Farris family blog: March 2014

It is crazy how time is flying by. Rylie just passed the one month mark this past week and next week is the end of February!

Well, at the end of my last blog we were about to go for our final interview! Bret, Rylie and I flew out that Sunday and MUCH to our surprise we got to fly in first class! Ha! When we saw our ticket Bret said,"is there another 4a and 4b?" So that made our flight awesome! Huge seats, so much food and drinks. Yeah, we will probably never get that again but it was sure a fun treat! Oh and besides the fact that Rylie was a little angel on both flights! When we got into Atlanta, Erik, one of Bret's friends, picked us up from our hotel and we had dinner with him and his family! Erik was in Bret's IM class and has been a great friend to Bret throughout the year, so it was so great to meet his family and hang out with them!

The next morning CFA picked us up around 10:45. We were both nervous and anxious for the day and day ended up being perfect. We met with Terry Wigham first to just discuss some basic things like insurance, retirement and all. Very short and easy meeting and she took us down to lunch. Which it was so cool to see the home office and get to be in a setting I had heard Bret talk about so many times! After lunch, we waited for a little bit and Amy Millard came to get us and go over fifteen questions with us and then ask us if we had any questions. She was who Bret had done his two previous interviews with and I really enjoyed getting to talk with her. Lastly, we went to meet with Bill Dunfey. He was the one that was our long interview. We got to tell him our story together and pretty much he wanted to make sure Bret and I were on the same page for what we were moving forward with. And I loved that they bring the wives in on the final day interviews. After we met with Bill, well he had to hold Rylie first:)(she was the hit of the home office) and then we went back to meet with Amy Millard and she brought out the owner/operator name tag and OFFICIALLY offered Bret the Bastrop store! I definitely teared up that moment and am just so proud of Bret as always. After that, you get to ring the bell and sign your name to hall of fame board! That was so fun! All the franchisee selection people came out of their offices and congratulated Bret and then they took us across the street to see all the field operations people! Which that was great because those were all the people I hear Bret talk about all the time! We were both encouraged so much that day by everyone and Rylie did so incredibly great! It was such a great day! Our flight ended up getting cancelled that night because of weather, but we were able to get out the next morning thankfully,but had to rent a car to drive from San Antonio to San Angelo! It was kind of nice to just go back to hotel and relax after the long day!

Grams and Pops watched the boys while we were gone so they had a blast with them, even though every time they come in it is FREEZING COLD! The next week we were just still on cloud 9 from everything that happened! Even as Bret left for seminar today, I still can't believe it sometimes!

Our sweet Rylie had her one month appt this week and she is doing great! She has gained over two pounds which takes her to a whopping seven pounds 9 ounces. And she is almost 21 inches long! She is sleeping so great at night and even giving me some five hour stretches!

Carter had his school rodeo this week which was super cute to watch. He ran his stick horse around the rodeo and was so adorable. I am just so proud of how he has grown and watching how well he does at school! He had his Valentine's party last week at school and brought spider man valentines for everyone in his class! He is way into batman/ superman/ minja(ninja) everything right now. Today, he absolutely melted my heart. I was laying Tucker down for his nap and heard Rylie crying, but then she stopped. Well, I went into my room to find he had turned on music, wrapped her in a blanket, and she was sucking on his finger. My heart melted in pieces just watching him take such good care of his baby sister. Such a sweetheart.

Tucker right now is obsessed with daddy's "red car" and wants to ride with him everywhere. It is so cute and he's going to be so sad when we turn that car back in. He also got his first big boy haircut last week! He did so well sitting there and looks so grown up now! Kinda makes me sad, but he is still adorable.

The weather has been amazing lately and we have taken full advantage playing down in the sand, and outside in the dirt and just being outside for hours and hours. We have loved getting to take walks around the river and all. It has been so good for all of us. The boys have also been obsessed with playing with their suitcases lately. They race with them everywhere. Its pretty funny.

We will be leaving San Angelo in three short weeks. It is hard to believe we are finishing up the IM program, but I am also so ready and grateful for the next step. We will move to Houston for a few months while looking for housing in Bastrop! Excited to be around family and friends for awhile and then finally get settled! Cannot.wait.for.that.

Next post will probably be about the move and Carter's birthday!
He will be four! 😢

Donuts with dad

First flight.

Waiting for our interview

It is OFFICIAL!!!!

Valentine's Day at school

Eating away

Fun down by the river

First haircut

After. BIG BOY

Handsome boy

Playing outside

One month old. They sure do love her

Rodeo Day. Game face

Rodeo Day

Spent lots of time here

Consoling his sister all on his own *melts*

He looks huge

Sweet brothers napping

Fresh and clean after bath

sweet baby

Playing outside. March 1st.

They are crazy

January. Wow. Where do I even begin with all that had happened this past month. It has been such an incredible month with so much going on. We got back home after Christmas and had a week or so till normal started back up with school and all in january. The weather was all over the place in January. One day it would be 75 to 80 degrees and the next day it would be snowing. The boys and I tried to adventure out as much as possible on the warm days heading to the park and Tucker's favorite right now "feed the ducks."

The definite low of this month was Bret getting the flu. That was a big bummer because we had to quarantine him so the boys or I didn't get it, but thankfully after a few days he bounced back! We sure did miss him those days he was out of commission. The boys would stand outside the door and yell "daddy" because they missed him so much.

We had received a phone call from corporate in the middle of January about a brand new store opening in Bastrop they wanted Bret to come interview for. We weren't sure how we felt about Bastrop, so we decided Friday, January 17th to go visit the town. So, we made a day trip out of it and drove three and a half hours away with me being 38 weeks pregnant. Thankfully, I didn't go into labor and we were able to explore the town and see where the store would be and all. Bret was hoping to go to his interview next Friday the 24th but knowing that could be right around when we had the baby, they told us to wait until the following Tuesday to see where we were at with the baby. So, we got back that weekend and my plan was to do all I could to send myself into labor. There is a hill by our house that I walked up and down all morning and afternoon on Saturday. Then on Sunday, I decided to run up the hill that morning while Bret took the boys to get donuts. :)After breakfast we had some errands we needed to run- get Carter a haircut, a heater for his room, and get my oil changed in my car and inspected. So we got it all knocked out and EVERYONE was ready for naps that afternoon. While all the boys were taking naps I decided to iron all Bret's shirts for the week. Right after I finished I went to bathroom and there was some blood and then about thirty minutes later my water broke:) One of our sweet friends from church came over since the boys were napping and Bret and I headed to the hospital. We got there right before three and my midwife was on call this weekend so she was already at the hospital! So perfect. I labored for about four hours and at 7:07pm our sweet baby GIRL was born. That surprise could not have been any more perfect. A sweet little girl perfect, tiny and healthy weighing in at 5lbs and 12 ounces. Our friends brought the boys up there that evening, along with Bret's parents to meet their new baby sister and granddaughter. Carter and Tucker love Rylie so much. Sometimes a little too much. They both yell at each other "that's my sister" over and over. Tucker always says "it's the baby" and "Rywie is my sister" "it's cute" and "she's thirsty"(every time I'm nursing her) he squeezes her a little too hard so we really have to watch him around her. Carter on the other hand is much more careful and loves to hold his baby sister. He is so proud of her. He always says "hey Rylie girl" everything about her always ends with girl. It's so incredibly sweet and he tells her how much he loves her and how glad he is that he now has a brother and a sister. She is such an incredibly awesome baby. She sleeps so well and is so content. Our family seems so perfect and complete now with her in it. My mom and Bret's mom came these past few weeks to help which has been such a blessing to adjusting with three. I probably wouldn't have survived without them.

The stay at the hospital was great. We have now delivered all three of our kids in three different cities and have had such great experiences with all three. Nurses are so God's gifts to moms. We have had some of the best nurses ever. Shannon hospital here in San Angelo was no different. Very grateful for all the wonderful people who made our time there so great. We came home Tuesday after lunch and Bret's interview was confirmed that he was flying out Thursday for an interview Friday morning. Friday also happened to be Tucker's 2nd birthday so a lot going on that day! Bret felt like he killed his interview. Or as he said"he nailed it"! So again we wait to hear an answer. They said they would get back to us the next week but we weren't sure we would hear anything. Well, that next Tuesday morning they called to say Bret was the lead candidate for the store in Bastrop! He was in Midland all day that day so he came home that evening after keeping that news from me all day long! But it was pretty fun that he did to tell me in person! He beat out two really strong candidates to get the store as well!! So this Sunday we both will head to Atlanta for our final interview and if all goes well this should be our store!!! Can't believe this is almost really here!!!

We waited to celebrate Tucker's birthday that Sunday when Bret was home and off so he could take the boys to get donuts(a tradition) and so that we could celebrate all day together. Tucker loves balloons so we put balloons all over the house that morning and sang to him with birthday donuts. We gave him some new bath toys for his birthday,he got a huge stuffed Mickey from Itsy and some other toys(bouncy balls) and wind up toys. Also, Grams and pops he got some new books and Mickey stuff as well. It was a perfect fun little day for our crazy two year old. He is getting so big so quickly and at his two year check up he was still in the 80th percentile for height and he jumped all the way up to 30th percentile for weight which is a huge jump for him!! Still our tall and skinny boy with lots of energy! He is talking more and more each day. He loves to play baseball and "hit it", play at the park or really just anything outside or riding in the stroller. He loves to read books and do puzzles and trains as well. We sure do love him so much. He is such a happy kiddo. So thankful for these past two years and can't wait to continue to watch him grow!

Carter is still loving school and has had some really fun things at school like PJ day and donuts with dad lately.He loved so much having Bret get to come to school with him! He loves his teacher Ms. Amy so much and his friends Walker and Cannon in his class. I can't even begin to try to say how thankful I am he has been able to go to joy school this year. It has been such a huge blessing.

Lastly, this past Monday Bret and I celebrated our 7th anniversary. I cannot believe it has been 7 years. Thankfully, my mom was here so we were able to go out to our favorite restaurant, the grille, here in town. It was just such a great night to reflect on this past year and how we have so much to be thankful for. How even in the hard of this year and moving six times we wouldn't change a thing. It seems like each year just gets better and better. I'm so grateful for a husband who loves The Lord and our family so well. This year even in the crazy of the IM program his heart and love for us has shown so much. Can't wait to see what year 8 brings!

Hopefully my next post will be a lot sooner with some very exciting updates!