Oh how I love FAMILY

We got our pictures back from the photog that came to Aspen Grove and did our family shoot.  I have to say, it was the wrong time for the light, so the colors are not as beautifully saturated as I would like, and it makes everyone's eyes look a little deep and dark (Maybe I only notice this because I am a photographer myself???) but for shooting a family of 32, I thought she did a phenomenal job! Here are just a couple for your viewing pleasure. I am going to do some photoshop work on the rest and see if I can get the colors to come out a little bit more!

First the WHOOOOOOLE Family- All 32 of us!

Next Just G&G with the 18 grandkids- their pride and joy!

Next- the 8 original Ferrells- sure love my family!!!

Just the Boys-

Just the Girls-

Jaxon and the "Big Boy" cousins- (3 baby boys missing!)

No rest for the weary!

Here I am,6 weeks out from my C-section... or better yet...less than that out from a natural delivery should little Cooper choose to be so kind as to come a little early with no complications!  I should be stock piling my sleep right? WRONG!  There are several things keeping me from being well rested-
1.  THINKING ABOUT OUR NEW HOUSE!
    In my mind, we are for sure going to get this short sale we are waiting to hear on.  There are just so many factors that point to it as being THE HOUSE.  I will honestly be CRUSHED if we don't get it. But again, Dave and I have talked that if we don't get this house that we have really felt something for all along, even when it was off the market with a different offer, praying and hoping and wishing that it would come back, that if we don't get it....it is REALLY not meant to be. Because, we want it badly, but Heavenly Father knows the rest of the story. Again, that is not to say I won't be SO SAD if we don't get it, but I'm pretty sure I won't die...or lose my testimony... probably!  :o)
  It's not even that I'm awake worrying about GETTING the house!  In my mind that's pretty set... I just can't stop thinking about having this new house, and all the things I want to do, and really making it a home that could really possibly last us forever...or at least a REALLY looooooong time.  I have been thinking about ideas that will make this house completely user friendly, and with the help of pinterest, I am SO excited to put some of them into practice. Of course I really have no idea how much it will all cost...so I think a lot (most) of them will be put on hold and done a little at a time.  I don't mind though,  the thought itself is JUST. SO. EXCITING!!!!
  Last night I kept Dave up for an hour (after we went to bed) talking about the house and my ideas, and bless his heart he really humored me, but he finally drifted off to sleep mid conversation around 11, and I was left to my own devices.  The last time I Remember looking at the clock (and using the bathroom one more time) was 1:30. BAH!!!

2.  HEARTBURN/INDIGESTION/ACID STOMACH/ACID REFLUX
  There is just no room left for my stomach with Cooper growing AND MOVING like a little maniac.  Thus no matter what, whether I eat or don't, no matter what I eat, I always have acid in my throat, making it burn and making me feel sick.  Don't get me wrong- some things make it CRAZY WORSE- especially tomatoes and spicy food, but everything is bad these days.  Laying down sure doesn't help. And I feel like I'm taking a tums about every 10 minutes from when I lay down to when I fall asleep.  TUMS are gross on the best of days, but it's getting to the point that I'm just switching nausea from acid, for nausea from the disgustingness of TUMS.

3.  TINY BLADDER
  Yup, another one to chalk up to the Coop-ster!  As I lay awake from my various other reasons, I have to get up and go to the bathroom about every 30 minutes.  When I'm asleep I can usually last about 2 hours. But I'm sleeping really lightly these days, and no matter WHAT it is that wakes me up, I can't go back to sleep until I get up and use the bathroom.  Then I wake up even more, and my mind goes back to whatever I was thinking about that kept me up originally (the house...) and I lay back down in the middle of the night and my mind just starts racing again! Oh heavens.

 This is the reason I am sitting here yawning and running on about 5 hours of sleep last night.  With Jaxon I resorted to sleeping in a recliner for the last 8 weeks, and I really REALLY don't want to have to do that again, but I am never saying never... because I most likely have 6 more weeks to get bigger and BIGGER, and for Cooper to get bigger AND BIGGER!!!

Oh and by the way- I am still SO EXCITED To have and meet this little guy, and in no way should this post be taken as complaining!!!  :o)

BAH! Posts with no pictures!

Here's the situation-  My computer that stores all my pictures and has all my PS stuff on it is currently downstairs in our bedroom.  For some reason, the wireless in my parents house does not "reach/stretch/work" that far down, so if I want to put pictures on a blog right now, I have to upload them downstairs, save them downstairs, save them to a disc, bring the disc upstairs, upload the pictures to the laptop, then upload the pictures to blogger.  Obviously...that is too much work for me right now!  :o)
  It has continued to be an eventful week since we got home from Aspen Grove.  (Which by the way, I plan to blog all about when I can upload pictures more easily)  We got home Sunday and of course Monday Dave was back to work.  It was J's last week of swim team, which dispite the heat, we were both really bummed about. ( I think I may have mentioned how grateful I am for the boost in his self esteem and his desire to work hard to achieve???!!!) Anyway, it got us out of the house every morning, and after being gone for a week, after swim we had LOTS TO DO!  Errands errands errands, plus we are trying to make the most of the last 3 weeks of summer break by getting together with lots of friends and doing fun stuff!
Monday- Monday after swim I had a dr.s apt. I am 32 weeks and that is when my drs. office does another ultrasound.  The tech and I have made good friends and although it was only supposed to be 2D, she switched over to 3D and got TONS more awesome hilarious pictures of my sweet Cooper doing what he does best- OPENING HIS MOUTH!  (Guess he takes after his mom...???) Yawning, sticking out his tongue, eating his hand.  Between his need to have his mouth open, and the way he NEVER STOPS MOVING, I think we may have a waaaaaaay different baby on our hands than our sweet tempered, easy going baby Jax!  We did find that he and Jaxon have one thing in common.  Until 30 weeks both were progressing exactly to size, but once in the 30's both started growing like crazy.  From all the measurements they took, they estimate that at 32 weeks, Coop is measuring 34.5 weeks and weighs about 4 lbs 14 oz.  THAT'S BIG FOR 32!!  In his defense, they thought Jaxon would weigh almost 11 pounds from all his measurements, but ended up being "only" 9.1!  If this guy doesn't on or before 36 or 37 weeks, I'm resigned to the fact that is C-section city for us! (Which I am completely at peace with...while still holding out a little hope for a V-back!)
 Tuesday after swim we went to the Mesa Children's Art Center with some friends we have made this year at swim team.  We had lots of fun, and also a little crazy since the friend we went with has 4 kids 7 and under! We then had to run ALLLLLLLLL the way out to west Tempe to drop off some paperwork for TMTG and to take my camera in to get fixed!  We got home and had exactly 35 minutes before we had to leave again to take J to a playdate WAAAAAAAY out past where our "old house" was.  It took us about 20 minutes to get there!  After the playdate we had to go grocery shopping and got home about 5:30.  So, on Tuesday we left the house at 8:45, were home for 35 minutes around 2pm, and didn't get home again till 5:30.  It was a looooooooong day, but that's the way we like it. We both like to be busy, and I like that Jaxon wasn't watching a lot of TV!
 Wednesday after swim we went to another friends house to swim and then go to lunch. Tiffany (the mom) is my dear friend from the gym, and her son Titan and Jaxon are the same age and play great together! We went to Mexican for lunch, which is NEVER a good idea for me.  After we got home, Sherry and her boys came over to play.  They played for 2 straight hours and had a great time! By that time Dave got home and we had a nice family dinner together.
  Thursday was Jaxon's last day of swim team- BOOOOO!!! They played a fun trivia game and it was a good way to finish. After swim we picked up my good friend Christi (From way back in the Single's ward Days!) and all headed to the mall. Jaxon's PT said he needed really good tennis shoes for school this year, with lots of foot and arch support, because he pronates a TON!  So, $104 dollars later, Jaxon had two pairs of school shoes! HOLY MOLY!  I guess our days of wearing super cute, super cheap shoes from China are OVER!  Luckily I found a great online coupon for Children's Place, who already had all their slim jeans (all Jax can wear) on great sale, and finished up his school shopping with 3 pairs of jeans, 4 t-shirts, and 2 long sleeve shirts for under $50! TAKE THAT 100 DOLLAR SHOES!!! BOO-YA!
  WE had lunch at the mall then went back to Christi's to swim. We stayed quite a while because it was a little overcast and the sun wasnt beating down on us!  AFter we left we headed to Laura's house to help get Thursday dinners together (Which, she wouldn't let me help because I am pregnant...) and Jaxon played with Isabella!  We headed home around 5:15 and Christi came over to mom and dad's where we all enjoyed a Laura's Mexican dinner.  It was a really, really bad choice on my part, and I haven't felt that sick in a long time. 
  Friday I woke up with TERRIBLE stomach cramps that didn't go away.  Since I have never felt labor pains, I didn't know if that was it or not. I called my drs office to make an apt to come in, but he was in surgery all day and no one else was there. They said I should go to the hospital. So amidst freaking out I took Jaxon to Laura's to play and went to L&D.  They took me right back and I was NOT contracting, and Cooper's heartbeat was fine. They guessed I had a bladder infection becuase the urine sample tests weren't back yet, gave me an antibiotic perscription, and sent me home.  I was still horribly crampy and felt awful, but headed to get J.  At home I researched Bladder infections, and I don't have ANY of the symptoms.  I was still in so much pain that I went downstairs to take a nap and woke up 4 hours later. Poor Jaxon had just watched TV and fended for himself, knowing how terrible I felt.  The upstairs was littered with the different snacks he had gotten himself, but bless his heart, he didn't want to wake me up.  Not long after that Dave got home, and since Jaxon had read another 25 books for summer reading, he had Jax went to Peter Piper Pizza for a date. I stayed home and rested some more.  Before we went to bed Dave gave me a very sweet blessing, and though I didn't feel better physically, emotionally it did me wonders!
  This morning, Dave and Jax went on their traditional Saturday morning breakfast date to Jack in The Box so I could sleep in. (I used to go, but would get so sick from the food afterwards that it ruined my whole Saturday, so we decided I would be better served by sleeping in...) I don't feel great, but DO feel better than yesterday, so I am just going to keep on keepin on! Today we are going to try to make up for Jaxon's 4 hour TV marathon yesterday by being out and about most of thee day.  He had Dave are playing WII while I write this, but we are planning on going to the library to read lots of books for summer reading, a fun lunch of Jaxon's choice (sort of...because I am pre-vetoing both McD's and Chick-fil-A) and then picking up G & G from the airport!
    Well, off to the races!

Aspen Grove- WE MADE IT!!!

HURRAY!!! Day one at Aspen Grove, and we are fully in the swing of things.  Yesterday Jaxon and Dave drove to Vegas, where they ate a delicious dinner (AND DUTCH OVEN PEACH COBBLER!!!) with Grandma and Grandpa Rogers, and with Tricia and Scott and their 5 girls.  Jax loved every minute and got to stay up till 9:30 because it was the only time he was going to be able to see his Silva cousins.  This morning Jax was so excited to get on the road that he woke up at 4:45am!!!! Which made for  a VERY SHORT NIGHT FOR HIM!!! They then caravaned with Grandma and Grandpa Rogers to Utah (where they were going to visit other family) and Dave and Jaxon made it to AG just a few minutes before me.  Jaxon was no where to be found (of course) because he was off with his cousins. We got to meet Aiden and Jack for the first time which is so exciting, and get to see Tyler, AnnaMarie, Katie, and Jane for the first time since February! Reunions are the best!
   I think that seeing Jaxon with his cousins might be one of the happiest things in my life.  It's probably how other parents feel about seeing their own kids love the heck out of their siblings, because that is how much Jaxon loves his cousins.  He grins from ear to ear, can't take the hop and skip out of his step because he is so excited, and will do just about anything for his crew!!  We headed out to dinner with everyone who is here and just had a fun time getting reacquainted!

 

After Dinner we signed up for all the activities we wanted to participate in..I will mostly be a spectator but did sign up for archery and Air rifle with Dave! Dave will be doing Volleyball, walleyball, paintball, basketball 3 on 3, ping pong singles with all the guys. 

Remember how I said Dave was kinda headed to Crazy Town--- please see the following picture...

 (Actually, we agreed to leave ALL CRAZY in Arizona, and we are having the times of our lives!)

  We took the kids off for a short meeting/ get to know you with their counselors, and Jaxon is in a group with both Kalle and Hailey, so he is super excited!  They learned a short cheer, as did all the other groups, and after the adults got our orientation at the outside amphitheater, the kids all came back and performed for us! It was great! 

Then the counselors put on a "Camp fire show" with little skits and songs and got lots of crowd participation.  Jaxon was truly shaking with uncontained excitement the whole time. He jumped up and down alot and sang loudly whenever the crowd could participate.  His favorite part was when the counselors threw balls and Frisbees out to the audience, and he got two!!!  After everything was over they just played fun music over the loudspeakers.  True to form, all the Ferrell cousins got up on stage and danced their hearts out for about 5 minutes. I got some cute video, which is not uploading to the computer for some reason, so it will come later.  Dave has gone out to Main room on our floor to congregate with all the other adults who are done unpacking and putting kids to bed, and I am in our room writing this post until I am sure Jaxon is asleep.  He started out on the top bunk (Which is quite high) but after about ten minutes called us in and said he was too scared up there, and wanted to move down!  Dave switched the bedding around and I think he may now be sawing logs!  That's it for tonight...I'm hoping these pictures will send from my phone to my computer and that I may be able to upload a few pics...but I'm not holding my breath!  Good GREAT NIGHT FROM ASPEN GROVE!!!!

A women on the Verge...

Have you ever had to hold it together because both you AND your spouse cannot be crazy at the same time? 

Well, Dave has to do it all the time, but not me, cause Dave is NEVER CRAZY....well...except this week....
  Dave being crazy and anxious makes me crazy and anxious but like I said, we can't just drive to crazy town together so I am doing my best...which is getting worse all the time. 
 So far this week Dave has-
 ~~~~Had his contact knocked out by Jaxon. Dave is blind as a bat with a number of serious eye issues, and his contacts are specially made and about $500 a pair, and he has to have an eye visit before he can get them, and those cost around $300 with all his issues.  It's not even the money I'm complaining about.  There was no way Dave could get in for an apt. AND have his contacts ready before we left today, so he is up a creek, and wearing only glasses.  NOT AWESOME.
~~~~ The whole issue with the mental breakdown over at the house where he threatened to throw away all our stuff. I won't rehash, because it still raises my pulse way too high, but let's just say neither of us are back at even keel yet.
~~~~ This morning while in the shower, dave had a filling fall out.  He was going to a client this morning and he and Jaxon were going to head out around noon for Vegas. (They are going to stay with Dave's parents tonight and finish the drive to Aspen Groves in the morning.) The only emergency apt. I could get him (After spending almost 2 hours on the phone this morning) was at 1pm... an hour after he wanted to leave...not to mention the time it will take to actually get the filling. Dave is NOT happy about this time frame, but there is nothing we can do about it. 
  So...Dave is currently a resident of crazy town, but I tell you what, I am not far behind.  This has been a seriously stressful week, and I was planning on going to the temple today early afternoon right after they left.  Now that is not going to happen like that, and I still have all of mine and dave's Laundry to do, and my packing and getting ready, but I am not going to be deterred from the temple, if there was ever a day I need to get there...IT'S TODAY!

4th of July, 2012

I would love to say this was an uneventful 4th, but really it was quite eventful, but had nothing to do with the 4th!
  We had decided this would be our last day at the house. Since Dave had the day off, and the ward had helped move our stuff into the pod on Tuesday night, we could finish packing away any leftover stuff, and clean the house.  Early Wednesday morning, Dave was anxious to get started for a few reasons.  The first was that all of our stuff did NOT fit in our mini mobile storage unit.  I'm still not sorry we are using it, but we have a TON of stuff (food storage, pictures, stuff that would be ruined in storage heat) at my parents house, and we got THE BIGGEST POD! If we didn't have a place to store this stuff and had to put everything in storage, it would have never worked!  Anyway, Dave also was just really anxious to be completely done over there. 
  So he left before 7am and just said for J and I to join him whenever we got up.  At 7:40 I was showered and dressed and getting ready to eat breakfast and we were going to head out.  Dave texted to see if we were close to leaving, and that's when things got dicey.  It became clear that Dave was NOT in a happy place, so I called him. He told me that he was losing his mind and his patience and was not thinking clearly anymore. He told me that he "hated all of our crap" and he was going to load anythat that was not in the pod into the back of my dads truck and throw it away.  Uhhhhhh...WHAT???
   Let me just go ahead and insert here, that I AM THE ONLY ONE ALLOWED TO BE CRAZY IN OUR RELATIONSHIP!!!!  Dave is normal, even tempered, and NEVER goes off the deep end.  So.... I guess it was bound to happen eventually....?
  I told Dave to go to McDonalds and get a soda and just sit there until I could get there but he said he was incapable of doing that or calming down.  I was kindof freaking out, so I woke up my dad and told him I needed him to come with us to the house, STAT!~  We got there about 20 minutes later, and with my dad there, Dave didn't feel like he could completely show his crazy.  There really wasn't much left to do, just little things that Dave had looked at for so long they were driving him insane. He and my dad organized everything left into 2 piles-
1. Keep and take to the house
2. Take to the dumpster
  I went upstairs and started at the back corner of the upstairs and cleaned every room. Well, I had already completely cleaned out and cleaned all the bathrooms, so I swept, mopped, and vacuumed everywhere else. It was hot, and I was REALLY hurting (my back, my legs) but I knew I needed to get this done so Dave could stop worrying about the house. (Our actual close date isn't until Saturday, but he was just really wanting to get it done)  So two hours later, I had cleaned the whole house, Dave and my dad had taken everything to the house but the trampoline, and Dave was back to take a load to the dumpster. I left because the house was done, I can't help load heavy stuff, and I sort of felt like death. 
   After a hot shower, some clean clothes and a little perspective, I was fine,  just exhausted.  Dave came home just before lunch and was extremely sheepish about his little breakdown.  We had a nice BBQ lunch with us, mom and dad, and Amber's family. The Kids dressed up in various costumes and had a great time playing pretend.  Jaxon is still learning sharing, especially now that at Grandma and Grandpa's house, his toys, are EVERYONE'S TO PLAY WITH.  We have no problem with this, it's only fair. But Jaxon (erroneously) assumed that since everyone was in his costumes, he should be the boss of play.  We heard him say several things like, "NO! YOU are MY SIDEKICK!!"  or, "FINE! You can't wear my ninja costume anymore!"  For the record, we are working on it, but 6.5 years of his own stuff is not going to be broken in a day.  And yes, we are fully aware that Cooper is really going to chap Jaxon's hide when he is big enough to get into, use incorrectly, and probably break a lot of Jaxon's things....but we ARE working on it!
  After lunch we drowsed and chatted and Dave and dad went back to the house to load up the treadmill and trampoline, take one more load to the dumpster, and head back.  Dave texted me as he was closing the garage and said, "Just closed the garage door for the last time. Moved out. Goodbye house."  I'm not super sentimental, but it was a little sad.  We lived in an apartment for 6 months and have lived in that little house the rest of our 9.5 years of marriage.  Every family memory we have has been made in that house including Jaxon's babyhood and all his milestones.  While I absolutely feel like it's the right time to move, it doesn't mean that it's not a little sad to leave a place with that much history!
  After Dave and dad got back with their last load, Dave took Jaxon to a firework stand and let him pick out a few things. They let them off in the backyard while me, grandma and grandpa cheered them on, and then we rested some more.  Brit and Taylor came over later to visit for few hours and it was so nice to chat with them.
   I think I got pretty dehydrated working at the house, so I couldn't keep anything down all day.  I didn't feel super hot, but having the house done is a huge weight lifted, so all's well that ends well, right? Though we didn't do a whole lot of celebrating, I am absolutely grateful to live in this free country!

Our "new to us and just for now" home

So, if you don't follow me on facebook, or mostly, just for posterity...probably the biggest thing happening in our lives right now (Besides being 8 weeks from adding our second little prince Cooper to our family, and surviving the heat, and sickness, and backaches until then...) is that we SOLD OUR HOUSE!!!  I wrote about that earlier, but this is where we are currently.  We are firmly moved into my parents basement, and so very VERY grateful that that was an option. 
   We have been watching ALL the houses that come on the market in our price range and geographical search (not that many...maybe one every other day...) and have gone to look at exactly...3.   The first two we put full asking offers on the day after they went on the market and were speedily denied by investors who put full price AND FULL CASH offers with no appraisal.  Welp- we can't beat that, so it clearly wasn't meant to be. (We are firmly firmly entrenched in the belief that there is a very specific place we are supposed to be next!) The third house we looked at last night was very promising in words and pictures, but once we got to the house we realized that they added several extra rooms just by taking space from other rooms, and everything felt SO CRAMPED.  Too bad, because we liked the neighborhood (Val Vista Lakes) and the house have been completely redone inside with amazing tile, new carpet, granite counter tops, stonework in all the showers, gorgeous two-toned paint, etc.  But you just can't mask the fact that you can't make 6 bedrooms PLUS A LOFT, PLUS A DEN look big in a house that is only 3200 square feet! (3200 is actually a great size...but not for 6 bedrooms, a separate sitting and dining room, a loft, and a den...every room was like a shoebox!) 
  So....the search continues.  Our realtor (who we love) will be out town for the next 3 days, and we will be gone for the 9 after that.  So, our search for the two weeks is pretty much on hold. We will of course watch everything that comes on the market, but it would be foolish to think that anything that comes up in those two weeks would still be available when we got back.  Again, if it's meant to be, it will be.  (Dave is teaching me a lot about having faith.... his is just a lot stronger than mine...but I blame pregnancy hormones that mess with my brain and emotions!)
  Dave and Jaxon leave for Utah (by way of Vegas to see his parents!) on Friday early afternoon, and I don't fly out until Saturday morning, so I will go the temple Friday afternoon to recharge my battery before we leave!
  Speaking of leaving, we are SO SUPER EXCITED For our Ferrell Family Vacation at Aspen Groves next week.  All 32 (YES...32!!!!) of us will be there. including 4 babies, 4 months and under, and of course Cooper, who has a few more weeks to cook up nice and chunky!  I really wish he would already be here to be loved and devoured and adored and oohed and ahhhed over by all my family, and to meet his 4 other cousins born this year (And let's be serious, for SEVERAL of my more selfish reasons!) but alas, tis not to be.  It will be a lot different this time than two years ago (For me) for several reasons. Dave was only able to come for the weekend last time, and also I wasn't pregnant and was able to do all the fun active stuff like ropes courses, volleyball, walleyball, and basketball tourneys, etc.  This year most of the SIL's will have either just had a baby or about to have one (me) so I think we will do a lot of sitting around bonding, laughing, feeding, changing, snuggling, napping etc.  Still a great time! 
  After the vacay we will also be able to spend a day with several of Dave's siblings who either live in, or will be visiting Utah, and also his parents! I really adore Dave's family, and I say completely honestly that I could not have married into a more fun, accepting, loving, kind, and friendly family! 
    After we get home from the vacay we will really only have 3 weeks left before school starts again, and while it's hard to keep a single 6 year old occupied in the hotter-than-blazes summer while I am super pregnant and can't be out in the heat long, I can't totally say I'm looking forward to the beginning of school.  This is the year that Jaxon starts first grade- and full day school.  I feel like I'm losing my baby, and my job as primary teacher in his life.  Also, while I am absolutely looking forward to the arrival of Cooper, I would be lying if I said I wasn't a little scared of what life will bring. Some of it (which I know is silly, but also pretty normal) is that I am worried about the way it will change my relationship with my best buddy Jaxon, who has been my constant companion for the last 6 years!  I have read that lots of parents feel this way, and that as soon as the baby comes you realize that your heart just expands with exponential love for both children, instead of trying to divide the love you already have, but these are the things that stick in the back of my mind.
  Well, now that I am trying to get back into the habit of blogging, I am enjoying getting my feelings out, but I'm sure these posts aren't too interesting...especially without pictures.  Dave just set up our computer so I can start editing and adding lots of pictures from our summer fun, but until then, I will just appease myself by saying someday my posterity will be interested in our daily goings-on, even if I didn't include pictures!