a few pictures from the past week...

"Reece" literally means "enthusiasm!" How fitting!

Oh how we love our enthusiastic, little one!

The real Douglas fir puts off a wonderful, evergreen, piney smell! It is so pleasant in our home!

Back to my previous thought on our enthusiastic one...

"Enthusiasm" comes from the greek words, "en" "theos" "usia" ... or "God in you!" That's our little Reece!

There's no place like home for the holidays...

"There's no place like home for the holidays,
No matter how far away we roam..."
Home was definitely in our hearts and on our minds this past Thanksgiving!
Reece was cleaning up here, for all the fun we would have during Thanksgiving week! He was very excited about the family.
And here he is on Thanksgiving day with his cousin Livi, helping GrandDaddy and Nam'a in the kitchen.

Eating a green bean before they were put on the stove, Reece was having fun while Livi was curious about that long, green thing in his mouth!

And here's the precious girl giving us one of her priceless smiles!

Part of the Thanksgiving table before the entire meal was spread out.

Just resting after a great meal!

Watching the football games....

Reece is all ready for bed and ready to munch down on the Christmas tree light... if only he could get the light to his mouth! Napping on Friday morning before we hit the road home...

While Reece was napping, we got a family photo (without the guys who were lounging around- watching a movie in the den).
The Farley's and their girls ;)

Getting back from Oklahoma City, Grandpa Jelly and G were ready to see Reece again! Here they are so happy.And finally, Reece got to see Uncle Coley and Aunt Angela again... before Thanksgiving week, he hadn't seen them since his birth!
He was having fun and wanted to let everyone to know... look at the joy on his face.
Getting up on all fours has been a recurring activity for him each day. He tends to move backward rather than forward. We are very proud of his every progress!
Look at those Griffin boys... up to no good! haha! They're all smiles- maybe they're hiding something from us!
A great family picture... all of the Griffin's on Saturday night before they left on Sunday back up to Wyoming.And the Griffin's again, with GiGi (or Grandma, as Garrett would say).

Oh what a blessed time it was, to celebrate life, love, and family during Thanksgiving. We are so grateful for the Lord and His Word. We are so appreciative for our family and love each one of them so dearly. We made great memories during the holiday, and look toward the day when we can all live closer to each other.

"Home" will always live big in our hearts... whether in Amarillo or on the road, it's a place to love and be loved.

And there's never any other place like home during these special times!

~and a special happy birthday to Reece on this day as we celebrate his 7 month mark! He is a growing, learning bundle of love!~

until next time,

*farrell*

h.u.n.g.r.y.

Greetings to all of you out in blogland! We are blessed to be here another beautiful day, enjoying this cooler weather. Reece is continually filling our lives with joy. His precious smile. His sweet kisses. He is a wonderful child!

This precious son of ours sure enjoys his food. Last night he sure liked the sweet potatoes his daddy fed him!
And here he is getting great use out of his high-chair! Finally after all these months of it sitting boxed up in the garage, we've been able to use it the last 2 weeks. Thanks to his grandparents and Aunt Terri & Uncle Willie for the high-chair, he really likes it! And so do his parents ;)

Now looky here... who are these two cuties playing together in my office? You guessed it, precious Reece and beautiful Liviya Leigh! Isn't she growing so quickly?

Erin and I captured their attention! Look at her big eyes!
Liviya pretty in pink... Reece sporting his blue. They are play pals from the very beginning!

Look at this big boy... sitting up all on his own. He did this for a good 30 minutes this morning while I was sitting here at my desk working.
What do you think about that? He was thinking happy thoughts here! Very, very happy!
Playing with puppy and the colorful ring... all smiles (which is typical when I pull the camera out). He always knows how to work the camera!

Thanks to Reece's big cousin Jennifer, he is sporting the Old Navy leisure wear! And he is enjoying the new shoes from G. They keep his socks on so well! Plus, he loves chewing on the tips of them!

Just loving Reece... that's what we've been doing. We've also been spending lots of time with church family. The Lord is faithful and we are beyond blessed to see His miraculous power work in the midst of us... there have been 2 recent testimonies of close friends of ours (both young women) who were diagnosed with tumors- potentially cancerous and maybe even in the brain. However, the Word of God works. Faith works. Today, a month later, both of these women have clean reports. Both of their stories are very detailed and glorify God more than I could ever express through this blog, but we are giving God all of the glory as He has shown Himself to be strong in their situatation!

"The name of the Lord is a strong tower: the righteous run into it, and they are safe." Proverbs 18:10

God is ever faithful and true. We give all glory and honor to Him alone for everything He has done!

As we look toward the onset of Thanksgiving, we are very eager for the holidays which will be full of family-time!

And we are continuing to pray for our nation, as this continues to be a very sobering day in which we live.

Until next time...

f & g & r

America has decided

What is America's President-elect reading? Who is he following after?
That would be Saul Alinsky's book...The reason this grieves me so, is that this book has a "Dedication Page." As many authors dedicate a book to their spouse, family, mentor, or colleague, Saul Alinsky has dedicated this decades-old book to "Lucifer." He plainly states that this book is dedicated to the devil.

The initial dedication page is but a mere reflection of the contents within. To say that this book alarms me is an understatement. However, there are many other alarming characteristics and behaviors of Mr. Obama's that grieve me so.

Upon his inauguration in January, there will be no more regulations upon partial-birth abortions, or abortions of any kind... in fact, the abortions will most likely be de-regulated to much extreme.

I would like to continue, but I will refrain from the details- knowing you are an educated American aware of the current circumstances.

Let me encourage each of you to seek the Lord for yourself... even more so now, than ever before. Read the Word of God. Jesus is our only hope!

" Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, And whose hope is the LORD." -Jeremiah 17.7

"For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Is it not even you in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming?" - 1 Thessalonians 2.19

Jesus is soon returning and He is our only hope! Keep your eyes upon Jesus, and be encouraged!

our little punkin'

And here he is... punkin' Michael Reece with his Daddy!
Isn't this precious?

Gotta love that contagious smile!Friday night, the church had our annual "Family Fun Night" with a blow-up jumper, carnival games, and food. There was a costume contest, but Reece didn't quite win! I definitely think he stole the show, though!

Friday night was lots of fun with a great turnout. We enjoyed fellowshipping with friends and church family. It was very, very fun.

By the end of the night, we were all ready for bed, especially this punkin'!

But before we left, he found a buddy dressed just like him!

Twins! Well, almost... Reece is 6 months, Evan is 9 months.

Reece already knows how to smile and get happy for the camera! And here's my twin... well actually, we were Mary and Martha... haha! Sisters! Actually, this is Natalie. But we had fun dressing the part!

And here is our sleeping baby... it seems like we are always on the go these days... leaving nap time for car rides!

And just to give you an idea of how much he has grown, look at our little Reece in these big boy clothes!

He pulled himself up this day. He has been standing more and more, with our help, of course!

It's like you can almost see the toddler in him!

Before bed one night... I totally see his daddy in him!

We were playing with a puzzle on the sofa, just before bed.

Looks like he was dancing and singing here!

Well, well, well... Reece is a growing boy! Upon the eve of his 6 month birthday, I find myself in shock of how quickly time has passed as I hang on to every growing moment! He is a joy to be around... all smiles around so many, even a stranger. He spreads joy everywhere he goes and we love him dearly! He is so loved that I often wonder if he'll ever know how much we love him. Garrett and I now realize how much love our parents have given us, as we experience what it is like to love our son before he is ever capable of loving. We are grateful for our parents and our strong upbringings. Our endeavor and heart is to train Reece in the way that he should go, so that when he is old- he will not depart from it. That is a life lesson our parents taught us. We are ever blessed to know the truth today. And we will continue the heritage we've been given in passing down a legacy of faith, love, hope and truth to our children. Reece is just the beginning!

Now as we gear toward a national day of electing our next President, we are ever prayerful about what is to come. We pray God's grace and mercy be extended to our country once more. We pray that Christians would change their hearts and minds, if they are currently unaware, and that they would realize this election is the most important election America has ever seen. Moral issues are at stake. Life issues are at stake. These issues are of utmost importance, taking precedence over social and economic issues. We pray that eyes of peoples' understanding would be enlightened and that they not be blinded by liberalized media. It is a serious day in which we live, where we must take a stand for justice and truth. I hope people remember Proverbs 14:34 tomorrow,

"Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people."

and Proverbs 29:2

"When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice. When the wicked bear rule, the people groan."
We pray that tomorrow, America will vote the Bible and their conscience!

Praying for this great nation,

F & G & r