My second day of thanks is laughter. Laughter is the best medicine, they say. They also say that you can either laugh or cry although most times, I do both.
I love a good laugh. The kind of laugh where your smile hurts because you've been laughing so hard. I sometimes have a musical laugh. (it goes up and down in a scale) Justin has a great secret laugh that I can't share or I may be killed that I adore. Natalie's laugh is long and loud. Mat's laugh is a guffaw. Libby's laugh is super contagious. Just last night she was laughing at herself in the mirror because she was making funny faces at herself.
I will admit that I don't laugh as much as I should because there is always something else that I need to do. Something always need to be cleaned or someone is always fighting with someone else. I wonder what would happen if we just had fun. I will play with my kids when we have more space. Right and then something else will come up. It is time to STOP and play. My children will only be children once.
This brings me to day of thanks number 3 = my family.
My family is my everything. Justin and I are going on almost 13 years of marriage and 18 years of knowing each other. I cannot imagine my life without Justin. He encourages me, believes in me and most of all, makes me laugh. For five long years, we tried to have kids on our own, but nothing worked. We had finally made the decision to adopt and were approved by LDS Family Services in Georgia. A few months later, we moved back to Utah and found a fertility doctor named Dr. Foulk with Utah Fertility Clinic to try a few last minute attempts. A miracle occured and our little Natalie was born.
Two years later, we went back to the same doctor and said we want to try again. After a failed attempt, we made the decision to do IVF. We got two more miracle babies, our beautiful twins, Mat and Libby. Our family is complete.
Saturday, November 3, 2018
Thursday, November 1, 2018
#MomLife = Day of Thanks:1
Yes, the title of this post is hashtag mom life or if you're musically inclined - sharp, mom life.
Mom life is hard, no joke. One of my friends just posted on Facebook that she is thinking of starting a blog for all those moms who know that life isn't perfect. It made me realize that the whole reason I started my blog is so that people would see how fun life is as a mom of twins + a toddler.
Now, my toddler is almost six and my twins are toddlers, and my blogging days are not a number for the record books. But that's how mom life is for me. It is filled with screams, changing diapers, potty training, hitting, fighting, kicking, hugging, snuggling, and I love yous.
Today is the first day of November which starts the month of Gratitude for most. Today I am grateful for my mom. Ten years ago to the date, our family was going to the funeral for my mother. She had passed away after a long battle with breast cancer. That is the only time that I have ever ridden in a limo.
I still miss my mom and this year has been especially hard. I don't know why, perhaps because I could really use her wisdom as I try to help my children learn and grow. When you get sick, who do you want, you mom. When you get hurt, who do you want, your mom. When you are sad, who do you want, your mom. And my mom isn't there.
But it hit me today, that I have three wonderful children who do want me when they get sick or hurt or scared. I am their mom. I am not perfect and will always make mistakes, but this is me.
Mom life is hard, no joke. One of my friends just posted on Facebook that she is thinking of starting a blog for all those moms who know that life isn't perfect. It made me realize that the whole reason I started my blog is so that people would see how fun life is as a mom of twins + a toddler.
Now, my toddler is almost six and my twins are toddlers, and my blogging days are not a number for the record books. But that's how mom life is for me. It is filled with screams, changing diapers, potty training, hitting, fighting, kicking, hugging, snuggling, and I love yous.
Today is the first day of November which starts the month of Gratitude for most. Today I am grateful for my mom. Ten years ago to the date, our family was going to the funeral for my mother. She had passed away after a long battle with breast cancer. That is the only time that I have ever ridden in a limo.
I still miss my mom and this year has been especially hard. I don't know why, perhaps because I could really use her wisdom as I try to help my children learn and grow. When you get sick, who do you want, you mom. When you get hurt, who do you want, your mom. When you are sad, who do you want, your mom. And my mom isn't there.
But it hit me today, that I have three wonderful children who do want me when they get sick or hurt or scared. I am their mom. I am not perfect and will always make mistakes, but this is me.
Wednesday, April 25, 2018
State of the Feral address 2018 vol.1
I have decided to address all my wonderful subjects and give them an update on how our year has been so far. Yes there will be more volumes to come.
The ferrell children have been absolutely wild (living up to their name, I guess.)
Libby - still our tiny one. The good news is that on March 25, we passed the six month mark. Six month mark of what you ask. Six months before that day, our little Libby had a seizure and wasn't breathing. All tests came back positive and so we were told to wait six months. Well six months has come and gone and no more siezures. I have noticed that our Libby is our peacemaker, she doesn't like it when people are fighting, and is always willing to give you a hug. She also will say hi to anyone that she meets.
Mat - 100% boy. He throws everything that he can and loves to pick on his sisters. We finally got his rat's nest of a hair cut and he was crying the whole time. Whenever he gets upset, he comes to me and says "Hold you." I say, "You want to hold me?" and he says yes. He has to follow me everywhere and will only go to sleep with his Lotso bear. He has the biggest brightest blue eyes ever that I absolutely adore and will always say sorry when I tell him ow. '
Natalie - Five turning fifteen. She likes doing her own things and is constantly asking to go outside and play with the dogs. At the same time however, she will always be in the mood for a good snuggle. Her favorite shows are Paw Patrol and My Little Pony.
Mom - I got a job teaching English online to Chinese kids with VIPKid and I love it. I teach early in the morning before the kids are up and I go to sleep at 9:00. I have been with them for a month and a half and so I am still trying to figure out my daily routine. Justin and I teach Natalie's primary class and we often get a friend to come with us, (his name is Mat). It gets pretty crazy in our class the last hour of church.
Dad - still going strong at UVU. He was able to get his certificate as a Gallup Strengths Coach. It means that he can tell you what your strengths are and how those strengths can help you be a better person. He loves to make the children laugh and is really good at finding all our ticklish spots.
In other news.......
My parents came home from their mission in the Marshall Islands. We went to the airport to greet them and Mat didn't want anything to do with them. Libby was willing to at least say hi, but that's as far as that went.
My nephew got his mission call to Toronto, Canada, French speaking. It makes sense in my mind that everyone is getting older, because I know I am.
P.S.~ It took Mom five years to realize that Dad is exactly 30 years older than Natalie.
The ferrell children have been absolutely wild (living up to their name, I guess.)Libby - still our tiny one. The good news is that on March 25, we passed the six month mark. Six month mark of what you ask. Six months before that day, our little Libby had a seizure and wasn't breathing. All tests came back positive and so we were told to wait six months. Well six months has come and gone and no more siezures. I have noticed that our Libby is our peacemaker, she doesn't like it when people are fighting, and is always willing to give you a hug. She also will say hi to anyone that she meets.
Mat - 100% boy. He throws everything that he can and loves to pick on his sisters. We finally got his rat's nest of a hair cut and he was crying the whole time. Whenever he gets upset, he comes to me and says "Hold you." I say, "You want to hold me?" and he says yes. He has to follow me everywhere and will only go to sleep with his Lotso bear. He has the biggest brightest blue eyes ever that I absolutely adore and will always say sorry when I tell him ow. '
Natalie - Five turning fifteen. She likes doing her own things and is constantly asking to go outside and play with the dogs. At the same time however, she will always be in the mood for a good snuggle. Her favorite shows are Paw Patrol and My Little Pony.
Mom - I got a job teaching English online to Chinese kids with VIPKid and I love it. I teach early in the morning before the kids are up and I go to sleep at 9:00. I have been with them for a month and a half and so I am still trying to figure out my daily routine. Justin and I teach Natalie's primary class and we often get a friend to come with us, (his name is Mat). It gets pretty crazy in our class the last hour of church.
Dad - still going strong at UVU. He was able to get his certificate as a Gallup Strengths Coach. It means that he can tell you what your strengths are and how those strengths can help you be a better person. He loves to make the children laugh and is really good at finding all our ticklish spots.
In other news.......
My parents came home from their mission in the Marshall Islands. We went to the airport to greet them and Mat didn't want anything to do with them. Libby was willing to at least say hi, but that's as far as that went.
My nephew got his mission call to Toronto, Canada, French speaking. It makes sense in my mind that everyone is getting older, because I know I am.
P.S.~ It took Mom five years to realize that Dad is exactly 30 years older than Natalie.
Saturday, December 30, 2017
12 years and counting
Happy Anniversary to us! Justin and I celebrate a whopping 12 years today and we celebrated in style. We gave our gifts to each other in the morning. Justin gave me pearls and I gave him chocolate covered cinnamon bears, but not just any chocolate covered cinnamon bears, BYU chocolate covered cinnamon bears.
Then we went to Utah Idaho Map World Supply because they are going out of business and got a lot of school supplies because everything was 50% off. Then we went to lunch. Natalie asked if we were going to Old MacDonald (what she calls McDonald's) and we said no. We went to Texas Roadhouse and Libby, our usual happy child had the biggest hangry tantrum that I have ever seen. We ended it by going to see the Spanish Fork Festival of Lights.
We spent the day with our children, why, because we are a family and right now they need us. One day we will go on exotic adventures. One day, we will actually be able to spend a night alone with the just the two of us and no interruptions but not right now. The past seven nights, we have had one of the children sleep with us in our bed because they have either been sick or will wake up their siblings with a death scream if we put them back in bed when we check on them (Mat). There were a few nights when Justin slept on the couch with a horrible cough just because other children needed rest and they always want Mom when they don't feel good.
We are right in the middle of our crazy month as I like to call it. We have Christmas (12/25), our Anniversary (12/29), twins birthday (1/6), Justin's birthday (1/9) and Natalie's birthday (1/25). Yes, everyone's birthday in our family except mine is in January.
I am not very good at sending Christmas cards, so here is our 2017 year in review:
January: The twins turned one, wahoo, and Natalie turned four. Libby had a helmet because she had a flat spot on her head. She had torticollis and so always leaned toward her right side. She got the helmet off and graduated from physical therapy.
February: Mat started walking and never looked back.
March: Libby had surgery to put tubes in her ears. The doctor told Justin when he was done that Libby's ears were just full of gunk. The funny thing is that she had never complained of ear pain, she was just generally cranky. Her balance increased 100% during the next few days. Justin also ran his first half marathon and Natalie ran the last little bit with him.
April: I had my first night away since the twins were born thanks to a relief society activity. It was amazing. We also went to go see a movie together as a family. The movie was Lego Batman and the only one who saw all of it was Natalie. She loved it, by the way.
May: Not much happened this month, but here is a picture showing off Natalie's fashion sense.
June: Justin's sister got married and so the whole family was in town. It was really good to see everyone. Natalie really liked playing with her cousins, and everyone liked holding Libby. Justin ran the Utah Valley Marathon with a time of 5:58:58 and Libby started walking.
July: Now this was our crazy month. Mat went to Urgent Care about three different times with breathing issues and was finally diagnosed with Restrictive Airway Disease. What that means is that he is either allergic to things or has asthma but is too young to be tested. He will probably have a bad cough whenever he has a cold because of his underdeveloped lungs at birth. Natalie got three stitches on her forehead when she slipped and hit the corner of the mailbox while helping me get the mail. The final nail in the coffin for this month is when Mat cut his foot on July 24th while Justin was out of town. He ended up needing 10-12 stitches.
August: We went on our vacation to Oklahoma and Arkansas to visit family and friends. While in Oklahoma, Natalie went out and played in the sandbox with our friend's the Rex's kids and when she came in, she was covered in welts. Looks like she has an allergic reaction to bug bites, we put cream and essential oils on her and she was fine. We brought back Justin's older brother to live with us for a few months.
September: Natalie started ballet and music class. She does preschool at home. September 25 is a day that I will never forget. It started out fairly simple. Justin stayed home until lunch because he was getting over a head cold. I had piano lessons starting soon and the twins were happily playing with Natalie. I happened to glance over at Libby right as she started to fall, she fell hard but didn't cry. Justin went to go get her and told me to call 911 because Libby wasn't breathing. Her lips were blue, basically, our little girl had a seizure. Every test they did came back normal and so now we wait for six months.
October: A bittersweet month for me because it is the anniversary of my mother's death. It has been nine years and I miss her every day. I found out that my aunt passed away on October 11. She was so fun to be around and always loved to laugh. Halloween, Natalie was excited to get candy and so were Mat and Libby. Natalie was a pirate, Mat was a buffalo, and Libby was a penguin.
November/December: Justin made our complete Thanksgiving meal and it was delicious.
I have survived one whole year with three kids and my house didn't blow up once.
Natalie had her first dance recital and loved every minute of it. She wanted to get on the big stage, but there wasn't enough room.
Mat carries his Lotso Bear with him everywhere, even to church because he doesn't like strangers at all.
Libby is tiny but lets her voice sing out in song whenever she can. Her laugh is super contagious.
Merry Late Christmas and a Happy New Year to all!
From the Ferrell's
Justin, Katie, Natalie, Mat, Libby, and Lotso.
Then we went to Utah Idaho Map World Supply because they are going out of business and got a lot of school supplies because everything was 50% off. Then we went to lunch. Natalie asked if we were going to Old MacDonald (what she calls McDonald's) and we said no. We went to Texas Roadhouse and Libby, our usual happy child had the biggest hangry tantrum that I have ever seen. We ended it by going to see the Spanish Fork Festival of Lights.
We spent the day with our children, why, because we are a family and right now they need us. One day we will go on exotic adventures. One day, we will actually be able to spend a night alone with the just the two of us and no interruptions but not right now. The past seven nights, we have had one of the children sleep with us in our bed because they have either been sick or will wake up their siblings with a death scream if we put them back in bed when we check on them (Mat). There were a few nights when Justin slept on the couch with a horrible cough just because other children needed rest and they always want Mom when they don't feel good.
We are right in the middle of our crazy month as I like to call it. We have Christmas (12/25), our Anniversary (12/29), twins birthday (1/6), Justin's birthday (1/9) and Natalie's birthday (1/25). Yes, everyone's birthday in our family except mine is in January.
I am not very good at sending Christmas cards, so here is our 2017 year in review:
January: The twins turned one, wahoo, and Natalie turned four. Libby had a helmet because she had a flat spot on her head. She had torticollis and so always leaned toward her right side. She got the helmet off and graduated from physical therapy.
February: Mat started walking and never looked back.
March: Libby had surgery to put tubes in her ears. The doctor told Justin when he was done that Libby's ears were just full of gunk. The funny thing is that she had never complained of ear pain, she was just generally cranky. Her balance increased 100% during the next few days. Justin also ran his first half marathon and Natalie ran the last little bit with him.
April: I had my first night away since the twins were born thanks to a relief society activity. It was amazing. We also went to go see a movie together as a family. The movie was Lego Batman and the only one who saw all of it was Natalie. She loved it, by the way.
May: Not much happened this month, but here is a picture showing off Natalie's fashion sense.
June: Justin's sister got married and so the whole family was in town. It was really good to see everyone. Natalie really liked playing with her cousins, and everyone liked holding Libby. Justin ran the Utah Valley Marathon with a time of 5:58:58 and Libby started walking.
July: Now this was our crazy month. Mat went to Urgent Care about three different times with breathing issues and was finally diagnosed with Restrictive Airway Disease. What that means is that he is either allergic to things or has asthma but is too young to be tested. He will probably have a bad cough whenever he has a cold because of his underdeveloped lungs at birth. Natalie got three stitches on her forehead when she slipped and hit the corner of the mailbox while helping me get the mail. The final nail in the coffin for this month is when Mat cut his foot on July 24th while Justin was out of town. He ended up needing 10-12 stitches.
August: We went on our vacation to Oklahoma and Arkansas to visit family and friends. While in Oklahoma, Natalie went out and played in the sandbox with our friend's the Rex's kids and when she came in, she was covered in welts. Looks like she has an allergic reaction to bug bites, we put cream and essential oils on her and she was fine. We brought back Justin's older brother to live with us for a few months.
September: Natalie started ballet and music class. She does preschool at home. September 25 is a day that I will never forget. It started out fairly simple. Justin stayed home until lunch because he was getting over a head cold. I had piano lessons starting soon and the twins were happily playing with Natalie. I happened to glance over at Libby right as she started to fall, she fell hard but didn't cry. Justin went to go get her and told me to call 911 because Libby wasn't breathing. Her lips were blue, basically, our little girl had a seizure. Every test they did came back normal and so now we wait for six months.
November/December: Justin made our complete Thanksgiving meal and it was delicious.
I have survived one whole year with three kids and my house didn't blow up once.
Natalie had her first dance recital and loved every minute of it. She wanted to get on the big stage, but there wasn't enough room.
Mat carries his Lotso Bear with him everywhere, even to church because he doesn't like strangers at all.
Libby is tiny but lets her voice sing out in song whenever she can. Her laugh is super contagious.
Merry Late Christmas and a Happy New Year to all!
From the Ferrell's
Justin, Katie, Natalie, Mat, Libby, and Lotso.
Wednesday, January 4, 2017
2016: One Crazy Year
One of my friends told me that she was amazed that I was doing so well with the twins and a toddler. I told her "I go to bed every night thinking, well I survived the day and then I wake up every morning, thinking well I survived the night." Survival is the key and that's what my 2016 looked like.
2016 started with the the birth of the twins on January 6 with an emergency c-section. Even though it was an emergency, everything went great. They had to stay in the NICU for 11 days because they were both small, but they were ready to come home. (The twins birthday brings the total number of birthdays in our family to 4.) Natalie was excited to be a big sister and wanted to hold her baby brother and sister.
In March, the twins got RSV and Natalie got a really bad double earache. (We saw our doctor three times in one week). Natalie was doing well with the medicine. The day after it was finished, we gave her a health drink and she broke out in hives. I put her in the bathtub to help with the itching and noticed that her face was starting to swell. Justin took her to the InstaCare where she got shot with an epipen because her oxygen was to low. We went to the ER to wait it out and then later met with an allergist. We decided to not do the allergen test at that because what three year old would really sit still for that long. The only explanation is that it was a couple of allergic reactions that combined together to make one big reaction. It sure scared us to death.
We were able to go spend time with all my family in San Diego. Natalie kept calling it "Yan Diego." It was really cute. We went to Sea World as a family and also to San Diego Zoo. Natalie was even able to go to the beach for the first time. She was not a big fan of the water.
In September, Libby got a helmet for her head because she has a flat spot, we also started going to physical therapy for her. She was sleeping through the night and then as soon as she had to sleep with it on, that comfort went through the window. I had the chance to attend the Zija Summit. Zija is a health company that Justin and I have been with for the past two years and I finally was able to go the big event in Salt Lake and I loved it. If you want to know more about Zija, google the worlds most nutritional plant and it will bring up the Moringa oleifera tree.
My parents left on their mission to the Marshall Islands in October. They will be there until April of 2018.
Justin and I celebrated 11 years of marriage on December 29. We spent the day the with those we love most, our children.
Bring it on 2017, may it be another crazy year for the Ferrell's. (I wouldn't have it any other way)
Monday, October 3, 2016
Conference Do-over
This recent weekend was General Conference and I remember none of it. I was in my living room listening to it while the toddler was going crazy and the twins were being noisy. I wish I could tell you what at least one of them said, but I can't even do that. Justin told me that the reason that they print the talks now is so that parents of young kids can go back and remember what they heard in the midst of chaos.
I always look forward to Conference. We, as Latter-Day Saints get the chance to hear words of wisdom from our wonderful leaders and then we get to ponder them for the next six months. I know that if you come with questions, you will get answers. Well this time, I had questions, but I dont know what my answers are.
The question then becomes was the problem me or my kids. Perhaps I didn't really know what my question was, or perhaps my question was to easy. Also perhaps, my kids are too crazy and way too loud for me to even think about anything during conference. I tried to get activities for Natalie so that she would stay focused. I even got candy, (yeah that backfired). Suddenly Natalie was more interested in the candy then listening at all. Mat was being his regular noisy self and Libby just wanted to be held by me and only me.
Needless to say, at the end of the day I was going crazy. I called my father to say goodbye (Because they are going on a mission and entered the MTC today) and he told me a few things. He told me that I am doing a great job being a mom to my three kids and that it may be hard but it is worth it. Little did I know that my question was being answered in those few minutes that I had with my dad.
Sometimes life is hard, sometimes I want to scream, sometimes I want to laugh and sometimes I want to cry. The best thing that I can do is START to find joy in the little things.
I always look forward to Conference. We, as Latter-Day Saints get the chance to hear words of wisdom from our wonderful leaders and then we get to ponder them for the next six months. I know that if you come with questions, you will get answers. Well this time, I had questions, but I dont know what my answers are.
The question then becomes was the problem me or my kids. Perhaps I didn't really know what my question was, or perhaps my question was to easy. Also perhaps, my kids are too crazy and way too loud for me to even think about anything during conference. I tried to get activities for Natalie so that she would stay focused. I even got candy, (yeah that backfired). Suddenly Natalie was more interested in the candy then listening at all. Mat was being his regular noisy self and Libby just wanted to be held by me and only me.
Needless to say, at the end of the day I was going crazy. I called my father to say goodbye (Because they are going on a mission and entered the MTC today) and he told me a few things. He told me that I am doing a great job being a mom to my three kids and that it may be hard but it is worth it. Little did I know that my question was being answered in those few minutes that I had with my dad.
Sometimes life is hard, sometimes I want to scream, sometimes I want to laugh and sometimes I want to cry. The best thing that I can do is START to find joy in the little things.
Thursday, August 11, 2016
Seven Months = Sooooo Tired
The twins are now seven months old. I know, I can't believe it either.
It's funny, with Natalie I was consistent about writing how she did every month and would always get excited about writing in her baby book. With the twins, I know that I am at least three months behind with Mat and I have no idea when all the "first's" happened. I have a general knowledge but I can't tell you exactly what was going on. It's more like, I put them down, go check on Natalie, come back and declare to myself, "Oh, you can now do (fill-in-the-blank)." I love them as much as I love Natalie, I just don't have enough time anymore.
Speaking of time, time for updates on your favorite Ferrell twins. Liberty, aka Libby, aka Libby J, aka silly girl is cute and tiny. When she smiles, it fills up the room and makes everyone else smile. She doesn't laugh out loud much, but when you get her in the right mood, her laugh is extremely contagious. She only takes naps for longer than ten minutes if she is exhuasted, otherwise she cat naps and then wakes up when you try to move her with a smile as it to say, let's go party. At her six month appointment she was almost 11 pounds. She has a dairy senstivity and does not take any bottle. That means that I can't eat any dairy products, or chocolate. If I do, then she ends up screaming herself to sleep for at least half an hour.
Mat, aka Matty boy, aka Mr. Dude, aka buddy boy, aka brokowski is definitely bigger than his twin sister. At his six month appointment, he was almost 17 pounds. He is almost too long for his car seat. He loves his sisters and is all smiles when either one of them is around. He can sit up by himself (well almost). One of his favorite toys is this rolling ball that we got, as soon as he sees it, he gets fixated on it and has to touch it.
Natalie is a great big sister. She helps out when I ask her and willingly plays with her sister. I sometimes have to tell her to play with her brother. She poured herself a glass of milk the other day and I wondered where my little girl went.
It's funny, with Natalie I was consistent about writing how she did every month and would always get excited about writing in her baby book. With the twins, I know that I am at least three months behind with Mat and I have no idea when all the "first's" happened. I have a general knowledge but I can't tell you exactly what was going on. It's more like, I put them down, go check on Natalie, come back and declare to myself, "Oh, you can now do (fill-in-the-blank)." I love them as much as I love Natalie, I just don't have enough time anymore.
Speaking of time, time for updates on your favorite Ferrell twins. Liberty, aka Libby, aka Libby J, aka silly girl is cute and tiny. When she smiles, it fills up the room and makes everyone else smile. She doesn't laugh out loud much, but when you get her in the right mood, her laugh is extremely contagious. She only takes naps for longer than ten minutes if she is exhuasted, otherwise she cat naps and then wakes up when you try to move her with a smile as it to say, let's go party. At her six month appointment she was almost 11 pounds. She has a dairy senstivity and does not take any bottle. That means that I can't eat any dairy products, or chocolate. If I do, then she ends up screaming herself to sleep for at least half an hour.
Mat, aka Matty boy, aka Mr. Dude, aka buddy boy, aka brokowski is definitely bigger than his twin sister. At his six month appointment, he was almost 17 pounds. He is almost too long for his car seat. He loves his sisters and is all smiles when either one of them is around. He can sit up by himself (well almost). One of his favorite toys is this rolling ball that we got, as soon as he sees it, he gets fixated on it and has to touch it.
Natalie is a great big sister. She helps out when I ask her and willingly plays with her sister. I sometimes have to tell her to play with her brother. She poured herself a glass of milk the other day and I wondered where my little girl went.
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