View From a Farr: March 2012

Family and Friends,

If you follow my best friend's blog, From-Mom-2-Mom, then you've probably heard about this fantastic book titled,"Calling Extra" that's recently been published. For my family and friends that may not have heard about it yet, this post is for you!

I've wanted to write this short post for a while now, but I wanted the chance to read the book before posting about it. A new and already dear friend of mine Kristina Romero wrote it, and just published it! Now that I'm half way through this gripping tale and am entirely hooked, I feel so eager to share.

13-year-old Elsie Lutz is changed forever when her father is jailed for a crime he did not commit. Now alone, Elsie must fend for herself in turn-of-the-century New York. Tides change when she befriends Grin, a teenage newsboy with a kind heart and a mysterious past. Elsie soon finds herself wrapped up in the newsboy strike of 1899, a sweeping act of social activism led by children. Through the brotherhood of the newsboys, Elsie discovers her own courage, bravery and self-determination. But will what she learns be enough to conquer the overwhelming odds, find her own voice and ultimately free her father?

I invite you to view Kristina's Author page here, and check out her website for Calling Extra to find out more info!

I rarely "promote" things on our family's blog, but friends writing books is kinda a big deal. I'd really love to hear your thoughts and I know Kristina would love to see the feedback! Feel free to leave a comment below to let me know you've stopped by. :)

In attempt to be more faithful in documenting our simple life, here is an update! All of about 2 people will wanna read this whole thing. For the rest of you, enjoy the pictures! ;)

Our kids are growing and changing every day.

2 weeks ago you were eating with your fingers, and now you eat with a fork.

Yesterday you were looking at the pictures, and today you read your first sentence.

2 weeks ago you were crawling all over the church lobby, and the very next day you decided you're an expert walker.

My Sweetie-Girl Sky is just that: a really sweet, tenderhearted girl that I feel privileged to mother. I tell her every single day, and it is true, that she is *exactly* the daughter I prayed for, for as long as I can remember. We absolutely do have rough days. She is still 4 and has tempers and gets crazy when she's had too much sugar and is super-duper emotional. She doesn't like going to bed and thinks of at least a million excuses to stay awake. She... she is four. But, she is becoming such a caring individual that has a heart of gold. She genuinely CARES for people, and for animals. When she sees a child at the park, she goes up to them and introduces herself. And in Sunday School, she will find someone sitting by his or herself and befriend him or her. And when she looses her temper and yells, she will come to me on her own initiative, after she's calmed down, to apologize. Jonathan and I really see HUGE evidences of grace already being poured out on her little life and are excited to see who she is and who she is becoming! She loves to dance, loves to craft, loves to write letters to people. Her current favorite animals include: dolphins, tigers, hamsters, flamingos, and of course, puppies.

My baby boy is no longer an infant. He's a growing, hungry, babbling, crazy, energetic, goofy-head with no fear. He gets into stuff. The unflushed toilet, (don't question why my toilets are unflushed. You know you've had unflushed toilets in your house before!) the trash, the shoe closet, annnnd he just likes to rip stuff up in general. And I have to watch that boy at all times. He's totally and completely 100% different then Sky was at his age. He's a dare-devil that likes to dive head-first down the slide and thinks mulch is for throwing and eating. He is obsessed with The Fresh Beat Band and loves-- absolutely loves-- music. If he hears a song with a cool beat, he will instantly start bopping his head to the beat. He loves the guitar and airplanes and cars and jumping without knowing where he will land. And for all these reasons, we just love him so much!

On Jonf's days off we've been intentional in planning fun family adventures.

Going to the pool, we discovered Grayson is half fish.

Going to the Zoo, we discovered that both mommy and Sky share a crazy passion for flamingos.

And we don't always "go out" to have fun. We dance to Jonf playing the guitar, or talk about endangered species, or make ice cream, or watch movies and eat popcorn. We like to cook together, dance together, be together.

Several have asked recently if we're considering a third. And our answer is, we are just so content right now with our 2. We've always sorta said we'd probably like three, but, there is time to decide. I'm really enjoying our family of 4 and would probably like to keep it this way for a while. Maybe forever. But we're still young.

Jonathan is still loving Lockheed. I am still loving being a mommy at home. Together we've been working on our "calendar thing" as we've nicknamed it. We are attempting to start our own husband-and-wife business making custom calendars for children, teaching them all major components of a calendar. I'd love to see this launch by the middle of July and am actively working on building a superior product that is both beautiful and functional. So anyway, here is our little logo:

We're reading books and spending more time in God's Word. This year I have set a little personal "resolution" of sorts that is tangible and so helpful to me. And that is, to delight in the Lord more by thanking Him for even the littlest of things. To find the goodness of God in the midst of chaos and trials (believe me, there are trials). Thanking Him for my son's laughter, for a gentle breeze, for my daughter's bubbly toes. In this heart of gratitude I've noticed a peace in my heart that I've been craving for so long.