Us Lately

So pretty much things have been chaotic, with a summer of Medical Boards, Hospitalizations, Surgery, Vacations, Moving, etc. But, heck, when isn't life chaotic?

Here's a few things we've been doing and after this, instead of trying to go back and document everything, I'm just going to start fresh. Phew. That makes me feel better.

Caleb's "tiger" aka "Guy-ger"

Caleb's not really a clingy kid, so I don't know if I would officially call this his 'lovey' but he sure does love it! He asks to bring it with him anytime we get in the car and he hugs it tight when he falls asleep. Grandpop Knickerbocker and Barbara got it for him before he had his surgery and he just loves it to death.

PS- Yes, I know, tigers have stripes, not spots. He still thinks that horses are cows, so I'm just glad he at least knows it's in the cat family.

Anything that has a wheel is a car. He loves cars. And trucks, and tractors, and cows. He's turning into a real farm boy. Who would have thought? A month ago he was still scared of grass. Apparently the transition hasn't been too hard on him.

Allison, Kay and Sage

Friends! Jake and Allison came to visit for the Labor Day weekend/picnic (they moved to the midwest last year). It was good to see them, even if it was only for a few hours. Kay and Allison were trying to get the perfect amount of smile in this picture and Sage is obviously not impressed.
I know that girls are supposed to hog the phone when they turn 13, but I've been a little surprised at how much Caleb demands to talk to people on the phone! His favorite phone conversations usually go like this:

Caleb: Hellow? 'Owareyou?

Person: Hi Caleb!

Caleb: Cows!

He loves talking to Nana, Keke (my sister, Katie) and Daddy on the phone. When he talks to Pete, he always says, "Daddy, Where are you?" It's super cute.

He's so dang cute. Just thought I would put that on record.

Anyway, there are two other members of our family, other than just Caleb (shocking, I know!).

Pete just finished his Cardio rotation and is starting his Pulmonary rotation on Monday. So far he still likes "doing" things, not just talking to sick people (heaven forbid a doctor talk to sick people!) so things like surgery, anesthesiology, Radiology, etc. are on the list. If you ask him what he wants to do with his life and he gives you a straight answer, please let me know. I have not had that experience as of yet.

I'm still working on classes and hanging out with Caleb. Our place here is under a *bit* of construction-- as in we've had carpenters, electricians, plumbers and inspectors here for the past two weeks. We think we have about two-three weeks left and then hopefully (fingers crossed) things will all be done!

Sigh. There. We're all caught up. Lovin' it.

Chao.

Umm, Is It Still July?

Caleb, Me, Lauren (holding one of the boys) and Amy
The only picture we took of the three of us the entire time we were there. Lame.

Ok, so maybe I haven't blogged in awhile. Oh well. Right before Caleb's surgery in August, I was able to get outta town for a few days to see some of my favorite people in the world. Amy (now lives in San Diego), Lauren (lives in Raleigh) and I grew up together and consequently went through many cycles of loving and hating each other. Isn't that what best friends are for?

Lauren just had twin boys, Quentin and Jackson, at the beginning of the summer. Doesn't she look fabulous? Amy and I decided to coordinate our trips to meet the little fellers, and we had a mini-catch-up-with-your-best-friends-from-high-school/help-Lauren-with-the-twins visit. (I'm not sure we helped that much.)

Yeah, to top it off, Lauren had made an additional two trips to the hospital since delivering, once for an emergency appendectomy and once for an infection from said appendix removal. I can't believe how well she is pulling everything off for such a crazy chaotic time!

Caleb pretty much just ate the entire time he was there. He loved it. He would keep pointing to the babies and shouting, "Baby! Crying!" We got to go watch Lauren's husband, Marcus, play a game of basketball and Caleb was so into it. He would follow the ball back and forth on the court and clap and shout when someone scored.

The little monsters we went to visit. They are so dang cute.

Amy is having her first child (another little boy! We're thinking of starting a professional sporting team with this crew) in December, so we pretty much sat around the entire time, passing babies, changing diapers and talking about what its like to be pregnant or have kids. It was great.

Thanks girls for the great time together!

Alzheimer's Association

Hey everyone-
I sent out some information before about the Memory Walk my mom is going to do in honor of her father, who died of Alzheimer's over 20 years ago. All the funds she raises go to help research better treatment and hopefully a cure for this disease.

http://memorywalk09.kintera.org/frederick/maryannfarr?faf=1&e=2717692321

You can copy this link to find my Mom's fundraising website for the Alzheimer's Association's Memory Walk.

If you click, "My Team Page" you can sign up to join my mom's "team" and create a webpage of your own. Then you can send out emails asking all of your friends and family to donate. If you don't feel like making your own page, please pass along the information for my mom's page.

She's hoping to raise $1,000 in honor of her dad. The fundraising page has only been open for a few days and she already has $150. Even if you can only donate $5 or $10, please donate. Every little bit helps.

Thanks so much.

Moving

As many of you know, Pete and I just moved out to his parent's place in Parkesburg, PA. His rotation schedule is going to have him out of town for about 6 of the next 12 months, so we thought this would be a perfect chance to save some money on rent in the city.

We're really sad to be moving away from friends, but we promise to visit often and we extend the same invite to all of you-- come out! There is **gasp** grass here. And, as Caleb likes to remind us constantly, there are cows. Lots of them. So if you find yourself tired of the concrete, come out our way-- we're love to have you!

We're slowly but surely getting things unpacked... ok, so that might be a lie. We're TRYING to get things unpacked, but its going slowly.

Caleb doesn't like unpacking. Neither do I.

Obituary of a Lovely Lady

Vontella Burr Farr, 101, returned to her heavenly home and her eternal companion on August 20, 2009. She was born August 5, 1908 in Burrville, Utah to William Clark and Emma Constance Olsen Burr. She married Elvin Erastus Farr, September 28, 1929 in Sparks, Nevada; their marriage was later solemnized in the Salt Lake LDS Temple.

She dedicated her life to her husband and family. She deeply loved being a mother and a grandmother. She loved to learn. She knew the value of hard work and her motto was "How can I help". She was loved and adored by her grandchildren for her kind and loving example. She touched the lives and hearts of many with her compassion, pure love and sense of humor.

She had an unwavering testimony of the Gospel, with a great love for her Savior. She faithfully fulfilled various church callings. She and her husband worked as ordinance workers in the Salt Lake Temple and served a mission at the Los Angeles Temple Visitors Center.

Vontella leaves behind her children: Betty Jean (Chester) Tillman, Alachua, Florida; JaneRae (Jack V., deceased) Smith, Centerville; E. Lyle (Shirleen), Greensburg, PA; Wayne L., deceased (Faye) Farr; Carma (Royal A.), Armstrong, Salt Lake City; Elizabeth (Lynn K.) Bryson, Enterprise; 35 grandchildren; 106 great-grandchildren; 27 great-great-grandchildren and two sisters, Lula Davis and Ada Neff, St. George.

Among many welcoming her into Heaven are her husband, Elvin; son, Wayne L; granddaughters, Diane Higley, Jolyn Armstrong; grandson, Alan W. Farr; great-grandsons, Brant A. Best and Benjamin W. Eberle.

Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m., Friday, August 28, 2009 at the Centerville LDS 6th Ward Chapel, 900 South 400 East, Centerville, Utah. Friends and family may call Thursday evening from 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. at Russon Brothers Bountiful Mortuary, 295 North Main and Friday morning at the church one hour prior to services. Interment-Lakeview Cemetery, 1640 East Lakeview Drive. Bountiful.

Source: http://www.thespectrum.com/article/20090825/OBITUARIES/908250334/1023/Vontella+Burr+Farr

Gma Farr

Five Generations with Spouses.
Aug 2008.
Vontella Farr's 100th birthday.

My Great-Grandma Farr turned 101 earlier this month. On Thursday she passed away. I've been wondering how to write up this post since I heard the news. Years from now, I want Caleb to know what an influence this remarkable woman was on me. How her appreciation for the small things in life taught us all to slow down and lighten up.

I want him to know that she let us pick out whatever cereal we wanted when we went to visit. Even if it wasn't on sale. Even if she didn't have a coupon. Even if it had sugar. I want him to hear the stories she had to tell about the Native American Reservations and the friends she had when she was just a little girl. I want him to see the sparkle in her eye when she would talk about her husband-- a man who has been waiting for her to join him for twenty years.

I hope he knows how feisty she was. And how gentle. I want him to read the letters she wrote me. I want him to know that chicken soup and a handful of nuts can cure any illness-- at least according to Gma. I hope I can share with Caleb the pure joy she had when family was around. How she would never ever sit down to the table while people were eating, because she was shuffling around in the kitchen.

Most importantly, I hope I can teach Caleb that you don't have to be "important" in the eyes of the world to be important to those around you. I hope he can see that she shaped the lives of hundreds of people just by being a mother, a grandmother, a great-grandmother, and a great-great grandmother. By loving the people surrounding her, she quite honestly changed their lives.

I don't know how to teach him these things, but I hope I can. I hope I can learn them for myself.

The Big Apple

A few weeks ago, in between hospital admissions and surgery, we decided to escape the craziness of our lives and go someplace to relax... Of course, that means a trip to nice, calming, NYC, right?

OK, so at least we got out of our house and the hospital :)

My reason for going to NYC.

Pete's reason for going to NYC.

What Caleb thought about NYC.

Check out Caleb's expression. It's amazing.

We took the Staten Island Ferry over to the city (which is an awesome way to get to New York, I highly recommend it). Pete wanted to go check out a store called Bonobos where he's gotten a million pairs of pants in the past. That's right-- we went to NYC so that my husband could go shopping.

We spent the day wandering around, checking out the Bonobos headquarters and Canal Street. We looked at the construction going on to build the 9/11 memorial and wandered through Wall Street and the Financial District. Unfortunately, Tiffany's was closed so we didn't get to buy you all the trinkets I had planned, but maybe next time.

It was a great day and it reminded me why we like to be a family. Sometimes you forget that when you're rushing from appointment to appointment, from class to class and from playgroup to CHOP's ER.

We never remember to take family shots. Even though Caleb and I look ridiculous, I'm glad we have this one.

On the ferry ride there.

On the ferry ride back. Caleb, minus his pants. Oh well.

Since then we've been trying to get back into the swing of things. We're moving at the end of September so things are starting to feel hectic, even though there's nothing we can do right now. If it's not one thing, it's another, right?

My favorite picture of the day.