Chemo would only make her worse and she didn't have long. I thought long would be at least six months, a year maybe. Instead it was 6 weeks. It still seems like it didn't really happen. I still can't believe she is gone. Carter went up to my Papaw on Christmas day and asked him "Where is grandma?" A few tears came after that. I am so grateful we were in Houston and able to go see my grandma as much as we could. Between BSF and going to see her fall flew by. Too fast. I wish she was still here, but I know she wouldn't want to come back here. It is just different when your grandma has been apart of every single part of your life and just like that she is gone. I have seen more heartache and loss this year than I could of ever imagined. Through our own family, friends family and just across this country. Each day is truly a gift. It makes me just hold our boys that much tighter and make me grateful for every new day the Lord gives us. Today is ALL we are promised.

About a month after my grandma passed away Bret got a call from his dad. His grandma had a stroke and did not make it. This fall was a hard one with a lot in a little time. This is not our home. I am grateful that both our grandma's are in their home. Forever. With no more pain and suffering.

Thanksgiving and Christmas were good because we have incredible families, but different with people missing. I am grateful for the stories we can tell of them and new memories to be made. We will always always miss them.

God is always teaching us. We have so much to learn. He has grown our family so much. We are currently still waiting to hear on what is next for us with Bret's job. It has been a BIG season of waiting for us as Bret turned in his application in July and we are still waiting for that answer. We are supposed to hear something at the end of January. We used to worry about it a lot more. Lately we have both just been praying and trusting. We hope it will be good news soon, but if not we will be ok. If the answer is a no in a few weeks, we have NO idea what is next for us, but you know what- I bet God has something better. He always does. We may not understand it, but we trust in Him and know that His way is always the best. We thank Him for another year because He gave us each one of those days.

Daddy worked NYE and these crazies stayed up till eleven!!

 Happy New Year!!

Bath tub fun on NYE