An even longer time, no blog

So, our last blog was over a year ago, and boy have things changed.  In a nutshell here's what has happened:

we got pregnant in February

I got a job with a neurosurgeon in Birmingham in May...and then I quit that job to take another job in Opelika with a urology group in June, which means that we have since moved to Opelika.

I turned the big 30 in June and we celebrated by going to Atlanta to a Braves game and the aquarium on the hottest day of the year.  Kimberly was a trooper since she was about 5 1/2 months pregnant at the time and it was only 104 outside.

So, I started working in Opelika in July while Kimberly stayed in Birmingham to finish up work, pack the house, etc.  We closed on a great house at the end of July and promptly moved in.

We unpacked all the months of July, August, and September (we don't like unpacking) and got reacquainted with Opelika.  For those who don't know, I grew up in Opelika and Kimberly lived there for a few years as well and she had always wanted to move to a smaller town.  Having grandparents close by with a kid on the way made it an easy choice.

October came around and we were in full baby mode.  Wells (we were expecting a boy and that's his name) was to be due at the end of the month, so final preparations were being done...until he decided to come two weeks early.  To read about that eventful evening I will refer you to Kimberly's blog here.

So here we are January 1, 2013.  I'm going to try and update more than once a year.  Who knows if I'll have time to with a newborn at home...

Long time No blog

So, we Farrs haven't blogged in a while. Kimberly was the main blogger on this site, but she set up a new blog (www.createrecovery.blogspot.com) so this one has kind of been ignored. I guess I'll have to pick up her slack and give a little update to all 3 readers as to what's been going on in our lives.

We celebrated our 1 year anniversary in August. It feels like it has been a lot short, and a lot longer than 1 year. Our cake was surprisingly awesome still after being frozen for 1 year.

I also officially finished grad school in August as well. I'm still looking at different job opportunities while waiting to take my boards. They are coming up soon, but I'm confident that I'll pass them, so hopefully I'll double my income here in the next couple of months.

My buddy Trey and I took a trip to Chicago to see the Cubs/Braves series in Wrigley Field. I have always wanted to see a game in Wrigley and we got to see 3 games. It was awesome. I thoroughly loved Chicago and can't wait to go back. Trey and I are already planning our next man trip to Boston next summer to see the Braves/Red Sox.


The week after I went to Chicago, Kimberly and I returned to Excellence Playa Mujeres for our anniversary trip. This is where we went for our honeymoon, and we loved it so much that we decided to return. We even got a great deal on the roof-top terrace, so we splurged on that again. Needless to say, the 6 days were well worth it. I had just worked 60 hours a week for the past 3 weeks and Kimberly was doing her end of the year stuff at work as well.

It's a tradition that I carry her across the threshold of our room there. We were only 4 doors down from our room from last year.


Monkey drinks like last year, only these were coconut and not pineapple


We had a rainbow on our last day


After dinner drinks in the plaza

Kimberly breaking it down with some couples that we met while down there.

Since returning from our various vacations, life has returned to normal. I'm still working in the ER. Kimberly is still working for CCR. Hopefully we'll be putting our house on the market in March or April and move into a bigger house for when we start a family. Who knows when that will be...

the post i haven't written sooner because i didn't know how to start it

since becoming an adult, i have not had to deal with losing many loved ones.  it seems that since turning thirty, times have changed. 

i held my husband's hand back in november.  at the end of may, he held mine.

i knew a post to eulogize my beloved Granddaddy would come at some point; i knew immediately that the words would not come quickly.

i believe he would understand why.  his offspring adored him.  and, as his oldest grandchild, i was fortunate to have spent the most time with him.

cecil thomas wells was a complex, yet simple man.  i like to think of him as an onion, with many layers (and yes, an onion for a reason: because we both loved them, and because it's one of those things that either you like or you don't--and you know why).

he could give you a look that said, "go to hell," yet, if you knew him, you knew he was really smiling at you.

he loved to frown in pictures.  perhaps because he had done it for so long that didn't want to ruin his reputation by turning the corners of his mouth upwards instead.

many decades ago, he sliced off the top of one of his big toes with the lawn mower.  he used to charge my sister a quarter to see it.

for christmas a few years ago, i gave him a fake toe in a beaker that i had found at a halloween sale. he loved it.

my earliest memories of him involve his stomping (literally) around the primitive (read: jim walter home from the 70's) version of our family's now beloved lake house retreat. his outfit of choice: scuffed up brown leather boots, zipper down, cut off jeans, and a so-old-you-can-see-straight-through-it wife beater.

he paid for my first dance classes. not because he thought i could star in the lead of giselle one day, but because he thought i was so very clumsy (i was later moved to another "dance studio" because all i learned from said class was how to moonwalk).

when i turned 15, he bought me my first (matchbox) car.

he believed it was his calling in life to tell me what i needed to study in college and/or a potential business venture i needed to pursue.  among others, his favorites were robotics and investing in gold.  yes, my grandfather, in 1998, was preaching the future of robots in surgical procedures and the increasing price of gold.

he was an outspoken man.  upon meeting david the first time, he bluntly said over a home cooked breakfast, "I don't like male nurses."  david wasn't offended.  he instantly scored points with granddaddy. 

i will remember my grandfather as a man who loved life.  he loved sunsets, boxed red wine, and laughing.  he derived great pleasure from tending to his plants, barbequing chicken, and having his loved ones around.

anyone who has lost a loved one who has been in poor health for a long time can understand the conflicting feelings of grief and relief.  of sorrow and joy.

it's only fitting that he decided to go home right before memorial day.  it's like he was saying, "have a good time. eat. drink. be merry. and think of me."

i am fortunate to have had my beloved grandfather in my life for 30 years.  he was there when i was born.  he saw me graduate (both times).  he spoke to me on shortly before i married david and expressed his extreme joy and happiness.

he was well enough to actually walk down the aisle at my sister's wedding.

and, he held on to life long enough to see his first great-grandchild, our precious sarah ringl, in person.

these last three events occurred within the past nine months.  i truly believe that it was my grandfather's

intense love of his family that kept him here long enough to be a part of them.

my grandfather taught me many things, but here's what means the most to me:
no one is perfect.  everyone makes mistakes.  even though some of these may be too much for individuals to handle, it's never too much for God.  He will always love you, forgive you, and accept you.  everyone deserves another chance at life.

granddaddy, i love you.  thank you for loving me, despite my faults.  thank you for accepting me.  thank you for understanding me.

and look out. i'm gonna moonwalk past you in heaven one day.

tiny tacky turtles

i have a confession: i love tacky sourvenir stores.

alvin's island and wings. chain or local. i love them all.

yes, i know they are filled with endless shelves of treasure crap. i just can't help myself.  from the horrible spring break t-shirts to coffee mugs shaped like boobies, and all the shell art in between.

rarely do i buy something. but if i do, it's for a reason.

case in point: turtles.

you know the ones: no bigger than half your thumb. usually a form of shell art. sometimes wearing a hat.  or glasses.  or both.

i had to buy that first one.

here's why.

the first trip david and i took together was down to gulf shores for a wedding of one of my sorority sisters.  this was only a few weeks after we had been seeing each other, but i was already smitten. (no secret there) and it was on the beach across the street from the awesomely bad hotel that we decided to dtr. yep, heavy discussion for sunbathing. 

seeing as how this conversation eventually led me to my soul mate, i've adopted a sort of fondness for lower alabama beaches.

on the way out of town, i made him visit alvin's island.

a few months later, i returned on business and decided to buy a gag sourvenir for david.

you guessed it: i had finally found a reason to buy one of those ugly funny turtles.

he laughed.

then, wouldn't you know it, the gift shop at our honeymoon resort had a wooden bobble head turtle. and once again, i had to have it.

2 weeks ago, in the busy, hot airport in jamaica, david remarked that "we haven't found a turtle yet!" the search was on. and, as luck would have it, even the jamaicans have a soft spot for tacky turtles.

so now, yes, the turtles are tacky, but they are no longer pointless.

they're memories.

umm, yeah...

i care.

about most things, i care too much. about most things, i wish i cared less. about some things, i feel like i should care more, but know i never will.

i care about my family, my friends, and yes, my pets (too much probably).

i care about our country, but  not enough to follow world news and politics (i'll admit it; it either: bores me, confuses me, saddens me, or a combination of some or all of the aforementioned).

i care about my work. i love my families. i've laughed with them at their stories, cried tears of sorrow with them over death, and tears of joy over interventions.

i care about what people think about me. too much. not as much as i used to, but more than i wished that i did.

it is this obsessing over what you think about what i may say here caring that has frozen this blog. i felt that the few posted i had written where actually worth saying, saying somewhat well, and saying from me. i got great feedback in person. many were touched and enjoyed it.

and then the juice ran dry.

nothing seemed to compare to the other posts. and i worried cared about what others would think when they read what i considered writing.

and then i remembered: no one reads this anyway. and if they did, they can choose not too.

bottom line: i'm letting go. i'm embracing the power to not care so much about the mundane.

and it feels good!

amazing grace

what is it about death that makes us appreciate life so much?

is it that we are reminded of our own mortality? probably.

there's just something about attending a funeral during the thanksgiving season that makes it harder and easier at the same time. 

heaven gained a sweet lady yesterday when jesus called mrs. evelyn sutherland home.  though i never had the pleasure of meeting her before she became ill, i know she was a wonderful woman--i see it in my husband's eyes when he tells stories about her.

death is a funny thing. it's hard for the living, but a blessing for those who now find themselves in the presence of God and the loved ones that passed before them.  i like to think that my own grandmothers were at the pearly gates to greet mrs. evelyn.  my jojo will take her dancing on the golden streets of heaven and let her eat ice cream in bed (if they ever rest in heaven.). my gram will crochet her a warm blanket and cut her the perfect piece of watermelon.

though it was a hard day, i was thankful to be a part of it.  i was glad that i was there to hold david's hand, to hug his mom, to pat his brother's back.

i loved hearing people talk about mrs. evelyn's smile.  david's smile has the same effect on me: it's contagious.  it soothes my mind.  i've said it before: he makes my heart sing.

i imagine he has a lot of sutherland in him.

today, i was reminded of the of blessings i have received this year. my husband is the first--being a part of his loving family, to have in-laws that love and accept my own parents so effortlessly, is a close second.

butch and george

we live in a little house in montgomery.  we play in the backyard, dressing up the dogs in clothes, cooking "soup" made from wild onions that grow in the backyard.

we give live performances in the kitchen, then later on the backporch after daddy has redone it and decided to keep the christmas lights on year round so we can have these "shows" at night.

we close the hallway door and make our side of the house a big play area. she gets in the hamper and we play post office.

years later, we move to georgia. we know no one. we do countless puzzles on the new hardwood floors.

sixteen months later, we move again. we spend six months having to share a room for the first time in a tiny apartment, and don't speak to each other after the first one.

i graduate high school. go off to college. come home to find that she has helped herself to stuff that wouldn't fit in my dorm room. she calls to tell me she got her drivers license, and i cry. she is growing up.

i graduate from college. get married. she is my maid of honor.

i move away. lose touch with everyone, including myself. i can't come to her college graduation. i cry on the phone while listening to them announce her name as she crosses to stage to accept her degree.

i move back. i visit her apartment. we giggle and reconnect.

i fall apart.

she rides with my father on saturdays to visit me at the creek. she sends me letters, telling me i am beautiful and strong.

she is my baby sister. all grown up.

she dutifully plays maid of honor one last time, this time with an engagement ring on her hand and a smile on her heart.

aside from my parents, she has been my biggest cheerleader through life.

i get to walk down the aisle again on saturday. this time, as her matron of honor. i tell myself i won't cry, but i know i will. seeing her in her bridal gown has already brought me to tears in the salon.

i wish her and jacob all the happiness in the world.

maybe, one day, we'll both have little girls who can dress up their dogs and make onion soup together.