Spring is Here!

So it's been a long time since I posted anything. A lot has been going on in our little family, but we are doing great!

Most of you know that Ben left on May 1st to spend 4 months in Tampa, Florida for his residency. He is required to do trauma orthopedics at a level 1 trauma center and it was his turn to be there. He has a little duplex to live in and is working crazy hours, but enjoying the new adventure! The kids and I will be leaving first of July to go down there and spend a month with him. I'll be working from home and my family is flying out to go to Disney World at the end of July. A lot planned and much to look forward to!

The boys are doing great too. Sam is such a smart kid who loves reading, math and history. He is fascinated by the Civil War and World War II and can answer all sorts of questions about what happened, the famous battles and all the weaponry they used. Not to mention the planes in WWII and much more! He has been such a great helper since Ben has been gone. Doing extra chores for me, helping make dinner and just being extra loving!

Max is my kiddo that can't sit still! Everyday after school he is either riding his bike, roller blading or practicing hockey in the driveway. He is extremely creative too and makes all kinds of art projects, bug catchers and anything he can imagine! Hockey is over, but will start up in the fall and he loves it. He wants to play goalie, which happens to be the most expensive position, and practices all the time. He loves watching it too and it's fun to see him enjoy sports so much.

I am still working as a mortgage banker and it's been a great career for me. I really love helping people buy homes and save money by refinancing. It's been a crazy few months as I am constantly having to pass state exams with all the laws being changed and I'm studying like crazy! I also joined the Rec Center here in our little city and have been working out. I have really grown to love it and it's fun to set goals for myself and meet them! Love, love, love to run...on the treadmill. I always hated running outside because I would run away from my house and then realize I had to run back! On the treadmill I don't go far!

The rest of the family is doing great too and we got to have a Farr family reunion last August in South Dakota. We saw Mt Rushmore and Crazy Horse and spent an awesome week together. Ben's sister Katie and her doctor husband Matt are trying to decide where to move as he's done soon. It's between Florida and Utah...hard choice! We have 2 years left, but Ben will be starting to look into spots this fall. We're almost there!

Thanks for stopping by...we appreciate you all so much. Keep in touch and shoot us a message while you're here! We'd love to hear from you...

Tootles!
The Farrs

Thanksgiving and the holidays...

Happy Thanksgiving everybody! What a great lazy day for us to be together. No work, school, places to be. We loved spending time together cooking, playing games and snuggling after the triptophan (sp?) kicked in. I've been reflecting on what I'm most thankful for and it's always the really basic things like my family, the gospel of Jesus Christ, our jobs, our food and shelter and good friends. As this holiday season kicks in it's always tempting to load up on "gifts" galore and spend money on all things the kids want. But we're going to focus on what we can give to others. The kids are going through their old toys and we're brainstorming on what we can do to help people in our community that don't have this season. May we all pause for a moment and look around us. Be thankful and grateful for all you have. You are so blessed! Enjoy this holiday season and focus on the faith, charity and love it is meant to be about. We love you all!

So haven't update my blog forever! It's been a crazy last few months and it's not slowing down at all.

Halloween was so fun this year! Ben went as a scary doctor, I was a witch, Sam was an army guy and Max was a mummy! I made his costume this year and it was so awesome! I'll post some pictures of the fun day on here for all to see. We had a great time going to some good friends house and trick or treating with their family.

Other activities we are doing this fall include the following:

Max is practicing 2 days a week and this week he gets to be goalee! The thrill of his life, he says. He came home with all the hockey pads, goalee mask etc and wore them for hours practicing his stance! He is adorable. He is a great student and is learning to read!

Sam is doing great in school and growing so fast! He is constantly reading new books, building new lego inventions and surprising us with his witty and funny sense of humor. He is also working on getting his Faith in God award before he goes to Boy Scouts in Feb and turns 11.

Ben is moonlighting for other hospitals and urgent care centers. As if he doesn't work enough! He's making extra money and it sure helps! He's got 2.5 more years left of his residency and he is done! It's been almost 15 years of marriage and 15 years of schooling! It's been great though and well worth all the sacrifices we've made.

As for me, I'm still working at Quicken Loans and have been promoted to Executive Mortgage Banker. It's been a great job and has provided some awesome opportunities for me. I'm also an avid reader, shopper and scrapbooker so I keep myself busy.

That's a quick update on the Farr family...check out the Farr Funnies as I've updated them with some recent stories! Ciao for now!

Video Games and the Recession

So I'm watching Ben play a new video game he got today. The gist is you're this guy in this remote desert area looking for hidden diamonds and fighting these bad guys who are always on your trail. I asked Ben, "Why are you running around in the middle of nowhere and there's nothing for miles?" He says, "I don't have a car!" So I say, "No wonder, it's the recession! Money must be tight even for the video game makers!" He laughed and I thought it was a pretty funny comment, but then I started to think...What if they did make a game reflective of the recession? I could picture it. You're alone, hungry, in the downtown streets of Detroit. You're out of a job and your family is at home waiting for their next meal. You roam the streets looking for cans, scraps of metal, pennies, anything to scrape together enough cash to buy some food. You have to fight off thugs, stay warm, fight to survive! You take your old car in to the dealership and take advantage of the cash for clunkers program! You break into the pharmacy without getting caught to get your wife's blood pressure medication. It's a race to the County Office to get your unemployment check and food stamps. Can you imagine? This would be reality! So many people are suffering right now in this terrible economy. Especially in our area. It just made me realize that I'm grateful. Grateful to be healthy, happy and loved. Ben and I chose professions which have not been directly affected by the recession and we are so thankful for that. All this from a video game? My mind wanders like this all the time!

Pow! Pow!

So this weekend we went to the gun range (my first time!) and Ben taught us all how to aim and shoot. I shot his 9mm Beretta handgun (talk about kick!) I felt like a real cop (in cute capris and hot pink...but a cop none the less!) We helped Max shoot his little 22 single shot, which he got down like a pro. He loved uncocking it and making the bullet shell shoot out and then gazed at the smoke coming out of the barrell. He said it's a "cowboys gun, mom". He was serious the whole time! Sam shot his 22 also and was really good hitting the target close to the bullseye. I shot Ben's 22 250 rifle and that has power too. Overall it was a great trip to the range for my first time and I'm kinda anxious to go back! It sure is different growing up with all boys, but it's my life....and I love it!

Ok....

I've never done this before, but this should be fun! I'm starting a blog so that I can keep family, friends and people we love up to date on our crazy hectic lives here in Detroit Michigan!

For those of you who don't know, Ben is a 3rd year orthopedic surgery resident at Botsford Hospital in Farmington Hills, MI and is loving it. He graduated from LECOM medical school in Erie, PA in 2007 and we moved here. We have 3 more years to go and he'll be done!

I am an Executive Mortgage Banker with Quicken Loans and I help people in all 50 states purchase and refinance their homes. I love it and have learned a lot about this crazy economy and the housing market we're in.

Our boys are 10 (Sam) and 6 (Max) and are enjoying school, sports and their new friends here in Michigan. They've been moved around quite a bit, but are doing so great adjusting and their happy and positive attitudes make me grateful.

I'll try to keep everyone up to date on events, news and daily life here at the Farr household. Feel free to drop by, say hi and help me on my blog!