SIX!

Somehow another year has gone by and our little Buddy is six years old! He is such a tiny little guy that it's hard to believe he could be that old. But, what he lacks in size he more than makes up for with his personality. He is such an expressive boy. When he is happy, he is really happy. But if you make him mad, watch out! :)  He is usually really happy. He is the kid in class that everybody wants to be friends with. His teacher adores him and is always telling me how cute and funny he is. He is overflowing with personality and it really is hilarious.

Like most kids, Matthew hates homework, and that really has been our biggest frustration this year...so I guess I can't complain. He loves school and is doing really well, but I think he just wants to leave school at school. He is one of the top readers in his class. I was SHOCKED to hear this because for the first several months of school he refused to read at home. But he's way ahead of the game.

Matthew's current obsession is Pokemon. It is still mind boggling to me that this was ever popular, and even more mind boggling that it's made a comeback. But it's the thing these days, and he and Emma have joined the ranks of Pokemon fans.

Matthew is such a great brother to his sisters. I think he actually likes having all sisters. He has such special and unique relationships with each of them. He really looks up to Emma, and though they can really fight, they are also the best of friends. I STILL can't get them to not share a room. They just want to be with each other. Matthew and Ellie seem a lot closer in age than they are...probably because she is almost his same size! She loves being included in things that he does, and I think he likes playing with her because she will do pretty much anything he wants to do. However, she also has a very strong personality and is not afraid to put him in his place! He is really great at helping her with things and is such a great big brother. He is also really great with Alyssa. He loves making silly faces and using silly voices to get her to laugh and smile. And he loves to show her off to anyone and everyone and to tell them how cute she is. I love it.

This year, I'm hoping to keep birthdays simple and easy and I think we succeeded with Matthew's birthday. We were able to spend this last weekend with Jon's family. I made a peanut butter pie and we had it for Mother's Day/Matthew's birthday with them on Sunday.

On his actual birthday, we had doughnuts for breakfast (his request) and then he and Emma got to skip school and go to Dreamworks' bring your kid to work day. The kids have to be 6 to go, so it worked out perfectly that they planned it on his 6th birthday. He was SO excited! They spent the morning at Dragon Trainer's Camp and did all sorts of fun activities. I picked them up at lunch and we headed home to get ready for his birthday play date. In keeping things simple, but still wanting him to be able to celebrate, we invited a few friends over to play in the sprinkler and eat popsicles. His birthday happened to be on the hottest day of a nasty heat wave so it was a good way to pass the afternoon. We finished the day off with his requested dinner of cold cereal and smoothies, which was perfect, considering the weather.

We are so grateful to have our little Buddy (even though he doesn't want us to call him Buddy anymore...ha!). He is such a fun and crazy kid. We sure love him!

Pokemon cards from Grandma and Grandpa Farrell

The most amazing peanut butter pie!

Safeway donuts...we go all out at our house!

He loved his birthday card and stickers from Grandma Lorraine.

I love their expressions here. He got his very own Pokemon trainer kit. Birthday made!

And Emma's face here is priceless. She was trying so hard to be happy for him, but was obviously jealous. It's hard having to wait 7 weeks for her own birthday!

Sprinkler fun

Trenton, Chase, Ekke, Matthew, and August. He's got some great friends!

Ekke gave him a bubble gun and the kids all had a blast with it.

Six Year Birthday Interview

What is your full name?  Matthew Farrell

How old are you?  Five  You’re five? Are you sure? Oh, I’m six.

What's your favorite color?  Red

Who's your best friend?  Tommy

What's your favorite animal?  Cheetah

What do you want to be when you grow up?  Artist

What's your favorite movie?  The Lego Movie

What are some of your favorite books? Ummmm...I don’t have any favorite books. Oh, Pokemon books.

What makes you happy?  Alyssa!

What makes you sad?  Someone just snatching a toy from me that was my favorite toy and I wasn’t done playing with it.

What's your favorite food?  Toast with peanut butter

What's your favorite song?  The Happy Song (from Despicable Me 2)

What games do you like to play? Monopoly Jr Party

What's your favorite toy?  Pokemon kit

Change

Where do I begin? Life is funny sometimes. Just when you start to get comfortable, something comes along to stir things up and get you out of your comfort zone again. The last several months have been full of potential change and lots of uncertainty. We are not at all where we thought we would be right now and we are headed in a direction that a few short months ago we never would have imagined we would be headed.

Last fall, we really started feeling like change was coming. We did have a baby, so there was definitely a lot of change and adjustment with that, but we felt that there was more. Over time we felt several promptings to be prepared. For what? We had no idea! We definitely felt like the time was quickly approaching for us to move out of the house we are renting. We had no plans to leave Jon's job, so we started looking at other cities around us. In the meantime we started preparing to move. Without even trying, we found a new home for our chickens. Then we got the yard put back together, and we did some major dejunking and deep cleaning in our house. It's amazing how much stuff you can accumulate in just four years!

In January, Jon was approached about a job in Portland. I won't go into much detail, other than to say that that whole experience was very inspired. We weren't looking for a new job. That was the farthest thing from our minds. But when he was approached about it, we both immediately knew that he needed to pursue it. The job seemed really promising, they flew Jon out, he had a flawless interview, everything seemed perfect. We were sure this was the answer to our prayers and the reason for all of our previous promptings. But through an incredibly bizarre series of events over the next few weeks, the job fell through and we found ourselves in shock and feeling very lost. Of course, we knew that he wasn't guaranteed that job. But the whole process was a series of inspiration and miracles and all signs were pointing to YES. We told each other several times that if the job didn't work out, it would be because it wasn't supposed to. The night he got his no from that company, we very unexpectedly found ourselves walking down a completely new path. One that we never would have even considered on our own. Doors were opened for us to start exploring other options, and it became very apparent that the job in Portland was an avenue to bring us to this new path.

I wish I didn't have to be so vague. But everything is still so uncertain right now. Most of the puzzle pieces are still missing. We have no idea where we'll be in the next couple of months or what we'll be doing. We could still be right where we are. At the same job and in the same house. We might not. But ultimately, we both feel an incredible amount of peace (and occasional bouts of major stress and freaking out :) ) right now. I wish I could somehow share all of the little miracles we have seen over the last few months and the promptings and inspiration we have received. It has been one heck of a roller coaster ride. But we have never felt so completely sure that we are doing what we are supposed to be doing right now.

We have both learned so much and have grown in ways that we wouldn't have without the experiences we've had over the last several months. We have definitely learned a lot about patience and trusting the Lord's timing and plan for us. It is comforting to know that He can see the big picture, He wants us to be happy, and He is willing to help us along the way. This doesn't guarantee an easy path. Really, we expect that it will be quite the opposite. Growth comes through trials and stretching ourselves. And we fully expect to continue to be tried. But we hope that as we continue to move forward in whatever direction we feel we should go, that the puzzle pieces will continue to fall into place, and we will slowly be able to grow and stretch ourselves in the ways that we hope to. I'm excited and anxious to see where the next few months take us!